Relax boys, the belly dancer does not want your singles! 9/2 final update p.87

[Trentmom]

Sounds like a great day at MK Jenna. You guys sure got a lot covered

Hate when people scream like that in HM..makes it worst for little kids

Can't wait to see some pics of OKW

 

[vamassey1]

Jenna loved your update! You really did get a lot done that night. You're so sweet to bring cheesecake to Jenny. I can't believe what perfect timing you had on your OKW arrival. I can't wait to see pictures.

 

[Marshay]

Day -1 (or Day 0) Continued

It was so good to be back!!! I stopped on Main Street and took in that sweet Disney smell. You know what I mean....the candy shop, the bakery, the warm FL air all mingled together.....pure heaven!

We headed for Haunted Mansion, and didn't wait more than 3 minutes to be ushered in. Of course, Emma started with her usual, "I'm scared" routine, even though she's ridden it a gazillion times. It didn't help that there was a group of teenage girls who screamed bloody murder as soon as the lights went out in the stretching room.

Nate said it was the coolest thing to be riding with the fireworks going off and a full moon in the background.

Jenny had so badly wanted to stay at the Pop & get a tie-dyed cheesecake while she was there. So I headed to the food court & hoped they would have cheesecake out even though it was breakfast. They did!

Holy Cow! Was that GV impressive! Really!! Jenny will post her pics that she got before the kids invaded. We started unpacking the car to put the drinks away & get things organized. After that, on to Magic Kingdom...........

Absolutely YES! You have to take that 'Moment' (ok, sometimes it's just 10 seconds!!) to experience Main Street, USA. This represents all the excitement of Magic Kingdom!!

I used to be one of those 'screaming girls' in Haunted Mansion, just for the fun of it...now I, too, hate that when you have small kids...

Dumbo and Fireworks is REALLY COOL!!

What is tie-dye cheesecake? What flavor or colors and most importantly, did you get a pic?

I'm so excited to see pics of the GV! How far in advance was it reserved?

If we ever do a GV for our family, it would have to be at OKW since it is the cheapest.

 

[rentayenta]

Just a super quickie post here. Jenna sent me this via her phone when they got to MK:

I will go back and read but you just have to have a photo of MK for the first time during every trip.

 

[punkin413]

So you didn't love Chinatown? I am so glad you are back. I am sad we didn't meet but loved the pics and texts! Did you post pics yet?

no, not yet. i am actually going to do a completely separate TR of our trip and post it over on the community boards and i'm still working on a title. i'll post the link in my december TR. we took WAY too many pictures to be able to narrow it down to just a few to post on my already-in-progress TR!!!

no, i hated chinatown. i'll probably never go back. it was dirty and i just really don't like chaos and that's all it was - pure chaos! i was good for about 20 minutes then i was over it. and we got kicked out of one store for - get this - trying to bargain.....in chinatown!!!!!!!!! i won't give details yet as not to spoil my upcoming TR.

 

[rentayenta]

no, not yet. i am actually going to do a completely separate TR of our trip and post it over on the community boards and i'm still working on a title. i'll post the link in my december TR. we took WAY too many pictures to be able to narrow it down to just a few to post on my already-in-progress TR!!!

no, i hated chinatown. i'll probably never go back. it was dirty and i just really don't like chaos and that's all it was - pure chaos! i was good for about 20 minutes then i was over it. and we got kicked out of one store for - get this - trying to bargain.....in chinatown!!!!!!!!! i won't give details yet as not to spoil my upcoming TR.

I told you it was a trip. Did you go in any "back rooms" for purse deals? We did and glad we came out alive.


Link here too when you start please.

 

[rentayenta]

Day -1 (or Day 0) Continued

After getting cleaned up after our LONG drive, we decided to head over to MK for the night. Nate asked if we should drive or just take the bus. Uh, definitely drive in this case. We would probably stay until closing at midnight and the thought of having to wait for a bus wasn't appealing.

So we piled back into the unpacked car. I had packed one separate bag just for the Pop Century stay so we wouldn't have to take all of the suitcases into the room for one night.

It was so good to be back!!! I stopped on Main Street and took in that sweet Disney smell. You know what I mean....the candy shop, the bakery, the warm FL air all mingled together.....pure heaven!

That Main St. smell is to die for. Pure heaven!

We were all STARVING since we had bypassed lunch and just ate snacks (& Sonic slushies) in the car. The kids were all shouting out their first ride choices....BTMRR for Jon, TTA for Chris (sorry buddy, but that's closed this time) & the Railroad for Emma (I think because it was the 1st one she saw). So Nate & I decided that the first ride of the trip would be Pirates and then we would eat. And guess what? We walked right on Pirates. Zero, zip, nada wait! For as packed Main Street was, I was sure that there would be somewhat of a wait. Could we be so lucky for the rest of the trip?!

After riding we headed over to Peco's Bills for some dinner. Jon & I had pork BBQ sandwichs and Chris & Emma had hamburgers. I think Nate had a bacon double cheeseburger. Mmmmmm for my sandwich! It was delish! Emma wasn't saying mmmmm though. She said her bun was stale. And it really was. I would have taken it back, but she normally doesn't eat the bun anyway so I didn't complain.

With dinner done, we started off for the next ride. Jon was still yammering about riding BTMRR, but Nate told him that we would only do rides that all of us would go on for the first night. Yes, I am a chicken when it comes to "thrill" rides. I even start to have anxiety over the tiny drop in Pirates. I know, I am a freak. We headed for Haunted Mansion, and didn't wait more than 3 minutes to be ushered in. Of course, Emma started with her usual, "I'm scared" routine, even though she's ridden it a gazillion times. It didn't help that there was a group of teenage girls who screamed bloody murder as soon as the lights went out in the stretching room.

After HM, we hit Fantasyland. Of course Peter Pan had a line. It always does! I think it was probably about a 40 minute wait. So we figured we'd check back in with that one. For a second I thought that IASW was closed because they had a partition around the front of it. I think others may have thought the same, because no one was going into it & again we walked right on. I sent Jenny a pic of Small World since I know it's one of her favs! Next up was Philharmagic, Snow White, & then Dumbo.

Jon yammering. Nevah! That's like saying Gabby acted spoiled.


Love the update! It makes me miss you though.

Now I don't do Dumbo either....heights, around in circles, plus I think I'll get my large behind stuck in that seat, but anyway.....Nate & the kids were in line, waited for two other go-arounds, and then got on. The beauty was, Wishes was starting when they boarded. Nate said it was the coolest thing to be riding with the fireworks going off and a full moon in the background. Of course, I was holding the murse with the camera in it.

Sounda amazing!


And there is no way your butt would get stuck on Dumbo.

 

[rentayenta]

We headed over to Buzz after that and as always, Nate beat my score. We have an on-going rivalry with that ride and now with Toy-Story Mania too. (I'm dying laughing thinking about THAT now!) Back over to FL, we rode Pooh, and Snow White again since there was no line. We hopped on the Carousel, all 5 of us took up a row. After that we decided to bit the bullet & wait for Peter Pan. The wait was 30 minutes and it meant it. It was every bit of it, and it was HOT in that line. Wasn't the most pleasant experience, odor-wise. The kids wanted to ride together and Nate & I were to ride behind them. The Cast Member loading us said that all riders had to be 7 or older to ride alone together as Emma was getting in with her brothers. By that time, it was too late to tell him that she was only 5. They were gone. Oops. We decided to call it a night after Peter since Nate & I were pretty beat from our all-nighter the night before. We walked through the castle & out Main Street. I, of course, had to do a little window-shopping on the way out.

TSM!!!!!! It will never be the same.



You shopping?

It was great to not be waiting for a bus. We drove back over to Pop & promised the kids a quick swim at the Pop's pool in the morning since it was too late tonight. I think I crashed as soon as my head hit the pillow! The next morning Nate took the kids to the bowling pin pool, while I showered, packed our stuff back up & got the kid's clothes ready. Jenny texted me that they had landed and we prepared to meet them at OKW! One thing I had to do first though.....

Jenny had so badly wanted to stay at the Pop & get a tie-dyed cheesecake while she was there. So I headed to the food court & hoped they would have cheesecake out even though it was breakfast. They did! I bought a piece (this was her 40th birthday trip & what's a b-day without a little cake?) and Nate a coffee and met the rest of the gang at the car. Meanwhile Jenny & I were texting as to her proximity to WDW! We drove over to OKW growing all the more excited to see our friends again & parked the car. We walked up to the bus area, and I don't think we waited more than 2 minutes when a Magical Express bus pulled up! We had the camera ready to get some shots of them de-boarding! After lots of hellos & hugs, we headed in to check-in!

Jenny & I headed to the desk, got all of the paperwork, paid the megabucks for the dining plan, got all of our celeberatory pins, and found out our GV was ready! That was exciting!! We could check things out before heading to the park! Nate took all of the kids & drove to the room. We were in building 19. All Jenny & Michael wanted were coffees after their long flight, so I took them over to Goods to Go. We then walked to the room, which wasn't too far away from the Hospitality House, but long enough.

Holy Cow! Was that GV impressive! Really!! Jenny will post her pics that she got before the kids invaded. We started unpacking the car to put the drinks away & get things organized. After that, on to Magic Kingdom...........

My cheesecake was divine and that was SO thoughtful and sweet. As some of you may have guessed, Jenna is about the nicest person I have ever met.

They'll have to wait for anymore comments from me.

 

[rentayenta]

All posted....well, except for the pics. I hope that is not a theme for our trip reports. Last time you couldn't post your pics, this time I can't. Well, not yet at least.


He's only shocked by medical issues......did you see him almost pass out when Chloe was giving herself a shot?


No whining from you allowed!




Nate was trying to figure up how many points it would take to live there for 6 months out of the year.



We don't have any of those good fast food places around us either so don't feel too bad. No Sonic, Chick-Fil-A or In & Out.







Yeah, yeah, I know......I'm slacking! But I had a legit reason!

I love your niece! She is just too precious!!! And that hair!

I would have been freaking out if I was Tracy watching the lightening. I hate flying to begin with & if I had that too worry about too.....(shudders) Great post & we'll catch up to you soon!

I will write my portion out today and post the pics too. The GV pics make me miss it so much! I like Nate's idea of living there 6 mos. out of the year. I bet he is the only one who could sell it to Michael. Maybe Michael could live in Mexico in Epcot?

Can't wait to see some pics of OKW

I can't wait to post them!

Jenna loved your update! You really did get a lot done that night. You're so sweet to bring cheesecake to Jenny. I can't believe what perfect timing you had on your OKW arrival. I can't wait to see pictures.

It was the nicest thing and it was so good! I think all 10 of us shared the same fork.

Absolutely YES! You have to take that 'Moment' (ok, sometimes it's just 10 seconds!!) to experience Main Street, USA. This represents all the excitement of Magic Kingdom!!

That first Main St. soak in is the best!

If we ever do a GV for our family, it would have to be at OKW since it is the cheapest.

You would never know it was the most economical because it's gorgeous. Truly. And so roomy!

 

[passthepixiedust]

OH dear, I've never thought about lightning hitting the plane. I have a new worry now.

Seriously. It was all I could do to not freak out! Whenever I am tempted to freak out on a plane, I always look at the flight attendants though. I figure as long as they look calm and unconcerned, everything must be okay!

Love the picture of your niece!

I definitely don't want to be around lighting in the sky on a plane but what are you gonna do??

It was great that you guys got to go together!

It is so much more fun flying together! Besides, a stranger might have been irritated with me for poking them about the lightning!

Boycott McDonald's? You are so goofy. You look sane but really, it's debatable.

Seriously! He won't eat so much as a single fry!

All posted....well, except for the pics. I hope that is not a theme for our trip reports. Last time you couldn't post your pics, this time I can't. Well, not yet at least.

Awesome Jenna! Sorry about your old computer though.

Nate was trying to figure up how many points it would take to live there for 6 months out of the year.

I knew Nate was a smart guy!

Hey Tracy..It has been a long time..Good to see you

How cool we over lap..will have to keep my eye open for ya

Cool indeed!

I love My Name is Earl..show cracks me up

It is hilarious!

Jenna loved your update! I can't wait to see pictures.

Me too!

no, not yet. i am actually going to do a completely separate TR of our trip and post it over on the community boards and i'm still working on a title. i'll post the link in my december TR. we took WAY too many pictures to be able to narrow it down to just a few to post on my already-in-progress TR!!!

no, i hated chinatown. i'll probably never go back. it was dirty and i just really don't like chaos and that's all it was - pure chaos! i was good for about 20 minutes then i was over it. and we got kicked out of one store for - get this - trying to bargain.....in chinatown!!!!!!!!! i won't give details yet as not to spoil my upcoming TR.

I cannot wait to read it!!! I am so dreaming of the day when I get to take my first NYC trip!

Link here too when you start please.

PRETTY please???

 

[rentayenta]

Seriously. It was all I could do to not freak out! Whenever I am tempted to freak out on a plane, I always look at the flight attendants though. I figure as long as they look calm and unconcerned, everything must be okay!

I would be freaked out!!! We hit turbulence on the way home and I grabbed the poor German guy's hand next to me.

Seriously! He won't eat so much as a single fry!

He's so insane!

 

[jenna]

Stretching at the Florida Welcome Center:

One of the most beautiful sights in the world! (In my opinion at least!)

At the Pop:

This one's for you Jenny!

Even the flowers at the Pop were gorgeous!

Emma on Small World:

They're Here!!!!

 

[rentayenta]

<------Tears of joy!!!!! You got pictures!!!!!!


Love the photos!


I am writing my update as we speak!

 

[jenna]

Sounds like a great day at MK Jenna. You guys sure got a lot covered

Hate when people scream like that in HM..makes it worst for little kids

Can't wait to see some pics of OKW

We really did do alot considering it was probably after 6:30 that we got there.

Normally we don't mind that people are having fun & screaming on HM, but these girls were a little too overboard & dramatic.

I can't believe that I don't have any pics of OKW. I guess I figured I would just get copies of Jenny's. So I can't wait to see them too!

Jenna loved your update! You really did get a lot done that night. You're so sweet to bring cheesecake to Jenny. I can't believe what perfect timing you had on your OKW arrival. I can't wait to see pictures.

It was perfect timing! Thank goodness for cell phones!

Absolutely YES! You have to take that 'Moment' (ok, sometimes it's just 10 seconds!!) to experience Main Street, USA. This represents all the excitement of Magic Kingdom!!

I used to be one of those 'screaming girls' in Haunted Mansion, just for the fun of it...now I, too, hate that when you have small kids...

Dumbo and Fireworks is REALLY COOL!!

What is tie-dye cheesecake? What flavor or colors and most importantly, did you get a pic?

I'm so excited to see pics of the GV! How far in advance was it reserved?

If we ever do a GV for our family, it would have to be at OKW since it is the cheapest.

The tie-dye cheesecake is really cool! I think they only sell it at the Pop's food court. It tastes just like regular cheesecake (YUM!) but is all different colors: blue, red, yellow, orange.... I don't know if any of us got a pic of it.

We reserved the GV at 7 mos. out on the day! I own at SSR, but only had enough points to do the OKW GV since it is the cheapest. I still can't believe we got the ressie! It was fabulous though! I'd stay there again in a heartbeat! No arm twisting here!

Just a super quickie post here. Jenna sent me this via her phone when they got to MK:

I will go back and read but you just have to have a photo of MK for the first time during every trip.

Thanks for posting that! I think I was taking my "moment" at that point!

no, not yet. i am actually going to do a completely separate TR of our trip and post it over on the community boards and i'm still working on a title. i'll post the link in my december TR. we took WAY too many pictures to be able to narrow it down to just a few to post on my already-in-progress TR!!!

no, i hated chinatown. i'll probably never go back. it was dirty and i just really don't like chaos and that's all it was - pure chaos! i was good for about 20 minutes then i was over it. and we got kicked out of one store for - get this - trying to bargain.....in chinatown!!!!!!!!! i won't give details yet as not to spoil my upcoming TR.

Can't wait to hear all the details! Especially getting kicked out of the store! We live so close to NYC, but it's just not somewhere we go. I haven't been since I was 18.

That Main St. smell is to die for. Pure heaven!


Jon yammering. Nevah! That's like saying Gabby acted spoiled.


Love the update! It makes me miss you though.

And there is no way your butt would get stuck on Dumbo. [/COLOR]

I don't want to find out the hard way!

I miss you guys too!

You got to experience Jon's yammering firsthand!

TSM!!!!!! It will never be the same.

No, it won't!!! I die laughing everytime!!

I will write my portion out today and post the pics too. The GV pics make me miss it so much! I like Nate's idea of living there 6 mos. out of the year. I bet he is the only one who could sell it to Michael. Maybe Michael could live in Mexico in Epcot?

I wouldn't even mind living in Mexico at Epcot!

It was the nicest thing and it was so good! I think all 10 of us shared the same fork.

It was just the start of all the sharing!

Awesome Jenna! Sorry about your old computer though.

I knew Nate was a smart guy!

Clearly you haven't spent much time around him then!

I am liking my new laptop. Not liking having to fork over the $ for it so soon after vacation though!

 

[BigGoofy44]

I would be freaked out!!! We hit turbulence on the way home and I grabbed the poor German guy's hand next to me.

I've only been scared once when flying and that was because on the landing the plane leaned to the right before the left wheel finally touched down. And I'm not talking about a little lean, you could see that the left side was slanting down to the right.

 

[jordanyosh]

okay....i'm finally back.........I'm glad this puppy isn't too far in.....

 

[jordanyosh]

So where was I? Oh yeah, "Just Bob" was driving us via golf cart to the SSR. We chatted with JB on the short 5 minute ride and he gave us DVC tidbits, one of those included the out-the-door-price. My guess is that's part of the hook. They throw out the bigger number and then your DVC host comes in and chops part of that price off. I got their number.

We check in at the SSR. While waiting for our dude we created a long list of questions. Our host was supposed to be Randy (Jenna's dude) but we hooked up with David* who was quite informative with a touch of used car salesman. Little did he know but he could have skipped the entire song and dance because if Michael wasn't serious, we wouldn't be there enjoying their free cookies and bottled water. He was nice enough and then asked if we had questions and that's when I fired off my list. He answered accordingly and obviously we liked what we heard.

He told us the 3 available resorts to purchase, without going on a wait list, were SSR, AKV, and Bay Lake (is that the name?). We already knew going in what was immediately available and were fairly solid on the SSR. Bay Lake, while pretty, is far too unDisney for me and really sleek and modern- two things I am not . By this time in the trip we were at the AKV, and while amazingly beautiful, without a Savannah View would not be all that appealing to us and it pretty far from everything but Animal Kingdom. Now the Treehouses look amazing and our friends own at SSR so to us, that made the most sense. We trusted their choice and felt comfortable following suit.

Then came the cost. As some of you may know Disney is offering a "free" cruise for 4 with a new DVC purchase. The cruise did not appeal to us because a)there are 5 of us and b)I am not a huge cruise fan. So could David* make a deal? Indeed he could. While still giving his $$$ spiel, Michael interrupted asked so what do we have to do to do this? I swear I was so excited I think I peed myself a little. I think David* wet himself too.

The cost incentive to purchase while there vs filling out the paperwork at home coupled with the cruise credit made the SSR a slam dunk!

We discussed point amount options and while sweet David* tried his best to get us to purchase more than the required 160 points, we weren't going for it. We stayed strong barely.

We filled out the paperwork, paid the down payment, and were on our way to becoming DVC owners!!!! I think the entire process took an hour total. Michael knew going in we'd be buying before we went in. While David* went to get us some more info, Michael looked at me and said: Happy early 16th Anniversary. He just bought himself another 16 years of bliss with moi!

I seriously could not believe what was happening and to be honest, even now, I am in shock. For some it may not sound like a big deal but for me it is. I am sure most folks here can understand.

I text Jenna and Keith and told them and asked Jenna not to tell the kids until we got back. David* French kissed me, called the driver to take us back to AKV, and that's all she wrote.

Our driver back was the nicest man ever and gave us his life story in a 15 minute van ride. Very sweet guy with good insights. He was our sign that we did the right thing.

We arrived at the AKV, met Jenna et al at the Kidani pool, which BTW is super cool, and broke the news. It was Disney magic in it's purest form.

So here's the deal:
~ SSR
~ 160 points
~ December use date which means this December we'll have 320 points

I will skip the nights' events for the report but the next morning, bright and early, David* called to say our payment would be less than we expected due to Michael's stellar credit score. And of course our dude asked if we wanted to add more points since the original monthly looked good to us. I am proud to say, we didn't add points and opted to stay put. Now that's restraint!!!

To be honest, it cost a lot less than I predicted and "Just Bob" played his out-the-door-hand-well. Gotta love Good Cop, Bad Cop!

Jenna and I have been planning ever since and it looks like we may do a Big Tree Tour December 2010. Keep your fingers crossed. The plan is embryonic at this point. What I do know is that for the next 45 years I will own DVC.


*David's name changed to protect the innocent and not ruin his gig.

congratulations!

 

[jordanyosh]

Next stop meeting with dear friends at the OKW!!!!

The best sign in the world.....

Red eyes are only acceptable if you have nowhere to be on the day you arrive which is never the case when traveling to WDW......

 

[jordanyosh]

Besides a negative pregnancy test, this is the next best thing to see

That line is too funny, but totally you Jenny.

 

[jordanyosh]

Jenna,

I was in the 50s section in 08 with a similar view.......