I'm right behind your tushie!! A January 2011 TR!! Updated April 27th

[Mndisneygirl]

Love the DTD pics. I love wandering around the stores there.

So sorry about your grandfather. I hope you have lots of good memories.

 

[onescgirl]

Great Pop pics! I think my kids would love to stay there

 

[stayhomemom77]

I DO have some great memories of my grandpa Sheree. Thanks for commenting.

Onescgirl...we loved Pop....the pools were great and the icons larger than life. Everything Pop was awesome and the GIANT icons great and we had absolutely zero complaints!

However...it was definitely a step down from the deluxe resorts from the previous trip and though I think the kids were oblivious, DH and I sure noticed them. Little things, of course and nothing that would prevent me from staying at a value resort again (heck, I'd stay exclusively at value resorts if it meant annual trips to the World!!) but I am eager to try POFQ to see how the moderates compare.

More TR coming up...

 

[stayhomemom77]

Alright...I've steamlined the photos somewhat (they were in a funky order when they were uploaded to Photobucket) so let's get this thing started.

I last left you as we were en route to Port Orleans to check out the sister resorts. DH was snapping pics like his life depended on it and we all enjoyed the relaxing boat ride over to what I was hoping would be our accommodations when we next return to Disney.

(And if you're wondering why none of these photos are framed properly...as I just was while posting them ...remember that he was using his phone and not a camera and therefore could not zoom, crop or otherwise frame his shots so that's why you keep seeing the boat railing.)

Okay, so I know this is the lamest of updates...but it's dinner time here and I don't have the time to go any further so POFQ and POR will just have to wait!!

 

[stayhomemom77]

When I left off we were arriving at POFQ on the boat from DTD.

We walked up from the dock to the pool area and I confess I was nervous!! This was the place I was hoping to push for the next time we head to the World and I was worried that not everyone would like it. My fears were unfounded though because DD took one look at the pool and immediately said, “can we stay here next time??”

We’d been there for like 90 seconds and DH had already taken like 17 pictures and I now had a request for a POFQ stay, so I started laughing. DH assured her that we were indeed planning on staying here next time. I stood there thinking, “Geez, that was easy!”

We wandered around for a little bit and feel head over heels in love with the resort.

DH ran in and got some beignets while the kids frolicked on the playground. I only wanted one bite so they each got one to themselves. Here is the mess they made.

There was quite a bit on their faces too and a respectable amount of sugar left in the bottom of the container.

They were tasty but not really my thing. I was saving myself for the magic cookie bar at Riverside.

The resort still had their Christmas decorations up (Pop had taken theirs down on the 4th) and we tried pretty hard to get some doubloons but the Bell Services guy with the key to the cabinet where they were kept hadn’t come into work that day so they couldn’t be accessed. DS was crushed but the ladies at the check in desk gave him several beaded necklaces (to share with his sister) to make him feel better.

Hmmm, I thought I had a pic of the beads but I guess not! That's it for now I'm afraid, but the next update should contain the last of the pics and possibly the trip wrap up as well!!

 

[onescgirl]

That pool at POFQ looks pretty cool! I would love to stay there too!
Sorry about your grandfather.
We have a lot of Christian radio stations in our state. I love listening to them!

 

[stayhomemom77]

I'm going to try and wrap this up in this post if possible.

When I left off we had just sampled beignets in the playground area of POFQ.

We then strolled down to Riverside but we were running out of time so we had to be pretty quick. We were able to see the manor buildings and got a pressed penny in the main building and I zoomed into the food court to get my tasty magic cookie bar delight!

OH MY STARS!! This baby was to die for!! Hands down, my favourite dessert at Disney this trip…yes friends, it even beat out the Dole Whip!! And that’s saying something! I wished I’d gotten three!! I would have run back for another but we were running late for lunch and we took the boat back to DTD.

Here's the last of the photos that DH took with his phone. I SERIOUSLY need to remember the charger for the camera on our next trip!

We were ordering our lunch at 1:40 pm at WPE. Sorry, we failed again at getting food pics…I swear next time I’ll ensure I have a working camera! I ordered the Pennette Chicken Alfredo and DH got the Half Rotisserie chicken. My pasta was amazing and we shared back and forth but I wished after tasting his that I’d ordered what he got instead. I couldn’t come close to finishing my plate (I think I managed about a third of it) and DH had a bit but his own meal was filling so we ended up leaving quite a bit of pasta. Shame because it was quite tasty but we had no way of saving it. DS got chicken fingers and fries and DD got spaghetti with white sauce. Neither one of them came close to eating all of their food so in retrospect we could have saved my credit to be used at Earl of Sandwich.

Randy ran over to get in line at Earl to pick up sandwiches for us to eat on the plane for our dinner. He was in line a looooooong time and after 15 mins of waiting I went in a told him we had no time and needed to get to the bus. He was next in line by this point so decided to not to abort. He figured we’d be done in minutes but in the end he was in there nearly half an hour total and we were VERY behind schedule. We raced over to see a Pop bus just pulling away and consequently we were late back to the resort. I was FREAKING out!! We were going to be late for our ME bus and I was NOT willing to deal with the aftermath of that problem…especially since I had TOLD DH we needed to leave without the stinking sandwiches.

In the end, we got lucky…our bus had been about 15 mins behind schedule so when we got to the resort at 3:30 pm they were just beginning to load. At this point I realized that I was beginning to come down with a cold. I was getting tireder and grouchier by the minute and just wanted to get to the airport.

We got on the bus without incident and got to the airport in good time. The line at security was long but moved fairly well. One of our ziplock bags ripped right across the bottom so we ended up having to toss all our remaining H2O products from our last trip which made me sad cause not everything would fit in the only baggie we had left.

It was lefties and righties again at security and DD and I had to go through the metal detector twice because she got over eager and tried to drag her carry on though with her. I was annoyed because she wasn’t my partner but DH was dealing with both strollers at the time and missed what she was doing. The security officer was quite nice and very patient and didn’t make a big deal out of it, just had us go back, put the suitcase on the conveyor and walk back through again. The seating at the gates was quite crowded and DH went to get the kids some dinner. He brought back chicken strips and fries which they refused to eat so we packed them up and brought them onto the plane with us.

I went up right away to get the tickets for gate checking our strollers and the attendant thanked me for going up so early to take care of it. Then, as I was walking away she announced it over the loud speaker so I felt all special and helpful.

We were seated at the very back of the plane. There was only one row behind the kids and me and no one at all behind DH (who was right across the aisle from us).

The flight was fine…we left on time and landed on time and the kids did very well, snacking (but not on their dinner) and reading and playing their DS’s. I ate my Earl of Sandwich (Caprese) and it was still good even though it was pretty soggy. DH wasn’t hungry so he waited until 11 pm when we got home to try his out and it was so soggy he pretty much threw it all out. He got the chicken ceasar wrap and it was all muck when he opened it. What a shame!!

We all cheered when we touched down but then we had to wait half an hour for them to hook up the gateway. We were the last ones off of the plane and were sooooo tired. We got into the shuttle that dropped us off right at our car and we made good time to the border. The customs officer was quite nice and we were home by 11 pm. The kids had fallen asleep just before we pulled in the driveway so we put them right to bed, DH shoveled the driveway and sidewalks (a nasty touch on our return to reality), I unpacked a bit and then we headed to bed.

So, our vacation ended sort of flat, but then who DOES love coming home from Disney?

I had been hoping for an end of summer trip (August 28th to Sep 4th -ish dates) or barring that an October week for MNSSHP and Food and Wine but at the moment things are too uncertain with DH needing to find himself a new job for any solid plans to be made. Well, THAT and the fact that DH doesn't want to do Disney World again until some other trips have been taken. Still, I'm saving all my own spending money quite faithfully (we each get our own little "allowance" each month which I am currently socking away against our next trip) so who know? If they have some good deals for this fall I might just be able to add me a ticker!!

Hope you had fun with us and thanks for joining our family on our fun January 2011 trip to Disney!!

See ya real soon!

 

[brookelizabeth]

By the time I got here you were done! All well, I enjoyed it anyway!

Are the PO resorts beautiful? I definitely want to stay at one of them next time we go with a Mod!

And did you hear....free dining in September...! Code should be general public on May 2...maybe we'll see a ticker soon!

 

[Mndisneygirl]

Hey! just wanted to let you know I have been reading! Bummer about the rushing to get back for the bus and the soggy sandwiches! I hate to waste food too!

I know all too well about the snowy return to reality! I still always hope the snow won't still be there when we get back, but winter is soooo long! This last trip in March a lot of our snow had melted while we were gone, as it was unseasonably warm that week (of course!). But then again, we have had plenty more snow since we got back. Now it's been unseasonably cold!

Thanks for sharing your trip with us!

Maybe you can convince your DH with the free dining for fall that's coming out on Monday to the public?? It's out for Disney Visa now - 8/28- 9/24 I believe.

 

[stayhomemom77]

Thanks guys! It was fun reliving my trip through this report!!

As for an end of August trip...I'm tempted, I'm seriously tempted but I don't think DH would go for it even with free dining.

I've been online to check it out (and I'm annoyed we have to pay $100 for the stupid album...like I care about that...that $100 could get me another night's stay for pete's sake...) but I won't have enough money between now and then with just my own spending money footing the bill.

Even with the free dining offer DH would not agree to divert any $$ from our cruise account to go to back to Disney for the 4th time in a row (and I'll be like $500 short, so that's a lot!!) and I can't say I blame him. And unfortunately, there's just not enough money to save for both trips simultaneously.

Also, DH's contract ends August 31st and at the moment he has no job come September...so I can't exactly plan a vacation when we may not even be able to buy groceries that week!! I don't think it's going to come to that obviously but I think we're looking at 2012 for our next trip.

Ironically, if I had booked the Kids Stay and Play Free deal in March like I was tempted to do...we probably would have been able to swing it! I didn't do it because of the job uncertainty but I still have the numbers I crunched and as long as he does get his contract renewed (which is starting to look possible...during the booking window it looked like a definite NO) I would have been less than $200 short and I could have swung that easily without him protesting too much!

Ah well...I'm still holding out hope that we'll find the money we need somewhere!

Thanks again friends!!

 

[Diegosmom]

Just read your TP. We are planning a Jan trip so was interested in your experience. And let me say I am soooooo happy that you were able to swim. Hubby and I have been going back and forth on Sept or Jan (well I say hubby and I but who are we kidding I have been going back and forth lol). And I think we finally just decided that Jan is best. But I was bummed that DS and I probably wont be able to swim (we both love it, DH pretty much hates it). But now there is hope for swimming in Jan. And I love the fact that it might possibly be shorts weather.

Also congrats on the weight loss. You look great. And you gave me some modivation. Before we were married I lost 50lbs on Weight watchers. Went off the diet right before the wedding and had trouble getting back on track, gained about 5 or 10lbs and the day I said I am going back on was the day I found out I was preggo with DS. I did great with not gaining too much, maybe 25 but it was after he was born that it all crept back on and then some. So I so need to get back on (sat is our 5 year anniversary so yeah I have been dragging my feet lol). And the thought of having skinny (or skinnier) disney pics is a real modivation and it s still 8.5 months away so I could lose a good amount by then...

Ok anyway loved your report.

 

[stayhomemom77]

Thanks Diegosmom!!

I really, really love the weight watcher's program and it's really helping me take off the weight. It continues to be a great motivator as I continue moving down the scale towards my goal weight. Of course, I'm still following the old points program...I'm not a fan of points plus but I think that was more of the fact that I had to switch and I wasn't willing to do it. Starting new it will probably work quite well for you if that's the weight loss program you choose again this time around. GOOD LUCK...YOU CAN DO IT!!

I told DH I was planning a Disney trip when I hit goal as my big reward (I will have lost over 100 pounds by then so I will totally deserve it!!) and that he just had to deal with it. I can't WAIT for those pictures!!

We found most of the days of our trip were warm enough to wear shorts and since the pools are heated, swimming on a warmer day is never out of the question. I would recommend going during the day (it was a cold walk back to the room when we DD and I went alone after dark) if at all possible and bringing warm clothes to put on for the walk back to the room.

We also liked January for the low crowds. Sure, the park hours are shorter but you get so much more done in that time that it really doesn't matter...at least, that was our opinion.

So glad you enjoyed our TR!!