(Aug '11 TR) Park Commando Status in Jeopardy! 10/9 final thoughts and title

[Charleston Princess]

Ah, I love the pictures of the girls holding hands! So sweet!

 

[sue_88]

[QUOTED] Did you get the Brita bottle? My friends at home started to pick up some. I should get commission. When is your trip? Please stay with me I've survived the first week of school and should be able to do more dising!

Yes! I got two of the Brita bottles. I am a water drinker about 95% of the time. Thank you!
My trip is Nov. 12-18. It is finally starting to feel pretty close!
I'm really enjoying your many photos! Looks like your trip was really nice.

 

[disneydreamingdebby]

Ah, I love the pictures of the girls holding hands! So sweet!

me too! It helps make up for all the fighting at home...

Yes! I got two of the Brita bottles. I am a water drinker about 95% of the time. Thank you!
My trip is Nov. 12-18. It is finally starting to feel pretty close!
I'm really enjoying your many photos! Looks like your trip was really nice.

Your countdown is moving nicely! Where are you staying? I am glad that the weather cleared and that I was interested in taking more after the first couple of days.

 

[disneydreamingdebby]

So, I am back! On Sat. I regretted not packing up my daughters and going to the beach. (We don't have anywhere to stay, but I was going to find a hotel...and blow the monthly budget...) On Sunday, I was grumpy and told dh we should just head to the shore. I was half serious, but after a search on the web and hemming and hauling (I have never in my life typed those words - are they spelled correctly? ) I told dh I would have us packed and ready to go in 30 min. So, at 1 pm - we rolled out to the beach (with my friend's daughter/ my daughters' good friend.) I kept trying to find a reasonable place to stay, and we headed to OC, NJ which I am completely unfamiliar with! I finally selected "The Beach Club." I can't imagine why... and by 3:40, we had checked in and were on the beach!

I am so glad that my uberplanner self and hubby did it! We had a great time and both needed to just be away from home for a couple of days.

School was tough today. I have a first period class of 15 boys and 3 girls. It began at 7:35 and everyone is nearly comatose...tougher though are a couple of cases of kids with baggage that I don't know how to unpack or store. I'm just a little bummed; I will overcome the frustration and be more positive again soon.

On to happier images...how about some Fantasmic?

 

[disneydreamingdebby]

I didn't take my telephoto lens - so sorry for the distance...I was playing with my settings to avoid using a flash, so I am happy enough with how they turned out...they are blurry, but I don't have a fast camera and I am not sure my ISO is high enough for these night shots!

So on with the show...enjoy!

 

[Queenofallthings]

I am so happy that you took pictures at Fantasmic....I didn't They are great Debby!!

 

[TanzUnited99]

Yay on getting away for a bit and having a nice short break

Your pics of Fantasmic are getting me excited about seeing it on our upcoming trip - they look great!

 

[Charleston Princess]

I am glad you threw caution to the winds and headed to the beach for a short break!

I know what you mean about students with baggage. Hang in there!

 

[MeMom]

That big white boat full of great Disney characters brings chills and smiles, and sometimes a couple of tears threaten to well up in my eyes. I love seeing that boat and hearing the music that accompanies it!

I can totally empathize with you on the school stuff.
We can just hope it gets better for all teachers as the year goes on,
and if it doesn't,
we'll just keep in mind
that we are lucky to have jobs
that give us the money
to pay for our Disney trips
to bring some fun to our lives.

 

[DrMomof3]

Glad you got some time away at the beach!
Can you believe I've still never seen Fantasmic!????

Amanda

 

[disneydreamingdebby]

I am so happy that you took pictures at Fantasmic....I didn't They are great Debby!!

Glad to bring wonderful memories back to everyone! We had perfect weather when we were there, and I kept thinking how happy I was to be there.

Yay on getting away for a bit and having a nice short break

Your pics of Fantasmic are getting me excited about seeing it on our upcoming trip - they look great!

It was a good way to end the summer... You'll love Fantasmic. Piece of advice for you to consider. Leaving is a complete madhouse...so many people, ugh. We head out when that lovely boat full of characters shows. You miss the final fireworks, but if you hate giant crowds, the walk alone is very worth it. The flaw in that strategy was that our bus still waited for the masses, but we had comfortable seats for the ride. I think the strategy works best if someone drove or is staying at BWV and can walk home.

I am glad you threw caution to the winds and headed to the beach for a short break!

I know what you mean about students with baggage. Hang in there!

It was a good decision (and after I got over the condition I left our house in) a decision that I am very happy we made!

Thanks! It will be a good year regardless.

That big white boat full of great Disney characters brings chills and smiles, and sometimes a couple of tears threaten to well up in my eyes. I love seeing that boat and hearing the music that accompanies it!

I can totally empathize with you on the school stuff.
We can just hope it gets better for all teachers as the year goes on,
and if it doesn't,
we'll just keep in mind
that we are lucky to have jobs
that give us the money
to pay for our Disney trips
to bring some fun to our lives.

Are there many sights or sounds of Disney that don't prompt a chill, smile, or tears?

I agree we are lucky to have jobs to help support our habit, and that (aside from all of the bad) they are jobs that do provide us with many moments of joy and satisfaction too.

Glad you got some time away at the beach!
Can you believe I've still never seen Fantasmic!????

Amanda

Since you have future trips already booked - I have no fear- you have to have something to look forward to!

 

[disneydreamingdebby]

Good Morning! Let's take some time to visit a monorail resort...

We went to HS for park opening and went to the Contemporary to check in for our stay at BLT when we were ready for a swim break. Our room wasn't yet ready, so we headed to the Contemporary pool. (I wanted to check out both pools. Reports were that the pool at BLT wasn't quite large enough for the resort.

A little refurb going on - I knew my dis friends would want to see scrims where available (even though we prefer them not to be available...)

This was a very large pool! In total contrast to AKV, you had to seek shade. The sun was everywhere!

The girls participated in the pool games here too.

Planning their pool games...

The pool slide was a BIG hit. I thought it was really cool to see the building in the background, the monorail slip through and the beach behind me!

Dh and I loved the cabanas available at the Contemporary. One was in use, but one was still available...

"borrowed" this photo from florida about.com as I don't have a shot of the area...

We received our text that our room was ready and began our journey to BLT.

A couple of reflections before we travel...
The Contemporary had a bathroom/ changing room near the pool. The girls and I went in and put on our suits. It might have been the hottest place on property! Such a shame. The area was okay - nothing spectacular, and if it had running ac, I might not have even paid any attention.

Once we exited, dh was still in his clothes. He said he needed to find a different area to change. Asking him now, he said it was all wet. This was not isolated. Dh informed me that many of the male restrooms were less than clean...He went into the resort and happily found the restroom to be much better.

The pool area was sunny! There was shaded area over by the quick serve/ bar area if you needed it. Tons of chairs to find a location to sit. Giant pool! It didn't have the same feeling of warmth as AKV, but was great nonetheless.

 

[Queenofallthings]

The girl's look so happy! I love how they have pool games in the afternoon, it's a nice break for the kids and the parents I thought the same thing about the shading at AKL by the pool...when we were at the All Stars we only stayed about an hour or so by the pool at any one time because there was just no shade

 

[TanzUnited99]

Thanks for the advice on F! Will def keep it in mind

Great pics of the Contemporary pool though it does look very hot. Them cabanas look so appealing and a great way to relax.

 

[Disneyfreak616]

Oh my goodness! I can't believe I am just finding this now! I've been so caught up in my own TR. I hope you'll read along!

I am loving your TR so far! I love the different way of doing it!

I had no idea Disney had a rainy day parade! That's awesome!

 

[TinkerbellLuvr7]

Looks like a fun afternoon at the pool!!!! I've always wanted to stay at CR to knock it off my list of WDW resorts but I have to admit that the pool doesn't seem "all that" to me?! What did you think?? We love the pool at most of the other Deluxe resorts but that one doesn't seem all that great??

 

[DrMomof3]

We stayed at CR a few years ago and enjoyed the pool. It's not my favorite pool on property but still nice. My kids really enjoyed the pool at BLT this time. I can see how it might get really crowded but that wasn't our experience.

Amanda

 

[bna16]

Hi, I am going to follow along on your report.
I am also going to go find some of those Brita water bottles today! I would love to have them along on my upcoming trip.
I am looking forward to the Tiki show. I have been to Disney a lot and I have never stopped for this attraction. I am putting it on my list for this year as I am sure I need to experience this classic.
I am really hopeing for sunny days but your rain photos are quite nice.
I'm looking forward to more!

if you haven't found them already, sams club also has the water bottles.

 

[Charleston Princess]

The Contemporary pool looks like fun, but I don't know how I would fare without any shade.

 

[disneydreamingdebby]

Looks like a fun afternoon at the pool!!!! I've always wanted to stay at CR to knock it off my list of WDW resorts but I have to admit that the pool doesn't seem "all that" to me?! What did you think?? We love the pool at most of the other Deluxe resorts but that one doesn't seem all that great??

We stayed at CR a few years ago and enjoyed the pool. It's not my favorite pool on property but still nice. My kids really enjoyed the pool at BLT this time. I can see how it might get really crowded but that wasn't our experience.
Amanda

The Contemporary pool looks like fun, but I don't know how I would fare without any shade.

The pool had a very different feel than others. I think it could use additional umbrellas for people who need more shade, but I really did like it. I could keep track of my girls pretty easily which was nice, and they could play hide and seek with ample space in the pool. It had a very clean, very open feel. I guess the difference was the intimacy of the BLT pool (and since you were almost touching people at times...)