We Got No Troubles; Life Is The Bubbles! 04/18 - Complete!

[jecskc]

Joining in !!! We spent a few hours on our last trip checking out AoA and we REALLY loved the Cars section. Looking forward to seeing all of your photos of the resort !!

 

[NancyLuvsMickey]

I finally made it!!! Better late than never!!!

OMG!!! 5000+ pictures on 7 cameras!!! And I thought my BIL took alot of pictures...

Can't wait to hear all about AOA... Someone just might be staying there real soon...

 

[shan23877]

Joining in! I've seen you post on a lot of the TRs I follow, so I thought I'd hoop over!

Off to a great start! Can't wait to hear more, and see all those pictures. I can tell I'm in the right spot because I have similar issues with our big fancy camera (as well as a few other adorable quirks).

 

[2Tiggers]

Joining in! Can't wait to hear all about AOA!

 

[Bottzz]

Hello!! I am joining in and can't wait to hear more

 

[onescgirl]

I'm here & can't wait to read & see all of your pics!
Everyone makes fun of me because I've always taken a ton of pics, but my numbers are nothing compared to yours!!!!

 

[teekathepony]

Hi Hon! Thank you so much for the heads up...I can see how late I am to the party!

I was thinking of you guys that morning when you would have been waiting in Toronto and having down that layover many times I could just picture exactly where you would be!

I can't wait to hear the rest and see the pics of your Little Mermaid room

You're not late at all! Just arrived in time for the good stuff!
I remember reading your post on my PTR when I was waiting in Toronto! We didn't have a bad wait, just enough time to relax, stretch, eat and get oriented.
And btw, !!

Joining in...looking forward to more.

Glad to have you!

Oh my gosh, I'm so out of the loop! Cant wait to read about your newest trip!

Hello!! I've missed seeing you around! I noticed a new post on your old TR, I am going to go check that out soon!

I just finished your PTR and am anxiously awaiting all the details of your report! I'm supposed to be packing for my trip but somehow I keep getting sucked into trip reports.

Jill in CO

Jill! Just 5 days left to go for you I see!! How exciting! If you write a TR when you get back, I'd love to read it!

Joining in. Traveling from the maritimes can be a long arduous process but it is worth it Can't wait to hear more about your trip.

I love living here most of the time, but yes travel certainly is arduous. Perfect adjective.
aboard!!

 

[teekathepony]

Joining in !!! We spent a few hours on our last trip checking out AoA and we REALLY loved the Cars section. Looking forward to seeing all of your photos of the resort !!

Cars probably impressed me the most with their theming, so pretty!
Jumping over to your TR now!

I finally made it!!! Better late than never!!!

OMG!!! 5000+ pictures on 7 cameras!!! And I thought my BIL took alot of pictures...

Can't wait to hear all about AOA... Someone just might be staying there real soon...

You're not late, like I told Queenofallthings, you are just in time for the good part!!
Ooooh someone as in you!?

Joining in! I've seen you post on a lot of the TRs I follow, so I thought I'd hoop over!

Off to a great start! Can't wait to hear more, and see all those pictures. I can tell I'm in the right spot because I have similar issues with our big fancy camera (as well as a few other adorable quirks).

I admit to lurking on your TR as well, I promise to come out of lurkdom now!
I'll have to spot the similar quirks!!

Joining in! Can't wait to hear all about AOA!

I can't wait to talk all about it, I might just rush into another update soon so I can talk about the good stuff! :lmao:

Hello!! I am joining in and can't wait to hear more

I hope I can entertain everyone here!

I'm here & can't wait to read & see all of your pics!
Everyone makes fun of me because I've always taken a ton of pics, but my numbers are nothing compared to yours!!!!

I tend to take wayyyyyyyy too many and then I have a really hard time choosing what I want to keep. It's hard to come home to!

 

[xxnaomi89xx]

i'm joining Can't wait to read more.

 

[teekathepony]

i'm joining Can't wait to read more.

Thanks for coming!!

 

[teekathepony]

Hello folks! I hope Monday is treating you well. I had an early shift at work and Johnny's not home this evening so I thought, what better way to pass the evening than to write another chapter of our trip? I really want to get to the good stuff!


Sunday, September 16, 2012
We last left off having just pulled in to Art of Animation's driveway. I decided after the serious miss by my point and shoot camera on the Art of Animation sign that no matter the anxiety, I was just going to have to break out the SLR, fireball of doom or no. My first view was of the end of the Cars section. So cool!

The bus driver stopped a little away from the door and asked us to wait. Ok, no problem. I continued to snap pictures out the window. He pulled up, but I didn't see/hear the door open, anyone get off or the driver get up. Ok, we must still be waiting.

And waiting.

And waiting.

And... waiting?? Ok what the heck?

I was straining, looking out the window of the ME bus in every direction. I couldn't see anything!

Like, literally, nothing was out there. Not a soul to be seen. No one getting off the bus, no bus driver waiting for us, no AOA CMs who direct the transportation, no comings or goings.

Nothing.

We waited a little more and started wondering what we should do. No one else was moving... were we the only ones getting off at AOA?

It was all just too weird. So we got up and proceeded toward the front of the bus, where we saw that the driver was in fact outside of the bus with the door open, staring at our one suitcase that was under the bus.

Thank GOODNESS we put that under there! Otherwise he never would have known that we were supposed to get off!

"Sorry!" we said, "We didn't hear you say it was ok to get off! We heard you said to wait and then nothing after that!"

"Oh good!" He said, "I was hoping we didn't have a lost bag here. I probably should have said it a little louder."

So I'm thinking he didn't say anything over the loud speaker, and because we were at the back, we didn't hear him or see him leave.

Say it with me now: "WHY did we sit in the back!?"



BUT! No harm done, we were off and on our way!

The place was just so shiny and new and gorgeous that I was shivering with anticipation. I couldn't wait to open the doors!

So what did we think once inside the doors?
... Cont. in next post!

 

[teekathepony]

The lobby is really stunning. Very Disney, very colourful, very loud. Just perfect. I'm a value resort lover, and this was just wonderful.

The floor was bright and colourful, the lighting on the walls behind the check in desks was amazing, a fantastic gradient of rainbow colours.

On the opposite wall, sketches of the characters are larger than life. This is the beginning -- of a movie and of your vacation. The concept art is amazing and so intriguing, just seeing how all the characters started out! Some have come a long way!

(Can you tell I was excited for my Little Mermaid room?)

We walked up to the Online Check In line...

... and were quickly escorted to a desk with a lovely CM who was earning her ears. She had us checked in and ready to go in no time! I wanted to tell her she did a great job, she was so nervous! Her hands were actually shaking! We thanked her many times and were on our way to the Little Mermaid rooms.

Cont. in next post!

 

[teekathepony]

Despite lugging 4 carry on items, I kept my camera around my neck and shot as we walked. I was wishing I had four more sets of eyes, everything was so amazing, and it was all around!

On the way into the Ink & Paint Shop,

on either side is the colorscript wall, a wall depicting the stage of animation where the designers concentrate more on colour pallets than design details or characters. These beautiful walls are back lit and very colourful, filled with beautiful chalk and pastel works that I was drooling over.

From there you walk through the Landscape of Flavors which showcases the next stage of animation, the background or landscape design. The walls here are full of huge paintings of backgrounds, wonderful open images that often get overlooked in movies. There are four sections to the food court, one for each movie represented. No pictures at the moment, we didn't walk through the food court this first time but instead went straight outside, to the "Medium Shot"

This is where you get to feel part of the movie. Looking around, I definitely got that feeling. Sculptures of the characters, larger than life were everywhere and design details on everything. We walked around the Big Blue pool, promising to visit it at least once before we left!

Mine! Mine, mine, mine!

Mine?

From there we turned left and found ourselves in the Lion King section. Rafiki beckoned us to enter.

I have to admit that this was the one I was most looking forward too. I'll reserve judgement for a little later on what I thought of each section.

Finally we were out of the jungle and under the sea! The bright colours of the Little Mermaid section were incredible, I felt like my eyes were going to burst! I didn't want to blink!

We were in building 9, the Triton building. We found our way to our room, third floor, number 9703.

This was our view. Kinda cool! Like Triton vs. Ursula!

It was our first time using the new RFID room keys! Yay! We swiped our key, opened our door, took a deep breath and in we went!

Up next: The room, the first meal and the first park!

 

[MEK]

Yeah - you made it. So funny that you were the only ones getting off the bus!

I love all your pictures. The other areas of AoA are so amazing. Wow! It's just so alive! I'm so glad you got the big camera out to take those pictures.

 

[natebenma]

WOW!

What an incredibly beautiful, well-themed resort! Little Mermaid and Lion King are probably my favorite Disney movies. I love to see them coming to life like they do at the resort.

That is too funny that you were waiting for an invitation to get off the bus. It wouldn't have been pretty if the bus driver had come back onto the bus and started driving away!

For the first of what I'm sure I will be repeating many times- amazing photos!

 

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

AoA looks REALLY cool!!! I love your pictures from the lobby and the different sections! I'm very interested to hear what you thought of each!

 

[Backstage_Gal]

A little trivia for you: when they did the scale testing for Ursula, they found out that if they left Ursula's "proportions" the way they were from the movie, guests would not be able to look up and see her face. So she had a little elective reduction of certain female assets.

 

[jedijill]

Jill! Just 5 days left to go for you I see!! How exciting! If you write a TR when you get back, I'd love to read it!

Thanks! I'm so excited!!! I have a dining report/trip report started for both the cruise and my F&W trip in November.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2983217

Come on over!

Jill in CO

 

[IheartDDuck]

That's so funny about you still waiting on the bus. Dude, that would so be me. I'm such a rule follower like, "you told me not to get off yet!"

Bright shiny and new is always great.

The lobby really is beautiful. So bright and colorful. Just a perfect representation of Disney to me. The pictures you took of the gradients on the walls don't even look real!

I am just in love with the Little Mermaid section! I'm so jealous you got to stay there already!

 

[DMGeurts]

I just wanted to stop by and say hello and let you know I am following along.

I am just mesmerized by your pictures!! I cannot wait to see what your AoA room looks like... And the rest of the photos from your TR.

Gosh, just seeing your pictures of the resort makes me want to switch resorts! ACK - must resist!

D~