Why Not Just Queue Up Another Disney Trip? Link to New TR 6/24 p136!

[dawnbu40]

I somehow missed that last update

Aww being sick (for whatever reason) is no fun! Especially at Disney! I'm glad you felt ok the next morning

I love the pics of Old Key West. I've never seen a lot of pics around the resort and it looks so cute It's on our "one of these days" list.

Great pics around Epcot! I love the parks at Christmas!

[MEK]

Originally Posted by tinacaplan

Sorry you got sick...that seems to happen on trips, doesn't it? Obviously, a whole lot of us end up eating/drinking things we don't, or at least not in those combinations...and the results are sometimes not pretty. Glad it wasn't anything worse, though..

I tend to be really good with my diet BEFORE I go away so I at least have things under control, so to speak. But once I get there all h$!! breaks lose in terms of eating and drinking. You missed my TR 2 years ago when I couldn't drink alcohol because of an antibiotic I was taking. Oy Vey! I was actually depressed because trying new drinks is part of the fun.

Originally Posted by tinacaplan

OKW looks like such a pretty resort. No doubt Max would love that playground. .

That playground looks fantastic for a kid Max's age. I would think he would go nuts unless it was a bazillion degrees out.

Originally Posted by tinacaplan

I'd vote for EPCOT, too...but that's just me. We haven't been on Ellen since 2010. Maybe in April? I actually love Ellen and she'll always be Dory to me, one of my favorite Pixar characters of all time. That ride...not so much..

You must get yourself over to Epcot next trip. You are staying at the BC, right? Now wait - I almost forgot about your girls trip. Well, that's a no brainer - 2 girls and F&G. What are you waiting for?

Originally Posted by tinacaplan

Is it a rule that if you go to EPCOT on your last day, you have to go the American Adventure? Looking forward to hearing about lunch.

Denny loves the American Adventure, so everytime we go together I hit up that attraction. I do love it. It's very patriotic and has a great sound track. Stay tuned - I took a bunch of NON FLASH pictures in there.

Originally Posted by Pinkocto

So glad the being sick didn't ruin your last day. Sorry you had to go through that though.

Fortunately it was short lived. But, yuck, I hope that doesn't happen during F&W. Cynthia will want to move out. Maybe I should read the ingredients more carefully.

Originally Posted by Pinkocto

Your OKW pictures are so beautiful I know I'll eventually get to all the DVC resorts, but I just can't seem to pull myself away from Jambo House. We were just there, and the next two trips are going to be there also.

If you have found a place that you love and you want to stick with, then do it. I have always been the kind of traveler that likes to try different places. Maybe I always think the grass is greener. It will be interesting to see what happens after I stay at the treehouses and BWV. Then I will have tried all the Disneyworld DVC resorts. I wonder what my "go to" resort will be after that. I have a feeling it will be: AKL (kidani or Jambo - although I haven't tried Jambo), VWL during Christmas, and SSR or one of the Epcot resorts. I will definitely hit up OKW when I need space and low points. Hmmm - that's just about all of them except BLT. I just didn't love BLT, but if I ever have points to burn on a 1BR for me and Denny I would definitely go back.

Pretty sure my October 2013 reservation will be Jambo house.

Originally Posted by Pinkocto

I do enjoy the Ellen ride. I'm so glad somebody posted it used to be different, because I had memories it was, but I thought I was crazy.

I had no idea it used to be different. I wish I had seen it back then. Good to know you are NOT crazy!

Originally Posted by Pinkocto

Cant believe this marvelous TR is coming to an end.

I will string it out as long as I can. I like to do a review with pictures, then I do my list of firsts. Then I do my list of highlights and lowlights. Then final thoughts. Then I'll probably post some June info. Then I will go into withdrawal until my June TR starts. I never do PTRs. Just don't ever have that much to say.

Originally Posted by dawnbu40

I somehow missed that last update

I think you posted right before I did one of my last updates, so that's probably why.

Originally Posted by dawnbu40

Aww being sick (for whatever reason) is no fun! Especially at Disney! I'm glad you felt ok the next morning

I know you guys have had the GI thing on one of your trip. No matter what end it comes out, its never pretty. Thank goodness for speedy recoveries!

Originally Posted by dawnbu40

I love the pics of Old Key West. I've never seen a lot of pics around the resort and it looks so cute It's on our "one of these days" list.

Your a TA. I would think you would occasionally get some great deals on OKW. You definitely have to stay there one of these trips as you cross more and more resorts off your "to-do" list! It really is a pretty resort and that main area near the hospitality house is lovely. I bet in September it feels like you have the whole area to yourself. there was even a little firepit there, but I never got pictures of it.

Originally Posted by dawnbu40

Great pics around Epcot! I love the parks at Christmas!

[eandesmom]

Originally Posted by MEK

Wait! Did we not have some mixing going on last May? I know I did. That's what was weird about this. I don't think I did anything too different than I did in May. Seemed to totally come out of the blue!

Yes, we definitely did! What you described, over the time span, knowing you (and the fact that you ate, wasn't in crazy heat, etc) didn't seem like it would cause that at all. That kind of thing can be very random though and sometimes things just hit weird. What seems odd to me is the timing delay.

Originally Posted by MEK

Maybe that was it - maybe it was the creamsicle mixer being mixed with the different alcohol. There's a theory that doesn't make me feel quite as much like a lush!

Not sure what is in that but if it has dairy, it could have been slightly off. I can't do cream based drinks hardly at all without feeling pretty icky but I imagine the sugar content of the various items may have been overload enough

[Wicket's Mom]

We love our afternoons at the resorts, hanging at the pool bar enjoying adult beverages!

The Ellen ride was different back in the '80s when Epcot was fairly new. It was much better than it is now. It was about oil was formed, can't remember much about it except for the smells going along with it. It was like Soarin' with the smells.

[Queenofallthings]

That lobby is so beautiful! I was thinking as I was looking at your pics "oh if only I had a beach house, that's how I would decorate it" but I don't so I won't

I don't think there is any sight better than that beautiful blue Florida sky in the morning! Love it!

[MEK]

Originally Posted by eandesmom

Yes, we definitely did! What you described, over the time span, knowing you (and the fact that you ate, wasn't in crazy heat, etc) didn't seem like it would cause that at all. That kind of thing can be very random though and sometimes things just hit weird. What seems odd to me is the timing delay.

I have really no idea what time of night it was. I want to say it was after the buses stopped running because I could hear them from my room. So I cam going to guess between 1:30am and 3am, but I'm not completely sure. I had something similar happen to me LAST year during SuperBowl. I drank, literally, three glasses of white wine (different types - was at a party so just grabbed what was open) and I got really, REALLY drunk and threw up. It was like someone slipped me something. It was HORRIBLE. I literally passed out on the way home and woke up in the morning fully dressed and in my coat. I still have never figured out what happened that night.

Originally Posted by eandesmom

Not sure what is in that but if it has dairy, it could have been slightly off. I can't do cream based drinks hardly at all without feeling pretty icky but I imagine the sugar content of the various items may have been overload enough

It was definitely creambased, so it might have. It probably did because we had to refrigerate it.

Anyway - I hope the same thing doesn't happen in October with all the different goodies I want to sample.

Originally Posted by Wicket's Mom

We love our afternoons at the resorts, hanging at the pool bar enjoying adult beverages!

It's the best, isn't it? I am a big fan of afternoon pool breaks and I plan to take one every afternoon this summer. I know the treehouse pool is a little underwhelming, so I guess I will hit all the other pools at SSR to break things up a bit.

Originally Posted by Wicket's Mom

The Ellen ride was different back in the '80s when Epcot was fairly new. It was much better than it is now. It was about oil was formed, can't remember much about it except for the smells going along with it. It was like Soarin' with the smells.

The old ride sounds so cool. I wonder why they changed it up? I love anything with smells because it really enhances the visual. Wonder why they took that away.

Originally Posted by Queenofallthings

That lobby is so beautiful! I was thinking as I was looking at your pics "oh if only I had a beach house, that's how I would decorate it" but I don't so I won't

Isn't it adorable? I'm so glad I went back to check it out because I was really too tired to take it all in on check in day. IT's one of those places where I would be totally happy to curl up with a book or a computer.

Originally Posted by Queenofallthings

I don't think there is any sight better than that beautiful blue Florida sky in the morning! Love it!

How true! How true!

[Mndisneygirl]

ME- Hope it's okay that I copied a picture and posted a link to some pictures for someone looking for OKW information. Thanks for all the great shots - especially the water activity pricing!! We hope to do some of that!

[MEK]

Originally Posted by Mndisneygirl

ME- Hope it's okay that I copied a picture and posted a link to some pictures for someone looking for OKW information. Thanks for all the great shots - especially the water activity pricing!! We hope to do some of that!

No problem! I'm happy to share! And I'm glad the prices came in handy!

[MEK]

Stuff.........

So I think I'll start this update with some general stuff.

First - Denny and I "won" a vacation. Notice the "quotes". Usually that means a string is attached to the offer, and in this case the string is a timeshare presentation. My absolute favorite thing. NOT! Unless, of course, its a Disney time share presentation.

Anyway - I apparently filled out a card when I took Brian's car to jiffy lube last fall. He had already left for school so this car was going to sit for awhile. I figured I might as well get the oil changed.

About a month or so ago we were called and told we "won" this vacation. yeah right. Anyway - I won't reveal the destination yet. All I am going to say is that sometime in the next couple weeks Denny and I are going to scoot off for a couple nights away in exchange for a timeshare presentation. Yuck - as soon as we signed up I went and goggled the location and there were scathing reviews as to how pushy these time share people are.

I immediately wanted out and actually called someone at the resort explaining that we were more interested in staying in there in case we wanted to do a cash stay in the future. I told her I was thinking of contesting the credit card charge (of course you have to charge $75 that is refundable when you show up).

This lady was very nice and assured me that we only owe them 90 minutes. Period. At the end of that we get our $75 back plus we are to be gifted a $125 visa gift card and a $50 jiffy lube card. Oh - and I almost forgot - 3 nights at an Orlando maingate hotel. That's the most laughable one because we all know what an Orlando maingate hotel is. Doubt I will be redeeming that.

So - moving on........

In other news, I called my brother last week and told him he must absolutely give me a decision on the Disney trip by this Friday, April 6th. If I do not hear back from them I will assume they are not going and I will be making other plans.

Of course, I decided I better email my SIL and tell her too. Of course, my brother never said a word to her. It's a shame, because I think she really wants to go and she is considering taking all four kids by herself. We spent some time on the phone while pricing out her options.

Now this is where the saying - YOU SNOOZE, YOU LOSE! - is so obvious.

First of all, I preciously offered to have two of her kids fly with me. Those flights (one way) that I originally paid $98 for, increased to $108 and stayed that way for weeks. Now they are $251 one way! LOSER!

My bro and SIL wanted to take the autotrain. On their return train all the family sleeper cars are sold out. LOSER!

I priced out the autotrain anyway with the sleeper car (2) for 6 people on the way down and all coach seats on the way back, plus their van. Are you ready for this??????????????????? $2800 That's a vacation! WTH!

We did discover the US Air has reasonable flights and all 6 of them could fly for $1300 plus bags. And the flight times are decent.

Here's the problem. My brother won't fly. Why? Because he has untreated anxiety issues. And that is what is holding up this trip. His anxiety. I think he is seriously afraid to go. I don't want to bad mouth my brother, but he has been down this road before and has been treated for an anxiety disorder. He should know the warning signs and should be getting the treatment he needs. Sorry, I probably sound judgmental, but I think he needs to fix this for his kids. Get on the GD plane and get over it!

My mother also enables him. She is always saying, "your brother is so stressed. Your brother is so tired. Your brother really has his hands full...blah...blah...blah". Hey, who isn't tired? But when you have an UNTREATED anxiety disorder you are going to be MORE tired, stressed, and overwhelmed. Hello!

So, the short of this is I am sorry I even offered. This situation is above my pay grade.

And here's something laughable - My DS Brian, who hasn't been on a Disney trip since 09 and spent about 5 hours total in the park, calls me yesterday and asks if he can go on the trip and bring his GF. Seriously? He says he needs a vacation and that he misses Disney. Claims he wasn't crazy about it for awhile, but now he wants to go back. BTW - Brian's GF is so cute and nice. I'm happy for him because I think its a positive thing.

Oy to the Vey!

Moving on.......

So when I left off last we had just finished Ellen's Energy Adventure. Apparently we must have gotten to the park around 10am because when we headed over to the World showcase, it was already open.

I thought I had some good pictures of lunch, but I actually don't. Sorry. We decided to stop at the Kingra la bakery. Totally spontaneous decision.

I pretty sure I got the Norwegian Club Sandwich - turkey, ham, and bacon $7.99 but this is one pretty boring looking sandwich



I have no idea what Denny and Nick got because I didn't take any pictures. Shock!

I did, however, take a picture of this.....



Kringla Sweet Pretzel $4.29

and this..........



Berry Cream Puff $3.59

Loved the pretzel, but since I have a sweet tooth the cream in the berry puff tasted too bland for me.

Lunch accomplished, and it was a wonderful, perfect day to be outside, we set off to circle the world showcase.



It's been years since I've seen the movie in China and I really must stop by and see it soon.





We did go in and shop as Nick was still looking for a souvie for his GF



In case you are wondering what he ended up with - a key chain (with her name) from mouse gears. Big spender.



We stopped in Germany and I fell in love with these.....



But I didn't buy one. Jen (Nermel) assured me that they will be there when I go back in June, so I am definitely getting one then!

I wanted to try some of that German Christmas wine, but I decided it would probably make me sleepy and we still have several more hours before our 5:30pm flight. But I do love this little sitting area and certainly could have chilled there.



I did stop in Germany and bought my neighbor some German chocolate. She watched my cats and I always like to bring her back something. She was actually born in Germany and I think she appreciated getting something from her homeland.

Empty



On to Italy





Cute, but very expensive



Continued in Next Post.......

[MEK]

Continued.....

The boys look like they are on a mission









I love Italy. I don't know why I never spend much time there, but I vow to change that this summer. I am going to insist that Denny get a German beer and I get a glass of Italian wine and we sit in the courtyard and people watch for a while this summer.

This area is at its finest during Christmas





We stopped for a bio break here and then entered the American adventure. Look how warmly we were greeted.



Not!

She was actually greeting this lady (they apparently knew each other)



And yet, again, I missed a complete performance by the voices of liberty, my favorite acapella singing group. Darn bio break.

Pretty decorations




We did arrive just in time for the next showing of the



Up the stairs....I can never get a good picture here. Always blurry





Looking down





Into the theatre



I took a ton of pictures NON FLASH during the show. I hope you don't mind, but I am going to break here because I really want to do a nice narration with the pictures I took. I just don't have time to get it all together now.

So................. I will leave you with this thought





Next Update - The Complete American Adventure!

Have a good weekend.

Mine is crazy busy. I have an important memorial service tonight for the cecil & harford county maryland firefighters. We had a rehearsal last night and they had some VERY young members pass away this past year. I think it is going to very emotional. I still have some rehearsing to do so I can get my songs a little more seamless.

The service is usually broadcast on local TV. Here is the information that I was sent to me

I also wanted to let you, except for April 1st, the Memorial service will cablecast every Sunday throughout the month of April on Harford Cable Network starting at 7:00pm. The program will also be made available online no later than April 6th on demand. Viewers will have to go to our website, www.harfordcable.org and there will be a tab at the upper right side of the page for video on demand.



Harford Cable Network is on Comcast channel 21, Verizon channel 31 & Armstrong channel 7 in Harford County.


Maybe I will actually watch it this year!

[Poolrat]

Ah World Showcase.... how I love thee...

Enjoyed the walk around the showcase.

Oh yes, it is amazing how you can miss the voices because of something so simple like a bio break.


Best of luck with the memorial service. Always hard when it is young people.

[Charleston Princess]

Sorry to hear you went feeling well that last night.

Beautiful pictures around OKW -- I love the atmosphere.

Ugh, also sorry to hear about your brother and being difficult about the summer trip.

[teekathepony]

Congratulations on "Winning!" the trip! My parents do those time share things all the time. I wouldn't mind spending 90 minutes if you really could get out in 90 minutes, but the pushy people...
I hope your brother can get over/treated for his anxiety and they can get their act together. It must be so frustrating not to know if you'll have company. I think I might have almost fainted at the price of the train!
I very much enjoyed your tour around WS That berry cream puff looks to die for! (I don't have a particularly sweet tooth, so it sounds great!)
I've never seen the Voices of Liberty show I always forget to make time for it.

[MEK]

Originally Posted by Poolrat

Ah World Showcase.... how I love thee...

Enjoyed the walk around the showcase.

Me too! I hope to spend some quality time in the World showcase with Denny this summer. I totally see us spending all our evenings there this summer once we move over to the BWV.

Originally Posted by Poolrat

Oh yes, it is amazing how you can miss the voices because of something so simple like a bio break.

I didn't think I would make it through the American Adventure without one, so I had to make a choice. I really need to see a complete set this summer!

Originally Posted by Poolrat

Best of luck with the memorial service. Always hard when it is young people.

Thanks! I don't feel really well rehearsed even though I know the songs well. It just seems like when you are not well rehearsed you definitely run the risk of an unexpected flub. fingers crossed.

Originally Posted by Charleston Princess

Sorry to hear you went feeling well that last night.

That was a weird experience. So glad it didn't affect my last day. Lucky!

Originally Posted by Charleston Princess

Beautiful pictures around OKW -- I love the atmosphere.

Isn't it such a great tropical atmosphere? I really enjoyed it there. Perfect for a winter get away!

Originally Posted by Charleston Princess

Ugh, also sorry to hear about your brother and being difficult about the summer trip.

I really don't think he wants to be difficult, I just think he can't help it and part of his strategy is avoidance. I hope he can finally make a decision. He has known about this forever. The way I look at it - its either Yes or No. I'm tired of it dragging out.

Originally Posted by teekathepony

Congratulations on "Winning!" the trip! My parents do those time share things all the time. I wouldn't mind spending 90 minutes if you really could get out in 90 minutes, but the pushy people...

We will do our best to get out of there unscathed. The strategy is that I am supposed to be the resistor. I hope we can get it scheduled first thing in the morning to get it over with.

Originally Posted by teekathepony

I hope your brother can get over/treated for his anxiety and they can get their act together. It must be so frustrating not to know if you'll have company. I think I might have almost fainted at the price of the train!

My main concern is the kids. They will never take these kids to Disney. Just suck it up for them. Disney is an American institution, for crying out loud. Oh well. I'll keep you posted and if they do go it should make for an interesting trip report!

Originally Posted by teekathepony

I very much enjoyed your tour around WS That berry cream puff looks to die for! (I don't have a particularly sweet tooth, so it sounds great!)

It does look scrumptious, doesn't it? That's why I had to have it. The cream just needed a bit more sweet and it would have been perfect.

Originally Posted by teekathepony

I've never seen the Voices of Liberty show I always forget to make time for it.

As singers, I think they are more amazing than any pop singer because of how precise their singing has to be to produce the "one voice" effect. They are true musicians.

Your next trip is for your anniversary, right? Make sure you show up there with your anniversary pin and wait and see wait happens. I don't want to ruin the surprise, but you'll like it!

[amazingact21]

I never knew about that sitting area in Germany. I've got to keep an out for it in the future...looks like a nice little place to take a break!


Looking forward to your update on the American Adventure. I think it's a good show, but the last time I watched it...I dozed off.