11 days, 11 people...We put the FUN in dysFUNctional! A Jan 2014 TR! NEW 2/3 Kona!

[MistDis]

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[MistDis]

Chapter Links!


Jan. 1, 2014​

Day 1!!​

Jan. 2, 2014
Tampa!

Jan. 3 2014
Kona!
Animal Kingdom Lodge!​

Winter Summerland Mini Golf!​

House of Blues and Freezing Wishes!​

Jan. 4, 2014
Kona Cafe Lunch!
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[MistDis]

Jan. 1, 2014: Day 1​

A week before our trip, there was one thing we needed to do and that was to see Saving Mr. Banks. Chey, Rob, and I went and OMG that movie. I loved it. I loved how Tom Hanks portrayed Walt and the story it told. I wanted to squeeze Frozen in before we left but it didn't happen.

Anyways, we were leaving Jan. 1st at 4 in the morning. I had to work in the hospital until midnight new year’s eve and while usually I would be unhappy with that, I didn't care. I was going to be away from that place for 12 days and be with my favorite people in my favorite place. Plus, working helped get my mind off of the anticipation and excitement a little.

I got home close to 1am and COULD NOT SLEEP. I finished packing last minute items and just laid in bed way too excited to sleep. I got about 2 hours of sleep and then it was time to go to Disney!!!!



With never having to worry about bringing them before, I was so afraid I was going to forget those!!

We picked up Chey, Malorie, and Peg down the road and we embarked on our 16 hour drive. We ALWAYS drive. I’m terrified to fly so driving to Florida from PA never seems like a such a big deal because it’s all I know. My husband drives the whole time even though I always offer. We take a little U-Haul trailer with us because we literally had 11 people's luggage and he didn't think I could drive with it So I slept on and off for 16 hours.

Mom, Dad, Trav, and Adrienne left a few hours before us by car. Mom's afraid to fly too. Chey's parents were flying down a few days later.

On the way down, I checked and rechecked my plans over and over on MyDisneyExperience. I made sure all my dining res and fastpasses were there and switched some things around. It was really convenient!

8 hours into the drive, we had to stop at the world famous South of the Border!



That place kills me! For miles and miles along the interstate all you see is billboards for it, pumping you up like it is the coolest place. Then you get there and

We did look in a shop to walk around a little bit and had to take this pic



We got back in the car and I slept for a good bit. It was so nice leaving freezing cold PA and I was looking forward to the Florida sunshine! The temp kept rising the closer we got and we were so excited to be in the warm weather all week..

8 hours later, we were at our destination!!!

Unfortunately, not a Disney resort quite yet!

We stayed at the Doubletree Suites by Downtown Disney Jan 1-5. We always end up going a few days early to Orlando before our vacation starts and this time was no different. I usually have a few days off before vacation so we just decide to start even earlier! Why not?! We left 3 days earlier and since the promo we got didn't start until Jan. 5, we stayed offsite.



We arrived around around 10pm and were so ready to be out of the car.We took some of our luggage up to our room since we weren't staying there the whole time. We were on the 2nd floor and our room was really nice. I had requested a patio room but they ran out so they gave us free breakfast vouchers for our stay. I thought that was really nice except I had so many ADR's booked that we couldn't use them anyways!

I tried to catch pics before anyone touched anything but I was too late!









There was a sofa bed in the living area and we had plenty of room for the 5 of us. The only downfall to staying here was you had to pay to park, $15 a day.


We got settled in our room and soon we were asleep. Peg slept on the sofa bed because her snoring is RIDICULOUS! We had to get up fairly early because I had a surprise for the hubby!
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[scottny]

Joining in.

Great start. I used to drive when I was a kid because my mother was scared to fly. I fly now, it is just quicker. But totally understand why you do drive.

Aah Pedro. So many times I have been there.

Nice hotel room.

 

[jojosam]

I can't even imagine organizing 11 people! You are amazing!! I live about 45 minutes from South of the Border, so I have trained the kids to scream out the billboards as they see them. Drives DH nuts, but makes me giggle! Looking forward to your adventures!

 

[Jennyfyar]

I complain about a seven hour drive! Looking forward to you TR.

 

[MistDis]

Joining in.

Great start. I used to drive when I was a kid because my mother was scared to fly. I fly now, it is just quicker. But totally understand why you do drive.

Aah Pedro. So many times I have been there.

Nice hotel room.

Yeah it is a fear I wish I didn't have because then I could probably get to Disney even more!! I swear it takes so long to get there but so much quicker when you're on your way home!

Pedro's the best

I can't even imagine organizing 11 people! You are amazing!! I live about 45 minutes from South of the Border, so I have trained the kids to scream out the billboards as they see them. Drives DH nuts, but makes me giggle! Looking forward to your adventures!

Aw thank you! It was stressful planning wise, but it worked out perfectly! I think we'll be going down that way again this summer for Myrtle Beach so it'll be billboards again! Thanks for following along!

I complain about a seven hour drive! Looking forward to you TR.

Oh my, I wish it was 7 hours!! That's not even half way for us lol! Thanks for reading!

 

[MistDis]

Jan. 2, 2014: Tampa Bay Stadium!



I woke up at 8am and I was on a mission. It was our anniversary in 2 days and I wanted to do something special for Rob.

His favorite football team is the Tampa Bay Bucs. I'm not really a fan (I'm more a Ravens girl!!) but I always thought their stadium was so cool and I mean they're from my favorite state.

In October while I was planning our trip, I saw that you can take a stadium tour!! Tampa is only about an hour away and it cost 7 bucks! The only thing that sucked was they only have tours on certain days and this was the only day we could do it before Disney. I knew after being in the car 16 hours the day before driving another hour wasn't the best idea but I had no choice.

I checked the website daily to see if there was a tour that day and even that morning, it was not listed. So I woke up and nervously called and they were doing tours at 2:30!!

So now how was I going to get him to take me to Tampa without him knowing what we were doing that day?! Tell him we're going to Big Cat Rescue of course!! My husband knows I love love love tigers so when I found this tiger rescue place I knew he would totally fall for it.

My mom and dad dropped my brother and Adrienne off at the Clarion which was a few blocks away last night when they arrived. They didn't stay at the Doubletree with us since they didn't need a suite. Mom and dad headed down south to Miami, while we picked up Trav and Adrienne.

We got to Tampa and ate at Sweet Tomatoes. It's like a salad/soup buffet and it was so close to the stadium. He said since we were going to Tampa, he wanted to at least get to see the stadium so it worked out great. Once we were done eating I told him how we weren't going to the tiger place, we had a tour to do at the stadium!!

He thought I was joking for the longest time and was so excited once he finally believed me.

Of course, it started pouring rain when we arrived.





We had to wait a half hour for the tour to begin and our first stop was the field!!








At least it stopped raining long enough to let us see the field!





Next we got to go inside the locker room. It gets brand new carpet each season which is probably a good thing!!









These are the club seats and they are crazy expensive!!!





Then was the part I was most excited about, the pirate ship!!! And fun fact: Disney Imagineers developed the ship!! Disney is perfect.











Next, we checked out the jail cells!







It was such a fun day! Robert had always wanted to just see the stadium so to actually go inside the stadium was awesome. The surprise was a success!!

Once the tour ended it started raining again and we were on way back to Orlando!​

 

[wiigirl]

Following along!

 

[MistDis]

Jan. 3, 2014- Kona!​

We woke up early and I could't contain my excitement!!!!!! Today I would finally see the castle and get to eat something I crave daily..we were going to my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE place in the world.. the Poly!!!

Ahh I love it there beyond words. It's tropical, that smell, dole whips, castle in view, the plants, sand, music, etc. I could go on and on. The point is I had been in Orlando for 2 whole days and I was finally going to feel like I was in Disney.





We were getting closer!








We stopped at a bench outside and took our traditional Poly pics.



This is the face I get when I want to take too many pictures. It was just the beginning and he was already annoyed with it haha. Why he's not used to it is beyond me


We always stop to toss a coin in and make a wish! Hopefully it will come true soon!



We checked in at Kona Cafe and were soon seated. We ate at Capt. Cooks last year and even though it's cheaper for basically the same thing, I love that strawberry sauce and I wanted the rest to experience Kona.



100% Kona Coffee French Press Pot aka BEST COFFEE EVER



I got the Tonga toast and they let me sub the bacon for potatoes



The rest ordered The Big Kahuna




Kona Cafe was perfect as usual and we were heading there again tomorrow for lunch since I just can't get enough of that resort.

We went out the back to see the castle and relax on a bench for a little while.





We explored Boutiki and I found the cutest things. I wanted the Poly coffee mug and little bamboo or palm trees they sale but I never did get around to buying one. We left and I wanted to show the others Animal Kingdom Lodge and I had t try something I've heard so much about!
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[MistDis]

Animal Kingdom Lodge!​

I forgot to mention earlier that this day Trav and Adrienne went to Sea World. I've gone enough times and would rather be involved in Disney things so we skipped it this time. Anyways, we left the Polynesian and were on our way to Animal Kingdom Lodge. Malorie loves animals so I knew she would love this until our actual DAK day!

One of the reasons why I leave for Disney early is because if we didn't we wouldn't have time to fit things like this in. I love exploring the different resorts and showing them off to people that have never seen them before. I like taking it slow before the Disney craziness begins!


I love the lobby! I would love to stay here someday. It feels homey to me and I'm obsessed with animals so it seems like a good fit.





We went out back to check out the animals.



These are just the cutest little things!















We headed to the Mara because I needed to try those zebra domes I've heard so much about. To get there, you have to go outside and it's right by the pool. The pool looks so awesome too!





OK so I don't know if were not normal or what, but we were not a fan of zebra domes... I was kind of disappointed. But I'm glad I can say I finally tried them!!

We went back inside and checked out the store. It is one of my favorites. It has unique things and I could have went crazy with buying animal themed stuff.



Peg decided to make some music







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[MistDis]

Following along!

Thanks!

 

[MistDis]

Winter Summerland Mini golf!​

After AKL, we decided to go mini golfing! It was pretty chilly so I wasn't sure if everyone would be up for it but they were. We decided on Winter Summerland and it was a nice change since I haven't done that since 2009. I love the beachy Christmas theme here!!

As long as it's before 4pm, you get 2 free vouchers for mini golf. Since 4 others weren't there, we used one of their vouchers so we didn't have to pay a thing for the 5 of us! So it worked out great that we got to do something fun and Disney for free!

Here's a tip, you can use your mini golf and Disneyquest vouchers before the dates indicated on them. I don't believe you can use them AFTER that date on them though.

Chey and I walked up to the podium first to make we could use the vouchers early and as we did we passed this sign:



I couldn't understand why it would say "Che fun begins!" I unfortunately said this out loud so seriously and Chey died laughing. CHE FUN BEGINS was a very close second to the TR titles.





We had a few minutes to waste while waiting for our turn to start. They pace you every couple minutes from the group in front of you so that you're not constantly waiting or crowded throughout the course. I think that is genius.




It was our turn to start and they handed us our clubs. They play Christmassy music throughout the game but it was more Beach Boys than anything. I was totally fine with that since it sounded like beachy Christmas music.











This is my favorite one, naturally!!



And guess who got a hole-in-one on it?

This girl!






Chey ended up winning and luckily I didn't bet her like I was planning too. We went back to the room to get ready for Downtown Disney for House of Blues!


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[MistDis]

House of Blues and Freezing Wishes!​

We went back to Doubletree to change and get ready for the night. We had House of Blues ressies and I had to see Wishes from the Poly.

I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE Downtown Disney in the evening. The way it's lit up and all the music. I have always wanted to go to HOB but never could fit it in so this was the perfect time.








We got right in when we arrived and the 7 of us were seated.



Chey got this to drink and I'm sorry I have no idea what it is.




I do remember it being strong!!




The back story for eating here was originally we were going to eat at Boatwright's at Port Orleans Riverside. My husband is from the south and loves southern food so I thought that would be perfect for him. Looking at the menu though I didn't think they had many choices. He had his heart set on corn bread and jambalaya so it worked out that HOB had both plus a million other things so I switched out ressies.

Also, I paid $8 for a $50 gift certificate on restaurant.com

All you had to do was spend $100. EASY with 7 people. What an awesome deal!!

Cornbread with Maple Butter - jalapeno peppers and cheese $7.99. Not my thing but my hubby loved it and ate whole thing by himself.




Jambalaya - marinated chicken, spicy andouille sausage, sweet peppers and roasted green onion in a traditional jambalaya sauce $16.99



Buttermilk Fried Chicken - fried chicken marinated in buttermilk, adobo spice, served with Yukon gold garlic mashed potatoes and topped with Cojita cheese and applwood bacon $18.99



Look how big the chicken is!




Lobster Mac and Cheese - Maine lobster meat in a creamy cheese sauce and topped with crunchy panko breadcrumbs $20.99. This is what I had and it was the best I've ever had! There was a ton of lobster in every bite.



Classic Club - sourdough bread, spicy chipotle mayo, black forest ham, oven roasted turkey, applewood bacon, lettuce, tomato and cheddar cheese $14.99




Build Your Own Burger - certified Angus beef or Jamaican spiced turkey patty on a potato bun $11.99



We all loved our meal here and had a blast while there. After we were done we went outside in the FREEZING cold and listened to some of the bands while we were in the West Side. There was a woman singing outside of HOB and she was really good.



Then there was a band playing up a little ways and they were awesome too!


It was getting later and we had to leave for the Poly to make it in time for Wishes.

Luckily, we brought blankets with us because it was SO COLD. It felt like we were still in PA. I was so disappointed with the weather this time around. We usually go to Disney every January and the only other time it was this cold was when I got married in 2010. And that year, I packed nothing but tanks and flip flops so ever since then I come prepared. I still wasn't thinking it would be as cold as it was this time. I thought 2010 was just a fluke.

This was the most miserable showing of Wishes ever but there was something pretty magical that happened. It was so cold you could not even enjoy yourself.



Poor Peg looked homeless









Now for the magical part!!

I'm sitting on the beach cuddled up with Robert watching Wishes. Our anniversay was tomorrow and even though it was awfully cold, I couldn't have asked for a better moment being in Disney with him.

Next thing I know he hands me a box and it was so dark I couldn't see what it was. He shown his cell light on it and it was a necklace! I couldn't believe that he pulled something off because that boy cannot keep a surprise. If he buys me a birthday present months in advance, he can make it maybe a week.

He had the necklace for awhile and I was so excited that he kept it a secret because there was nothing that could have been more perfect.

I felt like I had got proposed to all over again




Ah I just love it!! Definitely a lucky girl

Only in Disney could the 2 of us BOTH pull off surprises for each other!
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[MistDis]

Kona Cafe Lunch!​

We got up and luckily it was warm weather! It felt so great to be able to wear shorts after being so cold the night before.

We had reservations back at my beloved Poly at Kona Cafe! I always enjoy eating here and now that you can get sushi during lunch..yes please!

Here is the sushi menu... sorry it's so blurry





Crab Rangoon Roll AKA the best thing you will ever eat!! I am obsessed with cream cheese wontons and crab rangoons so I knew I had to have this. Its crab salad tempura fried and served with fried wontons and eel sauce (We skipped the eel sauce!) If you go here and like sushi, you NEED to try this!!!



On the left is the Tempura Shrimp roll with mango and some sauce. It was really good even though I'm not a mango fan. On the right is the California Luau roll. It had jumbo lump crab meat, pineapple, and avocado. I thought the pineapple would be a little different but it was really good!



Barbecue Pork Taco - pulled pork slow-cooked in House-made Barbecue Sauce with tomato salsa and Jalapeno-lime sour cream $11.99



Kona Surf and Turf Burger Deluxe - grilled Angus chuck burger topped with spicy fried shrimp, black garlic aioli, and sweet potato fries $16.49



Polynesian Plate Lunch - $14.99
Grilled Teriyaki Steak with Grilled Pineapple Salsa served with Sticky Rice and Pasta Salad. I think Kona is underrated when it comes to steak and thought it was perfect!




Asian Noodle Bowl - Spiced Beef Broth with Strip Steak, Asian vegetables and Rice Noodles 14.99



After another wonderful time at Kona, we went outside to enjoy the view and the weather.








FYI if you are looking to rent a scooter in Orlando, Apple Scooter is awesome. They drop it off and pick it up where ever you are staying and if you have any issues while in the park (foreshadowing) they will come right into the park within 30 minutes to help you!




Even though it was warmer out, that didn't mean the sun was shining unfortunately.
















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[scottny]

Too bad it was raining but glad it looked like it cleared.
Nice surprise for him to do that.
YUM! I could go for the Big kahuna now but not sure I could eat half of it now.
Jambo House is my favorite DVC resort. Love it.
I agree about zebra domes, not a fan at all.
That golf course is fun.
Yum! The corn bread sounds good.
OMG that chicken is hugs.
Nice surprise during Wishes.
Lunch looked good at Kona.
Great updates and pics.

 

[wiigirl]

Great update!

 

[MistDis]

Too bad it was raining but glad it looked like it cleared.
Nice surprise for him to do that.
YUM! I could go for the Big kahuna now but not sure I could eat half of it now.
Jambo House is my favorite DVC resort. Love it.
I agree about zebra domes, not a fan at all.
That golf course is fun.
Yum! The corn bread sounds good.
OMG that chicken is hugs.
Nice surprise during Wishes.
Lunch looked good at Kona.
Great updates and pics.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who didn't like the zebra domes!!
Yes Kona was one of the best out of the whole trip!
Thanks for following along!

Great update!

Thank you!

 

[scottny]