~ A 21 month old, a celebrity sighting, & a whole lotta food~2 week trip~ 2/28 update

[mothermouse]

Joining late!! Were was I You're son is too cute I have a two year old DD and we are going to wait til she is 5yrs. old to go the greatest place on earth. Love you're TR can't wait for more :

 

[2binak]

Subing! We're taking our DD in Nov, she'll be 21 months then so I'm finding this report alot of fun to read!

 

[Mamie]

I'm really enjoying your report, I just had to comment though on the Vistana resort. I love that place. My inlaws are Timeshare owners there and we have always stayed in the Fountains it is our favorite part of the resort. They have owned there for about 14 years now and while our girls love staying on property at Disney they also really enjoying going to Vistana and we try to stay there on a pretty regular basis, it's cheaper for us and they love all the space. I really enjoyed the newly refurbished rooms and looking at all your pictures really brings back our spring break trip from last year when we stayed at Vistana. Your little boy is adorable.

 

[codyvt]

Your trip report is cracking me up! We took my now 4-year old to Hawaii (a 7-hour flight from Alaska) when he was 22 months old. I feel your pain on the plane. He had about 3 meltdowns and I am sure each one was no longer than 10 minutes but they sure did feel like an eternity!!!!! The flight attendant actually came over and put her hand on my son's mouth at one point. I think my reaction probably got her fired.

My son also only jumps on beds in hotels. STILL. I have no idea why. I think it ihas something to do with it being different stuff?

OK, back to reading

 

[xoktenox]

Hmmm Boma looks delicious! We're going to eat there when we go back in December and I'm soooo looking forward to it! My BF isn't an adventurous eater AT ALL so I'm going to show him your post to ease his apprehensions about Boma. And those zebra domes...who could turn those down?!

 

[ibedancin824]

Heyyy im finallly all caught up! Lovin your trip report, can't wait for more

 

[Sunset Cliffs]

I have been working on an update, and I will probably post it (& do responses) tomorrow. Just wanted to tell you about my unexpected evening tonight. A friend of mine reminded me yesterday about a Barlow Girl concert that was happening locally tonight and asked if I wanted to go. I know that a lot of you don’t recognize the band, but for those of you that do I just wanted to tell you how AMAZING that it was.

First of all, I was surprised that they would even play in a town our size but it turns out that they are playing at Spirit West Coast tomorrow down in Monterey and so they came up here to throw in an extra show. It was held at a church that was 5 minutes from my house and they had $10 tickets! Their regular concerts are usually a lot more expensive. They also made it a unique experience by making it a “Ladies night” so there were no guys there at all. I thought that was a bit unusual but it ended up being such a cool idea. (BTW, Todd was really bummed that he couldn’t go!)

So we got there early because it was general admission and we ended up in the 5th row with great seats. It is a really large church and by the time it started, the whole place was full. The girls came out and they sang a song and then talked a little. They said that their normal concert is full-on rock band type show, but tonight they were going to sing all of their songs like when they were writing them. So the whole thing was kind of like an “Unplugged” version of their best songs. It was so great. They had a piano, an acoustical guitar and a bongo drum, and those were the only instruments used all night. It made the whole experience very intimate yet casual, and it really helped you just listen to their incredible voices and the lyrics to the songs.

After a while, they stopped singing and said that at their big shows they could never do this, but at the smaller venues one of their favorite things to do was to have a question & answer time. So they turned up the lights and had a person running around w/ the microphone. For almost an hour they answered questions all about their lives, the band, how they got started, etc. It was a great time to see these women as people and some of their answers were very touching. They are all articulate, intelligent, funny girls.

I have to say that I was already a fan of theirs, but now I like them even more than before. When you hear the stories behind the songs, it makes you that much more connected to something that you already liked. They understand their responsibility as role models and they take it seriously. If I had a daughter, I would have been so happy to have her sitting with me tonight.

The only bummer thing is that I had planned on bringing the camera and when I got there I remembered that I had seen Dylan playing with it before I left. I forgot to take it back from him. So, no pictures.

All in all, a wonderful night. Sorry to hijack my own thread with something OT, but it made me very happy and I wanted to share with those of you who are familiar with their music.

 

[jordanyosh]

That is soooo cool!

I do like them.

I was able to see Chris Tomlin in Feb? and Hillsong United in April. Both concerts deeply moving. I'm a crier and I wept alot with the joy of the Lord.

What a wonderful night for you and the other women! Not often you get to see them in an environment like that!

 

[SunnieRN]

Very cool!!! I had an opportunity like that with Amy Grant one time!! Looking forward to the update!!

 

[DisneyMissy]

I have never heard of them, but that is still totally awesome!

 

[heaven2dc]

How neat that you got to see Barlow Girl! I tried to win tickets when they were in our area last but never could get thru the phone lines. I've tried recently to download "Psalm 73" and "I Need You To Love Me" onto my Mickey mp3 player but can't find it online anywhere.

Am so enjoying your trip report!

 

[AlohaPolynesian]

Hey! Just found your TR and am really enjoying it. The condo was BEAUTIFUL! Your Boma pictures and definitely making me hungry Your family is adorable and I can't wait to read more!

 

[cjackearl]

I am so jealous that you got to see Barlow Girl!! I told my daughters and they were jealous too. We all really like them.

 

[Sunset Cliffs]

Joining late!! Were was I You're son is too cute I have a two year old DD and we are going to wait til she is 5yrs. old to go the greatest place on earth. Love you're TR can't wait for more :

Glad you decided to join in! I'm sure she will enjoy her fist experience.

Subing! We're taking our DD in Nov, she'll be 21 months then so I'm finding this report alot of fun to read!

Welcome! Oh, that's so cool that she will be that age when you go. So much fun. I hope you feel like you are getting some good ideas for your trip. I didn't see many reports w/ kids under 2 so I wanted to try to give ideas when I could.

I'm really enjoying your report, I just had to comment though on the Vistana resort. I love that place. My inlaws are Timeshare owners there and we have always stayed in the Fountains it is our favorite part of the resort. They have owned there for about 14 years now and while our girls love staying on property at Disney they also really enjoying going to Vistana and we try to stay there on a pretty regular basis, it's cheaper for us and they love all the space. I really enjoyed the newly refurbished rooms and looking at all your pictures really brings back our spring break trip from last year when we stayed at Vistana. Your little boy is adorable.

The Fountains was the best. We have stayed in a lot of different areas there. Cascades, Fountains, Lakes, Springs. It seems like each time they put us somewhere new. But this room was by far the best we have stayed in. How nice that they own there! Thank you for reading.

Your trip report is cracking me up! We took my now 4-year old to Hawaii (a 7-hour flight from Alaska) when he was 22 months old. I feel your pain on the plane. He had about 3 meltdowns and I am sure each one was no longer than 10 minutes but they sure did feel like an eternity!!!!! The flight attendant actually came over and put her hand on my son's mouth at one point. I think my reaction probably got her fired.

My son also only jumps on beds in hotels. STILL. I have no idea why. I think it ihas something to do with it being different stuff?

OK, back to reading

Wow! 7 hours. I thought 5 1/2 was bad. I can't believe that the flight attendant did that! What did she expect was going to come from that? I would have had steam coming out of my ears. The hotel bed thing is funny to me. It probably just looks like this big trampoline to them. Thanks for joining in!

Hmmm Boma looks delicious! We're going to eat there when we go back in December and I'm soooo looking forward to it! My BF isn't an adventurous eater AT ALL so I'm going to show him your post to ease his apprehensions about Boma. And those zebra domes...who could turn those down?!

I really hope that you enjoy it when you go. I bet Chris will be pleasantly suprised. Just have him go to the dessert section first and he will be happy.

Heyyy im finallly all caught up! Lovin your trip report, can't wait for more

Thanks so much. Glad you took the time to read it all.

 

[Sunset Cliffs]

That is soooo cool!

I do like them.

I was able to see Chris Tomlin in Feb? and Hillsong United in April. Both concerts deeply moving. I'm a crier and I wept alot with the joy of the Lord.

What a wonderful night for you and the other women! Not often you get to see them in an environment like that!

It was an amazing experience. I realized that they had requested ages 10 + and I thought that was weird, but they talked about struggling w/ self-esteem, etc. and a lot of it was targeted at that younger crowd. But a lot of what they said spoke to me too! Very moving. So cool that you got to go to both of those concerts.

Very cool!!! I had an opportunity like that with Amy Grant one time!! Looking forward to the update!!

I used to LOVE Amy Grant when I was little. I remember playing her tape over & over.

I have never heard of them, but that is still totally awesome!

They are a Christian group made up of 3 sisters. They write all of their own stuff and it is really passionate music & lyrics. You might check them out sometime. I feel lucky that I got to go.

How neat that you got to see the Barlow Girls! I tried to win tickets when they were in our area last but never could get thru the phone lines. I've tried recently to download "Psalm 73" and "I Need You To Love Me" onto my Mickey mp3 player but can't find it online anywhere.

Am so enjoying your trip report!

"I Need You to Love Me" was my favorite song they sang last night. It has such emotion behind it and watching her sing it live was very moving. I was on their website the other day and at the bottom was a link to iTunes. You could probably follow that link to find what you are looking for.

Hey! Just found your TR and am really enjoying it. The condo was BEAUTIFUL! Your Boma pictures and definitely making me hungry Your family is adorable and I can't wait to read more!

Aww, thanks so much. Welcome & I hope you stick around for a while. Yeah, every time I look at my Boma pictures, it makes me want to eat too.

I am so jealous that you got to see Barlow Girl!! I told my daughters and they were jealous too. We all really like them.

I really like them. They said they are coming out with a new album in mid-September and they sang 2 songs from it. They were both great! I can't wait to buy the new album. I wish I had some pictures so that you could have shown your girls.

 

[Sunset Cliffs]

We left Boma feeling completely stuffed and headed outside to do some animal watching. We walked towards the pool but had to stop and take some pictures right outside the door. Now, this is what makes Disney so special. The area leading out to the pool is one of the most beautiful on property to me. This water area is so peaceful and has mini waterfalls that go down into a pool of water. I just love that there is so much attention to detail in an area that is just along a walking path. Other places would probably have stuck some bushes there that never need to be tended to.

We walked out past the pool and kept going down a small path until it opened up to an animal viewing area. There is a bird area with flamingos, ducks, etc. Of course, Dylan loved this because he is really big on birds right now. They were squawking and making lots of noise and he thought that was cool.

I decided to seize the opportunity in front of me, and we took some family pictures. I’m not sure about all of the other moms out there, but I have realized that since we have had Dylan I take a lot of pictures, but I am in very few. It’s like my mom duty to have the camera ready for photo ops! As a result, we have very few pictures as a family (and not that many with just Todd & I together in them). I was determined to get some good family pictures on this trip. I know that it can be a pain, but it is worth it when you get home and you actually have picture to put in frames.

There were no other animals close by but you could see some giraffes way out in the distance. Just standing in the sun with no shade was making us all sweaty, so we went looking for some shade. Instead, we found a playground which Dylan became very excited about. At least it was in the shade. My mom decided to go to the gift shop while we let him run off some of that sugar from dessert.

There were a couple of other kids playing and instantly they were all friends. It is so cute to see him socialize w/ other kids. I’m so glad he looks like he is going to be a pretty social little guy! He was so hot that we changed him to a lighter t-shirt.

I looked up and saw that the giraffes had come right over to where we had been standing earlier, so we headed back over to watch them for a while. Dylan was not happy to leave the playground at first. When he saw the giraffes he forgot about the playground!

You can’t see it in this picture but we suddenly realized that there was a HUGE vulture sitting in the tree right above the giraffes. It had been there the whole time and we hadn’t seen it because its colors blended into the trees so well. I mean, the thing was huge. It kinda freaked me out a little that we hadn’t seen it before. Thos things are not very attractive birds!

We headed inside to find my mom and walked through the gift shop for a while. They have a whole section of artwork in here that is of different spots around the AKL. We have bought some in the past and have it all hanging in Todd’s office at home. The artist’s name is Larry Dotson and we love his work! We met him in Epcot on a previous trip. We bought a few of the pictures from different countries around the World Showcase. He signed all of the things that we bought. So whenever we see new stuff by him, we always have to check it out.

This picture came out really dark, but I thought it looked so cool. This is behind the cash registers in the gift shop.

We walked through the lobby to the back where the big glass window is and took some pictures along the way. Now, we have been here many times but we have yet to fail to be impressed by this place. Again, the attention to detail is everywhere, and your eye never stops travelling to the next thing. We love all of the seating areas that are grouped throughout. The leather sofas are so comfy, and even though you are in such a large space, you feel right at home. The huge windows in the back draw you to that area. I love how they have the vines that run up the window and give you that feeling like there is no separation between the inside and the outside. When it is dark out and you are outside looking back at this window, it GLOWS from the light inside and it is breathtaking.

The railings from the walkways above your head inside the lobby.

I really hope that we have the opportunity to stay here someday. I think we would have a hard time leaving the resort as there are so many nice spots to just sit and enjoy your surroundings. To me, this is the most unique resort on property.

We headed out the back to the viewing area out there. Many of the animals were out. I’m sorry I don’t know all of the official names of the animals, so here are my elementary descriptions of them. There was a huge brown ox with massive horns (how do they keep their heads up?), zebras, giraffes, and birds. It really feels like the Lion King movie back there because they all graze around together and it’s so peaceful. The people who have those balconies must have a wonderful view to wake up to every morning. We picked Dylan up and helped him stand on the wall so that he could see all of the animals.

We walked to a different area and there was this beautiful animal with twisted horns. I have no idea what this is called but I took a ton of pictures. So unique looking!

We walked back inside the lobby and found another little side viewing area. We’ve never seen this one before. If you are facing the big window it is to your left, past a circular lounge area. There was a whole herd of giraffes out here and an ostrich.

We sat in the circular seating area for a while to enjoy the air conditioning. Outside we could see that the clouds were starting to roll in, but it didn’t look too ominous. When the lightening started flashing, we decided to head out to the car and head home.

By the time that we got to the front entrance it had started to sprinkle. Todd offered to go get the car so we waited by the front door. This storm moved in so quickly, that within 5 minutes, it was pouring down rain. I think Todd made it to the car before he got soaked, but if we had been pushing Dylan’s stroller out there, we wouldn’t have been so lucky. We loaded up the car and started towards our condo. The rain was coming down so thick that you could barely see out the windshield. Trying to read the signs to see where we were going was nearly impossible.

We finally got on the right road and drove very slowly. There was so much thunder and lightening that it was cracking right on top of each other. No time between the thunder & the lightening. Todd says he remembers the sound as just one long roll of thunder. No breaks in the sound at all. We literally were in the middle of the storm. It actually became quite scary after a little while when it did not let up at all. Luckily most people on the road were driving very cautiously. Many were just pulled over on the highway, but the people who were still moving were all going about 20 miles an hour.

We made a turn towards DTD, and the car in front of us swerved suddenly to the right and plowed through all of the water that had accumulated in the gutter. They hit the curb and their hubcap went flying off their car. They slowed down for a minute and kept going. We felt so bad for them until we pulled up next to the car. It was a teenage girl driver and she was texting on her phone! We could not even believe it! Todd was struggling to see anything and she was texting in the middle of this! Crazy!

We made it home after about 40 minutes. When we got out of the car we pulled out our umbrellas, and in the 10 steps from the car to the door we were all soaking wet. Dylan thought the umbrellas were cool.

The storm went on for about an hour and then subsided. Then the thunder came back again. Needless to say we stayed in for the rest of the night and I wrote up my TR. Todd did some work on the computer, and Dylan played ball w/ my dad. He learned how to kick the ball really hard and throw his arms up in the air and yell, “GOAL!” So funny!

We went to bed early tonight as we are trying to get out the door by 8:30 am tomorrow. Not sure if it will happen. We shall see.

 

[wdwgirl03]

Love the pictures of AKL! Man do I want to go back there. It is an amazing resort.

 

[SleepingBeautyOH]

Sounds like you had a great time at AKL! I love how there are always uncharted, "hidden" spots to find. Disneys attention to detail is amazing!
That must have been one heck of a storm! Hopefully you guys didn't get too wet.
Can't wait to read more!

 

[Sunset Cliffs]

Love the pictures of AKL! Man do I want to go back there. It is an amazing resort.

We love the AKL. It is a must-do on each trip. We love the animals.

Sounds like you had a great time at AKL! I love how there are always uncharted, "hidden" spots to find. Disneys attention to detail is amazing!
That must have been one heck of a storm! Hopefully you guys didn't get too wet.
Can't wait to read more!

The storm was the worst we'd seen in a long time. You can't help but have a total respect for Mother Nature!

 

[cjackearl]

The picture of your little family is absolutely precious. You're right, those pictures are a challenge to get sometimes, but so worth it. Could you believe that storm?! I was so glad I hadn't purchased a F! dinner package for that night like I'd originally planned, because there was no way that show was going on. Sometimes being forced to bed early works out for the best.