Next trip I'm booking a resort w/out a pool! *Pg 25 Final DxDP numbers & last update!

[AKL LOVER]

Welcome aboard the motorcoah...er, I mean my TR! You're on your way to a magical journey, where children test your patience and not everything goes as planned, but the magic never stops! We hope you'll share some laughs along the way. So sit back, relax and let my family do the driving!



My son couldn't stop quoting the motorcoach recordings, so I thought it only appropriate to start my TR that way! ;)




Now, let's get this TR started!


TR updates:

The who, when, and where for those of you just joining (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=41194524&postcount=2)
We're here and staying CL...lead me to the drinks! (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=41260764&postcount=41)
It's a 'really lame, outdated ride' world: Part 1 (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=41296225&postcount=56)
It's a 'really lame, outdated ride' world: Part 2 (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=41357459&postcount=70)
Not a trip update, but still Disney related! (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=41359535&postcount=81)
A Fantasmic night--or was it??? (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=41393582&postcount=96)
Fuzzy Disney math--DxDP Redux, Days 1 & 2 (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=41404642&postcount=111)
ToT, TSM and Beauty and the Beast, or BUST! (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=41475215&postcount=119)
Hoop Dee Doo or Hoop Dee Don't?!?! (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=41510400&postcount=139)
Day 3 Fuzzy Disney Math (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=41510866&postcount=144)
Dumbo or Die! (http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/114.jpg)
What's a girl gotta do to see some pirates around here??? (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=41543912&postcount=161)
You Mickey-me Crazy! (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=41560137&postcount=174)
What it's like to dine at Jiko with no kids and a FABULOUS waitress named Stephanie... (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=41560240&postcount=175)
Day 4 Fuzzy Disney Math (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=41805464&postcount=206)
It's my trip and we'll tour how I want to! Part 1 (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=41806318&postcount=208)
It's my trip and we'll tour how I want to! Part 2 (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=41833656&postcount=226)
It's my trip and we'll tour how I want to! Part 3 (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=41903335&postcount=244)
Day 5 Fuzzy Disney Math (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=41903860&postcount=248)
Finally a day with no pool--could it be true?!? Part 1 (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=42008228&postcount=263)
Opps...Jamaica not Disney (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=42262434&postcount=282)
Finally a day with no pool--could it be true?!? Part 2 (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=42580054&postcount=295)
Exactly how does one eat a work of art??? (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=42699502&postcount=305)
Day 6 Fuzzy Disney Math (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=42732818&postcount=313)
Yo ho, yo ho, a pirates ride for me?!? (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=42954597&postcount=324)
You almost missed the ME for WHAT?!? (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=42977228&postcount=331)
The actual trip has ended so why won't the trip home?!? (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=43047767&postcount=344)
Day 7 Fuzzy Disney Math (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=43092707&postcount=355)
Fuzzy Disney Math that doesn't seem so fuzzy anymore (aka Final DxDP numbers!!) (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=43124664&postcount=361)

[AKL LOVER]

For those of you just joining...this update is for you!

For those of you following me over from my PTR...thank you! And feel free to skip this update as it may be a bit redundant.


This trip was my family and I's 4th trip to the world. We went from May 2-8. This time, it was just the 4 of us:

DD6

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney2009006.jpg

DS4

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney2009141.jpg

DH and I

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/090.jpg

Here were are at MK on on our very first trip:

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/ry3D400-1.jpg





This trip we stayed at AKL, Jambo house and we had Deluxe Dining. In fact, this is the only resort we've ever stayed at! I know, some people think this is crazy but it works for us for a few reasons:

1) my kids love the animals and DH and I love the deluxe accommodations

2) it just feels like home; I think this is because it will forever remind me of our first family trip--I almost can't stand the idea of going to Disney and NOT going to AKL.

3) We loved how this resort doesn't ever seem to be too crowded and how the busses aren't shared with another resort (just with Kidani now).

4) Frankly, I tend to be a creature of habit...sad, but true!


Although, just because we have always stayed at AKL, doesn't mean that our trips are always the same. Each trip we have stayed in a different type of room. This trip we tried out Club Level!! :woohoo:




I actually learned a lot about planning and touring on this trip--more than I thought I would. Since it was our 4th trip, I assumed I was pretty much an expert at planning a trip for my family...

Boy was I wrong!!

How does a trip work with deluxe dining AND club level? Is club level all it's cracked up to be? Just why am I against pools? Did I see any crazy giraffe races out on the savanna?? These questions and many more will be answered during this adventure of a TR!!




Up next: Is Club Level check-in really better?

[AKL LOVER]

I seriously hate photobucket right now. Sorry about the gi-normous picture sizes. I have tried and tried to resize them and make them smaller, but it never changes the size! I think it's because I originally uploaded them too big. GGGRRRR!

[emma212010]

Joining in!!! Sounds like a fun trip!!:cool1:

It's ok about the pics...I did the same thing on my TR! All of my pics are like IN YOUR FACE! :rotfl:

[NMW]

Subscribing

[Becc1]

I'm in can't wait to hear all about your trip!

[momabbate]

Woohooo Can't wait to read all about this magical trip.

[Lidian]

I'm here, I'm here!

Granted, I may fall behind ... but I am here!! :woohoo::woohoo:

[ScrappyRN]

I'm in. We've toyed with the idea of staying at AKL or AKV, so I can't wait to hear more about the resort. We really fell in love with WL and this year we are staying at BCV to try something new and I'm a little nervous.

[CAStevens218]

Great start! I'm in! AKL is definitely one of the top resorts on my list of "to-do's", so I'm excited to hear your take on it!!!

[sahm2two]

I'm here! :goodvibes Can't wait to hear all about the giraffe races! :rotfl2:

[Aburns8]

Joining in! Can't wait to hear about your adventure!

[Joyciemc]

Yay, you started! Can't wait to hear all about it! And, I'm done housesitting so I can actually read and reply normally!

[amandaw]

Joining in on the fun! I can't wait to hear about AKL. I'd really like to try that resort, but my DH has given me a firm "NO" on it. So, I'll live vicariously through you for now.... :laughing:

[beebeeryan]

Followed over, can't wait to hear about the trip. I'd love to try AKL someday, it just seems so far out, but looks beautiful and peaceful, maybe that makes up for it. :)

[Daisy_74]

Joining in! Love Animal Kingdom Lodge :love:

[Queenofallthings]

Joining in on the fun....and I totally get the "feels like home" resort!!

[mickeystoontown]

Joining in as well. Don't apologize for large pictures.....I like 'em large so we can see all the details.:thumbsup2

[Monknmom]

popcorn::I'm in..... giraffe races:confused3 what can get better than that? popcorn:: I've been toying with the DxDP and DDP and am not sure so I am interested in how it worked out for you with small kids!

[Luvmepluto]

Joining in!!!!!! I can't wait to hear about your vaca!!!:cool1:

[DizFan101]

count me in. i am hoping to stay in deluxe one of these years before i am 30. :)

[sheka28]

Excited to read your report as we are staying AKL CL in Sept while on the DXDP :woohoo:

[Chaitali]

Subscribing too! Can't wait to hear more :) We were just at AKL for dinner at Jiko and deliberately went early so we could check out the resort. It was gorgeous.

[AKL LOVER]

Joining in!!! Sounds like a fun trip!!:cool1:

It's ok about the pics...I did the same thing on my TR! All of my pics are like IN YOUR FACE! :rotfl:

In your face--:laughing:. That completely reminds me of the Hangover.


I'm in can't wait to hear all about your trip!

Holy cow--3 days until you go?? Have a fabulous time :goodvibes Hopefully I'll have a few updates up by the time you make it back.


Woohooo Can't wait to read all about this magical trip.

Thanks! I can't wait to start writing it...


I'm here, I'm here!

Granted, I may fall behind ... but I am here!! :woohoo::woohoo:

But you have the best reason EVER to fall behind on my TR--you are at Disney right this minute!!! As I type this, I find myself wondering exactly what you and your family are doing...so many possibilities... Where ever you are, whatever you are doing, I hope you are having a blast!!


I'm in. We've toyed with the idea of staying at AKL or AKV, so I can't wait to hear more about the resort. We really fell in love with WL and this year we are staying at BCV to try something new and I'm a little nervous.

Thanks for joining. I actually booked a room one year at BCV with every intention of staying there for our trip, but I just kept regretting not booking at AKV...seriously it was all I could think about. So I did what any sane person would do--I called, cancelled BCV and booked at AKV instead! :rolleyes1 Told you guys I really love AKL!! So much for trying out new resorts!


Great start! I'm in! AKL is definitely one of the top resorts on my list of "to-do's", so I'm excited to hear your take on it!!!

Thanks for tagging along! I hope that I offer up some good info on AKL. I'm beginning to think maybe I didn't take enough pictures to share!


I'm here! :goodvibes Can't wait to hear all about the giraffe races! :rotfl2:

Giraffe races...HAHAHA...people who haven't read my PTR are going to think we are so weird...:)

Joining in! Can't wait to hear about your adventure!

Glad to have you here! :thumbsup2

Yay, you started! Can't wait to hear all about it! And, I'm done housesitting so I can actually read and reply normally!

Well if some people weren't posting so many updates on their TRs, then maybe I would have more of my own done! :surfweb:


:rotfl:

[heartse]

I'm joining in... I AKL seems more intriguing the more I check it out.

[AKL LOVER]

Followed over, can't wait to hear about the trip. I'd love to try AKL someday, it just seems so far out, but looks beautiful and peaceful, maybe that makes up for it. :)

We don't think that it's really as far out there as people think. Someone told us that before our first trip, but really, the bus rides aren't that much longer. I timed us several times and it only took 20 minutes to get from AKL to MK (and MK is the farthest park from AKL). And even if the bus ride is a few minutes longer than some of the others, the theming totally makes up for that!! :lovestruc


Joining in! Love Animal Kingdom Lodge :love:

Glad to meet other people out there who love AKL as much as we do!! :goodvibes


Joining in on the fun....and I totally get the "feels like home" resort!!

It's good to know there are others out there who get that! Yet another reason my family thinks I'm crazy.


Joining in as well. Don't apologize for large pictures.....I like 'em large so we can see all the details.:thumbsup2

Note to self made about the large pics. Looks like you may be getting a LOT of details from mine then! ;)


popcorn::I'm in..... giraffe races:confused3 what can get better than that? popcorn:: I've been toying with the DxDP and DDP and am not sure so I am interested in how it worked out for you with small kids!

Gotta create some suspense for readers, ya know?? Keeps 'em coming back. Can't wait to share all my DxDP stuff with you all. I even kept all my receipts this time so I can figure out how much $$ we did or didn't save!! :thumbsup2


Joining in!!!!!! I can't wait to hear about your vaca!!!:cool1:

Thanks for joining! :yay:


count me in. i am hoping to stay in deluxe one of these years before i am 30. :)

If you ever do, I totally recommend that you choose AKL!! :love: I just can't say enough about how great that place is!


Excited to read your report as we are staying AKL CL in Sept while on the DXDP :woohoo:

I don't want to give away too much, (see my previous comment about creating suspense ;)), but I don't think that you are going to regret staying CL at AKL!!


Subscribing too! Can't wait to hear more :) We were just at AKL for dinner at Jiko and deliberately went early so we could check out the resort. It was gorgeous.

How was your dinner at Jiko?? DH and I ate there again this trip for our date night and I didn't think that place could possibly get any better than it had been for us in the past, but it sure did. Wait til I write THAT update! Just another reason to :lovestruc AKL even more!

[Grumpy's Wife]

Looking forward to your trip report. AKL looks so beautiful and it's a resort I haven't tried yet. Maybe you'll sway me.

[silverhaze269]

Subbing in! :thumbsup2 This is gonna be fun popcorn::

[DisneyDame27]

Joining in to follow as well. Family has stayed at AKL and loved it. We have not stayed there yet. We feel "at home" at SSSR. Kids are grown (19 & 23) it's just the two of us and DH loves to golf. Waiting for grandchildren to do 2 things 1.) Disney Cruise & 2.) AKL:flower3: The picture size is good for me - don't need my glasses!

[pinkxray]

Joining in. I am so glad they found your van:thumbsup2

[Joyciemc]

Well if some people weren't posting so many updates on their TRs, then maybe I would have more of my own done! :surfweb:

:rotfl:

Haha, that would help, wouldn't it? What if I take a little time off so you can catch up? :rolleyes1

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

Joining in, just got home a few hours ago. I saw on your PTR your van was found, that is great news! Can't wait to hear about the trip!

[basketkat]

Sounds like a magical adventure...I'm in! :cool1:

[hurleysweety]

Yay! I found your TR! I'm so glad you've started. Its giving me motivation to get on board and start one too. My carrot keeping me motivated is that I'm not letting myself start my next PTR before I finish my current TR and a Dining Report too! Wowza, I gotta a lot of disboarding to do!!

Can't wait to hear all abut AKL, Club level, pools, and more. And about those giraffe races... :rofl:

[fadingjamie]

Checking in! :wave:

I can't wait to hear about your trip... you have lots of 'splainin' to do from that teaser!

[jessidoll]

joining in!!!!!!:banana:

[LisaG23]

Joining in the TR reading fun.......im new here so I cant wait to here all about your visit!! Love AKL but have never gotten to stay there

[AKL LOVER]

Looking forward to your trip report. AKL looks so beautiful and it's a resort I haven't tried yet. Maybe you'll sway me.

Subbing in! :thumbsup2 This is gonna be fun popcorn::

Joining in to follow as well. Family has stayed at AKL and loved it. We have not stayed there yet. We feel "at home" at SSSR. Kids are grown (19 & 23) it's just the two of us and DH loves to golf. Waiting for grandchildren to do 2 things 1.) Disney Cruise & 2.) AKL:flower3: The picture size is good for me - don't need my glasses!


Thanks for joining in guys! :goodvibes


Joining in. I am so glad they found your van:thumbsup2

Thanks, although it seems that finding the van brought more trouble than it was really worth. :sad2:

[AKL LOVER]

Haha, that would help, wouldn't it? What if I take a little time off so you can catch up? :rolleyes1

Still waiting on that lull in your TR...;)


Joining in, just got home a few hours ago. I saw on your PTR your van was found, that is great news! Can't wait to hear about the trip!

I saw on your PTR you were back. So glad the rain stayed away for you this trip!! :goodvibes


Sounds like a magical adventure...I'm in! :cool1:

Thanks for joining! I feel like I could have the worst vacation ever at Disney and it would still be magical!!


Yay! I found your TR! I'm so glad you've started. Its giving me motivation to get on board and start one too. My carrot keeping me motivated is that I'm not letting myself start my next PTR before I finish my current TR and a Dining Report too! Wowza, I gotta a lot of disboarding to do!!

Can't wait to hear all abut AKL, Club level, pools, and more. And about those giraffe races... :rofl:

Glad you made your way over...hope your trip was a blast. You sure do have a lot of DISing to do--what are you posting on my TR for?? :laughing:


Checking in! :wave:

I can't wait to hear about your trip... you have lots of 'splainin' to do from that teaser!

A quote from my fav movie of all time comes to mind....all in good time my pretty... WAAHAAHAAA! (That's supposed to be an evil laugh btw!)


joining in!!!!!!:banana:

Welcome! Glad to have you along! :wave2:


Joining in the TR reading fun.......im new here so I cant wait to here all about your visit!! Love AKL but have never gotten to stay there

Welcome to my TR and welcome to the DIS boards! I'm flattered that you posted on my TR first! Hope you enjoy yourself on here :)

[ljcrochet]

I can't wait to hear about your trip. I can't imagine doing club level and deluxe dinning.

[AKL LOVER]

Monday 5/2:

Our it's-finally-time-to-travel-to-Disney-day dawned with plenty to do. I had to go into work for an hour or so to get things situated for the week (I teach 7th grade Science). DH had to go into work for an hour or so as well to get things situated at his job. Our flight didn't leave until later in the afternoon, but needless to say I was anxious to get on a plane at like 6 a.m.!! I even seriously debated showing up to the airport early to see if they would put us on an earlier flight :laughing:

But...DH had yet to pack. That's right guys...in a DIS boards world of packing months in advanced, my DH had 3 hours until we left for the airport and he had not packed. Not a single thing. Nada. Yowser! But luckily he packed with minutes to spare. My FIL arrived to drive us to the airport (we were flying out of and into different airports so he offered to take us and pick us up! :lovestruc). We packed the car--just barely! Stupid people who stole our van :headache: He was going to drive us to and from the airport using our van so we would have plenty of room for our luggage. But instead we had to play tetris to get it all into his car. And it just fit. BARELY. I should have taken a picture, but my camera was packed in so tightly somewhere, I didn't dare move anything to try and get it out! :eek:

We arrived at the airport, checked our bags, made to security and there was no line. We were doing good. Until one of the security guards asked the dreaded question....

...."Whose bag is this??" Geeze louise. Can I never make it through security again without hearing those words? I swear EVERY time we go through security they ask us that. And then we have to have our bag searched. The lady who went through it was very nice. Didn't throw my stuff all out like some would. After digging she proclaims that it was the foil of the Starbucks Via packets that were in there that set off the X-Ray machine. Whew. Got to watch out for those coffee packets--they could be leathal! :lmao:

We waited about an hour and a half for our plane to start boarding--it wasn't late, we were just early--for once! :) We boarded the plane, took off and an hour and 40 minutes later we were landing at MCO!! We got off the plane and headed right to ME. We got in our line and there was a bus waiting so we got right on. It was all so quick I didn't even have time to take any pictures. Woops...But I do have some to share in a few on this update, I promise!!

We arrived at AKL after making a stop at All-Star Movies and Music. Our bus driver was from Jamaica...he was really nice. He talked to us quite a bit...and made sure to point out the tallest man made tree in the world ;). I thought that was totally funny! ...as if we didn't know it was there!

Finally we arrive at the Lodge:

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/420.jpg

After getting off ME we look around, but a CL cast member was NOT waiting to greet us like they told us. Minus one for CL. So we walk in and walk up to the registration desk and I told the CM that we were CL guests. Supposedly we were to be taken upstairs to the CL lounge to check in. Or so I was told. But really, the CM at the front desk just checked us in. No comfy chairs, snacks or beverages. Boo. Minus 2 for CL. CL sure had a lot of points to make up and we had only been there for 10 minutes! We make our way to our 5th floor room and were excited to find...

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/001.jpg

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/004.jpg

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/002.jpg

YIIPPEE!! We got our room request. The kids were pumped to have bunk beds for the week!

We also had some yummy looking chocolate flamingos courtesy of CL...plus one for them!

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/003.jpg

After checking out our room and putting down our carry on luggage, we had to check out our view...it was of course, fabulous!

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/084.jpg

Next, we headed to the Mara to grab some dinner. I forgot the camera in our room, so no pics. But the kids shared a chicken tender meal and DH and I shared a chicken flatbread. I really like the Mara's chicken flatbreads...I had it several times later in the week. And this night whoever did the cooking added jalepenos to it which was delicious!! While at the Mara we each picked out our travel mugs. I was glad to see they had 4 different colored handles so we could each have a different color.

After eating the kids wanted to swim so we headed back to our room and changed. While I was getting the kids changed DH went to the CL lounge to check it out. He texts me that the CL lounge is AWESOME and why haven't we stayed CL before now?? Okay...plus one for CL again. Guess we're back to even. ;) DH got a beer and brought me a glass of wine which I proceeded to enjoy by the pool while the kids swam with DH.

Upon returning to our room we put the kids to bed and DH and I sat on the balcony to let the kids go to sleep and to enjoy some quiet time. This is one of my FAVORITE things about AKL. Sitting on the balcony at night, watching the animals in the dark and spending some quality down time w/ my hubby :love: It would appear that our area of the savanna was where all the animals enjoyed bedding down for the night:

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/006.jpg

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/005.jpg

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/007.jpg

The savanna outside our room looked like this every night of our trip. What a great way to end our days! Finally, DH and I get our fill of the animals and the ambiance, and we head to bed around 11....

...Gotta hit the hay early you know...we have a breakfast reservation with some very important people!!

[Joyciemc]

Very nice travel day! Having stayed at AK for the first time, it is so cool to see another perspective. And I am so jealous of your CL stay... I love beer.

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

Boo for getting pulled aside by security, that always happens to one of us as well. :rolleyes:

That's great that you got your room request, a great way to start off the trip!

[amandaw]

Loved the update! :thumbsup2 We were actually there during the same time! And what an awesome view from your room. :goodvibes

[Aburns8]

Sorry to hear about the security. I will make sure to never pack coffee packets :goodvibes Sounds like that CL didn't have their stuff stright that day! Can't wait to hear more!

[mrssmith06]

I'm here, I'm here!!!! :yay: So excited to be reading your TR!!! Loving it so far, can't wait for more! popcorn::

[AKL LOVER]

Very nice travel day! Having stayed at AK for the first time, it is so cool to see another perspective. And I am so jealous of your CL stay... I love beer.

If you love beer you should definitely do a CL stay sometime...I loved being able to go up in the evenings and just grab a beer out of the fridge...or pour a glass of wine. And the CM's would even give you a beer during the day when it wasn't out. All you had to do was ask. I would always hit up the lounge before we went to the pool :thumbsup2


Boo for getting pulled aside by security, that always happens to one of us as well. :rolleyes:

That's great that you got your room request, a great way to start off the trip!

It really ended up being not that big of a deal. But you know the panic that runs through you when they ask that question! And I was so sure that I didn't pack a single thing that would raise any red flags! Note to self: put the Starbucks Via packets in checked luggage next year! Who knows, maybe next year we can make it without having one of our bags being searched!

Although, one advantage to flying with kids...I've never gotten picked to do the full body scan! I guess the TSA people always feel sorry for parents with their hands full! Last year they skipped over DH and I completely, but since the kids were walking with me mostly through security this year, they did pick DH :rolleyes1


Loved the update! :thumbsup2 We were actually there during the same time! And what an awesome view from your room. :goodvibes

Hope you guys had a good trip. The weather was beautiful, wasn't it? Where did you stay??


Sorry to hear about the security. I will make sure to never pack coffee packets :goodvibes Sounds like that CL didn't have their stuff stright that day! Can't wait to hear more!

Back away from the coffee packets...or just pack them in your checked bag! ;)


I'm here, I'm here!!!! :yay: So excited to be reading your TR!!! Loving it so far, can't wait for more! popcorn::

I've really had a hard time finding time to DIS since we got back. There has just been so much going on. Family visiting the week we got back, adding some finishing touches on our garden that we didn't get done before Disney, getting the van back, getting a new van, SOL testing at work, an upcoming holiday weekend complete with a wedding to go to, making strawberry jam while strawberries are in season....Not that you all need to know how busy I am, because everyone else is just as busy. I digress. The point being, hopefully I will have a lot more updates posted in the next couple of weeks, and most definitely by the time you get back from your trip. Hope you guys have a great time!! :goodvibes

[Queenofallthings]

What a perfect travel day, everything went like clockwork for you!

Your room is beautiful and that view....it really can't be beat!

[amandaw]

Hope you guys had a good trip. The weather was beautiful, wasn't it? Where did you stay??

We had a wonderful trip! My DH & I said this was the best vacation we have ever had. We couldn't have asked for better weather and I was so worried about it before we left! :laughing: We stayed Club Level at Wilderness Lodge. It was our first time staying CL & our first time at WL! :cool1:

[Luvmepluto]

AK always looks so amazing! I can't wait to hear more about your trip.

Vivian

[pinkxray]

The bunk beds look fun for the kids:thumbsup2

I can't wait to hear all about staying club level. I would love to stay CL at AKL and do the Sunrise safari. I thought about booking the sunset safari this year but Caitlin isn't old enough and she probably would have had a meltdown if we went without her.

The chocolate flamingos are so cute!

[tinawv]

Sounds like the beginning of a great trip. Can't wait to read more. :)

[AKL LOVER]

What a perfect travel day, everything went like clockwork for you!

Your room is beautiful and that view....it really can't be beat!

It was a fabulous view. We've never had a bad one in our 4 stays at AKL!!


We had a wonderful trip! My DH & I said this was the best vacation we have ever had. We couldn't have asked for better weather and I was so worried about it before we left! :laughing: We stayed Club Level at Wilderness Lodge. It was our first time staying CL & our first time at WL! :cool1:

So glad to hear you guys had a great trip! First time staying CL and first time at a new resort--I bet you really enjoyed that!


AK always looks so amazing! I can't wait to hear more about your trip.

Vivian

It is an amazing resort. The pictures don't always do it justice. You should really take the time to visit it one day while in Disney if you get the chance!


The bunk beds look fun for the kids:thumbsup2

I can't wait to hear all about staying club level. I would love to stay CL at AKL and do the Sunrise safari. I thought about booking the sunset safari this year but Caitlin isn't old enough and she probably would have had a meltdown if we went without her.

The chocolate flamingos are so cute!

I had no idea you guys were staying at AKL...did you say that in your PTR? If so I missed it. If not, you were a sneaky little thing, saving that surprise for your TR!!

We also didn't do the safari because our kids are too young. Gives me something to look forward to doing at Disney once they get older. ;)


Sounds like the beginning of a great trip. Can't wait to read more. :)

Thanks for joining!

[dtr_angel]

I'm joining in, I'm just back from 7 nights at the AKL for the first time :)

[ClareH37]

Joining in too - I've just booked 2 nights AKL CL for the last 2 nights of my upcoming trip so reading your report with interest. :goodvibes

[AKL LOVER]

Tuesday May 3

Our first full day in Disney dawned bright and beautiful and promised to be a wonderful day! We were up nice and early because we had somewhere very important to be...We all felt well rested since we had spent the night before just hanging out at the resort. I think I might go the whole arrive-the-night-before-you-really-want-your-vacation-to-start route in the future--it worked out really well! :lovestruc

Since we were well rested, getting up and ready went smoothly! We were on a bus headed to MK by 7:20 am...and entered the park by 7:45 because of our before park opening breakfast ADR. After entering, we rounded the corner to see one of the most beautiful sights. EVER.

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/406.jpg

This pic was actually taken later in the week, hence the crowd. We headed right to get a photopass pic before breakfast so I forgot to take my own that morning! And since I don't have my photopass pics yet, I'll have to share the picture we got that morning later.

So after a lovely photo-op we headed to eat...we were starving!

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/399.jpg

Good thing I picked a place with a great breakfast! We love Crystal Palace. We actually didn't eat here on our last trip, so it had been 2 years. We couldn't wait to have some yummy food and see some beloved characters. I snapped a quick pic of DH and the kids while we waited...

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/009.jpg

And our pager was going off a minute later. And it's a good thing! From the pic you can see that DD and possible DH were getting a little grumpy due to starvation! :rotfl: We waited about 5 minutes total. Nice :thumbsup2--I love early morning ADRs!

I actually didn't take any food pics here because I was so worried about getting character pics and autographs.

The CP chef came over almost immediately after we sat down and walked DH up around the bar showing him what DS could and couldn't have. For those of you who don't remember from my PTR, DS has an Egg allergy :sad2: The chef asked DS what sounded good and he had waffles with no egg and bacon (cooked on griddle that did not have eggs cooked on it) sent out.

Characters started coming right away and the kids were excited to see them:

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/010.jpg

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/013.jpg

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/014.jpg

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/018.jpg

We finished up breakfast, paid and left about 15 minutes after rope drop. Not too bad...so we headed off to Fantasyland--the first place you hit in MK with little ones!!

Our first ride was going to be, of course, Dumbo. But the line was already at 30 minutes. Yikes! :eek: So I told the kids we'd come back to ride Dumbo another day b/c we really didn't want to start our vacation off by waiting in long lines! So we headed to the next best thing in Fantasyland--Peter pan!

After riding Peter pan we rode:

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/020.jpg

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/019.jpg


What do you think DS was looking at in this pic?? :) While riding I snapped some Fantasyland expansion pics:

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/021.jpg

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/022.jpg

It's funny how different the actual size of the new castle is vs what it looks like in an upclose picture. I didn't believe it, but it really was tiny! (Don't worry--I more expansion pics from Dumbo later in the week!)

After that, we headed to:

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/026.jpg

I wanted to check out the new line:

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/023.jpg

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/025.jpg

The wait wasn't long so I didn't really get a lot of pics since we didn't stop often. But it would be better to wait a long time in this line than a lot of others--there was quite a bit for the kids to do and play with!


Up next: on our way to Phillarmagic DH gets distracted...any guesses??

[Aburns8]

Looks like you are having a lot of fun! We just ate breakfast at CP a couple weeks back as well. We really enjoyed ourselves. I can't wait to hear more!

[Lidian]

But you have the best reason EVER to fall behind on my TR--you are at Disney right this minute!!! As I type this, I find myself wondering exactly what you and your family are doing...so many possibilities... Where ever you are, whatever you are doing, I hope you are having a blast!!

As you was writing that, we were at DHS, probably riding Star Tours, judging by the time. :thumbsup2 Just so you can put your mind at ease. :lmao::rotfl2:

And I did fall behind. :headache: But it's okay, I was having fun!

Sorry that you had a bag searched. I've never flown, and that's one of my fears - and the checker will fling my stuff around and something will get lost. :sad2:

Also sorry that CL didn't start off so well, but did pick up. Totally can't wait to hear more!

Loving the pics! :love: I saw the Beast's castle ... but your pic is soo much better! Mine was snapped walking from Tomorrowland to Dumbo. I didn't think to look while on rides. I was too focused on the rides. :rotfl2:

Well, I'll sit back and wait for more updates. Since I don't have better things to do now. :( :lmao:

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

You had the same idea as us, we had wanted to ride Dumbo to see over the wall, sadly the line was always too long so it never happened. I look forward to seeing your pictures. :thumbsup2

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

Doing a little trip report pimping. I just started my new report and thought I would let you know. :goodvibes

Feeling Hot Hot Hot! The Rain Curse is Broken! Two Weeks of Fun in the Sun! (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2730760)

[amandaw]

Love the update! Since we were there at the same time, it's fun seeing what someone else was doing with their family.

[emma212010]

Yay! I love CP!!! :lovestruc How nice the Chef came right out and made a special waffle for DH!

[AKL LOVER]

I'm joining in, I'm just back from 7 nights at the AKL for the first time :)

Did you absolutely LOVE it?? :love: Hope so--it's a fabulous resort (just in case you haven't heard me say that already!!:laughing:) BTW, welcome to my TR!


Joining in too - I've just booked 2 nights AKL CL for the last 2 nights of my upcoming trip so reading your report with interest. :goodvibes

You are really going to enjoy CL. Hope that I can provide enough info so you know what to expect and how to get the most out of staying CL!


Looks like you are having a lot of fun! We just ate breakfast at CP a couple weeks back as well. We really enjoyed ourselves. I can't wait to hear more!

Glad to hear you enjoyed CP. They really have a good breakfast!


As you was writing that, we were at DHS, probably riding Star Tours, judging by the time. :thumbsup2 Just so you can put your mind at ease. :lmao::rotfl2:

And I did fall behind. :headache: But it's okay, I was having fun!

Sorry that you had a bag searched. I've never flown, and that's one of my fears - and the checker will fling my stuff around and something will get lost. :sad2:

Also sorry that CL didn't start off so well, but did pick up. Totally can't wait to hear more!

Loving the pics! :love: I saw the Beast's castle ... but your pic is soo much better! Mine was snapped walking from Tomorrowland to Dumbo. I didn't think to look while on rides. I was too focused on the rides. :rotfl2:

Well, I'll sit back and wait for more updates. Since I don't have better things to do now. :( :lmao:

Glad to know you were doing something awesome as I posted that, because I totally pictured you doing something awesome...like plunging downward on ToT screaming your heads off!! :lmao: I could even see the look of terror on your faces as I imagined it. But riding the brand new ST is just as good--Lucky you! We were sad we missed the new ST.


You had the same idea as us, we had wanted to ride Dumbo to see over the wall, sadly the line was always too long so it never happened. I look forward to seeing your pictures. :thumbsup2

Doing a little trip report pimping. I just started my new report and thought I would let you know. :goodvibes

Feeling Hot Hot Hot! The Rain Curse is Broken! Two Weeks of Fun in the Sun! (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2730760)

Already found it and subbed and started reading. Boy do your TRs and PTRs move fast. You already have multiple pages and you haven't posted more than an intro update!

Luckily, we found a time later in the week where the Dumbo line wasn't too bad. And with little ones, one HAS to ride Dumbo when you go to Disney you know ;). So I think we would've ended up waiting in an awful line if we hadn't gotten lucky later. Thank goodness for that!


Love the update! Since we were there at the same time, it's fun seeing what someone else was doing with their family.

Seeing what other families did the same time that we were there is one of my favorite parts about reading other TRs! Glad you enjoyed my update. Thanks for reading!


Yay! I love CP!!! :lovestruc How nice the Chef came right out and made a special waffle for DH!

We got spoiled being in Disney and having a chef at each restaurant come out and talk to us about DS's allergy. Just another reason we LOVE Disney!! Especially when not long after coming home we went out and had to argue with a server at a local restaurant about finding out if something he wanted at dinner had egg in it. She kept saying, I don't *think* it has egg in it. I had to insist several times that she actually had to go check, we couldn't just go off of her assumption! I mean, REALLY? I need to argue with you about a food allergy? Someone take me back to Disney!! ;)

[Lidian]

You are really going to enjoy CL. Hope that I can provide enough info so you know what to expect and how to get the most out of staying CL!

Glad to know you were doing something awesome as I posted that, because I totally pictured you doing something awesome...like plunging downward on ToT screaming your heads off!! :lmao: I could even see the look of terror on your faces as I imagined it. But riding the brand new ST is just as good--Lucky you! We were sad we missed the new ST.

Luckily, we found a time later in the week where the Dumbo line wasn't too bad. And with little ones, one HAS to ride Dumbo when you go to Disney you know ;). So I think we would've ended up waiting in an awful line if we hadn't gotten lucky later. Thank goodness for that!

We got spoiled being in Disney and having a chef at each restaurant come out and talk to us about DS's allergy. Just another reason we LOVE Disney!! Especially when not long after coming home we went out and had to argue with a server at a local restaurant about finding out if something he wanted at dinner had egg in it. She kept saying, I don't *think* it has egg in it. I had to insist several times that she actually had to go check, we couldn't just go off of her assumption! I mean, REALLY? I need to argue with you about a food allergy? Someone take me back to Disney!! ;)

We're hoping for an AKL CL stay next year for our anniversary. So I'm really excited to hear more - to see if its truly what we want, or if we'd rather attempt somewhere else. :goodvibes

I didn't cry on ToT until around 4pm. :lmao::rotfl2: And actually, I got lucky, we only had one BIG drop, and then a couple of little ones and it was over. I even leaned over and asked the guy sitting next to DD (who claimed to be an expert on the ride), "Is it seriously over?? I know I screamed more last time..." :rotfl:

You'll definitely have to plan a trip just to see the new ST. ;)

We have never gotten to ride Dumbo. :( Out of three years, the Dumbo line was never manageable. :sad2:

My experiences were different with food allergies. I was disappointed with the chefs/servers and DD's milk allergy. We only had two chefs come out to the table - one at 50's PTC and one at Teppan Edo (out of 5 TS meals). She can tolerate trace amounts, so we just did our best with the menu - and everytime they tried to bring her ice cream, we'd send it away and ask for a bowl of fruit instead. (And then send it back when it had whipped cream on top since they didn't listen. :headache:)

But that's really lame that a server didn't want to go check. I used to serve, and if someone asked if an ingredient was in a dish, if I didn't know 100%, I'd go ask the chef - and always, ALWAYS get a manager involved. I'd have felt horrible if my table had an allergic reaction and I could have done something to prevent it.

[basketkat]

Looks like a great morning so far! We love CP too!!!

Don't you just love how great Disney is with food allergies? My youngest is severely allergic to milk, and I was amazed at how knowledgeable everyone was. I loved being able to be out to eat without worrying!

[pinkxray]

I love CP early in the morning. I think the 8am CP adr will be the one ADR I try to get each trip.

Love the expansion pictures. I am so excited they are building Belle's castle since she is my favorite Disney princess.

The new coaster they are building looks pretty cool. I tried to get some pictures but Caitlin insisted I stop taking pictures of stupid things.

[lbuzz52]

Welcome aboard the motorcoah...er, I mean my TR! You're on your way to a magical journey, where children test your patience and not everything goes as planned, but the magic never stops! We hope you'll share some laughs along the way. So sit back, relax and let my family do the driving!



My son couldn't stop quoting the motorcoach recordings, so I thought it only appropriate to start my TR that way! ;)



Now, let's get this TR started!


TR updates:

The who, when, and where for those of you just joining
We're here and staying CL...lead me to the drinks!
It's a 'really lame, outdated ride' world: Part 1


love the start!!!

I seriously hate photobucket right now. Sorry about the gi-normous picture sizes. I have tried and tried to resize them and make them smaller, but it never changes the size! I think it's because I originally uploaded them too big. GGGRRRR!


i have this problem too sometimes. are you hitting apply?

Joining in, just got home a few hours ago. I saw on your PTR your van was found, that is great news! Can't wait to hear about the trip!

oh, i missed this while i was gone! i'll have to go and read about the new one, but glad it was found!!


your view was perfect! i think i may need to splurge and go CL level sometime. i totally agree about Pooh- both of them. the 8am ADR is the way to go and you need lots of time in the line!

[jm106]

I just saw your made a TR and I plan to read all about your trip! I hope it was great, Ill be back to catch up

[AKL LOVER]

Looks like a great morning so far! We love CP too!!!

Don't you just love how great Disney is with food allergies? My youngest is severely allergic to milk, and I was amazed at how knowledgeable everyone was. I loved being able to be out to eat without worrying!

Disney is FABULOUS with allergies (in our experiences) :lovestruc so it is such a relief to eat out without worrying!


I love CP early in the morning. I think the 8am CP adr will be the one ADR I try to get each trip.

Love the expansion pictures. I am so excited they are building Belle's castle since she is my favorite Disney princess.

The new coaster they are building looks pretty cool. I tried to get some pictures but Caitlin insisted I stop taking pictures of stupid things.

I couldn't really tell where the new coaster was being built. I wonder if that means they were that much further along in the expansion once you got there. Good to know they are moving right along with all that. :thumbsup2

I can't wait for the new restaurant in the expansion. It will be fun to have another TS option in MK. It's probably going to be crazy busy at first so I'll probably book that ADR first on our next trip (if it's open by then...).

Luckily, my DH and kids just mocked me about all my picture taking, but they let me do it at least. Most of the teasing took place when I was taking pictures of food...I told them, "For the love of my trip report...if taking pictures of food makes me happy, then leave me alone!" ;)


love the start!!!

i have this problem too sometimes. are you hitting apply?

oh, i missed this while i was gone! i'll have to go and read about the new one, but glad it was found!!

your view was perfect! i think i may need to splurge and go CL level sometime. i totally agree about Pooh- both of them. the 8am ADR is the way to go and you need lots of time in the line!

I don't know why I'm having that problem with photobucket. The real pain is that it only happens to some of my pictures...not all of them. I think it's happening to the ones I uploaded before I changed my upload size preference...and now I can't seem to go back and fix them. Oh well.

Finding the van was a relief and at the same time it wasn't. Does that make sense?? :confused3 I really thought I would feel better about the whole situation if they just found it. Then once they did, I didn't really feel that sense of relief I expected. I think everything is finally done with all of that so I am ready to put it all behind us...now that will be a relief!!!

If you ever get the chance to splurge and go CL, I would go for it!


I just saw your made a TR and I plan to read all about your trip! I hope it was great, Ill be back to catch up

Thanks for joining in--It's good to see people who followed me over from my PTR! :goodvibes

[AKL LOVER]

When I left off we were in Fantasyland heading over to Mickey's Philarmagic. This is one of mine and DH's favorite attractions! :lovestruc

But along the way DH got distracted. What could possibly distract a grown man in Fantasyland you ask??




....was it a beautiful princess?




Nope.




....or perhaps a scantily clad princess?? :laughing:




Nope.




....maybe it was a rumbly in his tumbly?




Still no.




It was of course....



http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/027.jpg

...the need to boost his ego.


Unfortunately, he was not successful in extracting the sword (go figure), so he settled for a manly pose instead.

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/028.jpg

This is the first time that DH has noticed the sword. He actually asked me if it was new! :rotfl: Seriously, our 4th trip and we spend the majority of our trips in Fantasyland and this is the first time you've noticed it?? Goes to show that you can be surprised by something "new" when you least expect it at Disney!

We headed into PM and of course loved it like always. Then we headed over towards BTMRR--DS's first big boy ride of the trip!! On the way, It's a Small World only had a 5 minute wait, so of course, we HAD to ride. Much to DH's dislike. At 10:28 on the 3rd DH checked in at this ride and posted on FB: 'Should be renamed..."its a really really lame,outdated ride"world'. But at least he rode it for me and the kids! :)

After our "lame" (according to DH) ride, we headed for a more exciting one--a run away train! But first, that rumbly in our tumbly had started to make an appearance, so we stopped and bought a soft pretzel and got 2 bottles of water in Frontierland. 3 snack credits down. :thumbsup2 And I'm disappointed that I didn't write down the price for these snacks...I thought I would actually remember later :laughing: but it was $9 something for the 3. (I did finally start writing down prices not long after that!)

We finally make it to BTMRR and the wait is 10 minutes: SCORE! We were on the train in no time.

DS rode with DH (so I could get a picture of him!) and is excited to ride:

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/029.jpg

Can't forget DD (here she is sitting next to me):

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/030.jpg

Although there were a couple of parts where he looked terrified, DS proclaimed BTMRR to be his new favorite ride! After getting off, the wait was still listed at 10 minutes. So we gave the kids a choice...ride again or do something else. Well, they picked do something else...

...and what other do something else should they pick, but go swimming! :rolleyes: (This would be pool time #2 in case you are counting ) I did put my foot down and say that I wanted to ride one of my favorite rides on our way out of the park: PoC. But unfortunately when we got there we learned that the ride was down. :sad2: It was a bummer, but we would be back several more times this week, so I wasn't too worried about it...keep that in mind for later. It becomes crucial!

So we head out of the park even though it's only a little after 12. We made it back to AKL and down to the pool :cool2:. Here is the evidence:

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/JJChillen.jpg

Please ignore my hubby's white legs :rolleyes:. To be fair, this was our first day of sun during vacation, so he hadn't had time to work on his tan yet! :beach:


Up next: a Fantasmic Evening!

[Chaitali]

When I left off we were in Fantasyland heading over to Mickey's Philarmagic. This is one of mine and DH's favorite attractions! :lovestruc


That was one of our favorite rides too! I'm glad you got to go on It's a Small World. I can understand why some people think it's lame, but it's a classic! We went on it with no line too. I'm not sure I'd be willing to wait too long for it.

[pinkxray]

Back to the pool by 12.... am I reading my own trip report right now?

I love that your DH has never seen the sword before. Looks like he was trying very hard.


I don't think we ever set foot in adventureland. I was on the way home, on the plane and all of the sudden blurted out "I never got a dole whip!":rotfl: Little late now.

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

:lmao: What does everybody always have against Small World? :confused3

[Busymom85]

Enjoying your report so far. Looking forward to the rest.

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

Joining in! I like it's a small world....it's one of those timeless rides! (And, air conditioned!)

I'm guessing this was the first of many pool visits...:laughing:

[Becc1]

Ok I'm back and all caught up on your report. Can't wait to hear more about your CL stay, I would love to do it some day! We never got to get over to AKL this trip so I am looking forward to living viariously through you, we stayed there back in 2002 and loved it and DS asked if we can stay there again next time . We are planning our next trip to be in 2013 when he graduates H.S so I think that will be a surprise I'll give him. :thumbsup2

[Aburns8]

Awesome update! Funny that you tried to ride Pirates. When we tried to ride it the first time last month it was down. Even when we went in October our first attempt was a no no. It seems to always have a problem.

[DjdBrit]

Hi, just found this TR and am enjoying it so much, I feel the need to sub :)

[AKL LOVER]

That was one of our favorite rides too! I'm glad you got to go on It's a Small World. I can understand why some people think it's lame, but it's a classic! We went on it with no line too. I'm not sure I'd be willing to wait too long for it.

I don't think that I could have convinced him to ride if the line was too long either. Good thing it was short.


Back to the pool by 12.... am I reading my own trip report right now?

I love that your DH has never seen the sword before. Looks like he was trying very hard.


I don't think we ever set foot in adventureland. I was on the way home, on the plane and all of the sudden blurted out "I never got a dole whip!":rotfl: Little late now.

I guess technically we didn't hit the pool til about 1:30 by the time we made it back to the resort and changed. Didn't I tell you that our trips sounded similar in some aspects! ;) Just you wait...


:lmao: What does everybody always have against Small World? :confused3

DD seemed bored with it this trip while riding, so we may just skip it next trip. It just feels so un-Disney to walk by and just not ride a classic like small world.


Enjoying your report so far. Looking forward to the rest.

:welcome: Thanks for joining--glad you are enjoying it so far!


Joining in! I like it's a small world....it's one of those timeless rides! (And, air conditioned!)

I'm guessing this was the first of many pool visits...:laughing:

You are one smart cookie on both counts--the cool air on Small World and the pool visits! 2 thumbs up for you! :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2

[AKL LOVER]

Ok I'm back and all caught up on your report. Can't wait to hear more about your CL stay, I would love to do it some day! We never got to get over to AKL this trip so I am looking forward to living viariously through you, we stayed there back in 2002 and loved it and DS asked if we can stay there again next time . We are planning our next trip to be in 2013 when he graduates H.S so I think that will be a surprise I'll give him. :thumbsup2

Welcome back to the real world! I saw on your PTR that you were back. Hope you had a good time--I will definitely be following your TR!

What a fabulous surprise that would be for your DS. I mean, staying at AKL would be wonderful anytime, but to get to Disney and discover that's where you're staying (especially since he's been wanting to go back!)...well that would be heaven :cloud9:


Awesome update! Funny that you tried to ride Pirates. When we tried to ride it the first time last month it was down. Even when we went in October our first attempt was a no no. It seems to always have a problem.

Well if you think that's bad, just wait til some of my updates for later in the week! Why does that ride have so many problems? This is the first trip we've noticed it!


Hi, just found this TR and am enjoying it so much, I feel the need to sub :)

Hi! :wave2: Thanks for subbing! I'm really loving this whole PTR/TR idea since my extended family/friends are really tired of hearing me talk non-stop about Disney. The best part is--everyone around here not only understands, but enjoys hearing it!! :yay:

[AKL LOVER]

I have a quick update that isn't a trip update, but it's something Disney related, so I thought I'd share!

Those of you that followed me over from my PTR already knew that my van was stolen. For those new to my TR--you can read about it here (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=40891822&postcount=352). Basically, it was taken from our driveway Easter Sunday (we think around 4 a.m.). It was 6 days before we left for our trip!

A week after we returned from Disney we got a call from the police--they had found it. We were about 5 days from settling with the insurance company. It was an '06 Honda Odyssey--so we assumed it had been taken and stripped for parts. We never expected that they would recover it. It was found about a 1/2 mile from our house (through the woods; about a mile driving distance) parked in a neighborhood in front of someone's home on the side of the road. According to the resident, it had been parked there for approximately 3 weeks, i.e. the entire time it was missing. It still had a full tank of gas. And while they took my purse (with all of my canceled credit cards and bank account!) they left my expensive laptop in the trunk. Go figure. :confused3 They even left a jacket in the van, an L.L. Bean one--I hoped they're pissed they lost it! (And I don't feel one ounce of bad for thinking that either!) So, I don't think we're talking about very smart thiefs here...:rolleyes:

Getting it back did not give me the sense of relief that I thought it would. There were problems with it when we got it back but it was certainly fixable. However, I felt weird knowing that someone, somewhere knew my van and my liscense plate and they might see me out and know it was me. Besides, it smelled funny now, not bad I guess, just not like our van! :sad1: Is that weird?? That combined with the problems that had to be fixed and taking into consideration the regular maintanence that was going to be due on it soon, we decided it was in our best interest to trade it in. And if you're going to do that, you might as well upgrade, right ;). As much as I don't like having a car payment again, I do like my new ride:


http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/003-2.jpg

Still confused how this is Disney related? Check out the back of my van more closely and you will notice one of my purchases from our trip:

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/007-1.jpg



So, alls well that ends well. I'm gald to be done with the whole situation and put it behind us. It was such a negative experience (obviously) and I'm glad everything is finally offically taken care of. Done and done! :thumbsup2


And thanks for letting me rant about it all to you guys! :flower3: You're the best!


Also, before I end this 'it's not a trip update but it's still Disney related' one more thing. Today we went to Old Navy to purchase matching flag tees for 4th of July. They had a ton of new Disney shirts for boys and girls in case anyone is looking for some for their upcoming trips. I saw cars, mickey, minnie, phineas and ferb and I'm sure there were others, but the kids got tired of looking. I also scored this beauty:

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/001-1.jpg


I will definitely be rocking this on the 4th!!



So that's that. See, told you this update was Disney related! ;)

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

Congrats on the new car even if it came around due to rotten circumstances! :laughing:

[Aburns8]

Congratulations on the new van!

[Lidian]

Love the new ride! Sorry to hear of the issues, but glad it came out nice in the end. And I hope that jerk is missing his jacket, too!

Totally love the window decal, wished I had gotten one. :( I never thought to look for window decals ... I did get an antenna topper though ...

And now I need to make a trip to ON so I can get me a Mickey 4th shirt!! :goodvibes Thanks for letting us know!!

[Queenofallthings]

My DD18 feels the same way as your DH about IASW...she goes on simply to keep her mother happy:lmao:

I love the reactions of the kiddies before during and after their "first" big rides! This August my niece who is 6 is finally tall enough for RnRC so we can't wait!!

We too leave the parks around noon for an afternoon by the pool....AKL just has the best pool doesn't it? It's our favorite!

[beebeeryan]

YAY on the new van!, I think I would have done the same knowing someone had been in there and all.

LOL at the "lame" FB post. Your DH sounds just like mine, he was so happy last summer that IASW was closed for refurbs. This year I told him we're going on it, the kids have to experience it and he's already complaining about it. :rotfl:

Enjoying your TR, great pics too!

[taymacsmom]

Congrats on the new van!:thumbsup2 I would be "weirded out" by knowing that other people were in my car too!:scared1: I got the same shirt for myself at ON and I love it!!:love: It's really comfy!

Kelly

[Joyciemc]

The new van looks very swanky!

At least finding your old van meant getting your laptop back, though!

[ozzyla]

I'm in, can't wait to hear more about cl.

[Motocross Tink]

Hi just got caught up on your TR! Can't wait to hear more and congrats on the new car!!:woohoo:

[AKL LOVER]

Congrats on the new car even if it came around due to rotten circumstances! :laughing:

Congratulations on the new van!

Thanks! I'm lovin' it so far :goodvibes


Love the new ride! Sorry to hear of the issues, but glad it came out nice in the end. And I hope that jerk is missing his jacket, too!

Totally love the window decal, wished I had gotten one. :( I never thought to look for window decals ... I did get an antenna topper though ...

And now I need to make a trip to ON so I can get me a Mickey 4th shirt!! :goodvibes Thanks for letting us know!!

I'm glad I'm not the only one who had the thought about the missing jacket! ;)

I love the antenna toppers, but I don't have an antenna! Hence why I went with a decal. I was torn between Mickey and Tinker Bell...but I'm happy with my Mickey. Now I get a little bit of Disney every day just by looking at my van. And I bought that decal on a particularly happy day of my trip, so looking at it makes me think of that.

The shirt from ON is so comfy. :thumbsup2

My DD18 feels the same way as your DH about IASW...she goes on simply to keep her mother happy:lmao:

I love the reactions of the kiddies before during and after their "first" big rides! This August my niece who is 6 is finally tall enough for RnRC so we can't wait!!

We too leave the parks around noon for an afternoon by the pool....AKL just has the best pool doesn't it? It's our favorite!

DH is convinced that most people who ride IASW really think it's a lame ride, they just do it because it's so "Disney". Or at least that's what he says to make himself feel better about being a lame-o. :laughing:

I wish that I had been coordinated enough to turn around and snap a pic of DS during the ride--we was SO SO cute!!

And I'm glad to hear there are other families out there who are walking out of the parks at noon...maybe my family isn't that weird afterall!! :rotfl:


YAY on the new van!, I think I would have done the same knowing someone had been in there and all.

LOL at the "lame" FB post. Your DH sounds just like mine, he was so happy last summer that IASW was closed for refurbs. This year I told him we're going on it, the kids have to experience it and he's already complaining about it. :rotfl:

Enjoying your TR, great pics too!

IASW closed for refurb during a trip? That would put my DH on :cloud9:!!


Congrats on the new van!:thumbsup2 I would be "weirded out" by knowing that other people were in my car too!:scared1: I got the same shirt for myself at ON and I love it!!:love: It's really comfy!

Kelly

Thanks on the van. I finally got to try the shirt on and it is super comfy. I love it too!


The new van looks very swanky!

At least finding your old van meant getting your laptop back, though!

Swanky is actually the perfect word to describe that van. You know, swanky is a great word that doesn't get used often enough. I think I'm going to start saying that word more to bring it back into style. Boy my 7th graders are going to love that...swanky...hehehe

I cannot believe that my laptop was still in there. Biggest surprise ever. I'm glad if someone was going to steal my van, at least they were stupid about it...


I'm in, can't wait to hear more about cl.

Thanks for joining. I have some more CL pics coming up soon in the next few updates. However, I'm actually worried that I should have taken more pics while we were there. I kept getting weird looks from other guests every time I took pics in the CL lounge.:confused3 Obviously they aren't on the DIS boards!

[AKL LOVER]

Hi just got caught up on your TR! Can't wait to hear more and congrats on the new car!!:woohoo:

I promise to have another trip update soon--I'm in the process of writing it right now. I am so lame putting up an update about my van :rolleyes1 but I wanted to keep my readers entertained between updates! ;)

[Lidian]

I'm glad I'm not the only one who had the thought about the missing jacket! ;)

I love the antenna toppers, but I don't have an antenna! Hence why I went with a decal. I was torn between Mickey and Tinker Bell...but I'm happy with my Mickey. Now I get a little bit of Disney every day just by looking at my van. And I bought that decal on a particularly happy day of my trip, so looking at it makes me think of that.

The shirt from ON is so comfy. :thumbsup2

Swanky is actually the perfect word to describe that van. You know, swanky is a great word that doesn't get used often enough. I think I'm going to start saying that word more to bring it back into style. Boy my 7th graders are going to love that...swanky...hehehe

I got the antenna topper, but it doesn't fit. :scared1: So now I'm REALLY wishing I opted for the decal. Yup, I'm officially jealous. :lmao:

Glad the shirt is comfy! Now I really need to get motivated!

Swanky... I can see the new TR title:
Next trip I'm booking a swanky resort without a pool

:rotfl2::rotfl2:

I promise to have another trip update soon--I'm in the process of writing it right now. I am so lame putting up an update about my van :rolleyes1 but I wanted to keep my readers entertained between updates! ;)

I'm so glad you did update us on the van! You left your PTR readers hanging, so we were entitled. :goodvibes :lmao::rotfl2:

[The Marsons]

A little late but may I join in?

Great trip report :thumbsup2 We are staying at AKL for the first time in August and also CL. Can't wait to hear how you got on.

Congrats on the new van. The exact same happened to my Dad two months ago and he decided to buy a new van as the old one had been used in a robbery and was badly damaged. I am a stong believer in what goes around comes around.

Thanks

Sarah

[AKL LOVER]

I got the antenna topper, but it doesn't fit. :scared1: So now I'm REALLY wishing I opted for the decal. Yup, I'm officially jealous. :lmao:

Glad the shirt is comfy! Now I really need to get motivated!

Swanky... I can see the new TR title:
Next trip I'm booking a swanky resort without a pool

:rotfl2::rotfl2:


I'm so glad you did update us on the van! You left your PTR readers hanging, so we were entitled. :goodvibes :lmao::rotfl2:

Hey--I had to leave you guys on a cliff hanger so you'd come over to read my TR, right?? ;) And I am definitely thinking I need to work the word swanky into my next PTR/TR title somehow...

Sorry your antenna topper doesn't fit--what a :headache:! Maybe you can cut the hole bigger so it will fit?


A little late but may I join in?

Great trip report :thumbsup2 We are staying at AKL for the first time in August and also CL. Can't wait to hear how you got on.

Congrats on the new van. The exact same happened to my Dad two months ago and he decided to buy a new van as the old one had been used in a robbery and was badly damaged. I am a stong believer in what goes around comes around.

Thanks

Sarah

Of course you can! Glad to have you along--the more the merrier! :goodvibes

That sucks that your dad's van was stolen AND used in a robbery. Shesh...what is wrong with people these days? :sad2: Believing in Karma has really helped me with this situation. I just gotta believe that one of these days they will reap what they sowed!

[AKL LOVER]

When I last left off, we were enjoying an afternoon at the pool (go figure!). It was on this day that we became introduced to the AKL pool party held every afternoon from 2-4. CM's would bring out a table and blast music and do all sorts of fun stuff with the kids. They had them dancing, playing games, diving for treasure and just having fun. :cool1: I have to admit (but :ssst: don't tell my family I said this since it's pool related!) this really was a lot of fun. My kids didn't really participate a whole lot--they preferred to just swim!--but I had fun sitting back and watching the other kids take part. And watching the CM's--they were a hoot! They really got into it which made it great fun for everyone. And a couple of the gentlemen CM's weren't too bad on the eyes either ;)


This was something new to AKL this year. Just another reason, as if I needed one, for me to adore the resort. Are other resorts doing this now too??



I did manage to drag my crew out of the pool and get them back to the room. This little guy was visiting our area of our backyard when we got back to our room:

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/032.jpg

After showering and changing, we were on our way to dinner at Ohana. This was a new restaurant for us, so I was excited to try it and so was DH. I decided that we'd take the bus to MK and then take the monorail to the Poly...BAD IDEA, note to self. I think it was because of the time of the day. I didn't think about all the people streaming out of MK and clogging up the monorail. We got to MK at 4:30. At 4:40 a resort monorail pulled up, but there were so many people, we couldn't get on that one. Then it took FOREVER for another one to get there. Well it seemed like forever at least--the next one pulled up at 5:05. Is waiting 25 minutes for a monorail a long time? We've never had to wait that long before, but truthfully, we only ride a few times each trip, so I'm not really sure if 25 minutes is a long time or not. But it seemed like a long time. So then of course by the time we made the stops at the CR and TTC, we didn't get off the monorail until right at our dinner reservation time--5:15. Luckily, Ohana was easy to find, so we only checked in a few minutes late.

Somewhere in between getting off the bus at MK and getting on the monorail, the kids fell asleep in the stroller. When I checked in I asked if we could just bring the stroller into the restaurant and they said no problem. Thank goodness. It would have been world war 3 up in that place if I had to wake the kids up after they had only been sleeping for like 20 minutes--all you other parents out there know what I'm talking about! We only waited about 10 minutes before our buzzer went off.

So DH and I unexpectedly sat down to an adults only dinner...Ohana is probably not the best place to have dinner with just the 2 of us...more on THAT later.

We both ordered Lapu Lapu's...hey, we didn't have to drive!

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/034.jpg

DH proclaimed his *strong* which is saying something. I told him--didn't you listen to our server when she told you how much rum was in it?? Hey said 'Yup. I sure did. That's why I ordered it!' :rotfl:

Here you will see our not-so-dining companions for the night:

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/036.jpg

Of course the food started coming immediately. I only remembered to take a few pictures before a food coma started to set in, so this is all you get folks:

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/033.jpg

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/035.jpg

They were perfect in serving the salad, noodles, wings and pot stickers. All of these were DELICIOUS. I could make my entire meal out of those and be satisfied. But then they were slow in bringing out the meats. I remember the pork being really dry and overcooked. I took one bite and that was it--there were better things to fill up on. I really like the shrimp though and DH's favorite was the steak. The slow serving of the meat caused DH and I to fill up more on the appetizers and salad than we should've because we were hungry. That along with the copious amounts of food all for just 2 people = :eek:...keep this in mind for a few minutes.

After dinner was the infamous desert. DH was LOVIN LIFE when that arrived. His post on FB right before desert was as follows "More Hawaiian cuisine than I can eat" coupled with this uploaded photo:

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/Ohana.jpg

DS woke up at the very end of dinner (of course!) and the server brought him his own bowl of ice cream. Lucky him--ice cream for dinner! I figured it would hold him over until we could get him a CS meal somewhere later. All in all, we both really loved Ohana and will definitely be going back. Especially since the kids didn't get a chance to try it out. They would have really liked it. My only complaint: and I didn't even realize this until I was home and reading other TRs, we didn't get leid! Bummer.

Perhaps DH enjoyed Ohana a little too much because as we paid and left DH was not loving life so much at this point. He had started to feel sick. :sick: But don't feel sorry for him--he ate too much, bottom line. And I wasn't about to offer to go back to the room, I wanted to see Fantasmic darnit!! So off to DHS it was.

DD woke up on the bus to DHS, we got off and got into the park. First on our list--find the kids something to eat. I say, let's head down towards F! way and we'll stop at a CS place along the way. We can get the kids a meal and wait in line for F! while they eat. Perfect way to pass the time, right? Then we rounded the corner and there it was. Yes, that's right. The F! line was already all the way down the street past the beauty and the beast entrance and it was only 7:05 :scared: Really, at that point, I should have turned tail and ran. Honestly. I think maybe it was this night that turned DH off the go-go-go touring plan for the rest of the trip. :worried:

But I wanted to see F! and bad. Luckily as soon as we get in line it starts moving--they were already letting people into the amphitheater. The line moved slowly, but at least it moved. We finally get to the top and DH says, "I'm not staying in this mess. I'll wait for you to be done and I'll meet you on the way out". He heads off to the side near the bathrooms at the entrance to the theater. Now DH is not as Disney savvy as all of us :rolleyes1 And I'm sure right now you are thinking exactly what was going through my head at the time--he doesn't realize what a mad house it's going to be on the way out. There is no way on God's green earth that he is going to find me in the mass exodus at the end of the show. I refuse to let his piss-poor mood and upset stomach ruin my time. I head with the kids to sit down. We got to sit in the near the top of the very center section--we got great seats! By then the kids were REALLY hungry and I couldn't very well leave the kids to get food. But if we got up we'd lose our seats. So I text DH and explain my dilemma. It's enough to convince him to join us. Thankfully, he seems to be in a better mood. I go get food for the kids--a hotdog, popcorn, sprite and cotton candy (to surprise them). I got DH a beer thinking that would help ease his pain and get him through the show. I think at this point I didn't realize that he was feeling that badly. The kids eat and I pull out the glowing wands I bought them at the dollar store. :thumbsup2

All is going good until about 8:40 when DH turns to me and says--"I think I'm going to go back to the room. I just don't feel well." Okay--guess a beer on top of his upset stomach wasn't such a good idea.

So then DD says, "I want to go to. I don't want to see the show".

And then DS chimes in, "I want to go back too."

Great, so that leaves me here to what, enjoy the show by myself??? Just wonderful. :headache: Finally 2 nice ladies behind me help me talk DS into staying with me (somewhat). They were talking about how awesome the show was and telling him that Mickey was even in it. DH and DD leave without incident, but up until the show started DS kept saying he wanted to go too. Luckily, we only had 10-15 more minutes to go. And yes if you're keeping track that means we waited 2 hours for F! I must be crazy; at least DH thinks so :rolleyes:

Once the show started however he was totally into it. And for the rest of the night he couldn't stop talking about the fire, Mickey, the dragon, Milificent and seeing all the princesses. He was so in love! :lovestruc And later that night after getting back to the room and hearing his stories, I did hear a little bit of regret in DD's voice for not staying. I'm upset now that I didn't think to take any pictures at F! I think I was too preoccupied by DH to remember. Oh well.

As for me, I really enjoyed the show. I'm glad that I stayed for it, especially since we waited in that line. The dragon was phenomenal! But, if the family isn't really into seeing it and braving the crowds again, it's unlikely that we'll go back. At least I've seen it once.

DS and I made it back to the resort rather quickly and with no problems. At least DH had a glass of wine waiting for me that he had brought down with him from the CL lounge before they closed at 10. Another point for CL, I guess. Wait, make that 2--DH and DD hung out in the CL lounge once they got back to the hotel until it closed at 10. DD enjoyed all the desserts that were out in addition to all the attention she got from the CM's! :goodvibes

So once again, after putting the kids to bed, DH and I ended the evening watching animals from our balcony, enjoying an adult beverage and each other's company.


Lesson learned for next trip: take more pictures even when they seem random (I didn't have enough for this update!) and book Ohana for the end of our trip so if DH feels sick, at least it's near the end!


Up next: The plans are to return to DHS in the morning, but would DH want to go after the F! fiasco???

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

Pool Party - CSR had this too, it was fun!

Fantasmic - Too bad DH and DD left, it is a great show. If you can convince them to see it on another trip try and go on a night when they have a second show. There is no need to wait in a two hour line if you go to the late show.

[lbuzz52]

this update sounds familiar to me... one of the reasons are that my dh ate too much at ohanas and felt ill afterwards too.
I'm curious- did they charge you for either of your children?

i felt the same way about IASW as your dh (and my dh) do- however, James was in love with it as an infant so now i love it!

[Lidian]

Hey--I had to leave you guys on a cliff hanger so you'd come over to read my TR, right?? ;) And I am definitely thinking I need to work the word swanky into my next PTR/TR title somehow...

Sorry your antenna topper doesn't fit--what a :headache:! Maybe you can cut the hole bigger so it will fit?

Well, I didn't need a cliffhanger ... but whatever works. :p

And cutting the bottom won't help ... its the Mickey Ice Cream Bar, and the stick is smaller than my antenna. :sad2:

Pool Party - CSR had this too, it was fun!

Fantasmic - Too bad DH and DD left, it is a great show. If you can convince them to see it on another trip try and go on a night when they have a second show. There is no need to wait in a two hour line if you go to the late show.

I must have missed it! I know they didn't do anything fun on our pool day (at least not the hours we were there). I heard them doing something at the bar when we were there on arrival day. We would have loved a pool party. :goodvibes Another reason to go back. Check!


Sorry to hear that your DH over ate and wasn't feeling well. That's never fun, and I'm guilty of it at WDW as well. Glad to hear you saw F! I absolutely loved it! (Saw it for first time this year myself.) I'm not sure I would have had the motivation to wait 2 hours - so good for you! :thumbsup2 And glad you didn't have to watch alone! :goodvibes
And that drink looks awesome!

[Joyciemc]

Ahhh, nothing like a case of the 'Ohana sickness... it has taken us three times to learn how to eat there without leaving ill!

As I was reading about your Fantasmic! experience, I had deja vu. Then I remembered that you told us about it in Epcot! :rotfl2:

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

Booo I'm sorry your DH got sick from Ohana (particularly after he posted such a jubilant Facebook update! :laughing:)

I gave up on Fantasmic several years ago. Too much hassle, uncomfortable seating, and honestly, I don't really enjoy the show all that much lol (Sorcery in the Sky was leagues better, IMHO :thumbsup2)

[basketkat]

Yeah for a new car!!!

And that Mickey sticker is too cute!!!

I really like that shirt...must...resist...Old Navy! :lmao:

[amandaw]

My DH wanted to try 'Ohana on our last trip but I couldn't get us an ADR that was early enough for our son. Think we'll have to try it on the next trip, hopefully. But, I will use your DH as a warning to mine as to what can happen when you eat to much of the food - I can so see my DH doing the same thing! :lmao: I couldn't get over the lines for F! while we were there! I know our trip overlapped with yours - was this on Tuesday, May 3rd? We were in DHS that day & I so wanted to take Reid to see F! but there was no way I was waiting in that line, even though I love the show. Plus, I figured he would maybe be scared.

[beebeeryan]

Yikes feeling sick after eating too much, not fun. Your DH sounds like mine though, he would have done the same, leaving me with the kids and taking off because he couldn't deal with the crowds.

Wilderness Lodge had pool parties with games and stuff every afternoon last August. My kids didn't participate, but it was fun watching what was going on and the music.

[Motocross Tink]

Glad you liked Ohana's ,but poor DH! We've only seen Fantasmic once but it was great! pixiedust:

[AKL LOVER]

Pool Party - CSR had this too, it was fun!

Fantasmic - Too bad DH and DD left, it is a great show. If you can convince them to see it on another trip try and go on a night when they have a second show. There is no need to wait in a two hour line if you go to the late show.

I'm glad to know they are doing this at other resorts...I hope they keep this around since it was so much fun!!

I'm hoping on the next trip the kids will be old enough to stay up later--that's the only downfall to the second show. Otherwise we would have done that long before now. Even at Disney my kids still go to bed pretty early. Well, what most would consider early for Disney at least. In past trips they were in bed by 8 or 9. This trip they finally made it to 10:30 on one or 2 nights. :laughing:


this update sounds familiar to me... one of the reasons are that my dh ate too much at ohanas and felt ill afterwards too.
I'm curious- did they charge you for either of your children?

i felt the same way about IASW as your dh (and my dh) do- however, James was in love with it as an infant so now i love it!

They did not charge us for the kids. After the server brought out the bowl of ice cream I expected to see a small charge for that, but not that either. :thumbsup2 She was a great server!



Sorry to hear that your DH over ate and wasn't feeling well. That's never fun, and I'm guilty of it at WDW as well. Glad to hear you saw F! I absolutely loved it! (Saw it for first time this year myself.) I'm not sure I would have had the motivation to wait 2 hours - so good for you! :thumbsup2 And glad you didn't have to watch alone! :goodvibes
And that drink looks awesome!

2 hours was a little ridiculous now that I think about it. But I really really really wanted to see it! And don't feel too bad for DH--it was his own fault!

BTW, that drink was awesome!! :woohoo: I felt like a bit of a lush drinking it, but hey, we were on vacation and what else are vacations for??? :laughing:


Ahhh, nothing like a case of the 'Ohana sickness... it has taken us three times to learn how to eat there without leaving ill!

As I was reading about your Fantasmic! experience, I had deja vu. Then I remembered that you told us about it in Epcot! :rotfl2:

3 times?? Uh-oh. I won't mention that to DH. He's already put that one on his request for next trip. He's convinced he will do a better job of pacing himself.


Booo I'm sorry your DH got sick from Ohana (particularly after he posted such a jubilant Facebook update! :laughing:)

I gave up on Fantasmic several years ago. Too much hassle, uncomfortable seating, and honestly, I don't really enjoy the show all that much lol (Sorcery in the Sky was leagues better, IMHO :thumbsup2)

I think he was getting a little overzealous there when he posted on FB so early in the night.

On our past trips F! has always been a hassel and we've always ended up skipping it. That's why I was so determined to see it finally on this trip!


Yeah for a new car!!!

And that Mickey sticker is too cute!!!

I really like that shirt...must...resist...Old Navy! :lmao:

Ah, if you can resist Old Navy, then you are a better woman than I...:rotfl2:


My DH wanted to try 'Ohana on our last trip but I couldn't get us an ADR that was early enough for our son. Think we'll have to try it on the next trip, hopefully. But, I will use your DH as a warning to mine as to what can happen when you eat to much of the food - I can so see my DH doing the same thing! :lmao: I couldn't get over the lines for F! while we were there! I know our trip overlapped with yours - was this on Tuesday, May 3rd? We were in DHS that day & I so wanted to take Reid to see F! but there was no way I was waiting in that line, even though I love the show. Plus, I figured he would maybe be scared.

YES it was May 3!! Can you believe that I got suckered into that line?? :eek: No wonder my DH made a beeline for the hotel early!!

If you get the chance, definitely try Ohana. The food was delicious. Even DH will admit that. We almost didn't try Ohana this trip. I had booked a MM F! dining package for that night. But I really really really wanted to try Ohana, and they only had ADRs for after 8 by the time I started looking which wouldn't work for F! Finally I snagged a 5:15 ADR for that day. Then of course I went back and forth about keeping my F! dining package (and reserved seating) or not. MM was the only dinner I would consider giving up to fit in Ohana. In hind sight, I should have probably kept the package b/c then I wouldn't have had to subject DH to that line. I think if we ever do F! again, we'd definitely do the package.


Yikes feeling sick after eating too much, not fun. Your DH sounds like mine though, he would have done the same, leaving me with the kids and taking off because he couldn't deal with the crowds.

Wilderness Lodge had pool parties with games and stuff every afternoon last August. My kids didn't participate, but it was fun watching what was going on and the music.

This is going to come up in my next post...crowds. At least he took one of the kids though so it wasn't too bad. He actually offered to take both of them, but I felt silly staying for the show by myself, so that's why I talked DS into it. He's younger and easier to convince. I think the ladies sitting behind me were the key in convincing him--he was very enthralled with what they were telling him about the show since they had seen it before! Where ever you are out there random ladies from F!--Thank you!! :littleangel:


Glad you liked Ohana's ,but poor DH! We've only seen Fantasmic once but it was great! pixiedust:
Good thing my DH doesn't get on the DIS and read these posts. He would be feeling very full of himself right now with all you ladies feeling bad for him! ;)

[amandaw]

YES it was May 3!! Can you believe that I got suckered into that line?? :eek: No wonder my DH made a beeline for the hotel early!!

If you get the chance, definitely try Ohana. The food was delicious. Even DH will admit that. We almost didn't try Ohana this trip. I had booked a MM F! dining package for that night. But I really really really wanted to try Ohana, and they only had ADRs for after 8 by the time I started looking which wouldn't work for F! Finally I snagged a 5:15 ADR for that day. Then of course I went back and forth about keeping my F! dining package (and reserved seating) or not. MM was the only dinner I would consider giving up to fit in Ohana. In hind sight, I should have probably kept the package b/c then I wouldn't have had to subject DH to that line. I think if we ever do F! again, we'd definitely do the package.

I figured it had to be the same day we were there! I couldn't get over how crazy that line was. We actually had a CS meal right there at Rosie's All-American Cafe. I swear - people started lining up a little after 6pm for the 9pm show! I really couldn't believe it. I really wanted to take Reid to it because it's my favorite of the end-of-the-day park shows. I love that it has the villains in it. But, I knew Reid probably would be a little scared. I'm glad you got to see it though & that DS stayed with you!

I'm definitely going to get us in to 'Ohana one day. I think my DH would really enjoy it. That's great that you were able to get an early ADR. When I was looking, everything was after 9pm!

That's a great thought about the F! package. I'll have to consider that option as well in the future!

[sahm2two]

O'hana is on my list of places to go next time... looks so good! I wasn't able to get an ADR even with all my stalking. The night we went to Kona there were tons of people out waiting for O'hana!

[nessz79]

Subbing!

[AKL LOVER]

I figured it had to be the same day we were there! I couldn't get over how crazy that line was. We actually had a CS meal right there at Rosie's All-American Cafe. I swear - people started lining up a little after 6pm for the 9pm show! I really couldn't believe it. I really wanted to take Reid to it because it's my favorite of the end-of-the-day park shows. I love that it has the villains in it. But, I knew Reid probably would be a little scared. I'm glad you got to see it though & that DS stayed with you!

I'm definitely going to get us in to 'Ohana one day. I think my DH would really enjoy it. That's great that you were able to get an early ADR. When I was looking, everything was after 9pm!

That's a great thought about the F! package. I'll have to consider that option as well in the future!

Let me tell you, I had to STALK the Disney dining reservation system on mone for WEEKS before I got that Ohana ADR! Next time I will be smart and book it 180 days out like all the other hard to get ADRs!!

The reserved section seats are to the right of the amphitheater and I have heard good and bad things about them (ie your view of the show from them). Never having seen them for myself, I really didn't want to be disappointed with bad seat and I really wanted to try Ohana, so we dropped the package. Now that I've seen where the seats are--they would be completely fine to see the show. I would have no problem booking the package next time and sitting in those seats!


O'hana is on my list of places to go next time... looks so good! I wasn't able to get an ADR even with all my stalking. The night we went to Kona there were tons of people out waiting for O'hana!

It was pure luck (or maybe pixie dust??) that I got mine at 8 weeks out. There were a ton of people waiting to get into Ohana the night we were there too. I was worried that our wait would be super long because of it, but thankfully it wasn't! :thumbsup2 We got called back right away even though the other people were sitting there waiting before we arrived. I'm thinking that they were either 1) walk-ups, waiting for a table or 2) got there early but had a later ADR than us.


Subbing!

Thanks for joining in! :goodvibes

[AKL LOVER]

So when planning my trip, I knew that I wanted to do a better job of keeping all of our dining/snack receipts so I could track how much we actually saved with the DxDP. On our past 3 trips, DS was under 3 so he was always free. Because of this, we always knew we were coming out ahead, but this time I wasn't so sure. To see our costs I thought I would post a DxDP summary update at the end of each "day".


Would we pay more on the DxDP with 2 kids? Would we break even? Or would we save??? Let's find out through some fuzzy Disney math! ;)


Day 1

Refillable mug 13.99 x 4 = 55.96

Dinner at the Mara:
Chicken flatbread: 8.19
Chicken tender meal: 7.89
Cheese cake: 3.19
Friut cup: 3.19
1 bottle of water: 2.50
1 apple juice: 2.59
Total w/ tax: 29.90

Total for Day 1: 83.51



Day 2

Crystal Palace:
3 Adult breakfasts 68.97**
tax: 4.49
Total: 73.46

Snack in Frontierland:
2 bottles of water: 5.00
Pretzel: 4.00
Total w/ tax: 10.00

Snacks at the Mara:
Chips: 2.69
Chips: 2.69
Bowl of crab soup: 2.79
Total w/ tax: 9.00

Dinner at Ohana:
2 Adult dinners: 65.98
Tax: 5.95
Total: 71.93
2 Lapu Lapu: 25.50

Snack at Fantasmic:
Cotton candy: 3.50
Sprite: 2.49
Popcorn: 3.25
Total w/ tax: 10.25

Total for Day 2: 174.64 (not including Lapu Lapus)


At a cost of $202 a day, the DxDP doesn't seem like it was the way to go for us. But have no fear ladies! We have plenty of other 2TS restaurants to visit during our week, so perhaps we can make up some ground! ;)


**Just now looking at my receipts, I noticed that we were only charged for 3 breakfasts at CP. And 3 adult ones at that. I guess the server thought that DS was under 3? But then why did she charge DD for an adult breakfast? Obviously I didn't notice until now and it wasn't a big deal because we were on DxDP. However, this CP breakfast does come back to haunt us later in the trip...

[sahm2two]

It was pure luck (or maybe pixie dust??) that I got mine at 8 weeks out. There were a ton of people waiting to get into Ohana the night we were there too. I was worried that our wait would be super long because of it, but thankfully it wasn't! :thumbsup2 We got called back right away even though the other people were sitting there waiting before we arrived. I'm thinking that they were either 1) walk-ups, waiting for a table or 2) got there early but had a later ADR than us.





good to know! :)

[Moira222]

Our it's-finally-time-to-travel-to-Disney-day dawned with plenty to do. I had to go into work for an hour or so to get things situated for the week (I teach 7th grade Science). DH had to go into work for an hour or so as well to get things situated at his job. Our flight didn't leave until later in the afternoon, but needless to say I was anxious to get on a plane at like 6 a.m.!! I even seriously debated showing up to the airport early to see if they would put us on an earlier flight :laughing:
I decided that there is a benefit to leaving at 6 am --- I remember being absolutely jumpy all day with excitement trying to get through my to do lists.





Finally we arrive at the Lodge:
After getting off ME we look around, but a CL cast member was NOT waiting to greet us like they told us. Minus one for CL. So we walk in and walk up to the registration desk and I told the CM that we were CL guests. Supposedly we were to be taken upstairs to the CL lounge to check in. Or so I was told. But really, the CM at the front desk just checked us in. No comfy chairs, snacks or beverages. Boo. Minus 2 for CL. CL sure had a lot of points to make up and we had only been there for 10 minutes! We make our way to our 5th floor room and were excited to find...
http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/001.jpg

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/004.jpg
Is it me or does AKL have the same basic structure/design as WLR? naturally the theming is different but your "on the steps" photo looks so much like mine, and yoru bunk bed room looks like the one we had in 09.

[QUOTE=pinkxray;41322531]
The new coaster they are building looks pretty cool. I tried to get some pictures but Caitlin insisted I stop taking pictures of stupid things.:rotfl::rotfl::lmao:

..... Besides, it smelled funny now, not bad I guess, just not like our van! :sad1: Is that weird?? That combined with the problems that had to be fixed and taking into consideration the regular maintanence that was going to be due on it soon, we decided it was in our best interest to trade it in. And if you're going to do that, you might as well upgrade, right ;). As much as I don't like having a car payment again, I do like my new ride:

you are making me think of that Seinfeld episode where the valet makes his car smell like BO.:lmao:
Nice new car bTW. I would have also wanted trade in my stolen car....its had to feel very wierd being in your car after evil had been there.



[SIZE=4][COLOR=#9932cc]Also, before I end this 'it's not a trip update but it's still Disney related' one more thing. Today we went to Old Navy to purchase matching flag tees for 4th of July. They had a ton of new Disney shirts for boys and girls in case anyone is looking for some for their upcoming trips. I saw cars, mickey, minnie, phineas and ferb and I'm sure there were others, but the kids got tired of looking. I also scored this beauty:
LOVE the tee's!! I may have to go check them out!

I think I must have subbed to your TR right away and not read it because I didn't have time. I am slow getting on the DIS at night, too many other htings to do :sad2:

Your TR sounds great.

When we went to do F! the theater was jammed....but they had scheduled a second showing, so we did a few rides, including TSM, and then hit the second show. that worked out better than I could have planned it.

Was CL worth the upgrade really? I wondered if it would make sense to upgrade to CL then downgrade dining to the QS plan & have more snacks at CL. ??? make sense? just wondering. We wonder if DDP will work for DD next time around - she'll likely still be in the kids plan but definitely a bigger person appetite.

food for thought for the next year or so!

Looking forward to more TR!

[lbuzz52]

i'm curious to see how the dining plan worked out overall. i may have to copy you and check this for us as well.

[beebeeryan]

I'm hoping on the next trip the kids will be old enough to stay up later--that's the only downfall to the second show. Otherwise we would have done that long before now. Even at Disney my kids still go to bed pretty early. Well, what most would consider early for Disney at least. In past trips they were in bed by 8 or 9. This trip they finally made it to 10:30 on one or 2 nights. :laughing:



We're the same, at home both kids are in bed by8pm and 8:30ish in summer, maybe 9 sometimes. Even at Disney most nights by 9pm they were in bed except the nights we stayed for Wishes when it was at 9pm and the MSEP when it was on at 9pm, only did it 2 nights outta 8. This year we're gonna throw in Illuminations and Wishes 2 nights probably keeping them up 4 nights outta 6. Hopefully they do okay. It was really our reason for picking the CR as our hotel this year, easiest quickest access to MK.

[Aburns8]

I think that we are going to have to try Ohana the next time we make it down to Disney. I have heard some good things about that place. Fantasmic is just crazy. Last year we were in line forever and then we felt like cattle slowly making our way up to the seats. I wish they did more shows and they wouldn't have this problem.

[jm106]

Good fun already! We also did Ohana and loved Lapu Lapu but pork was dry. The rest was very enjoyable and my kids were happy because they have broccoli and ds(5) ate his weight in shrimp. They offered us more food and he is the only one who piped up and said, Ill have more shrimp pls! He had his from the first batch, all but one of mine(I dont like it but wanted a taste) and another helping. We also didnt get too many pics since the kids were up dancing the hulalus they did bring food out fast. Sorry you had such a wait for monorail. We were on it about 4:30 on our Ohana day bit did ok time wise. We rode a full loop then back to poly just for fun.
OK, now I want the bread pudding:cloud9:

[AKL LOVER]

I decided that there is a benefit to leaving at 6 am --- I remember being absolutely jumpy all day with excitement trying to get through my to do lists.



[QUOTE=AKL LOVER;41260764]Finally we arrive at the Lodge:
After getting off ME we look around, but a CL cast member was NOT waiting to greet us like they told us. Minus one for CL. So we walk in and walk up to the registration desk and I told the CM that we were CL guests. Supposedly we were to be taken upstairs to the CL lounge to check in. Or so I was told. But really, the CM at the front desk just checked us in. No comfy chairs, snacks or beverages. Boo. Minus 2 for CL. CL sure had a lot of points to make up and we had only been there for 10 minutes! We make our way to our 5th floor room and were excited to find...
http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/001.jpg

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/004.jpg
Is it me or does AKL have the same basic structure/design as WLR? naturally the theming is different but your "on the steps" photo looks so much like mine, and yoru bunk bed room looks like the one we had in 09.

:rotfl::rotfl::lmao:



you are making me think of that Seinfeld episode where the valet makes his car smell like BO.:lmao:
Nice new car bTW. I would have also wanted trade in my stolen car....its had to feel very wierd being in your car after evil had been there.


LOVE the tee's!! I may have to go check them out!

I think I must have subbed to your TR right away and not read it because I didn't have time. I am slow getting on the DIS at night, too many other htings to do :sad2:

Your TR sounds great.

When we went to do F! the theater was jammed....but they had scheduled a second showing, so we did a few rides, including TSM, and then hit the second show. that worked out better than I could have planned it.

Was CL worth the upgrade really? I wondered if it would make sense to upgrade to CL then downgrade dining to the QS plan & have more snacks at CL. ??? make sense? just wondering. We wonder if DDP will work for DD next time around - she'll likely still be in the kids plan but definitely a bigger person appetite.

food for thought for the next year or so!

Looking forward to more TR!

Do you find that you can relate almost anything to Seinfeld? We do this at work all the time. It is HILARIOUS!

I think that AKL and WL do share some similar decor/looks. I'm really hoping the kids will be into staying up later on our next trip so we could do the second showing of F! I'd really like for DH and DD to see it--they really would love it.

For us, CL really was worth it. However, I think that would depend more on the $$ to upgrade. Because of the discount code I had, it was $20 cheaper for me to book at CL room versus a regular savanna view room. Crazy I know, but that's how it worked out. I was really considering downgrading from CL because we really wanted to stick with the DxDP. But after hearing that, of course, it was a nobrainer to keep CL. In hindsight, we probably really should have downgraded from DxDP. I don't think we got our $$'s worth out of the DxDP this year like we have in the past. Can't wait to see what my final #'s come out as!


i'm curious to see how the dining plan worked out overall. i may have to copy you and check this for us as well.

I'm curious to see how they come out too. I figure that I will just work them out as I go, so I'll be seeing how it worked out for us at the same time as you!


We're the same, at home both kids are in bed by8pm and 8:30ish in summer, maybe 9 sometimes. Even at Disney most nights by 9pm they were in bed except the nights we stayed for Wishes when it was at 9pm and the MSEP when it was on at 9pm, only did it 2 nights outta 8. This year we're gonna throw in Illuminations and Wishes 2 nights probably keeping them up 4 nights outta 6. Hopefully they do okay. It was really our reason for picking the CR as our hotel this year, easiest quickest access to MK.

I am really thinking that next trip we need to try out a monorail resort because of the kids and bed. And if I booked a theme park view at one, then I could watch wishes every night from my room :lovestruc no matter what time the kids go to bed!


I think that we are going to have to try Ohana the next time we make it down to Disney. I have heard some good things about that place. Fantasmic is just crazy. Last year we were in line forever and then we felt like cattle slowly making our way up to the seats. I wish they did more shows and they wouldn't have this problem.

Ohana was AMAZING. Definitely try it!

DH made the exact same cattle comment to me while we were in line being "herded" into the theater.

Good fun already! We also did Ohana and loved Lapu Lapu but pork was dry. The rest was very enjoyable and my kids were happy because they have broccoli and ds(5) ate his weight in shrimp. They offered us more food and he is the only one who piped up and said, Ill have more shrimp pls! He had his from the first batch, all but one of mine(I dont like it but wanted a taste) and another helping. We also didnt get too many pics since the kids were up dancing the hulalus they did bring food out fast. Sorry you had such a wait for monorail. We were on it about 4:30 on our Ohana day bit did ok time wise. We rode a full loop then back to poly just for fun.
OK, now I want the bread pudding:cloud9:

AAAHHHHH, Ohana bread pudding. I wish I had some right now.

Hopefully no one in your family ate so much that they made themselves sick! ;)

[AKL LOVER]

OK, so if you have to go back and look at your last post to refresh your memory of where in your trip you left off, then you KNOW it's been too long since you updated...Sorry all! It was a crazy busy week last week as it was the end of the school year. And now that it's all over, I can spend all the time I want on the DIS!!! :rotfl:


So now, off to another day in Disney.


We last left off it was a F! night and everyone wanted to leave me at the show all by myself. But DS stayed and LOVED it.


Wednesday May 4


This dawned bright and early for me. It was actually the only day that I woke up before our alarm. I had planned for us to sleep in a bit since we would have been out on the late-ish side the night before for F! So because of this, even though I woke up early, I didn't want to wake the rest of the family just yet. So I made my way up to the CL lounge to get some pics and take advantage of the breakfast offerings.

I take my goodies back to the room to enjoy on the balcony:


http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/040.jpg

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/038.jpg


Of course as soon as I get back to the room, the kids wake up. No piece and quiet for me. And only a taste of my food because the kids gobbled it up. The coffee from the espresso machine was yummy though :thumbsup2

So we all get ready and head to DHS for the day. The bus ride was fairly quick and it isn't long before we were seeing this:


http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/051.jpg


We arrived about 20 minutes after RD. Not too shabby for having no specific arrival time planned for this morning. Of course, we head straight to TSM. The standby wait was already listed at 45 minutes, so I got FP's and we went over to do the Back Lot Studio tour. I did this years and years ago when I was a teenager, but DH and the kids have never done it. On our last trip to DHS we planned just an afternoon there and by the time we made it to the park just about everything was closed/done for the day. It was a bummer. This visit to DHS was much better. DH and the kids really enjoyed the tour:


http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/043.jpg

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/044.jpg

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/046.jpg

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/042.jpg


After the tour we went to ride:


http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/047.jpg


This was another first for DH and the kids and we were psyched that DS would be tall enough to ride. :yay: I didn't take any pics because I was so into enjoying the experience with my family. I've not ridden ToT since they added the new randomized drop sequence and I really liked it! Part of the thrill of that ride is the unexpected. Both the kids got on the ride and rode with no problems. They did however say when we got off that once was enough. Boo, because I really wanted to ride again! The wait had only been 10 minutes. We did buy the photo from this ride:


http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/038-1.jpg


Notice me screaming my head off (I'm in the black tee and DH is pointing at me)?? DS looks like he is just a cool dude, handling a big ride like that and even putting his hands in the air!! I was bummed that DD's face was mostly blocked. But like I said, I couldn't get them to go on again. However, since we've been back from Disney they have both been talking about the ride a lot and they both claim they will ride it again next time...keeping my fingers crossed that they will because we really had a blast as a family riding this ride together for their first time! :lovestruc


We left ToT and headed back to TSM since it was time to use our FP's. On our way we stopped to get some PP pics in front of the ToT. They turned out really great. I'll post them once I get my PP cd. I know, shame on me for not having it yet!!


I love sneaking pics of DH when he isn't expecting it:


http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/048.jpg


For some reason, DH was pouting in this picture and wouldn't smile for the camera:


http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/049.jpg


We make it to TSM, get in line and get our glasses. Somebody is ready to go:


http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/053.jpg


The wait wasn't too long in the FP line. DS was still a little pouty and refusing to look or smile at the camera:


http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/056.jpg

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/060.jpg

Finally caught one of him looking, but boy was he pouty!!

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/054.jpg


Once we saw the cars and it was time to ride, DS perked right up!


http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/062.jpg

I have to admit, that I got pretty good w/ taking pics of myself with the kids this trip when I couldn't hand the camera to DH.


DD and DH are excited to ride (I think...:laughing:):


http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/061.jpg


DS was a shooting machine! Look at his concentration:


http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/063.jpg


Here are mine and DS's results....can you guess who scored what??


http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/064.jpg


I tried to get the camera to DH quick enough for him to snap a pic of his and DD's scores, but it didn't happen. He SAYS that he beat my score, but I'm taking that comment with a grain of salt! ;)



After TSM, we hit up Beauty and the Beast--another first for us! While waiting for the show to start I left everyone in our seats and I ran to get a snack (I had to move quick--I only had 10 minutes!). When I left the theater, the CM gave me a little ticket that I could use to get back in. I'm guessing that was in case they filled the theater, they would know that my family was already inside with a seat for me. I really liked this as I was afraid they might give me a hard time about leaving and re-entering the theater. I quickly found a CS place and bought 2 frozen lemonades (which were FABULOUS by the way!!!!) and a soft pretzel. Even made it back to our seats just before the show started! We ate our snacks while watching the show--it was the perfect break from the heat. The kids loved the show of course and DH thought it was pretty good, which I was surprised he admitted.


Once the show was over, we were ready for lunch, despite the snack we had just had. And it's a good thing too, because it was time for our lunch ADR...guesses on where our tummies lead us??

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

Sounds like a fantastic day so far!

Love the ToT photo! :thumbsup2

[mickeystoontown]

Was on vacation at WDW and got behind. Now that I'm all caught up, I forgot what I wanted to comment on. :upsidedow Guess that means, I'll just comment on the last post. I can't believe that your two kids got on Tower of Terror! I was a complete chicken and didn't ride it myself until two years ago.

[sahm2two]

great update! I love the picture of y'all on the ToT... so fun that y'all got to ride it together :goodvibes maybe next time we go we'll be able to ride some of the thrill rides as a family.

[__disneygirl]

Hey!!! I know you read my TR so I had to come check out yours, love it so far!!

When I read the first line, "Welcome aboard the motorcoach" I immediately heard it in my head and got the warm and fuzzies!! ahhh 4 months, 2 weeks, and 6 days until Disney for us!

I know what you mean about AKL feeling like home. The first Disney Resort we ever stayed at was Pop and I don't think I'll ever visit Disney without going there at least once even if we weren't staying there! Once you stay on property you never go back! (:

Yummm, Crystal Palace! That is one of my favorite places and yet we haven't been back in so long, it's so hard to fit in new things plus old favorites!

Great pics of the Fantasyland expansion... I still can't believe there is going to be another castle! It looks amazing!

I didn't know they had Disney stuff at Old Navy, wow! I'll have to check that out soon, as if I don't have enough Disney clothes already.

25 minutes is DEF a long time for the monorail! I don't know if I'm just lucky cause we usually go in April or October when the crowds are low, but I don't think we've ever waited more than 5-10 minutes for one.

Ohana looks soooo good! We can't wait to try it for the first time in Oct!

Aww, such drama at Fantasmic! Kids are so unpredictable, you never know what they are gonna wanna do... same goes for husbands! lol. I totally understand though, I never get upset by crowds but the mess that happens on the Fantasmic show nights is just ridiculous. I hated it and was so uncomfortable! I love that show, but next trip we are skipping it.

Interesting breakdown of DxDP. We've never done the dining plan before and I'm kind of dreading all the math I'll have to do to figure out if it's worth it for us this time! Don't think it will be because a lot of our meals will be just walking around enjoying the Food & Wine Fest, but I do want to try it.

I love that ToT photo of you guys, so funny!! We have a few like that.

Such cute pics in the 3D glasses... your kids are so adorable!

[Joyciemc]

Mmm, that plate of fruit from the CL lounge looks so yummy! Too bad you didn't get to eat more of it :laughing:

Looks like you had a good day at the studios... now, where did you eat?

[basketkat]

Sounds like a fun day!!!!! :thumbsup2

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

I still haven't tried TSM...I definitely want to though! Usually the wait is just too long, and fastpasses are in too high demand hahaha.

[mrssmith06]

I finally caught up on your TR! :) I didn't know you could purchase the pictures from ToT! We asked the CM at the end if we could photopass it or anything and she just said "No" and didn't bother telling us we could buy it. :sad2: Dang!! That sucks too because I don't know if I'd ever go back on it hahaha, I'm such a wuss. :rotfl2:

We didn't get to see F!, the lines were insane, we couldn't get in! I wanted to see it so bad, hopefully we can next time!

Great updates, looking forward to reading more! popcorn::

[Corrine 1973]

How did I miss that you started your TR!:confused3 Oh well, better late than never, right?

Just loving the new ride. I would have done the same thing, I don't think I could have felt comfortable in the van after what you had gone through.

I love the pics of the animal from your room. Another reason to stay at AKL, it is definatly on my top list of resorts to stay at.

I am glad that your DS loved F! but sorry your DH and DD didn't want to stay. We did use the F! dinning package and though I would have liked more center seats I still enjoyed the show very much. The main problem I had was that the boats seemed to be more geared for the center seats. :confused3

I am loving your TR so far and can't wait to read more.:thumbsup2

[lbuzz52]

Sounds like my idea of a perfect morning! You hit all my favorites!

I never thought of taking a snack to BMTB. Great idea!

[Aburns8]

Great update! You went on my favorite ride (ToT). I like the Beauty and the Beast show. I have only seen it once though and it was a couple of years ago.

[pinkxray]

Yummy, the CL food looks yummy. I love chocolate croissants especially the ones at Disney.

I am glad DS perked up once it was time to get on TSM. He looks so calm in the TOT picture. I hold on for dear life. He makes us adults who hold on look bad.

Good to know they let you back in for the B&b show. I was thinking of leaving to get a snack, but didn’t want to deal with having a hard time getting back in.

[silverhaze269]

I just got all caught up on your TR...sounds like a great time so far! :thumbsup2 It sucks your DH wasn't feeling well after 'Ohana. I can see why though...we ate there on our trip, and there was almost too much food! I really wanted to try a Lapu Lapu, but given my circumstances I just couldn't do it. Next time though...

I also can't believe you got your kids on ToT! I've never been on it because I'm too :scared1: That's one ride that has me running for the hills, :laughing:!

Can't wait to read more! :)

[beebeeryan]

ToT as a family is great, we did it last summer and DS4 was just 40 inches and was so excited to ride it. He loved it, I think our photo was probably the same, me screaming and the rest of them laughing at me. :rotfl:

[AKL LOVER]

Sounds like a fantastic day so far!

Love the ToT photo! :thumbsup2

Thanks--guess you all know what a wimp I can be now :rolleyes1....seriously, I screamed more than both of my kids combined!!


Was on vacation at WDW and got behind. Now that I'm all caught up, I forgot what I wanted to comment on. :upsidedow Guess that means, I'll just comment on the last post. I can't believe that your two kids got on Tower of Terror! I was a complete chicken and didn't ride it myself until two years ago.

I'll forgive you as falling behind due to a WDW vacation is a perfectly acceptable excuse...now if you had fallen behind due to something like work, then you might not have been forgiven so easily! ;)


great update! I love the picture of y'all on the ToT... so fun that y'all got to ride it together :goodvibes maybe next time we go we'll be able to ride some of the thrill rides as a family.

I definitely recommend trying them at least once. And it was so much fun to ride it with the 3 of them for their first time!


Hey!!! I know you read my TR so I had to come check out yours, love it so far!!

When I read the first line, "Welcome aboard the motorcoach" I immediately heard it in my head and got the warm and fuzzies!! ahhh 4 months, 2 weeks, and 6 days until Disney for us!

I know what you mean about AKL feeling like home. The first Disney Resort we ever stayed at was Pop and I don't think I'll ever visit Disney without going there at least once even if we weren't staying there! Once you stay on property you never go back! (:

Yummm, Crystal Palace! That is one of my favorite places and yet we haven't been back in so long, it's so hard to fit in new things plus old favorites!

Great pics of the Fantasyland expansion... I still can't believe there is going to be another castle! It looks amazing!

I didn't know they had Disney stuff at Old Navy, wow! I'll have to check that out soon, as if I don't have enough Disney clothes already.

25 minutes is DEF a long time for the monorail! I don't know if I'm just lucky cause we usually go in April or October when the crowds are low, but I don't think we've ever waited more than 5-10 minutes for one.

Ohana looks soooo good! We can't wait to try it for the first time in Oct!

Aww, such drama at Fantasmic! Kids are so unpredictable, you never know what they are gonna wanna do... same goes for husbands! lol. I totally understand though, I never get upset by crowds but the mess that happens on the Fantasmic show nights is just ridiculous. I hated it and was so uncomfortable! I love that show, but next trip we are skipping it.

Interesting breakdown of DxDP. We've never done the dining plan before and I'm kind of dreading all the math I'll have to do to figure out if it's worth it for us this time! Don't think it will be because a lot of our meals will be just walking around enjoying the Food & Wine Fest, but I do want to try it.

I love that ToT photo of you guys, so funny!! We have a few like that.

Such cute pics in the 3D glasses... your kids are so adorable!

I am so jealous that you have an upcoming trip this fall. NO FAIR! Guess that means you are going to have to take plenty of Fantasyland expansion pics and post them on your TR to appease all of us who can't go...

Oh and by the way, it's funny that you would comment on the motorcoach recording. Just the other night, sitting at the dinner table, my son started rambling off the recording. I literally said out loud to my husband, 'did he just seriously say what I think he said?!?!' Then I asked DS to repeat what he said, just to be sure I heard him right!! It's been a month and a half since we were in Disney, but he still remembers every word! That's my boy!! :thumbsup2


Mmm, that plate of fruit from the CL lounge looks so yummy! Too bad you didn't get to eat more of it :laughing:

Looks like you had a good day at the studios... now, where did you eat?

Have no fear, I made sure to snag some of that yummy fruit several times later in our trip. It was the best fruit--fresh, ripe and juicy!!


Sounds like a fun day!!!!! :thumbsup2

It was...and it's a good thing too! (FORESHADOWING for my next update!)

[AKL LOVER]

I still haven't tried TSM...I definitely want to though! Usually the wait is just too long, and fastpasses are in too high demand hahaha.

You have got to try TSM. Right now. This very minute. Stop what you are doing and jump on the next flight to WDW...

...OK, well I guess it could wait until your next trip. But only if you promise to try it out then. It is such a blast, you cannot even imagine how much fun it is. You just have to experience it yourself to find out!


I finally caught up on your TR! :) I didn't know you could purchase the pictures from ToT! We asked the CM at the end if we could photopass it or anything and she just said "No" and didn't bother telling us we could buy it. :sad2: Dang!! That sucks too because I don't know if I'd ever go back on it hahaha, I'm such a wuss. :rotfl2:

We didn't get to see F!, the lines were insane, we couldn't get in! I wanted to see it so bad, hopefully we can next time!

Great updates, looking forward to reading more! popcorn::

That sucks that the CM didn't tell you that you could purchase the pics...hello!?! Don't you think that if you asked about adding them to photopass and you couldn't that you might be interested in actually spending $$ to buy it?? You should definitely get back on again next time just so you can get a pic!

I can't believe how crazy the lines have gotten the past few years for F! The show is great, but it's just not worth the lines after you have seen it once IMHO.


How did I miss that you started your TR!:confused3 Oh well, better late than never, right?

Just loving the new ride. I would have done the same thing, I don't think I could have felt comfortable in the van after what you had gone through.

I love the pics of the animal from your room. Another reason to stay at AKL, it is definatly on my top list of resorts to stay at.

I am glad that your DS loved F! but sorry your DH and DD didn't want to stay. We did use the F! dinning package and though I would have liked more center seats I still enjoyed the show very much. The main problem I had was that the boats seemed to be more geared for the center seats. :confused3

I am loving your TR so far and can't wait to read more.:thumbsup2

You're not really that late--I'm only on day 3 so far! :laughing: (and day 1 was just a travel day!)

If you ask me, AKL should be at the top of everyone's must-stay resort list :lovestruc, so I'm glad to hear it's at the top of yours!

DH would have really enjoyed all of the thought put into the show, but no worries--his loss, not mine! ;) And to be honest, he wasn't really that upset about not seeing it, so there was no point in me getting upset over since I stayed to see it!


Sounds like my idea of a perfect morning! You hit all my favorites!

I never thought of taking a snack to BMTB. Great idea!

Having a snack during the show was the perfect way to cool off--but the kids were entertained so they didn't get bored taking a break! :thumbsup2

Great update! You went on my favorite ride (ToT). I like the Beauty and the Beast show. I have only seen it once though and it was a couple of years ago.

ToT is SO MUCH FUN, but the real lesson learned here is how much DH enjoyed it! He could have ridden it 150 times in a row and not gotten tired of it. Note to self--promise DH lots of ToT time the next time I beging talking about a Disney trip! :lmao:


Yummy, the CL food looks yummy. I love chocolate croissants especially the ones at Disney.

I am glad DS perked up once it was time to get on TSM. He looks so calm in the TOT picture. I hold on for dear life. He makes us adults who hold on look bad.

Good to know they let you back in for the B&b show. I was thinking of leaving to get a snack, but didn’t want to deal with having a hard time getting back in.

I didn't even get a bite of the chocolate croissant that morning! But I did get one later in the week and it was good.

I was amazed at how well DS did on that ride--he is normally our 'frady cat--particularly heights. The fact that we were inside and it was so dark, made him not even realize we were up so high! And believe me--I was holding on for dear life!!


I just got all caught up on your TR...sounds like a great time so far! :thumbsup2 It sucks your DH wasn't feeling well after 'Ohana. I can see why though...we ate there on our trip, and there was almost too much food! I really wanted to try a Lapu Lapu, but given my circumstances I just couldn't do it. Next time though...

I also can't believe you got your kids on ToT! I've never been on it because I'm too :scared1: That's one ride that has me running for the hills, :laughing:!

Can't wait to read more! :)

Ah, the Ohana dinner. The meal that shaped the rest of our trip--which will make more sense once I write my next update. I tried to convince DH that he should pace himself, but what do I know right? :rolleyes:

DD loves any thrill ride she is tall enough to ride. DS, we weren't so sure about since this would be his first time on all the "big boy" rides (as he called them!)...he was a champ though!


ToT as a family is great, we did it last summer and DS4 was just 40 inches and was so excited to ride it. He loved it, I think our photo was probably the same, me screaming and the rest of them laughing at me. :rotfl:

I never imagined that we'd have that much fun riding that ride together...It almost makes it ok that they were laughing their butts off at me! :lmao:

[Becc1]

All caaught up on your report! I am just loving your "quiet" meal at Ohanas;)

[AKL LOVER]

All caaught up on your report! I am just loving your "quiet" meal at Ohanas;)

It was a nice surprise. We enjoyed the uninterrupted 'us time' that we don't always get! :goodvibes

[__disneygirl]

I am so jealous that you have an upcoming trip this fall. NO FAIR! Guess that means you are going to have to take plenty of Fantasyland expansion pics and post them on your TR to appease all of us who can't go...

Oh and by the way, it's funny that you would comment on the motorcoach recording. Just the other night, sitting at the dinner table, my son started rambling off the recording. I literally said out loud to my husband, 'did he just seriously say what I think he said?!?!' Then I asked DS to repeat what he said, just to be sure I heard him right!! It's been a month and a half since we were in Disney, but he still remembers every word! That's my boy!! :thumbsup2

I will take a million pics, of course! Just in general, I need to take waaaay more than I did last trip.

That is one awesome kid you've got there!

[AKL LOVER]

It's still Wednesday May 4th and we are at DHS and hungry!! We had not really had breakfast this morning (besides fruit and snacks) which is a miracle b/c my kids don't think they've had breakfast until they've had something hot and filling (eggs, pancakes, oatmeal, bacon, etc). But we had an early lunch ADR and I didn't want us to spoil our lunch.

12:15 rolls around and we are starving...so we head over to:

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/067.jpg

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/068.jpg

I checked in and we were able to squeeze in a just a couple of photos before we were called back...

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/065.jpg

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/066.jpg
(DD took this picture--not too bad!)

We were excited to eat here despite the negative reviews I've seen. I thought this was the perfect restaurant to escape the heat from. It was dark and cool and that was perfect!

The view from our car:

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/070.jpg


Love this pic of the kids:

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/069.jpg

I'm not sure why I didn't ask our server to take a pic of all of us in the car...but I didn't. Bummer.

However, I did actually remember to take pictures of our food this time so here goes...

DH had the reuben. He proclaimed it yummy and cleaned his plate!

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/074.jpg

I had the shrimp pasta and it was good. But it was huge so I took half of it back to the room with us.

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/075.jpg

DS had a burger and fries:

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/076.jpg


DD had mac and cheese and soup:

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/077.jpg


I did not take pics of desert and to be honest, now I don't even remember what we had! But a quick look back at my receipt reveals what was forgotten:

DD had an ice cream sundae.

DS had fruit salad (the ice cream had egg).

I had the peanut butter chocolate cake which I was not a fan of. The cake was hard. Yuck. I barely ate any of it.

DH had the apple crisp which he loved and once again cleaned his plate.

At the end of our meal our server brought the kids a surprise:

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/078.jpg

It was filled with yummy caramel popcorn that we enjoyed later that day. We paid for our meal and left Sci-Fi at 1:30. What to do next???





Yup, you guessed it....





Back to the pool!! Of course. :rotfl: But today I was ok with it since we had gotten a lot done that morning at DHS and it was hot. A nice dip in the pool would feel good. Besides, we had fabulous dinner plans--HDDR!! Or so I thought....

On our back to the hotel, DH began complaining about HOW FULL he was again. Geeze. Would he never learn?? :headache: He asked again (for the hundreth time) what were our plans for the evening...Once I remind him that it's HDDR night, the conversation just goes down from there. He is SO STUFFED that he can't possibly eat anything at dinner, so he doesn't want to do the show. Really?? It was only 1:30 and we wouldn't eat until 5:30...that was 4 hours from now. I found it hard to believe that he wouldn't be hungry again in 4 hours. He knew before lunch that we were doing HDDR that night and he knows what to expect from that meal b/c we've been before. He was just so hungry at lunch that he couldn't help eating everything that he ate...OH CRY ME A RIVER! Besides, I was really looking forward to HDDR. Not just for the show itself, but for the included drinks. The one night we have a meal planned where we don't have to think about how much the adult beverages cost and DH doesn't want to go. And it's an ADR that has a cancelation requirement which means we would lose our dining credits. This was also our one night to catch the MM&Y show as well as the MSEP and Wishes--we were going to head back to MK after HDDR.

So all of this pisses me off. Big time.

I don't know why it made me so mad at the time, but it did. So then I ask, well what does he want to do for dinner? He can't decide. By then, I'm so pissed that I can't decide. I sat by the pool that afternoon while he and the kids swam. I have to admit, I was pouty. DH told me to go ahead and take the kids and go see the show, but I just didn't want to fool with the hassel of it with the kids all by myself. And I didn't want to go and eat by myself like a dork. I should have taken one of the kids or gone by myself to at least see Wishes.

It was during a conversation by the pool this day that DH announced that he did not like crowds and that the DxDP is just too much food...seriously?? Who is this person?!?! This is our 4th trip to Disney and all of a sudden you don't like crowds and the DxDP is too much food. Would have been nice to know that ahead of time. Could have save us a bunch of $$ by not getting any DP or by just getting the regular one. :mad: :mad:

I did speak to the CL lounge CM and she was able to get our HDDR ADR canceled and we were not charged for the meals! That was the one bright side to my afternoon. However, now what they heck am I going to do with 8 extra meal credits?


So, I searched for other ADR's for that night (yay for smart phones!). I found plenty, but nothing sounded good to replace HDDR. We eventually decide to hang out at the resort. We made our way up to the CL lounge to have dinner apps they put out. They were pretty good. Although I did not take any pictures for the rest of the day because of my mood. I stopped being very pouty but I was upset at the $$ I felt that we were wasting on our trip. We spent the majority of our evening in the CL lounge. The kids colored and watched cartoons. We sat and relaxed. It was a nice way to spend the evening...and I could have enjoyed it more if I hadn't been in such a bad mood. And I still have 8 extra credits.

At some point that evening DH and I had a conversation about how our idea of touring plans are vastly different (well, duh!) and he's sorry about screwing up our plans for the evening. He says that next trip we need to try and plan a couple days where we go, go, go and a days where we don't do much at all...I planned our trip this time to have pool time/a big break every day. Bad idea--we'd get back to the resort and then DH and the kids didn't want to leave.

The one plus to this night is that since we are at the resort I can head back to the room to watch Survivor!! I was DVRing it at home and planned to watch it once we got back, but with the change of plans I decided that I wasn't going to miss it after all.

The kids fell asleep while I was watching tv. DH got bored in the room so he headed back up to the CL lounge while I finished watching. By the time he came back into the room at 9:15, I was asleep on the bed. I remember waking up when he walked back in the room and he was bummed that I had fallen asleep. He wanted to hang out. Serves him right for screwing up my plans--I went back to sleep! :mad:

Lessons learned from today:

1. Don't have lunch (even an early one!) on the same day that you schedule an all you can eat dinner...have an early breakfast instead.

2. Avoid crowds at all costs for DH; no night time shows for him!--perhaps he should stay home next trip! :laughing:

3. Next trip add a few more days to our vacation so we can tour and do everything I want to do but at a slower pace--DH suggested this one! This way he and the kids can have plenty of down time too. Hey, more days at Disney?!? I won't argue with that! :thumbsup2

4. Go do more stuff by myself next trip! ;) I do eventually use this tip later in our trip.



Up next: How do you get rid of the blues when you're at Disney?!?

[AKL LOVER]

Wow. That post was a RANT if I ever saw one!

Thanks for those of you who took the time to actually read it all. I promise that this was the one downer of the trip and it all goes uphill from here! :goodvibes

[AKL LOVER]

I will take a million pics, of course! Just in general, I need to take waaaay more than I did last trip.

That is one awesome kid you've got there!

This is my one complaint about myself on vacation or anytime really...I always say I'm going to take a million pics and I do take a lot, but once I get home I think of all these fabulous pics that I forgot to take. Woops. :rolleyes1

[pinkxray]

First of all- I love catching an update by someone before they have managed to update the title with an updated date(you may have changed it by now)

Love the update. Now, I can just cut and paste most of your post and use it somewhere in my thread:laughing:

I had the same issue with DH and the DXDP. I talked to him before hand and asked him. He stated he wanted a sit down breakfast and dinner each day.

"But you didn't like that last year. Remember no flexibilty?"

"Sit down breakfast every day"

Okay then. So I upgraded and DH stated again this year. "I don't really like having every meal planned and don't want to do a TS breakfast everyday":mad:

Next trip, no dining plan and less planning.

I really want to try HDDR but I am afraid we would end up canceling. What is it with men knowing they have a meal soon and eating way too much to be hungry later.:confused3

I love Sci-fi.:love:

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

Aw man, I would have been annoyed too, I don't blame you for being mad. Sometimes our families just don't get how much time and effort we put into our plans. Changes in the plan always happen on vacation but it would be nice if they apologized and recognized the effort we put into it all just so they can waltz in and say "I don't feel like it". :laughing:

At least you got to watch Survivor!

[AKL LOVER]

Since I'm done with day 3, it's time for another Fuzzy Disney Math: DxDP Redux update. Here's how our 3rd day breaks down:


Day 3

Lunch at Sci-Fi:
Kids Sundae 1.75
Mac and Ch 5.49
Tomato soup 1.75
Kids Burger/Fries 7.24
Fruit Salad 1.75
Double Dipp App 10.99
Shrimp Pasta 21.99
PB Chocolate cake 7.99
Iced Tea 2.69
Reuben 12.49
SM House Salad 7.49 (app for DH)
Apple Crisp 6.99
Total w/ tax: 95.15


Snack @ DHS
chips 2.69
Pretzel 4.00
2 Frozen Lemondaes 3.69 x 2: 7.38
Total w/ tax: 15.07


Total for day 3: 110.22



Again, at a cost of $202 a day for the DxDP, we are in sad shape! :sad2:

Day 3 was supposed to be a get your $$'s worth out of the DxDP day because of HDDR. *Sigh* You know what they say about the best laid plans...But we still have 4 more days to go, maybe we can still make up some ground!

[Lidian]

Wow. That post was a RANT if I ever saw one!

Thanks for those of you who took the time to actually read it all. I promise that this was the one downer of the trip and it all goes uphill from here! :goodvibes

Wow... I'm sorry you had a cranky DH to deal with! :hug: Very sorry you missed HDDR, Wishes, MSEP, etc. :( I would have been ticked, too.

I absolutely love Sci Fi. :cloud9: Your DD did a great job at taking your picture! That's great that the server brought your kids a surprise!

[Corrine 1973]

I would have been in a bad mood too thinking of those wasted credits. To bad we weren't there at the same time, I would have gone with you.:lmao::lmao: We got the regular dinning plan and it worked out real nice for us. I think the Duluxe would have been just to much food for us as well. Well maybe not for my DS, he can really pack it away for a 9year old boy.:lmao:

I hope the rest of your trip goes smother:thumbsup2

[mickeystoontown]

I see no need to apologize for the "rant" because I would have done the same thing as you did. I would have pouted and been mad too. At least you didn't loose those table service credits and I hope at some point you tell us that you were able to use them all.

[mrssmith06]

Oh wow, I would have been in a bad mood too! I don't think I could have canceled, I would have told him he was going whether he ate anything or not, everyone else wanted to go and have a nice dinner show. Heck, I might have even been happy going alone LOL. I don't blame you at all for being pouty that night! There were a few moments where I felt like I was pulling my family by the ears to get to where we needed to go. I wanted to scream DONT YOU PEOPLE REALIZE WE ONLY HAVE SO MUCH TIME AND WE HAVE TO MAKE THE BEST OF IT??? :lmao: Gah... why can't they understand the Disney madness???
We have also decided that next trip we need a longer stay with a day of rest in between the parks. We are thinking of doing a 7 day stay next time with 4 park days. We'll do 2 parks then have a nothing day and then do the other 2 parks. With no parks on arrival or departure day. We'll see.... ;) I said we wouldn't do a park on arrival day on this last trip and I ended up adding the park day as soon as we arrived :rotfl2:

[PirateKate]

Hi! I'm just joining in. Our trips overlap some and I'm always interested to see what other people do during the same time.

CL at AKL sounds awesome. I can see why AKL would be your favorite resort. Too bad the HDDR didn't work out. I hope you find something really good to do with those extra 8 credits.

[Moira222]

Wow. That post was a RANT if I ever saw one!

Thanks for those of you who took the time to actually read it all. I promise that this was the one downer of the trip and it all goes uphill from here! :goodvibes
:rotfl2: OMG who does not have one single solitary rant anyway? not me!

Sounds like the first part of your day was really great. but DH dropping that on me at that point would have ticked me off...and I would have made my DH go anyway. No one stands over you and forces you to eat so if you'r enot hungry, well shut up and watch the show (that's what I would tell my DH...and he knows it! :rotfl: ) so you're a better woman than me to work with him and not flip out and potentially have bad moods for the rest of the trip.

First of all- I love catching an update by someone before they have managed to update the title with an updated date(you may have changed it by now)

Love the update. Now, I can just cut and paste most of your post and use it somewhere in my thread:laughing:.....
Next trip, no dining plan and less planning.

I really want to try HDDR but I am afraid we would end up canceling. What is it with men knowing they have a meal soon and eating way too much to be hungry later.:confused3

I love Sci-fi.:love:


:rotfl2::rotfl2:when I was reading about the whole "too full for dinner" I had to stop to see who's report I was reading! :laughing: I thought "Hmm I just finished reading Diane's TR...."

[AKL LOVER]

First of all- I love catching an update by someone before they have managed to update the title with an updated date(you may have changed it by now)

Love the update. Now, I can just cut and paste most of your post and use it somewhere in my thread

I had the same issue with DH and the DXDP. I talked to him before hand and asked him. He stated he wanted a sit down breakfast and dinner each day.

"But you didn't like that last year. Remember no flexibilty?"

"Sit down breakfast every day"

Okay then. So I upgraded and DH stated again this year. "I don't really like having every meal planned and don't want to do a TS breakfast everyday"

Next trip, no dining plan and less planning.

I really want to try HDDR but I am afraid we would end up canceling. What is it with men knowing they have a meal soon and eating way too much to be hungry later.:confused3

I love Sci-fi.:love:

You did catch me mid-update!

I was so pissed at him with the whole "the DxDP is too much food" kick...we have been on that plan for the past 3 trips and he's never complained. In fact, he's loved it b/c of the variety he gets and all the great places we eat.

I really liked Sci-Fi, but if I had known it was going to be that or HDDR, I would have went with the latter!


Next trip, Melissa, next trip...


wait, haven't I made that comment before? Perhaps that should be the the title of my next PTR!! Is it weird to have the title of your next PTR picked out before you have your next trip planned?? :laughing:



Aw man, I would have been annoyed too, I don't blame you for being mad. Sometimes our families just don't get how much time and effort we put into our plans. Changes in the plan always happen on vacation but it would be nice if they apologized and recognized the effort we put into it all just so they can waltz in and say "I don't feel like it".

At least you got to watch Survivor!

Survivor = good! :thumbsup2


And you know what? DH did admit that he knows I take a lot of time to plan and it must have been really upsetting that he threw a kink in my plans. Too bad he didn't realize that before he made me miss dinner! :mad:



Wow... I'm sorry you had a cranky DH to deal with! :hug: Very sorry you missed HDDR, Wishes, MSEP, etc. :( I would have been ticked, too.

I absolutely love Sci Fi. Your DD did a great job at taking your picture! That's great that the server brought your kids a surprise!

I'm glad you all don't think I'm crazy for feeling the way I did!



I would have been in a bad mood too thinking of those wasted credits. To bad we weren't there at the same time, I would have gone with you. We got the regular dinning plan and it worked out real nice for us. I think the Duluxe would have been just to much food for us as well. Well maybe not for my DS, he can really pack it away for a 9year old boy.:lmao:

I hope the rest of your trip goes smother:thumbsup2

I think we are definitely going to take someone else with us on our next trip (like my mom again) that way if he wants to be cranky he can stay in the room and be cranky...and I can still have someone to share the Disney with! And I think after seeing my final DxDP #'s I may stick with the regular plan in the future.



I see no need to apologize for the "rant" because I would have done the same thing as you did. I would have pouted and been mad too. At least you didn't loose those table service credits and I hope at some point you tell us that you were able to use them all.

You'll have to wait and see how all the credits work out! ;)



Oh wow, I would have been in a bad mood too! I don't think I could have canceled, I would have told him he was going whether he ate anything or not, everyone else wanted to go and have a nice dinner show. Heck, I might have even been happy going alone LOL. I don't blame you at all for being pouty that night! There were a few moments where I felt like I was pulling my family by the ears to get to where we needed to go. I wanted to scream DONT YOU PEOPLE REALIZE WE ONLY HAVE SO MUCH TIME AND WE HAVE TO MAKE THE BEST OF IT??? :lmao: Gah... why can't they understand the Disney madness???
We have also decided that next trip we need a longer stay with a day of rest in between the parks. We are thinking of doing a 7 day stay next time with 4 park days. We'll do 2 parks then have a nothing day and then do the other 2 parks. With no parks on arrival or departure day. We'll see.... ;) I said we wouldn't do a park on arrival day on this last trip and I ended up adding the park day as soon as we arrived :rotfl2:

I tried talking him into just going to see the show--he didn't have to eat. But he insisted it was a waste of time for him to go and not eat. He could have at least drank beer though!! He was really just being lazy.



Hi! I'm just joining in. Our trips overlap some and I'm always interested to see what other people do during the same time.

CL at AKL sounds awesome. I can see why AKL would be your favorite resort. Too bad the HDDR didn't work out. I hope you find something really good to do with those extra 8 credits.

Thanks for joining! I'm going to head over and check out your TR too. :thumbsup2



OMG who does not have one single solitary rant anyway? not me!

Sounds like the first part of your day was really great. but DH dropping that on me at that point would have ticked me off...and I would have made my DH go anyway. No one stands over you and forces you to eat so if you'r enot hungry, well shut up and watch the show (that's what I would tell my DH...and he knows it! :rotfl: ) so you're a better woman than me to work with him and not flip out and potentially have bad moods for the rest of the trip.

:rotfl2:when I was reading about the whole "too full for dinner" I had to stop to see who's report I was reading! I thought "Hmm I just finished reading Diane's TR...."

If I could have gotten away with telling DH shut up and watch the show, I would have. But, alas, DH is just as hard headed as me and if I had forced him to go WWIII would have errupted and it would have ruined the rest of our vacation!

As it turns out, this was really the only 'low' of our trip. And the way I see it, you gotta take the lows with the highs when your on a vacation, and then move on. I'd hate for that one thing to ruin the rest of our trip. Although I'll tell you what--at the time, I was thinking about it, just to spite DH ;)

Oh and when I read Daine's update about her DH not being hungry for CP, I was lauging to myself since I knew that was coming up in one of my own updates! :rotfl:

[lbuzz52]

I would have been crabby too. Like Leesa mentioned, some changes are expected. But they are so frustrating when it's things you discussed ahead of time. It's not like our DH's weren't given tge chance for input during the planning.

You mentioned how Diane trip had some similarities. That's one of my favorite things about reading trs- seeing that others went through the same joys or troubles.

[beebeeryan]

Totally understandable, you were right to be upset and to rant! You did the right thing not letting war breakout, would have been the same with my DH, don't push it, because his pouting is way worse than mine. It would be nice if he'd let you know ahead of time and have some input in the planning then. They say, plan whatever and I don't wanna know about it, but then they do have input once you are there and changing things is not that easy on the fly at Disney, especially with ADR's and dining credits and all that.

[Aburns8]

I love the Sci-Fi. I know it doesn't get the best reviews, but I love the atmosphere! Sorry about your DH's hate for crowds. I would be ranting as well! Mine knows better and to let me do what I want. Because if he doesn't I get a little hyper.

[Joyciemc]

Well, this just means you're going to need to check out HDDR on your next trip! It really is a lot of fun!

I never really thought about how much planning the DxDP would take from an ability to eat stand-point... though after our last trip, I think Ben and I could handle any amount of food :laughing:

[AKL LOVER]

I would have been crabby too. Like Leesa mentioned, some changes are expected. But they are so frustrating when it's things you discussed ahead of time. It's not like our DH's weren't given tge chance for input during the planning.

You mentioned how Diane trip had some similarities. That's one of my favorite things about reading trs- seeing that others went through the same joys or troubles.

And the thing that was the most frustrating is that DH really wanted to do HDDR. He helped pick it out! :headache:


Totally understandable, you were right to be upset and to rant! You did the right thing not letting war breakout, would have been the same with my DH, don't push it, because his pouting is way worse than mine. It would be nice if he'd let you know ahead of time and have some input in the planning then. They say, plan whatever and I don't wanna know about it, but then they do have input once you are there and changing things is not that easy on the fly at Disney, especially with ADR's and dining credits and all that.

That was one of my main points w/ DH--ADR's can't just be made at the drop of a hat while there. I had to book them 180 days out for goodness sake! For example, he wanted to go to the 7 pm show of HDDR that night, but of course it was all booked up. As were all of the other shows for the rest of the week. I think after he saw what a pain it was to try and change it, he understood my frustration a little more...just a little though! :upsidedow


I love the Sci-Fi. I know it doesn't get the best reviews, but I love the atmosphere! Sorry about your DH's hate for crowds. I would be ranting as well! Mine knows better and to let me do what I want. Because if he doesn't I get a little hyper.

I think this trip was a bit of an eye opener for both DH and I! (I mean really, we've been together for 11 years and married for 9--how could he just now announce that he doesn't like crowds?? :rolleyes: Maybe he's just getting grumpier with age!) Hopefully he won't be so hard-headed next trip!


Well, this just means you're going to need to check out HDDR on your next trip! It really is a lot of fun!

I never really thought about how much planning the DxDP would take from an ability to eat stand-point... though after our last trip, I think Ben and I could handle any amount of food :laughing:

We've been to HDDR before, so DH knew what to expect w/ all the food--I think that's why I couldn't convince him to go. If he hadn't been before and didn't know how much food was involved I probably couldn't have talked him into it. :rolleyes1

[Queenofallthings]

I love the atmosphere of the Sci Fi .... it reminds of the drive-ins we used to go to as kids! Great pics and sounds like a great day!

[AKL LOVER]

I love the atmosphere of the Sci Fi .... it reminds of the drive-ins we used to go to as kids! Great pics and sounds like a great day!

We really enjoyed the atmosphere of Sci-Fi. And we thought the food was pretty good too! Win-win in our book :thumbsup2

[AKL LOVER]

When I last left off, we had unexpectedly had a quiet evening around the resort and all of us hit the hay pretty early. That's probably a good thing since we had an early day planned for Thursday.

Thursday May 5th

We were all up nice and early this morning. And what better way to cure my Disney blues from the previous days disappointments than hitting EMH at MK!?! While the kids were getting dressed I checked out what animals were in our backyard this morning...

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/085.jpg

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/081.jpg

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/080.jpg

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/086.jpg

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/082.jpg

We hit the busses (a little later than what I wanted--7:40 or so) and were on our way to MK before we knew it. We arrived at MK at 8:07...just barely missed the RD ceremony :headache: One of these years we will make it to see RD at MK!!

We head into the park and immediately head straight to--

Dumbo!

We tried to ride Dumbo on Tuesday, but the wait was at 40 minutes by the time we got there. So needless to say, Dumbo was first on our list today! But would we make it before the line got ourtragious? Since we arrived after 8 and missed RD I was afraid the line would be out of control by the time we made it there. After high tailing it to Dumbo we find that the wait is only 25 minutes. Not too bad and the kids REALLY want to ride, so we decide to wait.

Waiting patiently:

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/089.jpg

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/090.jpg

Getting excited because it's almost our turn!

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/091.jpg

A shot of the FL expansion from the Dumbo line:

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/088.jpg

Finally it's our turn. I think our wait was actually only 20 minutes or so. I timed our wait time using my LINES app. Actually, the people standing behind us saw me using LINES and asked me about it. It was their very first time using it and they weren't sure exactly how the app worked. I was happy to pass on a few pointers. Hope they ended up getting a lot of use out of it on their trip. Now that I think about it, I should have asked them what their screen name was in case I ever "saw" them on chat. But of course I forgot!

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/092.jpg

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/094.jpg

While riding I remembered to snap a few pics of the FL expansion. You really get a great view of what they are doing from Dumbo!!

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/096.jpg

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/097.jpg

Can't pass up a pic of the castle while riding Dumbo:

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/098.jpg

After we were done riding we headed over to ride HM. However, silly me, I forgot that MH wasn't open for EMH. :rolleyes: But it was only about 15 minutes to 9 and we had ridden everything else in FL on Tuesday, so we decided to wait at the rope at the back of FL to go HM when they dropped it at 9. We were one of the first in line so I knew we'd get to ride HM as practically a walk on! :woohoo:We took a potty break and had a nice conversation with another family also waiting at the rope so our 15 minutes of waiting went by quickly. Next thing we knew, we were heading through the new HM line...very cool! I actually remembered to take a few pics:

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/099.jpg

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/100.jpg

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/101.jpg

After riding HM we headed over to ride BTMRR again. We rode 2 times since there was no wait!

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/103.jpg

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/104.jpg
(I have no idea what DS was looking at in this pic, but it wasn't the camera!)

Next it was over to Space Mountain. We had a late breakfast ADR, but LINES said that SM was a 10 minute wait so we should be able to fit it in before we ate. We got to SM at 10 am, and got a rider swap pass b/c DS was too little for this ride. DH takes DD to go ride. Well, the wait was most certainly not 10 minutes! By the time DH and DD come out it's almost 10:30. And that's when our breakfast ADR is for! Good thing we don't have to go far...


Continued in next post... (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=41543912&postcount=161)

[pinkxray]

Love your update! EMH seem to work well with MK. You can do all the Fantasyland rides first and then, once the crowds come in move on to an area with no wait while everyone rushes Dumbo. It will be tough to pick between an 8:05 CP adr with an empty park or EMH with 10:30am CP. Hopefully with 2 years to pick I'll figure it out.

I :love: the view of your back yard. I just love the picture with the giraffee and zebra. They were my favorites but were never that close to each other, they always seemed to stay with there groups while we were there.

Great picture of the expansion. I can't wait to see Belle's castle when it is done. She is my favorite and I love that movie so much. Can't wait:banana:

[AKL LOVER]

Thursday May 5th (cont'd)

From Space Mountain it was a short walk to:

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/408.jpg

We were rushing to make it to our ADR on time. And of course, we get to the center hub, and the castle is closed because of the show they are doing. So we had to walk around, which actually made us about 10 minutes late checking in at Cinderella's Royal Table. They let us right in line for meeting Cinderella. I don't mind that we were late because that meant we were last in line. Cinderella spent more time with the kids.

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/105.jpg

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/108.jpg

Cinderella was super excited about DS's name. His name is Jack. And she was telling the kids how that his name was just like the name of one of her best friends...She even pointed him out to the kids:

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/107.jpg

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/124.jpg

I had no idea those guys were up there! And it was so sweet of her to point them out to the kids. DS was especially happy that Cinderella gave him so much attention! She has been the best Cinderella we've ever encountered (interaction wise and look wise!!)

Of course we got a family pic. This is the one we got with our meal.

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/CRT.jpg
(I took this pic with my phone and uploaded it to FB while we were there, so the pic quality isn't the best...)


Sitting at our table and ready to eat and meet some princesses!

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/109.jpg
(Notice DH's Mickey shirt that I got him to wear this trip!!!)

DD :lovestruc's eating here, so we've done it on every trip. DS usually get's a good deal of attention while there too, so he also enjoys it! This visit was no exception:

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/113.jpg

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/115.jpg

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/117.jpg
I love how the princesses can carry on a conversation with the kids and sign their names at the same time, all without looking at the paper!!

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/120.jpg

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/123.jpg

DS getting some love from Ariel. No kiss on the cheek this year, but she's still his favorite! She did tell him that she couldn't believe that HE still remembered getting a kiss...She thought last year that he would be too little to remember ;)

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/121.jpg

Don't worry, DD got some love too:

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/122.jpg

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/114.jpg


I even got a little attention from Sleeping Beauty herself! She was asking about our autograph books. DH explained that when we got home we would put put pics of the kids w/ the characters next to each of their signatures. Sleeping Beauty, replies "Oh my! Sounds like someone is a planner! (:laughing:, right??) You are just like my Flora. She's a planner too!"


**Side note: Don't you just LOVE how the characters stay in character even when talking to an adult!?!? I honesly think that this is my ABSOLUTE favorite thing about Disney. It is amazing! How could you not love Disney, just for this one fact?!? :love:


Anyway, back to Sleeping Beauty and her raving reviews of my planning abilities ;) (at least someone is appreciating all the planning I did for this trip! Hint, hint DH!) She went on to say what a wonderful keepsake it would make for the kids. It was cute and I won't lie--I enjoyed getting a bit of attention too! :lovestruc

Sadly, all the princesses has come and gone and it was time to leave the castle. Guess what DH and the kids want to do now???



No surprise here--they vote for the pool!!! However, I said that we had yet to ride one of my fav rides, so off to PoC it was! I think DH was a little more apt to giving me my way the rest of the trip after the fit he threw and the plans he ruined on Wednesday. PoC was only a 10 minute wait, so we park the stroller and head into the line. Or so we thought. We get up to the big double doors right as you enter the inside part of the queue and they seriously cut off the line and closed the doors just as we are about to walk through them! :sad2: A CM announces that the ride is having technical difficulties and they aren't sure when it will be back up and running--I think I actually stamped my foot when this happened! :blush: I think I was entitled to a foot stamp or 2 because when we tried to ride PoC on Tuesday it was also down that day. 2 different days to try and ride and down both days. Maybe we were destined to miss one of my favorite rides this trip. :sad1:



I was very sad about missing PoC and needed a pick me up...well DS and I found one on the way out of the park...any guesses??

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

Love the interaction you got at CRT and that you got some Princess love as well. :thumbsup2

Boo on your favourite ride being down! :guilty:

[AKL LOVER]

Love your update! EMH seem to work well with MK. You can do all the Fantasyland rides first and then, once the crowds come in move on to an area with no wait while everyone rushes Dumbo. It will be tough to pick between an 8:05 CP adr with an empty park or EMH with 10:30am CP. Hopefully with 2 years to pick I'll figure it out.

I :love: the view of your back yard. I just love the picture with the giraffee and zebra. They were my favorites but were never that close to each other, they always seemed to stay with there groups while we were there.

Great picture of the expansion. I can't wait to see Belle's castle when it is done. She is my favorite and I love that movie so much. Can't wait:banana:

ACK! You caught me mid update again! You are so good at that! :laughing:

Morning EMH at MK is the one EMH we always do. I love doing EMH and then having a later breakfast. It's a great way to spend your morning--ride a bunch of rides, then take a break with a nice breakfast! That's why we did the 8:05 ADR at CP on a nonEMH day--I couldn't pick one over the other, and I knew that we'd be in MK on multiple days anyway, so we could get the best of both worlds!

[AKL LOVER]

Love the interaction you got at CRT and that you got some Princess love as well. :thumbsup2

Boo on your favourite ride being down! :guilty:


I've never gotten so much attention from a character--it was fun! And it almost made up for PoC being down!

[mrssmith06]

Great update! I am debating on whether to do 1900 PF or CRT on our next trip. Cost being a big factor of course! How is the food at CRT?

Sorry you missed PoC twice! :sad2: That ride is on my "must do" list for next trip since we never got to ride it this time.

Sounds like you all had a great morning at MK! :lovestruc

[pinkxray]

I do always seem to catch you mid update.

How did you like CRT? It seems like you had some great interaction, but I didn't love it. I know it's not a big deal on dxdp but I still thought the breakfast was a bit lame for the price.

POC twice deserves a big foot stomp.

[AKL LOVER]

Great update! I am debating on whether to do 1900 PF or CRT on our next trip. Cost being a big factor of course! How is the food at CRT?

Sorry you missed PoC twice! :sad2: That ride is on my "must do" list for next trip since we never got to ride it this time.

Sounds like you all had a great morning at MK! :lovestruc

That's a tough choice--CRT or 1900 PF!

We think that CRT is better for breakfast--we did it for dinner on our first trip and it was ok, but breakfast is better.

If you are looking for a bigger variety in food, then 1900 PF is the better choice. We really enjoyed our dinner there last trip! And the evil stepsisters are such a hoot! Loved them. :lovestruc CRT is really expensive so if you are looking for a less expensive option you will be just as happy at 1900 PF.

Are you going to be on the DP for your next trip? It might be worth it to do CRT then. I'm not sure how willing I would be to pay for CRT OOP!

Also, if you're looking for a meal to meet a lot of princesses and don't want to spend the $$ on CRT, you should check out Akershus in Epcot. It's a good meal, has great character interaction and also comes with a pic! And it's only 1 TS credit. For what it's worth, we like dinner better than breakfast for lunch at Akershus.

Hope this helps :goodvibes


I do always seem to catch you mid update.

How did you like CRT? It seems like you had some great interaction, but I didn't love it. I know it's not a big deal on dxdp but I still thought the breakfast was a bit lame for the price.

POC twice deserves a big foot stomp.

We think that breakfast is good, but I'm not sure that I would pay OOP for it. We definitely like doing it since we've been on the DP. I do love that it comes with a pic and that you don't have to leave a tip--gratuity is included with the price. However, if we weren't on the DP or if we downgrade our DP next trip, I don't know that we would do it again...we've already been so many times and there are so many other places that definitely have better food! We'll have to see how much DD pushes for it though! :rolleyes:

[basketkat]

Love all of the pictures in this update!!!

It looks like you had a fabulous time at CRT!!! We are looking forward to eating there for the first time on our upcoming trip! :banana:

What a bummer about PoC :(

[__disneygirl]

SCI-FI!!!!!! One of my favorite places in the whole entire world, not just the World. I do not understand the negative reviews one bit. Plus, even if the food was vile, I'd go just for the atmosphere because it is beyond awesome in there. They have the best milkshakes in the world. I actually can't drink milkshakes from anywhere else because they are just so sad compared to Sci-Fi's!

You don't have to apologize for the rant. It's a shame you had to miss Hoop Dee Doo and I would have been really mad too. I hate when I plan all these great things and then someone on the trip just simply doesn't feel like doing something, and I'm like BUT WE HAVE TO YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW AWESOME THIS WILL BE and it's just a no. At least you got to see Survivor, I get quite annoyed when I miss Survivor :laughing:

Sounds like a great morning at the MK. I love when the characters go that extra mile to really have a convo with you/your kids as opposed to just hi, sign, picture.

[Joyciemc]

Awesome update!!

CRT looks like such a fun time and is in such a cool location.
I agree- that seemed to be a great Cinderella!

[beebeeryan]

Great character interactions! It's nice when Mommy gets some attention too! So sad on POTC, I love that ride too. :sad2:

We had a great meet&greet with Buzz and Woody at DHS last summer. As we got up to our turn in Andy's Room, Buzz took off for an adjustment of some sort, and so the boys hung out with Woody for almost 5 minutes before Buzz came back. They told us to just wait with Woody till Buzz returned. I got some funny videos of Woody goofing off making the boys laugh.

Oh man, see this is going to be my TR come August too, my boys were demanding to go back to the pool by 1pm every day last year. I planned my days based on that luckily and am planning this year's trip based on that too.

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

:yay: for great character interaction at CRT!!!

Ugh, that stinks that POTC was down! I hope you are successful in riding it during your trip!!

lol back to the pool again! I'm definitely understanding your TR title by now...:laughing:. The AKL pool must be pretty awesome!

[AKL LOVER]

Love all of the pictures in this update!!!

It looks like you had a fabulous time at CRT!!! We are looking forward to eating there for the first time on our upcoming trip! :banana:

What a bummer about PoC :(

You will have a lot of fun eating at CRT, especially for your first time! Are you have breakfast, lunch or dinner there?


SCI-FI!!!!!! One of my favorite places in the whole entire world, not just the World. I do not understand the negative reviews one bit. Plus, even if the food was vile, I'd go just for the atmosphere because it is beyond awesome in there. They have the best milkshakes in the world. I actually can't drink milkshakes from anywhere else because they are just so sad compared to Sci-Fi's!

You don't have to apologize for the rant. It's a shame you had to miss Hoop Dee Doo and I would have been really mad too. I hate when I plan all these great things and then someone on the trip just simply doesn't feel like doing something, and I'm like BUT WE HAVE TO YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW AWESOME THIS WILL BE and it's just a no. At least you got to see Survivor, I get quite annoyed when I miss Survivor :laughing:

Sounds like a great morning at the MK. I love when the characters go that extra mile to really have a convo with you/your kids as opposed to just hi, sign, picture.

At least people on here understand why I was so upset, even if DH didn't!

And I agree w/ you on Sci-Fi...fabulous atmosphere! Too bad we didn't try a milkshake. I'll put that on my list for next time :thumbsup2


Awesome update!!

CRT looks like such a fun time and is in such a cool location.
I agree- that seemed to be a great Cinderella!

I think the location is what makes CRT so great!


Great character interactions! It's nice when Mommy gets some attention too! So sad on POTC, I love that ride too. :sad2:

We had a great meet&greet with Buzz and Woody at DHS last summer. As we got up to our turn in Andy's Room, Buzz took off for an adjustment of some sort, and so the boys hung out with Woody for almost 5 minutes before Buzz came back. They told us to just wait with Woody till Buzz returned. I got some funny videos of Woody goofing off making the boys laugh.

Oh man, see this is going to be my TR come August too, my boys were demanding to go back to the pool by 1pm every day last year. I planned my days based on that luckily and am planning this year's trip based on that too.

My DS really wanted to meet Buzz and Woody this year, but the line was too long. But he didn't fret about it too long b/c we just headed back to the pool instead of waiting in line! :laughing:

My main problem was that once we hit the pool, I couldn't drag the 3 of them away for dinner or for doing the parks at night! Maybe if we had stayed in the parks until 2 or 3 then hit the pool it wouldn't have been so bad to miss out on night time plans. But most days we were back at the pool by 1 and I was done w/ the pool by 4 and ready to go back to the parks, but they weren't. I'm thinking maybe my kids were fish in another life....;)


:yay: for great character interaction at CRT!!!

Ugh, that stinks that POTC was down! I hope you are successful in riding it during your trip!!

lol back to the pool again! I'm definitely understanding your TR title by now...:laughing:. The AKL pool must be pretty awesome!

Just wait, we aren't even half way through our vacation yet!

[AKL LOVER]

Thursday May 5

On our way out of the park I was still bummed about PoC being closed for technical difficulties. Of course DH and the kids were happy as a clam b/c this just meant that we could head back to the resort even earlier for the pool! :rotfl:

However, on the way out, I did manage to find something to perk me up...The wait to see Mickey was only 10 minutes! DS had been asking nonstop to see Mickey since we arrived on Monday and I wanted to do it this day b/c we were all wearing our Mickey shirts. However, DD did not want to see Mickey. Hhhmmm...someone not wanting to do what I have planned....why does this not surprise me at this point? Instead, she wanted to use some of her spending money to buy some Mickey ears.


BTW, can you believe that this is our 4th trip to Disney, but we've never bought Mickey ears before? Crazy, right???


So off DH and DD go to find some ears while DS and I head into Mickey's line.

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/126.jpg

Excited, but waiting patiently...

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/125.jpg

The wait wasn't bad at all (15 minutes) and we were excited to see Mickey and Minnie for our meet and greet!

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/127.jpg


http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/128.jpg

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/129.jpg
See how happy he was??

Of course, I couldn't pass up an opportunity to get my picture taken with Mickey either!

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/130.jpg

One last hug before we go...

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/131.jpg

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/132.jpg

We had fun meeting them together. DS was so excited. Not really sure why, b/c he's met Mickey before, but he really really enjoyed it this time! On the way out, DS wanted his picture taken with these giant Mickey cards!

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/133.jpg

After leaving our meet and greet, DS couldn't pass up a huge Mickey in the gift shop. He spent all of his spending money on it! Clever Disney for placing a shop right at the exit, huh?? ;)

We met up with DH and DD. DD was sporting a new set of ears...Minnie style:

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/412.jpg



Now it was off to the pool for real this time. We made it back to AKL and were in the pool by 1:15. For the 3rd day in a row we enjoyed the AKL pool party. This day's pool party was especially fun because they had the kids going on a scavenger hunt. There were 10 objects total and they announced each object one at a time. They would give the kids 3 minutes and the first 3 kids to bring that item back won a point. The person at the end of the hunt with the most points won a big prize. The reason this was so much fun is that the items they were supposed to be finding were rather random...and because of the 3 minute time limit the kids had to limit themselves to finding someone AT THE POOL with that item. My kids didn't participate, but since I was lounging in a chair enjoying a tasty beverage, I had random kids coming up and asking me if I had the item they were looking for. The things I can remember from the list that they had to find were: a hair brush, a Disney World Resort pen, a pressed penny, the biggest size shoe possible (I think someone found a 13!!)...totally random but A LOT of fun! And I got to "participate" even though my kids weren't playing.

Once the pool party ended at 4, I told DH I was headed back up to the room to shower and get ready. That night was our Disney Date Night!! :woohoo:DH decides he's ready to head back up to the room too. Miracle of all miracles, the kids don't put up a fight--they are excited to go to the kids club! I'll have to remember that trick for our next trip too! ;)



Before dropping the kids off at the kids club, we have time to hit the CL lounge for a beer and a glass of wine...for DH and I. Don't worry--the kids got juice! :lmao:

A shot of the lounge:

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/306.jpg

The view from the CL lounge:

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/305.jpg

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/302.jpg


At 6:45 we drop the kids off at the kids club. I liked how dinner was included with their clubhouse stay. After a little snafu with finding out if the pizza crust had egg in it or not, DH and I were off to Jiko! I didn't bring our camera with us on our date night because I didn't want to be taking pictures, instead I wanted to be enjoying each other's company.

Next post: Jiko Dining Review (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=41560240&postcount=175) minus pictures (SORRY!)

[AKL LOVER]

First of all, we had the best waitress EVER. She was fantastic!! I cannot say enough about her. Her name was Stephanie. In fact, everyone should run to Jiko the minute they make it to Disney and ask for Stephanie. Only eat there if she can be your server. She is that good! Seriously.



I was undecided on what wine I wanted with dinner. She told me that since the kids were at the kids club that we had all night and she was going to stretch this dinner out every last bit! She then proceeded to bring me 4 different bottles of wine to try. She even offered up that if I didn't like one of those wines that she would bring me more to try! :eek: Fortunately I didn't have to try a billion different kinds (I say fortunately because if I had tried as many as she wanted me to try I would have been falling flat on my a** drunk!!) I liked the 3rd wine I tried, and just like that she had sold us a bottle. Very smooth. If you weren't paying attention, you might not have even seen it coming! Like I said, she was good.



She had an amuse bouche sent out to us which was great. She somehow managed to get us 3 apps included in our deluxe dining, not just 2. We had the Jiko salad (yummy!), the wild boar (even yummier!) and the Tastes of Africa (dips w/ Naan--these were good, but not as good as the other 2 apps we had).



DH had the short ribs which were divine (I snuck a bite) and I had the filet. :cloud9: It was cooked to perfection. I wanted their mac and cheese in place of the side the filet normally comes with, but Stephanie said, no no, you can have an additional side of mac and cheese and it will be included w/ your DP. :lovestruc Really, it was at this point that I thought that I was seriously considering employing her as our own personal server to take back home with us!


And when she brought out the little bit of citrus sorbet to clense our palate, she put each one in a shot glass and had the bartender add a shot of vodka on top! :worship: Really, I told you she was good!



Finally for dessert, (I am embarassed to even say that yes, we had desert! :rolleyes1) we had a pot of pressed coffee (Stephanie included this with our DP too--did I already mention she was good??) the cheesecake and the Tanzanian Chocolate desert..both were extrodinary and worth the extra calories in my book! All in all I think we spent 3 hours at Jiko--we really took our time.




After a lovely evening w/ my DH we picked up the kids. They reported that they had a lot of fun at Simba's Clubhouse and they wanted to go back--the next night! :laughing:



But sadly (for them) we have other plans for the rest of our nights in Disney, so they will have to wait for our next trip to go back...

[mrssmith06]

Aww, your DS is so adorable, I love that Mickey put that big smile on his face! :lovestruc I wanted to cry when my DS ran up and hugged Mickey.

Jiko sounds amazing!!!!

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

You meal at Jiko sounds amazing! I have been dying to try the filet with the mac and cheese but just can't bring myself to spend the money!

[lbuzz52]

i loved Ariel's comment. they are so quick and so clever and never even give the kids a chance to wonder.

ds looked so excited meeting mickey! and i can believe no ears until now. dh thinks once you have a pair, you never need another.

i'm not sure i completely get the lines app. i get that you can check or submit wait times, but i feel that i am missing something out of it.

your server sounds devine! she could sell mcdonalds as five star:lmao:

[basketkat]

[QUOTE=AKL LOVER;41559094][SIZE=3]You will have a lot of fun eating at CRT, especially for your first time! Are you have breakfast, lunch or dinner there?]

We will be having a late breakfast. My DD will be turning 7 that day...so she is doing BBB before park opening then we are having breakfast at 10:30 :)

Your son is so cute! He looks so thrilled to be meeting Mickey!

And your daughter's new "ears" are adorable! princess:

How nice that you got to have a Disney date!!! :lovestruc

[Joyciemc]

Stephanie does sound amazing! Our Jiko server was super nice, but super cautious- he was worried about getting in trouble for making Ben eat his bread to fast; I couldn't imagine him adding vodka to anything :rotfl:

Glad you had an awesome meal!

[Chaitali]

Your Jiko meal sounds great! We loved the food at Jiko too but our server wasn't as good as Stephanie. She seemed really distracted all evening. The service wasn't bad but we'd had stellar service at the other restaurants we went to all week so she paled in comparison. I love the photos of your son with Mickey and Minnie, his excitement is so clear :)

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

It sounds like your meal at Jiko was incredible! We really enjoyed our dinner there as well, I can't wait to go back there again!

[Queenofallthings]

Oh how I want to go to Jiko....and now I want to even more! Sounds like an amazing evening...glad you were able to have such a great evening while it sounds like the kiddies had a lot of fun at the Clubhouse too:thumbsup2

[Aburns8]

I LOVE the new meet and greet for Mickey. It is so cute! I think on our next trip we are going to try Jiko. I have heard it is a must do!

[Lidian]

Oh wow... I read your updates, but all I remember is Jiko. :lmao:

I'm totally down to book it next year. Care to tag along and show me the ropes? ;)

Sounds like a super awesome dinner ... great service and delicious food! And your server has a great name! :thumbsup2

[__disneygirl]

Oh my what adorable pics with Mickey!!

That scavanger hunt sounds SO fun. Is there an age limit? If not, I am so going to be the 21-year-old creep running around with the kids asking random people how big their feet are.

I think this upcoming trip will be the one where we finally try Jiko, especially after your awesome review - I can't wait any longer! Your waitress sounds like an ANGEL!!! I can't believe all the extra stuff she gave you. This is the kind of service Disney is famous for. I just love when I experience something like that. No one has ever added vodka to my dessert, though, which I am now offended by. :rotfl:

[PirateKate]

Dinner at Jiko sounds so great. What a fun night! I'm glad to hear the kids had fun at the kid's club.

Meeting Mickey looked like a lot of fun, too. I hope you get to ride Pirates of the Caribbean at some point during the trip.

[rabbitthecat]

Really enjoying your report! My trip was right around the same time as yours and I too was lucky enough to have Stephanie as a server that weekend - she really *is* fantastic! Although I'm jealous of the sorbet she brought you :)

I'm hoping she's still there during my December trip - can't wait to go back to Jiko!

[amandaw]

Loved your update! I think that was a great idea to put the kids in the club & have a date night while y'all were at Disney. And it sounds like y'all had an absolutely wonderful meal. I've never even looked into eating at Jiko, but reading about your experience makes me want to go there. Can't wait to find out whether or not you ever got to ride PoC!

[beebeeryan]

Well YAY for Stephanie and a Jiko date night making up for the HDDR and F! fiasco earlier in the trip. Sounds like an amazing dinner.

Your issues with the kids and DH and swimming are similar to my own, although, we always did leave the pool by 4:30 and get back to the parks. Kids would have stayed, but at least DH was on my team. :)

[Moira222]

If I could have gotten away with telling DH shut up and watch the show, I would have. But, alas, DH is just as hard headed as me and if I had forced him to go WWIII would have errupted and it would have ruined the rest of our vacation!
:lmao::lmao::lmao: been there, done that, have the tshirt to show for it. I totally have learned when to be tough and when to just leave him alone and do my own thing. that's marriage for ya, right?:confused3:rotfl:


Oh and when I read Daine's update about her DH not being hungry for CP, I was lauging to myself since I knew that was coming up in one of my own updates! :rotfl:


You mentioned how Diane trip had some similarities. That's one of my favorite things about reading trs- seeing that others went through the same joys or troubles.
reading TRs is like comparing kid notes -- "oh I'm glad my dd is not the only one who XXXXX" :rotfl2:


Cinderella was super excited about DS's name. His name is Jack. And she was telling the kids how that his name was just like the name of one of her best friends...She even pointed him out to the kids:

That is so sweet! I do love how good they are at staying in character.




**Side note: Don't you just LOVE how the characters stay in character even when talking to an adult!?!? I honesly think that this is my ABSOLUTE favorite thing about Disney. It is amazing! How could you not love Disney, just for this one fact?!? :love:

Yes! :love:



Excited, but waiting patiently...

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/125.jpg

The wait wasn't bad at all (15 minutes) and we were excited to see Mickey and Minnie for our meet and greet!

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/127.jpg

He is just so CUTE!!!! I love the excitement in his face. Maybe it was a good thing that he got to meet Mickey & Minnie w/o his sister - some solo time!

--BTW I think you have sold me on trying club level. I could do club level and then get QS dining and that would be enough for us. mostly. :rotfl:

First of all, we had the best waitress EVER. She was fantastic!! I cannot say enough about her. Her name was Stephanie. In fact, everyone should run to Jiko the minute they make it to Disney and ask for Stephanie. Only eat there if she can be your server. She is that good! Seriously.



But sadly (for them) we have other plans for the rest of our nights in Disney, so they will have to wait for our next trip to go back...
Wow, she really was awesome!@ so nice to have a date night!

[MiaBella05]

popcorn:: joining in popcorn::

[Becc1]

Yay for date night! I really need to start taking advantage of my MIL going with us and go out one night with my DH.

Glad you and DS got to see Mickey, we were able to see them with only about a 10 minute wit as well which was shocking because I really thought that the waits there were going to be outrageous!

[flipflopmom]

Just spent time with you, your family, and a nice cup of :surfweb:. I'm a VA teacher, too, kindergarten. I have to admit, my first thought was "how in the world did she get vacation right before SOL testing." :lmao:

Your Hokie colored links drew me in! We are DVC members, and we are leaving Thurs night to drive :scared1: through the night to WDW. Since DH ended up with some unexpected time off next week, we added a day at AKL. :love: Just recovering from drive, pool time, and exploring, no parks. I know that 24 hours won't be enough to do it justice, but it's a great way to see how we like it. We've eaten at Boma twice, and I've loved the look of the resort, but DH fusses about the location. We own at BLT, and have gotten spoiled to walking to MK and riding the monorail to Epcot, especially since we can leave DD2 in her stroller when she falls asleep.

You've gotten me excited for our day at AKL. Enjoying your TR, I had some of the same issues with the pool, though not to that extend. Last summer, my crew started whining to go to the pool midday, too. I got sooo ticked. Hello, you spend the entire summer in your grandparents pool. :mad: Granted, it doesn't have a water slide and all the extras, but still... That kind of changed once our DD - then 3 - rode BTMRR and Splash for the first time. She was all about rides then! I haven't decided if I'm going to try her out on ToT this year. DHS is our last park day, so at least it wouldn't ruin her from other rides for the week. We'll go to MK that night, and a few trips on Splash might erase any scary thoughts she has!

You are so much nicer than I am. I can't imagine the fight that would have ensued if DH refused to go to HDDR. :laughing: We've done DxDP the past 2 years, once we didn't pay for DD2 b/c she was 2, and DD1 was still a child. Last year, she was 10 and a Disney "Adult", DD2 was 3, so the cost went WAAYYYYYY up! We just couldn't justify this year spending close to 2K to eat for a week, and we were so full, and hot, all the time, nothing tasted good after a while! We're doing regular DDP this year, so I'm interested to see how we think it compares.

Sorry for the book. That's what I get for joining a TR 13 pages in!

[AKL LOVER]

Aww, your DS is so adorable, I love that Mickey put that big smile on his face! :lovestruc I wanted to cry when my DS ran up and hugged Mickey.

Jiko sounds amazing!!!!

It is so sweet when kids act like that with the characters! And Jiko was definitely amazing!


You meal at Jiko sounds amazing! I have been dying to try the filet with the mac and cheese but just can't bring myself to spend the money!

That's what I love about being on the dining plan!

i loved Ariel's comment. they are so quick and so clever and never even give the kids a chance to wonder.

ds looked so excited meeting mickey! and i can believe no ears until now. dh thinks once you have a pair, you never need another.

i'm not sure i completely get the lines app. i get that you can check or submit wait times, but i feel that i am missing something out of it.

your server sounds devine! she could sell mcdonalds as five star:lmao:

The characters really do never miss a beat--LOVE that!

Do you ever use the chat on Lines? I like to check it frequently. It's pretty amusing. And it's easier to use on my phone than the DISboards.


We will be having a late breakfast. My DD will be turning 7 that day...so she is doing BBB before park opening then we are having breakfast at 10:30 :)

Your son is so cute! He looks so thrilled to be meeting Mickey!

And your daughter's new "ears" are adorable! princess:

How nice that you got to have a Disney date!!! :lovestruc

She will have SO much fun doing BBB and then eating at CRT. You will have so much fun watching her!! We did that on our first trip for DD. Enjoy!


Stephanie does sound amazing! Our Jiko server was super nice, but super cautious- he was worried about getting in trouble for making Ben eat his bread to fast; I couldn't imagine him adding vodka to anything :rotfl:

Glad you had an awesome meal!

She tried to talk us into coming back later in the trip...I was so tempted--we had the extra credits after all. But I really had other dinner ADRs that I wanted to keep--one that was new and I was totally excited about. Of course, after a disappointing meal later in the trip, I really wished we HAD gone back to Jiko after all!


Your Jiko meal sounds great! We loved the food at Jiko too but our server wasn't as good as Stephanie. She seemed really distracted all evening. The service wasn't bad but we'd had stellar service at the other restaurants we went to all week so she paled in comparison. I love the photos of your son with Mickey and Minnie, his excitement is so clear :)

Isn't it funny how sometimes the service can make or break a restaurant for you? We will definitely make Jiko an annual ADR now!



It sounds like your meal at Jiko was incredible! We really enjoyed our dinner there as well, I can't wait to go back there again!

We will definitely be going back again! And asking for Stephanie :thumbsup2

[AKL LOVER]

Oh how I want to go to Jiko....and now I want to even more! Sounds like an amazing evening...glad you were able to have such a great evening while it sounds like the kiddies had a lot of fun at the Clubhouse too:thumbsup2

Sorry to make you want to go there, but it really was THAT GOOD!


I LOVE the new meet and greet for Mickey. It is so cute! I think on our next trip we are going to try Jiko. I have heard it is a must do!

The new meet and greet really is good! And yes, you must do Jiko! See if you can get Stephanie as your server ;)


Oh wow... I read your updates, but all I remember is Jiko. :lmao:

I'm totally down to book it next year. Care to tag along and show me the ropes? ;)

Sounds like a super awesome dinner ... great service and delicious food! And your server has a great name! :thumbsup2

You know what? We've eaten at Jiko before, but this time it was so much better--all because of Stephanie. The best meal we have EVER had at Disney in all of our 4 trips--hands down!


Oh my what adorable pics with Mickey!!

That scavanger hunt sounds SO fun. Is there an age limit? If not, I am so going to be the 21-year-old creep running around with the kids asking random people how big their feet are.

I think this upcoming trip will be the one where we finally try Jiko, especially after your awesome review - I can't wait any longer! Your waitress sounds like an ANGEL!!! I can't believe all the extra stuff she gave you. This is the kind of service Disney is famous for. I just love when I experience something like that. No one has ever added vodka to my dessert, though, which I am now offended by. :rotfl:

I don't know if there was an age limit on the scavanger hunt, but if you wanted to run around and act like a kid and participate in a kids activity, Disney would be the one place that you probably could--and not look like too much of a freak! ;)

And you most certainly should not wait any longer to try Jiko--I hear it calling your name for your upcoming trip!


Dinner at Jiko sounds so great. What a fun night! I'm glad to hear the kids had fun at the kid's club.

Meeting Mickey looked like a lot of fun, too. I hope you get to ride Pirates of the Caribbean at some point during the trip.

I was really worried about not getting to ride it...you'll just have to wait and see!

The kids club was really fantastic--lots of things for the kids to do and the CMs in there were great!


Really enjoying your report! My trip was right around the same time as yours and I too was lucky enough to have Stephanie as a server that weekend - she really *is* fantastic! Although I'm jealous of the sorbet she brought you :)

I'm hoping she's still there during my December trip - can't wait to go back to Jiko!

I am so glad to find someone else who also had Stephanie and can back up what I said about her. People may have thought I was just making her up b/c she was too good to be true!

Hope you get to have her again in December!!


Loved your update! I think that was a great idea to put the kids in the club & have a date night while y'all were at Disney. And it sounds like y'all had an absolutely wonderful meal. I've never even looked into eating at Jiko, but reading about your experience makes me want to go there. Can't wait to find out whether or not you ever got to ride PoC!

Must go to Jiko. Now. And did I mention, ask for Stephanie?? ;)


Well YAY for Stephanie and a Jiko date night making up for the HDDR and F! fiasco earlier in the trip. Sounds like an amazing dinner.

Your issues with the kids and DH and swimming are similar to my own, although, we always did leave the pool by 4:30 and get back to the parks. Kids would have stayed, but at least DH was on my team. :)

I have to admit, this dinner did help me to forget about my disappointment with missing HDDR. It was a great distraction!

If only I could get DH on boat with going back to the parks...but he was just as happy to stay at the pool or hang out in the CL lounge. :confused3 Weirdo.

[AKL LOVER]

He is just so CUTE!!!! I love the excitement in his face. Maybe it was a good thing that he got to meet Mickey & Minnie w/o his sister - some solo time!

--BTW I think you have sold me on trying club level. I could do club level and then get QS dining and that would be enough for us. mostly. :rotfl:


It was good for DS to have some solo time! And the QS dining plan would be a great pair with a CL stay. We really really really enjoyed staying CL. DH really liked it because the lounge was a nice place to relax at night and you didn't have to feel confined to your room!


popcorn:: joining in popcorn::

Thanks for joining! Glad to have you along.


Yay for date night! I really need to start taking advantage of my MIL going with us and go out one night with my DH.

Glad you and DS got to see Mickey, we were able to see them with only about a 10 minute wit as well which was shocking because I really thought that the waits there were going to be outrageous!

This was not our first Disney date night, but it was our first time using the clubhouse for the kids. The last time, my mom went with us and we definitely took advantage of having her there. We had dinner at CG and watched Wishes while she stayed with the kids.


Just spent time with you, your family, and a nice cup of :surfweb:. I'm a VA teacher, too, kindergarten. I have to admit, my first thought was "how in the world did she get vacation right before SOL testing." :lmao:

Your Hokie colored links drew me in! We are DVC members, and we are leaving Thurs night to drive :scared1: through the night to WDW. Since DH ended up with some unexpected time off next week, we added a day at AKL. :love: Just recovering from drive, pool time, and exploring, no parks. I know that 24 hours won't be enough to do it justice, but it's a great way to see how we like it. We've eaten at Boma twice, and I've loved the look of the resort, but DH fusses about the location. We own at BLT, and have gotten spoiled to walking to MK and riding the monorail to Epcot, especially since we can leave DD2 in her stroller when she falls asleep.

You've gotten me excited for our day at AKL. Enjoying your TR, I had some of the same issues with the pool, though not to that extend. Last summer, my crew started whining to go to the pool midday, too. I got sooo ticked. Hello, you spend the entire summer in your grandparents pool. :mad: Granted, it doesn't have a water slide and all the extras, but still... That kind of changed once our DD - then 3 - rode BTMRR and Splash for the first time. She was all about rides then! I haven't decided if I'm going to try her out on ToT this year. DHS is our last park day, so at least it wouldn't ruin her from other rides for the week. We'll go to MK that night, and a few trips on Splash might erase any scary thoughts she has!

You are so much nicer than I am. I can't imagine the fight that would have ensued if DH refused to go to HDDR. :laughing: We've done DxDP the past 2 years, once we didn't pay for DD2 b/c she was 2, and DD1 was still a child. Last year, she was 10 and a Disney "Adult", DD2 was 3, so the cost went WAAYYYYYY up! We just couldn't justify this year spending close to 2K to eat for a week, and we were so full, and hot, all the time, nothing tasted good after a while! We're doing regular DDP this year, so I'm interested to see how we think it compares.

Sorry for the book. That's what I get for joining a TR 13 pages in!

Thanks for joining! Haha--you caught me--right before SOLs! I know, I know. But I left fabulous plans and had a great sub who was familiar with my curriculum...it was a pain to plan for it, but that was worth it because I was going to Disney! ;)

You are so going to enjoy your day at AKL. I would stay there even for 24 hours (if that was all I had!).

If our numbers come out like I think they will, I'm pretty sure we won't be doing DxDP anymore. Or maybe next time we could do a split stay so we could do DxDp for a couple days and regular DP for the other days.

Definitely try your daughter on ToT if she is up to trying it. I like to encourage my kids to try new things. I'm of the mind set that if my kids want to try it, then I'm not going to stop them. If they end up not liking it, then at least they tried it! I was really surprised when DS tried it...he is a bit of a 'fraidy cat. But he was so brave on the ride. I'd say if your DD likes Splash and BTMRR, then she will at least be brave enough to try ToT!

Good luck!

[cadek]

I just read through all of your trip report, and I'm loving it so far! Sorry you had a reason to rant, but it was entertaining. We've all been there.

Poly is the same for us, couldn't imagine staying anywhere else, yet here we are, about to stay at CBR. Of course if it meant getting me there twice in one year, I'm all for it!

We did Sci-Fi for the first time on our last trip, and we loved it. The kids were so quiet the whole time!

I look forward to reading more!

[Motocross Tink]

Wow i got really behind!:eek: I'm all caught up now though. Sounds like you had a really good day at HS and a good day at MK. Sorry you had to cancel the HDDR ,but I bet Jiko made up for it! :) I also use LINES! My whole family loves it!:thumbsup2

[AKL LOVER]

I just read through all of your trip report, and I'm loving it so far! Sorry you had a reason to rant, but it was entertaining. We've all been there.

Poly is the same for us, couldn't imagine staying anywhere else, yet here we are, about to stay at CBR. Of course if it meant getting me there twice in one year, I'm all for it!

We did Sci-Fi for the first time on our last trip, and we loved it. The kids were so quiet the whole time!

I look forward to reading more!

Thanks for joining! Good luck staying at a new resort. You have to let me know how you cope...not sure I'll be able to handle when we finally do stay somewhere else! :eek:

We really enjoyed Sci Fi and will probably go back on our next trip.


Wow i got really behind!:eek: I'm all caught up now though. Sounds like you had a really good day at HS and a good day at MK. Sorry you had to cancel the HDDR ,but I bet Jiko made up for it! :) I also use LINES! My whole family loves it!:thumbsup2

Good thing I've been a little slow on the updates here recently--I was giving you a chance to catch up. ;)

[AKL LOVER]

Hi all! I cannot believe that it has been so long since I've written an update. I even told myself that I wouldn't be one of those TR people that went weeks between my updates. I mean really, how hard is it to write an update every few days??? And here I am...2 weeks since my last update! :eek: HA HA little did I know, but it really does take a lot of effort and time (at least for me!) to write each update--between checking my trip notes, coordinating with photobucket, summarizing what I have to say so I don't bore you all to death, trying not to write a whole book on just one day of my trip and checking for typos...well you all know what I'm talking about!

Gee, I'm not anal retentive about each post being perfect or anything. :rolleyes:

So after a couple of busy weeks--planning DD's 7th birthday party, planning our annual 4th of July camping trip and then going on our annual camping trip for almost a week...

Yes, that's right, camping for a week. In a tent. With bears and skunks and bobcats! It's no Disney, but it is fun!!!! In fact, it's nice to be able to take a trip like this after our Disney vacation because then we don't feel so bad about not relaxing on our Disney trip, because camping is all about relaxing....

...And hiking 10 miles in one day, but THAT is a whole different TR right there!

So I am back and ready to get this TR finished. I have my photopass CD in hand (finally!) and have an update almost finished. I just wanted to let you all know that I haven't forgotten about my poor TR, it's just a little neglected. :rolleyes1

Here's a pic of DD's Tangled themed sleepover to tide you over:

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20Family%20Nights/278922_1659252660569_1814752397_1070414_617545_o.j pg


Thanks for hanging in there with me and understanding that sometimes, real life really does need to take the front seat, instead of the DIS boards (BLASPHEMY I tell you--I am now open to verbal flogging...)

[mrssmith06]

Real life over the DIS?!?! Are you sick?!? :lmao::rotfl2:

Glad your back and updating!!! Love the Tangled party, that is what my daughter wants to do for her birthday in September. I'm also thinking of doing a sleepover since she's never got to do one before. :goodvibes

Waiting to read more popcorn::

[Aburns8]

That's OK. I am the person who goes weeks without updating my TR. I need to get my update up tomorrow. Love the Tangled theme party!

[AKL LOVER]

Real life over the DIS?!?! Are you sick?!? :lmao::rotfl2:

Glad your back and updating!!! Love the Tangled party, that is what my daughter wants to do for her birthday in September. I'm also thinking of doing a sleepover since she's never got to do one before. :goodvibes

Waiting to read more popcorn::
I know, I know, shame on me...hey! I've just realized that I've really been not reading regularly--you have a new ticker!! Nice :thumbsup2


That's OK. I am the person who goes weeks without updating my TR. I need to get my update up tomorrow. Love the Tangled theme party!

Glad to hear that my TR isn't the only one suffering from lack of updates ;)

[disneylovin24]

Just saw your TR and started reading...LOVE it:) Ive enjoyed catching up on the whole thing.

I can't believe your van got stolen like that, that is unbelievable! So happy they found it though, but I dont blame you for getting a new van, I would have done the same!

Glad to hear you enjoyed your first time at Ohana's, it is so good! I agree though that in our experiences the meats take awhile to come and you always end up filling up on the appitizers and salad that are out of this world! The first time we went we didn't get leied either, so next time I made sure to chase a person down and ended up getting too many:rolleyes1

Can't wait to read more!

[AKL LOVER]

So, if you recall, I was doing a breakdown at the end of each day, so I could in the end figure out if the DxDP was really worth the $$ we spent on it this trip. My last update of day 4 ended with dinner at Jiko and a fabulous server named Stephanie. Which reminds me...anyone been to see Stephanie recently?? Shame on you if you haven't gone back to Disney JUST FOR THAT. Seriously. She was that good!


Day 4


Water before breakfast in Fantasyland
Bottle of water--2.59
Bottle of water--2.59
Total w/ tax--5.60


Breakfast at CRT
2 Adults at 40.99--81.98
2 Kids at 26.99--53.98
Total w/ tax--144.81


Lunch at Mara
2 meals for the kids and I to split. DH wasn't hungry.
Chicken tenders--7.89
Chicken flatbread--8.19
Fruit cup--3.19
Fruit cup--3.19
Bottle of water--2.50
Bottle of water--2.50
Total w/ tax--29.25


Snack at Mara
Mickey Rice Crispy Treat--2.69


Dinner at Jiko
For DH and I only--the kids got dinner @ Simba's Clubhouse.
Boar App--16.00
Jiko Salad--13.00
Taste of Africa--9.00
(Again, not really sure how we were entitled to 3 apps but that's what Stephanie gave us, so we weren't arguing!!)
Filet--41.00
Side of Mac and Cheese--3.50 (included!)
Beef Short Ribs--39.00
Cheesecake--9.00
Chocolate Dessert--10.00
Pressed Pot of Coffee--6.29 (included as well!)
Total w/ tax--158.87

Bottle of Bukkatraube (the name of this wine was so much fun to say!)--39.00


Total for Day 4: 341.22 (not including the wine)

At a cost of $202 a day, we really made out on the dining plan this day! Of course, it helped that we ate at 2 different 2 TS credit restaurants this day! Again, we'll have to wait and see what the final totals tell us to see if the DxDP was worth it for this family of 4 or not. I'm still keeping my fingers crossed that we at least break even by the end of the trip. We still have quite a few yummy meals and snacks to go!! :thumbsup2

[AKL LOVER]

Just saw your TR and started reading...LOVE it:) Ive enjoyed catching up on the whole thing.

I can't believe your van got stolen like that, that is unbelievable! So happy they found it though, but I dont blame you for getting a new van, I would have done the same!

Glad to hear you enjoyed your first time at Ohana's, it is so good! I agree though that in our experiences the meats take awhile to come and you always end up filling up on the appitizers and salad that are out of this world! The first time we went we didn't get leied either, so next time I made sure to chase a person down and ended up getting too many:rolleyes1

Can't wait to read more!

Glad to have you follow along w/ my TR!

I really didn't mind filling up on all the appetizers--they were fabulous! And much better than most of the meat in my opinion. And then of course there's the dessert. Definitely going back on our next trip! And I will be sure to look out for someone to get leied by...

(HAHAHA! That statement was so suggestive! ;))

[AKL LOVER]

Friday May 6
Day 5

Friday morning started nice and early as we had a 'before the park opens' ADR to make! I took a few more pictures of the animals in our 'backyard' this morning while the kids got ready. Hope you aren't tired of seeing Savanna pics!

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/140.jpg

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/146.jpg

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/152.jpg



These guys were having a hard time getting up that morning!

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/148.jpg

We were on a bus and on our way to AK by 7:30. Because the ride to AK is so short from AKL, we were at the main gates by 7:40. We had to wait a few minutes before they started letting guests w/ ADR's into the park. I took a few pics to pass the time...

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/160.jpg

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/262.jpg

They started letting us into the park at 7:50. We headed towards the back of the park, but took our time. I wanted to stop and take a photo or 2 along the way. We always do an early morning ADR in AK and there's one particular place we always stop at to take a pic of me and the kids. Didn't want to miss out on that this trip!



http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/165.jpg

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/168-1.jpg

A CM saw DH taking pics of me and the kids and offered to take one of the 4 of us.

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/166-1.jpg

Early morning view of EE:

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/170.jpg

Finally we made it to our breakfast destination:

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/190.jpg

Upon crossing the bridge before TH there was a really nice male CM who greeted us good morning (Jambo!) and welcomed us to Africa. He had a wonderful accent...I was practically in :lovestruc with him. And it didn't hurt that he was good looking too! As we were walking towards the podium to check in for breakfast, DH made a comment about the CM's accent, saying that it sounded like he was from South Africa. I said I didn't care where he was from, I felt that ANY guy with a foreign accent was extremely attractive. He took it in stride ;)

Picture taking didn't take too long because we were checking in by 7:59! They called us right back and we got our picture taken with Donald. The family picture turned out so well, that we actually bought the package. They gave us a big one, 2 small ones of the family and 2 small ones of just the kids with Donald. Then of course b/c we bought the pics I was able to add them to our photopass account.

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/Photo0086FourBySix.jpg

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/Photo0079FourBySix.jpg

Did you know that Donald is no longer signing books as you get your picture taken with him? Boo. The CM said, 'you can go see him in the park to get his signature'. That is so silly. We book character meals to get pictures and autographs of the characters so we don't have to wait in line in the parks! :headache: Sure enough, Donald's line later that morning in the park was 30 minutes! Yikes!

We were seated and got a table in the small room to the left as you walk in the restaurant. We ate in this same room last year and really liked it, so we were glad to be in the same area again. The chef came to our table immediately and showed me what DS could have on the buffet. He had mickey waffles with no egg made especially for DS and they came out pretty quickly. DS was SO EXCITED to finally get some mickey waffles--he's always wanted them! However, last trip I didn't know to ask for waffles with no egg because I didn't know that they could make them. Learned that on the DIS reading a TR of a person who had a child w/ allergies. See DH--reading the DIS really isn't just a distraction, I actually learn important things! :thumbsup2

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/171.jpg

He also had a couple packages of allergy free cookies sent out to DS since he couldn't have any of the desserts from the buffet. We saved these for later since it was still early in the morning.

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/0013.jpg

Characters started coming around pretty quickly:

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/178.jpg

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/182.jpg

Kisses from Daisy:

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/181.jpg

High 5's and I think a pinky promise (?) w/ Goofy:

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/184.jpg

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/185.jpg


Breakfast at TH was good as always! We were especially impressed with the chef and how he delt with DS's allergy, how he interacted w/ DS and how he made DS feel so good by getting him Mickey waffles and cookies. He also stopped by later in our meal to make sure that DS didn't need anything else! He was fabulous!

Well, we haven't made it very far into this day yet, but I'm going to have to end because I'm at my picture limit for this post...I will however, leave you with one of my favorite pictures from this trip:

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/188.jpg

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

Love pre-opening ADR's. :thumbsup2

That's great that he was able to finally try some Mickey waffles, it is wonderful how the restaurants will accommodate stuff like that. :goodvibes

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

I'm glad to hear that Tusker House was so accommodating of the food allergy! I've always had a great experience at Disney restaurants with my food allergies. Looks like you guys had a great time! (although that is bizarre that Donald won't sign autographs..)

[lbuzz52]

You did great in the ddxp for day 4!
I'm not tiring of the Savannah pictures. I'm living deluxe thru you lol!
Great family photo at Tusker House! I think it's silly that Donald doesn't sign. it's his breakfast.

[Becc1]

Love your Tusker House breakfast! I've seen so many great pictures of it lastely in peoples TRs that I may have to talk DH into it next trip!

[Elcheetah]

I´ve just read through your TR and I´m enjoying it. Can´t wait to find out if you break even with the DxDP.

[amandaw]

That's great that your DS was able to get Mickey Waffles! What a nice chef! One day, I will get us a breakfast ADR @ TH. I haven't had any luck on our last 2 trips!

[Aburns8]

Tusker House looks like fun! I am going to have to check it out the next time we do AK. That is a little crummy that they won't let Donald sign books. You pay a lot for those experiences and I am sure you don't want to stand in line after you already saw him earlier in the day!

[basketkat]

Breakfast before the park opens is always fun!!! I LOVE how great they are with food allergies at Disney World. My youngest is severely allergic to milk. Most people who don't have food allergies don't get it...they say "so she's lactose intolerant??" or "so she just can't have milk or cheese" sigh...no it's a lot more than just that!

But that's one of the reason's I love Disney...they get it...and won't poison her on her vacation. No one wants to deal with that while at the happiest place on earth! ;)

I love all of your pictures...it looks like a fabulous breakfast! :thumbsup2

[leslie826]

I LOVE your son's smile. Adorable! I would have bought the Donald pics too...they are great!! Really enjoying your TR.

[mrssmith06]

Oh yeah you did great on the DxDP for Day 4!

Love the TH update! Looks fun. I'm planning to do that in March, so excited! :goodvibes

[disneylovin24]

I'm drooling over the pics of the mickey waffles!!!

[ADS2508]

I have been lurking on your trip report for awhile, and just wanted to say I am enjoying it. My DH and I are going to AKL CL with the Deluxe dining plan at the end of August and have ADR's at several of the places you ate at. I planned out all of our ADRs, because my DH wanted to have sit down meals to serve as breaks in the park (why we went with the deluxe plan) and now he is complaining that everything is overly scheduled and asking if we can cancel if we don't feel like going. They just don't understand all the work it takes.

[Joyciemc]

Breakfast looked great! It is settled- I must try Tusker House on my next trip!

Love the pic of the whole family at the TOL and with Donald!

[Chaitali]

Just caught up :) Tusker House sounds great and that's awesome that your son was able to have the Mickey Waffles! I'm really impressed with the way they treat allergies. I have an ADR there for my October trip but it will be for lunch.

[AKL LOVER]

I'm glad to hear that Tusker House was so accommodating of the food allergy! I've always had a great experience at Disney restaurants with my food allergies. Looks like you guys had a great time! (although that is bizarre that Donald won't sign autographs..)

Disney is so accomodating of food allergies--it makes vacation so much more enjoyable!


Love pre-opening ADR's. :thumbsup2

That's great that he was able to finally try some Mickey waffles, it is wonderful how the restaurants will accommodate stuff like that. :goodvibes

I think that TH was the best of all the restaurants with working with his allergy. Of course, it really helped that they offered to make him Mickey waffles that he could have! :teeth:


You did great in the ddxp for day 4!
I'm not tiring of the Savannah pictures. I'm living deluxe thru you lol!
Great family photo at Tusker House! I think it's silly that Donald doesn't sign. it's his breakfast.

Yes, it is especially silly since it is his breakfast! I'm glad that we finally came out ahead one day...maybe we can keep the momentum going...:rolleyes:


Love your Tusker House breakfast! I've seen so many great pictures of it lastely in peoples TRs that I may have to talk DH into it next trip!

You have to try TH--one of the best breakfasts on property in our opinion. DH asks for it every year! :laughing:


I´ve just read through your TR and I´m enjoying it. Can´t wait to find out if you break even with the DxDP.

Me too! Thanks for joining!


That's great that your DS was able to get Mickey Waffles! What a nice chef! One day, I will get us a breakfast ADR @ TH. I haven't had any luck on our last 2 trips!

I hope you get one next trip! Maybe it's getting more popular if it's getting harder to get an ADR there.


Tusker House looks like fun! I am going to have to check it out the next time we do AK. That is a little crummy that they won't let Donald sign books. You pay a lot for those experiences and I am sure you don't want to stand in line after you already saw him earlier in the day!

No we did not want to stand in line later for him...so, no autograph from Donald in the kid's book this year. Oh well. They didn't really care since they got their picture with him--a picture was all they were really worried about!

[AKL LOVER]

Breakfast before the park opens is always fun!!! I LOVE how great they are with food allergies at Disney World. My youngest is severely allergic to milk. Most people who don't have food allergies don't get it...they say "so she's lactose intolerant??" or "so she just can't have milk or cheese" sigh...no it's a lot more than just that!

But that's one of the reason's I love Disney...they get it...and won't poison her on her vacation. No one wants to deal with that while at the happiest place on earth! ;)

I love all of your pictures...it looks like a fabulous breakfast! :thumbsup2

I know how you feel--when my son was 1 they thought he was allergic to milk (in addition to some other things). And all I heard from people was that same comment--so he's lactose intolerant, right?. *Sigh* Eventually, I just stopped trying to explain. Luckily, he wasn't allergic to milk (or the other things) afterall. We got a false positive on the first test, and it turned out he was just allergic to egg. Much easier than having to deal with multiple allergies! And I agree with you--the way Disney deals w/ allergies is one of the reasons we LOVE going there so much--less worries for DH and I! :thumbsup2


I LOVE your son's smile. Adorable! I would have bought the Donald pics too...they are great!! Really enjoying your TR.

Thanks for the compliments. I'm really glad you are enjoying and following along!


Oh yeah you did great on the DxDP for Day 4!

Love the TH update! Looks fun. I'm planning to do that in March, so excited! :goodvibes

I hope you guys have as much fun at TH as we did!


I'm drooling over the pics of the mickey waffles!!!

Me too...let's not even go there! :rolleyes1 And btw, they tasted just as delicious as regular Mickey waffles. I tasted them and couldn't even tell a difference!


I have been lurking on your trip report for awhile, and just wanted to say I am enjoying it. My DH and I are going to AKL CL with the Deluxe dining plan at the end of August and have ADR's at several of the places you ate at. I planned out all of our ADRs, because my DH wanted to have sit down meals to serve as breaks in the park (why we went with the deluxe plan) and now he is complaining that everything is overly scheduled and asking if we can cancel if we don't feel like going. They just don't understand all the work it takes.

So glad you decided to come out of lurkdom! :yay: You are just going to love AKL CL! We like using sit down meals as a break from the parks--that is one main reason we have enjoyed the DxDP so much. Your DH sounds like my DH from this past trip; which I didn't get b/c he had never complained about it before. Oh well. Maybe once you make it to Disney and your DH see's how busy it can get, he'll understand the reason for all the planning. One can home at least!! ;)


Breakfast looked great! It is settled- I must try Tusker House on my next trip!

Love the pic of the whole family at the TOL and with Donald!

:woohoo: for TH!!


Just caught up :) Tusker House sounds great and that's awesome that your son was able to have the Mickey Waffles! I'm really impressed with the way they treat allergies. I have an ADR there for my October trip but it will be for lunch.

If lunch at TH is anything like breakfast, it's sure to be good!

[PirateKate]

Those Tusker House pictures turned out really cute. I've never been to an early morning ADR, but it always looks very fun. Maybe someday.

We were in AK on May 6th, too. It was a great day, wasn't it? :goodvibes

[AKL LOVER]

After a yummy breakfast at Tusker House, we left to find that we still had about 15 minutes until rope drop. Leaving TH we ran into the same CM who had greeted us upon our arrival to Africa. Remember the one with the accent that I was in :lovestruc with?? Well since DH and I had been discussing where he was from based on his accent, DH decided to strike up a conversation with him. He was indeed from South Africa. Somehow DH mentions that I thought foreign accents in were attractive. :blush: Great honey. Way to throw me under the bus. But the CM goes on to talk about how he finds American women extremely attractive because of their accents! Ha! Take that dearest hubby...I told him it was too bad that I was already hitched...it's like the South African CM and I were meant for each other ;)



So after my almost love affair, we make our way through Africa over to the rope by KS. I took advantage of the down time to snap some pics...

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/191.jpg

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/189.jpg

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/193.jpg

DH conversing with yet another CM. They talked about where he was from too, but I can't remember where (guess that happens when you're writing your TR over 2 months later!)

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/192.jpg


I swear, my DH would talk to a fence post. He seems to make friends anywhere we go--it always amazes me!


Finally it was 9 and they dropped the rope. We headed straight onto KS. We were the 3rd family in line and on the first bus out of the station

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/194.jpg

The ride was even better than the other times we've ridden it--we had a lot of action and up close sightings!

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/203.jpg

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x389/mbuckley02/Disney%20May%202011/208.jpg

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We had to stop and wait for this guy to get out of the road:

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The lion was making his presence known this morning as well--he was actually up and roaring!

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WOAH! Hope they don't hit us!

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After getting off KS it was time to head over to see:

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I have never seen this before and I was bound and determined to see it this trip! On the way we spotted Pocohontas. We've never seen her before and DD was super excited--plus the line was short so we had just enough time to see her before the next FOTLK show! DS was NOT interested in this meet and greet.


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Lion King was amazing and well all enjoyed it--even DH! DS especially loved the monkies:

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Next I tried to get DH and the kids to go down one of the nature paths...but DH got distracted by a temporary tattoo stand. Really?!? He already has a couple of the real deal, so I'm not sure why this would interest him. Any, he and the kids ended up each getting one. Here were the kids:

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I think we paid like $22 for all 3 which was ridiculous. Even more so when the kids tattoos both washed off later that afternoon! Note to self: don't waste the $$ next time! After getting branded, we headed over to Dinoland...


continued in next post due to picture limit... (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=41833699&postcount=227)

[AKL LOVER]

DD didn't want to go on Dinosaur this trip (can't imagine why! :rolleyes1) and wanted to try Primeval Whirl but it was closed. Too bad, because this is the first trip that DD has been tall enough to try it! So, we rode Triceritop spin instead.


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The kids played an arcade game against each other and DD won. I knew this was bad news in the making and sure enough when she won a little stuffed dino, DS got upset. The CM however immediately offered a second one up for him! :thumbsup2 Crisis averted!


At this point it was just before 11 am and the kids wanted a snack. I ducked into the nearest gift shop and bought a couple bags of these to share:


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Just then, it started to sprinkle! It had looked ominous all morning and the rain finally started. In our 4 trips at Disney, this was actually our first drop of rain, so I'm not complaining! Of course, I had left our ponchos back at the room! :headache: Luckily, we were just next to


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and a show was going to be starting in 30 minutes. We parked the stroller underneath a treed area where hopefully the water damage would be minimal and we headed into the show. We go seats right up front and to the right of the stage. We've never been to this show either and all 4 of us loved this one as well.

After Finding Nemo, the rain had stopped :cool1: and the kids were ready for lunch. We had lunch ADRs for Yak and Yeti, but not until 1:30 and it was only a few minutes after 12. We made our way over to Yak in hopes of scoring a table early.


Let me tell you--Yak and Yeti was SUPER busy! However, they fit us right in. I'm so glad that we didn't skip this ADR--Yak and Yeti was superb. Aside from Jiko, it was one of our favorite meals from this trip and we will definitely be going back. Our server was fantastic and the food was so tasty. I also had a tasty beverage--the Yak Attack.


It was frozen drink and it was the BEST DRINK I HAD all trip. You must go to Yak and Yeti just to try this drink!


The kids actually fell asleep before we got our table so they let us bring our stroller in so the kids could nap and DH and I got another meal all to ourselves! That's 3 this trip! :woohoo:DH and I had the ahi tuna, and the potstickers as an appetizer. As our main courses, DH had the burbon chicken and I had the crispy mahi mahi. We both agreed that my entree was better--DH thought the burbon chicken was a bit too sweet. For dessert we had the fried wontons which were AMAZING. Best dessert all trip in fact! Yet another reason to try Yak and Yeti. I cannot believe that I forgot to take pics of our meal--I think I was just enjoying myself so much because we were having a quiet lunch and we had made it past noon in a park--GASP :eek:, I know! We ordered a chicken lo mein to go for the kids because we knew that when they woke up they'd be hungry.


After lunch we were definitely full and it was starting to get hot, so even I agreed it was time for a break. A break, where you ask??



.....




.....





The pool; I mean, where else would my family want to go? :lmao:


Besides, DH agreed that I had made some good plans for the evening and he did not want to cancel them, so we needed to relax and rest up!



Up next: Finally we finish a day touring just how I WANTED!

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

Great safari shots, especially of the lion, you were very lucky to see him up and about!

[AKL LOVER]

Those Tusker House pictures turned out really cute. I've never been to an early morning ADR, but it always looks very fun. Maybe someday.

We were in AK on May 6th, too. It was a great day, wasn't it? :goodvibes

Thanks! I love that we were in AK on the same day :goodvibes It was a great day--the family finally agreed to tour how I wanted to, and we had 2 great meals--I didn't even mind the little rain shower we got!

You should definitely try an early morning ADR at least once. It is so much fun to walk into an empty park!

[AKL LOVER]

Great safari shots, especially of the lion, you were very lucky to see him up and about!

I know we were. And right after I snapped my few pics of him, he laid down and was boring again. I love great timing! :thumbsup2

[mrssmith06]

Great AK day! :goodvibes Can't believe the prices of those temporary tattoo's!!! :eek: How about, note to self: Pack our own dollar store tattoo's and when the kids see the stand and ask, I'll say "Look, I already bought some" :rotfl2:

Looking forward to reading about your touring finally going as planned! :thumbsup2

[AKL LOVER]

Great AK day! :goodvibes Can't believe the prices of those temporary tattoo's!!! :eek: How about, note to self: Pack our own dollar store tattoo's and when the kids see the stand and ask, I'll say "Look, I already bought some" :rotfl2:

Now THAT is a great idea! :thumbsup2 You're going to follow along on my next PTR to remind me of that, right?? :rotfl:

[mrssmith06]

Now THAT is a great idea! :thumbsup2 You're going to follow along on my next PTR to remind me of that, right?? :rotfl:

But of course!!! :cool2:

[Aburns8]

The pool again? At least you went to the pool on your trip. We never made it to ours when we went in May. Loved the safari pictures!

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

The pool? Well, that's good, because you had barely been there at all! ;)

Looking forward to seeing your plans panning out for the evening! :thumbsup2

[merbobear]

Following along! I just caught up and can't wait to read more :)

[basketkat]

Looks like you had a great Safari! :thumbsup2 I don't think we have had the pleasure of seeing the lion awake!

That was so nice of the CM to give your son a prize too! :thumbsup2


Holy smokes the price of those tattoos!!!! :eek: I know they say things are a little pricey at WDW, but WOWZA that's crazy!

Swimming???? Who would have thought?!?! Lol! :lmao:

[Motocross Tink]

Wow the safari pictures were great!:thumbsup2 Sounds like you had a fun morning at AK. Can't wait to hear more! :goodvibes

[amandaw]

I can't believe you actually got to see the lion awake! Now that's Disney magic! Lunch sounded wonderful! If I can make myself NOT eat at Flame Tree BBQ, then I would definitely give Yak & Yeti a try!

[Queenofallthings]

How nice of your hubby to throw you under the bus...backfired a little though didn't it:rotfl2: Accents are quite lovely aren't they;)

Great KS pictures and we love FOTLK too! I probably love it the most out of our family but they humor me and go everytime!

[pinkxray]

Your meal at Jiko sounds amazing:worship:

Yak and Yeti is on my must do list, glad you enjoyed it:thumbsup2

Great safari pictures. I love that you got a standing lion picture. I have never even seen the lions move.

[AKL LOVER]

The pool again? At least you went to the pool on your trip. We never made it to ours when we went in May. Loved the safari pictures!

Yes, we did get our money's worth out of the pool--that's for sure!


The pool? Well, that's good, because you had barely been there at all! ;)

Looking forward to seeing your plans panning out for the evening! :thumbsup2

I know, right? I was so excited to FIANLLY get to see the pool! :laughing:


Following along! I just caught up and can't wait to read more :)

Thanks for joining in!


Looks like you had a great Safari! :thumbsup2 I don't think we have had the pleasure of seeing the lion awake!

That was so nice of the CM to give your son a prize too! :thumbsup2


Holy smokes the price of those tattoos!!!! :eek: I know they say things are a little pricey at WDW, but WOWZA that's crazy!

Swimming???? Who would have thought?!?! Lol! :lmao:

Wasn't that price crazy?? Had I known it ahead of time I would have insisted that we moved on, but I didn't really pay attention to the prices because I was distracted by some GIANT fish on a nearby trail. So the tattoos were all DH's idea. Guess that's what I get for not paying attention.


Wow the safari pictures were great!:thumbsup2 Sounds like you had a fun morning at AK. Can't wait to hear more! :goodvibes

Thanks! We were really excited to get up really close with so many animals. :)

[AKL LOVER]

I can't believe you actually got to see the lion awake! Now that's Disney magic! Lunch sounded wonderful! If I can make myself NOT eat at Flame Tree BBQ, then I would definitely give Yak & Yeti a try!

Disney magic at it's best. And definitely make it over to Yak and Yeti at some point. It was fabulous! :thumbsup2


How nice of your hubby to throw you under the bus...backfired a little though didn't it:rotfl2: Accents are quite lovely aren't they;)

Great KS pictures and we love FOTLK too! I probably love it the most out of our family but they humor me and go everytime!

I know...:laughing: on him. Guess he'll think twice about bringing stuff like that up again, huh?? ;)


Your meal at Jiko sounds amazing:worship:

Yak and Yeti is on my must do list, glad you enjoyed it:thumbsup2

Great safari pictures. I love that you got a standing lion picture. I have never even seen the lions move.

Jiko was amazing. :lovestruc YY should definitely bee on your must do list. Maybe you'll get to see the lions up and moving on your October tip!

[AKL LOVER]

still Friday May 6th


We left AK headed back to AKL and were at the pool by 3. We enjoyed the pool party again just like we had on all the other days...*sigh* Someone tell me--when do kids get old enough that the don't like going to the pool for hours on end?


We didn't have dinner reservations until 7:15 that night, and DH agreed to hit up EMH hours after dinner so today I was more than happy to sit by the pool for a few hours. I had some delicious concoction called a Sunrise something or other. It was orangy and yummy. In fact I had sampled this beverage several times by the pool this trip. A girl's gotta have something to do while at the pool ;)--especially when you have to spend a bazillion hours there!

About 4:30 I bought 3 of these beauties--one to eat right away and then a couple for later. These are my favorite WDW treat!

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Since we were nearing the end of our trip I was starting to collect snack purchases that we could take home with us as well. Gotta use up all those credits!

After enjoying my snack I told DH that I was headed back up to the room to shower and get ready for dinner. DH says, "I think I'm ready to leave the pool too. I've had enough."

WHAT?!? You mean you are actually getting bored of the pool?? Note to self, the ideal Disney trip for us would be--plan a 2 week; make the kids and hubby swim all day every day for the first 5 or 6 days to make them sick of the pool, then the rest of the trip can be for the parks! :thumbsup2


Since we had so much time to get ready and head to our ADR, we actually arrived a little early. We were excited to try...

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Narcoossee's for the first time!!

We took the bus to MK and then the boat to the GF. While on the boat I leaned over to help DS with something and I hear a big PLOP!

Uh, oh. That's not good...Luckily it was just our bottle of sunscreen that had fallen into the water. Someone had unzipped our backpack and didn't close the pocket all the way. We are lucky that it was just sunblock, because it floated off somewhere under the dock, so we could only see it for like 10 seconds after it fell. I'm just glad it wasn't something more expesive like a phone or camera!!

I had switched a setting on my camera but didn't realize until later, so these pics of the kids on the boat turned out weird!

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We walked around outside and let the kids run around after checking in. It didn't take them long to call us for our table.

continued in next post due to picture limit (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=41903349&postcount=245)

[AKL LOVER]

We were seated and had a great view of the lake. I actually remembered to take pics of this meal to share--YAY! I did get some weird looks from the older couple at the table next to us. Oh well. I can't expect all people to be DISers and understanding of the odd things we may take pictures of while at Disney. :rolleyes1

DH had a martini and I had yummy white sangria to drink.

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Both the kids had fresh fruit as an appetizer. They ate it up and reported it to be delicious.

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I had the crab cake which was TO DIE FOR!!!

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DH had the calamari, which was very very good. Although I did like my crab cake better.

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DS had steak and DD had the cheeseburger.

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Both DH and I had the Surf N Turf.

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The lobster was good but I was really disappointed with my filet. It was borderline burned on the outside, cooked well done when I ordered it medium and dry as all get out. DH's was cooked much better so I shared his with him. We did tell the server and he offered to bring me another meal, but with the apps we already had and dessert in the future, it would have been wasteful to have them make me more. I had plenty to eat and it's not like we were eating out at home and I would take it to eat it later. Since we were on the dining plan it didn't do us any good to ask to have the meal refunded either.

Anyway, enough complaining and on to dessert. DD had the Nemo cupcake. It had a TON of icing, but she liked it. I don't think she was even able to eat half of it though!

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DS had the make your own smores (but he did eye that cupcake awfully hard. Too bad it had egg!)

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I had the chocolate mousse and DH had the 2 kids of creme brulee--I think it was key lime pie and vanilla or caramel. Both of these desserts were divine! I loved the plating of my mousse--one of the prettiest plates I've ever eaten.

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I think we would have been better off sticking to just apps and desserts at Narcoossee's. So while I'm glad that we gave it a try, we won't be going back. I would much rather try another signature restaurant or go back to one that we LOVED (hello JIKO!!!!).

I took a quick pic of the castle from the balcony before we left.

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We took the monorail over to the TTC after dinner because we were headed to EMH at Epcot. We've never done any evening EMH ever, so we were excited to try a park out at night.

DS waiting longingly for the monorail:

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I broke out some of our light up wands from the dollar store. I think that DS enjoyed them more than DD!

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Finally the Epcot monorail pulled up and it was the tronorail!! Very cool to see it and ride it. We made it to Epcot around 8:45. We headed straight for TT. Not sure why we didn't stop for a PP pic. I'm so mad that we didn't! :mad: The line for TT was outrageous...I thought it may have died down by that point for people heading to Illuminations, but no such luck. I knew we'd be back the next morning, so we headed for something else with shorter lines--Mission: Space. DD and DH rode this and I sat out with DS. He's not tall enough and my stomach can't handle a simulator :sick: DS and I watched what we could of Illuminations while they rode.

After MS, I consulted Lines only to see that the TT and Soaring lines were still not any shorter, so we headed over to see Nemo. While walking over to see Nemo, DH commented on the emptiness of the park--he said "I like touring the parks at night--I could get used to this." Well, hello?!? :rolleyes: What had I been trying to get you to do all week--go back to the parks after dinner at night for that very reason. Geesh. Men.

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We got to see the frogfish, but my kids weren't really very interested in him.

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In fact we didn't really look at the aquariums very much because the kids weren't interested. They didn't even want to go see Turtle talk--party poopers! I love that show! DD didn't want to do anything at all. DS did however, want to get eaten by Bruce:

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After becoming a late night snack for Bruce, DH and I decide it's time to make our way out of the park and back to the room. The kids were getting tired and they are not only early to bed kids at home, but at Disney too. So while we didn't do all that much at Epcot EMH, I'm really excited that we tried it. We are definitely going to spend more time at the parks next trip. I think the kids are finally getting old enough to handle that.

Upon our arrival in our room, we found that the kids animals were waiting for us:

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We had nightly turndown service and chocolates on our pillow since we were staying CL and every night the kids animals were arranged for us, but this was the only night I remembered to take pictures of it! It was a nice way to end our days! And I still have some of those chocolates. We hardly ate any of them on our trip, so each night I packed them away in our luggage. After getting new ones each night on our beds (2 per person!) we acquired quite a stash to bring home. The kids LOVED coming back to the room each night to find candy on their pillows. Mickey must really love us, DS said!


Up next--Epcot, a dinner we were really looking forward to and a DIS meet!

[mrssmith06]

Note to myself: Must try a mickey rice krispie treat! ;)

Sorry about the entree disappointment at Narcoossee's, but the rest does look pretty good! That Nemo cupcake is too cute!!

Love the turn down service with chocolate's and all, very cool. :)

Oh and I know what you mean about the weirdo looks while trying to capture food porn... *sigh*... Some people just don't GET IT! :rotfl2:

[amandaw]

I want that crab cake!!! OMG! That thing looks delicious! Wonder if I could go there & order just an appetizer. Sorry your steak wasn't the best. Sounds like y'all had a fun night in Epcot.

[AKL LOVER]

Day 5


Breakfast at TH
2 Adults--45.98
2 Kids--25.98
Total w/ tax--76.64


Snack from Chester and Hesters @ Dinoland
2 bags of pretzels--5.38
Total w/ tax--5.95


Lunch at Yak and Yeti
Ahi Tuna app--10.99
Potstickers app--7.99
Mahi Mahi--22.99
Bourbon Chicken--17.99
Fried wontons--7.99
Fried wontons--7.99
Chicken Lo mein (ordered for the kids, but he gave us an adult portion instead of a kids!)--17.99
Total w/ tax--109.54

Safari Amber and Yak Attack--14.24


Snack at Mara
3 Mickey Rice Crispy Treats--8.07
Total w/ tax--8.95


Dinner at Narcoossee's
Calamari app--13.00
Crab cake app--15.00
Fruit cup app--3.00
Fruit cup app--3.00
Surf N Turf--59.00
Surf N Turf--59.00
Kids Steak--12.00
Kids cheeseburger--7.00
Creme Brulee--9.00
Chocolate Mousse--9.00
Kids smore--5.00
Nemo cupcake--5.00
Coffee--6.29
Coffee--6.29
Total w/ tax--225.34

2 Martinis and a Sangria--22.50



Total for Day 5: 426.42 (not including the alcohol)

At a cost of $202 a day, we scored a second day of really making on on the DxDP! :cool1: Finally we're making up some ground!!

Keep in mind though, our first few days we really fell under the mark on our DxDP break even point, so your guess is as good as mine on the cost vs what we actually got out of the plan.

Stay tuned for more...

[AKL LOVER]

Note to myself: Must try a mickey rice krispie treat! ;)

Sorry about the entree disappointment at Narcoossee's, but the rest does look pretty good! That Nemo cupcake is too cute!!

Love the turn down service with chocolate's and all, very cool. :)

Oh and I know what you mean about the weirdo looks while trying to capture food porn... *sigh*... Some people just don't GET IT! :rotfl2:

I can't believe you didn't try a rice krispie treat on our trip--I think that was the very first treat I made a beeline for on our first trip. Do yourself a favor and get one on your next trip!! Who couldn't love a rice krispie treat in the shape of Mickey :rolleyes1

I want that crab cake!!! OMG! That thing looks delicious! Wonder if I could go there & order just an appetizer. Sorry your steak wasn't the best. Sounds like y'all had a fun night in Epcot.

That picture does not even do the crab cake justice...My mouth is watering just thinking about it. You can most certainly go in and just get appetizers. Or better yet--do apps and dessert!! DH and I did this one year at CG :thumbsup2 It's a great way to sample some signature restaurant food without a huge bill!

[disneylovin24]

The food looks very good! The portions look really small though, but then again Im just not used to eating at fancy restaurants that have small portions:lmao: