A Year Late, But Worth The Wait!!

[emma212010]

Diploma in hand ready to conquer the World!... The World of Disney that is! Yep, my high school graduation trip would be to WDW in July of 2010. We were so excited! Especially since my mother and step father’s anniversary would also be celebrated that vacation. We would be staying at the Dolphin and then switching to the POLY (my all time fave). The happy dances were starting to become more frequent, and the “Oh we’re going to the Hukilau” stuck in our heads! But before I get too far, allow me to introduce ourselves…

Cast of the Jarchow Ohana:

Myself (Emma) I am 18 years old, but I was 17 at the time of this trip.

My lovely mother aka zuzu03 who introduced me to the World before I was even born

My step dad who was surprisingly very excited to go to Disney this year

Day one coming soon...

 

[nukephd]

Looking forward to the TR. Subscribing ...

 

[antnyh]

In for the ride!

 

[emma212010]

Looking forward to the TR. Subscribing ...

Awesome thank you so much!

In for the ride!

Glad you're in! Should be fun!

 

[emma212010]

Day 1:
The trip down was uneventful except the upgrade to economy plus seating which was great news for over 6 footers like moi!! This was our first but not last experience with pixie dust!!

When we arrived in the beautiful world of Orlando, Florida ahead of schedule (Yay!) at 10:45am, we hopped into our rental car and were off by 11:25! Mom and I pretty much know the way around by heart, so we didn’t need much for directions. The weather was so nice, and it was so sunny! Wait, what do I see in the distance? The WDW sign!!! I was so absorbed with the beautiful day, and excited about getting back, I missed my chance to take a picture! But man, passing through the WDW sign is always so exhilarating! Finally! We’re home!

We found our way to the Dolphin, and I was extremely excited because I had never stayed there before!


The first thing I saw was

Once we turned the corner, I almost fainted! It was huge! And sooooo amazing!!

We went into the lobby to get checked in. My mom went to the front desk while my step dad and I waited with the bags. Just looking around this place was incredible!!

Once we were checked in, we found our way to the elevator and our floor. Luckily my mom had just been here last year for a teacher conference, so she knew the way around the resort very well! We were so excited to check out our room. Not to mention the view was VERY decent!

This is the view looking straight out of our room

Looking to the right, note TOT in the distance!!

After we dropped our bags and snapped some pics, we were STARVING!! Not to mention VERY in the mood for a sandwich from EOS! Also we would get our passes and Tables in Wonderland card at GR.

We hopped back in the car and drove to DTD where I had this (turkey club)…

And mom had this (the Original- roastbeef, horseradish, and cheddar)…

Unfortunately, step dad wouldn’t let us take a picture of his sandwich (All-American- turkey, cranberry, tomato, etc.). I think travelling had gotten the best of him. That changed quickly though!

Once we had eaten and attained our passes, we went back to the resort to unpack and hang out until our ADR at Le Cellier that night. Mom and I went for a walk to explore the Dolphin and the surrounding resorts. And snapped some great shots!

Lovely Palm Trees

Boardwalk!

Yacht Club lobby

Posing

Continued in next post!

 

[emma212010]

Finally it was time to get ready for our ADRs so we went back to the room to get dressed and pick up step dad. At about 4:30 we headed to the boat dock to wait for the Friendship to Epcot where we took our first picture as a family.

We got to Epcot, and arrived in the UK! It was so nice to be back, and I was excited to spend a nice vacation with my mom and step dad; it had finally begun! Since there was time before our reservation we took our time walking around the world to Canada.

I even tried to be a pirate!...It didn’t work

It was time to eat, so we went to check in at Le Cellier. The dinner was wonderful, but our waiter was so funny! Every time he would come to take our plate he would always say, “Let me sliiiiide this out of your way here.” Hahahaha oh no, our uncontrollable giggles had begun! Now, my mom and I have a very hard time controlling our giggles when we are together, and the consequences can be very embarrassing! This was definitely a common theme throughout our trip! Anyway, back to the food! We had a lovely dinner, except for step dad because I think he still hadn’t fully recovered from his grumpiness.

We were given yummy breadsticks. My mom’s favorite was the pretzel ones!

Then we both had cheddar soup- soooo yummy!!!!

My mom and I both had delicious steak

And for dessert we shared (aka I ate most of) a maple crème brulee, and I loved it!

After dinner, we walked around the WS while we waited for Illuminations. I was able to snap a couple pretty night photos of a few countries.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, Illuminations will begin in 5 minutes.” Geee!!! The booming sound of the man’s voice gives me chills, and always brings back great childhood memories!
My favorite place to watch Illuminations is Japan because I think it is so pretty!!

After the breathtaking show was over, we poked into Japan's huge store for a bit, but at about 9:30 we decided to head back to the resort. Day one was nearing the end, but as I looked up at the towering hotel, I realized how lucky I am to be here and able to spend 2 weeks in Disney! I knew that this was going to be a great trip!

Day two coming up!!
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[heaven2dc]

Love your TR and pics!! I would love to stay 2 weeks - esp where you stayed I just love the Epcot resort area plus would love to stay at Poly one day. Illuminations is becoming a family 1st night ritual (well we only did it for the first time on our last trip but I've decided this is a "must do" each and every trip!).

Hope stepdad gets some rest and enjoys day 2!

 

[nukephd]

I've never stayed at the Dolphin. I hope you enjoyed it! The pics look great, and the soup/steak from Le Cellier are making me drool.

Hopefully your step dad's mood improved

 

[jessidoll]

LOVE THE TR!! CANT WAIT 4 MORE!!!!!

 

[TanzUnited99]

Hi, am joining in! I love the food pictures of Le Cellier and EoS!

Also I totally get the fits of laughter - I sometimes get them and have been known to get some funny looks at times when I do not know how to stop!

Looking forward to more!

 

[emma212010]

Love your TR and pics!! I would love to stay 2 weeks - esp where you stayed I just love the Epcot resort area plus would love to stay at Poly one day. Illuminations is becoming a family 1st night ritual (well we only did it for the first time on our last trip but I've decided this is a "must do" each and every trip!).

Hope stepdad gets some rest and enjoys day 2!

Thank you!! Yes I love the Dolphin! The Poly is amazing too!!

Haha thank you, he does come around

I've never stayed at the Dolphin. I hope you enjoyed it! The pics look great, and the soup/steak from Le Cellier are making me drool.

Hopefully your step dad's mood improved

I really did! It's beautiful, and my mom got a great deal on a room because of AAA membership! Omg YES the food was sooo good!! I'm drooling now thinking back!! haha

Haha yes thank you, it does of course!!

LOVE THE TR!! CANT WAIT 4 MORE!!!!!

Thank you!! Glad you're reading!!

Hi, am joining in! I love the food pictures of Le Cellier and EoS!

Also I totally get the fits of laughter - I sometimes get them and have been known to get some funny looks at times when I do not know how to stop!

Looking forward to more!

Hi! Glad you're in! Thank you! I took lots of food pictures this trip!!

Oh my gosh I know!!! It's awful!!! Sometimes my mom and I get so bad it's to the point of crying!!!

 

[Zuzu03]

Emma's mom here! Totally along for the ride! Great job on Day 1, Em!!!! Oh my goodness, we laughed soooooo much on this trip! So much happened! Keep up the great work, darling!!!

 

[emma212010]

Emma's mom here! Totally along for the ride! Great job on Day 1, Em!!!! Oh my goodness, we laughed soooooo much on this trip! So much happened! Keep up the great work, darling!!!

Thanks, mom! I know we did!! it was so fun!

 

[purplepixiedust]

Great report so far!! I am now in love with the Dolphin! The pictures are so amazing! Can't wait to read more.

 

[emma212010]

purplepixiedust
Great report so far!! I am now in love with the Dolphin! The pictures are so amazing! Can't wait to read more.

Thank you!! I love the Dolphin! It's so beautiful!!

 

[emma212010]

Day 2:
The next morning we woke up bright and early for rope drop at… DHS (or if you’re like me and will say it till the grave, MGM)!!

It was busy, but we surprisingly made our way to TSM without injuries! It also helped that several CM were monitoring the wave of people flooding into the park, bee lining for TSM. We had never ridden it before, so we made sure to get fast passes for later!

After we got FPs, we headed out of the mobbed Pixar area, and decided we wanted to go on the Great Movie Ride, one of our classic favorites.

After that, we strolled along the streets of America, taking pics until our early lunch reservations (11:00) at 50s Prime Time were ready!

The restaurant atmosphere was so cool!! My mom said it was like she was in her grandmother’s living room!! I couldn’t help taking pictures of the cute furniture in the waiting area!

The tables were awesome too! And each table had its own TV that showed clips from old shows.

Our waitress "Cousin Vicky" gave us some rules when we sat down to eat! "No hitting, no elbows on the table, no bickering." One time my mom had her arms on the table, and was promptly scolded! When it was time to order, I decided on getting a chocolate milkshake because I LOVE them!! It turned out to be delicious!!

We shared onion rings as an appetizer

I had Caesar Salad

Mom had fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and collard greens

And step dad had chicken pot pie

The food was scrumptious! We were eating a home cooked meal on vacation! The yummy food put us all in a good mood as we started acting silly!

Suddenly we see a CM holding several straws linked together, hiding behind a wall. He began poking guests through the window. It was so funny, but also extremely strange! Hahaaha we found it hilarious, though of course!

On the way out, mom couldn’t resist making me pose for a picture like I was sitting “on grandma’s couch” haha

We made our way to the Backlot Tour, and (luckily) did not get picked for the pre-ride show!! Last time we went, my mom, Grammy, aunt, and I were all chosen to be in it. It was most definitely a sight to see! My mom and I were “scrubbing the deck” while Grammy was the captain, and my aunt was in the control center. My aunt got slammed with a huge wave, and my mom and I ran into each other about 8365362862946 times while laughing so hard we couldn’t breathe! We were soaked!!! I wish they’d sell those films because they are too funny!! Anyway, we didn’t get picked, but we did enjoy watching four other guests make fools out of themselves! It was quite enjoyable!

Continued...

 

[emma212010]

Once we got on the ride, I had fun taking pictures of every prop!

I think he is so cute!!

And even got to see inside costume and set design studios!!

On the set of the Catastrophic Canyon, I was sitting on the water side, and I got very wet! Haha It was so fun though; I think that is my favorite part.

After that we decided to try the Lights, Motors, Action Stunt Show Spectacular! The show started at 1:30 so we hustled over and got a pretty good seat in the already-crowded stands. None of us had ever seen it since we are not big car fans, but we actually really enjoyed it! It was entertaining, and interesting with lots of special effects! Let’s say we were pleasantly surprised!

I was also surprised how many people were in the stands! After the show, it was insane trying to get out!

Continued!

 

[emma212010]

After the show, we wandered over to TOT because we wanted to see what the line was like. I absolutely love the walk over to that side of the park! The buildings are all so cool! And I love the street shows too!

TOT is my (and my mom’s) ultimate FAVORITE ride at WDW! I love every aspect of its atmosphere and ride. I just love the detail they give everything! Fortunately there was not much of a line, and we got right on!

There was a bit more time to kill before TSM, so we decided to pop in to Staring Rolls and grabe a bite! We chose a chocolatey cupcake, and it was delicious!!!!

Continued...

 

[emma212010]

By now our FPs for TSM were ready, so we headed over, and got right on the ride! Gotta love FPs!!!! The queue is so cute!!!

Silly

I lost, but my accuracy was wayyyy better than moms! Her tactic is to go as fast as she can, while I take my time and aim. Step dad, however, had us both beat!!!

On the way out of the park, I stopped to snap a classic picture of a balloon man in front of Mickey’s sorcerer hat! I just love this picture!

We headed back to the resort on the boat.

Once back, our tummies started rumbling, so we decided we should go down to The Fountain to grab a bite! The hamburgers there are sooooo yummy; we dug in before I could take the picture!!!

Mine

Mom's

Step dad's

That evening, mom and I went exploring in the resort.

We came across a dance competition in a conference room called Candance. It was soooo cool! We snuck in, and took a seat and watched gifted and passionate dancers shake their behinds onstage for hours! It was such a cool ending to a wonderful day 2 of our vacation!

Day three coming next!!

 

[antnyh]

Suddenly we see a CM holding several straws linked together, hiding behind a wall. He began poking guests through the window. It was so funny, but also extremely strange! Hahaaha we found it hilarious, though of course!

Continued...

That was our waiter!!! He was hilarious. At first I kept seeing people jump up in their seats, but I didn't see him. All the CM's were laughing. I finally saw him tickle a ladies ear....he got caught and put the straws up and waited for the next victims to come in. It was such a good experience.