DDA Chapter 12

[Blueeyes101817]

Well, I can definitely tell you we'll be watching that game! We're having my brother and his family for Thanksgiving, and he is a Seahawks fan. So, I'll be watching and rooting for Dallas (gotta tease the baby brother, don't ya know).

Should be a great game!!!

Sounds good! i cant wait to find out where my tickets are--my grandmother says she wants to find us in the stands so she can "see" us for thanksgiving hahahahaha

 

[bear74]

Sounds good! i cant wait to find out where my tickets are--my grandmother says she wants to find us in the stands so she can "see" us for thanksgiving hahahahaha

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

I got 2 more nights of my December trip! Now I only need one more. I have the ressie, but it is on cash. I'm hoping I can get that last night on points too!

I don't like the new DVC waitlist procedures. They will not book your waitlist on a night by night basis. For instance, I was wait-listed for Dec. 3, 4 and 5. They won't book it unless all three nights are available. You can't do night by night anymore. I just happened to call and check availability today and found out they had the 3rd and 4th available. So I booked those and now I only need the 5th!

That's terrific! At least you have the last night you need with cash in case the waitlist doesn't work out.
The waitlist is kind of squirrelly now. I guess I can *kind of* see why they do it this way, but they should leave it up to the members how they want to structure it. If you are OK with having a hole in the middle of your stay then why do they care? And in your case where the hole is at the end of your stay then it really gets irritating. It would be nice for them to add consecutive nights as they come up.

I am still on the fence about which weekend we want to go next December. I think probably the first weekend so we miss the Pop Warners. Maybe fly out late on the 3rd and home on the 7th. We shall see! It kind of depends on DH's vacation. If he bids for a December week we'll have more flexibility than just Fri - Mon, but DS can't miss too many days.

DH is REALLY, REALLY regretting being such a horse's behind about giving up our seats in August. $600 in vouchers would have made a HUGE difference in our $842 airfare for next August. I told him today DS and I may very well end up booking on Airtran or SW if American's prices stay where they are. And I don't expect them to come down, because we paid $324 for DH's ticket this year. An increase of $100 for next year isn't that hard to fathom when the airlines are in such a pinch. If they ever ask for volunteers again I am giving up my seat, along with DS's, and DH can kiss my tushy.

 

[PNO4TE]

Tammi - YAY for more nights on points. I will keep my fingers crossed that your final night comes through!

Robyn - I am glad the weekend brought some closure for your family.

 

[PNO4TE]

This morning we had an 8:00 reservation for Kona Café again. Bob loves it here and we had promised our younger daughter that we would have Tonga Toast for her on this trip. So, off we went. We split the Tonga Toast (New Item # 24) and got both the bacon and the sausage. I had Lilikoi Juice and Bob had the boring old orange juice.

We planned to meet at “our bench” at 11:30 so Bob went back to the room and I went to Epcot to shop for real this time. I made a quick stop at The BouTiki to buy a Hawaiian shirt Bob had liked. He says no one can ever be in a bad mood when wearing one of those so I buy him as many as he wants!

I rode Spaceship Earth again and then stopped at MouseGears. As I entered the door a CM came up to me and wished me a Happy Anniversary, also asking where my other half was. When I told her that he was back in the room taking a nap while I shopped she handed me a postcard of the “Partners” statue in the MK and told me I was welcome to take part in the Magical Moments program! I was allowed to fill out the postcard and address it to anyone in the USA and they would stamp it and mail it for me. This was the perfect opportunity for me to call my brother and tell him it was time to plan another family reunion to WDW like the one we had in 2007. He gave me his address and I promised to send my nephew the postcard. My brother said there would be planning going on since I was going to remind my 5 year old nephew that WDW existed again.

I bought stickers for my students, as well as gifts for two of my co-workers and another Pirates of the Caribbean plaque for my nephew’s bedroom. Had the package sent to the front of Epcot for pickup later in the day and went off to the F&W Festival Welcome Center.

I had fun here since I knew what I wanted to buy and had already checked into the shipping charges. First I got my glass of Prosecco!! Then I got the Festival cookbooks for myself and our 2 DDs, a gorgeous pewter F&W logo magnet for Bob, nice ceramic spoon rests with the logo in them for 2 other co-workers, a Ratatouille-themed children’s cookbook for my nephew and the 2009 F&W Festival wine glass for myself. There were a few other things that had caught my eye, but I decided none of those were necessary. Total bill, including shipping was only $135.94 so I thought I did very well!

Time to meet Bob! We stopped at the entrance to WS and had some PhotoPass photos done. I will have to post them later since I don’t have my CD yet. Bob grabbed a Stella Artois at Promenade Refreshments and then… POLAND! Kielbasa and Pierogies and a Chopin Vodka Raspberry Cocktail (#25) took care of our purchases there. We added an order of Spanikopita (OPA!!) from Athens, Greece and sat in the shade enjoying our food and drink. We took the boat over to Morocco and backtracked a bit to the Louisiana exhibit. Very nicely done! And the Seafood Gumbo (#26) and Praline Bread Pudding with Bourbon Caramel Sauce (#27) were both delicious. We also got a Purple Haze beer (#28) which we shared, but didn’t like as well as our DDs thought we would.

Next stop was Wellington, New Zealand. The Bay Scallops with Baby Greens and Cranberry Vinaigrette (#29) were very refreshing. We spent a little time looking at the New York State Wine Adventure kiosk but didn’t purchase anything there. We moved onto San Francisco, USA! Here we bought the Roasted Beet Salad with Goat Cheese (#30) and the Seared Beef Medallion with Cheddar Cheese Polenta (#31). They paired well with our next beer selections from the Hops and Barley kiosk: Honey Porter for Bob and the 13th Annual Festival Lager (#32) for me. I loved this beer. I liked the spiciness of it and found it to be different in taste from SA’s Seasonal offering right now. Maybe it was my expectation that it was going to be different or maybe it really IS different. We both agreed that the beet salad and the beef medallion were some of the best we had sampled in the past two days. We sat in the area near the fountain at the American Pavilion and met a delightful couple from Wisconsin with whom we shared our picnic table. The four of us got a little teary-eyed at the Fife and Drum Corps presentation we watched. It always gets to me.

Along WS we sauntered, stopping next at Cork, Ireland. We got the Boxty with Bacon Chips and Kerrygold Garlic & Fresh Herb Butter (#33) as well as the Irish Cheese Selection which included Reserve Cheddar (#34), Dubliner, and Invernia Cheeses (#35) served with Apple Chutney and Brown Bread. Bob got a Guiness to go with these items. Both foods were good but the cheeses were especially good. We couldn’t finish them all so we packaged them up to add to our stash from last night. We knew they would work perfectly for breakfast the next morning.

Before going any further in our travels I noticed a PhotoPass photographer near the Venice-like harbor area in Italy. Bob was hesitant, but finally agreed to have some photos done. This guy was a character! We didn’t do all the things he wanted us to do (Bob said we had been married over 35 years and didn’t do that stuff anymore, which stopped the photographer in his tracks. Mission accomplished! )

In Italy we got our final offerings of the day. Dessert! Cream Puffs with Marcarpone and Gianduja Chocolate (#36) along with a Moretti beer for Bob and a glass of Tantinel Prosecco (#37) for me. We had finished more today than we thought we would so we were very happy! We planned to complete the circuit tomorrow for a light dinner before leaving for the airport about 4:30.

We took the boat from Germany and started out of Epcot (I did remember to pick up our package!), but I managed to catch a few shots to add to our collection:

Dinner tonight was at 6:30 at Yachtsman Steakhouse. Bob had a short nap while I started to do some packing. We had the car brought around about 5:30 and made the short trip over to the Yacht Club. We stopped at the Crew’s Cup Lounge since we were early. Bob had a SA Seasonal and I had a brand new wine! Magicale, Brachetto, Piemonte DOC NV (#38). It is a lot like Banfi’s Rosa Regale but a little less expensive. It had its US debut in May 2008, at a dinner at the James Beard House in New York which featured Disney chefs. It will apparently only be available in the US at Disney Theme Parks and Resorts and the Cruise Line.

Our table was ready right on time and, once again, we received a personalized menu:

Our server, Bill Martin, was super. He said he knew we were celebrating and wanted us to know he was not going to rush us. We were to let him know when we wanted to move on with the courses. That was a refreshing change! I started my meal with the Lobster Bisque, served with Maine Lobster and Creme Fraiche finished with Brandy and Bob tried it, but wasn’t impressed. Silly man! It is one of my favorites. We chose the Chateaubriand for Two, an 18-ounce tenderloin served with Bearnaise, Mashed Potatoes, and Sauteed Mushrooms to which Bob added an order of the Rainbow Carrots in Honey-herb Butter. I like my meat less well done than Bob does but that did not present a problem for the chef at all. It was perfectly cooked for both of us: medium rare for me and medium well for Bob. I had a glass of Woop Woop Shiraz and Bob had another SA. We took a long time enjoying this meal. We had been seated in the circular room with windows so it was a lovely place to sit and savor the food. We couldn’t eat it all! And then Bill brought out a trio of chocolate desserts that were amazing. There was a mango mousse, a small lava cake and something else that neither of us can remember! They were all wonderful and again, we couldn’t finish them. We had a glass of Magicale with dessert as well as coffee. We will ask for Bill again. He was a wonderful server and made the evening memorable.

After we drove back to the Polynesian we did a little more packing and I decided to try to get some nighttime shots from our balcony.

And then… the fireworks started! What a way to end the last night of our stay!

 

[bear74]

Elin I love the fireworks shots. None of mine turned out.

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

Robyn - Glad your weekend wasn't too bad!

Elin - Yay for more TR! Can't wait to see your PhotoPass shots, too!

 

[PNO4TE]

I hate today.

I am never ready to leave WDW, and I wake up in a lousy mood. I decided to go out on the balcony and watch WDW wake up to see if my mood improved. It did:

I brewed a pot of Kona coffee and ran over to the Kona Island Coffee Bar to grab 2 croissants and some fruit. When I got back Bob was awake and we shared our cheeses and the fruit and pastries. I finished the packing and he had his shower. While he was in the shower I called and booked the Bounceback Offer that was in the room for next October. We decided to come the beginning of October rather than the first week of F&W Festival. Our APs will still be good and there may be a better offer down the road. But for now we will be at BWI October 2-8, 2009, with free dining (but I think FREE DINING will probably be over by then). I am hoping to change the resort to the Beach Club sometime in the next 12 months because it is so convenient to the International Gateway, but there were no rooms there or at the YC for the dates we wanted.

We sadly bid our room with a view adieu and took our luggage over to the GCH for airline check-in. It went pretty well, but they were unable to print our boarding passes so we knew we needed to leave a little earlier in the afternoon to make certain all was OK. We left our carry-on bags with the valet and took the monorail over to Epcot. We had an 11:30 reservation at Bob’s favorite – Le Cellier. I took some photos of BLT as we went by. Boy that place is HUGE!

When we arrived at Canada we were a couple of minutes early so I took some more photos:

We were in the first seating of the day so I caught the CMs doing something I had never seen before. They sing O, Canada! at the beginning of every day there. I never knew that before!

We had never noticed that the hinges on the wine cellar were maple leaves before!

Bob and I both agreed that we were not very hungry. So, we decided to order from the Chef’s Favorites prix fixe menu. We got the bowl of Canadian Cheddar Cheese Soup (for Bob), the Shaved Prime Rib Sandwich on toasted ciabatta with Black Diamond Cheddar and Horesradish sauce (#39), and the Maple Crème Brulee for dessert. We added a cup of soup for me and we each had a beer: Moosehead for Bob and Trois Pistoles for me.

This was the first table service meal where our server (Jesse) didn’t wish us a Happy Anniversary. We were still wearing our buttons so we thought that a little strange. We liked the sandwich very much and would order it again. It was the perfect amount of food for the two of us to share. Jesse cleared our plates and started out with our dessert. But along with the dessert he brought:

And …

He hadn’t forgotten at all! All the CMs at Le Cellier had signed the certificate. What a magical way for our trip to end. In fact, we decided that we didn’t want any more to eat or drink and just wanted to spend some quiet time by the pool at the Poly. So that is just what we did! We left Epcot (I had tears in my eyes, as usual) and took the monorail back to get our things from the valet. We found a table right next to the pool and spent 2 hours just lounging around and reading. It was 95 degrees that day. Easy weather for nap-taking too.

We asked for our car at 4:15 and after filling up at the Hess Station drove to MCO without a hitch. Turned in the car and went to print our boarding passes at the kiosk. Mine was fine. Bob’s itinerary could not be found anywhere! We got into line and a very nice CS rep came up and asked if we needed help. We explained our problem and he quickly found what was wrong. Seems Delta had changed our itinerary AGAIN and it was not followed through on his reservation for some reason. Luckily there was room for him on the plane and the agent actually guaranteed us the entire row to ourselves. Since the flight was almost full that was a nice thing. We again had connection problems in Atlanta on the way home but we dealt with it. We arrived in Richmond at about 11:30 p.m. and it was only 48 degrees there! I was still in my shorts and tank top. Brrrrrrrrrrrrrr…… By the time our luggage arrived and we got our car and got out onto the highway it was midnight. We arrived home to a completely lit house at 1:15 a.m. Our younger DD had stayed up to see us. I think she and the dog missed us a little.

We had a spectacular vacation. We surpassed our New Item Requirement!! The room was wonderful, the food and drinks were divine and the people were enchanting. Our faith in Disney was reaffirmed. We still think it is one of the best places to spend our entertainment dollars. We can’t wait for December!!!

Thanks for reading.

 

[PNO4TE]

Elin I love the fireworks shots. None of mine turned out.

Mine never turn out like fireworks shots, Jennifer. they always turn out like some kind of modern art! But I liked them and kept them. Thanks for enjoying them!

 

[bear74]

Mine never turn out like fireworks shots, Jennifer. they always turn out like some kind of modern art! But I liked them and kept them. Thanks for enjoying them!

i think I had the camera on the wrong setting as I always got the part as it was fading.

We considered bounce back but we really wanted to go back in Nov. and that was not available according to the flier in our room.

 

[bear74]

never mind I found the answer.

 

[tink2020]

He says no one can ever be in a bad mood when wearing one of those so I buy him as many as he wants!

How nice that you got so much pixie dust for your anniversary! Your trip report is making me desperate to go to the F&WF! (And Bob has more my taste in beer. I had a Stella last night! )


It does sound like a perfect last full day! :

 

[tink2020]

Elin, you've put me in a rotten mood! Instead of giving me a fix, your trip report made me SO homesick!

Really though, it was great!



Jennifer, the family suites are at ASMu, yes. :

 

[my3princes]

Oh, we did!!!! It was incredible!!! Have you ever tried any other flavors besides chocolate? I'm thinking it would be really good with spice cake and butterscotch pudding, etc. Lots of variations come to mind. And the fact that I can do it in the crockpot makes it even better.

I haven't tried any other combos. We love the apple pie filling and spice cake though

Elin Great Report. I'm glad that everything was so special for you

Tom you are such a wonderful person. I aspire to be like you

 

[bear74]

Elin, you've put me in a rotten mood! Instead of giving me a fix, your trip report made me SO homesick!

Really though, it was great!



Jennifer, the family suites are at ASMu, yes. :

thanks I found the info I was looking for on mousesavers. I had thought about getting a suite instead of 2 rooms at Movies or PC. But it is 20 cheaper before tax for 2 rooms.

 

[tink2020]

thanks I found the info I was looking for on mousesavers. I had thought about getting a suite instead of 2 rooms at Movies or PC. But it is 20 cheaper before tax for 2 rooms.

Yeah, isn't that strange? We thought about doing that when we took my mom and sister last September and stayed at a value the first night, assuming one room - even a suite - would be cheaper than 2. We were surprised to find that it wasn't, and since we got connecting rooms, it was the same amount of space but with 2 bathrooms and more privacy! The only thing I would consider is the option of the kitchenette, whether that makes a difference. If not, then I'd go for the 2 rooms!

 

[my3princes]

We were up and running this morning. We went to camp at 9 am and fell, limbed and cut enough trees for about 3-4 cord of wood. That is over half of what we needed to accomplish before snowfall. Mind you we are cutting next years wood and this is for my parents. The boys were strongly encouraged to help today and they did better than I expected. I feel that it is really important to teach them good work ethics now not to mention the importance of helping family. My parents were very happy to have us all helping. Of course we have an old beater truck there so the kids are being taught to drive it. It's a standard so the experience is priceless and there isn't anything that they could possible hurt (if you saw the truck you'd know what I mean). Nick and Hunter can do it by themselves (with close adult supervison) and Colby sits on Chris' lap.

Now I need to go pick up some groceries or the kids won't have lunch this week.

 

[my3princes]

thanks I found the info I was looking for on mousesavers. I had thought about getting a suite instead of 2 rooms at Movies or PC. But it is 20 cheaper before tax for 2 rooms.

It reminds me of car rentals. I could book 4 midsize cars for the price of one van

 

[bear74]

Yeah, isn't that strange? We thought about doing that when we took my mom and sister last September and stayed at a value the first night, assuming one room - even a suite - would be cheaper than 2. We were surprised to find that it wasn't, and since we got connecting rooms, it was the same amount of space but with 2 bathrooms and more privacy! The only thing I would consider is the option of the kitchenette, whether that makes a difference. If not, then I'd go for the 2 rooms!

i thought about that. Hopefully when we finally decide when we are going, a fridge swap will still be going and we can get one that will help out. I will check with my mom and see what she thinks.

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

Has anybody ever tried to name their own price for airline tickets on Princeline? The biggest pitfall I can see is that DS and I might end up flying out of Dallas really late and essentially lose our first day. So I would almost have to bid to fly out on Thursday and spend one night at Pop before DH arrives Friday AM. Coming home I am sure we would get stuck with the dark o'clock AM flight, but if we can get it dirt cheap it might be worth it. What do you all think? If I do it the tickets we end up with are absolute - no changes, no cancellation, no transfers, no nothing.