We're Following the Leader… to the Disney Institute! (A business/family trip to WDW)

[MarbleBob]

Day 2 - Sunday, May 22 - Part 2: Disney Outlets

After eating, we drove across the street to the outlet mall. Uh oh!!! The parking lot was CROWDED. Hope this isn't an indication of crowds at the parks this week! Luckily, we found a decent spot that someone was leaving. We hopped out and quickly headed on to the shops.



We thought we knew how to get to the Disney Outlet (we've been here many times), but we seemed to have trouble finding it. Turns out that they either moved it, or reconfigured the buildings a bit, because it was definitely a different store. About a third the size of what it used to be.



It was crammed pretty tight with lots of stuff though.



We were particularly on the lookout for Disneyland 60th Anniversary merchandise, as we were there last year during the Diamond Celebration and thought it might be cool to get some additional souvenirs related that trip.



They had some cool 60th stuff, but we decided to pass on most of it. Stephanie did get a cool ball cap and some Mickey ears for about $5 each.





I ended up getting a cool tie dye Mickey Mouse shirt for $15. I'm always down for tie dyes and add Mickey to it… I couldn't resist!!!!



Stephanie spent a while looking at the LeSportsac and Vera Bradley bags. She's got quite a collection of Disney bags these days, and she nearly pulled the trigger on a duffle bag, but decided to show some restraint. (Despite my encouraging her to get it if she wanted... Oh yeah, we're on a budget here!)

We have an Adventureland / Tiki themed dining room, and while we already have some Disney napkins, we didn't have these yet. So we picked up a few for a couple bucks each.



Before leaving, Pickle picked up at doll and then Buddy and Pickle split a pack of jibbits (or whatever they are called) for their magic bands.

We also stopped at the Vans store before leaving, but didn't have any luck there. (As much as Stephanie might have a Disney bag/purse addiction, I probably have more of an obsession with Vans shoes.)

Next up, the 20 minute (or so) drive south to the Vineland outlets.

They had done some remodeling inside the Disney store, but it was basically the same as always. And now about twice the size of the other one.



It had a lot of the same stuff as the other store, but a fair amount of unique stuff too.





If you were only going to be able to visit one of the stores, going forward, I think this is the one to choose. We spent about 20 or 30 minutes in here and decided to pick up just a couple things.

I got a Mr. Toad doll for myself for $10. I love that character!!! And as a bonus, it had a Disneyland 60th anniversary tag on it.



Also, I picked up a monorail themed Vinlymation set for $30. Where the larger figure is the Contemporary and the smaller figure is the monorail. Very cool!!!



We ended up hitting a couple other shops for a few minutes (yeah, the other Vans store too), and then we were ready to head over to the hotel. It's basically on the other side of the highway from Disney Springs and just a little north.

We were staying at Fairfield Inn because of the 5 person suites. I wish that I had grabbed more photos of the place, as it was a really nice option. I could see a family on a budget easily having a nice week here as they had a shuttle to the parks. I think it was about $96 per night out the door.

The check-in process was smooth and we were able to find a parking space just outside the entrance by our room. (Score!) This is a typical suite setup with two queen beds separated by a room divider and then a sofa bed and small kitchenette area. Perfect for our family. Stephanie and I share a bed. The girls share a bed. And Buddy had the small sofa bed to himself.

Princess ended up Facetiming with her boyfriend and catching up with her other friends, while the rest of us went out to enjoy the pool for a while.



It was really a fantastic pool with a zero entry area and everything. Nice!





I swam with them while Stephanie relaxed on one of the lounge chairs. It was a very pleasant evening, and a nice way to unwind after a couple long travel days!



We stayed until the pool closed at about 10pm. I was ready to call it a night, because I would be getting up early to have coffee with Lee Cockerell at 7:00AM the next morning. (I'm still stoked that he agreed to meet with me!)

Stay tuned!

 

[deannaf87]

I am in! This trip sounds super fun. Any tips on getting my company to send me to Disney Institute training?

 

[annie170]

I never knew there were two outlet malls so close to Disney! I know I've been to one of them. I think it was the one further north, closer to the airport. Since outlet malls have such similar stores, I'm surprised there are two so close.

That Fairfield Inn looks awesome! Nice pool! You can't beat that price either.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

I am going to have to remember to pick up some boiled peanuts when we drive through Georgia

I didn't realize there was so much to do at the Welcome Center (thought it was just the orange juice) - seems like a good place to stop especially when planning a picnic lunch anyway.

That mall you stopped in looks pretty neat and I like the idea of "choose your won sushi roll". A mall by us has one of those ropes course systems - they are pretty neat!

Looks like you got some neat stuff at the outlet shops. Bonus that the Mr. Toad had the 60th tag on it. I am not really into the vinylmation but that monorail two-pack you got is awfully cool!

The Fairfield Inn looks pretty nice and love any pool with a Zero-Entry as it is great for my kids, especially when they were/are little. Side-note - on a DIS podcast Ryno indicated he though a "zero entry pool" meant that you weren't able to enter it, in that, there are "zero entries into the pool")

 

[mcjaco]

Love the Union Pacific t-shirt!

 

[toystoryduo]

Great start to your trip report! Looking forward to hearing about coffee with Lee Cockerell and The Disney Institute....

I love that Disneyland 60th Celebration hat! Love the pictures in the collages too!

Congratulations to Stephanie on being 5 years cancer free!

 

[MarbleBob]

I am in! This trip sounds super fun. Any tips on getting my company to send me to Disney Institute training?

Glad to have you join in! Tips for getting your company to send you to the training? I know you posted a jester emoji, but I seriously recommend reading that Lee Cockerell book, and then passing it on to your management team.

I never knew there were two outlet malls so close to Disney! I know I've been to one of them. I think it was the one further north, closer to the airport. Since outlet malls have such similar stores, I'm surprised there are two so close.

That Fairfield Inn looks awesome! Nice pool! You can't beat that price either.

Yeah, it does seem strange that they'd have two outlet stores so close, even more so, both outlet malls themselves are owned by the same company. I guess there's enough people who visit Universal and Seaworld to warrant something closer to them.

Yeah, you really can't beat the price for that Fairfield in. There were are lot of families staying there for the week, and I can see why. Especially for those who aren't doing just Disney. One family that we met in the pool were doing like two days at Disney, two days at Universal, and a day at the beach. I think this option would work well for that scenario.

I am going to have to remember to pick up some boiled peanuts when we drive through Georgia

I didn't realize there was so much to do at the Welcome Center (thought it was just the orange juice) - seems like a good place to stop especially when planning a picnic lunch anyway.

That mall you stopped in looks pretty neat and I like the idea of "choose your won sushi roll". A mall by us has one of those ropes course systems - they are pretty neat!

Looks like you got some neat stuff at the outlet shops. Bonus that the Mr. Toad had the 60th tag on it. I am not really into the vinylmation but that monorail two-pack you got is awfully cool!

The Fairfield Inn looks pretty nice and love any pool with a Zero-Entry as it is great for my kids, especially when they were/are little. Side-note - on a DIS podcast Ryno indicated he though a "zero entry pool" meant that you weren't able to enter it, in that, there are "zero entries into the pool")

Yes, boiled peanuts for the win! Maybe I over-hyped the welcome center a little, but it's become a tradition for us. They seem to make it a little more touristy every time we visit, and they had some outdoor construction going on with a new garden area on the right side of the building. So it'll be interesting to see what they do over there on our next visit.

I'm with you on the vinylmation. My kids have a few of them, and they are cool, but I never really got any for myself. But this thing was just too cool to pass up.

That's funny about the Ryno comment. I could see how one might be confused by that wording

Love the Union Pacific t-shirt!

Cool! Buddy is really into trains and Union Pacific is his favorite line. He picked that shirt up at the Golden Spike Tower in Bailey Yard (Nebraska) last summer when we drove to California. A Union Pacific fan's dream come true!

Great start to your trip report! Looking forward to hearing about coffee with Lee Cockerell and The Disney Institute....

I love that Disneyland 60th Celebration hat! Love the pictures in the collages too!

Congratulations to Stephanie on being 5 years cancer free!

Thanks for all the positive comments. Hopefully, I'll have the Lee Cockerell visit and the start of the Disney Institute post up tonight.

 

[deannaf87]

Glad to have you join in! Tips for getting your company to send you to the training? I know you posted a jester emoji, but I seriously recommend reading that Lee Cockerell book, and then passing it on to your management team.

We do have a professional book club, so I will suggest it as the next book to read.

 

[kelmac284]

Fun update!! I have heard about the outlets but have never gone. I am going to make sure we somehow build some time in to go the next time we go! DL has a castmember only one that has great stuff and great prices but you need a CM to take you. I have a group of gals I am friends with from the dis that do a ladies trip to DL every year. I have gone a few times and they usually try to add a day where one of the CM gals takes us. Totally fun and worth it. Our problem is coming from CA even taking the EARLIEST flight it is usually 4 or 5 by the time we get there then we usually rent a car and that all takes time. But since it is on the way to Disney I could say maybe popping in on the drive from the airport to the resort. Very cool though!!

I have to add that after you talked about Rock City I looked and that place looks really cool. Unfortuntely it's a no go for this trip BUT I told mom I already know we HAVE to go back to Tennessee because we really want to go to Memphis and see Graceland and we just couldn't fit it in this trip. Plus I know we are barely going to scratch the surface of nashville so we are def going to watch for airfare sales and try to get back there an who knows if it works out a stop in Rock City might just happen!

Excited that you are finally to the Florida section. Can't wait for the next update.

 

[kelmac284]

Forgot to add I had to laugh about the boiled peanuts. When we went to Charleston we had to try all the local stuff. Tried Shrimp and Grits and loved it and found that just about every place had a different version. Tried fried green tomatoes and wasn't impressed but would love to try them at a "better place" and we tried to boiled peanuts but to me the texture was just yuck. Glad you love them but I will pass LOL.

And your son has really grown. In that pic from last year to this year wow. Def not a little boy anymore. Cute!

And the visitor center looks really cool. We never drive so never get to see it but that would be fun to visit!

 

[wiscbugs]

I'm so happy to see another of your trip reports...they are always my favorites! Can't wait to hear more about the Disney Institute...I would love to take it someday!

 

[MarbleBob]

We do have a professional book club, so I will suggest it as the next book to read.

Cool! If you do read it, I'd like to know how you liked it

Fun update!! I have heard about the outlets but have never gone. I am going to make sure we somehow build some time in to go the next time we go! DL has a castmember only one that has great stuff and great prices but you need a CM to take you. I have a group of gals I am friends with from the dis that do a ladies trip to DL every year. I have gone a few times and they usually try to add a day where one of the CM gals takes us. Totally fun and worth it. Our problem is coming from CA even taking the EARLIEST flight it is usually 4 or 5 by the time we get there then we usually rent a car and that all takes time. But since it is on the way to Disney I could say maybe popping in on the drive from the airport to the resort. Very cool though!!

I have to add that after you talked about Rock City I looked and that place looks really cool. Unfortuntely it's a no go for this trip BUT I told mom I already know we HAVE to go back to Tennessee because we really want to go to Memphis and see Graceland and we just couldn't fit it in this trip. Plus I know we are barely going to scratch the surface of nashville so we are def going to watch for airfare sales and try to get back there an who knows if it works out a stop in Rock City might just happen!

Excited that you are finally to the Florida section. Can't wait for the next update.

Forgot to add I had to laugh about the boiled peanuts. When we went to Charleston we had to try all the local stuff. Tried Shrimp and Grits and loved it and found that just about every place had a different version. Tried fried green tomatoes and wasn't impressed but would love to try them at a "better place" and we tried to boiled peanuts but to me the texture was just yuck. Glad you love them but I will pass LOL.

And your son has really grown. In that pic from last year to this year wow. Def not a little boy anymore. Cute!

And the visitor center looks really cool. We never drive so never get to see it but that would be fun to visit!

Cool! If you have a way to get off property, I think it's totally worth a little side trip to check the outlets out.

That cast members only store at DL sounds awesome. Cool that you have some good connections to get you in! And going to DL with a group of kindred spirits from the DISboards must be awesome. How cool!

Hope you can squeeze Rock City in on your next trip to Tennessee!

Yeah, the texture of boiled peanuts is a little squishy and years ago, I would have agreed with you about them being just yuck. But for some reason, I LOVE them now. Just yum!!

I'm so happy to see another of your trip reports...they are always my favorites! Can't wait to hear more about the Disney Institute...I would love to take it someday!

How flattering! Thanks for the feedback and glad to have you following along!!!

 

[MarbleBob]

Day 3 - Monday, May 23 - Part 1: Coffee with Lee Cockerell

Today was going to be a pretty big day for me. Meeting Lee Cockerell in the early morning, coming back to the hotel to round up my family, visit Disney Springs for the late morning and lunch, head over to the Boardwalk and check in, and then my training class would go from 2pm to 10pm. OK. Let's do this!

It probably doesn't come across here on these trip reports, but I'm really shy/reserved when it comes to crowds of new people and/or generally putting myself out there. So… I had some pretty big butterflies when I woke up. Both from meeting Lee and then knowing that I'd be attending a "networking reception" in the evening for the training course attendees (there'd be 50 of us.)

I was stoked to be meeting one of my business heroes and a Disney legend, but I was also second guessing myself. What on earth possessed me to set up a meeting with Lee Cockerell?!?!? I mean, this guy is so respected in the Disney community, that they dedicated a window to him on the Magic Kingdom's Main Street! Yikes!





Well, no turning back now…

He suggested that we meet at his favorite Starbucks, about 10 minutes north of where I was staying. We were to meet at 7am, so I got up early and tip toed out of the room while my family was still sleeping.

I arrived, got a cup of coffee, and sat down with Lee. Ultimately, I had no good reason to be so nervous. Lee has a tremendous reputation for being a courteous person. He was super friendly and welcoming. We ended up chatting for about an hour, but it seemed like 15 minutes. At this point, it was sort of a blur.

Our conversations meandered all over the place, from talking about his books, to his speaking engagements, to the class I was taking, to some of my company's background and my career, to some of his background and experiences, quite a bit about his family, his upcoming trip to France, his next book (which I can't wait to read), and so on. He was really open and easy to chat with. Also, I'm on the board of a gardening association and we'll be having an upcoming conference in Orlando. I spoke to him about the possibility of speaking to our group. (I'm cautiously optimistic that this will happen!)

I had my copy of his "Creating Magic" book with me and he offered to sign it without me even asking. He took his time in doing so.



This book will now be one of my prized possessions!

On top of that, he gave me a couple bookmarks and a leadership pin. The bookmarks open up to reveal the Seven Dwarfs illustrating the Disney's 7 guest service guidelines:
Be Happy… make eye contact and smile!
Be like Sneezy… greet and welcome each and every guest. Spread the spirit of Hospitality… It's contagious!
Don't be Bashful… seek out Guest contact!
Be like doc… provide immediate Service recovery!
Don't be Grumpy… always display appropriate body language at all times!
Be like Sleepy… create DREAMS and preserve the "MAGICAL" guest experience!
Don't be Dopey… thank each and every Guest!

Very cool!

And the pin?!?!



I'm beyond stoked about that. He had these made back when he was still Executive VP of WDW Operations. He would hand them out to cast members to recognize their various Leadership achievements. He explains their concept in his book, and I couldn't believe that he had just given me one. Beyond cool! I'm not a sports dude, but I imagine this is like the star quarterback of your favorite team giving you a signed football.

So yeah, we wrapped up our conversation, gave our farewells, and then I was soon driving back to the hotel… On cloud 9 all the way. I was super energized and no longer had any anxiety about mingling with strangers that evening!!!

Arriving back to the hotel around 8:15 AM, the rest of my family were up and getting ready for the day. A few minutes later, we headed down to the lobby for breakfast. Knowing that Disney Springs didn't open until 10am, we weren't in any hurry.

Sort of a crummy/blurry photo, but the breakfast area was HUGE.



Unfortunately, the continental breakfast was just mediocre. They did have Mickey waffle machines though, that was pretty cool. So we grabbed some food and headed back to the room to pack up.

Next up we headed over to Disney Springs.

 

[MarbleBob]

Day 3 - Monday, May 23 - Part 2: Disney Springs

So yeah, we haven't been back since they renamed Downtown Disney to Disney Springs. Interestingly, they had had just opened up the new shopping/springs district the week before, so we had the chance to visit while everything was new and fresh.

The drive over from the hotel only took a couple minutes, we hopped on the highway, and within a minute or two, we were pulling off the new exit, and then we drove right into the newest parking garage. I didn't get many photos, but I love how they tell you how many open spaces are in each area. I can see how this really helps people avoid endless driving around hunting for a spot during busy days.

We did snap a photo to remember where we were on the third level.



See those things hanging down in the background above the red car? Those are the parking sensors. They have bright green lights if the space is available, and they go dark when the space is occupied. I guess that's how they tally up the open spots for the signs as you drive in.

I didn't get a photo, but the kids thought it was pretty funny that the sensors don't seem to pick up motorcycles, as the one next to us still had a green light. They were thinking it would be we a bummer if the lot was full with the exception of that one spot. People driving in would be stoked see one remaining spot open on the signs, until they pull up and realize the spot was occupied. Doh!!!

So we took the elevators down, walked through the AMC Theater plaza and past the Planet Hollywood areas over to the new shopping center. You pass through a big open market building. It really reminded me of the Market in Charleston, SC.



It was slightly before 10am and shops weren't quite open yet. So we did some window shopping. I guess it didn't really matter because most of the shops were higher end and we wouldn't have purchased much anyway. I think that's a concern of a lot of people, that the theming is spectacular but they aren't visiting the area for those particular stores. I wonder how this will work out over time?



But from my perspective, when you see the new springs, who cares about the shops? This new theming is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! I can truly see people coming here just to hang out and enjoy the atmostphere.







Anyway, before the area in the above photos, you first come up on a spring/well thingy. You can turn/crank it from up top, and it pulls water up the channel. The kids had fun doing that for a while.



You can follow the water over some bridges in the other direction and then under buildings and then you come across a guest services building. I didn't get any photos, but the inside was spectacular! And on the outside, they had a bunch of rocking chairs overlooking the springs…



It was now pretty much exactly 10am and we were passing by the new Sprinkles cupcake shop. I don't know what possessed us, but for some reason having cupcakes for second breakfast sounded like a great idea… so we hopped in line.



We poked around at the screen for the cupcake ATM but decided to actually go inside and see the cupcakes in person.

Duuuuuudddde…..



Hey Pickle, which one do you want? (Chocolate with marshmallow)



So we picked out our cupcakes (Buddy decided to pass on one.) And they put them in this cool box. Hmm… never needed instructions for cupcakes before.



What did we pick out?!?!?



I went with chocolate with chocolate sprinkles. It was good, but I think I liked Princess's better.

Pickle had the one in the upper right, chocolate with marshmallow in side. She loved it.

Stephanie had a strawberry one. She love it too!

Princess had the one with sprinkles. It was actually confetti cake batter inside.



Princess and I ended up cutting ours in half and sharing with each other. Funny, we both liked the other persons better.

After that, we decided to head towards the older shopping area, you know with World of Disney, Lego, Once Upon a Toy, etc.



It took me a minute to realize that we were walking towards the side entrance of the World of Disney store. Basically walking through where the McDonalds and Pollo Campero used to be located. Interesting!

Coming up on the Lego family. Since the Legos had their cameras, we had to copy them.



The kids wanted to participate in the Lego races (a tradition now, I guess.) So we left Princess in charge and then Stephanie and I header over towards the art store. We love exploring that place!



Stopping by Cindy



Oh, and passing by Lefty's Left Hand Store. Funny, I'm left handed and I've never actually stopped at one of these placed before. One of these days, I guess…



(I never really found the need for anything specifically designed for left handed people. My mom forced me to learn to cut with regular right handed scissors so I didn't have to be that one kid in class always looking for the one or two pairs of lefty scissors. LOL.)

So yeah, the art store! We've lost more than a couple handfuls of hard earned cash to this place through the years.



We managed to show restraint and come out empty handed. After looking at all the artwork and collectibles, we started making our way back. Stopping at the Market Co-op. This place received a fair amount of our money two years ago, when we rounded out our dining room with a bunch of their Tiki and Adventureland themed dishes and accessories.

Just browsing this time though….





I forget what this place was called next door, but get a look at those chandeliers. I'm channeling my inner Charles Phoenix here, "I know, right?!?!"



We eventually wound our way back to the Lego store and were still going strong with building and tweaking their race cars. So we relaxed for a few more minutes and then everyone was hungry enough to eat.

We went back and forth on lunch options. Funny, we didn't pick one of the brand new restaurants. Instead we had Cookes of Dublin. We've been to Raglan Road before, and walked by Cookes, but never tried it. And with the new springs area, it seemed like a great place to stop.





We walked up to the counter and ordered our food. Stephanie and I were still pretty full from Sprinkles, so we decided to split a fish n' chips basket. Buddy went with a chicken n' chips basket, Pickle with a kids fish basket, and Princess went with a battered and deep fried hamburger. Yeah, you heard that right!

So we got a number and grabbed a table.



It actually took quite a while for the food to come out, say 15 or 20 minutes. I guess they were actually making everything fresh to order. No worries, we had fun relaxing and goofing around while we waited.

Stephanie and I split this. I wish that I was eating it again, like right now.



Buddy's chicken. Large portions. I tried it and the batter was good, but the chicken was a little dry.



The kids meal:



And the pièce de résistance… a fried hamburger. She gave me a bite and it was delicious!!!!



Once everyone had their fill, we decided to explore a little bit longer before heading to the Boardwalk in. We hadn't seen the Amphicars yet, so we headed that way.



Too darn cool! I wish someone was actually going on a voyage a time, because it would have been killer to see one of those in action.



I can imagine Charles Phoenix gushing over these too!

And then walking by Jock Lindsey's Hangar Bar. We MUST hit that next time!!!



Eventually working our way back to the parking garage and passing the AMC fountain.



All in all, we were totally impressed with Disney Springs. Great job Disney!!!!

Next up, we head to the hotel.

 

[MarbleBob]

Day 3 - Monday, May 23 - Part 3: Arriving at the Boardwalk Inn



We tried the online check-in for the first time ever on this trip. It asked for an email address and texting number to receive alerts when the room was ready, but I hadn't received anything before we arrived at around 12:40 PM. Assuming the room wasn't ready, we decided to just park in the parking lot and then come back for our luggage later.

Walking inside the building….









I went up to the front desk to double check, and it turns out that the room was indeed ready. The attendant took a minute to give me a map and whatnot, and then we decided to head up to the room and check it out before going down to get our luggage.

Strangely, the room had odd smell when we walked in. Never figured out what it was, but I'm thinking someone must have spilled something around the refrigerator because it sort of had a musty smell. It was one of those borderline things where it was slightly annoying, but not enough at the time to go down and try and get a different room. So we just shrugged our shoulders and moved on.

The room was quite nice on the inside. On par with the room we had at the Grand Floridian on our last WDW vacation.



I took the opportunity to snap a few photos before we cluttered it with all of our stuff.

The TV on the wall was super bright and crisp. I love that they have park hours and various information displayed on screen. This was a nice feature that they didn't have at the Grand Floridian two years ago.











Our room looked out on the opposite side of the boardwalk. Standard view room. But it was cool to see the Eifel Tower off in the distance.



I was never in the room at the time of Illuminations in Epcot, but I imagine that you could see the fireworks pretty well from our balcony.



I was super excited to see all the power outlets and USB ports scattered around the room. With so many devices charging via USB these days, this is a great amenity. I look forward to the day when this is standard for most hotel rooms.







After I took a few photos, we headed down to fetch our car and have bell services help us bring up all our stuff. Princess and Buddy stayed back in the room, but Pickle wanted to join us.

Got a great snap shot of Stephanie and Pickle on the walk to the car.



So yeah, we got the car, pulled up and within a minute or two, we had someone helping us with all our junk. We headed up to the room and a few minutes later, they arrived. I didn't get a photo of the before and after, but we sure had a lot of stuff!!

OK. Here's something strange. I'll tell the first part now, but you'll have to wait until later to see what ultimately happened when I brought it up to management at the front desk. The response was pretty cool.

Stephanie went to load the refrigerator with a few cans of Coke and we found the last people's trash in there. A few half finished water bottles, some pudding cups, and a half full bottle of juice. Weird. What should we do with all this stuff?



We saw a mousekeeping cart down the hall, so we figured we'd just find them and see if they'd dispose of it for us. It took a couple minutes to find someone, but they were very surprised and apologetic. No big deal. People make mistakes. But noting early in this TR that we had a few minor issues like this through the week. So all of the little stuff combined was enough for me to go to the front desk and speak to someone. Stay tuned for that, because it was interesting

I guess that's enough for now. Next up, I head down to start my Disney Institute class and Stephanie and the kids explore the resort. Stay tuned!

 

[melk]

Great updates! Will have to see if my library has that book by Lee Cockerell. Nice review of the new Disney Springs. I usually hate the traffic getting over there but from your pictures it looks like it's worth checking out.

 

[toystoryduo]

Great update! That is so cool that you had coffee with Lee! I definitely want to read his book.

We are looking forward to visiting Disney Springs. It looks completely different than I thought it would.

Sorry to hear about the fridge not being cleaned out. Hopefully, things worked out when you went to the front desk.

 

[kelmac284]

Nice update. Gosh I feel like by the time we ever get back to DW I will feel like a newbie all over again and won't recognize anything. The last time we went was in 10 and that was before the Fantasyland overhaul, before FP+ and Magic Bands etc. I really loved the way DTD was back then. We always managed to park over on the side by World of Disney but I am guessing that ground parking is no longer available? I tend to agree with you too that all those stores and the way it looks does not look Disney to me. It is def a nice outdoor "mall" but we have several of those around here. We have a nice one called Fountains and one called Palladio just in our town alone and I have been to the Grove in LA and it is similiar. To me when I am in Disney I want all Disney. I can go to a mall anytime or anywhere LOL. It is def pretty but I guess I will have to make up my mind when we go. I am glad to see the lego figurines and some of the others are still around. I hope the rest are as well like the one over by the Christmas store.

The Boardwalk looks nice. We have only ever stayed at Contemporary YEARS ago before the rehab and the Coronado. We have a timeshare and usually stay there. It is nice because we get two large rooms, a living room kitchen and most important washer and dryer. Love having that but also love staying onsite. It's def a toss up. We were going to do the timeshare this trip but I think from now on unless we are really tight on money we are going to try and go at a somewhat down time and stay onsite and either try for the room discount or free dinning.

We love the Boardwalk area but that is one I don't think I've ever been inside. We love Yacht and Beach Club and usually drive over there and go to Beaches and Cream and then take the launch over and walk around the Boardwalk. We love that area but the rooms are sadly out of our price range. Ironic because today we were supposed to be eating at Capts grill with a late ADR for Beaches and Cream to celebrate my birthday. Funny LOL.

Your meeting with Lee sounded incredible! So glad you were able to do that!

 

[mcjaco]

I'm interested to see Disney Springs. Usually our first stop, after an early morning flight to MCO, is hanging out at Downtown Disney until our timeshare is ready. We skipped it last trip after it took us 30 minutes trying to find a parking spot (the garage was in mid construction), and ended up at Buffalo Wild Wings. We did make it over there later in the week, by going first thing in the morning.

 

[justafigment27]

I really enjoyed your California report, so I'm happy I found this one! You are really powering through this quickly (trying to get it done before Hawaii?), but I'm all caught up and have a few thoughts:


Congrats to Stephanie on her five years!

The girls look so much like Stephanie as a child ... all beautiful, of course!

DH and I took our first trip to WDW when the castle was decorated as a cake. I now realize that a lot of people hated it, but it WAS the castle to me ... I thought it looked kind of boring when we went back later and it was just plain old blue. LOL.

I have two lefties and they always have to take a peek at that lefty store ... my oldest has a board for "left handed struggles" on her Pinterest. It's kind of funny (lots of things about writing and gym class). They grew up in the age ambidextrous kid scissors, so the scissor box struggle at school was not an issue ... LOL.

The leadership stuff looks pretty cool ... how neat that you got your book autographed without even asking!

I'm curious to see your Boardwalk resolution. Old food and a musty smell ... definitely not how you expect to start a Disney vacation.