The Real Housewives of WDW - 11/15: In Closing

[PrincessPSU]

Longtime lurker subscribing. You had me at Real Housewives!

 

[Dizneydaz]

You got me with the title! RHONJ is my guilty pleasure!

 

[1Princess1Prince2006]

Hi V! Can't wait to read along! Love the other housewives and I'm sure y'all make the perfect Disney ones.

 

[Dizmom0923]

10 hour drive for me!!!!! I try to leave in the middle of the night so the kids will sleep some of the way and I am the only driver!!!! Saw last nights RHONJ...Danielle Staub is nuts but I love the show!

 

[PrincessV]

Joining in! Great start so far... looking forward to reading more!!!!

Welcome, and thank you!

I have read some of your earlier reports and can't wait to hear all about this trip.

I knew your name sounded familiar - welcome back!

V!!!
Just found you. I haven't been on DIS very much lately...found facebook! This sounds like fun. Can't wait to get home & start reading!!

You mean Crackbook?! Thanks for coming back!

So glad you've started!

Thanks, me too!

Longtime lurker subscribing. You had me at Real Housewives!

Yay, thanks for coming out of lurkdom!

You got me with the title! RHONJ is my guilty pleasure!

Isn't it fun? Thanks for joining in!

Hi V! Can't wait to read along! Love the other housewives and I'm sure y'all make the perfect Disney ones.

Hi Lori! Um... we have our moments.

10 hour drive for me!!!!! I try to leave in the middle of the night so the kids will sleep some of the way and I am the only driver!!!!

How do you do it?! I used to be able to drive straight through, 20 or more hours. Not anymore. I start falling asleep, lol!

 

[PrincessV]

Sorry this took longer than anticipated to get going… my return to work and “real life” was a tad more tumultuous than expected. Nothing catastrophic, but I’ve had NO free time.

Wait – no, I did have a little free time… I spent it looking at options for our next big vacation!



Anyway, it’s time to get this thing going. Before I forget what happened. Or make another WDW visit. Not necessarily in that order.


So, Day One. Arrival day. Based on past experience, I’ve learned to plan precious little for our arrival days. For one thing, I know there’s no way we’ll ever get to a park for rope drop, despite being an hour and half away by car. Hasn’t happened yet; not likely to happen in the future.

Plus, I don’t like leaving a car full of our belongings without supervision. Which means we need to check in and at least leave our stuff with Bell Services. Again, no way that’s going to happen and make rope drop.

I also no longer make firm dining plans on Arrival Day. After a few too many trips on which our room had problems, or just plain wasn’t ready until 6pm, I’d rather not stress over fixing a room situation AND getting us to a certain place at a certain time.

Basically, I like Arrival Day to be a low-key, take things as they come kind of day.


My “plan” for this particular arrival day, June 30, included the following:

1. Drive to the Yacht Club Resort (YC); check in and store our belongings.
2. Meet my brother for lunch in East Orlando.
3. Swim.
4. Renew Leo’s Annual Pass and meet Tracy (T) in Epcot (EP) later in the evening.
5. Find something to eat for dinner along the way.
6. Get to bed early.


See number 2 there? That’s right; no sooner were we going to get to Disney, then we were going to leave it! Don’t worry; it’ll be okay.

But before I get too far ahead of myself, let’s talk about our arrival at the YC.

Our drive across Florida was free of any issues – a major coup when it comes to I-4. So we got to the YC plenty early and I had no expectations for a room being ready.

Check in was a tad confusing, considering my plans. I certainly didn’t expect it to be, however. Most hotels have you pull your car into the porte cochere, check in, and then do something with the vehicle, whether it be self-park, valet or go somewhere. Right?

Wrong. At the YC. Where I was told to pull up, back it into a little spot, pass my stuff to Bell Services, go park my car far away, come back to check in, and then go back to the far-away car to go back out.

It was suggested that I valet it if I didn’t want to walk to and from the self-park area, but I explained that we were heading right back out after checking in, so I couldn’t see sending it away with a valet for $12, only to come back five minutes later for it after checking in.

Mr. Snippy Bellman informed me that “check in takes a long time ma’am. There’s a lot to explain and it could take you half an hour or more.” With an attitude.

Okay, okay, Mr. Snippy Bellman didn’t know whether I was a first-time guest or me, V, returning guest for the billionth time. I politely mentioned that we’ve visited WDW many, many times and I was sure check in wouldn’t take long, but if I wasn’t allowed to leave my car anywhere near the entrance to check-in, well, so be it.

I wasn’t thrilled, but tried not to let it ruin our first YC experience. I parked in the self-parking lot, told Leo to leave his rain jacket in the car, since it was sunny and we’d be right back (HA!), and hiked back up to where we’d just left.


At that point, things began moving earnestly in a better direction.

Before reaching the front doors, a lovely Cast Member approached us and asked, “Are you PrincessV? Yes? Then this must be Master Leo. Welcome to the Yacht Club! I’m Suzy Oh So Nice and it will be my pleasure to help you check in.”

Now THAT was more like it!

Suzy Oh So Nice somehow magically knew that I’d checked in online and passed me to Mr. Awesome Smile, who took – wait for it… - five minutes to hand me my key cards and tell me my room number.

Mr. Snippy Bellman? I hate to say “I told you so.” But… I TOLD YOU SO!


Oh well. Since we had plenty of time and the car was nowhere nearby anyway, Leo and I went up to check out the room. I’d requested something “near the lobby,” knowing it might mean a horrible view, given that it was a Standard category, but certain that we did not want to wind up down the far end wing of the resort.

Sure enough, we were within a few doors of the elevator, more or less just upstairs of the marina! And our view? Not bad at all. Technically, I suppose it was of a parking lot, but I had to really look to see the lot; between us and it was a little retention pond and lots and lots of tall bushes and trees. Perfect!

As for the room… well I’d looked at plenty of photos online to get a feel for what the newly renovated YC rooms looked like, and none of them did it justice. So I didn’t really try, either. I took this one with my phone, though:

And took this one for Leo, who really liked this lamp:

I LOVE the duvet covers instead of nasty bedspreads! I can only hope they actually get washed between guests, but they seemed fresh and clean.

Other things I loved about our room:

~The rich, yet not in-my-face color scheme and nautical accents. V loves the sea.
~An abundance of light, both natural during the day and electronic at night. (Remember that – V also likes light.)
~The just-soft-enough mattress and just-firm-enough for this side-sleeper pillows. (Remember that, too.)
~The many drawers and large closet to house all our crap.

My only complaints are the same complaints I have for most any hotel room, with a few exceptions:

~Too-small toilet/shower area.
~No coat/bag hooks inside the door!

I’ll say it right now and not leave you in suspense: I fell in love with the YC. As in, I’ve found “my” Disney resort and only wish there was a YC DVC property.


But we did need to leave “my” resort. For a little while anyway. So we headed back out to the car. In the rain. Minus Leo’s rain jacket. Gah! We huddled under my small umbrella and ran-walked to the car as quick as we could. Lesson learned. Never again on that trip was I unprepared for rain.

We had a lunch date with my brother, who’d moved to Orlando and whom we hadn’t seen in a long time. To get to his house, we needed to head east on I-4, then take a toll road a ways further east and north-ish.

Let me say this: I previously had NO idea how just big Orlando had become! I know now. It wasn’t a bad drive; about 50 minutes and fairly traffic-free. We enjoyed a lovely pizza lunch with my brother, caught up on things and then headed back to The World.


Where it was still raining.

So much for #3 on this list, swimming.

Instead, we had our stuff delivered, I took some time to unpack and organize the room, and Leo watched TV and scattered his backpack full of toys about the room. The rain simmered down after a bit and we decided to go ahead and make our way to EP by boat. And stroller.



Leo’s been out of a stroller for a couple years now. I tried to sell it to a local used kids’ stuff shop… but it was a Maclaren and Maclarens had just been recalled for pinching fingers. I had the fix for the issues, but the shop wouldn’t take it. Neither would anyone else. And it was still like new. I vented about the situation to my friends, and T asked if she could use it for Evan, then take it back home to pass to another mom. YES!!!

So Leo and I pushed the unoccupied stroller over to the marina and onto the boat, which took us to EP just in time for… more rain. No cause for alarm; surely this rain-all-day thing wouldn’t last? That’s not typical summer FL weather at all! (HA!)

We managed to gear ourselves and the stroller up for the wet weather, got Leo’s pass renewed and – at last! – found the first of our friend families! T was the first of us to arrive at WDW and was waiting for us in the UK pavilion.

O
M
G

Was it ever good to see them again! Even in the rain. Even dodging each other’s umbrella spokes. Even with wet, sloshy toes. Even with ponchos sticking to one another. Still good. Yes.

Many hugs and no further photos later, Leo and I were coerced into trying to eat with T and family at Tutto Italia. (Yeah, like that took any effort!) T had a reservation; I did not. At least not until two nights later. But Leo and I don’t take up much room; it was worth a try…

… and it worked! We got right in with them, no problem. The maitre d’ gave me a look as we came in; I think they’re starting to recognize me there, lol!

In what will become a recurring theme, the kids (Maddie, Evan and Leo) sat together at one end of the table, whilst we adults occupied the other end. Seeing the kids catching up with each other and the look of pure joy on Leo’s face because of it couldn't help but make me smile. All over.

That and the fine glass of Prosecco in my hand. Heh.

Over at the grown-up end of the table, we gushed over the menu choices.

SALMON!
PENNE!
LASAGNA!
GNOCCHI!

Wait… NO!

No gnocchi?!

No gnocchi. Gone. Like sands through the hourglass. Like petals on the wind. Like Lindsey Lohan’s career.

That made T and I a little sad. But we quickly recovered thanks excellent service. And… Prosecco! Heh.

I wound up going for the salmon. This was my third salmon order at Tutto over the past year, and I’m delighted to report it every ounce as wonderful as the previous two! Each one has been a different preparation; Salmon #1 was served with roasted vegetables, Salmon #2 was layered over a bed of lentils, and Salmon #3 arrived with sautéed artichoke hearts and cherry tomatoes, with an olive drizzle. Dee-lish.

T had a shrimp and artichoke pasta and Andy went with lasagna, both of which were proclaimed delicious, also. Leo had his usual pizza (which is by far the best pizza I’ve ever tried!), Maddie had pasta with white cheese sauce and Evan went with spaghetti and meatballs the size of his head. They all ate heartily, so I presume their dinners were good, too.

Dessert? Why thank you, I believe we will! The chocolate tort for Leo and I to split. It makes me cry, it’s so good. I remember that Maddie had vanilla ice cream… what did everyone else have? T?

It was yet another stupendous Tutto dinner and we all agreed we could happily eat there multiple times per trip.



After dinner, we strolled around World Showcase, headed for the Norway and Mexico side. And that’s when Leo surprised the heck out of me…

He wanted to ride Maelstrom! He hasn’t been on it in years. Apparently the trolls freaked him out once and he’s refused to go back ever since. But, suddenly, he was ready. Fortunately, so were Maddie and Evan. So we all went back, back, o-ver the falls. Without a Fast Pass even.

Disney’s dump shops (you know, the shops they dump you into immediately after an attraction ends?) seldom attract our attention. Leo’s been going through them at the speed of light since he was four months old, so they’re as common to him as street signs. But that night, something attracted his attention. So much so, he wanted to spend his hard-earned (HA!) allowance money on it that night, our first night. I talked him into waiting, since we’d be back to EP many more times. Wait and see if the urge held.


After our high seas adventure (HA!), we took a quick tour of Mexico with Donald and friends and then decided we were all tired and ready to call it a night. The first of many “See you guys tomorrow!” send-offs was given, secure in the knowledge that we still had many more days ahead with our friend families.

T and family headed toward the busses, while Leo and I walked back to the International Gateway dock for a boat back to the YC. The rain settled down and I managed this with the Good Camera:

Alas, the Good Camera went into hiding for most of the rest of the trip after that night. It was just too much to handle in addition to keeping track of so many people and too darn hot to have hanging on me all the time. I’m still glad I brought it, though. You’ll see why later in the report.


Leo and I just missed a boat leaving EP and didn’t want to waste 20 minutes waiting for another, so we just walked back to the YC. Little did we know that this was to be a recurrent theme of our stay.

This is a little blurry, but still captured how pretty the lake across from us was, I think:

As we walked along, Leo grabbed my hand and gave it a few squeezes. And then he pulled me to a stop and said, “Mommy? I think when we all get together as friends, it’s just like making a family!”

Out of the mouths of babes.


Next: WHO decided this was a good idea?!

 

[RunningGirl]

Leo just made my heart melt there - so sweet! I envy your stay at YC. I hope it stops raining so you can enjoy the pool.

Great trippie so far; can't wait to hear more! So far I must say it's pretty tame for housewives. I guess I'll have to wait for the overly dramatic confrontations and teary confessions.

 

[Dug-says-HI-THERE!]

Mr. Snippy Bellman informed me that “check in takes a long time ma’am. There’s a lot to explain and it could take you half an hour or more.” With an attitude.

Does he not KNOW who he was dealing with? How RUDE!!!!

Before reaching the front doors, a lovely Cast Member approached us and asked, “Are you PrincessV? Yes? Then this must be Master Leo. Welcome to the Yacht Club! I’m Suzy Oh So Nice and it will be my pleasure to help you check in.”

Now THAT was more like it!

Suzy Oh So Nice somehow magically knew that I’d checked in online and passed me to Mr. Awesome Smile, who took – wait for it… - five minutes to hand me my key cards and tell me my room number.

Mr. Snippy Bellman? I hate to say “I told you so.” But… I TOLD YOU SO!

That's RIGHT....that's how they should treat us ALL!!!

I’ll say it right now and not leave you in suspense: I fell in love with the YC. As in, I’ve found “my” Disney resort and only wish there was a YC DVC property.

I think they should tear down the S&D and built it right there....I would DEFINATELY buy into DVC if they did !! AHOY and Welcome Home!!

O
M
G

Was it ever good to see them again! Even in the rain. Even dodging each other’s umbrella spokes. Even with wet, sloshy toes. Even with ponchos sticking to one another. Still good. Yes.

YAY for Tracy!! Her familia is GREAT!!!

Salmon #3 arrived with sautéed artichoke hearts and cherry tomatoes, with an olive drizzle. Dee-lish.

OMG, that sounds SO yummy!!!

T and family headed toward the busses, while Leo and I walked back to the International Gateway dock for a boat back to the YC. The rain settled down and I managed this with the Good Camera:

What a beautiful picture!!

As we walked along, Leo grabbed my hand and gave it a few squeezes. And then he pulled me to a stop and said, “Mommy? I think when we all get together as friends, it’s just like making a family!”

Out of the mouths of babes.

HOW SWEET is your boy Leo?!? Just a chip off the old-V!!!

 

[micandminforever]

Great start to your trip, with Disney friends and family. I love the new look of the YC.

Leo has grown and matured over the years and I have enjoyed watching him grow in your trip reports.

 

[Disneyland_Mama]

Basically, I like Arrival Day to be a low-key, take things as they come kind of day.

Ah, yes... something I'm still learning.

Wrong. At the YC. Where I was told to pull up, back it into a little spot, pass my stuff to Bell Services, go park my car far away, come back to check in, and then go back to the far-away car to go back out.

Leo’s been out of a stroller for a couple years now. I tried to sell it to a local used kids’ stuff shop… but it was a Maclaren and Maclarens had just been recalled for pinching fingers. I had the fix for the issues, but the shop wouldn’t take it. Neither would anyone else. And it was still like new. I vented about the situation to my friends, and T asked if she could use it for Evan, then take it back home to pass to another mom. YES!!!

Thanks again, V! And just FYI - it's already been passed on to another grateful Momma.

Oh and the funny thing was even though all our "big kids" have outgrown the stroller, they all sure wanted to ride in it.

Was it ever good to see them again! Even in the rain. Even dodging each other’s umbrella spokes. Even with wet, sloshy toes. Even with ponchos sticking to one another. Still good. Yes.

Yup. It always seems like it's been so long since we've seen eachother, but always manage to pick up right where we left off.

… and it worked! We got right in with them, no problem. The maitre d’ gave me a look as we came in; I think they’re starting to recognize me there, lol!

The staff at Tutto was very accomodating and didn't blink an eye when I asked to add 2 more to our party.

SALMON!
PENNE!
LASAGNA!
GNOCCHI!

Wait… NO!

No gnocchi?!

No gnocchi. Gone. Like sands through the hourglass. Like petals on the wind. Like Lindsey Lohan’s career.

Pshew! I was ready to flip the dingdang table for my gnocchi!

Dessert? Why thank you, I believe we will! The chocolate tort for Leo and I to split. It makes me cry, it’s so good. I remember that Maddie had vanilla ice cream… what did everyone else have? T?

Dessert you say? First, let me apologize for only having cell phone pics. Evan passed on dessert, the strange child.

Andy had cannoli:

I had berries, gelato and chocolate drizzle....DEEEEEE-LISH!!!

Niiiiice.

As we walked along, Leo grabbed my hand and gave it a few squeezes. And then he pulled me to a stop and said, “Mommy? I think when we all get together as friends, it’s just like making a family!”

Out of the mouths of babes.

Next: WHO decided this was a good idea?!

I hope it's wasn't mine.

 

[praisehisname]

Leo is just the sweetest kid and is so perceptive! Great chapter; I hope the rain doesn't keep up for your whole trip.

 

[DWGal210]

Oh Leo! What a sweet soul he has.

Your room looks VERY nice! I heart the nautical theme, as well - very tasteful and well done.

 

[Spartangirl]

Joining in!

GREAT picture!!!

As we walked along, Leo grabbed my hand and gave it a few squeezes. And then he pulled me to a stop and said, “Mommy? I think when we all get together as friends, it’s just like making a family!”

How cute!

 

[KatGarcia]

Hi V & Company- I'm all caught up and excited to hear about all your adventures! I had a great time following you all on twitter during the trip too!

 

[jcc0621]

ACK! Late again. Sorry

Wait – no, I did have a little free time… I spent it looking at options for our next big vacation!

So, Day One. Arrival day. Based on past experience, I’ve learned to plan precious little for our arrival days.

Agreed!

Basically, I like Arrival Day to be a low-key, take things as they come kind of day.

Us too

Our drive across Florida was free of any issues – a major coup when it comes to I-4.

Really, did you have a magic button installed in the car to blast the cars in front of you?

Mr. Snippy Bellman? I hate to say “I told you so.” But… I TOLD YOU SO!

I would have said it

Leo’s been out of a stroller for a couple years now. I tried to sell it to a local used kids’ stuff shop… but it was a Maclaren and Maclarens had just been recalled for pinching fingers. I had the fix for the issues, but the shop wouldn’t take it. Neither would anyone else. And it was still like new. I vented about the situation to my friends, and T asked if she could use it for Evan, then take it back home to pass to another mom. YES!!!

Awesome!

Many hugs and no further photos later,

Should this surprise us

and it worked! We got right in with them, no problem. The maitre d’ gave me a look as we came in; I think they’re starting to recognize me there, lol!

Uh oh, I wonder if they are comparing it to the DVC reservations list

Without a Fast Pass even.

Wait! Maelstrom is a FP?

As we walked along, Leo grabbed my hand and gave it a few squeezes. And then he pulled me to a stop and said, “Mommy? I think when we all get together as friends, it’s just like making a family!”

Next: WHO decided this was a good idea?!
[/SIZE]

Andy and Tony? I know it wasn't one of the girls

Great start V. Can't wait to read more

 

[PrincessV]

Leo just made my heart melt there - so sweet!

Me too!

So far I must say it's pretty tame for housewives. I guess I'll have to wait for the overly dramatic confrontations and teary confessions.

Oh, don't worry, it'll come!

Does he not KNOW who he was dealing with?

Right?!

YAY for Tracy!! Her familia is GREAT!!!

That they are!

Leo has grown and matured over the years and I have enjoyed watching him grow in your trip reports.

Thank you! It's funny - I re-read some of my old TRs before this trip and it was neat seeing the changes in Leo over time.

Thanks again, V! And just FYI - it's already been passed on to another grateful Momma.

Awesome! I love that it's getting a full life!

Oh and the funny thing was even though all our "big kids" have outgrown the stroller, they all sure wanted to ride in it.

SO true!

It always seems like it's been so long since we've seen eachother, but always manage to pick up right where we left off.

I was ready to flip the dingdang table for my gnocchi!

But... were you ready to start calling people "prostitute *****s"?

Evan passed on dessert, the strange child.

Oh, that's right! Apparently I blocked that frightening revelation out of my memory.

Andy had cannoli:

I had berries, gelato and chocolate drizzle....DEEEEEE-LISH!!!

I'm salivating.

I hope it's wasn't mine.

 

[PrincessV]

Great chapter; I hope the rain doesn't keep up for your whole trip.

Thanks! Yeah, me too!

Your room looks VERY nice! I heart the nautical theme, as well - very tasteful and well done.

It is tasteful, isn't it? So much nicer than the previous incarnation, I think.

Joining in!

Hi, welcome aboard!

GREAT picture!!!

Thank you!

Hi V & Company- I'm all caught up and excited to hear about all your adventures! I had a great time following you all on twitter during the trip too!

Hi Kat! Thanks for following - I Tweeted more than I expected to, lol!

Really, did you have a magic button installed in the car to blast the cars in front of you?

OOOOOO, I want one of those!!!

Wait! Maelstrom is a FP?

That just never gets old, I swear!

Andy and Tony? I know it wasn't one of the girls

 

[Parla]

Great start! Leo truly understands the phrase "Disney Family."

Got my Droid X yesterday. Just in time to miss all of your tweets. I don't know how the ding dang thing works anyway. I think I'm going to take a class at Verizon next week.

I just can't wait to see more good pictures. That was awesome!

Plus, I'm very curious to know just who had THAT idea.

 

[Sooze]

Before I begin, let me, once again, tell you how much I LOVE reading your trip reports. I know you are a writer... like... a REAL writer... but your storytelling style and sense of humor are PERFECT!!

Wait – no, I did have a little free time… I spent it looking at options for our next big vacation!

See... you choose that to do in your little free time, I choose to read other people's TRs. You just seem to be able to update your's too!! Me on the other hand...

Our drive across Florida was free of any issues – a major coup when it comes to I-4. So we got to the YC plenty early and I had no expectations for a room being ready.

Hooray! Though I miss your usual I-4 traffic nightmare story...

Where I was told to pull up, back it into a little spot, pass my stuff to Bell Services, go park my car far away, come back to check in, and then go back to the far-away car to go back out.

What the?!?! They probably have so few people who DON'T use valet, they decided to make it completely ridiculous!

Suzy Oh So Nice somehow magically knew that I’d checked in online and passed me to Mr. Awesome Smile, who took – wait for it… - five minutes to hand me my key cards and tell me my room number.

Well, anyone named Suzy (or Susie for that matter) is bound to make magic happen for you!

Mr. Snippy Bellman? I hate to say “I told you so.” But… I TOLD YOU SO!

You tell him, V!

I fell in love with the YC. As in, I’ve found “my” Disney resort and only wish there was a YC DVC property.

Wow! Really? Can't wait to hear more about it!

Was it ever good to see them again! Even in the rain. Even dodging each other’s umbrella spokes. Even with wet, sloshy toes. Even with ponchos sticking to one another. Still good. Yes.

Hooray for fun DISfriends!

and Salmon #3 arrived with sautéed artichoke hearts and cherry tomatoes, with an olive drizzle. Dee-lish.

This sounds like it would be my favorite. Artichoke hearts = happiness

I talked him into waiting, since we’d be back to EP many more times. Wait and see if the urge held.

I'm impressed... good life lesson, V!

You’ll see why later in the report.

Ok, in your very 1st episode, you have already snagged us with 3 cliffhangers. You ARE good...

 

[sharkB8HooHaHa]

All I know is that it wasn't my idea.



But I was happy to partake just the same.