Trip Report Fairytales Do Come True...

Well friends, we've returned from a magical, rainy, pixie dust filled trip that will NEVER be topped in my book. :) I have so much to share with you that I simply couldn't wait any longer! The first post is a little word-heavy, but I promise the rest of the report will have LOTS of pictures!

Here's my PTR if you'd like to read it!
http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/prince-charmings-1st-trip-june-2017.922944/

Here we go! :joyfull:

Tuesday, 6/6

We had a 4pm flight out of Pittsburgh so fortunately didn't have to rush around much the morning that we left. We did some last minute packing and cleaning before loading everything up and heading to drop Tink off at my parents' house. She spent the first 4 days there and the last 4 days with Dylan's mom (and her wiener dog boyfriend :angelic:).

It's never easy leaving this sweet little baby. :( She knew something was up! Fortunately she was a good girl all week and had lots of fun with her grandmas! ;)
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Disney here we come!!!!! :joyfull:
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We were on the road a few minutes after 1pm and it didn't take long for me to take over Dylan's Pandora with the Disney station. :p We arrived at 3pm and parking was a nightmare! We were starting to really cut it close and I was stressing. We went to check our bags and were informed that our flight was delayed until 7:30pm due to weather. It was extremely frustrating to be delayed, but it was a blessing in disguise because we were so short on time. So much for having time to do something on arrival day. :(

We went to TGI Friday's for some snacks. Dylan had pretzels and I had French Onion Soup. I was dreaming about BOG soup. :hungry: It was fine, nothing spectacular! But it filled our tummies and held us over until we got to Orlando.
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After our long delay, we finally boarded our flight and took off right on time at 7:30pm.

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Let me just preface the next part of my report by saying we literally had the BEST flight crew ever! They were so much fun!

The flight attendants went through the typical safety speech but when they were done, one came back over the intercom and said, "I've been asked what to do if you have more than one child. Which one should you put the mask on first? You put it on the one who has the most earning potential OR the one who's going to change your diapers in the years to come. Because that's coming." :hilarious::hilarious::hilarious:

When we started our descent into Orlando, the same flight attendant came back on and sang our landing directions to the tune of "She'll Be Coming Around the Mountain." Then, another flight attendant came on and sang a farewell song to the tune of "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah." I wish I would have recorded them so I could remember the words. They were HILARIOUS! I love Southwest. :)

We finally landed at 9:30pm and headed to ME. Dylan stopped for some McDonalds in the food court on the way, lol. My mom bought me a Belle MagicBand for Christmas and I had called the day before to get it activated because it wasn't letting me do it myself. Well, it still wasn't working when I scanned it at the ME counter. :cautious: Fortunately, I had thrown my band for this trip in my carry on so scanned it for the time being.

Being that we landed close to 10pm, I wasn't sure about whether or not ME would get our luggage for us. The CM at the counter said we were fine and they would get it. It made me a little nervous, but we took her word for it.
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We boarded a boring Mears bus at 10:10 and pulled out a few minutes later. The welcome video was broken so we watched Brave instead. :(
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We arrived home at 10:45pm! :joyfull: This is the best I could do, lol.
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We went to the front desk to get my MagicBand fixed which only took a few minutes. I also never received my "room ready" text so had to figure out where we were staying. We were in the Hoops Hotel section! I took these pictures later in the week since it was dark when we arrived. :)
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I had requested a first floor room, thinking it would be nice to not have to walk up and down steps or ride the elevator. It ended up being pretty noisy with all the people walking by. We're both heavy sleepers and even more so because we were always exhausted at the end of the day, so it wasn't a huge deal. But I just thought it was worth mentioning for those of you who are light sleepers or have little ones!

We stopped in the food court for a snack and our mugs, as we were on the dining plan. We ate our snacks in our room and then hopped into bed!

I woke up at 3:30am and we still didn't have our luggage. There was a message on the phone that was left at 1am saying our luggage was there.. to call when we needed it and they would bring it to the room. I went back to sleep and called when we got up at 6:30am. I was on hold for 15 minutes and when they answered, was told luggage services didn't open until 7am. :cautious: Then why did you leave me a message saying to call when I wanted it delivered? Our luggage arrived a few minutes after 7am so it ended up being fine.

Next up, Magic Kingdom!!!! :joyfull:

7,183 steps
5.74 miles
 
Last edited:

blreinsel

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Sorry that I've been absent the last few days....life has gotten in the way :mad:! But I'm back and caught up now!

Hmm...OR you can tell both Dylan and Joe that you need to take a work trip in December and come celebrate Christmas in the World with me and we can have a celebratory drink or two to the both of you....just saying ;)

Meeeee too! Is there anything better?

Sorry that you didn't have a great Garden Grill experience. I've been hearing a lot more mixed reviews lately than I ever have. I hope it's just a "slump" and that it turns around quickly. Still not impressed that they don't offer the sweet potato fries anymore! We have plans to go for breakfast in December (haven't done breakfast before) so I'm hoping we have a good experience!

Do you just have a pedometer or do you have a fitbit? If you have a fitbit, we should add one another so we can have a bit of "healthy competition"!

Can't wait to hear more about your amazing trip - it's just getting better and better!

Life has a way of interrupting more important things- like Disney TR's! :p

I will gladly come have a celebratory drink with you in December (as long as it's not during AP blockout dates)! You just let me know when and where. ;) Joe won't suspect a thing if @prfctlyximprct has multiple business trips to Florida. :rolleyes:

I hope your Garden Grill breakfast is yummy! I really hope they're just in a slump too because it's such a fun meal for so many reasons! The food was top notch last year so fingers crossed that things go back uphill soon! I'm still bitter about the sweet potato fries, too. :cautious:

I just have a pedometer for now.. maybe once I start my "big girl job" I'll splurge on a Fitbit! I am curious how many steps I take a day during the school year and now I'll be adding weekly (daily) trips to the parks soooo.... :rolleyes:

So glad you kept an eye out for the gators!!! Ick, I am really afraid of them, and would never have left the cute Mickey golf cart:)
Must be Love:)

That's my biggest hangup with moving to Florida! I like to look at them from afar but they freak me out. :eek:
 

fractal

Well-Known Member
Friday, 6/9

Today is the day that @amjt660 has been waiting for! Rest/GOLF day! :p The alarm went off bright and early and I immediately questioned my decision to tag along with Dylan while he golfed. I am NOT a morning person unless my morning involves a Disney park... I was hating golf at that moment. ;)

BUT being the wonderful fiancé ( :inlove: ) that I am, I drug myself out of bed and got ready to go. We left the room at 7:15am and got a taxi to the Magnolia course at the Grand Floridian. If you're golfing at one of Disney's courses, you get free transportation from your resort. You just go to the transportation counter out front and they call for you.

We arrived at the course and were given a golf cart before being directed to the clubhouse to pay for his round. He bought a Donald ball marker while inside... I think Operation Convert Dylan Into a Disney Lover is working. :p His tee time wasn't until 8:33am, but he wanted to hit on the driving range and practice putting prior to his round.

He was paired up with a father-daughter duo from Mexico. They were extremely friendly and we enjoyed talking with them throughout the round! Another FYI... if you aren't golfing but want to ride in the cart like I did, it's $15 for you to do so.
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My man in action. :inlove:


We saw a TON of wildlife throughout the course of his round, including this guy. :eek: YIKES.
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Kind of hard to see, but there's a woodpecker sitting right where the two branches crisscross. He's black and white. :)
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Another gator. o_O
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Along with the gators, woodpecker, and various types of birds, we also saw squirrels, deer, and turkeys! The deer and turkeys in particular were not afraid of people, especially in comparison to how skittish they are in PA. Dylan walked right alongside them like it was totally normal. He got a really neat, up close picture of some turkeys on his phone. It was crazy!
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At least it was a beautiful day and FINALLY no rain! :joyfull:
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Dylan's got a nice swing!
 

DryerLintFan

Premium Member
Life has a way of interrupting more important things- like Disney TR's! :p

I will gladly come have a celebratory drink with you in December (as long as it's not during AP blockout dates)! You just let me know when and where. ;) Joe won't suspect a thing if @prfctlyximprct has multiple business trips to Florida. :rolleyes:

I hope your Garden Grill breakfast is yummy! I really hope they're just in a slump too because it's such a fun meal for so many reasons! The food was top notch last year so fingers crossed that things go back uphill soon! I'm still bitter about the sweet potato fries, too. :cautious:

I just have a pedometer for now.. maybe once I start my "big girl job" I'll splurge on a Fitbit! I am curious how many steps I take a day during the school year and now I'll be adding weekly (daily) trips to the parks soooo.... :rolleyes:



That's my biggest hangup with moving to Florida! I like to look at them from afar but they freak me out. :eek:

Definitely go for the fitbit!! The Flex 2.0 is only $60. I had a freebie pedometer as well but the fitbit is so much better. I feel like the step count information is more accurate (I sometimes watch the numbers while walking just to be sure) and it has other information that you can track on the app too (like sleep, and battery life, and your water intake) that I find helpful too.

When you get older like me and your body stops burning all the calories efficiently, you'll probably take advantage of the way it talks back and forth to MyFitnessPal too. But you have at least half a decade before you have to worry about that! :inlove:
 

blreinsel

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Dylan's got a nice swing!

Thank you! Hoping that takes him far now that he'll be able to golf year round. ;)

I know we are weird but we actually look for them LOL There is a gator that frequents the retention pond by our favorite Target store and we get concerned about him (or her o_O) when we don't see it.

They are interesting, that's for sure! Just don't like getting too close... especially with my sweet little pup who could very easily become a snack for one of those guys. o_O I'm an extremist lol.

Definitely go for the fitbit!! The Flex 2.0 is only $60. I had a freebie pedometer as well but the fitbit is so much better. I feel like the step count information is more accurate (I sometimes watch the numbers while walking just to be sure) and it has other information that you can track on the app too (like sleep, and battery life, and your water intake) that I find helpful too.

When you get older like me and your body stops burning all the calories efficiently, you'll probably take advantage of the way it talks back and forth to MyFitnessPal too. But you have at least half a decade before you have to worry about that! :inlove:

My metabolism has slowed down significantly over the last 2 years so it may not be that far off for me. :hilarious:
 
Have caught up on your trip report on the recommendation of my daughter. Congrats on everything! My son has already moved to Orlando and my daughter is planning a move after finishing her master's at Duquesne. We enjoy visiting her in Pittsburgh!
 

prfctlyximprct

Well-Known Member
Life has a way of interrupting more important things- like Disney TR's! :p

I will gladly come have a celebratory drink with you in December (as long as it's not during AP blockout dates)! You just let me know when and where. ;) Joe won't suspect a thing if @prfctlyximprct has multiple business trips to Florida. :rolleyes:

I hope your Garden Grill breakfast is yummy! I really hope they're just in a slump too because it's such a fun meal for so many reasons! The food was top notch last year so fingers crossed that things go back uphill soon! I'm still bitter about the sweet potato fries, too. :cautious:

I just have a pedometer for now.. maybe once I start my "big girl job" I'll splurge on a Fitbit! I am curious how many steps I take a day during the school year and now I'll be adding weekly (daily) trips to the parks soooo.... :rolleyes:



That's my biggest hangup with moving to Florida! I like to look at them from afar but they freak me out. :eek:

Oh Joe, suddenly my job is MAKING ME travel to Orlando. Oh the horror~ LOL :)

My company is actually based out of Sarasota so hey... it could happen! :)
 

Sarabell

Well-Known Member
Such a great TR! And it includes a wedding proposal, which makes it just magical! I´m soo jealous and happy for you. I´m going in September with my boyrfriend (Also a first timer) and He informed me that he didn´t want to know anything beforehand, he wants to be surprised byt it all, so I´m a lonely planner and it sucks. I´m hoping to turn him into a disney lover like me, so please cross your fingers that I accomplish my goal (A wedding proposal wouldn´t bother me either, but I don´t think that´s gonna happen). I´ve tried to conceal my obsession for disney a bit, so I don´t think he knows just what a big deal a Disney proposal would be for me :inlove:... I´ll just be happy if he decides he would like to go back. :D
 

blreinsel

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Have caught up on your trip report on the recommendation of my daughter. Congrats on everything! My son has already moved to Orlando and my daughter is planning a move after finishing her master's at Duquesne. We enjoy visiting her in Pittsburgh!

Which WDW Magic friend is your daughter?? :) Happy to have you along for the ride! I'm so excited for our move! It's coming up quick... Weekly trip reports coming soon. :p

Oh Joe, suddenly my job is MAKING ME travel to Orlando. Oh the horror~ LOL :)

My company is actually based out of Sarasota so hey... it could happen! :)

It's meant to be!!!! Joe can stop pretending he's not Disney obsessed like the rest of us... We all read about how much fun he had in November. :cool: He's not fooling any of us anymore!

Such a great TR! And it includes a wedding proposal, which makes it just magical! I´m soo jealous and happy for you. I´m going in September with my boyrfriend (Also a first timer) and He informed me that he didn´t want to know anything beforehand, he wants to be surprised byt it all, so I´m a lonely planner and it sucks. I´m hoping to turn him into a disney lover like me, so please cross your fingers that I accomplish my goal (A wedding proposal wouldn´t bother me either, but I don´t think that´s gonna happen). I´ve tried to conceal my obsession for disney a bit, so I don´t think he knows just what a big deal a Disney proposal would be for me :inlove:... I´ll just be happy if he decides he would like to go back. :D

Awwww how exciting! Dylan was the same way going into this trip... I asked him multiple times if he wanted to be involved in the planning or have a say in what we did, where we ate, etc. but he said he wanted to be surprised! He said I know the place like the back of my hand so he trusted his "personal Disney tour guide" to plan everything. :rolleyes:

It would be awesome for you to join the Disney Proposal Club! He might surprise you... I had no idea! I was totally convinced it wouldn't happen until after we moved. Fingers crossed for that and for him to want to go back many times in the future! :joyfull:
 

blreinsel

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Friday, 6/9 cont.

By the time we arrived at Disney Springs, we were both STARVING! I had my sights set on Blaze Pizza so that's where we headed!
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Since it was getting so late in the afternoon, we decided to share a "create your own" pizza so we weren't still full by the time we ate again at our dinner ADR. The ordering process here is fantastic... each part of your pizza (crust, sauce, cheese, toppings) is a different step in the "assembly line." Each worker adds their part of the pizza before sliding it on down the line for the next step (similar to Moe's or Subway). They were extremely friendly and each one called me by name. We were given a buzzer and were told that we could get our drinks and find a table. The whole process was extremely efficient and our buzzer was going off within 10 minutes. We were in and out within 30 minutes. I would HIGHLY recommend eating here... our pizza was delicious and was plenty for both of us!
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Say what you will about Disney Springs, but it sure is beautiful!
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We made stops in the Lego store and World of Disney to pick up some souvenirs. I took these to remind myself that I need to go buy all of this after the move.. Kind of hard to see but it's the Be Our Guest stuff. :rolleyes::inlove:
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I can FINALLY drool over this stuff with a purpose. It will be mine... all mine! :p
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Dylan was pretty impressed with all of the Lego creations in and around the store. :)
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We finished up our shopping and then had a VERY important stop to make. :hungry:
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blreinsel

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Friday, 6/9 cont.

I've read enough of @Doc Disney's reports to know what I was getting. :hungry: I had a Sea Salt Caramel sundae and Dylan had something with marshmallow in it that I'm not seeing on the menu now. We definitely could have shared one of these because we barely made a dent in them on our own, lol. But they were DELICIOUS and this won't be the last time we visit. :p

We listened to a guy at the table next to us complain and ask for a manager because he ordered a waffle cone but they gave him a regular cone. He was SO rude about it... he spoke to them in such a sarcastic, "I'm better than you" tone of voice and it made me want to scream. He insisted on getting the difference put back on his card since he didn't get his waffle cone. The price difference was.... $1. :cautious: Alright then.
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I found this shirt at one of the carts and thought it was perfect for Tink. :rolleyes: If you didn't know any better, you'd think our house was constantly under attack.
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This refurb turned out great! I'm not a seafood person but I would like to sit upstairs and have a drink or two. :)
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We slowly walked to the busses and headed back for a quick recharge in the room. We had an exciting evening ahead of us! :joyfull:
 

blreinsel

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Friday, 6/9 cont.

We got all cleaned up and left our room around 8pm to catch a bus to MK. Where might we be going? :joyfull:
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When we got in line for the bus, we were the only ones there. A huge charter bus (think ME) pulled up and a few people got off. The bus driver climbed off and welcomed us aboard... we ended up getting the entire bus to ourselves! He said that if nobody else wanted to go to MK then heck with them! :hilarious: It was a magical touch to our special fancy date night. :inlove: Our driver was very sweet and talked to us the entire way there, including giving us advice on safe places to live in the area.

We arrived at MK and transferred to the monorail, arriving at the Contemporary around 8:30pm. We checked in on the 2nd floor and then rode the elevator up to the 15th floor, being seated almost immediately. Have you figured out where we're going yet? :p

If you guessed Cali Grill, you are correct! :joyfull:
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I've been excited for this meal since I booked it for obvious reasons, but I was even more excited now that we had a true reason to celebrate with such a special dinner! :inlove: I was on Cloud 9!

Our server was George and he gave us suggestions for each part of our meal. We decided to have a glass of wine and I asked him for a sweet wine (I'm terrible with knowing what I like to drink), to which he responded that he knew just the one! He brought a bottle to the table and poured a little bit in my glass to taste. I didn't really like it much and when I told him that, he just looked at me and repeated that it was a very good, sweet wine. I looked at Dylan for help and he says, "It's fine, you'll get used to it." Well..... okay then. :hilarious: I did not get used to it. I struggled to drink it all, but that's the only bad thing I have to say about our meal. :rolleyes:

I was pretty certain that I wanted to order the Beef Filet and that was the dish that George recommended, confirming my decision! Dylan went with the same thing.
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My terrible wine. :rolleyes:
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I was a little disappointed that we were seated so far away from the window, but it was okay because we had a great view from the observation deck! It was almost 9pm after we placed our orders so we made our way outside for Happily Ever After! :D I'll include those pictures in the next post.
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But for now, let's focus on FOOD! :hungry::hungry::hungry: Yummy rolls with sea salt butter to get us started.
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The main event... OH. MY. WORD. Where has this been all my life!? Dylan took one bite and was literally speechless. He sat back in his seat and stared at me like :cyclops::jawdrop: There is no possible way to describe how amazingly delicious this meal was! We rave about it to everybody who will listen since we've been home. And that black truffle risotto? I don't even know what risotto is but I LOVE IT. I could honestly sit here and write for days about this meal... It is absolutely worth every single penny. If you haven't eaten here, DO IT on your next trip. :inlove:
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We were totally stuffed and thought maybe we should just share one dessert since there was no way we could manage by ourselves. Somehow we got talked into each ordering something though. :rolleyes:
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We had the Butterscotch Creme Brûlée (I also had no idea what this was but it was yummy :)).
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Our other choice was the Warm Valrohna Chocolate Cake... also delicious. :hungry: George said that he added the sprinkles to our desserts because we were celebrating our engagement. Strange, but thank you, lol.
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blreinsel

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Friday, 6/9 cont.

We had a perfect view of Happily Ever After and I was excited to watch it for a second time! :)
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It was interesting to see the show from a different perspective. You don't realize just how far away some of the fireworks are being put off when you're standing on Main Street!
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My thoughts on Happily Ever After the second time... I LOVED IT! I think that being so far away and not being distracted by the castle projections helped me to focus more on the fireworks and the music. I was able to follow the storyline a lot better. @samantha788 - you were SO right about this! :)

This show will forever be special to me. I saw it for the very first time just hours after getting engaged to my very own Prince Charming. He's the only person I've seen it with, making it that much more special. I kept myself under control, but there were definitely tears threatening to escape. ;)

My pictures are out of time order, but our meals arrived to the table shortly after we came back inside from watching the show. This was the most perfect meal I could have ever asked for in so many ways. I get so happy every time I look at this picture... a moment captured in time. :) This man is my fiancé... I still can't believe that this is real life. :inlove:
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We walked back out onto the deck after finishing up for one last look before leaving the restaurant.
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We boarded the monorail back to MK and caught a bus back to the resort. It took us a full hour to finally make it home, and I'm sure there was probably an easier way to do it, but I applaud the transportation team at MK for their efficiency in getting everybody in line for the All Star resorts loaded and on their way quickly. We caught a glimpse of the water pageant on our way. :)
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Looking back after being home for a week now, this was my favorite day of the trip. We both got to do what we love with the person we love along for the ride. Our meal was perfect, the weather was perfect, the entire evening was perfect. More than I ever could have imagined. :inlove:

6,433 steps
5.14 miles
 

LisaBelle

Well-Known Member
I'm so happy that you loved California Grill! That steak is truly scrumptious! I love creme brûlée! You had a different flavor than what I had on our last visit but it sounds delicious!
Glad that you had good weather and were able to go out on the observation deck to watch the fireworks. I am happy to hear that Happily Ever After is growing on you. That means there's hope for me to like it as well!
 

blreinsel

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I'm so happy that you loved California Grill! That steak is truly scrumptious! I love creme brûlée! You had a different flavor than what I had on our last visit but it sounds delicious!
Glad that you had good weather and were able to go out on the observation deck to watch the fireworks. I am happy to hear that Happily Ever After is growing on you. That means there's hope for me to like it as well!

That meal was like 10 stars!!! Lol. I'm starving from writing about it. :hilarious: I think you'll love Happily Ever After... it just takes a little while to get over the heartbreak of it not being Wishes. ;) It really is a well done show so I think with time it'll earn the same reputation as Wishes had! :)

Reading how you talk about Dylan makes my heart melt :inlove: I'm a sucker for love!! Hopeless romantic hello!!

Loving your report - all the food pics are making me absolutely starving :hungry:

Lol! I try to keep my sappiness under wraps but sometimes I just can't help it... he's pretty great. :inlove:

My stomach is growling- seriously! If I had a private jet I would soooooo be at Cali Grill right now. I suppose I'd also need a private chef seeing as it's a little late for them to be cooking me steak. :rolleyes:
 

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