Bill and Tracy’s Kinda Excellent Adventure 5/7 M & M Day 2 Cinderella Castle Suite

[luvfigment]

Great start...You guy always meet famous people! Y'all have great luck. I am going to try my best to stay updated. Looking forward to reading more and then hearing about your upcoming trips.

 

[KatGarcia]

Holy smokes I would have gone crazy at the desk! The one time I rented points it was through a member here and we almost didnt have our ressie either, thank god we did, and you did as well! Looking fwd to reading all about it!

BTW I think we are going up for one of the star wars weekends too...can you smell a dis meet????

 

[RunningGirl]

So glad I found a Mrs K tr!

All that business at check in would have had me hyperventilating! And with all the people who get accessible rooms that don't want them, I can't believe you didn't get one!

Hope you felt better as the trip went along; I'm ready for more!

 

[Mrs. Sojourner]

I can't wait to hear about your trip. I hope to stay at Boardwalk someday too! I'm interested to hear how well you liked staying there.

 

[mrsksomeday]

Great start...You guy always meet famous people! Y'all have great luck. I am going to try my best to stay updated. Looking forward to reading more and then hearing about your upcoming trips.

We have been lucky the past couple airport trips .

Holy smokes I would have gone crazy at the desk! The one time I rented points it was through a member here and we almost didnt have our ressie either, thank god we did, and you did as well! Looking fwd to reading all about it!

BTW I think we are going up for one of the star wars weekends too...can you smell a dis meet????

I knew that the reservation was there I was just frustrated that they couldn't see it like I could . We will be there May 16th - 22nd and heck might add a day or two.

So glad I found a Mrs K tr!

All that business at check in would have had me hyperventilating! And with all the people who get accessible rooms that don't want them, I can't believe you didn't get one!

Hope you felt better as the trip went along; I'm ready for more!

Thanks for joining in!! From what I understand there aren't very many accessible rooms at BWV. For the upcoming trip I am going to have the member ask again about an accessible room and if they can't guarantee one I will ask at check in as well.

I can't wait to hear about your trip. I hope to stay at Boardwalk someday too! I'm interested to hear how well you liked staying there.

The Boardwalk is gorgeous and we never would have stayed there if we weren't renting points, makes it more affordable.

 

[mrsksomeday]

Although the size of the Boardwalk Villas room was large, the layout was a bit of a quandary for us. If you are laying down Bill is always on the left side of the bed. The bed in this room was very close to the wall on that side and there was no way I could carry him and lay him down with that small of an opening. We both decided we were not going to go ask for another room. We were both just done in that day. I am set in my ways to it took a little getting used to helping him dress when everything was backwards. We had slept in hoping to shake the blah feeling we both had.

We woke up both feeling much better. After I got us ready, we took the elevator to the first floor and I realized just how close we were to the boat dock, we had a fantastic room assignment. We never waited more than 5 minutes for a friendship boat from the Boardwalk the entire time we were there. We were already in love with the place. The atmosphere was wonderful and it is just a beautiful area.

We purchased annual passes at DHS and walked in. We love this park, it is so accessible for Bill we really enjoy it. I was starting to feel better about our decision to go on the trip.

Before long it was time to check into the Hollywood Brown Derby for our reservation. They gave us Dine with an Imagineer Disney name tags. Mine as usual was spelled incorrectly, Disney loves to add an “e” to my name for some reason.

No worries. The restaurant wasn’t officially open yet so we went outside, Bill wanted to check something on his phone:

We were there when the restaurant opened, I didn’t know but the Hollywood Brown Derby has an opening ceremony. They choose a family then pick a family member to be “Celebrity of the day”. It is so cute, they take them outside and have them enter the restaurant taking pictures of them and have the “celebrity” cut a red ribbon and escort them into the restaurant. It was a delightful ceremony and the family really seemed to enjoy it.

Dine with an Imagineer is usually for 10 people but for some reason our lunch had 12 people. The lunch was held in the Bamboo Room:

Usually you would just walk through the restaurant to get to the room. They decided to take all of us outside and around the side because of Bill’s wheelchair so he wouldn’t have to maneuver around the guests in the tight area in the dining room. We were seated and Alex Caruthers, Art Director of DHS, was our Imagineer. He was fantastic!! He had worked at Magic Kingdom as well and was a fountain of information. He had actually worked on the Jungle Cruise accessible boats, he was happy that Bill liked the way they worked. The time flew by. You could tell he really loved his job, he was so enthusiastic and informative.

When he was at Magic Kingdom he had asked one of the bosses if he could put a statue of Mr. Toad in the cemetery at Haunted Mansion after the ride was gone. The boss said yes but didn’t really give him a budget. He talked to some of his people and they said there was a Mr. Toad statue they had been selling in the parks and they had one at one of the Disney stores for CM’s only for $18. They prepared him to be in the elements and the concrete was poured for him. Alex went out very early one morning to place Mr. Toad and hadn’t told anyone he was doing it. After he was done one of the Keys to the Kingdom tours came through. The CM had been with the company for many years and was very knowledgeable. She was pointing out various things in the cemetery and someone said “there’s Mr. Toad” and she turned around wanting to know where. She was perplexed as to when and how he came to be there. Alex had sent in some Disney photographers to document Mr. Toad’s placement. They do this for everything to make sure if something gets broken, needs painted, etc. they will know exactly where it should be and what it looks like. The Haunted Mansion castmembers were worried about the photographers, they thought someone had placed Mr. Toad there as a joke and the photographers were documenting evidence to get someone in trouble. Finally Alex went down there and explained to them that he was the one that put Mr. Toad there and everything was ok.

Bill and I are not adventurous eaters at all. He also doesn’t really do appetizers, I had the Cobb salad. For dinner Bill had the Grilled Filet Mignon with Boniato Mash, Crisp Peppered Onions and Chimichurri Aioli and Rich Cabernet Reduction. I had the Thai Noodle Bowl with Barbecue Breast of Chicken, Sugar Peas, Bok Choy and Shiitake Mushrooms in a Red Curry Broth. I was more interested in the conversation than the food.

For dessert we tried the Grapefruit cake, we were not fans but it was pretty:

We got a personalized menu, a picture of all of us together and autographed collector plates.

The experience was so great that Bill and I booked another Dine with the Imagineer experience for our May trip as soon as we got back to the room that night. The server let us back out the side door.

I got my phone out to text Angela, from the Focker thread here on the DIS. They are a group of DIS’ers that have been posting to each other for years and many have met in person. I am very fortunate to have gotten to know those lovely ladies online. They are such a great support system to one another. I looked up as I was getting ready to type and there she was at one of the benches outside the entrance to the Hollywood Brown Derby. After meeting her, the first thing I will say is she is as beautiful inside as she is outside, such a lovely person, funny, and great to talk with. We walked around, went through One Man’s Dream together and ended up sitting and talking at the Studio Catering Company. Bill was a great sport letting me ramble on and on to Angela. I talked her ear off. I hope we get to meet up with her again when we are in WDW. In true Focker fashion, no pictures were taken. (I am an idiot, I would have loved to have gotten a picture with her.)

After she left the park, Bill and I talked about what we were going to do. He wanted to go to the Muppets store to see how much new merchandise they had since the movie had been recently released. We were so disappointed, they had nothing that was really new and we thought they would have more stuff.

We ended up at the Great Movie Ride, getting the Gangster side once again, I really didn’t think we would never see the Cowboy version:

We checked in at 50’s Prime Time Café for dinner and watched at the hostess turn several people away that didn’t have reservations. They really should have a sign for these occasions that says “Not accepting walk ups at this time” or something like that. It took a bunch of time out of her day to say “reservations only” over and over again.

They sat us at the “Tracy and Bill table”, I swear this is the 3rd time we have gotten the same table, I am going to suggest a plaque or something so people know it is ours!

No trip to 50’s is complete without drinks, a Mowie Wowie for Bill and Grandma’s Picnic Punch (Grandma must have been a LUSH!!) for me:

We had a yummy dinner, the sampler for Bill, chicken for me, and made our way out of the park taking a Friendship boat back to the Boardwalk. I liked how they posted the Life Vest instructions:

One of the many things Bill and I enjoy on the Boardwalk is the performers, they always have people laughing and having fun. This guy was great:

I will admit he didn’t have my full attention once Illuminations started, I mean come on all I had to do was turn my head and see some great fireworks, I tried to keep an eye on the performer but the fireworks won out. It was a great way to end the day.

On the way to our room I took one last picture:

Next installment… Storytelling around the World

 

[jcc0621]

We woke up both feeling much better. After I got us ready, we took the elevator to the first floor and I realized just how close we were to the boat dock, we had a fantastic room assignment. We never waited more than 5 minutes for a friendship boat from the Boardwalk the entire time we were there. We were already in love with the place. The atmosphere was wonderful and it is just a beautiful area.

Great!

. We were seated and [/SIZE]Alex[/COLOR][/FONT] Caruthers, Art Director of DHS, was our Imagineer. He was fantastic!! He had worked at Magic Kingdom as well and was a fountain of information. He had actually worked on the Jungle Cruise accessible boats, he was happy that Bill liked the way they worked. The time flew by. You could tell he really loved his job, he was so enthusiastic and informative.

Sounds like a lot of fun!

The experience was so great that Bill and I booked another Dine with the Imagineer experience for our May trip as soon as we got back to the room that night. The server let us back out the side door.

Do you get to pick or do they just have someone show up and you don't know ahead of time?

I got my phone out to text Angela, from the Focker thread here on the DIS. They are a group of DIS’ers that have been posting to each other for years and many have met in person. I am very fortunate to have gotten to know those lovely ladies online. They are such a great support system to one another.

. After meeting her, the first thing I will say is she is as beautiful inside as she is outside, such a lovely person, funny, and great to talk with.

Angela is awesome

In true Focker fashion, no pictures were taken. (I am an idiot, I would have loved to have gotten a picture with her.)

And this should surprise me why

we thought they would have more stuff.

Well poo...I was looking forward to new stuff in August

“Not accepting walk ups at this time” or something like that. It took a bunch of time out of her day to say “reservations only” over and over again.

If I remember correctly they ised to do this. I also remember boards at the entrance to each park (i.e new City Hall) telling you which restaurants had seating available. Don't know why they stopped it!

They sat us at the “Tracy and Bill table”, I swear this is the 3rd time we have gotten the same table, I am going to suggest a plaque or something so people know it is ours!

I;m a bit disappointed becasue we aren't going there in August. Jimmy REALLY wants to go to Sci-Fi and I figure that the trip is really for him...right?

(Grandma must have been a LUSH!!) for me:

Next installment… Epcot we have a problem

Uh oh

 

[mrsksomeday]

Great!

Sounds like a lot of fun!

Do you get to pick or do they just have someone show up and you don't know ahead of time?




Angela is awesome

And this should surprise me why

Well poo...I was looking forward to new stuff in August

If I remember correctly they ised to do this. I also remember boards at the entrance to each park (i.e new City Hall) telling you which restaurants had seating available. Don't know why they stopped it!

I;m a bit disappointed becasue we aren't going there in August. Jimmy REALLY wants to go to Sci-Fi and I figure that the trip is really for him...right?



Uh oh

It was a lot of fun, we really enjoyed it. They have a list of Imagineers and they take turns doing the lunch and there is a Dine with an Imagineer dinner at the Flying Fish, but that one is more expensive and if you want a collecter plate from that meal it is $75


Angela is an amazing lady


I was really disappointed in the Muppets merchandise.


We love 50's, I think we have eaten there almost every trip.


I went back and edited our "next installment" name. Epcot we have a problem is a couple days later, I went brain dead for a minute

 

[jenseib]

What an exciting day. 2 great meals. I really want to do Prime Time, we had an ADR for my last trip, but it didn't work out and we ended up not going.

 

[RunningGirl]

Lunch with an imagineer - what an awesome experience! That really sounds like something I'd love to do with DH sometime. But I don't understand how they mess your name up like that - to me adding an "e" is much more uncommon!

I love taking the boats from DHS to Boardwalk or Epcot. So relaxing! Driving those boats would be a great job.

 

[oregonmommyof2]

Great update, I think Terry and I would really enjoy Dine with an Imagineer...

I've only seen the gangster side of Great Movie Ride too...

I'm glad you are liking Boardwalk, it's one I am dying to try someday!!

 

[Mrs. Sojourner]

What a great location! You are really selling me on the BWV! How far in advance did you rent points?

How cool that the Brown Derby has an opening ceremony and family of the day. The dining with an Imagineer sounds really neat. I am going to have to check that out, too.

 

[DisMomAmy]

What a fun lunch!! And so cool that you had a DISmeet!

I'm glad you were feeling better & enjoyed the day. Illuminations from the Boardwalk area is amazing!

 

[mrsksomeday]

What an exciting day. 2 great meals. I really want to do Prime Time, we had an ADR for my last trip, but it didn't work out and we ended up not going.

We love Prime Time, it is a must do for us. We just really enjoy the atmosphere.

Lunch with an imagineer - what an awesome experience! That really sounds like something I'd love to do with DH sometime. But I don't understand how they mess your name up like that - to me adding an "e" is much more uncommon!

I love taking the boats from DHS to Boardwalk or Epcot. So relaxing! Driving those boats would be a great job.

I think most people think the "e" is standard for some reason. Using the boats is wonderful for us. It is so much easier than the busses. They can only take 2 mobility devices at once, so we did have to wait twice for another boat, but the wait was very short.

Great update, I think Terry and I would really enjoy Dine with an Imagineer...

I've only seen the gangster side of Great Movie Ride too...

I'm glad you are liking Boardwalk, it's one I am dying to try someday!!

I think you guys would love it. For the longest time I thought there was only one side to the GMR . The Boardwalk is the BOMB!!

What a great location! You are really selling me on the BWV! How far in advance did you rent points?

How cool that the Brown Derby has an opening ceremony and family of the day. The dining with an Imagineer sounds really neat. I am going to have to check that out, too.

For the December time period we went in booked 7 months out, for the trip we have in May we booked 9 months out. We can't wait to do Dine with an Imagineer again.

What a fun lunch!! And so cool that you had a DISmeet!

I'm glad you were feeling better & enjoyed the day. Illuminations from the Boardwalk area is amazing!

I loved meeting Angela, she was a fantastic person!! Every DISer I have ever met has been amazing. I love the Boardwalk .

 

[okw19]

What an awesome lunch! I would love to do that one day. Sounds like you had a great room location too!

 

[mrsksomeday]

What an awesome lunch! I would love to do that one day. Sounds like you had a great room location too!

The room location was amazing and the dining experience was fantastic. We had so much fun.

 

[mrsksomeday]

I was so happy, we were going to Epcot today. We decided to check out the Boardwalk a bit first. I saw this and immediately thought of Toni, aka oregonmommyof2:

She is a funnel cake freak, in a good way.

We grabbed lunch on the Boardwalk, then took a boat to Epcot. We didn’t walk, one to conserve the wheelchair battery and two my right leg was still not 100%. After we made it to Epcot about 5 minutes later (how I loved this ) I got a times guide, we were looking for Holiday Storytellers, especially ones we missed the previous year.

We had perfect timing for Pere Noel (Father Christmas). I always try to take pictures of the scrolls that tell you about the storyteller:

We just love seeing the storytellers, if you are ever in WDW during the Christmas season, please go see them, they are wonderful. Next up
Japan and the Daruma (doll) seller:

As you can see, not many people in the park that day:

She was very animated:

Can you believe in all the times we have been to Epcot we never looked at the Koi pond?

It was time to start walking to the Italy Pavilion for our dinner reservation, but there was time to see La Befana the storyteller beforehand. This is our favorite pavilion and we could spend a ton of time here.

The Ziti Sisters were finishing up as we got there, I have to make sure we see the whole skit the next time we are there, it was really funny.

La Befana was one of the storytellers we had seen last year but I am so happy we saw her again, such a great story.

We checked in at Tutto Italia and were seated very quickly. The meal and the service were amazing as usual. I headed to the ladies room after dinner while Bill waited for me. When I came out we saw Zendaya Coleman from the Disney show Shake It Up checking into the restaurant. She was in WDW for the Christmas parade taping.

We decided to call it a night and hopped a boat back to the Boardwalk, knowing we would be back at Epcot on the 5th.

Next installment… DHS entertainment!!

 

[eandesmom]

Oh Tracy, what a stressful start to the trip. Wiped out, no sleep and then the room mess up. I would have been SO stressed out over that. renting makes me nervous. I know lots of people have fabulous luck with it, I always assumed Davids would be a little more secure/double checking oriented than maybe a straight rental from an individual but it doesn't really sound like it.

Very glad everything worked out. Does DVC, in general, have less HA rooms? That's really not cool, I had no idea. I'm glad the room location overall seemed to work out and your view is just lovely, and that a nights sleep seemed to help a bit. The lunch looks like so much fun, I had no idea BD had a family of the day and an opening ceremony, that's really neat!

 

[GeminiAngel]

All caught up! Really sucks about the web page Bill worked on. So glad I found your link.

 

[Mrs. Sojourner]

I am really looking forward to enjoying the Epcot storytellers during the holidays while we are in Orlando. I think my girls will really love it. You got some really great pictures!