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

[Britbrie]

Well, that was a fantastic update!! Dinner looks AMAZING, I hope to go back there when I'm not sick to actually taste the food. HAHA.
Love that Emily is so involved with getting character signatures on her hat, that is awesome!!
Glad you guys had an awesome vacation, I can't wait to read the rest!

 

[Someluck]

I always hate to see your trip reports come to an end! They are just so entertaining. Thanks for taking the time to write and share. We are trying CSR in (18 days , whoopee) and I was seriously influenced by your love of the resort. We have stayed at CBR and really liked it, but I wanted to give CSR a try. I hope you'll describe how the two compared for you overall and which one you would choose in the future. Again, thanks for the sweet read.

 

[nilla]

Great choice! My mouth is watering! That looks delish!

Love scallops! And these were really, really good.

This is still on my list of Disney things I need to do!

Do it! He's the best character...besides Anastasia and Drizella. And Duffy. 4th-best.

If you ever have the chance, riding this DURING Wishes is awesome! The first time we rode it was during MVMCP last year. We underestimated the wait time, and missed Wishes totally because we were waiting in line. But as we were riding the fireworks were going off all around us. It was awesome!

That sounds really cool! We rode it just after Wishes earlier in the trip. It would be great with the fireworks.

Great update!! I'm glad I'm not the only one that cries during Wishes. Keira is obsessed with fireworks, so we do a lot of YouTube Wishes and I cry every. single. time. It's the music that gets me right in the feels!

Everything at Disney does that to me. Even Philharmagic.

Love all the pictures of the family! Emily is so cute with her dress poses, and great idea to use the hat!

It worked out great! I was skeptical at first, but it turned out nice.

I'm so sad your trip report is coming to a close!

Me, too! But it will be one less thing getting in the way of other things I need to do. Can't believe I'm already wrapping this up in October! What's gotten into me?

Great update! Cracking up over how the hat wants what it wants

That story was 100% true.

Dinner looked amazing .... definitely putting Narcoossee's on our future dining wish list.

Well worth the two credits.

Talking Mickey is the best. We were in awe when we visited this summer and he was speaking Spanish to a family from South America. Mickey is a man of the world!

Wow! Was he better at speaking Spanish than he is at card tricks?

Ouch! I hope your finger is healing!

Thanks! It's been a week, and it's almost there! That hurt. Especially having to type all day. And night.

ITA. We stayed at the Grand Floridian in 2014. It was nice but too fancy shmancy for my taste. I like the laid back vibe (and lack of robots) at the Polynesian.

I definitely want to stay at the Polynesian! Someday...

Your meal at Narcoosee's looks awesome! We haven't eaten there in several years. Way back in the olden days they used to serve an alligator spread with the bread in addition to the butter. It was interesting!

We missed that! Great place, though.

This is awesome! Emily's learning German so she'd appreciate this. And it makes me laugh because when Emily was little she couldn't say "dwarfs". It came out as "Snow White and the Seven Dorks". HA!

Our Emily used to sing, "GHOSTS...come out from soc-ia-yize"

I'm glad you got to ride SDMT again.

Me, too! Lots of critics of that ride, but we love it.

Poor Dylan - so many princess meet & greets!

He just needs to enjoy them at a high school level

Oh man, that last time leaving the parks is torture......

I know! I think Epcot's worse for me, though.

Poor Dylan. Though I can't believe he's not more interested in the princesses, now. He is a teenage boy, after all.

Yeah, really! I've been trying to tell him that, too.

Um, that line you mentioned from Napoleon Dynamite about "Your Mom goes to college." I say that all the time. Like at least 2 times a week. It just pops up randomly in conversation.

We're plan on watching that with Dylan soon. Such a good movie. "Hey, Napolean...gimme some of your tots."

Your dinner looked amazing! Glad the experience was better for your last day.

Me, too! We went out on a hight note!

Um...I think Elsa might be related to Aurora who we met at Akershus this year. They look VERY much alike.

I'm sure there is an internet conspiracy theory about that one.

Glad you got on the Mine Train one last time. I'd wait 50 minutes to ride it. That's not too bad.

No, not at all! The wait was fun, too, since we knew we had nothing to do afterwards.

I love the details in these rooms!

The detail is probably what impresses me the most about Disney.

I prefered it when they met together, because Elsa was much more talkative then and they played off each other. Meeting Elsa alone was just kind of awkward for us!

We never saw that! My boss's daughters met them before the movie came out. He said there was no line whatsoever. Who knew?

Love these pictures!!

Thanks!

I'm pretty sure you have to actually show your disney visa and a also use it to make the purchase. This was my understanding last May so I carried one card with us as well as our I.d's in a little metal wallet. From what I've read recently it's still the case.

That is correct. We link our Bands to a different card anyway, so it doesn't really affect us.

Well, that was a fantastic update!! Dinner looks AMAZING, I hope to go back there when I'm not sick to actually taste the food. HAHA.

That stinks! You need to get back there.

Love that Emily is so involved with getting character signatures on her hat, that is awesome!!

It turned out really cool! Also great that CMs at all of the characters had Sharpies.

Glad you guys had an awesome vacation, I can't wait to read the rest!

Almost done! But yes, the trip was awesome. As always!

I always hate to see your trip reports come to an end! They are just so entertaining. Thanks for taking the time to write and share. We are trying CSR in (18 days , whoopee) and I was seriously influenced by your love of the resort. We have stayed at CBR and really liked it, but I wanted to give CSR a try. I hope you'll describe how the two compared for you overall and which one you would choose in the future. Again, thanks for the sweet read.

That will be in my next update, which will be the last one. However, it will cover the entire last day, plus a conclusion to the TR. As always, stay tuned, and keep your arms and legs inside the ride until it comes to a complete stop.

 

[orangecats2]

I'm sad that its almost over! I've still never been to a two credit restaurant. There's too many one credits to go to. I'd love to have deluxe dining one day, I'd go to a two credit place every day!

 

[Cando86]

Followed you over from my own TR! LOVING yours!!!

That almond crusted cheesecake looks ridiculously good!

Last day is always awful That's just when you start planning the next trip...!

 

[nilla]

I'm sad that its almost over! I've still never been to a two credit restaurant. There's too many one credits to go to. I'd love to have deluxe dining one day, I'd go to a two credit place every day!

We started eating at a QS restaurant on one night of our trip (usually the arrival night) a few years back, freeing up a credit that allows us to eat at a two-credit place a few years back. For the most part, it's worth it. Narcoossee's and Jiko are my favorites so far.

Followed you over from my own TR! LOVING yours!!!

Cool - it looks like "Operation: Pretend to Read Her Trip Report in an Underhanded Effort to Gain Another Reader of My Trip Report" is working! Cando86 took the bait!

Wait - did I say that out loud?

j/k - Thanks for reading! I got in too late for your last TR (I know, weak excuse), but I'm loving your current one so far!

That almond crusted cheesecake looks ridiculously good!

I'm a big cheesecake fan, too - especially ones without fruit topping. This was no exception. The food there was amazing.

Last day is always awful That's just when you start planning the next trip...!

I know! The worst is getting the door hanging. I always feel bad when I see it on other people's doors, too

I usually start really thinking about the Trip Report on the departure day. And start planning the next trip. ANYTHING to get over the horror of having to leave "home".

Updates are still probably a few days out, but that just means I can drag this TR out a little longer. Thanks, everyone, for reading!

 

[nilla]

Ok, the final update is written, and will be posted at some point this weekend. The ride's coming to an end, kids. But please remain seated until it comes to a full stop.

Stay tuned!

 

[nilla]

 

[nilla]

Day 12 - Friday - Downtown Disney, Flight Home

Itinerary:

• Blow Remaining Snack Credits
• Leave Disney
• Cry

 

[nilla]

Meanwhile, present day. Back in Pennsylvania:

Jon: "I'm not going to go to bed yet."

Kristin: "What are you going to do?"

Jon: "Trip Report."

Kristin: "Trip Report? I thought you were at the end of that weeks ago?"

Jon: "I was. And still am. One post left."

And here it is.

Now, where were we? Oh, yeah.

Being our departure day, I don't really have any notes beyond "up at 7:00" and pack. And that's certainly how it started. We managed to get a few things packed earlier in the week, but most of it had to wait until today. I tried to balance out the dirty clothes and souvenirs among the four suitcases throughout the trip, but once all the toiletries started coming out, there needed to be further adjusting. And with no scale in the room, we have to guess.

The kids did their part by staying out of our way:



As it's always much easier to pack from a single hotel room, we were done in a little over an hour. A few last shots our our beach...





...and Bell Services came to pick us and our luggage up. One last shot of the signpost...



...and off we go! Bye, Aruba! We had a blast! Hope to see you again!

The driver was very friendly, as always, and before we knew it, we were at the Customs House. The distance and location aren't so bad, when you're in a buggy.

We head inside to check our baggage, and OF COURSE we have a severe weight disparity between our bags. So I step over to the side, opening the 65-lb bag and transferring key contents over to the 30-lb bag. Ok, should be good.

And it is. We'll all checked in, leaving our carry-ons with Bell Services.

 

[nilla]

Besides the luggage rearranging, that was relatively painless, and we were on a bus and headed to Downtown Disney by 9:30. I don't think it was officially "Disney Springs" at this point, in spite of the marker I posted in the day header.

Our first stop was Goofy's Candy Company, since we had a ton of snack credits that needed to be used today. So what should we get? This?



Ooh, how about this?



Wait, can't we get this?



Well, it looks cool. And it's Haunted Mansion, so that's cool. But I really don't want it right now. Or ever. Not that much of a snack food person, to be honest. Now, if they were blue and purple Haunted Mansion meat balls, I would have been all over that.

We ended up not getting anything...yet. We'll be back before we head back to CBR. Don't you worry about that.

Quick photo op...



...and it's into whatever store this is:



Oh, if only it came in "large dogs" size! This I should have bought, but didn't:



Speaking of dogs and ducks, and since I'm at the point in this Trip Report where I forget what I did and didn't write about yet, I will give a quick Inky update: she was mostly good for Kristin's parents, but did swim out about 500 feet off the dock, into the lake, after some ducks. Kristin's Dad had to chase her with a paddle boat. She does that.

Back to Disney, where I am also at a loss to explain why Kristin didn't buy these:



Yep, live-action Cinderella tea cups. You saw that right.

Kristin ended up buying seasonings for her Dad, and there was a bit of mild drama after a customer knocked a glass off a display table. Ok, not really even mild drama. He broke a glass. That was it.

But now it was time to move on. Lunch!

 

[nilla]

Ever since they ate here last year, Kristin and Emily have raved about the Earl of Sandwich.



Dylan and I have never been here. But we're here now. And it's pretty laid back:



The girls like it:



As for food, remember when I said I didn't take any notes after 7:00 am this morning? Well, that means I only recall the names of a few of the things we got. Broccoli Cheese Soup, for example:



Smell's good! I got the Holiday Turkey (Turkey, Cornbread Stuffing, Turkey Gravy, Cranberry Sauce and Mayonnaise):



Delicious! Oh, and Emily loves that soup.

Dylan got some sort of roast beef sandwich, but without anything remotely adventurous on it:



Kristin got the Hawaiian BBQ (Grilled Chicken, Ham, Swiss, Pineapple and BBQ Sauce):



We ended up splitting that and the Holiday Turkey, which was ok by me.

I also got a really good green tea, which I apparently didn't feel the need to photograph.

The desserts were good, but nothing special. Based on the standards we've come to expect. The sandwiches were fantastic, though. That Earl sure knows his sandwiches.

Alright, we've eaten. Where to next?

 

[nilla]

I love this segment of Fantasia, so naturally, I love this display:



So does the girl:



But look out!



On to the Pin Trader shop, were we only stop for photographs these days:



What should we do next? Hey, what about



?

 

[nilla]

If you have read and recall my last TR, Kristin and Emily planned to do Characters in Flight last year, while Dylan and I were at Disney Quest. It was too windy, though, so it never happened. But it's not too windy now. So let's go!

In we go, and it's pretty neat. Open in the middle, with a circular, metal walkway around the outside. Going up!







Hey, there's Epcot!



CBR must be over there somewhere, too. There's Tower of Terror and Typhoon Lagoon:



The Land, Imagination, and the Swan and/or Dolphin!



This is really cool! There's the Contemporary:



CBR, straight ahead, the left and down from ToT. Tough to see on this resized photo, but the Muppets Balloon and Earful Tower are also in the shot.



I forget which resort this is. I like the location, though:



Wow, that's A LOT of construction:



I don't know what any of this is:



Fulton's, etc.:



MORE construction:



Man, you don't realize how much they ripped this place up until you go up in a hot air balloon tethered to the ground. So Em, how do you like this experience?



Don't look down!



Too late. Going down now...







There we are:



...and that's it. That was fun! I'd love to do that again.

 

[nilla]

Another thing that would be fun would be the Aquaboats, or whatver they call them. Especially "Saucey":



But not today.

Next, it's into Expensive Hats We Won't Buy:



Pretty cool, if I wore anything remotely like that! This as well:



We still have some time, but the clock's not moving in reverse, so we should start wrapping up here. Of course, we do have the not-so-small situation of a dozen or so remaining snack credits. And we know just where to spend those:



But first, we have to get there! Across the Brand-Nu Bridge we go, photos on the way...









As I said before, LOTS of construction here:





Aaaaghh!!



Don't eat me! Wait...it's not real. *phew*

Rainforest Cafe was our very first meal at WDW, way back in '06, and I wasn't impressed. The visuals were great (we WERE in the monkey room, after all), but the food was just "eh".

CLEARLY not as good as Chocolate Haunted Mansion Bats with Broken Wings:



Or Haunted Mansion Gummi Worms:



Or Haunted Mansion Jelly Beans:

Ok, I made those up. Hey, let's get slushies!



There are like 7 or 8 different flavors, and you can get whatever mix you want. Later, we got one with every flavor. Hey, check it - the CM made a Mickey!



As you can see, we bought all kinds of crap:





And finally...



Disney done!

 

[nilla]

Or should I say, "Disney done "?

Nah, we're TECHNICALLY not out of the 'World YET, so we're still going to have fun. 1950's soda shop style:



As someone mentioned somewhere, the Caribbean Beach bus stop is one of, if not the, first stops after hitting the Candy Shop. Which is awesome. We're on the bus in short order. And on our way. And now, driving past Mickey's Magical Fire Station:



THIS is one of the things I love about Disney. Even this fire station is ridiculous.

Here's a golf course:



It was HOT that day, but people were still playing. Good for them.

Others chose a more cooling experience:





This place looks fun, but we NEVER do it. Never find the time. Also, we have season passes to a water park at home, and I don't think the difference between Disney water park and non-Disney water park is anywhere near as pronounced as the difference between Disney non-water park and non-Disney non-water park. Anyway, here's one last shot of DTD, or DS, or whatever it was and/or is officially acronymed:



And that's the last we'll see of Disney Quest.

We reach the resort, and here's one more shot of the Caribbean Beach sign:



We still have a few minutes before the Magical Express arrives, so we mill about Centertown, taking some parting shots of the resort:







See ya, CBR! We had a great time! Thanks for everything!

 

[nilla]

We board the DME, and none of us are happy:



The bus hits the road, and eventually, we're out of Walt Disney World. Goodbye, my home. See you next year!

Oh, by the way - if I didn't mention it before, Kristin told me during this trip that she would never again entertain the idea of going somewhere else instead of Disney. See, Disney can cure THAT bug, too.

After an uneventful trip to the airport, we went through security, then did some shopping. Not necessarily in that order. I can't remember if the scanners are before or after the shops.

Whatever. First stop, the NASA store!





The NASA store's not that great, but at least it's not 90% Angry Birds, like it was last year. Dylan got a set of earbuds that stopped working later in the day.

I don't remember this book from last year:



Without even reading it, I can tell you the entire story.

Man who wears the same all-yellow outfit every day visits a rocket launch site. Government space agency inexplicably allows him to bring pet monkey.

Pet monkey, who is a known troublemaker, somehow stumbles upon the door to the craft, and as expected, starts the launch sequence.

Launch site personnel franctically scramble to stop the launch. They finally get the monkey out. At some point, someone almost falls, or something, and the monkey somehow stops him from getting hurt. Suddenly, after his lack of impulse control costing taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars in what could have been a space disaster, everyone is happy the monkey was there that day. He's a hero.

Are you kidding me?

Look, I love monkeys as much as the next guy. Probably more. Ok, definitely more. But at what point is it enough? How many near-disasters will it take before people wake up about the very real concerns surrounding this monkey?

I know this sounds crazy. I don't care. I don't know about you, but I am NOT willing to sit back and wait for "Curious George and the Nuclear Submarine" or "Curious George and the Weaponized Anthrax Spores" for me to demand a stop to this. At some point, one of these stories will NOT have a happy ending. George will NOT be the hero. And then, who will look crazy?

But I digress.

Up next, the Universal store. LOTS of great stuff in here, all of it Harry Potter. I would like to see the attractions some day. Just not this year. Or next. Only one photo in here:



I wonder how many of those they sell. Honestly, who wants Hufflepuff? They're the worst. Though they did have Edward, before Wormtail killed him and he became a sparkling vampire.

Emily poses for one last shot:



Ok, one more. Really, this time. Here it is....the last photo from our vacation:



What better way to go out than with Duffy?

One the plane ride back, I waste far too much time messing with the airline-provided headphones, which never work, instead of just plugging in my own. Dylan had issues with his Beats on the way down, so I assumed mine wouldn't work, either. Once I finally figured out that they did, it was too late for a full movie...so on goes Enchanted. Seen it many times before, love it, and there are enough great scenes that I don't need to see the whole thing. I get about 2/3 of the way through it. Which are the best parts, anyway.

Kristin, meanwhile, watches the live action Cinderella. Then watches it again. We own it on Blu-Ray now, and she's probably seen it ten times by now.

Still a little bit until we land. Looking forward, we have a nutty summer coming up, with Dylan going to Boy Scout camp (where he'll make like infinity boondoggle keychains, naturally. Hey, who said I don't re-use jokes?) two days after we get home. Then, it's the 4th of July. Not long after that, my brother and his family come to town, and then, we take a trip to Wildwood, NJ. That one wraps up with Dylan and I seeing Rise Against in concert in Asbury Park And then, it's finally back home. Where Kristin's cousins from Tennessee will be. Emily also has "acting camp" at some point, for two weeks (it's a day camp at a local theater), and there will be numerous trips to the in-laws' place in the Poconos. So yeah, it'll be a busy summer.

The plane eventually lands in Newark. We get our luggage (it all arrived this year!), and back home we go. Another amazing Disney trip in the books, and now, it's back to the nonsense of the other 50 weeks of the year.

The End

​

 

[nilla]

But wait, there's more! I have some closing thoughts. Ok, a lot of closing thoughts. Here they are:

 

[nilla]

This Trip Report

First off, THANK YOU to everyone who read, commented on, enjoyed, lurked, was offended by, ignored, or hated this Trip Report. An extra-special one for the people in the first four groups. I have a blast writing these things, but it means a lot that others enjoy them as well. Much love!

 

[nilla]

State of the World

As anyone on the DISBoards knows, there are a lot of mixed feelings about Walt Disney World among the hardcore fans right now. Not enough new things. Getting rid of old favorites when there are new things. Too much refurb. Too much planning. Not enough Magic.

Of course, I disagree with every one of those. Except for some of the things that are now gone, like Previous Test Track and the Maelstrom. But I'm optimistic about the future. The Star Wars additions are going to be unbelievable. I STILL haven't seen Avatar, but that will be really neat as well. As will the nighttime show at AK. And Disney Springs will be much improved when done. The Frozen ride will probably be great, too.

As for the planning, I find that to be a great source of fun before the trip starts. I had such a good time booking FPs at 1:01 am. I was sad when it was over. And I LOVE the Magic Bands. So convenient for everything. You almost don't need a wallet.

Speaking of polarization, put me on Team Loves the Mine Train. I think it's like a mini-Splash, with a fun ride and awesome theming. Plus, it's so amazingly smooth. I'm a BIG fan of it. We all are.

There is A LOT to be optimistic about in regard to WDW. Disney now owns about 92% of everything that is cool in the world, and they're going all-in on the lot of it. And they seldom swing and miss. The future is very bright for this obsession of ours.