My latest attempt at a complete Trip Report...WE R BACK! Sept 2014 TR! 10/31 UPDATE

[jerseygal]

CUTE pic of 7DMT! Thanks for Sharing? That is the one thing at MK I CAN'T wait to try! What did you think??? Only problem is that DS and I are both tall...Not worried about me, but a little worried about DS!

HOPE that your last days are GREAT!

 

[kittylady1972]

CUTE pic of 7DMT! Thanks for Sharing? That is the one thing at MK I CAN'T wait to try! What did you think??? Only problem is that DS and I are both tall...Not worried about me, but a little worried about DS!

HOPE that your last days are GREAT!

Thanks! The 7DMT was cute but my kids, thrill seekers, didn't think they needed another ride on it if there was a wait. Almost did it a 2nd time at MNSSHP last night, but even 30 mins was too long to wait for it.

So we had a great day yesterday at Blizzard Beach. Last nights party was cute but we spent so much time riding rides with no waits that we didn't do much trick or treating. Fireworks were great. We made the poor decision to skip first parade and wait for second one. Skies opened up at 10:45pm so the 2nd parade was cancelled. Was hoping to meet some characters later...but left due to downpour!

So today is our last day. Maybe get one more life update from airport tonight and maybe more photos. I am missing more Memory Maker photos from yesterday on rides which makes me irritated. That system is not as cool as I had thought. Hoping I can provide enough info later to track the missing ones down and recover them

 

[kittylady1972]

Ok so a quick post-trip report update...and then I'll try to get to a more detailed report with photos later.

Our last day at EPCOT was nice...but HOT HOT HOT! It was definitely the most uncomfortable, sunny, sticky day of all of our park days. We were seeking shade and a/c at every opportunity.

We rode Test Track using Single Rider. It was just easier and all the kids are old enough. No way could we do the 60 minute wait there. We rode Mission: Space using our FP+ around 11:30am.

Then we hit the World Showcase for more Food and Wine samples. It was clear the late nights were catching up with the kids AND adults (my DH!) as everybody was short with everybody else and cranky.

We tried some more Food and Wine samples...so good! By the time we reached the American Pavillion we were hot and thirsty so we ducked into the Chase Visa lounge and filled up on soda and a/c there! Many of the Coke products on the machine were already out...and that was around noon maybe? It was a nice little break though.

We then finished our walk around World Showcase and headed back to Future World. We rode TT again using FP+ and hung out there for a while. This is a favorite for the kids.

We had FP+ for Spaceship Earth but with my MIL on an ECV, they took us in the handicapped back entrance so we waited about 10 minutes maybe to load with other handicapped/special assistance people for that one.

Then it was time for Innoventions stuff. We only had about 2 hours left in the park before we would leave for the airport. Kids did Sum of All Thrills which they love. We also did StormStruck which we've done before. The CM at StormStruck suggested Habit Heroes to us. Kids weren't on board really but we tried and and enjoyed it. A bit corny but fun overall. Recommended as a nice cooling off in the A/C activity.

Now it was time to head out. As we got to the EXIT gates of EPCOT, the skies just OPENED UP!!! We got under the EXIT gates and put on our raingear to make the trek out to the car to leave. It was really coming down and I am pretty sure it rained for the rest of the day, at least up until we got to the airport and even while there.

Can I say I'm so glad I packed raingear and ponchos? It sucked carrying them around EVERY day but we were so glad we had them when the storms hit.

Oh and on a good news note, many of my missing ride photos from the previous days did show up in my MemoryMaker account eventually. There was still one group photo taken Day one at MK that never showed up and not sure if I'll have them search for it or not right now, since I got another one a day or two later and it turned out good.

I do wish we had taken the time to take more park photos. I have no real proof of our visit to HS (well no BIG HAT photos) because of the rain. We did have the TOT photo and video (which was great BTW) and the RnRC photos there though.

Our only AK photos are from Dinosaur and my MIL isn't in that one. I agree that the walls around the entire tree area are really annoying. We have no tree photos.

We also didn't do any character photos. That makes me sad. I so wanted to at least get a Mickey photo, but even the line at Innoventions for the Chase photo was too long for me.

So I still need to experience talking Mickey and that will be on our list for next time if I have to drag everybody there.

To summarize:

GOOD: FP+ worked great for the most park, at least from the APP. We did lose ONE set at some point which was annoying. Maybe it was still there, but we never bothered to have it researched in the park, we just rescheduled it.

MemoryMaker worked great also. Loved that our party had photos added autoMAGICally. I was a little concerned at the missing ones, but I think they have all since showed up, even though some took at least 2 or 3 days to show up in the account.

Crowds were good for the most part, exception being HS which was definitely more crowded than it should have been on a Friday at Rope Drop. I chalk that up to the last weekend of FROZEN stuff happening. Still sad I never saw the Frozen fireworks or really any of the Frozen stuff.


BAD:
The FP+ kiosks...OMG so BAD! I only tried using the one by Jungle Cruise ONE time and I had to give up on it after a while. Slow screen response and the fact that it wouldn't let me schedule all of us was frustrating. It still had my MIL having an outstanding FP+ reservation from our day at AK, but it had long since expired. Even if she didn't use it, she should have been eligible to book another one since it was after 7:30pm at night and her FP+ ressie was in the afternoon at AK! I couldn't figure out using the FP+ kiosk how to schedule it and I didn't want to just schedule 6 of us for a ride an leave her out, so I wallked away.

The weather...well sorta. I mean, we knew to expect the rain showers and MOST of them were the fast moving Florida storms but some lingered. And lingered. And the fact that our MNSSHP parade was cancelled was just sad sad sad. I understand why...since the skies opened up not long after the 10:30pm scheduled parade time. I know it had rained around the same time on Friday night for the other MNSSHP as well.

And we did have our share of NOT-SO-HELPFUL CMs as well...and I'm looking at you CM from the register at Capt Cooks! We ordered dinner one night for all of us, we were hungry and tired. My daughter wanted PB&J but nobody told us that was self-serve from the refrigerated section. When my DH went up to ask, the CM just said "over there" and barely pointed in the right place. And it was late at night as I said, but not THAT late. And it wasn't crowded. There were plenty of other good CM experiences though.

Crowds...yes they were there. Long long long lines for thing like POC is just nuts during this non-peak time. On a positive note, we walked in the gates of MK just after the opening ceremony happened and went right to 7DMT and waited about 40 minutes for it, and that was on an EMH morning. What I was shocked about is that NOBODY asked for proof that we were staying on-property to let us into the parks early that morning. We did have MagicBands but they were NOT linked to current resort ressies. We were staying at SOG and had cards to show for proof. I wonder how many others were in that morning that should not have been based on that?


That's about it. I'm hoping to share more photos later for sure. Overall we had a great experience but I will say that the Thanksgiving trip, with the crowds, is going to be tough. The MDE app is already clunky and unreliable enough (yes this coming from an IT person...a programmer...oh how I want to do some reprogramming of that app!) that adding even more people to using it....I just think it's going to be nuts.

We found the best thing was to have our FP+ screen printed and saved to our phone, as the easiest way to keep track of them. Relying on the app to come up each time was just not a good idea.

 

[jerseygal]

Thanks for posting MANY DETAILS! VERY INFORMATIVE!

HOPE that you had a GREAT VACA in spite of what seemed like more rain than you had hoped! Always NICE to get away though!

Appreciate you taking the time to post! Always SO MUCH to do when returning from a trip

 

[kittylady1972]

Just for fun...some random photos:

Waiting for 7DMT:


Waiting at the Tangled bathrooms:


My FIL was THAT GUY at Laugh Factory:


My DD11 sunning herself on the patio of our resort room at SOG:


Selfie after riding Maelstrom for the last time (yeah we still skipped the movie)


My daughter enjoying a MONSTER sized Frozen cupcake from Backlot at HS (we got 3 of these...one per kid...good but I had to finish them for them!)


Goofy RnRC kids:


Front of HS (yes this was after another PM rain storm):


Our TOT ride photo:


And our RnRC photos:


This one is actually funny because you can see all SIX of us (my MIL doesn't ride as she has a bad hip/knee from bad hip replacement surgery and this one is too jolty for her) and seeing my FIL's face int he back is priceless!



I'll have to get more uploaded later!

 

[kittylady1972]

Just a quick update. I know everybody here has been anxiously awaiting an update about my Disney Visa Reward dollars! I got a letter on Saturday basically indicated the missing dollars were from an August 2014 transaction at Disneyland and I should contact them for more info. The problem? I was at Disneyland in August 2013 so that could not be the issue. Ugh! Frustrated I called Chase again and spoke to somebody there. She was really nice and promised to escalate the matter and look into it. Within an hour she called back to say they found the issue and the missing $108 was put back on my rewards card. At least now I can use it for my next trip in 47 days!

I won't even get into how much fun it has been to book FP+ for nine people during Thanksgiving Week!

 

[jerseygal]

Always NICE having a customer service issue resolved to your satisfaction!

 

[kittylady1972]

The PLANS...how did they work out? So now that our trip is a few weeks behind us (and the next trip is sneaking up quickly...5 weeks or so to go) I thought I'd reflect back on how well I did with my planning. Did we follow the plans for the most part, or deviate? Here is the update!

********************************
PLANS Day 1: Travel day. We will get the kids out of school around 1pm, hit the road soon after as the airport will take us a minimum hour plus on a GOOD traffic day and we are in DC traffic...at rush hour...so wish us luck! Our flight departs around 5pm. Provided we arrive at MCO on time at 7pm, we will hit the ground, head to get our rental car and drive directly to...the Magic Kingdom! No passing GO, no collecting $200 for us. I would love to get in there for the last hour of the park. Minimum we can hopefully catch one of the last rides of the evening on 7DMT. Otherwise at least catch the Castle Lights show and Wishes! What a way to start a vacay! After that, we can then head to Shades of Green and checkin there and if we are still awake enough...maybe over to the Polynesian for some adult beverages!
********************************
ACTUAL Day 1: I managed to get the kids out of school without any problem, and my husband was home all day so he got some of the last minute stuff done around the house and dropped our dog off with my SIL who would be watching her for the week. We were on the road to the airport by 1:30pm as planned, and I even stopped on my way home from work/getting the kids and picked up lunch for us from ChickFilA, so we were well fed when we arrived at the airport about an hour later. Parking was no problem, but the hike from the parking garage to our gate was quite long...and including getting on a BUS to ride to another area of the terminal! So much different than BWI where we usually fly from, but that's okay. My husband was happy as we had plenty of time at the gate...so we could take goofy photos like this one:



However, being early really didn't matter in the end. Our flight arrived late, so of course we boarded about 30 minutes late. Once on the flight, we ended up sitting on the runway for a LONG time waiting to take off, since we were behind in the rotation at that point. So we waited.

The kids did great on the plane though. They had a whole row to themselves, and my husband and I were across the aisle from them. The flight attendant even complimented them (and us) on their behavior. LOVE that of course!

We hit the ground at MCO and headed right for the rental car place. We really did NOT stop but I was already aware that making it to the MK before the 9pm closing wasn't going to happen. I think we probably landed closer to 7:30pm, and then had the car by 7:45pm. There was a delay in the girl at the Dollar counter finding my reservation, so that took a little time...until she realized she was checking the wrong system. Perils of having Dollar and Alamo at the same place worked by the same people! We picked out a nice little minivan, loaded it up and were off...all the while people complaining about my driving...which was fine of course!

Before long, we arrived here:



It was so great to be back! We got everybody checked in and even though I tried to look into getting my in-laws to NOT have to move rooms, that ended up not being an option. So at least for the 1st two nights, they had the room right next to us (with connecting door) and then they would end up moving...ONE ROOM over so they were 2 doors away!

Anyway, we were all hungry by this point, so we decided to hit the Polynesian for dinner. We stopped by the bell hop and found my MILs scooter that I had reserved so we were good to go. We walked over to the Polynesian and had a meal at Captain Cook's.

Now this was our first non-Disney experience. I think the kids were a bit tired, so ordering was a hassle, but we found something that everybody could tolerate. My daughter chose the PB&J kids meal, but what we were not told was that it was self-serve for that. So I got a flatbread to share with DH, but asked for it without onions...and when it was ready and I picked it up...full of onions. I just didn't want to pick them off, so I ordered another one for myself. One son got the flatbread cheese and the other got a burger, and they both ate all of that. I was glad I got my own flatbread, as the one for my husband and myself wasn't enough. Yet as we had our flatbreads and were eating, we were still waiting on my daughter's meal, which is when my husband went back to the counter to ask and was basically told "yeah you can get those over there" with a wave/point to the general area of where to locate the sandwiches. Very un-Disney like. It was after 9pm at this point. It wasn't busy. My daughter barely touched the sandwich because it had some of the PB&J ozzing out already. Really?

We did learn the MK was open a bit later, but just knew nobody was up for hitting the park for a short time, so we walked back to our hotel and got ready for bed. We would have an early start the next day at MK!

************************************

So day one did not go exactly as planned, but overall it went well. We enjoyed our dinner at Captain Cooks, though I missed out on Wishes, which I really would have loved to see. I love the fireworks and parades, but I'm one of the few in my group who want to see them.

Stay tuned for more on how the rest of the week went, even though I did a few live reports here I'll try to get a complete trip report done sometime before I leave for my next trip!

 

[kittylady1972]

Still haven't gotten back to this, as I know I want to include more photos in my next few TR updates.

Continue to stalk MDE and the FP+ reservations for our Thanksgiving Week trip. I managed to get some overlapping times for a few rides that worked out better for us. Some others I want to change just aren't happening, so we'll just have to manage.

I did get into MDE during the "glitch" last week that allowed me to book two headliner rides at EPCOT and HS. So we have Soarin' AND Test Track booked for our EPCOT day and then TSM AND RnRC booked for our HS day. Kids will be thrilled as they love TT and RnRC but my MIL can't handle either of those rides so we will all be able to do Soarin' and TSM together as well.

Trying to leave our ADRs alone, though part of me really wants to cancel a few and save some money. Maybe I'll post a quick rundown PTR here of THAT trip if anyone is interested!

 

[kittylady1972]

DAY 2: PLANNED VS REALITY

Here were the plans for Day 2 of our trip:

Day 2: MK and F&W: This is EE for MK day, so we need to be there early. We are early risers anyway, so we can grab a quick bite at Shades or wait and get something at the MK. I'm gonna miss the Main Street Bakery for sure, but I think the new Starbucks there still serves some food? I'm not a coffee drinker, but the other adults are and may need it! I have lunch plans for us at The Plaza. After that, we may just hop the monorail over to EPCOT for the rest of the day. We have some FP+ reservations for afternoon and we'll hit a few F&W booths too! Once we've had our fill there, I'd love to try to head to Port Orleans and catch Yeehaa Bob that night. Never seen him, heard great things. It's on our NEW-TO-TRY list just like 7DMT.


So how did we do with that?

I don't recall what time we woke up that morning, but it was early enough to make Magic Kingdom by park opening. I think we got an early start, because I'm pretty sure this was the day I got my beloved TONGA TOAST!

So we met up in the lobby of SOG where the adults discovered Starbucks and the kids discovered...HOT CHOCOLATE at Starbucks! So once all kids had a Starbucks drink in their hand, we made the walk over to the Polynesian for some real food.




I got my beloved Tonga Toast meal, I think I split it with DH who also ordered something else. I got a breakfast sandwich for my DS10 which he promptly refused to eat...so I think DH finished that one. I don't recall what anybody else ate, since all that mattered was that I had Tonga Toast!



The monorail wasn't quite running yet, so our option to get to the MK was the ferry boat. We headed out to the dock and arrived just as a boat was pulling up...yippee!

Sadly, this boat wasn't big enough to accommodate MIL's scooter...so we had to wait for the next one.

That's okay, it was fast.



We arrived at the MK and there were lots of lines, especially in the bag check area, and of course I always carry the "stuff" for the group. Most important for this trip...the raincoats!

However DH took one of the team this time and told me to hand him my bag so that I could go right to customer service, as I had to have all of our AP vouchers activated, get our APs and have our MBs activated as well. Since we weren't staying on Disney property for this trip, the MBs weren't activated at all and I was hopeful we could get our passes added to them.

We were at a window pretty quickly, which is when I discovered I need to have EVERYBODY'S MB with me so the nice lady could activate them with the APs. So I had two kids with me, and utilized them as runners BACK to the rest of the group to gather all MBs for me while the nice Disney CM worked her magic!

DH walked up not too long after that, and told me the man at bag check definitely gave him some looks as he examined all areas of my bag...including where I happen to store some delicate "lady products" in case of emergency!

We ended up watching the opening train show at the MK from the guest relations window instead of in the masses of people...which was good!

DH decided to go ahead and send MIL and FIL ahead of us as soon as the gates opened for the park. He told them we'd meet them at 7DMT!

After much patience, we were on our way ourselves and walking down here:



We found my in-laws easily enough as the line wound around the outside of 7DMT. Kids weren't thrilled about waiting in line...of course...but told them to buckle up as this was only RIDE 1 of our trip! There would surely be more waiting! They would have to get used to it!

Here is the line view:



It seemed to move pretty quickly, and in fact might have been slower in some areas as we all stopped to try to play with some of the interactive stuff in the queues. We had a good time tough. Before long, my daughter would be all smiles as we arrived here:



We enjoyed the coaster of course, but the kids admitted it was too tame and much too short. Still would like to do it again sometime. Here we are:



With that ride off our Disney bucket list, now we had to decide what to do with the rest of the day! All of our FP+ reservations were for the afternoon at EPCOT, so that we could ride Soarin' and Test Track with no wait. So anything at Disney had to be strictly by waiting in line.

I can tell you for sure we stopped here:




That was for potty breaks of course.

I think we decided to hit Peter Pan while the lines were not long. My MIL and FIL went off to find someplace to park the scooter as we get near the line. Soon they were directed back to the front of Peter Pan where MIL could park the scooter and then all of us could walk right into the entrance practically. Now the line wasn't terribly long or I think we would have felt worse about being able to bypass it. She really does have a hard time getting around due to knee/back/hip problems from a bad hip replacement surgery a few years ago and now bad knees.

Then I think we walked over to the Haunted Mansion. Always a favorite, and once again we get to bypass a little bit of that line just after the stretching room. It's cool to ride the buggy COMPLETELY around as we end up loading in an area before everybody else in the regular line.

Continued....

 

[kittylady1972]

DAY 2 Continued...
So after Haunted Mansion, it was a walk over to BTMRR, which is a favorite. Once again, with the scooter, we were directed to the back entrance/exit to wait to be loaded there. There were quite a few other parties in front of us, so we did wait outside for a while, where we discovered this:



LOVE the face my DD is making here. If you've never seen this, it's a nice little hidden gem. You wind the crank up and then somebody pushes the "plunger" to make an explosion right in the area behind the waiting area where we were. It was like having 5 kids as my 3 kids plus FIL and DH got in on trying this out.

It wasn't long before we were on the ride...always fun!

Next up I really wanted to do Splash Mountain. So did DD. Nobody else had any desire to get wet. We aren't talking WINTER weather here people! It was warm enough...and still no takers. So my FIL and DH did decided to join us, so the four of us got in line while MIL waited with DS10 and DS14.

In line:


And of course the ride photo after:


What you don't see here is my DD11. That's because she and her grandpa had the idea of ducking down so as not to get wet on the drop! She is underneath him on the seat, and for the record...it didn't work. Nobody was really SOAKED after. Just a tad bit wet. The worst drenching I've ever had on that ride came NOT at the drop itself, but as our boat was going around the bend NEXT to the drop, and the wave from another boat dropping on the hill next to us washed over us. Seriously we were REALLY soaked for that. That was a few years ago!

I think it was after this we decided to have lunch. DH really wanted Pinnochio Village Haus, which was what I wanted as well. We have NEVER eaten here in all our trips. I wanted to see what it was like to eat there and see the IASW boats go by. I think DH was expected more german food based on the name...and he was disappointed. I think he and DS10 got meatball subs (which is a favorite of DS10) and I know I got a salad and some fries. I'm not even sure what anybody else ordered. It was pretty good but not a MUST do for us. I still love Columbia Harbour House!

I can't recall where we ended up after this. I am pretty sure we did end up riding maybe the Peoplemover? Maybe not?

I know we walked by Pirates and the wait was 30 or 40 minutes...so we said no way to that one. That may have been on our way to lunch.

Pretty sure our last attraction was a visit to the Laugh Factory, which I LOVE! Kids once again groaned at the idea...it's not a RIDE after all. Once inside we loved it, as usual. DH even texted a joke in the name of DS10 that was used on the show. He's done that a few times successfully! Oh and the show was made even MORE fun for all us when my FIL was picked...to be THAT GUY!

For being such a good sport, he got a sticker:



After this, we hopped the monorail back to our resort for some rest. My DD found the room too cold...so she got some sun on the back porch:



These afternoon breaks would end up really working out well for us. I think we had about 2 hours or so to rest before we would head out to our next park: EPCOT!

 

[kittylady1972]

DAY 2 Continued...
When we last left, we had some time to rest in our rooms at Shades of Green, and then it was off to EPCOT! I believe we walked over to the Polynesian and took the monorail to TTC and then to EPCOT...but my memory isn't that great!

We had FP+ reservations for Soarin', and this would be our first time using our Magicbands for that. They worked flawlessly and we were through the ride pretty quickly. We had two other FP for EPCOT, but I think we must have moved them to Monday since they were easy enough to move.

We were introducing my in-laws to the Food and Wine experience here, so we were looking forward to it. After our two rides, we headed in that directions. Kids weren't happy that we bypassed actual RIDES in favor of food, but we told them there would be time later for rides.

We entered World Showcase and headed towards the left. We checked out a few food booths, but realized we really need to focus on the FOOD part first. A favorite stop has always been La Cava de Tequila so we went there first. My DH and my MIL always have to get the tequila flight together. We found a nice large table in the back, ordered some chips and dips, and they got their tequila on there!



Once we had satisfied our bellies a bit, and found bathrooms for everybody, we started to head back outside...and it was POURING! Great. We all put on our raincoats and ponchos and then made it back outside, heading directly to Maelstrom. Knowing it was our last chance to ride it, and it was a good chance to get out of the rain, we got in the line which was ending JUST inside the main doorways. Kids weren't thrilled about waiting, but we figured it was a good place to wait out the rain anyway.



We enjoyed our last ride on Maelstrom, snapped a quick photo at the end:



Skipped the movie...and went back outside where it had cleared up mostly but there were still puddles everywhere. We decided to do the full walk around the world showcase, and sampled some food. I had a few things I wanted to try, and DS14 really wanted some food in Italy AND he wanted to try escargot in France. Seriously...did I mention he's my picky eater? We stopped at a few booths along the way, I think Germany was one as I recall DS14 getting some kind of bratwurst, or trying some of it. We did head to Italy and get the ravioli, and I know everybody said it was like out of can, but DS14 and I loved it...we shared that and a canoli! Yum! We made a stop at France as well, but I don't think DS14 tried the escargot, though my FIL and I think DH did as well.



A must stop was also Karemell-Kuche for all of us, at the strong urging of my MIL. We went inside and I got the two youngest some chocolate caramel marshmallows, I think DS14 got a cookie he saved for later, and I got DH and I a chocolate caramel sea-salt...one dark and one light. We wanted to save them, and although the weather wasn't too hot or sticky, they didn't last long and we did try some of them while there. I wanted the kids to have some "real food" first, but gave up on that notion.



As we came all the way around the world the kids wanted to do some rides. I know Sum of all Fears was mentioned, but we didn't end up doing that one that day.

It was definitely dark when we left. We approached the fountain during one of the musical shows:




We walked out and I just love this area of EPCOT at night. My photos never capture this well, but this isn't bad:


The "ball":


And I insisted on a group photo:


I think that's a pretty good summary of our first full day at the parks! It was very successful!

[/B]

 

[kittylady1972]

So today is a very busy day in our household. It's not just Halloween, but also my husband's birthday, so we try to squeeze a lot of stuff in to our evening. Kids are out of school early today (2 hours early) and it's the end of the 1st marking period for them...which means grades will be out soon!

Tonight we'll take DH out to dinner, come home, do the trick-or-treat thing in our neighborhood, and then have cake and birthday celebrations at home! That means, of course, I must get out at some point after work and get a cake!

It also marks another milestone for us...THREE WEEKS until we leave for our next Disney trip. I've been scouting out potential hotel stopping points along our drive. My goal is to drive as FAR as possible the first day (since we won't leave until after school hours) so that our second day we can arrive in Walt Disney World that much earlier, and maybe enjoy some park time! We already have dinner planned for that Saturday, so definitely need to arrive by that time.

 

[sewdisney]

I'm here! It sounds like you had a great time. I'm so glad. I'm looking forward to your next TR. Another trip in November! I am so jealous!

Congrats on 16 years of marriage. That's awesome!

I am sorry your mother and your MIL have cancer. I hope everything goes well for both of them and they both recover quickly.

Happy birthday to your DH!

We ate at Via Napoli on our trip and it was GREAT! We had pizza and we all agreed it was some of the best pizza we ever had! Sorry you had to miss it but perhaps next time you'll have the chance to eat there!

 

[kittylady1972]

I'm here! It sounds like you had a great time. I'm so glad. I'm looking forward to your next TR. Another trip in November! I am so jealous!

Congrats on 16 years of marriage. That's awesome!

I am sorry your mother and your MIL have cancer. I hope everything goes well for both of them and they both recover quickly.

Happy birthday to your DH!

We ate at Via Napoli on our trip and it was GREAT! We had pizza and we all agreed it was some of the best pizza we ever had! Sorry you had to miss it but perhaps next time you'll have the chance to eat there!

Thanks for stopping by here! And thanks for all the well wishes for my family too!

Yes we ate at Via Napoli a few years ago, and I got the pizza and absolutely loved it! I did miss out on it, but I have to be honest in that I really am starting to prefer this touring idea of having FEWER sit down meals and more time to just explore the parks. Our trip in November won't be nearly as laid back though, as we have plenty of meals scheduled. Did I post those here? I can't recall so here is what we have planned so far for November meals:

Breakfast: Chef Mickey
Brunch: Tusker House
Late Lunch: Liberty Tree Tavern
Dinner: Kona Cafe, Sanaa, Mama Melrose's, Boma and Boatwrights

We have eaten at all of these so far, with the EXCEPTION of Tusker House. This is our first experience here, and I schedule a LATE breakfast (10:45am) hoping we can try both breakfast and lunch foods. Not so much worried about characters.

We really should try someplace else new, but really there aren't too many other restaurants we haven't tried already that we would like to try. I think the only one I think I'd love to try is Jiko, but not ready to shell out the money for that one quite yet!

 

[kittylady1972]

Hello again. No update right now, but with any luck I'll get around to it soon.

Can't believe we are now down to TWO WEEKS until we leave for Disney again!!

Haven't really made any changes to our plans. All I've been doing lately is scoping out possible hotel stops on the drive down from MD. My HOPE is that we can make it as far as Georgia on Friday night, but if now I'll settle for far South Carolina instead. I have some possible hotel stops along 95 so the plan is to see how we are doing and as we start to really run out of steam and need to stop, I'll jump online and book something. Technology is awesome!

I think the only think left will be to order our Memory Maker, which we have not done quite yet. We can work on that next week or the week after.

I'm in the process of waiting for a job change as well, which is the other thing on my mind these days. I'll still work for the same company, but just taking a new position. I'm just waiting for all of the final "paperwork" to be processed so that I can be given an official start date for the new place. It will mean a slightly longer commute for me, which is okay. It also means the opportunity to learn some new skills, which I'm really looking forward to doing.

So ready for a nice weekend coming up, despite the fact that I'm not enjoying these cooler temperatures. BRRR!!

Hoping Florida sunshine will feel great in a few weeks!!

 

[heaven2dc]

Great first day in the Parks! Loved the pics at night of the "ball" and your family photo

Sending wishes and prayers your way for your mother and MIL to recover from cancer :hugs:

Happy 16th anniversary! and happy birthday to your hubby! Congrats on your new job! It's always exciting to start a new position even if it's for the same company. I started a new job a year ago and finally got my review and raise this past week...took them long enough (was supposed to have a 90 day review back in Feb). But the better news is I got accepted in a role at Disney in Anaheim working for the Walt Disney Travel Co as a reservation agent! I got the call this week just as I was at lunch at work so couldn't get too excited on the phone. Did all the new hire paperwork online and go in on Thursday to turn in pw. I think Traditions is either on 12/12 or 12/13...will know more Thurs and start date will be either 12/15 or 12/16. Can't wait! Took me 20 years of applying at various positions and even CP (which I was accepted for last year but turned down for personal reasons). Sorry for using your thread to share my news!

Hope you love your new job and so excited you get to take another trip to WDW in a couple of weeks!! Can't wait to read all about it!

 

[jerseygal]

Great first day in the Parks! Loved the pics at night of the "ball" and your family photo

Sending wishes and prayers your way for your mother and MIL to recover from cancer :hugs:

Happy 16th anniversary! and happy birthday to your hubby! Congrats on your new job! It's always exciting to start a new position even if it's for the same company. I started a new job a year ago and finally got my review and raise this past week...took them long enough (was supposed to have a 90 day review back in Feb). But the better news is I got accepted in a role at Disney in Anaheim working for the Walt Disney Travel Co as a reservation agent! I got the call this week just as I was at lunch at work so couldn't get too excited on the phone. Did all the new hire paperwork online and go in on Thursday to turn in pw. I think Traditions is either on 12/12 or 12/13...will know more Thurs and start date will be either 12/15 or 12/16. Can't wait! Took me 20 years of applying at various positions and even CP (which I was accepted for last year but turned down for personal reasons). Sorry for using your thread to share my news!

Hope you love your new job and so excited you get to take another trip to WDW in a couple of weeks!! Can't wait to read all about it!

Best of LUCK being a reservation agent in Anaheim! Would like to do something similar when we retire at WDW! Exiting! BEST of LUCK to both of you in your new jobs! Exciting!

 

[heaven2dc]

Best of LUCK being a reservation agent in Anaheim! Would like to do something similar when we retire at WDW! Exiting! BEST of LUCK to both of you in your new jobs! Exciting!

Thank you! I'm nervous and excited

 

[kittylady1972]

Great first day in the Parks! Loved the pics at night of the "ball" and your family photo

Sending wishes and prayers your way for your mother and MIL to recover from cancer :hugs:

Happy 16th anniversary! and happy birthday to your hubby! Congrats on your new job! It's always exciting to start a new position even if it's for the same company. I started a new job a year ago and finally got my review and raise this past week...took them long enough (was supposed to have a 90 day review back in Feb). But the better news is I got accepted in a role at Disney in Anaheim working for the Walt Disney Travel Co as a reservation agent! I got the call this week just as I was at lunch at work so couldn't get too excited on the phone. Did all the new hire paperwork online and go in on Thursday to turn in pw. I think Traditions is either on 12/12 or 12/13...will know more Thurs and start date will be either 12/15 or 12/16. Can't wait! Took me 20 years of applying at various positions and even CP (which I was accepted for last year but turned down for personal reasons). Sorry for using your thread to share my news!

Hope you love your new job and so excited you get to take another trip to WDW in a couple of weeks!! Can't wait to read all about it!

THANKS so much and CONGRATS on the new job! Very exciting!!!