March Break at the Yacht Club! - UPDATED 07/21

[JanetMom]

Wednesday began with an attempt at making rope drop at Magic Kingdom. I love the opening show and was really looking forward to it. Sadly, we were just a couple of minutes too slow and so we just missed a bus and as a result, just missed rope drop. No matter, it was still the start of a wonderful day.

As we waited for the next bus, I took a picture of our room, from the outside.

Magic Kingdom was already open when we arrived, but the line ups were nice and short so we were inside in no time.

Never tire of a great view of the castle.

First thing we did was head over to Tomorrowland, where we walked right on to Buzz Light Year. Here is another trip down memory lane.

2012

2007

Next up was the People Mover, which is always a great opportunity to annoy the kid.

And then on to the Laugh Floor.

Next up we decided to head over to Haunted Mansion (again), and on the way we got to peak at some newly opened parts of Fantasyland. We had to walk past enough construction walls, that the magic wasn’t what it could have been, but we did see the new Dumbo and Goofini rides. Sorry, but it didn’t occur to me to take any pictures.

When we arrived at the mansion, I did take some pictures.

I love how majestic the HM looks like from the queue line. It looks less majestic when viewed from above. We were fascinated to see how big the ride actually is.

We wound up riding HM three times and then it was off to get some lunch. Taking another trip from the DisBoards we chose to eat at Columbia Harbour House, enjoying some of the seating upstairs. This is what it looked at just before Noon – plenty of seats in a nice comfortable setting.

The other side of the room was completely empty with even more seating.

I had a tuna sandwich that was wonderful, and I would happily eat here again on our next trip.

Next up we went on Pirates of the Caribbean, but chose not to wait for the 75 minutes indicated for the Jungle Cruise.

And of course, no matter how old the teen, the guns are still irresistible.

After the guns, I found this place but we chose to not get a Dole Whip as we were saving room for supper. Obviously from this decision you will know that we had not ever had a Dole Whip prior to this moment.

My husband wanted to ride the steam train, but there was only one train running with a lengthy line-up so we gave that a pass and wrap up our MK morning.

Here are a couple of pics of the castle, since it looked so beautiful as we were leaving and heading out to the busses.

Well that’s enough prattling on for one day. Next up, time at the resort and then off to the Biergarten.

 

[kelleigh1]

I'll always remember the tuna at Columbia Harbor House. It was our first trip to WDW (for hubby and I together) and it was our last day. I was starting to come down with a cold so not much appealed, so I went with the Tuna. I still think it's the best tuna sandwich I've ever had.

 

[HockeyMomR]

Now that must have been a beautiful blue sky day, your pictures of the castle are so pretty and vibrant!

 

[JanetMom]

I'll always remember the tuna at Columbia Harbor House. It was our first trip to WDW (for hubby and I together) and it was our last day. I was starting to come down with a cold so not much appealed, so I went with the Tuna. I still think it's the best tuna sandwich I've ever had.

I'm so glad people on the Dis talk about the tuna sandwich at CHH. We wouldn't have thought to go to this restaurant on our own, nor would I have had the tuna.

So glad we discovered it and I'm sure we will eat the tuna here again.

Now that must have been a beautiful blue sky day, your pictures of the castle are so pretty and vibrant!

We really lucked out with the weather on our trip. We had one miserable day of rain, but the rest of the week was amazing. Always sunny, but never too hot.

 

[Feckless]

Love your MK morning!

And I can see from the picture of you and your son on the People Mover that he secretly LOVED it.

Your pictures are just lovely. Mine were just an afterthought!!!

 

[luvpoohandcompany]

Wow your pics of the castle are gorgeous! Those skies always make me think of florida
I have never been to Columbia HH (havent haad a dole whip either) but I'm definitely going to do both next time I'm there! It looks so calm in there which isnt normally the case at Pinocchio Haus

 

[kelleigh1]

Wow your pics of the castle are gorgeous! Those skies always make me think of florida
I have never been to Columbia HH (havent haad a dole whip either) but I'm definitely going to do both next time I'm there! It looks so calm in there which isnt normally the case at Pinocchio Haus

And in case you didn't know, there is a seating area upstairs at CHH too and if you get a window seat up there, you can look out over Frontierland. I really enjoyed the view.

 

[JanetMom]

Love your MK morning!

And I can see from the picture of you and your son on the People Mover that he secretly LOVED it.

Your pictures are just lovely. Mine were just an afterthought!!!

He did secretly enjoy it. There is another picture a few seconds later (where I look awful, but he is out and out laughing)

I love just taking random pictures, instead of focusing on getting one of us in the picture. That way when we get home, I can see what we saw along the way. It is fun when we use the pics as a random screen saver.

Wow your pics of the castle are gorgeous! Those skies always make me think of florida
I have never been to Columbia HH (havent haad a dole whip either) but I'm definitely going to do both next time I'm there! It looks so calm in there which isnt normally the case at Pinocchio Haus

The castle was looking so good at that moment that I had to stop and get some pictures.

 

[hcoker1]

Awesome picture of the castle!!

Thanks for mentioning the tuna sandwich at CHH. We get to a point in the holiday where I can't stand to look at another burger and fries. Now I have an alternative AND a quiet place to sit.

 

[luvpoohandcompany]

Hi Janet I finally managed to have a wee look at your blog so now I have castle photos making me long for wdw and muffin photos making me hungry
Great photos though! What sort of camera do you use? I hinted big time at christmas for a new camera (point and shoot type) but appartantly Santa didnt get the message so I'm going to treat myself before my next holiday

 

[JanetMom]

Hi Janet I finally managed to have a wee look at your blog so now I have castle photos making me long for wdw and muffin photos making me hungry
Great photos though! What sort of camera do you use? I hinted big time at christmas for a new camera (point and shoot type) but appartantly Santa didnt get the message so I'm going to treat myself before my next holiday

Glad to have you following along on both counts! The muffins are long gone, or I would offer to share them with you.

As for my camera, it is just a small Nikon Coolpix P5100 that is about 5 years old. We've always found that our Nikon cameras take the best pictures. In amongst my many other pursuits, I haven't found the time to become a photography expert so I am all in favour of a point and shoot, and what I love about this one is that it is small enough to slip into my purse. I especially love that at WDW, but even at home where I have my husband's larger Nikon P100 available, I still tend to grab my little P5100.

The DisBoards have some active photography forums that are rumoured to have some great experts that I'm sure would share their opinions of the best camera to buy.

 

[fun4disney]

is the beer and wine complimentary with CL?

 

[Ninja Mom]

All caught up. Thanks for the wonderful trip report. I was wondering... is Roz from Monsters Inc a relation? There seems to be a slight.... um... never mind. It must be the glasses....

 

[JanetMom]

is the beer and wine complimentary with CL?

YES! to this question. One of the reason I can justify CL is that we don't order much alcohol with our meals, but can enjoy a drink at night in the lounge or our room.

The beer and wine are put out in the evening, but the staff are very clear that you can feel free to ask for beer and wine anytime, even when it is not out for self-serve.

All caught up. Thanks for the wonderful trip report. I was wondering... is Roz from Monsters Inc a relation? There seems to be a slight.... um... never mind. It must be the glasses....

NO! to this question. Go clean your glasses.

 

[JanetMom]

I think I’ve been delaying this update as it contains an afternoon battle, but I’m up for it and ready to replace memories of the fight, with memories of strolling back to the YC.

After we left the MK we arrived back in our room and decided to enjoy some time by the quiet pool while doing laundry. If this can be my view while doing laundry, I would happily do it every day of the week.

The laundry room was clean and pleasant and we enjoyed doing laundry, while reading our books with the occasional dip in the pool.

I don’t know why I didn’t take more pictures so you could see the quiet pool and laundry room, but we only took the one picture of the pool and then a handful of pictures of this little guy. I know these lizards are all over Florida, but we don’t have them in Toronto, so they always caught our eye.

Our supper plans were an ADR at the Biergarten. I was so looking forward to this meal. I thought the menu sounded delicious and the atmosphere looked like fun. Those feelings did not extend throughout our family. My husband does not like buffets, but thought this menu was still worth exploring. My son then announced that he did not want to go because there was nothing on the menu that he would like. That made me lose it, since I figure anyone should be able to find enough food on a buffet and that it is a great way to try new foods. I made my opinion quite clear and my son decided it was best for him to quietly sulk and not raise a fuss. In retrospect I should have just let him go get his own dinner and we all would have been happy, but I let my emotions get the better of me and forced him to join us.

The Biergarten was great. I love the entry area and the room is very nice. The food was plentiful and very good. Here is a picture of the band. They sang and played some great tunes that added to the atmosphere in the room.

I would happily return for another meal (but would leave my son off the reservation!) He of course did find a way to fill his plate, but would never admit that he enjoyed his meal.

After supper we shopped our way through Japan and then made our way back to the YC. It was a gorgeous evening so I snapped many pictures along the way. Most of the pics are a mess and look like I must have had six slushies along the way, but I was sober so I’m not sure what was wrong with my photo skills that night. Here are a few pictures that did turn out and show some of the beauty along the way.

The America pavilion had some cute Toy Story gardens.

The views across the water were beautiful

The walk back to the resort is so gorgeous. Definitely makes the BC/YC one of the best places to stay.

In the top right corner of this palm tree pic, Jupiter and Venus are visible as tiny white dots.

Here are some pics of SAB at night.

For those that have been on the BC/YC thread over the past months, you will know about the saga of the missing pool noodles. We were at the YC shortly after they had gone missing (don’t worry, they have since been found!), so I thought it would be funny to pretend I saw this flyer and just happened to take a picture of it. So I pulled it from my purse and stuck it up on one of the SAB construction walls to take the picture. Within 3 seconds we had at least 6 people clamouring to see what the flyer said. We could have gathered a crowd in no time. We quickly removed the paper and moved along, so as not to draw too much attention to ourselves. A part of me wanted to leave it up and just watch the reaction from the crowds.

We took a couple of more pictures and then made our way back to the lounge for an evening treat.

While in the lounge we met a great cast member who was working on the College program. She was from Renfrew, Ontario, which isn't close to us (about 375 km from where we live), but when you are in a different country it is always nice to chat with someone from your home province. She was very nice and chatting with her was a nice way to end the evening.

Well that’s enough prattling on for one day. Next up, sleeping in and then walking over to HS.

 

[HockeyMomR]

An afternoon of laundry at YC....I'd take it too Right now sounds very nice.

Glad your dinner was enjoyable. Totally understand the frustration of a cranky teen. And love your great pics of evening walk back to YC.

 

[Couchy]

Great pictures!

 

[Katesdad]

Janet, thank you for taking the time and effort to post your trip report and all those great pictures. I have had those meals where you wish you had left the teen at home but time seems to fade the bad and only leave you with the good memories of the occasion. Thanks for doing all this.

 

[Feckless]

I'll trade you my surly pre-teen for your surly teenager! For a weekend. LOL

Lve your pictures. I have a nice point and shoot but I just sucked in getting any pictures on this trip! Glad you liked Biergarten. I can't imagine not getting anything to eat there (I mean, come on! Schnitzel!!!) unless you are a vegetarian. And even if you are, PRETZEL BREAD. LOL.

 

[Steph H]

In lieu of another installment for the trip report today, I give you a glimpse of my planning spreadsheet. Enjoy!

I LOVE this!!! I'm having serious spreadsheet envy, here. My spreadsheet wants to grow up and be your spreadsheet.

I found the spread sheet for the Gator:

Eat people @ SAB |Eat people @ SAB |diet |Eat people @ SAB |Eat people @ SAB |Eat people @ SAB |Hurricane Hannah's

Awesome!

Janet, I'm very much enjoying your report, and your pictures are fabulous!!