I finally saw the lights! Our super special anniversary trip! NEW 2/2 pg.18

[irish dancer]

Hi Amy! I have been a very, very bad DISer and haven't kept up with my subscriptions. Just having a hard time balancing Facebook, DIS and everything else!

I'm all caught up now though.

~Loved the reveal videos, those are so much fun.
~Sorry you didn't have a better visit with BIL and family. That sounds like quite a grueling program Karen is doing.
~great room! and nice first visit to DHS!
~loved the photo shoot pics, wonder if I can convince my family to do it. The only problem person really will be DH.
~Just love the decorations and party pics! So glad you got to meet up with Kathy & Billy! It's too bad about the parade but the talking Mickey is a great bonus!

Will try to be a better DISer in 2012. Now off to try and catch up on all my other subscriptions.

 

[jeremysdisneymom]

Wow, how neat that you got Talking Mickey! What did he say!

Glad you had a great time at the party. It is lots of fun.

 

[DisMomAmy]

Wanted to answer your Q from above....Disingenuous from my iPad which sis nice for laying on the couch but not easy to work the quote box and delete out what I don't need...but thanks we really love the pictures no it's not something we do every year but try to every few

And yes you'll just have to go back....

Yes - DISing can be tough on an ipad!

Hi Amy!

Catching up after taking a little break from the DIS.

Loving all your pictures of the Boardwalk! You got a great room and a beautiful view.

Your anniversary cake was gorgeous!! And...your photo shoot pictures turned out great! I love that it was at the Beach Club...what a beautiful setting!

You got some great souvenirs at DTD! Love the calendar! I usually try and get a Disney one every year and I can't wait to pick up some of the Mickey soap from Basin when we go back!

Aww...cute picture with Phineas and Ferb! My boys love them too! Wow! So cool about talking Mickey!! What a fun time you had!!! Can't wait to read more....

Hi Angie!! It was a really great trip!! And this day was packed full! I can't believe how much we did!

Hi Amy! I have been a very, very bad DISer and haven't kept up with my subscriptions. Just having a hard time balancing Facebook, DIS and everything else!

I'm all caught up now though.

~Loved the reveal videos, those are so much fun.
~Sorry you didn't have a better visit with BIL and family. That sounds like quite a grueling program Karen is doing.
~great room! and nice first visit to DHS!
~loved the photo shoot pics, wonder if I can convince my family to do it. The only problem person really will be DH.
~Just love the decorations and party pics! So glad you got to meet up with Kathy & Billy! It's too bad about the parade but the talking Mickey is a great bonus!

Will try to be a better DISer in 2012. Now off to try and catch up on all my other subscriptions.

I completely understand AM! I was way behind in November & December between our trip & the holidays!

Thanks for all of your comments - we were off to a great start... after the three days with Jeff & Karen!

Wow, how neat that you got Talking Mickey! What did he say!

Glad you had a great time at the party. It is lots of fun.

I have no idea what he said! I did at the time but I was just so excited to see him! I think he was talking about the party at one point.

 

[DisMomAmy]

Moving on to Day 3: 11/10/11:

Our plans for today were to spend the morning at Animal Kingdom & the evening at Hollywood Studios. Having been out late the night before, we didn’t set the alarm & planned for breakfast in the room. Alex was up at 7:30 and we followed right after & started getting ready. We ordered breakfast from room service while Zach was still asleep but he woke up at 8:30 before the food arrived around 8:45. We also figured out the trick to the dryer this morning… You can’t use the setting that dries until the clothes are dry… you have to use timed dry. We set it the night before & the clothes were finally dry! After eating breakfast, we headed to the bus stop to find an AK bus just closing it’s doors. But the driver saw us running & stopped for us! We stopped at the Swan and the Dolphin then headed to AK.

Animal Kingdom was decked out for Christmas too!

As you can tell from the boys' faces, it was sunny!

First stop was the safari & it was the best one ever! We saw a lot of animals!!

Continued...

 

[DisMomAmy]

Continued from previous post...

This was the best part:

Look at the babies playing!

Continued...

 

[DisMomAmy]

Continued from previous post...

Next I convinced the family to walk the Pangani Trail with me.

I told them we could breeze through most of it but that I wanted to see the meerkats & the baby gorilla.

First we saw the meerkats! I love meerkats!

Then the gorillas:

But the baby was up the trees:

I'm not sure if we ever really spotted her!

Next stop was Expedition Everest! A few pictures as we made our way through Asia:

We usually ride more than once but I’m not sure if we did this time. After EE we had lunch. We walked to Flame Tree via Yak & Yeti so Tim could grab some lunch there. I’m not sure what Tim got but Alex & I each got the rotisserie chicken & Zach got the chicken drumsticks. I remember Zach ate A LOT! While we were having lunch, Tim brought up buying DVC! We talked about it & thought it might be worth talking to someone while we were there! Elated… we moved on.

Next up was Dinosaur (twice) & some shopping (Zach bought more rocks).

Then Primeval Whirl (once was enough):

Fun & games while I waited in line with the boys (Tim sat this one out):

Continued...

 

[DisMomAmy]

Continued... While I'm on a roll, I'll finish up Animal Kingdom!

We went back to Expedition Everest again:

The kids loved that they got to ride together so much:

Oh no!

Didn't get the Yeti:

We stopped in the store & Tim & I each got a shirt:

Then it was on to our not so wet ride on Kali!!! For the first time, I didn’t get soaked! And the boys were satisfied with how wet they got. I usually get soaked & they usually stay bone dry… and aren’t happy about it!

Found pictures of what Zach bought at Dinosaur:

After Kali, we headed out of the park & had a short wait for a bus but a long ride back with stops at the Swan, the Dolphin, the Yacht Club, the Beach Club, then finally the Boardwalk. Had we realized we were the last stop, we probably would have hopped off at the Swan & walked!

Up next: DHS

 

[jeremysdisneymom]

What a great safari! Love the baby elephants playing!! How cute.

What is with men and primeval whirl! Tom sets that one out too and I ride with Jeremy. That ride is just sickening to me.

I know what you mean about the long ride back to the BW. That was the only complaint I had about staying there. We soon realized that getting off at the Swan made it a lot quicker too.

 

[Lovemy3babes]

Wow Amy! What an awesome day in AK. You had an excellent safari, multiple times on the great rides, yummy lunch and even talked about DVC. I'd say that it was successful!

 

[eandesmom]

What a perfect morning! Sleeping in, getting so much done at AK, killer safari, a great lunch, not getting soaked on Kali and a DH who brings up DVC?

 

[irish dancer]

Wow, sounds like a great day. Love the sleep in part and then a great day at AK. Wish I could have that luck at Kali, I usually get soaked too.

Also excited to hear more about the possible DVC talk.

 

[Charleston Princess]

I get those same squinty-eyed looks from Connor when the sun is too bright.

What a great safari!!! Those giraffes are such friendly creatures! I love when they visit the safari trucks

I really like your AK shirts -- Charles and I might have to get those, too.

 

[DisMomAmy]

What a great safari! Love the baby elephants playing!! How cute.

What is with men and primeval whirl! Tom sets that one out too and I ride with Jeremy. That ride is just sickening to me.

I know what you mean about the long ride back to the BW. That was the only complaint I had about staying there. We soon realized that getting off at the Swan made it a lot quicker too.

It was a great safari - the most animals we've ever seen!

I know what you mean about PW! My DH sits out any of the spinning rides & most simulators - though he didn't want to pass up Star Tours & did OK with that. And he's ridden Mission Space - but will only do it once a day.

Wow Amy! What an awesome day in AK. You had an excellent safari, multiple times on the great rides, yummy lunch and even talked about DVC. I'd say that it was successful!

It was a great day! We got a lot done & the DVC talk was the icing on the cake!

What a perfect morning! Sleeping in, getting so much done at AK, killer safari, a great lunch, not getting soaked on Kali and a DH who brings up DVC?

I was surprised Tim brought up DVC! It definitely put a spring in my step!

Wow, sounds like a great day. Love the sleep in part and then a great day at AK. Wish I could have that luck at Kali, I usually get soaked too.

Also excited to hear more about the possible DVC talk.

DVC update coming soon - more about it in the next portion of the TR.

I ALWAYS get soaked on Kali so this was a nice treat!

I get those same squinty-eyed looks from Connor when the sun is too bright.

What a great safari!!! Those giraffes are such friendly creatures! I love when they visit the safari trucks

I really like your AK shirts -- Charles and I might have to get those, too.

I thought of you when we saw all of those giraffes on the safari!

 

[DisMomAmy]

We are just over 3 months away from our April trip & I'd like to share our plans in a PTR but I feel like I want to get this TR finished (or at least further along) before starting a new PTR. So for now, you get updates within this report!

We've made some changes to our April plans! We decided we didn't want to spend three days at Universal so we considered one night at Hard Rock then two nights on-site at Disney before checking in at our off-site timeshare villa. But we realized that would be too much moving around for us so...

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We cancelled our reservation at Hard Rock & booked three nights at the Beach Club!! I'm so excited!! We are currently booked in a Garden View room at 30% off through the spring room only offer. I'm strongly considering upgrading to Club Level & surprising DH! It's an extra $350 & I'm sure we wouldn't save $350 on food but it will cover all of our breakfasts (one of which was going to be TS), we can get alcohol in the evening & we can have snacks pretty much all day! I think it will be a great benefit for us since we are used to having a stocked kitchen when we are on vacation. I actually called this morning to make the upgrade but the "system" was down for an upgrade for a few hours. I'll think it over & if it still seems like a good idea, I'll call back later today or tomorrow.

 

[MeMom]

I was just there a few days ago. I love that place! It has now topped my desire to stay at Polynesian. I sat in the solarium by a pretty Christmas tree and ate my lunch one day when I was just out alone taking pictures. They were working on Stormalong Bay when I was there. No water - just sand and lots of men and machines.

 

[brookelizabeth]

How VERY cool that you got to see the talking Mickey!!!! I'm so excited that he is slowly making his way into the parks, hopefully he will be a permanent fixture soon!

And what a great day at AK! You got a ton done!

Congratulations on the decision for the Beach Club...and Club Level! Isn't that area of WDW just awesome? I love the walk, the boats, and the look of the YC/BC & the BW.

 

[JPFamilyMom]

Wow, what a great AK day: Great safari with tons of animals, love the shirt you purchased.

And Hooray for Beach Club in April. How many days are you doing Universal?

 

[DisMomAmy]

I was just there a few days ago. I love that place! It has now topped my desire to stay at Polynesian. I sat in the solarium by a pretty Christmas tree and ate my lunch one day when I was just out alone taking pictures. They were working on Stormalong Bay when I was there. No water - just sand and lots of men and machines.

Hi MeMom! I've been in love with Beach Club since Tim & I went to the Yacht Club for dinner in 2007. It's been my dream resort since & I used to think I'd never get a chance to stay there. We came close in November but it just didn't work out so I'm really excited to finally stay there!!

How VERY cool that you got to see the talking Mickey!!!! I'm so excited that he is slowly making his way into the parks, hopefully he will be a permanent fixture soon!

And what a great day at AK! You got a ton done!

Congratulations on the decision for the Beach Club...and Club Level! Isn't that area of WDW just awesome? I love the walk, the boats, and the look of the YC/BC & the BW.

Talking Mickey was so cool - I hope we get to see him in more places too!

I love staying in the Epcot area! We'll mostly hang out at the BC & Boardwalk area, but we plan to go to DHS one day & we'll be doing Epcot on our transfer day. That'll give us a the full day Saturday plus most of the day Thursday to just hang out at the resort... which is something we never make the time to do! I have dinner ADRs for each night but I have to take another look at those, especially if we do Club Level. I'd hate to miss the appetizers every night!

Wow, what a great AK day: Great safari with tons of animals, love the shirt you purchased.

And Hooray for Beach Club in April. How many days are you doing Universal?

Hi Jess! It was a great AK day! We're planning to spend one day at Universal - probably just Islands of Adventure - later in the week during our stay at Vistana.

 

[DisneyCrafter]

I personally think that you made a great decision to stay on-site at Disney rather than at Universal. Universal just isn't as fun as Disney and that's all there is to it. One day is PLENTY. I'm sure the boys will have a lot of fun but it's not as fun for adults. You don't feel transported into a different world like you do in Disney. I'd actually go early on in the trip (like maybe Vistana check-in day or the day after so that you can spend the rest of the time in Disney).

I think you should go for club level. If only b/c I want to live through you.

Your DH sounds like he is starting to enjoy Disney more and more each trip. That's great. I get sad when I hear about DHs who are sick of Disney. I suppose it's not for everyone, though.

 

[eandesmom]

YAY for Club level, that sounds absolutely wonderful to me and what a cool surprise!