Think of All The Joy You'll Find When You Leave the World Behind- Nov 2018 TR-updated 09/22/19 RL

[SweetSerenity]

Salutations!

Welcome to my brand new just-got-back TR!

I'm Shannon, your host for the duration of this wild ride, oftentimes Imperial Marching, crazy adventure. My partner in crime is my husband, Jason. We just got back from 9 crazy nights at The Boardwalk Inn, and our dates were October 31, 2018- November 10th, 2018. The purpose of this trip was to celebrate our wedding anniversary, though I really just used that as an excuse to get to book yet another vacation to Walt Disney World. I know, how sinister of me.



If you choose to embark on this rockin' rollercoaster of a report, here are some inclusions:

• First ever stay at The Boardwalk Inn. Did we love it? Did we get lost in the abyss of the hallways?
• The Deluxe Dining Plan that included 27 Table Service Credits and 36 snack credits. How would we ever survive all that food? *Note* I will also be doing a dining report. This is the Cheesiest Report Ever
• Resort hopping to nearly every deluxe resort on property. We visited one resort four times in one day. Find out which one and why later on.
• A chance meeting with an old friend
• The most character encounters we've ever had
• 262 Photopass photos
• Special ride missions included FOP and SDD. Would we get to ride these highly sought attractions or would the lines of disappointment hold us back?
• "Celebrity" sighting
• An unexpected event that changes the course of our Disney journeys
• A meeting in the works since 1987

Plus lots lots more!

So, if this sounds like your kind of adventure, please pull up a chair and Be Our Guest as we put this trip to the test!

Thanks for stopping by!

And away we go!

 

[SweetSerenity]

Chapter Links

Travel Day Part One
Travel Day Part Two
Day One Part One
Day One Part Two
Day One Part Three
Day One Part Four
Day Two Part One
Day Two Part Two
Day Two Continued
Day Three Part One
Day Three Part Two
Day Three Part Three
Day Four Part One
Day Four Part Two
Day Five Part One
Day Five Part One Continued
Day Five Part Two
Day Six Part One
Day Six Part Two
Day Six Part Two Continued
Day Seven Part One
Day Seven Part One Continued
Day Seven Part Two
Day Eight Part One
Day Eight Continued
Day Eight Continued II

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

OMG!! I think I am first! Great beginning! I can’t wait to hear the answer to all those questions.

 

[SweetSerenity]

Howdy Boys! Do You Know The Way To Orlando?

*This is Travel Day. It's boring. You don't have to read it.*


October 30th, I was beginning to allow myself to feel a little excited. There were no hurricanes in sight and it looked like we were actually going to get to go on our much anticipated trip to WDW. I had mostly everything packed, finished up at work, and at 5:00 p.m. practically threw my computer in the closet and ran out the door of the office while calling out something about seeing everyone in almost two weeks.



I stopped on the way home and got us an unhealthy fast food dinner. We loaded up the car and headed off to bed because Jason's plan was to leave at 3:00 a.m. Okay, lets go!

I woke up at 2:23.


I was trying not to wake up my husband and drag him out of bed because he was the one doing all the driving (he won't let me drive) for our 10+ hour trip. He woke up around 3:00 and we finished up with the last minute loading of the car before it was time to say good-bye to our babies.


Dixie- my 11-year-old little trooper. She, unfortunately, has learned the meaning of the polka-dotted suitcases so I have to be stealthy about packing. Once she saw them, though, she went into moody mode.


Evie. Look at that face. She's 4 and considered a senior. She is so much energy crammed into a 1.1 lb body.


Ellie. Ah, Ellie, the reason my hair is falling out. She's one, and if you've read my PTR, then you know the troublemaker she is. She has the majority of my heart, though, and I can't help but love her for all her little flaws.

We made the goodbye brief, but when we started to pull away, there was Ellie with her nose in my (now broken) blinds watching us leave. I almost cried, but I was strong. That or it was 3:40 in the morning and only one of my eyes was working, ha.

I made it all the way til 4:30 before I conked out in the car. I only slept about 1.5 hours throughout the whole drive down, which is a record for me.

Somewhere in Georgia around 8:40 in the morning, our stomachs were singing a gurgling tune so we stopped at Cracker Barrel because we had gift cards. This was the slowest Cracker Barrel I have ever been to. We were detained for about 2 hours. Seriously. I didn't take any pictures of the food, but there were pancakes and bacon and eggs and sausage and other comfort foods. While I was grumbling to myself about being put behind two hours, Jason was grinning.

To my right was a big party. Turns out, they were the Nigerian Air Force, which was pretty darn cool. They were there to visit one of the local universities, but the general was with them along with their air force defense minister (pardon me for not getting that totally right. I forgot to write down his official title and my husband isn't here, but he is top of the top over the air force. I will clarify this later) Jason has a patient that he carries weekly who is from Nigeria and may have been military so he waited until they were finished eating and asked if they would take a picture with him so he could show his patient. This is the kind of man my husband is- he is always thinking of his patients and how he can make them happy for a little while. Anyway, they seemed overjoyed to be asked and graciously agreed to take a photo. The host from the university took it, but I'm not going to post it out of respect for them.

I didn't complain any more about being behind after that. It seemed like an important mission to my husband so I just sat over on my side of the vehicle thinking about how blessed I was to have a husband who cares that much about the happiness of others. To appease me, though, Jason found a bunch of Disney podcasts and left it up to me to choose what I listened to. He started talking during the second one and said "I just want to talk to my wife about Disney." Well, okay!

I perked up while we endlessly drove through Valdosta, Georgia, also known as Hell's Waiting Room. Ugh, it took forever to get there.

About 1:44 p.m., we crossed over into Florida. We stopped at the Florida Welcoming Center to stretch our legs and take a few photos.




It was a little after 5:00 when we pulled into our hotel in Kissimmee for the evening: The Red Lion Inn. Through expedia, I paid a whopping total of $28.00 for the room. They had a $9.00 hotel fee, but because I am a V.I.P member at Expedia, the fee was waived. Hooray. Now, this little joint felt like a 1970s night club, but it was fine for one night. I don't really care about the amenities so long as it's safe. We sat down for a moment on the bed only to discover that it was either made of bricks or just the box springs stacked on top of another box springs. It was so uncomfortable, but again, it was fine for one night.

We quickly changed clothes and loaded ourselves back up into the car to head toward Disney Springs. Hold on friends! We're about to get this trip started!

 

[SweetSerenity]

Does This Garage Taste Like Limes?- Travel Day Part Two

October 31st, 2018

While I was thrilled to be on Disney property, I was slightly disappointed to not be at home on Halloween. One of my co-workers had made shirts for everyone to wear that were just adorable. They were little ghosts that held needles and had "I will Stab You" on the bottom. Nurse humor, what are you going to do? She made me one to wear in Disney, but it's just not as fun when you can't wear it with the whole gang. Besides, I had already bought a Halloween Minnie shirt and a Sally headband to get my Halloween on. I later found out from my mom, who was staying at my house with the girls for the majority of our vacation, that it was nasty and rainy at home on Halloween. Not in Florida! It was perfect!

This was our first time parking in The Lime Garage. It was pretty busy so it took a while for us to find a parking place, but then we found ourselves standing right in front of the fountain. I stopped us for our first official trip selfie, much to the dismay of my hungry husband.

You can see which one of us is more thrilled to be there.

Okay, so I hurried us along to find food. We had picked up a map of Disney Springs back at the Welcoming Center so that I could map out where we needed to go and which garage would serve us best. Spoiler alert- it was always Lime. At last, we found The Daily Poutine and stopped for our first taste of Disney food.

Jason had the Classic:


While I went with the Italian:


We wanted a little something else so we found B.B. Wolfe. I wanted to devour everything, but decided on the Braided Pretzel. Jason didn't want anything so I got my glorious pretzel and found a nice spot to sit. While I'm trying to keep food reports separate from this one (other than pictures), I do have to say this was the best pretzel I've ever had. If you're reading this and you're there, GET ONE NOW!



We meandered around aimlessly for a bit until Jason decided he wanted cheese and fries from one of our favorite spots, Cookes of Dublin.

Judge not, but I was still slightly hungry so I got the kids chicken tenders meal so Jason could eat the chips with his cheese and I could have a little protein.

We fell in love with the vintage cheese dip at Cookes of Dublin several years ago. One of the managers back then actually gave us the recipe after we expressed how much we loved it. We have replicated it for our annual "Irish Feast" on St. Patrick's Day. Still, it's not quite the same as it is in Disney Springs. A little less magical I guess.


After we were both sufficiently sated, we wove in and out of stores. We found The Ganachery, which had the pumpkin spice chocolate. We sampled some of the amazing dark chocolate and said we would be back for fall treats. Spoiler alert #2- we did not.


Halloween display at The Ganachery


This was the year I was finally going to get a candy apple! Did I ever get one?
Spoiler alert #3- no.


Jason found Rocket, which is his favorite character from the movies, though he won't admit it. Funny story about my husband and raccoons. Years ago, my husband had a truck from the 80s that had a topper. He had put some trash in the back of it and went back the next morning to take out the trash to the dumpsters. Clever little raccoon was sitting in the back of his truck with some chicken in his little hands. Jason screamed. The raccoon screamed. Jason screamed again. The raccoon took his chicken and ran off with it into the woods behind the apartment. It's been a love/hate relationship ever since.


The rolling piano was also out playing Halloween music. I had a great time listening to the songs, but he was moving so much I couldn't get a clear picture. Clearly, the above people are enjoying, too, since their feet are tapping along, ha!

We called it a night about 8:00 and headed back to the hotel to try to get some rest.

Yay! We made it through travel day!

Up Next:
It's our anniversary and we're checking in to The Boardwalk!

 

[SweetSerenity]

OMG!! I think I am first! Great beginning! I can’t wait to hear the answer to all those questions.

Yes!!! You are first!! Thank you for coming over!

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Here!

 

[suse66]

I can't wait to hear all about it! Great start!

 

[skier_pete]

Heidi Ho! Joining in. Looking forward to your adventures.

 

[QueenJen]

*This is Travel Day. It's boring. You don't have to read it.*

It's part of the TR - gotta read it.

ran out the door of the office while calling out something about seeing everyone in almost two weeks.

One of the best feelings.

I woke up at 2:23.

Perfect gif choice. I actually did laugh out loud.

Dixie- my 11-year-old little trooper. She, unfortunately, has learned the meaning of the polka-dotted suitcases so I have to be stealthy about packing. Once she saw them, though, she went into moody mode.

What a sweetie - pups are so smart.

Evie. Look at that face. She's 4 and considered a senior. She is so much energy crammed into a 1.1 lb body.

Cute - I've never seen one - what type of furbaby?

Ellie. Ah, Ellie, the reason my hair is falling out. She's one, and if you've read my PTR, then you know the troublemaker she is. She has the majority of my heart, though, and I can't help but love her for all her little flaws.

They are all special - right? I'll have to check out your PTR to read more about her.

We were detained for about 2 hours.

Seriously love how you phrased this. We have felt this way on a few occasions.

Not in Florida! It was perfect!

Vacation Halloween wins.

decided on the Braided Pretzel.

That looks yummy. I'll have to check out your dining report too.

 

[SweetSerenity]

Here!

Yay!

I can't wait to hear all about it! Great start!

Welcome! Hope you enjoy it!

Heidi Ho! Joining in. Looking forward to your adventures.

So happy to have you! I thought about you and the line for water while we were there!

 

[SweetSerenity]

It's part of the TR - gotta read it.

Well, alright then, if you insist. I tried to be brief!

One of the best feelings.

Isn't it, though? I love my job and work family, but I didn't feel bad about leaving them in the dust!

Perfect gif choice. I actually did laugh out loud.

Haha, I giggled when I saw that little creature and the bug eyes.

What a sweetie - pups are so smart.

She is. She hasn't left my side since we got home. Seriously. I wear her like a hat at night.

Cute - I've never seen one - what type of furbaby?

That is one tiny little ferret. We call her our Itty Bit because she's so small.

They are all special - right? I'll have to check out your PTR to read more about her.

She is quite special in so many ways! Basically, she's a rescue who was a hurricane survivor in 2017 and lived in 4 states before she was 4 months old. She has trust and behavior issues, but we are working hard with her to help her through it.

Seriously love how you phrased this. We have felt this way on a few occasions.

Detained. Derailed. Stuck.

Vacation Halloween wins.

Yes!

That looks yummy. I'll have to check out your dining report too.

There will be lots of edible treats posted. Bibs are free with the price of admission. New computer monitors are not.

 

[kastoney]

I'm here too!! Wouldn't miss this one for anything!

 

[buteraa]

Awesome report so far. Looking forward to lots more...

 

[SweetSerenity]

We Rolled Doubles and Landed on the Boardwalk- Day One, Part One


I'm in the giddiness stage of writing so I thought I'd crank out the updates before the holiday slunk gets me.

Thursday, November 1st

It's our wedding anniversary!

Our alarms were set for 7:00 a.m., but I woke up at 5:00 because that bed was so darn uncomfortable that every inch of me was wailing for relief. There was no bouncing to try to turn over so if I tried to switch sides, I practically had to grip the bed for leverage and throw myself over. It was not pretty. Besides that rock we were sleeping on, the streetlight was blaring through the sliver of a gap in the curtains. Curse you Red Lion Inn and your non-Disney comfort!

Jason finally woke up in the same condition as me. We decided to just go ahead and head over to The Boardwalk to get checked in even though our room wouldn't be ready. I had checked us in online, but went to the counter anyway as we had never been there before. That was mistake number 1 of many.

When I made the reservation for this vacation, we were initially booked at AKL. We had only stayed there 3 nights previously on our honeymoon, which was our only experience with deluxe. While it is certainly out of the way for other parks, we think AKL is beautiful. A few months ago, I heard that the main pool was being closed for refurbishment during our stay. I sent an email inquiring about it, and a CM returned my call offering us The Boardwalk Garden View at no additional cost. I was flabbergasted and accepted this magical offer.

Because of this amazing upgrade, I did not expect anything of nor did I ask for anything of The Boardwalk except for one request and that was just to be close to transportation because of neuropathy in my feet and legs. I was warned by the CM I spoke to on the phone that the average person walks over 10k steps per day on property. I know, and I exercise frequently while wearing a FitBit to get the most out of my day that I can. It's just that at night, after a full day on my feet, my symptoms start with the shooting pain and tingling and all the fun stuff. I can handle it, but if there was a possibility of being as close as I could I was going to take it.

So, we made the short drive from the hotel to our resort and arrived at The Boardwalk around 7:45. One of the hospitals called me to schedule a test for me so I missed the golden opportunity to take the obligatory shot of the magical Disney sign. Oh, well, you all know what it looks like, right?

We pulled up to this:


It was beautiful.

We had a 9:45 reservation at Kona for our first breakfast so Jason dropped me off at the front to go check in while he parked the car. While I was going inside, he decided to have our luggage stored. As soon as I stepped through the doors, I felt like I had traveled back in time. The expansive lobby was gorgeous and adorned with the furniture from decades before. I only had a few moments to stare in awe as I found my way over to the empty queue for the registration desk.

Two ladies were busy chatting away. They glanced at me and went back to their conversation. A lady in a suit cleared her throat and said "Ladies. . . " They sighed with defeat, separated, and one of them said "Can I help you?" with the enthusiasm of a slug. Magical.

She pulled out her map and asked me if there were requests, and I politely asked to be as close to transportation as possible. She asked if I wanted a room on the ground floor or the main floor so I requested the 2nd floor that we were currently on. She showed me a room that looked to be at the end of the hallway and asked if I was okay with that. I replied with a sure if that was the closest available. After all, it was just down at the end of the hallway, right? Yes. And, a resounding no.

Reluctantly, she pulled out our Happily Ever After buttons, told me that's what we could have for our anniversary, and tossed them on the counter with a clunk. I thanked her for her time and tried to catch Jason. By the time I found him, he had parked and said our luggage was stowed. I told him our room was available so we had to go to Bell Services to have all 19 pieces dug out again. Sorry! And, yes, 19 because we brought cases of water and drinks so those were counted separately. We only had 4 pieces of luggage total.

The gentleman at Bell Services informed me that our room was just right at the end of the hallway. Jason and I found the hallway that led to the elevators and BelleVue lounge. I am terrible with directions and throughout the duration of our stay, I never learned where that hallway was that actually led to the rooms. I always got turned around. There really is no sign, and it's kind of a weird setup anyway. So, we start going down the corridor toward our room. Only, we reach the end of the hallway and it's not there. Okay, so we turn left, go all the way to the very end of that one. Nope. Not there. We make another left and when we reach the end, we are at the stairwell. There, tucked into the corner at the very end of the entire building, is Room 2339. Well, they weren't lying. It was literally at the very end. OKAY!

The first thing I noticed about the corridors, besides them being an eternal abyss, was the stale smell. The carpet had all these white bleached out spots and food trays were laying everywhere. They were also pretty narrow when housekeeping had their carts out, making it difficult to navigate.

Our room, though, was just gorgeous. I loved all the details from the wooden post beds to the ferris wheels on the shower curtains, to the old postcards in the frames. I immediately took pictures so that I could make a running leap onto the bed to make sure it was comfortable. It was! Thank goodness.



When bell services brought up our luggage, he told us a little secret. The stairwell would take us down to the backside of the lobby. We could just simply walk across, up the stairs, and come inside by BelleVue Lounge. Well, that made it a little better.

Backside of the lobby. We were practically straight across from it.

I snapped as many photos as I could while we walked across the courtyard. This really was a lovely spot, and I adored the gardens with the picket fences. We were also somewhat near the quiet pool, though I never made it over there. While I tried to take in every moment of being there throughout our stay, I never felt like I really was able to appreciate the resort and take as many pictures as I wanted. There were so many unexplored details that I missed. Sad.

Since I'm at my limit on pictures for this post, stay tuned for next time. We leave the Boardwalk to head over to The Polynesian for a Polynesian style breakfast. Aloha!

 

[SweetSerenity]

I'm here too!! Wouldn't miss this one for anything!

I'm so happy to see you here!

Awesome report so far. Looking forward to lots more...

Thanks for joining! Happy to have you come along.

 

[Dis_Yoda]

That’s great your room was available so early! The hallways are a mess at Boardwalk, especially on the Inn Side. Glad the bellman told you the trick to reduce it!

 

[skier_pete]

I so adore the boardwalk, though we were on the DVC side in October.it's interesting to see the rooms on the hotel side. VERY different! That report is ways away though as i have tp finish my August report soon. Sorry you were at the end of the hall, but looks like not too bad when you cut across the garden. We did a little exploring on that side in february and it does seem very peaceful. I can't say I noticed the issue with dingy hallways, the DVC side doesn't seem to have that problem.

 

[Araminta18]

I’m here! Sorry about the not so great CM when you checked in. . But your room looks lovely!

 

[heaven2dc]

Joining in! Love your fur babies! Love your sense of humor - "since their feet are tapping along, ha!" My co-workers probably think I'm a little nuts laughing out loud in my cubicle Can't wait for your next installment (love The Boardwalk - our favorite Disney hotel!)