Bitter-mostly-sweet trip *Balloon Ride and AK parade post 36*

[rentayenta]

I am sorry for the loss of your beloved Westie. Thank you for sharing your report.

 

[Candy Orlando]

I wish we were there with you. It's been raining here in Ma for days. It's cold and damp. We'll be coming home in Dec. We always bring our grandchildren. Enjoy the wonderful weather.

 

[RLRDA]

Love the picture of your view while drinking your morning coffee. We don't own at BWV - someday I'd like to get lucky and snag a BW view.

Enjoy your trip and F & W .

 

[Inkmahm]

Perhaps these have been posted and I missed them:
2) Part of the BWV valet parking has been turned over to self parking. The portion that remains valet still did not look at all full. When I tried to park in the HA parking that is on the left as you face the lobby, it was full. I used to have to make a U-turn and go elsewhere but now there is a place to turn left at the end of the HA parking and there is a lot of self parking. Maybe others have posted this, but I was pleasantly surprised!

Great! We get to BWV in 2 weeks and I've been worried about the parking. It only makes sense to turn part of the unused valet parking into self parking rather than have it sit empty day after day.

 

[eporter66]

Sorry for your loss - the only down side to being a pet owner is that they are not with us for long enough!

Great pics, my wife is looking forward to that waffle. I loved staying at BWV and going out for a morning job. All the stress of life washed away at 6:00 am - no one was out! I would run a few miles and then head over to get coffees to bring back the room. There is no better way to kick off a day at WDW!

Thanks for the pictures

 

[Debi]

Sounds like you're having a great time! Your pictures are making me homesick, though.

 

[Disney Princess]

Jean I am happy to see a trip report from you! I am so sorry to hear about your dog; ours is 2.5 years old, and we are attached. I cannot imagine adding 7+ more years with her and then having to say goodbye. The blessing is that you and DH are able to enjoy WDW together. I hope you continue to have a good trip.

 

[jekjones1558]

Thanks, Everyone, for the good wishes.
Toy Story Mania is STILL a mad house at rope drop. We debated whether to fight the crush because DH was nervous with the scooter. But we managed to make it to the stand-by line without running over anyone. We got fast passes when we got off the ride--for 2:50 PM! So DH scootered and I walked over to Epcot for a few F&W treats:

Ireland: Fisherman's Pie with lobster and scallops: delish, but very rich.
Ireland: Chocolate Lava cake with Bailey's sauce: to die for.
Long line even at 11:30 in the morning.

Germany: Sausage wrapped in pretzel: good but I like more exotic fare at F&W.

France: Escargots in brioche: fabulous.

We returned to Studios to use our fast passes and then headed back to BWV. I debated whether to go to MK for Main Street Electrical Parade but decided to stay home to watch the Twins game. Too bad. No TBS on the TV. So I had to buy the MLB app for my iPhone. Now I can listen or watch while we are at MNSSHP tomorrow night. Twins are losing 4-3 as I type. And to think that I was an avid Yankee fan when I was a kid!

P.S. There could be a record low here tonight (59°, I think). Thank heaven the days are beautifully warm. Last Feb. at WDW was enough of record lows for one DVC lifetime.

 

[jekjones1558]

We drove over to OKW to see a renovated one bedroom. We wanted to see for ourselves how they look. While the feel is more eclectic now, less of a unified Key West theme, we thought that the overall effect is fine. I took a photo of the headboard, which has louvres, because it was one thing I liked better in person:

The one thing I really dislike is the finish on the cocktail table. In person it looks really cheesy:

Building 14 is being rehabbed right now. We are anxious to get back to OKW in May when all renovating should be done.

 

[CarolMN]

So sorry about your Westie.

We're going to MNSSHP tonight, too! Will be looking for you. I made David look at Bob's picture so we can both keep an eye out for you two.

Can't wait!

 

[jekjones1558]

So sorry about your Westie.

We're going to MNSSHP tonight, too! Will be looking for you. I made David look at Bob's picture so we can both keep an eye out for you two.

Can't wait!

Bob has on a bright orange shirt and has small solar lights on his scooter basket. We will probably do the first parade in the HA area in the circle in front of the castle. I will watch my phone for Twins updates.

 

[5forDiz]

......I took a photo of the headboard, which has louvres, because it was one thing I liked better in person:

The one thing I really dislike is the finish on the cocktail table. In person it looks really cheesy:

Like the louvres on headboard too and agree tabletop finish is awful ( imagine what it must be like looking at that after couple of drinks ) We can't wait to get back to our newly refurbished home

Glad you're both enjoying the trip & weather sounds to be perfect !
( very sorry to hear about your Westie )

Looking forward to more of your TR, enjoy !
~Laura

hmmm, .so you were Yankees fan growing up Jean ?....perhaps

you can be convinced to come back to dark side ??

 

[dianeschlicht]

We drove over to OKW to see a renovated one bedroom. We wanted to see for ourselves how they look. While the feel is more eclectic now, less of a unified Key West theme, we thought that the overall effect is fine. I took a photo of the headboard, which has louvres, because it was one thing I liked better in person:

The one thing I really dislike is the finish on the cocktail table. In person it looks really cheesy:

Building 14 is being rehabbed right now. We are anxious to get back to OKW in May when all renovating should be done.

First of all, thanks for the pics of the renovations! I agree...CHEESY coffee table finish! Not in lvoe with the bedspread either.

As for the temps.....We were at 61 here this morning! It's now 82 at Lakeville airport, but our thermometer that is sitting in the sun right now reads 95!!! I'm sure the 82 is more accurate. I'm sorry we already turned off our AC for the season!

Sounds like beautiful weather there though!

 

[dianeschlicht]

Jean, PLEASE don't tell me you are still a Yankees fan!!! I just spent two agonizing nights at the games!

 

[jekjones1558]

Jean, PLEASE don't tell me you are still a Yankees fan!!! I just spent two agonizing nights at the games!

I was a Yankee fan as a child, before the Twins came to MN. My beloved Grampa was a die-hard Yankee fan and I lived and breathed Mickey Mantle statistics. This was before the Twins arrived in MN in 1961.
I am also heart-broken about the last 2 games. The stupid TV here at WDW does not carry TBS, so I bought an app for my iPhone to watch the games. I died through every inning on Wed. We had bought MNSSHP tickets for Thursday so I just kept checking my phone all night, but somehow Thursday's game felt kind of out-of-sync, even when the Twins managed to tie the score. I had mixed feelings about being here with all of the Twins play-off excitement at home, but today I feel glad to be somewhere that makes it easier to not dwell on the pain. We just seem to have no luck at all when it comes to the Yankees!

 

[jekjones1558]

Two more firsts for me today (after 30 or 40 trips!) We did the balloon ride at Downtown Disney. We tried to do it earlier in the week but it was too windy so no rides. The trip goes very quickly and it is hard to get good pictures because there is a net around the side and holding the camera steady is difficult. But here are a couple of photos. It was worth the trip:

Swan/Dolphin/BWV with Animal Kingdom's Everest way off in the distance:

Downtown Disney:

Until today I had never seen the Animal Kingdom parade. We always seem to go there at rope drop and then leave at mid-day when the weather gets too warm and the crowds get heavy. But today I talked DH into going in the afternoon. He did a great job of videoing the parade and I took a bunch of still photos. This is such a fun and lively event. I marveled at the ingenuity that went into designing the puppet-floats. I will be sure to bring kids to this one in the future. A couple of pictures for anyone else who has missed this event:

 

[dianeschlicht]

Ever since they took away the Millennium parade in Epcot, The AK parade has been my favorite!

 

[AnnaS]

Thank you Jean for the pictures again. Very nice. i am not sure if we have ever seen the AK parade either. Perhaps we will try this trip. How long is the Balloon ride? 15 minutes? I wonder if it's worth trying it at least once. I say, gotta try everything once, lol.

Thank you again.

 

[jekjones1558]

Thank you Jean for the pictures again. Very nice. i am not sure if we have ever seen the AK parade either. Perhaps we will try this trip. How long is the Balloon ride? 15 minutes? I wonder if it's worth trying it at least once. I say, gotta try everything once, lol.

Thank you again.

I didn't time the balloon ride but 15 minutes sounds about right. It was $18 per adult, didn't notice child price. I am very glad we did it but would not spend the money again. Be sure that you choose a clear day, if you decide to go, so you can see as far as possible.

 

[ToddyLu]

I am very sad to hear about precious Duffy. I know what it is like to loose a precious member of the family. I am keeping my canine brother, Rosko for the weekend. He is a black standard poodle. My female Jack Russell, Trinity, keeps him in check. She will stay with my parents when DH and I head to WDW in Dec. My MIL has a sweet Dachshund named Charley Girl. She is 13 and I can't wait until we get to keep her more. Currently she goes to the vet for boarding, but MIL is now starting to let me pick her up a day or so early to stay with us...soon she will get to stay with us all the time while MIL is out of town...she is sooooo cute and Trinity does OK with her most of the time. OK, back to your trip report!

Loving the food pics and hearing about your adventure. Jammin Jungle is a neat parade and one of my fav sound bites on my parade CD. MIL will go with us in Dec and she has yet to see it...maybe this trip? I have seen your signiture many times and DH hope to be OL groupies, too. This will be our first year with one. Do your OL's have names? Just curious.