The Tale of the Grow Walk .Hunh?

[jenseib]

Sorry you weren't impressed with LegoLand. Glad you finally got yourself something to eat.

Me too. And as I write I realize it is dinner time and I am starving and not started anything yet.

Beautiful pics of the Cypress Garden section, so neat that they kept the tradition of the "Southern Belles" with Lego ladies. Really cool all the things they can make with Legos.

It is amazing what they can do.

I am trying to catch up on all your trip reports as I just love your pictures. I am so amazed at how you get so many amazing clear pictures especially on rides. You inspire me to keep practicing.

Thanks. I practice off and on. I have not lifted my camera since Christmas I think..I need to go play with it some more.

Thanks for sharing about your grand-daughter. Too adorable!

She's a cutie!

When the kid gets near the teenage years everything is babyish. The thing that I am trying not to kill my DS over is the "I know". Dude, if you know then don't do it or just do it without me asking 25 time. However, he still likes to spend time with us so I guess I am lucky. He is very shy and does not care for the clubs either, He had fun once with our table mates kid at. 11. He is finally in the VIbe and seems excited about trying it out.

Yes...She is becoming too cool for some things yet still very much a kid at others.

Also, I agree with you about FP+. It has mad longer lines where there was not much of one, It has made FP lines longer and almost not worth it. My DSL is 14 now. I told him the next time we go he has to try the single rider line once. He is really apprehensive about it. I keep telling him that it will allow is to ride more times and not stand in line all day. It has totally changed my park life. Also,as I get older, I am unable to ride some of the more thrilling rides. Maybe next trip I will try Bonine. I use it on the ships and it really helps.

I am still not the biggest fan of it....mainly because you have to choose 60 days out. But I noticed so many people are still saying lines that used to be walk on now have a wait. I just have to accept it and make the best of it.

just saw lots of things I have missed on Castaway Cay! I will have to do a little more exploring this next time. I loved seeing all of those new things. Our next cruise is in 48 days - not that I am counting down or anything.....

I am sure I have still missed some things

Thanks for sharing! I am dying to go to Discovery Cove. I think we have aged out of Legoland, but maybe we should go just to see mini lands. DS14 and DH have lots of Legos and really appreciate master builders.

I would love to do DC!!!

Looking forward to your next trip!

Me too...Wish I knew when it will be. hahaha

 

[jenseib]

We did move on but they were faster than me. They can’t leave anyways…I have the car keys.


























I thought this was funny…as I had issues getting onto facebook at the park all day!








Isn’t this just so pretty?






















Once we were done with the gardens we headed up towards the front. I knew we had not seen the whole park but we were kind of annoyed with the place and had no desire to stay any longer. We all agreed the Gardens was by far the best part of the park, but we also really enjoyed miniland.














Of course we had promised shopping for Claire so we tackled the stores. Skip is not a shopper and he often follows you around…I think to hurry you up. It annoys the heck out of me….but Claire had him with her this time.





I bought a magnet and Claire roamed and roamed.




We found that the prices were not good. They were even a bit higher than prices at places like Target. We told her to limit what she got and she could get something at home for cheaper and then we wouldn’t have to worry about packing. This was not so exciting to her. It also didn’t help that she was picking out some of the most expensive things, which we vetoed. It was becoming more of buying something for the sake of buying it rather than something she actually wanted.


After the shopping I think we made bathrooms stops and then worked our way out of the park.







We headed back out to the car and then made our way back towards Disney for our last night. The ride was long and boring and I am pretty sure Claire took a snooze once again in the backseat. I think we stopped for soft drinks once again before getting on the main highway. Again, this is not a short drive to Disney. I would say at least an hour. I have heard people say it’s less and it could depend on traffic or how fast you drive, but I would not expect to get there in less than an hour.

 

[dizneeat]

All caught up again, Jen!
Those gardens are just too beautiful, definitely worth a visit and the miniland is really interesting. All the little detail, I love it. Thanks for sharing all your photos, I really enjoy them all and those Lego figures are awesome.
Sorry that shopping was not a pleasure. I often find that shops inside of parks are a lot more expensive than even the "speciality" shop outside. But it looks like Claire did find something.
And you are right, it is quite a drive from where Magnolia Gardens used to be. Not sure if it is an hour, but still quite a way.

 

[jenseib]

All caught up again, Jen!
Those gardens are just too beautiful, definitely worth a visit and the miniland is really interesting. All the little detail, I love it. Thanks for sharing all your photos, I really enjoy them all and those Lego figures are awesome.
Sorry that shopping was not a pleasure. I often find that shops inside of parks are a lot more expensive than even the "speciality" shop outside. But it looks like Claire did find something.
And you are right, it is quite a drive from where Magnolia Gardens used to be. Not sure if it is an hour, but still quite a way.

The gardens were such a treat. It really makes me wish I took a trip there as an adult before it closed up. I was too dumb back then. But in my younger adult years I was on a really tight budget and it was all about Disney....It still is hard for me to leave the bubble. LOL.

 

[jenseib]

Our next stop was at Old Key West. I was knocking off another hotel on my bucket list of trying to stay at all resorts at some point in time.


We pulled in and it was hard to find a parking spot, but someone pulled out and I took it and then went in to check in. I was kind of tired and grumpy at that point, but the lady was pleasant. I totally forgot to request a first floor room…I always do, not sure why I forgot…but I asked if there was one available and she said no. I told her we had a lot of bags and it would be hard for us to carry up the stairs but she said we could put a call in for someone to do that. I had no desire to wait for someone to come and do that.


I asked if she could check again for a first floor as it was kind of important to us and she said no, everyone else who got them today were for medical reasons…..if I had been thinking straight I would’ve brought up Skips THREE hip replacements…however I wasn’t thinking. I knew I would be carrying those bags up the steps and yet I wasn’t smart enough to tell her the reason why I was the one to carry them up. Yes, Skip can carry them too, but I knew he would pull the hip card.

So then she points out our building and room. I think we were in one of the furthest buildings away from the main building….again not impressed and asked for something closer and she told me no, it was pretty full. Dang it. She handed me the parking pass and told me that parking had just gone up this week at the parks too. Wow! It had gone up while we had been cruising.


So I join my family and we drive all the way back to our building.








I parked and Skip said he wasn’t bothering with bags till later on. I told him to grab one now as I wanted to go through them and he said no. I was a little annoyed to say the least.


We went in the room and Claire showed Skip how to use the bands to open the door, but then let him know that it was her job to do so and then they plopped on the beds and I went down to get the bags and I explored our area a little bit.


The good thing was, we were pretty close to the bus stop.










I was working up a nice sweat…and this was my family.





A tour of our room.











The room was VERY spacious.

























Now I have been told since I have come home that many of the buildings do have an elevator to use….I do not recall seeing one for ours, but I just might have never noticed it. If there was one though, I am annoyed that I wasn’t told about it.


I freshened up a bit and got ready for our evening. I told Skip we were meeting some people before dinner. I really had not told him about this meet till this day because he thinks it’s weird to meet people sometimes. He didn’t seem to mind though, and even if he did….too bad! LOL.


Our dinner was to be at 8:30 tonight at T-rex and we were going to meet Michael and his wife Judy from Passporters around 8 or 8:15 if I remember right. Michael and I communicated before the trip a bit and exchanged numbers. He ended up booking a T-rex around the same time too so we figured we would meet each other before dinner.

All of a sudden Skip was in a rush to get to DTD. We headed to the bus stop as I knew DTD was a mess with parking at the time. We asked what bus to get on to get to the main building and some lovely people explained the bus system to us a bit. Basically we could get on any bus, but always double check that they were stopping up there. I had debated driving up there but with the small parking lot I just didn’t want to chance not finding a spot.



We rode the bus up there and then headed to the boat dock.






The boat was there and we got right on before it left and we started on our way. Even though I thought we had left with plenty of time to spare, it was soon apparent that we were running late. And Skip seemed to be extra worried about it, which surprised me. Come to find out he thought we were meeting Michael and Judy 15 minutes earlier than our planned meet. LOL. I did text Michael to let him know we were on our way, but the boat was pretty slow.





They did do some trivia games as we sailed along and that passed the time.

 

[jenseib]

My phone rang and it was Michael telling me they were there. It was hard to hear as the boat was loud…but I shouted to him that we were running late but on our way.










Soon we saw this lovely sight.




















As we excited the boat the balloon was coming down.








DTD was busy, crowded and had construction walls all over the place.





I led us the completely wrong way at first. Well it used to be the right way, but the construction wall had us come to a dead in so we had to turn around and go a different way.




We found Judy and Michael fairly quickly and started chatting away.





Skip kind of kept quiet. He was not super friendly the whole night really and I do apologize to Michael and Judy about that. He wasn’t mean or anything, just quiet. I think it’s because he just didn’t know them at all and I think he thought I knew them for years…even before I met him….not sure why he thought that. LOL.


So after chatting a bit, Michael and Skip go to check us both in. I am not exactly sure how it happened but Skip said the guy at the podium asked if they knew each other and would it be fine to sit together and they agreed so now we were going to be sitting together for dinner…..which was a nice treat. And I believe we could be seated then if I remember right (and I might not be as it’s been almost a year ago. LOL).


We all got seated with Claire, Skip and I one side of the table and Judy and Michael on the other. Claire was extremely shy and Judy did her best to try to talk to her but she just sat that and pretended like she didn’t hear or would look at me. I sat across from Michael and we chatted about Disney, cameras and our trips. Skip and Judy sat across from each other for the most part and talked a bit too. It was noisy in there so it was hard to hear those 2 from where I was sitting but we did our best.


Judy got a little wild.





Claire refused to wear it but Judy had no issues. LOL!


I took a few pictures around the place too.








I could hear Skip grumbling about the prices. I should’ve done the dining plan for this one day just to keep him happy. I always know when he has to pay out of pocket he grumbles.


I think he went with a steak…maybe with ribs too…or was it chicken?...…No wonder he grumbled….he wanted one of the most expensive things on the menu.


Claire went with steak as well and I went with the appetizer combo.




It’s hard to get good pictures in here with all the strange lighting.


There’s Michael in the background….I wasn’t on my game and we never did get a picture together.








Claire’s steak.








This food colored blue doesn’t look quite as appetizing. LOL.

 

[jenseib]

The meteor shower went off a few times.









I really love this place.








I must’ve gotten up and took some pictures…perhaps taking Claire to the bathroom.








A few weeks before our trip the aquarium here had broke. I had wondered if it would be fixed by the time we arrived….Nope, they had a fake overlay though.




At one point Skip asked how long we had known each other. For some reason Skip thought we had known each other for ages…long before him….nope. I told him I had only been on Passporters for about 3 or 4 years at the time and that’s where we met. It was almost like he was jealous that we were chatting away. Poor guy. LOL.








This aquarium was still intact.







I love the ice bar here.






At one point Michael asked me how my older 2 kids were doing. I looked at Skip and we smiled. My son is famous for going from job to job. For some reason he thinks he should have some manager position at every place he works and he has no experience. I think he was between jobs at this point in time….though he may have started a new one by then. (He quits before he has a new one lined up….He doesn’t use his head to much at times).


And my daughter Paige…..I had to stumble over that one. Paige was expecting …Gracie….at the time, but only a handful of people knew it. Claire did not yet, nor had she told my parents yet. I just kind of said fine and left it at that. LOL.







Our meal had come to an end. I had thought going in I would get dessert but I couldn’t even eat my whole appetizer so I didn’t even attempt dessert. I thought it was excellent. Skip wasn’t impressed….but his opinion doesn’t count. He is famous for not liking places I like….I think he does it just for spite.


We said our goodbyes and headed out. I was planning on shopping and Skip did not want to. He wanted to know how to get back to OKW so I gave him his options. Skip then tells me he has never seen me smile so much as when I was talking to Michael and my face must hurt. LOL! I guess he is used to me scowling at him over his dumb jokes! Hahaha.


We chatted a bit then parted ways and Claire and I headed towards the Lego Store.








I think Claire made a purchase here and then we headed to World of Disney.




I was in the search for the 2015 zip up sweatshirt. And I could not find it anywhere in the store. I had seen it in the parks every single day and decided to wait till we came back to buy it.





I gave up after a while and asked a CM who told me they were sold out. She said she could see which parks still had them in stock, but that wouldn’t do me good as I was done with the parks. I figured I would check out the OKW shop and hope to find one there……spoiler…I did not…but luckily I went back in August and I was able to pick one up then.





We also ran into Judy and Michael again while shopping and chatted a bit.




We shopped around and I found a shirt I really liked but not in my size. I had them look to see if one was in stock but the only place that had it in stock was in a park and again, we weren’t going to any.


I did get this one I believe.





I thought this shirt was so cute.





I now wish I had bought it.

 

[jenseib]

With purchases in hand….and I can’t remember what we bought, we headed back outside.












I think we may have popped in a few more stores and then headed to the bus stop. DTD was pretty busy and quite a mess to navigate with all the walls.





We arrived back at OKW and got off at our stop. I am going to take a short minute to talk about OKW. It’s a very nice resort, but if you don’t have a car I think getting around can be hard. I don’t like driving around at WDW. I prefer the buses…I know that’s not for everyone, but I just rather have the driving done for me. At OKW, in order to get to other areas of the resort it takes a long time, so it’s better to drive…..but I was always worried about finding a parking spot up front too. I might have missed another lot and didn’t realize it, but the lot I saw was fairly small. The resort was so big too. If you want to get something to eat or fill your mug, it could take quite some time to get up to the main building by bus.


The resort is very nice though and the rooms are very spacious.


We made our way back to our room and Skip was there….glad he found his way back!


We asked if he had any problems and he said no. He said he had actually walked around DTD a bit and watched some entertainment and I think had a beer too. He took the boat back and on the boat he “made a friend too”, which we giggled about since Claire had made a friend on the cruise and talked about her nonstop. We asked his name and Skip didn’t know, but we named him Amando since Claire’s friend had been named Amanda. He said that Amando and him talked the whole way back and he had his truck parked up at the main building and gave Skip a ride back to our building so he got back much faster than taking the bus. Of course we teased him about his new found friend and asked if they had plans to meet up the next day.

We all hit the sack. Tomorrow we would be going home, but we still had half of a day to enjoy the last bits of our vacation. The plan was to let Claire swim as much as she wanted and just laze around. We had to be out of our room by 11 but we figured we would just get lunch and if the mood struck us we could go resort hopping as well till it was time to leave for the airport.


Well you know how plans and my husband go….the day ended up being totally different……

 

[dolphingirl47]

Old Key West is our home resort. You did not miss the elevator. There are only three buildings at Old Key West that have elevators and they are in the Miller's Road Section. You were at South Point. We love Old Key West and we never have a car when we are at Walt Disney World. We then to request the Old Turtle Pond Road area which is quite close to where your room was.

T Rex looked lovely. I still have not made it there and it looks like your meet worked out great.

Corinna

 

[dizneeat]

What a full day, Jen. I think I would have given up after Legoland and would have just slept.

You are right about the size of OKW. But to us that is the beauty of it. Okay, we ALWAYS drive - I hate having to use the buses. It just doesn't feel hotel to us - it is like a beautiful small village - like Key West.

As far as I know there are just 2 or 3 buildings with an elevator and we have NEVER stayed in one. Okay, here is where we differ again, as I ALWAYS ask for a higher floor. Guess hauling luggage is part of our vacation fun.

 

[KatMark]

The gardens at Legoland are stunning.

We LOVE OKW as you know, and like that it is huge (less crowded and noisy). But 90% of the time we drive, so we don't really care and we've been fortunate to be near a bus stop each time.

Glad you got to meet up with Michael and Judy.

We've never eaten at T-Rex...maybe if we ever have grandchildren.

Sorry you couldn't find your sweatshirt (well at least until the next trip).

Mark LOVED that shirt you were eyeing...and he bought it (the white shirt).

 

[LuvEeyore]

I liked your Pictures of Old Key West. I have been thinking of staying there but not having elevators in every building and being hard to get around.
Love how Claire and Skip skipped out of carrying the bags to the room.

 

[LuvEeyore]

I liked your Pictures of Old Key West. I have been thinking of staying there but not having elevators in every building and being hard to get around.
Love how Claire and Skip skipped out of carrying the bags to the room.

 

[jenseib]

Old Key West is our home resort. You did not miss the elevator. There are only three buildings at Old Key West that have elevators and they are in the Miller's Road Section. You were at South Point. We love Old Key West and we never have a car when we are at Walt Disney World. We then to request the Old Turtle Pond Road area which is quite close to where your room was.

T Rex looked lovely. I still have not made it there and it looks like your meet worked out great.

Corinna

I think had I been there longer I think I would've enjoyed it more, but i was so rushed while there for the most part that I just felt like I needed to get everywhere fast. The room was great though.

What a full day, Jen. I think I would have given up after Legoland and would have just slept.

You are right about the size of OKW. But to us that is the beauty of it. Okay, we ALWAYS drive - I hate having to use the buses. It just doesn't feel hotel to us - it is like a beautiful small village - like Key West.

As far as I know there are just 2 or 3 buildings with an elevator and we have NEVER stayed in one. Okay, here is where we differ again, as I ALWAYS ask for a higher floor. Guess hauling luggage is part of our vacation fun.

The Legoland part of the day was tiring but I was happy to get to meet up with Michael and Judy.
It really is like a small village. They should give everyone golf carts to ride around on. LOL!!!
I used to like high floor but for some reason at Disney I really like the ground floor at most of the resorts.

The gardens at Legoland are stunning.

We LOVE OKW as you know, and like that it is huge (less crowded and noisy). But 90% of the time we drive, so we don't really care and we've been fortunate to be near a bus stop each time.

Glad you got to meet up with Michael and Judy.

We've never eaten at T-Rex...maybe if we ever have grandchildren.

Sorry you couldn't find your sweatshirt (well at least until the next trip).

Mark LOVED that shirt you were eyeing...and he bought it (the white shirt).

The Gardens are so beautiful.
It was very quiet there. I never saw our neighbors in the whole area for the most part.
It was such a nice meet and they are super nice.
I love T-rex. The food has always been good and fun atmosphere.
I was sad about the sweatshirt and watched it online...and then I was so glad to get it in Aug.
That shirt is so cute. I really wished I had bought it.

I liked your Pictures of Old Key West. I have been thinking of staying there but not having elevators in every building and being hard to get around.
Love how Claire and Skip skipped out of carrying the bags to the room.

Thanks. I would request a first floor. Now you could ask for help to but I was in a rushed kind of mood and had no patience to wait for someone to come and help. I better start lifting weights now as when/if we go somewhere this year they both will probably try to skip out on it again.

 

[jenseib]

April 1st, Tuesday, Day 12

As usual, I was awake pretty early. Since we had more of a lazy day I just let those 2 sleep in and I went off on my own.





I decided to take the bus up to the main building and check out the gift shop.








I browsed around, but they did not have the 2015 jacket….darn it!










I did buy a magnet though.

I moved on outside to take some more pictures.




And then over to the check in side to get pictures of that area.



















Back outside to take some more pictures while wandering around.
























I was surprised at how small the quick service counter was.

 

[Steppesister]

Holy Mega Updates!! So many great pictures!!! Phew!

But I am totally caught up, and loved every one of them, all the fun stories of your friends (even ones Skip didn't approve of totally ) and the one he made too. So funny!

Legos are just expensive. Everywhere.

I've been to RFC once and it really was just too loud for me. It was hard to carry a conversation, but the food was yummy. I'm glad you enjoy it, and had a nice dinner.

Yeah, the boats are really slow. But really relaxing! Love them!

 

[littlenellbell]

I'm all caught up. Thanks for your review on LEGOLAND. The lego sculptures are awesome and the gardens look nice, but it doesn't seem like something I'd drive almost an hour from Disney to see. I'd much rather try out SeaWorld or Universal on our next trip. Old Key West looks really pretty and your room is nice, but it's such a pain when you have a room so far away. Room location can really make or break your resort experience. We really enjoyed our meal at TRex. It is loud, so not the best place for adult conversation...........but the kids LOVED it and the food was good. Your Skip stories are so funny

 

[KatMark]

Ahhhh....I love your pictures. I really do love that resort and so glad that Mary chose it again for our July trip. I can't wait to be back.

I agree...the quick serve window is small, but there is also one by one of the "quiet" pools.

 

[jenseib]

Holy Mega Updates!! So many great pictures!!! Phew!

I feel like I am going slow too. I have so much going on at home that I have a hard time even getting on Dis daily anymore.

But I am totally caught up, and loved every one of them, all the fun stories of your friends (even ones Skip didn't approve of totally ) and the one he made too. So funny!

We seem to attract funny stories whether we like to or not.

Legos are just expensive. Everywhere.

It's really crazy they cost as much as they do

I've been to RFC once and it really was just too loud for me. It was hard to carry a conversation, but the food was yummy. I'm glad you enjoy it, and had a nice dinner.

It is loud. That doesn't bother me too much most times, but it was hard to talk that night a bit.

Yeah, the boats are really slow. But really relaxing! Love them!

I think if I had more time I might have been able to relax...but I felt rushed.

I'm all caught up. Thanks for your review on LEGOLAND. The lego sculptures are awesome and the gardens look nice, but it doesn't seem like something I'd drive almost an hour from Disney to see. I'd much rather try out SeaWorld or Universal on our next trip.

It was a bit further than I expected it to be. I wish we would've enjoyed it more

Old Key West looks really pretty and your room is nice, but it's such a pain when you have a room so far away. Room location can really make or break your resort experience.

Yes it can. And because we only stayed 1 night I wanted to see more than I had time for.

Ahhhh....I love your pictures. I really do love that resort and so glad that Mary chose it again for our July trip. I can't wait to be back.

The rooms are really nice. I do wish I had more time to give it a chance.

I agree...the quick serve window is small, but there is also one by one of the "quiet" pools.

I never even made it to those either.

 

[wiscbugs]

When is your next trip Jen? Are you still planning on going to Disneyland? I love your reports so much that I just need to prep for the next one