Exclusive Baby Gorilla Photos! (plus bonus Trip Report) - June '15 - completed 10/23 - Page 31

[nilla]

Welcome to my very first DISboards Trip Report! While many Disney fans already know my family well, allow me to introduce us.

First off is me, Merlin Jones.



(click here to skip the nonsense and get to the darned baby gorilla photos already. or don't click here and read on instead. please? thanks.)

Midvale College student by day, scientist by night.

This is my lovely wife, Jennifer:



She does a bit of it all.

And, of course, who can forget the real star of the show...my nephew, Stanley.



He's a real ape of a guy. You could say I'm kind of a monkey's uncle ("Uh huh, yeah yeah!")

Wait, who said that? Brian Wilson, is that you?

...

.

Anyway, if you haven't figure it out yet, those pictures are NOT us. I mean, it would be AWESOME if it were, but it's not. And it's not my first Trip Report. It's my fifth. Anyway, here we are, in our less-cinematic forms:

Me. Jon. nilla. Software developer. Minnesota Vikings fan. Gorilla lover. Proud Disney Pixie Dust Snorter (see, the avatar wasn't lying!). And Trip Report writer.



Here's my wife, Kristin. Stay-at-home mom. Planner extraordinaire, and the reason we're going.



Then, the boy. Dylan. Age 4. Pokemon lover. Budding video game junkie. Loves outer space.



And, finally, Emily. The baby. 8 months. Still colicky. Does not like to sleep for long periods at a time. Not fun.



Join us as we and Kristin's mom take our first-ever trip to Walt Disney World together, staying at the beautiful Port Orleans Riverside resort!

.

...

.

Ok, you know that's not right, either. Well, that WAS right, 9 years ago. When our love for Disney blew up. It's been all Mickey balloons and pixie dust and fairy godparents ever since then.

Except now Disney's got guy stuff, so we get Light Sabers and Web Shooters and stuff now, too. Yay, corporate carnivore Disney! Buy more things I love, so we can have them all in one place!

Alright, here we are now. With friends. Similar bios, except Dylan's 13, Emily's 9, and I have facial hair. Kristin's a teacher and a Perfectly Posh consultant now. And we REALLY love Disney now.



I still love gorillas, by the way. And monkeys. For the purposes of this Trip Report, we will continue to go by the "1960s Walt Disney Company's Official Biological Classifications of Primates".

1. Humans

This one is pretty obvious.

2. Gorillas

Also what you think.

3. Monkeys

Absolutely every other kind of primate. This includes macaques, baboons, proper monkeys, and chimpanzees. This includes chimpanzees wearing little human-made dresses. See them made, live, only at Disney's Hollywood Studios!

Ok, if you can't tell, this TR is going to be quite monkey-centric. Or maybe I'll get bored of that after tonight and move on to something else.

Nonetheless, we come to you with perhaps the most vitally important fact you may ever learn:

A smile means friendship for everyone...

...except monkeys.

They view it as a sign of aggression.

Now that we've concluded that PSA, let's get to the baby gorilla photos!

 

[nilla]

Just one problem. They don't happen until Day 6, and we have so much more of a story to tell you that just that! I know, I know...deceptive advertising, but I don't care. You've been roped in, so you might as well follow along. Or wait until we get to Animal Kingdom and I finally post the gorilla shots.

Back to Disney, did you hear we're going back there? For our tenth yearly trip?

And we're NOT going to Coronado?

That's right - we are cutting the streak short at 5, switching instead to Caribbean Beach. We've toyed with this idea before, but it never materialized.

Until now. About two weeks after the trip was booked. CSR out, CBR in. Let's hope this works!

Another big change is we are being forced to travel outside our normal after-Spring-Break-but-before-Summer time window, flying down to WDW in JUNE, of all times. June. Sheesh!

So yeah, we know....hot....crowded....no big deal. Not our first rodeo. Plus, I've already stressed myself over almost every detail of it, then got reassurance from this wonderful place called the "DISboards". So we're all chill now, and ready to go.

But wait! I missed half of the story! The pre-story at least. Well, it all started with a trip to Florida.

No, not that Florida.

Well, yes - THAT Florida. There only is one Florida. For the purpose of this Trip Report, anyway. What I mean is "not Walt Disney World Florida".

If you remember our story from last year, my 40th birthday present was the Haunted Mansion tattoo on my right shoulder. Well, this year (technically, last year, but since the last time we were in WDW), Kristin turned...well, I guess you're not supposed to say you're wife's age, for some reason, but that's really irrelevant. For a milestone birthday, she planned on going to Florida (not Disney Florida) with her mom and some of her friends. That started to fall through, and soon, it was booked as a couple trip. Never one to turn down a trip to Florida (or celebrate my wife's milestone birthday. Duh!), I accompanied her in November to beautiful, sunny St. Pete Beach on the Gulf Shore of the only Florida that really matters.

We had a BLAST. No kids for a week. Just the beach. And parasailing. And great dinners. It was wonderful.

So wonderful, in fact, that Kristin thought the unthinkable - why not skip Walt Disney World in 2015, and go to a far-southern beach with the kids?

Um....while an exotic (or Florida) beach sounds fantastic, it's NOT Walt Disney World. And that's a problem.

However, we've had a good run. Nine straight annual trips. Every year since Emily was born. Can't say we really missed anything. I still love WDW, but

I'll take one for the team.

...

Now, of course you know how this all ends up, or else I wouldn't be writing this Trip Report. But imagine if I ended it right here. "So, we went to Aruba. The end! Thanks for reading!"

But it doesn't end here. And that's thanks to a man who refused to give up hope. And a nine-year-old girl who knows how to turn on the waterworks and make a great case for family traditions.

You see, our house is divided into two factions on vacations: Kristin, who gets tired of things after a while and needs a break (hence, the past TR title), and Dylan, who simply loves the beach. And really doesn't like the Princess stuff. Or Frozen. In fact, he HATES Frozen.

Emily and I are on "Team Let's Just Go to Disney Every Year for Eternity". We're the cool kids. You want to hang with us, really.

But it wasn't looking good for this year.

One night, while playing the 70s strategy game "Mastermind" in the basement, Emily revealed to me that she was sad. I asked her why. "Because we're not going to Disney this year."

She's a bit of an actress, but there was a lot of sincerity in that comment. So I tried to comfort her, in spite of the fact that it was all but decided that we would be skipping WDW in 2015.

"Emily, nothing has been booked yet. This isn't over. Don't give up hope."

Not really reassured, she eventually went to bed, and we all woke up the next morning, under the assumption that we'd be missing our "home" this vacation.

Then, later, that day, while at work, my phone rang. It was Kristin.

"Ok, the Disney trip is all booked."

Great, thank- wait, what? What just happened?

"Emily was crying last night before bed. She REALLY wants to go to Disney again this year."

And so we are. That's TWICE Emily's saved an all-but-doomed Disney trip. My girl.

From Kristin's recollection, Emily's argument was rock solid, centering on the fact that this would be our tenth trip, making a nice, round number. And it worked. Emily has since reminded me that I came to her room earlier that night and whispered, "we're going to Disney. We're going to make it happen." So perhaps I played a role in it, too...

So we're going to Disney! Awesome news! But we didn't think we were going to Disney, so we missed our 180 day ADR opening! Crap news.

We quickly threw together a list of past favorites and ran with it. But when to do the Cape May Clambake? We've already decided on our Epcot and HS days....so why not on an MK day? Really doesn't matter. We'll take a bus to the Beach Club, then a cab back to Coronado.

Now, if you've noticed I keep saying "Coronado", that's because we originally DID book Coronado. Bear with me.

 

[nilla]

This TR is really wordy, isn't it?

Oh well.

Back to the ADRs - booking as late as we did meant that we missed out on my new favorite, Be Our Guest, but that's ok. We have some solid choices, IMO:

Monday - Arrival at Coronado Springs, dinner at Pepper Market
Tuesday - Magic Kingdom, dinner at 'Ohana
Wednesday - Epcot, dinner at Biergarten
Thursday - Downtown Disney, dinner at Raglan Road
Friday - Hollywood Studios, dinner at Sci-Fi
Saturday - Animal Kingdom, dinner at Maya Grill
Sunday - Epcot - dinner at Coral Reef
Monday - Magic Kingdom, dinner at Cape May Cafe
Tuesday - Epcot, dinner at Le Cellier
Wednesday - Hollywood Studios, dinner at Mama Melrose
Thursday - Magic Kingdom, dinner at 1900 Park Fare
Friday - Epcot, fly home

No "first evers" for us this time around (for now), but that's ok. We're going back to Le Cellier for the first time since it became a "two", according to the Disney Dining Plan (cheapskates' edition), and I've VERY excited for that. Also, we get to meet Anastasia and Drizella again

So how did we end up at Caribbean Beach? Well, it's not much of a story beyond Kristin suggesting we switch from CSR to CBR, and me ultimately agreeing. Emily was a tougher sell, but the prospect of a hair wrap changed that. Of course, Kristin and I got cold feet several times after changing the ressie, but later became much more open to the idea. We can thank Clarf's and others' TRs for that, plus all of the helpful DISers who were there to hold my hand and assure me that the bussing situation wasn't anywhere near as bad as some of the haters claim.

So CBR it is! Now, what do we do with our Maya Grill ADR? We can keep it, so we get to stop at CSR this year, after all. But that seems like a waste of time. We're a CBR, so why not do Shutters?

Alright, Shutters it is! The ADR is made.

The next order of business is what to do on our Downtown Disney day. We're not the biggest DTD fans, and we don't really feel like hitting Disney Quest again this year. Well, Dylan wants to, but he's 13, and not a girl like Emily, and therefore has no clout.

How about La Nouba?

None of us has ever seen Cirque du Soleil, and we can certainly move our Raglan Road ADRs to later to accommodate it. We go online to get tickets, but don't really love the seat options. Kristin calls instead and gets us hooked up with AWESOME seats - 2nd level, first row. Right by an entrance! Score!

We're completely stoked about seeing this show, and have heard fantastic things about Cirque du Soleil from people who have seen it elsewhere. Can't wait!

So we're all set! Well, not really. I'm still not sold on Shutters.

Yes, it's at CBR, and that would be mighty conventient, but I'd rather look elsewhere. But where? It's booked for our Animal Kingdom day, and neither of us really feel like hitting Boma again. We look to the resorts, but everything we'd be interested in would require two DDP credits, and that's not happening, since we already have Le Cellier booked. Park Hopper would be nice right now, but not for just one meal.

Olivia's?

I've read rave reviews of it from KatMark's TR, and I'm able to convice Kristin to make the switch. We're in!

A day or so later, I decide to post on the DISboards asking for people to talk the restaurant up. Only a few people do. Some like it, but very few love it. And no, Kristin's not really sold.

So, after all that, we're back to Shutters. And I don't know what menu I read before, because I think it's looks awesome now. Ok, guess we're back at Shutters!

I don't have the heart to tell Kathy or the other DISers that my post was all for naught, but they'll find out while reading this Trip Report, if reading this Trip Report.

 

[nilla]

So here's the park and ADR list, part 2:

Monday - Arrival at Caribbean Beach, dinner at Old Port Royale
Tuesday - Magic Kingdom, dinner at 'Ohana
Wednesday - Epcot, dinner at Biergarten
Thursday - La Nouba and Downtown Disney, dinner at Raglan Road
Friday - Hollywood Studios, dinner at Sci-Fi
Saturday - Animal Kingdom, dinner at Shutt- um, I mean Oliv- um, I do mean Shutters
Sunday - Epcot - dinner at Coral Reef
Monday - Magic Kingdom, dinner at Cape May Cafe
Tuesday - Epcot, dinner at Le Cellier
Wednesday - Hollywood Studios, dinner at Mama Melrose
Thursday - Magic Kingdom, dinner at 1900 Park Fare
Friday - Epcot, fly home

With all of that now set in stone, the next thing up is to wait to make our FastPass+ entries.

As I stated in my last TR, we LOVE FP+! Although I will admit that the online booking process last year was a bit frustrating. Hopefully, that's all ironed out now.

Kristin's letting me handle the FP+ duties this year, and the first order of business is to find out when I can make them. 7:00 am? Midnight? Nope - since MK closes at 1:00 am that night, our booking window opens at 1:01 am. And I'm not missing it. Even though I work the next day.

I put together a list of FPs to get for each day, based on loosely-planned ideas for what to concentrate on each day. After that, I prioritize what days I want to book first. The final Thursday is #1, since that's the day we're looking to get Elsa and Anna meet and greet FPs. After that, it's our first Hollywood Studios day, which I found out a few days prior was part of Star Wars Weekends. Yes! Honestly, I should've known that going in, but I dropped the ball there. Fortunately a co-worker tipped me off to that, so we get an added bonus! I also found out that our second DHS day is the start of Frozen Summer Fun, so it'll be an all-gimmick trip in terms of DHS this year.

It's FastPass+ Eve now, and I have my spreadsheet armed and ready. The plan is to fall asleep on the couch in the basement (where the PC is) that night, early, setting my alarm for 12:45 am. Of course, falling asleep on such a big night is tough, but I manage to do it.

I'm sort of neurotic when it comes to thinking my alarm won't go off, but it did (as always), and it's just about time. I log into My Disney Experience and wait. Getting closer. 12:55 on my clock...still not open. 12:57...nope. 1:00....not yet. 1:01....WE'RE IN! It's go time!

I get EVERYTHING we want, when we want it, and am even able to move a few FPs around. The only hitch I had was that the system deleted my AK FPs immediately after I saved them, but I was able to get right back in and get the exact same times. Success!

This process was very simple, and I was admittedly sad when I wrapped up around 1:40. Was the fun really over? Now what do I do for the next 60 days?

I did make some small tweaks along the way, but nothing huge. MK changed their hours for the days we're there, and I reacted accordingly. But we're booked. Resort, ADRs, FPs. That's it. Nothing left to do but count down!



We got the countdown up a bit late this year. Personally, I've been trying to downplay my excitement to avoid overwhelming Kristin with it, but I can only hold it in for so long.

The trip is getting closer, and we're getting to "let's not get sick" mode. This year, I started taking mixed martial arts classes with Dylan, so I'm also in "let's not get our knee twisted backwards" mode. And I didn't. Hey, Magic Bands are here!



Emily's the only remotely creative one of the bunch, and "Em" isn't even that imaginative. By the way, why no purple MBs, Disney? What gives?

But the kids DID get sick. Not that close to the trip, though. Two weeks before. So it was ok.

So we count down. And the weather shows rain all day, every day we're there. Then, it shows mostly sunny. Then, the forecast changes back to more rain. I don't know why I even bother reading that.

The final forecast is PM and/or scattered showers on most days, with possibly one wash-out. As I expected for June. Alright, all packed up! Let's go!

(next update)

 

[purplelover88]

By the way, why no purple MBs, Disney? What gives?

I also wondered this and asked a cast member who saw mine that I painted purple and she said the color they were using for some reason didn't stay like the others do so it ran off the band and would turn your arm purple. I too was totally bummed and took matters into my own hand and made one using a gray band and nail polish.

 

[nilla]

I also wondered this and asked a cast member who saw mine that I painted purple and she said the color they were using for some reason didn't stay like the others do so it ran off the band and would turn your arm purple. I too was totally bummed and took matters into my own hand and made one using a gray band and nail polish.

They should make them available for those of us who don't care if our arms turn purple

Thanks for the insight, and thanks for being the very first to comment on this Trip Report!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Hi Jon - joining in! While wordy, your intro posts were highly entertaining (like always) ... though (like always) I do get a few odd looks at work when I chuckle while reading my screen ... I mean, this is work - it's not supposed to be funny, dag-nabit!

Love the old school pictures of your family ... and I truly hope the Emily no longer is colicky

Oh, and I think there are 3 Floridas. There is Disney World Florida, Miami Florida, and then the rest of Florida that isn't Disney nor has Spanish as the primary language.

I love how you starting thinking about how, long term you could convince Kristen to do a Disney trip, and before you had time to develop a plan Emily already convinced her and the trip was booked. I mean, that's just efficient on her part!

That's great that you got all the FP+ you wanted and the times you wanted and that you got a good selection of ADRs (non-BOG edition at least). I was thinking if you weren't sold on Shutters and given it was an AK day you could have done Sanaa ... but then I realized this was a Trip Report and not a Pre-Trip report and thus my suggestion would be for naught - so pretend I never thought that.

Interesting about the reason behind no purple magic bands. I mean, I guess if you only spend $2bn on the system having a purple that doesn't run is a bit too much to ask.

 

[nilla]

Hi Jon - joining in! While wordy, your intro posts were highly entertaining (like always) ... though (like always) I do get a few odd looks at work when I chuckle while reading my screen ... I mean, this is work - it's not supposed to be funny, dag-nabit!

Cool! Glad you enjoy it

Love the old school pictures of your family ... and I truly hope the Emily no longer is colicky

That moment there was when she became "new Emily". We seated her on that pool chair and were amazed at how happy she was. One night later, she slept straight through the night for the first time. The Disney trip really did usher in the era of the all-new, happy Emily. It was like THAT was what was missing before.

Oh, and I think there are 3 Floridas. There is Disney World Florida, Miami Florida, and then the rest of Florida that isn't Disney nor has Spanish as the primary language.

I have a friend who lived near Miami. He said standard traffic laws also don't apply there.

I love how you starting thinking about how, long term you could convince Kristen to do a Disney trip, and before you had time to develop a plan Emily already convinced her and the trip was booked. I mean, that's just efficient on her part!

You should see the notes she leaves us when she wants something. The other day, she wrote a 20-point argument for why we should let her go to the Poconos with Kristin's parents this week.

That's great that you got all the FP+ you wanted and the times you wanted and that you got a good selection of ADRs (non-BOG edition at least). I was thinking if you weren't sold on Shutters and given it was an AK day you could have done Sanaa ... but then I realized this was a Trip Report and not a Pre-Trip report and thus my suggestion would be for naught - so pretend I never thought that.

We didn't think of that! Is it one-credit on the DDP?

Interesting about the reason behind no purple magic bands. I mean, I guess if you only spend $2bn on the system having a purple that doesn't run is a bit too much to ask.

I'm going to start a "Disney is ruined because there are no purple Magic Bands" thread. Watch for it!

Thanks for reading, as always!

 

[Clarf]

Yes! You started your TR! And I got mentioned in it! Woo hoo! I love the old pics. So cute! And your new pic, um, Dylan is almost unrecognizable! Like TheMaxRebo, I am laughing at work at your TR. The intro is fantastic. Can't wait to read along!

 

[nilla]

Yes! You started your TR! And I got mentioned in it! Woo hoo! I love the old pics. So cute! And your new pic, um, Dylan is almost unrecognizable! Like TheMaxRebo, I am laughing at work at your TR. The intro is fantastic. Can't wait to read along!

Thanks! You might be mentioned later, too. Stay tuned

Looking through old photos is funny, because I think we have about 50 from that first trip. Contrast that with the 2000 from this trip!

BTW, I finally found Mr. Happy. He will show up when I take my walk around the entire resort later in the trip.

 

[bball2786]

I can't wait to read this TR. We have 130 days before our next trip.

 

[HeyIt'sMe]

Yeah, you're back! I'm so excited to hear about your trip Innn Summmerrrrrr. How was the weather? How were the crowds? How was your gastrointestinal tract?

Loved the intro! The kid are getting so big. Dylan is so tall!

My Emily is also the "let's go to Disney every year for eternity" types. Just a few weeks ago Steve was talking about going to Destin (which would be in the "rest of Florida" according to TheMaxRebo) next year and Emily said "What? We aren't going to Disney next year??".

But that's next year...this year's trip is getting close....just a little over 7 weeks. Woot!

Debbie

 

[nilla]

Yeah, you're back! I'm so excited to hear about your trip Innn Summmerrrrrr. How was the weather? How were the crowds? How was your gastrointestinal tract?

All in good time

Loved the intro! The kid are getting so big. Dylan is so tall!

It's become a problem now, since Kristin often puts my clothes away in his drawer!

My Emily is also the "let's go to Disney every year for eternity" types. Just a few weeks ago Steve was talking about going to Destin (which would be in the "rest of Florida" according to TheMaxRebo) next year and Emily said "What? We aren't going to Disney next year??".

But that's next year...this year's trip is getting close....just a little over 7 weeks. Woot!

Debbie

Awesome! Hopefully this TR will hold you over until then. I know I got by reading a lot of TRs as time winded down for us.

I do love "other Florida", too, but it's hard taking time away from Disney to do that. We've avoided the cruises for that very reason, too.

Thanks for joining in!

Just a note - I won't be updating again until Saturday at the earliest, but I really wanted to get the initial post out there last night. However, if you compare this delay to my months-long hiatus during my last TR, it doesn't look so bad

 

[nilla]

I can't wait to read this TR. We have 130 days before our next trip.

Thanks for following! That 130 days will go quickly, then grind to a near-standstill, then fly by as you get to the final few days!

 

[purplelover88]

They should make them available for those of us who don't care if our arms turn purple

Thanks for the insight, and thanks for being the very first to comment on this Trip Report!

Glad to be here! Can't wait to ready about all of your adventures

 

[DaisyDuck001]

joining in

 

[nilla]

joining in

Yay, more readers!

I was considering changing my tagline to "Why aren't you reading my Trip Report?", but that wouldn't make a lot of sense when seeing it in my Trip Report, would it?

That and the fact that I just posted it last night and should stop being so impatient!

Anyway, thanks for joining in! I hope you enjoy it.

 

[teddygurl28]

following along! ive been a lurker on your reports for a while. for some reason I feel like now is a good time to come out and say hi

 

[nilla]

following along! ive been a lurker on your reports for a while. for some reason I feel like now is a good time to come out and say hi

Welcome! Considering I earned me some moderation points this week and am apparently on thin ice here at the DIS, now probably is the best time to say hello

 

[KathyM2]

I'm here following along too!!