Cayetano Reunion 2006 Day 10

On Saturday, we visit Downtown Disney. Sheila made an appointment at Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique for Lauren and Maddie to get their hair, make-up and nails done so they can look and feel like a Disney princess. The person doing their hair, makeup and nails are Fairy Godmothers-in-Training. Lauren and Maddie choose their own hairstyles from Fairytale Princess, Disney Diva and Pop Princess. Lauren chooses Fairytale Princess and Maddie chooses Disney Diva. Lauren really wants the Castle Package which includes a costume and a photo shoot, but I couldn’t imagine paying $135 more than we already have. Plus it was hot outside. I don’t know how some of these kids walk around in the parks with these costumes on! We head back to our resort for lunch and our afternoon nap.

After our nap we have dinner at Chef Mickey’s. This is our last meal at Disney. We weren't seated in the main dining room like we were the last time we were here. I thought I was going to be disappointed but our server was really attentive and very friendly. All the characters came by our table, just as if we were in the main dining area. Maddie is now very eager to meet the characters and take pictures. Go figure, it takes Maddie 10 days to finally be comfortable around the characaters at Disney! I tell Lauren and Maddie this is our last day at Disney because tomorrow we will be flying back home. Lauren turns to me and says "I thought you said we were staying here for 10 weeks?". Are you kdding me? I was ready to go home and start planning our next trip!

Cayetano Reunion 2006 Day 9

Friday we go to Magic Kingdom. Again. We have a light breakfast at Main Street Bakery – cereal with milk, cinnamon roll, mixed parfait, and a plain bagel. After breakfast, the girls and I watch Cinderellabration while Sheila saves a seat for us at Storytime with Belle. Cinderellabration is just okay. It is not as fun as the show they had 2 years ago. We leave the show just before it ends because they have a small fireworks display at the end that terrifies Maddie. It's just as well, because we really need to see Storytime with Belle so we can get her autograph. The last time we were here, Lauren got picked to go up to help with the storytime but she was too shy to go up there. This time I hoped that they would pick her out again but she doesn’t get picked. Oh well, it's a fun little story.

We are getting hungry so we head over to Columbia Harbour House for lunch. I have the Garden Galley Salad - mixed greens with chicken, pecans, pineapple and feta cheese. Yeah, I know, me eat a salad? Well, the Dining Plan is starting to take a toll. It's simply way to much food - appetizers and desserts each day! Sheila has the Starboard Deck Sandwich - ham with tomatoes, broccoli slaw and cheese. The girls both get Mac and Cheese. We save the chocolate cake desserts for later. We still need to get Ariel’s autograph so we go to Ariel’s Grotto and wait in a very long line. To make things worse, the line is outdoors and it is so hot right now but we finally get Ariel’s autograph. Maddie goes up to her right away and gives Ariel her autograph book to sign (but Maddie gives it to her upside down!). Ariel must have eaten way too much tuna or something but she looks a little chunky. I shouldn't be talking because all of this food on the Dining Plan is making my waist bigger and bigger!

It's time for a nap for the girls so we start heading back to our resort. On our way out, we stop by a gift shop on Main Street and get a stuffed Tinkerbell for Lauren and Donald Duck for Maddie. Maddie gets Donald Duck because she remembers Jay having one.

After our nap, we head to Epcot for our dinner at Mitsukoshi Tepanyaki. This is the same concept as your Benihana restaurants where you gather around large grills and watch amazing chefs perform their culinary feats of magic - fresh fish, meat and vegetables are artfully chopped and stir-fried before your eyes. This communal ritual is a trip to the cultural and flavorful heart of Japan. We are seated with another family from Kentucky. Very nice family. They go to Disney at least once a year since they own a timeshare (Disney Vacation Club). The chef is not as amazing as I had hoped for. He wasn't as flamboyant as I expected him to be. I just expected a little more of a show, but the food is good.

On our way back to our resort, Maddie somehow manages to lose her stuffed Donald Duck we just got her earlier today. I couldn't let her go home without one if Lauren had one, so at the gift shop at our resort, I surprise her with another one.

Cayetano Reunion 2006 Day 8

Thursday, we sleep in until about 10am and head over to the pool. It is a nice and sunny morning. Sheila catches some sun while I swim with the girls. The water seems a little cooler than the pool at the Contemporary Resort. After a while, my fingers get raiseny so it's time to leave and head back to our room to get ready for our naps. Sheila picks up some lunch at Old Port Royale while I give the girls a bath.

We have dinner at ‘Ohana. Yes this is the same place we went yesterday for breakfast but it's dinner with different food and no characters. When I check in with the host for our reservation, I overhear someone else trying to get in without a reservation. The host just politely say they are booked solid for the rest of the night but that they are welcome to stay and wait 2 hours to see if there's an opening due to a cancellation! I'm so glad we made most of our reservations ahead of time. While we are waiting to be seated, I notice one of the wooden statues was butt naked and mooning us so I try to get Maddie to touch it’s butt so I can take a picture, but she just keeps giggling and running away. This is while Sheila is at the Tambu Lounge getting a Raspberry Mango drink.

We finally get seated by a big-boned stereotypical Hawaiian looking guy named Jay. Of course, he says to call him cousin Jay because that's how it is there - everyone is one big family and he made sure we were all ready to be seated because "no one gets left behind". Yeah, kinda like Lilo and Stitch. The food is pretty good, especially the appetizers - Fried wontons with peanut sauce, salad with a honey-lime dressing, sweet and sour shrimp and honey-coriander chicken wings. The main entree is brought out to our table on 3 foot skewers - Marinated Sirloin Steak, Asian Barbecue Pork Loin, Mesquite Grilled Turkey, Hawaiian Pork-sausage with pineapple terriyaki glaze. Sheila likes the turkey the best. I like the shrimp appetizers and chicken wings. They also have scalloped potatoes and stir-fried vegetables for side dishes. And when you think you couldn't possibly eat any more, they bring out the Ohana bread pudding a la mode with Bananas Foster Sauce. This is to die for!

After dinner, Maddie starts to complain her underarm is itchy. My first instinct tells me she ate something she is allergic to. I check her out and it looks localized so I buy some hydrocorisone cream and baby powder at the gift shop. That seems to do the trick. I guess it must have been a heat rash?

So with Maddie’s rash taken care of, we head over to the Magic Kingdom. Again. We head straight to the Magic Carpets of Aladdin The line is surprisingly short. Lauren and Maddie love this ride. Maddie keeps thinking all that camels do is spit. It is so much fun now because, we have already gone on all the rides we wanted to do so anything we do from now on is just for pure fun. After the Magic Carpets, we go next door to the Enchanted Tiki Room. It's just okay. I really didn’t know what to expect but it’s basically a bunch of animatronic birds with a lot of bad dry humor. At least it was indoors and air conditioned. Not worth doing again unless you just want to cool off. We then walk over to Toontown to see if we can get autographs from Princess Aurora (sleeping beauty for those of you who don’t know – I for one didn’t until our last trip to Disney) and Cinderella. The line is long, just as we expected but worth it. Lauren and Maddie are so excited. I even get to pose with Cinderella! After we finish with the autographs, we have time for one more ride so we ride the Mad Tea Cups. Maddie keeps turning and turning the wheel! After the ride ends, the Wishes fireworks start so we find a place to sit and watch as the fireworks spiral off into the air just a short distance from where we are sitting. After the fireworks, there's a mad rush to exit the park. It's literally elbow to elbow, but we manage to get out okay. (I just use the stroller to shove my way out – just kidding, it was a very orderly exit).

Cayetano Reunion 2006 Day 7

Wednesday morning we head over to 'Ohana's Best Friends Polynesian Character Breakfast at the Polynesian Resort to savor the flavor and hospitality of the islands as Lilo and Stitch make us a part of their intergalactic 'ohana (family). We enjoy a delicious American breakfast influenced by the exotic tastes of Polynesia. We also get to meet Mickey and Pluto as they celebrate 'Ohana. At this point, Maddie is beginning to warm up to the characters. She even let us get a picture of her with Stitch! Our island feast is served family-style so they bring over a huge skillet of breakfast goodies - Hua Paka (Scrambled Eggs), Uala Kahiki (Fried Potatoes) - island-style potatoes, caramelized onions & scallions, Pua’a (Pork) - pork breakfast sausage links & smoked bacon, Pelena - hot home country buttermilk biscuits, and a fruit bowl for the kids.

After breakfast James, Kathy and Jay head over to a water park since this will be their last full day at Disney. We head over to Magic Kingdom and ride It's a Small World once again (Maddie really likes this ride, she even starts mimicking the dancing animatronic figures). We then ride the Magic Carpets of Aladdin. Cool ride but Maddie keeps getting us in front of the spitting camel! It was time for lunch so we head back to our resort and have lunch at Old Port Royale before we take our afternoon nap.

After our nap, we go to Animal Kingdom and ride Triceratop Spin. This ride is very similar to the Magic Carpets of Aladdin minus the spitting camel. It takes a while to actually get on this ride because just before we are ready to ride it, they close the ride due to a storm a brewing (thunder and lightning). So we decide to wait it out and eat dinner at Flame Tree Barbeque. This place has very good barbeque ribs! We share a 1/2 Slab of St. Louis Ribs served with baked beans and corn on the cobb. There are some stork-like birds wandering around the eating area looking for food. Lauren and I enjoyed the company, but Maddie just wants to eat in peace.

After dinner, we head back to Triceratop Spin and actually ride it this time. We then watch the Festival of the Lion King. I have heard good things about this show so I was excited to see it. I was so impressed with this show! It's very much like a mini Lion King Broadway show (although I've never seen the actual Broadway show - it sold out here when they were in town, so maybe we can catch it in NY if it's still there?). After the show, we decide to park-hop over to Disney-MGM Studios to see Playhouse Disney Live on Stage. We saw this show on our last trip and we enjoyed it then, so we decide watch it again. Lauren and Maddie really have a blast. They keep getting up and dancing to the music. By the time the show ends we are pretty much all worn out. After all, we did utilize the park hopper option today - Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom and Disney-MGM Studios. On our way back to the resort, Sheila and I unanimously decide to take it easy the following day (i.e. time to get some pool time at the resort).

Cayetano Reunion 2006 Day 6

The following morning we have breakfast at Play 'n' Dine at Hollywood and Vine in MGM-Disney Studios. We join Jo Jo and Goliath from "Jo Jo's Circus" and June and Leo from "The Little Einsteins" for a magical meal! This brand new character meal just opened up two days ago. Our reservation time is earlier than the park opening time so we are allowed to bypass all the people waiting for the gates to open. It kinda makes us feel pretty special. Nothing is open except for the restaurants but it’s pretty cool walking down MGM-Disney studios all alone - It seems like we have the whole place to ourselves. We sing, dance and interact with the Playhouse Pals over a delicious breakfast. This bountiful buffet features Mickey waffles and house-made pastries. Everyone has a great time except Maddie. She just does not like larger than life cartoon characters. Just like yesterday, I have trouble eating my breakfast because Maddie keeps clinging on to me every time a character would stop by our table.

After breakfast, Kathy gets a FastPass to ride the Tower of Terror. While waiting for their FastPass times, we go on the Backlot Tour for an all-out special effects encounter with a water tank in "Harbor Attack," then board a guided tram ride for a look at life-like facades used in exterior shots from familiar television shows and movies. We wind past soundstages, peek inside the Disney-MGM Studios camera, props and lighting departments, face nature's fury during an exhilarating detour through Catastrophe Canyon. After the tour, Kathy and James ride the Rockin Rollercoaster and Kathy rides the Tower of Terror. Sheila and I take the kids to the Honey I Shrunk the Kids playset. This is a playground with larger than life props from the movie - super-sized anthills and spider webs. The kids crawl in and around a can of Play-Do or slide down an abandoned film canister. The kids have a blast - so much so that it becomes difficult to keep track of them at times (lots of tunnels and slides).

The heat makes us thirsty so we head over next door to the Studio Catering Co. to get something to drink. Well, just when we get there, the clouds just open up and dumps a whole lot of rain. I mean a whole lot - TORRENTIAL! Luckily, we are already under roof cover at the Studio Catering Co. It only rains for about 2 or 3 minutes. James and Kathy meet us there and we head back to our resort for lunch and our nap. When we get back to our room, we notice a little towel animal in our window. Mousekeeping made a cute little turkey-looking animal out of face towels (like origami).

After our nap, we head over to Kona Cafe at the Polynesian Resort for dinner. Sheila and I like this place a lot. This is the same restaurant we had dinner at on Saturday. The server we have this time around is little weird. She says all the right words but her attitude seems a little off - not very Disney like. First, when we are ordering our appetizers, we thought that Lauren and Maddie would be able to choose appetizers from the adult menu since the children's menu did not have appetizers (this is was what our server allowed when we were there on Saturday). Our server this time around would not allow appetizers for the kids (very strange since I was pretty sure they are allowed an appetizer on the Dining Plan). I let this kinda go because we are still getting a lot of food anyway. Sheila and I order the Crab Cakes once again. For our main course, Sheila orders the Shrimp and Scallops - panko breaded shrimp and pan seared scallops with sticky rice and ponzu, spicy guava-passion fruit and wasabi cream sauces. I order the Asian Prime Rib with mashed Yukon gold potatoes, crispy onions, and stir-fried broccoli florets. The girls order the Pasta and Meatballs. When we finish our main course, it was time for dessert. Our weird server then asks us if we will be sharing a dessert (even though she knows that we are on the Dining Plan and each one of us are entitled to our own dessert). We said oh no mam, we will each get a dessert. Sheila orders the Caramel-Banana Creme Brulee and I order the Chocolate Macadamia Nut Tart. Lauren has the Kiddie Kone again and Maddie gets Vanilla Ice Cream with sprinkles. Our server had no problems taking our order, getting our food, etc. but it was just the way she acted, just made us all kinda uncomfortable. Food was great, our server was just weird

Cayetano Reunion 2006 Day 5

Monday is our big day. We plan on doing a full day of Magic Kingdom. We arrive at the park before it opens and wait patiently for the gates to open. This was the day we will be using the touring plan I have downloaded from the internet and have studied for months and months. The very same planning that got me a lot of ridicule from Sheila. Well it turns out all that planning helps out tremendously. We follow the plan almost to the tee - 1st ride Dumbo, then Winnie the Pooh, followed by the Mad Tea Party, next Peter Pan's Flight, and then It's a Small World. We ride all of these attractions with little or no waiting in line! James and I head over to Adventureland to ride Splash Mountain while Sheila, Kathy and the kids head over to Cinderella's castle to watch the Cinderellabration show.

After the show, we meet up at The Crystal Palace for our bountiful buffet lunch with Winnie the Pooh and friends. The light and airy ambiance fits the upbeat blustery mood provided by Pooh and his pals from the Hundred Acre Wood. Lauren and Jay have a great time meeting Pooh, Tigger, Piglet and Eeyore. Maddie on the other hand is quite terrified. She clings to me so tight that it became difficult for me to eat my meal. After lunch, we all head back to our resort for our afternoon naps.

It starts to rain heavily during our nap and it seems like the rest of the day would be a wash. It is still raining by the time we are supposed to head back to the Magic Kingdom so I call Kathy to let her know our plans have been delayed and I would call her every half hour with a weather update. Just a few minutes later the heavy rains let up just enough for us to head back to Magic Kingdom (with our $1 target ponchos on of course).

We have dinner at Columbia Harbour House in Liberty Square. Sheila and I have the Captain's Special - Fried Chicken Strips and Fish - Served with French Fries. The girls have the Macaroni and Cheese - served with fresh grapes and cheddar crackers. The only dessert they have here is the triple chocolate cake so that's what we get. This is a nice and quiet place to eat dinner, especially upstairs on the 2nd floor (it seems as if not everyone knows they can go upstairs to eat so we basically have one large room to ourselves). As we look out the window, it begins to pour down rain again. It’s kinda fun to people watch as they try to take cover from the rain while we sit nice and dry eating our meal.

Again, we wait until the rain subsides before heading over to Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin in Tomorrowland. This is a fun, fun, fun ride. Throughout the ride, you're supposed to shoot at targets and collect points. The ride car also spins around with the touch of a joystick. Lauren and I have a blast and thought we did pretty well racking up about 20,000 points. When we meet up with James, Kathy and Jay, James said he got 95,000 points! This will be a must-do ride from now on.

We head over to Toontown to visit Minnie and Mickey's houses. Minnie's house is very interactive - you can sit on her couch, play with the appliances in her kitchen (microwave, oven and fridge full of what else - cheese!). Mickey's house is not as interactive; most of the rooms are closed-off to foot traffic. While we are in Toontown, Lauren comes to me and tells me she wants to ride the roller coaster I said really? Okay. So we go to The Barnstormer at Goofey's Wiseacre Farm roller coaster It’s a fun little roller coaster Lauren said she was just a little bit scared but said she wants to ride it again next time we go back to Disney.

We still have some time left so we decide to try to get some character autographs. We go to the Judges Tent where there are always characters waiting for autographs. While waiting in line, two cleaning crew cast members came up and jokingly asks if we want their autograph. Sheila, of course says sure! So they sign our autograph book.

Cayetano Reunion 2006 Day 4

On Sunday, we meet up with Kathy and family at the bus stop to head over to Animal Kingdom. When we get there, we get a Fast Pass to the Kilimanjaro Safari ride and eat lunch at Tusker House in Harambe Village in the Africa section. This is an African-themed counter-service restaurant featuring beautifully displayed animal photos and drawings. I order the 1/2 Rotisserie Chicken served with garlic mashed potatoes and vegetables. Sheila has the Grilled Salmon served with jollof rice and vegetables. Lauren and Maddie share the Chicken Drumstick and mashed potatoes with applesauce and Macaroni and Cheese - served with applesauce and Mickey cheddar crackers. For dessert we have chocolate cake and carrot cake. After we finish eating, we ride the Kilimanjaro Safari. Sheila and I loved this ride the previous 2 times we were here. Both times we were there before we saw an ostrich at pretty much the same exact spot so we thought all those animals were Disney animatronics. Well, this time around the animals are out and about roaming around freely (sometimes blocking our safari vehicle). This is one of my favorite attractions. When the ride ends, we split up so James and I could ride the new roller coaster - Expedition Everest. The line was long but they have a single rider line that is much shorter but would only let us on the ride if there’s an odd number of people in a group (thus we will fill in the empty seat). I get to ride near the front of the coaster. It was okay. I didn't know what to expect but the ride itself makes it seem like something fantastic is about to happen but it was relatively tame. No really steep drops - just a lot of looping around in circles in the dark. While James and I were at Expedition Everest, Sheila, Kathy and the kids go to see the It's Tough to be a Bug 3D show. The kids did NOT like this show so much. I guess large 3D bugs is not their idea of having fun. It’s time for a nap anyway. We all head back to the resort for our afternoon nap.

When we wake up, we head over to Animal Kingdom Lodge for our dinner at BOMA - Flavors of Africa. We get there about an hour early hoping they could take us in before our reservation time, but this is a VERY popular restaurant and we are not seated until about 15 minutes after our actual reservation time. Well it was worth the wait. They have a great variety of foods to try. Too many to list here but one memorable one for me was the watermelon rind salad. It was cold, crisp, sweet and delicious! BOMA is an expansive and inviting family buffet which resembles an African marketplace. It has open kitchens so you can watch the creative culinary team prepare salads, vegetarian dishes, grilled seafood and roasted meats — inspired by the varied flavors of over 50 African countries from the coast of the Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean. It definitely captures the magic of the alluring tapestry of tastes and textures that make up the flavors of Africa. This is an all you can eat experience, but unlike traditional buffet lines, where you start at one end and work your way across...Boma offers "pods". Each pod has a selection of food and generally a chef nearby to answer questions.

After dinner, we head over to Epcot while Kathy and Family head back to the resort. We stroll around Epcot to find a place for dinner on Tuesday. We already have a reservation at Restaurant Marrakesh in Morocco at Epcot but was not sure if the food there would appeal to everyone in our group. We walk and walk and finally make a reservation at Biergarten at Germany. We watch a little of the Illuminations Fireworks then head back to our resort for the night.