No Day But Today- FINAL post on page 40!

[WDW Poly Princess]

Although I don't know for sure, I'm assuming you must live / work near the Branson area?

Yep- I work in Branson, and live about half an hour from there

 

[WDW Poly Princess]

When I got to the pizza window, it wasn’t open! Frammit! Oh well. After some thought, I decided that a grilled cheese sounded reeeeeeeeeally good, and I remembered the amazing grilled cheese I’d gotten at the Dolphin back in December. I had a new destination! And thus continued my trip around the lake!

This is my favorite building at the BW! I just think it’s nifty.

A beloved site for many of you DIS people, I know! I’ve actually never been here! I’d like to try it someday, but I think I’m more of an Adv Club girl!

The Dolphin was getting a fresh coat of paint. I noticed that both it and the Swan looked like the colors were slightly darker than I remembered.

Inside, I discovered that Tubbi’s has turned into the Picabu Buffateria! They had these nifty tanks of birds in the queue area:

I searched the menu for my beloved grilled cheese, but it was gone! Boooo! Nothing else caught my attention, so I gave in to my true weakness (and secret other reason for coming over here): They sell Starbucks bottled frappuccinos here.

For $4 each.

Yes, the same ones you get at the gas station for $1.50.

I figured that since I paid $4.26 for it, it deserved a photo! (I bought about 10 of these on my December trip before realizing what they cost!)

So, now I was hungry, and getting a little tired of walking, and grumpy. I decided to catch the boat over to the Yacht Club stop to save a little walking, and the go see if Beaches & Cream was busy.

The boat ride was a nice break from walking, but as you can probably guess, Beaches & Cream was crowded and had a wait, and the To Go menu mostly just had ice cream. It was only 2:30, but I decided to try calling to see if my room was ready. Luckily, it was! YAY! I was much in need of some time to just hang out and be lazy!

Ready to go check out the room?

It was a little tricky to find my room-#563- it ended up being the very last one, at the end of the hall! Once I figured out the layout of the building, though, I loved the location.

A quick tour of the BCV Studio room!

I like how you don’t notice the Little Mermaid themed designs on the bed until you get up close!

The small, but very functional kitchen!

Towel animal!

Detail on the entertainment center

The balcony… and are you ready for the view?

Looking left, you just get parking lot, but straight ahead…

EPCOT! How cool to see SSE from your room?

Zoomed in on the view a little.

Zoomed in towards the World Showcase. Hey, I should watch Illuminations from here!

The only negative on the view was the road down below- I could hear the cars passing by when I sat outside. A small price to pay for a straight-on view of SSE, though!

 

[WDW Poly Princess]

By this point, I was STARVING. I contemplated ordering something from room service, but instead decided to head down to the grocery section of the BC Marketplace and see what I could find.

My brain still wanted grilled cheese. Do you ever get one of those moods where you’re fixated on a food, and nothing else sounds good? I ended up buying bagels (since I had a toaster in the room), cheese, some chips, and a brownie. Bagel + toaster + cheese = close enough to grilled cheese to fool my brain!

One great thing about the villas is buying groceries! The grand total for 6 bagels, a package of cheese slices, the brownie, a milk, and chips was $10! The same price as a counter service meal, but enough for lunch today with plenty of leftover bagels and cheese for later!

I was so happy to finally get some food, and just hang out on the couch watching Ellen (I LOVE Ellen!). I think that every now and then on Disney trips, I need a break from the sensory overload to just veg out in front of the TV and let my brain rest. Katie and I had plans to go to Downtown Disney for desserts from Rainforest Café, a little shopping, and the Adv Club later, so I was in no hurry to be anywhere- the perfect chance to rest up!

After my relaxing break and lunch, I had just over an hour before Katie was supposed to be coming over, so I decided to just pop over to Epcot for some quick World Showcase shopping. Of course, once I got there, I was really wishing I had much longer! Luckily, Katie soon called to say she was running late, and it would be more like 8:30 when she showed up. More Epcot shopping time- score! I suggested we just meet at BCV and watch Illuminations from my balcony, and then head over to the Adv Club. Sounded like a plan!

I love entering through the Int. Gateway!

Y’all, I have to confess: I bought Epcot tonight. Well, there may be a couple of things left, but basically I bought everything that I could carry. Note to self: Do taxes ASAP so refund can go towards credit card bill! I’m planning to do a post at the end of the report with photos of stuff I bought on the trip, but there is one shopping experience I should go ahead and share here: Picking a pearl!

I’ve been wanting to do this for a while, and finally quit putting it off! The first thing you do is pay the CM at the register by the pearls for your pearl, and you’re given a number. When your number is called, you get to select which oyster you want to have opened. I scanned the tanks and found what looked like a good one (Just what makes a good oyster? Beats me! I went with instinct.)

The CM at the tank grabs your choice, pries it open, and removes the pearl. (My pearl was hiding in there- took a while to find!)

The CM said that the average pearl is 6 1/4 (millimeters? I can’t remember what the unit of measurement was!), and I think mine was 7 ¼ or 7 ½. Yay! I selected a setting for it so that it could be worn as a necklace, paid for that, and was told to come back in about 20 minutes to pick it up.

While I browsed the store, I stopped to get some Pocky (little cookie-type sticks dipped in yogurty stuff), and saw this interesting package:

A little blurry, but it says: “Men’s Pocky, bitter chocolate”. Why is it men’s? Do only males like bitter chocolate? Huh? Are we upstairs? I got lost! (Um, that last bit was a shout-out to Katie. I’m allowed one inside joke in the report! Katie can explain it to you if you bug her enough.)

Surprisingly, I didn’t take any more photos in Epcot tonight!

…


…Yeah right! You didn’t honestly believe that, did ya?

Epcot photos! (Again, I didn’t DO much- walked and shopped! And, of course,

)

Mexico

Norway

China (and lots of “shopping in China!” pics)

UK:

 

[WDW Poly Princess]

Sunset:

Morocco:

Just one of Italy this time!

I stopped to listen to these guys talk about the history of drumming- very cool!

This guy was carving nifty things out of wood, but he didn’t even look up as I walked around!

Fountain in France

I stopped to take this photo of France on my way out of the park, when BAM!

Fantasmic going on in the background!!

I went back over to the BCV for a while to hang out until Katie got there (and to keep from spending any more money!)

I have to admit that I hit a whole new level of Disney photography nerdness tonight. I wanted to video Illuminations from my balcony, but I also wanted photos. What to do?

I broke out the Gorillapod! Using that, I stuck my video camera on the balcony railing, aimed it towards the WS lagoon, and then used my camera to take photos! Worked like a charm!

YAY for the Gorillapod! I’ve got to remember this for next trip so I can tape parades, fireworks, etc. AND take photos!

A couple of Illum. Photos:

I really liked watching it from BCV! You may recall that we caught it from the Swan last year, but this was actually better because you could faintly hear the music, too. If you’ve never seen Illuminations from somewhere outside of Epcot, I recommend it!

Katie finally made it over just after Illuminations- at least she managed to catch part of it while driving! It was way too late for our original RFC plan, so I invited Katie up for a bagel (which cracked me up for some reason.), and we watched some Japanese TV while we ate.

And now, after having to cancel our plans many times earlier in the trip, we were FINALLY going to the Adv Club!!!

…which you’ll get to read about in the next installment!

 

[kristinanderic]

Yep- I work in Branson, and live about half an hour from there

Awesome, we usually head to Branson for a mini-vacation once a year. You should fill me in on some good places to stay...we always end up someplace different.

Last time we went we stayed at Big Cedar Lodge on a time-share thing. That place is really awesome...but too pricey for our Branson-budget!!

 

[newholidayx2]

thanks for your trip report Crystal - Ive been following right along

Where in the BCV was your studio?
When we were there last Aug we could see SEE also but also the very large Soarin bldg. We had a triple balcony, room was next to a stairwell. We could see Illuminations to the right and then walk to the other end of the balcony and see Wishes
Looks like you were looking out at Imagination pavilion?

 

[Care]

Awesome photos of Illuminations, Crystal. Did you take them with a tripod, or do you just have an enviably steady hand? I tried to photograph Wishes, and had very poor results so I'll have to try again. (Like how I manage to justify the need for a return trip to Disney? )

 

[nan1217]

AWESOME pics esp. Illuminations photos....lovely. Can't wait to hear about the AC as we only had a short time there and I think I'd love it and I know the two of you had lots of fun.

I've noticed for awhile that you live near Branson but you just don't seem like a Branson person. Not sure what that means...just doesn't match up for me.

 

[Jessie_Lou]

Yeah, so... this is my first offical post on here, you should most definatly be honored. I have read something akin to 143,000 trip reports over the past 6 months or so, but this one is by far my favorite. I may be your biggest fan, because I have read all your old reports on you website too. Also, you have inspired me to look into a solo trip (no whining family to drag around the world!) So anyway, write on!

 

[WDW Poly Princess]

Yeah, so... this is my first offical post on here, you should most definatly be honored. I have read something akin to 143,000 trip reports over the past 6 months or so, but this one is by far my favorite. I may be your biggest fan, because I have read all your old reports on you website too. Also, you have inspired me to look into a solo trip (no whining family to drag around the world!) So anyway, write on!

Aww, I'm honored! Thanks so much for reading! And do try a solo trip sometime- they're a lot of fun!

AWESOME pics esp. Illuminations photos....lovely. Can't wait to hear about the AC as we only had a short time there and I think I'd love it and I know the two of you had lots of fun.

I've noticed for awhile that you live near Branson but you just don't seem like a Branson person. Not sure what that means...just doesn't match up for me.

I live a whole 15 miles away now, maybe that makes a difference?

I think the AC portion was my favorite part of the report to write- we had a ton of fun! I'll post it either late tonight, or early tomorrow!

Awesome photos of Illuminations, Crystal. Did you take them with a tripod, or do you just have an enviably steady hand? I tried to photograph Wishes, and had very poor results so I'll have to try again. (Like how I manage to justify the need for a return trip to Disney? )

The tripod was in charge of video, so I did the photos by hand. Fireworks are HARD! I still haven't tried Illuminations ones from close to the lagoon... next trip! (And aww, you're already justifying next trips, you've given in to the dark side!)

thanks for your trip report Crystal - Ive been following right along

Where in the BCV was your studio?
When we were there last Aug we could see SEE also but also the very large Soarin bldg. We had a triple balcony, room was next to a stairwell. We could see Illuminations to the right and then walk to the other end of the balcony and see Wishes
Looks like you were looking out at Imagination pavilion?

It was right next to one of the elevators- that's about all I know! The layout of BCV is still kinda a mystery to me! I just knew how to get home, and how to get out for food!

 

[KatGarcia]

so we missed the adv club two trips in a row and we are dying to go... i can't wait to read about it and I KNOW u got some good pics!!!

 

[WDW Poly Princess]

Okay, readers! This part of the trip report is about my beloved Adventurers Club!!! It is best enjoyed with a Kungaloosh (the signature drink of the club!) in hand, since that’s the way we experienced it! Thanks to Allearsnet, I can provide you with the recipe, if you would like to play along! (Hey, my next trip report should be a drinking game! One drink every time I drink coffee, two drinks when something frightens Katie…)

Kungaloosh Recipe! (Tested in my very own kitchen, just for you. See what lengths I go to for this report?)

1c. Daily’s Strawberry Daiquiri Mix (I couldn’t find Daily’s, so substitute the strawberry mix of your choice if you can’t.)

¼ c. orange juice

¼ c. Captain Morgan’s original spiced rum

¼ c. blackberry brandy.

When I make it, I cut the recipe in half, and it was enough for me, so alter it to your own tastes! Enjoy!

I wanted to take the time to give a fairly thorough report of our night at the Adv Club, just because so many people on the boards seem to have never been! If you’re not familiar with the Club (or “Cloob”), you may want to read through the FAQs on Deb’s site- http://allearsnet.com/btp/faq_adv.htm

It explains briefly who the characters are, and is a good quick introduction!

Katie and I have a few long running jokes about the Adventurers Club. First, we always seem to attract the attention of club aviatior (and ladies man) Hathaway Browne. Now, if you’re familiar with the Adv Club, you know that the cast switches around from night to night. Tonight’s Hathaway may be playing the butler tomorrow. Katie became the subject of one of our long running jokes when one particular Hathaway came over to our table, and spent most of the Hoopla flirting with her. The next time we went back, the same guy was playing Otis, and ended up pulling her up on stage to help with the radio broadcast. There was a much younger guy playing Hathaway that night, and thus began the jokes about the “Hot Hathaways”.

A blast from the past! Katie in 2004 with her dearest Adv Club cast member. And hey! Remember when Pamelia had the peacock themed outfit? I forgot about that!

What makes the story even funnier? I was looking up Adv Club pics on line after I got home, and guess who I found a whole site full of photos about?

Katie’s Hathaway! Turns out he’s been in a bunch of movies (The Patriot, My Girl, Lonely Hearts), TV shows (Clarissa Explains it All, Welcome Freshmen, New Mickey Mouse Club) commercials, plays, etc! We really miss him being at the Club- he was hilarious! (And Katie feels so unloved now!) (I started to post the link to the site, but out of respect for his privacy, I changed my mind since it lists his full name.)

Of course, who should we run into as soon as we walked in the door? Handsome Hathaway Browne! (And it was a brand new Hathaway we’d never seen, who certainly fell into the category of a “Hot” Hathaway!) I looked over at Katie, exchanged a glance, and announced that we would, in fact, be sticking around tonight!

Katie and I headed straight to the bar to order drinks- she owed me a Kungaloosh, and I was ready to cash in! Hathaway came by and invited us into the Mask room with him for his show, but by the time we got our drinks, there weren’t any seats left. Sorry, Hathaway!

While Hathaway’s show was going on in the Mask Room, I noticed “Adventurer of the Year” Emil Bleehall across the room, and pointed him out to Katie- it was the same guy who was Fletcher last time I was there, who I may have possibly had a little bit of a crush on. (blush!) That conversation was quickly interrupted, however, by Katie’s barstool gradually sinking down about a foot or so from its original height. Apparently she’d never heard about the sinking barstools, because it freaked her out! (Muahaha!)

Of course, not long after Katie’s barstool returned to its normal height, I started sinking down! When I hit the lowest point, Fletcher Hodges came over and asked if I was okay, and I told him I was “feeling a little low.” That got me a big hug! Aww, thanks, Fletcher!

We had missed quite a few shows with our late arrival, but Samantha’s show and the Hoopla (hoopla!) were still left, along with various other club fun!

I surprised myself during Samantha’s show by remembering most of the words to her song. Not bad for something I only hear once or twice a year! (Do you ever wish you could free up some of the brain space that remembers all of the words to songs from the 80s and your 6th grade locker combination, and maybe use it to remember where you put your car keys? I sure do!)

After Samantha’s cabaret, it was time for the new member induction- always fun! Katie and I were stuck standing halfway in the Treasure Room, and soon a pair of girls joined us in there. Seeing that one was wearing a Trogdor shirt, my mind thought “Oh, a Trogdor shirt! With majesty! How lovely! You must be a delightful person!” What came out of my mouth was a high-pitched shriek of “TROGDOR!” Hopefully I didn’t scare the poor girl too much.

The Aforementioned Shirt (did you get really excited, too? Trogdor! Burninator!)


After we were inducted into the club for the zillionth time, it was time for the Hoopla (hoopla!), and I lost Katie in the mob of people on the way into the library, so I stood next to the bar to wait for her. Luckily, Hathaway Browne was standing there, too.

“I lost my friend,” I told him. “Will you be my new friend?” (Insert flirty head tilt and lots of big eyes here.) I have no shame. Katie found her way in, though, so I had to let Hathaway go. Ah well, easy come, easy go!

During the Hoopla (hoopla!) Pamelia pulled a group of girls up onto stage, including Trogdor shirt girl! “TROGDOR!” yells a voice in my vicinity. Nope, it wasn’t me that time- it was Emil Bleehall (Who was somehow seated up above my head on the bar)! Oh man, as if I didn’t already dig him, he likes Trogdor, too?

Dear Emil Guy, should you be reading this- Would you like to run off together and ride off into the sunset and live happily ever after and grow old together with a white picket fence and a cat? Check yes or no.

Ahem. Sorry about that. Moving on!

(Yes, I seem to have a bit of a crush.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go doodle his name in swirly letters on the cover of my biology notebook. Wait… what? I don’t know his name? And I haven’t had a biology notebook in how long? Oh, hmm. I guess I’ll just continue with the trip report, then! )

I have to say- the last time I was at the Club wasn’t long after a lot of the old cast had left and many new cast members had started. It was still good, but the new faces were hard to get used to at first, and it didn’t feel as if some of them had really settled into their roles yet. We still had fun at the club that trip, but I have to admit that I was a little worried that it wouldn’t be the same with so many old favorites gone.

This trip was the complete opposite- all of the “new” people have really started to shine. They’ve become their characters (many of them putting a whole new twist on the character), and the result is really, really impressive. Yes, I still miss some of the old cast (Especially “Katie’s” Hathaway! He was amazing.), but I can’t say enough good about the current cast. They were hilarious, witty, inventive, and looked like they were having a great time. Who could ask for more? I’m already looking forward to going back on my Halloween trip!

So, let’s see. I’ve waxed poetic about the cast, drooled over one member, flirted with a Hathaway, had a Kungaloosh… we appear to be right on schedule! The only thing missing thus far is photos!!

(I may have just set a personal record for most blah-blah-blah without a photo break!)

The Main Salon. In the middle you’ve got the God With A Rod statue, and you can see Babylonia hanging on the wall. And hey! Who’s that down in the corner?

Why, it’s Otis T. Wren and Emil Bleehall!

They’re inducting new members!

I love the Yakoose! Why don’t they sell Yakoose mugs anymore?

A couple of photos from the Hoopla (hoopla!)

Samantha and the New Hathaway

More of Emil and Otis. (Shut up, my photos are not ALL of Emil! I got one of the Yakoose!)

My AC photos kind of suck because I don’t use a flash there, even though it’s allowed- I don’t want to distract from the show or annoy the actors. I’d rather have crappy photos than ruin the atmosphere.

We stuck around until the Club closed for the night, and did what is becoming the famous “wait around for Crystal to finish her drink” ritual. I am a horrible drinking buddy at the Club- I get so caught up in watching and singing and clapping along, that I totally forget that I have a drink sitting there, and walk out at the end of the night with my glass still ¾ full. (Wow, I really am an optimist!) Since you can’t take alcohol out to the bus stops, that means we spend the next few minutes standing around while I try to drink the rest of my drink as fast as possible. (Remember, there are sober kids in China! My $8 Kungaloosh is not going to waste! Plus, it’s yummy!) While we were standing near the PI exit, and Katie was cracking up (“You’re really going to slam that, aren’t you?”), some Random Dude approached us. Go away, Dude, I’m trying to drink here! He had been wandering around near where we were for a few minutes- apparently working up the courage to come over. (I guess we really are as pretty as I think we are after I’ve had to drink really fast!) He asked if we were hanging around for a while (or something like that, I was more interested in my drink, thanks.), and we reported that we were going home, Dude.

Oh, crap. That’s not how it happened at all. Memory coming back!

We were not standing when he approached. One of us (ahem, me.) may or may not have been sitting in the lap of the statue on the bench outside of Raglan Road while the other one tried to take a photo (despite the fact that my camera batteries had died about 2 AC pictures into the night.) The Dude walked up and asked if we wanted to be in the photo together. We tried it, but the camera was, in fact, dead. I’m pretty sad about that in retrospect- I remember myself as being very pretty at the time! (I think I have reverse beer goggles. I don’t know how I feel about other people, but I suddenly find myself quite charming!)

Random Dude seemed sad that we were leaving him as soon as I hit the bottom of my glass, but really, Random Dude, you were no Emil Bleehall. Sorry!

I never did finish the Kungaloosh- part of it ended up in the trash in favor of getting home sometime tonight. Such sadness! (And I think I just put all of my fellow 20-somethings to shame by not even finishing one drink. Vettechick’s Boozin Trip Report this is not!)

Katie dropped me off back at BCV, and we said our goodbyes, since she had to work the next day, meaning this was the last time I’d see her on this trip.

Hi, BCV!

Tomorrow is my last full day at WDW- how sad! But I do get to meet up with some DIS-ers - happy!

 

[KimAshton]

Love the pics crystal.

 

[Dolce27]

The night I was at the AC in September, your Emil Bleehall was playing Hathaway. The new Hathaway wasn't there that night. <--- Just an observation.

Oh, and that last picture you took at the UK pavilion was great. From that angle it looked just like an area of London that I used to live in.

 

[Dolce27]

I didn't know that it double posted.Sorry.

 

[WDW Poly Princess]

I double posted!

 

[WDW Poly Princess]

Hmmm, I seem to have broken the DIS!

 

[WDW Poly Princess]

The night I was at the AC in September, your Emil Bleehall was playing Hathaway. The new Hathaway wasn't there that night. <--- Just an observation.

Oh, and that last picture you took at the UK pavilion was great. From that angle it looked just like an area of London that I used to live in.

I tried to reply to this, but the DIS ate it! I'll try again!

Aww, I'm jealous- Living in London for a while someday is one of my dreams! And I'd love to see that guy as Hathaway- now that would be fun! (Plus he's way too hot to be Emil!)

All of you trip report readers are officially invited to our Halloween Adv Club Extravaganza, by the way! We'll dress as pirates, we'll drink, you'll all end up in the trip report, and there may be a bet with Katie that I can do the splits with Emil's cow on my head.

 

[Brocktoon]

All of you trip report readers are officially invited to our Halloween Adv Club Extravaganza, by the way! We'll dress as pirates, we'll drink, you'll all end up in the trip report, and there may be a bet with Katie that I can do the splits with Emil's cow on my head.

The AC always reminds me of the fantastic Gentleman's Hunt Club sketch from MR SHOW. I have an irrational fear about visiting AC ... that after imbibing superfluous libations and being around the improving cast, I'll end up taking on the persona of Sir Edward Premingtion and begin describing my reaction to the mighty lion's roar. If there are any Mr Show fans out there, you'll know this could potentially lead to some interesting reactions (as well as possibly getting bounced from the establishment) ... but then again I'd be sure to make it into a trip report

 

[auroralark]

Hey, Crystal! I've been following your trip report and loving the Rent lyrics and all your pics! You really capture the details! I'm looking forward to the next part!