TR - 5369 miles later! - Coast to Coast with a little Disney Magic

[Andona]

Hey guys, thanks for the kind responses !

We are about 30 mins drive from WDW . So excited!!

We had another great day yesterday, visited the Everglades National Park. We saw some vultures, beautiful water birds, turtles , fish and cute green lizards.

We even saw an alligator.... Except he was made of plastic and lived jn a display at the visitor center! all the real ones were in hiding.

Stayed at an awesome Homewood suites at Fort Myers last night, for $115 we had a comfortable 2 room suite with a. Full kitchen, free brekky, free wifi and free popcorn. We went down to their complimentary evening "managers reception" not expecting very much, but they served a very tasty lasagna with salad, bread rolls, lemonade, iced tea, beer and wine...all for free!! Have I mentioned before that I love America

We've driven through some collosal rainstorms this morning, I had hoped to spend some time at the pool this afternoon before going to MNSSHP but we might end up doing a little shopping instead.

Only 20 minutes away from the world now......

Bye the way, I am LOVING, having access to data with my iPad all the time on the road. I strongly recommend the data lovers out there invest the effort in getting an AT&T sim for their phone and tablets. My DH has a T mobile sim and he is only getting 2g speeds. It's adequate but much slower. I'll post more details on getting our phones and iPad online when I get back.

Andona

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[Ms. Shuttergirl]

Another great day. Cool to see the vultures but a shame you didn't see a real alligator.

Glad you are about to arrive at WDW, have a wonderful first day there.

Thanks for the heads up re the ipad sim.

 

[hjd0411]

Fabulous updates! Thanks for the photos - they are great.
Have fun at the party!!

 

[frangipanisam]

Loving your TR and seeing parts of the US I'd never thought to explore. Hope your having fun at MNSSHP and don't forget to look out for Australian Karen

Can't wait to hear how the party went, can't wait to do ours

 

[Melbourne5]

Those Homewood suites are great! We loved the San Diego liberty station version and were very surprised at how good the dinner was too! Great news re the iPad and sim too. Happy WDWing!

 

[Caroline NZ]

Those Homewood suites are great! We loved the San Diego liberty station version and were very surprised at how good the dinner was too! Great news re the iPad and sim too. Happy WDWing!

I agree that Homewood Suites are great. We also stayed at the San Diego Liberty Station one, and will be staying there again next year. The free breakfasts are really good. And even though we didn't think the evening meals were as good , they were still handy to have .

 

[Melbourne5]

I agree that Homewood Suites are great. We also stayed at the San Diego Liberty Station one, and will be staying there again next year. The free breakfasts are really good. And even though we didn't think the evening meals were as good , they were still handy to have .

We were really surprised with this hotel. We had some terrific dinners at oggi's pizza, tin fish and the corvette diner ( a must for the kids and an sd institution ) all within walking distance. Did you try those?

 

[WAMUMOF4]

Love your pictures they look great and we are also Homewood suite lovers we stay in them wherever we can.

 

[Mum from oz]

Hope your having a blast in WDW. I'm sure you are.

 

[Andona]

We pulled into the Beach Club at WDW just on midday to be greeted by a cheery "Happy Anniversary" from the gate attendant. To explain - when I rang and booked our "standard garden view" room, I'd mentioned to the reservation agent that this was the big trip for our 30th anniversary year ( I'd been hoping this might encourage them to give us a particularly nice view or a full size balcony, as not all the rooms have balconies. However, the Disney people did a LOT better than that....

At the checkin desk we were told that we had been chosen as the Beach Club "Family of the Day" and that we were being upgraded to a Club Level Lake view room! We had a fabulous view across the lake towards the Boardwalk and access to the Club Lounge with food and drinks laid on all day and evening! We had our photo taken with the concierge staff and were presented with balloons , a framed photo of us and the club staff as well as "Happy anniversary" badges to wear.

View from our room

The rain was falling throughout the afternoon so we spent the time wandering around the resort and looking into the shops and bars etc. DS made himself at home in the gaming arcade.

Around 4 pm we headed out to catch the bus to the Magic Kingdom for MNSSHP, had to wAit about 20 minutes for the bus though. Luckily the rain had dried up by them and We had lots of fun reacquainting ourselves with our favourite rides and trick or treating. - so much candy!! We loved the Halloween fireworks show on the castle - it was spectacular!

Candy stash..

I had told DH that we'd see lots of people dressed up but he was amazed at the trouble some people had gone to . We saw a one family dressed as the Mad Hatter, the white queen, tAlice and Wonderland and the Dormouse. Another couple dressed as Peter Pan and Tinkerbelle - DH said he though the guy was extremely brave to spend the night walking around in green tights! We saw an extended family of about 8 people all dressed as "Where's Wally" , it was a great night for people watching !

DH and I were wearing our Happy Anniversary badges and almost every staff member we passed called out a cheery "Happy Anniversary!" to us

I had booked dinner for us at the Liberty Tree inn. The waitress was a real character, joking with DH and at the end of the night had organized an Anniversary gift for us! It was a Halloween Mickey ears Christmas decoration. So cute!

Food porn from the Liberty Tree Inn

We were pretty tired when we got back to the room, so we pretty much fell into bed.

The next morning we enjoyed our breakfast in the Club lounge before we headed out for the drive to the Hollywood Studios . We were there by 8.20 and they opened the turnstiles at 8.45. I really like the new rope drop procedure at HS, so much better than the old crowd free for all death run to TSM!

We all love TSM, we got fast passes and rode it straight away. Our fastpass window was 9.45 to 10.45. The boys are pretty competitive, so luckily they each won once. Of course, I lose every time!

After that DH and I headed off to try the RNRC, We hadn't done this one before And I was a bit apprehensive as a good friend of mine had told me she had hated it and said she was quite green afterwards. Well....DH and i both LOVED it! In fact when we came off the ride, we got straight back on for another turn. Luckily the queues first thing in the morning were very short.

Then we went down to join DS who had been riding the Star Tours ride. This is the first time we'd seen it since it was refurbished and we thought it was much better than the old one. We rode it with him a couple more times. Our last ride was the Great Movie ride and themIt was getting pretty hot so we made our way back to the hotel for lunch and a swim.

We just loved Stormalong Bay! with its meandering rivers and sand beaches and that great water slide. DH and I relaxed while DS used up some of his game credits in the arcade before joining us in the pool.

Eventually he and DH went off to try the slide while I waited for them at the bottom. The clouds has been gathering and we'd felt a few drops of rain but suddenly there was a colossal crack of thunder. The life guard nearby jumped 2 feet and then grabbed her walkie talkie before starting to shout for everyone to get out of the pool!

We spent a couple of hours relaxing in the room while the rain poured down, and then around 5 pm we walked the 5 minutes to the international gateway . We had forgotten how huge Epcot is! I had booked dinner for us at Le Chefs de France and we had a lovely meal with a very nice bottle of Loire valley wine.

DS was keen to ride the orange side of the Mission Space ride. We'd only done the green side before.
We loved it! The g force was stronger than I expected and I was aware of a tendency for my eyes to unfocus! We did it a second time and DH and I both found the second time even more disorienting, DH felt a heavyness in his chest and my eyes were worse. So we called it quits after that, much to DS's disappointment!

His favourite ride!

It was EMH night but by 10pm DH and I were ready to head back to the hotel. Not DS though! He was keen to ride Mission Space again , so off he went and left the oldies to slink back to bed. . When he finally got back to the hotel he said he'd been chatting to a nice American family on the ride. He's nearly 16 now so I had no qualms leaving him to find his way back, there were still heaps of people around and he's a very sensible kid. I was glad that we'd bought him an American sim for his mobile, so he could text me when he was heading back etc.

View across to the Yacht Club from the Beach Club beach

It's been a wonderful stay, I'm really glad that we invested the extra money to stay onsite at such a beautiful resort. It will probably be the last time I get to go to WDW so it's nice to have made some beautiful memories there .

Andona

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[hjd0411]

Wow - thanks for the great update!! And what an upgrade you got!! That is the best! I love the view - I'm looking forward to walking along that pathway on the way to Beaches and Cream soon! It's made me all excited for my trip!!
I think if ever I stay onsite I would stay at Beach Club. I love the fragrance in the lobby and it just seems so "genteel"!!
Looking forward to hearing more.
(Quick question - what program are you using for your photos to put them in the TR? I'm taking my iPad with me when I go and will want to upload some photos too!! Thanks! )

 

[Melbourne5]

It looks sensational. Well done on your upgrade too! Enjoy the club level drinks and nibbles.

 

[Andona]

Wow - thanks for the great update!! And what an upgrade you got!! That is the best! I love the view - I'm looking forward to walking along that pathway on the way to Beaches and Cream soon! It's made me all excited for my trip!!
I think if ever I stay onsite I would stay at Beach Club. I love the fragrance in the lobby and it just seems so "genteel"!!
Looking forward to hearing more.
(Quick question - what program are you using for your photos to put them in the TR? I'm taking my iPad with me when I go and will want to upload some photos too!! Thanks! )

We didn't get to eat at beaches And cream, but I saw some pretty satisfied people leaving there !

I'm taking the photos with my iPhone and using the Photobucket app to upload them to my photobucket account. If you then select the uploaded photo in the app and tap the "i" button ( for information) it will display the correct [image]code which you can copy and paste directly into your dis boards post. I've been typing up my posts in the Notes app, pasting in the [image] codes And them just copying and pasting the entire post into the Dis.

Andona

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[Andona]

It looks sensational. Well done on your upgrade too! Enjoy the club level drinks and nibbles.

Thanks!

Andona

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[WAMUMOF4]

Happy Anniversary, what an awesome upgrade! I am wondering why you think this will be your last trip to WDW?

 

[Travel Mum]

Oh Andona, staying at BC - my dream !!!! What a great choice for your anniversary trip and I love that Disney is treating you so well

 

[Andona]

Happy Anniversary, what an awesome upgrade! I am wondering why you think this will be your last trip to WDW?

Because DH just isn't really into Disney like we are here on the DIS. We've now been to Disneyland twice and WDW twice and he would prefer to spend our holiday dollars seeing new places and trying out new experiences. I do sympathize with him, I'm inclined to think the same way. I never really expected to get back to WDW again after our first trip but as our big road trip
Almost went past the door of WDw , DH was happy enough to stop in there en route. However, With all the other places we've seen in Florida this trip I don't think we are likely to get down there again, but i think it's possible that we might drop in at Disneyland again some time when we are transmitting through L.A. En route to somewhere else! I probably shouldn't say "never"

Andona

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[WAMUMOF4]

Because DH just isn't really into Disney like we are here on the DIS. We've now been to Disneyland twice and WDW twice and he would prefer to spend our holiday dollars seeing new places and trying out new experiences. I do sympathize with him, I'm inclined to think the same way. I never really expected to get back to WDW again after our first trip but as our big road trip
Almost went past the door of WDw , DH was happy enough to stop in there en route. However, With all the other places we've seen in Florida this trip I don't think we are likely to get down there again, but i think it's possible that we might drop in at Disneyland again some time when we are transmitting through L.A. En route to somewhere else! I probably shouldn't say "never"

Andona

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

i understand and am forever grateful that DH has a connection whilst not an addiction like mine to Disney, I guess you could start traveling to Hong Kong, Tokyo and Paris

 

[Melbourne5]

Because DH just isn't really into Disney like we are here on the DIS. We've now been to Disneyland twice and WDW twice and he would prefer to spend our holiday dollars seeing new places and trying out new experiences. I do sympathize with him, I'm inclined to think the same way. I never really expected to get back to WDW again after our first trip but as our big road trip
Almost went past the door of WDw , DH was happy enough to stop in there en route. However, With all the other places we've seen in Florida this trip I don't think we are likely to get down there again, but i think it's possible that we might drop in at Disneyland again some time when we are transmitting through L.A. En route to somewhere else! I probably shouldn't say "never"

Andona

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

I reckon the key is make it part of something broader. As you say DLR on the way in/ out of lax. I think we do DL HK or JPnext as I am not sure I could get away with 5 years in a row in the USA. exchange rate plays a big factor though too which is why we have enjoyed the USA these last few years in particular.

 

[hjd0411]

We didn't get to eat at beaches And cream, but I saw some pretty satisfied people leaving there !

I'm taking the photos with my iPhone and using the Photobucket app to upload them to my photobucket account. If you then select the uploaded photo in the app and tap the "i" button ( for information) it will display the correct [image]code which you can copy and paste directly into your dis boards post. I've been typing up my posts in the Notes app, pasting in the [image] codes And them just copying and pasting the entire post into the Dis.

Andona

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

Thanks for that!! Got to do me some practicing!!!
Beaches and Cream - mmmmm!!!!! Definitely full leaving there!!