Back to Back trips in August-The How Could You's Ride Again!- Final Thoughts 4/14

[RGirl]

Wow - K2 has quite a talent there - beautiful photos!

The AoA suite looks really nice - I loved seeing all the pics! Can't wait to hear what you girls are up to next.

 

[Buzzsgramma]

Great pix and enjoying all the TR....your nephew and son will have wonderful memories of this trip....
you are brave to go in the summer...ah the BCV we must stay there one day...
maybe a friend will look for your BC pin...
did you use your AP for any food discounts? can't wait to read the rest of your TR...
AoA looks like such fun...such beautiful colors ,rooms are beyond cute...

 

[Tiggerrn2]

Yes, I do believe that guy started checking us in (or something???) on his Ipad. I also remember the CM at the actual desk was from Havana, which was of interest to me because my DH is Cuban. I think I had a conversation with her about that? Someday, maybe I will take notes and pictures and save my receipts as well....probably not, though! And since I remember very little in my old age, we will just go with whatever Tiggerrn says we did, lol!

Great update...so much fun to re-live our trip!

I remember that conversation now that you mentioned it! And it is fun to re-live the trip.

Wow - K2 has quite a talent there - beautiful photos!

The AoA suite looks really nice - I loved seeing all the pics! Can't wait to hear what you girls are up to next.

She really does take some awesome photos! We had so much fun and were busy every day!

Great pix and enjoying all the TR....your nephew and son will have wonderful memories of this trip....
you are brave to go in the summer...ah the BCV we must stay there one day...
maybe a friend will look for your BC pin...
did you use your AP for any food discounts? can't wait to read the rest of your TR...
AoA looks like such fun...such beautiful colors ,rooms are beyond cute...

Thanks!! It was "warm" But we had a lot of fun in spite of the heat. And for that friend looking for that BC pin for me, I say a great big Thanks! Hope you have better luck than I did. Hoping to get another installment up tomorrow afternoon.

 

[KatMark]

What fun updates, Linda.

K2's pictures are great.

I LOVE your room. That is just too darn adorable for words. I bet kids love that! You had a beautiful view; you are right...a balcony would have made it perfect.

 

[Tiggerrn2]

What fun updates, Linda.

K2's pictures are great.

I LOVE your room. That is just too darn adorable for words. I bet kids love that! You had a beautiful view; you are right...a balcony would have made it perfect.

The suites are awesome. So glad we took the opportunity to check them out!

 

[Tiggerrn2]

I promised an update, so here it is. It may be short and then there may be some time between updates. DD has a big week here coming up. She is CLARA in our local Ballet's production of The Nutcracker! So we are very busy this week with staging and dress rehearsals and then school shows and the main event.

We left off heading out to lunch. We decided to keep it close so we could get back for a rest.

We went to AoA's Landscape of Flavors.

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DD got the cheese pizza (I know, right?! Here I go again!). I wasn't starving so I got the kids meal BBQ Pork sandwich. We picked up a side of chips and grabbed carrots and apple slices. Also grabbed a juice box and water.

Pam had the Mongolian Stirfry.

And K2 had the kids chicken and a kids pizza.

Everything was very good. No complaints from anyone here. After we finished our meal, we headed back up to our room to try to get some rest before our EMH evening at the MK.

Took a couple photos on our walk back towards our room.

As you may recall, I mentioned I had a terrible cough (obtained just before we left on our trip). Lying down only made me cough worse. After about 30 minutes of trying to rest and fearing I was disturbing all others in the room, I gave up and went down to check out the activities at the pool.

The view from my lounge chair.

It was time for making Towel Animals in the Poolside Activities schedule. I figured, why not. It was around 5pm. We weren't heading out to MK until around 7, so I had some time to spare!

About the time I finished with my critter, Pam wandered down. She wasn't sleeping either, so she joined in on the fun.

They let you keep your creations!

Next up in the Poolside Activities was Disney Trivia!!! Pam and I were a team and there were about 5 or 6 others. Each team grabbed a white board and dry erase marker and set to work. There were a couple of Dis fans in the crowd and some serious competitors for the prize of Trivia Queen! But ultimately, none were as knowledgeable at all things Disney as Pam and I were. The questions were very random, movies to parks to characters. And we had one team cheating and asking the lifeguards for help.

But like I said, none could top the two Disney Addicts!!!! And here was our first place prize!!!

That's right!!! An inflatable fish!! Oh yeah!! We were proud!

Trivia lasted until 7pm. To tell the truth, I think Pam and I could have gone on playing for hours. We were having a fun time!

But it was time to gather our things and head up to get the girls moving.

Coming soon....... EMH in the Magic Kingdom!!

 

[emmysmommy]

Hi Linda, catching up yet again! I LOVE your suite. The details are adorable - especially that fish are friends caption for the bathroom mirror. (And yes, our room had soaking wet carpet in the bathroom area. Perhaps a spill?

Your happy to be here dance is cute.

Congrats on your Disney trivia win! Way to go.

The food court area is so lovely. I really need to check that out.

 

[pamelasu1]

DD has a big week here coming up. She is CLARA in our local Ballet's production of The Nutcracker! So we are very busy this week with staging and dress rehearsals and then school shows and the main event.

So excited for her! She is going to be wonderful!


About the time I finished with my critter, Pam wandered down. She wasn't sleeping either, so she joined in on the fun.

I have to add hear that I am apparently not talented at towel animal creating, since the CM basically took it away from me and "fixed" it, lol!


Next up in the Poolside Activities was Disney Trivia!!! Pam and I were a team and there were about 5 or 6 others. Each team grabbed a white board and dry erase marker and set to work. There were a couple of Dis fans in the crowd and some serious competitors for the prize of Trivia Queen! But ultimately, none were as knowledgeable at all things Disney as Pam and I were. The questions were very random, movies to parks to characters. And we had one team cheating and asking the lifeguards for help.

But like I said, none could top the two Disney Addicts!!!! And here was our first place prize!!!

You are being modest here...I only answered a couple of questions. It was mostly Linda who ruled the trivia! I was very proud of the few that I knew, though! Remember the one where you were having a coughing fit and you knew I was writing down the wrong answer, but you couldn't stop coughing so you couldn't tell me I was wrong? But we prevailed in the end!

 

[mickeystoontown]

It's a good thing you sent me the P.M. Somehow I was unsubscribed? Whaaaaaaaat?

Anywho, the boys trip is long gone and you've started on the girls' trip so I'll just pick up from there.

It didn't take long at all for ya'll to get from the airport to the resort and that's with a stop along the way.

I think that the Nemo suites are so neat! The theming is fintastic (yep, meant to spell it wrong. ) Yay for you and Pam winning the trivia contest and that totally awesome blow up fish! You two should be very proud of yourselves.

 

[KatMark]

Fun update, Linda.

I had that same nagging cough on my girls trip in June (had it until the day after the wedding too) and always felt I was keeping everyone awake.

Love that you made your own towel animal...very cool.

And, of course you and Pam won. I would expect nothing less! Cute fish too.

 

[Tiggerrn2]

I have a few moments this morning to do some replies. Crazy week ahead. DD is Clara in the Nutcracker and shows are this weekend and it is Parent - Teacher conferences at the schools, and book fair (which I am in charge of) as well as getting girls to and from rehearsals. Wondering why everything always falls in the same week.

Hi Linda, catching up yet again! I LOVE your suite. The details are adorable - especially that fish are friends caption for the bathroom mirror. (And yes, our room had soaking wet carpet in the bathroom area. Perhaps a spill?

Your happy to be here dance is cute. Thanks.

Congrats on your Disney trivia win! Way to go. Thanks again. So much fun. I love stuff like that. Have a few of those books here at home.

The food court area is so lovely. I really need to check that out.

Decent food in AoA food court as well. But I think Mara is still my favorite.

I have to add hear that I am apparently not talented at towel animal creating, since the CM basically took it away from me and "fixed" it, lol![/COLOR]
Ha Ha! That was pretty funny. She was probably wondering what two grown ladies were doing at the kids' activity table for anyway!

Next up in the Poolside Activities was Disney Trivia!!! Pam and I were a team and there were about 5 or 6 others. Each team grabbed a white board and dry erase marker and set to work. There were a couple of Dis fans in the crowd and some serious competitors for the prize of Trivia Queen! But ultimately, none were as knowledgeable at all things Disney as Pam and I were. The questions were very random, movies to parks to characters. And we had one team cheating and asking the lifeguards for help.

But like I said, none could top the two Disney Addicts!!!! And here was our first place prize!!!

You are being modest here...I only answered a couple of questions. It was mostly Linda who ruled the trivia! I was very proud of the few that I knew, though! Remember the one where you were having a coughing fit and you knew I was writing down the wrong answer, but you couldn't stop coughing so you couldn't tell me I was wrong? But we prevailed in the end!

I had forgotten about that! Pretty funny. But you knew some answers I did not. However, I will never forget (now) that Pascal was Rapunzel's little chameleon friend!

It's a good thing you sent me the P.M. Somehow I was unsubscribed? Whaaaaaaaat? Glad I sent you the reminder then!

Anywho, the boys trip is long gone and you've started on the girls' trip so I'll just pick up from there.
Great!

It didn't take long at all for ya'll to get from the airport to the resort and that's with a stop along the way.

I think that the Nemo suites are so neat! The theming is fintastic (yep, meant to spell it wrong. ) Yay for you and Pam winning the trivia contest and that totally awesome blow up fish! You two should be very proud of yourselves.

Our competitive nature kicked in. We were very proud of ourselves!!

Fun update, Linda.
Thanks.

I had that same nagging cough on my girls trip in June (had it until the day after the wedding too) and always felt I was keeping everyone awake.
Wasn't it just awful? I think it stuck with me the first 3 days and then started to taper off.

Love that you made your own towel animal...very cool.


And, of course you and Pam won. I would expect nothing less! Cute fish too.

And did we feel guilty about stealing that awesome prize from some poor little soul? Nope, not a bit! The CMs did give some of the kids a prize for playing and coming in 2nd and 3rd anyways.

 

[Tiggerrn2]

Going to try to put up a short bit while I have about 30 minutes.
We left off heading back up to the room to rouse the girls and head off to MK. I think we took the bus over so we could get door to door service, but I can't rightly recall. But we were at the gates by 7:30pm. It had been a roasty day, and you could tell by the "smell" of some of the guests that they had been there all day.

We made our way over to Cosmic Rays for a quick bite to eat. Sorry, no food porn this evening. Guess we were in a hurry (either that or I didn't think you all would get too excited by our hot dog, chicken nuggets, a chicken sandwich Or our most exciting meal (and it was Pam's) rotiesseri (sp?) chicken and mashed potatoes and a mango gelato for desert.

We made a quick stop in the Merchant of Venus shop to grab some pin backs as Kellie had a few pins that kept falling off her lanyard. Then we headed on over to Ride Buzz. Here is where I will have to leave you as I am having trouble locating my Attractions + photos that I know I downloaded to my computer and have looked at and now cannot find.

 

[Tiggerrn2]

Sorry it has been soooooo long since my last update. I was busy with DD's dancing schedule, then a book fair and that pesky job that pays the bills and keeps my ability to return to Disney possible.

For those of you who are not FB friends but follow along here, this is my DD as "Clara" in the Nutcracker......my very own Disney Princess!

OK, now that the intermission is over with, let's move on.

We last left off heading back to Buzz Lightyear after dinner. We had pulled FPs before going to dinner and it was time to use them. You will recall, our Magic Bands weren't good for FP+ until the second half of our stay. So we had to use our old tickets yet to pull regular FPs. Also, I remembered to stop to get our Attractions+ Photopass card at the start of our trip. Pam and I split the $50 cost. It was worth our $$. We had fun planning poses-especially on ToT.

I think DD was just a little competitive here..

From there, we moved on to New Fantasyland. We stopped for a ride on the Little Mermaid and then made our way over to...... (and the rest of these photos are courtesy of K2-I either did not bring my camera with me, or didn't bother to take it out of the case. )

I was in need of a nice, frosty beverage. While I waited, the girls took some photos..

So I got my nice, frosty beverage.......and then DD stole it!

She only had a few sips before she gave it back. But she decided she would have one of her own!

And then, it was time for Wishes. We were on the backside of the castle in a rather odd spot just outside of the Tavern. It was not crowded. And we ended up with the BEST!!!!!! view of the fireworks. You could see everything-where they were coming from, the shots from all around, and you could even FEEL the crackling as they went off. It couldn't get any better.

Those were just a few of the many. But trust me when I tell you, there is not a better spot to watch Wishes from, IMHO.

Moving on, we headed around to the Tangled bathrooms.

The girls had quite the time doing a little dancing outside this spot. As I recall, they were re-enacting their Can Can dance from their Winterdance show.

We continued on our way around to the side of the Castle just in time to catch the Castle Light Show. We were near the Liberty Square bridge side of the Castle and had a tremendous view from that spot.

With the shows over, it was time to make our way onto a few rides. We hit up the Haunted Mansion, Pirates, Big Thunder Mountain, then headed back into Fantasyland for Peter Pan (which had barely a line at that time of night), Pooh, and then we stopped for a Castle photo shoot.

Then made our way into Tomorrowland to ride TTA.

We'd had a full day. It was time to head out to get some rest.

Up next....sleeping in and an afternoon at Epcot! (maybe even a little rain)....

 

[KatMark]

Linda, what a great update. You and your friend look like sisters on Buzz.

What absolutely wonderful pictures of the fireworks and the Castle Show. Those are spectacular.

Sounds like a really great night...you got a lot done.

 

[RGirl]

Well, first off, I kind of suck. I just noticed that I totally missed your update from weeks ago!

It sounds like you two had such a great time playing the trivia game and making towel creatures. How fun! This is the kind of stuff that I am going to make time for next time - we will have a much better trip if we slow down and do fun things like this in the heat of summer.

The pictures of your DD dancing are amazing. What a beauty! And what a dancer! You must be so proud.

Sounds like a great MK night - plenty of rides, fireworks, Gaston's Tavern. Very nice! Those pics that DD's friend took are as amazing as the last set. Wow!

 

[pamelasu1]

The only thing I have to add is that I remember you and me being so irritated with the girls for taking all those castle photos while the park was still open, lol! We kept saying...."castle photos can be taken after park closing....let's go ride!"
And then, if I remember correctly, the girls wanted to ride something else after the Peoplemover. That's when we got to have one of those "mom" moments..."we told you to wait for the pictures!" Or perhaps I have made all that up in my imagination.....I was really, really tired by the time the park closed!
And, I am so sad that we did not get to see the Nutcracker! Thanks for trying to get us in at the last minute, though!
Great update!

 

[Tiggerrn2]

Linda, what a great update. You and your friend look like sisters on Buzz.

We are Disney sisters!! That's the best kind!

What absolutely wonderful pictures of the fireworks and the Castle Show. Those are spectacular.

K2 takes some awesome photos!

Sounds like a really great night...you got a lot done.

We did get through a lot of the MK that night.

Well, first off, I kind of suck. I just noticed that I totally missed your update from weeks ago!

No worries. Happens to me, too.


It sounds like you two had such a great time playing the trivia game and making towel creatures. How fun! This is the kind of stuff that I am going to make time for next time - we will have a much better trip if we slow down and do fun things like this in the heat of summer.

I love playing the trivia games!

The pictures of your DD dancing are amazing. What a beauty! And what a dancer! You must be so proud.

Thank you. I am proud of her.

Sounds like a great MK night - plenty of rides, fireworks, Gaston's Tavern. Very nice! Those pics that DD's friend took are as amazing as the last set. Wow!

All the way along she took some wonderful photos. I don't know how she managed to pick only a couple hundred out of the thousand she took.

The only thing I have to add is that I remember you and me being so irritated with the girls for taking all those castle photos while the park was still open, lol! We kept saying...."castle photos can be taken after park closing....let's go ride!"
And then, if I remember correctly, the girls wanted to ride something else after the Peoplemover. That's when we got to have one of those "mom" moments..."we told you to wait for the pictures!" Or perhaps I have made all that up in my imagination.....I was really, really tired by the time the park closed!

Me too! And remember, I "thought" we were going to be able to sleep in the next morning!


And, I am so sad that we did not get to see the Nutcracker! Thanks for trying to get us in at the last minute, though!
Great update!

We were sorry you didn't get to come as well.

 

[Tiggerrn2]

Good Morning!!!! Not really. There is NO sleeping in Disney. (apparently not even if you really wanted to) After our late night and 2:30 am to bed, we thought we'd sleep in. Remember my cold? I'd even taken some Nyquil capsules when we'd returned in anticipation of a good night's sleep and late morning. No rope drop, no reason to wake, and a "Do not Disturb" sign just outside our door. That sign must attract every Housekeeping cart from the resort!! Note to Disney: metal interior doors with metal latches and metal door protectors are not a good idea!!! Housekeepers use said latches to hold the doors open so they don't have to badge in and out while getting things from their carts for cleaning. By 7am they were already hard at work. I wanted to cry. I laid there for a while (I had the bed nearest the door and took the brunt of the banging), then decided it was useless. I think I got up by 9 and went to shower. Pam was smart and had earplugs in so she didn't hear all the racket, and the girls were in the bedroom behind the closed door. I got ready and then laid back down while I waited for the others.

Here is something you don't see often from a Commando Style park tourer!
Check out the time on the clock. And these are still K2's photos.

We had reservations for Coral Reef today for 1:15pm. We headed to Epcot via car and parked in the AAA parking area. Most awesome!

Then made our way over to The Land to collect FPs for Soarin'.

Next, we made our way over to the Seas with Nemo and Friends, and since the wait was "none" we took a quick ride on a clamshell.

About that time, it was time to head into the Coral Reef for lunch.
Waiting to be seated, we had a lovely CM take our photo.

Here is what a Park Commando looks like after Nyquil and lack of sleep.

I will leave you here for now. Tis time for me to head to bed......next up, what's for lunch?!

 

[Tiggerrn2]

We left off having just been seated and waiting for lunch. I know Coral Reef gets mixed reviews, but I have to say that both last year and this year, we had very good food. Our table was not down by the aquarium but we did have a nice view from where we were seated.

Look how fresh and excited and happy the girls look!

Wish I could've said the same about myself. I think the cold meds were still in full effect! I was nearly asleep at the table. But I was excited for lunch. Time for one of my favorites!! Lobster Soup!!! Wish I could cook. Pam brought me back the receipe. Anyone know how to make a roux? Me neither.

It was as awesome as I'd remembered!

DD had the crab cake for an appetizer and she loved it! I am not a huge fan of crab cakes (though my niece's husband makes a crab dip that is to die for).

Then it was time for the main meal. I had the kids meal portion of Mahi Mahi with white rice and broccoli. It was wonderful.

DD had the regular portion of Mahi Mahi that came with some shrimp on the top. I had her shrimp and that was mighty tasty as well. I believe both Pam and K2 had the Mahi Mahi choices as well.

We each had a lemonade to drink. Total price with tip $46.16. We both thought about desert, but were a bit full so we opted to wait til later. BUT then our lovely waitress, Kristen, brought out the desert trio for K2 for her birthday. Soooooo good.

How about a closer look? K2's photo!

Stuffed to the gills, it was time to waddle on out of there and head to the World Showcase for a bit.......

Do you see what I see up ahead?!

Yep!! Man in poncho=not good!! We'd been inside enjoying our meal and were oblivious to what was going on outdoors. Take a look and see.

Everyone had dashed in under cover of the restaurant overhang. And there we sat. We waited it out a bit until the rains slowed, donned our ponchos and headed off to browse around a bit in the World.

Coming up........World Showcase!!

 

[Tiggerrn2]

After the rain slowed a bit and we donned our ponchos, we headed back out into Future World and on to the World Showcase. We knew we couldn't go too far for too long since we had our FPs for Soarin'.

We headed to the left side of the World and wandered into the Mexico pavilion to browse.

We rode the Grand Fiesta Tour (aka. It's a SmallWorld for Donald Duck!)

Next we headed over to Norway and Germany and stopped in the Glas Und Porzellan, and of course, I HAD to go to the Karamell-Kuche to get a treat!

Someone wanted some Mozart candies.

We wandered around for a few photos in China.

Then it was time to head back into Future World. We made a stop in Club Cool to refresh our memories in all things Beverly. Why I felt the need to taste this again I will never understand!

We used our FPs for Soarin' then went in to see a purple dinosaur! (no, not Barney! ) DD thought Figment was quite cute!

We stopped by the Fountain to hear some music.

It was getting on about 7:30 by then and our lunch had worn off. We made a trip over to Sunshine Seasons to grab some dinner.

DD had the kids' meal Pizza Panini and I had the Rotisseri Chicken with a side of beans.

And it looks like K2 also had the Rotisseri chicken but with a side of rice.

Not sure what Pam had or maybe she shared with K2.

We headed back into Future World. I needed to make a stop in Guest Relations to upgrade DDs 5 day hopper pass to an 8 day pass. For $31.95 she got 3 extra days, just like that!

We stopped to admire the sparkly sidewalks.

K2 and DD went into the little shop while I was upgrading DDs pass. And here is where DD found a little something she was just dying to buy.

I tried my best to talk her out of it. The last thing she needed was one more stuffy on her bed. She put it back (for now).

About this time, the girls were wanting to head back to the resort. They were itching to see if you could really hear voices in the Big Blue Pool. We headed back to the parking lot worship: to Pam for that AAA parking pass-we were back to our car and on the road in no time).

The girls (big and little) did indeed take a dip. Disappointed to hear music underwater instead of voices. And it wasn't Disney music, either. If I recall correctly, we had a bit of Jimmy Buffet going and then some other Pop tunes.
We wandered over to the Cars area to check out their little pool and that part of the resort. Our family had done the tour of this section last summer when Cars area had just opened so I didn't do any photos from here.

As we headed back to the room, we made a stop in the Landscape of Flavors for some deserts. (and I grabbed some liquid cough medicine in Ink and Paint).

I grabbed this shot before heading back to the room.

Upon our return we found......

and an arrangement of the girls' pillows.

It was time to turn in. Rope drop at AK is up next..........