Inching My Way Closer to the Castle Final thoughts/future trips 4/2p90 The End 4/4p92

[MEK]

Can I just tell you guys that I accidently deleted all my replies, so I redid part of the last post. So frustrated. More replies coming! But I might have to take a break!

 

[MEK]

First of all, I missed Jen's post with the bath room, er torture chamber, info in it! I'm getting a littler nervous about the bathroom situation next week! I did purchase a bathmat at target to take with us and I'll leave it in my owners locker for March!

Buying a new bathmat was very smart. Maybe it was something with the way our floor was cleaned, because that can't possibly be the norm. People would be slipping all the time. It would be especially dangerous for Older people (ahem.... I mean someone older than myself )

DInner at The Wave sounds yummy! Those sound like some good drinks!

The Wave is very good. I definitely recommend it. If its not our your schedule, consider it for lunch as well. I don't think you will be disappointed.

I love your pictures from TOWL! I'm interested to see what their access procedures are next week!

WOW MaryEllen! WOW! Those pictures of Wishes from your room are amazing! Can I tell you how excited I am about that view?!

I hope you get up to TOWL when its not raining. It's pretty cool up there, but the lounge gets small, fast, when everyone is huddled in there from the rain.
Glad you enjoyed the pictures and I expect you to bring back many more of your own!

Great updates, ladies!! Awesome shots of a fabulous looking dinner, beautiful fireworks, and some great, tasty drinks! Thoroughly enjoyed myself this evening catching up on your posts!

Thanks. We had an awesome second day. The day just flew. Even though we only spent a few hours in the park, we still felt like we were constantly on the go. It was amazing!

Jen, So sorry about your dog, what breed was she? My MIL had a Golden and she died from Kidney failure at 6 years old, too. Her symptoms came on fairly sudden. It was only over the space of a couple weeks. The vet that did the ultrasound said that her kidneys were so small and shriveled that they figure she never really had normal ones. They have another Golden now and she has the Vet keeping an eye on her kidneys.

Jen will have to tell you exactly what type of dog. She was a __________ mountain dog. If I heard the name I would know it. I know Jen's dog had abnormal kidney function for about a year before she died, but she finally just reached that critical point where she became acutely symptomatic. So young for any animal to get so sick.

On a happier note, both of you take such beautiful pictures! Love the "Torture Chamber" and the vultures waiting outside the window!

Glad you like the pics.

Funny how Jen made that correlation between the torture chamber and the vultures!

Great updates ladies

I love the pictures of the lounge and the fireworks!

Looking forward to more

Thanks Dawn! Glad you are enjoying. I predict that there's some BLT in your future. You will be using your travel agent mojo to plan your next trip!

Neat fireworks pictures Jen!

I know that rooms at BLT have a channel on the TV to get the music for Wishes in the room. I'm not sure if it just the rooms that are considered MK view though!

I was actually wondering about that myself. It would have been cool to be able to find that channel, but there was no time. Having the music would have been great, but I could barely get my camera going.

I think there is a lot to be said for seeing fireworks from your very own balcony!!!

I think we both really appreciated it. And here's the thing - I don't know when OR if we will ever get a chance to do that again, so it was pretty sweet!

 

[Nermel9]

Yay more pictures! The BLT pool looks pretty, much better than the Contemporary pool! I think my camera has a fireworks setting too and my pics come out like that, all squiggly...they're cute but I want fireworks to look like fireworks! I have yet to figure out how to get good pictures of fireworks...or pretty much anything at night, for that matter!

 

[Native NYer]

Love your fireworks photos!
I need to make an ADR for The Wave for next summer. The food looks so good!

 

[manntra]

Mmmmmmmmm The Wave. Such great food....love the bread (and butter ) and the steaks are delicious. I had the filet and raspberry rain last time I was there!! I think this is a very overlooked restaurant

Yay for getting to TOTWL!!! Boo to the rain!! Yay for more yummy drinks Glad you were able to catch them from your balcony! How cool is that?!! I think that you can get the music on one of the channels too but once it started you didn't have any time. I have the cd in my car and could have acted it out for you.

With 3 or 4 drinks I probably would have ended up ON the couch instead of pulling it out. Can't wait to see how that turned out!!

Tracy

 

[MEK]

Yay more pictures! The BLT pool looks pretty, much better than the Contemporary pool! I think my camera has a fireworks setting too and my pics come out like that, all squiggly...they're cute but I want fireworks to look like fireworks! I have yet to figure out how to get good pictures of fireworks...or pretty much anything at night, for that matter!

I'm with you on the night time pics. I will say that the tripod definitely helps because it stabilizes the camera and setting the timer for 2 secs also helps, but not with fireworks.

Jen told me to set the camera to the P mode (programmed mode) and force the flash open. That way the flash is already opened when the picture is taken creating more light. That's how I ended up taking a lot of the firework pics, but I am sure there is a much more advanced way to do it.

The BLT pool is deceiving. It looks super cool from a distance and just "eh" up close. We never did get to the Contemporary pool despite visiting 3 different pools this trip.

Love your fireworks photos!
I need to make an ADR for The Wave for next summer. The food looks so good!

Thanks from both of us!

The food at the Wave is excellent and I am convinced that the beef is superior to the fish (and in all other restaurants I pick fish over steak), so if you want a nice filet and can't get into Le Cellier, do take a chance and go. Plus what's better than walking into the MK after dinner?

Mmmmmmmmm The Wave. Such great food....love the bread (and butter ) and the steaks are delicious. I had the filet and raspberry rain last time I was there!! I think this is a very overlooked restaurant

I have to agree with you. It is overlooked and an after thought for many people. But its has been consistently good everytime I have been there. Although the desserts are a little on the small side. I wouldn't want to pay OOP for them. Yummy, yummy steak! And Jen loved that raspberry rain.

With 3 or 4 drinks I probably would have ended up ON the couch instead of pulling it out. Can't wait to see how that turned out!!

Tracy

2.5 not counting the sangria at the pool. My rattle-rattle ice drink only counted as a 1/2 drink.

As far as crashing on the couch - I saved that for the last night!

 

[Mndisneygirl]

I'm too late to help now, but if you are watching the fireworks from your balcony, you can turn on your tv to get a channel that pipes in the music. We did that one night at BLT.


I'm glad you liked the Wave. I just heard the DIS unplugged podcast review recently and they did NOT. They said the atmosphere was all BLAH, and beigee, their server had the personality of Shrek, and the portions were really small. ONe guy did get the pork that Jen got and said it was good, but that they didn't give enought of the sweet potatoes...

I'm trying to remember the shower at BLT. I generally like hard pressure showers, but I would think I'd remember shards of glass. Maybe we had it adjusted just right?

I thought the BLT pool was okay. My girls liked the little slide, they were too scared to try the bigger one. But it was nothing that gave me a "WOW".

Bearnese Mountain Dog??

Okay. All caught up. Now I have to go do my own updating!

 

[MEK]

I'm too late to help now, but if you are watching the fireworks from your balcony, you can turn on your tv to get a channel that pipes in the music. We did that one night at BLT.

If we had planned to watch the fireworks, we definitely would have done that. But since it was totally impromptu, the thought never crossed my mind. I guess I WILL have to go back for the piped in music.

I'm glad you liked the Wave. I just heard the DIS unplugged podcast review recently and they did NOT. They said the atmosphere was all BLAH, and beigee, their server had the personality of Shrek, and the portions were really small. ONe guy did get the pork that Jen got and said it was good, but that they didn't give enought of the sweet potatoes...

It's not the best atmosphere ever, I will agree with that. But it's certainly not unpleasant. Our server was fine. Very nice. Too bad it got a good review because you can see that we got really nice portions of everything and aside from the ice drink, no complaints. I've eaten there three times and its been consistent. I do, however, think the desserts are small but I'm always so stuffed I don't care.

I'm trying to remember the shower at BLT. I generally like hard pressure showers, but I would think I'd remember shards of glass. Maybe we had it adjusted just right?

I wish I could remember what the deal was. I don't know if I turned the shower to that setting or if it was set there. I just remember that once we discovered the secret, no more shards of glass. Ouch!

I thought the BLT pool was okay. My girls liked the little slide, they were too scared to try the bigger one. But it was nothing that gave me a "WOW".

Exactly - nothing that gave a big "Wow", although Jen did coax me down the slide and it was fun. No complaints though. It was a beautiful afternoon and we had a nice time there.

Bearnese Mountain Dog??

Okay. All caught up. Now I have to go do my own updating!

Oh gosh. I thought I would know as soon as I heard it, but maybe not. Just not sure. Jen, help me out here?????

Glad you are working on an update! I love seeing pics of your girls!

 

[Ducky4Disney]

Neat fireworks pictures Jen!

I know that rooms at BLT have a channel on the TV to get the music for Wishes in the room. I'm not sure if it just the rooms that are considered MK view though!

D'oh! I was wondering about that! They sure don't advertise it, because I read every scrap of paper they gave me and never saw it listed. I wonder it they actually time it with the fireworks or if it's just set to play at whatever time the fireworks are scheduled for? I will have to investigate.

Jen will have to tell you exactly what type of dog. She was a __________ mountain dog.

Greater Swiss Mountain Dog - pretty good Mary Ellen!

OK, question? Did you photoshop the first two to make the effects?

Second - I took my fireworks pictures in the P mode with the forced flash. Is that right? What else could I have done. Still trying to learn here people!

No, I did not PhotoShop the first two firework pics. The "fireworks" setting on my camera allows the shutter to stay open for a full 2 seconds, which is forever plus a second in camera time. It makes for a lot of trails in the pics.

Second answer - no, I wouldn't have used a flash for those pics. Using a flash for fireworks is like waving at a plane going overhead; you're too far away for it to do anything.

I had my camera in TV mode which allows me to specify the shtter speed (time it is open) and the camera chooses the appropriate F-stop or aperature value to expose the picture correctly. It's a lot of trial and error - mostly error. It helps to know the fireworks so you can anticipate when and what is going to go off. I chose a shutter speed of 1/3" and the camera chose an aperatrure value of F/4 (which was the max aperature allowed for my focal length). Are you gettins all this? I have no idea if this is the "right" way to do it, but it has worked for me thus far. I didn't stop what you were doing because it seemed to be working!

Jen, So sorry about your dog, what breed was she? My MIL had a Golden and she died from Kidney failure at 6 years old, too. Her symptoms came on fairly sudden. It was only over the space of a couple weeks. The vet that did the ultrasound said that her kidneys were so small and shriveled that they figure she never really had normal ones. They have another Golden now and she has the Vet keeping an eye on her kidneys.

We had blood work done spring of 2009 because we suspected a UTI and her kidney values were slightly elevated. High, but not super high. She still drank a lot, made a lot of urine, ran around, and was a very happy dog. I was supposed to get an x-ray and an ultrasound of her kidneys but for some reason I delayed. She was happy, and getting her poked and prodded avery few weeks seemed unfair to her. Spring of 2010 she was rechecked and the vet said she expected her values to be the same or better, I told her I had a feeling they were going to worse and that something was seriously wrong. Her creatinine went from 3 (I think; normal high end is 2.0) to 10! The vet couldn't believe she alive, not to mention was making urine and wasn't miserable. I changed her diet and did more research but the damage was done. By September I knew something was WAY wrong and when she went to the emergency vet her creatinine was 18.6 and her BUN was so high the machine couldn't accurately read it (>180). While she was in ICU they did an ultrasound and her kidneys were cystic and clearly damaged. Nothing reversible, really. I knew that.

I'm glad you liked the Wave. I just heard the DIS unplugged podcast review recently and they did NOT. They said the atmosphere was all BLAH, and beigee, their server had the personality of Shrek, and the portions were really small. ONe guy did get the pork that Jen got and said it was good, but that they didn't give enought of the sweet potatoes...

Yes, the interior was very beige, much like the rest of the Contemporary and BLT. It had nice ambiance (very, well, contemporary) and the food was fantastic! Sure, it's not super-size portions, but fine-dining rarely is, and I would certainly call this fine-dining!

I thought the BLT pool was okay. My girls liked the little slide, they were too scared to try the bigger one. But it was nothing that gave me a "WOW".

Exactly - nothing that gave a big "Wow", although Jen did coax me down the slide and it was fun. No complaints though. It was a beautiful afternoon and we had a nice time there.

Why are the pools so shallow? We had to sit the entire time in order to be at all submerged. The water was also very warm, which didn't make it refreshing on a HOT day. Mary Ellen actually referred to it as the "geezer pool" In the words of Forrest Gump: That's all she had to say about that.

D4D

 

[Queenofallthings]

That update just solidified that we will be making an ADR at The Wave for our next trip!! I love pork tenderloin and that looked amazing!!! Great pics of the lounge....so beautiful!

Nothing like watching the fireworks from there is there?

 

[MEK]

Greater Swiss Mountain Dog - pretty good Mary Ellen


D4D

I KNEW it had part of a European Country in it! Drat! What couldn't I think of that.

I had my camera in TV mode which allows me to specify the shtter speed (time it is open) and the camera chooses the appropriate F-stop or aperature value to expose the picture correctly. It's a lot of trial and error - mostly error. It helps to know the fireworks so you can anticipate when and what is going to go off. I chose a shutter speed of 1/3" and the camera chose an aperatrure value of F/4 (which was the max aperature allowed for my focal length). Are you gettins all this? I have no idea if this is the "right" way to do it, but it has worked for me thus far. I didn't stop what you were doing because it seemed to be working!

I actually totally understand what you are saying and will try this in the future (if I can remember the shutter speed). Believe it or not some of the stuff you taught me really did sink in. I understand it in theory, but I need help putting it in practice.

Why are the pools so shallow? We had to sit the entire time in order to be at all submerged. The water was also very warm, which didn't make it refreshing on a HOT day. Mary Ellen actually referred to it as the "geezer pool" In the words of Forrest Gump: That's all she had to say about that.

D4D

Yes - I am pretty sure I did call it the "old people pool". I heard some kid use that term last spring and I remembered it. If the pool has anybody in it right over my age, its an old person pool. And, yes, it was bathwater warm.

 

[eandesmom]

what great great updates!

I still can't get over that shower...and mat situation. OW OW and OW!

what a fun night you had, amazing meal, yummy drinks, a photography lesson and fireworks from your own balcony, it just all sounds perfect! even with the rain.

Sad that the pool is meh. In general the Disney pools seem to run too warm which just isn't refreshing on a hot day!

It was interesting on this trip to compare 3 pools, the one that had by far the best water temp was also so ridiculously shallow that it got boring in a heartbeat (hard rock hotel).

 

[brookelizabeth]

I'm caught up again! Loving the BLT pics!!!!! I have heard about the shower and the slippery floor issues - freaks me out a bit with Henry, but we'll just have to be extra careful. I wonder how everything will look with them putting the sink in the bathroom now....I sure wish the room just had the normal orientation of a Studio and it would feel so much bigger!! All well - the location still cannot be beat!

We have a lunch scheduled at The Wave and are looking forward to it! We ate there the year it opened and had some awesome cheeseburgers, this time I'll get a bit more adventurous.

What was the deal with the pull-out couch? The ones they have at BWV (brand new ones) are kinda crazy - you don't have to take off the cushions. Are BLT's like that too? Did you have to fold it up every single night so there would be enough walking space in the room? We just left it open at BWV and there was enough space.

 

[PrincessAlways]

Well ladies, another great update with fabulous pictures!! I've eaten at the Wave only once, but I did enjoy my lunch!! Funny how the fireworks setting had those effects. I like your regular setting pictures much better!

 

[MEK]

That update just solidified that we will be making an ADR at The Wave for our next trip!! I love pork tenderloin and that looked amazing!!! Great pics of the lounge....so beautiful!

Well, like I've been saying - I've had three meals there are they have all been very good. The desserts are small, but the smoothie is awesome. And the location is fab. You combine your ADR with a MK EMH and you are good to go! It's certainly better than any TS in the MK

Great pics of the lounge....so beautiful!

Nothing like watching the fireworks from there is there?

The lounge was very cool, although smaller than I thought it would be. Seeing fireworks from the balcony was amazing!

what great great updates!

I still can't get over that shower...and mat situation. OW OW and OW!

We have been updating fools this week! And maybe, just maybe, I'll get a Day 3 update written tonight!

The floor was ridiculous. I hope it was just a fluke. I think Melissa is smart for buying a new bath mat. I recommend all owner's locker people do just that.

what a fun night you had, amazing meal, yummy drinks, a photography lesson and fireworks from your own balcony, it just all sounds perfect! even with the rain.

We had an awesome evening. If we weren't so darn tired we would have headed back into MKO for EMH, but we were just wooped. It's hard to believe that in our first 30 hrs in the world we only spent about 3 1/2 hours in the parks, yet had a really awesome time. There is definitely live beyond the parks!

Sad that the pool is meh. In general the Disney pools seem to run too warm which just isn't refreshing on a hot day!

It was interesting on this trip to compare 3 pools, the one that had by far the best water temp was also so ridiculously shallow that it got boring in a heartbeat (hard rock hotel).

Well, we didn't even swim at the pool until Day 3, but yes it was "meh". The poly pool is way cooler. All the pools are AK are way cooler. The WL pool was was cooler and of course, the CSR pool is cooler by a mile. But it did have a fun slide! And, yes, it was super shallow.

I'm caught up again! Loving the BLT pics!!!!! I have heard about the shower and the slippery floor issues - freaks me out a bit with Henry, but we'll just have to be extra careful. I wonder how everything will look with them putting the sink in the bathroom now....I sure wish the room just had the normal orientation of a Studio and it would feel so much bigger!! All well - the location still cannot be beat!

I think you should do what Melissa did - go out and buy some sort of non stick bath mat and take it with you. I am sure you will be with Henry when he's in the tub, so it won't be an issue. It's that in between age that must be tough when they have to do everything themselves. Watch out!

I wish the room had the normal studio orientation, too. You are absolutely right - it would make the room seem so much bigger.

We have a lunch scheduled at The Wave and are looking forward to it! We ate there the year it opened and had some awesome cheeseburgers, this time I'll get a bit more adventurous.

Love the Wave I definitely see more meals there in my future and I would love to try lunch there sometime. I also think you'll like the contempo cafe. Bright, airy, good food, and so convenient!

What was the deal with the pull-out couch? The ones they have at BWV (brand new ones) are kinda crazy - you don't have to take off the cushions. Are BLT's like that too? Did you have to fold it up every single night so there would be enough walking space in the room? We just left it open at BWV and there was enough space.

No, you definitely had to take the cushions off and there is limited room to store them. The directions for the pull out are below the cushions and they way they were hidden, I couldn't see them. So, of course, I try to pull up, but you have to pull OUT, and then I was afraid I would go flying into the table.

I closed it up every morning except for the day we were running way late. I think you probably could leave it out if you stored the cushions at the entryway to the room. It is comfortable, that's for sure.

 

[MEK]

Well ladies, another great update with fabulous pictures!! I've eaten at the Wave only once, but I did enjoy my lunch!! Funny how the fireworks setting had those effects. I like your regular setting pictures much better!

Thank you!!!!!
to the Wave and lunch is on my list!

I don't know how you can get good fireworks when the shutter stays open that long. Weird. I am going to try what Jen suggested about setting the shutter speed at 1/3 sec.

 

[Lady Lallie]

I was way behind but I'm caught up now.

Your meal at The Wave looks fantastic! What a bummer about missing the fireworks from the TOTWL!

 

[Disneymoon09]

your Wave review just made me add it to my "Disney 2011" list of ADR possibilities! It would be awesome to do dinner, then walk over to MK! Awesome pictures as always!

 

[eandesmom]

We had an awesome evening. If we weren't so darn tired we would have headed back into MKO for EMH, but we were just wooped. It's hard to believe that in our first 30 hrs in the world we only spent about 3 1/2 hours in the parks, yet had a really awesome time. There is definitely live beyond the parks!

That there is! and it is really nice to actually take advantage of the full experience. So often I think it can be wake up, hit the parks, go go go, eat, go to bed and you can really miss the entire resort experience as well as so many other things that way.

Well, we didn't even swim at the pool until Day 3, but yes it was "meh". The poly pool is way cooler. All the pools are AK are way cooler. The WL pool was was cooler and of course, the CSR pool is cooler by a mile. But it did have a fun slide! And, yes, it was super shallow.

It is funny though because it does look so cool in the pictures. You just never know really.

 

[SoonerGirl]

Michelle - I'm so glad you joined in and got all caught up! We really did have a blast on this trip! It was a ton of fun! I know you are bummed cause you don't have a trip plan, but I still really wish you could go in May again with the East meets West girls. Just sayin'

That would be so much fun, I'd love to go! I doubt I could make that a reality given our estimation of what our family vacation will cost next year, but you never know - if I come into some unexpected cash, I'm there!


Now on to the updates: Jen mentioned it in hers, but that dessert she got at The Wave was the Sugar Free. That's the same dessert I got when we ate there and it was really good, it was the only part of the meal I enjoyed but that's another story!

What a bummer that you got all set up for the fireworks only to have the rains pour down, and an even bigger bummer that you left thinking they were cancelled when they really weren't! Of course being able to watch them from your room balcony is pretty darn cool too

I really like this pic, very pretty!

Gorgeous fireworks shots too!