3rd Annual We are "NEVER" going to Disney in the summer again"

[natebenma]

Signing up.

Really enjoying what I have read so far. You guys seem to use your time very smartly. Good job.

Thanks for the pictures of the resort. The Beach Club is one of our "dream resorts" so maybe one day.

Looking forward o reading more.

Q

Hi Queila! Love your name! Thanks for reading!

I was gone for most of the day yesterday- marathon visit to the beach followed by flag football tryouts for both of my boys, but I did start reading your trip report. I loved your philosophy about "there's always next time" or "we will do this on the next trip", it is really the best approach with a toddler! This is also an attitude that long-suffering Red Sox fans are familiar with "Wait until next year!"

But of course the "we will do this next time" is not part of our trip strategy- I appreciate your comments about our efficiency and can only comment by quoting Bachman Turner-Overdrive "You ain't seen nothin' yet!" I'm still on my 2009 trip, but our trip in July 2010 was even more strategic!

When your daughter is older, the Beach Club will be a great place for all of you!!! I am so glad that we have been able to stay there twice. More pictures coming up when I finally get to 2010!

 

[natebenma]

After changing in the BB dressing rooms and another quick bus ride, we were at the Animal Kingdom Lodge- Jambo House. We checked in our bags (backpack and Ziploc with wet waterpark clothes) with the bell desk for them to hold while we dined. Ben and I had been to Boma for breakfast in 2008, but it was the first time visiting the AKL for my husband and Nate , and we were early for our 5:30 reservation, so we looked around a bit.

Animal Kingdom Lodge- Jambo House lobby

Animal Kingdom Lodge- Savannah Walk

BOMA:


We checked in around 5:15 for our meal and were seated right away. The restaurant had just opened for dinner, so it wasn’t too busy at first, but then it started to get crowded. Boma is just awesome! I will let my pictures do the talking. My only complaint is there is TOO much offered. Even with our great appetites, Mark and I wished we had more room to sample things again and again (and again). There are like 4-5 soups, at least 6 different salads, exciting starches (exotically flavored rice, potatoes, couscous), 3 flavors of hummus and a variety of breads, a bunch of meat, seafood and main dish selections and at least 3 tables of desserts!

Soups

Hummus

Kid’s Selections

Desserts!

Next up, Hooray for Hollywood!

 

[momof3cuteboys]

Dee,

Your pictures are fantastic. What type of camera do you use?
Jill

 

[natebenma]

Dee,

Your pictures are fantastic. What type of camera do you use?
Jill

Thank you!!!

I have an upcoming post with a lot of details about the
camera(s) used on my Disney trips. The pictures I have posted so far in this report are from an Olympus Stylus 1030SW. It is (was) a point and shoot, rated for underwater depths of 33 feet and shock resistant to drops of 15 feet. May it RIP.

The pictures from my 2010 trip were taken with a Canon D10, also point and shoot, waterproof to a depth of 33 feet.

 

[natebenma]

Park 3: Hooray for Hollywood!

You have probably noticed that our family is a little creative in our travel around Disney World. One great advantage of the Beach Club and other EPCOT resorts is their proximity to both EPCOT and Hollywood Studios, which gives some interesting opportunities for travelling to and from these resorts.

To get from one resort (AKL) to another resort (BC), you usually need to transfer through one of the theme parks. After our dinner at Boma, we decided we would take a bus from AKL to Hollywood Studios, and since it was early (around 6:30), we might as well stop in for an attraction or two.

Here is the point in my report when I am going to mess with the time-space continuum a bit. The discovery I am about to explain actually happened this July when we took the bus from AKL to HS but I am just busting to share it, so I am going to pretend that it happened during the 2009 trip I am currently describing. I apologize, and fully disclose this embellishment to my story, but I suspect I am not the only one toying with the details of my trip report this week, if you know what I mean. Wink Wink!

As we exited the bus and headed towards the HS entrance, we passed a small green-colored building. I looked over and noticed that there were luggage lockers at this building, with a rental fee of $1 (4 quarters). Although I don’t often carry around a lot of cash at WDW, and usually no change, I did have a supply of quarters and pennies to use for pressed penny souvenirs. So we stashed our backpack and Ziploc of wet BB clothes in a GINORMOUS* INEXPENSIVE locker. How awesome is this??? Huge locker, we didn’t have anything that needed to be searched at bag check, and it was a huge savings from the $7 plus $5 deposit for a locker inside the park! About the only disadvantage of these lockers are that they are single use. You can’t keep coming back to get stuff, plus it would be inconvenient since it is outside of the park. But it was perfect for our needs.

* FYI: The dimensions are: 23"H x 16"W x 29" Deep. I looked it up.
I have since read that there are similar lockers at EPCOT (front of the park) and at the TTC, but I haven’t confirmed that there are any at Animal Kingdom.

Assignment for my readers: I didn’t think to take a picture of this building just outside of HS, and/or the lockers to post them here in my report and show everyone what I mean. Would any of you be willing to take on the mission of snapping a couple of photos during an upcoming trip and PM’ing, posting or e-mailing them to me when you get back?

Thanks kldmom2000 for taking this photo during your trip in August!

OK, back to the past… we now resume the trip report currently in progress: July 2009…

We skipped bag check and headed through the turnstiles of HS, probably around 7 PM for a quickie visit.

We walked onto the Great Movie Ride. I can’t think of a better way to start a visit to HS!

After exiting the GMR, we strolled over to Star Tours. Not much a wait here, either.

This sign has nothing to do with this visit, but I thought I would share it anyway. I made this for the boys to hold up at the beginning of Jedi Training Academy, but the boys did not want to try during this trip. Ben said he already did it, so he was all set.

I’m not sure if it was an EMH night or a Fantasmic night, but HS was pretty crowded and it had been a long busy day for us, so we left the studios and got onto the boat to the Beach Club. It was around 8:40 when we returned to our room.

The boys got ready for bed, and Mark and I talked about the great day we had. Animal Kingdom. Blizzard Beach. Boma. Hollywood Studios. Wait a minute! That’s only 3 parks!!!

 

[momof3cuteboys]

Park 3: Hooray for Hollywood!



I apologize, and fully disclose this embellishment to my story, but I suspect I am not the only one toying with the details of my trip report this week, if you know what I mean. Wink Wink!
What could you possibly be talking about.



Assignment for my readers: I didn’t think to take a picture of this building just outside of HS, and/or the lockers to post them here in my report and show everyone what I mean. Would any of you be willing to take on the mission of snapping a couple of photos during an upcoming trip and PM’ing, posting or e-mailing them to me when you get back? [/COLOR]

I'll gladly take a picture. I just hope I remember.

 

[natebenma]

Assignment for my readers: I didn’t think to take a picture of this building just outside of HS, and/or the lockers to post them here in my report and show everyone what I mean. Would any of you be willing to take on the mission of snapping a couple of photos during an upcoming trip and PM’ing, posting or e-mailing them to me when you get back?

I'll gladly take a picture. I just hope I remember.

Thanks, Jill! I appreciate it. But no big deal if you forget. I'm sure we will be talking before you leave for your trip!

 

[LovintheLodge]

We actually prefer Typhoon Lagoon. Better wave pool than BB, CrushNGusher is really cool and we love to snorkle, so Shark Reef is fun for us. But the family ride at BB is totally better than the one at TL. Can't compare the thrill slides since we don't do those.

LOVE Boma. There. That's my review. Pictures coming right up, including the kid's food station.

Hi natbenma...found ya over here too! Love your trip report so far, like your family intro. My hubby and are were high school sweethearts too, married in May 1986.

Totally agree with the above. Back in 2005 we visited TL and BB. Overall we liked TL more (kids loved the wave pool), but the family raft ride is sooooo much better at BB. We did most of the rides at BB, but no Summit Plummit for me! Another fan of Boma - we ate dinner there for the first time in 2005 and again this August! We also enjoyed walking out back by the Savannah and checking out the lobby and gift shop.

 

[Queila]

Great update.
Cannot wait to read about the 4th park of the day.
That is a great tip about the lockers. I had noticed them outside Epcot but never knew they had them at DHS too. And you cannot beat 1$ for that amount of space.
Oh and do not worry. We are used to "maybe next year" when it comes to sports here too. Our hockey team (Montreal Canadiens) always leaves us hanging.

BTW, I love the Patriots (have a huge crush on Tom Brady) and the Celtics. My all time favorite band is the NKOTB. Our favorite family getaway (aside from Disney of course) is Cape Cod AND we love the vibe of Boston.


Have a great weekend!

Q

 

[natebenma]

Hi natbenma...found ya over here too! Love your trip report so far, like your family intro. My hubby and are were high school sweethearts too, married in May 1986.

Totally agree with the above. Back in 2005 we visited TL and BB. Overall we liked TL more (kids loved the wave pool), but the family raft ride is sooooo much better at BB. We did most of the rides at BB, but no Summit Plummit for me! Another fan of Boma - we ate dinner there for the first time in 2005 and again this August! We also enjoyed walking out back by the Savannah and checking out the lobby and gift shop.

Hi! Glad you are enjoying the report and I have appreciated the words of encouragement over on the BC thread!!!

So, do you have any plans yet for your 25th anniversary next year? We have never gone away without the kids, so we are trying to figure out something special to do. We love the Caribbean, maybe a return to St. John. We could always go back to the Beach Club/Disney, but the kids would probably disown us!

 

[natebenma]

Great update.
Cannot wait to read about the 4th park of the day.
That is a great tip about the lockers. I had noticed them outside Epcot but never knew they had them at DHS too. And you cannot beat 1$ for that amount of space.
Oh and do not worry. We are used to "maybe next year" when it comes to sports here too. Our hockey team (Montreal Canadiens) always leaves us hanging.

BTW, I love the Patriots (have a huge crush on Tom Brady) and the Celtics. My all time favorite band is the NKOTB. Our favorite family getaway (aside from Disney of course) is Cape Cod AND we love the vibe of Boston.


Have a great weekend!

Q

Thanks for your post. It's great to hear that you have some positive feelings for Boston. I've been here my whole life so it will always be home for me.

I fear my age is showing. Why don't I recognize your favorite band? Embarrassed!

Bet you can guess the 4th park of the day!

 

[natebenma]

Great update.

My all time favorite band is the NKOTB.


Q

So last night before bed, I was reading an article about Boston's 25 all-time best pop music acts- and there, at #8- was NKOTB

New Kids on the Block! Duh!!!


I'm usually much better at acronyms, especialy with all the time I spend on DIS.

And number one? Legendary rockers and stars of RockNRollercoaster: Aerosmith!

 

[natebenma]

Park 4: EPCOT

When I left off, we were back in our room and it was around 8:40. I was still pretty wired, I’m sure most of you are familiar with the “Disney High”, so I decided I would go to EPCOT to watch Illuminations. The boys, including my DH, were perfectly content staying back at the room.

On the walk over to EPCOT, I pulled out my cell phone to update one of my friends back home about our trip was going. “Hey, Tara, I’m headed to my FOURTH park of the day”. She thought I was crazy, you probably do too, my family definitely knows it and you are all probably right!

I thoroughly enjoyed watching Illuminations from the bridge between UK and France. It had been more than a decade since I last saw the show. I remember they used to light-up and spotlight most of the countries around the World Showcase lagoon. I’m not even sure if the globe had been part of the show in my previous viewings, but the projections were definitely new. So much had been added and the fireworks were outstanding!

When the show was over, I ducked out through the International Gateway, no crowds and I was back in my room before 9:30!

 

[Mndisneygirl]

Don't you just love the Gateway when staying at BC? That was one of my favorite things because I love Epcot!
Good for you for 4 parks in one day!

 

[heaven2dc]

I agree with Mndisneygirl, it is great to slip out avoiding crowds when you stay at an Epcot resort. Great pics!!

 

[natebenma]

Don't you just love the Gateway when staying at BC? That was one of my favorite things because I love Epcot!
Good for you for 4 parks in one day!

I agree with Mndisneygirl, it is great to slip out avoiding crowds when you stay at an Epcot resort. Great pics!!

There are many many reasons we love the Beach Club: Stormalong Bay, the beachy decor, comfy beds, beautiful grounds, Teena and the other outstanding CMs, great places to eat. But the thing we love most about it is how easy it is to get to and from EPCOT.

The past two years we have stayed there, I have watched Illuminations 5 times and I have made several treks over to the World Showcase to get some terrific takeout from Japan, Morocco or France.

Thanks for the kind words about the photos and about my 4 park accomplishment. I am very proud of that!

 

[TwiddleDeeTwiddleDum]

4 parks in one day wow! I'm impressed with your taking total advantage of your park hoppers

I liked seeing the Great Movie Ride pic's, I don't know how to get a good pic without my flash so I wasn't able to get any in the ride when I was there. Your came out great.

Also, I loved seeing your wet pictures at BB - & great views!

 

[mickeystoontown]

Holy smokes woman! Four parks in one day?!?! I love the huge ziplock bag idea for Kali River Rapids. I usually just take the gallon size ones but haven't thought about the big huge ones.

 

[momof3cuteboys]

I had to laugh b/c I just saw a post recently on TGM about people wanting to attempt 4 parks in one day. Way to go Dee! You accomplished a dream of many veterans

 

[natebenma]

So what did ya'll THINK the title of this section meant???

4 parks in one day wow! I'm impressed with your taking total advantage of your park hoppers

I liked seeing the Great Movie Ride pic's, I don't know how to get a good pic without my flash so I wasn't able to get any in the ride when I was there. Your came out great.

Also, I loved seeing your wet pictures at BB - & great views!

Thanks for the compliments on my GMR pics. I play around a lot with the preset functions on my camera to see what is best and surprisingly, the aquarium setting works pretty well on dark rides with no flash. Never have any luck with the night or fireworks settings though.

After having a waterproof camera, I won't ever go without. I love being able to take it EVERYWHERE! It never leaves my wrist until I go to bed at night.

Holy smokes woman! Four parks in one day?!?! I love the huge ziplock bag idea for Kali River Rapids. I usually just take the gallon size ones but haven't thought about the big huge ones.

I can't tell you how great those Ziplock Big Bags are!!! The backpack, shoes and socks all go in.

I had to laugh b/c I just saw a post recently on TGM about people wanting to attempt 4 parks in one day. Way to go Dee! You accomplished a dream of many veterans

Well, I didn't accomplish the "official" 4- park challenge, since the 4th park was Blizzard Beach instead of MK. But it doesn't stop me from bragging about it!