3 reports + links to more- 8 days since May + conversations galore

Hi, Molly! It was nice to meet you and your family. We just got home yesterday, so I am buried under mountains of laundry. We ended up extending our stay for three days since AP rates popped up. I'm sorry that you weren't happy with BBB. Anna got her hair done there on Thursday, and I will agree that it is much more suited to girls. Ds didn't want anything to do with it. I'll try to post a TR, but I'm not a note taker and the days have all run together in my mind. We did get to ride in the wheel house of the MT and got to ride in the Lilly Belle.
 
Great TR...We recently returned from DL and also stayed at DLH. Our grandson (3) wanted to go down the "big" slide, but he was wearing a life-jacket. The life guard said that to go down that slide...they had to be able to swim alone without any life-jacket/water wings. Also they had to be able to swin to the edge without any assistance. No one is suppose to be waiting at the bottom of the slide. At any rate he loved the "little" slide and so did other children...some looked like they were 7 or 8 years old. I (a grandmother of 56) even went down it several times because my grandson wanted me to. It was fun. Of course, I would have rather have gone done the other one.
 
Hi, Molly! It was nice to meet you and your family.

We did get to ride in the wheel house of the MT and got to ride in the Lilly Belle.

I was just amazed that you recognized his name and knew who we were! :rotfl:

How cool is it that you got both of those special experiences in one trip???!!!!!???

Great TR...We recently returned from DL and also stayed at DLH. Our grandson (3) wanted to go down the "big" slide, but he was wearing a life-jacket. The life guard said that to go down that slide...they had to be able to swim alone without any life-jacket/water wings. Also they had to be able to swin to the edge without any assistance. No one is suppose to be waiting at the bottom of the slide. At any rate he loved the "little" slide and so did other children...some looked like they were 7 or 8 years old. I (a grandmother of 56) even went down it several times because my grandson wanted me to. It was fun. Of course, I would have rather have gone done the other one.

Very good to know. And I think I noticed the "no waiting at the bottom" thing from lifeguards yelling at people over in that area... Thank you!
 
Hey Molly, you seem to have a really good memory and eye for detail. When you aren't busy could you describe the e-ticket lounge and what food offerings there are during the day? Sending you :goodvibes re: health and job issues...oh, we are renting and have to move AGAIN, too and it sucks. The way I am dealing with it is by not packing! Not sure how that genius plan will work out...
 


Molly--really loving the trippie!

Thanks!

Hi Molly,
As usual, a great report. The slide at the Neverland Pool is really fun, and appropriate for little ones. My son had a blast on it last trip and was just 48 inches, but he is not afraid of water at all, even though he is fairly dense and is a sinker by nature.

I can't wait for DS to get comfy in the pool then! See, yet another reason for me and E to go to my brother's. :)

But I'm feeling really guilty over that idea. Hubby's sensitive (for now, at least, maybe he'll become an insensitive clod once he starts treatment? oh, and they've found an increase in addictions to things like gambling with this drug...I told him that now is not the time to join a casual poker game with work buddies (though when he plays poker he generally wins overall b/c he can, um, count cards and bluff REALLY well...his mom can count cards too with multiple decks)...the drug will be a dopamine agonist, and I guess those "feel good" hormones go hand in hand with addiction...weird!), and I worry that he'll get really lonely. Then again, he's guilty for getting home late and all that.

We've just realized that we're going from a salary paycheck right at the beginning of the month to getting paid every two weeks. Ruh roh! Time for complicated money moves.

It's amazing how the health insurance companies actually have individual policies that you can just buy! And their premiums aren't that far off from what amazon had us pay...I'm starting to think that amazon wasn't kicking in much at all for premiums, LOL...actually we always knew that, but we had forgotten...

Does anyone reading know about individual policies? Is there a "term" that you have it...like when you have it through work, there are certain times of the year, and certain events in your life, that allow you to chance your policy. With an individual policy, does that still apply? Or could I choose to dump the individual policy at any time, which would then qualify for a life changing event under hubby's work policy and then I could get in under him?


I think we're going to get hubby the "big" policy, b/c it has NO deductible. Why? Because we just got through his deductible and into the meat of the insurance for him! I do NOT want to do another deductible; we did that when DS arrived and it wasn't fun. DS arrived May 26, we had to pay all of my ded and his ded...then the plan switched June 1 and we had to start all over. It was AWFUL.

Once I post a bit more trip report I'm going to close the computer, do some housework, and do some learning work with E. We've (E and I) decided to finish up the preschool workbooks so he can start kindergarten work...he's not quite as "sold" on homeschooling as we are, LOL, I never knew a little kid could be so opinionated!...so we're trying to make things as "formal" as possible. The other day we were doing errands and we were behind a school bus...he asked me to pretend I was driving him to school on our way home. I have a feeling I'll be buying a school desk/chair sooner rather than later...he's really into the "trappings" of being IN school...I tell ya...he is much different than me!

And then after that work, I'm going to figure out what I want for myself with insurance and figure out which policy would be best, then figure out if we should put E under that or under Robert's. And I need to get a phone number for R's future insurance, to see if it's appropriate anyway! Along with work-provided life insurance, I'm suddenly realizing that maybe work-"provided" (especially when they aren't providing much more than what we can get on our own) health insurance isn't all it's cracked up to be.
 
Hey Molly, you seem to have a really good memory and eye for detail. When you aren't busy could you describe the e-ticket lounge and what food offerings there are during the day? Sending you :goodvibes re: health and job issues...oh, we are renting and have to move AGAIN, too and it sucks. The way I am dealing with it is by not packing! Not sure how that genius plan will work out...


Oh, I took notes. :)


Breakfast...fruit (cut and whole), half bagels set out, and little cream cheeses (normal and light) in the fridge. Mini croissants, plain and chocolate filled. Some other pastries. They seemed to always have these brownies set out...they were really GOOD. Two cereals, I think...a few juices. They had Minute Maid little boxes of juice in the fridge...apple I think (pure juice, yay). I assume they had milk for the cereal.

Later in the day...blue, red, yellow corn tortilla chips with a homemade-tasting salsa (not quite as good as the salsa at WhiteWater Snacks). Hmm... what else? I can't remember.

Around 5'ish they set out cheeses, crackers, breads...still the ubiquitous brownies...I think it's from 5-7 that you can have beer and wine...they pour them for you and bring them to you, it's quite nice. They will suggest things (like Natalie suggested the one cheese) and bring them, though otherwise it's a serve-yourself type of place. Also at that time they have a hot appetizer in a round bubble-top chafing dish, it was always meat...empanadas, things like that. Also cut up veggies with dip.

Oh and they have goldfish crackers (proper Pepperidge Farms brand) out as well. They were MORE than happy to bring out the package so I could read the ingredients (safe!). If anyone has allergies, DO NOT WORRY that they will sneak you something, they won't. They will give you the ingredients.

They had cookies out most of the day.

Then in the later evenings, they have desserts out. They offer fireworks-watching in the lounge and it's nice! The soundtrack of the fireworks is played, the lights are turned out, the big ol' windows are opened b/c otherwise the glare would be bad. Those right at the windows said they could feel the heat from the huge flares set off (during the Indy part??? POTC? when are those flares set off?), but we didn't notice that (though of course in the parks you can feel that heat).

What do they always have?

Coffee, always, decaf and caf. Teas and hot water urn. Cocoa packets (not safe for DS b/c of corn syrup solids).

In the fridge, waters-Dasani, the size that comes with kid's meals. They NEVER got twitchy with us for taking them away, and we generally got 2 each when we went up there. Sodas from the coca cola company. Minute Maid juice boxes.


If you want a cream cheese after breakfast time, just ask. If you want something they had earlier but don't have now, ask, they probably still have access to it.

Oh, and they had Uncrustables out all day, but those are evil evil for my family and I tried to pretend they didn't exist.:rotfl:



I'm sure I'm missing something. I'm still not sure I could bring myself to pay cash, directly, for it. What you actually get doesn't quite make up for it unless you come back even more often than we did and have a bigger family and/or bigger-eating family. That said, it was LOVELY to have this lounge to come back to. They had a TV, they had a computer...they have one kid's table near the TV. Natalie was almost like a friend by the end of our stay, and I do not normally appreciate that (I think I posted before the trip that I like anonymity at hotels).

For the future I'm going to have to look really heavily at the overall value of the place, instead of just add up the cost of the snacks and water...I could have all the same things in my room as they had in there, but it wouldn't add up to the total experience of the lounge...I'm not quite a "I'll always do concierge" convert, but I'm definitely a changed woman from before, regarding my thoughts on it! Same as my progress about offsite vs disney hotels, and how I define value. The overall experience was worth *something*, and the food/drinks you got was in addition to that experience.



They have books and games. Hubby had to go off to have a phone interview, so E and I stayed in the lounge, and Natalie brought out books for us to read (kid books). Another time she brought out a game for us to play, VERY fun. They are in a locked cabinet, so just ask if they don't tell you!

They also have 3 HUGE books of movies to choose from. You can rent 2 at a time, and they are due back by noon the following day. We checked out Hidalgo, but it was just too depressing for a Disney trip (otherwise we really enjoy the movie, though there are parts we have E turn his back for, just like parts of the POTC movies). We rented Beverly Hills Chihuahua...twice.

They can make PSs for you so you don't have to call Disney Dining.


That's all I can think of for the lounge, as an over-answer to your question. :goodvibes
 
I'd forgotten where I was in the story. Almost started the 27th over again. Might have been interesting to see how I tell it!


We had a leisurely breakfast, yay. Oh, before the breakfast, just to tell the whole story, E bought his third Disney present, the Buzz "hyper blaster" that he's wanted for 1.5 years. I do not know why they are labeled for 5 and up, but they are, and despite everyone else getting them for their littles, we stayed firm (we have few lines in the sand but that's one of them), and he was so glad to get it (he was just playing with it now, actually, that's what reminded me to go back up (I was almost done with the day) and mention it here). :)

We were dressed for the relatively cooler morning, and I knew it was going to get warmer later, but for now, bug's land was on the list, and I knew what that meant. WATER. So I wasn't going to change E's clothes quite yet.

And sure enough, as soon as we reached the Bountiful Farms area, E was off in that yellow cylinder, water jets and overhead sprinkler area, getting soaked. And oh what a difference 1.5 years makes, b/c I told him he wasn't allowed to complain about wet shoes if he did that, and he didn't complain! Woo!


I didn't take any pictures of that, but soon his upper body was all wet and it was time to get further into bug's land.

We have never noticed him before!

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Halfway wet kid + stick bug.

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Well first, the lady at Tuck and Roll told E he was too wet to ride. Whatever. So I did the girl's trick of changing his shirt while not exposing his chest (I know, he's a boy and who cares, but I still don't like partial nudity in the parks), and the back of his lower half was dry, so I felt that was enough. Instead of going right back to Tuck/Roll, we went to the Ladybug Boogie (aka teacups without the extra added spinning). Fun as usual!

Our tip for comfort is to find one of the two ride vehicles with the *sliding* door, rather than the door that swings open. It's just easier for hubby to get in that way...but hey, maybe in a year, or even earlier, he won't have that trouble anymore! Something to look forward to! For now, however, it's easier get in the sliding door ladybug.

That ride is enjoyable b/c you switch direction, b/c it goes in a figure 8. If you haven't noticed that, watch the ride, and as you ride, you can feel the switch to the other track. It's interesting.

Once that was done we went to the "bumper cars". And that's where I made one of the most important discoveries EVER.

There's a left-hand pedal for adults who aren't steering. :rotfl:

OMG I can't believe I didn't know this. When I think back on my comments about the ride, I'm embarrassed. I've been contorting myself like you wouldn't believe, to get my right leg (sometimes I've sat nearly sideways to cross my left leg over) over to the close pedal...I've come off the ride having charlie horses in my leg...and all this time it wasn't necessary. There's a left side, farther away, convenient to the parent who isn't steering (or even if the parent IS steering it's probably more comfy to stretch their leg over), pedal.

So that discovery is :cheer2:, but realizing I never knew this is :headache:.

With that discovery, I HAPPILY went on it 2 or 3 times with E. It was nice to be able to tell him "I'll go on this as many times as you want", and we were able to say that more times than not (Mulholland Madness being a big exception) on this trip.

We only did one round on Heimlich (his choice!!!!). There was a line! What's up with that?

Once more on the Ladybug Boogie...

And then E was drawn once again to the water area (I will note that on *this* trip, the really really really wet area well inside bug's land was off limits for E...it just wasn't what we wanted on this trip...he did a perfectly fine job of getting sopping wet elsewhere though!).

Little note for parents. Shoes ON at ALL times! And try to watch where your littles are going. There was a parent/grandparent (could have been older or older-looking dad, could have been younger grandfather, I just coudln't tell) who was watching an older and a younger. The younger hated having wet shoes on and they let him take them off. Then he went wandering. I noticed the CM trying to figure out who he belonged to, but the dude was so little he wasn't really responding to the questions. The CM got a woman involved, they were looking around...I figured it out quickly and I had seen the boy...I was halfway between where the boy was and where the family was seated, and I could tell that the family couldn't see what was going on b/c of the yellow cylinder things, so I went over and told him that the CM was trying to figure out who the boy belonged to. I'm sure it wouldn't have even been a deal IF the boy had been wearing shoes. It took them almost 10 minutes to get his shoes on...that kid was stubborn (as was E...is...but not about shoes anymore) and challenging! However, the shoes were at last put on, and more fun was had by the boy.

E, meanwhile, was just having a blast. Robert ran off to snag a tortilla, which neither E nor I wanted. While gone, he also did the bread tour. Guess he needed the carbs, LOL. And with all the walking, his blood sugars were spectacular all week.


Oh, another note, this time for the older kids. Don't decide to make the yellow cylinder things into your own personal speedway. It's not appropriate for time trials. Why? Because there are other children coming through perpendicular to your trajectory. And they can't see you, and if they see you they aren't anticipating that you're going to shoot for Mach speed. There was a very narrow miss that was a miss by sheer luck, and I was glad that E's time in there was coming to a close, b/c I didn't want to be there for a non-miss.

Du-renched.

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Thank you, Sept '07 Cast Member in the bathrooms of bug's land, for showing me that it's OK to snag a diaper changing station towel to use as a quick-dry tool after water play! I used that method this time, and soon E was relatively dry and warmer, though he had wet shoes as expected (I was "bullied" that morning into leaving his Crocs at the hotel...when will we all learn???).


And so, dry and happy, we went to the Animation Academy. Went through 2 classes. We drew Donald Duck and then Pluto. Those were really complicated for E and he was getting frustrated, so he decided to draw what he wanted. That might not be 100% OK to use the paper in that way, but it's better than NOT doing it, or having a frustrated little, or have to leave b/c the kiddo won't shush. Our first time through, the helper guy was Bryant, who had helped Eamon the first time we did the AA. Eamon recognized him! It was cool. It's the helper that sticks around to talk with people, so E went up to say hi and show him his Donald-based alien monster attack scene. Bryant either has a great memory or is really good at acting like he remembers people, and he made E very happy by remembering him. Yay for CMs.

The helper is also the one who does the next class, so Bryant taught us to draw Pluto. Robert did very well with PLuto. I did not. And E had another alien monster attack scene. :rotfl:

We walked through the art shop after, and a CM saw my roll of drawings, and offered me a rubber band and a bag to carry them! Wonderful!

After all those Monsters, of course we had to go on Monsters! While in line we met a great family of 3...dad caucasian, mom Japanese, young daughter...they had been to Tokyo Disneyland...they hadn't been to DLR before, and were following what an AP holder friend of theirs told them to do. But their friend was a little sketchy on the DCA details. We told them they had to do the Animation Academy and spend lots of time in that building. We saw them later on, and they had gone to the building and spent AGES in there! They were so thankful that we'd told them about the building. :goodvibes

Well, it was getting later in the day, and the day before we'd gotten a phone call from DVC telling us about a member's event at 5 on Wednesday. Sounded fun, especially since they mentioned prizes! We had that planned, so we decided that we could call it a day and make time for the "party" and swimming. We had found out, quite by surprise (though it was in the schedule I printed, I just didn't notice it!), that fireworks were scheduled for that day too, so we had another chance! The fireworks, in one way or the other, were on our schedule that night. We stopped at the bakery on the way, getting some iced lattes for the grownups and a snack or two to share.

Well as we walked to the Grand Cal, we saw Lightning and Mater, so of course we had to stop.

This is where we discovered that we HAVE TO get a drinks holder for the stroller. The Volo is a glorified umbrella stroller, and has no cup holders. There are "aftermarket" devices that I've avoided getting. However, when both of us are carrying cups and trying to push the stroller, it's difficult. Robert made the intriguing decision to put his large cup of iced latte in the canopy, which was closed (scrunched back so there was a well). While in line...E decided it was too sunny, and he reached up quickly and slammed the canopy open. Shooting the latte cup off, and spilling the latte everywhere. :headache::rolleyes1 That was so embarrassing, and of course NO CMs came by. People kept getting in line behind us and would look at the latte and look at us...if we're indoors we'll always clean up after ourselves, but this was outside, it was hot, it was drying rapidly...I guess I could have run to Taste Pilots to get napkins, but it seemed silly...the other guests didn't seem to think we'd done quite enough, though...sigh.

Then we got into a conversation with a family of 4 using a Sit and Stand. Robert became drawn to the sit and stand. It took him a week to really understand that those strollers are for families with TWO children; one young enough to sit, one old enough to stand (or perch on the little seat). It would just be weird for us to use one, IMO. I'm not sure he agrees even still, but at least he understands the words coming out of my mouth, LOL.

We had the photopass person take pix of E and the cars...disappointing. Too far away, could be nearly any kid. And my pix were of him looking at the photopass camera, LOL.

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From there we went to the GCH, after again seeing that HUGE line for Grizzly and again opting to not ride it. :sad1:

Hubby had to spend some time on the phone in their lobby, b/c he'd gotten a message from amazon and the microsoft people, so he and E went to the lobby while I checked out the Grizzly Outfitters store for the Crocs...I coudln't find them, but as I was leaving, I saw the DCA-morning family again! The daughter took me right over to them (they are all the way in the back, not visible until you're right on them). I was glad to find them and get the price, and it was wonderful to see them. They had stopped at the PWC like we suggested, and had just as yummy a breakfast as we had later. They were having fun! It was wonderful to re-see them (we hadn't re-seen the family from Monsters, and wouldn't until the next day, so this was the first re-seeing moment of the trip, LOL).

Then I joined the guys in the relatively brightly lit lobby (no xmas tree sucking the light away!) and took some pictures (like my avatar) while Robert put out the fires of the recruiters (right and left hand are barely aware the other exists, it seems) and found out that the second to the last ditch amazon job wasn't to be his.

We went on back to the room, freshened up and went to the DVC thing. We were late, but they didn't mind. Asked us a trivia question about something we had talked about only the day before...what character has 3 names? Aurora/Briar Rose/Sleeping Beauty, of course! So we won a DVC carshade doohickey, and we each got a black with silver metal DVC logo hat, and one DVC pin (goofy climbing matterhorn), as did everyone else. Then they took everyone over to see the Grand Cal villa model, which of course hubby hadn't yet seen. He hadn't seen ANYTHING yet...no villa model or anything! Can you imagine? It's crazy enough that we did it, crazy enough that we haven't even been to WDW, but he hadn't even seen the model! Well that was taken care of, and he's madly in love with the villa now.

E was a bit interesting there. Kinda funny, kinda crazy, kinda annoying. He finally settled down and went into a closet, where he closed over the door and played with his Buzz laser thing or maybe the "hyper blaster". :rotfl: Hey, it lit up, right? I stood outside the closet and chatted with some adults, checking in on him every so often. He was very happy in that closet, LOL.
 


And so we went to swim. That was a lovely time. E was progressing by leaps and bounds, though he never got to the point where he was comfy keeping his vest off. When he's at a place without vests he's fine...he's at about the same level without or with a vest, but if a vest is available he wants it on.

Things said by E while in the pool.


"PAPA! I have to tell you something! (pause) I love you!"


(excitedly) "All my life I didn't know how to swim, but now I do!"


And later...he was really focusing on Robert while in the pool. I was just sort of pacing them, watching from afar, while Robert did the more hands on stuff. E from the first time in the pool had been swimming longer and longe rdistances, though of course the mechanics of swimming while in a bouyant vest are rather different from proper swimming. But by that day he was able to tip over a bit more, unlike the previous day where he was doing a cross between treading water while moving along, straight upright. Robert and I would just move along, swimming lazily or even walking, while E followed, and he could go very far!

Anyway, he wanted to go up on the steps into the pool nearish the bar, so he was doing that, then he'd jump gently off, etc etc.

I guess one time I was in his way, and he brusquely said "Mowy, get out of my way!!!" I cracked up and pouted at Robert. Kid was on a mission. Next time he was on his way to the steps, I whispered for Robert to get in his way, so I wasn't the only one being told I was in the way...what does the kid do? Asks Robert to take him to the steps!!!! Harumph! Robert laughed so hard and so did I. Of course later we talked about nicer ways of talking to me, but at the time it was more funny than rude.

We swam and swam, and by the time we got out it was very windy and chilly. That pool is a wind tunnel area in the afternoon! Must be the way things move around the buildings... Once we were done we got dried asap, put on our "out of pool" things, and went back to the room.

Wow it was later than we thought. But our time-tracking skills were a bit waterlogged, and the full lateness wasn't being understood fully. While I was getting ready we decided to go to storyteller's, and I said "see if they have anything available in, oh, 40 minutes!" They had something in an hour, so we all got ready and got out the door. And as we walked, and realized that E was VERY tired...it hit us...our PS was for 8:40pm (around 25 minutes from then). :scared: A sit down meal in a nice place at almost 9pm with a 5 year old. no no no no. Oh, and we didn't have the stroller.

We stopped the plans entirely. We were right next to Tortilla Jo's Taqueria, so despite the experiences of others, we got food from there. It ended up just fine for us, though it was REALLY salty. We took it right back to our room. By this time we were clued into the Concierge elevator, so we used that to get to the 11th floor lounge, then went back down to the 10th floor (I'm sure we snagged a water or decaf or something on our way through) via the normal elevator. Our room was *right* next to the elevators, so that was convenient, and we NEVER heard the elevators, so it was good.

As soon as we got to the room we realized we wanted BH Chihuahua again for later, so Robert ran up to get it while E and I started. My vegetarian Mexicone was rather good. E had a veggie burrito. Normally he is NOT into beans. And it had a gazillion black beans in it. When he took a bite, he stared at the burrito with a very bad expression on his face.

Well I wanted him to eat. And I had a flash of absolute brilliance if I do say so myself. I put on an expression of surprise and astonishment. As he was saying "ew, beans", I said something about how they are chock full of protein, and he knows what protein does, right? He does, it helps you grow, because of the diabetes education he has been present for with hubby. He knows that protein foods are good. He agreed that protein is good but beans are iffy.... I said it's amazing, Disneyland must know that he's trying to get big for Indy!!!!

Well that did it. His eyes got wide, he took another BIG bite. And he said...wow, "ANYTHING can happen at Disneyland...." And ate a good portion of the burrito before getting full.

And do you know that we were alone for that? Robert didn't witness it! One of my most brilliant moments and there's no proof!!!!!

Robert did come back in and I told him about the amazing thing that disneyland knew, and how they were helping him by putting protein-filled beans in E's food...

So we ate, brushed E's teeth and put him in comfy clothes (there was a debate about just putting him in PJs, but I decided that that might be frowned on...Robert still thinks it's a silly stance, and he's probably right...E's just a kid) and then went to the lounge to see the fireworks. We got up there in plenty of time, and E almost immediately fell asleep. Auuuuugh. Sigh.

We opted to stay, though...I know, awful.

The fireworks were late, and I was nervous that they would be canceled again. They started, and I just waited for the HM part, so I could see what the smoke did. :)

We didn't get window-side seats, and my pictures aren't good b/c I was standing up. But the smoke didn't even budge during the HM part, and the fireworks continued. Yay!

One pic to give the idea of what it looks like from the lounge.

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They were over, the lights were turned back on, we went back to the room, put E in bed, and we watched Chihuahua again. Still funny!


Something I haven't yet mentioned...that turndown service with chocolates is lovely. The chocolates are so good. :)
 
I am still laughing about the "Donald-based alien monster attack scene"!!!:rotfl: Ahhh...some kids are so funny. E is a little character - I can tell by your descriptions of the pool scene (where you were in his way:rotfl:) and the beans, and him sitting in the closet, etc.

Are the chocolates they give you at turndown in the DLH the round 'coin' kind wrapped in colored foil with pictures of different Disney characters on the foil, or are they different? The ones I mentioned were the ones we got at GCH when the Mousekeeping people came by at night.

I can't believe GRR was so unattainable for your guys - compared to the last trip, anyway. One of my friends who has an AP and lives sort of close had not even been on GRR the last time we saw her in December. She said she planned to ride it when the weather got warm - but that is probably when the line becomes a zillion miles long. Not to mention that she never stays at a hotel (she drives home), and I don't think it has hit her yet that she will either have to walk around soaked or drive home soaked when she goes on it. Maybe she has gone on it by now, but I cannot see her waiting in a 40-minute line for that. She WILL wait for TSMM (as will I because, as you said, it is worth it!!!), as the line moves quickly.
 
Thanks for the play-by-play of the lounge, Molly! It's something I've debated for a long time but just can't justifiably spend THAT much money on...maybe someday!!:wizard:
 
Thanks for the play-by-play of the lounge, Molly! It's something I've debated for a long time but just can't justifiably spend THAT much money on...maybe someday!!:wizard:

That is definitely how I have felt, and paying cash directly it's basically how I still feel. It's not like they're dishing up filet mignon where you can really see where your money is going. And especially since we're trying to lose weight, hubby can't have many carbs, we don't drink soda, hubby doesn't drink alcohol, E has the things he has to avoid, and it's only the three of us...it's hard to find the "where's my money" value in it!

then again, on that NEW AP page where you can book your hotel at AP rates online, I noticed that for the random date I put in, it was "only" $143 extra per night...enough brews, enough Uncrustables (especially if you were going to buy them in the parks vs bring them from home after buying them in bulk), etc etc etc, for many families, that might very well be worth it!
 
And now I feel I've totally contradicted myself. Oh well! I am a person of many opinions that don't always agree with each other. :rotfl:
 
And now I feel I've totally contradicted myself. Oh well! I am a person of many opinions that don't always agree with each other. :rotfl:

:lmao::lmao:Me too.

We have done the concierge at the PPH and loved it. Of course, the room only cost us $250 per night, so it was worth it for us. You are SO making me want to go this route with our next trip. At the DLH I mean.. The babies will be eating food by then.. Sheesh. I swear, if I think about it long enough I will have myself convinced that I HAVE to do it. :sad2:
 
E and I have not done learning work (cannot find the numbers book, grr), nor have I cleaned up, much. However we did get out and about to the farmer's market (ack! must put flowers in a vase), where it was nasty nasty hot, but b/c we went towards the end we got two containers of organic strawberries for $5 and 3 pretzel breadstick (big ones) for the price of 2. E gave a strawberry to the pretzel guy and then to one of the construction workers. :)

OH yes, must put the flowers in water. White/pink peonies, orange oriental poppies, and some small purple morning lily looking thing (but they aren't rolled up so they aren't that). Lovely.

I'll be back.....

************

OK that's done. And hubby's doing very well indeed in his new job that is not quite even 3 days old.

So I think I'll write some more. After all, if I finish the trip report, I can put the notes and receipts away, and that is, basically, decluttering, which is part of cleaning. And then there will be room on the table to invite E over to work more on his numbers. I think he could easily work on the numbers by himself, but he likes having me right there.
 
We have done the concierge at the PPH and loved it. Of course, the room only cost us $250 per night, so it was worth it for us. You are SO making me want to go this route with our next trip. At the DLH I mean.. The babies will be eating food by then.. Sheesh. I swear, if I think about it long enough I will have myself convinced that I HAVE to do it. :sad2:

Well I do have to admit, if you're in the Dreams tower (where the lounge is...not all concierge rooms are in that tower, though, which would be such a pain!) and if you're up on the 11th floor or close, that glass elevator is BRILLIANT for quick getaways and returns. I really should have taken more pictures of it. Hmm, maybe I should go for another visit. I mean, it looks like we will not be able to do go WDW this year, so we'll have to bank our '09 points anyway, we could always use some...omg what am I doing? You still have to get yourself down to Anaheim, eat, if you flew you need transport from the airport, etc etc. Trips aren't free just b/c you throw a big bunch of money at DVC.

I feel like a pod-person, seriously. I'm going to blame it on the thermostat on the window fan telling me it's 84 degrees inside. auuuuggggghhhhhhh. Who stole Tacoma???????
 
Well I do have to admit, if you're in the Dreams tower (where the lounge is...not all concierge rooms are in that tower, though, which would be such a pain!) and if you're up on the 11th floor or close, that glass elevator is BRILLIANT for quick getaways and returns. I really should have taken more pictures of it. Hmm, maybe I should go for another visit. I mean, it looks like we will not be able to do go WDW this year, so we'll have to bank our '09 points anyway, we could always use some...omg what am I doing? You still have to get yourself down to Anaheim, eat, if you flew you need transport from the airport, etc etc. Trips aren't free just b/c you throw a big bunch of money at DVC.

I feel like a pod-person, seriously. I'm going to blame it on the thermostat on the window fan telling me it's 84 degrees inside. auuuuggggghhhhhhh. Who stole Tacoma???????
:lmao::lmao::lmao:Seriously... My lip is sweating. My LIP. Mikalah is whining that her hands are hot and Vinny... my FAT baby is looking at me like this heat is MY fault. :lmao:
 
:rotfl:


I'm sure the morning of the 28th came way too soon, b/c it was another Magic Morning. If you thought I was happy the day before being at DCA for rope drop, being there on Thursday was just over the top!

But I found some time to take view pictures.



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That funny slide to the left is the little kid's slide. Life vests and floaties are a-OK on it, though the area in the water at the end of it gets a bit crowded as parents hurry in to catch their kids who have a hard time waiting. The line to the slide gets a little weird b/c the kids are small and there's no supervision, but honestly I think the parents watching their kids get bumped out of the way are more annoyed than the kids are. I know hubby was one of the annoyed parents at least once, but E was just standing there letting kids jump in front of him, just waiting for the world to give him his turn again.

The ship has "stay off" signs all over it.

We never went over that bridge or up to see the big slide. The red thing on it is the "slide closed" sign that they put up around 7pm and keep up until, I assume, the pool opens.

You can see the hot tub towards the back/middle.

Over to the right, just above 3 o'clock is the bar. They take credit cards, and will mix you up all sorts of goodies.

There are at least 3 lifeguard stations, and the ones we saw were vigilant. They switch out often, I assume so they don't get dulled senses.

They have tons of life vests in two, I believe, sizes (DS wore one for 30-50 lbs). They have lovely big fluffy blue and white striped towels.


****************
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The red building in the back is the Pavilion, though I don't know what that really is. I expect it's for weddings and other events.

Shockingly, we didn't go exploring; didn't see Goofy's Kitchen or the coffee shop. Why? Because our feet HURT. Hubby was really surprised, b/c his feet have been comfy ever since getting spendy orthotics...but I think the orthotics have successfully changed his feet and he needs new ones, or they've broken down and he needs new ones, b/c suddenly they were just hurting him. To the point where his Tevas made him happier! My feet, I don't know. Age, weight, hobbit feet that don't work in any shoe? Old athletic injuries of tendons and kid injuries of foot bones...perhaps even stress fractures? I don't know, but even from the first couple hours I felt like someone was hammering on my feet, and nothing I did could stop it. Ankles, too. So we tried to not wander more than was really necessary, b/c we were walking wounded.

*********
IMG_0353.jpg



That's the tower to the right of our view. It's where you check in.

*********
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To the left! Go through that building and you're near the DVC and weddings building.

You can see Crocs Bits and Bites, the RC boat pool (NOT open in the early morning, by the way), and probably other things we rushed by.

**********

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Zoom Zoom. RC boat pool. Lost Bar.
 
I don't know what the Pavilion is used for now (must be something or they would have converted that space into something for the public like a restaurant), but it used to be a lounge/dance club/bar in the old days. My friends and I drank many a frothy drink and watched men with lots of gold chains dance wildly on the dance floor there in the old days of the late '80s/early '90s.

So were the chocolates that came with turndown service the round coins in the foil with characters on the front, or were they different ones just for the DLH?
 
With the inevitable coffees and waters in hand, we set off.

Turns out we were second at the gate, which was gate 10. We were there early enough that we adults were each able to discover, leaving the other and DS in line, that there are bathrooms, lovely bathrooms, alllllll the way over to the left of the DL gates. Enough about that. It's just good to know they're there if you need them.

The park opened and we were off! Uh oh, their specially patented method of keeping too many people off of Dumbo and Nemo (since PP wasn't open) was in force. The firestation. Who is that? Must pass by...cannot pass by...have 5 year old with us.....

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IMG_0361.jpg



We were the third group to meet Mickey (meaning, Eamon was...I don't generally deal much with characters, LOL).

Got to Fantasyland, and Robert&Eamon were the second group to ride Dumbo!

IMG_0363.jpg



For some reason numbers were big for this hour, LOL. On their ride, the CM gave everyone 1st Visit buttons. They've been cutely updated for the Celebration stuff. But still...it's not E's first visit. We should have given it to another child, darnit, why didn't I think of that????

They rode Dumbo twice. I like looking at Dumbo, but I do not enjoy riding it.

Then we all rode the Teacups twice.

And then we all went on Buzz twice.

And there ended the MM hour.

There was an urgent need to ride Star Tours, so we accomplished that (will Rex EVER get to see the Endor moon? by the way, is it the Moon that orbits Endor the planet, or is it moon called Endor where the Ewoks live????), but it was mainly just a way for E to get into the shop (not sure he's recognized that the "exit" doors of the store let you go in AND out...) so he could use up the very last 4.70 of his Fun Card. Of course there's nothing much for that amount, so we were extremely generous and supplemented it so he could buy a PURPLE lightsaber of the cheapie variety.

Amazingly, and I know this was the last day but whatever, as soon as he spent the giftcard, he was done! No more "I wants" or anything. The giftcard concept worked really well with him, this time at least.

I don't remember at all what I needed to do, but the guys went for another twirl on Buzz.

After that, it was Autopia for me and E, while Robert rode Space. E continued to refuse even to go into the queue; I think I'm going to have to find video of the line on youtube before the next trip.

There was also refusal for Matterhorn, but omg the lines were SO long for it every time we went past; even if there had been a "yes" we wouldn't have lasted. And they had the FL side of the line closed! I'm no expert in the lines, but there was no way to get in, other than from Tomorrowland, it seemed. Didn't matter, though.

We were finally off to it's a small world!!!!!! Oh I get so happy with it. There was a little line, not too much, but enough to generate more excitement. See, this was the first time since I saw the Holidays version, which meant it was the first "enhanced" time any of us had seen it. My happiness knew no bounds.

And then I stepped down into the boat right foot first, and did...something...awful to my foot. Which meant that I cried through half of iasw. :sad1:

Now ever since that morning at DCA I'd been looking in shops for the shoes in my size. I just couldn't find them. Seems I have a common size in Athens. I was switching one uncomfortable shoe for the other routinely, nothing was helping, it was getting worse. My ankles, I don't want to talk about my ankles. They haven't looked worse (and they still look bad, though they don't hurt) since after E arrived and I had some sick and wrong reaction to *something* (either the unwanted and unfortunate epidural cocktail, the morphine they put into the epidural before taking it out, the mega ibuprofen, or the whatevercodone they had me on) where my legs swelled up and stayed that way for 1.5 months. (looking back I might very well have had POSTpartum ecclampsia, but I don't know, I never saw anyone about it b/c I hated all medicos and midwives with a large burning passion bigger than my usual disdain)

So anyway, my ankle looked bad. And hurt. So I cried in iasw.

I recently saw a picture that looks like Hopper from bug's life, in iasw. Is he in iasw? We didn't see him, but the picture looks real. Anyone know?

Someone on micechat mentioned that the additions turned a lovely ride into a "find the character" thing, and in many ways I agree. The characters, however, were done better than I think people were expecting. I didn't know what to expect, but I didn't think they would be like plushes in the ride...I figured they'd be small worlded, and they are. I'm not boycotting, but I wouldn't mind it if they un-enhanced it.

And the America part? Ugh. I'm sure they had a committee meeting...so people, what are the least offensive parts of America to the world. Can't have it be a big city, b/c that might make people think of awful tragedies. Can't have CA b/c we've got DCA, we're in CA, and the heartland might not want CA in the scenes. The South, well, we've got FL...etc etc etc etc and so on and so forth, until they decided that what seems to be Kansas and New Mexico were representative. Corn and a coyote. Nothing wrong with those things (as long as you don't process the corn into a syrup of course), but it just seems kinda funny to have ONLY them representing the US.

So I say, bring back the rainforest and dump the US from the ride. Harumph. (people might remember that I'm not the most patriotic of people, LOL...though I would work for the gov't and have no problem with it and never be tempted to sell secrets (that was a thought that came up last month while Robert was heavy in his job search, as I looked through the CIA's site about who they hire, which came to mind b/c my mom and stepdad worked there and I'm sure stepdad could find me an "in", and if my mom's old boss is still there I'm sure she'd take me happily in honor of my mom))


So anyway!

It was time for breakfast. What have we missed so far? Oh yes, Mickey pancakes!!!!!! I went off to order at RiverBelle Terrace while R&E did...something. Oh, they were stuck in the giftshop there at iasw b/c Robert wanted to look, and standing hurt more than walking, so I took off after telling them what I was doing. Turns out that walking FAST was better than walking slow, so I got there in a short amount of time.

One Mickey pancake and one Mark Twain without meat were ordered. I also tried to order a big huge scary cinnamon roll (my foot hurt, I felt like the fat might help? or I felt sorry for myself), but the person in front of me had taken the last one. Man oh man! Can't even have a pity cinnamon roll? Eh, for the best.

Just as I was about to pay, the boys appeared, but then disappeared for the bathroom. That was odd. But then they came back and we enjoyed our food.

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We had really been looking forward to Tarzan's Treehouse, but what had just happened with my ankle kept me out of the tree. What would happen if I stepped wrong while up there? Robert certainly couldn't carry me down. It would be bad. So I stayed on the ground, getting Indy FPs (never used) and wandering the shops in Adventureland.

We checked E's height on the Indy stick, and he's got about 1.5" to go. The Indy CM said 2". He was a guy. Mmmhmm. :rolleyes1

Jungle Cruise was almost no wait, so we went on over! Those pirhanas really spooked poor little guy!


And then? We hopped! To DCA that is...you think my ankle could have actually hopped at that point? Sometimes the things you think....


:rotfl:
 
I don't know what the Pavilion is used for now (must be something or they would have converted that space into something for the public like a restaurant), but it used to be a lounge/dance club/bar in the old days. My friends and I drank many a frothy drink and watched men with lots of gold chains dance wildly on the dance floor there in the old days of the late '80s/early '90s.

So were the chocolates that came with turndown service the round coins in the foil with characters on the front, or were they different ones just for the DLH?

I knew I was missing something! They are the ones with the characters, yes. Sorry 'bout that.

Gold chains, eh? You had quite a different life down in SoCal than I was having up in San Jose, even though we're practically the same age!
 

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