The "How Could You?" trips x2-the finale! 2/12

[Tiggerrn2]

The Segwa Tour looks like so much fun. But I have to tell you my hubby is a total klutz and he'd probably fall right off of it.

Love the picture with Minnie Mouse.

And beautiful pictures of World Showcase.

You'd be suprised by how remarkably easy it is to ride. Not hard to get the hang of at all.
Minnie is quite photogenic, isn't she?!
Epcot is an awesome place to take photos.

 

[Tiggerrn2]

October 3rd
This was our last full day for the parks. The plan was to get to DHS early and score some points on TSM along with quick fastpasses, head over for a TOT ride and RNRC once or twice, maybe Star Tours and then head out to AK for a bit of the afternoon.

We were on the bus by 8:08 and at the Studios by 8:28. We did the Dash to TSM, and I grabbed the FPs and we got in the stand by line..........and.......... we stood there!The ride was down. The CMs couldn't say for how long and couldn't gaurantee if we stood in "this line" that "wasn't really a line" for the ride, that we would be first to go when it did come back up. J and I looked at each other-we were at the front, nothing else exciting to do, we'd wait and see. Some CMs (shout out to Chris, Todd and Lisa-I left them a very complimentary letter at Guest Services upon leaving the park) kept those of us that stuck around to wait it out entertained with some Disney Trivia! I was loving this. We had a great time. They brought out some hula hoops for the kids and stickers for prizes. All in all I think we waited about 45 minutes. Went on through and scored some points. STILL a beaver. I don't think I will ever get away from that title. Wasn't too long til our fast pass time, so we went in to One Man's Dream and looked at all the memorabilia and watched the movie.

We headed back over to TSM and................it was down again! I laughed as Chris and Todd were once again out on crowd control. We told them maybe we'd see them later.
It was about 11. We were getting a little hungry by now. Starring Rolls was a short walk away and we went there to grab a large cinammon roll and a Cherry danish. Both were awsesome!
We headed on over to RNRC and rode with minimal wait. Neither of us were really feeling TOT so we went back to check on TSM-still down. We decided to head on out. On the way out, we passed on our FP to some unsuspecting and grateful latecomers.
It was warm, but there was no boat at the dock, so I figured we could make the walk over to the Beach Club (I wanted to look for something in their gift shop) and then catch a bus to AK from there. By the time we reached BC/YC we were very grateful for the air conditioning. We shopped for a bit and then headed out to the bus waiting area.
The park did not seem all that crowded.

First we grabbed some FPs for the Safari. Then EE was calling our name, and we hit that twice.

Then we decided to check out some animals on the Maharajah Jungle Trek.

Next we went on a 2 week safari.

I love the shops in the AK park. Their items are so much more unique than what is offerred in the other parks.

 

[Tiggerrn2]

Of course, you never leave a safari without taking ample photos of the animals (even when you already have ample amounts of photos of said animals from prior Safaris....)

and I always manage to get plenty of rear ends in said Safari photos..

We had to stop for a moment to allow this one the right of way

Some day, I want to take this little tour-seems it would be sooo neat.

I love the giraffes. I could hang out and watch them all day long.

Another road crosser----and another behind!

one more giraffe

We moved on to the elephants (and I tried to get a quick photo of the baby)
but they were moving out quickly.

up next, the ever so sweet smelling flamingo island!

On to the Rhinos

This guy looked totally thrilled to be there.

The lions were awake!!!

Yep, awake, but still not moving for me!

PUMBA!!

And the layer of those eggs!!

After our great safari, we hit a few more shops and decided to head on over to the AKL for our early dinner at

 

[Tiggerrn2]

I was really looking forward to trying this one! I LOVE the AKL. We have stayed there twice over the past 8 years (once at Halloween and once at Christmas), and it is just beautiful. Hidden Mickey!!

We checked in and then went out to the lookout area to see some more animals!

I love how the CMs hide the food in the logs to bring the animals closer to view.

Came on in to use the washroom before dinner and had to take a photo of the neat sink.

the restaurant is really pretty inside.

We had a nice seat with a view of the savannah

This little fella thought he'd like to come in for dinner!

This was our bread service from the appetizer menu, and it was DELICIOUS!

My favorites were the Garlic Naan and the cucumber sauce.

I had the NY Strip steak and J had the Tandori Chicken. Both meals were beyond excellent! For desert we had the chocolate cake and the desert trio. The mousse in that cup was fabulous!!!

I would highly recommend Sanaa to anyone. We had nothing that was disappointing in the slightest. The CMs were great as well.
We went to Jambo House to have a look around and shopped in the Zawadi Marketplace and then decided to catch a bus to DTD and do some more shopping.

They had all their decorations out as well.

We hit the World of Disney and then wandered around. I managed to locate the entire set of Orange Bird pins for my DD (minus the chaser) while at DTD. Very exciting for me. Even big kids have fun pin trading. I think it is the thrill of the hunt more than anything.
Before heading back to our resort, we decided to grab sandwiches from Earl of Sandwich to have for lunch the next day. Awesome choice, I must say. I had the best BLT!! We headed on back to the hot tub and then to bed by 11:45. We had a great last day!

 

[Tiggerrn2]

We did sleep in a bit today. We needed to be ready for ME by noon, so I took this morning to take my resort photos. I guess I am always too excited that first day to do any resort photos-always ready to get to a park!

Come along and enjoy CBR:

The events for today!

Looking across to Jamaica (our section) and then towards the island.

walking into Port Royale

gift shops-always so bright and colorful (they just suck you right in)

the arcade games I recognized. Everything else were the ones you sit in and drive or ones I was not familiar with at all.

 

[Tiggerrn2]

moving on to the food court area

the grab and go drink station

and the table service area

back outside to continue our tour

the marina

pool bar

the island name

walking back on over to our section

on the island as we walked over

Retirement jobs maybe?

 

[Tiggerrn2]

We're back!!!

quiet pool for the Jamaica section

and our parking area

Now it was time to pack up and get on over to the Custom House to catch the ME. There were signs posted that said you could not use the internal busses if you had luggage. So we just decided to pull our cases behind us and walk......it is a looooonnnnnnngggg walk! When we got there, the CMs there said that sign does not apply to carry ons!!! wish we'd known. It was quite warm, and we were really sweaty. Thankfully we had a few minutes to cool off before our bus arrived.

We made it to the airport in more than enough time to enjoy our Earl of Sandwich sandwiches and prepare for our flight home. Our flight was uneventful and Js family was there to greet us at the airport for our ride home.

I was glad to be home, but really wished I could have brought the weather back with me.

 

[Tiggerrn2]

Will try to post final thoughts and photos of souveniers soon.

 

[Tiggerrn2]

Wrapping this up....final thoughts.
We had great experiences with these 2 trips. I always love going to the parks, but the experience of being on Disney property and just enjoying what was around us was truly great fun!
I would most definitely do a no-park stay again. It was more relaxed and enjoyable than always rushing out the door in the morning. We got to take in the experiences of the Boardwalk and some of the other hotel entertainment that we have not taken the time to enjoy in the past. But it was still Disney!!! The sights and smells were still there.

And, of course, trip #2 without kids, was a blast as well! Loved being able to enjoy the nicer eating places and the Segway tour was amazing fun! I do seem to miss having the kids along, though. It always makes me smile to watch them having so much fun and doing the little things-finding Hidden Mickeys, trading pins, searching the World for the great Vinylmation trade!

I had planned to do a photo spread of the souveniers, but have been really busy here lately and haven't been able to gather all the items for a photo. It was all the usual stuff: T-shirts, pins, (I did get some Epcot 30th Anniv items), and vinylmations. I may get a chance to do that yet next week. We have to recover from Winterdance here this weekend, first. DD big ballet show is this weekend and I still have some steaming and sewing to do, so I best get on it!!

Hope you all have enjoyed coming along. If you read and didn't comment, I would still love to hear from you.

 

[CJK]

Great reports!!! I loved how different your 2 trips were, yet both really fun and both were still under the umbrella of Disney! My parents go to Disney each year and rarely go to the parks. I used to think they were nuts, but now I get it! I think I already told you that we're going again soon and will spend very little time in the parks. I now think it will be great thanks to you! Do you have any future trips planned yet? If we ever find that we stay at CBR the same time as you again, I'll be sure to say hi!! Thanks so much for writing and sharing your pics. It helps us get a taste of Disney even when we're far, far away from there! Now get planning your next trip!

 

[KatMark]

Somehow I missed your "last day."

Too bad about TSM being down, not once...but twice. But hooray for terrific CM's helping to make the time pass in a fun way.

Great photos on the safari (don't we all get a few of those "back sides"?).

Now you have me intrigued about Saana for dinner on our next trip. I'll have to have Mark look at the menu.

Grabbing an EOS sandwich for eating at the airport before going home is an excellent idea.

Great pictures of the CBR...the food area (although I didn't care for their food) is so colorful.

 

[Tiggerrn2]

Great reports!!! I loved how different your 2 trips were, yet both really fun and both were still under the umbrella of Disney! My parents go to Disney each year and rarely go to the parks. I used to think they were nuts, but now I get it! I think I already told you that we're going again soon and will spend very little time in the parks. I now think it will be great thanks to you! Do you have any future trips planned yet? If we ever find that we stay at CBR the same time as you again, I'll be sure to say hi!! Thanks so much for writing and sharing your pics. It helps us get a taste of Disney even when we're far, far away from there! Now get planning your next trip!

So glad I could help put you at ease doing a no/little park time trip. Hope you have a wonderful time!! Thanks for coming along on our adventures and commenting along the way.

Somehow I missed your "last day."

Too bad about TSM being down, not once...but twice. But hooray for terrific CM's helping to make the time pass in a fun way.

Great photos on the safari (don't we all get a few of those "back sides"?).

Now you have me intrigued about Saana for dinner on our next trip. I'll have to have Mark look at the menu.

Grabbing an EOS sandwich for eating at the airport before going home is an excellent idea.

Great pictures of the CBR...the food area (although I didn't care for their food) is so colorful.

I hope you do try Sanaa if you have never eaten there before. It was wonderful!! Try for an early opening ADR and ask for a window seat. It will not disappoint!
So glad you joined in for these adventures! Now heading back to enjoy yours!!

 

[mickeystoontown]

How the heck did I get unsubscribed to your report? Who knows? I caught up and there's simply too much to comment on. Thanks so much for sharing your trip with us and especially for posting the pictures of the CBR. I could sooooo be sitting on those beaches right now. Darn work!

 

[Tiggerrn2]

How the heck did I get unsubscribed to your report? Who knows? I caught up and there's simply too much to comment on. Thanks so much for sharing your trip with us and especially for posting the pictures of the CBR. I could sooooo be sitting on those beaches right now. Darn work!

No worries! Glad you enjoyed it! Thought of you often during our stay at CBR. And I have to agree, right now I could soooooooo be sitting with you on those beaches. We had our first snow that stuck around in the grass. Guess I can't really complain....this is Chicagoland after all.

 

[Tiggerrn2]

Since I have fallen to the last page... I guess I will put this TR to rest. It is finished after all. Nothing new to report and never got around to gathering all the souveniers for a last photo.
Happy to report that we will be returning this summer to the Place Where Dreams Come True!!! Just waiting on my job to let me know what my approved dates will be. But there will be 2 trips!! June and August. Need to put that Annual Pass to work. Trying to figure out a way to squeeze in a quick trip in March. If only I could find some cheap airfare (or someone who never uses their frequent flier miles and felt like being generous )!!

Thank you to everyone who read along and made comments along the way. It was fun walking down memory lane!

 

[gracer9977]

I am really late to the party but I just found your TR and really enjoying all of your adventures.

While reading through and looking at all your pictures I was checking out a pic of your kids in front of one of the Poly statues and my son comes running over and says I want that shirt. No idea what he was talking about and then realized that your son has a Sonic shirt on. Funny that he managed to pick that out amongst everything else that was in the picture. He is 5 and a new Sonic fan.

Loved all your pictures. One day I would love to stay at the Poly, it is out of our price range for now, but maybe someday.

 

[Tiggerrn2]

I am really late to the party but I just found your TR and really enjoying all of your adventures.

While reading through and looking at all your pictures I was checking out a pic of your kids in front of one of the Poly statues and my son comes running over and says I want that shirt. No idea what he was talking about and then realized that your son has a Sonic shirt on. Funny that he managed to pick that out amongst everything else that was in the picture. He is 5 and a new Sonic fan.

Loved all your pictures. One day I would love to stay at the Poly, it is out of our price range for now, but maybe someday.

Thank you for reading and letting me know you were out there. Kids will find things no one else will ever notice. That is the beauty of taking them to WDW. You get to see everything through their eyes.
The Poly was a real treat for us, and even though we could only afford a couple of nights, we really enjoyed our stay.

 

[wiigirl]

Thank you for reading and letting me know you were out there. Kids will find things no one else will ever notice. That is the beauty of taking them to WDW. You get to see everything through their eyes.
The Poly was a real treat for us, and even though we could only afford a couple of nights, we really enjoyed our stay.

I love the poly!

 

[Tiggerrn2]

I love the poly!

It has taken a place in my heart with the favorites. So many of the resorts at Disney are just so awesome! Hard to pick if money isn't an option. Unfortunately, my usual budget only allows for the low end deluxe when I get a discount or moderates with a discount. But I do have to say, after our exploration of Pop Century, I wouldn't hesitate to spend some time there, and probably will do just that this summer.