I Paid Someone $5 for a Catchy Trip Report Title, and This is All I Got-Updated 12/29

After getting filled-up and resting our bodies in the Biergarten we were ready to hit the park again. We walked to Norway so the kids could try their Kim Possible mission. They got clues to go to different locations in Norway and would have to hit “Okay” on their Kim-municator for various things to happen. I guess the GPS on the phone recognizes if they’re in the right place. Once, they got some instructions from a statue (speaker hidden behind a bush), and I remember another time they made smoke appear from a chimney on one of the buildings, and another time they raised a flag somewhere. Here’s a picture of them toward the end of their mission. Right after I took this picture, the louvered slats showing the Norway poster rotated so that you could see a video behind it. I didn’t think to take a picture of that. But it’s cool how they work these things into what’s there and people not participating in Kim Possible have no idea.

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They completed the Norway missions and deposited their Kim-municator in a box that was near the Norway poster. They had had their fill and didn’t want to continue with another country. I think it’s great though that Disney has come up with this game to help increase kids’ interest in the World Showcase.

We were all feeling hot and tired, so decided to make our way to Test Track to use our fastpasses and then head out of the park. Along the way I saw Club Cool, which none of us had ever been to before (but I had read about here on the DIS ;)), so suggested we stop in for a free drink. :drinking:

Well, you probably know what’s coming up….Beverly! For those who don’t know, in Club Cool they have little paper cups and soft drink dispensers with Coke products from around the world for you to try. Most are kinda tasty. But Italy’s Beverly is….hard to describe. The first half a second tastes okay, then it becomes bitter. I got my crew lined-up for a picture as they tried it, but partly because of that, and the fact that other people were making faces over it, they knew something was up. But, it didn’t matter. I think I still got some good reaction shots.

The first sip.

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And then it hits. I love Marlene's face in this one. It looks like she's saying, "Oh, that's nasty!"

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And here Marlene looks like she found a bug floating in her cup.

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It looks like Lauren contained herself because I was taking pictures. Then Marlene said she’d take pictures of me trying it. It was only fair.

Here goes.

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I wanted to contain myself….

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But an eyebrow got away from me.

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After “refreshing” ourselves, we went over to Test Track. In line we passed a boy test dummy drawing and James wanted a picture taken of him like I had taken of Marlene in the morning.

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Here’s a shot from the heat test room.

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Zooming around the track.

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Our Disney-supplied photo of the ride. Yes, I was hamming it up a little.

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And the picture I took right around that same moment.

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Then we left the park and got back to Kidani a little after 4:00. We hit the pool for a little while and then came back to the room for dinner. We heated up a frozen pizza and made salads. It’s a lot cheaper to eat some meals via grocery delivery than visiting the restaurants for the whole trip.

At one point I was organizing some of my papers and looked at my Biergarten receipt. They had charged me for 5 adults and 1 child. We were a party of 5, and it should have been 4 adults and 1 child. I had charged it to a credit card and not to my room, so I figured there was probably nothing the front desk people could do, but I thought I may as well try. So, I took it the receipt down to the front desk and explained the situation. A very nice CM took the receipt into the back room and after a while came out with what she thought the proper credit should be. She had picked-up the TIW discount but forgot about tax and the automatic gratuity, so she went back to do some more figurin’. :teacher: After a few minutes she came back out, throwing in the towel math-wise, and said, “how’s $30 sound?” I said, “Great!”

In the evening the kids watched TV and I took a walk. I realized that I hadn’t taken a picture of their bathroom, so in the interest of being thorough in documenting all the rooms of the suite, I give you, the second bathroom.

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Oh, one more room-related item that I should have mentioned in an earlier post -- our dishwasher was not connected to the countertop at the top of the dishwasher. The screws were missing, it was all loose and you could tilt it forward. We called maintenance in the morning of this day I’ve just recapped, before we left for Epcot, and they sent a guy up in about 5 minutes and he repaired it. :wizard: He thought that it must have been screwed in initially, but that somebody must have taken out the screws or they worked their way out.

I walked down to Johari Treasures, the gift shop in the lobby, and for all of the AKV owners out there I took a couple pictures of the Kidani-themed items you can buy -- hats, shirts, mugs and glasses :3dglasses. No, not those glasses -- shot glasses. Somewhere I wrote down what each of these items cost, but I can’t seem to find that scrap of paper anymore.

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From there I walked over to see the basketball courts and the barbecue area. It was nighttime, and the lights were off, but the lights are on a timer with a dial, like on a Jacuzzi or something (you know, “turn knob past 10 min.” or whatever). Of course I had to try it. The courts looked very nice.

After that I walked over to Jambo House to see how long of a walk it is, (which turned out to be about 10 minutes). I love the Jambo House lobby and took this picture.

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Then I walked back to Kidani and took a couple pictures of its lobby.

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When I got back to the room I used the whirlpool tub to relax a bit and then went to bed, thinking about how we had another busy day in store for tomorrow.


In the next installment: A visit from DSiL and DNephew, and Disney Hollywood Studios.

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It's always fun to get someone new to try beverly.:rotfl:
On our last trip we had my mother in law try it and she liked it! She went for seconds!
 
No way! I can't believe they really sell that stuff in Italy.

this just confirmed my belief that she doesn't have any taste buds....She will eat anything....kidney, tongue, liver, brains....you name it, she loves it.:sick:

I'd rather chug a bottle of nyquil than drink that stuff.
 


WalkingintheFog, how many of you are there? If you need a bed to sleep a fifth person (trundle bed), they are only available in the Alligator Bayou section. Other than that, the AB theming is a little more rustic (like a sharecropper's quarters) and the Magnolia Bend theming is a little more elegant (like a plantation house). We've been happy with where they've assigned us for our 2 stays.


It's just me and my cousin from New Brunswick...she arrives about 11pm on the 15th (I arrive about noon), but not sure how many nights she'll be staying-6, 7, or more...
I was in Magnolia Manor last Sept, quite pleased w/ it, although was sort of hoping for Alligator Bayou.... this trip hoping for Magnolia Bend area, thinking cousin will like that better.

Did your kids enjoy the slide at Ol Man Island POR?......(Is there an age limit/size limit to use that slide? Didn't notice any non-little kids on it last Sep)
Worse thing about reading trip reports are the possibilities they open one up to! Next stay was to be POP (this was to be POP/YC, but switched to POR/YC).. And thinking on split w/ Poly, but AKL is looking pretty interesting (except for the dark wood furniture... I'm sure I can bet past that tho!)

Loved the Beverly Faces... (maybe there's a thread on the Photography board "Beverly Faces"... must go check! That would be a hoot)... we had Beverly last year, it was okay.....better than Buckleys! Sorry, Winkers, it was also better than Nyquil!
 
It's just me and my cousin from New Brunswick...she arrives about 11pm on the 15th (I arrive about noon), but not sure how many nights she'll be staying-6, 7, or more...
I was in Magnolia Manor last Sept, quite pleased w/ it, although was sort of hoping for Alligator Bayou.... this trip hoping for Magnolia Bend area, thinking cousin will like that better.

Did your kids enjoy the slide at Ol Man Island POR?......(Is there an age limit/size limit to use that slide? Didn't notice any non-little kids on it last Sep)
Worse thing about reading trip reports are the possibilities they open one up to! Next stay was to be POP (this was to be POP/YC, but switched to POR/YC).. And thinking on split w/ Poly, but AKL is looking pretty interesting (except for the dark wood furniture... I'm sure I can bet past that tho!)

Loved the Beverly Faces... (maybe there's a thread on the Photography board "Beverly Faces"... must go check! That would be a hoot)... we had Beverly last year, it was okay.....better than Buckleys! Sorry, Winkers, it was also better than Nyquil!

Yes, my kids enjoyed the slide at POR Ol Man Island, although they liked the slide at Kidani a little better. It is longer and a little faster. If you're asking whether big kids can go down the slide -- yes, I went down a couple of times at POR and several times at Kidani.

I haven't seen a Beverly faces :crazy2: thread, but that would be good. Please report back if you find or start one.
 
Hi!

I just got all caught up reading your trip report. What a great family you have! I'm really loving reading the report. We are probably going back next summer (if I can convince my husband) and now you have me seriously thinking of AKL. What a beautiful resort.

Keep up the great work!:thumbsup2
 


Hi!

I just got all caught up reading your trip report. What a great family you have! I'm really loving reading the report. We are probably going back next summer (if I can convince my husband) and now you have me seriously thinking of AKL. What a beautiful resort.

Keep up the great work!:thumbsup2

What a nice post -- thank you! And :welcome:

A nice post like that will help me to overlook your screenname. :laughing: You see, I bleed blue and white. I can't help it, but with a screenname like that I'm sure you understand.

Thanks so much for taking the time to read through the whole report so far!
 
Yes, my kids enjoyed the slide at POR Ol Man Island, although they liked the slide at Kidani a little better. It is longer and a little faster. If you're asking whether big kids can go down the slide -- yes, I went down a couple of times at POR and several times at Kidani.

Dang, that was awfully astute of you! :thumbsup2

I haven't seen a Beverly faces :crazy2: thread, but that would be good. Please report back if you find or start one.
And, lookie here! There was a Beverly Faces thread! It was started in 2006, and every so many months new pics... it's not a very long thread, but still active:

http://disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1677921&highlight=beverly+faces
 
Dang, that was awfully astute of you! :thumbsup2

Okay, okay. Be sure to pack your suit because YOU will be allowed to go down the slide!

And, lookie here! There was a Beverly Faces thread! It was started in 2006, and every so many months new pics... it's not a very long thread, but still active:

http://disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1677921&highlight=beverly+faces

Thanks for finding that thread. I posted our Beverly pictures on it.
 
What a nice post -- thank you! And :welcome:

A nice post like that will help me to overlook your screenname. :laughing: You see, I bleed blue and white. I can't help it, but with a screenname like that I'm sure you understand.

Thanks so much for taking the time to read through the whole report so far!

:rotfl2: I do understand! I still have nightmares when Illini lost the championship game in 2005. Well at least we're part of the Big 10 family. :grouphug:
 
:rotfl2: I do understand! I still have nightmares when Illini lost the championship game in 2005. Well at least we're part of the Big 10 family. :grouphug:

Can I play too? My husband and I are Wisconsin-Madison Alumni. Got to throw some Badger red into the mix:)

Anyway, I love the trip report so far. We're going to be staying at Kidani Village in October, and eating at a lot of the same restaurants, so it's neat to get a preview.

I just have to make sure I get a pic of all by boys trying Beverly. :thumbsup2
 
Can I play too? My husband and I are Wisconsin-Madison Alumni. Got to throw some Badger red into the mix:)

Oh, I suppose so. It's been a couple of years since you've beaten us. :rolleyes1

Anyway, I love the trip report so far. We're going to be staying at Kidani Village in October, and eating at a lot of the same restaurants, so it's neat to get a preview.

I'm glad you're enjoying it. That's neat that you'll be staying at Kidani and eating at some of the same restaurants. If you need a personal tour guide...

I just have to make sure I get a pic of all by boys trying Beverly. :thumbsup2

I'd like to see it, please post when you get back. Are you planning on doing a trip report?
 
I'll be sure to let you know if I have any specific questions...I even have three kids and a spouse to round out my group:)

I don't think I'll be writing a trip report, though, I think I'd bore the general population to tears.
 
Read your report this evening and I am subbing.

You have a lovely family, can't wait for more, loving all the pictures too!!:cool1:
 
The fourth day of our trip would be our Disney Hollywood Studios day. I still can’t get used to that, DHS. I always want to call it MGM. Anyway, we would also be joined by Judy’s sister, who we’ll call DSiL, and our nephew, henceforth referred to as DN, who live in Florida and would be driving to visit us for a day and a half.

Even with the exhausting days we had put in, I was still waking up early. I was up at 5:30 am on this day. I got ready, and I think I wrote some notes for my TR, and then woke Judy at 6:30. We woke the rest of ‘em at 7:00, then I went down to get some tea in the gift shop. Oh, a warning for you: you don’t want to get the coffee in the gift shop. It’s an instant Nescafe or something, and it’s pretty foul. Either brew your own in your room or get tea.

I took a couple of pictures of the library while I was wandering around, waiting for the day to get rolling. First, the fireplace.

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Then one looking back at the library while standing in front of the fireplace. This picture would have been perfect if some numbskull hadn’t left his mug on the seat. Oh yeah, that was me. :headache:

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We ate breakfast in the suite and went to wait for DSiL in the lobby. As I approached the lobby I had my first-ever Dis-meet. I had corresponded a little bit with a DISer named Marvali leading up to the trip. We noticed, here on the DIS and on TGM, that we were both staying at the same place for the same time period. Anyway, I saw a family walking through the lobby ahead of me that looked like they made up the right demographics, so I figured if I yell “Hey Marvin” and it’s not him, they’ll just keep walking and I won’t look too much like some looney person. :crazy: It’s a lot better than walking up to somebody and asking that randomly. And if he turns around, well, there you go. So I yelled, and he turned around. We greeted each other :wave2:, but he needed to get going in order to make rope drop at DHS. Us too, but we were waiting for more park-peeps. At least we knew what each other looked like now, so we’d be on the lookout for each other at the pool, etc. :sail:

DSiL arrived about 8:30 and I helped her find a parking spot and we ran to the bus stop since the kids were waving for us to hurry :yay: since a DHS bus had just arrived. I thought we could maybe still make rope drop, but forgot that they stop at Blizzard Beach on their way to DHS. So, with that added stop we got to DHS a little after 9:00.

My original park plan was to get fastpasses to Toy Story Midway Mania and then ride it standby, saving the fastpasses for later in the day. But because we got behind the initial rope-drop crowd, I changed plans and decided to get fastpasses to Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster, while everyone else walked to TSM and I’d catch up to them there and we’d ride it standby.

I did manage to get a couple of photos on my trip to RnR. Here’s the crowd entering the park on Hollywood Boulevard.

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This guy was on Sunset Boulevard, harassing, er I mean, entertaining people.

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I got our fastpasses to RnR and took a couple of steps from the machine when the lady behind me in line said, “Sir, you forgot a park pass!” :-)worship: Thank you whoever you are!) I had picked up the stack of passes I had placed on top of the machine while getting the fastpasses, but apparently one got left behind. So I had a mini panic attack :eek: at the thought of what my day would have been like if I had lost that pass. Our return time was 10:15 am -- not too bad.

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I caught up with the others at Toy Story Midway Mania and the line for fastpasses was enormous. I had made the right call to abandon getting them. So, we got in the standby line. I took this pic of the building across the street.

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Inside, the queue is pretty cool, with all of the toys from yesteryear, but in giant size. Here’s my crew, now with the addition of DSiL and DN.

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Mr. Potatohead is the carnival barker while you’re in the queue.

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The Disney imagineers must have realized that Mr. Potatohead would be a big photo op. spot, because they wisely put a little extra room in the queue here for photos to be taken. DSiL offered to take one with me in it. I’m still “glistening” from my trek to RnR and then to TSM.

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Then one with DSiL.

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Sisters in their funky 3d glasses. :3dglasses We were about to board our cars. James is in the picture, but is lined up to be in a car a couple of spots ahead.

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Then we were off. I was the odd-man out and was paired-up with a lady who was a single rider. For those who haven’t been on this ride before, you get in a car with a pop-gun in front of you. You know, a gun with a pull-rope that you tug on to fire it. The car will take you to various midway types of games where, with the benefit of your 3D glasses :3dglasses, you’ll shoot at different targets. And the objects shooting out of your gun may change, appropriately for the target, also. For example, you might come to a game where you’re shooting at balloons, so darts shoot out of your pop-gun. When you shoot the balloons, you feel small bursts of air against your face -- very cool. The last round, the Bonus Round, is a killer. Targets keep coming out one after the other, and you’re pulling on that rope as fast as you can. The round lasts about 5 seconds longer than you want it to because by the time it finally ends your arm will seriously be ready to fall off at the shoulder.

My score is on the right in this pic. I thought it was respectable. James claimed he beat me, but I don’t remember his score.

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Continued in next post....

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