One thing that never ceases to amaze me about flying is how people still cannot grasp the concept of an assigned seat. How many times have you been on a plane only to hear the inquiry, “Excuse me, do you have 8C?” Passenger 1 is clearly confused. He has 8C. How can passenger 2 have 8C. Something is wrong. Someone is on the wrong plane? Is it me!?! (This actually happened to me once. I boarded and arrived at my seat only to find someone else sitting there. When we compared boarding passes it turns out he was headed to Calgary while I was headed to St. John’s. It’s a long way from Toronto to Calgary headed east. He bolted from the plane and I took my seat.)
But back to today’s flight. Passenger 2 is in the wrong seat. Perhaps she boarded early and, when faced with a sea of empty seats, was simply too overwhelmed to figure out which one belonged to her. I’ll just take this one…it looks comfy. So now we have a line stretching up the aisle as people wait to move past row 8 and on to their seats while passenger 2 fumbles to find the boarding pass that she has managed to lose in the past 2 minutes and 10 seconds since she sat down.
The flight attendant announces, “Please move into the row while you stow your baggage so other people can pass.” But poor Passenger 1 has no row to move into. I feel bad for the guy, I do. He could just take 8D, it is empty, but then we’d start a ripple effect. Thank God some people have morals.
Eventually Passenger 2 locates her boarding pass and triumphantly holds it high, “I’m in 7C!” The guy just stares at her…yes, we realize you are ignorant of the ways of an aircraft, but please tell me you can read simple numbers.
“This is 8C,” he points out, gesturing to the number right above her head.
“Oh…well where is 7C?”
…
She stands and everyone does the backwards shuffle to make room for her to move forward one row to 7C. It takes 3 trips for her to collect her carry-on bag, purse, coffee, iPod and headphones that she has already plugged into the TV jack. Finally she flops into her seat and the guy tries to shove his carry-on into an already crowded overhead bin and drops into 8C.
Finally order is restored to the aircraft and the passengers waiting in the aisle begin the forward shuffle to find their seats. Disaster averted, we can proceed to Toronto.
I’m in 6A, so I glance behind me to see passenger 2 checking her boarding pass again and then silently counting the rows ahead of her. It’s alright, I want to say, the people that made the aircraft can’t count either. This side of the plane starts at row 2. It’s a wonder anyone found their seat at all.
Sherry Myles is a Travel Consultant with MagicalTrips.ca ~ TPI (www.MagicalTrips.ca). She enjoys flying, and rules, and wishes the two could coexist happily. She lives with her family in YYT.
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Disney Restaurant: Akershus Royal Banquet Hall
Akershus Royal Banquet Hall, part of the Norway Pavilion within the EPCOT World Showcase, provides a Disney Princess Storybook Dining experience in a medieval castle-themed restaurant. Akershus Royal Banquet Hall showcases American cuisine for breakfast and authentic Norwegian cuisine for lunch and dinner.
This restaurant is the only one we have returned to on every trip to Disney World. It is by far our favorite restaurant to meet and interact with the princesses (for breakfast) and we love (love!) the breakfast food offered here (cheesey potatos!).
Princess Storybook Breakfast is the meal we always reserve here. First you meet Princess Belle out front for a photo and autograph session. An 8x10 and four 4x6 photos in a decorative frame are included with your meal, and will be delivered to your table while you dine. A variety of princesses visit your table to take pictures and sign autographs, including Snow White, Cinderella, Princess Aurora (Sleeping Beauty), Ariel (the list is subject to change, and we have also seen Mary Poppins in place of Cinderella here).
The food consists of a traditional Norwegian cheese and fish buffet, with fruit and pastries for a more American feel. A hot family-style platter is delivered to your table with scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage and a cheese-potato caserole. This is our favorite dish in all of Disney World. We always ask for seconds...of just the potatos!
Like most character meals, the princesses lead the kids on a procession throughout the restaurant. Kids love it and it is a great way to meet the princesses while enjoying your coffee.
Princess Storybook Breakfast is the meal we always reserve here. First you meet Princess Belle out front for a photo and autograph session. An 8x10 and four 4x6 photos in a decorative frame are included with your meal, and will be delivered to your table while you dine. A variety of princesses visit your table to take pictures and sign autographs, including Snow White, Cinderella, Princess Aurora (Sleeping Beauty), Ariel (the list is subject to change, and we have also seen Mary Poppins in place of Cinderella here).
The food consists of a traditional Norwegian cheese and fish buffet, with fruit and pastries for a more American feel. A hot family-style platter is delivered to your table with scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage and a cheese-potato caserole. This is our favorite dish in all of Disney World. We always ask for seconds...of just the potatos!
Like most character meals, the princesses lead the kids on a procession throughout the restaurant. Kids love it and it is a great way to meet the princesses while enjoying your coffee.
Disney Restaurant: Biergarten Restaurant at EPCOT
Biergarten Restaurant, in the heart of the Bavarian Village in the Germany Pavilion at Epcot theme park, celebrates Oktoberfest all year long. Authentic German cuisine is served for lunch and dinner buffets.
We ate at this restaurant in Oct 2010 on our first night in Disney. It was a beautifully recreated German village inside the restaurant, making you feel as if you were sitting outside in a courtyard watching performers on a community stage. Seating was at long communal tables - we were seated with a family of 6, so most tables could accommodate 10 guests. Immediately upon being seated our server was there to take our drink order (Beer!) and invite us to the buffet.
The buffet...wow! Sausage, sausage and more sausage...and sausage salad! There was actually a nice variety of flavors offered here and some interesting salad choices - cucumber salad anyone? There was a delicious cheddar-beer soup and some staple kid offerings (nuggets, mac 'n cheese) for picky eaters.
The entertainment was on a stage down in the center of the building. The performers were enthusiastic and invited kids young and old to dance in front of the band. A variety of musical performances from traditional long German horns to bell ringing rounded out the entertainment.
Also...how could I forget the Bird Dance!? My daughter and I danced and swirled to this song, capturing a few nice pictures in the process. It was a lot of fun, and a lively way to kick off our first night in Disney World.
We ate at this restaurant in Oct 2010 on our first night in Disney. It was a beautifully recreated German village inside the restaurant, making you feel as if you were sitting outside in a courtyard watching performers on a community stage. Seating was at long communal tables - we were seated with a family of 6, so most tables could accommodate 10 guests. Immediately upon being seated our server was there to take our drink order (Beer!) and invite us to the buffet.
The buffet...wow! Sausage, sausage and more sausage...and sausage salad! There was actually a nice variety of flavors offered here and some interesting salad choices - cucumber salad anyone? There was a delicious cheddar-beer soup and some staple kid offerings (nuggets, mac 'n cheese) for picky eaters.
The entertainment was on a stage down in the center of the building. The performers were enthusiastic and invited kids young and old to dance in front of the band. A variety of musical performances from traditional long German horns to bell ringing rounded out the entertainment.
Also...how could I forget the Bird Dance!? My daughter and I danced and swirled to this song, capturing a few nice pictures in the process. It was a lot of fun, and a lively way to kick off our first night in Disney World.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Disney Halloween Trip, Day 8
We skipped a breakfast reservation again today in favor of a later start. By the end of the trip, I am feeling tired from all of the vacationing! We had no plans aside from a dinner reservation, and Casey wanted to go to Hollywood Studios so off we went!. We got a FastPass for the Toy Story Mania ride as soon as we arrived at 9:30 - our return time was 1:30 PM so you really have to grab these Fast Passes right away. They were all gone within the first hour of the park opening.
We saw Playhouse Disney Live on Stage and then hung around the area waiting for the different characters to come out for autographs. We saw the Little Einsteins and Handy Manny, and were able to snack on some treats from the Starring Rolls Bakery while we were waiting. All-in-all one of the more enjoyable light breakfasts we had during our trip.
There is a Broadway-style show of Beauty & the Beast that I had always wanted to see and it didn't disappoint. Then I got talked in to riding Tower of Terror - I was so scared! The ride takes you through a haunted hotel in an elevator car, and then DROPS you suddenly, and over and over, from great heights. When the doors open, you can see across the whole park - terrifying! But it was fun, I will admit. Just not something I was ready to rush onto right away again!
We saw a few new characters in Hollywood Studios that I hadn't seen before - Mike Wazowski from Monsters, Inc., and Mr. & Mrs. Incredible. We also saw Lotso from Toy Story - very cute! We let Casey play in the Honey I Shrunk the Kids playground area. It is very safe for her age (5 years old) with only one entrance/exit so she cannot escape while we watch her play.
Hollywood Studios offers a great afternoon parade as well. The floats drive up Hollywood Blvd and stop to let the characters get off and interact with the kids. Then it moves onto the next street and performs the show all over again. If it gets too crowded along Hollywood Blvd, definitely take the time to grab an ice cream or cold drink and wait for the second showing - you'll appreciate the break!
We headed out of the park and took a bus to the Wilderness Lodge for our dinner reservation and Whispering Canyon Cafe. This beautiful lodge is crafted entirely of wood, with soaring views inside the main lobby to balconies above. It is a unique resort with a very rustic feel, yet it is a deluxe properties with all of the included amenities. Whispering Canyon Cafe was a riot to eat at. More about that in my restaurant section, but this is a do not miss for anyone with a great sense of humor.
It was late, but we opted to head to Downtown Disney to shop a bit. We really didn't do much except walk around and enjoy the evening, before taking the water taxi back to our resort. Such a beautiful ride along the Sasagoula River up to our resort. It is definitely something I would repeat in the daytime next time, although the views of Downtown Disney at night were stunning.
We saw Playhouse Disney Live on Stage and then hung around the area waiting for the different characters to come out for autographs. We saw the Little Einsteins and Handy Manny, and were able to snack on some treats from the Starring Rolls Bakery while we were waiting. All-in-all one of the more enjoyable light breakfasts we had during our trip.
There is a Broadway-style show of Beauty & the Beast that I had always wanted to see and it didn't disappoint. Then I got talked in to riding Tower of Terror - I was so scared! The ride takes you through a haunted hotel in an elevator car, and then DROPS you suddenly, and over and over, from great heights. When the doors open, you can see across the whole park - terrifying! But it was fun, I will admit. Just not something I was ready to rush onto right away again!
We saw a few new characters in Hollywood Studios that I hadn't seen before - Mike Wazowski from Monsters, Inc., and Mr. & Mrs. Incredible. We also saw Lotso from Toy Story - very cute! We let Casey play in the Honey I Shrunk the Kids playground area. It is very safe for her age (5 years old) with only one entrance/exit so she cannot escape while we watch her play.
Hollywood Studios offers a great afternoon parade as well. The floats drive up Hollywood Blvd and stop to let the characters get off and interact with the kids. Then it moves onto the next street and performs the show all over again. If it gets too crowded along Hollywood Blvd, definitely take the time to grab an ice cream or cold drink and wait for the second showing - you'll appreciate the break!
We headed out of the park and took a bus to the Wilderness Lodge for our dinner reservation and Whispering Canyon Cafe. This beautiful lodge is crafted entirely of wood, with soaring views inside the main lobby to balconies above. It is a unique resort with a very rustic feel, yet it is a deluxe properties with all of the included amenities. Whispering Canyon Cafe was a riot to eat at. More about that in my restaurant section, but this is a do not miss for anyone with a great sense of humor.
It was late, but we opted to head to Downtown Disney to shop a bit. We really didn't do much except walk around and enjoy the evening, before taking the water taxi back to our resort. Such a beautiful ride along the Sasagoula River up to our resort. It is definitely something I would repeat in the daytime next time, although the views of Downtown Disney at night were stunning.
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Disney Halloween Trip, Day 7
We wanted a late start today, so we skipped a breakfast reservation in favor of sleeping in a little. We had breakfast at our hotel and then headed to EPCOT. It was already crowded at 10:30, but we were headed for the World Showcase shortly where crowds are generally lighter. We did grab a Fast Pass for Test Track and do The Seas with Nemo & Friends ride. Then we headed up towards Norway to do the Maelstrom ride again. We stopped in China to enjoy some of the EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival treats. We sampled BBQ Pork Rolls and Mango Iced Tea. I really loved the different offerings the festival allowed us to try - but I was disappointed I couldn't try more! I think an adults-only vacation would pair well with this event. Kids want to keep going to the next attraction, but I would have enjoyed sampling the different foods and walking slowly to the next country. Oh well - one day Casey won't want to travel with us anymore and I'll be sad about that!
We waited in China to see Mulan. We had never seen her before, and she was extra sweet to Casey, calling her "Little One." I was charmed :) We stopped by the Singapore food stand and sampled the Singapore Noodles, Shrimp Cake and a Singapore Sling - yum! We also stopped in Japan and bought a pearl for Casey. For $17, you get to select an oyster from a tank, and have it opened to see if you get a pearl. Casey lucked out by getting an extra-large pearl in her oyster. There is a great ceremony involved as they present the pearl to you - I would recommend this to anyone! You can have the pearl set in a jewelry setting as well, but Casey just wanted to keep hers as it was.
We had reservations in France at Chefs de France for a late lunch. Remy from Ratatouille makes an appearance at every table - really cute how he can interact with you!
Not sure what the trick is here, but Disney magic is hard at work making this a special experience for the kids. The food here was delicious - cheese, cheese, and more cheese. But we ate almost everything!
We headed towards Canada and bought a Moosehead beer - had to try something from back home! We ended up back at Test Track to use our Fast Passes from that morning. Good thing we grabbed them earlier because the line up was over an hour long.
After, we went back to our resort to start packing for home, then spent time in the pool and walked around to see more of our beautiful resort. Port Orleans French Quarter is adjacent to Port Orleans Riverside, so we walked up to the Riverside section to look around. It was getting late, but the walk along the water was beautiful. The water taxi passed us bringing passengers from Port Orleans Riverside, down to French Quarter, other resorts, and on to Downtown Disney. We definitely wanted to try that - tomorrow is our last full day so we will have to try and fit it in!
We waited in China to see Mulan. We had never seen her before, and she was extra sweet to Casey, calling her "Little One." I was charmed :) We stopped by the Singapore food stand and sampled the Singapore Noodles, Shrimp Cake and a Singapore Sling - yum! We also stopped in Japan and bought a pearl for Casey. For $17, you get to select an oyster from a tank, and have it opened to see if you get a pearl. Casey lucked out by getting an extra-large pearl in her oyster. There is a great ceremony involved as they present the pearl to you - I would recommend this to anyone! You can have the pearl set in a jewelry setting as well, but Casey just wanted to keep hers as it was.
We had reservations in France at Chefs de France for a late lunch. Remy from Ratatouille makes an appearance at every table - really cute how he can interact with you!
Not sure what the trick is here, but Disney magic is hard at work making this a special experience for the kids. The food here was delicious - cheese, cheese, and more cheese. But we ate almost everything! We headed towards Canada and bought a Moosehead beer - had to try something from back home! We ended up back at Test Track to use our Fast Passes from that morning. Good thing we grabbed them earlier because the line up was over an hour long.
After, we went back to our resort to start packing for home, then spent time in the pool and walked around to see more of our beautiful resort. Port Orleans French Quarter is adjacent to Port Orleans Riverside, so we walked up to the Riverside section to look around. It was getting late, but the walk along the water was beautiful. The water taxi passed us bringing passengers from Port Orleans Riverside, down to French Quarter, other resorts, and on to Downtown Disney. We definitely wanted to try that - tomorrow is our last full day so we will have to try and fit it in!
Friday, October 15, 2010
Disney Halloween Trip, Day 6
Today was Princess day! We had reservations later for Casey to have a makeover at Bibbiti Bobbiti Boutique and then go to dinner in Cinderella's castle, but first...off to the Polynesian Resort for brunch!
The Polynesian is a South Pacific style resort set amidst lush gardens. It is truly a tropical paradise, with waterfalls and a huge volcano in the main pool! This is a resort we would love to stay at sometime - it is connected via monorail to Magic Kingdom, and a quick transfer can get you to EPCOT via the monorail. There is a white sand beach from which you can watch the Electrical Water Pageant (a water parade of barges with lighted floats that makes its way around Bay Lake and the Seven Seas Lagoon every evening) and you can even catch a glimpse of the fireworks high over Cinderella's castle.
We ate brunch at Ohana - a buffet style breakfast with Lilo, Stitch, Pluto and Mickey. It was great fun with the Polynesian themes - we had our picture taken out front with leis on - Casey loved that! I also got to meet Mickey - I had never taken the time to meet a character before, I just always let Casey have the fun. This was a nice treat!
After brunch hopped on the monorail over to Magic Kingdom. It was very busy already at 12 noon. We spent some time in Tomorrowland doing a few rides we had never tried before. The Astro Orbiter was a fun ride - well worth it for the views of Magic Kingdom from up so high. We also sat through Stitch's Great Escape. I had heard this could be scary for young kids, so I asked a cast member outside and he said it was fine, "Like a movie." A movie in the pitch dark! It was a lot of fun, and Casey didn't get scared, but we were literally sitting in inky blackness while Stitch "ran" around the room. Can definitely be scary for younger kids if they are not prepared in advance.
We spent some time in Adventureland next - the Silly Jungle Cruise is always a favorite ride, but you definitely need a Fast Pass for this one. It is a relaxing cruise through a jungle, but the line ups are as long as the thrill rides. We also took in the Enchanted Tiki Room (Now Under New Management) show - kind of cute, and fun for kids. Then it was time to get Casey all princessed-up!
We headed up to Cinderella's castle to the Bibbiti Bobbiti Boutique. I had often seen little girls walking around the parks dressed as princesses, but this was the first year Casey was interested in it. Reservations are required for this experience, and they book up well in advance. We checked in and they gave us a dressing room to get Casey into her Princess Tiana dress. Then they called her name and her Fairy Godmother-in-Training came to do her hair. What a great time! The lady was so sweet and chatted with Casey the whole time. They really make it a magical experience for the kids.
Casey got to take home her make-up, extra decal stickers for her cheeks, and some stickers in a gift bag. She also had a sash and of course the crown, wand, gloves that we had purchased. We purchased the basic package for about $50. There are other packages available as well. They also offer photo sessions in the Castle Coture shop across from the castle. This is not included in the base package, but they will allow you to store these photos on your Disney Photo Pass. We had already made the decision to purchase a DVD of our Photo Pass, so we were happy to have her portraits taken and stored on our card.
After this we headed into Cinderella's Castle again for our dinner reservations at Cinderella's Royal Table. Dining in the castle in a magical experience any day, but having Casey all dressed up made it lots of fun. The meal was delicious too - one of the best we had all week. They perform a cute wishing ceremony with the kids where lights sparkle on the ceiling at the end. We had done this for breakfast before, but of course it was too bright to see the sparkling ceiling lights. I highly recommend planning yoru reservation for after sunset to take advantage of this special touch.
As wel left the castle, the Main Street Electrical Parade was just beginning. We were able to grab a spot right near the Magic Kingdom exit to watch the parade. This was nice since I had seen this parage back in 1990. Disney had since replaced it with the SpectroMagic parade, which is beautiful, but it was nice to show Casey something I had seen before. We headed back to our resort after this - a long, but enjoyable day :)
The Polynesian is a South Pacific style resort set amidst lush gardens. It is truly a tropical paradise, with waterfalls and a huge volcano in the main pool! This is a resort we would love to stay at sometime - it is connected via monorail to Magic Kingdom, and a quick transfer can get you to EPCOT via the monorail. There is a white sand beach from which you can watch the Electrical Water Pageant (a water parade of barges with lighted floats that makes its way around Bay Lake and the Seven Seas Lagoon every evening) and you can even catch a glimpse of the fireworks high over Cinderella's castle.
We ate brunch at Ohana - a buffet style breakfast with Lilo, Stitch, Pluto and Mickey. It was great fun with the Polynesian themes - we had our picture taken out front with leis on - Casey loved that! I also got to meet Mickey - I had never taken the time to meet a character before, I just always let Casey have the fun. This was a nice treat!After brunch hopped on the monorail over to Magic Kingdom. It was very busy already at 12 noon. We spent some time in Tomorrowland doing a few rides we had never tried before. The Astro Orbiter was a fun ride - well worth it for the views of Magic Kingdom from up so high. We also sat through Stitch's Great Escape. I had heard this could be scary for young kids, so I asked a cast member outside and he said it was fine, "Like a movie." A movie in the pitch dark! It was a lot of fun, and Casey didn't get scared, but we were literally sitting in inky blackness while Stitch "ran" around the room. Can definitely be scary for younger kids if they are not prepared in advance.
We spent some time in Adventureland next - the Silly Jungle Cruise is always a favorite ride, but you definitely need a Fast Pass for this one. It is a relaxing cruise through a jungle, but the line ups are as long as the thrill rides. We also took in the Enchanted Tiki Room (Now Under New Management) show - kind of cute, and fun for kids. Then it was time to get Casey all princessed-up!
We headed up to Cinderella's castle to the Bibbiti Bobbiti Boutique. I had often seen little girls walking around the parks dressed as princesses, but this was the first year Casey was interested in it. Reservations are required for this experience, and they book up well in advance. We checked in and they gave us a dressing room to get Casey into her Princess Tiana dress. Then they called her name and her Fairy Godmother-in-Training came to do her hair. What a great time! The lady was so sweet and chatted with Casey the whole time. They really make it a magical experience for the kids.Casey got to take home her make-up, extra decal stickers for her cheeks, and some stickers in a gift bag. She also had a sash and of course the crown, wand, gloves that we had purchased. We purchased the basic package for about $50. There are other packages available as well. They also offer photo sessions in the Castle Coture shop across from the castle. This is not included in the base package, but they will allow you to store these photos on your Disney Photo Pass. We had already made the decision to purchase a DVD of our Photo Pass, so we were happy to have her portraits taken and stored on our card.
After this we headed into Cinderella's Castle again for our dinner reservations at Cinderella's Royal Table. Dining in the castle in a magical experience any day, but having Casey all dressed up made it lots of fun. The meal was delicious too - one of the best we had all week. They perform a cute wishing ceremony with the kids where lights sparkle on the ceiling at the end. We had done this for breakfast before, but of course it was too bright to see the sparkling ceiling lights. I highly recommend planning yoru reservation for after sunset to take advantage of this special touch.
As wel left the castle, the Main Street Electrical Parade was just beginning. We were able to grab a spot right near the Magic Kingdom exit to watch the parade. This was nice since I had seen this parage back in 1990. Disney had since replaced it with the SpectroMagic parade, which is beautiful, but it was nice to show Casey something I had seen before. We headed back to our resort after this - a long, but enjoyable day :)
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Disney Halloween Trip, Day 5
Today was a planned ‘down’ day. We wanted to hit the outlet malls, and relax a bit before an evening out at Mickey’s Backyard BBQ. We had breakfast at our resort, and then had Bell Services call us a taxi. The cabs are close by, and one pulled up in minutes. We paid $15.95 one way to travel from Port Orleans French Quarter to the Orlando Premium Outlet mall. This mall is located near Sea World along International Blvd, so you can expect to pay the same if you want to travel to this park.
We had also taken our car seat along with us from Newfoundland, so we brought it with us to the mall. We were able to rent a large locker at the mall for $8/day to store our car seat while we shopped (smaller lockers are available for $6/day). Considering that it can cost upwards of $12/day for a car seat rental through a taxi company, we felt this was money well spent (and we knew we could trust our own car seat!).
There is a great selection of stores here including Nike, Tommy Hilfiger, Gymboree, Nine West…you name it! There is a coupon book available for purchase for $5 and a free magazine that also has coupons for the stores (the Tommy Hilfiger coupon in the free magazine gives you the better deal!).
We went back to our hotel for a late lunch and relaxed a bit. Then by 4:30 we left for our evening out. Mickey’s Backyard BBQ is held in the Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground; this resort is accessible via the bus system, or take the bus to Magic Kingdom and catch the water taxi shuttle to Fort Wilderness. We love this event because it gives us a chance to enjoy dinner and relax, while the characters interact with the kids all night. It officially starts at 6:30, but they allow guests to greet the characters at 5:30 so get there early.
We were one of the first in line, and got to meet Chip, Dale & Goofy and get their autographs. After meeting Chip & Dale last year, Casey bought the stuffed animals of them. She brought them back with her this year and when Chip & Dale saw them, they took one from her and played around with it; teasing each other that Chip had Dale and so on. She had a great time watching and laughing at them. Goofy was standing by on his own, and then we heard a loud tapping noise. He was tapping his foot and looking annoyed that we had no Goofy! It was funny. I gave him a big hug anyway :)
We were one of the first families to enter the pavilion for the meal and got a seat right near the stage. This was perfect as we could stay seated and watch Casey play and dance with the characters. Of course we couldn’t help get up and dance too sometimes! It is a great night for everyone.
We had also taken our car seat along with us from Newfoundland, so we brought it with us to the mall. We were able to rent a large locker at the mall for $8/day to store our car seat while we shopped (smaller lockers are available for $6/day). Considering that it can cost upwards of $12/day for a car seat rental through a taxi company, we felt this was money well spent (and we knew we could trust our own car seat!).
There is a great selection of stores here including Nike, Tommy Hilfiger, Gymboree, Nine West…you name it! There is a coupon book available for purchase for $5 and a free magazine that also has coupons for the stores (the Tommy Hilfiger coupon in the free magazine gives you the better deal!).
We went back to our hotel for a late lunch and relaxed a bit. Then by 4:30 we left for our evening out. Mickey’s Backyard BBQ is held in the Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground; this resort is accessible via the bus system, or take the bus to Magic Kingdom and catch the water taxi shuttle to Fort Wilderness. We love this event because it gives us a chance to enjoy dinner and relax, while the characters interact with the kids all night. It officially starts at 6:30, but they allow guests to greet the characters at 5:30 so get there early.
We were one of the first in line, and got to meet Chip, Dale & Goofy and get their autographs. After meeting Chip & Dale last year, Casey bought the stuffed animals of them. She brought them back with her this year and when Chip & Dale saw them, they took one from her and played around with it; teasing each other that Chip had Dale and so on. She had a great time watching and laughing at them. Goofy was standing by on his own, and then we heard a loud tapping noise. He was tapping his foot and looking annoyed that we had no Goofy! It was funny. I gave him a big hug anyway :)We were one of the first families to enter the pavilion for the meal and got a seat right near the stage. This was perfect as we could stay seated and watch Casey play and dance with the characters. Of course we couldn’t help get up and dance too sometimes! It is a great night for everyone.
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