Cafeen takes it slow in Sept (and not by choice) 23 Sept 2010 01 Oct 2010

Cafeen · Feb 17, 2011

Cafeen takes it slow in Sept (and not by choice) – 23 Sept 2010 – 01 Oct 2010

Introduction
Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know. I was supposed to write this when I got back ages ago. I kinda disappeared, but oh well. I’m coming back for now again!

At any rate, I know I had a few friends on here who were eagerly awaiting said trip report. I’m not sure if I linked them to my full picture page or not; it was before 5 minutes ago, so my memory is a bit fuzzy. If I did link that somewhere, then enjoy seeing these all again. If I didn't, then enjoy seeing these all for the first time!

Also included in this TR, will be several bits of PTR for my next trip (that I just booked last night… or a few nights ago depending on when I actually post this

)

Who, What, Where, When, Why, How
The Who (No, not the band)
Well, it’s a solo trip. So that’s pretty much just me.

Allan (me) – I live in Mobile, AL and originally from New Hampshire. I work as a Quality Assurance Specialist for a software development company. I also do a bit of programming work, and I dabble in photography. (More on that with the PTR bits!)

Mom – She lives in Florida and joined me for the first few days of the trip (23 Sept – 27 Sept). She’s a special education teacher at a high school.

What/Where/When
Well, these can all be answered pretty simply. It was another Disney trip from 23 Sept 2010 through 01 Oct 2010. I stayed at the Coronado Springs Resort (aka CSR) over in Casitas 4, right along the pool. I also picked up the Deluxe Disney Dining Plan (aka DxDDP) for this trip. Lastly, shortly before heading down, I also decided to pick up tickets for the MNSSHP that was taking place.

Before we really get going, let’s take a quick look back at my initial plans, shall we? (This way, we can see how closely I stuck to them!) For the most part, it was pretty open, so those types of plans aren’t particularly difficult to stick to.

First off, the PTR. For starters, it was pretty boring. Since I had already outlined all the plans, and I was alone, and I have no need for big pre-trip shopping/packing lists or countdowns, I didn’t have much else to add. But that’s ok, I managed to eek out 6 pages or so of stuff.

The Original Plan (note that it differs from the PTR a little bit, I wrote this in a document separately):

Wed 22 Sept - Ride to Pensacola
Thu 23 Sept
- Arrive at MCO in the late morning, should be at CSR by 12 pm.
- Head to Epcot for Afternoon
- CS Lunch @ Epcot (Cantina de San Angel)
- Mom to arrive @ CSR around 5ish
- Leave Epcot by 6:45pm
- Dinner @ Maya Grill (7:45pm) (CSR)
Fri 24 Sept
- Head to Magic Kingdom for Rope Drop (9am)
- Lunch @ Liberty Tree Tavern (12:15pm) (Liberty Square)
- Leave MK by 6:00pm
- Dinner @ Artist Point (7:00pm) (Wilderness Lodge)
- Possibly head to Epcot after dinner
Sat 25 Sept – May be best to take Mom’s car for this day due to dinner plans
- Arrive at Animal Kingdom by 8:00am (Opens at 9:00am)
- Breakfast @ Tusker House (8:30am) (Africa)
- Leave AK by 4:45pm
- Dinner @ Boma (5:35pm) (Animal Kingdom Lodge)
Sun 26 Sept
- Arrive at Epcot by 8:45am (for Rope Drop)
- Lunch @ Le Cellier (11:30am) (Canada)
- Dinner @ Via Napoli (7:00pm) (Italy)
- Leave after Illuminations (~9:30pm)
Mon 27 Sept
- Arrive at Hollywood studios by 8:45am (Rope Drop)
- Head for TSM first, then ToT and RnRC
- Lunch @ Sci-Fi Dine In (11:35am)
- Leave HS by 5:30pm
- Mom likely to leave around same time
- Boat to Yacht Club for Dinner
- Dinner @ Yachtsman (6:35pm) (Yacht Club)
Tue 28 Sept
- Arrive at Magic Kingdom in AM (Non-Rope Drop)
- Breakfast @ Maya Grill (8:35am) (CSR)
- Dinner @ Citrico’s (5:35pm) (Grand Floridian)
- MNSSHP @ night (7:00pm – 12:00am)
- Parade @ 8pm (I think)
- Fireworks around 9:30pm
Wed 29 Sept
- Arrive at Animal Kingdom in AM (Non-Rope Drop)
- Leave AK by 4:45pm
- Dinner @ Jiko (5:35pm) (AKL)
- Tentative: Epcot EMH until 12:00am
Thu 30 Sept
- Epcot (sleep in if needed)
- Lunch @ San Angel Inn (11:30am) (Mexico)
- Dinner @ Restaurant Marrakesh (6:30pm) (Morocco) / Attempt Hacienda Walkup
Fri 1 Oct
- Arrive at Magic Kingdom by 8:45am (Rope Drop)
- Lunch @ The Plaza (11:50am) (Main St. USA)
- Back to resort by 3pm for approx 4:30 ME pickup (7:30pm flight)

Why
This is the biggie. I have always loved going to Disney. When I was a kid, we went almost every year (9 times between 0 and 12). 2010, however, did not start off well. Lost both Grandmothers at the beginning of the year, and had a falling out with my long time friend (the one from the 2009 trip). Couple that with punishing hours at work, and a trip was very much needed.

So, I had been in 2009 with a 2 year old and after not having gone for around 17-18 years. We skipped a lot on that trip and I knew I’d need another trip to make up for that, so this trip was born (technically, one in Feb was born, but had to postpone it until Sept…)

And finally, How
I guess that’s what this whole thing is about isn’t it?

Notes
The Title
Now, you may question me about the title. I’ll get to that point on Day 2, but suffice to say that new crocs, on my feet, without socks, on my first day of Magic Kingdom… yeah, not a good idea.

Color Coding
Trip Report posts will be posted in the green you see here. Pre-Trip stuff for my next Sept trip will be in dark red. Other random stuff will be in default blue. This is just to help me not get confused with what I’m talking about or replying to or whatever

Table of Contents

PTR Bits thrown in for good measure...

mickeystoontown · Feb 17, 2011

Hey Allan! I'm so glad to see you started the report. Can't wait to read all about it.

Grumpy's Wife · Feb 17, 2011

I'm along for the ride too.

Cafeen · Feb 17, 2011

Day 0 – 22 Sept
Let’s start at the beginning, shall we. I had been able to snag a ride from work to Pensacola the night before I was to fly out. Of course, this also meant that I had to bring my big black bag of clothes to work with me, which made for some interesting looks around the office. (Granted, they all knew what was going on, but still…)

At around 4, I got antsy (thinking that my ride was a 7-4 person, since he worked across the floor from me), and was pretty much done for the day (ok, in reality, I was pretty much done for the day since I woke up that morning…). He ended up being an 8-5er, but that’s ok. Just had an extra hour to spend doing something (I was most likely perusing the Disboards, knowing me at the time). So, at any rate, we left the office at 5 and were on our way to Pensacola. It wasn’t very exciting, but 45 or so minutes later I was checking into the crappy little hotel that I booked for the night.
I ate at Burger King, called my mom, did some website work, and went to bed (a 4:30am cab pickup would be coming early!)

Day 1 – 23 Sept (pt 1 – The Arrival)
Now we get into the meat of what you all are here for, hence no break between 0 and 1!

I woke up around 3:30 am and called the cab company to pick me up at 4:30. Hopped in the shower, packed all my stuff back up, and was walking to the lobby when the cab pulled up. An uneventful cab ride later and I was checking in for the flight.

This part is still boring, I waited at the airport, got on the plane, flew to Atlanta, waited at that airport, got on the other plan, flew to Orlando and then BOOM I was there! (Ok, “BOOM” may not be the best word to use there when talking about planes… but pressing the backspace key four times and then thinking of another word just takes too much effort. It’s entirely easier to write a paragraph long parenthetical expression explaining my use of the word and my refusal to just backspace and change it because it requires too much effort, even though this lengthy explanation is likely to have required at least ten times the amount of effort that it originally would have. Oh well, since I type in ink, I can’t erase it or something (and I won’t even get into the fact that I’m typing this up on Word before I even post!))

Ahem, where were we? Ahh yes, I arrived in Orlando around 11:30*ish (erm, I think. I’m doing this from memory and 23 Sept was more than the 5minutes ago range where that gets fuzzy, as I noted above) and quickly navigated my way to the Magical Express bus. I took a seat and we were soon setting off, listening to that wonderful movie that at least some of you all have seen. (Yes, I said some of you all… if you’re going to keep reading this, you’re going to have to get used to my writing style (which will likely change not only between posts, but quite likely within a single post)).

*Looking back over my "live" report I did on my site, it was 10:30ish when I landed... I could go back and edit it, but what fun is that? None really. This method adds more words to read as well as breaks up the story in a nice jarring way.

Soon enough (well, not soon enough, soon enough would have been right when the trip started, and even then, it probably wasn’t soon enough, but I digress), we were traveling under the “gate” and pulling into CSR. I walked into another empty lobby (remember my last year trip? Yeah, I’m good at picking unpopular times to check in, score one for me!) and got myself all checked in. I added my mom to the room at that time (with them explaining that she wouldn’t be eligible for the dining plan… which I already knew being the good researcher guy that I was and that had nothing to do with me reading Disney stuff when I should have been working! Remind me to not tell anyone at work about this post, especially since I’m writing it at work instead of doing stuff). I pulled my bag over to my room and was there.
Now, I don’t unpack when I travel. Not sure why, but it’s likely tied to a distinct fear of not being lazy.

Since you’ve been reading all this and not skimming, it’s time to let your brain take a break and look at some pictures.

Those were of the room. I know, they’re pretty abstract so I figured I may have to explain them a little.

So, what now? Well, I was getting hungry for starters. I hadn’t eaten since my 7pm(ish) dinner from Burger King the previous night. My mom wouldn’t be coming in for another few hours (she was planning to arrive around 5-5:30), and I had hot new Disney park tickets and a dining plan to burn. I consulted my schedule in my head and realized I had already planned to eat at the newly refurbished Cantina de San Angel, so Epcot it was.

Cafeen · Feb 17, 2011

mickeystoontown said:
Hey Allan! I'm so glad to see you started the report. Can't wait to read all about it.

Hey Lisa, glad you found it! (And that you remember me!

). I'm just going to start disclaiming that I tend to disappear during the late fall/early winter or something. That's twice in a row now! Ahem, at any rate (that seems to be one of my favorite phrases... I use it an awful lot.)

Grumpy's Wife said:
I'm along for the ride too.

Welcome aboard! Hope it's worth your while!

-------
I did hurry up and get at least something with pictures and somewhat Disney related up. I don't want to bore you all

. Don't expect me to update that fast in the future tho! (Granted, with the amount of work I don't do at work, I will probably have the time to finish it up today or something...)

Um yeah. Welcome and stuff! (insert whatever welcoming and/or dancing and/or partying and/or scared running away emoticon here)

MEK · Feb 17, 2011

Hi Allan. Welcome back! I am looking forward to your newest TR and glad that you are back to write it!

I think its great that you traveled with your mom. I hope my son will want to travel with me when he gets older.

Cafeen · Feb 18, 2011

Day 1 pt 2 – The Lunch

So, we last left off with me getting hungry since I hadn't eaten in about 18 hours and I was heading over to Epcot for lunch at Cantina de San Angel. Unfortunately, when I get hungry, if I wait too long, a headache will start to develop. This was certainly the case this day. I arrived at Epcot around 1pm and made a bee-line for Cantina (de San Angel, I'm going to just call it Cantina, since it's considerably fewer letters than the whole name. Then again, being the smart Disneyphiles that you are, I'm sure you would have already picked up on that, thus making this another wasted parenthetical expression and actually taking more time and more effort than would have been initially required. This will likely be a theme throughout this trip report…) with the headache growing. I got there and ordered the … um… (I knew I should have written this months ago, I might actually remember without looking it up) Tacos de Carne (Beef Tacos… why the heck couldn't I remember that?) with Churros for dessert. They were excellent.

Well, excellent wasn't the word I used at the time. It was closer to "Ok". The Churros were good, but the meat apparently was a little smokier than my taste. I'm also not a big shredded beef fan. Don't know why, it's the same stuff as ground beef, but it just doesn't suit my fancy as much. (In case you're wondering, yes, I looked up my previously written stuff after I said they were excellent.)

Unfortunately, the cashier wasn't able to charge my dining plan as he said I was out of credits! So, since I was so hungry I had a headache, I just paid cash. There was to be no keeping me from the nomnoms that I needed.

I ate my lunch inside the Hacienda de San Angel building which was very nice. I took quite a few more pictures of this room (see below) and then headed out.

Um, ok, by "quite a few more" I mean one. I took one single picture of Hacienda here. I guess I really did have a headache! (I do know that I walked in there later in the week and took several more).

First place I had to go was Guest Relations to check that dining plan thing. (Yes, this is a cliffhanger! Granted, since I didn't title this "Where did my DxDDP credits go?" I'm sure you can guess the outcome, but just the same, it's a good stopping point.)

Ok, I looked over this post in Word (since I haven't posted anything, but I'm doing it ahead of time) and it was really short, so I'll spare you the "To be continued…" bit. All my credits were fine. I'm guessing it's because I was on DxDDP and not on the normal one that he was supposed to ring it up differently.

So, that solved it was time for a ride, but which one first?

I settled on Spaceship Earth since, well, I was about 30ft from the entrance (and that "Spaceship Earth scent" gets me every time, you all know the smell. Interestingly enough, there's a BBQ place near here (On Old Shell Rd for all the Mobilians about) that has the exact same scent outdoors, I'd eat there, if I actually liked BBQ…).

So yeah, I traveled through time on my first solo ride (that I remember). I ended up being a loafer in the future. Go figure eh?

rndmr2 · Feb 18, 2011

I'm here!

So glad to see you started a TR. I really enjoyed hearing about your last one.

..Going back to read....

Cafeen · Feb 19, 2011

MEK said:
Hi Allan. Welcome back! I am looking forward to your newest TR and glad that you are back to write it!

I think its great that you traveled with your mom. I hope my son will want to travel with me when he gets older.

Thank you thank you

. I'm glad that I'm finally getting it written to. Not sure why it took so long, wasn't for lack of wanting to talk about the trip (just ask my office-mate, well, former office-mate (no, there's no relation in how much I talked up Disney with her being the former office-mate, I got moved to the other side of the building due to a different project I got placed on)).

My mom's always been easy to travel with. I, on the other hand, not so much. Now-a-days I am, but back when I was little, I am sure I got on the parents' nerves. Compalining, whiny, slow, picky, the whole 10 yards (yep, one extra yard thrown in). I know for at least a couple years I wasn't bad, but then I learned to talk.. and walk

. But yeah, Mom's good to travel with, goes with the flow and can keep up better than I can! (Of course, I had other reasons to be slow this trip which you'll all see soon enough).

She'll also be joining me for part of this year's trip. I really think I got my Disney-fever from her growing up.

rndmr2 said:
I'm here! So glad to see you started a TR. I really enjoyed hearing about your last one.

..Going back to read....

Welcome aboard! This one won't quite be as interesting, Emily really stole the show on my 2009 report, but I have a lot more pictures! I think I took about 918 in total, 900 of which I actually posted on my gallery thingy (that I had to hand-write because I was too picky to use any of the pre-crafted ones, and other nerdy reasons). Unfortunately, I also hit the "functionality" cap of my camera on this trip. That is, I reached the point where I tried to be more advanced than my camera would let me. This degraded some of the images quite a bit, but I'm my own worst critic and they're likely still at least decent.

------

Now, that "functionality" cap that I just mentioned, won't be an issue for this year. After being a good boy and saving some money up, I decided to pull the trigger and picked up the Canon Rebel T1i DSLR camera. This will be a real boost in my picture taking in Sept. It came with the kit 18-55mm lens, and I plan on picking up the f1.8 50mm and the 55-200mm lens as well. While they aren't the best lenses money can buy, they're good lenses that I can actually afford to buy!

Speaking of which, as part of the reason for my return, I have booked this year's trip already (and already bought the airfare even!). Will be going down 22 Sept - 01 Oct. This time flying right out of Mobile so no worries about getting to Pensacola. 10 days, fancy new camera, DxDDP, Mom coming for a few days again, and a new (maybe) resort! Booked at POR (for now) on the 30% Summer room discount. Will also plan on going to MNSSHP again this year, which will be a real test of my photo skills (low light, long exposure, etc). Already getting antsy for it and it's over 7 months away.

And, just to leave you all with a picture. Here is one of the test shots I did with the new camera (and tweaked in Gimp2.0 slightly, desaturating the background to make the color pop a bit more)

MEK · Feb 19, 2011

DxDP and you had to pay OOP for your first meal? :confused3

That stinks, but when you're hungry you gotta do what you gotta do. I am looking forward to eating at La Hacienda in May. It opened at 3pm on the afternoon I left in September. It looked like a beautiful place.

Love SSE and that burnt smell in there!

Looking forward to more!

sjs314 · Feb 19, 2011

Subbing- I am reading TR's from September since we are planning as of now to be in the World 9/25-10/3. I say as of now because I am worried about the heat and humidity and thinking of changeing our dates.

Can not believe how different CSR looks from when I stayed there the day it opened Aug 1 1998 for a week. The refurbishment is great.
Been reading a lot of reports of dining plan credits or tix not being properly put onto the KTTW card :scared1:

, sorry it happened to you.

Anxiously awaiting your next installment

Cafeen · Feb 19, 2011

MEK said:
DxDP and you had to pay OOP for your first meal? That stinks, but when you're hungry you gotta do what you gotta do. I am looking forward to eating at La Hacienda in May. It opened at 3pm on the afternoon I left in September. It looked like a beautiful place.

Love SSE and that burnt smell in there!

Looking forward to more!

I think it was a combination of new CMs (at this time, they had only been re-open for about a week) and the first time that I used Deluxe. I'm sure it would have only taken a couple minutes to figure out, but I was impatient

.

Hacienda was pretty good when I ate there (it comes later in the week) and the interior is beautiful. I'm hoping to go back there again for the upcoming trip to make sure I give it its fair shot. (Timing was a bit off on the servers, and I wasn't very hungry after eating Deluxe for a week at that point, plus I went early since it was walk up only).

Of all the memories I have from when I was going there as a kid, that SSE smell is the strongest.

sjs314 said:
Subbing- I am reading TR's from September since we are planning as of now to be in the World 9/25-10/3. I say as of now because I am worried about the heat and humidity and thinking of changeing our dates.

Can not believe how different CSR looks from when I stayed there the day it opened Aug 1 1998 for a week. The refurbishment is great.
Been reading a lot of reports of dining plan credits or tix not being properly put onto the KTTW card , sorry it happened to you.

Anxiously awaiting your next installment

Welcome

.

This was the second time that I went in September (had gone 20 Sept - 27 Sept the year earlier). 2009 was horribly hot, 95+ degrees every day, no rain to cool things off, sticky as a movie theater floor, etc. 2010 was not nearly as bad. It was still hot and humid, but nowhere near the repressiveness that was 2009. Plus, the fact that I knew a little more and was much better prepared helped a lot. As long as it's not record heat (a la 2009) you should be fine. And hey, if it is record heat, I'll be down there at the same time sweltering with you

(will be there 22 Sept - 01 Oct 2011). Either way, it's Disney. I'd rather have a absolutely horrible day at Disney than a normal day elsewhere!

2009 was the first time I went to CSR and fell in love with it. It is a beautiful resort. I'm aiming for something a little different this year with POR, but that doesn't mean I don't love CSR at all

.

The dining plan thing was likely as much my fault as the CMs. I'm sure it wouldn't have taken but a minute (and it wasn't busy at all) to get it fixed, but I'm impatient. Didn't have a single other issue the rest of the trip with either tickets or dining plan.

Cafeen · Feb 19, 2011

Day 1 pt 3 – The search for the snack

So… where to next? Hm, checking my handy Lines app I see that Test Track has a 5minute wait for single-rider (and it said 45 minute for stand-by!) I hopped in the single rider line and walked straight up to the pre-show area. It looks like they were training a new girl at that position and while she was trying, you would tell she wasn't used to it at all! Soon enough, I and the other guy who had since joined the single-rider line were wisked away as one of the other ladies there swapped to the "Grouper" position. (For those not in the know, this is the one that says "How many in your party? Row 1. How many in your party? Rows 2 and 3." etc). So, I quickly jumped into a car and was off.

Now, before you ask, no, I had never done Test Track before. It came out after the last time I was there and we simply didn't do it last year. I do have to say that it was amazing. (I did think of Lisa during the "cold" test (which oddly, wasn't cold at all)). All in all, great ride.

After Test Track, I headed over toward Mission Space. The line was short, but the headache mentioned previously was kicking in

and I didn't feel as though a spinny-type ride with a developing migraine would be a good idea, so I did the Universe of Energy instead. UoE wasn't bad, though it was certainly long. I managed to stay awake at least, unlike some people we know

.

After UoE, I thought maybe I was still hungry, so I headed over to The Land in search of food. Instead of food, I found a boat ride. I managed to skin my shin on the "darn" (no, that's not the word I used) side of the seat getting in though

. And the grouper girl pulled an "Awww" when I told her "Just one" (she was pretty cute too

)

After LwtL (which was "out of fastpasses" for the day with a 5 min standby wait (we had to wait for the next boat to pull up

), I headed off in search of a better snack. I wanted a pretzel, and nothing was stopping me. (Except the long haul to Germany and the fact I didn't know I wanted a pretzel yet).

Apologies for the lack of pictures. The next couple of report posts will be like this. I didn't get in the groove until Day 2. Then the inundation will begin!

rndmr2 · Feb 19, 2011

Cafeen said:
I'd rather have a absolutely horrible day at Disney than a normal day elsewhere!

2009 was the first time I went to CSR and fell in love with it. It is a beautiful resort. I'm aiming for something a little different this year with POR, but that doesn't mean I don't love CSR at all .

My dad always says something like that too-"A bad day at Disney is better than a good day at work" !

I think you will love the POR, I really liked it, it's a beautiful resort. We went on a carriage ride through it and it really has some nice gardens and walkways. We were in Magnolia Bend (the Mansions) and I thought that area was a little better as far as decor, but the Bayou is nice too.

Cafeen · Feb 20, 2011

Day 1 pt 4 Snack search continued! AKA "Pretzel Disappointment Act I"

When I last left off, I was in a hungry headachy state of mood and was making a bee-line for some previously unidentified snack. I had decided that I wanted something international, like a pretzel (technically, I hadn't decided this yet, but I'm not big on continuity).

So, around the lake I go. Canada, and I hear Off Kilter starting up. UK where I watch a little girl accidentally knock down Alice. Followed closely by Mary Poppins. Sorry ladies, the salty goodness of a pretzel is calling.

I continue past France, where Marie is casually hanging out (what's with all these characters today! And Chip and Dale were out in their usual spot between Innoventions and The Land as well). Maybe next time, but I'm on a mission (and I'm wishin'... (+1 internet point for the reference)). Morocco, Japan (stop for a break, the "Blue Square" was nice and shaded, with a good breeze coming through, while the Japanese Drummer girls were playing). On to USA, Italy, and the FINALLY Germany. I almost failed in this mission and settled for a funnel cake (on second thought, that may have been a better idea). I headed into Sommerfest and waited in the disturbingly hot, non-moving air for a few minutes. Then I ordered, she asked "Use Snack Credits" I said, "yup" (I'm a good conversationalist). And I was 2 Snack Credits poorer (and 1 Pretzel and 1 Sprite richer).

I wandered off for a place to sit. It was difficult and I ended up down by the African outpost. I bit into my pretzel and though "Really? That's it." Yeah, it wasn't very good. It wasn't bad either, just not that great. I could have gotten the same quality at any random pretzel stand (erm, do they have random pretzel stands anymore?) anywhere. This pretzel disappointment would end up being a key theme for the entire trip. (Ok, not a key theme, since that would mean the whole trip revolved around pretzel disappointment, or at least something relating to pretzels (I'm rusty on my literary skills, it's been awhile), but it was certainly a repeating character of this story).

After the pretzel (and Sprite), I make my way toward the exit. Upon passing Norway, I get this silly idea to ride Maelstrom, so I do (being alone is nice for this sort of thing). I ride the rivers of Norway and totally skip the movie (and boy, I certainly wasn't the only one!) and we exit through the shop.

Now, remember that budding headache. Put that in the perfume section of the store. Yeah, not good. It's that time that I decide to head back to the resort. Besides, Mom will be getting in soon.

Man, looking back at these posts, I barely took my camera out this day (also looking back through the pictures). Of course, this trend does not continue, so no worries

. I think that budding headache coupled with just the "Holy 'moly', I'm here!" attitude kinda kept me from picture taking.

Cafeen · Feb 20, 2011

rndmr2 said:
My dad always says something like that too-"A bad day at Disney is better than a good day at work" !

I think you will love the POR, I really liked it, it's a beautiful resort. We went on a carriage ride through it and it really has some nice gardens and walkways. We were in Magnolia Bend (the Mansions) and I thought that area was a little better as far as decor, but the Bayou is nice too.

It's amazing how much Disney is better than "Real Life" huh?

I'm looking forward to POR, a little bit more now as well (though, I may upgrade to a River View room). Will be a real nice setting for pictures.

mickeystoontown · Feb 21, 2011

Got behind a little but am now caught up. Your lunch looks delish and I was glad to read in your replies that the issue with your dining plan didn't become a problem.

Yay for booking another WDW vacation already. We are giving Port Orleans Riverside a shot next trip too although we are only staying there two nights before heading back to the CBR.

Oh I bet you'd be thinking the cold section of the Test Track ride was cold if you were stuck in there and you had to pee! :lmao:

Oh and am I mistaken to think that you might be referring to my dear husband, John, when you referenced a certain person falling asleep on Universe of Energy? You know how he has a knack for falling asleep anywhere and everywhere. :lmao:

I feel your disappointment pain on the pretzels. I was all jazzed up to try a pretzel a trip or two ago and was disappointed with them as well. Although it wasn't horrible by any means, it just wasn't one of those "wow this is good" snacks.

Next time you get a migraine, try a really strong lemonade. That's usually does the trick for me.

KatMark · Feb 21, 2011

I'm here. Now, I have to go back and read.

About time you started this!

Cafeen · Feb 21, 2011

mickeystoontown said:
Got behind a little but am now caught up. Your lunch looks delish and I was glad to read in your replies that the issue with your dining plan didn't become a problem.

Yay for booking another WDW vacation already. We are giving Port Orleans Riverside a shot next trip too although we are only staying there two nights before heading back to the CBR.

Oh I bet you'd be thinking the cold section of the Test Track ride was cold if you were stuck in there and you had to pee! Oh and am I mistaken to think that you might be referring to my dear husband, John, when you referenced a certain person falling asleep on Universe of Energy? You know how he has a knack for falling asleep anywhere and everywhere.

I feel your disappointment pain on the pretzels. I was all jazzed up to try a pretzel a trip or two ago and was disappointed with them as well. Although it wasn't horrible by any means, it just wasn't one of those "wow this is good" snacks.

Next time you get a migraine, try a really strong lemonade. That's usually does the trick for me.

Or perhaps, they turned down the cold after reading your TR

, they figured, "Well, if it's have real cold, or have someone 'let loose' on the ride, let's turn down the cold!" And yup, John was a distinct inspiration for not falling asleep on the UoE, of course, that's also touted as one of the best napping spots all around, so there were several others involved in that around these parts.

Maybe it's those rose-colored glasses, but I remember soft pretzels in the past as being better all-around (not just at Disney either). I did make sure that the Sommerfest one wasn't the only one I tried, and in fact I had several others over the trip, but they were all pretty much the same

. I love me a good pretzel too.

The lemon thing I should have remembered, unfortunately, when I get them, my thinking and memory also tends to falter a bit. Maybe I need a post-it or something saying "Do you have a migraine? If so, use lemons!" Otherwise I'm just going to forget again :laughing:

KatMark said:
I'm here. Now, I have to go back and read.

About time you started this!

Yay! At least there isn't THAT much to read. I don't have quite the following that you guys have

. (I'm on pg 10/39 of Kathy's PTR, and 107/153 of Lisa's TR ><)

I know I slacked on starting it

. Better late than never though.

---
After I finish up this first day, I'll be dropping some more info on the upcoming trip as well. Suffice to say, that MNSSHP is definitely in the plans. Twice. Maybe three times! (All assuming that the Traveler's Agent calendar is correct in suggesting they are Tuesdays and Fridays during my stay.) I'm also working on the DxDDP dining puzzle right now (with some help from the gang on the restaurant boards, really at a loss this year).

I do have the next couple of parts already written up and ready to copy/paste into here, then tweaking, then copy paste back into my Word Doc... just don't have the time today

Stupid work getting in the way of my writing stuff! And, as I've mentioned, there are many more pictures to come!

KatMark · Feb 21, 2011

Allan, great start. I love seeing pictures of "home" and that quiet pool is calling my name.

I'm glad you are trying POR...you'll have to let me know what you think of it (they will be in the midst of the rehab when you are there); it is the only other moderate we would consider if CSR were not available.

Your first day adventures sound great. You do know that you can get a pretzel in between The Land and Journey Into Imagination, don't you? Mark got one there, along with a beer, when we were there in September.

Sorry about the headache...I get one of those too when I don't eat for a long period of time.

I love your writing style...always have. :thumbsup2

As I mention in my PTR (of which you are about half way through), we will be there at the same time so we definitely have to hook up at some point. We will arrive at the AKL for two nights on September 23 and then home to CSR until we leave on the 29th for Marco Island. So we have some days to play with there to hook up.

Cafeen takes it slow in Sept (and not by choice)  23 Sept 2010  01 Oct 2010

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"Laughter is timeless, imagination has no age, and

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Cafeen takes it slow in Sept (and not by choice) 23 Sept 2010 01 Oct 2010