I Knew There Was A Reason Why I've Always Hated My Birthday - COMPLETE

[PlutosRHM55]

... SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS! Sorry, couldn't resist.

Off to the Beach Club, I guess... It really does look so pretty and homey there and I agree about it being no comparison the Poly. Usually when I see pictures of certain Disney places I get the warm fuzzies and just remember everything or feel everything about a place even if I haven't been there and I just can't imagine that at the Beach Club. The Poly FOREVER! But you took some lovely pictures, nice to get a sneak peek of a resort I'm probably staying at the next time I'm down in the World

Mmmm... the food at Cape May Cafe is good! I absolutely love Seafood so stuffing myself silly with it at a Clambake is my idea of heaven. I will totally have to add that to my to-be ADR list Though that Penne looks delicious too. Oh and the dessert, makes my mouth water even if I haven't eaten either of those before... ohhhh

to your lovely drawing! I love the movie Elf though I think "Hi, I'm Buddy the Elf, what's your favorite color?" Totally beats "Bye Buddy! Hope you find your dad!" But that's just me, but yeah those quotes are totally the new Casablanca, Citizen Kane and whatever other old movies that have immortally (is that a word?) famous quotes. Oh and another thumbs up to the Salt Water Taffy and people giving you candy in bed... not a bad idea right there. (EDGAR! <---My Imaginary Butler, don't judge! He will be real in my future life when my imaginary cats go on an imaginary adventure with a streetcat named Thomas O'Malley. Oh and one of those cats is named Marie too! She's all sass!)

Great pictures around the Beach Club at night and Stormalong bay! LOL @ the butterfly picture (seriously, Butterflies? ) And yeah, I totally agree about the wooden lass at the end of the boat, a bit creepy, especially at night

Can't wait to hear about your adventures in the matching T-shirts!

 

[Aussiesalad]

Drawing such a classic scene from Elf is always a good thing to do before a meal! They really should give out crayons at ALL restaurants, really gets the creative juices flowing.

Those are some beautiful pictures you got of BC!

I don't think I have ever heard of someone being afraid of butterflies, but I guess they really are just colourful moths...and moths are a bit gross.

YAY matching shirts is always a good things...well mostly.

And yes I think we had good power ranger taste. Green for the win

 

[flyergrad09]

I realize I'm super late in joining this, so forgive me, but I'm going to post all of my comments at once!

- I totally know what you mean about the loooong road trip drives! I'm a central Ohio girl myself, and I've never flown to Disney. The only vacation my family has flown on was to California. I'm flying on my trip in a couple of weeks and I'm actually a little sad about missing out on the free orange juice at the Florida welcome center.

- I'm so sorry to hear about your dog! I'm already dreading reading that part... I suppose I'll find out when I get to it, but when did your aunt tell you guys? When my sister was in WDW at Christmas with her HS band a couple of years ago, our grandfather passed away, and we seriously agonized over whether we should tell her when she was down there or wait until she came home a couple of days later. After we called the band director so he knew what was going on, we called her since she would be coming home soon anyway, but it still sucked big time.

- I love those mouse ear hat ornaments! My mom has a strict "no more ornaments" rule because our tree has almost 500, but maybe someday when I get my own tree I'll buy one or twelve.

- I "dooo dooo" along with songs too, especially ones I played in band/wind ensemble. Seriously, what is the term for that? Sometimes when I'm especially silly, I sing along like Scuttle.

- We always run into other Ohio people on our trips too! Once, my dad started an "O-H! I-O!" chant in the line for SSE. It takes a lot for me to get embarrassed, but that definitely did it. Oh dads... lol.

- You and your parents are so cute! It makes me happy to see other 20somethings who are silly and goofy with their parents.

- Oh man. Kate Gosselin and the ice cream incident. That woman keeps me convinced that I'm actually sane. I know what you mean about the perfect storm thing though. I've started to carry those little boxes of raisins in my purse (secretly I'm a little old lady) because raisins are the best way to raise your blood sugar quickly. They're not my favorite, but they beat a Kate Gosselin meltdown.

- I'm the same way with Buzz Lightyear! Not being able to tell exactly where my laser is makes it so hard, but I'm awesome at TSM.

- I'm jealous of your dad's photo skills! Once in a blue moon, I'll get a gorgeous picture on my camera, but it's usually an accident. Those Seas pictures are so pretty!

- MAX GOOF! NO WAY!

- YAAAAY MARIE! I seriously love The Aristocats and quote it in real life all the time. Anytime anyone calls someone a lady, for example. "You're nothing but a sister!"

- Oh Cleveland's dreariness. My sister goes to Case Western and she thrives in it. I don't understand how Columbus is just a couple of hours away and our weather is never as bad. There was a day last year where there was 2 feet of snow outside my old apartment in Kent and FLURRIES in Columbus. HOW?!?

- Canada has good pajamas? I'll have to check that out... I'm always on the lookout for good pajamas, especially now that they're rare to find in the clearance racks at Old Navy.

- Standing on late night buses is fun until your legs give out and you inevitably end up in the lap of some random stranger who clearly doesn't want you there as much as you don't want to be there.

- Brazilians... I've become immune to them. I chaperone groups of foreign exchange students on trips around the US (so they can see more than just Podunk, Ohio while they're here) and I've decided that I can handle Brazilians chanting much better than French people forming cliques. At least the Brazilians are happy while they're chanting!

- Awww, cute gorillas! I have a soft spot for primates.

- By the way, when you said you were visiting your 5784674th cousins or whatever, I legit thought that you guys were having an extended family reunion on your birthday in WDW. Which would either be awful or awesome. But then it didn't happen... sooo it's a moo point.

- Memo to self: Do not look for "angry giraffes" on Youtube. Thanks for taking one for the team! Here's a picture of a baby giraffe to cheer you up:

Also, here's one of my favorite elephant ever, Beco:

Seriously, a baby elephant who likes to play with a giant block of ice? SO CUTE!

- Poor lonely gibbon! I hope his gibbon buddies didn't get mad at him and kick him out or something.

- Hula hooping while dancing to Bye Bye Bye? Psh, that's nothing! Those CMs don't know how to challenge people who danced to that song every day in middle school.

- Man, I knew it was coming, but reading about Riley was still so sad. I feel like I should have saved the baby elephant for this point to cheer you up.

- TSM and red velvet cupcakes?!?! Oh man...

- Obviously it's never going to happen, but if for some unknown reason they started selling butterbeer in DHS, I'd never go back to IoA. The butterbeer alone is why I put up with that Universal nonsense. (I'm very biased.)

- I've been to the Full House house! Well, actually I stood in front of it and took hundreds of pictures while chatting with a very friendly neighbor of the people who live there now. I hate to do this to you, but I feel like as a fellow FH fan I need to tell you... THE CURRENT OWNERS PAINTED THE RED DOOR. Yup. They painted over it to try to disguise the house. Like there aren't any websites that list the address. Psh, whatever. Also, the house is SMALL. No way could all of those people actually live in a house that small. Apparently TV really does make everything look bigger.

- RIP Riley (again)

- $42.95 for a seafood buffet?!? Geeze, that has to be one of the more expensive Disney buffets, right?

- That Oreo cake looks SO GOOD. And I love that they gave you guys taffy instead of mints. So fitting, Beach Club, so fitting.

- Your sister has a fear of butterflies? But they don't make noise, they're easily smushed, and they're usually pretty! That's an odd fear... I'd probably mock her too. BULLY BIG SISTERS UNITE!

- OHMYGOD I'm so excited for the matching t-shirts!

Again, sorry this is long and rambling, but I didn't want to not comment just because I'm late to every TR ever created. I can't wait to read more!

 

[MarieTheCat24]

... SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS! Sorry, couldn't resist.

Off to the Beach Club, I guess... It really does look so pretty and homey there and I agree about it being no comparison the Poly. Usually when I see pictures of certain Disney places I get the warm fuzzies and just remember everything or feel everything about a place even if I haven't been there and I just can't imagine that at the Beach Club. The Poly FOREVER! But you took some lovely pictures, nice to get a sneak peek of a resort I'm probably staying at the next time I'm down in the World

Mmmm... the food at Cape May Cafe is good! I absolutely love Seafood so stuffing myself silly with it at a Clambake is my idea of heaven. I will totally have to add that to my to-be ADR list Though that Penne looks delicious too. Oh and the dessert, makes my mouth water even if I haven't eaten either of those before... ohhhh

to your lovely drawing! I love the movie Elf though I think "Hi, I'm Buddy the Elf, what's your favorite color?" Totally beats "Bye Buddy! Hope you find your dad!" But that's just me, but yeah those quotes are totally the new Casablanca, Citizen Kane and whatever other old movies that have immortally (is that a word?) famous quotes. Oh and another thumbs up to the Salt Water Taffy and people giving you candy in bed... not a bad idea right there. (EDGAR! <---My Imaginary Butler, don't judge! He will be real in my future life when my imaginary cats go on an imaginary adventure with a streetcat named Thomas O'Malley. Oh and one of those cats is named Marie too! She's all sass!)

Great pictures around the Beach Club at night and Stormalong bay! LOL @ the butterfly picture (seriously, Butterflies? ) And yeah, I totally agree about the wooden lass at the end of the boat, a bit creepy, especially at night

Can't wait to hear about your adventures in the matching T-shirts!

The Polynesian is my most favorite place in all of WDW, but, after being there, I can definitely see why many people feel that same way about the Beach Club. It had a super chill vibe.

If you're a seafoodie, you should totally add Cape May to your ADR list.

Let's be real, ALL of Elf is the best line. It's probably my second most quoted movie, right behind Mean Girls.

Drawing such a classic scene from Elf is always a good thing to do before a meal! They really should give out crayons at ALL restaurants, really gets the creative juices flowing.

Those are some beautiful pictures you got of BC!

I don't think I have ever heard of someone being afraid of butterflies, but I guess they really are just colourful moths...and moths are a bit gross.

YAY matching shirts is always a good things...well mostly.

And yes I think we had good power ranger taste. Green for the win

I totally agree. Crayons everywhere!!

Thanks!

It's funny, I've actually met quite a few people recently who have a fear of butterflies. I figured it was just my sister being weird, but I guess it's kind of common. Who knew, right?

I realize I'm super late in joining this, so forgive me, but I'm going to post all of my comments at once!

- I totally know what you mean about the loooong road trip drives! I'm a central Ohio girl myself, and I've never flown to Disney. The only vacation my family has flown on was to California. I'm flying on my trip in a couple of weeks and I'm actually a little sad about missing out on the free orange juice at the Florida welcome center.
I actually really do enjoy the drive down. If we flew, I'd miss it for sure. It's become such a tradition for my family. Yes, it's long, and yes, it sucks being cooped up in a car, but it's also kinda fun.

- I'm so sorry to hear about your dog! I'm already dreading reading that part... I suppose I'll find out when I get to it, but when did your aunt tell you guys? When my sister was in WDW at Christmas with her HS band a couple of years ago, our grandfather passed away, and we seriously agonized over whether we should tell her when she was down there or wait until she came home a couple of days later. After we called the band director so he knew what was going on, we called her since she would be coming home soon anyway, but it still sucked big time.
That must have been awful for your sister. Especially because she was away from the rest of the family.

- I love those mouse ear hat ornaments! My mom has a strict "no more ornaments" rule because our tree has almost 500, but maybe someday when I get my own tree I'll buy one or twelve.

- I "dooo dooo" along with songs too, especially ones I played in band/wind ensemble. Seriously, what is the term for that? Sometimes when I'm especially silly, I sing along like Scuttle.

- We always run into other Ohio people on our trips too! Once, my dad started an "O-H! I-O!" chant in the line for SSE. It takes a lot for me to get embarrassed, but that definitely did it. Oh dads... lol.
That's awesome! Ohioans are the best.

- You and your parents are so cute! It makes me happy to see other 20somethings who are silly and goofy with their parents.

- Oh man. Kate Gosselin and the ice cream incident. That woman keeps me convinced that I'm actually sane. I know what you mean about the perfect storm thing though. I've started to carry those little boxes of raisins in my purse (secretly I'm a little old lady) because raisins are the best way to raise your blood sugar quickly. They're not my favorite, but they beat a Kate Gosselin meltdown.
I never knew that about raisins. I should probably start carrying some with me too. We can be little old ladies together.

- I'm the same way with Buzz Lightyear! Not being able to tell exactly where my laser is makes it so hard, but I'm awesome at TSM.

- I'm jealous of your dad's photo skills! Once in a blue moon, I'll get a gorgeous picture on my camera, but it's usually an accident. Those Seas pictures are so pretty!

- MAX GOOF! NO WAY!

- YAAAAY MARIE! I seriously love The Aristocats and quote it in real life all the time. Anytime anyone calls someone a lady, for example. "You're nothing but a sister!"

- Oh Cleveland's dreariness. My sister goes to Case Western and she thrives in it. I don't understand how Columbus is just a couple of hours away and our weather is never as bad. There was a day last year where there was 2 feet of snow outside my old apartment in Kent and FLURRIES in Columbus. HOW?!?
Cleveland weather is ridiculous. Honestly, it could snow 3 feet in July and it wouldn't surprise me. It's a straaaange place. And I'll always love it.

- Canada has good pajamas? I'll have to check that out... I'm always on the lookout for good pajamas, especially now that they're rare to find in the clearance racks at Old Navy.

- Standing on late night buses is fun until your legs give out and you inevitably end up in the lap of some random stranger who clearly doesn't want you there as much as you don't want to be there.

- Brazilians... I've become immune to them. I chaperone groups of foreign exchange students on trips around the US (so they can see more than just Podunk, Ohio while they're here) and I've decided that I can handle Brazilians chanting much better than French people forming cliques. At least the Brazilians are happy while they're chanting!

- Awww, cute gorillas! I have a soft spot for primates.

- By the way, when you said you were visiting your 5784674th cousins or whatever, I legit thought that you guys were having an extended family reunion on your birthday in WDW. Which would either be awful or awesome. But then it didn't happen... sooo it's a moo point.

- Memo to self: Do not look for "angry giraffes" on Youtube. Thanks for taking one for the team! Here's a picture of a baby giraffe to cheer you up:

Seriously, a baby elephant who likes to play with a giant block of ice? SO CUTE!
AWWWWWW BABY ANIMALS!! THEY'RE SO CUTE OHMYGOSH.

- Poor lonely gibbon! I hope his gibbon buddies didn't get mad at him and kick him out or something.

- Hula hooping while dancing to Bye Bye Bye? Psh, that's nothing! Those CMs don't know how to challenge people who danced to that song every day in middle school.

- Man, I knew it was coming, but reading about Riley was still so sad. I feel like I should have saved the baby elephant for this point to cheer you up.

- TSM and red velvet cupcakes?!?! Oh man...

- Obviously it's never going to happen, but if for some unknown reason they started selling butterbeer in DHS, I'd never go back to IoA. The butterbeer alone is why I put up with that Universal nonsense. (I'm very biased.)

- I've been to the Full House house! Well, actually I stood in front of it and took hundreds of pictures while chatting with a very friendly neighbor of the people who live there now. I hate to do this to you, but I feel like as a fellow FH fan I need to tell you... THE CURRENT OWNERS PAINTED THE RED DOOR. Yup. They painted over it to try to disguise the house. Like there aren't any websites that list the address. Psh, whatever. Also, the house is SMALL. No way could all of those people actually live in a house that small. Apparently TV really does make everything look bigger.
Whyyyyyyyyyy??? What were they thinking? OK, I know what they were thinking, "I'm sick of all these tourists taking pictures of my house!!" But still. Boo.

- RIP Riley (again)

- $42.95 for a seafood buffet?!? Geeze, that has to be one of the more expensive Disney buffets, right?

- That Oreo cake looks SO GOOD. And I love that they gave you guys taffy instead of mints. So fitting, Beach Club, so fitting.

- Your sister has a fear of butterflies? But they don't make noise, they're easily smushed, and they're usually pretty! That's an odd fear... I'd probably mock her too. BULLY BIG SISTERS UNITE!
*HIGH FIVE* And I know. It's a weird fear. Has a butterfly ever hurt anyone? I think I need to go visit my old friend, Google...

- OHMYGOD I'm so excited for the matching t-shirts!

Again, sorry this is long and rambling, but I didn't want to not comment just because I'm late to every TR ever created. I can't wait to read more!

Thanks for joining in!! I love long, rambling comments, so there's totally no need to apologize.

 

[MarieTheCat24]

JULY 7TH PART ONE: Rustlin' Up Some Grub at the Magic Kingdom
Well, folks, it’s time to begin reporting on our last full day at Disney. It was another super weird one, so if vacations that turn into trainwrecks, dorky families in dorky matching t-shirts eating strange African foods, or someone entering into full-on meltdown mode on the Haunted Mansion (for future reference, silly spooks aren’t so silly when there’s just been a death in the family) are of interest to you, get excited. These next few installments are for you!

On our last full day, Katie and Wade headed to the Magic Kingdom at the crack of dawn to get their ride on. Unlike me, Katie handles things extremely well. She was upset about Riley obviously, but she didn’t let that stop her from getting out there and doing. As much as it pains me to admit it, she’s the true Stacey of the family. I’m just the creepily obsessed fan who runs around yelling “LOOK AT THOSE CHOMPAS!!!!!”

While they were off riding puppies, Mom and I hung back at the room. I was passed out in bed and Mom was doing whatever it is moms do. Drinking coffee, watching the Today Show, and worrying about the economy or something. When I finally peeled myself out of bed and into the shower, it was after 10:00.

Once I was presentable, Mom and I headed over to El Centro to wait for Dad.

Yeahhhh, I kinda forgot to mention that rather important detail. Oops.

Once Dad took care of everything at home, there was really no reason for him to stay, so he booked a flight back down to Orlando. Even though we only had a day and a half left at Disney, we still had a lot of vacation left. As some of you may know (I think I mentioned this in my last trip report) we always go to stay with my grandmother in the Tampa area for a bit before or after Disney. In this case, after. With everything we’d just gone through, some relaxing pool/beach time was in order for ALL of us. Except I wound up spending most of my time crying or curled up in a ball in bed in the dark watching Degrassi marathons. But you didn’t need to know that.

Anyway, Dad arrived around 11:30. He filled us in on his less-than-24-hour stay at home as we walked back to our room. After Dad changed into the special matching t-shirt we bought for him, the three of us headed for the Magic Kingdom. [NOTE: I’m sorry I keep teasing the matching t-shirts without any payoff. You WILL get a full explanation later on. I promise.]

The bus ride was uneventful (unless you consider the fact that we were the only people on it eventful) and, before long, we were at the place where they douse you in pixie dust and refuse to let you on Big Thunder Mountain unless you’re displaying a suitable amount of excitement. Yes, that happened one time. The CM was just messing with my sister (and he ultimately wound up taking us in the back way so we got to skip the line), but it was hilarious.

For all you directional sign fans out there:

When I’m Queen of the Universe, Mickey’s glove will become a staple of ALL directional signs. But I’d use his left glove as a reminder that I’m Queen and everyone else is a total loser.

Was anyone able to look at this picture/read the sign without bursting into a stirring rendition of the song from “The Magic, The Memories, and You”? I sure wasn’t.

EVERY DAY A FAVORITE MEMORYYYYYYY
SHARE ANOTHER PERFECT MEMORYYYYYYYY
OPEN UP YOUR HEART AND LET THE MEMORIEEEEES BEEEEEGIIIIIIIIIIIIN

The Castle!

Dream Along With Mickey was going on as we passed by. I’ve never actually stopped to watch (because it’s so freaking hot standing out there for 20 minutes), yet I’ve somehow managed to learn the songs. I guess that’s what happens when you walk by so many times. That “Join the party! A castle party!” song is quite the earworm.

Also, you can’t see it in the picture, but Goofy busted out some sweet dance moves. I was impressed. The Goofster can really get down.

Here’s one of those views that momentarily makes you forget you’re in a theme park:

So pretty. And surprisingly peaceful. Even more so when I’m not loudly being asked to JOIN THE PARTY! A CASTLE PARTY!

I love this random bench at the entrance to Liberty Square:

OK, I’m just now noticing the crates of tea. Someone’s gonna have to physically restrain me in July to keep me from hopping up on the bench and, like the big ol' dork I am, yelling “NO TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION” at passing park-goers.

Our destination on this lovely afternoon was Pecos Bill’s. We were starving (I was in dire need of one of their chicken wraps) and, lucky for us, even though the exterior was under construction, they were still serving “the best grub west of the Mississippi.”

A fancy Disney scrim! Why weren’t there 80 bajillion threads on the Theme Parks board about how this scrim ruined everyone’s vacations?

As it was lunchtime, there were many other cowboys hitchin’ up their wagons to cool their heels and rustle up some grub, but I strode right up to the fine young gentleman takin’ orders and told him I was hankerin’ for a chicken wrap lickety split. The grub was in my hands faster than you can say pennyweighter, and I headed to the dinin’ room for a rip-roarin’ meal. Ma and Pa shook up some fixin’s for their grub and met me there. We had us a hog-killin’ time.

Yes, I did just spend 20 minutes reading an old west slang dictionary. Thanks, Google, for indulging my insanity. You’re the best! I'll thank you first if I ever win an award for writing this trip report. And I will because it's amazing. Like, there's some real ground-breaking trip reporting going on here.

Here are some pictures of our lunch:

See? Ground-breaking stuff. We don’t have to bother with food pics anymore because they can’t possibly get any better than this.

The chicken wrap was delish as it always is. I’ve had one of those bad boys every single trip for, like, the past 10 years. It’s what I was eating when the big white bird attacked me and we made claw-to-head contact when I was 13, but it’s so good that not even being associated with a moment of bird-related trauma can stop me from eating it. It’s tradition. Tasty, tasty tradition.

Dad got some sort of burger with onion rings on it and Mom got pulled pork. They both enjoyed their meals, so if you’re into either of those things, I strongly suggest a stop at Pecos Bill’s.

We came to the Magic Kingdom with the intention of riding some rides after lunch, but none of us were really up for it when the time came. The park was super crowded and it was really hot, so we decided just to head back to the hotel. My chicken wrap was well worth the trip.

I snapped a (blurry) picture of one of those monster birds as we were leaving Frontierland:

Terrifying.

You know what else was terrifying? The tour groups that were lining Main Street:

Thankfully, they weren’t chanting…yet.

When we got to the bus stop, our Motor Coach Chariot of Air-Conditioned Magnificence back to Coronado was waiting there for us:

While this trip was a bit of a mess (or total disaster, depending on how you look at it), we did have some amazing bus luck. I guess it was the universe’s way of throwing us a bone, so thanks for that one, Universe.

UP NEXT: The rain, rain, rain came down, down, down

 

[marDgreen88]

I can NEVER see those words and not burst into song. It's actually ridiculous. Every time I look at my ticker even, I'm all "OPEN UP YOUR HEART AND LET THE MEMORIES BEGIN!"

Hahah, Goofy may have some moves, but Donald is pretty groovy as well. I have a picture of him shaking his booty. Those Disney characters just know how to live it up... I guess it's a requirement.

Omg, I mean I'm just glad i didn't see that Pecos Bill scrim when I was there or THEY WOULD HAVE HEARD AN EAR FULL FROM ME! Lighten up people, it's better than looking at wood and nails.

TOUR GROUPS THOUGH.

 

[JessicaFaye508]

YAY AN UPDATE! It's like a late birthday present. PERFECTION.

So many Stacey references... I'm loving it.

Hahaha I agree... I know EVERY word to dream along with mickey. And I literally just watched it for my first time on one of my trips last year. It's SO ridiculously catchy!

I LOVE that entrance area to Liberty Square. I don't know why. It's just a cool little disney spot.

I am currently watching Toy Story 3 in the background while I'm DIS-ing here... and I am listening to Lotso talk while I'm reading your western style description of Pecos Bill. It's kind of perfect.

 

[Tracy161]

I'm still laughing over the picture in my head of you yellow "no taxation without representation" at passersby! The funny thing was, when I first saw that picture with the tea AND knowing it was in Liberty Square, that's the first thought that popped into my head too!

Also, you should win an award for your TR writing skills!

 

[flyergrad09]

I sincerely hope that you become Queen of the Universe one day so that all signs have a Mickey hand on them!

I love that there are crates of tea by Liberty Square. It's all about the little things.

Oh man, that's a LOT of yellow. Props to the girl in front for modifying her tour group t-shirt to be more fashionable/falling off her shoulder.

 

[__disneygirl]

SO MANY STACEY REFERENCES. Ahh. Is this heaven?

Oh my GOD. That song from MM&Y just kills me every time, especially when Walt's voice pipes in. I always lose it at that moment. Did you know they are having a special summer section of that show just like they did for the holidays! Yay for you getting to see it in person!!

Aww, you should stop and watch Dream Along With Mickey some time. It is so precious. Mickey and Minnie are so in love... sigh. I'm about 100% sure that I will never have a relationship as awesome as what those crazy kids have. Double sigh.

I love taking "That was taken at a theme park?!" pictures. Especially at AK, where it just flat out looks like you're in some remote jungle.

I love Pecos Bills. It reminds me of an early trip where we ducked in there during a storm and ate a ton.

As it was lunchtime, there were many other cowboys hitchin’ up their wagons to cool their heels and rustle up some grub, but I strode right up to the fine young gentleman takin’ orders and told him I was hankerin’ for a chicken wrap lickety split. The grub was in my hands faster than you can say pennyweighter, and I headed to the dinin’ room for a rip-roarin’ meal. Ma and Pa shook up some fixin’s for their grub and met me there. We had us a hog-killin’ time.

................................. MARRY ME.

The wrap sounds awesome. What's in it besides chicken?

GURL I envy the awesome bus luck. It seems like the bus we need is always leaving as soon as we walk up! Lawd.

 

[MotoWifey185]

I'm joining in realllllllly late. I started reading your 2010 TR (by searching "Poly Theme Park View"), and loved it, so I had to read this one too. Your family is a the definition of how I want my family to be once I have kids. I come from a divorced, and re-divorced family so it's nice to see a family like yours, and going on such an awesome vacation every year!

I look forward to reading the rest of this report and joining in when you take your next trip! I've never been to WDW but hope to someday. It looks like a ton of fun and it seems to have more of a vacation atmosphere than DLR does. I just can't wait to see it someday with my Disney loving DF.

I am so sorry to hear about Riley. I love dogs and have one of my own (she's like my child) and there's just nothing that can prepare you for when they get older. I hope you were still able to enjoy your vacation for the most part.

 

[therussells08]

Hi Kara! I can't belive I haven't read your TR sooner! You're absolutely hilarious and I feel like we have a lot of the same DIS friends. Even though I'm crazy late I'm joining in now and I'm going to try to catch up on the whole thing today.

I have two things to say right now, though. I am SO sorry about your fur baby. Our pets are our family too, and I know how hard that is, especially when you're away when it happens.

Also, on a lighter note, I didn't have moonshoes as a kid either. What gives? Apparently our parents didn't watch Nickelodeon enough to understand how vital these things were to our lives. Although I did have a Skip It, which was not quite as cool, but still okay. Oh, and I had Gak. Lots and lots of Gak. Speaking of, did you know they sell that again? It's like $34.95 for five packs. Insanity.

Okay I'm going to catch up now! YIPPEEE!

 

[MarieTheCat24]

HI EVERYONE!! I'm sorry I've been so, um, not here lately. It's weird. As my next trip approaches, I'm starting to want nothing to do with this last one. I'm still gonna try to finish this thing, but really, I'm just ready to put it all behind me and make some new memories. I think I can cram the rest of this trip into 4ish more installments which I will try to have posted before we leave. If worse comes to worst, I'll just do a picture dump and attempt to add some sort of commentary. I don't know. But one way or another, I'm stickin' a fork in this thing before July so I can come back and start fresh.

I can NEVER see those words and not burst into song. It's actually ridiculous. Every time I look at my ticker even, I'm all "OPEN UP YOUR HEART AND LET THE MEMORIES BEGIN!"

Hahah, Goofy may have some moves, but Donald is pretty groovy as well. I have a picture of him shaking his booty. Those Disney characters just know how to live it up... I guess it's a requirement.

Omg, I mean I'm just glad i didn't see that Pecos Bill scrim when I was there or THEY WOULD HAVE HEARD AN EAR FULL FROM ME! Lighten up people, it's better than looking at wood and nails.

TOUR GROUPS THOUGH.

Have you watched video of the new summer section of MM&Y? It's adorable! Hooray for us being able to see it!!

I don't think I've ever seen Donald dance, but this is now a thing I totally want to see. Maybe I'll have to get down with Frontierland Donald or something...

Agreed. It amuses me when people freak out about the construction at WDW. Like, shouldn't we be thankful they're taking care of the place?

YAY AN UPDATE! It's like a late birthday present. PERFECTION.

So many Stacey references... I'm loving it.

Hahaha I agree... I know EVERY word to dream along with mickey. And I literally just watched it for my first time on one of my trips last year. It's SO ridiculously catchy!

I LOVE that entrance area to Liberty Square. I don't know why. It's just a cool little disney spot.

I am currently watching Toy Story 3 in the background while I'm DIS-ing here... and I am listening to Lotso talk while I'm reading your western style description of Pecos Bill. It's kind of perfect.

I CANNOT WAIT to see Stacey again soon. I mean, I watch her on Youtube sometimes, but it's not the same as curling up in bed at a Disney resort after a long day in the parks and watching a few loops before heading off to dreamland.

HAHA What you don't know is that I AM a Lotso. On the outside I seem all warm and friendly and strawberry-smelling, but on the inside I'm a cold-hearted jerk ready to dump everyone into an incinerator. Kidding. Or am I?

I'm still laughing over the picture in my head of you yellow "no taxation without representation" at passersby! The funny thing was, when I first saw that picture with the tea AND knowing it was in Liberty Square, that's the first thought that popped into my head too!

Also, you should win an award for your TR writing skills!

If I weren't wearing modern day clothing, people might think it's part of the show or something. Disney, if you're reading this, I'm totally open to doing that every day. Minimum wage and an unlimited supply of Mickey Rice Krispy Treats is all I ask for in return.

I sincerely hope that you become Queen of the Universe one day so that all signs have a Mickey hand on them!

I love that there are crates of tea by Liberty Square. It's all about the little things.

Oh man, that's a LOT of yellow. Props to the girl in front for modifying her tour group t-shirt to be more fashionable/falling off her shoulder.

Thank you for your support in my endeavor.

Exactly. I love that after YEARS of Disney vacations, I'm still noticing details for the first time

 

[MarieTheCat24]

SO MANY STACEY REFERENCES. Ahh. Is this heaven?

Oh my GOD. That song from MM&Y just kills me every time, especially when Walt's voice pipes in. I always lose it at that moment. Did you know they are having a special summer section of that show just like they did for the holidays! Yay for you getting to see it in person!!

Aww, you should stop and watch Dream Along With Mickey some time. It is so precious. Mickey and Minnie are so in love... sigh. I'm about 100% sure that I will never have a relationship as awesome as what those crazy kids have. Double sigh.

I love taking "That was taken at a theme park?!" pictures. Especially at AK, where it just flat out looks like you're in some remote jungle.

I love Pecos Bills. It reminds me of an early trip where we ducked in there during a storm and ate a ton.



................................. MARRY ME.

The wrap sounds awesome. What's in it besides chicken?

GURL I envy the awesome bus luck. It seems like the bus we need is always leaving as soon as we walk up! Lawd.

If this were heaven, Stacey would be here posting too.

I'm so excited for the summer section! I watched video from when it premiered the other night and I cannot wait! They're also keeping the Tangled romance section from Valentine's Day and just watching that on video gave me goosebumps so YAY!!

If the weather isn't all 'surface of the sun', I will totally stop and watch Dream Along with Mickey next time I'm there. If you're recommending it, I'm down.

There's lettuce, tomato, cheese, and some sort of dressing in the chicken wrap. I used to think it was caesar, but last year it didn't seem quite as caesar-y.

I'm hoping our bus luck will continue in July. I've heard both good and bad things about buses at POFQ.

I'm joining in realllllllly late. I started reading your 2010 TR (by searching "Poly Theme Park View"), and loved it, so I had to read this one too. Your family is a the definition of how I want my family to be once I have kids. I come from a divorced, and re-divorced family so it's nice to see a family like yours, and going on such an awesome vacation every year!

I look forward to reading the rest of this report and joining in when you take your next trip! I've never been to WDW but hope to someday. It looks like a ton of fun and it seems to have more of a vacation atmosphere than DLR does. I just can't wait to see it someday with my Disney loving DF.

I am so sorry to hear about Riley. I love dogs and have one of my own (she's like my child) and there's just nothing that can prepare you for when they get older. I hope you were still able to enjoy your vacation for the most part.

WELCOME!!! And thank you for the kind words! I'm super lucky to have a family that loves Disney vacations as much as I do. I certainly hope you can capture the WDW magic with your family someday!

Hi Kara! I can't belive I haven't read your TR sooner! You're absolutely hilarious and I feel like we have a lot of the same DIS friends. Even though I'm crazy late I'm joining in now and I'm going to try to catch up on the whole thing today.

I have two things to say right now, though. I am SO sorry about your fur baby. Our pets are our family too, and I know how hard that is, especially when you're away when it happens.

Also, on a lighter note, I didn't have moonshoes as a kid either. What gives? Apparently our parents didn't watch Nickelodeon enough to understand how vital these things were to our lives. Although I did have a Skip It, which was not quite as cool, but still okay. Oh, and I had Gak. Lots and lots of Gak. Speaking of, did you know they sell that again? It's like $34.95 for five packs. Insanity.

Okay I'm going to catch up now! YIPPEEE!

Thanks for joining in!! And thank you for the kind words about Riley.

I still have my Skip It! I was helping my parents clean the garage out a few years ago (aka I sat there and talked to them while they did the actual cleaning ) and we found it buried under a pile of junk. I think I was more excited to find it than I was when I actually got it.

BRB I'm off to buy some Gak.

 

[nfggirl5454]

I just spent close to an hour reading all about your trip (although an old episode of One Tree Hill occasionally distracted me). I loved your excitement over meeting Marie! I've only seen her once and I regret not getting a photo with her. And I'm determined to see Minnie in her pink dress at DHS - that dress is so stinking cute! On another note, I'm so sorry about Riley. We had to put our dog, Zeus, down last summer, and it's still sad without him.

Looking forward to hearing about the rest of your trip!

 

[MarieTheCat24]

I just spent close to an hour reading all about your trip (although an old episode of One Tree Hill occasionally distracted me). I loved your excitement over meeting Marie! I've only seen her once and I regret not getting a photo with her. And I'm determined to see Minnie in her pink dress at DHS - that dress is so stinking cute! On another note, I'm so sorry about Riley. We had to put our dog, Zeus, down last summer, and it's still sad without him.

Looking forward to hearing about the rest of your trip!

WELCOME!!

Marie was ADORABLE. I really hope you get to meet her someday! And I completely agree about Minnie's pink dress. She's just so stylish.

 

[MarieTheCat24]

JULY 7TH PART TWO: I Bless The Rains Down In Aaaaafricaaaaaaa
Once back at Coronado Springs, my parents and I rode the bus around to El Centro because I had something REALLY important to do.

“Wow, Kara, what is that really important something?” you ask.

GELATO. GELATO GELATO GELATO.

But first…

These funky columns line the covered path from the bus stop to the front of El Centro. I kinda fell in love with them. This shouldn’t come as a surprise though. You all know how much I love the teal/coral (I guess this is more orange, though) color combo. Speaking of which, I will be knocking small children out of the way to get on one of the new teal/pink or teal/orange Dumbos this year. If you’ll be in the World in early July, BEWARE!


The gelato is sold at Café Rix, one of the Counter Service locations at Coronado Springs. I had been meaning to try some all week, but whenever we were in El Centro, I was already stuffed. Even though I was still kinda full from my Pecos Bills chicken wrap, I was determined to pack it in. Plus, I was in mourning. It’s been scientifically proven that sadness causes one to develop a temporary second stomach just for ice cream. Google it. Wikipedia it. Heck, Bing it, if you're one of the three people in the universe who uses Bing.

Here’s a picture of all the different flavors:

So many choices! It was a nightmare for someone like me who can’t make a decision to save her life.

After mulling it over for a bit, I settled on Mint Chocolate Chip and the wonderful Gelato Prince behind the counter scooped some (a lot) up for me. Bless him.

The second I stepped outside, that thing turned into a fountain. I was awkwardly licking it to prevent dripping while also trying my hardest not to dump it all over myself. Eating is hard, man. Once everything was safely within the parameters of the bowl, I went to town with the little spoon. Is there ANYTHING more fun than those little gelato spoons??

I know, I know. Don’t answer that.

Anyway, I chowed down while we walked back to the Ranchos.

Here are some resort pictures that Dad took:

I really don’t remember what happened when we got back to the room. I know Katie and Wade were at Downtown Disney. I’m assuming Mom and Dad went to the pool because they do that every day while on vacation. I might have started packing or something. I don’t know. I do know that I eventually fell asleep, and when I woke up, everyone was back in the room because it was pouring outside.

As you can see, the Ranchos went from bone-dry desert to lizard swimming pool. It was quite cool.

It was still raining when it was time for us to head over to the Animal Kingdom Lodge for dinner at Boma. This was a last-minute change. We had reservations at Whispering Canyon Café, but none of us were in the mood for hijinks. I know, right? I’m pretty sure Kara means “lover of hijinks” in several cultures. But when your dog dies, yelling for ketchup just isn’t that appealing.


When we called dining, Boma was available at a decent time, so we snatched that right up. It’s one of those places that has always been on our ‘Let’s try that sometime’ list, but we’ve just never gotten around to it. While on the phone with dining (well, with the automated dining voice robot), we also booked breakfast at 1900 Park Fare for the next morning. Since my birthday dinner at ‘Ohana didn’t happen, we each still had a TS credit to use, so why not us them on our first ever TS Disney breakfast! Because we always travel during the summer, we really don’t like to waste precious empty park time/cooler morning weather on breakfast, but, at this point, an omelet and large amounts of bacon sounded pretty darn good.

Anyway, we all piled into the car and headed for AKL. Getting there from CSR was a breeze. Well, there was a weird traffic backup near Animal Kingdom, but it wasn’t terrible. We made our reservation with plenty of time to spare. Unfortunately, because of the rain, we couldn’t go outside to see the animals. Bummer.

But, hey, here are some pictures of the GORGEOUS lobby.

This, um, cheetah (?) has six fingers on its left paw. Interesting.

I love the resort-specific welcome mats. I also love wiping my soaking wet shoes on the resort-specific welcome mats. Yay messes!

Just ignore the blurriness and focus on the pretty. Don’t look at it for too long, though, or it will make you sick. I’d hate for my terrible photography to be responsible for that.

The chandeliers are AMAZING. And HUGE.

I wish I had taken better pictures of the Igbo Ijele Mask. It is really cool.

After ooh-ing and ahh-ing over the lobby, we headed downstairs to Boma. Mom checked us in and I took this terribly off-center photo of the sign.

Heh.

Not even two minutes after we checked in, a hostess called us over to take us to our table. It was easily the shortest wait we’ve ever had at a Disney restaurant. Heck, I’ve waited longer to be seated at our local perpetually-half-empty Applebee’s and they don’t even have cool African foods/decor there. Just street signs, pictures of t-ball teams, and food that may or may not have been spit on.

We were seated in the far corner of the restaurant under this cool canopy:

And this is the ceiling/cool light fixtures/part of the booth I was sitting in looking back toward the rest of the room:

I really loved the feel of Boma. It wasn’t HUGE like many of the Disney buffets. Instead, it felt quite warm and intimate, which was nice with the heavy rain falling outside. It was also really quiet. I’m sure that’s not always the case, but we dined kinda early so the restaurant wasn’t full.

Our lovely waitress came to the table to take our drink orders and gave us the rundown on the buffet. She pointed out a few specific dishes we absolutely had to try and sent us on our way.

Here is an absolutely terrible picture of my first plate:

From top to bottom, it’s plain white rice, fufu – a mashed sweet potato dish, beef from the carving station, hummus w/a bunch of pita, and bobotie- a sort of minced-meat quiche. It was all very yummy. Especially the hummus. I actually went back and got a separate plate just for hummus and a bunch of different kinds of bread. It was hummus heaven.

Here’s my dessert plate:

I didn’t really go too crazy, just sampled a zebra dome, caramel cheesecake, some sort of fruit cobbler, and a plain sugar cookie with a bite taken out of it. Thankfully, I was the one who took the bite out of it and not some stranger. Though I guess cookies with cool animal bites taken out of them could go with the theme.

Overall, I really enjoyed Boma. I mean, I would have been satisfied with just the paper ‘animal safe’ straw, so good food was really the icing on the cake. I’m not racing to go back ASAP, but I’d definitely eat there again. Preferably sometime when the weather’s nice so I can actually go out and see the animals. Stupid rain. Stupid Judy. Stupid energy.

UP NEXT: We poncho up and head out for our last night in the World!

 

[marDgreen88]

The gelato looks delicious! I don't know why, but gelato just trumps real ice cream. It's the stuff.

Wow, that's an insane amount of water! Rain sometimes, am I right?

The little-known phenomena of the six-fingered cheetah. A distant relative to the five-legged goat. (I'm surprised you didn't know that... )

Glad you enjoyed Boma! It's always intrigued me but I'm most likely too picky to eat there.

(I'm glad you're finishing the TR, by the way! I'm sure you'll be glad to get it behind you though. Hooray for going to Disney NEXT MONTH!!!)

 

[Disneyfreak616]

Ahh! Boma, Gelato and CSR all in one update!? LOVE.

I love the feel of Boma too. The whole atmosphere of AKL is just wonderful. It's my home and I love it.

I like that zebra dome I spy on your plate!

YES! The hummus...oh the hummus!!!

 

[JessicaFaye508]

YAYYY AN UPDATE!!! Just what I needed on this gloomy day. THANK YOU!

Omg WHY did I not get gelato when I stayed at Coronado!? WHYYY!?!? That's almost sinful. I take that back. It IS sinful. Gelato is SO GOOD.

Yay for Boma! I haven't eaten there for dinner before. I'm not super anxious to go there, but I'll get there when I get there!

And LOL stupid energy. I laughed out loud. I'm really tired.