Giving Thanksgiving a Whirl (and a Hurl) in WDW *COMPLETE! 5/20*

[ariane37]

Hello my DIS friends! I've wanted to try writing a trip report for a couple years now but just didn't think I'd be funny or cool enough to write one as awesome as the pros But then I decided I AM cool-why not?? So if you decide to follow along please forgive any lameness and chalk it up to a TR newbie, and if I manage to complete this I promise I'll try better next time

First things first! I've never been able to figure out how to get a picture posted for my avatar and therefore nobody on here has ever seen my family or I. So let's do some introductions:
Yay! my first picture on the DIS! Here are my 2 DS's and I - you all know where - on our Feb. 2014 trip. Older DS Ricky is now 13 and plays on multiple basketball teams and younger DS Chris is 10 and full of sarcasm . They deal with my love of Disney but like to complain to anyone who'll listen that I'm obsessed and usually go "OMIGOOOOOD" if someone asks me a Disney-related question because they know I'll be talking forever. Here's an updated picture of them from this trip:

And here's a picture of my wonderful DH Steve, who has no problem going to the world whenever I want and has even suggested some of our trips before I have:


Next up: A little more about us and our Thanksgiving trip!

 

[ariane37]

Sorry about the blurry pic in the last post AND for the HUGE pictures! Can't seem to figure out how to make them smaller. Anyhoo-
I was lucky enough to go to Disney often as a child. I was also smart enough to date a guy in college whose mom lived not far from Orlando so the couple times I went home with him we went to the parks. Steve and I went twice before having kids, and then took our first trip as a family in Oct. 2006 when the boys were 4.5 and almost a year. About 2 days after we got home I found Steve on the computer-booking a trip back for January 2007!!!! And thus began my love affair with all things Disney and, luckily for me, my husbands enjoyment of (some) things Disney but most importantly, a strong desire to vacation there as often as I do
We LOVE going in the fall, and have taken the boys out of school many times for our trips. Unfortunately when Ricky started jr. high in 2014 we knew with his honors classes he wouldn't want to miss that much school. I sucked it up and we did Aug. 2014, even though I HATE the heat and do whatever I can to avoid going outside once the temps hit 80 Seriously, unless someone I love is outside bleeding, and I mean to the point where it's gushing out and they can't walk inside to get cleaned up, my butt does NOT go outdoors in the summer until the sun is down and the humidity has broken....but if the alternative is no Disney?? Well, I managed better than I thought and we even went back in Aug. last year

 

[ariane37]

OK so that wasn't really about our Thanksgiving trip, I lied. We started talking about a Thanksgiving trip while we were there in Aug. 2014. Because even though the heat didn't kill me (it was NOT kind to my thick, THICK frizzy hair though) cooler temps are my preference. I'd also always wanted to spend a major holiday in the World and Steve would never do Christmas. He's old, gets cranky, and we've been spoiled in previous years so he won't stand in any line over 15 minutes 20 if someone begs him. We were there for Mother's Day one year but I wanted something BIGGER!! The boys always have off the day before Thanksgiving so we could go the weekend before and they'd only miss 2 days Cooler weather, we'd get in a full week-and Steve agreed to give the crowds a try. I honestly can't remember when we made all our plans but we ended up with really good airfare out of the airport nearest us (we have 4 we can choose from) and rented points again at our favorite resort, BWV. We would leave 11/20 and stay until 11/28. Steve and I have AP's so we just had to get the boys hoppers from UT and we were set!

 

[ariane37]

11/20: DEPARTURE DAY!!!

We had a 5:30 p.m. flight out of Newburgh/Stewart since the boys had school that Friday. Well, Chris only had a half day, which here is 2.5 hours. This half day was because our school district decided that this year 1. the kids shouldn't have a full month of school until April and 2. the elementary-age kids shouldn't have 2 full weeks of school in a row until December WHAAAAAT!!!!!! Anyway, we had to wait until Ricky was out so I grabbed him at 2:30, we scarfed down Subway and headed to the airport at 3:30. This put us at the airport right at 4:00, which would have been great if our plane wasn't delayed 30 minutes I know that's really not bad but I hate waiting around in airports. I'm not good at being patient and it's a small airport with not much to see or do.......we were through TSA and sitting, waiting by 4:20, giving us over an hour to do this

We only landed 20 minutes late so not too bad, 8:30 instead of 8:10. Took us a bit to get our luggage since for the 1st time we decided to take it on ME ourselves (didn't like it; we'll go back to letting Disney handle it ) and then for the 1st time we sat on our bus for 30 minutes, but we FINALLY arrived at BWV by 10:30. We were tired but HUNGRY! We decided to get some BW pizza but dropped our bags in our room first. We'd gotten our room ready text before leaving for the airport so we knew we were on the 5th floor. I tried so hard to take lots of pictures and notes but for the life of me I can't find our room #! The night views from our balcony were gorgeous, but I forgot to take any pics Here are some from the next morning though:

 

[ariane37]

I really need to figure out how to make these smaller! We were very happy with our view, plus our room was 3 doors down from the elevator. Couldn't beat it! Too bad we were only in that room for 3 nights, but that story is for another post-

After dropping our bags we grabbed pizza quick. Steve and Chris got the "supreme" I believe it's called, which had sausage, peppers, onions, and they thought it was pretty good. Ricky and I got plain. Ricky being 13 is usually happy just to be eating, so unless something is really terrible he's satisfied lol. I thought it was ok, decent enough when tired and starving. It was worth it just to be back on the BW looking at everything lit up and feeling the excitement of the days to come!

 

[albertamom]

I, for one, love the large pictures! It makes me feel like I'm right there!

5 weeks from now, we'll be enjoying our first trip to WDW, and your report and beautiful pictures are adding to my excitement!

Congratulations on beginning your first trip report! I'm eagerly following along!

 

[tabrizia]

Following. Nice start to your trip report.

 

[xlsm]

I saw your reply in my TR and I came to find you!! I'm so excited to read about your trip!!

 

[ariane37]

I, for one, love the large pictures! It makes me feel like I'm right there!

5 weeks from now, we'll be enjoying our first trip to WDW, and your report and beautiful pictures are adding to my excitement!

Congratulations on beginning your first trip report! I'm eagerly following along!

Hello albertamom, I'm glad you're here! And that's so exciting about your upcoming 1st visit Where are you staying?

Following. Nice start to your trip report.

Welcome tabrizia, and thank you!

I saw your reply in my TR and I came to find you!! I'm so excited to read about your trip!!

Thank you, thank you, thank you Samantha, and welcome I'm so happy to have you along I'll try "keepin' the magic" going for you here while you get moving on your DL plans!

 

[LinderInWonderland]

Yay! We're going in May and I started my first pre-trip report, so I know how nerve-wracking the first ones can be. I love reading these and since I am interested in someday staying at Boardwalk, I can't wait to read your thoughts!

 

[albertamom]

Hello albertamom, I'm glad you're here! And that's so exciting about your upcoming 1st visit Where are you staying?

Hi! We're staying in a One Bedroom at BLT. With a teen boy and girl, we usually get two rooms when travelling, but the One Bedroom was cheaper than 2 rooms at any of the deluxes, has 2 "beds" in the living room and 2 bathrooms!!! Sounds perfect for us!

 

[ariane37]

Yay! We're going in May and I started my first pre-trip report, so I know how nerve-wracking the first ones can be. I love reading these and since I am interested in someday staying at Boardwalk, I can't wait to read your thoughts!

Definitely nerve-wracking lol!! I'll head over to the PTR's asap and look for yours This was our 4th stay at the BW, we love it! You just can't beat the area with the proximity to Epcot and HS, plus it's so gorgeous at night. We had some issues with the resort this time around which I'll write about down the line, but we'll definitely be back in the future. Steve is so into the BW area I had a very hard time convincing him to try AKL and Poly for our upcoming trip this Friday!

Hi! We're staying in a One Bedroom at BLT. With a teen boy and girl, we usually get two rooms when travelling, but the One Bedroom was cheaper than 2 rooms at any of the deluxes, has 2 "beds" in the living room and 2 bathrooms!!! Sounds perfect for us!

We are dying to try BLT! We tried to rent points there for our trip this Friday but we were too late and nothing was available Still excited about our nights at the Poly though! The 2 bathrooms will be a huge timesaver with your teens I'm sure, and being on the monorail for your first trip is great! It'll be so easy to tour all the other monorail resorts

 

[albertamom]

We are dying to try BLT! We tried to rent points there for our trip this Friday but we were too late and nothing was available Still excited about our nights at the Poly though! The 2 bathrooms will be a huge timesaver with your teens I'm sure, and being on the monorail for your first trip is great! It'll be so easy to tour all the other monorail resorts

I would have LOVED to have tried the Poly, but the two bathrooms sold us on BLT! Enjoy your trip!!!

 

[ariane37]

11/21 PART 1: WHY ARE MY SOCKS WET?
So I realized last night that while I introduced my boys and my husband, I failed to tell you all MY name! It probably isn't hard to figure out but HI! My name is Ariane and I'm.......apparently over the hill, since I am now forgetting to properly introduce myself

Now that I got that out of the way, we slept in a bit since the kids were up early for school the day before, and planned on skipping the 8:00 EMH at AK in favor of arriving closer to 9. I had scheduled our FP's for Epcot later in the day; AK was recommended so we were hoping the crowds would be pretty low for the few hours we planned on being there.
I got up about 7. Steve is an early riser so he had already hit BW Bakery for some coffee (which I don't drink) and was enjoying it on our balcony when I woke up. I went out to say hello and saw this great big beautiful
BALL in the distance. Man, we really lucked out with our room!! On our previous 3 stays here we were able to see the high parts of Illuminations from 2 of our rooms, and from what I'd read online we'd not only be able to see Illuminations from here, but some of Wishes, too!
We also happened to get a refurbed studio. I didn't do very well taking room pictures but here are a couple:

The couch opens up into a full size bed. We thought both boys would have to sleep here since we opted for the studio rather than the 1 bedroom, but luckily the refurbed rooms have this cute fold-down murphy type bed under the TV that Chris fit perfectly on:

Isn't it so cute with Dumbo?? When it wasn't down in the bed position it's a table. As soon as you pull it down it has the mattress already there. And FYI, Steve was able to fit comfortably on it; not sure he would've lasted the night, but his 5'9" body wasn't too long for it and he said the mattress was comfortable for the few minutes he was on it. Chris absolutely loved it and said he never wants to stay anywhere except resorts with a bed like that. Unfortunately he doesn't pay for vacations yet, so he may have to deal with a regular bed until he's footing the bill........

Another thing I liked about the room is that the sink is separate from the toilet/shower. When you walk in, the sink area is to the left kind of in an alcove with the bathroom door near it. Very handy when getting ready. What I didn't really like that morning was the wet spots on the floor near the sink when I left Steve on the balcony to jump in the shower. Hmm....Steve, did you spill something here? Wash your hands and decide to shake'em dry instead of using a towel? Why are my socks all wet?? And.......why are there droplets of water on the faux wood (but very nice) floor over here in the entry way? What's that, I'm imaging my wet socks? Ok then. I'll go shower and you get the kids up. No problems here, let's hit the parks!

 

[ariane37]

11/21 PART 2: AK
We got the boys up pretty easily considering they aren't morning people. They got ready, Chris and I ate pop-tarts we brought from home because we love to eat healthy, and I yelled at them after they brushed their teeth for getting the floor all wet by the sink. We all went to the entry way where we left our shoes and Ricky asked why his socks were wet. I told him he was imagining it and out the door we went.

We got down to the bus stop at 8:25 and saw this:

Woo-hoo! Bus screens! This wasn't here when Steve and I stayed in March. It's really nice to have and we found it to be very accurate. It updates if the posted time becomes shorter or longer. For instance, when we got there the posted time for the next AK bus was 8:32, but it didn't actually arrive until 8:48 and it kept changing to reflect that. So while I stood at attention right behind the yellow line, the boys rested up on a bench
For whatever reason Steve decided to do that "thing" with his fingers in a bunch of pictures on this trip. I finally had to tell him to stop because he's not Justin Bieber......
Finally we were on our way, and before too long we were at our destination!

Since the park had opened at 8:00 and it was now after 9:00, we breezed through bag check, made our Mickey's turn blue and soon this amazing site was right in front of us:

I wish I'd taken some close-up pictures of the Tree of Life on this trip, because if you're seen it before you know this picture just doesn't do it justice. If you haven't seen it before, it's unbelievable! You can't just look at it from one spot; you need to look at it from a few different places in the park to see all the different animal carvings and to truly appreciate it's depth.
We were on a mission! We love doing the safari early in the morning. We've always had good luck seeing all the animals and have found them to be pretty active when the park first opens. Luckily for us, we arrived close to 9:30 and only had a 10 minute wait. I didn't really expect crowds today since Thanksgiving was still a few days away, but having never been during any real holiday season I wasn't totally sure what to expect. So 15 minutes into our first park day, not too bad lol!

Our 10 minute wait went quickly and soon we were on our way. Again we got some up close looks at the animals:


I'm pretty sure somewhere the TR rules state that if you went on the safari during your trip, you are REQUIRED to post animal pics

I'm a huge cat person so lions and tigers are my favorite. Sometimes it's hard to see these guys on the safari, so I was psyched to get this picture. Hi kitty!
A little OT but cute story. We used to go to the Bronx Zoo fairly often. The wall of the lion enclosure is fairly low with a deep ditch dug around it so they can't get out (good idea). One time when my boys were about 5 and 9, we were there with one of Ricky's friends and 2 young lion cubs were on display. We were watching them for quite awhile; the lionesses were very active playing with the cubs. Anyway there are a lot of ducks roaming around the zoo, and all of a sudden one of them jumps up on a rock and then jumps down into the lion enclosure, and within like 15 seconds gets completely eaten up by one of the cubs!!! All these kids were screaming and parents were taking them away, my kids were half grossed out but also interested so I let them stay......I guess either they're disturbed children or I'm a bad mom, but I was kind of fascinated, too. Yeah, I felt a little bad for the duck, but where else other than if you're watching Animal Planet will you see a lion actually eat another animal??? OK Africa maybe, but c'mon! It's the Circle of Life, people

UP NEXT: WE TACKLE THE TRAILS AND TRY OUT FLAME TREE BBQ

 

[tabrizia]

The couch opens up into a full size bed. We thought both boys would have to sleep here since we opted for the studio rather than the 1 bedroom, but luckily the refurbed rooms have this cute fold-down murphy type bed under the TV that Chris fit perfectly on:

Isn't it so cute with Dumbo?? When it wasn't down in the bed position it's a table. As soon as you pull it down it has the mattress already there. And FYI, Steve was able to fit comfortably on it; not sure he would've lasted the night, but his 5'9" body wasn't too long for it and he said the mattress was comfortable for the few minutes he was on it. Chris absolutely loved it and said he never wants to stay anywhere except resorts with a bed like that. Unfortunately he doesn't pay for vacations yet, so he may have to deal with a regular bed until he's footing the bill........

This bed looks very comfy. I think we have one in our moderate, my kids are already fighting over who gets to sleep in it and we're not even there yet!

Another thing I liked about the room is that the sink is separate from the toilet/shower. When you walk in, the sink area is to the left kind of in an alcove with the bathroom door near it. Very handy when getting ready. What I didn't really like that morning was the wet spots on the floor near the sink when I left Steve on the balcony to jump in the shower. Hmm....Steve, did you spill something here? Wash your hands and decide to shake'em dry instead of using a towel? Why are my socks all wet?? And.......why are there droplets of water on the faux wood (but very nice) floor over here in the entry way? What's that, I'm imaging my wet socks? Ok then. I'll go shower and you get the kids up. No problems here, let's hit the parks!

I note foreshadowing...

11/21 PART 2: AK
We got the boys up pretty easily considering they aren't morning people. They got ready, Chris and I ate pop-tarts we brought from home because we love to eat healthy, and I yelled at them after they brushed their teeth for getting the floor all wet by the sink. We all went to the entry way where we left our shoes and Ricky asked why his socks were wet. I told him he was imagining it and out the door we went.

And more foreshadowing...

We got down to the bus stop at 8:25 and saw this:

Woo-hoo! Bus screens! This wasn't here when Steve and I stayed in March. It's really nice to have and we found it to be very accurate. It updates if the posted time becomes shorter or longer. For instance, when we got there the posted time for the next AK bus was 8:32, but it didn't actually arrive until 8:48 and it kept changing to reflect that. So while I stood at attention right behind the yellow line, the boys rested up on a bench

I love the bus time display board. That is all kinds of nice.

Since the park had opened at 8:00 and it was now after 9:00, we breezed through bag check, made our Mickey's turn blue and soon this amazing site was right in front of us:

I wish I'd taken some close-up pictures of the Tree of Life on this trip, because if you're seen it before you know this picture just doesn't do it justice. If you haven't seen it before, it's unbelievable! You can't just look at it from one spot; you need to look at it from a few different places in the park to see all the different animal carvings and to truly appreciate it's depth.
We were on a mission! We love doing the safari early in the morning. We've always had good luck seeing all the animals and have found them to be pretty active when the park first opens. Luckily for us, we arrived close to 9:30 and only had a 10 minute wait. I didn't really expect crowds today since Thanksgiving was still a few days away, but having never been during any real holiday season I wasn't totally sure what to expect. So 15 minutes into our first park day, not too bad lol!

The Tree of Life is awesome. The crowds don't look bad at all.

Our 10 minute wait went quickly and soon we were on our way. Again we got some up close looks at the animals:


I'm pretty sure somewhere the TR rules state that if you went on the safari during your trip, you are REQUIRED to post animal pics

Animal pictures! We love giraffes around here and elephants. My daughter has put in her bid of Animal Kingdom Lodge next time we go so she can watch the giraffes out the window.


It looks like you had a nice start of the day, other then the wet socks...

 

[albertamom]

I was so excited to check this morning and find updates!

I love it when the sink is separate from the rest of the bathroom. We're taking a 2-night side-trip to Universal and are going to make do with one room. It has 2 queens and a sofa bed, and a bathroom set-up like yours. Definitely the next best thing to 2 bathrooms!

Our first day will be in AK, as well. The Tree of Life is absolutely gorgeous, and I can't wait to see it in person!

(nervously waiting for the rest of the wet socks story)

 

[ariane37]

This bed looks very comfy. I think we have one in our moderate, my kids are already fighting over who gets to sleep in it and we're not even there yet!





And more foreshadowing...




I love the bus time display board. That is all kinds of nice.




The Tree of Life is awesome. The crowds don't look bad at all.



Animal pictures! We love giraffes around here and elephants. My daughter has put in her bid of Animal Kingdom Lodge next time we go so she can watch the giraffes out the window.

It looks like you had a nice start of the day, other then the wet socks...

Yes, our first day was definitely one of our GOOD days I believe you're right about CBR having a bed like that, how are your kids enjoying it? How are you all enjoying your trip, since you're in Disney RIGHT NOW ???

 

[ariane37]

I was so excited to check this morning and find updates!

I love it when the sink is separate from the rest of the bathroom. We're taking a 2-night side-trip to Universal and are going to make do with one room. It has 2 queens and a sofa bed, and a bathroom set-up like yours. Definitely the next best thing to 2 bathrooms!

Our first day will be in AK, as well. The Tree of Life is absolutely gorgeous, and I can't wait to see it in person!

(nervously waiting for the rest of the wet socks story)

I wanted to be a bit farther along with my updates, but I'm trying to get ready for our trip Friday so I unfortunately have some other things to do that I guess are more important
I'm going to keep you on the edge of your seat a bit longer regarding the wet socks!! Luckily the did dry out, but it was a LOOONG process........

 

[farrellbarrel]

The pictures are great-and the dumbo bed pic is so cute!