Nala and pride "Here we go again!" Final thoughts and COMPLETE! Updated 7/30 About This Page:

[ripkensnana]

Girl, you are the luckiest person I know when it comes to complimentary upgrades....Can I travel with you sometime???

[luvnwdwgal]

You are one lucky gal!! Congrats with the upgrade!! Now hurry back with another update.....please! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[iamgrumpy]

Great update! Great view! Can't wait for more!

[DrDolphin]

Great update!!! I know EXACTLY how you feel about WL -- HOME!!

[Jillybean]

You are definitely the queen of upgrades! Good you for! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Jill

[Mickeysgal]

[img]/ubb/images/graemlins/love.gif[/img] the view from your room! Nice upgrade!!

[ariel14]

More pls!!

[PrincessSharon]

Just catching up on your TR, Nala, and as usual I am enjoying every word! Hurry back with more, please!

[Nala]

We made our way to the dock to wait for a boat to the MK. And as luck would have it, it was just pulling away as we reached the dock. But, another boat, the smaller launch going to the Contemporary, was just docking. So we decided to ride it to the Contemporary and take the monorail to the MK. This was a wise move. Kiara dearly loves riding the monorail and we had no set schedule, so the longer way to our destination was not an issue. We boarded the boat, made the short ride to the Contemporary, walked up to the monorail platform and found it deserted. I quickly took notice of the absence of the crowd and seized the moment. The monorail attendant was walking our way and I asked the question “Is the front car available?” He offered to check and I crossed my fingers as we waited for the next monorail to arrive. Kiara had no idea I did this and was too busy insisting we were going to ride in a green one. Seems she was willing to wait until a green one arrived. Grumpy and I on the other had were determined to take what ever color arrived. But much to our delight, and hers, the next monorail into the concourse was in fact green. Kiara was thrilled. And I was thrilled when the driver stepped out of the control car and gave a nod to the attendant. Yes!!! The attendant then turned to us and advised us we had secured the front car. He also informed us that they were doing a training run and he was not sure if they would take any passengers, but the pilot agreed to let us ride with them! Our first trip to the MK was starting out with a ride in style!

The light at the end of the tunnel

We settled into our seats and I was grateful that we were able to ride all the way to the MK without being bumped out for other guest who wanted the front car (as had happened in the past). It was here that I realized I hadn’t yet wished Grumpy a Happy Birthday. Bad wife! With all the excitement of the day I had forgotten to do so until now. But what a place to do it in. I had a field day taking pictures of the view from the front car.

A stop at the Poly

When we pulled out of the GF, we passed another monorail with guest up front. Several teenage girls waved at us as they passed our monorail and looked like they were having the time of their lives. I didn’t get a shot of them as I was too busy waving back and Grumpy stated that that would have been the picture to have. He was right. That would have been a true Kodak moment!

If only I had waited ten seconds longer to take this shot I would have caught the riders in the other monorail!

We made our way to our final destination and as we disembarked I got a kick out of Stitch’s voice coming over the MK announcement. We thanked our driver and the trainee and made our way down the ramp towards the most magical place on earth, the MK.


Grumpy took Kiara through the no bag line and I agreed to meet them inside the park. This gave him a chance to get in the park and grab a stroller whilst I waited to go through the bag check line. We all met up at the agreed place and started to talk about what to do on our first day at MK. One thing was common. We were all hungry. And as we stood in that tucked away corner of Main Street, I saw a place that would be perfect for lunch. Tony’s! It was a place we had never done in MK, we didn’t have an ADR for lunch, it was before the lunch crowd and we were right there. I ran the idea past Grumpy and he agreed it sounded like a good plan. So off we went to see about getting in. Tony’s had just opened and we walked inside and gave our name to the hostess. Within a few minutes we were shown to our table.

We had a lovely table in the atrium and our server came to our table with menus very quickly. Everything on the menu looked wonderful and it was hard making a choice. Grumpy selected a cheese pizza, I ordered the pasta dish and Kiara the ravioli from the kids menu.

Our food arrived and the three of us tore into it. But I couldn’t help notice Kiara’s ravioli. Nor could I help making her wait until I took a picture of it. It was Mickey head shaped!

All I wanted to do is take pictures of Kiara’s food and all she wanted to do was eat it!


Lunch at Tony’s was a wonderful choice. On a trip back from the bathroom, Kiara encountered a wonderful CM who did some magic tricks in front of the fountain. He was a pure delight and one of the CMs who clearly loved his job. We headed back to the table, fetched Grumpy and on our way out he insisted they stop and pose for pictures. I hadn’t told him I had already been down that road on the way back from the bathroom. But I didn’t’ mind taking pictures in the same spot again as this time Grumpy was in them. And for once I didn’t have to beg for him to pose. He volunteered willingly.



We left Tony’s and I was so grateful we had decided to wander in on the spur of the moment. It was a wonderful meal. So good, that it may make the must do list next trip.


The sky that we saw when we left Tony's looked threatening, but it turned out to be a beautiful day. Thank goodness the clouds only stuck around long enough for a good picture!

We made our way into the park and Kiara wanted to take a spin on the tea cups. I gladly sat out and waited for her and Grumpy to take a spin. When the came off the ride the first words out of her mouth were “Buzz Lightyear?” No, down for rehab I attempted to explain. She didn’t get it, or didn’t believe me. Grumpy and I decided we had to make a trip to Tomorrowland and show her Buzz was closed before we could do anything else that day. So off to Tomorrowland we went. We wheeled Kiara’s stroller right up to the sign that stated Buzz was down for a make over, showed her the absence of a line and she finally believed that her Mom and Dad were telling the truth. We were on our way out of Tomorrowland when something caught my eye. The Parrs (AKA the Incredibles) were about to make a scheduled appearance. And I had ever intention of waiting for a family photo!

We waited only a few minutes before Uncle Bob and Aunt Helen came out. And I was finally able to get the Parr clan together for a family photo! Grumpy wasted no time telling Mr. Incredible that we were the Parr family from Il. Mr. Incredible clapped his hands, pointed to himself and then to Mrs. Incredible and made a circle with his finger in the air pointing to all of us. Yes, it was a family reunion. And I finally had the picture I had been dreaming of since the Incredibles started making appearances in character form!


After our family photo, we headed to Adventureland to take Kiara for a spin on the Magic Carpets of Aladdin. I was a bit surprised to discover that Grumpy wanted to take Kiara on the ride as he really hates this ride. But I wasn’t about to horn in on their father/daughter moment together so I took the stroller and told them I would meet them at the exit. Along the way something caught my eye. It had been ages since my last Dole Whip. Every time we had been past the Aloha Isle I had been too full, didn’t’ want to spoil dinner or it had just been too cold for me to indulge myself in my favorite treat in all of WDW. But today was different. It was wonderfully warm, lunch was behind me and dinner hours away. Problem was, the Aloha Isle and the beloved Dole Whip was too far for me to get to before Grumpy and Kiara got on and off the ride. So I decided to check out the offerings at the Sunshine Tree Terrace. And the citrus swirl sounded like a good substitute for a Dole Whip. I had no idea what I was about to start as I placed my order.

I was handed my heaven in a cup and walked away from the counter as I took my first bite. Oh my! Frozen orange juice and vanilla ice cream swirled together never tasted so good. One bite and I knew this was my new favorite. Where had this treat been all my life? I went over to the exit of Aladdin and waited for Grumpy and Kiara to disembark. It took every bit of will power I had to save a bite or two of my ice cream treat for both of them to sample. By the time they got off the ride there was a tiny drop of the citrus swirl left for both of them. I figured if either of them loved it, we could get another. And I secretly hoped one of them would want one so I could be waiting in the wings to finish it. Both Grumpy and Kiara took a bite, but neither fell into the mad passionate love zone I had. We all decided to move on and out of the MK, but I couldn’t help cast a longing gaze over my shoulder at the Sunshine Tree Terrace. I had found a new love.

So out of the MK we went, and back to the WL to relax a bit before Grumpy’s birthday dinner at the Concourse Steakhouse.

[Colexis Mom]

What a magical day Nala [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/zwavin.gif[/img] I feel your pain waiting for the green monorails (Colin's favorite) but how cool it was the next one, and you got to ride in front [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/woot.gif[/img]

Lunch sounded great! I can't wait to hear about dinner [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

[Annabel]

Awesome update Nala and lovely photos. I love your Parr family reunion photo [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/waytogo.gif[/img] Looking forward to more!

[lauren-roxy]

Great update Nala!! Love the picture of the entire Parr family!!! Lunch sounded great, we are trying Tony's for the first time this summer. Can't wait to read more!!!

[Jennifer2003]

Uncle Bob & Aunt Helen! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] That's too cute!!!

Glad you enjoyed your little cup of heaven! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/angel.gif[/img]

Can't wait for more!
Jennifer

[luvnwdwgal]

Love the Parr family photo!! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] Hope Grumpy enjoyed his dinner at Concourse Steakhouse. It's one of our favorites!

[KrisLuvsDisney]

You guys are having such great fun! I just love reading all about it!