Trip Report Meet the Floridians

Songbird76 · Jan 20, 2018

blgauger said:
To be fair, I'm past 12 and have a similar reaction to princesses.

Me too, but I'm talking the age where the girl wants to wear a princess dress every day, and still believes the princesses are real! My daughter is 11 and as much as she loves her some princessage, she's not insisting on wearing a ball gown every day.

Doc Disney · Jan 22, 2018

blgauger said:
Ugh YESSSSS. I try so hard to not be annoyed by the conversations that I overhear, but people make it nearly impossible lol.

ditto....

Heatherbell · Jan 27, 2018

blgauger said:
As we sat and waited, we experienced a very sad Disney moment. A mom kept sending her daughter (probably 7 or 8) out into the street and telling her to pose certain ways.. that part is normal. However, posing her and then saying "smile for the picture so mommy can post it on Facebook!" is not normal. Nor is telling your child that you'll buy her a toy if she stands and gets her picture taken.. especially when said child didn't argue about the picture at all. The most disturbing part of it all? There was a son (3 or 4) who was trying DESPERATELY to get mom to include him in the pictures. She refused. We watched them throughout the parade and little boy received no attention whatsoever. At one point, he was standing back against the store with people passing between him and mom to the extent of her not being able to see him. That would assume that she was trying to see him, but I digress. It was sad.. really sad. Dad did give him some attention when he rejoined them, but mom acted like she couldn't care less about the poor thing.

First off...let me tell you, I am OBSESSED with your ongoing trip report and I am super appreciative of you documenting all of this. It takes a lot of time to write these reports and I am living vicariously through you!
Devil's advocate here....I have two kiddos....one extremely photogenic and the other one would rather chew her arm off then be photographed. I am totally guilty of bribing said child to get a good photo. I could care less about Facebook but I have on occasion bribed my child for a decent photo. I have caught myself many times speaking to my daughter (through clenched teeth) promising her a treat if she smiles for a photo while telling my other child to get the hell out of the photo lol. Is it stellar parenting? Probably not....however this is something you don't ever understand until you are a mother. You spend thousands of dollars on a vacation for your kids...you want to be able to document these moments. Some day when I am gone they won't remember those vacations but they will have the photos as a memory. The one thing I have learned through being an adult and having kids is that you cannot judge until you have actually lived it. I am not saying that mother had good intentions however you may have caught her when she was on her last strand of patience lol

blreinsel · Jan 28, 2018

Heatherbell said:
First off...let me tell you, I am OBSESSED with your ongoing trip report and I am super appreciative of you documenting all of this. It takes a lot of time to write these reports and I am living vicariously through you!
Devil's advocate here....I have two kiddos....one extremely photogenic and the other one would rather chew her arm off then be photographed. I am totally guilty of bribing said child to get a good photo. I could care less about Facebook but I have on occasion bribed my child for a decent photo. I have caught myself many times speaking to my daughter (through clenched teeth) promising her a treat if she smiles for a photo while telling my other child to get the hell out of the photo lol. Is it stellar parenting? Probably not....however this is something you don't ever understand until you are a mother. You spend thousands of dollars on a vacation for your kids...you want to be able to document these moments. Some day when I am gone they won't remember those vacations but they will have the photos as a memory. The one thing I have learned through being an adult and having kids is that you cannot judge until you have actually lived it. I am not saying that mother had good intentions however you may have caught her when she was on her last strand of patience lol

Thanks for following! I love sharing my adventures and it's a great way to document our Disney memories to read for years to come.

I hope that I caught the mom at a bad time, but her treatment of the boy in general leads me to believe otherwise. Being a teacher, I know all about bribing to get desired behaviors - lol - so I don't judge in that regard. I've always been a ham for the camera, but even so I still appreciate my mom's endless picture taking now that I'm an adult.

Billy6 · Jan 28, 2018

Hey Yo! Digging the perpetual trip report! Me and the fam are headed down next week for some fun with the Mouse! If you're in the parks, I'll be in a buffet line waiting for you!!! LOL....

Heatherbell · Jan 28, 2018

blgauger said:
Thanks for following! I love sharing my adventures and it's a great way to document our Disney memories to read for years to come. I hope that I caught the mom at a bad time, but her treatment of the boy in general leads me to believe otherwise. Being a teacher, I know all about bribing to get desired behaviors - lol - so I don't judge in that regard. I've always been a ham for the camera, but even so I still appreciate my mom's endless picture taking now that I'm an adult.

God bless you for being a teacher

. Literally one of the hardest jobs in the world. I volunteer in my kids' class every now and again and I have so much respect for the people educating todays youth. It isn't easy. Off topic but if you havent seen it you should youtube "Target mom back to school". It's hilarious.

blreinsel · Jan 28, 2018

Billy6 said:
Hey Yo! Digging the perpetual trip report! Me and the fam are headed down next week for some fun with the Mouse! If you're in the parks, I'll be in a buffet line waiting for you!!! LOL....

Hey stranger! I wondered where you've been! Funny you should mention that... I'll be at Chef Mickey's on Thursday for lunch. :hilarious:

Looks like I'll have to guard my plate. :cautious:

Heatherbell said:
God bless you for being a teacher . Literally one of the hardest jobs in the world. I volunteer in my kids' class every now and again and I have so much respect for the people educating todays youth. It isn't easy. Off topic but if you havent seen it you should youtube "Target mom back to school". It's hilarious.

Lol! I love my job but it's definitely not easy! That video was HYSTERICAL! :hilarious:

Thanks for sharing! Maybe next year I'll put a microwave on my supply list.

Heatherbell · Jan 28, 2018

blgauger said:
Hey stranger! I wondered where you've been! Funny you should mention that... I'll be at Chef Mickey's on Thursday for lunch. Looks like I'll have to guard my plate.

Lol! I love my job but it's definitely not easy! That video was HYSTERICAL! Thanks for sharing! Maybe next year I'll put a microwave on my supply list.

I literally died when I saw that video. She said; "They aren't even allowed to hit your kids". Hilarious.

Billy6 · Jan 28, 2018

blgauger said:
Hey stranger! I wondered where you've been! Funny you should mention that... I'll be at Chef Mickey's on Thursday for lunch. Looks like I'll have to guard my plate.

You better! I've been busy at work and checking out the site here and there! We are coming down on the 5th of February, staying til Sunday. I'll give you the plan if you are headed there that week!

blreinsel · Feb 11, 2018

Heatherbell said:
I literally died when I saw that video. She said; "They aren't even allowed to hit your kids". Hilarious.

She's a riot! Lol

blreinsel · Feb 25, 2018

Saturday, January 20

Most of you have probably already read about this meet up in @sheriffwoody and @Doc Disney's reports, but I've been slacking at keeping up with my TR so am just now getting around to writing about it.

I'm not even sure whose idea this dinner was... I think it was @sheriffwoody's. But we all agreed to a character meal at 1900 Park Fare and I was super excited to get to spend more time with my "Disney friends" than basically just a quick hi/bye like we'd managed in the past.

Traffic was HORRENDOUS on the way to WDW property and I passed multiple accidents, which I'm sure were the reason for all the traffic. I was running behind because of this but managed to pull into the Contemporary about 5 minutes before our reservation time. Those of you who are observant will notice that I said Contemporary and not Grand Floridian.

So I pull in and the security guard asks where I'm headed, to which I responded that I had an ADR at Chef Mickey's. He started looking for my name in the system and told me that he wasn't seeing a reservation under mine, Megan, or Kristi's last name. I texted Megan to ask who had made the reservation and to confirm that we were eating at Chef Mickey's. She of course set me straight and informed me that our ADR was at 1900 Park Fare.. I was mortified at that point and felt like a total tourist. :hilarious:

I swore to the guard that I wasn't a ding dong and pulled away, now racing to get to the GF as quickly as possible. I have no idea how I got so mixed up and had even put the correct restaurant in my phone when we made the reservation. The struggle is real, folks.

Anyway, I arrived at the GF and they let me through the gates without checking to see if I actually had an ADR. Typically this is how it goes, so I was a little surprised by the Contemporary guard actually looking to see if I was telling the truth. I guess people probably try to park there and walk to MK more often than the other monorail resorts so they have to be tough. I speed walked to the main building and was intercepted by the group in the lobby. The buzzer had just gone off so my lateness turned into perfect timing.

As they've both mentioned, the checkin area was a mad house. This was not my experience the last time I had dined here, so I was a little concerned. However, our quiet table in the back was perfect for Disney-obsessed conversation with occasional visits from characters. :joyfull:

I'll start with the food.

I have the palette of a 6 year old... I guess when you hangout with them all day long you eventually turn into them.

I am not ashamed. Everything on my plate was delicious!

On the first trip to the buffet, we couldn't find the strawberry soup anywhere.

I was DEVASTATED because this was the highlight of the meal for me last time. I was worried that they had taken it off of the menu, even though it had been there when I looked not long before. I cleaned my first plate and headed back for more food.. to my absolute delight I noticed a drink container (like the ones they sit out with free water in the parks) full of something pink. I crossed my fingers and toes as I approached and HALLELUJAH STRAWBERRY SOUP! :hungry:

It came out super slow so I felt awkward as I stood there attempting to fill my bowl, but sorry not sorry. :angelic:

I more or less licked my bowl clean (not really, I do have table manners

) and went back for more, as well as a few desserts. Megan suggested putting gummy bears in my soup, so I dumped some in. As it turns out, you don't need nearly as many bears as I took, but it was delicious nonetheless. :hilarious:

The characters came around as we ate and as expected, the stepsisters were the highlight of the meal. :joyfull:

Charming was a dud, but that's been my experience with male face characters (with the exception of Gaston). At least he was nice to look at. :angelic:

Cinderella was up next. She was fine.. I think we talked about being out for a ball without our princes or something to that effect.

The fun really started when the evil stepmother arrived. :joyfull:

She wanted to know how many castles everybody had and was looking for suitors for her daughters. She was really good, but also super intimidating. :hilarious:

blreinsel · Feb 25, 2018

Saturday, January 20 cont.

Drizella was next and I couldn't help but feel judged immediately after she arrived at our table. :hilarious:

That's how you know it's going to be a good interaction. She asked us if we had princes and where we had found them. I told her that I had found mine on Facebook (which is easier than the real story of how Dylan and I got together), and she asked what that was. A book of faces? :hilarious:

I was caught off guard at first... they are SO quick with their responses!

She then asked if any of our princes had brothers, and I told her that Dylan did but he's only 10. She told me that she's willing to wait for him. :hilarious:

She was AMAZING! One of the best face character interactions I've had in awhile.

Anastasia came by shortly after and was even better than Drizella. She was ON POINT in every way. I told her that Drizella had claimed Dylan's little brother and asked if she wanted to fight her for him. I can't remember exactly what she said, but she started to make fun of Prince Charming and Cinderella. I pointed out that she had gone to the ball in an attempt to win Charming's heart, and she argued that she had only done that in an attempt to become royalty. :hilarious:

As she walked away she asked if we wanted to hear a joke, to which we of course said yes! I'm drawing a blank on the first joke that she told (@sheriffwoody @Doc Disney ??). As a follow up to that joke she asked if we wanted to hear another...

Anastasia: Want to hear another joke?
Us: Yes!
Anastasia: Prince Charming.

Mic drop and walked away. :hilarious:

We were dying!

The girls also mentioned our new friend who was on a birthday trip by herself to escape her teenage son.

We really enjoyed talking to her throughout the meal and she was so sweet to take all of our pictures for us. She told us that she had been starting to feel down and lonely, missing her husband and son, when she arrived for this meal. She said that just as she had started to feel sorry for herself, we showed up and turned her night around! :joyfull:

We took a selfie before she left.

We settled our bill shortly after and headed out as well. We stopped for our PhotoPass picture first.

blreinsel · Feb 25, 2018

Saturday, January 20 cont.

We headed upstairs to catch the monorail and soon arrived at MK. We had plans to meet @prfctlyximprct at the Indian on Main Street, and those of you who know Nicole should not be surprised by her choice of meeting spot.

She and her friend arrived just a few minutes before HEA started and we chatted about everybody's trips so far. We also made sure to snap a picture to document this monumental WDW Magic meet up!

We watched HEA together and I got weepy as usual. :angelic:

We chatted for a few more minutes after the show to let the crowds disperse a bit and then parted ways. I walked to Pirates with @sheriffwoody and @Doc Disney and then got in the standby with L and Kristi, saying goodbye to Megan and Mary so they could use their FP+. Orange Bird FTW! :joyfull:

We then headed to Tomorrowland for a ride on the People Mover. Those of you who follow @sheriffwoody on Instagram got a real treat of us on her story as we rode.

I'm still bummed that we apparently JUST missed @becca_ as we exited the ride.

Perhaps when you're back in few weeks.

@sheriffwoody and L had a FP+ for Buzz so I decided to head out. Disney friends really are the best friends and I'm so grateful for this forum for bringing us all together! I look forward to many more Magic meet ups in the future! :inlove:

Songbird76 · Feb 25, 2018

blgauger said:
Saturday, January 20 cont.

Drizella was next and I couldn't help but feel judged immediately after she arrived at our table. That's how you know it's going to be a good interaction. She asked us if we had princes and where we had found them. I told her that I had found mine on Facebook (which is easier than the real story of how Dylan and I got together), and she asked what that was. A book of faces? I was caught off guard at first... they are SO quick with their responses!
View attachment 266627

She then asked if any of our princes had brothers, and I told her that Dylan did but he's only 10. She told me that she's willing to wait for him.
View attachment 266626

She was AMAZING! One of the best face character interactions I've had in awhile.
View attachment 266628

Anastasia came by shortly after and was even better than Drizella. She was ON POINT in every way. I told her that Drizella had claimed Dylan's little brother and asked if she wanted to fight her for him. I can't remember exactly what she said, but she started to make fun of Prince Charming and Cinderella. I pointed out that she had gone to the ball in an attempt to win Charming's heart, and she argued that she had only done that in an attempt to become royalty.
View attachment 266629

View attachment 266630

As she walked away she asked if we wanted to hear a joke, to which we of course said yes! I'm drawing a blank on the first joke that she told (@sheriffwoody @Doc Disney ??). As a follow up to that joke she asked if we wanted to hear another...

Anastasia: Want to hear another joke?
Us: Yes!
Anastasia: Prince Charming.

Mic drop and walked away. We were dying!
View attachment 266631

The girls also mentioned our new friend who was on a birthday trip by herself to escape her teenage son. We really enjoyed talking to her throughout the meal and she was so sweet to take all of our pictures for us. She told us that she had been starting to feel down and lonely, missing her husband and son, when she arrived for this meal. She said that just as she had started to feel sorry for herself, we showed up and turned her night around! We took a selfie before she left.
View attachment 266648

We settled our bill shortly after and headed out as well. We stopped for our PhotoPass picture first.
View attachment 266646

View attachment 266647

How DID you and Dylan meet? I'm guessing a lot of people already know this story, but I don't think I have heard it.
We LOVED our dinner at 1900 Park Fare....so great. The stepmother asked if my son was married. All of them were great. Our Prince Charming was actually kind of fun...he photobombed I think it was Drisella. So much fun. I want to go back and do that one again.

blreinsel · Feb 25, 2018

Songbird76 said:
How DID you and Dylan meet? I'm guessing a lot of people already know this story, but I don't think I have heard it.
We LOVED our dinner at 1900 Park Fare....so great. The stepmother asked if my son was married. All of them were great. Our Prince Charming was actually kind of fun...he photobombed I think it was Drisella. So much fun. I want to go back and do that one again.

1900 Park Fare is one of my favorite character meals! I highly recommend it!

Dylan and I went to elementary and high school at schools 20 minutes away from each other, so we've always kind of known each other. When we were in 9th grade, we messaged back and forth on Myspace and made plans to hangout at the playoff basketball games held at our local university. I showed up, he did not. :cautious:

So our short lived love affair ended immediately! We went to the same college and crossed paths many times. He worked at a sandwich shop in town and made my lunch a few times, and I worked in the campus bookstore and waited on him more than once.

We were both in long-term relationships at the time, but reconnected on Facebook shortly after both of our relationships ended. It was perfect timing for both of us and the rest is history. :inlove:

Songbird76 · Feb 25, 2018

blgauger said:
1900 Park Fare is one of my favorite character meals! I highly recommend it!

Dylan and I went to elementary and high school at schools 20 minutes away from each other, so we've always kind of known each other. When we were in 9th grade, we messaged back and forth on Myspace and made plans to hangout at the playoff basketball games held at our local university. I showed up, he did not. So our short lived love affair ended immediately! We went to the same college and crossed paths many times. He worked at a sandwich shop in town and made my lunch a few times, and I worked in the campus bookstore and waited on him more than once. We were both in long-term relationships at the time, but reconnected on Facebook shortly after both of our relationships ended. It was perfect timing for both of us and the rest is history.

Awww...did you ever ask him why he didn't show up to the playoff games? How could he stand you up??

becca_ · Feb 25, 2018

I promise if I see you in March or May I will scream at you :hilarious:

Doc Disney · Feb 25, 2018

blgauger said:
As she walked away she asked if we wanted to hear a joke, to which we of course said yes! I'm drawing a blank on the first joke that she told (@sheriffwoody @Doc Disney ??)

I can't either - I filmed it but I can't hear what she is saying :joyfull:

sheriffwoody · Feb 25, 2018

It was soooo much fun! I was so impressed with 1900 Park Fare...definitely need to do that again.

blreinsel · Feb 25, 2018

Songbird76 said:
Awww...did you ever ask him why he didn't show up to the playoff games? How could he stand you up??

He has no recollection of any of it.

He tells me that I wouldn't have liked "teenage Dylan" anyway and that he probably would have done something to screw it up. :inlove:

becca_ said:
I promise if I see you in March or May I will scream at you

YES!

Doc Disney said:
I can't either - I filmed it but I can't hear what she is saying

I can't believe I forgot! It was soooo funny!

sheriffwoody said:
It was soooo much fun! I was so impressed with 1900 Park Fare...definitely need to do that again.

Agreed!

Trip Report Meet the Floridians

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