GREEN APPLE. A November Anniversary TR with too many photos! *update 12/19*

[PracPerfPatricia]

Loving your photos of the AKL... I think it is a beautiful resort too...

(I remember reading that a lot of Floridian couples do go and stay there for a getaway weekend... not even going to the parks... for a romantic getaway...- I can really see it...)

Your Greek cheese looks positively yummy...

Not into the meat dishes?.... I do have to say (as a moderate meat eater) that I do think its really hard to get a really good picture of meat dishes... hmmm.... now I'm thinking about it...

(BTW... I don't think I will every see Mary Poppins again without thinking about the corset comment...)

 

[disneychic2]

Those shots with Spaceship Earth in the background never get old! Love the one with the two of you!

I've never had an alcoholic beverage at Disney, but this year I told DH I am trying one of the Grey Goose slushies I hear so much about. Your cherry one looks devine. We haven't been to F & W for years, so I'm sure it is much bigger and better. May have to schedule our next trip for that time. You're giving me lots of ideas to think about! Thanks for this latest installment.

 

[disneychic2]

sorry, duplicate post

 

[Ted in Halifax]

Great TR ... and those photos are absolutely amazing!

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

Caught up! Even though the picture didn't turn out to be the comparison you wanted, you can definitely tell that you lost weight. Good for you!

Thank you!!! Sometimes I can't see it, but my clothes are falling off, so I know I've lost!

Karen you are a great trip report writer!! I'm loving the almost daily updates. I know I've said it before, but I can't wait to stay at AKL!!
Your photos just make it seem soo spectacular. That Greek cheese looks super yummy. Hahah, I like how you can't keep track of the "meat stuff". Cute.

-Amanda

Thank you! Nope, I really don't pay much attention to meat anymore...and, to be honest, I was pretty preoccupied with my own food...erm...more like obsessed!

Loving your photos of the AKL... I think it is a beautiful resort too...

(I remember reading that a lot of Floridian couples do go and stay there for a getaway weekend... not even going to the parks... for a romantic getaway...- I can really see it...)

Your Greek cheese looks positively yummy...

Not into the meat dishes?.... I do have to say (as a moderate meat eater) that I do think its really hard to get a really good picture of meat dishes... hmmm.... now I'm thinking about it...

(BTW... I don't think I will every see Mary Poppins again without thinking about the corset comment...)

Well, since I'm a vegetarian and a photographer, I just find it really hard to get a good shot of meat and make it look "good" but then again, maybe that's just b/c I don't eat it!

Those shots with Spaceship Earth in the background never get old! Love the one with the two of you!

I've never had an alcoholic beverage at Disney, but this year I told DH I am trying one of the Grey Goose slushies I hear so much about. Your cherry one looks devine. We haven't been to F & W for years, so I'm sure it is much bigger and better. May have to schedule our next trip for that time. You're giving me lots of ideas to think about! Thanks for this latest installment.

you MUST have one! They are so good, not too strong and not too much (probably why I usually get more than 1! LOL). My favorite is the normal grey goose slushie, but the orange and the cherry were good too! I'm not an alcoholic, I swear!

Great TR ... and those photos are absolutely amazing!

Thank you and Welcome to the TR fellow Feb 2013 traveler! !

UPLOADING NOW, the next update should be up in the next hour or two! I'm sure you are all holding your breath and hitting reload repeatedly.

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

Ok, where was I?!? Crazy holiday weekend working for me, lots of clients out of town!

Ah yes, drinking a slushie! So, if you are keeping count, this was my first alcohol since getting to the park, but if you remember I had QUITE A FEW margaritas at the pool, so I was enjoying myself...I believe as the night wears on you can see the lack of photo quality thanks to my "enjoying"

The sun was just starting to go down and we headed towards Belgium. Mmmmm, there was a waffle there with my name on it!

I'm pretty sure I told Rey to get it for me...I think I had my hands full of slushie??

We sat down in the little seating area they had next to Belgium. TONS of empty tables, it wasn't busy at all this Wednesday night in WS! Then, I took a picture of my delicious waffle before scarfing it down. OH.MY.GOSH. I don't even really LIKE waffles that much, but this thing was amazing. So fresh, warm, and good! I took the after shot about 2 minutes after I took the before shot!

Oh so good. I had a tiny bit of self control and didn't lick the plate. I saved the chocolates for later! They were good, btw, Savannah & I each had one a day or two after I got back.

Rey got some sort of fish-thingie in Singapore. I took pics of the signs so people could see what they offered and what the costs were, so you can always look and see!

He liked it, I think it was spicy?

Japan was next!

See? No lines!

We shared the California Rolls... YUM!!

I was pretty proud of that shot considering I was tipsy. Actually, I don't even really call it tipsy, but when it comes to my photography, I think it takes a VERY steady hand and concentration, so any amount of alcohol is going to impair it...just don't want you thinking I was staggering around!

We could hear Blues Traveler at this point, so we headed towards the concert to check it out.

Pretty cool! I like Blues Traveler...but I think I like my food & wine better b/c I only took a few shots and then we walked on. Food and wine calling!

I kept trying to stop and take pictures, I think Rey was getting annoyed finally with my photo-antics.

Italy was next!

I got in the very short line for the Italy booth and Rey headed right next door to the Poland booth. The wide angle worked pretty well for this shot:

I'm wondering if I actually had another drink and don't remember or if the slushie and earlier margaritas were catching up with me, but either way, my photo skills started heading downhill, so I popped on the flash to take pictures of our food b/c I was sure I would forget!
My canoli, which I gobbled up...pretty sure it was good! LOL

Notice how they are getting a bit blurry? hehehe

Rey got some meat thingie (See?!?!? LOL) a drink (which I believe I drank all by myself) and some AMAZING thing with homemade ketchup on it. Oh it was good! No idea what it was, but it was good stuff!

I'm guessing I'm out of space, so I'll wrap up this update! Up next...it's WHAT TIME?!?!?

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

What the heck, I'm finally done with work, sitting in my pj's enjoying my evening off...why not just continue?!?!

It sure does take a long time for the sun to go down at Disney! A couple updates, at least!

I shut off the camera somewhere around there, we skipped over Germany and the Cheese booth because we wanted to make sure we had stuff for the next day to try! Somewhere around the Africa outpost it was dark and Rey got one more thing at a booth there (see what happens when I shut the camera down? No recollection!) and we sat for a bit enjoying the evening. We were thinking it was pretty late at this point. Yep. Anyone want to guess the time? SIX-something!

We decided to head to MK for the remainder of the evening. We moseyed out of the park, it was a gorgeous evening!

The hours had been extended to 1am, so I was excited to spend some time there, I love it at night! What I wanted most of all though, was to see the Christmas lights on the castle. I knew they were going to be on that night (1st night, I think).

We had to stand on the monorail to the TTC. No biggie normally, but I could tell from Rey's face that he was feeling it in his back. So, when we got to the TTC, I suggested we take the ferry over. That way we could sit and he could rest. GAH...attack of the wide angle once again. THIS was as good of a shot as I could get of the castle coming over the water. Just WAY too wide!

It was nearing time for Wishes (8pm) when we arrived on Main Street.

I got up close to the castle and actually changed out to my prime lens to get my shot b/c I couldn't get close enough with the crowds with that wide angle. I got the shots I wanted though!

THEN...Wishes started. I took ONE picture and knew I couldn't take anymore.

I started to tear up, I just could not watch Wishes without my girl! Rey didn't mind at all, and he was in pain, so I asked if he wanted to go check out the park for a couple hours (until the crowds cleared out) OR head to the bus right away to beat the crowds. He chose to leave. I know, we seem like party poopers when the park was open, but I knew going into this trip that he might not be able to handle all the standing and I didn't want him to overdo it just to please me. So we headed towards the bus stop! But FIRST...Rey wanted to grab breakfast for the next morning, so we ZOOMED through the bakery, grabbed these beauties, stuffed them in boxes and a bag and headed towards the exit while Wishes was going on...

We walked up just as a bus was pulling away, so we had to wait a bit, but we were first on the next bus and at least got to sit on the way back! We had a pretty quiet evening, enjoyed the balcony and were asleep by 10pm! Wonder how long I slept this time? Were there more lobby pictures in my future???

Up next, Day 2 at the parks...our last day at the parks already!

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

I slept in LATE the next day, I was up and out on the balcony at 6am! I ate my cinnamon roll and watched my favorite giraffe.

I showered and Rey got up and started to get ready. I decided to go take some pictures of the pool area while he was getting ready. I LOVE the pool area at AKL. Love it. I think we may have to get some bamboo for our back yard, that's how much I love it. This update is going to be mostly photos. Ready?

Ahhhh...I could just live at AKL pool with my mango margaritas. But alas, it was time to get back upstairs and see how Rey was. Up next...another brief park visit and no rides?!?!

 

[Caretames1]

Up next...I think I lose my photo-abilities with the more alcohol I consume! Go figure!

So I can blame all my crooked pictures on the slushies???


Holy Cats! You got a lot done in Epcot. And lucky with the non crowds.


The pool area of Ak is awesome! I want to just lay there and sigh.

 

[Disney9.9.10]

All caught up! I cannot get enough of your pictures, they are all so gorgeous! I am saving up and researching for a DSLR right now and I can't wait to get going, hopefully I can take pictures half as good as yours! I have never done food and wine, so it is interesting to see it through reports - I don't think it's really for me. AKL though…. so gorgeous. My little brother says that is now his favourite resort and doesn't want to stay anywhere else lol Looking forward to more!

 

[Tink-erin-belle]

Your time lounging around AKL looked amazing. It’s funny that we generally don’t think of a Disney World resort as a one-stop-shop kind of place. It is a resort, after all! Pools and views and restaurants and bars! I guess it would really be possible to go to a resort (especially a Deluxe) and not visit the parks! Blasphemy, yes, but totally possible! Now, on to that grilled cheese! O.M.G. that looked amazing! Those fish & chips looked pretty good too! I am DETERMINED to get an order on our next trip! “Rey’s meat thing” Well, even though I can’t tell what it is, it looks pretty good with all of that sauce around it! I want a cherry Grey Goose slushie! And a Belgian waffle! Oh, I see that Rey got a “fish-thingie from Singapore” You are cracking me up! That looked good, too! The California Rolls looked yummy! I love sushi! Oh my, the cannoli! Wow, you guys thought it was late by 6pm? That is cute! But it seemed like you had a really packed day! I know you were unhappy about the wide angle lens, but I think you got some really nice shots! The one at the entrance to MK with all of the people walking by and the CM selling glow-merchandise – well, that made me feel like I was in the park! I want to step right into that picture! I’m sorry to hear that Rey’s back was bothering him but, as I said a minute ago, it seemed like you guys did a lot for one day! Ah! You are torturing me with your pictures of AKL! I will have to take the kids there one of these days!

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

So I can blame all my crooked pictures on the slushies???


Holy Cats! You got a lot done in Epcot. And lucky with the non crowds.


The pool area of Ak is awesome! I want to just lay there and sigh.

Yep! It's all the slushies fault! I felt like we got a lot of booths done AND, I didn't feel like we were rushing. It was very relaxed, we were taking it all in, enjoying the little details that sometimes you miss when you are commando around the parks!

All caught up! I cannot get enough of your pictures, they are all so gorgeous! I am saving up and researching for a DSLR right now and I can't wait to get going, hopefully I can take pictures half as good as yours! I have never done food and wine, so it is interesting to see it through reports - I don't think it's really for me. AKL though…. so gorgeous. My little brother says that is now his favourite resort and doesn't want to stay anywhere else lol Looking forward to more!

Getting my first DSLR was so exciting and I had no idea what I was in store for! There's quite a learning curve if you want to get great shots, so I did online classes and practiced a lot. It was so much FUN! You will love yours, I just know it! What kind are you thinking of getting?

Your time lounging around AKL looked amazing. It’s funny that we generally don’t think of a Disney World resort as a one-stop-shop kind of place. It is a resort, after all! Pools and views and restaurants and bars! I guess it would really be possible to go to a resort (especially a Deluxe) and not visit the parks! Blasphemy, yes, but totally possible! Now, on to that grilled cheese! O.M.G. that looked amazing! Those fish & chips looked pretty good too! I am DETERMINED to get an order on our next trip! “Rey’s meat thing” Well, even though I can’t tell what it is, it looks pretty good with all of that sauce around it! I want a cherry Grey Goose slushie! And a Belgian waffle! Oh, I see that Rey got a “fish-thingie from Singapore” You are cracking me up! That looked good, too! The California Rolls looked yummy! I love sushi! Oh my, the cannoli! Wow, you guys thought it was late by 6pm? That is cute! But it seemed like you had a really packed day! I know you were unhappy about the wide angle lens, but I think you got some really nice shots! The one at the entrance to MK with all of the people walking by and the CM selling glow-merchandise – well, that made me feel like I was in the park! I want to step right into that picture! I’m sorry to hear that Rey’s back was bothering him but, as I said a minute ago, it seemed like you guys did a lot for one day! Ah! You are torturing me with your pictures of AKL! I will have to take the kids there one of these days!

I have spent a little bit of time at the pool when at Disney, but this really felt like VACATION. I loved it, just wish we had more days! I will say that it only made me want to go back MORE because now I can see the value of some relaxed/vacation days AND park touring days...WDW really is the best of all worlds! Nope, I'm not obsessed!

 

[disneychic2]

Oh Wow!!! The night time photos are amazing!! That one shot at Epcot from the boat launch area in front of Japan is professional quality...slushies or no. And then the castle shots at MK are absolutely beautiful! We leave tomorrow morning on our trip and I can't wait to see that castle lit up. It's been 2 years since we've been there for the Christmas lights, and I am so excited to see them again. Your photos make me more so! I'll have fun getting caught up with your TR when I get back in 10 days. Thanks so much for sharing.

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

Oh Wow!!! The night time photos are amazing!! That one shot at Epcot from the boat launch area in front of Japan is professional quality...slushies or no. And then the castle shots at MK are absolutely beautiful! We leave tomorrow morning on our trip and I can't wait to see that castle lit up. It's been 2 years since we've been there for the Christmas lights, and I am so excited to see them again. Your photos make me more so! I'll have fun getting caught up with your TR when I get back in 10 days. Thanks so much for sharing.

HAVE A MAGICAL TRIP!!!!!!!!!! I hope you do a TR when you get home, be sure to post here so I can find it if you do!!!

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

When I got back upstairs, Rey was ready, but he was moving S.L.O.W. I asked him if he was ok and got the standard response that he was fine. I knew right then that we just needed to take it easier today (not sure if that was possible after how easy the previous day was though!)

We headed to the bus stop and found it pretty empty again! Yay! Then the bus from Kidani pulled up and once again we found ourselves STANDING on the ride to DHS. This wouldn't be such a big deal, but I was worried about Rey already, so it aggravated me a bit.

When we arrived at DHS I was annoyed even more (I have a rant in my journal to prove it!) when the women sitting right near us STOOD UP and walked off the bus before even letting the people standing get off?!?! Seriously people, that's just RUDE. If you are lucky enough to sit on a bus where everyone is standing, it's just polite to let the standing people get off instead of pushing your way off the bus first when you've been sitting on your **** the whole time.

But, as it always is at Disney, I quickly forgot about it when I saw that the tree was up in front of DHS! COOL!!!!

I was so excited to get a wide angle shot of the park entrance with the tree...but alas, the wide angle was just a wee bit TOO WIDE, so once again I was foiled by the lens. Wanna see? The distortion is nearly comical, I thought it was fun though that the tree now mimics the HAT b/c it's so distorted and slanted!

There was a bit of a crowd heading into DHS, but we didn't mind. Rey looked disgusted, as always, with the people RUNNING (while the cm's kept telling them no running) back towards TSM. Seriously folks...if you need to run, you've taken it a bit far. There's just no need for it, I've arrived 30 minutes after RD and still there were plenty of FPs left.

Ooooh, I seem like I'm complaining a lot in this update! I wasn't FEELING like this though, we were really enjoying taking it slow this morning.

Rey basically just asked what I would like to shoot and we walked around enjoying the atmosphere while I played with my camera.

It was pretty clear that Rey wasn't going to be able to go on any rides, so we just enjoyed the low crowds and we checked out all the stores. Some of them I had never been in and it was fun to see all the Christmas decorations up as well.

I love the Villian store!

I think I changed out lenses twenty times.

I must have been very preoccupied with the camera b/c I STILL had not purchased anything! Up next, the shortest visit in history to a park? Yep!

 

[afnaechiquita]

Your TR is excellent I love it! What is the green thing to the left of EE? I am not so good with my WDW geography

I laughed at your daughter's fear of Duffy being that he popped up suddenly - that's exactly why I don't like him! All of a sudden he was everywhere, with no real Disney history!

I also laughed at the Singapore Tiger beer being $6 - Tiger beer is the "cheap" beer here, usually half that price if not less

 

[Disney9.9.10]

Another great update I agree with you about TSM. Last time we went I saw a kid almost get trampled trying to tie his shoes. It was insane. And there is nothing like a Disney Christmas tree!

Oh, and about the camera. I think I'm going to get a Canon. My mom had a Nikon and I used it a bit, but she wasn't really happy with it. I've used a canon a couple of times, and based on the research I've done, I think that it would be better for the pictures I tend to take. What kind do you have?

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

Your TR is excellent I love it! What is the green thing to the left of EE? I am not so good with my WDW geography

I laughed at your daughter's fear of Duffy being that he popped up suddenly - that's exactly why I don't like him! All of a sudden he was everywhere, with no real Disney history!

I also laughed at the Singapore Tiger beer being $6 - Tiger beer is the "cheap" beer here, usually half that price if not less

Thanks!!! The green thing to the left of EE is the Tree of Life! I couldn't see it during the day (b/c there are other REAL trees all around that area) but at night, you could see the green glow of it! It was pretty cool!

That's hilarious about the beer, I suspect they do that with a LOT of the ethnic beers/wine!

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

Another great update I agree with you about TSM. Last time we went I saw a kid almost get trampled trying to tie his shoes. It was insane. And there is nothing like a Disney Christmas tree!

Oh, and about the camera. I think I'm going to get a Canon. My mom had a Nikon and I used it a bit, but she wasn't really happy with it. I've used a canon a couple of times, and based on the research I've done, I think that it would be better for the pictures I tend to take. What kind do you have?

You can't really go wrong with a Canon! Nikon and Canon are the front runners in DSLR technology. I'm a Nikon girl, I have a Nikon D90, although before I started taking professional pictures, I had an entry level Nikon D40 and it was a fantastic DSLR as well, I just needed a little more for camera for my business. It's important to remember that DSLR's aren't really meant to take phenomenal shots in auto like a point and shoot. It takes some work and learning about settings, light, aperture, shutter speed, etc. when using a DSLR to get really high quality shots.

 

[Disney9.9.10]

You can't really go wrong with a Canon! Nikon and Canon are the front runners in DSLR technology. I'm a Nikon girl, I have a Nikon D90, although before I started taking professional pictures, I had an entry level Nikon D40 and it was a fantastic DSLR as well, I just needed a little more for camera for my business. It's important to remember that DSLR's aren't really meant to take phenomenal shots in auto like a point and shoot. It takes some work and learning about settings, light, aperture, shutter speed, etc. when using a DSLR to get really high quality shots.

Thanks! My mom actually took a class when she got hers, and I've learnt a few things. I don't think I'll ever learn enough to take pictures as good as yours because I'm just doing it for fun, and there is a lot to learn to use these cameras properly!