Kidani, HRH & BLT in 6 nights- Yes! We are THAT crazy!! Nov 4-10,09 OBX updates 4/13

[MAGICFOR2]

I'm glad you're having such a great time in the tropics! Can't wait to hear all about it!

 

[CRdisMom]

hmmm warm water sounds really good. Pictures should be great

 

[WannaBeADisMom]

Anxiously awaiting your return....Can't wait to read the rest of this report AND your mini-report about St. John's....hiking, snorkeling and ginormous margaritas....doesn't get any better than than. And, oh yeah, the HOT sun! Just a little jealous back here at home!

 

[englishrose47]

Hi Ellen make sure you link me if you do a seperate TR!!!

 

[podsnel]

Hey there! I'm back- we had a fabulous time in St John- great weather, beautiful beaches, one or two cocktails ......Anyway, I came home sick, so sorry for the delay- I'll be back with an update soon!

And thanks everyone for all the happy vacation wishes!

 

[NikkiLovesWDW!]

Welcome back! Glad you had a great time! Hope you're feeling better!

 

[englishrose47]

Welcome back yet again !!!!! I am sooo jealous of all the trips you get to do !!!!

 

[MAGICFOR2]

Get better quickly, Ellen!

 

[podsnel]

Ok...I think before I left for paradise we were moving by Harry Potter 2B and then....Pods and the boys wanted to ride the Jurassic Park River Adventure, and I was hopeful Sean would go into the Jurassic Park Discovery Center while we waited (which he wouldn't do with me last time). Great news! Sean was happy to go inside and explore all the cool dinosaur stuff.

We tried to play with the dinosaur eggs, but really couldn't figure out what to do, but that was ok- there was plenty of other stuff in there to check out- just like in the movie. Well, no velociraptors! We went outside just in time to see this-

They like that ride alot- the last drop makes a BIG splash! Timmy was starting to get his mojo goin', and was LOVING being all wet. I was SO EXCITED to see, when we moved past Jurassic Park (and weren't allowed to ride the Pteranodon Flyers because my kids are TOO BIG), that for the first time EVER when we have visited, Dudley DoRights Ripsaw Falls was OPEN! I had heard that that flume is INSANE, and while there was no way I was gettin on that thing, I knew Pods & Tyler would be into it. I was completely shocked when Tim said he wanted to go, too! Here's a clip from youtube-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYbbsfy-8Ho

That's not my family, but this is-

I am freaked by waterflumes, so this is most definitely NOT for me! I'm nervous on Splash Mountain, and SM is not NEARLY as crazy as this ride. But they all seemed to really enjoy it-

Timmy was especially proud of how soaked he was-

But that was NOTHIN compared to what they were heading for next! Also for the first time we have been to IOA, Popeye & Bluto's Bilge Rat Barges was open! Like many other rides in the park, T&T hopped right on.

Did I say they were soaked when they got off the last ride? Then they were DRENCHED TO THE BONE when they got off this one!

Universal actually has dryers placed by these rides so you can dry off if you're totally drenched. How wonderful is that? Well, it's actually NOT so wonderful for my kids- because they have ME in the group, and I have only one thing on my mind at this point...finish riding at IOA and RETURN TO THE MOTHERSHIP!!!!! So, no matter how much my baby Timmy said, "C'mon, it's RIGHT THERE! I'M SOAKED!!" I said, "No, no, little man- you're fine. Practically dry already. Let's GO!"

Let's see if any of you calls me Mother of the year NOW!!

Next it was Pods' turn to wait with Sean while I rode the Amazing Adventures of Spiderman with T&T. This is one of my MOST favorite rides of all time. It's a combo 3-D/motion but it's also on a track- it REALLY is incredible, and it never ceases to make me laugh and giggle. Timmy kept on complaining he was cold...but I am SURE he was practically dry! (Actually, FWIW, Timmy had a big smile on his face the whole time he was complaining). We only had 2 more rides in the park to go- and one of them, Sean was happy to get on (also for the first time. YAY!!) Storm Force Accelatron is pretty much the Tea Cups on steroids. And due to the total lack of crowds, we rode 3 times in a row. Pods took our pic-

Our Shawnee loves to spin! Finally, Pods & Tyler hit the HULK one last time. THEY WALKED RIGHT ON. Crazy! Timmy still would have none of it, though. I can tell you, though, that I think he regrets that decision now. But that's ok- we'll be back.

Next up- we're headed to the NBA Cafe for a little hoop action before heading out and moving on to BLT.

 

[MEK]

Welcome back Ellen. I hope you had a marvelous trip! Was it warm, sunny, and beautiful? Well, was it??? Huh? Huh? How 'bout posting a few pics. I'm gonna need them this weekend as were getting our a$$es kicked with snow!

Great update. I love all three of those water rides. I remember walking around feeling like I had a wet diaper on after doing those water rides. I love water rides.....wet diapers...not so much!

I know I've said this before, but your side trip to Universal really looks like a lot of fun. And the none existing crowds....nice!

But it is time to get back to the mothership and I can't wait to see BLT.

 

[podsnel]

We were walking out of the park, and I suggested we stop at the NBA Cafe to see what was in there before we left. The NBA Cafe is not the run-of-the-mill sports bar....everything is basketball, and there is a pretty good arcade with only basketball type games. So we went to see what there was to see....

He was one TALL hoopster! As with everything else that day, we had (almost) the whole place to ourselves.

See? Practically dry- he's fine!

The entrance has all these bronze basketballs, all with different NBA stars' handprints. In case you were wondering....those boys have got some BIG HANDS!!!!

It would have been nice to see all the memorabilia inside the bar & restaurant, but we'll have to do that on another day. It was time to go back to HRH, and then go on to....you know where!

A few pics while we waited for our car....

And then.....wave good-bye to the Darkside, it's time to go back to the Happiest Place on Earth!

But just to be clear- the Darkside rocks!

 

[MAGICFOR2]

Thanks for the update! I love Jurassic Park! It somehow doesn't scare me as much as SM because the "boat" is bigger. That other flume ride looks crazy wet - don't think so! DH would love the NBA Cafe - I guess we'll have to go back to the dark side some day - you've convinced me!

 

[Mysteria]

Welcome home Ellen!! Can't wait to hear all about your trip.

I'm totally relating to your IOA day and the drenching. We did those rides in the same order and took a pic of our drenched selves afterwards.

 

[mom2shayleeandlogan]

Great update!

 

[MEK]

Home, home to the mothership....where is she???? Loved that fountain with all the guitars....very cool!

 

[podsnel]

Welcome back! Glad you had a great time! Hope you're feeling better!

Welcome back yet again !!!!! I am sooo jealous of all the trips you get to do !!!!

Get better quickly, Ellen!

Thanks for the get-well wishes, everyone! I am feeling great, getting ready for the Superbowl tomorrow-

Welcome back Ellen. I hope you had a marvelous trip! Was it warm, sunny, and beautiful? Well, was it??? Huh? Huh? How 'bout posting a few pics. I'm gonna need them this weekend as were getting our a$$es kicked with snow!

Great update. I love all three of those water rides. I remember walking around feeling like I had a wet diaper on after doing those water rides. I love water rides.....wet diapers...not so much!

I know I've said this before, but your side trip to Universal really looks like a lot of fun. And the none existing crowds....nice!

But it is time to get back to the mothership and I can't wait to see BLT.

Yes- it was warm and gloriously gorgeous, every moment filled with belly laughs! I will post some pics today- photobucket is finally cooperating again.

You a better man than me going on that big waterslide- I would do the other two, but I don't think I have it in me to do Dudley!

I'm making shortribs and some other things for tomorrow, so I'll take a cooking break in a few and post the 10 bazillion photos of our 1 bdrm at BLT soon!

 

[podsnel]

Welcome home Ellen!! Can't wait to hear all about your trip.

I'm totally relating to your IOA day and the drenching. We did those rides in the same order and took a pic of our drenched selves afterwards.

I bet many people ride them in that order- must be fantastic on a really hot day!

Thanks for the update! I love Jurassic Park! It somehow doesn't scare me as much as SM because the "boat" is bigger. That other flume ride looks crazy wet - don't think so! DH would love the NBA Cafe - I guess we'll have to go back to the dark side some day - you've convinced me!

Cool!

Great update!

Thank-you!!

Home, home to the mothership....where is she???? Loved that fountain with all the guitars....very cool!

I figured you would like that fountain, guitar-girl!

 

[podsnel]

We waved good-bye to the darkside, and in a short while we were enjoying this view for the second time this trip-

Our plan was to check-in at BLT, where Pods would drop me off with the boys, while he would take the car rental back to the TTC and come back on the monorail. This lovely flower arrangement was at the front desk-

I was pretty nervous right then- as you may recall, Sean was not too happy checking into HRH, and I was concerned he was going to have another meltdown checking into yet another hotel. But....he was just peachy!! My boy was all too happy to be back to the Mothership!! It was time to be escorted over to BLT with the bellman and our luggage. I had requested a lower floor villa, because I was worried about Sean and a high balcony, so we were on the 4th floor, in a Lake View 1 BDRM. Get ready to view the bazillion pics I took of the villa, it could take a while!

Looking back toward the hallway-

The view to the right-

The view to the left-

From the balcony door-

This chair is made of some soft, soft leather...

The shower in the master-

We were lucky enough to be in one of the villas with an actual laundry room- I thought this was AWESOME!!! All the messy, dirty laundry got thrown in there for me to do a few loads, and it was all behind the door along with stored suitcases- EXCELLENT!

And, finally, the extra full bath off of the hallway-

DH got back, and he was pretty impressed. I believe his exact quote was, "WOW. How many points a night is THIS?" I know alot of people say the decor here leaves them cold, and that it looks cheap, but I can't think of anything further from the truth. BLT made us feel like we were in the lap of luxury, it felt sooooooooooooooooooooooo swanky! We loved, loved, loved it, and I hope one day I can convince DH to do a little add-on....I bet the MK view villas are spectacular! The only negative we saw was that it did feel considerably smaller than Kidani- but that fact was easily forgotten once we were in the room for a bit and our perspective adjusted.

Next up...time for dinner at Chef Mickey's...groan....

 

[NikkiLovesWDW!]

Ahhhhh....pure bliss!

That room looks incredible! Glad there was no meltdown with Sean this time...although I don't like the ominous groan in your "up next!"

 

[MEK]

Your return to the mothership picture is just beautiful - great colors and perfectly symmetrical - good job!

I LOVE the BLT pictures. That villa is beautiful. I can't wait until I get a chance to stay there. The decor really appeals to me. And the location....can't beat it!

A small add on there....hmmmmm....I hadn't really considered BLT as a possible add-on location, but looking at those pictures is certainly enticing,