No Sleep Till Brooklyn! WDW Road Trip July 2012! UPDATE 8/31/12 (DHS!)

[Leshaface]

I would say the bus ride itself from BWV to MK is about 15-20 minutes. Of course, that does not include waiting for the bus to pull out once you get on it, or walking back to your room. There is one bank of elevators at BWV so the walk to our room was pretty long. A lot of people complain about that but we don't mind it at all. In fact, our room was right across from the bus stop and there was a staircase very close to the room, so many times we just took that down or up. Of course sometimes we were tired so we took the elevator up when we returned.

Now that I think about it, I am remembering the bus differently...the guests at the Swan/Dolphin were already on the bus when we got on. And we stopped at BWV straight from MK. I don't know if it is always like this though. But Swan/Dolphin are very close to BWV and it really only adds a few minutes (I think I was remembering it from the DTD bus).

At BWV there is one bus stop where all the buses stop. There are benches to wait, and they are covered, but it's not a huge area. At the values the bus service is very organized, in that I remember a specific line (similar to the style of lines at attractions at the parks) for each bus, with a sign for the destination at each bus's own stop. So if you got there first, you were first on the bus unless there was a guest with a wheelchair or ECV who had to board first. At BWV (and the other deluxes I think), it's whoever gets to the bus first once it pulls up. This bothers some people but it doesn't bother us. It's the same as the NYC buses and trains...you just kind of wait around and just get on when the bus/train arrives, so we are used to it being that way I guess. I don't find it to be a big deal. Plus, there are no buses from BWV to DHS or Epcot because of the boat and walkways, so that right there eliminates 2 buses vs. the value resorts. Not sure how they do it at the mods, never stayed in one.

Emetophobia can vary...sometimes a person is afraid of vomiting themselves, sometimes they are afraid of only being around others who are vomiting, and sometimes both. I apparently am afraid of both. I panic inside if I think anyone is throwing up, I get nervous if my kids start coughing at night (sometimes they cough from their seasonal allergies), and I get nervous if I have a really bad stomach ache and think I might throw up. If someone throws up around me, I automatically assume it's a virus and I am going to catch it. Crazy that I'm a mother of 2 AND a teacher, huh?! That's because I may be very cautious at times, I may get nervous and scared at times, but I also won't let it rule my life and stop me from doing certain things. I was certainly not going to let this phobia stop me from having children because I love children, and I love teaching so I would never let it stop me from doing what I love for a living. Fortunately I teach high school so the kids don't get sick in the classroom just like that as often as small children might. In fact, Philip threw up on his teacher when he was in pre-school one afternoon and she handled it very calmly. I told her I didn't know how she did it, and she was so kind and sweet, and very gentle with him. I was amazed that she was still smiling.

And don't worry, it's not too personal for me. It actually helps me to talk about it and express it. I'm not ashamed of it. I know other people with other fears, that could also affect how they take care of their kids, like a fear of blood and not being able to handle average childhood wounds. I have no problem with those, just if they throw up. It is very hard to hide it when it happens, but I try my best for the sake of my kids because I don't want them to be afraid like I am.

The weird thing is that I hardly ever throw up (knock wood!) and apparently that is common among people with emetophobia too. I went through 2 pregnancies without throwing up once, and can probably count on both hands how many times I have thrown up my whole life (knock wood again!). However, the odd time that I do, I panic beforehand but I am ecstatic afterwards that I "got through it".



Thank you!

You're the second person to tell me that the stingrays weren't fed shrimp when you were at Sea World. Maybe they feed them something different depending on the day?

Oh wow, the bus ride itself to MK is not far at all! I was asking another DIS'er today how far AKV was from DTD because in the Unofficial Guide (back from 2010) it said it took 42 minutes by bus! I'm thinking, that can't be right. So just trying to get ideas (real ideas) of how long it will take to get from one place to the other.

I do remember Pop being very efficient in the way you line up for buses. At CSR, it's the same as BWV it sounds like. Although CSR had about 4 different bus stops within the resort itself, you would wait in one general area for all the buses; no designated lines, which was very nice at Pop. So I imagine it gets pretty busy and filled up at times at BWV.

Oh wow, I didn't know it was that bad. I remember when I was younger, maybe 14 or 15, and seeing one of my little cousins throwing up (didn't make it to the bathroom and was projectile and her mom used her hands to cover her mouth) and I remember thinking, how in the world am I going to be able to have kids if they do this? I had to walk away because I felt like getting sick myself. Even today, not sure how i'll be able to handle that when the time comes, but i'm sure i'll overcome. That or i'll just have DH take care of it. I can handle blood and anything else though, so we'll see.

 

[scottny]

Great update and pics.

Off to the dining reviews.

 

[bangzoom6877]

Oh wow, the bus ride itself to MK is not far at all! I was asking another DIS'er today how far AKV was from DTD because in the Unofficial Guide (back from 2010) it said it took 42 minutes by bus! I'm thinking, that can't be right. So just trying to get ideas (real ideas) of how long it will take to get from one place to the other.

I do remember Pop being very efficient in the way you line up for buses. At CSR, it's the same as BWV it sounds like. Although CSR had about 4 different bus stops within the resort itself, you would wait in one general area for all the buses; no designated lines, which was very nice at Pop. So I imagine it gets pretty busy and filled up at times at BWV.

Oh wow, I didn't know it was that bad. I remember when I was younger, maybe 14 or 15, and seeing one of my little cousins throwing up (didn't make it to the bathroom and was projectile and her mom used her hands to cover her mouth) and I remember thinking, how in the world am I going to be able to have kids if they do this? I had to walk away because I felt like getting sick myself. Even today, not sure how i'll be able to handle that when the time comes, but i'm sure i'll overcome. That or i'll just have DH take care of it. I can handle blood and anything else though, so we'll see.

The Epcot resorts are centrally located on property, so you're never that far a ride from anywhere really, once you get moving. That's one of the things that drew us to BWV as our home resort, in addition to the Boardwalk itself, being able to walk to 2 parks, and standard views are fewer points than preferred or BW views, and fewer points than villas at BCV. I know the pool is a big draw at BCV and we can't pool hop to it, but when we bought DVC in 2008 (re-sale), it cost a lot more per point for BCV than for BWV and we would have needed more points to stay in a 1BR for 10 nights every other year. So the cost was significantly higher when everything added up. We love BWV. We talked about staying at Bay Lake one time or Grand Floridian once they open their DVC unit, but we just think we would miss BWV too much. We just love the location, the resort is beautiful and also the pool never seemed overcrowded at all!

You will be fine with your son! You do what you have to do. Even I understand that when the time comes. There was one time when Jonathan woke up in the middle of the night (maybe about 2 years ago) and had gotten sick in his bed. Eric cleaned it up and did the linens, and I took care of Jonathan and gave him a bath and everything. I didn't run away and refuse to do anything. And I get scared to death when that happens. So if I could do it, anyone can! You could talk to your husband about it now, and I'm sure he will understand. Eric is very understanding about it, and I get down on myself when it does happen because afterwards I always feel like there was more I should have done, and I feel like I'm not as good a mother as I should be. But he always reassures me that I am, and that I am a good wife too.

Great update and pics.

Off to the dining reviews.

Thank you! Glad you're enjoying!

 

[bangzoom6877]

Hello everybody! Continuing on with my TR, with an EMH morning at Epcot!
This was the day after Jonathan had gotten sick. I was very nervous that he would still be sick because I didn’t know what had caused it. He slept through the night, which was a good sign. I woke up at 5:30am and got ready quickly, so that I could go out at 6am and get something plain for Jonathan to eat, like a plain bagel, and see if he could tolerate a small amount of plain food. The Boardwalk Bakery doesn’t open until 6:30am, and the Screen Door General Store was also closed, so rather than wait for the bakery to open, I walked over to the Dolphin, where the Picabu was open 24 hours. I got him a plain bagel with nothing on it, as well as 2 bananas, and when you get to the registers there is a small area where they sell snacks and packaged items. I purchased a small box of saltine crackers as well, to bring to the park if he was able to go, and to keep around as a snack for him in case he got hungry. I also bought 2 bottles of Powerade, 20 ounces each. A bonus is that DVC members get a 20% discount at Picabu, so I saved some money.

I got back to the villa at 6:30am, the time that bakery would have just been opening. Jonathan and Philip were already up and dressed, and Jonathan told me he was very hungry. This was definitely a good sign. He also looked fine. He ate ¼ of the bagel and drank a cup of the Powerade. We explained to the boys that we were going to take it easy that day at Epcot, and that we had another day at Epcot later in the trip. We told them that we might have to leave the park early, and we told Jonathan to let us know if he is not feeling well and we can come back and relax whenever he wanted. He seemed to be doing well and tolerated the ¼ of a bagel and the Powerade. I also gave him some water to drink. He was very happy and energetic as usual.

We left at 7:15am for Epcot. We walked over, and got there before 7:30. The plan was for me to get fastpasses for Soarin’, and Eric & the boys were going to meet me at Living with the Land after a bathroom stop. I was surprised they did not even let us through the gates at the Int’l Gateway until 8am when the park opened. Last time I remember them letting us in at around 7:40, and they had a rope drop show, even on an EMH morning. Of course that was 2 years ago and things change constantly. Nonetheless, I got a fastpass return time of 9-10am which was great!

I went over to Living with the Land and met up with Eric and the boys. We walked right onto the ride, and the boys enjoyed it very much. They loved the part where you go through the greenhouse and see all the fruits and vegetables they grow there. I explained to them that later in the trip, we were going to eat at the Garden Grill and that they cook with these vegetables. They were excited that they got to see how it all works. As for Jonathan, so far so good. He was enjoying himself as always and said he felt fine.

After Living with the Land, we headed to Spaceship Earth. We had no wait, and went right onto the ride. The boys rode together and Eric and I rode together behind them. The ride was fun, of course! Afterwards, we stuck around in the Project Tomorrow area to play around. You can email yourself the final result of the info you put into the computer on the ride, so we did that with ours and with the boys’. There are rest rooms right outside, so we went right to them. We were getting pretty close to park opening at this point.

The next attraction I remember going to was The Seas with Nemo and Friends. There was a line but it moved quickly and we were on the ride in less than 10 minutes. The boys always enjoy this ride. They love the movie “Finding Nemo” and always look forward to the ride. They rode together, and Eric and I were in the clamshell next to them. Jonathan was still fine! You can fit up to 3 people in each clamshell, in case you need to know.

We wanted to do Turtle Talk with Crush next, but our fastpass time had already come up for Soarin’, and it was already close to 9:30. We took a water and bathroom break in the Seas pavilion while we were still there. We didn’t want to risk missing our FP time so we decided to head to Soarin’ first, and then we would come back for Turtle Talk. This was the boys’ first times on Soarin’. In 2010, Philip was tall enough but he didn’t want to go on it so he stayed with my sister (she doesn’t go on Soarin’) and Jonathan, who was not yet tall enough to ride. This time, both boys were tall enough and both wanted to go.

The wait for Soarin’ by this time was significant, close to an hour! And the FP return time was later into the day, I want to say 1-2pm…all before 10am! Soarin’ is definitely something to either do early, or expect to have to return much later with a FP. We only had to wait 5 minutes, then we were able to board. Soarin’ was amazing as it always is! The boys really enjoyed the whole ride. They loved the sensation of flying in the air over California. They especially enjoyed the feeling like you were going right into the water; the mountains; the trees! It is definitely my favorite ride in all of WDW and a must-do on every trip, more than once if I can! And I like many of the rides at WDW, but to me nothing beats Soarin’.

We then walked back to the Seas pavilion and waited for Turtle Talk with Crush. A show had just started minutes before, so we had to wait about 15 minutes but it was worth it. We walked in, and the boys sat on the floor in the designated area for children who want to talk to Crush. Eric and I sat on the bench, in the first row directly behind where the boys were. And guess what?! Crush came, and the first kids he noticed were Philip and Jonathan! He commented on their Perry hats, because (as you have seen in some of my pics already) it’s like a hat on top of a hat. It’s a hat of Perry, wearing his usual hat. Crush commented that the boys had “2 hats on their noggin”! He asked them to say their names into the microphone, and then he addressed them as Philip and Jonathan. He asked Philip to say “Totally!” but Philip got shy all of a sudden. Then Crush asked him to say “Sweet!” but Philip didn’t want to. So Crush asked Jonathan to say “Sweet!” and Jonathan did it! Crush asked everyone, “put your fins together!” The boys were happy and it was a lot of fun.

Then, we took another bathroom break before leaving The Seas pavilion. We headed over to the Imagination pavilion and rode Journey into Imagination with Figment. I love Figment, and have always loved this ride…it’s so cute! We were all able to sit in the same row. Eric said the song from this ride sticks in his head more than “It’s a Small World”! Afterwards, the boys played around a little in the Imagination pavilion. They had fun.

After Imagination, we headed to Innoventions. We found an attraction where you star in your own video game. There were only 3 people ahead of us so we got in line, and within a few minutes we were able to get started. It was up to 2 people, so Jonathan did his with Eric, and Philip and I went together. It was so much fun. You get to jump, do a victory dance, some other cool stuff, and they put it all together in a video game that you get to play when you’re all done. If you are not happy with the way something comes out you can do it again (i.e., they show you what your jump looks like right after you do it, and you can either use it or do it over). We emailed the video game to ourselves, and so did Eric and Jonathan.

By now, it was a little after 11am. Getting close to the time for our lunch ADR at Chefs de France (12pm). I asked a CM about the Phineas & Ferb World Showcase Adventure game for the boys, since it opened in late June and the boys really wanted to do this. He pointed out a stand pretty close by. We walked right over to get some info, and I asked the CM there where Club Cool was. She pointed it out (it was right there), and I went in. I always love Club Cool. It’s fun to try different sodas, but I do not like Beverly! So I had all but that one. This was the first time I was in there and they actually had the watermelon soda from China. It was delicious! Here’s a pic of one of the machines:

I brought out a small cup of the watermelon soda for Eric to try. The boys don’t drink soda so I knew it wouldn’t interest them. Eric got the info for the WS Adventure, and we were planning to do it after lunch. Jonathan said he was feeling fine.

We headed over to the WS and walked to France. By the time we got there it was 11:45. I checked in at the podium but they don’t open until noon, so we had to wait 15 minutes. No big deal. We went in and had our lunch. I will save the rest for my dining review, but during lunch we got a visit from this little guy:

The boys were so happy to see Remy! I made sure to get Jonathan something plain (just plain pasta), and he was fine. I wanted to keep him off dairy for the day and the next day too, just in case, so he can rest his stomach. He was very happy to eat and ate the whole bowl of plain pasta. Luckily he prefers his pasta plain (unless it’s mac and cheese), so he was happy with this. He drank a nice big glass of water and some apple juice and he was fine.

After lunch we asked Jonathan if he felt like doing the WS Adventure. We gave him the option of going back to the hotel and doing the WS Adventure later on when we were returning to the park. He said he would like to do it. It was about 1pm. The boys did the game in the UK pavilion. They completed it. They enjoyed themselves, but Eric and I found it kind of lame. But, since the boys had a lot of fun it was well worth doing it. You could also do it in a few of the other countries. UK was nearby so we did it there.

After the game, Eric and the boys went back to the hotel, but I wanted to stick around and do some shopping. Especially because I wanted to get Eric his anniversary gift…a beer stein (sp.?) from Germany! On our trip in 2010, I came close to getting one of these for him but then I didn’t end up getting it. I tried to buy it online 2 months later, but they weren’t available online and any others I saw online cost a lot more. I was so mad at myself. So I decided this time to definitely buy it for him. I bought him an Oktoberfest one. I will buy him some German beer to go with it in November right before our anniversary. I’m sure he will be VERY happy!

I also made my way through some of the other countries. Here are some pics I took:

It was very nice to walk around the WS and just shop by myself, but it was VERY hot. I walked all the way to China and I bought the boys each a souvenir…a pair of kids’ chopsticks with the Chinese year they were born. They love to use chopsticks when we order Chinese or Japanese food at home, and I knew they would love these!

When I got outside, I knew I had a long walk to the Int’l Gateway. I spotted the Joy of Tea stand outside, and noticed they sold slushes. The strawberry tea slush looked great, like something I really needed…and would cool me down on the walk back for sure. Especially since I had already drank my entire water bottle. There were 3 ladies in a group together in front of me but they couldn’t understand English, so they were having trouble communicating with the CMs. I heard them speaking Spanish to each other, and I speak Spanish fluently (it’s one of the languages I teach), so I spoke to them in Spanish, asking if they needed help. I helped them make their choices, and was able to translate between them and the CMs. They couldn’t stop thanking me, and the CMs kept thanking me as well. I never knew I would use my Spanish in China!

The World Showcase in the afternoon is one of the hottest places I have ever been! The slush definitely helped A LOT to cool me down. I was in the mood for a snack, so I stopped in Germany and went to Karamel Kuche (sp.?). There were so many delicious treats, I didn’t know what to get! I figured I would bring something back to the villa. I ended up getting a caramel apple…just a plain one so I could really enjoy the taste of the caramel. Here’s a pic of the counter with all the delicious treats:

I walked to the Int’l Gateway and the boat was there, so I hopped on. Boardwalk is the first stop once the boat leaves Epcot so it was a quick ride. I went up to the villa and the boys and Eric were sleeping. I sat down very quietly in the living room on one of the chairs and I had my caramel apple and a bottle of water. The apple was fresh, and the caramel melted in my mouth. Perhaps this was because it was in the heat for the rest of my trip back to the resort, but it was amazing! The best caramel apple I ever had for sure!

I showered and relaxed. We had a 5:50pm ADR for Via Napoli for dinner. We woke the boys at 4:30 and got them showered and ready to go. We left the villa at 5pm and walked back over to Epcot. Jonathan was still fine! He asked if he could have pizza at Via Napoli but I explained that it has dairy and he can’t have that yet. So he asked about spaghetti and that was fine! We went for our dinner at Via Napoli, which was very good (I will give details in my dining report), and I got to speak Italian the whole time! I love it that the CMs in the countries are from the actual countries and I get to do this. The boys love listening to me speak Italian and Spanish.

After Via Napoli, we did some shopping in Italy. We bought a Christmas ornament made of Venetian glass for our neighbor, who was holding onto our mail and watering our flowers for us, and we bought a few more items. Some jewelry for my nieces for the holidays, a little something for my mom and for my sister, also for the holidays. I used my Disney Visa and you get 10% off for purchases over $50 all around WDW if you use it. So it was a great savings! I also had done this in Germany for Eric’s gift.

After shopping, I got to take this cute pic of the boys, while Philip kept saying, “I’m the king of the world!!!”

And a pic of this castle, for sale in one of the shops in Germany. Can you see the price tag? Yes...it's yours for $37,500!

We went back to the resort for an early night, since we had an EMH morning at DHS ahead of us. Here's a pic of me and the boys on the boat:

We had a great day at Epcot. Jonathan was doing fine. It seemed that whatever had made him sick was gone. We were glad, needless to say.
Up next…an EMH morning at DHS and lots of fun stuff! Stick around!

 

[Leshaface]

Great update!

So glad Jonathan was feeling better this day!

I was just going to ask you how they do rope drop on the other side of Epcot. So does this mean that those in the front of Epcot (the guests who went through the turnstiles) have a leg up on grabbing FP's from Future World? You would think they'd at least allow you to go up to the very beginning of the World Showcase, somewhat near the fountain so it would be even. Oh well.

My goodness, your boys look so identical! They are adorable!

 

[starousse]

Great reviews!!

 

[skywaywaver]

Caught up! My husband is terribly afraid of vomiting too but has gotten SO much better with the kids. He even cleaned out his car last fall!

Getting sick at Disney is no fun but it definitely sounds like heat exhaustion. I had the same thing happened when I was working one summer during college. I got a very bad sunburn on the back of my knees and I'm sure I didn't drink enough water. I'm glad to see that he felt better the next day.

All of these reports about the caramel place in Germany are driving me insane! I'm DYING for caramel!

 

[CatNipRules]

I love the pictures!! The boys are sooooo adorable!

I love Remy!!

Love the pictures of you and your boys!!

 

[bangzoom6877]

Great update!

So glad Jonathan was feeling better this day!

I was just going to ask you how they do rope drop on the other side of Epcot. So does this mean that those in the front of Epcot (the guests who went through the turnstiles) have a leg up on grabbing FP's from Future World? You would think they'd at least allow you to go up to the very beginning of the World Showcase, somewhat near the fountain so it would be even. Oh well.

My goodness, your boys look so identical! They are adorable!

Thank you for the compliment about the boys! Yes, they were dressed the same that day, and yes they have the same haircut...but if you really look closely at their faces their features are totally different. Jonathan looks more like Eric (especially when Eric was a little kid) and Philip looks more like me (especially when I was little).

I'm neutoric when it comes to planning and timing (but according to Eric it doesn't drive everyone nuts while we are there...they love not waiting in long lines so they trust me to do my thing ), and even I don't think it was that big a deal that I got to Soarin' to grab FPs later than if I had entered at the front of the park. 2 years ago they allowed us to enter early and watch the rope drop show, but honestly, after this trip, I am wondering if they even do a rope drop show here or at DHS anymore. I will get to more of that later in my TR though. I will tell you this...it was different the morning we went to Epcot and it was not an EMH morning...we got through the turnstiles earlier than opening time that day.

Great reviews!!

Thank you!

Caught up! My husband is terribly afraid of vomiting too but has gotten SO much better with the kids. He even cleaned out his car last fall!

Getting sick at Disney is no fun but it definitely sounds like heat exhaustion. I had the same thing happened when I was working one summer during college. I got a very bad sunburn on the back of my knees and I'm sure I didn't drink enough water. I'm glad to see that he felt better the next day.

All of these reports about the caramel place in Germany are driving me insane! I'm DYING for caramel!

My thoughts at this point are that it was either heat exhaustion like you said, or a quick virus. Either way, he was feeling fine the next day so we were all happy. I always worry when they are sick.

Soon enough you will be able to enjoy the caramel place in Germany! If you are on a dining plan, it would be an excellent use of snack credits, and if you are not on a dining plan, it is well worth the money to get something there. Delicious!

I love the pictures!! The boys are sooooo adorable!

I love Remy!!

Love the pictures of you and your boys!!

Thank you!!!!! And I love Remy too. In person, it feels like he is totally real. This was the second time we saw him at Chefs de France and I am still amazed that they can do that.

 

[SEASONK]

We go every even year too! It's funny, because when we are there, at the end of the 10 days I feel like I'm ready to go home, and I can live without it for 2 years. But then once we're home and unpacked, after about a day or 2 I start to feel "WDW Withdrawal" kick in!

We go on one big vacation per year, and I'm not a person who could only go to WDW for that every single time, so the way for us to do it is every 2 years. It also makes it very special, because by the time the trip gets very close, we get so excited because we haven't been there for a while. Although, I did tell Eric that ideally, I would love to go every year IF we could do a second vacation every year in addition. That would still give us the same variety and we could do WDW annually. But, that would require more points since we wouldn't stay in a studio with the kids, and we like staying 10 nights. If we went every year we would only be able to stay 5 nights in a studio and that is too short for us at this point. Our first trip to Pop Century (pre-DVC membership) was in 2008, and we stayed 5 nights. That was when we decided that we needed twice that amount of time!

The other thing I like about going every 2 years is that the kids grow A LOT in that amount of time at these ages, and each of our 3 trips so far have been very different from each other. I remember in 2008 on the first trip when neither of the boys was big enough for rides like Soarin' and Test Track, and Eric and I had to do the baby swap! We were grateful they had that as an option, but it would have definitely been more fun to ride with someone else. Now, Philip is big enough for all the rides, and Jonathan is big enough for most of them. He just couldn't go on Space Mountain or Rock 'n' Roller Coaster.

Thank goodness there's the DIS for passing the time and still getting to enjoy WDW through the eyes of others between vacations! Also, I book 11 months in advance (DVC home resort) so the planning starts about a year from now, and that always makes the vacation seem closer!

Lol - we started ours in 2008 also, DS was 4 at the time and too short for most of the rides, but he was all about the characters. We did 7 nights at Pop on that trip. Then in 2010, I took DS and my mom and sister and nephew (their 1st trip we to WDW), we went in December for 5 nights and that was not long enough. I loved it at Christmas time! DH, DS, and I are headed back on October for 8 nights, and I know it will be a completely different trip than the prior ones, which makes it fun BUT like you I could do WDW every year if I could do my other vacation also. So far I haven't found a way to fit that in the budget!

 

[bangzoom6877]

Lol - we started ours in 2008 also, DS was 4 at the time and too short for most of the rides, but he was all about the characters. We did 7 nights at Pop on that trip. Then in 2010, I took DS and my mom and sister and nephew (their 1st trip we to WDW), we went in December for 5 nights and that was not long enough. I loved it at Christmas time! DH, DS, and I are headed back on October for 8 nights, and I know it will be a completely different trip than the prior ones, which makes it fun BUT like you I could do WDW every year if I could do my other vacation also. So far I haven't found a way to fit that in the budget!

Same here...there's no way just yet to fit another vacation in the budget. Too many other things to save for, but those things are much more worth it than an extra vacation (for example, saving for the boys' college, doing work on the house as necessary, etc.). But we also enjoy our breaks from work/school at home just relaxing. Sometimes that is needed too. Your trip will be here before you know it too!

I would love to see WDW all decorated for Christmas. But the only way we could do that is if we fly down and go during the busiest week of the year, when the kids are off and we are off. The summer crowds are OK for me to deal with and work around with all the planning, but I wouldn't want to be there Christmas week, plus we wouldn't be able to stay 10 nights that way and drive down...in fact we probably wouldn't be able to stay 10 nights at all because sometimes our breaks from school are only 9 days. Most people I know who are not in the NYC school system get 2 full weeks off for the holidays (even some school districts in NY State, which have the same regulations as far as instructional days per school year). Over here, they give us the bare minimum compared to other places. OK, I will stop complaining about that...I know some people (no one here though, you guys are all terrific!) would throw daggers at me for saying that because we still get our summers off.

 

[bangzoom6877]

Hi everyone! I haven't posted another update here, or even done my Chefs de France review yet on the dining report, because I have been very busy the last couple of days. Yesterday, I took a full day course to get my CPR/AED certification, and today I had all day doing First Aid certification, which continues tomorrow morning. I'm doing this because my assistant principal said it would be beneficial for me to do this since I am in charge of a show called "SING!" at my school. It's a NYC-area thing in high schools, where students get to write, produce, direct and perform their own musical. They also design and build their own sets and they design and make their own costumes. They really do everything, and I am their coordinator. Having CPR and First Aid certification is beneficial so that in case anyone gets hurt even when they audition, I can assist them in case of anything. Hopefully that will not happen, but in case it does I will be prepared. I am very tired from sitting and listening all day, and not getting lots of sleep (getting up earlier than normal for summer, and going to bed way too late watching TV), but I am learning a lot. In fact, I think every person who works with children of any age, and every parent should take these courses. In CPR/AED training, we learned how to do CPR on adults, children and infants. I told the instructor yesterday that I think it would be more helpful for people to go during pregnancy, than a Lamaze class!

Anyway, sorry I haven't updated. I will update by the end of the weekend with at least one thing...so the next thing will be my review of Chefs. I will also post this over there, so you will be reading doubles!

 

[bangzoom6877]

So I couldn't stay away and not post any more updates for too long you know! I just posted my review of Chefs de France on my dining report so hop on over if you would like to read...I don't think anyone will be disappointed by the mouth-watering pics I posted, or the great review of the place!

I also posted my review of Via Napoli dinner! It was great, amazing actually!

I'm not saying anymore...check it out!

 

[scottny]

That is great he was better and able to enjoy the day.

Great update and pics.

 

[bangzoom6877]

Hi everyone! I’m back to tell you all about our day at DHS!

We got up very early, and had breakfast in the villa. I allowed Jonathan to have dairy again since he had been fine the whole day before. He ended up being well the rest of our time at WDW! We were heading to an EMH morning at DHS. We decided we would take the walkway to DHS from BWV, instead of taking the boat which would first stop at YC/BC and S/D before heading to DHS. We timed the walk and it took 12 minutes. It helped that our room was very close to the walkway to begin with, which was a plus.

We arrived at about 7:20 and there was a very short line, only a couple of people in front of us. Within 10 minutes, the line behind us was super long so we got there just in time. The boys said they wanted to go on Tower of Terror, and both are tall enough. ToT is Eric’s favorite ride in all of WDW so he was excited to share it with them. The plan was for me to go to Toy Story Mania for fastpasses while the 3 of them headed to ToT to ride. Then I was going to meet them, and Eric would take Philip on Rock ‘n’ Rollercoaster. Jonathan is not yet tall enough for RnR.

There was no rope drop show. They definitely had one on an EMH morning on our 2010 trip. However, this was not a big deal at all. They just started to let people in a few minutes before 8am, we went through and I collected everyone’s tickets. I headed to TSM and got fastpasses, return time before 9am! Eric texted me that they were about to get on ToT while I was on my way over there. Shortly after I got there, I saw them. Jonathan and I bought the pic of the 3 of them, while Eric headed over to the nearby RnR with Philip.
After buying the pic, Jonathan and I headed over to RnR to wait for Eric and Philip. On the way into the gift shop, I snapped this pic:

Then, we waited by the exit area. It didn’t take too long at all waiting for them. They came off the ride, and Philip said that the beginning was scary because it went so fast, but he enjoyed going upside down. This was his first upside down rollercoaster. This was the pic of them on the ride (they are in the back row):

After RnR, believe it or not our FP time for TSM was just about up! By the time we walked over there, the time had just been up by a couple of minutes. So we went right on with our FPs (with a 45 minute wait in the standby line). I went with Philip and Eric went with Jonathan, at the boys’ request. We had a lot of fun as always on TSM.

After TSM the boys wanted to go on Star Tours. But not without first getting a second set of FPs for TSM! The return time was 1:15pm to 2:15pm, perfect since we had an 11am ADR at Hollywood & Vine for the character lunch. We figured after lunch we could go on TSM. Eric took the boys on Star Tours, and they really enjoyed it. We were considering going on the Great Movie Ride after that, but we had been planning to go on that on our second DHS day with the rest of the family, so we didn’t go on it this day. Instead, we headed over to the Jedi Training Academy. The boys had been wanting to participate in this for months already. This was a top priority for us that day. First they offered us a show time of 11:30 but we had the character lunch at H&V at 11am so they said they could participate in the 12:45 show, but we had to arrive by 12:10. This was not a problem, since we knew character meals typically took us less than an hour, or an hour at most. So we could head over there right after lunch.

At this point we had time until our lunch ADR, so we decided to take the boys right to the Disney Junior show. We waited about 10 minutes and then we were led into the theater. In this theater, you sit on the floor and we got seats right up front, even though there was a significant line in front of us. There is plenty of room right up front because the stage is rather wide. It took another 5-10 minutes until they began the show. I couldn’t sit on the floor more than a few minutes because my back started hurting, so I asked a nearby CM if I could stand in the back. She showed me that there were also some benches to sit on in the back so I stayed there.

The Disney Junior show was very cute. We didn’t think we were going to end up seeing it on this trip originally, because for a while the boys weren’t into it anymore. But with the fairly recent addition of “Jake & the Neverland Pirates” on the Disney Junior channel, they got into Disney Junior again. Anything with Jake in it was definitely for them. Jake and the Neverland Pirates are now included as part of the Disney Junior Live On Stage show, so we knew it was a must-do again! They no longer have “My Friends Tigger & Pooh” in case anyone does not know. The boys really enjoyed this show. They set up a scenario using “Mickey Mouse Clubhouse” and they incorporated other Disney Junior shows like Little Einsteins into the mix. The boys were very excited to see Jake in the show this time!

After Disney Junior, it was about 10:20. I suggested we go to H&V and see if they can seat us early. We went there to check in, but the CM at the podium said that they are setting up for lunch and would begin seating again at 11am. She suggested we go and do something else instead of having to just wait around. So off to the Animation Academy we went.

The wait to do the Animation Academy drawing class was 10 minutes, and the CM there told me that the class takes 30 minutes. I remembered this from our 2010 trip when we did it. So we didn’t have time for that. Instead, we looked around all the different pictures and displays of Disney animation through the years. It was very interesting. They even had the Oscars that Walt Disney had won for various films! We had fun looking around there, at our own pace. The boys found it very interesting, especially Philip who really loves to draw. We went into the gift shop and they had these books that teach you how to draw certain Disney characters. We bought one for Philip. He has used it several times since we got home, and he has shared it with my nieces who have also now learned to draw some Disney characters!

At 10:50 we headed back to H&V. At 11am they began seating, just as the CM had said. I felt bad for her because a lot of people were being rather rude and getting mad at her that they didn’t have counter service in there while you could meet the characters, that there was a set price, that they had to give a credit card number as confirmation if they decided to go later in the day, and that they had to wait for a table if they wanted to eat at the time we got there but did not have an ADR. The CMs at Disney restaurants must deal with a lot of rude people, especially those CMs who work at the podium up front…it has to be a tough job. I mean, nothing wrong with asking questions if you don’t know how it works, but don’t get mad at the CM for doing their job.

We were called at 11am, and seated. The characters here are all from Disney Junior and include Special Agent Oso, June from Little Einsteins, Handy Manny and Jake! Just like we thought for Disney Junior Live On Stage, we didn’t consider this character meal until later in the trip planning. Originally we had Sci-Fi booked even though we already were going to go there for lunch later in the trip with the rest of the family, but when the boys got into Disney Junior again we decided this would be a great lunch for them. Here is a pic of the boys with their favorite, Jake!

We were finished with lunch by 12pm. We loved it, but I will save the details for my dining review! After we got out of H&V, we headed over to the waiting area for the Jedi Training Academy since we had to be there by 12:10 anyway. As we had expected, we were one of VERY few families who actually showed up on time. Most showed up closer to the actual show time. I still don’t get why people can’t get to places on time, whether it’s work or something fun like this. It always amazes me. I know that sometimes things come up, but the vast majority of people showed up much later than the arrival time they told us (which was also given to us in writing on special tickets for the boys to participate). The participating children were asked to sit on the floor with their tickets in hand, while parents sat on the bench behind them. A CM explained the procedure, and they escorted the children in a line outside to the training area and the parents were told to follow. And still, some families with participating children were just showing up at this time.

Out came 2 CMs to train the children how to fight with a light saber. They gave them each a hooded robe to wear, and a light saber to use. They made it clear that this is just a training light saber and they weren’t going to keep it. I think it was very important that they did this so that the children weren’t under the impression that this was theirs to keep, and it definitely prevented meltdowns. Everyone got to practice, half of the children on the stage and the other half just beneath the stage. Philip and Jonathan were both off stage. It didn’t seem like there was any particular reason why some children were on stage and some were not, just that they divided the group. It didn’t go by height or anything…there were kids of various heights in each group.

Then, the music began and out came this villain:

Followed by Darth Maul!

This seemed SO real! Darth Maul kept walking by us and he really looked like the real villain! I’m not even into Star Wars and I was fascinated by this whole thing. Eric was in all his glory because he is a huge Star Wars fan, and so are the boys! It was just amazing how real it all seemed.

The boys were going to fight Darth Maul. Children on stage fought Darth Vader. Here are some shots of Philip fighting Darth Maul:

And some of Jonathan fighting him:

The boys received special diplomas for becoming “Padawan” and they were very happy. The whole thing was amazing, even if you are not a fan of Star Wars such as myself. It was one of the coolest things the boys got to do the whole trip!

After everything ended, our FP time came up for TSM. We decided this would be the last thing we would do at DHS. I always miss that Beauty & The Beast show! It’s OK…we all had fun and the kids really enjoyed themselves. We always go in with the attitude that whatever we miss is no bid deal…we always have a great time no matter what we get to see. By the time we got to TSM and went into the FP entrance, the standby wait time was close to 2 hours! We only waited about 5 minutes once we were inside, waiting on the very short FP entry line. While in there, I snapped this pic of the boys, proudly holding their Jedi Training Academy diplomas:

Philip and Jonathan wanted to sit together, so we let them. This was the first time they ever did that on TSM! We rode and enjoyed it as always, and then we decided it was time to leave the park so we could take a nice afternoon break before our 6:30pm dinner at Kona and the special surprise evening we had planned for the boys. Before heading out, I HAD to go to Starring Rolls and get some cupcakes to bring back to the resort. I picked up a red velvet one and a chocolate peanut butter one. Then, we headed out.

The boat was already there so we decided to get on and skip the 12-minute walk since we were very tired. No rain today again, and it was super hot! Thank goodness I am very paranoid and make the kids (and us too) drink lots of water throughout the day. We got on the boat but it was taking so long, that we got off at the first stop (Swan/Dolphin) and just walked to BWV from there. The boat still hadn’t gotten to the Boardwalk by the time we did, so we were happy we walked from S/D. We said that next time we will just walk unless it was pouring outside or something, because the walk takes less time. We all showered and changed, and the boys took a nice nap. A little before 6pm, we headed out to the Polynesian for our 6:30pm dinner ADR at Kona Café.

I’m going to stop for now and continue this day in another post…we had a very special evening planned for the boys. Something we planned months and months ago, but never told them about. A very special surprise. Stay tuned to find out what it is!

 

[chocolateMinnie]

great trip report - love that you kept your family memories alive by visiting Pofolks. It is amazing what kids remember aboout people they never even met when you keep a family activity like that alive :

Very interested to hear about your Surrey bike experience and Picabu. Shame little one was ill though

 

[bangzoom6877]

great trip report - love that you kept your family memories alive by visiting Pofolks. It is amazing what kids remember aboout people they never even met when you keep a family activity like that alive :

Very interested to hear about your Surrey bike experience and Picabu. Shame little one was ill though

Glad you're enjoying my TR!

Even though I lost my grandparents when I was only 9 years old, I always talk about them with the boys. Eric's grandparents are also deceased and he always tells me and the boys great stories about time he spent with them growing up. I wish we could have met them, and that they could have met mine as well. But at least we do keep all the great memories alive, and keep the legacy going (Philip is named after my grandfather and Jonathan is named after Eric's grandfather!).

We felt terrible for Jonathan when he got sick. I also don't handle throwing up well at all, so I also felt bad for Eric. But I suppose it's the lesser of the evils when it comes to length of time being sick, because he was only sick briefly, just that night. If it was something like strep it would have been a minimum of 24 hours, or if it was a viral respiratory thing, it would have been even longer. When we talk about the trip, he says he misses Disney so it didn't affect his view of WDW negatively at all.

 

[chocolateMinnie]

Glad you're enjoying my TR!

Even though I lost my grandparents when I was only 9 years old, I always talk about them with the boys. Eric's grandparents are also deceased and he always tells me and the boys great stories about time he spent with them growing up. I wish we could have met them, and that they could have met mine as well. But at least we do keep all the great memories alive, and keep the legacy going (Philip is named after my grandfather and Jonathan is named after Eric's grandfather!).

We felt terrible for Jonathan when he got sick. I also don't handle throwing up well at all, so I also felt bad for Eric. But I suppose it's the lesser of the evils when it comes to length of time being sick, because he was only sick briefly, just that night. If it was something like strep it would have been a minimum of 24 hours, or if it was a viral respiratory thing, it would have been even longer. When we talk about the trip, he says he misses Disney so it didn't affect his view of WDW negatively at all.

It's lovely that your boys are named after your Grandads. My son has the name of my grandad and also the name of DH grandad as his two middle names

Looking forward to the rest.

 

[anjalee6]

My son loved Jedi Training too! The last two years we have always gotten a time that was after we were planning on leaving the park or during an ADR so this was the first time he actually got to do it. He liked it so much that when my mom arrived later in the week, we actually went back and let him do it again. He fought Darth Vadar both times, but he was hoping for Darth Maul the second time. It was a lot of fun to watch.

 

[bangzoom6877]

My son loved Jedi Training too! The last two years we have always gotten a time that was after we were planning on leaving the park or during an ADR so this was the first time he actually got to do it. He liked it so much that when my mom arrived later in the week, we actually went back and let him do it again. He fought Darth Vadar both times, but he was hoping for Darth Maul the second time. It was a lot of fun to watch.

I found it so entertaining! And like I said above, I'm not a fan of Star Wars at all. I went to see "The Empire Strikes Back" with a friend in college when they re-released it in the theatres, but I didn't care too much for it. Then about a year ago I tried to sit through the original from 1977 with Eric and the boys, and I ended up dozing off on the couch! It's just not my thing, it's one of those things that Eric and the boys have together, you know, just the guys! Eric was really amazed because he is such a huge Star Wars fan, and I was just amazed at how real it all seemed...as I feel with most things at WDW. I hope they get to do it again in 2 years, it would be great to see if they get to fight Darth Vader.