He's Going to Camp AND We're Still Going to Disney:) Update Dec 14 post #665

[Happy Elf]

Sorry to hear about your cat.

What a great picture of pooksma and Mickey! Pluto and Declansdad too!

Can't wait for more!

 

[micandminforever]

Great start with pictures at Ohana, and sounds like you had a great view of the MK while eating.

 

[declansdad]

Sorry to hear about your cat.

What a great picture of pooksma and Mickey! Pluto and Declansdad too!

Can't wait for more!

I was scratching Pluto's belly and he had his back leg going.

Great start with pictures at Ohana, and sounds like you had a great view of the MK while eating.

This was the view.

 

[Wingedheart]

Wow! I wish we could have kept our trip a secret from our kids! That would have made things a lot easier!

So sorry about Digger and feeling sad for Declan and all of you.

We did the Ohana breakfast last July - we really enjoyed it and found the character interaction there top notch, especially Stitch. And what a great view you had! That's beautiful! I see a Mickey waffle

We leave for Florida in four days

 

[Nicole786]

Never had 'Ohana for breakfast, gotta try it one day!

 

[MeMom]

We did the Ohana breakfast last July - we really enjoyed it and found the character interaction there top notch, especially Stitch. And what a great view you had! That's beautiful! I see a Mickey waffle

We leave for Florida in four days

Lucky you!!!

We did 'Ohana breakfast this trip, but I'd like to do it again next year, since some of our group wasn't there and we'll have a new baby that will need to see Lilo and Stitch. The only thing is, I'd really like to try 'Ohana at supper, too, but I don't know if it would be any good to do it twice in the same trip.


That view is great! Definitely adds to reasons one might want to stay at the Polynesian. We also had an awesome view and a very nice experience.

 

[TCKK]

Thanks to you all for your kind thoughts on our cat.

Declan is having a hard time since Digger had been with us throughout Declan's life. We are doing our best to keep him focused on other things right now. This TR is NOT one of them




The next morning, it was double TS day. For breakfast we headed to Ohana. This is one of my fav breakfasts and it didn't disappoint. I had expressed some concern in our PT about travelling as a couple and where would we be seated. No problem. We were beside the window with a great view of MK. The character interaction was pretty great![/COLOR]

Lots of fun and that great juice [/COLOR]

So sorry to hear about your cat. Hope Declan is doing okay now.

Love the pictures. Looks like so much fun!!

It was so much fun meeting you guys and riding POTC together. Glad you all made it home safely and so far your trip report sounds like you had a great time.

Cathy

 

[Charleston Princess]

What a great way to start your trip -- heading to MK and then having breakfast at O'Hana's the next day!

I am so sorry about your cat!

 

[pooksma]

So sorry to hear about your cat. Hope Declan is doing okay now.

Love the pictures. Looks like so much fun!!

It was so much fun meeting you guys and riding POTC together. Glad you all made it home safely and so far your trip report sounds like you had a great time.

Cathy

Hey look who's home! It was very cool to meet you guys too. Your daughters are sweet to be tolerant of us "older folks"

 

[Louise Ellis]

Short vent here and I bring this up because later in our trip we heard one of the best comments that was related to this topic. I tried to keep in mind that Disney is the Happiest Place on Earth, but I am so sick of hearing people complain about not being able to get a table. I'm sorry that I have ADRs and you don't, but that's not my fault, nor is it the CMs. I do think there has to be a way to fix this situation because it happened MANY times. I don't think it warrants causing a huge scene at a restaurant or shooting dirty looks at other customers[/FONT][/COLOR]

I don't think it's an unwarranted vent...I've heard the same thing from other people. The thing is, a lot of times, even without an ADR, with a smaller group and a positive attitude, they are able to find a place for you. For example, last year 4 of us wanted to go to the CRT Dinner at the castle, but it was a last minute trip for a late birthday celebration so we hadn't been able to make reservations. We had called the day of, but no cancellations, but we were told to check at the castle at about 4p, which we did. Still no openings, but we made a point of reassuring them we knew they were full and we appreciated them checking. After swinging by twice more (and speaking to the same CM, and letting her know we were just passing by and checking, but no worries if there was nothing) with still no results, we made one more pass by on our way out, right before the last seating and were greeted with "I'm so glad you're back - we have an unexpected table". It was an amazing night (added to the fact that while we recieved the seating card, there were two or three other families at the podium yelling at the CM's that they should be able to squeeze them in, in well, some un-Disneylike language, particularly when it started to downpour at the same time), from the unexpected seating to a wonderful server, and we made a point of stopping at City Hall to let them know about the magical time we'd had.

I think it all comes down to courtesy, and treating others as you'd like to. The resorts have some amazing and knowledgable people, and sometimes it's as easy as...'if you don't have a seating available, is there another day or location that might?', or stopping at Guest Services as soon as you enter a park, as they have all the information about all the parks and might be able to help you get something for another day at another location (done that too!). Unfortunately, some people choose to address it at the podium, when the CM might be able to help, but is also: answering the phone, checking people in, distributing pagers, collecting pagers...etc, so might not be able to assist as much as they'd like. Also the DVC info spots - nice people, and sometimes have connections....or at least a phone line to check on late openings! And if you don't get in...well, it's just another reason to go back for another vacation/visit!

And adding to your rant (and we've all seen them out there), I'll never forget being at Disney 20some years ago (so you can see how this impressed me) and hearing a parent scream at their child (about 5 or 6 years old), "You get up there and take a picture with the #@(*&$# Chipmunk - we paid $XThousand dollars for this vacation, and I don't care if you don't want to (did I mention the child was screaming and crying and trying to get away from the Chipmunk, who was backing up itself to try to get away from the angry parent who kept dragging the child toward it?)

Anyway - I think that's one of the best things about DIS, the fact that everyone is so amazing at communicating ideas and tips...Educating the world - about the World!

Loving hug about your kitty as well - I lost one of mine about a year ago and still miss him so much! Loving the pictures and reports as well about your trip!

Rant over - sorry it went longer than I expected! Now going back to watching the Olympics and seeing if and when Fay is headed toward Central Florida...

 

[Sooze]

Is Mickey giving a 'hang loose' sign with his left hand?! That is so cool! You got some great shots of one of our favorite breakfasts. We just LOVE O'Hana!!

DH and I have stayed at CBR and really enjoyed the hammocks on the beaches. Can't wait to hear your thoughts on the resort... we enjoyed our time there!

 

[declansdad]

Is Mickey giving a 'hang loose' sign with his left hand?! That is so cool! You got some great shots of one of our favorite breakfasts. We just LOVE O'Hana!!

DH and I have stayed at CBR and really enjoyed the hammocks on the beaches. Can't wait to hear your thoughts on the resort... we enjoyed our time there!

He was, wasn't he. Cool!

I liked CBR but I wouldn't list it as a must do again. It seemed to be missing the energy that the other resorts we have stayed at have. It does have very beautiful landscaping though.

 

[declansdad]

Morning all, especially those of you back at work.

I should have another installment later today, just uploaded some more day 2 pictures.

 

[Sooze]

Morning all, especially those of you back at work.

I should have another installment later today, just uploaded some more day 2 pictures.

Sweeeeeet! Bring it!!

 

[declansdad]

After our great O'Hanas breakfast, we decided to walk to the TTC to get a bus to DHS. Luckily, there was one waiting just for us...and about 20 other people.

We thought Studios might not be too crowded because of late EMHs....we were wrong. I overheard one CM say that it usually was their busiest day. She was talking to a guest who was complaining about the crowd and was going to ask for his money back. Good luck with that.

We FPed RnR and waited for ToT. Wait time was posted as 60 minutes but it only took about 35. This proved to be a bit of a trend. The young lady sitting next to me apologized before we started just in case she grabbed my leg. She did just as we started into the Twilight Zone part and again during the drops.

Next was our first time for Beauty and the Beast. For those of you with us on past trip, you may recall Declan wouldn't do this show and pooksma really wanted to. So this was a must do on this trip. Off to get camera batteries first because mine weren't holding a charge for some reason and then into the show. This was a fantastic show. The singing and dancing was fantastic, the colours were great, and the two people were signing for the hearing impaired were amazing to watch.

Some pictures to share.

Continued shortly.....I promise.

 

[declansdad]

After Beauty and the Beast, it was time for RnR!! Another awesome trip to see the band. You gotta love those loops. So in about a couple of hours we did the two big rides and an amazing show.

After RnR, we grabbed a snack and then walked over to TSM. 90 minute wait was posted which is way over our limit. The FPs were also all gone. The theming in this area is amazing, we loved the changes.

We decided to do another attraction that we had skipped over before, the Magic of Animation. We had watched the film and met the Incredibles, but we never did the drawing class before. It was a lot of fun and we got to draw one of my favourites...Donald.

Our results:

They are heavy into the Walle theming right now but we did get to meet Frozone, another first.

I will leave the picture with Frozone to pooksma, if she will post it that is.

On the way out, we found a really cool gift/art shop. You would think Disney would use this idea more often.

These are from the Queue before the show.

More later.

 

[MeMom]

I'm glad you got to see Beauty and the Beast, since it is closing soon. I love the costumes in that show.

I can't do Rock-n-Rollercoaster any more. Something about the way it twists kills my back. I gave it two tries, thinking the first last time was just a fluke, but the last last time it hurt just as much, so I've scratched it from my list these days.

Nice drawings. Jill wanted to do that this past trip, but we got sidetracked and never made it back.

 

[Nicole786]

I never saw Beauty and the Beast But thanks for the pics!! Disney animation is a must do for me but since I traveled with a 4 year old trapped in a 16 year olds body i couldn't do it as often as I liked since he did the equivalent of throwing down his pencil, crossing his arms and going "Forget this!"

 

[Charleston Princess]

I never saw Beauty and the Beast But thanks for the pics!! Disney animation is a must do for me but since I traveled with a 4 year old trapped in a 16 year olds body i couldn't do it as often as I liked since he did the equivalent of throwing down his pencil, crossing his arms and going "Forget this!"

So did my 10-year-old!

 

[TCKK]

We didn't get to Beauty and the Beast this trip, but we've seen it the last 2 times we've gone. You'd think with 10 days we'd get it all done, but we sure didn't. Your pictures are really good. I don't rememeber ever noticing anyone signing for that before. I love to watch people sign. I think it's such a beautiful language.

We did do the Disney Animation twice. Loved it. If I'm brave enough I'll show our results later on our thread. Of course you know oldest DD's will definitely be there. The rest of us just don't quite compare to her. Yours turned out really well though.

Looking forward to hearing more.

Cathy