My Feet Are Killing Me and I Want a Lollipop 6/17-6/24 (Complete 7/24)

[jecskc]

Hey Y'all !!! Welcome to my third trip report !! Bigger and better than all of the last ones !!

Here are the deets:

When: June 17 - June 24, 2011
Where: Old Key West Resort - One bedroom villa
Who: Me, DH, DD11 and DD8

This was also our first time on the Disney Dining Plan, so there will be lots of food porn.

We rented DVC points to kind of give the whole DVC thing a test run. We also scheduled a DVC tour while we were there.

Read along to find out how our trip went, how we got the Trip Report name, and how we liked the Disney dining plan. And also how we liked DVC in general.

Ready to get started ?? Here we gooooooo !!!!

 

[jecskc]

Here is a photo of DH, DS11 and DD8 in front of our villa at Old Key West Resort.

And here's a picture of me and the kids

Our plans were:

- Friday, June 17 - Drive to WDW and check-in. Spend the afternoon/evening exploring the resort.

- Saturday, June 18 - EMH at Hollywood Studios

- Sunday, June 19 - Epcot Future World

- Monday, June 20 - Animal Kingdom

- Tuesday, June 21 - Rest Day

- Wednesday, June 22 - Blizzard Beach

- Thursday, June 23 - Magic Kingdom

- Friday, June 24 - Epcot World Showcase

Dining Plans

- Saturday, June 18 - Lunch at Sci-Fi Dine-in, Dinner at Whispering Canyon

- Sunday, June 19 - Lunch at Sunshine Seasons, Dinner at California Grill

- Monday, June 20 - Breakfast at Tusker House, Lunch at Flame Tree BBQ

- Tuesday, June 21 - Lunch at LeCellier, Dinner at Wolfgang Pucks

- Wednesday, June 22 - Breakfast at Olivia's, Lunch at Blizzard Beach, Dinner at Raglan Road

- Thursday, June 23 - Lunch at Columbia Harbor House, Dinner at Cosmic Rays

- Friday, June 24 - Breakfast at Sunshine Seasons

That was the plan anyway ..... let's see how well we stick to it !!!

 

[jecskc]

Looks like I need to resize my photos. Hang on while I do that. Oh, and I hope you like lots of photos. Get your scrolling finger ready because I have A LOT of them !!!

 

[Pixie Princess]

Hmmm.. could there be foreshadowing in your ticker??? Can't wait to hear all about it.

 

[jecskc]

Hmmm.. could there be foreshadowing in your ticker??? Can't wait to hear all about it.

Not that ticker. It is all wrong I tried to change it yesterday, but our internet services is acting up and keeps bailing on me. Very frustrating when you have 1400 picture to load into Photobucket. I'll change it today to reflect our September trip. Glad you are here !!!

ETA: current ticker now

 

[jamiesmom07]

Subbing. I can't wait to see all of the pics!!

 

[jecskc]

We have a ton of pics !! I can't wait to share !!

 

[jecskc]

On this trip, due to DH’s work schedule, we planned to drive down Friday June 17 and leave the following Friday, June 24. I took the Thursday before that off of work to get things packed, take the kids to the doctor and run some last minute errands. I got up early and worked from home. I e-mailed my project and accompanying cost estimate back to the office and then I was out the door to run all around town for the day. I got everything packed up and ready to go. And I didn’t forget the most important things, pain patches and muscle relaxers.

Why the pharmaceuticals, you say ?? Well I have a degenerative disc in my back, which isn’t too uncommon. Mainly, my lower back is culprit and when I have a flare up there are anti-inflammatories, muscle relaxers, steroids and sometimes a cortisone shot is administered. Well about two weeks before our MUCH anticipated trip, I began having pain in my upper back. I babied it along for several days and the Tuesday before we left, I broke down and went to the doctor. It was becoming increasingly obvious that I would be unable to get through this trip without some chemical help. X-rays were taken and bone spurs and pain management were discussed. I didn’t want to be bombed out on pain killers all week at Disney, so my doctor suggested these pain patches. I was skeptical, but he assured me that they REALLY worked so we went with it. So, pain patches, muscle relaxers and 10 precious Vicodin were packed.

The next morning, we got up around 7:00 AM and DH started to pack the car. Now DH is VERY methodical and sometimes this makes me crazy. It makes me most especially crazy when we are about to leave town. I usually have everything ready for him to put in the car. I wouldn’t dream of actually packing the car myself because he would just take everything out and repack it the “right” way. Sigh. So I just get everything lined up and let him pack the car. Which takes FOREVER !!

We finally left the house about 9:15 AM and the plan was to eat at Waffle House and then hit the road. We get a few miles down the road and DH says he forgot his shoes. You know, the most important walking the park shoes. I was like, “How in the world could you forget those?” Anyway, for some reason this was all my fault. I just laughed and said “whatever, dude” and we turned around and got them. Then we ate at Waffle House. I would have been fine with just a bagel, but the kids wanted Waffle House, so we ate there. And FINALLY we were on the road about 10:30 AM. Seriously, I thought we would never leave.

We had gotten a new DVD player for the car and this one was MUCH better than the last one we had had which was about 8 years old and wasn’t working very well any more. The kids bickered a bit over what to watch, but eventually decided on the following:

Beauty and the Beast

“Be our guest, be our guest …….”

Tangled

“When will my life begin …….”

Bambi 2

DD says this is happier than the original Bambi and I have to agree.

Hercules

“I can beat the odds, I can go the distance ……..”


Since all was quiet and peaceful in the back, I read a book. Smut du Jour was:

We had such a big breakfast that we only stopped for bio breaks and gas. Mapquest says it is 8 hours to Disney from our house, but Dh can make it in less than 7 ……. breakin’ the law, breakin’ the law !!! After several hours, and several movies, we start to see signs that indicate we are getting close.

Everyone was getting excited

And at last !!! The most important one !!! YAY !!!!

We are here !!!!

 

[BetsyRNBSN]

can't wait to read more!!!

 

[jecskc]

Aside from brush fires in Georgia (very smoky in the southeastern part of the state for MILES), and some traffic in Orlando, we arrived at the resort about 4:30 PM.

We got a very friendly welcome and check in was a breeze. Some photos of the Hospitality House. Sorry for the bad quality of some. Picture quality gets better throughout the trip as I get more used to the camera.

Our room #

DH and the kids in front of our room.

We rented DVC points and got a 1 Bedroom villa. If you want to stay deluxe and you can’t take advantage of any of the room discounts Disney offers, I strongly suggest renting DVC points. There is an almost 50% savings. We rented at Old Key West resort. Here are some photos of the room before we spread our mess everywhere.

Living room. This had a queen size sofa bed and a twin in the chair. I was really happy for the chair fold-out. It meant less bickering from the kids. The kids said that the beds were pretty comfortable. More so than regular pull-outs. Sorry this photo is so dark. The room itself wasn’t really dark. I guess I didn’t have the flash turned on. I am not the best photographer as you will see.

Kitchen Photos

It had a Laundry Room, but it doesn't look like I got any pictures of it. I loved having this. I only had one or two loads to do when I got home since I was able to keep up with it the whole week.

Bathroom Photos

Looking in from the Master Bedroom

Tub with DD as the poser.

Without DD

Sink

Toilet

This area had another sink and was accessible from the living room so guests didn't have to go through the Master Bedroom to get to it. The shower was in this room as well. This was separate from the Master Suite, so privacy wasn't an issue.

Bedroom – King size bed. Very comfy.

We had a ground floor room which didn't have the greatest view.

Screened Porch

I thought that I wouldn't like the first floor room, but it turns out I did because it was easier to lug things back and forth to the car which helped the bad back issue. It was really quiet and we heard a tiny bit of upstairs noise, but nothing that bothered us at all. We were very pleased with the room.

 

[jecskc]

can't wait to read more!!!

Thanks for reading Much more to come for sure !!

 

[wdwgirl03]

Great start! We have been DVC members since 2006 (our home resort is Saratoga Springs) but my sister and I stayed at OKW for the first time this past March. We really liked it! I'm curious to hear how you liked the resort and the DVC experience.

 

[BetsyRNBSN]

We rented DVC points this June as well, even stayed at OKW too! we had a 2 BR Villa, building 33 for us, on turtle pond road. Love seeing the pics as they look just like our room and bring back great memories!

 

[jecskc]

We got everything in from the car. During this process, DD closed the door and we got locked out. This was bad because we were at the other side of the resort from the check-in desk and both of our cell phones were in the villa – that we were locked out of. Thankfully, DH was able to get back in through the screened porch that he had unlocked earlier when we were checking everything out. So, if you stay at OKW and you have a ground floor villa, make sure you have all of the doors locked before you leave the room.

Just as we got everything from the car, it started to POUR rain. We unpacked everything and got the sofa and chair beds made and by then, the rain had stopped. The kids got their swimsuits on and we headed up to the main pool to see the water slide and maybe swim a little. Also, we thought we would get something to eat from the counter service there by the pool which was called Goods To Go.

But by the time we got up to the Hospitality House, it was raining again. So we checked out the gift shop.

And decided to eat at Olivia’s for dinner.

We got seated right away even though we didn’t have a reservation. Karen was our server and she was very friendly and accommodating. We told her about DD’s nut allergy and the chef came out to talk to us. There wasn’t much on their children’s menu to worry about, but it was nice that he come out anyway.

I ordered a Magic Star Cocktail - Light up your celebration with X-Fusion Organic Mango and Passion Fruit Liqueur, Parrot Bay Coconut Rum, Pineapple Juice, and a souvenir multicolored glow cube. The kids loved the blinking ice cube they give you. And the drink was very tasty. Sweet boozy fun.

DH ordered a Grand Margarita - 1800 Reposado Tequila, Grand Marnier, Lime Juice, and Sweet-and-Sour. He really liked it.

The kids had sodas

They brought out some yummy bread. I think it was the same kind you get at Ohana’s but I’m not sure. It was a pineapple coconut bread. Very good.

DD ordered the children’s pizza and apple slices. She liked the pizza, but the brown sugar that they put on the apple slices turned her off and she wouldn’t eat them. Don’t ya just love picky kids ?? DD is very picky and it is often a source of great frustration.

DS ordered a cheeseburger – he said it was good.

DH and I decided to split an entrée, But for starters, I ordered a salad (very good)

and DH got the soup of the day, which was Chicken Tortilla soup. This was excellent. Lots of flavor with a little bit of heat. We really liked it.

For our entrée DH and I decided to split the Pork Chop - Grilled Pork Chop with a Chipotle Barbecue Sauce with Macaroni and Cheese and Steamed Spinach. The kitchen split it for us, so that was nice. This was very tasty. I really enjoyed the sweet/savory sauce they had on the pork chop. Mac and Cheese and Spinach were good as well.

For dessert, we ordered the Chocolate cake with raspberry sauce. It was moist and tasty.

The kids got the make your own ice cream sundae. DD got one with just sprinkles and chocolate because the chef was worried candy covered pieces (M&M looking candies) would have some cross contamination with nuts.

The rotating fan mechanism on the ceiling was really cool.

Overall this was a very good meal and we would go there again. Service was excellent as well.

 

[Pimama]

You just got back Friday and you're starting already...you are good. I'd still be in recovery mode. I'm curious about your thought on DVC and look forward to hearing about your trip!

 

[jecskc]

Great start! We have been DVC members since 2006 (our home resort is Saratoga Springs) but my sister and I stayed at OKW for the first time this past March. We really liked it! I'm curious to hear how you liked the resort and the DVC experience.

We loved OKW !!! On the fourth day of our trip we scheduled a DVC tour, so when I get that update up, you will see what we thought of it. This is my pitiful effort to generate suspense. I have been reading your TR !! Love it !!

We rented DVC points this June as well, even stayed at OKW too! we had a 2 BR Villa, building 33 for us, on turtle pond road. Love seeing the pics as they look just like our room and bring back great memories!

We loved OKW and the spacious room was such a blessing. We were way in the back and had to drive up to the main pool and the Hospitality House which was a tad inconvenient. We were glad we had a car. That resort is really spread out. But we thought it was beautiful !! Wow, it looks like we just missed you guys.

 

[jecskc]

You just got back Friday and you're starting already...you are good. I'd still be in recovery mode. I'm curious about your thought on DVC and look forward to hearing about your trip!

I tell you it was the laundry in our villa that is giving me this relaxing day. It was so nice to come home with clean laundry. Just one more to fold and it is still in the dryer, so I am up on the bed with the TV on enjoying the disboards. Back to work... and reality tomorrow

 

[francis6306]

YAY! Your girls are the same age difference as my two... only I'm at the beginning (3 and 2 months). Just finished my TR, so I'm out scoping the newer trips and dreaming of disney! Good trip so far!

 

[jecskc]

YAY! Your girls are the same age difference as my two... only I'm at the beginning (3 and 2 months). Just finished my TR, so I'm out scoping the newer trips and dreaming of disney! Good trip so far!

My oldest is a boy and he is eleven and my youngest is a girl and she is eight. Sometimes I am glad that I only had two, but then sometimes I yearn for the little baby days. I see a cute baby and I just want to have another one !! Thankfully, I come to my senses in time !! Those years from 14 months to about 4 years old are the hardest ones IMHO. Hang in there !! It gets easier !!

I feel like mine are the perfect age for traveling right now. They are fun and get excited about new places and things and we haven't gotten into the pouty, difficult teens, yet. I will have to get over and read your TR. I just love reading other people's TR's. It is fun to look at all of the photos and I feel like you can learn so much from other people's experiences. I hope you can get a trip planned sooner rather than later !!

 

[jecskc]

After dinner the kids were dying to try out the pool slide. So we went around the corner to check it out. It turned out that because of lightening from the previous storm, that they had closed the pool. We were a little disappointed, but looked around and took some photos.