Lucky #13 with pics ~ 9/25 Finished!!!

[nts4wdw]

LUCKY #13 ~ A trip report

(For those of you who read the pretrip, this first post is old hat. Hang on, it gets better.)
(If you'd like to see how it all began, http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1414712 )
Contents
Day 1 Part1 Pg. 1
Day 1 Part 2 Pg. 2
Day 2 Part 1 Pg. 3
Day 2 Part 2 Pg. 4
Day 3 Part 1 Pg. 5
Day 3 Part 2 Pg. 6
Day 4 Pg. 8
Day 5 pg. 9
Day 6 pg.10
Day 7 pg.12
Day 8 pg. 13
Day 9 pg. 13
Day 10 pg. 13
Day 11 Part 1 pg. 15
Day 11 part 2 pg. 16
Day 12 pg. 18
(sorry, I'm not adept enough for links!)

LUCKY#13

Dates: June 7-19,2007

We originally planned to stay at our family favorite: POFQ, but after luck smiled on us and we got an awesome AP rate for Saratoga Springs Resort and Spa (You have to add the “and Spa”. It’s very important.), we decided to be brave and try something new.

Cast of characters:
Hmm, how do I describe my family? They are all one of a kind. I’d rather be with them than anywhere else. They are silly, fun-loving and just generally a hoot. I’ll never be able to write them accurately enough, but I’m gonna try. Smilie And here they are, in no particular order.

DH~ the leader of our merry band. He’s a big, mean police officer by day, a big ole Disney geek by night. He listens to ever single Disney podcast out there and he is responsible for most of our pics. He got a fancy new digital camera recently and is looking forward to trying to capture the fireworks, especially Illuminations. When I get too serious about anything, he always makes me laugh (or gives me chocolate.)

Jake~ the most creative kid I know. He is technical and organized, even makes his own movies. Claymation is his big passion now. He loves WDW. Not a big rider, he loves figuring out how the rides work and trying to get behind the magic. Even though he is a teenager, I can still see the little boy I knew shining through, especially at WDW.

Em~ my warrior princess. She knows her own mind, but still wears her heart on her sleeve. She will try anything and has the scars to prove it. She and DH are our riders. Even though she is tough, she still loves Pooh and all his friends.

Then there’s me. I’m in constant countdown mode. I’m a planner, although I’m trying to chill out some. I don’t want to spend so much time getting us from place to place, that I forget where I am. Minnie Mouse is my idol and I adore Off Kilter. I love all things Disney. My dream is to work there, making people’s vacations as magical as mine have been.

Is everyone neat and pretty? Then on with the show!!

 

[nts4wdw]

Author's Note: Since we are ATTEMPTING to write this together, please note that Chuck's thought are in Blue and Lynn's are in purple.

Day 1 – The Long Journey (also known as Spilled Salsa, Duck Love and an unexpected surprise).


The day began with the lovely Lynn cracking her whip and shouting into her bullhorn at 01:45 AM (as in the butt crack of dawn). As the family stumbled groggly to the car, I did a few last minute run throughs. We were a little behind and missed our target departure time by 19 minutes, leaving the house at 2:19 AM (curse my OCD when it comes to making sure the stove and the water are off. I doesn’t matter that I cut the power to the stove at the breaker, I still have to check it a dozen times – at least this time I didn’t get 5 miles down the road and turn back just to check).
The trip itself was uneventful, with the lovely Lynn piloting the silver Mommy Mobile along I-26 and I-95 – until…..just outside of Brunswick, GA where some prankster employed by the Georgia Dept. of Highways decided to place every traffic barricade they had in their inventory in the middle of the South bound lanes. As we crested the hill, we could not help but be blinded as our headlamps illuminated a sea of orange and silver barricades. Unfortunately, there were no lane markings, so we just sort of guessed our way though.
We entered the Orlando area in time to do battle with the locals as they drove in on their morning commute (for those of you who may be concerned- I did take up behind the wheel at the FL line). No matter how much of a good time we make, nothing beats that last 50 miles (especially when dealing with the early morning rush). We finally arrived at the World



The background music is my beloved Off Kilter. Don’t laugh at us! I know you all cheer in your car too!!!


On to checkin at Saratoga Springs Resort and Spa (and Spa-very important.)

First we need to activate our APs. I had heard that you can walk from SSR to Downtown Disney (You can in fact. We like to call it the Disney March of Death), but looking at the big map on the grounds, I couldn’t figure which way to go. We decided to ask. (Brilliant!) The line was short at checkin and the dear CM suggested we drive to Downtown Disney. A hop and a jump (And maybe one wrong way in a one way lane) later , we are back at Checkin with APs in our hot little hands. And wouldn’t you know it? Now the checkin line is very long…

We can’t complain, though because we were told that we were getting an upgrade from studio to a One Bedroom Villa – holy freak’n cow!! We were just tickled that we were going to be staying in a studio, but a one bedroom was more than we could hope for (It was half the size of our house which is either happy or sad depending how you look at it.

I was so stunned at checkin, that I almost cried. Even though they didn’t call it a dream, it certainly was a dream to us. Our room was in the Paddocks which is on the backside of Saratoga. It was quite a walk to the front, but we were steps away from two bus stops and I had brought enough Diet Pepsi to avoid the refillable mugs so we were set.

Our building

At the risk of showing how “country come to town”, we really are, Jake took this lovely video of our first few moments in our beautiful suite.


After ohhhing and ahhhing for quite some time we went to explore the grounds. Near our quiet pool we crossed a bridge

where we watched this duck bringing his mate bits of reed to help build their nest.

As we approached the “big” pool, one female duck followed by several male ducks landed right in front of us and waddled into the bushes where there was great quacking and rustling about. As we passed, Emily said, “ Oh look, Daddy, they are fighting!” (Fighting. Yeah that’s right, fighting….)

Actually this grounds wandering had a purpose. One of our first trip objectives was to build our own lightsabers at Once Upon a Toy in Downtown Disney. We decided to try the boat. So did everyone else.

After a little too much skin to skin contact with strangers, we arrived.
Making lightsabers was a little confusing, but with a few CM’s helping us, we were the proud owners of a single and a double blade model. At checkout, each child received either a Sith or a Jedi pins. (Who would have known Emily had gone to the Dark Side?) A little poorer and a whole lot happier, we return to SSR to swim and discuss our options. (Sorry the Salsa will have to be in the next chapter.)

 

[IluvXU]

I love the video of your room... that bathroom is to die for... much nicer than Port Orleans. Can't wait to hear about the rest of your report!

 

[Goofyluver]

Great start Lynn!!! We did the light saber thing and also had to have help!!! It was sooooo confusing. And SSR is sooooo beautiful!

 

[dreamsofdisney]

Woo hoo!!!

Welcome back! SO glad to wake up this morning and have your first day posted!

I had fun following your pre-trippie and can't wait for more!

 

[arizonacolbys]

Great start!! The room looks beautiful! Can't wait to hear more!

 

[IATink]

I was so excited to see another trip report from you! Great start! The video is great. We always cheer when we see the entrance too!

Can't wait to read more!

 

[ILMICKEY]

This report sounds exciting! I love it that both of you are doing it together!
My husband just says "disboards again" .

Did they upgrade you when you arrived or did they send you the information before you went?

 

[DisneyJo]

Great first installment love the videos

 

[GBShorts]

I've decided I love trip reports. They're much cheaper than going.

Can't wait to read the next one!

 

[nts4wdw]

Thanks everyone for the nice comments!! Chuck and I are hard at work on the next installment.

Did they upgrade you when you arrived or did they send you the information before you went?

They upgraded us at checkin. We were totally shocked and if I had know about that kitchen, I definitely would have brought more food.

 

[VanniGirl]

Great start - looking forward to more

 

[eternaldisneyfan]

Good beginning Nice room-didja do a happy dance I like the commentary back and forth. I'll be back

--Christamae

 

[MeMom]

I'm anxious to see more of Saratoga Springs and hear what you thought of it. My daughter and son-in-law are very close to buying into DVC.

I can't believe you cheered when you went through the arch. Now, turn your head and don't look....... while WE DO THE SAME THING. (Only we start cheering at the first Disney billboard we see on the interstate!)

 

[praisehisname]

Such a great first chapter! I love the videos, especially the one showing your room--WOW!

DS13 wants to do the lightsaber thing in DTD when we go in September. Can't wait!

Denise

 

[jenr812]

Yay! I found your TR! My computer time's been very limited, thanks to DH being home ALL the time now. Speaking of DHs, I love that you and yours are writing this together!

LOL I thought I was the only one twisted enough to use the phrase, "The butt crack of dawn"!!! DH hates it when I say that!

Love Jake's video of your room and your description of it! Man, I am laughing so hard here. We've really got to meet someday hehe We toured SSR(AS) and were just like you - they are beautiful. We'd love to stay there - how amazing that you got upgraded to the 1 bdrm!!!! Woohoo!

Can't wait for more!

 

[bentleygirl22]

what a great start... can't wait to read more

 

[nts4wdw]

Hey Y'all!

Great start - looking forward to more

Thanks! Hopefully more will be coming soon.

Good beginning Nice room-didja do a happy dance I like the commentary back and forth. I'll be back
--Christamae

I'm so happy you stopped by! I thought of you everytime we saw a companion bathroom. I don't look at them the same now and that is a good thing.

I'm anxious to see more of Saratoga Springs and hear what you thought of it. My daughter and son-in-law are very close to buying into DVC.

I can't believe you cheered when you went through the arch. Now, turn your head and don't look....... while WE DO THE SAME THING. (Only we start cheering at the first Disney billboard we see on the interstate!)

I KNEW IT! Actually, I didn't post them, but we took pictures of evry Disney billboard we saw. The first one was in Jacksonville!
Loved SSR. I so seriously want DVC now.

DS13 wants to do the lightsaber thing in DTD when we go in September. Can't wait!
Denise

If you do the lightsaber thing, definitely get a CM to help. The display is very confusing. I know he'll love it. I considered gettin one myself. What a 39 year old suburbian mom would do with a lightsaber, I'm not sure. Might come in handy if the carpool line gets scary......

Yay! I found your TR!

Can't wait for more!

Yeah, Jen is here!!! I'm so sorry I have visited your report, but this Disney post trip thing has really gotten me this time. I haven't been reading anything on the boards until we started this. I just want to keep our trip fresh until I get it all down, you know?
It would be so much fun to meet you! Do they have a Disney store in Rock Hill? We don't have one in Columbia. I've heard they are building one at Concord Mills. It's still an hour away.

what a great start... can't wait to read more

Thanks for reading.

I'm sorry I didn't give all my first repliers personal responses, but I'll try to from now on. Off to finish our first day. I left us in the pool.....

 

[nts4wdw]

Day One Part Two The Salsa
So you left us next to the pool at SSR discussing our options. Can’t you picture it? We have a quiet spot by the whirlpool. The sky is bright blue, my Florida blue. (Yes the blue is different in SC.) The sun is hot but there’s just enough of a breeze. You can hear the whirlpool whishing along with the kids teasing each other and splashing. Chuck is napping next to me in the pool chair…… Oh man, can’t we stay here awhile?

Well, we did on the trip, this trip report has to keep rollin’ on.

We had lunched on subs as we unpacked, but we were getting hungry for some dinner. Our first day trip tradition has always been pizza at the resort (This set forth in the Riverside edit of 2002.), but this is total new experience so we will break with tradition. (This is covered in the Saratoga addendums 2007.) After showers we’d head over to MGM to find food and hang out.

During this shower time, I decided to have a cold beverage from my (at least mine for 12 days) big beautiful refrigerator. Unknown to me, my big, beautiful refrigerator was defective. This is a small rail on the door that keeps the things in the door from falling out. Our small rail didn’t work and our floor was covered with salsa, jelly and other condiments.

After many apologys and laughter, it’s cleaned up (using a whole roll of paper towels, but that’s okay because there’s more under the sink – but the room smelled like a bad Taco Bell for awhile) and we are on our way.

OK all you children of the 80’s: sing along with us!

Xanadu, Xanadu-ooooo! (now we are here) in Xanadu-ooooo!
Xanadu, Xanadu-ooooo! (now we are here) in Xanadu-ooooo!
Now that I’m here, now that you’re near in Xanadu.
Now that I’m here, now that you’re near in Xanadu.
Xanadu-ooo-oooooo!
Did you know that the spires on the entrance are replicas of the spires on the Pan Pacific Auditorium which was featured in the movie Xanadu? Just a bit of Disney trivia because I’m a big old Disney trivia geek!
That’s okay, being an official member of the Xanadu Preservation Society, I am the last to pass judgement. Besides you are my Kira!

Who’s Kira?

Anyway, you ever want to really embarrass your child? They have to be about 11 or 13 for it to be really effective. Sing “Xanadu” and pretend you are rollerdancing all the way into MGM Studios. It really works! Not that we would do that. Right, Chuck?

Yea, right and we don’t sing along to the Good Morning Song at the opening show at MK either. Besides they're are either used to it by now or they have learned to block out these traumatic events.

After our first use of the new APs, we had supper at ABC Commissionary.

This is the brass picture above the menu board. It’s one of my favorite things at MGM.

I had ½ a Cuban sandwich, Em had chicken nuggets and the boys had hamburgers. (Sorry we aren’t very exciting eaters.) Afterwards, we strolled down New York Street and caught the end of a set by “Mulch, Sweat and Sheers.” Pretty cool!

Ya, but they ain’t no Off Kilter.

That's Right!!
As I’ve said before, this is the try new things trip, so Jake and I had made some deals to help us in this matter. I knew if I could just get him on Star Tours, he would love it being the big Star Wars techno geek that he is. To make this happen, I had to promise to ride Soarin’ with him. Star Tours had a 5 minute wait (and that wasn’t gonna happen during Star Wars Weekend.) so it was now or never. He was very quiet as we boarded. I know he was nervous, but in the end he loved it! We had gone through the queue so quickly we missed all the thing you could see, so we will be back on that. Count on it!

A never miss spot for us is also the Big Hat pinstore. We asked about AP pins, but there weren’t any good ones. Emily traded a CM for a cutie Stitch.

By now we are getting tired. Our beautiful room is very nice to come home to. We all took turns trying the whirlpool tubs and turned in early. Here’s Emily’s turn.

Good night, everyone!

Coming soon: Day Two!!

 

[luvfigment]

You guys are doing a great job with the Trippie!!! Sorry it took so long to find it but computer time has been limited with my darn dry eyes...but they are better now that I had tear plugs placed. Anyhoo the Trippie is great and I can't wait to read more. The video's are great also!!!