Peekaboo, I see Pluto! A 1st Birthday TR; Wrapping up PTR and TR 10/02!

[Maestra99]

WOW!!! What awesome photos! For some reason, I've never been drawn to the Boardwalk, but your photos are making me reconsider. It looks AMAZING! We will have to make sure to check it out in person.

 

[Maestra99]

What is your favorite resort at Disney World?​

Oh, and as for this question: we've only stayed at POP, AKL, and Swan&Dolphin, but of those 3 we definitely loved AKL! It was so amazing having morning coffee on the balcony and looking out at the animals. We've resort-hopped and out of what we've seen, we'd love to try the Poly someday. We're doing POFQ this coming trip and looking forward to that! Although I've never been to BLT, it's kind of my dream right now to buy DVC and have that as our home resort. But again, your pictures of Boardwalk sure make it appealing as well!! You guys are going to have so much fun staying there!

 

[Missyrose]

Illuminations is my absolute favorite. And Franklin's pictures are STUNNING!! Truly, truly amazing pictures.

I am staying at the BW for the first time in a few weeks and am so excited to stay there!

So sorry Tanner didn't take to the baby food.

I'm so envious you get to stay at BW soon! I can't wait to hear all about your stay!

I don't know... There are somethings about it I would like to change. I hope you aren't creating too high of expectations.

Geez Honey, you're your own worst critic. The upside to how critical you are about your photos is that there's always something you want to improve upon... which means we HAVE to go back to Disney World to do it!

Sorry to hear Tanner's dinner disagreed with him. My boys never ate the stage 3 meaty meals very well either. I hope Tanner does better with fruits and veggies!

I love those Illuminations pictures! I would never have thought of watching from the bridge, but that's a great location.

Tanner did much better the rest of the week with the new food, but he definitely ate more applesauce than anything else (I guess it was a taste he was used to).

The bridge was a really cool place to catch Illuminations from without using a park admission.
Of course you can't see anything that is going on on the water in the World Showcase, but it was still fun nonetheless.

WOW!!! What awesome photos! For some reason, I've never been drawn to the Boardwalk, but your photos are making me reconsider. It looks AMAZING! We will have to make sure to check it out in person.

Thanks! I'm rapidly falling in love with whole Epcot resort area. There are so many fun resorts to explore, plus lots and lots of yummy restaurants.
I can't wait to spend a week at Boardwalk!

Oh, and as for this question: we've only stayed at POP, AKL, and Swan&Dolphin, but of those 3 we definitely loved AKL! It was so amazing having morning coffee on the balcony and looking out at the animals. We've resort-hopped and out of what we've seen, we'd love to try the Poly someday. We're doing POFQ this coming trip and looking forward to that! Although I've never been to BLT, it's kind of my dream right now to buy DVC and have that as our home resort. But again, your pictures of Boardwalk sure make it appealing as well!! You guys are going to have so much fun staying there!

Ooooh! You stayed at AKL? Tell me all about it! What did you love? What did you hate? How were the buses? How was the food? Did you do any of the activities at the resort? Basically, I'm asking you to tell me EVERYTHING! I'm so looking forward to staying there in October. I know we're giving up being close to a park like at other deluxe resorts, but the resort just seems like a vacation in itself!

As far as DVC goes, I'm already plotting for a possible add-on contract in the next couple of years. I'm torn between adding more points at BWV or adding a separate contract at BLT, I really love the Contemporary (plus the location and the monorail can't be beat).

​

 

[Maestra99]

Ooooh! You stayed at AKL? Tell me all about it! What did you love? What did you hate? How were the buses? How was the food? Did you do any of the activities at the resort? Basically, I'm asking you to tell me EVERYTHING! I'm so looking forward to staying there in October. I know we're giving up being close to a park like at other deluxe resorts, but the resort just seems like a vacation in itself!


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We loooooved AKL! We stayed there on our honeymoon in 2009. It was the first time either of us had stayed on-site. We got the savannah view and it was amazing! I'm sure you've seen tons of photos, but I'll share a few. Here are a couple of views from our balcony:

The atmosphere and views were breathtaking. You're right that it could be a vacation in itself! I could have easily spent a week there just relaxing.

I was actually surprised at how close the animals are - I thought it would be much more of a distance. We had a room on the first floor and I would recommend that. The room was spacious and clean. The buses were frequent and we never had to wait long; the wait area was covered (unlike when we roasted waiting in line at POP ). Now that we've stayed elsewhere, we realize the bus rides were a bit longer than from other resorts, but it never felt too long to us at all.

We ate at Boma the first night and we weren't really blown away, but it was good. It was neat to try some unusual things, but it just doesn't stand out in my memory was an outstanding meal like some others we had. I know a lot of people love it, so maybe we just didn't pick the right things or something. We had breakfast and snacks at the Mara which I honestly don't remember, as it was just pretty typical fare. There was a small bar overlooking Boma where we had drinks a couple of times. It was nice, cozy and relaxing (but expensive, of course! ).

We didn't do any resort activities but I do remember reading a list of the ones being offered and there were a ton! If I remember right, they seemed mostly aimed at kids, though. OH! I just remembered, we did go one night to see some of the savannah animals with night-vision goggles; that was really cool.

The whole experience was awesome! The pool was great and we just spent a lot of time walking around enjoying the sights. I really can't think of anything we didn't like! You will love staying there - it is amazing!

Sorry for the mini-highjacking of your TR! Now back to your regularly-scheduled programming...!

 

[Missyrose]

We loooooved AKL! We stayed there on our honeymoon in 2009. It was the first time either of us had stayed on-site. We got the savannah view and it was amazing! I'm sure you've seen tons of photos, but I'll share a few. Here are a couple of views from our balcony:

The atmosphere and views were breathtaking. You're right that it could be a vacation in itself! I could have easily spent a week there just relaxing.

Love the photos, thanks so much for sharing them! We're staying in a Savannah View room (I figured if we're going to stay there, I want to see animals from my room! )

I was actually surprised at how close the animals are - I thought it would be much more of a distance. We had a room on the first floor and I would recommend that. The room was spacious and clean. The buses were frequent and we never had to wait long; the wait area was covered (unlike when we roasted waiting in line at POP ). Now that we've stayed elsewhere, we realize the bus rides were a bit longer than from other resorts, but it never felt too long to us at all.

We rented DVC points to stay in a studio at Jambo, so our room will be on the fifth floor, which is a bit high. But I'm hoping we'll still enjoy the view from up there. Being on the lobby level must have been so cool looking out at the animals at eye level. I can't wait to explore the resort.

We ate at Boma the first night and we weren't really blown away, but it was good. It was neat to try some unusual things, but it just doesn't stand out in my memory was an outstanding meal like some others we had. I know a lot of people love it, so maybe we just didn't pick the right things or something. We had breakfast and snacks at the Mara which I honestly don't remember, as it was just pretty typical fare. There was a small bar overlooking Boma where we had drinks a couple of times. It was nice, cozy and relaxing (but expensive, of course! ).

I've read lots of reviews about Boma dinner and many, many people say the chefs use cinnamon in almost everything they serve on the buffet. I hate cinnamon, so I ruled out Boma for dinner because of that. We ARE doing Boma twice for breakfast and also a dinner at Jiko, which I'm very excited to try.

We didn't do any resort activities but I do remember reading a list of the ones being offered and there were a ton! If I remember right, they seemed mostly aimed at kids, though. OH! I just remembered, we did go one night to see some of the savannah animals with night-vision goggles; that was really cool.

Night-vision animal viewing is at the top of my list of what we should do at the resort. We also have a pool day planned, which is something we've never done on a trip to Disney, so it will be great to just kick back and relax at the resort.

The whole experience was awesome! The pool was great and we just spent a lot of time walking around enjoying the sights. I really can't think of anything we didn't like! You will love staying there - it is amazing!

Sorry for the mini-highjacking of your TR! Now back to your regularly-scheduled programming...!

Thank you so, so much for your AKL review. It sounds amazing and you've helped make me even MORE excited for our stay there (I didn't think it was possible to get any more excited about the trip, turns out I was wrong.). And don't you dare think this was a hijacking, I'm so grateful for all the info and that's the best part of doing these TRs -- getting to know the new friends you're bringing on the journey with you!
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[Maestra99]

Thank you so, so much for your AKL review. It sounds amazing and you've helped make me even MORE excited for our stay there (I didn't think it was possible to get any more excited about the trip, turns out I was wrong.). And don't you dare think this was a hijacking, I'm so grateful for all the info and that's the best part of doing these TRs -- getting to know the new friends you're bringing on the journey with you!
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Aww, thanks! Glad to know I could add to the excitement! I think a 5th floor room will be awesome, and you may even be able to see more of the savannah view and animals from higher up! Just wait...you'll be amazed while getting ready one morning: "Honey, have you seen my flip-flop? OH Look! There's a giraffe!" It makes the mornings lots more magical.

Looking forward to your next installment!

 

[Missyrose]

Aww, thanks! Glad to know I could add to the excitement! I think a 5th floor room will be awesome, and you may even be able to see more of the savannah view and animals from higher up! Just wait...you'll be amazed while getting ready one morning: "Honey, have you seen my flip-flop? OH Look! There's a giraffe!" It makes the mornings lots more magical.

Looking forward to your next installment!

"Oh look, there's a giraffe." Seriously, where else on Earth (beyond maybe a safari in Africa) can you say that from your hotel room? Just 171 more days.

Next installment should be coming up shortly, just as soon as Franklin edits and puts up the next batch of pictures. Feel free to PM him some motivation. ​

 

[marDgreen88]

Tanner is so cute with his little monkey. Do you happen to know if it's from Build-A-Bear, by chance? My brother has a monkey from there that looks very similar to that one!

You got some awesome pictures of the Boardwalk- how awesome that it's your home resort!

Aw, poor Tanner! I hope he was able to get some food down on the trip.

Um... Franklin's IllumiNations photos are just WOW, amazing! Wow.

Hmm... my favorite resort of the ones I have stayed at (ahem, the three All Stars) was definitely Movies. However... I think BLT is gonna top those.

 

[natebenma]

Back from Atlantis- absolutely amazing time and fantastic weather. I'll let you know when I start on the report on that. There won't be a lot of narrative, but more of a pictoral review of everything.

I don't know... There are somethings about it I would like to change. I hope you aren't creating too high of expectations.

I'm guessing even your duds, if there are any, far exceed most of the pictures
I have seen.

What is your favorite resort at Disney World?​

DUH!!!

But a lot of the reasons I love the Beach Club have counterparts in the Boardwalk- my number one reason is just how close it is to EPCOT. I love that I can be in the World Showcase in 5 minutes, or do a takeout from Morocco or France or Sunshine Seasons to enjoy back in my room.

Being able to walk to HS is great too.

The only other Disney resort I have stayed at is All Star Music, and I should find out on Tuesday where we are staying with the teens (I think ASMo)

I haven't spent much time on the BW, never been inside the resort. It's beautiful!!! OMG, I love that chandelier with the hobby horses!

Sorry Tanner didn't love the jarred babyfood! Can't blame him. I remember doing the homemade babyfood thing. I hope it was the food and not the sign of sickness coming on.

Great photos of Illuminations from the bridge. One of the most common questions on the Beach Club board is about where you can see Illuminations without going into EPCOT. These pictures really demonstrate the views of one of the spots we recommend. How crowded was it?

Our last room at the BC had views of Illuminations (poor) but an excellent view of Nightastic! !

Next installment should be coming up shortly, just as soon as Franklin edits and puts up the next batch of pictures. Feel free to PM him some motivation. ​

Franklin- I'm cutting you some slack. I haven't been through all of my photos from our trip yet and I don't even do any processing. We'll be here when you are ready!

 

[Pixel Dust]

Great photos of Illuminations from the bridge. One of the most common questions on the Beach Club board is about where you can see Illuminations without going into EPCOT. These pictures really demonstrate the views of one of the spots we recommend. How crowded was it?

As you can see the bridge is a pretty good spot. It wasn't crowed at all. Everyone there had room to be up on the railing but the bridge is plenty wide were you can stand in the middle and other people can still pass.

 

[Missyrose]

Back from Atlantis- absolutely amazing time and fantastic weather. I'll let you know when I start on the report on that. There won't be a lot of narrative, but more of a pictoral review of everything.



I'm guessing even your duds, if there are any, far exceed most of the pictures
I have seen.



DUH!!!

But a lot of the reasons I love the Beach Club have counterparts in the Boardwalk- my number one reason is just how close it is to EPCOT. I love that I can be in the World Showcase in 5 minutes, or do a takeout from Morocco or France or Sunshine Seasons to enjoy back in my room.

Being able to walk to HS is great too.

The only other Disney resort I have stayed at is All Star Music, and I should find out on Tuesday where we are staying with the teens (I think ASMo)

I haven't spent much time on the BW, never been inside the resort. It's beautiful!!! OMG, I love that chandelier with the hobby horses!

Sorry Tanner didn't love the jarred babyfood! Can't blame him. I remember doing the homemade babyfood thing. I hope it was the food and not the sign of sickness coming on.

Great photos of Illuminations from the bridge. One of the most common questions on the Beach Club board is about where you can see Illuminations without going into EPCOT. These pictures really demonstrate the views of one of the spots we recommend. How crowded was it?

Our last room at the BC had views of Illuminations (poor) but an excellent view of Nightastic! !




Franklin- I'm cutting you some slack. I haven't been through all of my photos from our trip yet and I don't even do any processing. We'll be here when you are ready!

I'm glad you had a wonderful trip, and I can't wait to hear all about it! We visited Beach Club later in the trip and I can see why you love it. It's so cozy! And it smells amazing. I don't know what smells they pump into the lobby, but it's addictive.

Feel free to use any of the Illuminations pictures you want for the BC thread, it's a great spot for people to see the fireworks! It wasn't too crowded, there was no jostling for places or anything like that.

Time to put up the next chapter!
​

 

[Missyrose]

Bang, bang, bang. Franklin and I woke up on Wednesday morning to the sound of Tanner banging on our door. Apparently he was ready to see us. Cutest. Alarm. Ever.

We all grabbed a quick breakfast of bagels and donuts and packed the car. We were out the door by 8:26 and just a few minutes later we arrived at this sight.

Our first arch sighting of the trip!

Where were we going? Only the most obvious choice for our first full day at Disney.

Magic Kingdom, of course!

We were parked by 8:40. Yes! We’re going to make it to the Welcome Show!

We headed for the Monorail and were greeted with a chain across the entrance and a sign pointing us toward the ferry. Monorail fail.

Sigh, maybe we WEREN’T going to make the Welcome Show after all.

It was a lovely ride over to MK, it just took longer than the monorail would have.

I long for the day where I won’t be in such a rush to get everywhere at Disney.

We arrived onshore and the crowds had already dispersed into the park.

We’re walking right down the middle of Main Street USA!

I know they have to refurbish buildings from time to time, but are you telling me there no less hideous way to do it than this big brown box clogging Main Street and the view of the castle?

Speaking of the castle...

Ah, the first sight of Cinderella’s Castle. No matter how many trips I take, it always takes my breath away.

We headed back for Tomorrowland Speedway. You see, I thought any size kid could ride it, but they had to be 32 inches to drive. Nope, they had to be 32 inches to ride at all and Tanner was only 30 inches. Disney planning fail. We made a quick detour instead to the Mad Tea Cups.
Another Disney classic, perfect for Tanner’s first ride at the Magic Kingdom.

He loved it! The only problem was I wasn’t allowed to spin our cup because Franklin wanted to take pictures of Tanner.

From there, we moseyed over to the Hundred Acre Wood. Where I’m pretty sure the adults had more fun in the new interactive queue than Tanner did.

Continued in the next post.​

 

[Missyrose]

Tanner pounding the drum, much like he pounded on our door earlier.

The bee hives sound like they have bees in them, never noticed that before!

Ooooooh, honey!

Time to climb into our hunny pots.

And the verdict?

Another hit, smiles all around.

We grabbed fastpasses for Peter Pan and got the “magic” FPs for Mickey’s Philharmagic, as well.

We headed for the carousel, but first a construction update photo. I can’t believe how much progress they’ve made, and I REALLY can’t wait to see the new Fantasyland (hopefully) in October.

Back to our regularly scheduled attraction, time to pick a horse!

Tanner was ready to go. He was bouncing up and down, willling the ride to start. Then once it started, he wasn’t quite sure about the up and down thing. Then a few minutes into the ride he got the hang of it and was giggling.

Here’s a video Franklin took of Tanner on the carousel. Caution, this much cute should be illegal.

Man that was fun, but someone looked awfully sleepy.

Which made our next stop really perfect: Mickey’s Philharmagic.

Lala, Kotkham and I loved the show, who can resist those songs? Keith and Franklin tolerated it for the women in their lives and Tanner zonked out about a minute in.

Next was a quick flight to Neverland.

We had one more stop in our Fantasyland blitz and that was an around the world cruise.

Once again, Tanner loved the ride. I was really impressed with how engaged he was with everything around him. He kept reaching out for the dolls he liked.

With Fantasyland complete, it’s time to end this chapter. We got so much done in just a couple of hours. I despise getting up early, especially on vacation, but getting to rope drop is the first commandment of any Disney vacation. How many of you make it for rope drop? Oh, and you’ll notice my age in my signature ticked upward today. Yes, friends, it’s my 30th birthday. So now that I’ve finished writing this chapter, it’s time to go get dressed for my birthday dinner.​

 

[natebenma]

I'm glad you had a wonderful trip, and I can't wait to hear all about it! We visited Beach Club later in the trip and I can see why you love it. It's so cozy! And it smells amazing. I don't know what smells they pump into the lobby, but it's addictive.

​

From the Beach Club FAQ:

What is that awesome smell at the Beach Club? Where can I purchase the bath products used at the Yacht Club?
I've never slept better in my life- can I buy the mattress?

Yes!!!

Want to feel like you are living at the Yacht or Beach Club all year long??? You can purchase the body products provided for use during your stay, you can buy the same type of mattress that encourages restful vacation sleep and you can even purchase the scent system used in the lobbies so that your house can smell like your "Home away from home":

The scent generator may be purchased at www.scentairhome.com
The scent used is green clover and aloe

Check out the Disney Resort Collection for bedding and bath products (h2oProducts, Aquatics line)
www.disneyresortcollection.com


PS- I understand that the scent generator is pretty expensive!

Feel free to use any of the Illuminations pictures you want for the BC thread, it's a great spot for people to see the fireworks! It wasn't too crowded, there was no jostling for places or anything like that.

​

Thank you! I appreciate the offer. I have a few fireworks pictures from the bridge up there, but nothing like these. I'll let you know if I do some spring cleaning on the boards.

Time to put up the next chapter!
​

YAY!!!

 

[Reberella]

I LOOOVVVEEE the Boardwalk!
I stayed there a few years ago and it's tied with Beach Club as my favorite resort!
It's just beautiful and fun and all that good stuff!
So glad you like your new "home"!

 

[Maestra99]

Missy! First of all, a very Happy Birthday to you!!!! Welcome to the 30 club. I hope you had a very magical birthday and enjoyed your special dinner!

I wasn't feeling too well this evening, but I finally sat down to relax and your update perked me right up. Your pictures are so amazing! Seriously, Franklin, you are very talented and capture the magic so beautifully. That first picture of the welcome arch literally made me get chill bumps.

I've actually never heard of the "magic" fastpass- how fun! And thanks for showing a peek of the new FL progress. Is that castle in the background Beast's castle? Is that where the Be Our Guest restaurant will be? I obviously need to read up on what's going on out there!

Bummer about the speedway, but I'm glad to see Tanner enjoyed all the other rides!

 

[IheartDDuck]

I'm late, but I'm here!

I'm such a ding dong about the Photopass cards you had asked me for! I got two of them, but then I misplaced them and just found them again today. What a ding bat.

Tanner is so adorable! I can't wait to hear about this trip.

 

[PirateKate]

Tanner looks like he's having so much fun on all the rides! At that age, MK is the perfect park for them.

I love his Lightning McQueen hoodie.

 

[dara00]

happy birthday! great photos. I never noticed all that detail on peter pan's flight while riding the super quick ride!

I'm a rope drop person for sure. this past trip we did it and got so much done!

 

[teekathepony]

Oh wow, what a great start to the day! You guys got a lot done already. Glad Tanner was enjoying himself.
I always get up really early in WDW, between 5-7am depending on the day before, but I never seem to make it anywhere for rope drop! I don't really try either. I tend to want to get there just after RD so I don't have to deal with the initial crowd.

Happy Birthday!
I hope you had a great day!