Disney Barbie's TR.July'09-14 nights at the Yacht Club! updated 11/21 pg6 COMPLETE!

[heaven2dc]

I feel so bad for you that your DBF's family isn't "getting" WDW! You have put so much effort in planning this trip and it's disheartening when others don't get the Magic. You are a real trooper to still enjoy yourself (I love that Tink is into it all!)

How sweet that you were thinking of the family when you planned dinner at Rose & Crown!

 

[disneybarbie]

I feel so bad for you that your DBF's family isn't "getting" WDW! You have put so much effort in planning this trip and it's disheartening when others don't get the Magic. You are a real trooper to still enjoy yourself (I love that Tink is into it all!)

How sweet that you were thinking of the family when you planned dinner at Rose & Crown!

I think you need to go back on a trip with your boyfriend, just the two of you

"When life gets you down, you know what ya gotta do? Just keep swimming, just keep swimming!" Oh how I love Dory from Finding Nemo

Sorry to hear you were with a bunch of lumpy grumps I hope they perk up at that other Orlando resort theme park... but we both know that WDW is just SO much better!!!!

"Lumpy Grumps".... love it! great quote from Dory too

That sounds and looks the THE perfect gift basket!! At least for me! I love Moet & Chandon! Its a one of the best champagnes. Lindt and Ghirardelli are my #1 favorite chocolates too!!

What you do with those Gerty Glooms is you fill them up with gin & tonics!!

Steve & I love Moet too! especially the pink version, we get that as a special treat (Birthdays, christmas eve etc) as it's soo expensive, but worth it!

Thank you all for your kind words... writing up this TR is bringing back all the bad memories of what should've been an amazing wdw vacation.. but they all seemed so negative & I was taking every complaint about wdw personally (you'd think I work for Mickey!! )
We had a really bad day coming up of complaints and arguing ... which luckily turned out amazing & happy, due to a surprise I planned phew!

I'm looking forward to returning later this year, just with my sister (another Disney nut!!) and I know Steve & I will be heading back to the World one day soon ... he loves it there now, and I'd think we'd go Sept/Oct again, for Food & Wine Festival, MNSSHP & lower crowd levels!

Will get on with next day asap!

luv & pixie dust, Emma x x

 

[FauntleroyFAN07]

new here, sorry to hear about all the complaints from the rest of the group, i dont think it is just disney that adds the automatic tips onto the bill for larger parties, all the restaurants around us do that automatically, i think it is more to make it easier on the customer, i actually feel that is there loss on adding the 18 percent, most of the people we go out with and know tip usually over 18 percent so they are just lossing money out on us.

 

[disneybarbie]

new here, sorry to hear about all the complaints from the rest of the group, i dont think it is just disney that adds the automatic tips onto the bill for larger parties, all the restaurants around us do that automatically, i think it is more to make it easier on the customer, i actually feel that is there loss on adding the 18 percent, most of the people we go out with and know tip usually over 18 percent so they are just lossing money out on us.

Welcome!

Thanks for your comments.. I tried to explain to them it wasn't just Disney that added 18% - in fact, most restaurants in the UK add a gratuity for larger parties, but here it's usually 10-12% -as we don't tip as much!
It became pretty awkward at the end of every meal that the tipping was an issue ... especially when we always had excellent servers & meals ?!

Emma x

 

[WLfamily]

Emma I know it's disappointing when you put so much of yourself into the planning and have so many expectations and others just don't understand. We just have to face the fact that some people aren't Disney people. That is VERY hard for those of us who are. My mother asked me one time what is so great about Disney when it's just another theme park. OMG! Was she kidding or what?

You gave it your best shot and now you know that future trips need to be reserved for those that appreciate Disney the way you do. Don't let these Damper Dan's bring you down. It's them that are missing out on something amazing, not us because we get it. Oh, and by the way, I love all the Disney knowledge that you share even if it is bordering on Disney-geek-dom!!

 

[disneybarbie]

Emma I know it's disappointing when you put so much of yourself into the planning and have so many expectations and others just don't understand. We just have to face the fact that some people aren't Disney people. That is VERY hard for those of us who are. My mother asked me one time what is so great about Disney when it's just another theme park. OMG! Was she kidding or what?

You gave it your best shot and now you know that future trips need to be reserved for those that appreciate Disney the way you do. Don't let these Damper Dan's bring you down. It's them that are missing out on something amazing, not us because we get it. Oh, and by the way, I love all the Disney knowledge that you share even if it is bordering on Disney-geek-dom!!

Thank you .. these were the thoughts I was having that night watching Illuminations.. I enjoy WDW (and everything Disney!) way too much to have it dampened in any way.
My next trip will be with my DS who definitely appreciates Disney like I do!

Here comes the next day.. sorry for the delay, I've had to make a start on my studying for next accounting exams, yuck!

Emma x

 

[disneybarbie]

Day 9 – Universal Studios, Winter Summerland mini golf & Sanaa
July 17th 2009

Once again we left the Magic at 8.30am and headed to…

This time I was a little more excited about the day as I like UO a little more than IoA… I’d visited the Studios on my first vacation to Orlando back in 1993 so it has some nostalgia for me.

We ended up parking in Jaws parking lot again (!) so after a 15 minute walk we got to City Walk and turned right to UO (at this point it’s very obvious to see 80% of guests heading to IoA and 20% to the Studios! I wonder if the new rollercoaster will change this..)
We got through the turnstiles and headed straight to the newest ride…

I had really enjoyed the Back to the Future ride that was situated here before the Simpsons came to Universal.. but I really liked the new theming of the area.

I must say the ride is very good… it works well if you love the Simpsons and have seen nearly every episode (me & Steve!) or have never watched it before (DBFD & DBFM lol)
The whole attraction is very very similar to BttF was … queue, preshow, ride vehicle… but the film shown is much crisper & the movements are much less sudden & rough than the old ride.
Apart from Gaston & I, the family had never ridden BttF (they’d missed it out on their previous visits to UO!) so they weren’t aware of how similar it was to the previous ride…. DBFD decided it was even more advanced than the Spiderman ride at IoA, but I had to disagree!

Next we headed to Men in Black, again, a well-themed area – although I can’t have seen the movie in over 10 years so I was a little hazy on the storyline!
I had to put my bag in a locker.. this is a very good system at UO although wouldn’t be needed at WDW as the rides are all suited to taking bags & belongings on with you (well done Imagineering!)
Next to the Mummy Ride..

this was new for me as last time I’d visited (2002) it had been the King Kong ride…. This was very very good, although not very long! I would have liked to do it again as I missed a lot of the details as I was pretty scared of what was going to happen next lol.

Up next was Shrek 4D… I think this was the Alfred Hitchcock show last time I was at UO??
This was the first long line we encountered during the day.. although it was probably only 25 minutes. When we did get into the theatre, we thought we were going to have to stand up as there were no seats!! …. Luckily steve noticed a HUGE batch of empty seats over on the right-hand side of the theatre (nope.. no one at Universal to tell you to “keep moving all the way to your right and fill in EVERY available seat” !!)
The show was ok, not quite as good as we were expecting – the moving seats were noisy and reminded me of a terrible 3D show/simulator I’d been to in a small theme park in Spain!
Tink & Belle met Shrek & Donkey after the show, this was a nice area & I was impressed by how accurate Donkey’s voice was to the real character!

I suggested we headed back around to the ET Adventure, the park still felt relatively quiet (everyone else was probably at IoA!)… I love this ride, again because I can remember it so clearly from my first trip… no one else had ridden it before, and I got the feeling it was too ‘tame’ for them (no sudden drops or loop-the-loops!)
We also witnessed something quite unpleasant that would definitely NOT happen in WDW!
When we were in line to give in our names for the ‘passport’ for ET… I over heard two teenage girls in front of us giving their names.. the first one said “Hannah”… and the next one said “Montana” (hehe)… the staff member said (quite abruptly) “Your name is NOT Montana!!”… then we went through, gave our names in…. then the family behind us, the Dad was taken photos with his cellphone – the staff member literally yells at him “NO PHOTOS!” … they end up having an argument.. he says something like “Oh God” or “Oh Jesus” .. she then gets even madder and tells him not to use the lord’s name in vain.. next thing we know… the guy and his family are being escorted out of the ride, possibly out of the park!!!!!!
Anyway…. We walked through the forest and got on our bikes, saved ET and went to his planet bizarre incident though! Can you imagine a CM reacting like that to a guest?!

We walked round to The Simpsons ride again & the queue was only 10 minutes, so we rode again! There’s so many jokes in it that it was good to ride it a second time.
We stopped for lunch at Richter’s, near the Disaster attraction – I had a grilled chicken salad (no nuts this time, phew!) and the others had burgers.

We left US then, there were still some attractions I would like to have done (disaster, horror makeup show, Terminator 3D, Jaws etc)… but no one else seemed keen.
On the way back, DBFD suggested we go play mini-golf again.. rather than returning to Fantasia Gardens again, I said we could try Winter Summerland course, near Blizzard Beach – as we were already in the car.

This was a really cute course, I loved the festive theming! Did seem a bit odd to be listening to Christmas songs in July when it was sooo hot outside!
This was a much easier mini-golf course (we did the winter one) as once the balls got within a few inches of the hole, they would nearly always go in… which is great for me who is not the best golfer!

We headed back to the YC and spent a few hours at the pool, Steve & I found some sunbeds up on the decked area (above Hurricane Hanna’s café & bar), it was very very hot so we decided to get a lemonade & a Mickey bar to cool off!
A storm was approaching so the pool was closed at about 4.30pm (it was interesting to watch how quickly and efficiently the life-guards coordinate the pool closing!) … so we headed back to our room & got ready to go out for dinner.

I was particularly excited about the meal tonight as we were going to Sanaa.. the new Indian/African restaurant at Kidani Village, Animal Kingdom Villas.
This was a spontaneous ADR choice – there’d been no availability at Mama Melrose’s on this night so I’d booked Sanaa (it wasn’t even open then!)

We got the boat to DHS & then a bus to AKL (it was sat waiting for us at the studios bus stop!)
The family were very impressed with the resort & how authentic it looked.
I had been to AKL in 2002 for dinner at Jiko, and I liked seeing the Kidani Village extension.
We had a look around and then got a drink from the bar, I’d deliberately planned to get to AKL an hour before our reservation time (8pm) so that we could take a look at the resort.
Most of the others tried a beer called Blue Moon that the barman recommended, he also suggested they put a slice of orange in it – which they said was very good! I had a long island iced tea which was yummy (I decided I needed a strong drink so that I didn’t get upset about the family not ‘getting it’ like I had the night before! Lol)

The meal was absolutely wonderful, possibly the best of the whole vacation – and for once, everyone seemed to have a great time.. there was not even any complaints about the 18% gratuity, wow!!

We had a lovely server, the food was fantastic (we shared the breads to begin..

then I had a white fish cooked in a banana leaf

).
While we were eating, a herd of giraffe’s walked by.. it was amazing!

Just before we left the resort, some of the group went to the restrooms so I took the opportunity to browse the gift shop… I found a lovely white mug with the “Tigger is that you?” print on it, so I just had to buy it!
The CM who served me noticed my Dis LGMH on my purse and said “oh, a Mickey!”… lol. She also asked if I was going to a party, as I was wearing a dress & had my hair done.. I think it kinda noticed that we got ‘dressed up’ for our evening meals each night?!
We got a bus to DTD and then to the YC… it was a slow bus & very crowded… Steve and I got off at the Swan and walked around the lake to the YC.. much more relaxing than being cramped on the bus! The rest of the family remained on the bus though, I don’t think they quite understood why we were getting off.

Back to the YC for a good night’s sleep.

Tomorrow… Golfing for the boys, Pool for the girls.. more mini golf & then Pub #2 for dinner!

Emma x x

 

[disneybarbie]

Day 10 – Boys Play Golf, Girls go to Storm Along Bay… more mini golf & Raglan Road for dinner.

Saturday July 18th 2009

Steve, Gaston & DBFD set off for their second game off golf at 9am, today I’d booked them a round at Lake Buena Vista – Steve had seen some of the course when we’d stayed at Saratoga Springs last October.

The girls decided that they wanted a relaxing morning (finally!) so we headed down to Storm Along Bay. At that time of the day, the pool area is more or less empty (unlike the afternoons) so we easily found 4 sunbeds under some palm trees.

I went to get breakfast from the Ale & Compass lounge in the YC lobby (excellent selection for a quick breakfast!) – I had a blueberry muffin, a banana & a coffee. No one else wanted any breakfast, but I can’t miss it!

We spent the morning reading our books & some of the celebrity magazine I’d bought a few days ago at Walmart.
It was cute to watch the kid’s activities that were organised by the pool lifeguards… we saw a diving game, a hoola hoop contest & (best of all!) a Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus karaoke competition.. one girl was so adorable, she can only have been about 4 years old and I think she just wanted to hold a microphone – she was meant to sing “The Climb” song, but the only lyrics she knew were “CLIMB!!” which she sang really loud every time the chorus came around!

We got lunch from Hurricane Hanna’s (SaB pool snack bar).. I had a chicken flatbread which was very light & delicious, another guest sitting nearby actually came over to ask me what it was because he thought it looked really good!
Not long after eating, a storm was approaching – so the CM lifeguards had to close the pool area, we went back to our rooms – I watched the Disney Channel for a little while & ironed some of Steve’s t-shirts (on vacation!! Lol)
The boys got back just before 3pm, they’d had a good game and enjoyed the course a little more than Magnolia as the grass hadn’t been as wet, and another guest who was checking out of SSR gave them (for free!) a cooler box filled with beers! ... wdw sure makes people generous & want to spread the Magic!

A group decision was made to go to do Fantasia Gardens for the afternoon (you may have guessed that the mini golf was proving to be a favourite activity!) … I didn’t start too well, everyone was telling me “just hit the ball really hard and fast Emma”… so I did, and …. It hit Gaston right on the shoulder! he was fine though and everyone laughed.. for the rest of the game though I shouted "fore!" before every shot

After mini golf, we went back to the YC to shower & change, then got the bus to DTD at 6pm.

We had a walk right around the market place, through Pleasure Island and to the West Side.. DBFD really liked the Starabilia shop there and spent quite a while looking around. I had a browse around but then stood outside and watched the Characters in Flight balloon lift off… I really want to go on this one day!

We walked back to PI and went into Raglan Road for a drink at the bar, we were a bit early for our ADR time (8pm) but I checked in anyway at the CM gave us a buzzer.
This was the only ADR I had made via the online system – originally we were going to eat at Akershus this evening but I’d cancelled that because Cinderella wasn’t with us, and I sensed that DBFD & M were nervous about trying Norwegian food?

We waited about 30 minutes until our buzzer went off & we were seated at our table – we had a really lovely server, who suggested we order appetizers first then he’d come back to take our entrée orders (which we later realised was because the kitchen at RR is fast!). Steve & I shared the Smokie City to begin, we’d had this before in October and really wanted to eat it again!
The entrees did come out a bit too quickly; I didn’t know if this was because it was a Saturday night and they were trying to turn the tables quickly?
For my main meal I had ‘it’s not bleeding chowder’ which was excellent, sort of a seafood & fish medley.

DBFM, Belle & Tink all ordered the same thing from the 'lite' menu (I was surprised as I’d checked the menu when planning the vacation and thought they’d like a lot of things at RR), which was a large Portobello mushroom grilled with cheese.. although it wasn’t at all what they were expecting and Steve actually said when the waiter bought them out “I didn’t see burgers on the menu!” … the mushroom were served in big buns with huge fries (That looked yummy IMO!), proper ‘chips’ as we call them! … but the girls were not impressed at all and barely ate a thing.
Overall, the family didn’t seem to like the restaurant at all, said it was too noisy, food not nice & service too quick… but Steve & I really enjoyed our meals, I had thought the others would have liked it too as they like ‘gastro pubs’ back home & (again) I thought they’d like the ‘simple’ British/Irish food on offer… complete contrast from Sanaa the night before!!

After dinner we walked back through the market place to the bus stop. DTD was very busy (I guessed a lot of locals come to DTD on a weekend as well as the vacationers) – got a bus back to the YC, it seemed quite slow so Steve & I got off at the Swan and walked again.. I really enjoy that walk around the lake, it’s so peaceful!

Coming up tomorrow… a ‘free’ day so let’s .. go back to DHS?!

Emma x x

 

[disneybarbie]

Day 11 – July 19th 2009

Hollywood, here we come (again!) … and dinner at Spoodles

Today DBFD decided that we should return to DHS for a day – I was a bit surprised at this because we’d already visited the park on three occasions during the vacation & would be back there in a few days time for our Fantasmic dinner package… also, we’d only visited AK once so far & I felt there were a lot more attractions we had yet to do, and we hadn’t been to Blizzard Beach either… never mind, as long as we were staying on property, I was happy!
So we walked over to the Studios

and arrived in time to see the rope drop ceremony – this always makes me smile! We were headed for TSMM first, although the others were edging further & further to the right-hand side, Steve was worried they’d get carried away with the crowds that were headed to ToT and RnRC!
Luckily they caught up with us once the rope was dropped & we walked straight onto TSMM, straight afterwards we got FPs (the queue for these seemed to have disappeared after the initial rush!). Next to ToT
('entrance' to the Hollywood Tower Hotel)

& RnRC (Steve and I got front row for the first time!) – Belle wanted to get breakfast from the Sunset Ranch market as she’d seen filled bagels on the menu & wanted to try one. The others ordered these (then moaned about the bacon being too crispy and the eggs ‘funny’).. I opted for an orange juice & a cinnamon danish that was huge, sticky, sickly.. and absolutely delicious!

Next we did Star Tours, then used our FPs for TSMM, next to watch the Indiana Jones Stunt Show – unfortunately, about halfway through the casts’ microphones stopped working, so they had to end the show!

We had an early lunch at 12pm at the Backlot Express - even though we’d just had breakfast at nearly 10.30am?! Steve & I just shared a soda; others had pulled pork sandwiches.
Unfortunately, Tink had a huge tantrum over accidentally spilling her drink (sometimes she acts about 8 not 18!) … it should’ve been funny, but no one was ‘in the mood’ to laugh it seemed lol.

Next to the shop near the Backlot Tour (I could see Mike Wazowski at a Meet & Greet which made me happy!)

I encouraged everyone to head to One Man’s Dream next (new for everyone & they actually commented later that they’d enjoyed it.. finally an attraction that wasn’t fast/scary that they liked!)….
(a hidden mickey ...)

Then to Lights Motors Action – really good, this always seems slightly different each time we see it.
After, DBFD decided he wanted an icecream, so I lead the way to Gerty’s .. but, apparently, he wanted a ‘scooped’ icecream and not a ‘whipped’ one?! So we went back down to Sunset Boulevard where they served the ‘correct’ icecream, lol. Steve & I stopped at Starring Roll Café for our lunch – we shared a ham sandwich which was Huge & also a frozen lemonade from the Ranch, perfect on a humid July day.
(me in my Paris Hilton/Wonka-vision sunglasses.... with Gaston looking thoughtful in the background!)

The park was noticably busier, and sky clouding over..

so we headed back to the Boardwalk – DBFD suggested we stop at the Big River Grille for a drink, we all agreed except Tink who went back to her room (she was really unimpressed the whole vacation that she couldn’t be served alcohol in America.. but she did know this before we came on holiday to the USA! The law’s the law!)

I went to the YC shop to buy a few snacks & souvenirs (‘Fixtures & Fittings’ is a great Resort shop! ) then back to the rooms then met up later to have a few drinks before dinner at Spoodles, on the way, Gaston helped a family get over the bridge in their Surrey Bike!

I was a little concerned about this meal as the menu had changed to a buffet-style after I’d made the ADR (due to Kouzzina restaurant taking its place later this year).

Tink was still not in a good mood, she complained she was cold & tired, and actually put her head down on the bar, as if she was trying to sleep! (I know if I’d ever have done this as a kid, my parents would’ve sent me to my room to go to bed)! ).. the rest of us were having a nice time though..

We made a dash to the restaurant as there was a heavy rain storm! … while waiting for our table we were entertained by a magician – he was really good and let Gaston keep the pack of cards he was using!

It turned out I had no reason to worry about the choice of restaurant, the food was still excellent & everyone enjoyed it – DBFM & Belle really like Italian food so they were pleased we ate there (as I hadn’t left a night free for us to go to Olive Garden (!!) – but, again, no one told me when I was vacation-planning that they wanted to eat there)

We discussed what we could do tomorrow… I suggested Blizzard Beach as a nice relaxing morning then DTD shopping .. but the others all wanted to go back to US …AGAIN!
I was really tempted to suggest to Steve that we didn’t go with them & do our own thing together (back to AK, or MK.. anywhere but leave WDW!) … we didn’t say anything though – and looking back I wish I did, due to the events that happened the next day!

Seeing Illuminations on the walk back to the YC..

Coming up… a pretty miserable day which turned out truly magical – including a DIS meet & the Biggest surprise of the vacation!!

Emma x x

 

[Sweet Pea UK]

I cannot believe how similar your vacation was to the one I had with my In-Laws! It will be really spooky if you fall out at US as that was where we did!!!

 

[disneybarbie]

I cannot believe how similar your vacation was to the one I had with my In-Laws! It will be really spooky if you fall out at US as that was where we did!!!

ooh that is spooky... wait and see what happened at Universal the next day!!

Emma x x

 

[disneybarbie]

Day 12 – a bad trip to Universal…. Followed by the most magical evening of the vacation!

July 20th 2009 – part 1
Now today was the day that I had planned the biggest surprise of the vacation – I had dreamed about it for months.. not only were Steve & I going to surprise the family with an Illuminations Cruise after dinner, but I was going to meet a DIS friend & her husband, who had just arrived in wdw that day for their Disneymoon!

However.. the day did not start off in a ‘magical’ way.. at all.

First off – Steve and I got up around 7.30am (plan had been to meet at 8.30am to head off to Universal), we got ready, made coffee, drank the coffee.. and waited .. and waited – no one came to our door to see if we were ready to go? It got to 8.45am & still nothing, Steve said ‘maybe they went without us’… and I felt really bad for thinking it, but I kinda was hoping they had because then Steve & I could do our own thing together for the day… but I would also have been annoyed if they had gone off without telling us!!

By this point in the vacation we were all suffering with a bit of ‘cabin fever’ – spending so much time together, pretty much 24/7, was just a bit too much – I don’t think you can have a group of seven adults and expect to everyone to want to do the same thing?!
Turned out they hadn’t gone yet.. so we joined them in the corridor & made our way to the car, ready to drive out to Universal… the others wanted to ride their favourites at IoA and US.
The weather today was odd… it was really cloudy and ‘only’ about 80 degrees which felt pretty cool compared to a normal Florida July day (Making me nervous about the cruise later.. what if it rained?!)

We went to IoA first and rode Spiderman, then the dragons…. Then we left the park & headed to the Studios to ride Simpsons.
(Madagascar penguins.. "cute and cuddly boys..." !)

By this time it was about 12pm and the others wanted to get hotdogs for lunch from a vendor by the Simpson ride… I’m not really a ‘junk food’ person & in wdw this is no problem because they always have some healthier options (salads, wraps etc) – so I said it was no problem & I’d get something to eat later, Steve said he wasn’t hungry yet either so we’d grab something further around the park.

We went into an italian deli place near the Mummy ride, but there was the biggest line ever, so we walked back out…. Suddenly, out of nowhere.. DBFD shouts at Steve “stop being so miserable, we’re leaving… we didn’t come here for you to be miserable!”.. and frog-marches us all towards the exit. I was completely shocked.. I didn’t know where this had come from, Steve was being a bit quiet during the morning (he’d had words with his Dad the night before about something trivial, but it was nothing serious and, again, I think it was the cabin fever-effect of spending too much time together!!) …. DBFM then tells us him that “your Dad spent a LOT of money on this holiday so you can’t be miserable!”.. this totally took me by surprise too because I’ve always been told – you can’t buy happiness!!

Also, tink & DBFM had had several sulks and tantrums during the vacation & nothing had been said to them… certainly nothing as dramatic as marching out of a park!!

So we went back to the YC… the mood was pretty awful & I was even more nervous about the cruise now… I seemed to have done something wrong too (‘guilty by association’ as steve put it!) and the others were barely talking to me either.

Once back at the hotel, steve & I left them and headed to the BC Marketplace for lunch.. we were pretty hungry by then & soo relieved to get away from the bad mood that seemed to have enveloped the rest of the group!
We ate our lunch by Storm Along Bay (which was great by the way.. I had a design-your-own salad & steve had a roast beef sub!) and had a bit of a moan about the family.. Steve could totally see things from my point of view and agreed that they weren’t ‘getting it’ in wdw and often had a bad attitude about things (I love my guy!!). We thought about walking over to Epcot world showcase for the afternoon, just the two of us, but kinda knew that if we did that.. whatever issue the family had with us would just get worse.. so we went to get our pool things & found them on some sunbeds by Storm Along Bay – we spent a few hours there, no one really spoke to each other, I just read my book, listened to my iPod, and prayed that everyone would be in a better mood this evening!!

We went back to the rooms to get ready, then met the others in the lobby to walk around to the BC, for dinner at Cape May Café 
On the walk there, DBFM suddenly decides she wants to stop for a drink before dinner at the bar, Martha’s Vineyard… it was about 5 minutes til our ADR time so I was pretty annoyed and couldn’t understand why she wanted to get a drink here when we were just about to go for dinner… only reason I could think of was that she thought that by ordering drinks at a bar would mean they didn’t have to pay the 18% gratuity that they all hated paying so much?! (although most bars we went to added a gratuity too!)
As luck would have it, the bar tender was working very slowly and DBFD said we should probably go to the restaurant, phew!

We were handed a buzzer and waited about 5 minutes in the BC lobby, I had stayed here in 1998 so it as nice to see it again & compare the décor to the YC. I was also keeping an eye out for WLFamily from the July thread (I knew from the ADR list she was meant to be there at about the same time as us) but I couldn’t quite remember her family’s picture from the thread… d’oh!

So I was trying to decide at what point to tell everyone that steve & I had something special planned for the evening – no one had made any suggestions yet as to what to do tonight, the mood was better than earlier in the day but still not completely cheerful!
Our server came to take our drinks order & explain the buffet layout to us.. she wrote her name on the paper table cloth in a crayon (!) so during the meal we were all doodling on the table cloth with the crayons provided.. I think that’s a really nice touch at CMC

Almost immediately.. everyone got up to go get some appetisers.. I went for Clam Chowder soup (the best!)… once everyone was back at the table, I thought about announcing it then that we had something planned for the evening.. but the server wasn’t back with our drinks and I kinda didn’t want her to interrupt me in the middle!
So we got our drinks.. then Gaston got up again to go get more shrimp.. aah! I was getting so nervous, it was like the feeling I get before a music exam or giving a presentation.

Another problem I hadn’t thought about was that CMC is quite a lively restaurant, so there was quite a lot of noise from the buffet & other tables… and I only have a little voice (I’m always being told to speak up!)… so finally… everyone was sat at the table, and I said.....

Stay tuned for part 2 and a load of photos, I promise! ….

 

[Mindy5767]

Day 12 – a bad trip to Universal…. Followed by the most magical evening of the vacation!


We thought about walking over to Epcot world showcase for the afternoon, just the two of us, but kinda knew that if we did that.. whatever issue the family had with us would just get worse.. so we went to get our pool things & found them on some sunbeds by Storm Along Bay – we spent a few hours there, no one really spoke to each other, I just read my book, listened to my iPod, and prayed that everyone would be in a better mood this evening!!

only reason I could think of was that she thought that by ordering drinks at a bar would mean they didn’t have to pay the 18% gratuity that they all hated paying so much?! (although most bars we went to added a gratuity too!)
As luck would have it, the bar tender was working very slowly and DBFD said we should probably go to the restaurant, phew!




Stay tuned for part 2 and a load of photos, I promise! ….

I think I would have marched them over to Rose & Crown and gotten them each a "yard of beer" if they still have those traditional beers. They clearly needed an attitude adjustment and there's no problem finding one in a yard of beer!

 

[PISCESANGEL]

I am loving your report! We are staying at the YC for the first time in March 2010 so it is good to hear that you enjoyed your stay there. Sorry you were brought down by some less than Disney-minded people in your group but it sounds like you did a great job of rolling with it and enjoying yourself.

I'm ready for more!

 

[disneybarbie]

I think I would have marched them over to Rose & Crown and gotten them each a "yard of beer" if they still have those traditional beers. They clearly needed an attitude adjustment and there's no problem finding one in a yard of beer!

lol Thank you Mindy! :

I am loving your report! We are staying at the YC for the first time in March 2010 so it is good to hear that you enjoyed your stay there. Sorry you were brought down by some less than Disney-minded people in your group but it sounds like you did a great job of rolling with it and enjoying yourself.

I'm ready for more!

Thank you for reading so far! ... more coming right up..

Emma x

 

[disneybarbie]

July 20th – part 2

So.. we’re at CMC and I’m about to announce that Steve & I have something special planned for the evening..

(I say) … “I’m sorry we’re having dinner a little earlier this evening (yup, someone had already complained about that!) .. but the reason is because I’ve planned something special for us – it’s to say thank you to DBFD & M, not just for taking us on this vacation, but for everything you do for us at home” (they do a whole lot of DIY and decorating for us!!).
Everyone looks pleasantly surprised (phew!)… I told them that I can tell them now what the surprise is, or they can wait til 8pm and find out… they decided they could wait til 8pm!
Then the guessing game begins.. DBFM is sure we’ve hired a Surrey bike to ride around the lake (?!!) .. DBFD draws a boat on the table cloth with a crayon and shows Belle (he & Tink had noticed the pontoon boats after Illuminations a few nights before.. however, DBFD told me afterwards that he had no idea it was going to be a private boat or as special as it was!!)

So.. we finish dinner – the check comes (filled with taffy pieces, mmm!) and Steve and I pay for the meal (I hadn’t planned to pay for another meal after pre-paying for CRT, but I think Steve felt it was a nice thing to do to try and ‘make peace’ with his family, for whatever reason they’d had the hump today!!)

It was just after 7pm so we went to the Crew’s Cup Lounge for a drink while we waited for 8pm to role around!!
I was getting soo nervous by this point.. I barely touched my drink, I was trying to text Jenny (MrsDisneyB2B) to find out if they were at the YC, but I had no cell-phone signal in the bar so I had to keep making excuses to go outside!!
I popped back to our room to get the presents I had brought for the newlyweds & also for the boat skipper.

Jenny texted to say they’d arrived early and where happy stolling around the marina… finally, the time got to 7.45pm and I told the party it was time to head off!
They were all following me and Steve as we headed out of the hotel and along the promenade to the YC marina.. finally, the day was going exactly as I’d imagined – there was a real sense of excitement!!

When we got close to the marina, I told Steve to stop there & tell the family what we’d organised…. I kept walking because, on a bench . I could see Jenny & Vinnie sat waiting to meet me!
I honestly felt like I was meeting someone famous – Jenny and I had been emailing a lot before our vacations and I’d been reading her PJ & PTR!

As soon as Jenny saw me she leapt up and gave me a hug, it really was like we’d known each other for ages! (mean while, the family are stood 50 yards away, trying to work out who I’m hugging!!)
I hugged Vinnie too and then brought them over to meet the family… it was so surreal but soo much fun!!

I did the introductions and then left everybody together while I went to the marina to check-in …. I happened to notice this pontoon boat that was very pretty and decorated..

However, I knew it wasn’t ours because it said ‘happy birthday’ …. Hmmmm!?

I paid for the boat cruise & then met Captain Mike (The best skipper, IMO!!) – he asked me “who’s birthday is it?”.. uh –“no ones” (I say) “it is my friends’ honeymoon though.. I did tell Disney when I booked it?!” .. Mike looks as shocked as I am – then he laughed and told me he’d sort it!!
Within minutes, the ‘happy birthday’ banner was changed to a ‘congratulations’ one… the birthday balloons remained though!

So we get on the boat – everyone is sooo happy and excited!

I can’t say enough good things about the Illuminations Speciality Cruise… it lasted well over an hour, you can have up to ten people on the boat, sodas & snacks are included – I also ordered two bottles of wine and some beers from the YC private dining.

It was amazing to finally meet Jenny & Vinnie and here about their wedding and Disney Moon ‘adventures’ so far! … the family hadn’t caught on yet that I’d met Jenny through a Disney fan website, I think they were all just so overwhelmed by the whole surprise to even ask us how we knew each other!! (after the cruise, the family found out J&V were ‘internet friends’.. they found it pretty funny – although they really don’t understand the whole Disney ‘online community’!)

The boat sailed from the YC to the Swan & Dolphin

then to the Studios..

we saw the Breathless II boat speed by!

we circled for a bit there (Captain Mike actually let go of the steering wheel to pour our drinks!) and saw the Breathless II boat sail past..
I was so glad they’d changed the sign on the boat to ‘congratulations’ as so many people who were on the bridges/walking by the water would shout out “Congratulations!” to the newly weds!!


We sailed back to the Boardwalk, going very close to the promenade,

and then we went close to Storm Along Bay.

Something that really pleased me was hearing DBFD and Gaston chatting to Captain Mike about how fantastic WDW was, and that staying onsite was amazing…. I finally knew they were enjoying themselves!!

At about 8.45pm we headed towards International Gateway, and moored up just beyond the bridge between the UK & France pavilions.

Very soon, the lagoon was dark & the first firework of Illuminations shot up into the sky.
I cannot emphasise how perfect the view is from the boats…

There were about 5 other pontoon boats on the lake & also the Breathless II

After the fireworks, each boat moves forward into the lake before it turns to head back to Crescent Lake.
Everybody was on a high and I knew the surprise had been totally worth it!

We got back to the YC Marina, I gave Captain Mike a tip, (wrapped in an envelope decorated with Disney characters!) and he seemed really surprised and grateful.
Jenny and Vinnie headed off – they’d had a long day already! Jenny gave me a Mickey envelope with a gift inside .. and I gave them a small token gift in a gift bag (check on their Disneymoon TR to find out what it was!! “everybody’s got a laughing place” TR)

As we hadn’t drank all the wine & beer I’d ordered, steve took it back up to our room to put in the fridge – while we waited by the marina for him to return, we saw Captain Mike give the bunches of balloons from our boat to a little girl who was walking past with her family…. Truly a magical Disney moment!

We all walked around to the Big River Grill for a post-cruise drink – I can’t say how much happier everybody was now, compared to the rest of the day!
DBFD was telling me how much he’d enjoyed the cruise, and how he was starting to understand why I loved Disney so much, and how different it was from Universal and other amusement parks (finally!)

We wandered along the promenade and shopped in the Boardwalk shops – Steve and I bought a tiny little statue of Pluto, we both saw it & loved it! So cute.

Next we went to ESPN bar.. first time we’d been in here – Gaston couldn’t believe we hadn’t visited it before - since he, DBFD & Steve are all such big sports fans!
I ordered a Long Island Iced tea, DBFM & Belle decided to have one too – even though they didn’t know what was in it?!
We stayed there a while, then walked the ‘long way’ back to the Yacht Club (the cool night air & Long Island ‘tea’ took effect on DBFM & Belle then.. they were pretty giggly on the walk back!!)

Off to bed, I was finally content & sure everyone was having a good vacation… but would it last?!

Find out next.. only a few more days left now!

Emma x x

 

[Mrsdisneyb2b]

YAYY emma!!
Ive been reading your report... secretly lol...

And i am so so excited that you got up to our day!!!!

I sware, vinnie and I keep telling eachother how we feel like we've known you forever!!!! I love it!!!!

Again, guys, Emma is amazing. The handkerchiefs she made me are in my bag every day as a reminder that there are wonderful people inthe world.... you just have to open your heart to find them!!

 

[PISCESANGEL]

Another great installment- The pictures are just wonderful!!

 

[disneybarbie]

okay I'm getting close to finishing this TR, finally!

Day 13 – Golf, Downtown Disney.. DHS Brown Derby & Fantasmic!

The boys had the third and final round of golf booked today – originally it had been at Oak Trail, the 9 hole course was included in our park ticket prices; but they had enjoyed the larger 18 hole courses so much, that DBFD asked me to try change Oak Trail to The Palm – luckily this was no problem and so they headed off to the golf course at 8.30am.

The girls and I decided to go to DTD for some retail therapy (I had the impression DBFM and Belle were feeling the effects of the Long Island Iced Tea and other drinks from the night before! ) – so a relaxing morning of shopping was a good idea
I was keen to go shopping as I had a few more things I wanted to buy, and the wonderfully generous giftcard from Jenny & Vinnie to spend spend spend!

We waited about 15 minutes for the DTD bus (which they complained about!! ) but soon were headed to the market place.

First stop was the Earl of Sandwich for brunch – they had a lovely breakfast menu & each item was about $4! I had a toasted BLT and orange juice.

Then it was time for… shopping!

We started in the World of Disney – my dream store!
We all wandered off separately, I grabbed a basket and got a load of things like:
Teatowels, mickey-shaped plate, salt & pepper shakers, mickey cookie cutter, mickey egg shaper, pins, lanyard, wheezie plush toy, Finding Nemo the Musical cd, … so much stuff!
After about 30 mins we all found each other … the others had… absolutely nothing to buy! I don’t know how they did it, I adore the WoD shop!!
So I paid up.. I was expecting the total $ to be crazy but it wasn’t at all bad – I also had the wonderful giftcard from Jenny & Vinnie to use too!

Next we went to the 12 Days of Christmas store.. I really enjoy the Disney Christmas shops.. doesn’t matter what time of the year you visit, it always the holiday season there!
I bought a tree decoration with the remainder of the gift-card from J&V.. it’s a sleigh with Mickey, Donald & Goofy on it – I’m looking forward to hanging it on our Christmas tree each year and remembering the Illuminations cruise & meeting DIS friends!
When I bought the tree decoration, the CM who served me asked me about the top I was wearing – it was a white vest that I’d embroidered a small Cinderella picture onto (pre-vacation project!), she said it was really lovely and I should be proud of it…. It was so nice of her to say!

(here’s some of my shopping.. picture taken when we got home)

I thought we might have spent longer at DTD, looking in the other shops but the others seemed keen to get back to the YC (I have a feeling this was because those long island iced teas the night before were the reason for this! )

So we got a bus back to the resort – we went to our rooms and said we’d see each other down at the pool.
I spoke to my Dad and sister on the phone for a while first – it was good to catch up with them and ‘let off some steam’ about some of the frustrations of the vacation! They are also love wdw (my parents have DVC!) so were great to talk to

Then I went down to the pool and spent a couple of hours there – the boys returned from their golf game – they’d really enjoyed the Palm course (think they said it was their favourite of the three courses they played) – Steve said they’d been joined by a guy from the US army who was staying at Shades of Green resort with his wife & daughter (who were off to BBB while he played golf!)

We had an early ADR time at the Brown Derby this evening (the Fantasmic Dinner package has to be between 3-5pm apparently, so I was quite happy with the 4.20pm reservation & to even get the package … although I could tell the early meal time was not so popular with the family!)
We all went back to our rooms to get ready and met at 3.45pm to get the boat to DHS – usually I’d suggest walking but it was still so warm outside, and the boat does create a nice breeze.

We stopped for a picture in front of the sorcerer’s hat on Hollywood Boulevard..

We got to the restaurant, the others stopped to look at the menu board outside… Gaston cynically enquired if we would be having the lunch or dinner menu as it was ‘so early’ (they really had no idea how lucky I’d been to even book a Fantasmic dinner package.. they’re so hard to get!! ).

We only waited 5 minutes and were called for our table – this had been one of the ADRs I’d been told we would be split into two groups.. but in fact we got one big table, and it was in the ‘bamboo room’ which is a small separate dining room on the corner of the restaurant.. I was really impressed!

Brown Derby is probably one of my all-time favourite WDW restaurants – I’ve eaten there 5-6 times now (not bad for 9 trips to the World!) – steve and I have been there on both of our trips together, we love the cobb salad and highly recommended it to the others!

The waiter was very attentive, even though we were a bit out the way in the little dining room – he told us they were still doing the three-course set menu as part of the package – I think its about $40 per person including soda drinks (not bad when an average entrée was $25-30!)

Despite the set-priced menu … DBFM and Belle decided they couldn’t possibly eat 3 courses (um.. you don’t have to eat everything on the plate!) so they had two appetisers each instead (I’m sure the restaurant was happy about this because technically they’re making more profit?!) – although DBFM had the Cobb salad for an entrée and ofcourse it’s as it’s for two, it’s pretty huge for one!

Steve and I had the Cobb salad to share and then we both had the seared tuna – I love this type of fish, we rarely get tuna steaks like that at home so I really enjoyed it! Steve wasn’t so sure and DBFD kept saying “eww that’s raw, how can you eat that?!”
Surprisingly, the restaurant didn’t seem to be very popular with the others – I’d tried to explain what the Brown Derby restaurant was, sort of like the Ivy restaurant in London.. but they just didn’t seem impressed and were finding faults with the tiniest things in their meals.

After dinner, the park was really quite busy – there were a number of Brazilian tour groups and because Fantasmic was on tonight there were generally a lot of guests around.. we walked down to ToT but the wait was around 90 minutes.. and after a big meal, it’s not really the ideal attraction!
We wandered around the park for a while checking wait times, I was enjoying just soaking in the atmosphere of DHS but I got the impression no one else was!

(The AI songlist... took this just in case my sister and I are brave enough to audition next month!!)

We thought about watching the 7pm American Idol Experience final but the queue outside the doors was already huge and people were being told they were unlikely to get inside the theatre now.. however, there was a big screen outside the show building which lets other guests watch the show… we stood by the hat and then near the dockside diner to watch.. we were impressed by the quality of the singers.

By this time it was just after 8pm so we headed for Sunset Boulevard to the Fantasmic entrance… it seemed that everyone else was heading that way too! I got worried as I could here the CMs announcing that there were no more seats, only standing room (I’d read reviews from people that even though they’d booked the F! package they’d had to stand!) … but when we got to the theatre, we handed over our F! package ticket and got directed to the right-hand side of the arena, there was plenty of seats in the reserved area.
While we waited Gaston & Belle got some beers for us – we also got talking to a lovely family sat in front of us – they had a young son (about aged 7) who thought Tink looked liked an AI contestant he liked.. so his Dad turned round to tell us… the son was so embarrassed!

Fantasmic was excellent, as always!

After the show we left the park and walked back to the YC – DBFD suggested we all went back to their room for a drink on the balcony, but Steve wasn’t feeling well (He blamed the seared tuna… however I was fine… I thought he was probably dehydrated from the day outside in the sun playing golf!) so the two of us went back to our room – Steve had found a South American soccer channel so we watched some game on there then went to sleep!


Tomorrow… last full day.. Monorail fiasco, wonderful day in MK (just me & steve!) then dinner at 9 Dragons.

Emma x x

 

[disneybarbie]

Day 14 – last day – Monorail fiasco, MK (just me & Steve!) & then dinner at 9 Dragons

Okay.. so for the whole vacation, Gaston had been really keen to ride on the monorail – it was like one of his ‘must do’ things while we were in WDW.

I do love the monorail too, but I must be honest, since the fatal crash had happened just a few weeks before we arrived in WDW – I wasn’t as keen to ride it, not for safety reasons, but out of respect for the CM who had died and his family.
Anyway.. DBFD decided that we should get to Epcot for opening, walk through to entrance and get the monorail to MK (as you’ll see – this wasn’t a great idea, not in the busy summer months… but again I bit my tongue and let them plan the day, I didn’t want to be the ‘busy body’ telling everyone what we could and couldn’t do!)

So we walk to Epcot from the YC, through the turnstiles at International Gateway (while waiting there a really adorable little boy noticed my Pal Mickey was wearing a pirate costume and got so excited when Pal started to talk!).
It was quite fun walking through futureworld after rope drop when the majority of guests have headed off to Soarin’, Mission Space & Test Track.. it looked empty!

We exited the park and up the ramp to the monorail.

Now.. I’d mentioned several times already that to get to MK, we’d get to go on TWO monorails… anyway.. so we get on the monorail to the ticket & transportation center.. get off there and join the Huge queue for the MK monorail.
Belle then mutters.. “why did we get off that monorail train?!”
Aaah!! I bit my tongue (again) .. then – Tink decides she’s not feeling well and wants to go back to the YC!
I explain that from the TCC she’s best to stay with us until MK then get a bus back to the resort.

We get on the monorail eventually and get to MK.. by now it’s 9.40 am and super busy – just approaching the park I could see 2-3 Brazilian groups assembling too.

So… DBFM and DBFD decided they have to accompany Tink back to the YC as she’s ill (I think it was an earache.. even so I think really they all just wanted to go back to the hotel) … and Gaston & Belle actually want to go to DHS to ride ToT, TSMM and RnRC (again!!!) … why. Had. We. come. All. This .way to MK if really no one wanted to be there! …
DBFD asked steve and I what we planned to do… we simultaneously said “we’re staying here!!”

And so.. for the first time nearly all vacation, Steve and I were ‘free’ to have fun on our own – run around a Disney park and actually, 100% enjoy ourselves!
We agreed to meet back at the YC at 2pm…. Then I literally bounced through the turnstiles .. my mouse-ears were firmly on my head and we were ready to hit the park!!

First we headed to Splash Mountain to get a Fastpass – we took a ‘secret’ route around the back alleys of Liberty Square and the footbridge around Frontierland.. away from the hub, the park didn’t really feel too busy which I was pleased about.
SM turned out to be closed for a little while (yet people were still forming a queue outside!) so we grabbed a FP and decided to go to Adventureland to do another of our favourites.. Pirates!!

We rode Pirates of the Caribbean.. Pal Mickey was in his pirate outfit too! Lol.

Next we walked to Liberty Square for another favourite – Haunted Mansion!
On the way there we saw Goofy skipping through Frontierland, it was so cute – just like out of a WDW advert!

I can’t describe how much more chilled out and happy we both felt.. I was realising that the magic was definitely still there.. I just had to be experiencing it with someone who ‘gets’ it and is just as excited as I am!

Next.. it was my ‘turn’ to pick an attraction .. and as Peterpan had a 50 minute wait, we went on It’s a Small World (I can’t miss it!!) .. steve humoured me and rode it, I think he likes it really ... and then we did Philharmagic – neither attraction had a wait!

We wandered around to Tomorrowland, on the way we saw Pooh and Tigger walking around with a line of children chasing after them! It was lovely to see real character interaction.

We rode Buzz Lightyear in Tomorrowland – the wait was only 5 minutes again, somehow we were missing all the crowds and tour groups!

We walked back towards the hub and had a photopass picture taken (one of my favourites of the vacation!)

We had an early lunch snack at one of our favourite places.. Casey’s! we got two hot dogs and a large lemonade to share..

We wandered around to Adventureland and got our dessert.. a dole whip! We found some empty tables (I think it was a smoking area but was empty) and sat completely alone to enjoy our pineapple icecream!

By now our FP time was ready for SM so we headed over to frontierland – the standby line was 60 minutes then!! So glad we had FPs – yet I still don’t understand why guests in the standby line ‘glare’ at you while you stroll past in the FP line?!
Rode Splash, it was wonderful… as normal! Definitely become a favourite of mine over the last few trips… we didn’t get too wet but the little bit of water was nice & refreshing in the heat!

We wandered to Main street and looked in the Emporium shop … started to hear some music outside and I realised it was the ‘Move it Shake it Celebrate it’ parade! .. so we went outside and watched the floats go by… I was wearing my Minnie ears, and Minnie Mouse pointed at me and then her own ears… magical moment for me!!

The parade is only short but full of energy and fun.

We both wanted to ride the train around the park so we went to the station next – got some lovely pictures..

And also of Main Street from the station..

We took some photos around the square..

then steve reminded me it was after 1pm so we better head back to the YC to meet the family.
I always drag my feet when we’re leaving MK … but steve reminded me I’d be back later in the year!

continued...