The End of our Chunky Year of Disney! Dec 2017 TR - NEW 3/21 THE END of our YEAR OF DISNEY

[missangelalexis]

Great last day! And a great way to wrap up your Year of Disney! Sounds like it was without a doubt a year to remember

 

[Stasieki]

I have loved following you along this year. Did I miss the Victoria and Alberts? Or is that on one to come?

 

[disneyAndi14]

Loved reading along. Glad you had so many fun trips! Will you be staying at the Poly DVC on your September trip? How awesome to have the DVC option now.

 

[annie170]

What a fabulous year! I have thoroughly enjoyed reading every one of your trip reports.

When I travel to Disney after just one year, I get a lot of "Weren't you just there?" I can't imagine what kind of remarks you get! Some people just don't get it.

Congrats again on DVC!

 

[amalone1013]

Nooooo... I have so enjoyed following along on your year of Disney! And I'm glad there are many more to come now! I'm also honored we got to be one of your Dismeets

I definitely have a stay at the Dolphin booked right now... in September... for the 17th-23rd

 

[chunkymonkey]

I would call that a pretty darn good year! It has been great reading all about it! Wow, I'm pretty surprised that you had so many new experiences at Disney, but that's the thing, isn't it? All ways something new to do, to see, to eat.

It was a bucket list year for sure! Not sure we can do Disney like that again, but you are indeed right, that each time we went there was something new and fun to do, it never gets old!

Another great trip report and what a year you’ve had!
Glad Chunkysis is traveling with you in September can’t wait to see her pretty outfits

Thank you! It was a fabulous year and I'm sad it's over but looking forward to the break and experiencing Disney again in September. After a long hiatus I'll be like a kid in a candy store!

Hi Su-Lynn! Thank you for the pleasure of reading all your fab trip reports!!!! I feel like I know you! Hope we can meet up in the future!

Hi Jenny! Thanks so much for reading! I'd love to meet up if our paths cross again!

Kind of sad that I will have to wait until September 2018 to read more about your Chunky travels! But what an amazing year.

Thank you! And no you probably won't have to wait too long...I should have another TR coming up soon about our Food and Wine fall trip!

This is an amazing list of trips! I didn't know you started one for your Marvel Cruise. Going over there now!

And it goes with out saying, Great Trip Report, as always!

Yup! It's our cruise on the Disney Magic to Canada. It was amazing. I love love loved the cruise.
And thank you so much for reading Ariella! I hope our paths will cross one day!

I would say that qualifies as an amazing year ! I switched my trip from sept to May in order to go with my brother and his family. Darn it. Would have been there at the same time again

Thanks for taking the time to share your adventures with us

PS I haven’t seen Nemo either. I have even had a fast pass and skipped it.

Thank you! It was a fantastic and amazing year!
Oh too bad!! But there will be a next time, I'm sure!
Thanks for reading!
I hope we both get to see Nemo at least once! I don't know why I always skip it, I think it's because there's something else I'd rather do more or we run out of time. Oh well!

 

[bcwife76]

Oh my goodness, a whole year of Disney and now it's over But many years of adventures await now that you own DVC

 

[buzzrelly]

EPIC YEAR! It's so amazing that you got to see and do so many new and cool things in just one year!

I was sad that this was ending, but I just realized I have some of your other trip reports to catch up on. See you there

 

[BurningRome]

Not sure I'll do a PTR for this yet, maybe after I get through my other TRs!

Glad to hear you weren't scared away by the Summer heat! We are planning a trip for late August and your other report had me a bit nervous!

Glad you had such a great Disney year! And thanks for all the trip reports! They have kept me going when I run out of things to plan on our trip.

 

[chunkymonkey]

IKR?! Totally don't get it!

Some people must have all the time in the World to wait on line for that long...but I'd rather...do nothing than wait in line for 6 hours!!

Another shake your head moment.

I guess Disney is not everyone's happy place.

I got one on my last trip too and enjoyed it. Good for a small pick me up.

I love Satuli! I think it's my favorite quick service at the moment. I wish they had it at all the parks, LOL.

Tiffins... ahhhhh. Love this place!

Me too, soooo good!

And it's so good too! I hope you get to it soon.

I will watch Nemo if it takes me the next 50 years!! But hopefully it was take less.

Isn't it amazing?! I adored my meal there so much!

It was amazingly good. We ate there 2 years ago for my birthday and then we ate there again during food and wine last year for a special chef's tasting dinner. It was really somethin'. So unique and many of the things they served you may not see on any other menu.

Yay!!! Another trip in the making.

Yay!! I'm so excited!!

Great trip report! We will just miss you for your September trip, I'll be there the following week.

Oh too bad!! It would have been fun to meet up! Next time!

Bahaha good strategy!

I do whatever it takes.

Yum! We tried Satuli Canteen and thought it was tasty! I was going to order the kids' bowl, but it didn't have as many options, so I got the adult portion instead and split it with Nathan.

We usually do that too when we're having a bigger lunch. We split the adult chicken bowl and then we can a snack later. Works out well!

Mmmmmm me too!

The octopus is so good isn't it? I call it crack octopus. There's definitely crack in it. And there's also crack in the Disney popcorn because I can't stop eating that either.

I have a lot of feelings about this show. I love Nemo, though it seems to have taken a bit of a dip recently. I think it's on its way back up as new cast members get settled and start doing better performances. But it's a great show if you ever get a chance to get there!

Ah ok, thanks for your expert take on the show. I think we're gonna try and watch it in sept.

Wow! That's amazing! What an awesome year!

Thank you, it was!! Especially getting the chance to meet up with you and your whole wedding party!

I love this! There are so many things to do at WDW that's there's always something new to try, and you hit some amazing highlights!

They are continually offering new things all the time that it's so hard to keep up! Last year we attempted to but it was pretty crazy, there were so many new things! And each of them more amazing!

Congrats again! That's wonderful!

Thanks so much for sharing your big Disney year with us!

Thank you so much and thank you Meghan for following along and taking the time to meet me and my crazy Ohana. Your Ohana was very cool

What a fabulous year! I have thoroughly enjoyed reading every one of your trip reports.

When I travel to Disney after just one year, I get a lot of "Weren't you just there?" I can't imagine what kind of remarks you get! Some people just don't get it.

Congrats again on DVC!

Thank you so much for reading!
We did get a lot of "You're going again?" judgement but we just didn't care any more. Steve would make up something about having to make the most use of our APs, but I just say, "So what? It's my happy place!"

Nooooo... I have so enjoyed following along on your year of Disney! And I'm glad there are many more to come now! I'm also honored we got to be one of your Dismeets

I definitely have a stay at the Dolphin booked right now... in September... for the 17th-23rd

Thank you!! And yes! So excited to finally meet you guys! It was a fun evening.
Aww we will just miss you. But I'm sure our paths will cross again!

 

[chunkymonkey]

Great last day! And a great way to wrap up your Year of Disney! Sounds like it was without a doubt a year to remember

Thank you! It was indeed a year to remember. Every trip is so different and unique it didn't get boring at all!

I have loved following you along this year. Did I miss the Victoria and Alberts? Or is that on one to come?

Thank you for reading along! Victoria and Albert's will be part of my Oct/Nov Wine and Dine TR...which I haven't started yet, LOL. I was thinking of just doing a Dining Report, but I feel that so many things happened as well outside of just eating...we ran a 5k, and went to the Wine and Dine post-race party at Epcot. We also did MNSSHP too. But it was mostly about eating. LOL

Loved reading along. Glad you had so many fun trips! Will you be staying at the Poly DVC on your September trip? How awesome to have the DVC option now.

Thanks for following along! Maybe now that this is over I can catch up on your TR!
We are actually not using our points yet. We will probably bank them to go on more trips or a longer trip next year.
It was actually a better deal to pay OOP for Sept of this year just because prices are good that time of year. We are staying at the Beach Club!

Oh my goodness, a whole year of Disney and now it's over But many years of adventures await now that you own DVC

I know, I can't believe it's over now! It was such a spectacular year. And same to you now that you're DVC owners too!!

EPIC YEAR! It's so amazing that you got to see and do so many new and cool things in just one year!

I was sad that this was ending, but I just realized I have some of your other trip reports to catch up on. See you there

It was for sure, EPIC!! It's so cool how each trip there was a unique event or experience we managed to do. Keeps things from getting boring (not that I'd ever be bored at Disney!) but it kept Steve excited too.
See you on my other TRs!

Glad to hear you weren't scared away by the Summer heat! We are planning a trip for late August and your other report had me a bit nervous!

Glad you had such a great Disney year! And thanks for all the trip reports! They have kept me going when I run out of things to plan on our trip.

Haha, it's not like we weren't scared...be plenty scared but be prepared. We had the neck fans, cool towels, and we'd grab ice whenever we can and rub it on our arms and stuff. We did what we needed to do to survive!
It's doable though, and Sept is not really any better...but it's the cheapest time of year!
Thank you so much for reading!!

 

[HumblePie]

I had such a fun time following along with your year of Disney! Thanks so much for sharing your adventures

 

[Raeven]

I really had the best year ever during 2016-2017. It was my dream to go more than once per calendar year and finally that dream came true! I could get used to this!

It's so awesome you got to go so much!

We said goodbye to Wishes, and The Great Movie Ride (RIP), but we also welcomed Happily Ever After. I'm a little sad about the former two, but I really love HEA and I'm sure all the new rides they put in will be fabulous, but I do have a soft spot for TGMR .

And so many cool things happened in the years you had your pass! I miss TGMR too, but I'm glad we got to be there to say bye to Wishes and see HEA start.

Which brings me to this very special shout out: I had a year of fabulous DISMeets!! Thank you everyone, you know who you are, and I really appreciate you all taking the time to meet us and getting to know you all in person!

It was so great meeting you twice last year.

 

[MeghanEmily]

There's definitely crack in it. And there's also crack in the Disney popcorn because I can't stop eating that either.

YES!!!

Thank you so much and thank you Meghan for following along and taking the time to meet me and my crazy Ohana. Your Ohana was very cool

It was our pleasure! Thanks so much for taking time out of your vacation to stop and say hi to us.

 

[soniam]

Finally caught up on this trip report too. I am working from home, since I'm kind of sick today... cough, cough Actually, I am a bit sick, and work is really slow right now. I'm sure that will change Monday. Anyway, it sounds like an awesome trip. Congratulations on DVC. Glad to hear dad is doing better. Love to see the Tiffins reports again. We just got back from Disney a week ago and ate at Tiffins for at least our 5th time. I have gotten the whole fried fish twice and absolutely love it. DS gets so spoiled there, because we let him get the wagyu, even though he gets it with no sauce or veggies. We got a card and chocolate this time too. One other time we got peppermint bark.

Galactic Nights sounds really cool. It's never been at a time when we go. Maybe someday. We did the Void last week. It was really cool. It was amazing how much happens in such a short time. We got a hint from one of the employees afterward. DH was wearing a Han Solo shirt, and he said, "What would Han do?" Hopefully, that's not a big spoiler for anyone. Blasting away was totally fun. I accidentally starting shooting when we were in a tight closed room I think I maybe even accidentally shot my son or husband. It's just a game, right

We had a great time eating at Victoria & Albert with you. That meal was so phenomenal. I am looking forward to the report. We also enjoyed hanging out with you at MNSSHP too.

We have a bit of a lull until our next WDW trip. I am planning on going to Destination D in November. It's the weekend before Thanksgiving. If DS pulls up his grades (takes after his dad, slacker genius), then we will all go to WDW and Universal for the week of Thanksgiving. I am thinking of doing the MVMCP; I have never been. We do have a Disneyland/Aulani trip planned this summer and a 20th anniversary cruise to the Southern Caribbean in April to fill the gap. I am pretty sure we are doing Disneyland in summer 2019 for the D23 Expo and hopefully Galaxy's Edge, but I don't know when we will do WDW. I don't think I could go a year without it though.

 

[Monykalyn]

What a great year! And now I know why you like Flower&Garden so much. I think it's my favorite too. The park is so pretty!! And we hit every booth but one lol.
Loved reading along on your trips!

 

[kastoney]

Thanks for sharing your year of Disney with all of us Su-Lynn!!! You truly had an amazing year and I was thrilled I got to (finally) be a small part of it !

 

[dizneeat]

Our next planned trip is Sept 1-9th 2018 with Steve and my sister, Chunkysis (Su-Queen) our resident character picture-taking card-making guru! Not sure I'll do a PTR for this yet, maybe after I get through my other TRs!

Thank you for sharing your Year Of Disney with us all. Even though I have not commented a lot lately (due to illness and work) I really, really enjoyed coming along. Your TRs are such a wonderful treat when you are in need of a pick me up. (As I often was this fall and winter).

And hey - we will be at Disney the same week you are - staying at OKW (with Alison and Fran) and BCV -and I promise I will do my best not to fall ill again and MAYBE, just maybe you could consider a DISmeet with us this summer.

 

[2xcited2sleep]

All hail the Toy Story Mania champion!! What an amazing year! I’ve loved following along and look forward to your new adventures - especially that dining report... it’s all about the food!

 

[we"reofftoneverland]

Hi Everyone! Thank you for the well wishes! My dad has just moved back home after a month in hospitals and rehabilitation. He is doing much better, and is glad to be home. We just have to hope for a good prognosis when he visits the doctor again in a few weeks. He will have to undergo a lot of tests again to make sure he is recovering but he does feel better and healthier so fingers are crossed that his treatment is working. Thank you all and replies are coming soon!

In the meantime, here's my latest update!

December 17th - Not so Magic Kingdom

We began today by heading to MK. I had made FP+ for Pirates, 7DMT, and Buzz Lightyear. We didn't get there at rope drop since we were out so late the night before, so when we got there, MK was already packed. I guess the holiday crowds were beginning to trickle in but holy cow I think this was probably the most crowded I've seen MK in the entire year of Disney. I can't imagine how it would be the next weekend when it REALLY was Christmas!​

OK so I forgot to mention that I lost my Magicband at the Star Wars Galactic Nights party. I lost it on RnRC so I didn't have my band all night. It wasn't a big deal since we didn't really need it and so all the photos went on Steve's MB. But today it was a pain because I had to keep fishing out my AP card to enter the park and to use my FPs. The band I lost was the Leia and R2D2 white and blue band which I had purchased earlier last year during our May the Fourth trip, but no worries as I had a back up at home it was just a pain for the remainder of the days I was there, and of course I forgot to pack our backup MBs which I usually bring on every trip and never needed. Murphy's Law! Anyways, I browsed the stores to see if there were any new MBs released that would catch my eye and so far nothing really stood out to me so I decided not to get a new band since I had about 15 others back home.

Because it was so crowded at MK we just did our 3 FP+ and had a lunch at my favorite, Columbia Harbor House. We split a meal that consisted of an adult platter as well as a kids meal - fish n chips and chicken nuggets. It was good and totally hit the spot for lunch. Good tip is to use the mobile ordering through the MDE app as the line was very long to order. It was really only long to order as picking up food didn’t take long at all. ​

After lunch we got to meet Gaston again. He was the only thing we waited on line for. We first met him in May on my “Best Day Ever” and he once again did not disappoint. He’s so funny I crack up so much. Now looking at the pictures I this this might have been the same Gaston we met in May!

MK was so crowded that we just decided to leave since everything had an insane wait, even the Peoplemover! There were lines for everything, photographers, food, characters, etc. Too bad MK was not as magical this time, but we are lazy and won't wait on anything longer than 25 minutes, lol. We headed out and hopped on a bus back to the Dolphin and just chilled and went to the pools and hot tubs for a bit. It was nice to just spend an afternoon chilling in Disney. I usually don’t allot much time for pools or breaks but considering this was our 7th trip that year, I think we were OK to not do power Disney anymore.

That evening we had a lovely dinner at our favorite, Yachtsman Steakhouse. This was Steve’s birthday-eve dinner and it was very special because our favorite server, David was there as well. I had emailed him before our dinner and told him it was Steve’s birthday and we indeed got some special treatment. Thanks David! We were seated in a little alcove room that we had sat in before (in November), it’s a little more quiet than the main dining room but not so separate that it’s cut off. David was there to greet us as usual and we had an awesome time chatting about Star Wars and Disney!

David always knows our order – some red wine, and a porterhouse done medium-rare with some steakhouse sides: caramelized onions, creamed spinach, and mac n cheese. This time we also got a French Onion soup to start which makes the perfect accompaniment to the yummy pull-apart onion rolls and roasted garlic. In between our appetizer and dessert, David gave us some palate cleansers of mango sorbet in champagne, delicious! And for dessert, a beautiful chocolate mousse dome with a birthday greeting for Steve. I highly recommend Yachtman Steakhouse for a great traditional steak dinner – you can’t go wrong here! And please tell David I say hi! ​

After dinner we managed to head to Epcot for EMH, once again crowded as heck but we caught most of the holiday version of Illuminations and walked around the World Showcase a bit. The only ride that didn't have insane waits that was open was Mission Space: Green, so we headed that way while watching the end of Illuminations. I prefer the green side anyways as I cannot stomach the orange! The weather was really nice too – cool but not cold which made being outside very enjoyable. We walked back to the Dolphin and enjoyed the night air.

Coming up – we start of Steve’s birthday with some virtual reality!
​

Pictures from Today:

Crowded MK and some Christmas Decorations:

Lunch at CHH:

Meeting with Gaston:

Back at the Dolphin, here's the new quick service they have in the lobby. I don't think I got anything just took a look around:

​

Dinner at Yachtsman Steakhouse:

We got there early so waiting outside for our table:

Steve's customized menu:

Rolls and roasted garlic and butter:

French onion soup:

Palate cleanser:

Porterhouse with herb butter:

Sides (minus the spinach which is not pictured):

Dessert:

Our incredible server David:

Catching Illuminations:

Was walking when I took these:

Mission Space:

More posts to come!​

Wow, that food looks beyond amazing!!