Compromise is a Disney word: Taking one for the team over Thanksgiving 2016* August PTR link! 5/28

[kastoney]

Glad you were able to get your flights fixed. I'm sure you were going crazy trying to decide what to do. And so happy to hear they fed you like normal adults today. You'll totally have to school me on universal one of these days. i think in a few more years Casey will be up to it but I'll be the girl asking where mickey and my lapu lapu is and they'll just escort me out of the place I had no idea blue man was at universal. We saw it years ago in Vegas and loved it. It makes no sense and is so weird, yet it all works somehow

 

[ariane37]

I am really worried about this next week...It's one thing when Matt is gone somewhere, or the kids are gone to their grandparents for a week in the summer or something, but it's a whole other animal entirely for ME to be gone and the three of them home.

Yup. That's really how I felt overall when I left, and how I felt last summer when I went to my sister's in Ga. and left the other 3 at home. Being a control freak doesn't help because I hate not being able to have reign over how things go lol. But they get through it, even if its more work for me when I get home

I'm picturing the part in Men in Black where they are taking the test in those egg shaped chairs and they're all trying to maneuver themselves around to write in answers.

Perfect analogy!

They look pretty neat though, and I like that they buzz or whatever when it's time for your ride. That's one technology I would LOVE in the MBs.

I must agree they look neat, regardless of whether they're stolen or not It would be totally cool if they buzzed when your FP time was up! Plus the etra interactive stuff sounds really neat. Hoping they work as well as they sound like they're going to..........

Yeah we've never been to any of the Disney ones. We have some nearby, nothing big but I've never had any desire to go to them. VB does seem way better.

Ours is Splashdown Beach in Fishkill, and something tells me when you tell me the name of the ones near you I'll know them - which ones are they?

I have been away from the DH but not the kids

Other than our Disney trips and 2 quick trips with Steve when Ricky was really young and before Chris, I've only been away from them last summer when I visited my sister in Ga. But although I was away from family I was still WITH family, which made if different and I didn't feel homesick.

And the funny thing is, I would probably worry if I was the only one away because I actually trust my mom to take better care of the kids than DH! LOL. I truly think he would be clueless!

Steve is good with them but I feel the same way! I don't worry about anything when my mom watches them, which will be the case next month, but I do feel I need to go over directions more often and check in more when Steve is with them!

You must have been freaking out I'm so glad you could slip away and get it taken care of.

I hate to admit it, but I was All I could think was that there would be no seats for days given how many airlines were cancelling ALL their flights. I did figure I'd cab over to Disney and get a room there because at least I'd be on more familiar ground and I did have my AP, but then I'd think that so many people already there would have cancelled flights and be looking to book more nights so would there be availability?? Ugh, it was a headache! On the other hand if the whole family had been with me I wouldn't have minded one bit getting "stuck" and extra few days!

You'll totally have to school me on universal one of these days. i think in a few more years Casey will be up to it but I'll be the girl asking where mickey and my lapu lapu is and they'll just escort me out of the place

Definitely wait a few more years, for the most part I think it's best when kids are a bit older. Although she does do well with thrill rides.......and I'm completely will to school you Just make sure you plan your trip while we're down in Disney, because then when you get kicked out for screaming Disney related phrases, you can hop over there and hang with us

I had no idea blue man was at universal. We saw it years ago in Vegas and loved it. It makes no sense and is so weird, yet it all works somehow

 

[Raeven]

Ours is Splashdown Beach in Fishkill, and something tells me when you tell me the name of the ones near you I'll know them - which ones are they?

Enchanted Forest Water Safari (I've never been there, but we've driven by it and if you've ever seen the commercial it's now stuck in your head). The Splashwater Kingdom at Great Escape. I used to always see commercials for Zoom Flume too (though we've never been there either and I think it's farther away). Do you remember that commercial? I think they're still using the same one from when I was a kid I see it on tv from time to time.

 

[ariane37]

The Splashwater Kingdom at Great Escape. I used to always see commercials for Zoom Flume too (though we've never been there either and I think it's farther away). Do you remember that commercial? I think they're still using the same one from when I was a kid I see it on tv from time to time.

Quite a few of Chris's friends go to Splashwater Kingdom and love it, but their bigger water park fans than we are. Yes I remember the Zoom Flume commercial lol!! I believe they were showing it as recently as last summer, and it is definitely NOT a new commercial by any means!!! My sister took her boys there probably 4 or 5 years ago. Since she was close to 45 minutes north of me in Highland it wasn't a bad drive for her; they liked it too, but again are bigger water people than us. And she hates Disney, which makes me question whether she's actually adopted

 

[ariane37]

Let's Start a New Party!!

Because guess who's going to Disney in August?? This girl, that's who! Yup, last week we booked a foursome to the World. That means the boys are actually coming with us this time, which will be nice! I love our adults only trips but I do miss having the whole family there. I plan to do a PTR for that one because it's not going to be JUST Disney, but for now here are the basics because I can't contain myself!!​

WHEN: Aug. 23-31st
WHERE: 3 nights POP Century (for now), then AKL
WHY: because we like it!

More on that trip when I finish up this TR, but I know a couple of my Dis friends will be down there at that time so hopefully that means a couple meet ups!

Universal Training Day 4, Part 1
​

Right now we're on to my final day of the conference. This was Thursday Feb. 9th, the day we were supposed to be heading home but alas, Cathy and I, along with a handful of other training attendees, were not. As stressed and nervous as I'd been the day before I was now calm, and excited to have an extra day to do whatever I wanted. Well, kind of what I wanted. I will say now that while Blue Man Group was the highlight of the actual training, this extra day was definitely the BEST day!! Why? I got my Disney fix!

We were starting out at 9am with breakfast and our final "classroom training". Unlike Pam and many other agents Cathy and I didn't have to pack up, and on top of that we were both staying in our rooms so we only had to get ready. Cathy had asked if I wanted to share a room for that final night; as much as we were getting along and I know I would have been fine sharing with her, after 3 nights of being an adult with a roommate I needed my space. Luckily she took no offense which was just one more thing I liked about her.
Today's breakfast and training were over at Portofino Bay,

and they were certainly sending us out with a bang! A bang of which I have no pictures.................but this was what I call a PROPER breakfast spread. We had fruit and tons of pastries; bagels and croissants; eggs, bacon, sausage, an omelet station; a few different yogurt parfaits in fancy parfait cups and a cheese hashbrown casserole. I ate good lol!! To top it all we actually had chairs to sit in and tables to sit at, who thought this up?? Brilliant. We took our food into the conference room which was a big, very fancy banquet room. This training was being hosted by Barry and another team leader John, and was mainly about tying up loose ends regarding everything we'd gone over and experienced during the training. Barry said the "D" word during this training and I was shocked they acknowledged that Disney does more business then they do. He said about 50% of their (Universals) guests either come from Disney or are leaving there to go to Disney. I believe that. And this is why they now offer transportation from Disney resorts to Universal and back. If you didn't know about this, now you do! It costs $26 pp round trip.
The training lasted until 12 and then a bus took everyone back to Cabana Bay so they could back and get to the airport or be on their way. Cathy, Pam and I decided to be rebels once again and took the water taxi from Portofino over to Sapphire Falls and walked to Cabana Bay. Don't tell anyone! We walked out back and I got to see this gorgeous view one more time:



Going by Royal Pacific Resort on the water taxi:

​

Guess what? We didn't get in trouble! Nobody asked for our keys, nothing. I know I said this about our first illegal water taxi ride but I find the boat rides there more relaxing than at Disney and I don't know why. I think some of the scenery at Disney, especially when on the boats from the WL, is nice, so maybe it was because this was all new to me. But I liked it. I liked it a lot.
We got back to the resort and said good-bye to Pam who was driving down to her mom's in......south Florida somewhere. So it was about 1:00 and we had the day to ourselves! Now, what I was dying to do was get over to a Disney park - probably either MK or Epcot. However Cathy didn't have an AP like I do and so I didn't push that hard. She did say as much as she'd like to go to a park she didn't really want to pay the one day price, and I do get that. We threw around hanging at the pool (NO), going back into the Universal parks (mmmm, no) or my suggestion, Disney Springs Cathy thought that sounded magnificent so we grabbed a taxi and took a $34 ride to where I felt at home.
And when at home, you EAT!
I was sending Cathy subliminal messages about the Boathouse because I had wanted to eat there back in Nov. but it didn't happen. We checked out the menu and she approved. It was a gorgeous day and wasn't insanely hot so we chose to sit outside. Here are a couple shots of the views from the deck area of Boathouse:

​

We were trying to find a table with both seats in the shade because even though it wasn't HOT hot, we knew we'd be hot actually sitting in the sun. This led us to walk the entire deck like 3x, which led to us being extra thirsty, which led to us ordering these:

​

How lucky was I that Cathy loves Sangria?? And this was good Sangria. Oh and Kari @kastoney look! Full size cups
Cathy got the Buffalo Chicken salad which had Point Reyes Blue Cheese, Spicy Pecans, Red Onions and Ranch dressing. She said it was a bit too spicy for her and I failed to take a picture but I did take a picture of my Filet Mignon Sliders:



​

With a bit taken out to gross you all out lol. These were fabulous and obviously, the BEST meal of the trip! The fries were seasoned so nicely but not spicy. The meat had not an ounce of fat on it and was cooked to medium perfection and the onions added just the right amount of "oomph" to it. I want to eat here again so bad, but in March we didn't get to DS and for this month I chose Homecoming. Have to think about it for August because the ambiance and food - and drink - were all on point. It may have been because I was finally on comfortable ground or it might have been because the quality of this food was so, SO much higher than what I'd been given the previous few days, but man, this meal sticks out in my head as like, food from heaven.......
We opted to skip dessert because we had some possible dessert in mind for later and instead did some sightseeing. We'd had really great weather all week but today was just outstanding; hottish but not to the point where we were sweating. While most of DS was done there were still some construction walls up. I love so many of these signs with Walt's sayings all around the parks and DS:

We saw this too, a place I'm excited to try! The sign says Spring 2017 but I looked just now and it says opening Summer 2017:




Then we went in to The Candy Cauldron. Rice Krispie Treat, anyone?? Maybe a healthy snack, like an apple?






We still opted not to buy anything which I can't believe! We went in quite a few stores, many I've never gone in because I'm always with the boys or at least Steve. It was nice to be there with someone who actually ENJOYS shopping.
But we still left with nothing!
After another 2 hours we caught another taxi back to Cabana Bay. This driver took a more scenic route -read: a more expensive route, and our trip turned into a $40 ride. For this reason I think we'll be trying Uber for a particular day in August, but if you want to know where we're going and why I'm leaving Disney property you'll have to read my PTR whenever I start it!
I can't tell you how nice it was to spend the day with my feet on Disney property! At first I was disappointed I wasn't using my "extra" day to go to a park but it was so nice and stress-free hanging with my new friend that I quickly got over that little bit of disappointment.

UP NEXT: I WANT TO STAY AWAKE BUT I FALL ASLEEP IN MY FOOD; THE TRAINING TRIP ENDS​

 

[buzzrelly]

Because guess who's going to Disney in August?? This girl, that's who! Yup, last week we booked a foursome to the World.

Awesome!

this was what I call a PROPER breakfast spread. We had fruit and tons of pastries; bagels and croissants; eggs, bacon, sausage, an omelet station; a few different yogurt parfaits in fancy parfait cups and a cheese hashbrown casserole.

It's ABOUT time!

Cathy, Pam and I decided to be rebels once again and took the water taxi from Portofino over to Sapphire Falls and walked to Cabana Bay.

Living on the edge!

And when at home, you EAT!

What else?!

Here are a couple shots of the views from the deck area of Boathouse:

S beautiful And it must've felt like that sign was meant for you!

With a bit taken out to gross you all out lol. These were fabulous and obviously, the BEST meal of the trip!

They still look yummy!

I love so many of these signs with Walt's sayings all around the parks and DS:

Me too

Then we went in to The Candy Cauldron. Rice Krispie Treat, anyone?? Maybe a healthy snack, like an apple?

OMG…those look so good! If I lived down there, that big Rice Krispy Treat would be my birthday cake every year

you'll have to read my PTR whenever I start it!

Looking forward to it!

 

[MeghanEmily]

More on that trip when I finish up this TR, but I know a couple of my Dis friends will be down there at that time so hopefully that means a couple meet ups!

Oh my goodness yay! You're going back in August! I'm not going to think that far ahead yet...because I feel like thinking about a second Dismeet before you've even had your first is kind of like how you jinx it when you start thinking about a second date before you've been on a first date and then you get there and find out the person wears a hair piece and smells funny... though I'm sure you all smell just fine! (...though come to think of it, I probably won't be smelling like a rose in August... )But we'll also be there for the first part of your August trip!

Why? I got my Disney fix!

Yay Disney!! I would find it hard to be so close and not do anything Disney.

and they were certainly sending us out with a bang! A bang of which I have no pictures.................but this was what I call a PROPER breakfast spread. We had fruit and tons of pastries; bagels and croissants; eggs, bacon, sausage, an omelet station; a few different yogurt parfaits in fancy parfait cups and a cheese hashbrown casserole. I ate good lol!!

Finally!! ...man, I love breakfast. That sounds awesome.

He said about 50% of their (Universals) guests either come from Disney or are leaving there to go to Disney. I believe that. And this is why they now offer transportation from Disney resorts to Universal and back. If you didn't know about this, now you do! It costs $26 pp round trip.

This is really cool of them. I'm not surprised that so many guests are there to also go to Disney. It's great that they're aware of this and upfront about it, because doing things like this can only increase their bottom line, too. What's that saying about the rising tide lifting all boats? That's how I've always heard anyone at Disney/Universal talking about their competitors' business.

I was sending Cathy subliminal messages about the Boathouse because I had wanted to eat there back in Nov. but it didn't happen.

I keep wanting to eat here and not fitting it in! I'm glad you had such an awesome meal. (You must have been forgetting what real meals tasted like at this point!)

Then we went in to The Candy Cauldron. Rice Krispie Treat, anyone?? Maybe a healthy snack, like an apple?

Apples are healthy. Rice is healthy. Right?

For this reason I think we'll be trying Uber for a particular day in August, but if you want to know where we're going and why I'm leaving Disney property you'll have to read my PTR whenever I start it!

We had a fine (though kinda funny) experience with Uber and the price was right. ...oohhh, mysterious! Can't wait to find out!

 

[Terra Nova guy]

HI Ariane. I'm just getting caught up after a busy few weeks, with Easter break and my DD having a dance competition all that week.

Because guess who's going to Disney in August?? This girl, that's who! Yup, last week we booked a foursome to the World. That means the boys are actually coming with us this time, which will be nice! I love our adults only trips but I do miss having the whole family there.

Sounds great! I can't wait to get back with all my family. My wife and youngest daughter are going in July with the dance school, doing a parade in Epcot. I desperately anted to go but can't because of work commitments. Yes, I am heat broken. I would love to go again later this year will all of us, but just can't do it financially with the dance trip already. Flights are just too darn expensive from up here - over $2000 for 4 of us. Plus the Canada-US exchange rate is killing us right now. Last time I went in 2014 the dollars were almost at par, so it was much more affordable.

Barry said the "D" word during this training and I was shocked they acknowledged that Disney does more business then they do. He said about 50% of their (Universals) guests either come from Disney or are leaving there to go to Disney.

Interesting that they mentioned it. But I guess Universal is really only doing as well as they are because of Disney. I doubt they could make it on their own. So they might as well be frenemies.

I was sending Cathy subliminal messages about the Boathouse because I had wanted to eat there back in Nov. but it didn't happen. We checked out the menu and she approved. It was a gorgeous day and wasn't insanely hot so we chose to sit outside. Here are a couple shots of the views from the deck area of Boathouse:

I've heard a lot of good things about the Boathouse, but I have the impression it's on the expensive side, like Yachtsman Steakhouse or something. What did you think of the prices?

Then we went in to The Candy Cauldron. Rice Krispie Treat, anyone?? Maybe a healthy snack, like an apple?

These places are my weakness. I could go for one of everything! Although I have never had a candy apple.

 

[kittylady1972]

Sounds like a nice final day of vacation...even though like you I would have been itching to use that Disney AP!

That Boathouse food looks pretty fabulous as well. How great that you at least got a good final meal from Universal.

We may have to explore more of Disney Springs in our future also.

 

[verleniahall]

""Let's Start a New Party!!

Because guess who's going to Disney in August?? This girl, that's who! Yup, last week we booked a foursome to the World. That means the boys are actually coming with us this time, which will be nice! I love our adults only trips but I do miss having the whole family there. I plan to do a PTR for that one because it's not going to be JUST Disney, but for now here are the basics because I can't contain myself!!

WHEN: Aug. 23-31st
WHERE: 3 nights POP Century (for now), then AKL
WHY: because we like it!

More on that trip when I finish up this TR, but I know a couple of my Dis friends will be down there at that time so hopefully that means a couple meet ups! ""

are you not going in November this year? Was hoping you were!

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

I plan to do a PTR for that one because it's not going to be JUST Disney, but for now here are the basics because I can't contain myself!!

Woo Hoo! Family Trip!!!!! Well, that is such a teese!!!!

She did say as much as she'd like to go to a park she didn't really want to pay the one day price, and I do get that.

I can't blame her for that. And really, why I get mad that a one day ticket is so pricey!!!! I hate it!

Those french fries look soooooooo good!!!!!!

For this reason I think we'll be trying Uber for a particular day in August, but if you want to know where we're going and why I'm leaving Disney property you'll have to read my PTR whenever I start it!

My guess is Volcano Bay!

 

[disneyAndi14]

We had snow yesterday yuck, thank goodness it is all gone now, it was 60 here today so that is a plus. We really enjoy US and IOA, however we love heading back to Disney so much more! How exciting about August, we will be there from 8/26-9/4, so maybe we can meet up! We love Disney at that time of year! I will be watching for your pre trip report.

 

[ArielSRL]

Because guess who's going to Disney in August?? This girl, that's who!

Wahoo!

Yup, last week we booked a foursome to the World. That means the boys are actually coming with us this time, which will be nice! I love our adults only trips but I do miss having the whole family there.

I plan to do a PTR for that one because it's not going to be JUST Disney,

Hmmm....foreshadowing...

but for now here are the basics because I can't contain myself!!​

WHEN: Aug. 23-31st
WHERE: 3 nights POP Century (for now), then AKL
WHY: because we like it!

Nice! I'm interested in hearing more about the POP Century (for now) business....yes, bc I'm nosy...lol.

As stressed and nervous as I'd been the day before I was now calm, and excited to have an extra day to do whatever I wanted. Well, kind of what I wanted. I will say now that while Blue Man Group was the highlight of the actual training, this extra day was definitely the BEST day!! Why? I got my Disney fix!

Yay!

this was what I call a PROPER breakfast spread. We had fruit and tons of pastries; bagels and croissants; eggs, bacon, sausage, an omelet station; a few different yogurt parfaits in fancy parfait cups and a cheese hashbrown casserole. I ate good lol!! To top it all we actually had chairs to sit in and tables to sit at, who thought this up??

Sounds wonderful...finally, right?

And this is why they now offer transportation from Disney resorts to Universal and back. If you didn't know about this, now you do! It costs $26 pp round trip.

Nice to know.

Cathy, Pam and I decided to be rebels once again and took the water taxi from Portofino over to Sapphire Falls and walked to Cabana Bay. Don't tell anyone! We walked out back and I got to see this gorgeous view one more time:

Lovely!

Cathy thought that sounded magnificent so we grabbed a taxi and took a $34 ride to where I felt at home.
And when at home, you EAT!

Here are a couple shots of the views from the deck area of Boathouse:

​

Beautiful! Oh and Saratoga...my home for the past two trips!

which led to us being extra thirsty, which led to us ordering these:

How lucky was I that Cathy loves Sangria?? And this was good Sangria. ​

Very nice!

I did take a picture of my Filet Mignon Sliders:

Sounds delicious!

I want to eat here again so bad, but in March we didn't get to DS and for this month I chose Homecoming.

I so want to eat at both of these places but the way I have our days scheduled, it doesn't really work to eat at DS. I'm going to have to change that up on our next trip.

I looked just now and it says opening Summer 2017:

It's a bar, right? I can't remember exactly. I guess I should just look it up. LOL. Okay so I looked it up. restaurant and bar. Seems like a cool concept but who knows if it will be open for our trip. My DH who is a huge bourbon fan, is looking forward to trying out the Bourban Bar at The Polite Pig.

Then we went in to The Candy Cauldron. Rice Krispie Treat, anyone?? Maybe a healthy snack, like an apple?

Those apples look so good!

For this reason I think we'll be trying Uber for a particular day in August, but if you want to know where we're going and why I'm leaving Disney property you'll have to read my PTR whenever I start it!

Stop teasing us, already!

I can't tell you how nice it was to spend the day with my feet on Disney property! At first I was disappointed I wasn't using my "extra" day to go to a park but it was so nice and stress-free hanging with my new friend that I quickly got over that little bit of disappointment.

So glad you were able to get there. I think it would be pure torture to be in the area and not get to stop by!

 

[wdwnut61]

Congrats on your August trip with the boys looking forward to your next PTR
Glad you got some Disney time we love the Boathouse. Your filet mignon sliders looked so good. I had their crab cakes last time delicious.
Your Sangria looked quite tasty too
for more Dis meets in August.

 

[kastoney]

Congrats on your August trip!!!! Hating that we won't be there that time of hear for the first time in 5 years. That means you'll have to drink double for me.

I forgot you had your AP on your February trip. You should have totally ditched Cathy and joined us for the day. Glad you at least got some disney fix though and more importantly got an adult sized sangria

 

[thumper*]

Your sliders at Boathouse look great. Humm now you have me considering making adr's.
August YAY.

 

[Britbrie]

Yay I finally got caught up! Your training at Universal looked fun, and I'm excited that you get to go back to Disney in August!! YAYYYYY!
That is pretty cool that you ended up getting to go to Disney Springs!! The Boathouse food looks pretty good, I might have to consider that for Dec!

 

[ariane37]

OMG…those look so good! If I lived down there, that big Rice Krispy Treat would be my birthday cake every year

I've only had the small rice krispie treats that are part of desert parties down there but I really want to try a big one! And with that frosting on it??

Looking forward to it!

I'm dying to start my PTR, I have so much to say, so much going through my head! But no way I can handle 3 going at the same time lol, so I seriously need to finish this up!

Oh my goodness yay! You're going back in August! I'm not going to think that far ahead yet...because I feel like thinking about a second Dismeet before you've even had your first is kind of like how you jinx it when you start thinking about a second date before you've been on a first date and then you get there and find out the person wears a hair piece and smells funny...

OMG that's hysterical

though I'm sure you all smell just fine! (...though come to think of it, I probably won't be smelling like a rose in August... )

Um, well we can hope either 1. we've both just showered when we meet up or 2. we both smell so bad we cancel each other out

But we'll also be there for the first part of your August trip!

I knew that!! I also knew for awhile we were like, 99% going in Aug. but didn't want to say anything until we'd booked our resort

Yay Disney!! I would find it hard to be so close and not do anything Disney.

It was very hard and depressing lol. What made it a tad easier was that we HAD to be at every single thing Universal planned for us without fail so it wasn't even like I could sneak off, so I really had no choice but to skip Disney. Until my "extra" day of course, but I'm too nice a person to have left Cathy.

This is really cool of them. I'm not surprised that so many guests are there to also go to Disney. It's great that they're aware of this and upfront about it, because doing things like this can only increase their bottom line, too.

Exactly why they began doing it, I'm sure. I mean, they have to be aware that Disney=longer vacations and more park days, hence them building Volcano Bay. My guess is they had tons of guests asking if they had transportation to and from Disney and while it doesn't hurt Disney one bit to not offer transportation to/from Uni, as you said it will most definitely help Uni.

I keep wanting to eat here and not fitting it in! I'm glad you had such an awesome meal.

I have so many places like this! I just try to get at least one or two in every trip and fitting Boathouse in on this trip was a complete bonus. Definitely worth going sometime

We had a fine (though kinda funny) experience with Uber and the price was right.

I've heard a few "kind funny but fine" Uber stories here on the Dis! Hoping ours is more of the simple "fine" variety because Steve isn't even sold on Uber.

HI Ariane. I'm just getting caught up after a busy few weeks, with Easter break and my DD having a dance competition all that week.

Glad you're finally back! How was your daughter's competition?

My wife and youngest daughter are going in July with the dance school, doing a parade in Epcot. I desperately anted to go but can't because of work commitments. Yes, I am heat broken.

Ugh, I'd be heartbroken too Steve wasn't thrilled he was left behind when I went to Universal, although he had no choice because spouses/families weren't invited. But how cool for your DD to be in an Epcot parade!! Are there lots of dance groups marching and is it only dance groups do you know? I think it's so rare that Epcot has parades, so especially neat it's that park.

Flights are just too darn expensive from up here - over $2000 for 4 of us. Plus the Canada-US exchange rate is killing us right now.

I have another friend here on the boards, @fallonkendra, who is Canadian. Whenever she's mentioned flights or the cost of shipping from stores we have here that you guys don't have up there I'm floored.

Interesting that they mentioned it. But I guess Universal is really only doing as well as they are because of Disney. I doubt they could make it on their own. So they might as well be frenemies.

I occasionally read the Universal threads here and I do know there are those who greatly prefer Universal over Disney, so they'd still do business of course. But as much? Highly doubtful. Just an out of the blue example: just as anyone can call Disney to ask a question or book a room 7 days a week from 7am until 10pm, so can TA's and we have a different #. For Universal, there is a TA # but the phone agents that are trained to specifically answer our questions/work with us are only on M-F until.......I believe 7pm. The regular line for non TA's also isn't open as many hours as Disney's' this example just shows the volume of calls they get is nowhere near as high as what Disney gets.

I've heard a lot of good things about the Boathouse, but I have the impression it's on the expensive side, like Yachtsman Steakhouse or something. What did you think of the prices?

Hmmm.......I honestly don't remember offhand the entree prices because the filet mignon sliders I got were technically an app, and cost $14.99. Maybe a little high for an app?? But a good price for an entree! And for lunch is was perfect since it came with fries. I know Cathy's salad wasn't expensive and it was a decent size, also.

These places are my weakness. I could go for one of everything! Although I have never had a candy apple.

I've never had a candy apple in Disney also! And it's been years and years since I've had a candy apple in general. I keep telling myself I'm going to get one on my next trip and then I forget about them but one of these days, a candy apple is mine

 

[ariane37]

We may have to explore more of Disney Springs in our future also.

I'm so glad I had this day, because since we literally had nothing else to do and nobody bothering us to leave, I got to go in stores I'd never been in and most likely wouldn't go in with Steve and the boys. I find it so relaxing as long as you give yourself time and don't rush.

are you not going in November this year? Was hoping you were!

Sadly no, and Steve and I are not happy about it Last year was a pain in the rear working around Ricky's school basketball schedule, and at the last minute no less since I didn't realize H.S. basketball starts in Nov. as opposed to Jr. High basketball which didn't start till Dec. And actually, once you're playing, basketball starts in Sept. So bottom line Ricky would miss a bunch of practices as well as a big tournament that's held the night before Thanksgiving, AND a tournament Thanksgiving weekend...............so no Thanksgiving trips for us the next 3 years. We considered taking a trip earlier in Nov. just the 2 of us but then I have to worry about finding Ricky rides to all his practices/workouts/open gyms etc.
But excited about your trip, it's such an awesome time to go!!!!

I can't blame her for that. And really, why I get mad that a one day ticket is so pricey!!!! I hate it!

Oh I didn't blame her at all; we bought the boys a one day ticket back in 2015 and it hurt lol!! Difference was we planned on it as opposed to Cathy. If it were me without the AP, I wouldn't have wanted to shell out the 1 day price without having planned on it!

Those french fries look soooooooo good!!!!!!

They were!

My guess is Volcano Bay!

We'll see.............

We had snow yesterday yuck,

What??? In May??? We've had snow early April but not May!!!!

How exciting about August, we will be there from 8/26-9/4, so maybe we can meet up!

!!!
Ooh, YES!!!! We will most definitely plan to meet up

We love Disney at that time of year

So do we, even though myself and the boys aren't big fans of the heat But we've been down there the past 3 years in late Aug. (last year was just Steve and I) and we've survived, plus the crowd's are fantastic.

I will be watching for your pre trip report.

Hoping to start it in the next couple weeks

Hmmm....foreshadowing...

Nice! I'm interested in hearing more about the POP Century (for now) business....yes, bc I'm nosy...lol.

I know, it's a bit different for us. Bottom line it has to do with cost and availability, but I'll go into more detail in my PTR. And, who's to say it'll still be POP by the time said PTR gets started??

I so want to eat at both of these places but the way I have our days scheduled, it doesn't really work to eat at DS.

Some seem to find it so easy to schedule time/meals in DS; I don't for whatever reason. Especially when the kids are with us. And Steve isn't a big DS fan so he always makes a face when I tell him we're going there That was one reason I pushed for Boathouse, and I gave him no choice when I booked Homecomin' for later this month. But then when he looked at the menu and saw the Moonshine Flight he got a little more excited lol.

It's a bar, right? I can't remember exactly. I guess I should just look it up. LOL. Okay so I looked it up. restaurant and bar. Seems like a cool concept but who knows if it will be open for our trip.

I had forgotten about the entertainment that's supposed to be there and after seeing the sign, I looked it up again when I got home. It looks super cool! Since it says summer I'm hopeful it'll be open for us in August but yeah, I guess it could go either way for you guys.

So glad you were able to get there. I think it would be pure torture to be in the area and not get to stop by!

Oh yeah Which is exactly what happened on our supposed-to-be-no-Disney trip in August 2015! We were off-site, just doing Universal. We went to Downtown Disney one night (I can call it that because it wasn't DS yet) and all of a sudden Steve says to the kids, "so, if we go to one Disney park, which one do you want it to be?" And that's how we ended up buying them one day tickets to the MK; couldn't be in Orlando without a little Disney

Congrats on your August trip with the boys looking forward to your next PTR

I'll be happy to have you follow along with me again!

Congrats on your August trip!!!! Hating that we won't be there that time of hear for the first time in 5 years.

And I hate that you won't be there, too; you could meet the boys, Ricky could watch Casey and the adults could enjoy a night out. Maybe they'd even bring back JB: Alive with Magic for us

That means you'll have to drink double for me.

Oh, well, OK

I forgot you had your AP on your February trip. You should have totally ditched Cathy and joined us for the day.

Believe me, this was my first thought and I did bring up hitting a Disney park more than once. Joking aside it killed me to be so close to you and not be able to hang. But, if the shoe had been on the other foot and after being "stranded" so to speak, Cathy ditched me, I would've been a bit PO'd. If Pam had stayed around I would have told them sorry, I have a friend to see! I guess I just continue to be too nice a person but I sincerely hated missing seeing you again.

 

[ariane37]

Your sliders at Boathouse look great. Humm now you have me considering making adr's.

Ha! The dangers of reading TR's and dining reports here

Yay I finally got caught up! Your training at Universal looked fun,

It was a fun experience and I'm glad I went! Hoping to do more trainings in the future; would love to do a DL one!

I'm excited that you get to go back to Disney in August!! YAYYYYY!

Me too! Hey, we both have another trip to plan now