EXTRA Chunky!! A Chunky Sisters-Only Birthday TR April 2021!! NEW Aloha Aulani 11/18!

[chunkymonkey]

What a special trip for you and your sister. I can't wait to read all about it.

Thank you! It was a crazy fun but I was so tired after!

Joining in! What a journey to get your room and magic band situation figured out! Saratoga has always intimidated me by how big it is, we walked there from Disney Springs once and got totally lost! Smart to pack a blanket, once I learned that hotels never wash the comforters I was very glad that Disney only uses sheets, but I sleep with the AC blasting and it gets so cold! I still need to try Chicken Guy, the sauces look so yummy. That coke sampler looks so fun for only $20! Sugar overload is right! Allergic reactions are the worst, I take daily antihistamines to keep mine under control, the itchy/blotchy feeling is awful!!!

I have gotten lost in SSR so many times, LOL. I am a little better at navigating now but it's still so big and I am really not good with directions.

I only brought the blanket because my suitcase was so empty, LOL. I usually use the extra blanket in the rooms but since my sister used it for her pull out it was a good thing I brought my own!

I definitely take allergy medicine daily but this reaction was pretty bad I had to take extra doses! d

Definitely try out Chicken Guy! It was surprisingly really good!

 

[Raeven]

Following along! I recently stayed at Saratoga Springs for the first time & had an interesting time navigating around

 

[chunkymonkey]

Following along! I recently stayed at Saratoga Springs for the first time & had an interesting time navigating around

Hi Raeven! I miss you! It's been a while since we've seen each other at Disney! Hope we get a chance to soon!
I always get lost at SSR and with my sister too, I'm surprised we could find our room half the time!

 

[LifeTheDisneyWay14]

I’m glad the allergic reaction didn’t get in the way of your trip!

 

[chunkymonkey]

Getting this update done before we leave for Disney World this Wednesday for the 50th celebrations! You can follow along on my Instagram. We are staying at Coronado Springs in the Gran Destino Tower! I can't wait! We have so many special (and yummy!) things in store and very excited to be there for all the new anniversary stuff!

OK back to April!

Day 1 Part 2: Coming down from the sugar high

We decided to walk off all the sugar we had just consumed but definitely were on a high and I knew I was going to crash. We walked around and went in a few stores. I got some Starbucks (but with no syrups!) as I needed some energy after the sugar rush earlier!

I was thinking of heading in to Epcot for a bit since I have an AP, but we had dinner at Disney Springs that evening and I was just too lazy to go and come back later. So we spent the majority of the time shopping and walking around.

We got in line at WoD - it moved very quickly so we were inside after a few minutes.

Then I lost my sister for a good 45 minutes!! Seriously I kept walking around and couldn't find her, that store is so big! So I did what any normal person would do...try on ears!

Which ones do you like best?

I don't think we really bought anything, we were just starting our trip so wanted to spend the week deciding what to get. I don't usually buy that much for myself anymore (ok maybe that's a lie, LOL) but definitely on the lookout for things to get the nieces and nephew!

We went into the Christmas store because it started drizzling. I thought this ornament was so cute!

And I did really like this hat! I didn't buy it but if I see it again on some upcoming trips I will get it.

We wandered into The Art of Disney and saw they were doing a Thomas Kincaid artist signing. Artist was Dirk Wunderlich and you could pick a canvas and get it signed. So my sister and I looked to see which pictures we wanted. She collects them but this is actually my first one. I gravitated to the Hawaiian one while my sister got the Paris one. We wanted the smallest canvas sizes as it was the easiest to transport and it turns out they were the last ones in the store of those designs!

When it was our turn I got Dirk to draw Stitch! So cool!

Also this is a close up of Pluto. Isn't he just the cutest!!

Dinner that night was at...Morimoto Asia! This was my birthday treat meal for my sister. We both really like eating here!

To start I got the Shirayuri, which is one of my favorite cocktails.

And as an appetizer, I got the tuna tartare. I really like Morimoto's version that he serves at almost all his restaurants. It is almost like a DIY with the tuna and accoutrements served separately.

And CS got dumplings to start:

As a main I got the Beef Lo Mein. It is a yakisoba flavor which is a Japanese style fried noodle, not Chinese, so was surprised that they called it Lo Mein which is Chinese. It has a sweet sauce in it which is what yakisoba has. It was good but wasn't expecting the sweetness.

CS got some ramen! I forget which one she got but think it is the spicy version which she asked them make "not too spicy" LOL

Both of us really did not want any dessert, LOL so we just called it a night. We had to get up early as we had the first of our two photoshoots that week!

We walked back to our room, took about 20 minutes which wasn't so bad considering we are slow walkers, haha.

What a beautiful view on the walk back to the room!

When we got back to the room this was waiting for her:

A special gift from our special friend Chunkydust!! Boy was she in for a treat this week!

We pulled down the murphy bed and saw this, so cute!

Good night everyone! It was my sister's actual birthday tomorrow so she needed her beauty sleep, LOL

Coming up...it's a DISASTER movie at MK?​

 

[suse66]

Getting this update done before we leave for Disney World this Wednesday for the 50th celebrations! You can follow along on my Instagram. We are staying at Coronado Springs in the Gran Destino Tower! I can't wait! We have so many special (and yummy!) things in store and very excited to be there for all the new anniversary stuff!

So exciting! There are so many Disfriends going down for the anniversary! Hope you have an amazing time and I will definitely be following along.

I was thinking of heading in to Epcot for a bit since I have an AP, but we had dinner at Disney Springs that evening and I was just too lazy to go and come back later. So we spent the majority of the time shopping and walking around.

I love a good shopping/browsing aftenoon.

Then I lost my sister for a good 45 minutes!! Seriously I kept walking around and couldn't find her, that store is so big! So I did what any normal person would do...try on ears!

I have the castle ears and really like them.

And I did really like this hat! I didn't buy it but if I see it again on some upcoming trips I will get it.

I love that hat!

Dinner that night was at...Morimoto Asia! This was my birthday treat meal for my sister. We both really like eating here!

On the list for March!

We walked back to our room, took about 20 minutes which wasn't so bad considering we are slow walkers, haha.

What a beautiful view on the walk back to the room!

That is one of the things we are looking forward to most when we stay at Saratoga.

When we got back to the room this was waiting for her:

Beautiful!

 

[Nora03]

Enjoying your report. I followed along on Instagram and saw lots of fun surprises for CS. Also watching on Instagram for the 50th celebration. So excited for you and Steve! Have a blast.

 

[vamassey1]

Great start to celebrating your sisters 40th Birthday (except for the lock not working).

 

[missjackiemcg]

Hi, Su-Lynn! So excited you're writing this TR I remember following along back in April on IG, but I love reading all the details!

This is such a cute pic of CS, and I love that the jockey looks like he's saying, "Heeeeey!" as he rides past her LOL

Enjoy sixteen sparkling and still beverages from around the world as well as eight domestic flavors of Coca-Cola® products with Vanilla Ice Cream
​

I can think of a 12 year old boy who would be very amped up about trying this out!!! Maybe in December

Gorgeous! We've never stayed at Saratoga Springs, but the one time my Mom and I stayed offsite, we were right across the street at the Buena Vista Palace. We darted across the highway to use SS buses LOL

 

[paradesintherain]

Joining in! Haven't even missed too much yet yay!

Those are so cute!

Here's some pics of the room. It's in the preferred section so all the rooms have been refurbished. I thought they did a great job, I love the herringbone floors and the shabby chic decor.

These rooms look so much nicer than before, makes me actually want to stay at Saratoga. Plus, Murphy bed makes it so much nicer.

Loooove her dress!

It was waaaaay too much sugar, but hey, it was fun. I definitely do NOT need any more sugar in my life so I consider this a one and done experience. I did enjoy the pibs float though. I don't eat that much ice cream and never have soda so it was a rare thing for me to have a float!

This looks like a lot of fun, but maybe with more than 2 people haha

Aww I didn't even notice him before! So precious.

And as an appetizer, I got the tuna tartare. I really like Morimoto's version that he serves at almost all his restaurants. It is almost like a DIY with the tuna and accoutrements served separately.

Wow this is blowing my mind! What does it look like mixed up?

What a sweet surprise awww

 

[chunkymonkey]

Disney World Turns 50!!

Hey everyone! We are back from our Disney World's 50th Anniversary Trip! It was amazing! We ate lots of delicious food and met up with some epic friends, and also got a little bit (well, a lot) of pixie dust for that trip. October 1st was actually the perfect day! We got to be part of exclusive events and had the best time. Literally cannot think of a better way to celebrate our happy place! Here are a few pics from the trip:

We ate at Space 220!

We stayed at Coronado Springs in the Gran Destino Tower. It was beautiful!

On Oct 1st, we rode Ratatouille!

And celebrated Epcot's Birthday (Epcot turned 39)

We went to an special 50th brunch at California Grill on Oct 1st!
It was almost exactly how I remember this brunch. I hope it comes back permanently!

We went to the Magic Kingdom, and aside from the Merch Lines, the crowds weren't that bad at all!

We got a great view of the new Enchanted show, which is no HEA, but maybe if we saw the projections down main street it could be a better vantage point.

It was a perfect day!!

But that's not all we did...we did another VIP tour (wiith @buzzrelly and her hubby, and our friend Chunkydust who will continue to remain incognito ).
Here we are on Ratatouille:

And ate ate many new places, including Steakhouse 71, Toledo, and the new version of Citrico's. All so so good!

And we went back to our favorites such as Topolio's Breakfast and Yachtsman Steakhouse which is finally back open and could possibly be even better than before! Our meal was outstanding!

I hope to start the TR soon! Maybe I will do a dining report since we mostly just ATE, LOL.

It was one of the best trips ever!! ​

 

[missjackiemcg]

Could be my computer, which is always giving me problems, but some of the pics weren't showing up. Sounds like SUCH an incredible time!! I was insanely jealous not to be there with all of you experiencing the anniversary first-hand, but thanks for sharing online, so I could live vicariously through you!!

Can't wait for that TR!!

 

[cajunfan]

can't see pics either

 

[chunkymonkey]

Argh darn google photos changes settings for albums whenever I upload to it. Hopefully it is fixed!

Could be my computer, which is always giving me problems, but some of the pics weren't showing up. Sounds like SUCH an incredible time!! I was insanely jealous not to be there with all of you experiencing the anniversary first-hand, but thanks for sharing online, so I could live vicariously through you!!

Can't wait for that TR!!

Thanks Jackie! Would have been so awesome with everyone there especially you!!

can't see pics either

OK hopefully they are fixed now!

 

[Lilias]

The pics are fixed! I love your matching outfits so much D:

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Sounds like you had an amazing trip!

 

[chunkymonkey]

So exciting! There are so many Disfriends going down for the anniversary! Hope you have an amazing time and I will definitely be following along.

Thanks Susan! It was a blast!

I love a good shopping/browsing aftenoon.

I should really incorporate more of those into future trips!

I love that hat!

I do too and I totally forgot to get it when I went to Springs two weeks ago, LOL.

That is one of the things we are looking forward to most when we stay at Saratoga.

It's such a pretty and relaxing resort!

Enjoying your report. I followed along on Instagram and saw lots of fun surprises for CS. Also watching on Instagram for the 50th celebration. So excited for you and Steve! Have a blast.

Thank you!!!

Great start to celebrating your sisters 40th Birthday (except for the lock not working).

Thank you! Yeah the locks are so annoying sometimes! Its happened on more than one occasion.

Hi, Su-Lynn! So excited you're writing this TR I remember following along back in April on IG, but I love reading all the details!

Thanks Jackie!!

This is such a cute pic of CS, and I love that the jockey looks like he's saying, "Heeeeey!" as he rides past her LOL

LOL yes he does now that you've pointed it out!!

I can think of a 12 year old boy who would be very amped up about trying this out!!! Maybe in December

I think he would love it!!!

Gorgeous! We've never stayed at Saratoga Springs, but the one time my Mom and I stayed offsite, we were right across the street at the Buena Vista Palace. We darted across the highway to use SS buses LOL

Haha that's a good idea! It's very pretty and serene there!

 

[chunkymonkey]

These rooms look so much nicer than before, makes me actually want to stay at Saratoga. Plus, Murphy bed makes it so much nicer.

The rooms are actually really nice, not as nice as Rivera, of course, but then again less points per night so you can stay longer! LOL.

Loooove her dress!

I do too! I forgot where she got it.

This looks like a lot of fun, but maybe with more than 2 people haha

Oh we needed more people to help out I don't think we finished any of them! Except some of the floats.

Wow this is blowing my mind! What does it look like mixed up?

It's kinda deconstructed on purpose so you can choose how much of each mix in you want, so I don't really mix it up I just scrape some tuna, and some of each topping on the same spoon. I guess you can mix it up but I did not!

What a sweet surprise awww

Very sweet!!

The pics are fixed! I love your matching outfits so much D:

Thank you!!!

Sounds like you had an amazing trip!

Thank you! It was so much fun!

 

[chunkymonkey]

Day 2 Part 1: The Orange Bird

Today was my sister's actual 40th birthday! When we woke up I gave her part of her gift which my family had chipped in for, a hefty Disney GC as well as a set of interchangeable ears. These are the same ears that I wear from Aloha Ears Design. They are super pretty and love that they are interchangeable!

Today was also the first of two photoshoots my sister had planned this week. She spent a lot of time planning her outfit. Depending on the location of the shoot, she would wear a different outfit. She kept changing her mind on where she wanted to shoot, at first it was The Riviera, then Grand Floridian, but she also wanted to shoot at the Orange Bird wall in Disney Springs. Finally it was decided, mainly due to convenience, and matching accessories, that we would shoot at Disney Springs.

So we got up early and got ready. I really was not in the mood for any photoshoot so I just did my best and slapped on a black dress because I really didn't want to wear anything binding or frou frou. My sister took one look at me and asked why I wasn't more colorful?!?

Here's my sister all ready, posing with her gift she received from Chunkydust

We walked to Springs this time. We didn't want to risk the super long bus ride! Plus the walk would have been shorter anyways. On the way we had to take "test shots" for my sister.

And then also when we arrived in Disney Springs.

I couldn't resist a little tango with Buzz too, LOL, although someone on Instagram commented that he was getting a little too "handsy"!!

We arrived at the Orange Bird Wall and met up with our lovely photographer, her name is Sara Ella and you can find her website online. She is super sweet and extremely friendly. She was doing this as her side gig when she was furloughed as a CM but happy to report that she is back working. She still does photography on the side and she's very reasonable. I highly recommend her!

Here are photos from the shoot. I told Sara that most of it will be of Su-Queen and just a little bit of me. So enjoy these photos from our morning shoot! We had over 100 pictures so here's just a sampling!

And here's a funny little outtake:

And that's a wrap on that photoshoot! It only lasted about 45 minutes total and we sad our goodbyes to Sara. We walked around Disney Springs a bit before hopping on a bus to the Grand Floridian. We figured we try and get a bus to either the Contemporary or GF and then head to MK from there and the GF bus came first!

Coming up, our first park of the trip...MK!​

 

[cajunfan]

Boo, hiss can't see the photo shoot pictures!