Doing WDW on my own again, a February 2012 PTR

[PhoenixStrength]

I'm still pretty sick, though I am feeling better than I did on Friday. I'm going to try to get my pictures for the next day organized and get an update up shortly so I can get this Mini-Tr done soon

 

[PhoenixStrength]

DAY 6 FRIDAY OCTOBER 21​

VOLUNTEERING WITH THE PIGS!​

So I woke up Friday morning and checked on Sprocket, but he was still sleeping in his tent.

Isn't he so cute? So, since he was still snoozing I got in the shower and when I came out he woke up, ready for breakfast.

I got his breakfast ready, romaine lettuce, cranberries and peas, and he ate it right down while I ate my bowl of cereal. He finished before me, which resulted in more shenanigans from him. He flipped the bar stools and the air vent some more while I tried to finish eating.

I couldn't be mad though, since he is so cute. Once I was done eating we headed out to walk up to Piggy Paradise, which is where I was also volunteering that morning. We walked out of the cottage to see these:

Wild Turkeys! They are plentiful at the sanctuary, and it was not the first or last time I saw them this trip. We walked down along the horse pasture, with the turkeys right in front of us the whole way. I tossed Sprocket sweet potato chips to keep him going in the right direction and he walked pretty well.

Because Lisa brought up Sprocket's size earlier I thought before I put up pictures of the rest of the piggies I would dispel some myths. There is no such thing as a "teacup" pig. Pigs can start breeding at 4-6 months, and take 3-4 years to fully mature. So breeders can trick people into thinking that their piglet will stay small since the parents are still small (only because they are also still babies!). The average pig is 150+ lbs. Piggy Paradise has one pig that weighs less than that, and she weighs about 130 lbs and is considered small for a pig. Only 4% of pet pigs stay in their home for life, mostly due to people buying them thinking they will be small and then getting rid of them when they get to their real size. And of the 96% of pet pigs that are homeless only 2% of them will ever find a home due to various factors such as lack of interest in them and zoning laws in most places considering them farm animals and not pets.

Oh, by pet pigs I mean Potbelly pigs. Though several of the pigs are not purebred potbelly. There are several that have farm pig and/or feral (wild) pig mixed in with them, which just makes them bigger! One good example are Nick and Holly. They are not quite 2 (they will be in December), are brother and sister, and were brought to BFAS because their Mom rejected them. They are potbelly, farm and wild pig all mixed together. They are over 200 lbs each, and as tall as great danes. And they will keep growing for at least another year. They will probably be over 300 lbs each fully grown. They are trouble makers and hard to get pictures of (they are naughty kids) so here is one of them from outside of their pen:

So, once Sprocket and I got down to Piggy Paradise, I got him in his pen that he shares with his "girlfriend" (all pigs at Piggy Paradise are spayed and neutered!) Daphne. I went into the HQ and said hello to Yvonne and Patti, the only two PP (Piggy Paradise) employees. There was a couple of other volunteers already there (literally a couple, there for their first visit ever to BFAS and their first time volunteering with pigs) and they were making breakfast. Since Yvonne and Patti know I know what I'm doing, having visited two other times, they just let me hang out until it was feeding time, then I took the two other volunteers out to feed.

We fed all 20 of the pigs in Piggy Paradise, with Patti's help on a couple since they tend to bite strangers. So, here are the piggies:

Scott and Liz

Jeffrey

Cherry (the smallest pig there)

Holly (managed to get one of her before she saw me and tried to eat my camera)

Metro (the only pig to ever bite me, which he was known to do when he was younger)

Jessabelle

Teddy

Jack (one of my favorites, and he has his own Twitter feed!) Jack is half potbelly and half wild pig

Daphne, Sprocket's girlfriend

Panda, one of the pigs who bites strangers. He has only been at PP for a short time and is still settling in, which is why he is nervous around strangers.

After feeding was done we started back at the beginning and picked all the dishes back up. The couple washed the dishes while I took Forrest the pig out for a walk. Forrest is an older boy with stiff joints, and going for short walks helps him loosen up and feel better.

Forrest came to PP along with another pig, named Squeaker, from a family that could no longer care for them due to old age. Squeaker is older than Forrest and is actually is an office pig, living indoors at all times, except for walks and potty breaks. Squeaker has a big bed inside and gets along well with the employees' dogs. Here is Squeaker:

By that time it was actually time to break for lunch. I went up to my cottage and brought down all of Sprocket's things and then headed into town. I ate lunch at Pizza Hut in Kanab and then headed back to BFAS to volunteer at CatWorld.

UP NEXT: PLAYING WITH THE KITTIES

 

[PhoenixStrength]

DAY 6 FRIDAY OCTOBER 21, PART 2​

PLAYING WITH THE KITTIES ​

So, once I got to CatWorld HQ I had to watch the safety video, and then I was assigned to volunteer in Casa De CalMar, which is the building that I went into on the tour two days earlier. The afternoon volunteer shift is very easy in CatWorld. The only thing the volunteers do is pet cats. It helps keep the cats happy, and socializes shy cats so they are more likely to come out and visit with potential adopters. I have seen it work. When I was visiting two years prior I was there with the same friends. We stopped in a different building on our tour and a cat named Al Jolson climbed into the lap of my friend Connie, who will be making many appearances later in this trip. She pet him for a while, finding out that he was 12 and had, until recently, been very shy and never approached anyone. That night she took him on a sleepover and adopted him the next day. Two years later he is still doing great and lives with her, her daughter, and her two cats that she has adopted since then.

CatWorld has 11 buildings, but they are all very close, so I just walked over to Casa De CalMar and spoke to the caregivers there that day, Joni and Lisa. They told me to go wherever I wanted, to I headed into the first room for some petting. So you don't all think I have a freakish memory, I will show you how I have everyone's names. Each room has a board with all the cats in the room on it. It has their name, picture, birthdate and history. Here is the one from this room:

And here are some of the wonderful kitties from that room:

Mali

And in an example of how siblings can look nothing alike, here is Mali's brother Tesla:

Mickie, sitting on my lap:

This picture is rather blurry, but I am posting it for a reason. This is Mickie, still on my lap, with Tesla's lying across Mickie's back:

I posted that to show how good of buddies Mickie and Tesla are. About two weeks after I left they were adopted together by a family who wanted 2 cats that would get along and keep each other company. I'm so happy for them as they are both incredibly sweet, friendly, affectionate boys. Anyone, moving on.

Moses

Annabelle (who you will see again later being more friendly)

I decided to move onto the next room at that point. CalMar has 3 rooms, as well as a few cats that live in the lobby.

Magellan

I mentioned earlier during my post about my tour that Madison, who lives in a different room, was one of 2 cats that have been in CalMar since it was built. This is Austin, and he is the other cat that has been there the entire time the building has existed.

Squirt

Mimi Divine

Athena

Brinda

Smokey Bones (in the same box Brinda had just been in, after Brinda came out of it)

Eva

I went back out into the lobby to talk to Joni and Lisa. They were sitting in the lobby putting together new beds that a volunteer had shipped to them as a donation. A few of the cats in the lobby already had some Halloween decorations on them.

Layla Lou

Selma

And Zip

The last room in Casa De CalMar was the one I went into during my tour.

UP NEXT: MORE CAT PETTING, AND BITING

 

[PhoenixStrength]

DAY 6 FRIDAY OCTOBER 21, PART 3​

MORE CAT PETTING, AND BITING!​

I went into the last room, which is the one I went into on the tour so I recognized some of the cats from two days before.

Adalyn

Willow Girl

Ginger

Doug

Mr. Jimmers, who followed me all around during the tour:

Wheezey, who I got a funny picture of during the tour

Socks, another handsome repeat

Lew

Madison, who is the other CalMar original

I went back into the lobby after that and got pictures of the other 2 lobby cats.

Adam

Frasier

I still had about 20 minutes so I went back into the first room I had gone in for some more pictures and playing.

Carlisle. Don't let his handsome face trick you, he is sweet with people but a devil with other cats. He picks on them and fights quite often. He actually was moved last week to his own private room in a different building where he can interact with people, but not be around other cats.

Fade, enjoying some time on my lap

Annabelle, who was doing the biting in my title. She was only playing though and never broke my skin!

Chloe Girl, who is a miracle kitty. She survived Katrina, was rescued and brought to BFAS when her owner was not found, and then was found to have breast cancer, which she also survived! She is a very sweet kitty and loves attention.

Tesla and Mickie playing again, this time in a tube.

Sophie Marie. She looks almost identical to my Sweetie. The only real difference, which is very hard to see in this picture, is that Sophie Marie is a poly-dactyl. If you don't know what that is, it means they have extra toes. In her case she has an extra toe on each of her front feet.

By then it was 3:30pm and time for me to go to DogTown HQ so I could take my favorite girl out for our usual sleepover. Every trip out to BFAS, this being my third, I have taken Theresa on a sleepover. She is a sweet older pitbull girl, who has also survived a lot. She had mammary cancer, had an obstruction in her stomach that required emergency surgery and has arthritis in her older years. She is such a sweetheart with people though, and I love her.

I requested Theresa when I got into DogTown HQ and they called her caregiver, Kathy, over the radio to bring her down to me. Kathy was a little worried over the radio and said she would have to get Theresa's meds together and asked if the person taking her knew her. The desk told her that I did and I went out front to wait for her to be brought down. Once Kathy saw me though she was fine, as she remembered me from the past and from the Best Friends forums. I gave Kathy a hug and then I loaded Theresa up in my car. BFAS gives you a bag for each dog sleepover with treats (which they didn't put in Theresa's due to food allergies, though Kathy brought me some of the ones she can have), a water bowl, a toy and a blanket. They also include a sheet with phone numbers for emergencies and an evaluation form that ask lots of questions to help BFAS know what the dog needs to work on to do better in a home, and what they need work on.

So, Theresa and I went back to my cottage to watch some TV and hang out.

Theresa is actually famous. She has a long list of admirers, and was recently put on a t-shirt that they sell in the Gift Shop. Around 4:30pm I gave her the first pill she needs, which is for stomach issues. Since she had to have surgery to remove a piece of toy that was stuck in her stomach she needs Pepcid AC to help her with her digestion.

I took her for a walk and then we headed into town for dinner. We stopped at McDonalds drive thru and then headed back to my cottage. I ate my dinner and gave Theresa a few treats while I ate. She had gotten her dinner before I picked her up. She was very well behaved while I ate, just lying on the floor next to the table.

Once I finished eating I gave her the second pill she needed, which was Tramadol for her arthritis. We hung out, watching tv and giving her lots of pets. I went to bed around 10pm and put down Theresa's blanket that BFAS gave me, and another extra one that was in the cottage, one in the living room and one in the bedroom. She laid down on the small red one that BFAS provided for a bit.

After I went to bed though I heard her moving around and went to check on her. She had moved up onto the couch and stayed there all night.

UP NEXT: DOGTOWN VOLUNTEERING

 

[aprilisis]

Yup- I totally want to vacation there now. All of your photos are awesome! I would just want to stay in dogtown- even though all of the animals are so cute. I'm going to look at their website now.
Are you feeling better?

 

[PhoenixStrength]

Yup- I totally want to vacation there now. All of your photos are awesome! I would just want to stay in dogtown- even though all of the animals are so cute. I'm going to look at their website now.
Are you feeling better?

Thanks! I'm sure the ones on your upcoming TR are going to be awesome too! The great thing about BFAS is you can volunteer in any department, and they are grateful for the help. And you can do tours of all the departments too, so if you only want to volunteer in Dogtown, but still want to see the other departments, you can.

Be sure to check out the Guardian Angel section of their website. It has the most hard luck animals of all species on there, and they update them weekly on their progress. That section is what hooked me on BFAS years ago.

I definitely feel much better. Not 100% yet, but maybe 75%, which I am grateful for!

 

[PhoenixStrength]

happy thanksgiving!!!

 

[aprilisis]

Just checking in- I hope everything is going well & that you had a nice Thanksgiving.

 

[PhoenixStrength]

Just checking in- I hope everything is going well & that you had a nice Thanksgiving.

Thanks April! I am still sick and keep forgetting to upload the rest of the vacation photos to photobucket so I can do the next update. I'm going to try to remember to do that tonight so I can get another update done

 

[PhoenixStrength]

DAY 7 SATURDAY OCTOBER 22ND​

DOGTOWN VOLUNTEERING​

So the beginning of this will be picture-less, because my camera went crazy and deleted all the pictures I had taken so far that morning.

I woke up around 7am and found Theresa was still sleeping so I took a quick shower and ate some breakfast. We left around 8am and I took her back to Dogtown HQ to be picked up by her caregiver, Kathy. After she was picked up I got an assigned area for the morning, Conrad and Leopolds. I actually had never volunteered in those buildings in my past trips, though once I arrived I realized I knew a lot of the dogs living there. The caregiver for those buildings that day was Marla, and she was a doll. She had me start walking dogs right away while she finished something she was doing.

The first dog I took on a walk was Timon, who I hadn't met before but did know of. He is a sweetie. I took several pictures of him on our walk, but since they were deleted, here he is in his run.

When I got back with him Marla and I took two dogs that live together on a walk. She had Harmony (who I do not have any pictures of) since Harmony is staff-only and I took her buddy Alan, who was a doll. Here is a picture of Alan in his run that I took later.

Harmony actually looks a lot like him, though she is a little smaller. They aren't related though.

After we got back from that walk I took Timon's roommate Dixie for a walk. I had met her before, and was excited to see her again, though I wish she had been adopted instead of still there. I do have one picture of her from our walk, since during our walk was when the pictures got accidentally deleted.

While I was walking back up with her Marla met me and told me I needed to get her inside quickly. Seems a dog from a neighboring building had gotten loose so they needed all the other dogs in to reduce the risk of a fight. She asked me to scoop poop and fill water in the runs where there weren't staff-only dogs while she went to help try to catch the loose dog.

The first run I went into was of Barney and Annie. They are both very fun, active and affectionate dogs. I have met Annie both of my last two visits and was happy to get to spend time with her again. I scooped their run, filled their water and swept the sand out of their indoor run, then played with them for a while.

Barney

Annie (not the best pic I took of her, but so cute!)

From there I scooped, watered and swept Timon and Dixie's run (hence the earlier picture of Timon). Then I went over to the other building and went in with Palmer and Shannon. I adore these two dogs and had spent a lot of time with them my last trip, when they lived in a different area of Dogtown. I cleaned up their run and by that time Marla had gotten back. They hadn't caught the dog yet, but sent some of the caregivers back (They did catch him later that day and he was fine). I let her know that I had found some diarrhea in their run and she said Palmer had been sick for a few days and was going to be checked out by the clinic since the diarrhea wasn't stopping. This will be important in a minute, but first here are their pictures.

Shannon

Palmer

Isn't he handsome? Unfortunately one week later he passed away. When they took him to the clinic they found he had cancer in his liver and it had exploded, which is why he was sick. There was nothing they could do by that point and he had to be euthanized. I am still so very sad about this, as I really loved him. Shannon is still grieving, as the two of them had lived together for years and she really didn't like any other dogs but him. I'm so sad for her especially. RIP Palmer.

On a happier note, I kept cleaning runs after theirs. Here are Mitchell (in the front) and Esther.

I had never met Esther before, but have a connection to her. My first trip to BFAS in 2007 I took her mother, Ruth, on her very first sleepover just two weeks after Ruth, Esther and Esther's brother (whose name slips my mind right now) arrived at BFAS. Ruth was terrified, having been a stray most of her life, but was so gentle and looks exactly like Esther. Thankfully Ruth was adopted a little over a year ago, as was the brother. Esther is shy, but also very gentle and sweet and I was glad to meet her. Mitchell is the opposite. He is young, hyper, friendly and never stops moving.

These two are Windy (left) and Hammond. I couldn't go in their run as they had a new dog in there and volunteers cannot interact with new dogs just in case they show signs of behavioral issues. But they were so cute I had to take a picture. A friend of mine had taken Windy on a sleepover a few nights before and adored her.

A couple more dogs whose runs I couldn't go in, but got pictures of them from outside their runs.

Savannah (her roommate hates strangers and was growling at me the whole time I took this picture).

Sawyer (he is staff-only as he play bites, as does his roommate who is also staff-only). He is quite sweet though, just a little crazy and they don't want to risk a volunteer being accidentally injured.

By that time it was time to feed them breakfast. Most buildings have a small kitchen area that also serves as a dog run for a single dog. In this case the kitchen dog is Jager, who I adore. She is a funny little girl who was rescued from Hurricane Katrina. She begged the whole time I was making the meals, and here she is begging for her own food.

Once I finished making the meals I fed the dogs that I was allowed to interact with while Marla fed the rest. By that time it was ending time for the morning shift. Oh, I just checked my notes and I forgot that I actually walked Jager first, then Timon. Darn camera for deleting my pictures so I forgot some things!

I needed to do laundry so I decided to go to the laundromat in town (there are actually two but I've used the same one the last two times too). Here is the laundromat.

It's actually self-serve. I've never seen an employee in there, though there is a sign saying if there is a problem go next door and knock on the house's front door. I started my clothes in a washer and then walked across the street to Subway and grabbed some lunch. I ate my sub in the laundromat while waiting for my clothes to wash, then switched them to the dryer to run. Once the clothes were done (and my lunch!) I dropped them off at my cottage and headed back to Dogtown. I had the afternoon free so I could take a dog on an outing. In addition to the sleepovers, you can also take a dog on an outing for the afternoon (or morning). You can just take them for a car ride, a walk through town, to hang out at your hotel or to a local park, they don't really care.

I had told Marla that morning about my plans and asked her who in Conrad and Leopold's needed an outing the most. She suggested my buddy Dixie, as she hadn't been on an outing for a while. So I went to Dogtown HQ to check Dixie out for an outing. I decided to take her to Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park. It is only 12 miles from BFAS and I had never been there before. Marla brought her to me and asked that she be back by 4:15pm as Marla was leaving at 4:30pm and needed time to feed her before she left. It was only 1:30pm then so that gave us plenty of time. Dixie hopped right in my car and settled on the passenger's seat for the car ride.

Isn't she cute? The car ride was uneventful and we soon arrived. I paid the $6 entrance fee and then we parked and got out. In case anyone was wondering why it is named Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park, here is the reason:

It is an ATVers paradise there. There were several people there on ATVs, though they are only allowed out on the actual dunes and not in the walking areas where Dixie and I were. We took a walk along the "nature trail" they have there. It's not so much a trail as some dunes you walk over with signs every once in a while that give you facts about the park, plant-life or animals that live there. Here is Dixie enjoying our walk:

And watching the ATVers

The trail ended with a 50 foot dune that was very steep, and being loose sand also very difficult to walk up. We were both tired after that so we found some benches to sit on. I gave her some water and treats, and got a drink myself. We sat in the shade relaxing while I filled out the outing evaluation form for Dixie. Dixie enjoyed lying on the cool concrete slab by the bench.

After relaxing for a while we got back in the car to head back to Dogtown. She once again decided to ride shotgun.

I dropped her off to Marla and headed back to my cottage to change. My friends were (mostly) all arriving that afternoon and I was going to meet them at the house they rented for the week at around 4:30. I cleaned up and then headed over there. I forgot my camera, so no pictures of them right now. I got there while the first group were at the grocery store to pick up food for the week. They arrived though after only 5 minutes. My friend Christina, her sister Connie, Connie's 14 year old daughter Amanda and my friend Cathy were the only ones there so far. Oh, and Christina's three cats, Noah, Buck and Dakota!

Buck and Dakota were both adopted from BFAS and were also both part of the Guardian Angel program, which cares for and updates the public on the most severe and special cases. Buck had many medical issues when he arrived at BFAS, but is fine now. His entries in the GA program are how Christina and I met actually, before she even adopted him. I had met him and Noah the other 2 times I visited. She had adopted Dakota the year before and so I met him for the first time that night. Dakota is a miracle kitty. He was ran over by a hay mower as a kitten and lost 2 of his legs. He only has his back left leg, his front right leg and half of his front left leg, which he doesn't use except to help push up when he is going from laying to standing. He is a miracle cat. Even with only 2 legs he can run, jump and play like a normal cat. I will include pictures of all 3 of her cats on a later update.

So once they arrived we all went in and started dinner cooking, turkey chili. We talked for a while and after an hour or so the rest of the group that were arriving that day arrived. They were our friends Cheryl, Gloria and Jennifer (who is Gloria's adult daughter). I should point out that besides the 14 year old, I am the youngest of our group. Everyone else is at least in their 40s, with Gloria, Cheryl and Cathy all being in their 60s. We all love animals though and get along great. In addition to them a few people that work at BFAS or live in Kanab that we know came to the house to visit and eat with us. We all had a great time, eating, talking and laughing for hours. The party finally ended around 9:30-10pm and I headed back to my cottage to get some rest before the next day.

UP NEXT: SLEEPING IN, AND HANGING OUT AT CAT WORLD.

 

[aprilisis]

OMG- Dixie is soooo cute!!! I would not be able to leave there without at least one dog. That place seriously sounds like an awesome vacation. I was telling John I want to vacation there & he wants to go now, too!

 

[PhoenixStrength]

OMG- Dixie is soooo cute!!! I would not be able to leave there without at least one dog. That place seriously sounds like an awesome vacation. I was telling John I want to vacation there & he wants to go now, too!

Isn't she adorable? I adore her. And you probably wouldn't guess, but she is older too, I think 9 or 10. She doesn't act like it though. I think the biggest reason she hasn't found a home is she is picky about other dogs. Someone I know fostered her, wanting to adopt her, but couldn't as she hated one of her other dogs and training didn't help. Best Friends does do Spotlights on animals and Dixie was spotlighted last week, so I'm hoping that helps her get to her home!

It is a great place to vacation, and a wonderful area in general. I hope you guys do vacation there! If you do plan a trip and have any questions please ask

 

[mickeystoontown]

OMG- Dixie is soooo cute!!! I would not be able to leave there without at least one dog. That place seriously sounds like an awesome vacation. I was telling John I want to vacation there & he wants to go now, too!

I was about to say almost the same thing....even the "John" comment since I have a John too. I am loving all the updates and pictures of all the sweet animals. I would be hard pressed not to come home with one of them. Hope you get to feeling better soon.

 

[PhoenixStrength]

I was about to say almost the same thing....even the "John" comment since I have a John too. I am loving all the updates and pictures of all the sweet animals. I would be hard pressed not to come home with one of them. Hope you get to feeling better soon.

It is very hard to leave without wanting to take one with you. I very much want to adopt another dog, but just can't right now and that is the only reason I didn't leave with one. Hopefully within the next year that will change!

 

[PhoenixStrength]

Sorry it has been a while since I updated, I've been crazy busy. I'm hoping to get the next day of my mini-TR up tomorrow. For now, a Disney update!

I am seriously considering changing from POP to Caribbean Beach Resort. I priced it out and they still have rooms with the Free Dining Plan available, and it would cost about $540 more to upgrade. I'm just going back and forth on whether or not it will be worth it to upgrade. I won't be spending a ton of time at my resort, mostly sleeping to be honest, but I will do a little resort exploring and such.

Lisa, what do you think? Why do you love CBR?

 

[mickeystoontown]

It is very hard to leave without wanting to take one with you. I very much want to adopt another dog, but just can't right now and that is the only reason I didn't leave with one. Hopefully within the next year that will change!

Our local animal shelter posts pictures of the animals on Facebook and every time I see them, I want to adopt them all. They are all so very cute.

Sorry it has been a while since I updated, I've been crazy busy. I'm hoping to get the next day of my mini-TR up tomorrow. For now, a Disney update!

I am seriously considering changing from POP to Caribbean Beach Resort. I priced it out and they still have rooms with the Free Dining Plan available, and it would cost about $540 more to upgrade. I'm just going back and forth on whether or not it will be worth it to upgrade. I won't be spending a ton of time at my resort, mostly sleeping to be honest, but I will do a little resort exploring and such.

Lisa, what do you think? Why do you love CBR?

Girl, I know the crazy busy that overwhelms us this time of the year. No need to apologize at all.

How many days will you be at Disney? If it's where you think you'll have any "down" time, then I'd say go for the upgrade if you can swing the extra money. The main reason we continue to stay at the CBR is the fact that it feels so laid back and has a go-with-the-flow type vibe. When I'm not at the parks, I want some calmness and the CBR has that.

Keep in mind that the rooms at the CBR are larger, there's a fridge and coffee maker in the rooms and there are covered bus stops! I love the covered bus stops and consider that a plus. Each village has a bus stop and the buses make stops at each one before heading out to the parks. I've heard others complain about the multiple stops but we don't mind it at all.

I actually timed our bus rides from our stop in Jamaica. From the time we sat down in Jamaica, stopped at the other stops and pulled into the park bus stops, the rides were: Epcot: 10 minutes and 11 minutes; Hollywood Studios: 11 minutes; Magic Kingdom was between 13 and 16 minutes (we went multiple times) and I believe Animal Kingdom was about 15 minutes but I can't be sure since I can't find my notes on it. Downtown Disney didn't take very long either. We have never had any issues with the buses other than one time when John came to meet up with us at Hollywood Studios in the middle of the day and I think his wait was about 30 minutes. But, like I said, it was in the middle of the day and not peak "get to the park" hours. Oh and keep in mind if they have to load a scooter it will take a bit longer but that's the case anywhere you stay.

Every evening, we would go down to the beach and unwind from our day in the parks. The sand on our feet felt like a foot massage and was wonderful. We would lie in the hammocks or sit in the beach chairs and just reflect on our day.

If you have a little down time, you could rent a bicycle, surrey bike or one of the boats and take a spin around the resort. Renting the bicycles was super cheap and Hunter went around the resort at least a half dozen times before we told him it was time to stop.

As far as the food court goes, we like it a lot. The food has always been good and there's more on the menus than what is shown over on allearsnet. We have eaten at the Pop food court and, to me, the CBR food court is right on par with Pop's.

I almost forgot to mention that, in addition to the main pool, there are quiet pools in each of the resort villages and they are open 24 hours a day. As long as you are quiet during the late evening hours, Disney is fine with you swimming. If you need to do laundry while there, there are laundry rooms at each resort village right beside the quiet pools. If you have to do laundry, there's no better place to do it than while swimming and looking at the gorgeous resort.

I posted tons of pictures of the resort, the store, the food court, etc. on the CBR picture thread.

 

[PhoenixStrength]

Girl, I know the crazy busy that overwhelms us this time of the year. No need to apologize at all.

How many days will you be at Disney? If it's where you think you'll have any "down" time, then I'd say go for the upgrade if you can swing the extra money. The main reason we continue to stay at the CBR is the fact that it feels so laid back and has a go-with-the-flow type vibe. When I'm not at the parks, I want some calmness and the CBR has that.

Keep in mind that the rooms at the CBR are larger, there's a fridge and coffee maker in the rooms and there are covered bus stops! I love the covered bus stops and consider that a plus. Each village has a bus stop and the buses make stops at each one before heading out to the parks. I've heard others complain about the multiple stops but we don't mind it at all.

I actually timed our bus rides from our stop in Jamaica. From the time we sat down in Jamaica, stopped at the other stops and pulled into the park bus stops, the rides were: Epcot: 10 minutes and 11 minutes; Hollywood Studios: 11 minutes; Magic Kingdom was between 13 and 16 minutes (we went multiple times) and I believe Animal Kingdom was about 15 minutes but I can't be sure since I can't find my notes on it. Downtown Disney didn't take very long either. We have never had any issues with the buses other than one time when John came to meet up with us at Hollywood Studios in the middle of the day and I think his wait was about 30 minutes. But, like I said, it was in the middle of the day and not peak "get to the park" hours. Oh and keep in mind if they have to load a scooter it will take a bit longer but that's the case anywhere you stay.

Every evening, we would go down to the beach and unwind from our day in the parks. The sand on our feet felt like a foot massage and was wonderful. We would lie in the hammocks or sit in the beach chairs and just reflect on our day.

If you have a little down time, you could rent a bicycle, surrey bike or one of the boats and take a spin around the resort. Renting the bicycles was super cheap and Hunter went around the resort at least a half dozen times before we told him it was time to stop.

As far as the food court goes, we like it a lot. The food has always been good and there's more on the menus than what is shown over on allearsnet. We have eaten at the Pop food court and, to me, the CBR food court is right on par with Pop's.

I almost forgot to mention that, in addition to the main pool, there are quiet pools in each of the resort villages and they are open 24 hours a day. As long as you are quiet during the late evening hours, Disney is fine with you swimming. If you need to do laundry while there, there are laundry rooms at each resort village right beside the quiet pools. If you have to do laundry, there's no better place to do it than while swimming and looking at the gorgeous resort.

I posted tons of pictures of the resort, the store, the food court, etc. on the CBR picture thread.

I won't have much down time, since I shortened my stay. I really will only have the afternoon when I arrive, and the morning I leave. The rest of the days I will be at the parks from RD to closing. I think I might stay with POP this time. I'm already planning on coming back November 2013, and I will have off days that time and I will stay at CBR that stay. Unless I get a really good Christmas bonus, then maybe I will switch

 

[mickeystoontown]

I won't have much down time, since I shortened my stay. I really will only have the afternoon when I arrive, and the morning I leave. The rest of the days I will be at the parks from RD to closing. I think I might stay with POP this time. I'm already planning on coming back November 2013, and I will have off days that time and I will stay at CBR that stay. Unless I get a really good Christmas bonus, then maybe I will switch

I couldn't remember how many days you were staying and was too lazy to go back and look. If I were you, I'd probably stay at Pop too this time. That is, unless you get that hefty bonus.

 

[PhoenixStrength]

I couldn't remember how many days you were staying and was too lazy to go back and look. If I were you, I'd probably stay at Pop too this time. That is, unless you get that hefty bonus.

I will be landing at MCO at 3pm on the 11th, park days 12th-17th and plane leaves MCO around 2:30pm on the 18th. No down days this time since it is only a week and only 6 park days. I will stick with POP this time and go for CBR next trip

 

[PhoenixStrength]

DAY 8 SUNDAY OCTOBER 23RD​

SLEEPING IN, AND HANGING OUT AT CATWORLD​

So, I will say in advance that this day's post will be short on pictures and long on words. Dummy me forgot to charge the camera batteries overnight and so I only got a few pictures before it died.

I was actually supposed to work in Horse Haven that morning, but I slept in and didn't wake up until about 9:30am. By the time I took my shower and ate breakfast it was after 10am, so I didn't bother going down to Horse Haven. Instead I labelled pictures I had taken so far and did some catching up online.

Around 11:30am I left my cottage to head up to CatWorld. I didn't really mention it before, but my friend Christina really organizes this trip every year and has lots of great stuff planned out ahead of time, with all of our input of course. That day we were all meeting at CatWorld HQ for lunch with a lot of the CatWorld staff members we know and love. We got pizzas, salads and pasta from the Pizza Hut in Kanab and all set up in the conference room. Oh, I forgot that while we were waiting for Christina to arrive with the food our friend Meg and her sister Merry arrived. They live in Northern Utah and had driven down to stay for a few days. Merry is older than Meg, but is developmentally disabled. She has the mental age of a teenager, so she functions well, but can't live alone. She has lived with Meg and Meg's husband Drew for over a year now, since their mother died last year.

Anyway, we set up the conference room and Christina arrived with all the food. We all sat around talking and catching up with everyone from CatWorld, as well as meeting new people, for about an hour and then lunch break was over and everyone had to go back to work. I did get 2 pictures of some of the people while there.

I don't remember who that is on the far right who is cut off, but left to right that is Teresa, a CatWorld employee, Jenn S who is also a CatWorld employee that Christina was pushing me to meet (more on that in a minute) and then Christina herself.

And here is the other picture I got:

That is Christina standing on the left, Mike is the guy in the front and he is a CatWorld employee I have known for years, Shelli, his wife and also a CatWorld employee, is behind his arm, and Christina's niece Amanda is on the right.

Christina was pushing me to meet and talk to Jenn S because she is around my age, works at Best Friends and pays for it all on her own. My dream is to move to Kanab and work at Best Friends one day (hopefully in the next few years) and Christina thought Jenn would give me good ideas about how to start that and what to expect. Plus, she thought we would get along and become friends, which we have.

During lunch I was talking to one of my friends, Jenn B, who I mentioned in the last post as being the closest in age to me. Most of the women there on our vacation are cat people, while Jenn B and I are dog and cat people. I mentioned that I was going to be taking a dog on an outing after lunch and she asked if she could come. I said sure, so after lunch she came with me to Dogtown HQ to check out Newton.

I came to Best Friends with only two dogs that I knew I had to take out: Theresa, who I had already taken on a sleepover, and Newton, who I wanted to take on an outing. In a bit of back story, I had met Newton the last time I had visited and had spent some time with him. Between trips I met a vet tech who worked at Best Friends through Facebook named Sarah, and we bacame friends. Sarah worked at Best Friends for about 5 years and had fallen in love with Newton, but wasn't in a position to adopt him at the time. Earlier this year her boyfriend got a great job in CO and they moved to Telluride. They got an apartment, but it was unfortunately on the third floor with no elevator. Newton is older, 12, and has trouble walking distances and can't do stairs well. They continued looking for a first floor apartment, and in the meantime I told her I would take him for an outing and get some pictures for her.

After officially checking Newton out at HQ I walked next door to the building he lives in and met with the caregiver there, Paul, to get Newton. Paul is a great guy, great with the dogs, but a little socially inept. He is nice, but worries a lot and talks a lot. He must have told us a million times that Newton has trouble walking, we may have to carry him, etc (all of which I already knew) before we finally left with him. The plan was to take him to Angel's Landing, which is part of the sanctuary and a natural ampitheater. I don't have any pictures of the whole area but it is gorgeous. They hold monthly staff meeting there and you can rent it also for weddings and gatherings. They had 10 weddings held there this past summer.

So, it took about 3-4 minutes to get there and Jenn B rode in the back with him to keep him company. Once we got there she lifted him out of the car and he walked up the ramp with no problem!

Paul had given us a large comforter to lay out in case Newton didn't feel like walking so we didn't have to sit directly on the grass. He did lay on the comforter for a bit, and I got a picture of him beside it.

Isn't he adorable? I also got a picture of him with Jenn B, wanting a treat from her.

He didn't sit around for long though and wanted to explore the area, so we did. As I said, it is a natural ampitheater, and that whole canyon was once the home of Native Americans. On the rocks there are still cave paintings visible in some areas.

Along the edge of the rock wall is a small stream that Newton was very interested in. I actually had a very hard time keeping him from jumping in it.

Unfortunately that was the last picture I got before the camera battery died completely. Basically we juse spent about another hour sitting around with him and letting him explore some before we got in the car and headed back to his building, Maggie's Mercantile, to drop him back off with Paul. Paul let us meet the other dogs living in that building, which are mostly pit bulls that don't get along with other dogs, but are all super sweet. A couple I knew, but most I didn't.

By this time it was around 4pm, so I dropped Jenn B off to her car at CatWorld and headed to my cottage to change. We were all having dinner at a restaurant in town, called Rocking V, that evening and I was a mess from the outing. Once I changed I headed over to Christina's rental house and we hung out there for a while. My camera batteries were charging, so no pictures of the evening either. Around 6:30pm we walked the two blocks from Christina's house to Rocking V. It was all of us women friends, plus Jenn S, Mike and Shelli. The dinner was AWESOME, but I expected that as they have fantastic food. I got Tomato Basil soup for an appetizer, my meal was the Rangeland Ribeye with Yukon Gold mashed potatoes and mixed vegetables. And for desset Jenn B and I split a slice of Caramel Pecan Cheesecake since we were both too full to eat a whole slice. I think all together with tip I paid $35, and all of their food is either locally grown or gotten from farmers they know and is organic. They are a fantastic place and if you are ever in Kanab or the area you should eat there!

Oh, and at dinner Christina manipulated the seating so I sat next to Jenn S so we could talk about Kanab and working for Best Friends After dinner we headed back to Christina's and talked for a while, before I left to go to my cottage for the night.

Last bit of news, involving Newton. In November Sarah visited Kanab to get a few things they had left with a friend before they moved. She visited Newton and decided that she couldn't leave without him and she would carry him up and down the three flights of stairs as many times a day as he needed, and adopted him! Thankfully he is actually able to go down the stairs fine on his own and can usually do the stairs back up too, depending on the weather. They also put down some turf on their balcony so he can pee out there instead of having to go up and down the stairs as often.

UP NEXT: PIGS AND AN INTERESTING LUNCH