Clearskies photographic Journey to the World and Beyond - 8 theme parks & much more

[mickeystoontown]

Okay, so I was just posting on April's trip report that I am always at a loss for words when I post here. I mean, how many times can I saw that your pictures are "fantastic" or "awesome" or "fabulous"? I need to come up with some new adjectives. Seriously, though, your pictures are always the best and the ones you took while walking around the All Stars are no exception.

 

[aprilisis]

Okay, so I was just posting on April's trip report that I am always at a loss for words when I post here. I mean, how many times can I saw that your pictures are "fantastic" or "awesome" or "fabulous"? I need to come up with some new adjectives. Seriously, though, your pictures are always the best and the ones you took while walking around the All Stars are no exception.

Ditto!
I love that photo of Daisy Duck that you said was one of your favorites.

 

[TanzUnited99]

For me "sleeping in" on a disney vacation is about 7AM

Really...7AM! That's what my wake up time is when I have to go to work!

I hear it is difficult getting "ice time" so you have to get up early to practice.

Since Goofy was dedicated to honing his skills this morning, I decided not to bother him today and I moved on.

Aah that explains why he was up so early as well. I think it was a good call not to bother him today.

I decided to head over the to AS Music food court to grab some coffee next.

What did you think of the coffee? I've read many reviews saying that the coffee is rubbish at Disney World.

The security measures at the Toy Story Buildings are amazing!!!

:



Those eyes can lure anyone in

(this was actually one of my favorites)

I love this picture as well!

He found a creative solution when his Mom told him:
"You're spending too much time inside watching TV. Get outside and get some fresh air"

I used to get told this all the time by my mum so will have to share this solution with my younger siblings!!

Coming up next up our pseudo down time continues with a trip to some of the best counter service food on property.

I'm looking forward to seeing the best counter service food on property.

 

[clearskies]

Thanks for the All Stars photo tour. DH and I stayed there in December, so it was fun to see all the pics! It was very cold when we were there, but we decided to check the water temp in the pools since we'd seen a few brave souls swimming earlier in the day. We were staying in the Dalmations section, so walked over to the Mighty Ducks pool. The lifeguard came over right away and told us the heat wasn't working in the pool. He said he was only there to rescue anyone who dared to jump in, because they would have a heart attack from the shock of the ice cold water.

I know the Value Resorts are despised by some Disney fans, but I enjoy the huge icons. I especially love the Andy's Room area, specifically the army guys on the roof. (I'm also a big fan of the "real" army guys at DHS) You did a great job of capturing the expressions on the characters.

The car from Toy Story is just called "RC".

Since you are leaving us hanging, my guess for your next stop is DTD - maybe a meal at Earl of Sandwich??

Thank you MNTwinsMom! I looked at your completed Trip Report and you did a great job capturing your trip. I am with you on the huge icons in the value resorts. I love them! I also love the Toy Story Section the most in AS Movies. I am a bit different than the norm in that I care more about the outside of the room than the inside since I barely spend time in the room other than sleeping. We stayed at a DVC resort one year and it just did not have the same Disney feel to it for me. At this point I have seen all the values though so I am trying out PORFQ this year since it seems like there are a lot of good photo ops there.

That lifeguard was too funny. I don't even like a cold pool where it is hot out. There is no way I would even get near a pool when it is cold out. My kids on the other hand would have to be chased away by the lifeguard.

You are close to being on the right track on what is coming next...this is somewhat like my favorite spots for wishes (but not quite that bad).

Oh, thank you for the info on RC. I have a picture of my son in that car from when he was 7 that I love.

Okay, so I was just posting on April's trip report that I am always at a loss for words when I post here. I mean, how many times can I saw that your pictures are "fantastic" or "awesome" or "fabulous"? I need to come up with some new adjectives. Seriously, though, your pictures are always the best and the ones you took while walking around the All Stars are no exception.

Thank you so much Lisa. I truly appreciate the comments no matter how many times you say it. I am just glad to hear people enjoying the pictures. Unfortunately I am struggling a bit with the writing part of the TR and I wish I had fantastic stories to tell like you do. I didn't write any notes and I waited a bit too long to write this so I can't remember a lot of the details of things we said, people we met, etc. All I have is my pictures to jog my memory. If I ever write a TR again I'll have to write notes so I have more interesting things to write about for people to comment on.

Ditto!
I love that photo of Daisy Duck that you said was one of your favorites.

Thank you as well April.
That Daisy photo is one of my favorites from the entire trip.

Really...7AM! That's what my wake up time is when I have to go to work!

What did you think of the coffee? I've read many reviews saying that the coffee is rubbish at Disney World.


I used to get told this all the time by my mum so will have to share this solution with my younger siblings!!

Well, on a normal weekend I will sleep in late. When I want to take photographs though such as when on vacation get up fairly early since I have found that some of the best light of the day is early in the morning. I need to find a way to get more sleep though since I can't get to bed early and I just can't sign up for the mid day nap concept.

Unfortunately, the coffee at the food courts are as others have described. I'll still drink the poor excuse they have for coffee but it is certainly not the best.

Careful, your mum (mum....I love that) will come after you once your siblings explain what possessed them to carry a TV outside (and you can't blame me because she won't know me from Adam.....or anyone else)

 

[norybell]

Catching up (like usual)...

I keep hearing so many good things about 1900 Park Fare, I'm really going to have to check it out one of these days. Though I do wish they offered a few more Fab 5 character dining spots! It's challenging to get an ADR for Chef Mickey's, and considering all the negative things I've heard about the food, it hardly seems worth it.

That dessert...wow! Ice cream art!

I love your Wishes-from-TTC pictures. Just beautiful.

You've probably mentioned this before, but I don't remember, so I'll just ask: do you prefer All-Stars to Pop?

 

[IheartDDuck]

I'm caught up! I love the narrative on your pictures!

Yeah, I don't typically schedule down time on my trips either, even though we go pretty frequently. I think it's just because you don't want to miss anything!

 

[clearskies]

Catching up (like usual)...

I keep hearing so many good things about 1900 Park Fare, I'm really going to have to check it out one of these days. Though I do wish they offered a few more Fab 5 character dining spots! It's challenging to get an ADR for Chef Mickey's, and considering all the negative things I've heard about the food, it hardly seems worth it.

That dessert...wow! Ice cream art!

I love your Wishes-from-TTC pictures. Just beautiful.

You've probably mentioned this before, but I don't remember, so I'll just ask: do you prefer All-Stars to Pop?

Hi Nory. Your "catching up" is my mode of operation as well.

I am surprised the Chef Mickeys is still difficult to get into but it just goes to show the power of the Fab 5. If you like a sit down breakfast another decent option for a character meal with a few of the Fab 5 is the Tusker House breakfast. We will get to that in the next day of my report. We saw Donald, Mickey, Goofy and Daisy. So you lose 2 of the Fab 5 but you get Daisy in what I believe is the only character meal where you can find her.

Chef TJ was definitely an artist with food. I almost felt bad about tearing into it but that remorse was soon thrown to the wayside one I tasted the food.

Thank you for the comments on the Wishes photos.

As far as All Stars vs Pop..first of all I have only stayed as all Stars Movies but I think they are all about the same. The main difference to me is the theming and I enjoy the theming at the AS Movies over the other 2 All Stars. Comparing to Pop I guess I would say that the room in Pop was slightly better in some minor details (bigger TV, bigger safe, etc) but really they are about the same and the room is just not that important to me since I really do not spend much time in it. The food court at Pop is a bit better in my opinion. I love the outside theming at both Pop and All Stars. All Stars Movies is a little bit more "Disney" themed though. I did not spend much time by the pools but they seemed similar. I think my bus experience was a little bit better with All Stars vs Pop. I think that about covers it. If there was something else specific you wanted to know please let me know.

I'm caught up! I love the narrative on your pictures!

Yeah, I don't typically schedule down time on my trips either, even though we go pretty frequently. I think it's just because you don't want to miss anything!

Thank you very much Danielle. I am there is some enjoyment beyond the pictures.

Yes, on the down time avoidance. So much to do, so little time...

 

[clearskies]

After spending the morning at the resort we decided to head out at about 11:30. As I mentioned in my last post we were headed to some of the best CS food on property and MNTwinsMom was spot on correct in that we were headed to Downtown Disney. Ah but where in DTD disney are we going to find this great CS food? Well, before we get to that, we worked our way around some of the various shops for a while before stopping to eat. The great thing about shopping in DTD is that even if shopping is not your favorite activity (yes, put me in that category) at least there are many interesting things to see. I am having trouble remembering all the stores we went into. We did not spend too much time walking around though so it was a quick tour. Here are some pictures I took along the way:

OK, I do know we started in the World of Disney Store....

This was a Pooh Bear Shop. We were searching for a Tigger mug for my sister that she loves but was broken at some point. We found a replacement here.

Silly Old Bear

At the pin store we ran into Donald and Daisy again. I joked with Donald on how Daisy roped him into going shopping as well. He did not look happy as you can see. He scowled and said he'd rather be at a park. I am with you my friend.

We also ran into Mickey and Minne there as well. Mickey was a lot more cheerful about this whole shopping thing.

I believe we are in Once Upon a Toy now..

An obligatory picture of Stitch as we walked by...

Of course this is the Lego Store. I believe you are also required to take a picture of this Sea Serpent if you are walking by so here is another picture for that you are probably seeing for the two hundred thousandth time.

This however was something new for us. I had not seen Lego Woody yet.

Goofy's candy store was next. I noticed my daughter was getting a bit drawn out so I figured it would be a good time to grab some lunch once I noticed.

Ok, so where are we going that has this outstanding food? Let's see Earl of Sandwich or Wolfgang Puck Express? It was tough to choose...very tough since I actually consider them both among the top counter service eateries. So we decided to have the best of both worlds. My wife headed to Earl's to grab a couple of sandwiches and I went with the kids to get a couple of meals from WPE. We then shared the food amongst ourselves. Oh, one thing to note about my family is that we are often sharing food. Before I gross some people out this is before starting to eat. After we have our meals in a restaurant you will often see food flying around between the family. That's just how we roll. I am a bit more careful due to foods I can't eat though and my wife and kids will share a lot more. I am also a lot more particular on ensuring food has not been eaten before it make it's way over to my plate.

While we are eating our fabulous lunches we had another decision to make. Where should we spend the rest of the afternoon? I was originally planning on heading back to Aquatica for a few hours but my wife offered a different plan. My sister was at Universal Studios for the day and though we had seen most of it my wife said it would be good to spend some time with them since this was our last chance to see them this trip. We all agreed that this was a great idea. we always enjoy our time with my Sister's family. Also, I had not seen the Monster Makeup Show yet and I had wanted to catch the show. We were all also up for another ride on the Mummy.

Before we headed out though we decided to head back to Goofy's candy shop to use up some of the many Snack credits we still had. I believe that we had over 30 snack credits left and 4 days left to use them including this day. So we grabbed a whole bunch of goodies to bring with us to Universal to share with my Sister's family.

The then bid adeiu to the Marketplace...

coming up next our last installment of non-Disney parks....

 

[brookelizabeth]

I'm joining in! While I haven't actually READ your report yet, I have scrolled through and looked at all your fantastic pictures! I was looking for a recent TR where the people stayed at Movies since I will be there in 3 weeks! I am thrilled to have found your report-not only for the Movies info/pictures, but for all the rest too! I'm looking forward to coming back and reading it when I am able! Thank you for your hard work on the TR and BEAUTIFUL photography!

 

[aprilisis]

GREAT DtD photos!!!! I can't wait to see the new Lego stuff.

 

[mickeystoontown]

GREAT DtD photos!!!! I can't wait to see the new Lego stuff.

Hey....that's what I was about to say!

 

[TanzUnited99]

I'm happy you enjoyed the CS options at DTD as we are looking forward to eating at both those places. We also like sharing our food so we get to experience different things!

I love that there is a Pooh Bear shop - will def be spending some time/money in there!

You are right in that Donald sure hates shopping - just look at that scowl!

The lego Woody looks cool and I saw them funny mirrors in another TR and can't wait to have fun with them!

 

[clearskies]

I'm joining in! While I haven't actually READ your report yet, I have scrolled through and looked at all your fantastic pictures! I was looking for a recent TR where the people stayed at Movies since I will be there in 3 weeks! I am thrilled to have found your report-not only for the Movies info/pictures, but for all the rest too! I'm looking forward to coming back and reading it when I am able! Thank you for your hard work on the TR and BEAUTIFUL photography!

Hi Brook. Thank you so much for stopping by!! I am envious you are heading over in 3 weeks. I hope you have a blast. If you have any questions on AS Movies please don't hesitate to ask. Oh, and I truly appreciate the comments on the photos. Thank you!

GREAT DtD photos!!!! I can't wait to see the new Lego stuff.

Thank you April. You are so close now to heading down. How exciting. There is one place you will experience for the first time in DTD that I have not yet and that is Babycakes. I am definitely heading there on my trip in the fall.

Hey....that's what I was about to say!

Thank you Lisa

I'm happy you enjoyed the CS options at DTD as we are looking forward to eating at both those places. We also like sharing our food so we get to experience different things!

Exactly, you get to sample much more that way. I am sure you will love it.

I love that there is a Pooh Bear shop - will def be spending some time/money in there!

I looked it up and it is called Pooh Corner and it is near Goofys Candy Store. You'll find it easy enough. Pooh used to be one of my favorites when I was a young lad. My teddy bear as a child was a stuffed Pooh Bear. I loved that bear so much.

You are right in that Donald sure hates shopping - just look at that scowl!

You ain't kidding. You would think he would at least be happy to do a little bit of shopping so that he could find some pants.

The lego Woody looks cool and I saw them funny mirrors in another TR and can't wait to have fun with them!

My son loves the Lego store so it is always a must stop for us. They have a great selection there and a lot of awesome lego creations built.

Oh my daughter had a blast with the mirrors. She cracks herself up. It is too funny to watch her.

 

[MNTwinsMom]

To summarize, your "down day" went like this . . . morning at the resort, afternoon at DTD and evening at Universal? I like your style!

I'm curious what type of passes you bought for Universal. How many days did you end up going to Universal/IOA?

Beautiful pics from DTD. I'm glad you found something to do while the rest of your family was shopping. My favorites are Chip n Dale and the close-up of Donald. It's a great compliment to your Daisy photo from the resort. Those 2 have additude!

 

[TanzUnited99]

I looked it up and it is called Pooh Corner and it is near Goofys Candy Store. You'll find it easy enough. Pooh used to be one of my favorites when I was a young lad. My teddy bear as a child was a stuffed Pooh Bear. I loved that bear so much.

Thank you for looking it up for us. I love Pooh as well - he sure is a great bear.

 

[clearskies]

To summarize, your "down day" went like this . . . morning at the resort, afternoon at DTD and evening at Universal? I like your style!

Oh...no, no, no...you have it all wrong. we are not crazy. Our pseudo Down day consists of:
Morning at the resort, afternoon at DTD, more afternoon at Universal...and then evening at Poly to eat and after dinner more Wishes.

see we needed to add more to that list. It was not enough for a down day

I'm curious what type of passes you bought for Universal. How many days did you end up going to Universal/IOA?

In a rare moment of foresight I anticipated that Universal tickets would go up in 2010 with the whole Harry Potter opening. So in 2009 after I booked our bounceback trip I bought 7 day tickets (with Park to Park) from AAA. They were only $85 each at the time. I am now kicking myself I did not buy more of them.

Beautiful pics from DTD. I'm glad you found something to do while the rest of your family was shopping. My favorites are Chip n Dale and the close-up of Donald. It's a great compliment to your Daisy photo from the resort. Those 2 have additude!

Thank you! My favs are also the Daisy and Donald series. Well, Donald is the one with the attitude but I love him anyway. Daisy...she's a sweetheart. He's lucky to have her.

Thank you for looking it up for us. I love Pooh as well - he sure is a great bear.

You're welcome Tanz. He is indeed.

 

[MNTwinsMom]

responses in red

Oh...no, no, no...you have it all wrong. we are not crazy. Our pseudo Down day consists of:
Morning at the resort, afternoon at DTD, more afternoon at Universal...and then evening at Poly to eat and after dinner more Wishes.

see we needed to add more to that list. It was not enough for a down day


I should have known not to assume your day was over! Can't wait to hear about the rest of your day!


In a rare moment of foresight I anticipated that Universal tickets would go up in 2010 with the whole Harry Potter opening. So in 2009 after I booked our bounceback trip I bought 7 day tickets (with Park to Park) from AAA. They were only $85 each at the time. I am now kicking myself I did not buy more of them.

Wow! Great deal = just over $10 per day. Makes it much easier to go for partial days when it's that kind of a value.

 

[clearskies]

Remember me? I am very sorry for leaving this thread neglected for so long. Now that I got a new PC set up and working as well as putting a few other issues behind me I am hopefully ready to finish this TR up. If anyone out there has not gotten too fed up and is still hanging with me, thank you. The rest of this TR l be heavy on the pictures and light on the words so that I can get through this.

I apologize as well for those of you whose TRs I have also neglected. I have been off the boards entirely for quite some time and it will take me some time to catch up on things.

As a peace offering here are some 4th of July pictures I have to share of New York City.

I'll get my next post for this actual TR this week.

 

[JolllyHoliday]

The fireworks pictures are beautiful.

 

[mickeystoontown]

Well, I was going to tell you that I was over and done with you but then I saw the New York City pictures and I forgive you. Just kidding! Glad to have you back on the Disboards.