Kiara's Not So Scary "Surprise" thread 2 Day 3 part 7 MNSSHP part 4 updated 12/16 About This Page:

[MAria R]

Great updates, but I am ready to see those photos!!!

[PrincessSharon]

Finally caught up, Nala, and ready for more. I am curious to see if we crossed paths at the Party!

[luvnwdwgal]

I can't wait for more!!! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[KandJluvdisney]

hurry back with more please

[Nala]

We headed to the gate and much to my delight, the security check point was void of almost any guest. Rather than sending Grumpy and Kiara ahead of me, they went through with me and we headed to the designated entrance for MNSSHP goers. There were several CM’s motioning for us to come to their entrance (as well as a huge sign pointing us in their direction) and I can only assume that they were sure we had tickets for the party considering the way we were dressed. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img] We made it through the turnstile and several other CM’s were waiting to hand us our Trick or Treat bags. (gotta have those! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/smirk.gif[/img]) Grumpy went to pick up a stroller and Kiara and I decided to wait for him at our usual meeting place. Grumpy joined us within a few minutes and we decided to form a plan about what we should/could do before our ADR’s at Tony’s. We had about an hour and a half to kill, so we had time to do a few favorite rides. As we were standing there, a CM walked by, took one look at us and got a huge smile on her face. She walked up to us, bent down to compliment Kiara on her Tink dress and then looked at Grumpy and I and said “I’m proud of you guys. You did great on the costume choices”. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] That really put my mood into overdrive and made me smile even bigger than I already had been doing. We decided to head down Main Street and into Adventureland for yet another ride on the Magic Carpets. Seems Kiara had not yet gotten her fill of them earlier in the day. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/crazy.gif[/img] As we headed up MS, I over heard not one, not two, but many voices of guests we passed saying the same thing over and over. “Oh, look, it’s Tinkerbell, Peter Pan and Alice”. Huh? [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img]

We made our way to the hub where we had a brief interaction with a CM who was ready to play with all guest arriving early for MNSSHP. He greeted us as Tink, Peter Pan and Wendy to which Grumpy said “She’s not Wendy, she’s Alice”. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/rofl2.gif[/img] This caused me to go into a mock rant about one more person calling me Alice and the CM assured me that any true Disney fan would know I was Wendy. We had fun with him but had to move on as Kiara was begging for a ride on the MC’s, so off the Adventureland we went. The line was a bit longer than it had been that morning/early afternoon, but I braved it. After Kiara and I got off the MC, the three of us decided to stroll our way back to Tony’s. As we reached the end of MS, we saw a group of CM’s holding up signs and directing guest out of the park. There were five of them and four of them held a single word on a sign. Those words were SEE YA REAL SOON. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img] The fifth CM was wearing the big Mickey gloves and pointing people out of the park. Just as we got to them, Grumpy decided he was going to make a pit stop and Kiara and I agreed to meet him on the side of Tony’s. I pushed her stroller right in front of the CM’s and it took me a moment to respond to what I was hearing. Several voices were yelling “Wendy, Wendy, Wendy, hey WENDY” and I, not being used to responding to that name, realized the CM’s were talking to me. I finally got it and turned around to look at them. Three or four of them then said “Hi Wendy, hi Tinkerbell” and were waving wildly at us. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img] Kiara and I waved back and I then told them that I had lost Peter Pan and if they saw him to tell him we would be waiting for him over here and I pointed to the spot we would be standing, They all promised to keep an eye out for him and point him in our direction.

Grumpy soon joined us and true to their word, several of the CM’s had spotted him and asked if he was looking for Tink and Wendy. When he said yes, they pointed him in our direction. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/waytogo.gif[/img] By this point, Grumpy and I were having a ball playing along with all the CM’s and we have never seen them so playful and in the spirit of a holiday as we had witnessed this night. It was so much fun and just added to the magic of the evening. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img] Even though we were early, we decided to check into Tony’s. Once we stepped inside, I was glad we did as the line to check in was huge. Guess they weren’t kidding when we had seen a sign earlier in the day outside of City Hall stating that all TS restaurants were booked for that night. Several people in front of us didn’t have ADR’s and were turned away. As I waited in the line, Grumpy took Kiara pin shopping . They had time to browse and pay for a few pins and by the time they returned, I was just getting to the podium to check in.

Judging by the huge crowd, I assumed we would be waiting quite a while before our name was called and I was happy that we were able to snag a seat on one of the lovely Victorian loveseats in the waiting area. Just as I was scanning the area for things to entertain Kiara during the long wait I assumed we would have, a CM called our name. We were really scoring this trip on the no wait dinning! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/woot.gif[/img] As we made our way to our table, we noticed that some of the servers were dressed for the occasion and were sporting zombie type makeup. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/shocked.gif[/img] We were seated at our table, our waitress greeted us and presented us with menus and when she placed the kid’s menu in front of Kiara, we realized disaster was about to strike. All day long I had been telling Kiara that she could have the Mickey pasta she had had and loved so much at Tony’s when we went there for lunch on our January trip. During the short time we had been in the MK, the offer of having the special Mickey tortellini (I know it is ravioli, but any meat or cheese filled pasta is tortellini to Kiara and she will not accept it being called anything else) was the only thing we had to hang over her head to ward off sever hissy fits or worse yet, major meltdowns. I took a quick look at the kids menu and didn’t’ see the Mickey ravioli on the menu and asked our server about it. With a huge smile and a bubbling voice, she informed us the kid’s menu had changed only a few days ago and the Mickey ravioli was no longer available. And while Kiara may not be a normal child and may seem to be one who is easy to pull things over on, she is VERY observant and understood what had just been said by our server. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/ooo.gif[/img] The meal I had been pitching to her for the last few hours, the one that I had made all the hype about and there in turn got her hyped up about, was not an option. Holly Cow! Let the mini meltdown commence. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/shocked.gif[/img]

Our server, sensing all heck was about to break out at our table, politely left Grumpy and I to deal with was she was right to assume was going to become a minor scene. So there we were, stuck with the new kid’s menu and having to get Kiara to select an option from the offerings. “Do you want the chicken strips?” “No! Tortellini!” “How about the pizza?” NOOOO! Tortellini!” There was no point in even asking about the other offering of fresh vegetables, fruit and chicken salad as that is not Kiara’s thing. Kiara was adamant about having the Mickey pasta and we had to deal with the fact that it wasn’t an option. Somewhere between her having a fit and sliding down in the booth to the floor and our sever returning to the table, she agreed to eat the pizza. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/crazy.gif[/img] But it was under protest. And if looks could kill, the ones she was shooting at me, would have. I learned a hard lesson that day. Never, ever pump up a meal to my child until I see the menu! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/082502no_prv.gif[/img]

Our server returned, took our order and promised to return with our appetizers. And as we waited for them to arrive, Kiara continued to shoot me some killer looks. Our first course, bread sticks for Grumpy and the spinach dip for me arrived, and were almost thrown at us by another server in zombie make up. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/shocked.gif[/img] His presentation of our first course shocked me a bit, but then I got that he was “in character” and he uttered one word to us. “Enjoy”. This was followed by an evil stare and a sinister smile. I was so wrapped up with Kiara that I almost mistook his performance as being very rude. Thankfully, I was able to snap out of it and get the idea! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img] Kiara dug into both appetizers with a lot of zest, but it was obvious she was not forgiving Tony’s, WDW or me for taking the Mickey ravioli off the menu. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/crazy.gif[/img] We finished off our appetizers and soon our entrees arrived. Kiara was presented with her pizza, salad and apples with some sort of topping in a cute little Mickey shaped dish. The Mickey plate was just like the ones we had seen in the past at Tusker House for the kid’s meals. Although we tried to pump up the plating, our efforts were in vain. She did pick at her meal and as she did, Grumpy and I dove into our steaks. I thought mine was pretty good, but every bite Grumpy took, he was comparing it to the steak he had at Le Cellier the night before. And every bite was pale in comparison to that. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

I enjoyed my meal, regardless of the fact that Grumpy was longing to be at Le Cellier and Kiara was longing for the Mickey pasta of days gone by. We finished our meal and when it came time for dessert, we passed on it for the adults at the table. With our refrigerator already full of desserts, we really didn’t feel the need to carry around anything else for hours in the park, only to add it to the stash we had built that we would never touch. Our server, who had been really non existent during our meal, did offer to get Kiara a scoop of ice cream in place of us passing on the family style dessert that came with our meal on the dining plan. Kiara was happy to accept this offer and it was the highlight of the meal for her. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img] As we waited for it to be served to her, I took this picture of my Peter Pan and Tinkerbell.



And if memory servers me correctly, Grumpy was whispering to Kiara that she needed to give me heck about Tony’s not having Mickey pasta anymore! Like she needed any encouragement! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/roflmao.gif[/img]


Our billed arrive and I was thankful that it was a big fat zero. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img] I would have hated to pay for this meal as it was such a disaster for Kiara and we had our first experience of being caught in the new Disney kid‘s menus. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/mad.gif[/img] Along with that, our service was close to negligent and Grumpy and I both thought our food quality was less than what we had at lunch our last trip (which we loved). We chalked Tony’s up as a hit and miss restaurant. We had a hit and we had a miss. It is not one we would run back to, but also not one we would cross off as a place we will never dine again. I think both of us would agree that Tony’s was a better choice for lunch than it was for dinner.

We left Tony’s and stepped back on to Main Street only to discover that the MK had been transformed for the party while we were eating. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] While we had been inside enjoying dinner, the sun was starting to set and the decorations for the party had appeared magically. Main Street was dressed for the occasion and even though the party was a half an hour away from beginning, the mood was in full swing.



As we made our way up Main Street, Kiara voiced the need to ride the MC’s yet again. Grumpy and I had no problem fulfilling that request as we had some time to kill before the official kick off of the party. I also agreed to ride the MC’s yet again as a peace offering to Kiara, as I felt a bit guilty about not knowing of the menu change and setting her up for disappointment. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/ukid.gif[/img] We made our way up MS towards Adventureland. And as we did, this time I didn’t mind the guests we pasted calling me Alice. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/smirk.gif[/img] I was full, I was happily in my happy place and I was about to experience MNSSHP for the first time. And from what we had already experienced and seen, it was going to be a magical, fun filled, amazing evening. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/thewave.gif[/img]

Up next: A solo trip to see the new and improved POTC, missing a meet with a PassPorter, [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img] and the most amazing parade!

Dessert count: still 8, and it will be that way for the next few updates as I have alot to share before we collect any more!

[ariel14]

Great update!
It's incredible that an Italian restaurant doesn't offer a pasta dish on the 'under 10' menu. What were they thinking?

[Jillybean]

Oh no! I can't blame Kiara for being miffed over the missing Mickey pasta! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img] Glad that you guys made it through that meal!

Can't wait to hear all about your MNSSHP! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

Jill

[Colexis Mom]

Sorry it was disaster with the new kids menu [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img] I'm glad to hear the meltdown wasn't too bad!

Hopefully things are picking up again! Great pictures of Tink and Peter, but I hope we're going to see Wendy too [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

[award]

That's Crazy!!! We ate at Tony's before MNSSHP and I asked our server if DD could have the spaghetti instead of the kids meal and he said, "Of course" I hate that they didn't let you substitute! I hate that new kids meal idea!!

[mattnkatsmum]

That really does stink about the kids menu. I haven't a clue how we'll handle it with Kat in January.

I can't wait to hear about Kiara's adventures at MNSSHP.

[chezp]

What a shame about that Mickey pasta! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/pout.gif[/img] At least, as you say, you didn't have to pay for that meal. The photo of Kiara and Grumpy is priceless by the way - I love it. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/082502yes_prv.gif[/img]

[lauren-roxy]

Sorry about the problem with your meal at Tony's. Sounds like you guys are enjoying the party though. Can't wait for more!!

[Meggera]

It sounds like Kiara handled the bad news about the pasta like any child would. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img] I would have been upset, too. At least the ice cream was appealing. I can't wait to hear about MNSSHP!!!

[KandJluvdisney]

great update
more please

[DrDolphin]

Sorry to hear about the missing tortellini!!!