Cass, Rob & Kira - Disney & Universal August 2018 - The heat index is what???
- Thread starter Timon
- Start date
unwritten01
Mouseketeer
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- Apr 15, 2015
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- 352
Caught up as well and love it all! Some great tips even I did not know, and I cannot wait to hit Void in December. All of it. Love the pictures, descriptions, everything. Thanks much!
- Joined
- Aug 18, 1999
- Messages
- 9,211
August 29th Part 2
I will warn you now, I didn't take that many photos of Volcano Bay so if you're looking for video and great photos of that park, I suggest you look elsewhere
Our main goal was to experience as much of the park as we could, photos were not a priority. I did take some along the way to/from our locker but for the majority of the evening, my camera was locked up.
We headed into the Rainforest Village Lockers and got us a large locker. I LOVE the locker set-up here, you can link everyone's Tapu Tapu bands so you can all open it. Very handy!
We had brought some towels from our pool area at Cabana Bay. This is what many guests do since they charge for towels at the park. We made sure to bring them back to our pool though.
Are we were putting our stuff in, Kira noticed a locker number discrepancy. Good eye, Doll!
So, once everything was put away, we went to Krakatau and got tapped our Tapu Tapus, so we could get in the "line" for the main attraction. This is the park's feature attraction and is a water coaster. If you've ever been on the Disney Dream or Fantasy, it is similar (though way better!) to the Aquaduck and also similar to some slides over at Typhoon Lagoon. The deal with the Tapu Tapu is that you go to a ride and scan your band and it puts you in the line without actually having to stand there and wait IN the actual line. The issue that people have with it is that you can only wait in ONE line at a time, so if the park is super busy and the lines are crazy long, you won't get to do many slides.
For us, it was great because there were hardly any lines so we could tap in for Krakatau (15 mins return time) and we could go do all of the "ride now" rides. When it says Ride Now, that means there are no lines and you don't need to tap your band, which if it did have a line, it would then replace your Krakatau return time with whatever you tap into and you would lose your place in that first ride that you tapped into to.
Clear as mud, right?
We headed over to Taniwha Tubes because they were all Ride Now. This is a group of 4 slides together, Raki (blue ones) and Tonga (green ones) and they are awesome!! I mean, you pull some real G's on these suckers!!
The great (and maybe not great?) thing was that because it was sprinkling out still, the park was empty! Great because there were literally no lines but these four awesome slides had very long queues and so many stairs!!!
On a good day, it would have been slightly tough doing all of those stairs, 4 rides in a row like that but because my feet were very sore and I was walking barefoot, it was definitely a challenge for me! A fun challenge because the slides were all worth it but still!
I am sooooo stinkin' glad that the hot summer sun was not beating down on me, that would have killed me and I would have left early. Instead, it was completely overcast, warm still and raining. I could not have asked for better weather for that entire night.
By the time we finished all four of the slides at Taniwha Tubes, it was now time for us to ride Krakatau. Your tapu tapu actually vibrates and says Ride Krakatau Now!
So, we rode it and it was...
AMAZEBALLS!!!
Oh my dog, that was fun!!
The best slide evah!! I can't even begin to describe it, it was just like a roller coaster but on a slide, so freaking neat! We all loved it so much!
The line was short, so we got off the ride and just went back into line and rode it again!
Next, we did the slides pretty much one after the other. They were all Ride Now!
We did Honu & Ika Moana slides, the big green and blue ones you always see on any advertisement for the park. They look super scary but they weren't as bad as they looked. The scary part was all those stairs
Seriously! And because there were no lines, we didn't wait! We went up all the stairs, down the slide, walked to the next one, went up the stairs, down the slide...over and over.
Man, was I feeling it! It was so much fun though.
We did Maku Puihi, round raft rides, which Rob loved but I think might have been my least favourite of the tube slides just because of the way you sit in the tube. The way it's designed, you kind of have to arch your back a little, which, with my back issues, made it a little uncomfortable for me. Still fun though!
We also did OhYah and OhNo drop slides, which were fun but I ended up going pretty slow right at the end of OhNo, which was weird. Normally I go rather fast on those kinds of slides. I watch Rob go SUPER fast on it. What the hecK?
We then hit up the Punga Racers, my least favourite slide. There were 4 of the same type, you used mats on them and raced down with other people at the same time. I just didn't care for them. At the very end, it felt like I was pushed around too much, which caused me to almost flip over. I ended up getting tons of water up my nose and well, it just wasn't fun for me. Rob and Kira enjoyed it though.
The last thing we had to do, apart from the three drop slides at the top of the Volcano was the slow lazy river, Kopiko Winding River and TeAwa, the fast, fearless river. We hit up TeAwa first and we never wanted to leave.
It was soooooooo dang fun!! And it was really warm, which was really nice because it was cooled off a bit.
I think we did four laps in TeAwa before we decided that we were hungry.
Ran to the lockers and grabbed our towels and went in search of food. Kira wanted a hot dog so I went with her to grab that. Rob wanted the coconut chicken, so I sent him to the front of the park where he could find that. I wanted the chicken sandwich, which I knew was over by our locker so we made plans to meet up there.
Before or after this, Rob had lost his Tapu Tapu. We had joked when we got them that he was the one that was going to lose it and oddly enough, he did! I think it was just after dinner but either way, it happens a lot. We always checked them after each ride to make sure we had them because they come off easily. You could see them floating around in the lazy rivers and on the paths. They really need to fix this because it's a big problem. A lot of the bands are linked to credit cards (you can do this in the app) and then they are also linked to the lockers so it's a giant pain in the butt. We had to stop off at the Concierge Hut to have it replaced and have his lost Tapu Tapu unlinked to our account. I know that the bands they use were actually redesigned after they opened last year because they were all falling off. They redesigned it to have a strap that was more watch-like but obviously, they still come off. Mine had come off three times that night but thankfully, I had noticed it just in time to grab it.
Watching Maku Puihi tubes slides...
Here is TeAwa, the fearless, awesome river!
There are a few of these signs located around the park to show the ride times.
The wide, green slide is Krakatau
The first four slides we did...
Great theming in this park!!!
Another view of TeAwa, the fearless river...
Whakawaiwai Eats! The names here are funny and unique! Thankfully I did a lot of research and knew all of the names and the main layout of the park before we got here. It really did help!
Kira's Hot Dog...
I stayed with her while she ate then we headed over to Bambu where the chicken sandwich was located and sadly discovered that it was closed
Met up with Rob and waited while he ate his coconut crusted chicken. He said it was good but a little greasy.
It was now about an hour before the park closed. I was hungry but I knew I could last until we got back to the hotel and I preferred to do more rides anyway so once Rob was done, we went back to the locker and put our stuff away. We were able to enjoy 5 or 6 more spins on TeAwa and one or two rides on Krakatau before they kicked us out.
For Rob, who runs a little cold all the time, it was chilly. It didn't help that we did many rounds in the very warm TeAwa River just before getting out, so the temperature difference was noticeable
We stopped for one last pic of the Volcano, giving two very huge thumbs up
Someone was trying to sneak out the Tapu Tapus because the warning sounds were going off on the left side over and over
Once we exited the park, we noticed how gorgeous it looked at night
I can't even begin to tell you how awesome it was to walk "home" and be back in our room in less than 5 minutes
I quickly changed and grabbed some chicken strips for me to share with my kid since she was still hungry.
We watched another Marvel movie and ate and then showered and headed off to LaLaLand.
I can see how people who visit Volcano Bay during a hot, busy day can have issues with the park and the whole Tapu Tapu system but for us, on that evening, we had the very best time!! It was our favourite evening experience, by far, of our entire vacation!
I couldn't wear my Fitbit but according to Rob's Apple watch, we did 84 flights of stairs in those 4.5 hours we spent at Volcano Bay!
Man, I felt every single one of them because I am old and broken
I will warn you now, I didn't take that many photos of Volcano Bay so if you're looking for video and great photos of that park, I suggest you look elsewhere
Our main goal was to experience as much of the park as we could, photos were not a priority. I did take some along the way to/from our locker but for the majority of the evening, my camera was locked up.
We headed into the Rainforest Village Lockers and got us a large locker. I LOVE the locker set-up here, you can link everyone's Tapu Tapu bands so you can all open it. Very handy!
We had brought some towels from our pool area at Cabana Bay. This is what many guests do since they charge for towels at the park. We made sure to bring them back to our pool though.
Are we were putting our stuff in, Kira noticed a locker number discrepancy. Good eye, Doll!
So, once everything was put away, we went to Krakatau and got tapped our Tapu Tapus, so we could get in the "line" for the main attraction. This is the park's feature attraction and is a water coaster. If you've ever been on the Disney Dream or Fantasy, it is similar (though way better!) to the Aquaduck and also similar to some slides over at Typhoon Lagoon. The deal with the Tapu Tapu is that you go to a ride and scan your band and it puts you in the line without actually having to stand there and wait IN the actual line. The issue that people have with it is that you can only wait in ONE line at a time, so if the park is super busy and the lines are crazy long, you won't get to do many slides.
For us, it was great because there were hardly any lines so we could tap in for Krakatau (15 mins return time) and we could go do all of the "ride now" rides. When it says Ride Now, that means there are no lines and you don't need to tap your band, which if it did have a line, it would then replace your Krakatau return time with whatever you tap into and you would lose your place in that first ride that you tapped into to.
Clear as mud, right?
We headed over to Taniwha Tubes because they were all Ride Now. This is a group of 4 slides together, Raki (blue ones) and Tonga (green ones) and they are awesome!! I mean, you pull some real G's on these suckers!!
The great (and maybe not great?) thing was that because it was sprinkling out still, the park was empty! Great because there were literally no lines but these four awesome slides had very long queues and so many stairs!!!
On a good day, it would have been slightly tough doing all of those stairs, 4 rides in a row like that but because my feet were very sore and I was walking barefoot, it was definitely a challenge for me! A fun challenge because the slides were all worth it but still!
I am sooooo stinkin' glad that the hot summer sun was not beating down on me, that would have killed me and I would have left early. Instead, it was completely overcast, warm still and raining. I could not have asked for better weather for that entire night.
By the time we finished all four of the slides at Taniwha Tubes, it was now time for us to ride Krakatau. Your tapu tapu actually vibrates and says Ride Krakatau Now!
So, we rode it and it was...
AMAZEBALLS!!!
Oh my dog, that was fun!!
The best slide evah!! I can't even begin to describe it, it was just like a roller coaster but on a slide, so freaking neat! We all loved it so much!
The line was short, so we got off the ride and just went back into line and rode it again!
Next, we did the slides pretty much one after the other. They were all Ride Now!
We did Honu & Ika Moana slides, the big green and blue ones you always see on any advertisement for the park. They look super scary but they weren't as bad as they looked. The scary part was all those stairs
Seriously! And because there were no lines, we didn't wait! We went up all the stairs, down the slide, walked to the next one, went up the stairs, down the slide...over and over.
Man, was I feeling it! It was so much fun though.
We did Maku Puihi, round raft rides, which Rob loved but I think might have been my least favourite of the tube slides just because of the way you sit in the tube. The way it's designed, you kind of have to arch your back a little, which, with my back issues, made it a little uncomfortable for me. Still fun though!
We also did OhYah and OhNo drop slides, which were fun but I ended up going pretty slow right at the end of OhNo, which was weird. Normally I go rather fast on those kinds of slides. I watch Rob go SUPER fast on it. What the hecK?
We then hit up the Punga Racers, my least favourite slide. There were 4 of the same type, you used mats on them and raced down with other people at the same time. I just didn't care for them. At the very end, it felt like I was pushed around too much, which caused me to almost flip over. I ended up getting tons of water up my nose and well, it just wasn't fun for me. Rob and Kira enjoyed it though.
The last thing we had to do, apart from the three drop slides at the top of the Volcano was the slow lazy river, Kopiko Winding River and TeAwa, the fast, fearless river. We hit up TeAwa first and we never wanted to leave.
It was soooooooo dang fun!! And it was really warm, which was really nice because it was cooled off a bit.
I think we did four laps in TeAwa before we decided that we were hungry.
Ran to the lockers and grabbed our towels and went in search of food. Kira wanted a hot dog so I went with her to grab that. Rob wanted the coconut chicken, so I sent him to the front of the park where he could find that. I wanted the chicken sandwich, which I knew was over by our locker so we made plans to meet up there.
Before or after this, Rob had lost his Tapu Tapu. We had joked when we got them that he was the one that was going to lose it and oddly enough, he did! I think it was just after dinner but either way, it happens a lot. We always checked them after each ride to make sure we had them because they come off easily. You could see them floating around in the lazy rivers and on the paths. They really need to fix this because it's a big problem. A lot of the bands are linked to credit cards (you can do this in the app) and then they are also linked to the lockers so it's a giant pain in the butt. We had to stop off at the Concierge Hut to have it replaced and have his lost Tapu Tapu unlinked to our account. I know that the bands they use were actually redesigned after they opened last year because they were all falling off. They redesigned it to have a strap that was more watch-like but obviously, they still come off. Mine had come off three times that night but thankfully, I had noticed it just in time to grab it.
Watching Maku Puihi tubes slides...
Here is TeAwa, the fearless, awesome river!
There are a few of these signs located around the park to show the ride times.
The wide, green slide is Krakatau
The first four slides we did...
Great theming in this park!!!
Another view of TeAwa, the fearless river...
Whakawaiwai Eats! The names here are funny and unique! Thankfully I did a lot of research and knew all of the names and the main layout of the park before we got here. It really did help!
Kira's Hot Dog...
I stayed with her while she ate then we headed over to Bambu where the chicken sandwich was located and sadly discovered that it was closed
Met up with Rob and waited while he ate his coconut crusted chicken. He said it was good but a little greasy.
It was now about an hour before the park closed. I was hungry but I knew I could last until we got back to the hotel and I preferred to do more rides anyway so once Rob was done, we went back to the locker and put our stuff away. We were able to enjoy 5 or 6 more spins on TeAwa and one or two rides on Krakatau before they kicked us out.
For Rob, who runs a little cold all the time, it was chilly. It didn't help that we did many rounds in the very warm TeAwa River just before getting out, so the temperature difference was noticeable
We stopped for one last pic of the Volcano, giving two very huge thumbs up
Someone was trying to sneak out the Tapu Tapus because the warning sounds were going off on the left side over and over
Once we exited the park, we noticed how gorgeous it looked at night
I can't even begin to tell you how awesome it was to walk "home" and be back in our room in less than 5 minutes
I quickly changed and grabbed some chicken strips for me to share with my kid since she was still hungry.
We watched another Marvel movie and ate and then showered and headed off to LaLaLand.
I can see how people who visit Volcano Bay during a hot, busy day can have issues with the park and the whole Tapu Tapu system but for us, on that evening, we had the very best time!! It was our favourite evening experience, by far, of our entire vacation!
I couldn't wear my Fitbit but according to Rob's Apple watch, we did 84 flights of stairs in those 4.5 hours we spent at Volcano Bay!
Man, I felt every single one of them because I am old and broken
- Joined
- Aug 18, 1999
- Messages
- 9,211
August 30th, Part 1
This was a very different kind of day. It was super emotional, exciting, challenging, unexpected and FULL of ups and downs. We had something happen that was highly personal so I won't be discussing it here except to say that it greatly affected our day. We were going to spend a good chunk of the day in the pool and then have an early dinner at Toothsome and then hit Volcano Bay for the last 4-5 hours again of the park day but most of that didn't happen.
We all slept in after feeling like we climbed Mount Everest yesterday.
I was a little run down so I decided just to stay in bed and skip breakfast. Rob and Kira do not skip meals...ever...so they went down to Bayline Diner and enjoyed some food there.
I ended up watching another mini-marathon of Supernatural and staying off my feet completely.
We just hung around the room, watching the daily storms go by and empty the pool.
My beautiful little lady...chilling in bed.
Eventually I got hungry but they were still full from breakfast so I decided to finally get dressed and ready for the day and head over to CityWalk.
The last few days of our Cabana Bay stay, we noticed some huge sport groups of teenagers. First we saw football players, then soccer players then volleyball groups and so on. I had to laugh here because when I got to the bus stop, they had filled two of the bus stops but they filled the second and third lines and the first one was empty.
I knew the bus would stop at the first one so I smugly passed them all and ended up being first in line for the next bus
Got to the parking structure, where they drop you off and up the escalators to go through security.
My destination? One of my favourite places to eat, Bread Box!
This place is truly a hidden gem! No really, it's rather...uumm...hidden! It's not easy to find because it's on the second level down a less traveled area.
I found this spot in 2016 and will always go back!
My fave is the hot turkey sandwich with fries. Well, it's the only thing I have ever had here and it's too good not to get so I don't know that I will ever try something else.
Although on my TripAdvisor review of the place, the manager suggested I try the patty melt so I might have to take Rob with me next time and have the hot turkey and patty melt
After I devoured my sandwich, I went back to meet up with my family to see if they were ready for Volcano Bay....
That was a distinct no.
Like I said, we had some issues that day.
Eventually we made it!
Taking selfies while I am at the guest services window to grab my ticket..yet again.
Got our Tapu Tapus and off we went! We didn't have long, I think 3 hours so we just grabbed some lockers closer because we didn't want to walk all the way back to the Rainforest Village.
This is where Rob got his coconut chicken last night...
Wave Village is where we settled because it was super close to the lazy river, which was our main goal tonight, as we hadn't even tried it the night before.
We did one trip around the lazy river and deemed it pretty but once was enough for us!
We had other things to do!
We did Honu & Ika Moana again and we did Krakatau so many times, I lost count now! At one point, we rode it and it was so empty that they let us go on again! That was totally wicked
We also enjoyed some time in the Wave Pool (I forgot to mention in the last report that we did spend a small amount of time in that wave pool) and we figured out what those very loud bells/horns/drums? are that go off every 20 or so minutes! They announce the waves!! When the waves start up, the lifeguards (and guests) do this welcome thing to the waves and then set off those sounds!
It's neat when you are in the wave pool and honestly, I hardly even noticed them while in the park but they get rather annoying when you are not in the park.
We also got to walk through the Volcano and we met up with Vol, the spirit of the Volcano, which was way cool! It's kind of like talking to Crush at Epcot, very interactive.
We did a few more runs on the very awesome TeAwa, fearless river.
It wasn't as warm as it was last night though but still, super fun and something we could do over and over again. 
The very last thing we intended to do was all three drop slides inside the volcano. I knew Kira would not do them but Rob and I were very keen on doing them.
Except my body wasn't as keen.
We took one more spin on OhYah and OhNo and then we were to head over to the drop slides but on OhNo, I ended up pulling my groin muscle.
Because I slowed right down before the drop (I don't know why as I have a lot of weight on me to get me down those slides!) I came off the slide so slowly that my right leg ended up pulling me down off the drop and it HURT!!
It was kind of funny because I was limping when we got out of the pool and Rob asked me what's wrong...I told him I pulled my muscle and he said "Oh no!" and I said "Exactly!"
I will forever remember that
I limped over to the first drop slide entrance and debated on doing it. I really wanted to do it but my body was screaming no. I think the main issue was the stairs. For each of the drop slides, you had to climb 13 stories up! There was no way I could do that three times, not with a pulled muscle and my feet feeling like they were!
So while Kira dipped her toes in the water at the edge of the waves pool, Rob and I headed to the Kala & Tai Nui serpent slides. I asked the lifeguard there which of the three drop slides was the most wicked and then headed to that one.
If I was going to do one of them, it was going to be the best one.
Rob ended up doing the other one, I can't remember right now which one was the best one but we climbed up together, taking a few breaks for me and we got into the little chamber thing and waited until the floor dropped out beneath us. We love that kind of stuff
Once we got down, I asked Rob how his was and he said it was good! The lifeguard was right though, mine was definitely the most wicked! Oh my dog! That was, BY FAR, the most wicked slide I have ever been down!
It was so intense, I think I stopped breathing for a few seconds! You couldn't tell where you were or what direction you were going in, there was water everywhere and then BAM! Into the water! And it was way longer than I thought it was too! I was expecting it to be short since it's so fast but it didn't feel short at all!
It was definitely NOT for the faint of heart!
By the time I was done...I was done.
My muscle was killing me, I could barely walk! I told Rob that he needed to experience the slide that I just did and then hobbled over to Kira while he rode it.
He agreed, very wicked, indeed!
Kira and I swam in the wave pool until Rob was done. Then we headed over to the pool next to Ko'Okiri Body Plunge, which is the third and final drop slide. The clear tube of this ride goes through the pool so we were going to watch Rob go through it but we could barely make him out, just a black blur as riders go way too fast to spot.
He said it was just a plain drop all the way down, nothing as wicked as Kala & Tai Nui serprent slides.
I am glad I didn't miss anything special.
We now had about 15 minutes left before park close to we hobbled over to TeAwa and did a few more rounds of the amazing fearless river
We were heading back to the locker to change and crossing our fingers that the store was still open so we could do some shopping.
It was and we did! Sadly, there wasn't a whole lot of great merchandise.
We got some shirts and a towel and a canvas tote bag as well as a magnet. We loved this park so much, we probably would have bought more stuff if they had it but the shirts were either ugly or boring. They really missed the mark here for branding merchandise. No hoodies or nice shirts for guys, no hats, other than sun hats
Oh well, we still managed to spend about $100
On the way out, the security guard was kind enough to take a family pic...
And Kira showing off our new loot
By the time we got back to the room we were pretty hungry! I went down and got us some pizzas and cookies
The pizza was no Sal's but it was still pretty good
We watched another movie on the nice large TV and then after a very long, emotional, exciting and fun day, we drifted off to Dream Land.
This was a very different kind of day. It was super emotional, exciting, challenging, unexpected and FULL of ups and downs. We had something happen that was highly personal so I won't be discussing it here except to say that it greatly affected our day. We were going to spend a good chunk of the day in the pool and then have an early dinner at Toothsome and then hit Volcano Bay for the last 4-5 hours again of the park day but most of that didn't happen.
We all slept in after feeling like we climbed Mount Everest yesterday.
I was a little run down so I decided just to stay in bed and skip breakfast. Rob and Kira do not skip meals...ever...so they went down to Bayline Diner and enjoyed some food there.
I ended up watching another mini-marathon of Supernatural
and staying off my feet completely.
We just hung around the room, watching the daily storms go by and empty the pool.
My beautiful little lady...chilling in bed.
Eventually I got hungry but they were still full from breakfast so I decided to finally get dressed and ready for the day and head over to CityWalk.
The last few days of our Cabana Bay stay, we noticed some huge sport groups of teenagers. First we saw football players, then soccer players then volleyball groups and so on. I had to laugh here because when I got to the bus stop, they had filled two of the bus stops but they filled the second and third lines and the first one was empty.
I knew the bus would stop at the first one so I smugly passed them all and ended up being first in line for the next bus
Got to the parking structure, where they drop you off and up the escalators to go through security.
My destination? One of my favourite places to eat, Bread Box!
This place is truly a hidden gem! No really, it's rather...uumm...hidden! It's not easy to find because it's on the second level down a less traveled area.
I found this spot in 2016 and will always go back!
My fave is the hot turkey sandwich with fries. Well, it's the only thing I have ever had here and it's too good not to get so I don't know that I will ever try something else.
Although on my TripAdvisor review of the place, the manager suggested I try the patty melt so I might have to take Rob with me next time and have the hot turkey and patty melt
After I devoured my sandwich, I went back to meet up with my family to see if they were ready for Volcano Bay....
That was a distinct no.
Like I said, we had some issues that day.
Eventually we made it!
Taking selfies while I am at the guest services window to grab my ticket..yet again.
Got our Tapu Tapus and off we went! We didn't have long, I think 3 hours so we just grabbed some lockers closer because we didn't want to walk all the way back to the Rainforest Village.
This is where Rob got his coconut chicken last night...
Wave Village is where we settled because it was super close to the lazy river, which was our main goal tonight, as we hadn't even tried it the night before.
We did one trip around the lazy river and deemed it pretty but once was enough for us!
We had other things to do!
We did Honu & Ika Moana again and we did Krakatau so many times, I lost count now! At one point, we rode it and it was so empty that they let us go on again! That was totally wicked
We also enjoyed some time in the Wave Pool (I forgot to mention in the last report that we did spend a small amount of time in that wave pool) and we figured out what those very loud bells/horns/drums? are that go off every 20 or so minutes! They announce the waves!! When the waves start up, the lifeguards (and guests) do this welcome thing to the waves and then set off those sounds!
It's neat when you are in the wave pool and honestly, I hardly even noticed them while in the park but they get rather annoying when you are not in the park.
We also got to walk through the Volcano and we met up with Vol, the spirit of the Volcano, which was way cool! It's kind of like talking to Crush at Epcot, very interactive.
We did a few more runs on the very awesome TeAwa, fearless river.
It wasn't as warm as it was last night though but still, super fun and something we could do over and over again. The very last thing we intended to do was all three drop slides inside the volcano. I knew Kira would not do them but Rob and I were very keen on doing them.
Except my body wasn't as keen.
We took one more spin on OhYah and OhNo and then we were to head over to the drop slides but on OhNo, I ended up pulling my groin muscle.
Because I slowed right down before the drop (I don't know why as I have a lot of weight on me to get me down those slides!) I came off the slide so slowly that my right leg ended up pulling me down off the drop and it HURT!!
It was kind of funny because I was limping when we got out of the pool and Rob asked me what's wrong...I told him I pulled my muscle and he said "Oh no!" and I said "Exactly!"
I will forever remember that
I limped over to the first drop slide entrance and debated on doing it. I really wanted to do it but my body was screaming no. I think the main issue was the stairs. For each of the drop slides, you had to climb 13 stories up! There was no way I could do that three times, not with a pulled muscle and my feet feeling like they were!
So while Kira dipped her toes in the water at the edge of the waves pool, Rob and I headed to the Kala & Tai Nui serpent slides. I asked the lifeguard there which of the three drop slides was the most wicked and then headed to that one.
If I was going to do one of them, it was going to be the best one.
Rob ended up doing the other one, I can't remember right now which one was the best one but we climbed up together, taking a few breaks for me and we got into the little chamber thing and waited until the floor dropped out beneath us. We love that kind of stuff
Once we got down, I asked Rob how his was and he said it was good! The lifeguard was right though, mine was definitely the most wicked! Oh my dog! That was, BY FAR, the most wicked slide I have ever been down!
It was so intense, I think I stopped breathing for a few seconds!
You couldn't tell where you were or what direction you were going in, there was water everywhere and then BAM! Into the water! And it was way longer than I thought it was too! I was expecting it to be short since it's so fast but it didn't feel short at all!It was definitely NOT for the faint of heart!
By the time I was done...I was done.
My muscle was killing me, I could barely walk! I told Rob that he needed to experience the slide that I just did and then hobbled over to Kira while he rode it.
He agreed, very wicked, indeed!
Kira and I swam in the wave pool until Rob was done. Then we headed over to the pool next to Ko'Okiri Body Plunge, which is the third and final drop slide. The clear tube of this ride goes through the pool so we were going to watch Rob go through it but we could barely make him out, just a black blur as riders go way too fast to spot.
He said it was just a plain drop all the way down, nothing as wicked as Kala & Tai Nui serprent slides.
I am glad I didn't miss anything special.
We now had about 15 minutes left before park close to we hobbled over to TeAwa and did a few more rounds of the amazing fearless river
We were heading back to the locker to change and crossing our fingers that the store was still open so we could do some shopping.
It was and we did! Sadly, there wasn't a whole lot of great merchandise.
We got some shirts and a towel and a canvas tote bag as well as a magnet. We loved this park so much, we probably would have bought more stuff if they had it but the shirts were either ugly or boring. They really missed the mark here for branding merchandise. No hoodies or nice shirts for guys, no hats, other than sun hats
Oh well, we still managed to spend about $100
On the way out, the security guard was kind enough to take a family pic...
And Kira showing off our new loot
By the time we got back to the room we were pretty hungry! I went down and got us some pizzas and cookies
The pizza was no Sal's but it was still pretty good
We watched another movie on the nice large TV and then after a very long, emotional, exciting and fun day, we drifted off to Dream Land.
juniorbugman
<font color=blue>New car vs another cruise?? THAT
- Joined
- Aug 22, 2001
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- 2,490
So about Rob and his having to have coffee, tell him I heard that hot beverages are supposed to make you cooler in hot weather. Don't know if it is true or not but when my Sister and I went to Jamaica last year we had a hot tea for lunch everyday and it didn't make us any hotter than we were. 
Lesley Wake
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 16, 2017
- Messages
- 6,169
It was kind of funny because I was limping when we got out of the pool and Rob asked me what's wrong...I told him I pulled my muscle and he said "Oh no!" and I said "Exactly!"
I will forever remember that
jenseib
Mommy to Claire
- Joined
- Oct 28, 2006
- Messages
- 30,734
Oh no!!!! Exactly! I love that humor.
I remember you telling me about that day. Looks like you got through it all...though not the way you had envisioned, it was still a good day.
The water park looks great but I am more of a lazy river person than slides, so probably a waste for me really.
I remember you telling me about that day. Looks like you got through it all...though not the way you had envisioned, it was still a good day.
The water park looks great but I am more of a lazy river person than slides, so probably a waste for me really.
- Joined
- Aug 18, 1999
- Messages
- 9,211
August 31st, Part 1
Today we would be splitting up for a good part of the day. Rob and Kira were heading off to Kennedy Space Center and I was heading out to explore Aventura Hotel and Sapphire Falls.
We got a slower start to the day than expected. I think Rob wanted to be on the road before 8am but that didn't happen.
I waited until they were gone before I got out of bed so I wouldn't be in their way and slow them down.
A different kind of view for me that morning...
I have about 70 edited photos from this day so while I normally split up my chapters based on content, this day will be split up by photos because the max per post is 35 so I will have to end it in the middle of me touring Aventura but oh well, the things we gotta do for trippies. 
I will start off with pics from Rob and Kira's day.
They are big Waffle House fans so I wrote out directions to the closest one so they could enjoy a nice big meal before the approximately hour-long drive out to Kennedy Space Center.
I don't mind the food at WF and I love the prices but I always feel like I need to shower after I visit one
About an hour later, they had arrived!
Rob is a MASSIVE Space/NASA geek! He watches every launch, (from shuttles then
to rockets now) he knows all of the space news and updates, he listens to NASA radio and makes sure Kira watches with him in his second floor home office for every launch and they always do a big countdown thing. I can hear him hollering and screaming all the way down here on the main floor on launch days
During our early WDW trips together (1999, 2000, 2002 & 2003) we had tried to plan to go over to KSC to watch a launch but every single time they were delayed, sometimes delayed several times so we never actually got to see one up close. We did see it once (in 2000?) from the Orlando area but it's not the same. We had tickets for a few launches but because of delays and our trip plans, it just was never in the cards for us. That was back when all you needed to do to get tickets was write a post card and they would send them to you.
It got way more complicated (and expensive!) to see a launch in later years and then we had Kira in 2006 so I knew we would probably never see one, especially after they announced that the shuttle program was coming to an end.
Then they announced the very last shuttle launch, Atlantis in July 2011. We couldn't make it work for the three of us to go but I made sure Rob got to see it. Him and his Mom made a trip down, I bought tickets for them from someone who was lucky enough to purchase the tickets but couldn't go in the end (tickets were not easy to get!) and they ended up having a great time. I am so glad he got to see the final launch
He had been wanting to take Kira to Kennedy Space Center for so long but I knew she would have been totally bored on our Disney trip in 2013 and we had limited time last summer so finally this was the day!
I knew she would be a little bored still but I told him to enjoy it as much as he could and if she got bored, she could grab a spot to sit down and read her Harry Potter stories while he explored.
If you're wondering why I didn't go...well, I've been so many times before and I knew by that time in our trip that I would be needing some of my own space.
See what I did there?
Above is Kira's first visit to the rocket garden.
Wanna see something neat? I was looking at some old pics from my childhood trips to Florida..here's the rocket garden in the mid 1970's ...
My brother Ken, me and my Mom....
My cheesy grin...and terrible polyester clothes
And back to 2018 and my kid
Rob was very excited for this part...it was new (to him) and of course, Atlantis holds a very special place in his memories now.
Told ya....
They really enjoyed this...
And their late lunch...
Rob said he really enjoyed it but should have left earlier because they close early (6pm, I think?) and he didn't get to see everything. He said next time he would go very early to be there at opening and then do a tour. He's done most of the special tours but it's been quite a while and he thinks Kira would enjoy the tour more than just walking around looking at stuff.
Rob took a ZILLION photos that day, he's probably reading this, wondering where the rest are but I have now edited over 900 photos for this trip report and I am done.
I also took half a zillion photos that day but alas, not wanting to find/sort/edit/upload them all, I chose only a few select ones.
Once I got showered and dressed, I headed for the bus stop. When I was here the other day, I noticed that most of the buses make a stop at Aventura first before heading to CityWalk so I figured I would just wait for a bus instead of trying to cross that scary intersection or walk all the way down to the pedestrian overpass.
The good thing about Cabana Bay, you never wait long for a bus!
To the left, behind me in the photo below is where the bus stop is.
Walking in Aventura, the check-in desk is on the left...
And to the right...
Further back is the Urban Pantry...little stations where you can get different kinds of food. Like a mini version of Bayliner Diner.
Today we would be splitting up for a good part of the day. Rob and Kira were heading off to Kennedy Space Center and I was heading out to explore Aventura Hotel and Sapphire Falls.
We got a slower start to the day than expected. I think Rob wanted to be on the road before 8am but that didn't happen.
I waited until they were gone before I got out of bed so I wouldn't be in their way and slow them down.
A different kind of view for me that morning...
I have about 70 edited photos from this day so while I normally split up my chapters based on content, this day will be split up by photos because the max per post is 35 so I will have to end it in the middle of me touring Aventura but oh well, the things we gotta do for trippies.
I will start off with pics from Rob and Kira's day.
They are big Waffle House fans so I wrote out directions to the closest one so they could enjoy a nice big meal before the approximately hour-long drive out to Kennedy Space Center.
I don't mind the food at WF and I love the prices but I always feel like I need to shower after I visit one
About an hour later, they had arrived!
Rob is a MASSIVE Space/NASA geek!
He watches every launch, (from shuttles thento rockets now) he knows all of the space news and updates, he listens to NASA radio and makes sure Kira watches with him in his second floor home office for every launch and they always do a big countdown thing. I can hear him hollering and screaming all the way down here on the main floor on launch days
During our early WDW trips together (1999, 2000, 2002 & 2003) we had tried to plan to go over to KSC to watch a launch but every single time they were delayed, sometimes delayed several times so we never actually got to see one up close. We did see it once (in 2000?) from the Orlando area but it's not the same. We had tickets for a few launches but because of delays and our trip plans, it just was never in the cards for us. That was back when all you needed to do to get tickets was write a post card and they would send them to you.
It got way more complicated (and expensive!) to see a launch in later years and then we had Kira in 2006 so I knew we would probably never see one, especially after they announced that the shuttle program was coming to an end.
Then they announced the very last shuttle launch, Atlantis in July 2011. We couldn't make it work for the three of us to go but I made sure Rob got to see it. Him and his Mom made a trip down, I bought tickets for them from someone who was lucky enough to purchase the tickets but couldn't go in the end (tickets were not easy to get!) and they ended up having a great time. I am so glad he got to see the final launch
He had been wanting to take Kira to Kennedy Space Center for so long but I knew she would have been totally bored on our Disney trip in 2013 and we had limited time last summer so finally this was the day!
I knew she would be a little bored still but I told him to enjoy it as much as he could and if she got bored, she could grab a spot to sit down and read her Harry Potter stories while he explored.
If you're wondering why I didn't go...well, I've been so many times before and I knew by that time in our trip that I would be needing some of my own space.
See what I did there?
Above is Kira's first visit to the rocket garden.
Wanna see something neat? I was looking at some old pics from my childhood trips to Florida..here's the rocket garden in the mid 1970's ...
My brother Ken, me and my Mom....
My cheesy grin...and terrible polyester clothes
And back to 2018 and my kid
Rob was very excited for this part...it was new (to him) and of course, Atlantis holds a very special place in his memories now.
Told ya....
They really enjoyed this...
And their late lunch...
Rob said he really enjoyed it but should have left earlier because they close early (6pm, I think?) and he didn't get to see everything. He said next time he would go very early to be there at opening and then do a tour. He's done most of the special tours but it's been quite a while and he thinks Kira would enjoy the tour more than just walking around looking at stuff.
Rob took a ZILLION photos that day, he's probably reading this, wondering where the rest are but I have now edited over 900 photos for this trip report and I am done.
I also took half a zillion photos that day but alas, not wanting to find/sort/edit/upload them all, I chose only a few select ones.
Once I got showered and dressed, I headed for the bus stop. When I was here the other day, I noticed that most of the buses make a stop at Aventura first before heading to CityWalk so I figured I would just wait for a bus instead of trying to cross that scary intersection or walk all the way down to the pedestrian overpass.
The good thing about Cabana Bay, you never wait long for a bus!
To the left, behind me in the photo below is where the bus stop is.
Walking in Aventura, the check-in desk is on the left...
And to the right...
Further back is the Urban Pantry...little stations where you can get different kinds of food. Like a mini version of Bayliner Diner.
Last edited:
- Joined
- Aug 18, 1999
- Messages
- 9,211
All caught up! I love your trip reports!
Rob's coffee in the Florida heat!
Yup, I shake my head every time
That's why I love reading trip reports, I always learn something new
You're very welcome
I hope you have a great time next month Thanks
Definitely go, it's sooo awesome!!
So about Rob and his having to have coffee, tell him I heard that hot beverages are supposed to make you cooler in hot weather. Don't know if it is true or not but when my Sister and I went to Jamaica last year we had a hot tea for lunch everyday and it didn't make us any hotter than we were.
BAHAHAHA!
Yup, very different kind of day
I would say that the two lazy rivers and the wave pool alone were worth the price of admission!
And you would like Krakatau, not a death trap
It's like the Aquaduck, just longer and better I totally agree
- Joined
- Aug 18, 1999
- Messages
- 9,211
August 31st, Part 2
Carrying on with my little tour of Aventura...
Looking back at the entrance, with the check-in desk on the right.
And here's all the little dining places at Urban Pantry...
Then outside for a tour of the pool...with the top part being an outside eating area for Urban Pantry.
And that's it for Aventura!
My thoughts?
It's very clean, very modern, maybe a little sterile? I don't know.
I didn't get to see a room in person although I have seen video and photos of them online. I would stay here if it was an adult-only trip and I was looking to save a few bucks but I can't say I loved it. The pool area was nice but kind of weird that it was up front, alongside the Urban Pantry, right along that busy street there that leads to the I-4, not a place I would put a pool.
I think with the rooftop bar/lounge and the general feel of the resort, at least, from my perspective, it's definitely adult-oriented and I don't think Kira would enjoy it at all.
After that, I walked over to Sapphire Falls. Although it's not new, I have not visited this resort yet so I was eager to compare it to the brand-new Aventura Hotel.
This resort, I felt, was the complete opposite of Aventura. It was warm and welcoming, full of life, families and just beautiful!
Honestly, I did not expect to feel that way. I have seen tons of photos of this place and it didn't seem all that fantastic but walking through it, seeing it with my own eyes, my opinion of it changed instantly!
I would stay here in a heartbeat although I would greatly miss Cabana Bay if I did
I know, I'm weird.
I loved loved loved this area, heading down to the main level...I think I took about 20 photos of this spot alone.
There's the water taxi, which is a great feature of this hotel, unlike Aventura and Cabana Bay that only have bus access to CityWalk.
The beautiful and very large pool
And looking back up from the water taxi dock, to where I was standing when I took the photo of the water taxi
The great thing about having the water taxi dock is that you can go through security here, instead of doing it with the masses at the parking garage when you get dropped off by the bus.
Plus, you get dropped off way closer to the parks than when you take the bus
Can you guess my next destination???
Yup, had me some more Bread Box
Then I took the bus back to Cabana Bay, where I bought this sucker for Kira as a special gift. She had been eyeing it ever since we got to Cabana Bay that first day but it was $50 USD, too many pennies for her.
I think it was too many pennies for me but it was a very special gift and I know she will cherish it for many years to come.
They came back from KSC and I gave her her gift and she was very happy.
This thing was massive!
After a bit, we headed down to Bayliner Diner for dinner. I had debated going over to CityWalk but it was so hot out and the bus was a pain in the butt and I didn't feel like doing it all over again and we were all just tired and wanted convenience more than anything at this point.
Rob got the prime rib, which was amazing! Even more amazing was my hubby who shared it with me.
That gravy was to die for
I may or may not have licked the container.
Kira and I got some pizzas although I was wishing I had gotten the prime rib!
We watched another movie and I started packing up a bit before we went to sleep.
Tomorrow is home day! Always the saddest day but after two weeks, I was ready to go home to my doggie
Carrying on with my little tour of Aventura...
Looking back at the entrance, with the check-in desk on the right.
And here's all the little dining places at Urban Pantry...
Then outside for a tour of the pool...with the top part being an outside eating area for Urban Pantry.
And that's it for Aventura!
My thoughts?
It's very clean, very modern, maybe a little sterile? I don't know.
I didn't get to see a room in person although I have seen video and photos of them online. I would stay here if it was an adult-only trip and I was looking to save a few bucks but I can't say I loved it. The pool area was nice but kind of weird that it was up front, alongside the Urban Pantry, right along that busy street there that leads to the I-4, not a place I would put a pool.
I think with the rooftop bar/lounge and the general feel of the resort, at least, from my perspective, it's definitely adult-oriented and I don't think Kira would enjoy it at all.
After that, I walked over to Sapphire Falls. Although it's not new, I have not visited this resort yet so I was eager to compare it to the brand-new Aventura Hotel.
This resort, I felt, was the complete opposite of Aventura. It was warm and welcoming, full of life, families and just beautiful!
Honestly, I did not expect to feel that way. I have seen tons of photos of this place and it didn't seem all that fantastic but walking through it, seeing it with my own eyes, my opinion of it changed instantly!
I would stay here in a heartbeat although I would greatly miss Cabana Bay if I did
I know, I'm weird.
I loved loved loved this area, heading down to the main level...I think I took about 20 photos of this spot alone.
There's the water taxi, which is a great feature of this hotel, unlike Aventura and Cabana Bay that only have bus access to CityWalk.
The beautiful and very large pool
And looking back up from the water taxi dock, to where I was standing when I took the photo of the water taxi
The great thing about having the water taxi dock is that you can go through security here, instead of doing it with the masses at the parking garage when you get dropped off by the bus.
Plus, you get dropped off way closer to the parks than when you take the bus
Can you guess my next destination???
Yup, had me some more Bread Box
Then I took the bus back to Cabana Bay, where I bought this sucker for Kira as a special gift. She had been eyeing it ever since we got to Cabana Bay that first day but it was $50 USD, too many pennies for her.
I think it was too many pennies for me but it was a very special gift and I know she will cherish it for many years to come.
They came back from KSC and I gave her her gift and she was very happy.
This thing was massive!
After a bit, we headed down to Bayliner Diner for dinner. I had debated going over to CityWalk but it was so hot out and the bus was a pain in the butt and I didn't feel like doing it all over again and we were all just tired and wanted convenience more than anything at this point.
Rob got the prime rib, which was amazing! Even more amazing was my hubby who shared it with me.
That gravy was to die for
I may or may not have licked the container.
Kira and I got some pizzas although I was wishing I had gotten the prime rib!
We watched another movie and I started packing up a bit before we went to sleep.
Tomorrow is home day! Always the saddest day but after two weeks, I was ready to go home to my doggie
momofboyz3
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 18, 2013
- Messages
- 1,309
I am not on here often but planning a trip in August. When searching, “Trips in August” I came across your trip report. Needless to say I spent a good portion of my morning reading your whole report! You are such a fantastic writer and I enjoyed every word.
ThankYou for sharing.
ThankYou for sharing.
Terra Nova guy
DIS Dad #811 Newfoundland, Canada
- Joined
- Nov 11, 2014
- Messages
- 3,006
So I'm curious, and now wondering if I'm doing something wrong. When I've been writing my TR, I have only been able to add 10 pictures to a post. I'm just doing a copy/paste from my computer into the post. Maybe that's why. I know some people use picture hosting sites, but I don't know much about them. Is that what you're using?I have about 70 edited photos from this day so while I normally split up my chapters based on content, this day will be split up by photos because the max per post is 35 so I will have to end it in the middle of me touring Aventura but oh well, the things we gotta do for trippies.
I have an interest in the space program...maybe not an obsession though
I did try to see a shuttle launch, in 2000 as well, I think it was Atlantis. But the launch was cancelled. It was disappointing because I used up a whole vacation day to drive out there. But I guess I can say I was at the launch site anyway.
Sapphire Falls looks like a nicer hotel than Aventura for sure, at least on the pictures.
- Joined
- Aug 18, 1999
- Messages
- 9,211
September 1st, Part 1
Wow, I am on the last day of our vacation!! That was quick! Two whole weeks just flew by! This is also my last post for this trippie!
It's taken me just over a month to write about our 14 night adventure, not too shabby
I am eager, as always, to get the report done so I can work on my video.
Once the video(s?) is done, then I will be back on this board for another trip report. It will be inordinately brief compared to this one but as I primarily write my reports for myself, there are definitely some experiences from that trip that I look forward to reliving and putting down on paper, so to speak. 
Okay, so let's get this last day done
We slept in a bit today, our flight was not leaving until about 5:30pm so we had tons of time to kill.
Packed up all of our crap and headed down to the car.
One last stop at Keke's of course!
It was a Saturday morning and it was super busy! We went to the one at Dr. Phillip's again just because it was so convenient.
We waited over 30 minutes this time and outside, where it was hot as hades!
Actually, I spent most of the 30 minutes sitting in the car with the A/C blasting, it was way too hot out for me
We all loved it but again, the potatoes were good, not fantastic! I think if we come back next year, our first visit will be to the Millenia Mall location just to compare the potatoes.
After filling our tummies, we drove over to Disney Springs.
I noticed the new Chicken Guy place that Guy Fieri & Robert Earl (Planet Hollywood & Earl of Sandwich owner) partnered up for. I would be eating here with my friend Patty in a week and a half, otherwise, I probably would have wanted to try it with Rob & Kira just to sample it. Kira is a chicken strip connoisseur as you know.
We hit up all of the shops that we didn't have time for on the other two trips.
I fell in love with Sugarboo and wanted to buy half the store....Kira wanted to buy the other half I think
I held this sign up and told her to smile
Then we hit up the beautiful Ever After store, where we also wanted to buy half the store
I was drooling over the rings...
And I was this close to buying one or both of these.
After lots of drooling over tons of merch, we headed into World of Disney to...well, drool some more!
This is the mug that I had wanted to buy...looking at it now, I didn't realize how low they were running on the purple ones (the one I wanted!) but if I had, I would have scooped it up then!
Kira was trying to fill her pressed penny book but had run out of quarters. They ended up going to the cash register and asking for some more. Rob was super ticked because they would only give them $2 worth. He was upset because they had two machines inside their store, that each had 4 different designs, so in his mind, they should have given him at least $4 worth of quarters.
Not very much upsets my husband but this really ticked him off for some reason.
In my opinion, they should have some change machines located in easy access areas, including the parks because for the amount of pressed penny machines they have, there is no easy way to obtain quarters!
We carried on towards the Marketplace and just had to have one last taste of our beloved Dole Whip
I do not eat pineapple but I sure love to share these babies with my family! They are great in the hot weather and they don't weigh you down like ice cream does. At least, not for me anyway.
We perused the Co-Op while eating our treat and I drooled over these Haunted Mansion chairs!!!
While Rob drooled over some Star Wars stuff
And what Disney lover does not drool over this magnificent creation?
Out of order but a look at the ceiling of the newly refurbished World of Disney, which is themed to be a former Orange Grove Warehouse, turned into a former animation studio, turned into a Disney store.
I miss the old store but this was very beautiful and spacious and very much improved I think.
Rob asked Kira and I to pose for this shot, not realizing why until I looked back at the clouds
It was now time to gas up the car and head to the airport! Return the car and then check our bags in.
Then we headed to the Hyatt side again (yay!) and got through Pre-Check in just a few minutes!
We all have Nexus cards, which gives us both the Canadian (Nexus) and American (Global Entry) version of Pre-Check
Best $50 CAD I have ever spent, I think.
Onto the faux monorail, this time in the wrong direction.
And found some seats at our gate which had plug-ins at each seat! This terminal is such an improvement on the old gates we used to take! I am so glad Westjet and Air Canada made the switch.
We did some exploring, got some snacks and then boarded our plane....this is not our plane, just the one we wanted to go on
And we headed right up into that storm
I love this shot...love the light, the contrast in weather from left to right
And five and a half hours later, we landed in Calgary
A quick stop through Canadian Customs, thanks for our Nexus cards and a quick iris scan.
Found our luggage and then hopped on the shuttle to grab our car.
It's about 30 minutes to our house from the airport. We unpacked, started laundry and then my brother kindly brought our Boo back to us.
I don't know who was happier to be home, me or Boo?
Th..thhh..th..thhh...that's all folks.
Thanks for joining me on this extremely fun journey! I hope you've had a few laughs, or at least a smile or two, learned something new and maybe got you that much closer to your Disney/Universal trip
I will post my video here once it's done and as soon as I start my second trip report, I will add a link here, in case you want to join me on that trip as well.
Thanks for all of the likes and especially for the replies and comments, they really help me keep going even on days when I feel like not writing or sharing.
Wow, I am on the last day of our vacation!! That was quick! Two whole weeks just flew by! This is also my last post for this trippie!
It's taken me just over a month to write about our 14 night adventure, not too shabby
I am eager, as always, to get the report done so I can work on my video.
Once the video(s?) is done, then I will be back on this board for another trip report. It will be inordinately brief compared to this one but as I primarily write my reports for myself, there are definitely some experiences from that trip that I look forward to reliving and putting down on paper, so to speak.
Okay, so let's get this last day done
We slept in a bit today, our flight was not leaving until about 5:30pm so we had tons of time to kill.
Packed up all of our crap and headed down to the car.
One last stop at Keke's of course!
It was a Saturday morning and it was super busy! We went to the one at Dr. Phillip's again just because it was so convenient.
We waited over 30 minutes this time and outside, where it was hot as hades!
Actually, I spent most of the 30 minutes sitting in the car with the A/C blasting, it was way too hot out for me
We all loved it but again, the potatoes were good, not fantastic! I think if we come back next year, our first visit will be to the Millenia Mall location just to compare the potatoes.
After filling our tummies, we drove over to Disney Springs.
I noticed the new Chicken Guy place that Guy Fieri & Robert Earl (Planet Hollywood & Earl of Sandwich owner) partnered up for. I would be eating here with my friend Patty in a week and a half, otherwise, I probably would have wanted to try it with Rob & Kira just to sample it. Kira is a chicken strip connoisseur as you know.
We hit up all of the shops that we didn't have time for on the other two trips.
I fell in love with Sugarboo and wanted to buy half the store....Kira wanted to buy the other half I think
I held this sign up and told her to smile
Then we hit up the beautiful Ever After store, where we also wanted to buy half the store
I was drooling over the rings...
And I was this close to buying one or both of these.
After lots of drooling over tons of merch, we headed into World of Disney to...well, drool some more!
This is the mug that I had wanted to buy...looking at it now, I didn't realize how low they were running on the purple ones (the one I wanted!) but if I had, I would have scooped it up then!
Kira was trying to fill her pressed penny book but had run out of quarters. They ended up going to the cash register and asking for some more. Rob was super ticked because they would only give them $2 worth. He was upset because they had two machines inside their store, that each had 4 different designs, so in his mind, they should have given him at least $4 worth of quarters.
Not very much upsets my husband but this really ticked him off for some reason.
In my opinion, they should have some change machines located in easy access areas, including the parks because for the amount of pressed penny machines they have, there is no easy way to obtain quarters!
We carried on towards the Marketplace and just had to have one last taste of our beloved Dole Whip
I do not eat pineapple but I sure love to share these babies with my family! They are great in the hot weather and they don't weigh you down like ice cream does. At least, not for me anyway.
We perused the Co-Op while eating our treat and I drooled over these Haunted Mansion chairs!!!
While Rob drooled over some Star Wars stuff
And what Disney lover does not drool over this magnificent creation?
Out of order but a look at the ceiling of the newly refurbished World of Disney, which is themed to be a former Orange Grove Warehouse, turned into a former animation studio, turned into a Disney store.
I miss the old store but this was very beautiful and spacious and very much improved I think.
Rob asked Kira and I to pose for this shot, not realizing why until I looked back at the clouds
It was now time to gas up the car and head to the airport! Return the car and then check our bags in.
Then we headed to the Hyatt side again (yay!) and got through Pre-Check in just a few minutes!
We all have Nexus cards, which gives us both the Canadian (Nexus) and American (Global Entry) version of Pre-Check
Best $50 CAD I have ever spent, I think.
Onto the faux monorail, this time in the wrong direction.
And found some seats at our gate which had plug-ins at each seat!
This terminal is such an improvement on the old gates we used to take! I am so glad Westjet and Air Canada made the switch.
We did some exploring, got some snacks and then boarded our plane....this is not our plane, just the one we wanted to go on
And we headed right up into that storm
I love this shot...love the light, the contrast in weather from left to right
And five and a half hours later, we landed in Calgary
A quick stop through Canadian Customs, thanks for our Nexus cards and a quick iris scan.
Found our luggage and then hopped on the shuttle to grab our car.
It's about 30 minutes to our house from the airport. We unpacked, started laundry and then my brother kindly brought our Boo back to us.
I don't know who was happier to be home, me or Boo?
Th..thhh..th..thhh...that's all folks.
Thanks for joining me on this extremely fun journey! I hope you've had a few laughs, or at least a smile or two, learned something new and maybe got you that much closer to your Disney/Universal trip
I will post my video here once it's done and as soon as I start my second trip report, I will add a link here, in case you want to join me on that trip as well.
Thanks for all of the likes and especially for the replies and comments, they really help me keep going even on days when I feel like not writing or sharing.
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Daisybelle
I'm just happy to be here
- Joined
- May 14, 2008
- Messages
- 978
Excellent report! I've been skulking about your reports for years and can't believe how grown up your daughter looks! She's a beautiful young lady now! How fun that she got into the bigger rides with you guys on this trip. And she made money doing it! That's hilarious and awesome.
I look forward to the next trip report!
I look forward to the next trip report!
CJK
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Feb 5, 2001
- Messages
- 7,588
Fabulous report as always! I got behind, so had the pleasure of binge reading! So sorry to hear that you didn't like Portofino Bay very much. We stayed for the first time last year and loved it. Maybe we lucked out with a good room. Although I was jealous of your balcony!! Hopefully the rooms will be refurbed soon. Good on you for doing the drop slides at Volcano Bay!!! I do all roller coasters and rides in general, but nope, not those drop slides! Enjoyed living vicariously!
It makes it, semi, easier to deal with the end of this report.......knowing there's another one coming up shortly!!!
It makes it, semi, easier to deal with the end of this report.......knowing there's another one coming up shortly!!!
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