Trip #8; But Was It Great? A WDW MAYcation with a side of LegoLand & Celebration, FL!

[lala3291]

Great DTD update! Your lunch looked delicious...I would love to try it there (although it may be tough dragging my girly girls there )!!!

Thanks for the info about the new Fantasyland! I had not heard anything about opening dates until you mentioned them! We are in WDW November 13-19, so we just miss the "preview opening" beginning the 19th. We are actually going to be back in WDW from January 7-12 during my older girls' college winter break, so we will get to see it then! I can't wait!!!

HAPPY FOUR MONTHS SHELLY! And Jodi, sorry I missed your four months party! Happy four months to you too!

 

[JoBird]

Shelly!! Now both our tickers have 3's in them!!




Thanks Lauren!! It still seems sooooo far away!! So-- you are at the GF in Nov and the Poly in Jan? Will you ever stay anywhere else again?



Okay Shelly. Time for another update. I know I'm being pushy. But we have plans to make for December and I feel like we can't talk about them until you wrap up this TR. Not that I want it to be over. I just want to do both.

 

[Disney Mommy 3]

Yes Jodi!!! I want to hear all the plans!!! Just read a snippet from our Nov thread that I thought you would be interested in...As far as the Nov 19th opening for FLE~in essence, it's saying that there will probably be times that things are opened for testing, preliminary rides, walk ups at BOG and so forth. I had kinda hoped that would be the case.Nov 19 is the Monday of Tday week and that is gonna be pretty busy for a bunch of people on a ride if they have a glitch, or find that the servers at BOG need a little more time...so, basically it's a good chance for me that the week(even several weeks) before that 11-19 date will be open for some trial stuff! And, I am at my 3 month mark today!!!!
Now,...back to your program Shelly!!!

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

I've spent the last three days reading this TR. I loved your last one (seriously -- it's because of your TR that we're staying at the Poly next May!), and I knew when I saw your name that I'd love this one, too. Love all the details and pictures!

Oh wow - three days?!! I guess it is getting a little long, I feel like I have been writing it forever. So glad you are enjoying it!! And that you enjoyed last years TR too. That was my favorite TR I ever wrote and our best trip ever!! I hope you enjoy the Poly as much as we did!

Great DTD update! Your lunch looked delicious...I would love to try it there (although it may be tough dragging my girly girls there )!!!

Thanks for the info about the new Fantasyland! I had not heard anything about opening dates until you mentioned them! We are in WDW November 13-19, so we just miss the "preview opening" beginning the 19th. We are actually going to be back in WDW from January 7-12 during my older girls' college winter break, so we will get to see it then! I can't wait!!!

HAPPY FOUR MONTHS SHELLY! And Jodi, sorry I missed your four months party! Happy four months to you too!

Thanks Lauren! You guys should give it a try. It's quite the site in there, very neat!

That's awesome that you will get to go back in January too and get to see anything you miss in November.

Shelly!! Now both our tickers have 3's in them!!




Thanks Lauren!! It still seems sooooo far away!! So-- you are at the GF in Nov and the Poly in Jan? Will you ever stay anywhere else again?



Okay Shelly. Time for another update. I know I'm being pushy. But we have plans to make for December and I feel like we can't talk about them until you wrap up this TR. Not that I want it to be over. I just want to do both.

YAY for 3's!! But you are right -- it still seems so far away. I'm sure time will fly by when school gets started though. At least I hope so!

Okay, Miss Impatient -- and update is coming right up!!!!!!!!!! I do need to get this finished up and start December planning!!

Yes Jodi!!! I want to hear all the plans!!! Just read a snippet from our Nov thread that I thought you would be interested in...As far as the Nov 19th opening for FLE~in essence, it's saying that there will probably be times that things are opened for testing, preliminary rides, walk ups at BOG and so forth. I had kinda hoped that would be the case.Nov 19 is the Monday of Tday week and that is gonna be pretty busy for a bunch of people on a ride if they have a glitch, or find that the servers at BOG need a little more time...so, basically it's a good chance for me that the week(even several weeks) before that 11-19 date will be open for some trial stuff! And, I am at my 3 month mark today!!!!
Now,...back to your program Shelly!!!

Happy 3 Months Shawna!

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

After our delicious lunch at T-Rex we decided that we would walk all the way down to the West Side of DTD and start our shopping there, working our way back over Pleasure Island, and back to the Marketplace. That way we could get on the bus at the Marketplace stop, rather than the West Side stop. Having stayed at the BWI before we were well aware of the DTD bus situation with the Epcot resorts. They all share. YC/BC/BWI/Swan/Dolphin – all on one bus. Yeah, it's not pretty and it's not short. We wanted to get on at the Marketplace so we would have a better chance of having a seat for that 45 minute journey.

So anyway – we headed over to the West Side. Riding the Characters in Flight Hot Air Balloon is something we had been wanting to do since it arrived in DTD years ago. BUT all but one time that we have been at DTD (and that's been a lot of times) since it opened the dang thing has been closed because of wind or some other weather condition. And the one time that we happened to find it open the line was HUGE. So, sadly we had never gotten to ride it.

Well, today that was going to change!!

We just happened to be walking by it and it was in operation and there was no one in line!!!!!!!! We walked over and were looking and thinking.....Then out pops a CM (well not really sure he is called a CM since the balloon isn't Disney owned/operated, but whatever....employee I guess!) and tells us all about it and how awesome it is and how he would love to take us up on it. Yes, he was quite the salesman! And we fell for it.

Next thing I know we are buying tickets. The prices stated were $18 for adults and $12 for kids (ages 3-9 of course). So doing the math in my head it was going to be $72 for 4 adults. But the lady at the register said – that will be $60. And I said, oh, but the kids are - And she put out her hand and stopped me right there and said – it will be $60, with a big smile on her face!!(She was charging the kids the kids price!) Okay, you don't have to tell me twice!! So I quickly paid her and thanked her and the first CM that we had spoken to was motioning us to move up to the waiting area to board the balloon! This was so exciting!!

The balloon was on it's way down and we were next!!

Not sure what DS10 was doing here, the sun must have been in his eyes or something.

The views were awesome and so was our attendant! There were only a couple other families on with us, so we had plenty of room to move around and see things from all sides.

Continued in next post.....

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Continued.....

It was a great experience. It is a little costly for all the longer it is, but it was really fun! The hole ride is just under 10 minutes long, 3 minutes to go up, about 3-4 minutes at the top, and then 3 minutes to go back down. It would be better if it stayed at the top for about 5 more minutes!! The views are amazing. About the only thing you can't see is the castle, which is a bummer, but the Contemporary is blocking it.

Unfortunately it has since been taken down. Not sure if it's coming back or not. I've heard conflicting reports on that...

DS10 also took some pics ~

Up Next: Shopping!

 

[ddluvsdisney]

I've kinda wanted to try that balloon too. But always down like you said for weather/wind. Glad you were finally able to try it and with a discount woo hoo!
Need to get ready for my interview- wish me luck!

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

I've kinda wanted to try that balloon too. But always down like you said for weather/wind. Glad you were finally able to try it and with a discount woo hoo!
Need to get ready for my interview- wish me luck!

So glad there was no wind that day and we finally got to do it!

Good luck!!

 

[TinkyCheeks]

Oh, yay! How fun! I've always thought it looked so neat. So glad you got to try it. What a view!

 

[monica23535]

That did look like a lot of fun, I hope they bring it back!

 

[T*Bird]

Yay!! I'm so glad y'all finally got to go up in the balloon this trip! Especially since it may be gone forever. How nice was that CM to charge you the kids' prices! Must have kids herself. And what a change from Mr. Grumpy Barking Orders CM that you encountered at the train in MK.

What an awesome view you had! I wish I had you over here right now, so I could be pointing at everything in the pictures and asking, "What dat? What dat? What dat?" I did pick out some things, but there are so many buildings that I wish I knew what they were. What resort is that with the very close-up pool view? Is it SS or OKW? Please don't laugh if I'm waaay off.

Is the part where the people stand like a ring that's open in the middle? (hope that makes sense) I was trying to figure out the picture where you see wheels on the bottom.

Great update!

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Oh, yay! How fun! I've always thought it looked so neat. So glad you got to try it. What a view!

It was really cool!

That did look like a lot of fun, I hope they bring it back!

I hope they do too!

Yay!! I'm so glad y'all finally got to go up in the balloon this trip! Especially since it may be gone forever. How nice was that CM to charge you the kids' prices! Must have kids herself. And what a change from Mr. Grumpy Barking Orders CM that you encountered at the train in MK.

What an awesome view you had! I wish I had you over here right now, so I could be pointing at everything in the pictures and asking, "What dat? What dat? What dat?" I did pick out some things, but there are so many buildings that I wish I knew what they were. What resort is that with the very close-up pool view? Is it SS or OKW? Please don't laugh if I'm waaay off.

Is the part where the people stand like a ring that's open in the middle? (hope that makes sense) I was trying to figure out the picture where you see wheels on the bottom.

Great update!

It was really nice of them to give the kids a kids price!! I've always thought the kid age at WDW should be at least up to 12 anyway.

Yep that pool is at SSR - right across the lake from DTD.

Yes - that's exactly what it's like, a ring that's open in the middle! I guess I probably should have gone through and labeled what was in each picture. Let's just say that you can pretty much see everything except for the castle!

 

[ddluvsdisney]

Interview went well. I felt better after Tuesday's though. I should know by the middle of next week.

 

[T*Bird]

Yes - that's exactly what it's like, a ring that's open in the middle! I guess I probably should have gone through and labeled what was in each picture. Let's just say that you can pretty much see everything except for the castle! [/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]

You'd still be labeling if you had tried to do that! There were lots of things in those pics! I'm going to go back again and see what all I can identify.

 

[lala3291]

That balloon looks so neat! I can't believe how much you can see! I'm glad that you finally got to ride it!:good vibes

And to answer Jodi's question...we will actually be at the GF both in November and January! We were going to do the Poly in January, but with Hawaii being worked on, we are going to save the Poly until later next year. We loved Hawaii so much, especially since we realized how CL is really worth it for our family. Everything about Hawaii was perfect, the room view, lounge, location, etc. and we want to make sure we stay in that longhouse again! I have also heard rumors about the volcano pool being under construction then too, which is another reason why we will stay at the GF then. We will certainly be making visits to the Poly to check things out during both trips!! We were even thinking about the Poly for November, but the Christmas decorations are so beautiful at the GF that we can't stay anywhere else at Christmas time!

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Interview went well. I felt better after Tuesday's though. I should know by the middle of next week.

Great!

You'd still be labeling if you had tried to do that! There were lots of things in those pics! I'm going to go back again and see what all I can identify.

That's true!!

That balloon looks so neat! I can't believe how much you can see! I'm glad that you finally got to ride it!:good vibes

And to answer Jodi's question...we will actually be at the GF both in November and January! We were going to do the Poly in January, but with Hawaii being worked on, we are going to save the Poly until later next year. We loved Hawaii so much, especially since we realized how CL is really worth it for our family. Everything about Hawaii was perfect, the room view, lounge, location, etc. and we want to make sure we stay in that longhouse again! I have also heard rumors about the volcano pool being under construction then too, which is another reason why we will stay at the GF then. We will certainly be making visits to the Poly to check things out during both trips!! We were even thinking about the Poly for November, but the Christmas decorations are so beautiful at the GF that we can't stay anywhere else at Christmas time!

It was super cool! I'm glad we got to do it.

Wow the GF in Nov & Jan!! It will be neat to see the differences in the resort(due to construction) between the 2 trips. You will have to take lots of pics & ask lots of questions for Jodi & I in November since we will be there a few weeks later!

 

[JoBird]

Hey Shelly!

Wow--- so cool! I'm glad you finally got to go up in the balloon! The pictures don't do it justice I'm sure-- but were you scared at all?? Weak kneed a little bit when you looked down?? I am afraid I would be scared and a little nauseous when I saw the ground.

What a neat update this one was-- especially since they may not ever bring back the balloon- and at some point your kids will be able to say that they did it "way way back in the stone age of WDW".


Lauren=== wow--- the GF so close together-- super jealous I am! I don't blame you for staying there both times, with the Hawaii building being redone. And think how awesome it will be when it's all done!!
We too have found that CL works for my family really well too- I guess for some it does and some it doesn't. Will you stay RPC or SL?? I can't wait to get there, even with the Grand all torn up-- it looks like "home" to me!
And yes please-- lots of pictures to show us to get us excited for our Dec trip!
ETA---- LOVE your ticker!!

 

[DisMomAmy]

All caught up again... Just a busy summer keeping me from my DIS time! We're in a lull right now between summer excursions & school starting so I've been getting caught up.

Looks like the crowds had settled down by later in the week. I believe the end of our trip overlapped with the beginning of yours & that's when we saw HUGE crowds too. I'm glad they didn't stick around too long.

Fun balloon ride - glad you got to finally ride it before they stopped running it.

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Hey Shelly!

Wow--- so cool! I'm glad you finally got to go up in the balloon! The pictures don't do it justice I'm sure-- but were you scared at all?? Weak kneed a little bit when you looked down?? I am afraid I would be scared and a little nauseous when I saw the ground.

What a neat update this one was-- especially since they may not ever bring back the balloon- and at some point your kids will be able to say that they did it "way way back in the stone age of WDW".


Lauren=== wow--- the GF so close together-- super jealous I am! I don't blame you for staying there both times, with the Hawaii building being redone. And think how awesome it will be when it's all done!!
We too have found that CL works for my family really well too- I guess for some it does and some it doesn't. Will you stay RPC or SL?? I can't wait to get there, even with the Grand all torn up-- it looks like "home" to me!
And yes please-- lots of pictures to show us to get us excited for our Dec trip!
ETA---- LOVE your ticker!!

You know -- it really wasn't scary at all! Not for any of us - even DS10! It was too cool to be scary I guess.

I'm so glad we finally got to do it!


I'm so jealous of yours & Lauren's matching tickers!!!

All caught up again... Just a busy summer keeping me from my DIS time! We're in a lull right now between summer excursions & school starting so I've been getting caught up.

Looks like the crowds had settled down by later in the week. I believe the end of our trip overlapped with the beginning of yours & that's when we saw HUGE crowds too. I'm glad they didn't stick around too long.

Fun balloon ride - glad you got to finally ride it before they stopped running it.

Sounds like you have had a busy and fun summer!! I can't believe we only have 3 weeks left before school starts.

Honestly I don't think we will go that time of year again. May used to be so much less crowded. There is no real advantage of going then when we can go in late August (when the temp is basically the same) when it is so much less crowded and not have to worry about missing school. I hope we don't have to deal with huge crowds in early December... Although this is more of a relaxing trip, so we won't be spending a ton of time in the parks.

I'm so glad we got to do the hot air balloon before they took it away!

 

[lala3291]

Hope everyone is having a great weekend!:good vibes

Jodi- I never even realized that our tickers are matching! Too funny! We will actually be staying RPC both times at the GF! We loved SL on our visit in November 2011, but I splurged and booked us RPC for these next two times! On our other GF visits, we did RPC and loved the convenience of being in the main building. SL was great too though, and we loved it! Don't worry, I will have PLENTY of pictures of the GF for both you and Shelly!