*1/3 New Trip Report* Pole Dancing and Food Porn

[shannn]

You did NOT just say that you left the math TE on the floor........
OK, just had to say that I had a horrified giggle, well, both of the teachers in this house laughed about the horror of the whole situation.....

I know! I think only a teacher could truly appreciate the situation. Let's just say that the words I said were not appropriate for my living room, much less the Dis.

heading over from Wigd's TR/PTR. This one looks very entertaining so far, can't wait to read more!

Welcome! I can't compete with Anita, but I try.

Awww!! Thanks!! You have me in suspense!! I must see pics!!

I'm working on it. Tonight's update doesn't have any custom clothing, but they did match, kind of ...

I'm in!!! But hurry up and write quickly! Were leaving pretty soon and I need a little fix for the ride down.

If I didn't have these pesky children to put to bed and report cards to do, I could write faster. Don't these people know that the Dis is my number one priority??

Soooooooooooooooooo Shocker... Was this Anita AFTER her Disney Hollywood Studio's Cow Bell fame or BEFORE????

Actually, you can't see it, but the cow bell's in her right hand.

 

[jenjolt]

I'm totally in! Can't wait to hear all about your trip report!!

I'm a teacher too and I could totally relate to your getting ready to leave your classroom! I actually left mine for an entire school week but let me tell you I had emailed my sub about a million times, she came in at least 2 times on her own time so we could go over everything (I trust her enough I left her real sub plans), and I called her to verify everything! SO I get the whole little bit OCD when it comes to my classroom!!!!

Really looking forward to hearing more!!

 

[shannn]

I'm totally in! Can't wait to hear all about your trip report!!

I'm a teacher too and I could totally relate to your getting ready to leave your classroom! I actually left mine for an entire school week but let me tell you I had emailed my sub about a million times, she came in at least 2 times on her own time so we could go over everything (I trust her enough I left her real sub plans), and I called her to verify everything! SO I get the whole little bit OCD when it comes to my classroom!!!!

Really looking forward to hearing more!!

Glad you're here. I'm loving your report! I can't even imagine leaving my classroom for a week. I would have a total breakdown I'm sure!

 

[shannn]

Okay, so once I got my gettin'-out-of-dodge butt back to the house, we really did get out of dodge!

I cuddled my kitties one last time (they had food, water, clean litterboxes, and a cat sitter checking on them - don't worry), jumped in the loaded up minivan, and headed off to the doggie hotel. Here's how that conversation always goes:

Sam: Takin' the doggies to doggie jail.
Me: (hissing) Sam, hush!
Lily: (whining) Mama, Daddy said it's jail. Are my doggies going to jail??
Me: (in a sing song voice) Of course, it's not jail, baby. (glare at Sam) It's a hotel. They LOVE Maggie & Jessie there. They will take good care of them, I promise.
Lily: (teary now) Are you sure, Mama?


Doggies safely checked in to the "hotel", we continue on to the airport. We got there around 10:30. (Our flight is at 1:30) We're a bit early, but we figure we'll check in, get through security, eat lunch, and set up camp at the gate. The kids are practically vibrating with excitement at this point, so I'm ready for them to have something to do.

Of course, the counter for our low-frill airline isn't even open yet. So we wait.

In line.

With two children behind an old grumpy couple who live in Florida. They roll their eyes and proceed to warn us about everything bad in Orlando. According to them, it will be 150 degrees in the shade and we'll be in crowds roughly the size of Colorado. I smile politely and pretend to appreciate their advice.

Aren't they sweet?? What you don't know is that two seconds later he grabbed her around the neck and pulled her onto the floor. (Oh, and, Becky, see! Kind of matching -- both in vintage ringers I got off Ebay. I thought they were super cute together!)

Like I said, vibrating.



Will we ever get out of Knoxville?

 

[MaryAz]

LOL at "doggie jail" Off to a slow airport start

 

[wigdoutdismom]

Soooooooooooooooooo Shocker... Was this Anita AFTER her Disney Hollywood Studio's Cow Bell fame or BEFORE????

I really have to thank my husband for that picture.....



Shannon, we always try to convince our dogs that we are taking them on vacation (their own vacation) and that they are staying at a hotel (the kennel) and they just don't believe it. Those dogs know that nothing good ever comes from a car ride.....

I can just sense the ""vibration"" in those photos of the kids!

 

[All7OfUs]

I'm working on it. Tonight's update doesn't have any custom clothing, but they did match, kind of ...

Oh, I don't know, maybe if you dressed "coordinated" like Anita, you could have the entire DISboard as readers?

 

[lmillercrew]

Well, you've made it to the airport safe and sound, so that's good. (Despite the run back to school)

 

[shannn]

Once the counter finally opened at 11:00, we got checked in and went through security. It's always such a relief to hand over checked baggage, even if I'm a little nervous that I'll never see it again.

In the wonderful 10 gate Knoxville airport, the only restaurant is Ruby Tuesday's so that's where we ate lunch. Don't worry ~ I didn't start with the food porn there, although I'd really like to see that. What would people do if you had to snap a picture of your kid's Happy Meal before you'd let him eat it at McDonalds?

The kids (of course) made friends with a little girl who was at our gate which kept them (relatively) occupied until we boarded the plane at 1:25.

Morgan, Lily, and Granmouse looking for our plane

The plane, the plane (groan)


**Small Rant: I have the worst airplane karma ever. If anyone gets the last row that doesn't lean, it's me. If anyone's group gets split up, it's me.

Okay, this is turning into a long diversion, so feel free to skim. In 2000, I went to Paris to spend New Year's Eve with some friends. My flight out of Columbia, SC was canceled and I wasn't home to get the message from the airport so I was delayed 2 hours leaving there. Then, when I got to Atlanta, I barely made my connection. That plane ended up blowing an engine (!) when we took off so we had to circle around and land. We waited 5 hours in the airport for another plane to get there that we could take to Europe. I was staying with my friend at his apartment and the only way I had to contact him was to call his apartment, where he lived with his parents, to tell him not to go to the airport to pick me up because my plane was seriously delayed. And it was the middle of the night in Europe. Yes, I woke up his poor confused very French parents and finally conveyed to them to wake him up.

(Oh yea, and then when I got there, they lost my luggage and I spent 2 out of the 6 days I was there in the same clothes.)

See? Bad Airport Karma

Rant Over**

Anyway, we were in the last row with no window which drove Morgan crazy, but we managed.

Granmouse and Grammie (Morgan & I are in the back)

Our plane landed at 3:15, we finally found the Magical Express buses (There are NO freakin' signs in that place. What are they thinking???), and we boarded. On our way to the All Star Music Resort.

Coming Up: An Admitted Resort Snob chimes in about staying at ASMu.

 

[wigdoutdismom]

I'd say Marc has the same airplane karma. He always gets a leaner in front of him and he's really tall. So they end up kind of in between his legs.....
I can't wait to hear what you thought of ASMU!

 

[Native NYer]

As a fellow teacher, I totally get the need to organize everything for the substitute. I would have left the teacher's manual at home and pretended I didn't realize it wasn't in the classroom

I'm shocked the check in desk wasn't open at the airport. I thought they were staffed pretty much all day.

And your aiplane karma Glad you didn't have a terrible flight.

Looking forward to hearing about ASMu.

 

[wsushocker]

I'd say Marc has the same airplane karma. He always gets a leaner in front of him and he's really tall. So they end up kind of in between his legs.....

I am printing this off and placing it on the seat in front of me from now on!

​

 

[manntra]

I am in! Was there right before you and can't wait to see how your birthday trip was!
If you asked me...I probably couldn't tell you how to get to ME...it is somehow programmed into me now so it has become automatic!

Tracy

 

[shannn]

I can't wait to hear what you thought of ASMU!

I hope I don't offend anyone. My review is coming up.

As a fellow teacher, I totally get needed to organize everything for the substitute. I would have left the teacher's manual at home and pretended I didn't realize it wasn't in the classroom

I'm shocked the check in desk wasn't open at the airport. I thought they were staffed pretty much all day.

And your aiplane karma Glad you didn't have a terrible flight.

Looking forward to hearing about ASMu.

I really did think of leaving the manual at home. It helps that I only live 3 miles from my school.

I was surprised about the check-in desk too. I think that's part of the "no frills airline" thing. They don't have people there unless they have a flight coming up.

I am printing this off and placing it on the seat in front of me from now on!

​

I don't even know what to say.

Except I think I might recognize that guy. I think I've had his head in my lap before!

I am in! Was there right before you and can't wait to see how your birthday trip was!
If you asked me...I probably couldn't tell you how to get to ME...it is somehow programmed into me now so it has become automatic!

Tracy

It was bad. We've always driven before so we had no idea where we were going. We knew it was on the 1st floor from the printed booklet, but we ended up wandering around on the sidewalk looking for ME buses (which, by the way, are parked all over the place!) Finally, some sweet woman took pity on us and told us that there was actually a counter inside the building! (where's the "duh. here's your sign" smilie?)

 

[shannn]

Last time I tried to post I broke the Dis and I had to wait 30 minutes before it would load again, so we'll see what happens this time!

~~~~~
As we traveled on the bus, we watched our in-ride entertainment. Morgan was beyond excited, and both the kids named every character as they appeared.

(You can also see in this picture that my mom has ditched her "winter hair" (wig) and gone for the au naturale look.

We dropped some people off at All-Star Sports, and everyone oohed and aahed over the stars on the front of the building, the giant football and the giant Coke.

We arrived at ASMu at around 5:00. We checked in and the kids loved the small chairs and tables in the lobby.

Sam snapped some shots of the theming as we walked to the Calypso building.

We were in one of the family suite: (I stole this graphic)

There was a living room area with a couch that pulled out to a double bed, a chair that pulled out to a single, and an ottoman that pulled out to a single. There was a small kitchenette, 2 bathrooms, and a bedroom with a double bed.

This is what the "barracks" looked like when all the beds were pulled out:

So, that was the easy part of this post. Now for the review part. **Before I start, let me first say that I am an admitted resort/hotel snob. I did my share of sleeping on the floor of $89 hotel rooms when I was in college, but once I had my own money that was a thing of the past. I like nice accomodations and I'm admitting it now. I know a lot of people think it's just a bed and that's great for them, but I like luxury. So, this was a whole new world for me.**

If you've read my PTR, you know how we ended up with these 2 nights stuck on either end of our package, but if you haven't read it, suffice it to say that we added these nights much later when our flights worked out for us to stay longer. The ASMu family suite was a much more affordable place than adding 2 more nights and 6 more table credits to our package at the Polynesian.

The room itself at ASMu was perfectly acceptable. It had adequate room (I wouldn't say roomy. I sure wouldn't have wanted to stay there the whole time) and we were all comfortable for the nights we spent there. The decor was okay. I know a lot of people love the touches like the wallpaper and the art, but for me they were just fine, nothing that thrills me. I can't stand hotels where your room opens to the outside (although I've stayed in plenty of them, don't get me wrong.) All in all, it was a fine room.

Now the controversial part... I know people love the theming at the All-Stars (and Pop, although I've never been there and I don't want to prejudge it), but for me is was just slightly cheesy. The big icons looked cheap up close. In fact, since we were in the calypso section, it reminded me of South of the Border in South Carolina! (Has anybody but me been there? )

Usually when I walk into a Disney resort, I get a thrill of Disney from everything around me. This hotel just didn't do that for me. It was fine, but I didn't get that "I'm at Disney" thrill that I get from the deluxe resorts (the only other resort I've ever stayed at was the Beach Club). It just seemed like a clean nice place to stay.

I've almost deleted those paragraphs several times. I have to admit when we came back that night and they were showing Nemo at the pool it was a little more magical. I really don't want to offend anyone who's a Value Resort guest. But this is my opinion and my TR so I'll keep it here, I guess.

Next: Is everyone is Florida at Downtown Disney?

 

[Native NYer]

Your kids look so excited.

Enjoyed your review of the ASMu family suite. I'm interested to see what you think of the Poly. The Poly is just wonderful

 

[wigdoutdismom]

I'll tell you the difference in value to moderate is significant, you can't really compare value to deluxe, there is just no way.
If it's the only way I could go, yes, I'd stay value, but as of late we've been able to stay on our points. Let's just say I'm spoiled......

 

[ladybugmom]

LOVE the coordinating shirts!! YAY!! Don't apologize for stating your opinion. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion--if everyone thought the same way about the resorts, they'd all be staying at the same place!! Right?! I'm with you on your review--I don't like staying at hotels with doors opening directly to the outside either. And I just LOVE the Poly--the theming--everything about it!! Can't wait to hear your review on staying THERE!!

 

[coltink]

In fact, since we were in the calypso section, it reminded me of South of the Border in South Carolina! (Has anybody but me been there? )

I've been lurking. When you mentioned SOB I immediately thought of this...

Taken on our way to Disney in 2007.

 

[erika412]

I'm a snob too. But Brian keeps me in check financially a little bit. He's an admitted hotel snob too. We were actually very happy at POFQ the last time, but now we have an extra body with us. We thought about the suites for a second or two, but had to go Poly.

I cannot wait for your review of Poly. I totally appreciate your honesty and am looking forward to the rest of of your TR. We leave in two weeks- so just tell me, will a snob like the Poly?