Disney Every Day - Update 10/21 – 1, 2, 3! We’re Leaving for Orlando Tomorrow!

[Tink-erin-belle]

Yay!!! That is ALMOST enough to convince me to drive...but then I think about how my drive is 17 hours and that's if we have no issues. When we drove it took 21 STRAIGHT hours to get back b/c we were having engine trouble and it was the middle of the night. I swore I would never drive again.

I cannot wait to hear all about it. It probably won't help me a ton since they are moving it for next year and changing a lot of things since they had so many issues, but I love to hear the little details of how things worked. Did you get a parent pass? I'm unsure if I want one, Savannah and her two friends will be 14, 14, and 16...I'm not sure I need to be with them every moment.

Anyway, I'm reading and waiting for more!! Don't leave me hanging Erin.

I couldn’t do it if the drive was 17 hours! It used to take my parents 18 hours to drive from up here – but that was because there were five kids and we took a lot of potty breaks! The first time I drove to WDW, I was surprised because it didn’t take us nearly that long. But road trips are fun!

I’m excited all over again just by writing these posts! I had hoped to get one up today, but I was too busy at work to upload the pictures. I’ll try to get something up by tomorrow. I did get the parent pass, but I am torn as to if I would get it again. My kids will be almost 16 and 12 next year when we go, so I don’t think I will need one unless they really want me to hang out with them. There weren’t many parents who actually stayed with their kids like I did. There were a lot of people in the parent’s lounge, though. I’m not sure it would be worth the extra expense to get a parent’s pass just to hang out there. More to come on the pass, though… That topic will come up in the post after next, I think. I’ll try not to keep you hanging!

Yay!!! She's posted! She's posted!!!! So, what section were you put in? What room? Just curious.

Hey Karen, I beat you to her post!!!

oh shoot........you posted right before I did......grrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!

I was a bad DISer because I totally forgot to get the room number pic! That’s a tradition! Hopefully, I will have the post up by tomorrow, but we stayed in the 60’s. I can’t give it all away I will say that we LOVED the location!!! Actually, I can’t hold it in! We were in the Baloo building on the top floor! We had a pool view and it was just perfect!

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

I’m excited all over again just by writing these posts! I had hoped to get one up today, but I was too busy at work to upload the pictures. I’ll try to get something up by tomorrow. I did get the parent pass, but I am torn as to if I would get it again. My kids will be almost 16 and 12 next year when we go, so I don’t think I will need one unless they really want me to hang out with them. There weren’t many parents who actually stayed with their kids like I did. There were a lot of people in the parent’s lounge, though. I’m not sure it would be worth the extra expense to get a parent’s pass just to hang out there. More to come on the pass, though… That topic will come up in the post after next, I think. I’ll try not to keep you hanging!

So here's the thing...I want the parent pass to take good photos. Does that seem bizarre??? Savannah & I have talked about it a lot and I'm just not sure what to do. I totally trust them and think they'll be old enough, BUT...you know how I am with photography and Savannah would love for the photos of her with a few of her favorites (Tyler Oakley) to be with my good camera, not just a camera phone.

Did you see other parents taking photos? I'm wondering if I'll just look strange to be doing that anyway. And, is it worth it for a few people and then to leave for the remainder of the day and hang out by the pool, which is what I planned on the majority of the time. *sigh*

I mean, it's kind of like photopass...is it worth it for me to take those shots or not? I'm just not sure. then I could get their whole interaction, not just the one shot they take, ya know?

Help me Erin! Help me make this decision

Wait...so are you going next year?!?!?

Do you know it is moved to the Marriott World Center and is the first weekend of February???

 

[Victoriasmom98]

Wait...so are you going next year?!?!?

Do you know it is moved to the Marriott World Center and is the first weekend of February???

Of course she's going next year! We've already got all our plans made and tickets bought......

Ok, I'm fibbing!!! But I hope she's going next year because it's almost a definite that we are going.....

 

[Tink-erin-belle]

I’ve been writing the next update for the Playlist Live TR for the past two weeks now! Ugh! I am going crazy here at work and I never have a chance to just sit and write at home. It is super frustrating because I really want to tell you guys about this trip! I will get to it… One day… I actually have an installment all written up. I just have to get the pictures added and then I can post it. I will try to do that within the next couple of days. Promise! But…

STOP THE PRESSES!!!!!

I have other Disney news to share! I booked our next trip to Disney World!
Pop Century October 25 to November 2!!!
We have six day hoppers and we are doing the DDP! Today marks 180 days, but since I haven’t had a chance to really plan this trip out yet, I only made a few ADRs this morning. They were the important ADRs, though! I won’t keep you waiting for the PTR to give you the few details I have:

Saturday, October 25 - breakfast at ‘Ohana
Sunday, October 26 - breakfast at Crystal Palace
Wednesday, October 29 - breakfast at Tusker House
Thursday, October 30 - breakfast at Akershus
Saturday, November 1 - breakfast at Cinderella’s Royal Table

All of these are before park opening ADRs, even though I am not sure we will be hitting the parks on our first day there. My plan is to get a late night flight to Orlando on Friday (I refuse to drive this time! ) and stay the night at a non-Disney hotel. That could change. I might extend the reservation at Pop by one night. In any case, going to MK on Saturday is not a sure thing yet. And it HAS to be MK. That is our first day tradition. If we don’t go to MK until Sunday, we are covered with the ADR for Crystal Palace. I am toying with the idea of going to Universal on Monday and Tuesday because they are tracking to be low crowd days at those parks. I am also trying to figure out when we will be going to MNSSHP. We’ll be there on Halloween, but I have heard from many sources that it is a madhouse on Halloween night. I don’t want to go on that night just because it is Halloween. I’m not sure if they have released the dates for MNSSHP yet (this is so unlike me to not know these things! ) but I think a good day to go would be on Sunday, October 26. That way, the kids can wear the Disney themed costumes I want them to wear to the party, and then they can wear whatever the heck they wanna wear on Halloween to go Trick or Treating

So, I’ll post a PTR after I finish with this Mini-TR. I refuse to start a PTR when I haven’t even been able to finish this TR! Maybe I’ll even find time to put up a new ticker! Hopefully, getting these posts written up in a timely manner will get me in the habit of writing the PTR. I hate to leave you guys hanging! I can’t believe people still read this thing! Aren’t you all sick of waiting for me? Well, thank you all for sticking around! Off to add pictures to the next installment…

 

[Victoriasmom98]

OH, Erin!!! That is soooooo exciting!!! I bet the kids are happy!!! Yes, indeed, get to finishing this mini tr already!!!! I've already posted the pics of us in MY REPORT!!!


and look ---- I BEAT KAREN THIS TIME!!!!

 

[Tink-erin-belle]

So here's the thing...I want the parent pass to take good photos. Does that seem bizarre??? Savannah & I have talked about it a lot and I'm just not sure what to do. I totally trust them and think they'll be old enough, BUT...you know how I am with photography and Savannah would love for the photos of her with a few of her favorites (Tyler Oakley) to be with my good camera, not just a camera phone.

Did you see other parents taking photos? I'm wondering if I'll just look strange to be doing that anyway. And, is it worth it for a few people and then to leave for the remainder of the day and hang out by the pool, which is what I planned on the majority of the time. *sigh*

I mean, it's kind of like photopass...is it worth it for me to take those shots or not? I'm just not sure. then I could get their whole interaction, not just the one shot they take, ya know?

Help me Erin! Help me make this decision

Wait...so are you going next year?!?!?

Do you know it is moved to the Marriott World Center and is the first weekend of February???

Oh, Karen, I feel bad because I keep saying that I don’t want to give stuff away, but then I leave you all hanging without an update! I would say that it is a good idea to get the parent pass – for a few reasons – but the main one would be pictures. Not that there is anything wrong with kids just taking selfies with their favorite YouTubers. It’s just hard – for me anyway – to get a good selfie with someone else in the picture. Most of the YouTubers were very gracious with kids wanting to take selfies with them, but some only allowed enough time for one shot. I was able to take the pictures for my kids and they were really pleased with the shots I got. So, seeing that you and your family are used to having really good pictures, I would say go for the parent pass! You can make THEM feel like celebs and follow them around with all of your camera gear!

I wish we had stayed at the convention center so I could have had some pool time or just a little time to relax from all of the screaming girls! If Playlist Live was going to be at the same place next year, I would definitely get a room there and I would definitely still get a parent pass. Yes, we are going next year, even though they are changing dates and venues. The Marriott World Center is a beautiful hotel, so we will have to stay there! Where did you get this info? I have done a few searches for Playlist Live 2015 and I am coming up with squat!

Of course she's going next year! We've already got all our plans made and tickets bought......

Ok, I'm fibbing!!! But I hope she's going next year because it's almost a definite that we are going.....

As soon as I get official word on the dates, I am booking, Ann! The kids are really looking forward to going again. They are even trying to convince me to do the one in NJ in November! I know my daughter is in love with Joey Graceffa and everything, but NJ in November? That doesn’t sound like fun. That sounds like COLD!!! There are YouTubers that Coy and True didn’t get to see this time around, though, so I might be convinced to do a weekend in NJ. We’ll see. But 2015 in Orlando for sure! And I’ll have to build a few Disney park days around that convention because not going to the parks just didn’t seem right!

 

[Tink-erin-belle]

OH, Erin!!! That is soooooo exciting!!! I bet the kids are happy!!! Yes, indeed, get to finishing this mini tr already!!!! I've already posted the pics of us in MY REPORT!!!


and look ---- I BEAT KAREN THIS TIME!!!!

Yeah, you finally beat her to it! I am so excited about this trip, and I know the kids will be, too. I haven’t told them yet because I just booked recently, but I have to get their input on restaurants and things that they want to do. I saw that you posted those pictures! Did I reply on your TR yet? I doubt it I have been reading, though. I have so much catching up to do on the boards!

 

[Victoriasmom98]

We'll all have to request the same location/floor at the Marriott. You and Karen can go with the parent passes and I'll be lounging around the pool. Hey, I'll make the sacrifice! I'm not sure we would do any of the parks, though. We all know how that worked out this last time around.

We could do a couple of meals together, too. I guess from what I've read there are 6 or 7 restaurants right there and even a Starbucks right there in the lobby. I just wish the room weren't so expensive, but maybe they'll have a convention rate!!

 

[Tink-erin-belle]

When we last left off, the kids and I had just arrived at Pop. True went to watch TV in the little play area while Coy and I checked in. The line was long, but luckily we got in it when we did, because a tour bus group was right behind us! I’m so glad we didn’t get stuck behind them! I wished I had done the online check-in though, because that line was only 2 or 3 families long. Maybe next time. After about 10 minutes or so (it seemed like an eternity!) I asked Coy to go check on True. We were next in line, but I didn’t like not being able to see her from where we were standing. Coy didn’t want to go and kept saying she was fine… and asked me if I could go check on her… but I asked him again and again to check on her himself. By that third time, I had to give him the evil eye and say, “Go check on your sister now.” Well, at least that was the only time he misbehaved that day. Pretty good, considering that we had been cooped up in a car for about 14 hours!

We finally checked in, got our grey MagicBands (since I never took the time to customize them online ) and headed to our room. Where were we? Here’s a hint: on our way to the room, True had to stick her hand in the Hippy Dippy Pool!

Were we in the Play-Doh building?

Well, we were in The 60’s but nope! We were in the Baloo and Mowgli building!

Full disclosure: I don’t know the room number, and I can barely remember what floor we were on. I think it was the fourth floor. Whatever floor is the top floor! Sorry! I know I am a bad DISer! I didn’t take that obligatory shot of the room number or any pictures of the interior of the room! But you all are on the boards as much as I am! You know what the rooms look like!

I have to go on a quick tangent, though. I have to admit that I am a hotel snob. I was especially a hotel snob when it came to Disney! When I visited Disney with my family when I was a kid, we only stayed at the deluxe resorts. I’m not sure when the moderates were built, but we never stayed in one. I was used to The Grand Floridian, The Polynesian, The Contemporary! Yes, I was spoiled! I will admit that I was a little disappointed that we were staying at a mod the first time that I took the kids to Disney World. That was, until I got there! On our first trip, we stayed at The Coronado Springs and we loved it! Our next trip was at The Caribbean Beach, and we loved that, too! The kids weren’t missing anything by not staying at a deluxe like I did when I was younger! Fast forward to this trip. I was a little concerned that we wouldn’t like Pop because we were used to moderate resorts. I heard so many conflicting opinions about the resort. Some people loved it and some people thought it was too small. Some people thought it was a good value and some people thought it wasn’t worth the noise level.

Well, let me tell you that we loved Pop! Yes, the room was slightly smaller than the rooms that we had at the mod resorts, but we didn’t care because we were barely in there! There was plenty of room for us and all of our luggage (yes, I even over packed for a long-weekend trip! ) If there is anyone reading this who is concerned about the quality of the resort, the size, the noise, or anything else, I would just advise you not to worry about it. The room was so cute and it was always perfectly clean. I knew cleanliness wouldn’t be an issue at a Disney resort, but I felt it was worth mentioning The bathroom was a little smaller than we were used to, but again, it wasn’t like we were taking long luxurious baths in there. There’s no need for a large bathroom. Plus, there’s always that little dressing area next to the sink that adds space to the bathroom area. We were facing the pool (I forgot to mention that until now, huh? Sorry!) and I have heard that people had issues with pool-facing rooms being too loud, but we never did. Take this with a grain of salt, though, because this was not exactly busy season when we visited. Yes, the pool was pretty packed well into the evening, but not as packed as it would be if there was a cheer group there or some other tour group. All I know is that our experience with a room on the top floor that faced the pool was a good one

This was my only complaint:

That was the only towel animal that we got during our whole stay That’s not a reflection on the resort, though. So, I would definitely stay at Pop again. My kids liked it and the theming was so cute! I am no longer a hotel snob at Disney! Plus, it makes so much more financial sense for me to stay at a value resort than any of the more expensive ones because that just leaves more money left over for fun things to do on vacation! As I said, we were hardly ever in the room, so why would we need something fancy? Don’t get me wrong – if I can afford it, I will definitely book a room at a deluxe but now I know that Pop is an awesome hotel and we’d stay there again in a heartbeat. Wait…I just remembered one thing that I didn’t like about Pop. One night we got back to the resort after about 10 and we had a hard time finding a parking spot. It wasn’t too bad, but it was just not very convenient to our room. Then on another night, we didn’t get back to the resort until after 11. Well, we had to park at the very end of the parking lot – I’m talking about the one that was shared with Art of Animation! Yes! That far! It was a pain! I had never had that experience with any of the other resorts where we stayed. There was always plenty of convenient parking. OK, that’s enough talking about that. Here’s a picture to break up the monotony :

That was the view of the pool from our room. True really wanted to go to the pool, but I told her I was exhausted. I didn’t realize that the pool was already closed, anyway. I remember when I was a kid that the pools were opened all night Or maybe I just thought it was late at night because we’d had a long day at the parks. In any case, True said that she really wanted to go to the pool the next day. She was really laying the guilt trip on thick because she wanted to go to the pool that night and had talked about it the whole drive down to Orlando. I kept saying to her that I was going to be exhausted when we got to the hotel, but she just kept saying that I would be OK and we could go swimming for a few minutes! She believes in the power of positive thoughts! So when I told her that evening that there was no way I could go swimming right then, she said that it was OK, but we definitely had to go swimming the next day. I agreed.

True and I were hungry, so we decided that we were going to go to the food court – or the “commissary” as Karen’s husband calls it I think I’m going to start calling it the commissary, too! Anyway, Coy said he wasn’t hungry, so he stayed in the room while True and I walked to Classic Hall. Really, I think Coy just wanted to stay in so that he could get on the laptop! I think he was going through interwebs withdrawal! :lmao2: Classic hall is so incredibly close to the 60’s buildings! If we stay at Pop again, I will definitely request the 60’s! So we took a quick stroll through the gift shop before heading back to the commissary True and I pointed out to each other things we wanted to buy on this trip. I have always had luck with finding t-shirts on clearance at the resorts, but not this time. I realized later that it was probably because we were visiting in March and not in November. Yeah, Disney probably wouldn’t put a 2014 t-shirt on clearance in March

After window shopping at the gift shop, we walked to the food court. True didn’t immediately see that the food court was behind the gift shop, so she asked me how I knew it was back there. I told her I did my research! True and I looked around for a little bit before deciding on a line. I also saw that there was tie-dye cheesecake being sold a la carte. Even though I knew the answer, I called Coy on his cell to ask if he wanted cheesecake. He always wants cheesecake! So I picked one up while True held our place in line. True decided what she wanted - Chicken Cavatappi. From allears.net: oven roasted chicken, marinara sauce, cavatappi pasta and a cheesy breadstick. I decided to get the Pork Shank which came with house made mashed potatoes. I have to say, it was so weird going to the cashier and actually having to PAY for our food! I’m so used to being on the dining plan that it felt strange to swipe my debit card!

We made the quick walk back to our room, but the food was already a little cold by the time we got back. This was True’s Chicken Cavatappi:

She said it was OK, but not great. I didn’t try any because I don’t like chicken in any type of red sauce. This was my Pork Shank:

I thought this was just OK, as well. It might have been a combination of the fact that I was pretty tired and that the dish was a little cold. Maybe if we ate at the food court, it would have been better. The pork was tender enough, but not very flavorful. It needed a little something, like a bit more salt and pepper. If it was seasoned a bit better, I think I would have liked it more. The potatoes were pretty good, though. I think I ate all of those.

Coy loved his cheesecake:

He tore it up before I had a chance to get a bite! I got a cheesecake another day when we ate at the food court and I liked it, but it wasn’t anything special. Coy just loves cheesecake! He has had it for his birthday for three years running, so I had a feeling he would like the cheesecake at Pop. He especially liked the red velvet “crust”.

Well, this post was way longer than I expected, so I will have to continue in another post!

 

[Tink-erin-belle]

After having an OK dinner – or dessert, in Coy’s case – we went to bed. Coy was in his own bed, so I think he may have stayed up for another hour or two. True and I snuggled together in our bed and we fell asleep almost immediately. She and I were exhausted and our bellies were full, so we had a good night’s sleep and woke up fairly early. Coy was still in bed as she and I got ready. I woke Coy up after we were almost ready because he hates waiting around for us to finish out hair and things like that! He’s such a man! LOL!

After leaving the room, the first thing we did was go to Target because True wanted to get new shoes to go with the outfit that she was wearing to Playlist the next day. She found some adorable coral wedges that went perfectly with her outfit. We checked out and headed to the first surprise I had planned for them that day – DisneyQuest!

The kids had no idea where we were going when we pulled up to Downtown Disney. They remembered the area from previous trips, but they had no idea what DisneyQuest was. As we were finding a parking spot, I asked them if they wanted to do some interactive gaming. They both were very excited about that idea! We got there about 5 minutes after they opened. I went to the ticket window and paid $143.79 (including tax) for three tickets! More on that later!

We got three cards, similar to the cards you get for events such as MVMCP, and held them up to the turnstile just as you would a Magic Band.

Then we each scanned our thumb. The CM gave us a little spiel about DisneyQuest, but really, we just wanted to jump in the elevators and go! Not to say the CM wasn’t informative – he was – it was just that I already did my research! Let’s go!

I have to apologize in advance that there are no pictures of our time in DisneyQuest. Well, there’s one! There was very low lighting and we were having too much fun to take pictures, anyway! Quick tip – due to the low light, it is a pain to try to read the park map in DisneyQuest. Do yourself a favor and download a PDF copy of it to your phone. I wish I had thought of this earlier because it was a bit of a time suck to have to try to locate things on a paper map or on the maps next to the elevators. Speaking of elevators, we decided to start on the top floor and work our way down. I read somewhere (maybe allears.net?) that it was the best plan of action. Well, since we arrived pretty close to opening, and it was a beautiful day outside, DisneyQuest was dead! Hardly anyone was in there! Score! But that also meant that the game we wanted to do first was closed. We approached Invasion! An ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter and saw that it wasn’t going to open until 1pm. Bummer! So the kids played some classic game like Monopoly or something (I really needed a journal for this trip so I could remember details! ) Then I suggested that we play a different game before the crowds got there. We walked down two flights of steps to go to Buzz Lightyear’s AstroBlaster. That was when it started… “Mommy, my feet hurt!” Yes, my darling diva of a daughter was wearing the wedges that she got from Target. The excuse was that she wanted to break them in for the next day. I actually didn’t have a problem with that because I thought it was fairly practical of her, and the shoes looked very comfortable. Well, I was wrong about the shoes being comfortable because she was wincing with almost every step. I traded shoes with her after a few more complaints of her feet hurting (thank goodness we wear the same size!) and we got in line for Buzz. I couldn’t even call it a line! We got behind a group of people who were waiting to be admitted to the game and we just missed the entry. We waited only for a few minutes, but that was good because we were able to see how the game was played. The one complaint I would have about DisneyQuest would be that the descriptions in the map of the games weren’t very informative. We had no idea what we were in for each time we walked up to a game. Which was fine, because the kids and I will try anything once! I just felt that the research I did beforehand didn’t tell me much about what to expect. The only exception to that is for the build your own coaster game. People NEED to know what they are getting into with that one!

As I was standing in line, waiting for Buzz, my feet started killing me! Yes, it happened that fast! The shoes were fine in terms of fitting around the toes and the heels, but the top of the shoe had no give at all! Even though it was made of canvas, it was as though the top if the shoe had been starched stiff or something! Those shoes were so uncomfortable, I have no idea how True was able to stand wearing them for the past half an hour! Luckily, we were admitted to Buzz just as my feet were about to give! Ok, it wasn’t that bad, but it was bad! I shuffled over to one bumper car-like vehicle and the kids shared another. The game basically is bumper cars, but they have a vacuum underneath the vehicles that sucks up the balls on the play floor and allows one of the players to shoot the balls at other vehicles. I am not doing the game justice, because it was really fun! I have no idea if people were keeping score, or if there was a clear winner, but it was fun driving over the balls and then pulling the leaver to shoot at other people. The kids had more fun because it really is a game built for two – a driver and a gunman!

I hobbled out of the game area and met the kids. True saw that I was struggling, so she offered to trade our shoes back Of course I traded! Just kidding! There was no way I was going to make my baby wear those shoes again! I told the kids that we could go on one or two more games, then we'd go back to Target to return the shoes. The kids didn't mind leaving DisneyQuest for a while, so they just elected to go back on Buzz. I decided to sit that one out. I wanted to take pictures, but I lost track of the kids because they were zooming around so fast!

Actually, I just remembered that they also want to do CyberSpace Mountain. When we went down to that floor, we saw that there was no one building a coaster at the time, so I knew we just had to build one then instead of waiting until later! The kids took turns adding tracks, trying to make the coaster as extreme as possible:

After they were done building the coaster, we were summoned up to the ride area. One thing that is good to know if you are doing that game with more than two people, the CM will let people swap out in your party so that everyone has a chance to ride that coaster. We rode that game several times throughout the day, so Coy, True and I took turns riding with each other so that each of us had a chance to ride each build - sometimes twice! OH MY GOODNESS, that game is so much fun! It really does simulate the feeling of a coaster! When you go into the simulator, it looks a little underwhelming, really. But as soon as that lid closes and the cylinder starts spinning and turning? Oh boy! SO MUCH FUN!!!

I could go on and on about CyberSpace Mountain but I won't After all three of us had a chance to ride, we left DisneyQuest and made our way to the car. I took those stiff shoes off and put on my fur-lined duck boots! They felt so good! I didn't care that I looked like a fool wearing those in 75° weather! We returned the wedges and True picked out another pair of coral shoes. I tried them on too, and they were comfy. True was a little disappointed that they were flats, but she loved the color, so she was happy overall. After we paid for those shoes, she put them on and didn't have any issue for the rest of the day Oh, and I traded my tennis shoes back so that I didn't have to wear boots!

We went back to Downtown Disney, but the parking lot was much more crowded than it was earlier that morning. I was a little worried that DisneyQuest would be packed. Nope! It's was a little busier than it was that morning, but not by much! So, my next tip is to go to DisneyQuest on a pretty day. Also, weekdays are supposed to be better than weekends, but I can't speak to that since I haven't been on a weekend. I'm just glad that the kids and I got to play so many games! We did EVERYTHING! We went back up to the top floor to do the Alien Encounter, rescuing colonists! Then we did Ride the Comix, where we wore weird virtual reality helmets and swung swords in order to defeat our enemies! We walked down a flight of stairs and ended up in the café where we almost got a couple of cupcakes, but the kids and I were having too much fun to stop to eat! So we walked down another two flights and took a few more turns at CyberSpace Mountain! We passed right by the Living Easels and the Animation Academy because the kids were looking for thrills, but I definitely want to try those things out on another visit. Finally, we went down to the lower floor and got in line for the Virtual Jungle Cruise. Again, by “line” I mean that we waited for about two whole minutes until another family left their boat before we could ride. We pretended to row down white water rapids as the boat swayed and bumped around. It was a cool ride, but not as awesome as what we did next. Pirates of the Caribbean: Battle for Buccaneer Gold was not at all what I expected! The kids and I were running from one side of the ship to the other, blasting cannons! Too cool!

We spent a good couple of hours at DisneyQuest between the headliners and the regular arcade games. Just so you know, the graphics on the headliners are nothing to write home about (the kids and I are spoiled by the crisp images we see on XBOX!) but being able to be totally immersed in a game makes up for what the graphics lack!

Overall, I would say that we were very happy with the time we spent at DisneyQuest! It was a great way to spend an afternoon! Now, $143.79 was a bit steep, in my opinion, for a few hours of entertainment. I would be willing to do it again if the tickets were included – such as when a person has an Annual Pass – but I don’t plan on taking the kids again anytime soon if I have to pay separately. My kids and I are gamers and we had a fantastic time, so it was worth the cost this time, but I don’t think it would be worth the expense to have a repeat visit. I’ll just say that if you or anyone in your travel party are gamers, you’ve gotta go at least once!

So, after DisneyQuest, I think we grabbed some fast food from a drive-thru somewhere. I need a travel journal! LOL! Then I asked the kids if they were ready for their next surprise. They were raring to go, so we hit the highway to Lake Wales! I felt a little bad because they saw signs for LegoLand while we were on our way to our real destination. They want to go there, but I explained that we would have to dedicate a day to LegoLand, and we just didn’t have the time on this trip. *Mental Note: See if we can squeeze in a day at LegoLand on our next trip. So, back to reality… Where were we headed? Well, I told the kids we were going to someplace spooky! Has anyone guessed? We went to Spook Hill! The Legend of Spook Hill can be read on this sign:

Basically, legend has it that a large alligator was terrorizing the town of Lake Wales, so an Indian Chief got into a battle over the town with the gator. They both died, and the Chief was buried nearby. Once pioneers started coming through the area, they noticed that their horses had a very hard time going down the hill. In modern times, cars that were put in neutral at the bottom of the hill will roll back uphill! So, was it the ghost of the gator that was pushing the cars uphill? Or was it the Indian Chief that was protecting his town? We were about to find out!

Now, I am familiar with gravity hills because I have seen similar things on TV where “researchers” on reality shows have debunked the legends of haunted hills. One was about how a car put in neutral would roll forward, seemingly up a slight incline, and onto train tracks! Was it some sort of vengeful spirit that was trying to make innocent people get stuck on train tracks? Nope! It was an optical illusion, and it only looked like the car was going uphill! It was actually going down a very slight incline! So, when we got to Spook Hill, that was what I expected. I thought it was just going to be a gravity hill that just looked like we were rolling backwards and uphill. Nope! We had to drive down the hill to the white line where the car was to be put in neutral. I expected that we might slowly roll back up a few inches but that wasn’t what happened! Check out the video!

Our Car Rolled UPHILL @ Spook Hill - Lake Wales FL

Does my voice really sound like that? Anyway, it was so cool! We were rolling uphill! It didn’t look like any gravity hill I had ever seen before! The kids thought it was cool, but if you watched the video, you probably heard True say, “Wait, Mom? That was it?” She is not easily impressed! Coy said he thought we were going to a “spooky spooky place” but he thought it was cool that a ghost was pushing the car! He was a little freaked out! As you can see in the video, we did it a few times. After I turned the camera off, we did it a few more times! True was getting bored with it, no matter how much I tried to play up the idea of a ghost alligator or Indian Chief messing with our car! Coy liked doing Spook Hill over and over again, though, and he was trying to figure out how it actually worked.

So, after about ten times rolling backwards uphill, it was time to go I didn’t have anything planned, but True was begging me to go to the pool. After all, I had promised her the day before that we would go. So we drove back to Pop and she hurried to change into her suit. It was dark by then and the temperature had dropped, so I tried to get her to just go swimming the next day, but she was determined. It was too cold for me, though, so I didn’t change into my swimming suit. True was SO MAD at me! She really wanted us to go swimming together, but I just couldn’t do it! She got over it eventually, because she was just happy to get in the pool!

She was cold, though! See her holding her arms close to her body?:

But even though she was cold, she was having fun!

She got out of the pool after only 15 minutes or so, but not before making me promise that I would go to the pool with her the next day. I won’t keep you in suspense – she and I went to the pool each evening after that! No matter how cold it was! You probably have noticed that Coy didn’t go to the pool and I didn’t mention that he went to the pool the other days, either. Yeah, he used that time to stay in the room and use the laptop! Sacrilege! :lmao2: When you are in a warm climate, I believe it is mandatory to have some pool time! Oh well. His loss! Anyway, True jumped in the shower and I got everything ready for the next day. The kids and I were very excited because the next day was the first day of Playlist Live!!!

 

[Tink-erin-belle]

We'll all have to request the same location/floor at the Marriott. You and Karen can go with the parent passes and I'll be lounging around the pool. Hey, I'll make the sacrifice! I'm not sure we would do any of the parks, though. We all know how that worked out this last time around.

We could do a couple of meals together, too. I guess from what I've read there are 6 or 7 restaurants right there and even a Starbucks right there in the lobby. I just wish the room weren't so expensive, but maybe they'll have a convention rate!!

That would be so cool to be on the same floor! I haven’t checked the room rates for that hotel, but I also hope that there is a convention discount! How much fun would it be to grab some Starbucks in the morning, have a few tropical drinks by the pool in the afternoon, and have dinner together?!? I’m looking forward to it already! I just wish Playlist Live would release some 2015 info! Don’t they know that they are dealing with extreme planners???

 

[Victoriasmom98]

Awesome update ---- well worth the wait! Your video was so darned cute, but I think, just like True, I expected more. Oh well. Sorry about True's first selection of shoes, but you did just like I've done in the past --- switch shoes and just suck it up. We's are good mamas!!! Disney Quest sounds like soooo much fun. I think the last time we had a package, there were tickets for 2 included. I'd have to check because I'm not positive. We just never found the time to do it. Maybe next time! So, Coy and his laptop, huh? Yeah, I don't want to talk about it. Victoria and he would have lots in common. Grrrrrrr. You were so lucky to have a car in Orlando. I just wish I could do that at next Playlist, but hey, YOU and Karen could both be my chauver!! Yep, great idea Ann!!!

 

[Victoriasmom98]

I wanted to tell you about the FREE DINING OFFER that is "rumored" to be released to Disney Visa Holders tomorrow and then to the General Public on May 7th:

Free Dining for 2014 is a go.

The promo will likely be released to Disney Visa holders on Thursday, May 1st and to the public on Wednesday, May 7.

The likely dates included are:
August 31 - October 3
October 26 - November 1
November 9 - November 20
December 12 - December 23

I wasn't sure if you could work around those dates at all, but there's the info. Wouldn't it be worth it to arrive one day later for free dining??? And have free dining for the entire length of your stay. It would be something to think about!! Gee, I wonder WHY I'M looking at the Free Dining thread? Hmmmmmm....

 

[Victoriasmom98]

That would be so cool to be on the same floor! I haven’t checked the room rates for that hotel, but I also hope that there is a convention discount! How much fun would it be to grab some Starbucks in the morning, have a few tropical drinks by the pool in the afternoon, and have dinner together?!? I’m looking forward to it already! I just wish Playlist Live would release some 2015 info! Don’t they know that they are dealing with extreme planners???

How DARE they not have all the information out for us UBER PLANNERS!!! I just don't think that's acceptable! Yes, it would be so much fun to hang out!! And we both know that Victoria and Coy could just tweet each other even though they'd be sitting AT THE SAME TABLE!!! Yep, I could see them now!

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

You beat me fair and square this time Ann, I'm not even going to pout about it! I've been so crazy busy this week and it's not slowing down!

Erin, I got the official word about the date and hotel on Twitter from Playlist live. I specifically asked the dates and someone else asked the hotel and they responded, so I think they just haven't announced probably b/c maybe they are waiting for discounts. I reserved my room already b/c that's how I roll. If they come out with better rates than my AAA, I'll cancel and rebook.

One of my best friends, Kim, who lives just a few hours from Orlando is coming up for the weekend to hang with me at the pool but I do think I'll be getting the parent pass as well for some photos. I know that seems strange to only partially use it, but I pay for photopass for just a handful of pics, it's no different here. Paying for photos is totally worth it for me, they are a big priority and Savannah does NOT want selfies with the youtubers. I'm just going to schedule certain times with the girls that they are doing their favorites and get pics. Other times I'll lay in the sun. Best of both worlds.

I'm still not sure what I'll be doing about a vehicle, since my friend is coming, I may not need to rent one!

 

[Tink-erin-belle]

Awesome update ---- well worth the wait! Your video was so darned cute, but I think, just like True, I expected more. Oh well. Sorry about True's first selection of shoes, but you did just like I've done in the past --- switch shoes and just suck it up. We's are good mamas!!! Disney Quest sounds like soooo much fun. I think the last time we had a package, there were tickets for 2 included. I'd have to check because I'm not positive. We just never found the time to do it. Maybe next time! So, Coy and his laptop, huh? Yeah, I don't want to talk about it. Victoria and he would have lots in common. Grrrrrrr. You were so lucky to have a car in Orlando. I just wish I could do that at next Playlist, but hey, YOU and Karen could both be my chauver!! Yep, great idea Ann!!!

Yeah, True is not easily impressed or entertained! DisneyQuest was so much fun, but it is hard to squeeze it in when there is so much more to do in Disney and DTD. “Coy and the Laptop” – That’s what I should have named this TR! Yes, he and Victoria would have a lot to talk about! Or should I say “text about”? He much prefers the laptop and his phone to actual human interaction! But he did have a great time at Playlist, so I was glad to see him come out of his shell with the YouTubers! As far as the car, I HAVE TO have one when I travel now. The kids and I did OK in Boston without one because almost everything was walking distance. But I love the convenience of having a car. If you don’t have a car for Playlist, I’ll be more than happy to drive you around

I wanted to tell you about the FREE DINING OFFER that is "rumored" to be released to Disney Visa Holders tomorrow and then to the General Public on May 7th:

Free Dining for 2014 is a go.

The promo will likely be released to Disney Visa holders on Thursday, May 1st and to the public on Wednesday, May 7.

The likely dates included are:
August 31 - October 3
October 26 - November 1
November 9 - November 20
December 12 - December 23

I wasn't sure if you could work around those dates at all, but there's the info. Wouldn't it be worth it to arrive one day later for free dining??? And have free dining for the entire length of your stay. It would be something to think about!! Gee, I wonder WHY I'M looking at the Free Dining thread? Hmmmmmm....

Thank you for this, Ann! I think we could do a room only on Friday and Saturday – since we aren’t going to the parks on either of those days – and get a package at Pop starting on Sunday, the 26th! Why are you looking at the free dining thread??? Spill!

How DARE they not have all the information out for us UBER PLANNERS!!! I just don't think that's acceptable! Yes, it would be so much fun to hang out!! And we both know that Victoria and Coy could just tweet each other even though they'd be sitting AT THE SAME TABLE!!! Yep, I could see them now!

I had to do some serious digging to get more info on 2015! I guess it is good that the info isn’t really public yet because I was able to book a room! Oh yeah, I can totally see Coy and Victoria tweeting away!

You beat me fair and square this time Ann, I'm not even going to pout about it! I've been so crazy busy this week and it's not slowing down!

Erin, I got the official word about the date and hotel on Twitter from Playlist live. I specifically asked the dates and someone else asked the hotel and they responded, so I think they just haven't announced probably b/c maybe they are waiting for discounts. I reserved my room already b/c that's how I roll. If they come out with better rates than my AAA, I'll cancel and rebook.

One of my best friends, Kim, who lives just a few hours from Orlando is coming up for the weekend to hang with me at the pool but I do think I'll be getting the parent pass as well for some photos. I know that seems strange to only partially use it, but I pay for photopass for just a handful of pics, it's no different here. Paying for photos is totally worth it for me, they are a big priority and Savannah does NOT want selfies with the youtubers. I'm just going to schedule certain times with the girls that they are doing their favorites and get pics. Other times I'll lay in the sun. Best of both worlds.

I'm still not sure what I'll be doing about a vehicle, since my friend is coming, I may not need to rent one!

Thank you for the info, Karen! I was able to go to their Twitter to find their Tumblr to get the dates! I booked with my AAA discount, too, but the rooms were still uber expensive! We might as well stay at the Grand Floridian! But I told myself that we are staying at the convention hotel, so that is what we are doing I hope that means that the kids will run into some YouTubers in the halls and at the pool like Victoria was able to last year. I don’t blame you at all for getting the parent pass. I think you will make good use of it. Most of the people that Savannah will want to see will probably require her to stand in line anyway, so you will have plenty of time to be the photographer and lay out at the pool! I’m definitely renting a car, so if we want to have a girl’s night out away from the kids, we will have a getaway vehicle!

 

[Tink-erin-belle]

I’m so happy that Disney released a free dining offer that includes our dates in October! I guess everyone else is excited, too, because I have been calling for the past hour and a half to change our reservation, but I keep getting the message, “We’re sorry, all circuits are busy now. Please try your call again later.” Grrr I was hoping that I had called early enough to beat the lunch rush of people calling in to the booking line. Oh well. I’ll have to try again later!

 

[Victoriasmom98]

When you call, say it's a new reservation......rumor has it you'll get through quicker.

 

[Victoriasmom98]

Ok, Miss Erin........I've been waiting all day to see if you got free dining for your trip. Would you PLEASE update me!!!! I'll update you on MY news if you update me on YOURS.

 

[Tink-erin-belle]

I thought I would never stop hearing the message “All circuits are busy” when I called Disney Reservations! I called all during the day at work yesterday –a total of 28 times! – and I even tried to see if I could get through on the Disney Dining line! I tried that one 5 times! No go By the time I got home yesterday, I was too busy and too tired to try to call again, so I gave up for the day. I tried again this morning and got “All circuits are busy” again! And again! I tried one final time and I got through! I was so happy to hear that little pixie dust chime in the beginning of the call!

Well, that was at 9:14am. I was on hold until 10:07am! That was OK, though! At least I was in the queue I plugged my earphones in and discreetly waited on hold as I answered emails at my desk I could barely believe it when someone finally came to the line. She was so helpful and she stayed on the phone with me for 30 minutes booking everything! My plan was to get the free dining and upgrade to the Coronado Springs, but they were all sold out for my dates. Caribbean Beach was sold out, as well. So I kept my reservation for a preferred room at Pop but changed the dates so that we could have the free DDP. She called it Dining Plus at first, which made me a little concerned because I definitely did not want the Deluxe DDP! So I confirmed with her first that it was what I knew as the DDP. I guess they are changing everything to Plus these days – Fast Pass Plus, Dining Plus… In any case, we are booked!

Pop Century from October 26th to November 2nd!
But, it gets better, folks! I didn’t want to cut my trip short because of the free dining, so I got a room only reservation, as well! I couldn’t decide if I wanted to do All Star Music or Movies, so the CM suggested a different option…

Art of Animation from October 24th to October 26th!

Yup, I added a day so that we now arrive on Friday and stay in a standard room at AoA!!!

It gets better! I even purchased our tickets for MNSSHP for the night of the 24th! I am super excited! I cannot wait! The kids are going to be so happy! Now I have to start looking for flights on Friday instead of Saturday… I have to plan our costumes… I have so much to do, I can’t even think straight! By the way, I decided I am just going to keep this PTR going. I don’t want to start all over again with a new PTR, so I will start making updates once I finish with the Playlist Live Mini TR