3rd Annual We are "NEVER" going to Disney in the summer again"

[natebenma]

We were at DW at the end of July.
It was hot alright. We retreated
to the air conditioned comfort
of our rooms many times.
Also, was hit with a thunder and
rain storm. We bought rain
ponchos and headed to House of
Blues retaurant for our favourite
Voodoo Shrimp. After a few
glasses of wine the rain didn`t
bother us at all.

S

Thanks for joining in! Fortunately, there are lots of ways to cope with the summer weather at Disney. Sounds like you have found a good solution with the visit to House of Blues!

Glad to hear that you guys enjoyed your D.C. trip. My daughter spent a few days in D.C. this Summer and enjoyed it as well.

Now DC is a tough place to be in the summer! When Mark and I went 20 years ago it was in July. We looked at a thermometer at one point during a night tour of the monuments and it was over 100 degrees.

We are so glad we took this trip with the boys last week. They are great ages to appreciate and enjoy the things we saw.

 

[natebenma]

After reading this I had to go back and look at the picture. That's so funny.

Glad we helped you smile!

 

[wlake]

I've been way, way behind, so I did a marathon read tonight!

I am never, never, never telling my boys about your Lego packing tip. We have told them both years that large boxes won't fit in our suitcases so they have to do small things. (As in the $4 set small!) Of course, that doesn't stop my 8 year old from saving all his allowance and birthday money and then ordering sets like the space shuttle one! We're repainting his room as I type (hmm, then who's actually painting? Not me! ) and it's going to have a space theme, so this set will be up on a shelf.

I'm eating chips because I can't have that coconut pineapple danish or anything else with ice cream or bacon or several other good things....

Please tell me if there's a secret to getting White House tickets! I've got to contact our congressman this week because we're going in April, and I've got my fingers crossed! He's a Democrat, do you think that helps?

 

[natebenma]

I've been way, way behind, so I did a marathon read tonight!

I am never, never, never telling my boys about your Lego packing tip. We have told them both years that large boxes won't fit in our suitcases so they have to do small things. (As in the $4 set small!) Of course, that doesn't stop my 8 year old from saving all his allowance and birthday money and then ordering sets like the space shuttle one! We're repainting his room as I type (hmm, then who's actually painting? Not me! ) and it's going to have a space theme, so this set will be up on a shelf.

I'm eating chips because I can't have that coconut pineapple danish or anything else with ice cream or bacon or several other good things....

Please tell me if there's a secret to getting White House tickets! I've got to contact our congressman this week because we're going in April, and I've got my fingers crossed! He's a Democrat, do you think that helps?

I promise not to spill the Lego packing secret to your kids! There was a time when we told them the big sets were too big to get home. But Legos are pretty much their only souveniers now. That, and the rifles you see at the cart in Adventureland or Indiana Jones. But that story is for later.

No special secret to getting into the White House. We contacted our congressman, then didn't hear anything for a long time. His office called about a month out to confirm some security info. We did what they tell you never to do- give your SSN over the phone! The caller ID did indicate that it was the representative's office calling. Then about 10 days out we got the e-mail with the time and instructions. The toughest part was no camera, no purse, and no place to store them. Fortunately, we were staying very close to the White House, so I only had to leave my camera behind for a couple of hours.

April will be a great time to go! Are you there around cherry blossom time?

Definitely reserve tickets to the Washington Monument, and anything else you want to do on-line. You pay a shipping fee of around $1.50 per ticket, but tickets to the WM sold out in an hour (by 9:30) on the morning we got tickets. It reminded us a lot of Fast-Passing.

 

[natebenma]

Danish of the Day: I don't have a picture! But here are some muffins and bread from that morning:

We got to the bus stop by 7:30 and had a 5 minute wait for the MK bus. It was standing room only. We arrived in time for the opening ceremony at the train station. A family from Texas was the family of the day. What a fun show- it really ramps up the excitement for the day.

I didn’t realize that the characters actually walked through Main Street with the guests to get to their places in the Magic Kingdom. Alice in Wonderland and Mary Poppins were really hauling in their heels. I was impressed!

We walked through Cinderella’s Castle and headed immediately for Peter Pan. It was a walk-on.

Next up- Space Mountain. The boys have never tried this and it has been years and years and years since Mark and I have been on it. In 2008, the boys were not interested and in 2009 it was closed for refurbishment. I was not a huge fan of this ride. The dim lighting in the attraction made it seem like the tracks were way too close and I was convinced that someday the ride would end in a decapitation.


We pulled a FP (10:20 return time) and waited about 10-15 minutes in the standby line. Here are a couple of shots of the queue games:

We all liked the ride, and I’m happy to report that I now no longer fear the loss of my head or other body parts on the ride.

We continued our journey in space with a spin on Buzz Lightyear and then we hopped on Winnie the Pooh.

That's Toad from Wild Ride fame giving the deed of the ride to Pooh's Owl:

At this point, it was 9 AM, all areas of the park were open, so we visited Splash Mountain, and when we were done, we pulled a FP for later (11:15 return time).

We jumped onto Big Thunder Mountain, I can’t remember the wait time, probably around 10 minutes.

Continued in Next Post...

 

[natebenma]

We decided it was a good time to visit Adventureland. We rode Pirates, had a couple of Dole Whips and walked through Swiss Family Treehouse.

On our way to lunch at Columbia Harbor House, we stopped by to see the spooks at the Haunted Mansion.

We convinced Ben not to skip the stretching room this time, and the other guests were pretty well behaved. I don’t think any of them screamed when the lights when out. That really freaks Ben out!


We arrived at CHH and ordered our food- Mark got the fried shrimp plate, Nate ordered the fish/chicken nugget combo, Ben chose mac & cheese. I had been looking forward to the tuna sandwich since trying it last year when Mark and I shared the hummus and tuna sandwiches. I ordered the Lighthouse Sandwich.

After paying at the counter, we handed over all of our KTTW cards to Mark, and he high-tailed it to Big Thunder Mountain to get FPs since our window had opened.

We waited for our food. And waited. And waited. I didn’t time it, but by the time our trays were ready, and we found a nice table upstairs and had gathered all of our plasticware, napkins and condiment, Mark was back.

At that point we realized we had achieved:

Double Triple Mountain Whammy!

We rode all 3 Mountains and had 3 FP for the Mountains by noon!

Wham! Wham! Wham! Wham! Wham! Wham! It’s all Wham!

We enjoyed our meals, however, when I took a bite of my sandwich I realized it was hummus, not the tuna (Anchor’s Aweigh). It was still good, but unexpected. Mark asked why I didn’t just order a tuna sandwich instead or requesting it by the cute name. I don’t know!

As we were leaving the restaurant, we saw a cast member greeting this family and trying to explain to them that they had been chosen as guests of the day- they would have special seating and their food would be served to them with real plates and utensils instead of having to order it from the counter and getting foam plates. Lucky them!

After a very satisfying lunch, we set about redeeming our FP. By this time of day, lines were starting to get long, and we made no eye contact with the people in the standby lines as we zipped through the queues.

On our way out, we decided to try to redeem our People Mover experience. We boarded the TTA and hoped we wouldn’t be accompanied by obnoxious creatures like on our first day. Well, there was one troublemaker- here comes Stitch!

A much quieter, more enjoyable ride than we had on our first day with the screaming teenage girls!

And on the way out, I just had to (secretly) take a picture of this cutie!

Time to leave the MK and head back to the resort, but first we stopped for a couple of smoothies at Auntie Gravity’s for the ride home.

We took a couple of photopass pictures on our way out

I think it was sometime around 2 PM, we took the bus back to the Beach Club and prepared for an afternoon at Stormalong Bay.

 

[Queila]

Wow... once again... you guys had accomplished by 2 pm what most people don't in a whole day. I guess waking up that early does pay off....
The afternoon at the pool does sound like a great reward at the end of a busy morning anyways!
Q

 

[dtr_angel]

totally jealous of your triple mountain whammy! LOL

 

[chunkymonkey]

That is awesome you got the FPs for all 3 mountains! That's pretty darn cool! We love CHH too! We always end up there for counter service at MK. Those dole whips really make me nostalgic for one, sniff.

Great pics!!!

 

[TwiddleDeeTwiddleDum]

I LOVE your touring style I'm trying to think who it reminds me of....

But I am REALLY impressed with your plan to head over to Peter Pan FIRST & ride it THEN go consume the mountains. That worked out great DS would never tolerate getting FP's for PP with those 3 mtns to be conquered

You have totally reconfirmed all my thoughts about arriving at rope drop, look how much you got done & then outta there for a great afternoon of swimming. Plus you worked in lunch at Columbia House. It just doesn't get any better than that. Excellent

 

[natebenma]

Wow... once again... you guys had accomplished by 2 pm what most people don't in a whole day. I guess waking up that early does pay off....
The afternoon at the pool does sound like a great reward at the end of a busy morning anyways!
Q

Thanks! We are total believers in getting there as soon as the park opens and that extra hour for guests only is a really great feature. We did Peter Pan, Space Mtn, Buzz Lightyear, Winnie the Pooh and we had one FP in our pockets by 9 AM!

Fortunately waking up early is NOT a problem for our family. It is not quite 6 this morning, both boys have been up for awhile and my DH is already on his way to work.

I don't know if a late night at the parks is ever in our future though.

totally jealous of your triple mountain whammy! LOL

We didn't realize till we sat down for lunch and looked at our 3 FP together that we had a 3-of-a-kind, mountains. It was pretty cool.

We have one more MK early opening coming up, it will be a little different because we scheduled a late breakfast (11 am) at Kona that day so it will be interesting to see what we can get done before then. I make a pretty ambitious promise to my boys!

That is awesome you got the FPs for all 3 mountains! That's pretty darn cool! We love CHH too! We always end up there for counter service at MK. Those dole whips really make me nostalgic for one, sniff.

Great pics!!!

I think the picture of the 3 FP is one of our favorites from the trip! As I am writing this report, it has become evident that our family enjoys the challenge and strategy of touring the parks. In fact, my husband has said a couple of times that he doesn't think he would enjoy Disney as much if everything was a walk on. Though I don't know that I would mind testing that theory!


CHH is a great counter serve restaurant, the atmosphere is a lot like a sit-down, but without the hassle. But I am still craving the tuna sandwich.

I don't know what they put into those Dole Whips, but they seriously help cool you down and give you the energy to keep going! YUM!

Thank you so much for the compliment on the pictures! I truly appreciate it!

I LOVE your touring style I'm trying to think who it reminds me of....

But I am REALLY impressed with your plan to head over to Peter Pan FIRST & ride it THEN go consume the mountains. That worked out great DS would never tolerate getting FP's for PP with those 3 mtns to be conquered

You have totally reconfirmed all my thoughts about arriving at rope drop, look how much you got done & then outta there for a great afternoon of swimming. Plus you worked in lunch at Columbia House. It just doesn't get any better than that. Excellent

We love the Peter Pan ride! But we will NEVER wait in line for it. I may have said this earlier in my report, but the line is hot, the line is boring and the wait time posted LIES! And forget FP later in the day, it is always hours away from the current time. So it is always the first ride in the morning for us. It is our Dumbo (which, in fact, we have never ridden )

For the whole trip our plan was to hit the park first thing (which we did) and then head back to the resort around noon or maybe 1, but at most places we had collected FP that we wanted to use before leaving, so that really cut into our resort/pool time.

Normally we would take the monorail to EPCOT to get back to the BC, and maybe do a couple of attractions on the way, but instead we took the express bus back to BC. It was the right choice. We would be back at EPCOT that evening.

Dinner at Le Cellier. I would guess that you are eagerly awaiting the photos from this dinner, but you have already seen most of them!!!

 

[natebenma]

Finally, it was time to hit the Beach. I mean Bay. Stormalong Bay! At around 3, we were changed into our swimsuits and headed to the pool. I believe they checked to make sure we all had room keys, and gave us bracelets, before we could enter the pool area. We didn't see too many open loungers, but we found chairs upstairs, in the gazebo thing that overlooks Hurricane Hanna’s. We have had good luck getting chairs up here.

The pool was crowded, but manageable. The water temperature was also very comfortable. Last July, the one time the whole family went to the pool, the water was just too warm. It was not refreshing at all. This time, it was much better.

We swam around for a bit, then decided to check out the Jib slide. Last year, Nate and I were the only ones who tried it, and I think we just went once. This time we all used the slide a couple of times. It was fun- a longer ride than I remember from before.

View of Boardwalk from the slide stairs. Note the kiddie pool below- there is a fun slide and pool area for little buccanears here.

Campfire/Movie Site- every night, weather permitting, there is a marshmallow roast and movie on the beach

On our second slide, Ben found a pair of sunglasses in the exit pool. We found the owner pretty quickly, she didn’t even know yet she had lost them.

We continued to swim for a little longer.

Lazy River

Mark noticed all of the lifeguards together- "You're going to be really safe if you start drowning RIGHT THERE!"

Maybe they were doing the changing of the guards

After Mark and Nate decided to go back to the room, Ben found the whirlpool. I didn’t even know it was there during last year’s swim. I think he stayed in the whirlpool for an hour!

At one point , a girl had lost a brand new pair of speedo goggles. Clear! In the sand bottom pool. I asked Ben to help look for them, and he did for a long while, but I don’t think they were found. The dad was looking around for at least 30 minutes. I suggested he check with the lifeguard to see if anyone had turned them in- not sure if he took that advice.

Is Ben blowing a kiss to his mom, or plotting her demise???

After an hour in the whirlpool, I had had enough! I promised Robyn, Disneymomx7 from the Yacht & Beach Club forum that I would have a Sunken Treasure for her. So Ben and I got into line at Hurricane Hanna’s. I think we were in line about 5 minutes and he was being a real PITA. I figured it wasn’t worth listening to him whine, so I bailed on the drink and figured I could get something from the concierge lounge as we were getting ready for our dinner reservation at:

Le Cellier!

We were eating in about an hour, but we still stopped by the concierge lounge and sampled some of the evening appetizers:

Pork Potstickers with Sweet Chili Sauce, Duck Quesadilla with Cilantro Lime Sour Cream, risotto, crudité, cheeses

We walked to the International Gateway entrance to EPCOT. Earlier in the week, I think when I was rushing to get my Grand Marnier slushie. I mean, to meet back with Mark and the boys. I saw a photopass photographer taking pictures with France in the background. I had never seen a photographer there before and I thought it was a beautiful spot to have a family picture taken. Imagine my delight to see a photographer here as we walked by the bridge on the way to dinner. Maybe this will be our Christmas card photo!!!

Maybe not.


Why couldn’t Photopass lose these shots instead of the RockNRoller Coaster pictures???

Coming up: Dinner at Le Cellier, some time on the Boardwalk and a solo visit to Canada and the UK.

 

[HockeyMomR]

Looking forward to catching up on your report....have been taking a disboard break and seems I have a lot to read on your report. Your afternoon at SAB and morning at MK seemed perfect to me!

 

[natebenma]

It's nice to see you! Glad you enjoyed the MK/Stormalong Bay update. Still more to go for the day- Dinner at Le Cellier, a visit to the Boardwalk and some solo time at EPCOT.

I can't believe that I have been writing this since August and I am only on my 3rd full day! Although I did go back a couple of trips at the beginning.

Thanks for reading!

 

[heaven2dc]

Loved your Photo Pass pics - your son is hilarious!

Stormalong Bay is so much cooler than the BW clown pool - I wish the BWV pool was going to be closed next month so we could wander over to YC/BC pool. (Back in Feb 08, BWV pool was closed but my DBFF & I didn't feel like swimming so we never got the opportunity to use SAB). My boys would LOVE SAB!)

 

[mickeystoontown]

Stormalong Bay looks like a lot of fun and it sounds as if you guys really enjoyed your time there. What kind of camera do you have? I am thinking about buying another camera and would like a waterproof one. Your's takes great pictures.

I laughed outloud at the Photopass pictures. Your son is a hoot!

 

[Queila]

Your afternoon at the pool sounds delightful.

The pictures of the Stormalong Bay look great! I was wondering at what age the kids really start enjoying it. I am assuming my daughter would not fully enjoy all the features of the bay just yet.

Did you guys ever have the opportunity to try the roasted marshmallow and movie night? It does sound fun.

Q

 

[natebenma]

Loved your Photo Pass pics - your son is hilarious!

Stormalong Bay is so much cooler than the BW clown pool - I wish the BWV pool was going to be closed next month so we could wander over to YC/BC pool. (Back in Feb 08, BWV pool was closed but my DBFF & I didn't feel like swimming so we never got the opportunity to use SAB). My boys would LOVE SAB!)

Glad you were amused by the photos! Ben is my little Dr. Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde- sometimes that boy really pushes my buttons and then other times he is so incredibly sweet.

SAB is really great. My only regret is that we didn't fit in the time to use it more. It is almost too big. Should we use the slide? Or float in the lazy river? Or dangle our toes in the sinking sands? Or get pulled along in the whirlpool? Or build a sandcastle? Or just swim?

I'll admit, a good problem to have!

Stormalong Bay looks like a lot of fun and it sounds as if you guys really enjoyed your time there. What kind of camera do you have? I am thinking about buying another camera and would like a waterproof one. Your's takes great pictures.

I laughed outloud at the Photopass pictures. Your son is a hoot!

Oh yes, Ben is a hoot-and-a-half! I was not particularly pleased with him at that moment! He had torpedoed my attempt at ordering a Sunken Treasure and now he screwed up what might have been a beautiful family photo. At least there is no tongue. Last year it was all tongue!

The camera I used on this trip is a Canon Powershot D10, rated to 33 feet underwater. I love it! I haven't used it underwater in salt water yet, but I did use it at Blizzard Beach, Typhoon Lagoon, SAB and our pool. Edit that- it was in salt water briefly at Shark Reef. Pictures coming up- a few days away.

I think I have a post fairly early on about my camera choice. For about 18 months I used an Olympus Stylus Tough, also rated for 33 feet deep. I liked that camera, it was certainly more compact than the D10. But it died in February during the last day of our trip to Mexico. I changed the battery shortly after coming out of the ocean, and I think I got water inside the camera. The replacement Olympus I purchased in March failed the first time I took it into the water. The lens fogged over. When I called Olympus, they told me to put it in a Ziploc bag and get all the air out and leave it overnight. The lens cleared, and it has worked fine underwater since, BUT... Now there is no sound on when I take a video but there is sound when I look at some of the still shots. You hear "Smile!" or "Move to the right!" or "Stop sticking out your tongue!". Freaky!

 

[natebenma]

Your afternoon at the pool sounds delightful.

The pictures of the Stormalong Bay look great! I was wondering at what age the kids really start enjoying it. I am assuming my daughter would not fully enjoy all the features of the bay just yet.

Did you guys ever have the opportunity to try the roasted marshmallow and movie night? It does sound fun.

Q

We had a lot of fun at the pool!

We never did the marshmallow roast or movie. We did see the movie showing one night, either coming back from EPCOT or HS. Late night activities are not really our thing. Late night being defined as 8:30 or later!

You are correct that Beatriz would not use all of the features of SAB yet, but there is still A LOT for little ones. Part of the pool is very shallow and has sandbars, so it is like being at the beach. You can dig and build in the sand. And on the other side of the big slide is a kiddie slide and kiddie pool that I understand are really fun. The slide pictures were taken for me by HockeyMomR so I could post it on the Beach Club FAQ board.

 

[natebenma]

We arrived in Canada in time to see the 5:30 O Canada! Show. I had seen the new Martin Short version during some solo time a couple of years ago, but Mark and the boys had not seen it. They all enjoyed it. I was really glad that the boys liked it as much as they did.

Our dinner reservation was for 6:00, we waited about 15 minutes to be seated. We played Canadian trivia in the waiting area until it was time to go to our table.


First order of business: Drinks!

To make up for the Sunken Treasure that was torpedoed earlier, I ordered this-

The Magical Star Cocktail-Light up your celebration with X-Fusion Organic Mango and Passionfruit Liqueur, Parrot Bay Coconut Rum, Pineapple Juice and a souvenir multicolored glow cube.

The boys ordered a Red Maple (Raspberry Smoothie with a splash or Sprite) and a Niagara Refresher (Mango Smoothie with a splash of Cranberry juice).

We started off with the bread selection- pretzel, sourdough and multigrain, I think.

Mark ordered Le Cellier Experience - Choose one from each category: Appetizers: Mixed Field Green Salad, Canadian Cheddar Cheese Soup, Spicy Chicken and Chipotle Sausage. Entrees: Pan-seared King Salmon, Herb-crusted Prime Rib, Porcini Mushroom, Ravioli, Mustard-basted All Natural Chicken. Desserts: Maple Creme Brulee, Canadian Chocolate Moose, Seasonal Sorbet. No substitutions. - $36.99

He chose the Cheddar Cheese Soup, Prime Rib and Maple Crème Brulee.

This was mine:

Le Cellier Mushroom Filet Mignon - Served with wild mushroom risotto and white truffle-herb butter sauce. - $34.99

Nate ordered- STEAK!


New York Strip Steak - Served with balsamic red onions, watercress, and roasted Yukon potatoes finished with Bercy butter - $34.99

Hold the balsamic red onions, watercress and the Bercy butter. Switch out the Yukon potatoes for fries.

And what did Ben order at a steak restaurant?

Desserts:

Maple Creme Brulee:

Chocolate Moose

Picasso Chocolate Moose

Ben thinks this is hilarious!

Everything was very good, I think we pretty much cleared our plates but we were very full. The waitress brought me recipes cards for the soup and a couple of other things.

It was somewhere around 7:30 when we finished our meal. We had never been to the Boardwalk before, so we decided to head over there after our meal. The boat was right at the International Gateway dock, so we took the ride.

We watched a magician for a while. He gave Nate a rope to check during the show. We didn’t see any other street perfomers while we were there.

We asked the magician if we could tip him and he said no, but we could mention him favorably if we filled out any comment cards or surveys. We were absolutely stuffed , but we decided to check out Boardwalk Bakery anyway.

The baked goods did not appeal to us at the moment, but the boys saw CANDY! It was sold it by weight, the sign said $3.99. Each boy got a small bag of candy. “That will be $9.38”. What?!? Warning, Warning, Warning! The prices quoted are PER QUARTER POUND, not per pound.

After paying something like 50 cents per Skittle, we popped into the ESPN gift shop. We didn’t really see anything we wanted. We did get a pressed penny from here, though.

At this point, it was probably 8:15 or so, and the boys decided to return to the room.

I wasn’t quite done for the night though. I returned to EPCOT to explore the countries a bit.

I started in Canada, exploring an empty town and falls.

Next, I headed to the UK.

The first thing I did was head to the phone booths. Before our trip, I found the telephone numbers for the booths on the DISboards:


Right Booth 407-827-9861
Left Booth 407-827-9862
Center Booth 407-827-9863

I wrote the numbers on a piece of paper, with the plan to call the booths at some point when I was going by. Unfortunately, I did not program the numbers into my phone. Every time I went by the booths, either I didn’t have the numbers or I had the list of numbers but not my phone. I never did get a chance to call when I was there.

I did, however, ask some nice people if they would take my photo in the booth.

I went into a couple of shops, took some pictures and then found a place on the bridge between UK and France to watch Illuminations.


Next Update: All in a Day’s Play: Same Planned Itinerary as last year- Will there be a 4 park in a day repeat? Animal Kingdom- Blizzard Beach- Boma- Hollywood Studios- walk back to the Beach Club- ??? Where do I see fireworks?