9 days 2 resorts FREE Dining Christmas Lights & a bouncing Tigger who stole my heart

[Momof2Disneyboys]

He said he was going for the mullet look- business up front, party in the back.




Jo

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

An update, an update, how I love an update.....


Okay is it just me or could that Cm have been a little nicer to ya' by telling you to fill that paper out to begin with??? Good grief. Not convenient at all. Good you complained to him otherwise you would've been walking all the way back to the pool.

And that water along with it being a bit overcast that day makes i the pool look cold!


Looking forward to Illuminations and BRG!! yum yum.

jo

I thought the CM could have been a little nicer. I guess he thought he was doing me a favor by just letting me fill out the form instead of going back for the room key.

I don't understand why some resorts make you sign out a life jacket and others have them right there in a bin by the pool. So much easier when they are right there. And not that I would mind going to the marina to sign one out, if the marina was next to the pool!

Yes, a combination of the wind, the lack of sun, and the cold water didn't really make for a great day to swim.

We originally had planned to see IllumiNations on our full Epcot day (Thursday) but when we found ourselves at Epcot around 8:00 on Monday night we decided to just stay! And I'm glad we did, we had a great spot!

Gorgeous pictures of POR, Shelly. So many people describe POR as "lush", and that is the word that describes it best! We were in AB25 and used the West Depot every time. It was a winding path, but we were about half-way between the Main Depot and the West Depot, so it wasn't any shorter for us to go there. I think we did take a wrong turn one night! And that was probably the quiet pool that was close to our room that you passed.

Looking at the pics of the pool and the boys swimming made me freezing just knowing that the water was cold. I know some people don't like a pool to be warm, but give me bath water anytime! Refreshing is way overrated.

Thanks! Yes, POR is very LUSH! And beautiful. But I can definitely see how you could get lost trying to find your room. I was pretty sure we were lost at one point, but we were actually on the right path!

I know, I don't even like freezing pool water when it is hot outside!

 

[seacrestpromo]

Great pool and resort pics Shelly. It is a very nice looking resort!

 

[praisehisname]

That was quite a hike back to your room!

The pool slide looks fun, but brrrrrr on the water!

 

[trixiequilts]

We had our snacks and then decided to take another look for Trixie's souvenir. It was a key chain with 3 animal print Mickey heads. I had a picture of it and DH decided to just start asking CM's if they had it. We went into one store and no luck! Then we went into Creature Comforts and DH showed the picture to the CM - Benji. He said they didn't have it but he thought someone did. He then called 3 other AK stores until he finally found it!! He told us to take the path across from his store past the tree and when we came to the end to turn right and there would be a store called Beastly Bazaar and they had it there. Woohoo!! So we took the path and sure enough it led us right there! Thank you CM Benji!!

Yes, thank you CM Benji, but the bigger thank-yous go out to you and your family for taking time out of your vacation for me! That little keychain makes me very happy.

I love that you found the keychain for Trixie!! It's cute x3!

Is is adorable, isn't it?

We really wanted to see Mickey's Jammin Jungle parade since we hadn't seen it since our very first trip back in 2005.

Yay!!! My parade!

The look on your face is so great!

Finally the parade started and it was awesome!!

I'm so glad you liked it! It will always hold a very special place in my heart.

 

[trixiequilts]

We walked around the lobby a bit and checked things out. I asked DH if he'd like to stay there sometime and he said -- not if that lady is here!! I agreed.

Nope not made up -totally real. I've eaten there! And the whoile time I was saying "I can't believe I'm eating at a place called the crazy donkey!"

Only I used a word that I can't say b/c it would be bleeped.

Oh no!!! We wouldn't want Jo to get bleeped!

Again.

So we slept in and got up probably around 8-8:30. Took our time and got ready and headed out for a leisurely stroll to the POR boat to DTD.

I just love this picture of the boys...so much enthusiasm!

These pics of POR were absolutely gorgeous. POR would probably be the last mod I would choose, but your pics are making me want to take a more in-depth look.

 

[trixiequilts]

I did end up making a major Christmas gift purchase Saturday. The kids have been asking (begging) for a Wii. We weren't going to get them one because we had just spent so much on the Star Wars concert tickets and that was their Christmas gift from us (the rest of the gifts will be from Santa), but WalMart had that Wii special going on. Buy it for $199 get a $50 WalMart gift card. So how could I pass that up??? They are going to be so surprised!!

They are going to FREAK!!!

After lunch we left WPE and the boys all went off to find a restroom while I found a bench and sat down and called Trixiequilts to tell her how the trip was going and that I had found her keychain the day before at AK!!

Things to come...would Trixie answer her phone?

I was a cliffhanger!

So----- Trixie--- did you answer your phone????? inquiring minds want to know!

Aw man! I missed my chance to answer...you already know.

Anyway, HI JO!



I decided last night that I am a grumpy pants bah humbug-I'M NOT BAKING THIS YEAR!

Seriously?

So after lunch I decided to give Trixiequilts a call. But unfortunately she didn't answer. I couldn't figure out why she wouldn't answer her cell phone when she knew I would possibly be calling sometime this week??? Like I was totally expecting her to be sitting by her phone waiting on me to call!! Well anyway, as it turns out (when I talked to Trixie a few days later) she was in her basement working on a quilt and only had her home phone down there with her and didn't hear her cell phone ring upstairs.

That blasted quilt was a total pain in my behind. And I haven't even gotten paid for it yet. I was soooooooooooo disappointed that I missed your call. And then I didn't know what to do. I kind of knew your itinerary and I didn't want to interrupt anything, but I wanted to talk to you so badly! So I waited as long as I could and then called you when I couldn't take it anymore. And then YOU didn't answer! We just couldn't connect!

I hadn't heard about the Wii Play. That does make more sense than buying just the second controller.

We got Wii Play instead of just a second controller as well.

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

I have seen those Mickey soccer ornaments at DL too - let me know if you want me to pick those up for you this weekend. - Sea

Thanks Sea, but I better pass. I bought too much stuff at Disney as it is!!

Great pool and resort pics Shelly. It is a very nice looking resort!

Thanks!

That was quite a hike back to your room!

The pool slide looks fun, but brrrrrr on the water!

Yes, it was quite an adventure getting back to our room that day!

The pool is very nice and fun, but would have been a lot better if the water was more comfortable!

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Wow when Trixie's back she's back!

Yes, thank you CM Benji, but the bigger thank-yous go out to you and your family for taking time out of your vacation for me! That little keychain makes me very happy.

I'm so glad you liked it! It will always hold a very special place in my heart.

Yes, YAY for CM Benji!! I should call Disney and tell them about this, huh?

I did think about you guys at the Jammin Jungle parade and how you were chosen to be in it in January. That is, when I wasn't busy chatting with ZZ Santa!

I just love this picture of the boys...so much enthusiasm!

These pics of POR were absolutely gorgeous. POR would probably be the last mod I would choose, but your pics are making me want to take a more in-depth look.

I know, I thought that was a good picture too. I guess they were ready to go do some shopping at DTD!

POR was my last choice for a moderate too. Obviously because we stayed at CBR, then POFQ, then CSR, then CBR again before we even tried it. But it just goes to show that you never know until you try something. It ended up being very close to our favorite!

They are going to FREAK!!!


I was a cliffhanger!


That blasted quilt was a total pain in my behind. And I haven't even gotten paid for it yet. I was soooooooooooo disappointed that I missed your call. And then I didn't know what to do. I kind of knew your itinerary and I didn't want to interrupt anything, but I wanted to talk to you so badly! So I waited as long as I could and then called you when I couldn't take it anymore. And then YOU didn't answer! We just couldn't connect!



We got Wii Play instead of just a second controller as well.

They are going to freak about the Wii!! DS10 was just telling me last night how much he wanted it. Again. And I was just telling him last night how it was too expensive! Again!

That day you called back I was blow drying my hair. You picked a good time to call, we were in the room. But I never heard the phone ring and the boys were sitting right there and never told me it was ringing. Too busy with their new Star Wars stuff I guess. I forget what DH was doing, he must have been outside the room on his phone or something. Oh well, we had a nice chat when I was waiting on the MK bus that day!

 

[Pluto_fan]

LOVE all the pictures, Shelly! Please keep them coming!

He said he was going for the mullet look- business up front, party in the back.

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

LOVE all the pictures, Shelly! Please keep them coming!

Thanks, lots more to come!

I really need to do some laundry and wrap all the Christmas gifts today, but I will do an update first. Got to have your priorities you know!

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Monday November 9th continued. . .


After we got all cleaned up and ready we headed out to the Boardwalk.

We originally had an ADR at San Angel Inn, but cancelled it. Too many mixed reviews and we didn't want to end up being disappointed 2 nights in a row (after WCC the night before). So we decided to go to Big River Grille at the BWI. This was a place that I had heard very little about and decided to give it a try on our last trip (I did have a little help from JO! She told me I should try it.) and it was very good. BRG doesn't take ADR's, but we didn't have a wait last time or this time when we went. I think we got there around 5:30. I can't remember exactly. It was just about dark anyway.

So to get there we could either take a bus to a park and get on the BWI bus. Or we could take a bus to DHS and take a boat to the BWI. Or we could take a bus to Epcot and walk through the park and out the back exit and walk over to the Boardwalk. We chose to go through Epcot. We didn't have park hoppers, but we hadn't been to a park that day, so we were good!

When we got to Epcot we decided that since we would likely be walking back through Epcot after we were done at the Boardwalk we should grab some fastpasses! So DH & DS10 went off to grab some for TT and DS8 & I waited by the fountains.

We made our way through Epcot and out the International Gateway and walked over to the BWI. I'm going to say it is slightly less than a 10 minute walk from Epcot to BRG.

We just love this area. Love the looks of it. Love the atmosphere of it. Love the food. Love the location. Love it all! We really hope to stay in this area one day soon.

We were seated right away at BRG. We chose to sit inside because of the wind. Even though the wind did seem to die down a bit in the evenings we still thought we should sit inside. Our server was great and very helpful. About a month before we had left for Disney I was reading another TR and heard that if you go to the BRG website and sign up for emails they will send you a coupon for a free appetizer. So I had that with me. And actually I just wanted the appetizer as my meal. It was what I had gotten the last time and it was so good! It was the " Beef Nachos - tortilla chips, creamy pepper jack cheese, sliced jalapenos, topped with pica de gallo and sour cream". It is so HUGE!! I don't know how you could eat that (even half of it) and then eat a dinner. So the coupon said - free appetizer with the purchase of an entree. DH was getting an entree. But since we were on the DDP I didn't know if we could use the coupon or not. I asked our server and she said - oh sure!! I didn't even want a dessert after I ate that, so we didn't use any DDP credits for me at all that evening.

DH got the "Shrimp & Scallop Penne Pasta - sautéed shrimp and scallops in pesto cream sauce with penne pasta". He said it was wonderful. DS10 had the "Pachyderm PB&J - peanut butter and grape jelly sandwich". He was surprised (and happy) that it came with 3 sandwich halves instead of the usual 2 the other places give. Last time we were here DS8 had a grilled cheese sandwich with no cheese. He doesn't really like anything on the menu, so I asked if there were any other choices and he ended up with plain pasta with butter. He really liked it! And again, our server was so very helpful and patient.

DH's cheesecake with raspberry sauce~

DS10's chocolate confusion cake ~

DS8's plain cheesecake ~

Service was a little slower than the last time we went there, so we were in there a little longer than expected. But still the service was great and the food was excellent. We used 3 TS credits and the total bill was $72 without my meal and $84 with it.

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Continued. . . .


We walked outside and were going to just walk back to Epcot. But there was a magician on the Boardwalk putting on a little show so we stopped. I told the kids we could watch until the Epcot boat pulled up to the dock. It was about 10-15 minutes. The kids thought he was hilarious and had a great time watching him. Another reason it would be fun to stay in that area!

Up Next: Epcot (TT and MS), IllumiNations and a little surprise when we got back to our room.

 

[JoBird]

Thank you ever so much for posting an update!!!!!! Really needed it.


Yay for walking through Epcot! And a bigger yay for posting a picture so I could be in !!!

The walk was beautiful- never done it that way- we've taken the boat but only because it was soooo cold the day we ate at BRG.

Speaking of which--- whelp- another one to add to the list for May. I forgot how much I really enjoyed the food there. Your DH's dish looked soooo good. Mark would love your nachos- I think in fact he had that-- um nope-- he just had chips and salsa and he loved them.

Okay- gonna make an ADR right now.

Looking forward to Illuminations--- not looking forward to the surprise.


Jo

 

[lala3291]

Great update! We LOVE the Boardwalk area! We stayed there in February, and a couple of other times previously and loved it each time. We have decided to go in November next year, and we are between POR, BC, and YC! Big decision! Looking forward to reading more!

 

[mickeystoontown]

Oh my goodness....ya'll food looks delish! Why oh why do I always seem to look at Disney food pictures right before lunch time?

We have never gone to the Boardwalk area. I am thinking about maybe going to BRG one of our Epcot evenings. Is it hard to find?

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Thank you ever so much for posting an update!!!!!! Really needed it.


Yay for walking through Epcot! And a bigger yay for posting a picture so I could be in !!!

The walk was beautiful- never done it that way- we've taken the boat but only because it was soooo cold the day we ate at BRG.

Speaking of which--- whelp- another one to add to the list for May. I forgot how much I really enjoyed the food there. Your DH's dish looked soooo good. Mark would love your nachos- I think in fact he had that-- um nope-- he just had chips and salsa and he loved them.

Okay- gonna make an ADR right now.

Looking forward to Illuminations--- not looking forward to the surprise.


Jo

Glad you enjoyed the update!

Yep BRG, the one and only thing at WDW that JO and I agree on!!!

Yes, those of you who read my POR review might know just what surprise in the room I am referring to!

Great update! We LOVE the Boardwalk area! We stayed there in February, and a couple of other times previously and loved it each time. We have decided to go in November next year, and we are between POR, BC, and YC! Big decision! Looking forward to reading more!

YAY finally found someone who has stayed at BWI!! I have so many questions and the BWI FAQ is dead. Please tell me all about it!! Why is it that everyone prefers the BC/YC over the BWI? I mean, the location is equally great. The rooms are the same size, actually I think the BWI rooms are 10 sq ft larger. Is it the pool? Is that the only reason? Because I have to say (and I know I'll be in the minority here) that I think the BWI pool looks better! It just looks more contained. Doesn't have those very deep parts the SAB pool has. I don't like how the slide entrance is very far from the pool and the slide exit at SAB. The deep parts make me nervous. And I think the BWI slide looks like so much more fun!!

Don't get me wrong. I'd love to stay at the BC or the YC!

Do the BWI standard rooms all have a full balcony?

Oh my goodness....ya'll food looks delish! Why oh why do I always seem to look at Disney food pictures right before lunch time?

We have never gone to the Boardwalk area. I am thinking about maybe going to BRG one of our Epcot evenings. Is it hard to find?

WHAT??!! You've never been to the Boardwalk??? In all of your millions of WDW trips??? You've got to do that! Shops, restaurants, carnival games, performers, fun fun fun!! Nope, it's not hard to find at all. Just exit out the International Gateway in the back of Epcot and follow the signs!

 

[mickeystoontown]

Nope! Been to Disney 14 times and have never been over to the Boardwalk. Hunter is really into magic right now and would love to run into the magician you guys saw. I'm thinking we may either go to the Boardwalk for dinner instead of eating in Epcot or go there on one of our "down" days.

 

[lala3291]

YAY finally found someone who has stayed at BWI!! I have so many questions and the BWI FAQ is dead. Please tell me all about it!! Why is it that everyone prefers the BC/YC over the BWI? I mean, the location is equally great. The rooms are the same size, actually I think the BWI rooms are 10 sq ft larger. Is it the pool? Is that the only reason? Because I have to say (and I know I'll be in the minority here) that I think the BWI pool looks better! It just looks more contained. Doesn't have those very deep parts the SAB pool has. I don't like how the slide entrance is very far from the pool and the slide exit at SAB. The deep parts make me nervous. And I think the BWI slide looks like so much more fun!!

Don't get me wrong. I'd love to stay at the BC or the YC!

Do the BWI standard rooms all have a full balcony?[/FONT]

Hi Shelly,
We LOVE BWI! It really is great. I think that your family would love it! To be honest, I don't know why people prefer the BC/YC over BWI. I have read that some people like BC the most because it is literally a hop, skip, and jump to EPCOT. However, if you stay at the BWI, it is really only another 5 minutes at the most. We love the pool there too, you're not in the minority! It is not too big at all, so it is easy to keep a good eye on the kids. The slide is SO much fun! My DD8 loved it in February! It has twists and turns, and is just great. We have stayed at BC twice, and it is hard to keep track of the kids if you are not right there with them. My two oldest (19 and 17) really want to stay at the BC next time, just for the theming, and we think that my 8 year old will be okay in the pool because DD19 and DD17 will watch her like a hawk! The BWI really is very nice. That is DH's favorite resort! ESPN is right there, as is BRG. The rooms are all recently refurbished, and to be honest, I am not sure on the balcony question. I WANT to say that the answer is yes, all rooms have full balconies. We had a very nice size balcony overlooking the Boardwalk itself, so the kids could watch the magicians each night. It was wonderful. All in all, we love BWI, and I highly recommend it! Please, if you have any other questions about it, let me know!
~Lauren

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Nope! Been to Disney 14 times and have never been over to the Boardwalk. Hunter is really into magic right now and would love to run into the magician you guys saw. I'm thinking we may either go to the Boardwalk for dinner instead of eating in Epcot or go there on one of our "down" days.

I think Hunter would love the Boardwalk!

Hi Shelly,
We LOVE BWI! It really is great. I think that your family would love it! To be honest, I don't know why people prefer the BC/YC over BWI. I have read that some people like BC the most because it is literally a hop, skip, and jump to EPCOT. However, if you stay at the BWI, it is really only another 5 minutes at the most. We love the pool there too, you're not in the minority! It is not too big at all, so it is easy to keep a good eye on the kids. The slide is SO much fun! My DD8 loved it in February! It has twists and turns, and is just great. We have stayed at BC twice, and it is hard to keep track of the kids if you are not right there with them. My two oldest (19 and 17) really want to stay at the BC next time, just for the theming, and we think that my 8 year old will be okay in the pool because DD19 and DD17 will watch her like a hawk! The BWI really is very nice. That is DH's favorite resort! ESPN is right there, as is BRG. The rooms are all recently refurbished, and to be honest, I am not sure on the balcony question. I WANT to say that the answer is yes, all rooms have full balconies. We had a very nice size balcony overlooking the Boardwalk itself, so the kids could watch the magicians each night. It was wonderful. All in all, we love BWI, and I highly recommend it! Please, if you have any other questions about it, let me know!
~Lauren

Thank you for this post! Just what I wanted to hear. I really want to take advantage of the 40% off a deluxe PIN!! And I want to make sure to make the right decision when I do so.

That is exactly what I am afraid of at the SAB pool. It just looks like it would be hard to keep track of the kids. Not to sound lazy or anything, DH & I do go in the water with them. But a lot of times they want to stay in longer than us and we just want to lounge in a chair and watch them! I am afraid the SAB pool wouldn't be very relaxing. I guess I am used to the moderates where you can see the slide entrance & exit from the same spot.

I keep getting the same answer everywhere about the balconies at BWI. I was just on the WDW website messing around pricing out things and the Chat box popped up. So I asked the CM there. She said - I don't know for sure, but it appears that they have a full balcony. Same thing when I called Disney to ask earlier this week. So hopefully they are all the big ones!

Would you happen to know if DS8 would be allowed to wear a life jacket on the slide at BWI?

I'm sure I'll think of more questions sooner or later!