All Work and No Play makes Smee Grumpy: an Oct.'19 "work" TR *New PTR link 4/8*

[lvcourtneyy]

LOL no joke! Last year one of my fellow agents posted a picture from her street (she's local) and those iguanas had indeed fell from trees!!

Wow! I never even thought of that being a concern lol.

IDK and I can only imagine what you see in there............................have you ever seen "Sex Sent Me to the ER"? I'd like to think you get some of those fun ones!

Yes! Especially working overnight, we see quite a few lol!

 

[missjackiemcg]

When I was there for runDisney marathon weekend in 2018, it was FREEZING, and I felt the same way!!! I never thought I'd ever need my Chicago winter-wear in Disney World!!! Brrrrrrrr. I loved the picture you posted with @Jenny Sanders about knowing it's cold when Chicagoans and New Yorkers are dressed like this!

 

[Jenny Sanders]

When I was there for runDisney marathon weekend in 2018, it was FREEZING, and I felt the same way!!! I never thought I'd ever need my Chicago winter-wear in Disney World!!! Brrrrrrrr. I loved the picture you posted with @Jenny Sanders about knowing it's cold when Chicagoans and New Yorkers are dressed like this!

We were soooooooo cold. At one point, I couldn't feel my finger tips. LOL!!!

 

[Cloe Colton]

I cannot believe how cold it was this past week in Florida! Hope you were able to stay warm! When DH and I went in January a few years back it was cold and I froze the whole time because I was too stubborn to bring anything warm because "I was going to Florida" lol!

 

[ariane37]

Hi all! I wanted to get an update sooner but the sickness has invaded our house Ricky was down since Monday morning and yesterday I started; feeling a little better tonight so we'll see. In good news Ricky now has gotten accepted to 4 of the 5 colleges he applied to! SUNY Corltand and Oneonta, Scranton and Quinnipiac which has long been his top choice. Because of the differences in programs right now he's mainly considering Quinnipiac or Scranton, both fine with me since they're under 2 hours away from home. I'm so proud and so not wanting August to come

In other good news our spring break Disney cruise is just over 2 months away! Other than Chris we are all getting excited; Ricky will turn 18 while we're on the ship Since the cruise is not solely FOR Chris or ABOUT Chris and the name of the ship isn't the Disney Chris, he's got better things to concern himself with Yes yes, I love him! The name of the ship we'll be sailing on is actually the Disney DREAM



I have toured the Magic and Fantasy (coming up in this TR soon!) but have not been on the Fantasy so that alone is exciting! Our cruise is April 6-10th and while we don't know yet where we're spending the night of the 5th after we fly down, we do have a 1 night WDW resort stay on the 10th and will do 1 park? Or 2? Ricky wants to see GE and ride MMRR but we won't be to the park by opening so I think that will probably be out and we'll end up at his 2nd choice park, AK. That will be up in the air until I do fastpasses next month I'm sure, however with our 1 night stay I get to knock off another resort I haven't stayed at:



Anyone care to guess which ONE resort will still be on my list after this??

I hope you and your family's are staying healthy; let's get on with the update!​

DAY 4 OCTOBER 26TH
DAY 4 PART 3: WHAT'S ORANGE AND WHITE....AND ORANGE AND WHITE?

We finished up touring Gran Destino and loaded up the buses to go to our next resort, #2 of 5 today. I was excited for one as I'd never been there and kind of excited for the next one as I hadn't seen the type of room we were touring, but after running through the monorail resorts on day 1 and ALL those offsite resorts the next day I was kind of resorted out I did know going in that it was a huge part of the trip though so we soldiered on

​

Except that's not where we went next the picture just fit the story well here! But honestly, if you were with your family and saw this group walking by wouldn't you be like..................WHO MADE 100 WOMEN WITH VARYING BODY SHAPES AND SIZES WEAR WHITE BOTTOMS!!!!!! Seriously that was a nail in quite a few agents' foots - feets - bad choice of example here. But you get it, white jeans and shorts do not look good on everyone and yes we not only had to wear specific shirts for 3 days but were told what color bottoms to wear too and in some cases what styles we couldn't wear.
Onward.
To AOA! That was our 2nd stop. I guilted the boys into staying in a LM room for a few nights back in 2014 but had never seen a suite and we were treated to a newly refurbished Nemo one!

Table bed as table



And being turned into a bed:



Since I'd never seen a suite before the refurb I'm not sure what all changed but I do know they took up the carpet and the floor is now tile. It's blue with those squiggly green algae lines running through it like the picture I posted at the end up my last update.

Lucky for me it was now lunchtime! We were treated to the AOA quick service location to use one of our QS dining plan credits. OK not too bad, would never be my choice but I can handle some QS. I went with the tried and true Disney chicken nuggets and fries and was satisfied. The problem here unlike yesterday when we had lunch and cake at 2:30 and dinner at 3 was that it was now 11:30 and dinner was 5 so I knew I'd be hungry!
As it was the end of October there was apparently a CM pumpkin decorating contest going on as we saw these at AOA and I did see others at another resort I can't remember:








I didn't get a picture of the sign with the explanation but you could vote for your favorite display (there were about 6 there) and put a "ballot" in a box. Cute!
After this we were on to a resort I had never ever set foot at: Caribbean Beach! As Cathy and I were staying there for 2 nights after WL I was looking forward to seeing it. I won't bombard you with those pics, we didn't see a room but walked all around, saw the skyliner station and walked through a not yet opened Sebastian's:




I know great picture It has a sleek and modern yet beachy look IMO but the menu right now doesn't interest me.

After touring all of CBR but the rooms we drove through the grounds of POR during which time our guide spewed out resort facts to those few agents who hadn't crashed as soon as we sat down. We did get out at FQ to look around. It honestly amazed me how many agents hadn't been to so many of the resorts we toured! FINALLY we were on our way to our last resort which was also our dinner destination



No pictures please Ariane, you are not a good photographer!" (said in an Arnold Schwarzenegger voice) (no that CM didn't have an Arnold Schwarzenegger voice)

Yes, Animal Kingdom Lodge! Not a bad place to end up and generally not a bad place to eat either! We had a little free time after our quick tour before going to dinner so my posse and I went out on the savanna to look around:



ORANGE you glad this day is almost over???

Going by where we'd eaten so far I'm thinking you can guess which of the 3 restaurants we ate at.....I do like BOMA but really could have done without anther buffet!

At my picture limit so will continue

 

[kastoney]

Welcome Back....To That Same Old Place That You Laughed About

Beautiful AND unbelievable right??? They NEEDED to put IN WRITING not to climb that partition that is THAT high up???? People are $#@@@ crazy.

Ok a. that is clearly Expedition Everest. Sheesh I thought you were a travel agent. And b. What do you mean no climbing? Clearly that is there so I can climb over it on my very expensive vacation and traverse it like my very own everest

So you are headed to the resort that is being overtaken by snakes

 

[Wood Nymph]

In other good news our spring break Disney cruise is just over 2 months away!

Will this be your first cruise? April should be a great time to go. It is too early for hurricanes and you should have great weather.

Anyone care to guess which ONE resort will still be on my list after this??

You haven't stayed at Riviera yet. I hope you like POR. At least you will be able to get your Magic Cookie bar without going to WL.

we were treated to a newly refurbished Nemo one!

It looks like an adorable room. That would be a good place to stay with young kids.

As it was the end of October there was apparently a CM pumpkin decorating contest going on as we saw these at AOA and I did see others at another resort I can't remember:

Boardwalk has a CM pumpkin decorating contest.

We have never been to Caribbean Beach, but now that it has the Skyliner stop, it seems like we need to check it out.

ORANGE you glad this day is almost over???

It isn't so much the fact that you all had to wear white bottoms, it was the fact that you had to wear T-shirts. It was a nice shade of orange, though.

 

[ariane37]

So we were all streaming into BOMA and weren't sure where to sit; the CM's directed us to 3 tables that fit probably like 75 even though there were 100 of us. This was not cool nor were the looks we got from people as 100 of us pranced up to the buffet line, seriously it was like all the other guests had been at 1900 PF when we were too and were now more angry
The worst part was they squished us in to those tables o Cathy and I had like 0 table space. We hung back a bit until the line died down and just enjoyed our drinks:




See how squished the ladies on the other side of the table look? UGH. And to top if off I ordered out of the box and didn't like what I got and I cannot for the life of me find it on any menu! It had jalapeno in it though and while I like spicy drinks this was burn your throat spicy and didn't agree with me although at this point in the trip my attitude was approaching burn your throat spicy! The food this time around wasn't that great either so once again I left hungry and unsatisfied

The end of this meal signaled the official end of our work FAM! We all gathered outside on a savanna balcony area to say good-bye and for the winner of that arrival day scavenger hunt to be revealed #notus and then we said our good-bye's. While the majority were going home or meeting family for additional Disney time a select few of us were participating in one or two extra events we'd been invited to, which meant 3 more nights for Cathy and I.

We took a Lyft back to the Lodge and did one of my favorite things: went out to Geyser Point. Annie joined us for some drinks down by the water:



Cathy got a mojito and I had a Reisling and we talked and watched the fireworks and EWP



I felt relaxed like I had when we stopped into Territory Lounge previously but it also made me sad that this wasn't my usual fun trip. I missed Steve and the boys and sitting out there I really missed our EPIC May Girls trip crew:




Because while Cathy and I had become really close neither her nor Annie have the WL love or even the lounge love that so many of us in that picture have I just saw some of you but I dearly miss all of you!!!!!

We didn't stay down there too late because Annie and another agent were planning on getting to HS at like 5:30 the next morning and we had to be ready for our activity by 8. Here's a little sneak peak at what Cathy, myself and 48 other agents were doing:






Stay tuned for Day 5, our Fantasy Disney ship tour! Everyone says cruise food is SO good...................................

 

[ariane37]

I wish I was back at the Gran Destino, lovely resort!

Glad you liked it! Did you guys get to Toledo?

It was nice to say hi to you all!

Always

When I was there for runDisney marathon weekend in 2018, it was FREEZING, and I felt the same way!!! I never thought I'd ever need my Chicago winter-wear in Disney World!!! Brrrrrrrr.

Right? We brought our NorthFace jackets last January because it was so cold here when we went to the airport and rather than leave them in the car we said eh, we'll bring them. Not thinking we'd wear them but we wore them almost every day! I swear this year was colder and for whatever stupid reason I didn't think to bring a real jacket

I loved the picture you posted with @Jenny Sanders about knowing it's cold when Chicagoans and New Yorkers are dressed like this!

Because people don't believe lol

Hope you were able to stay warm! When DH and I went in January a few years back it was cold and I froze the whole time because I was too stubborn to bring anything warm because "I was going to Florida" lol!

That's so funny! I want to refuse to think about it being too cold but after last January I had it stuck in my head! While we each had a few pairs of jeans Steve had no long sleeve shirts just 2 sweatshirts and I only had 1 long sleeve shirt and a sweatshirt so we layered like we do NOT do in NY and had to do laundry lol. And even with the hat and gloves I could not get the chill out of my body for like the last 2 days we were there and it stayed until the morning after we got home

 

[Wood Nymph]

So we were all streaming into BOMA and weren't sure where to sit; the CM's directed us to 3 tables that fit probably like 75 even though there were 100 of us. This was not cool nor were the looks we got from people as 100 of us pranced up to the buffet line, seriously it was like all the other guests had been at 1900 PF when we were too and were now more angry

I would be a very unhappy guest if I saw 100 people ahead of me in line at Boma. It must have taken a while for them all to get through the line.

The food this time around wasn't that great either so once again I left hungry and unsatisfied

When you said that you ate at Boma I thought that it was about time they gave you some good food. That is very disappointing to hear it wasn't that good this time. We had really good food in December but my daughter said it wasn't that good when they were there at Christmas.

I felt relaxed like I had when we stopped into Territory Lounge previously but it also made me sad that this wasn't my usual fun trip. I missed Steve and the boys and sitting out there I really missed our EPIC May Girls trip crew:

That epic trip was one of a kind.

 

[KathyM2]

In good news Ricky now has gotten accepted to 4 of the 5 colleges he applied to!

Congrats! That is so exciting!

WHO MADE 100 WOMEN WITH VARYING BODY SHAPES AND SIZES WEAR WHITE BOTTOMS!!!!!!

OMG, this made me laugh. I wonder whose idea that was. I don't think I have ever worn white bottoms except to play tennis, when I was 7.

 

[Cloe Colton]

Im sure you were glad for the FAM to be over and no more matching outfits

And how exciting for your spring break cruise! I don't think I knew you were doing one. So fun! Wish it was the same one as me and Dan haha!

 

[suse66]

Hi all! I wanted to get an update sooner but the sickness has invaded our house Ricky was down since Monday morning and yesterday I started; feeling a little better tonight so we'll see. In good news Ricky now has gotten accepted to 4 of the 5 colleges he applied to! SUNY Corltand and Oneonta, Scranton and Quinnipiac which has long been his top choice. Because of the differences in programs right now he's mainly considering Quinnipiac or Scranton, both fine with me since they're under 2 hours away from home. I'm so proud and so not wanting August to come

Yikes! So sorry to hear everyone has been ill.......hope you are feeling better soon. Congrats to Ricky on his acceptances!! That is amazing! Jamie and Stuart have decided to do a gap year and wait to apply to university until next fall. I'm glad they chose this route as I don't feel they are quite ready for the rigors of university life yet.

Our cruise is April 6-10th and while we don't know yet where we're spending the night of the 5th after we fly down, we do have a 1 night WDW resort stay on the 10th and will do 1 park? Or 2? Ricky wants to see GE and ride MMRR but we won't be to the park by opening so I think that will probably be out and we'll end up at his 2nd choice park, AK. That will be up in the air until I do fastpasses next month I'm sure, however with our 1 night stay I get to knock off another resort I haven't stayed at:

The cruise sounds lovely! We are spending our spring break in NYC this year and are SO excited! We are taking the train from Buffalo so will be going right through your neck of the woods. Then settling in the Hell's Kitchen area for five nights and doing all things New York. Any tips?

But you get it, white jeans and shorts do not look good on everyone and yes we not only had to wear specific shirts for 3 days but were told what color bottoms to wear too and in some cases what styles we couldn't wear.
Onward.

That is a little much.....white bottoms are really not friendly on many body types!

So we were all streaming into BOMA and weren't sure where to sit; the CM's directed us to 3 tables that fit probably like 75 even though there were 100 of us. This was not cool nor were the looks we got from people as 100 of us pranced up to the buffet line, seriously it was like all the other guests had been at 1900 PF when we were too and were now more angry

Oh no!

We took a Lyft back to the Lodge and did one of my favorite things: went out to Geyser Point. Annie joined us for some drinks down by the water:

Much better!

 

[disneyAndi14]

I had a drink in the lounge Dahlia, we didn’t eat at Toledo, it sure is beautiful up there.
Your first picture looks like POFQ but I’m sure you have stayed there before? As far as the last resort you haven’t stayed at I am going to guess AS sports
I’m not going to lie, I probably would have said a few choice words, under my breath if you all came into the buffet line
I am still bummed we had to cancel our Disney Dream Cruise, excited to hear about yours and also the ship tours.

 

[footballmouse]

following along

 

[missjackiemcg]

WHO MADE 100 WOMEN WITH VARYING BODY SHAPES AND SIZES WEAR WHITE BOTTOMS!!!!!! Seriously that was a nail in quite a few agents' foots - feets - bad choice of example here. But you get it, white jeans and shorts do not look good on everyone and yes we not only had to wear specific shirts for 3 days but were told what color bottoms to wear too and in some cases what styles we couldn't wear.

This feels like a rule some man would come up with! Shame on any woman who was responsible!!

We took a Lyft back to the Lodge and did one of my favorite things: went out to Geyser Point. Annie joined us for some drinks down by the water:

Aaaaaaah, now THIS looks like vacation!! Glad you got to relax after a wild few days of NOT touring the way you like to!

I'm still SO sad we didn't stick around longer on this night!! Every time I see this picture, I'm like WHO NEEDS SLEEP!? Why did I go back to the hotel!!?

 

[ArielSRL]

Even though our trip was very short, I am fairly glad we left on Monday. I really have no desire to do Disney in that kind of cold. I live in the South for a reason! Of course, it was just as cold at home in GA, probably a little colder, but other than getting the luggage out of the car and going from car to work and work to car, we were not outside in it!

 

[ArielSRL]

Hi all! I wanted to get an update sooner but the sickness has invaded our house Ricky was down since Monday morning and yesterday I started; feeling a little better tonight so we'll see.

So sorry! I hope you have all made a full recovery or close to it. Knock on wood, even though the flu has spread through my class like wildfire, we are all flu-free, so far. I am probably tempting fate with that statement though.

In good news Ricky now has gotten accepted to 4 of the 5 colleges he applied to! SUNY Corltand and Oneonta, Scranton and Quinnipiac which has long been his top choice. Because of the differences in programs right now he's mainly considering Quinnipiac or Scranton, both fine with me since they're under 2 hours away from home.

Congrats to Ricky!

 

[Jenny Sanders]

Well, that sucks that you all are sick!!! I hope you all make a speedy recovery!!!

I felt relaxed like I had when we stopped into Territory Lounge previously but it also made me sad that this wasn't my usual fun trip. I missed Steve and the boys and sitting out there I really missed our EPIC May Girls trip crew:

AWW! May was soooo awesome!!! Great group of friends!!!!!

 

[EvilVillainess]

Quinnipiac is awesome, my daughter is graduating from there this Spring. Please feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions or concerns.