Will You Chill Out if I Sprinkle You With Pixie Dust? The End p136 *New TR Link* p138

[MEK]

I always get excited when we travel to a state where you can buy liquor in the grocery stores! Ours can sell low alcohol content (like 3.2) beer and wine coolers, but that is it, everything else has to be purchased at the liquor store, and they are NOT open on Sundays!

I am glad I am not alone in my passion for buying alcohol in convenience stores. It's this thing where I just HAVE to buy something.

Your brother could have driven to Florida and been there faster I think!

You have NO idea how many times I thought the exact same thing! Ridiculous how long it took! In his defense, he was afraid that driving with 4 kids would be too insane. At least they could get up and move around.

It is already obvious to me that to stay in the treehouse villas I would have to have a car. I can't imagine having to take a bus to get to a bus stop to catch another bus to the parks - no thank you!

They really need to do something about that. I don't think the novelty of staying in a treehouse outweighs the transportation woes. I am so thankful we had a car.

African or European?

Good one!

I can't even attempt to figure out that math question! I'm glad you remembered to look out the window at when you thought you'd be flying over them to taunt them, though!

I really did. And I really did flash back to high school when we had math questions like that. Why, I have no idea.

IYay for a free night at a hotel! I-Drive is crazy, the first time Brandon and I went to Disney we actually ventured out to I-Drive on a Sunday night and the traffic was insane! Never again! (We saw that weird crooked building too!)

I drive looked so different in the morning compared to night time. Crazy. And there were a ton of restaurants that looked great, but there's got to be a better time to go there.

IUgh, I can't believe you didn't get to go under the arch! I don't know if I could start my vacation that way, I'd have to find a way to go under it. It's not a proper Disney vacation without driving under the arch!

We went in via the DTD entrance - the one where all the "good neighbor" hotels are located. There is no arch there. You literally drive straight to the marketplace entrance of DTD.

Not seeing the arch was a bit of a let down.

IFigures the train was late! The villas look so cute, I can't wait to see the inside of yours!

The train was REALLY late.

The villas were awesome inside, but my pictures stink. Oh well - next update.

 

[FairyGodmotherJen]

I've never done anything more than ride a boat past either SSR or the Treehouse Villas, so I'm enjoying the pictures! Looking forward to seeing the inside. Hopefully, your brother's mood wasn't affected by the delay with the train...

 

[EastYorkDisneyFan]

I stayed in the old treehouses in 1998 back when they were part of the Disney instute and all of the buses stopped at each of the sections of the resort much like they do at the moderates.

 

[Poolrat]

I am here but I am gone .......

Will try to catch up if I can.

 

[Mndisneygirl]

Well, you got off to a good start to YOUR part of the trip at least!

I would totally do the off site hotel for the one late night. Especially if you didn't have big plans for the parks the next morning. FREE= Good!

When we stayed at SSR we thought it was the type of place (like OKW apparently) where you stay if you want some relaxing down time at the resort and feel like "getting away from it all". Just beautiful! I read another TR that had some pics of the inside of the tree houses and I can say that I have the same bathroom faucet in my house!!

Looking forward to more of this tale...

 

[Millie12591]

Holy smokes! Four days in and you're already on page 8?!?
This must be where all the cool kids hang!

I don't post a lot, but I'm a faithful reader. Excited to be along on this adventure!

 

[MEK]

I've never done anything more than ride a boat past either SSR or the Treehouse Villas, so I'm enjoying the pictures! Looking forward to seeing the inside. Hopefully, your brother's mood wasn't affected by the delay with the train...

The inside of the treehouse villa is very cool. There are some nice upscale features. My pictures really don't do the inside justice. I hope to post them this weekend.

My brother didn't sleep much on the train so he was not in the best of moods come eveing.

I stayed in the old treehouses in 1998 back when they were part of the Disney instute and all of the buses stopped at each of the sections of the resort much like they do at the moderates.

So they actually had a real bus stop at the Disney Insitute? Well, they need a real bus stop there now. Perhaps a shared one between the grandstand section and the treehouses.

I bet it was cool to stay there when it was the Disney Institute.

I am here but I am gone .......

Will try to catch up if I can.

Pat! I hope you have a great July 4th trip in the world! Take lots of cool firework pictures. Please!

Well, you got off to a good start to YOUR part of the trip at least!

Yup - good start on my part! That changes rather quickly, as you will see soon enough.

I would totally do the off site hotel for the one late night. Especially if you didn't have big plans for the parks the next morning. FREE= Good!

Free is good and the overnight stay at the Radisson worked out really well. They were also very nice there, so no complaints.

When we stayed at SSR we thought it was the type of place (like OKW apparently) where you stay if you want some relaxing down time at the resort and feel like "getting away from it all". Just beautiful! I read another TR that had some pics of the inside of the tree houses and I can say that I have the same bathroom faucet in my house!!

I agree. I think its the perfect location for a non Disney trip as well as a Disney trip. I was thinking AKL in Oct 2013, but now I'm leaning towards SSR. I really love the outdoor areas so much more because of all the great walking paths and scenery. Not that I don't love AKL, because you know I do. But I'm thinking for that particular trip SSR may be the way to go.

I took a picture of the faucet. Very cool!

Looking forward to more of this tale...

More coming this weekend!

Holy smokes! Four days in and you're already on page 8?!?
This must be where all the cool kids hang!

Camille! I'm not sure how cool I am, but I do have some pretty cool readers. Glad to have you join the bunch!

I don't post a lot, but I'm a faithful reader. Excited to be along on this adventure!

Happy to have you here reading along! Enjoy! I hope!

 

[tinacaplan]

Yes, it does seem that the Radddison was your best option. I tried to convince my mom that a value made sense for our first night in October (we don't get in until 10 at night), but she nixed the idea. Oh well.

Certainly, when you're travelling, McDonald's does make sense. And, yes, you are correct that the drive thru there does look better because it's Florida! When can I move?

I actually saw a small piece of I-Drive (I think it was I-Drive) on way to airport from SSR in April and I admit I was a little scared. Very noisy and lots of "stuff" everywhere, if that makes sense. I hadn't been out of the bubble since I went to Disneyworld as a kid, back in the dark ages, when there were only two resorts on property! Well, I guess three if you count the Disney Inn, which no one seemed to know about at the time.

I agree with your assessment of SSR. Going into my April trip, I really didn't think I would like it, but it is a lovely resort. I loved all the pastels. Very Florida to me, so not Saratoga exactly, but that's fine with me.

 

[amazingact21]

Whoo hoo arrival day!

Ugh, I know what you mean about I Drive. It can be crazy at night. Having family that lives 45 minutes away from Orlando, we tend to go to places along I Drive if we want something to do, and it takes so long just to make it through one intersection.


Free is the best price when you're talking about a one night stay. And the Radisson didn't look too bad, so that's a plus.


SSR and the treehouses look great. I've never seen that part of WDW before, so I really enjoyed hearing your recap of them. They look so quiet and roomy. I bet it was easy to relax and wind down after a long park day in a place like that.

 

[DisMomAmy]

Off to a great start! And finally in the Disney bubble!

 

[saintstickets]

Here’s something to ponder…….

A train leaves Lorton, Va at 4pm and is traveling south at 75 mph.

A plane leaves Allentown, Pa at 6:10pm and is traveling 550 mph.

Lorton Va is 200 miles south of Allentown Pa.

At what time will the plane fly over the train?



According to my estimates we flew over that train at about 6:42 pm. Any math whizzes out there care to differ?

At any rate, at approximately 6:42 pm I leaned toward the window of the plane and said, “See you later suckers”.

Hmmmm....Which way was the prevailing wind? Are all times EDT? Was this the newer AMTRAK model GE P42DC engine or one of the older P32-8WH models? Let me get back to you on this one.

On arrival to MCO, since I didn’t have anyone else to announce my arrival to, I texted my brother, “We are in Florida and you are still on the train….Nanny, nanny, poo, poo” Well, actually, I left that last part out. Why irritate my brother already? There was plenty of time left to do that later, unintentionally, of course.

Now MEK...just because they waited until the last minute to make plans...oh what the heck, he deserves it; go ahead!

When we arranged this trip, we add 3 options for our first night: (1) stay at a value ($140 – too high) (2) stay at a DVC studio (15 borrowed points) (3) Use up Denny’s Carlson club points and stay at a Radisson on I drive. Now I may not always pick the most cost effective solution to a problem, but this seemed like a no brainer to me. We obviously picked the Radisson. I checked it out on trip advisor and it didn’t look that horrible, plus it was FREE!!!!!!! See- No brainer!

There are some pretty good deals at MouseSaver.com as well. We got a 2 bedroom suite for $99/night the last time we needed a room outside of DVC. Of course, that doesn't beat FREE!

We also stopped at Walgreen’s for cold medicine and beer.

Ummmm...shouldn't that be medicine and cold beer?

 

[MEK]

Yes, it does seem that the Radisson was your best option. I tried to convince my mom that a value made sense for our first night in October (we don't get in until 10 at night), but she nixed the idea. Oh well.

The Radisson worked perfectly for this trip.

Well, I guess your mom probably just doesn't want to go to all the bother to move again. But I would probably go for the value. Sleep and leave!

Certainly, when you're travelling, McDonald's does make sense. And, yes, you are correct that the drive thru there does look better because it's Florida! When can I move?

Everything looks better in Florida, IMHO!

I actually saw a small piece of I-Drive (I think it was I-Drive) on way to airport from SSR in April and I admit I was a little scared. Very noisy and lots of "stuff" everywhere, if that makes sense. I hadn't been out of the bubble since I went to Disneyworld as a kid, back in the dark ages, when there were only two resorts on property! Well, I guess three if you count the Disney Inn, which no one seemed to know about at the time.

Yeah - its total sensory overload if you ask me. I was curious about some of the restaurants, but the majority were just chain places. There was one Irish bar I would have liked to check out.

I agree with your assessment of SSR. Going into my April trip, I really didn't think I would like it, but it is a lovely resort. I loved all the pastels. Very Florida to me, so not Saratoga exactly, but that's fine with me.

Exactly - the pastels are very soothing. Not at all like the real Saratoga, but I do like how they tried to model some of the fountains after the ones in the park in Saratoga Springs. I think they took the good parts of the town and "disney-fied" them. Although, I enjoyed my visit to the real main street of Saratoga Springs. Pretty cool place.

Whoo hoo arrival day!

Isn't arrival day in the Disney bubble the best?

Ugh, I know what you mean about I Drive. It can be crazy at night. Having family that lives 45 minutes away from Orlando, we tend to go to places along I Drive if we want something to do, and it takes so long just to make it through one intersection.

It's ridiculous. I was only on it once before when we stayed at Universal and we got off of it as fast as possible. Craziness, yet it was pretty cool in the early morning.

Free is the best price when you're talking about a one night stay. And the Radisson didn't look too bad, so that's a plus.

It was a very nice room and the people there were very friendly, so I have no complaints. I just wouldn't want to stay there for a week. That would get old fast.

SSR and the treehouses look great. I've never seen that part of WDW before, so I really enjoyed hearing your recap of them. They look so quiet and roomy. I bet it was easy to relax and wind down after a long park day in a place like that.

I took a lot of pictures of SSR that I will be posting throughout this TR. I really love it over there. It's very peaceful and relaxing and its perfect for running. So many possible places to go.

Off to a great start! And finally in the Disney bubble!

There is nothing better than the Disney bubble, is there?

Hmmmm....Which way was the prevailing wind? Are all times EDT? Was this the newer AMTRAK model GE P42DC engine or one of the older P32-8WH models? Let me get back to you on this one.

I'm going to say: southwest, all EDT, Amtrak model GE p42DC. Now get that calculator out.

Now MEK...just because they waited until the last minute to make plans...oh what the heck, he deserves it; go ahead!

I really didn't even need to heckle him for him to get made at me. Just wait - its coming!

There are some pretty good deals at MouseSaver.com as well. We got a 2 bedroom suite for $99/night the last time we needed a room outside of DVC. Of course, that doesn't beat FREE!

I've seen some of those rooms and rates and, I agree, its a great deal. I could definitely stay in the DTD area. It's very pretty there.

Ummmm...shouldn't that be medicine and cold beer?

That should be COLD medicine AND COLD beer!

 

[TanzUnited99]

Okay I have to agree with the maths question making me want to switch off! Am guessing the math whizzes were entertained though!

Oh no on drifting apart from each other but am glad you found each other pretty quickly.

Ooh a trip outside the Disney bubble...I'm intrigued! Okay I read on and realise I didn't have to wait too long to find out what you meant

We stopped at your hotel to drop some passengers on our trip and your pics are bringing back memories of the drive.

Yay at finally being at Disney!!! Love the pics of SSR and the Treehouse Villas - they look great. Looking forward to seeing the pics of the inside of your villa in the next update.

 

[MEK]

Okay I have to agree with the maths question making me want to switch off! Am guessing the math whizzes were entertained though!

What's wrong with a harmless math problem????

Oh no on drifting apart from each other but am glad you found each other pretty quickly.

We got separated more times than I can possibly count during this trip. It's impossible to keep 9 people together.

Ooh a trip outside the Disney bubble...I'm intrigued! Okay I read on and realise I didn't have to wait too long to find out what you meant

I picked up that term here on the DIS. It's not a MEK original. I stole it!

We stopped at your hotel to drop some passengers on our trip and your pics are bringing back memories of the drive.

Really? Was that when you went over to Universal? Surprised you recognized it.

Yay at finally being at Disney!!! Love the pics of SSR and the Treehouse Villas - they look great. Looking forward to seeing the pics of the inside of your villa in the next update.

I hope to do an update this weekend. I have a lot of music to do tomorrow and if I can get all my practicing done then I might do one tonight. Just taking a break now and then back to work.

 

[KatMark]

MEK, I'm all caught up (thankfully I didn't miss too much.

Love departure day...only if going to Disney, and NOT home. I like the Mitsubishi Galant...I've had that a number of times we've rented a car locally.

The Radisson looks very nice. Mark has stayed at the Peabody in the past on business...it is HUGE! And there are peacocks on site. He's also been to the convention center for work and he was exhausted walking from one end to the other.

Thanks for the pics of the grounds around the Treehouse Villas. I've seen a lot of pictures of the inside of the Villas, but have never seen pictures of the grounds.

 

[englishrose47]

Subbing !!Cynthia directed me over for pix of the Treehouses I LOVE them !!!

 

[Moira222]

OMG How can you be so far into your TR when you got back a week after me? I am such a slacker!!!

I love seeing other people's views of the Lehigh Valley. I love being able to fly in and out of ABE (LVI) -- and Frontier just announced new cheap Orlando Airfares, guess they are going to pick up the route that Air Tran gave up. I hope they are just as good.

LOVE the pick the most promising kid story -- having a flight crew with a sense of humor is great!

I hope that Denny's cold passed quickly - when I saw the "can I fly with this cold" I thought "Oh NO! not you too!"

Maybe one day when you visit his mom we can meet at the Brew Works. Love that place!


Orlando outside of the 'bubble' is a different world! This time I saw some of your pics and thought " Oh I know that place, we went there" for the outside of Disney locations.

I can't wait to see the inside photos from the tree house villas. and was it worth having the refillable mugs if you were so far from a QS location? just wondering.

Love seeing the photos of your nephews. Hope they had a blast despite the ridiculously long train ride.

 

[Tink rules]

I live literally down the street from the real Saratoga... .. Ok.. 17 miles down the street.. sort of.. I LOVE the city and I think Disney saw pics of it and tried to copy.. they need to go back... maybe during racing season and see what it's really like before the next refurb... And a Mrs. London's would be a nice addition to the restaurant over there.. (its the famous bakery up there... )

 

[MEK]

Hi Guys! Hope to get replies and an update done later today! Some of you know that I am a music minister at a catholic church - I cantor, play the flute and guitar. Well, recently I cut WAY back because I was getting burnt out. today I am doing two masses - cantor for one and flute for the other. We are installing a new priest. I spent all yesterday afternoon, literally, preparing and getting my music copied right. I am going to run through the line up now but I will be back this afternoon. Probably need a nap after the stress of two masses and not wanting to mess up.

And there will be inside treehouse pics in this next update!

 

[15isto2]

Cant wait for an update but I was wondering.. do you need to reboot the church after you install a new priest?