10 Days in October: Argle-Bargle or Foofarah? UPDATED: POSTS #984 & 995!!!

[MissDisney121]

I love your TR. It is the most interesting and entertaining one I have ever read. I hope you do another after your trip in May.

 

[DisneyMom5]

I live just outside of Sturgis. Been to the zoo many times. Just when you think the world is huge...

Kim

Nice to meet you neighbor.

We're one town northwest, same county.
I don't give out my exact location online, but I am sure you will have no trouble figuring it out, our county being so metropolitan and all. LOL

We'll be picking up the toll road in Middlebury in Sept., want us to swing by? LOL

It's amazing who you meet online!

 

[oybolshoi]

Lovin the trip report....thanks for keeping me excited about going back in June!!!

Hey, glad to see you're still here but disappointed because you didn't leave me a Simpsons quote this time. The Maaaaaaaatlock one still cracks me up.

I guess we'll miss each other - we're going to be at Disney 5/25 -6/1. We'll try not to make too big of a mess while we're there. But does this mean that you're going to write a trippie for the rest of us?

Woot! I'm finally caught up with what I call...

The Mother of All Trip Reports. (Pun slap!)




You're not going to believe this, but I think I know who your other
Brenda and Jay are. I believe I met them from the F&WF a couple of years
ago. If Brenda has short, platinum blonde hair and rectangular-ish trendy
glasses, then that's them. I did a Cooking School with them, and they ended
up being my tablemates at an Exquisite Evening at Epcot.

I know that staying at BCV boggles your navigational skills, but seriously,
if you want to go to DTD after Epcot, the easiest way is to walk out
the International Gateway and catch the Beach Club bus to DTD.

I'm thrilled that you discovered the Adventurer's Club and didn't get there
between shows, wonder to yourselves, "What's so great about this place?",
turn around and leave. So many people don't know that there are shows
in this place. Maybe one day you'll stay until their last show in the Library,
the Hoopla! show. Leave at 10pm? Gah!

And there will probably be a bunch of folks I know going to the 10/13
Party for the Senses. The RADP group that usually meets in December is
having a diversion this year to meet during the Festival.

And since I'm staying at BCV during the time you'll be there, we might end up
running into each other.

Ok, I'm looking forward to some Grimace Stories! I don't think anyone who
read your dining report could get enough stories about her!

Lori - that pun was inexcusable (and hysterical!). And you nailed J&B - that was definitely them. We will remember your advice about EPCOT and DTD for our trip coming up in May. I'll definitely keep an eye for you come October - can't wait for more food and wine!

Thanks for stopping by.

I love your TR. It is the most interesting and entertaining one I have ever read. I hope you do another after your trip in May.

Thanks so much - I'm always happy to hear that people reading are having as much fun as I am writing. I may not do a full trippie for May, but I will definitely be doing a restuarant review - going to the Chef's Table so I have to share the food love with everyone.

Thanks for reading!

Nice to meet you neighbor.

We're one town northwest, same county.
I don't give out my exact location online, but I am sure you will have no trouble figuring it out, our county being so metropolitan and all. LOL

We'll be picking up the toll road in Middlebury in Sept., want us to swing by? LOL

It's amazing who you meet online!

I'm thinking of renaming this thread the Michigan Chat Room...whaddya think?

Update is in progress...

 

[oybolshoi]

Saturday, October 21st - Repeat After Me: We Will Have a Good Time, We Will Have a Good Time, We Will Have a Good Time...


First things first...the villa is ready!!

We had stopped in at the Beach Club Marketplace to use a counter service credit and while sharing a truly awful sandwich that was not made-to-order I called the Mission Impossible Hotline one more time and received the joyful news that our 2-bedroom villa was ready, Freddie!

After paying a visit to bell services to request luggage search and rescue, we were on our way to Villa 2-something. This was a great location - we were at the end of a short hallway, just around the corner from the elevator near the Solarium. At the end of the hall was a stairwell that dumped right out onto the walkway that serves as the "divide" for where the Beach Club ends and the Villas begin.

We had a great view of what I like to call the wild garden, which is that area where a whole bunch of trees and grass and potentially man-eating shrubberies grow unchecked. Peeking over the top of the trees we could see the tip of the Eiffel Tower in France from our balcony. We could hear the drums from Japan. Later in the week we would be able to hear the music from those Beatle pretenders. We could see the fireworks from Illuminations and hear the soundtrack...oh yes, the vacation lodging gods smiled upon me when I made this reservation in the Fall of 2005.

Here's our front door, why don't you come on in and take a look around?

As you walk through the door you will find yourself in a small entrance hall with a table that has all sorts of helpful resort information laid out on it.

There is also some strange towel creation in what appears to be a non-seaworthy canoe. I don't know what they are, and Jay thinks they may be penguins, but once again it's Plankton who has the last word.

"Minions!"

 

[oybolshoi]

Saturday, October 21st - Repeat After Me: We Will Have a Good Time, We Will Have a Good Time, We Will Have a Good Time...

As you are standing in the hall, if you look to your left you will see another doorway - that leads into the 2nd bedroom, which is where the parental unit will be lodging for the week. They have a full bathroom, their own television, a queen-sized bed, a sofa sleeper, a cozy little seating area, and direct access to our shared balcony, which may actually be longer than this trip report, if you can believe that.

Feel free to take a look around, their flight hasn't arrived yet.

You thought I was joking about the balcony, didn't you? And do you see the colors - cue Professor Frink: "The colors, children! Look at the colors!" - the building behind Jason is sky-blue; that's the end of the Beach Club section of the resort. Notice that our siding is sea-foam green...you know, the more I think about it, the more the entire EPCOT resort area reminds me of saltwater taffy.

Back to the tour...from that same entrance hallway, if you turn to the right, you walk into the kitchen / living room area where there is another sofa sleeper, a television, and access to that fabulous balcony.

The master bedroom is also just off the hall, and it has a king-sized bed, a very spread out bathroom with a separate shower, a jacuzzi tub, a good sized closet, a wall-safe, a television, and yet more access to the balcony.

Lookie, lookie...the luggage is safe, the luggage is here, the luggage has our swim suits so lets unpack and go hang out at the pool!! Jason and I have unpacking down to a science - you can see that I am a chronic over-packer and yet we still managed to unpack everything and get ourselves settled in for the week in about fifteen minutes.

And someone else appears to be happy that the villa is ready...

At this point, I would like to make a few quick comments about the villa itself, because if you read the DVC boards around here you might expect to get to your room and find the bloody remains of a sacrificed chicken in your bed and a family of illegal immigrants living under the kitchen sink.

I'm not saying that some complaints aren't justified, but it seems to me that there are a lot of unwarranted complaints mixed in with the legitimate ones and the prevailing attitude is rather negative (and I should know, I'm one the biggest natural negative thinkers you've never met!). Of course, I can only draw upon our experiences during the last five years that we've been owners and any issues we've had have been minor in nature, for which we are very grateful.

For example, in this particular villa, the jacuzzi tub took almost as long to drain as it takes me to drive to work in rush hour traffic (that's 45 minutes, one-way, on a good day). The little compartment inside the dishwasher that holds detergent was broken, so that rendered the appliance useless.

And the mattress on our bed was made out of stone. Seriously...the mattress didn't give one bit, even when Jason and I were both lying down at the same time. I like a firm mattress, but I really prefer granite for my kitchen countertops, thanks anyway.

So, when faced with these issues I picked up the phone and talked with someone in maintenance / mousekeeping, because if I don't let them know about problems and issues how in the world are they supposed to know they exist and need to be addressed? It's not just our problem, it's a problem for every family that stays in Villa 224 once we leave, so why not tell someone about it and get it fixed. Stop the madness now, people!!

That's it - DVC sermonizing is over.

Before getting some much needed pool time, there was one last thing that I had to take care of...

***Cloying Sentiment Alert! I Repeat...Cloying Sentiment Alert! You have been warned***


I love my parents. They're very kind, thoughtful people and over the years they have been far more generous to Jay and I than we probably ever deserved. This trip was a way for us to repay them a little for all their past vacation generosity, for those times back in the 90s when they paid for family trips to WDW while Jason and I were still in college. Our financial condition at that time could best be summed up as such: "Does anyone have change for a button?"

Now my mom would finally have a chance to stay on property at a deluxe resort...Jon would finally have a chance to sit down to a real meal while on vacation...we'd all get to experience the joy that can be Florida in October during the Food and Wine Festival.

I went into their bedroom and left some gifts for them on their table...Park Hoppers, KTTW / Dining Plan Cards, MNSSHP tickets, some tasty Ghiradelli specialty candy bars we picked up in Downtown Disney (especially toffee ones, my mom is crazy for toffee bars), and a bag of 100% Kona beans from the Polynesian for their post-vacation coffee drinking pleasure.

I actually wanted to do more, but Jason reminded me that there was no need to go overboard, which I tend to want to do sometimes. I had considered having a specialty basket delivered, or ordering some items from the room service amenities menu (some day I'm ordering the Main Mouse with the tuxedo strawberries, just try and stop me!), but the hubby was right...we had more surprises for them later in the week.

Coming soon...the parents actually arrive!! Dinner at Rose and Crown and what are we to do about this World Series thing?

Thanks again for reading!!

 

[Guy Incognito]

And do you see the colors - cue Professor Frink: "The colors, children! Look at the colors!"

"Can I play with it?"

"No, you can't play with it. You wouldn't enjoy it on as many levels as I do."


I wanted to post a picture of Professor Frink for you, but I don't have enough posts here yet. Sorry.

This just gets better and better.

 

[A fat english gent]

Saturday, October 21st - Repeat After Me: We Will Have a Good Time, We Will Have a Good Time, We Will Have a Good Time...


First things first...the villa is ready!!

We had stopped in at the Beach Club Marketplace to use a counter service credit and while sharing a truly awful sandwich that was not made-to-order I called the Mission Impossible Hotline one more time and received the joyful news that our 2-bedroom villa was ready, Freddie!

After paying a visit to bell services to request luggage search and rescue, we were on our way to Villa 2-something. This was a great location - we were at the end of a short hallway, just around the corner from the elevator near the Solarium. At the end of the hall was a stairwell that dumped right out onto the walkway that serves as the "divide" for where the Beach Club ends and the Villas begin.

We had a great view of what I like to call the wild garden, which is that area where a whole bunch of trees and grass and potentially man-eating shrubberies grow unchecked. Peeking over the top of the trees we could see the tip of the Eiffel Tower in France from our balcony. We could hear the drums from Japan. Later in the week we would be able to hear the music from those Beatle pretenders. We could see the fireworks from Illuminations and hear the soundtrack...oh yes, the vacation lodging gods smiled upon me when I made this reservation in the Fall of 2005.

Here's our front door, why don't you come on in and take a look around?

As you walk through the door you will find yourself in a small entrance hall with a table that has all sorts of helpful resort information laid out on it.

There is also some strange towel creation in what appears to be a non-seaworthy canoe. I don't know what they are, and Jay thinks they may be penguins, but once again it's Plankton who has the last word.

"Minions!"

OMG..looks like Planky is about to get it onnnnnn......

 

[Karen Mouse]

"Minions!"

What on earth is Planky doing to that poor penguin at the back of the canoe - he ought to be ashamed of himself - I bet he hasnt even asked her name

 

[LiteBrite]

I went into their bedroom and left some gifts for them on their table...Park Hoppers, KTTW / Dining Plan Cards, MNSSHP tickets, some tasty Ghiradelli specialty candy bars we picked up in Downtown Disney (especially toffee ones, my mom is crazy for toffee bars), and a bag of 100% Kona beans from the Polynesian for their post-vacation coffee drinking pleasure.

I actually wanted to do more, but Jason reminded me that there was no need to go overboard, which I tend to want to do sometimes. I had considered having a specialty basket delivered, or ordering some items from the room service amenities menu (some day I'm ordering the Main Mouse with the tuxedo strawberries, just try and stop me!), but the hubby was right...we had more surprises for them later in the week.

Now see, at this point I'm seriously considering asking if you want to adopt us! Or maybe we could just adopt each other. You book us deluxe accomodations at WDW and leave piles of extravagant gifts waiting on the bed for our arrival, and we'll take you to Ireland for a month at a time. Deal?

 

[cntkg1]

OMG..looks like Planky is about to get it onnnnnn......

What on earth is Planky doing to that poor penguin at the back of the canoe - he ought to be ashamed of himself - I bet he hasnt even asked her name

Those Konked Kruisers have a one track mind! Can't anyone control those DISers?
(Aren't you glad my mind doesn't "go there")

 

[WDW Poly Princess]

I don't know what they are, and Jay thinks they may be penguins, but once again it's Plankton who has the last word.

WHAT is Plankton DOING to those poor towel animals??? He's getting a little carried away on this vacation!

Edit- Bleh! I can't get the picture to work. Boo!

 

[oybolshoi]

"Can I play with it?"

"No, you can't play with it. You wouldn't enjoy it on as many levels as I do."


I wanted to post a picture of Professor Frink for you, but I don't have enough posts here yet. Sorry.

This just gets better and better.

Well it's the thought that counts.

OMG..looks like Planky is about to get it onnnnnn......

What on earth is Planky doing to that poor penguin at the back of the canoe - he ought to be ashamed of himself - I bet he hasnt even asked her name

My goodess, you British cruisers certainly have your minds in the gutter this morning, don't you?

Now see, at this point I'm seriously considering asking if you want to adopt us! Or maybe we could just adopt each other. You book us deluxe accomodations at WDW and leave piles of extravagant gifts waiting on the bed for our arrival, and we'll take you to Ireland for a month at a time. Deal?

Litebrite, keep talking!

Those Konked Kruisers have a one track mind! Can't anyone control those DISers?
(Aren't you glad my mind doesn't "go there")

Actually Nancy, I expected you to be the first one from the cruise thread to "go there." I can't believe you let the Brits beat you to the punch.

And I'm not sure we can trust poor Sheldon with you people come October...I'm afraid you guys are going to put together some sort of pornographic film with Plankton, Borat, and the various towel animals your cabin stewards leave for you...

WHAT is Plankton DOING to those poor towel animals??? He's getting a little carried away on this vacation!

Edit- Bleh! I can't get the picture to work. Boo!

I swear that no towel animals were harmed in the taking of that picture. We just wedged Plankton into the back of the canoe 'cause we thought it looked funny...now I see that everyone else here on the DIS is as sick and twisted as Jay and I, perhaps even more so.

Thanks for reading everyone - I will finiish up Day 4 later on this evening.

You guys are the greatest and Happy St. Patrick's Day!

 

[oybolshoi]

Saturday, October 21st - Give me a "G!" Give me an "R!" Give me an "I!" "M!" "A!" "C!" "E!" GRIMACE!!!!

Before I get started, I must confess...I'm having a little problem trying to decide which beverage of choice I should indulge in this evening while I write. You might not believe me, but I basically sit here at the computer and type this thing up as I go, drawing on nothing more than my questionable memory and my hastily scribbled and oftentimes indecipherable vacation notes (hey, you try writing legibly after mixing alcohol and narcotics).

In honor of St. Patrick's Day, I could have some Irish Cream or I could have some Irish Whisky...Tullamore Dew 12-year, to be precise. Or I could dare to be different: Cognac...Vanille Royale...Port? So many choices.

Hmmmmm....

Vanille Royale it is! I need something that I can drink slowly that will still allow me to "think." If you haven't tried this particular liqueur, allow me to suggest that you do so sometime in the not-too-distant future (do I need to start a list of recommended drinks?). It is a French Vanilla Cream combined with premium Cognac and it is yummy! Over ice is especially nice!!

Here's a recipe that we're going to have to try sometime very soon - as in tonight:

Cre'me Brulee Martini

2 parts Vanille Royale liqueur
1/2 parts Butterscotch Schnapps

Shake ingredients with ice and strain into a chilled martini glass - dust with cinammon.

One thing occurs to me as I look this recipe over...I think it needs a shot of vodka, so I'm going to suggest that Jay use equal parts Vanille Royale and Cirroc Vodka and I'll let you know how it turns out.

**********************************************************

I should explain a few things about my mom and this trip before we go much further. Yes, I hear the collective groan out there in DIS-land, but you need this information in order to understand the very complex dynamics that were in play during the week. So just humor me for a few thousand words... heh heh, just kidding, it's probably more like a few hundred thousand words...and then we'll be back on track.

My mom really didn't want to take this trip. She's not a foodie, doesn't really drink much (unless there's an open bottle of port sitting around), has no interest in traveling to other countries, hates crowds, and worst of all...cannot gamble while at Walt Disney World!!! In her mind, seven days at the WDW Resort was three days too many - four theme parks equals four days and that's all there is to it, missy!

Jon, on the other hand, seduced by our enticing tales of the Food & Wine Festival, leisurely theme park exploration, promises of fine dining, and the lure of a vacation that didn't involve gambling, was the eager-beaver-weeklong-stay poster boy for this trip.

Because I am a spoiled brat I got my way and we were looking forward to a week of shared bliss at WDW. In between hormone shots, surgeries, bank conversions, pain pills, and sporadic diet and work-out plans I agonized over ADRs, I plotted each day's itinerary, I selected the F&W Festival events we'd attend, I booked the flights - I did it all...I did it myyyyyyy waaaaaaaay!!

You can ask Jason if you don't believe me, but I tried so hard to pick restaurants and events and tours that would appeal to everyone. I wanted everything to be perfect and wonderful and oh God, someone shoot me but I've got to say it...magical.

And that was my biggest mistake - I forgot that it is impossible to make everyone happy. To quote Homer Simpson, "You tried, and you failed. The lesson is: never try."

 

[Kay7979]

The last three updates were great. You have a wonderful, witty style. I'm amazed that you can post such lucid and entertaining material (A) In First Draft and (B) While performing brain cell euthenasia with your adult beverage of choice!

Great stuff! Keep it coming.

 

[oybolshoi]

Saturday, October 21st -Give me a "G!" Give me an "R!" Give me an "I!" "M!" "A!" "C!" "E!" GRIMACE!!!!

That's enough backstory. For those of you who crave more in-depth information, look for my autobiography, I've Never Done Anything or Been Anywhere, but I'm Recording My Life History Anyway, at a bookstore near you this Spring!

Just as Jason and I entered the elevator on our way to the pool, my cell phone began to ring. I had it stuffed inside my beach bag and by the time I pulled it out, the call had gone to my voice mail. Not to worry - it had to be the parental unit letting us know that they'd arrived safely at Orlando International.

I should clarify something - many of you may think Stormalong Bay when you associate the Beach Club with a pool, and you are not incorrect. But there are also smaller, more quiet pools scattered around the BCV complex, and that is where we were headed. I don't have any pictures to share with you of the pool area at the Beach Club Villas and I am very sorry about that photographic oversight. The pools are smaller here than over at Saratoga Springs, and they are not heated, but they're still enjoyable. And much closer to refreshments of a liquid nature, if you know what I mean!

Once we had laid claim to a couple of lounge chairs near the whirlpool, I checked my messages only to find - nothing. I referenced the phone number with my address book and the call had definitely come from Jon, so I called him back and went straight to his voice mail. Okay...that seems a little strange since he just called me three minutes ago, but maybe he's pulling luggage off the baggage carousel. I left a message for him to call me back once they were on their way to the resort - since Jay and I had already checked them in, we would need to meet them in the the lobby and escort them to the villa.

Would you like to hear about some more nice things we did for my parents before I tell you how dense they can be?

Not only did we use all of our 2006 and a chunk of our 2007 vacation points to cover the stay at a 2-bedroom Beach Club Villa, we also gave my parents one of our round-trip Southwest Airlines Rapid Reward Credits. And...because my mom is not a patient person (I am so like my mother in this regard) we also arranged to have a towncar service meet them at the airport and drive them to the hotel.

If I could have kids I'd want them to be just like Jason and me!

And now, the dumbening...

Before this trip I never subscribed to the notion that as people age they lose their mental acuity. My step-father has a Phd in Biology and Chemistry...his pinky has a bigger IQ than I do. But I've gotta admit, as the man gets older he's turning into absent-minded, scary-eyebrow, mad scientist guy. What little common sense he did have appears to have been consumed by his bunsen burner, which probably explains why after calling me and not leaving a message, Jon turned his cell phone off and never turned it back on.

I lost count of the number of times I called and left messages over the next hour, growing more and more worried with each passing moment. Jay and I decided that as Jon was apparently boycotting technology we'd better go back to the Beach Club lobby and wait for the parents to make an appearance. Trading the pool and sun-warmed, towel covered loungers for stone benches and bus exhaust was not part of my itinerary for the day, but there didn't seem to be much else we could do at this point.

And worst of all, our plan to give my mom her own theme music when she arrived had been totally ruined!

Allow me to explain. Jay and I had joked over the summer about my mom's unwillingness to take this trip, and spend a week at the resort, and eat a meal in a restaurant, blah blah blah. Shortly before we left St. Louis, Jason downloaded snippets of three songs to his cell phone with the intent of choosing one and playing it as loudly as possible the moment my mom walked into the Beach Club lobby.

Unfortunately we'd left Jay's cell phone in the villa and our great idea, which was really just supposed to be a private joke between the hubby and me, was relegated to "better-luck-next-time-dorks" status.

For your amusement, I will list the music that we were considering - feel free to tell me what your own choice would have been.

1) Night on Bald Mountain - Mussorgsky

2) Danse Macabre - Camille Saint-Saens

3) Toccata and Fugue in D Minor - Bach

For what it's worth, our personal preference was Night on Bald Mountain -

Ah well, the best laid plans...at least they arrived safely at the resort and they ooooh'd and aaaah'd their way through the lobby, past the Marketplace, into the solarium and up to the room. They were suitably impressed by our vacation home and thrilled to find our vacation prize package waiting for them in their bedroom. My mom opened one of those toffee bars before she even started unpacking which resulted in finger-wagging role reversal as I heard myself say, "We have 6:30PM dinner reservations at Rose and Crown - don't spoil your appetite."

Here's Jay and me shortly before leaving for EPCOT and beery goodness at Rose and Crown:

Rose and Crown is one of our favorite places to have dinner - we always have a good time and have been fortunate enough to receive great service and good food. This reservation was really for Jon, however, who had wanted to eat here on a previous trip but had been smacked down by the Grimace in her mania to limit the food budget, "You'll eat the cheesesteak sandwich and you'll enjoy it!"

To spare those of you who may have read my dining reviews, I will not post our dinner experience here. I have included a link which will take anyone who is interested to the page that contains my R&C review. Success at Rose and Crown Post #48 - scroll down a bit to get to dinner and enjoy!

I do have a few pictures that I would like to share with you all, if you don't mind.

I like to call this Hooray Beer!

This next picture is Of Course We're Happy to be Here.

One of the few times my mom smiled during the week - it's a fake smile, but a smile nonetheless! And would you look at the table we were seated at? Have you ever seen a more prime piece of Illuminations-viewing real estate at EPCOT? I didn't even request a patio table when I checked in at the podium...can you believe the luck? Can you believe that my mom didn't want to stay there and watch Illuminations?

She's never seen Illuminations and she wasn't all that interested in seeing it, no matter how much Jay and I raved about it. The park was crowded and she didn't want to be there so we left after dinner and went over to the Boardwalk area.

Guess what?

The Boardwalk is really crowded on Saturday nights, too.

Actually this was one of the few times that Jay and I have been to the Boardwalk at night, and we really enjoyed it. And while poking around in the Emporium we found a display that had pins with Mickey Mouse dressed up as a baseball player, wearing certain MLB team uniforms. Some teams weren't represented at all, or must have been sold out, but there were exactly two Mickey Mouse St. Louis Cardinals pins left. If that's not a sign of great favor from the fickle baseball gods then I don't know what is. We buy both of them, one for Jay and one for me, and proceed to wear them every day for the rest of the trip.

We were able to catch some of Illuminations while we were on the Boardwalk, and we also picked up some Wishes residual from the Magic Kingdom. And then we went back to the room to check up on World Series Game 1, which the good guys ended up winning much to our surprise.

A few other items for your consideration before I finally close out this day...

This is obviously not my mother.

If at any point during the remainder of my trip report you become confused, just remember that the real Grimace is purple and has eyebrows while my mom is flesh-colored and has no eyebrows at all.

Easy!

Did you know that Grimace has an Irish uncle called Uncle O'Grimacey?

Given that this is St. Patrick's Day, I just thought you all might enjoy that bit of totally obscure and pointless information.

Day 5 will be coming soon (just don't ask me to define soon!). Thanks for reading everyone, it's truly appreciated!

 

[BriarRosie]

For your amusement, I will list the music that we were considering - feel free to tell me what your own choice would have been.

1) Night on Bald Mountain - Mussorgsky

2) Danse Macabre - Camille Saint-Saens

3) Toccata and Fugue in D Minor - Bach

For what it's worth, our personal preference was Night on Bald Mountain -

I would also now want to refer to your mom as Chernabog, if that's ok with you. That piece of music is quite appropos for the Disney connection.

I do have a few pictures that I would like to share with you all, if you don't mind.

I like to call this Hooray Beer!

This is my all-time favorite picture. Jon's expression just cracks me up!

And would you look at the table we were seated at? Have you ever seen a more prime piece of Illuminations-viewing real estate at EPCOT? I didn't even request a patio table when I checked in at the podium...can you believe the luck? Can you believe that my mom didn't want to stay there and watch Illuminations?

She's never seen Illuminations and she wasn't all that interested in seeing it, no matter how much Jay and I raved about it.

This part of the trip (when you posted about it in the dining report) gave me heart palpatations. I would have given the puppy dog eyes at Mom and say, "It's my favorite thing in all of Walt Disney World. Would you pleeeeeeeeeease stay for the half hour and watch it with me?" I don't know if that tactic would have worked, but I would have given it my best shot.

This is obviously not my mother.

Did you know that Grimace has an Irish uncle called Uncle O'Grimacey?

Given that this is St. Patrick's Day, I just thought you all might enjoy that bit of totally obscure and pointless information.

OMG! Yes, we do enjoy that bit 'o trivia for St. Patrick's Day! I better put some pillows on the floor, because I'm nearly falling out of my chair, here.

My final thought: When you put "stupid fingers" as a reason to edit, I'm going to channel Ellen and the quote about "Stupid Judy and her stupid energy".

 

[animal_dreams]

Wow Brenda, this is really excellent. And thanks for sending the good vibes for the trip next January -- I really need to update my signature, because I more than talked the parents into a trip, I talked them into... wait for it.... DVC!!!! Yay! Dad has been gung ho for it since our trip in January, we just needed to bring mom around, which we finally did. So we (they!) will be buying soon and I will be planning a trip for January 3rd to 10th. We will probably buy used SSR points but try for BCV for the first trip. It was really good to see your pictures and hear what you thought of them. I may request a villa near where yours was, sounds like it was a great location.

Anyway, that is far off-topic, I just wanted to share the joy! I laugh reading about your mother, and when I say that mine sounds nothing like yours, that is definitely not anything against the Grimace! My mom is just quirky in her own ways. For example, if we all wanted to see Illuminations and she didn't, she wouldn't say a word at the time, but would proceed to guilt-trip us passive-aggressively and enjoy being a total martyr! But you gotta love them, right? Especially since I am in the "change for a button" (LOL at that) phase myself and they are being wonderfully generous by taking me on vacation... or should I say letting me take over their vacations?

And to close with a Simpson's quote, just to keep the tradition alive: "We love Monty Burns more! Conga like you mean it! Please don't make me shock you!"

 

[Karen Mouse]

Brenda...Please define "soon"......we want more trippie

Another great installment

 

[Guy Incognito]

Just for you....

Lovin' it so far!

 

[jknepfle]

Hey, glad to see you're still here but disappointed because you didn't leave me a Simpsons quote this time. The Maaaaaaaatlock one still cracks me up.

I guess we'll miss each other - we're going to be at Disney 5/25 -6/1. We'll try not to make too big of a mess while we're there. But does this mean that you're going to write a trippie for the rest of us?

I think I'm up for a trippie...probably with some restaurant reviews. In the immortal words of Dr. Nick:

"And remember, if you're not sure about something, rub it against a piece of paper. If the paper turns clear, it's your window to weight gain. Bye bye, everybody!"