We love Donald Duck, oh yes we do! - Link to the PTR - COMPLETE

[bawsmom]

well i found the way over form the old one (where i was a little lurker...)... and all caught up... can't wait to read all about your adventures and see all your pics

 

[mickeysmyboy]

Oh my goodness! I can't believe Henry got sick again! I think he's just playing toddler games with you and trying to keep you on your toes Their good at that!

You've inspired me to see if I can con DH into a room at one of the hotels right the airport the night before we leave! We take off at 7:40 in the morning so we have to get up realllllly early. I wonder if he'll go for it...

 

[PNO4TE]

Oh my goodness! I can't believe Henry got sick again! I think he's just playing toddler games with you and trying to keep you on your toes Their good at that!

You've inspired me to see if I can con DH into a room at one of the hotels right the airport the night before we leave! We take off at 7:40 in the morning so we have to get up realllllly early. I wonder if he'll go for it...

This is a little bit of a hijacking (so apologies to Brook) ... check with the hotels near your airport. Many of them offer Park 'n' Fly packages which would give you the room (you can book it on either end of your trip or both, if necessary) and free parking for the duration of your trip. Sometimes there is a 14 day limit or some such thing, so check carefully. We have found this to be ideal when we travel because the cost of parking at most airports has gone up and these packages are almost a break-even point.

 

[Camster0307]

Hey Brook! Found your new trippie!

Can't wait to hear about this trip. I'm anxious to get your impression of SSR. Lauren and I are staying there for the first time, for three nights, in just 13 DAYS!!! What building were you in?

And that picture of Henry in the big bed with all the pillows is just TOO precious for words!

 

[brookelizabeth]

Hi Brook, it was great meeting you and your family! I am really looking forward to your trip report, it will help me with my post-WDW-vacation-depression

Hi! Welcome back! I hope the rest of your trip was magical with LOW lines. It was AWESOME meeting you too! I brought some of the chocolate to work and everyone has been gushing over how yummy they are!

I am delighted to see that you two were able to meet!

I am really glad it worked out too - it was so fun meeting Flossbolna and her friend!

Hi Brook~
I can't believe poor little Henry was sick again!!!! I hope that's the last of it for your TR and he's not allergic to Disney, like you said. Looking forward to the next installment, hint, hint!! I'm so subtle, aren't I? LOL!!

I know it - I couldn't believe it either. I have racked my brain trying to figure out what caused it, but really, nothing springs to mind. We try to keep life as normal as possible when we are away from home. Who knows!

Next installment coming up!

HI Brook!!

I hope you had a wonderful trip... I can't wait to hear all about it.

Sorry that Henry was sick again!! My goodness!!

Paula

We did have a wonderful trip!! It was very much a bummer that Henry was sick though.

Welcome back Brook! Hey that 40 degree weather was probably 80 degrees warmer than what we all had a couple of weeks ago - look at it that way

I'm sorry Henry got sick again, even on a smaller scale. Maybe he just gets soooooo excited when he hears the word Disney, his little system gets all messed up. I'm like you....unable to sleep before we head down for our trip.

I'm almost hoping for your sake that Henry turns back into a Mickey guy. DH and DMIL are huge Donald fans and it's not always that easy to find Donald things...but I keep trying.

You are VERY right about the weather! It was -29 here, so 40 is a total heat wave!

I like your theory on the sickness. He gets all worked up with excitement, just like his Mommy!

That is a very good point to steer him toward Mickey...Mickey was my hands-down favorite growing up. We'll see after Henry can say "Mouse" "Chipmunk" and the other various animals, who ends up being his favorite. He can say "dog", and likes it when he sees Pluto, but isn't nearly as enthusastic about him as he is Donald.

I just subscribed!!! I am so ready to hear about your family's adventures at Disney World. I too was there during that time...and I have to tell you I was also freezing!!!

I can't wait to hear about the tea...hopefully you made it to it!!! I really would love to do the tea sometime!!

Great update!! I can't wait for more!!

Welcome! Thanks for joining in! Those first few days were CHILLY weren't they?! Thankfully we came prepared with our winter gear, but I saw many, many people in shorts, skirts and flip flops.

The tea update is coming right up!

well i found the way over form the old one (where i was a little lurker...)... and all caught up... can't wait to read all about your adventures and see all your pics

Hi! Thanks for following over here - and thanks for posting. I hope you enjoy this one!

Oh my goodness! I can't believe Henry got sick again! I think he's just playing toddler games with you and trying to keep you on your toes Their good at that!

You've inspired me to see if I can con DH into a room at one of the hotels right the airport the night before we leave! We take off at 7:40 in the morning so we have to get up realllllly early. I wonder if he'll go for it...

I think it is toddler games! Really though, I have NO idea what spurred this bought of illness. He has been healthy since our previous trip and boom. Sick again. Who knows with kids, right?!

We live about 1.25 hours from the aiport, so we didn't save a ton of time by being close in a hotel, but it was nice to start vacation a day early and snag that extra hour of sleep before the early flight.

This is a little bit of a hijacking (so apologies to Brook) ... check with the hotels near your airport. Many of them offer Park 'n' Fly packages which would give you the room (you can book it on either end of your trip or both, if necessary) and free parking for the duration of your trip. Sometimes there is a 14 day limit or some such thing, so check carefully. We have found this to be ideal when we travel because the cost of parking at most airports has gone up and these packages are almost a break-even point.

No prob on the hijack - I don't mind 'em one bit! Good advice here too! We did this on our trip back in 2006 and it was excellent. We only paid about $100 total for the room, and the shuttle service was superb.

Hey Brook! Found your new trippie!

Can't wait to hear about this trip. I'm anxious to get your impression of SSR. Lauren and I are staying there for the first time, for three nights, in just 13 DAYS!!! What building were you in?

And that picture of Henry in the big bed with all the pillows is just TOO precious for words!

Hey there! I like your new avatar pic!

My impressions of SSR are coming up with this tea update. We were in Congress Park, which had it's definite positives and negatives. What area are you requesting?

13 days!!!!!!! YAY!!!!!!!!! You are so close to single digit dancing!

I love the all white against the dark background of the pics with Henry on the bed. Of course he was sitting very nicely and calmly right until I pulled out the camera-then he was silly and EVERYWHERE!

 

[brookelizabeth]

Last I left off we had made it through security and were flying through the air - then being very thankful for the plane landing. Not only because we were that much closer to our happy place, but also because of Henry's antsy 1 year old behavior.

While on our flight I realized I forgot to put the ME tags on our luggage. Doh.

After our flight landed we made a diaper change/bathroom pitstop and went straight to the elevators, walked out on Floor 2 – Baggage Claim, to see our 2 suitcases on the little conveyor belt four feet outside of the elevator doors, we grabbed them and back onto the elevator to Floor 1 – ME. Picking up the bags from Baggage Claim took approximately the same amount of time it would have taken to strap those little yellow stickers around the luggage handles. It was that easy and quick. And the ME driver put them under the bus and took them out for us – seriously, easy. I don’t think I’ll ever use those yellow tags again, I LOVED having our luggage right away! (especially with a baby)

Anyway, when we got to the ME desk, it was EMPTY. I think I heard my voice echo in there! A far cry to the mayhem we encountered back in November.

While in the very short line I noticed a family from our flight was also staying at SSR and I heard the CM mention his return flight being the same as ours. What a coincidence! Very quickly it was my turn and we were making our way to the red carpet where we were stopped at the rope. I noticed the family from our flight outside and boarding a bus – JUST missed it!!

Then the CM that was tending the ropes touched her ear piece, responded to the caller, and looked at us with a smile. She walked over and let us through! Yea! Right onto the bus we went!!

We saw two gentlemen outside our bus. One was our driver from back in November, I pointed him out to Joe who also immediately recognized him too, but we figured the other man was our driver because he was standing closer to the bus. We really enjoyed the previous driver, he told corny jokes and factoids about Disney World and had the whole bus saying “Woo-hoo!” with him.

When it was time for us to start rolling out, our driver boarded and much to our joy it wasn’t the other man, it was the same driver from back in November!

More corny jokes and Disney trivia brought us quickly to Saratoga Springs Resort!

"Did you know Disney World has it’s own wedding pavilion? Why just last week two antenna got married there. The ceremony wasn’t much, but the reception was great!"

A very tired little one on the ME

We are here! We are here!

Very quickly we arrived at SSR, as we walked up to the main building (Carriage House) Joe made a bet with me that our room would be ready. It was barely Noon, there was NO way our room would be ready.

But guess what? It was!



Seriously awesome travel mojo. Flight on time, baggage claim was easy, quick ME ride, fun driver, our room was ready.

We were in 1230, Congress Park. Bell Services loaded up our bags into a golf cart and we were off. Our driver commented about a “4 minute walk” to the Carriage House and a “4 minute walk to DTD.”

I didn’t take time to notice, but this Bell Services driver must have had VERY long legs (think Jolly Green Giant long) to make it back to the main building from ours in 4 minutes. 10 would have been much more accurate. It was a haul, being the farthest building in Congress Park. But, at the moment we didn’t care, we opened the door to our Villa and took in our first DVC room.

I loved the entry way. Perfect place to park the stroller and ditch our shoes.

The door with the hanging was the door to outside, the other door was to the adjoining Studio

I know I took a picture of that table, but well- apparently it was a different day. So look for a pretty detail pic later in the TR.

The kitchen was great

12 cup coffee maker! Dishwasher!! Goregous granite countertops!

Hidden Mickey

The dining room

Living room

Sorry about the stroller in the middle of the room, but it gives some idea to size. Not huge, but certainly large enough.

The table top opened, we stored our giant empty suitcase in there for the week.

The carpet did look a tad worn, but everything was clean.

And whoa Momma, check out that tub!

Oh yes!! It was tub similar to those that sold me at AKV. I likey.

And that shower! Lovely!!!!!!!!

It was huge. The handle to turn on the shower was just inside the door on the long wall on the left, which was awesome, so you could turn it on without getting blasted by the first cold spurt showers always give. You could easily turn it on and let it warm up!

We made our way to the balcony to soak in the view, DTD in the distance – Planet Hollywood and Cirque de Soleil. Very nice.

We scurried back into the living room after being on the balcony for only a matter of moments, that 40 degree weather had NOT improved.

The master bedroom

The bathroom

The room with the shower

The room with the tub (MINE!)

Continued in next post

 

[brookelizabeth]

Continued from previous post

I loved the setup, because the tub room adjoined to the Master bedroom, but also had a door into the shower room, which had a door into the toilet room. So, we didn't have to leave the Master to go to the bathroom-which was very handy at night after Henry was down.

A particular someone also liked the giant tub. He kept doing his "bath" sign.

(I have more room pics if anyone would like to see more detail/angles, just let me know! Our first impressions of SSR/our first DVC room were HUGE thumbs up! We loved the space and everything was beautiful. As the week progressed, our feelings pretty much stayed the same, but the HAUL to the Carriage House did get a bit old. The walk to DTD was really great though-and it's a hub for buses, so that made things pretty easy. If we stayed here again, I would probably request Congress Park again for the views (wait until you see our Studio view...!) and for the quick walk to DTD, but I would probably avoid the Carriage House as much as possible and just plan to not walk there very often-which is completely doable.

It was right around 1:30. I was starved. Our ADR for the tea was at 3:50, and our grocery delivery was scheduled for 2:00 pm. I opted to make the hike to the Carriage House and grab a little something to tide me over, while Joe and Henry worked on unpacking and dealing with the grocery delivery when it came.

The selections at the CS, Artist’s Palette, were pretty minimal. Flatbread Pizzas, salads, sandwiches and a couple soups. Nothing really jumped out at me, but I ended up with a Buffalo Chicken Flatbread Pizza, and upon my return to the room, the grocieres had just gotten delivered, so I dove right into my lunch. Sorry, no food pic – too hungry to remember! But, it was very tasty.

We unpacked our things and freshened up a bit and then made the first of many walks to DTD. The walk to DTD was the 4 minutes Bell Services had said, very quick. We still had over an hour until our ADR time, so we walked into DTD, headed for Guest Services to purchase our APs and the TiW card-I wanted to take advantage of that 20% savings right away.

When we reached Guest Services, there was a poor woman stuck outside in the cold air directing people to the temporary location of Guest Services, since the main location was under construction.

Ugh.

So, off we went to find the new Guest Services location….we walked and walked and walked. We got so confused – and we even had a map she gave us. Joe usually has an excellent sense of direction, but even he was confused. Eventually, I looked at the time and declared that we HAD to go back to the buses, otherwise we would miss our ADR time. We just wouldn’t get to take advantage of the 20% off the tea with the TiW card. All well.

We rushed back through the crowds to the buses, where we waited for at least 15 minutes. Finally a bus came and it’s glowing front reminded me that the GF sometimes shares a bus with the WL, and the bus to DTD was one of those times. And, from our November trip, I knew it stopped at WL first. Gah! And the driver took her sweet old time in waiting. Eventually we pulled out of the spot, I start to freak out about the time. We made the pit stop at Pleasure Island where OF COURSE not only did their have to be a shift change with a new driver (which took almost 10 minutes!), but an ECV had to be loaded as well - nothing against ECVs, I have no problem with it and am very grateful Disney provides this service, but they do take extra time and it was just my luck that of all things I wanted to do this trip, I kept getting more and more delayed! I really started to freak out about the time. There was no possible way we would ever make it. We had less than 15 minutes until our ADR time and we were sitting at Pleasure Island. I recalled that the last reservation for the tea was at 4:00 pm, I was thinking this is when they closed-and I knew we wouldn’t even make it by 4:00 pm.

I gave up a bit. I almost started to cry. We had just sprinted through DTD trying to find Guest Services with no luck, it was cold, I was tired, frustrated and going to miss my tea AGAIN. The only thing going well at that point was that Henry was fast asleep on my lap, and the woman who was the owner of the ECV was so friendly as we chatted on the bus-she understood my frustration with the buses, she had experienced MANY problems that week being on the ECV in waiting for buses.

The bus finally left the DTD vicinity, and I called Dining Services and learned that the GF Tea is actually open until 6:00 pm, I had thought it was 4:00 pm. So, as long as we showed up before 6:00 pm, there would be no problem!

WHEW!!!!!!!


I relaxed a TON after that. We would make it, the tea was going to happen!



Unfortunately, when we arrived at the GF, Henry woke up.

And was NOT happy.

I figured he would be alright though, sometimes when he woke up he would whine a bit, but then would be fine. We were brought to our table in the quiet little room – we reviewed the menus and then ordered our teas and Henry a chocolate milk (his first one!)

Continued in next post

 

[brookelizabeth]

Continued from previous post

The relaxing, sweet, enjoyable tea that I had in my mind had finally started. I was so happy to be there at that moment-in Disney World, with my husband and baby, at the tea! I could have had warmer weather, but…all well…it was still warmer than Minnesota!

I'm at the tea, yeaaaaaaaa!

Pretty tea cups

A sugar bowl, with tongs for the cubes inside.

I want everything!

The tea table next to us

The mirror above the couch

The tea room, we were at the furthest table, so you get the full prespective of the room here. Our waitress is the blonde woman in the middle of the picture.

Our view out the window

One thing was awry.

The tea was not relaxing, or sweet.

That is what Henry thought of the tea.
He was crankyyyyyyyyyyyy!

He was crying in his high chair, twisting and even shrieking a bit. I was very thankful the tea room was almost empty, so he wasn’t disturbing too many people – and our waitress was fantastic. She said he was fine, not to worry, she had dealt with children MUCH worse – kids had knocked over the tea tables, completely finger printed up the windows, taken food off other guests tables, spilled drinks on other guests, etc. Her stories made me feel better about Henry’s behavior!

No matter what we tried to calm Henry down, it was a no go. The chocolate milk we had ordered didn’t even do it. We had been excited to watch him taste it for the first time, but he didn’t even seem to care.

Chocolate milk? Pffffft!

A moment of fun relief with the tea cup

Crackers and toys didn’t help either, so Joe and I had to take turns walking around with him in the lobby while the other one of us ate. So essentially, I had a tea alone, and so did Joe. The funny thing is Henry was really good in the lobby. He would walk around, and be very well behaved, but the second we even stepped back into the tea room, he would just loose it. We even tried to let him walk around in the tea room (per our server's suggestion), but he would aim straight for the two steps down into the lobby, and he isn't the best at stairs yet. I guess he just was not liking that tea room!

I'm outta here!


Joe and I both had the Buckingham Palace tea. "Our traditional tea sandwiches,

If I remember correctly - it was a shrimp salad, chicken salad, pear and gogonzla, and a cucumber watercress. Both Joe and I aren't big on shrimp, so mine is jelly (another failed attempt to make Henry happy) and Joe got 2 chicken salad. Of course they used some sort of fancy words for the shrimp and chicken salad to make them sound elegant! There is also an onion tartlet, which sounds wrong, but is good

scones and jam tarts

YUMM-O. The cream in the back is Devonshire Cream, and we had a sampling of both strawberry and raspberry jams. The raspberry tart was VERY sweet.


complemented by fresh strawberries and cream, or a selection of freshly baked pastries,

Mine - the portion was HUGE! And delish.

Joe's, A chocolate mouse eclair and a cappuccino pastry - both were GOOD

along with your choice of tea. $19.50 per guest"

Joe had the Vanilla Roobios tea, while I had the Gardenview Blend. I insisted on having the tea pot cozy and asked the waitress specifically which ones came in the real tea pot! The teas were fantastic – Joe isn’t a big tea drinker and he even liked his.

Love the tea cozys!

And we ordered a side of the Sally Lunn bread.

Sorry about the bite. This was AMAZING. It has aprociot perserves on it. So, so good. This is a MUST for any future teas for Brook! I was nice and gave Joe the second piece-which he equally loved.

Henry DID like the strawberries and cream a LOT.

Happy Henry!

So, future advice for those of you with a cranky toddler at the tea, order some extra strawberries and cream!

Overall we did enjoy the tea despite our unhappy little guy. It just wasn't quite what I had pictured in my mind, but these thing happen with kids-gotta take it in stride. Henry was probably very tired from flying and the lack of good naps, on top of be woken up from a nap, and his stomach was most likely still not feeling well. After we realized the best option was to just take turns with him in the lobby, we each took our turn kicking back at the tea table and enjoying the peaceful room. In the lobby, on the second floor, a band was playing, so the music was flowing into the room-it was LOVELY. We decided that this is something we want to do again when Henry is either old enough to sit still/enjoy it, or old enough to go into the Kid's Club for an afternoon. Or, I will do it with my female family members as a Girls Day Out on future trips. It really is a fun experience with excellent food!

Up next: Turn your unhappy child into a happy one for just 15 easy dollars!

 

[Aprilily05]

Hi! I'm coming out of my lurker shadows to tell you that I love your trip reports Your little guy is too cute, even when he's fussy he's still adorable. Looking forward to the rest of your trip!

 

[DisneyBride'03]

Isnt it great what money can buy?! lol

I loved the the SSR 1 bdr....it wasnt great tho when I was there in AUg with Ava by myself, during TS Fay trying to get to Carriage House! One trip she tossed out my refillable mug! lol A great CM felt sorry for me and gave me another!
Love the stroller pic...the Official Stroller For Henry and Ava's WDW Trips! lol

 

[IluvXU]

Love the room pictures... it is beautiful there, thanks for sharing. Sorry about the bus situation... that is a terrible feeling! The tea goodies look great!

 

[SoonerGirl]

Your room at SSR was beautiful! It must have been so nice to have all that space.

Sorry your tea wasn't as you had planned, but glad you enjoyed it the best you could. I guess Henry just didn't like that stuffy tea room!

 

[ILuvCrush]

Great Updates Brook!!

I love all the SSR pics... I can't wait to stay there in July

The Tea is WAY at the top of my 'things to do' list. I hope the other girls will be swayed by your pics for our September trip I wanted to do it before I saw your amazing photos...but now, i've decided I'm NOT gonna miss it...even if I go by myself

Its too bad that you and Joe didn't really get to enjoy each others company for the tea... but kudos to making a nice afternoon out of a trying circumstance... I would have probably not done nearly as well


Paula

 

[brookelizabeth]

Hi! I'm coming out of my lurker shadows to tell you that I love your trip reports Your little guy is too cute, even when he's fussy he's still adorable. Looking forward to the rest of your trip!

Hi there! I'm so happy to hear you have enjoyed the TRs so far!! And thank you for the compliment on Henry - I have to agree with you. It's ridicliously adorable when little ones are are mad, I have quite a few mad/upset pictures of Henry! The one at the tea was just too precious.

Isnt it great what money can buy?! lol

I loved the the SSR 1 bdr....it wasnt great tho when I was there in AUg with Ava by myself, during TS Fay trying to get to Carriage House! One trip she tossed out my refillable mug! lol A great CM felt sorry for me and gave me another!
Love the stroller pic...the Official Stroller For Henry and Ava's WDW Trips! lol

Oh man, that would be awful during Fay! Ick!! What a mess that must have been.

Ah yes, THE stroller! It has served us very well!

Love the room pictures... it is beautiful there, thanks for sharing. Sorry about the bus situation... that is a terrible feeling! The tea goodies look great!

It really is a beautiful resort. I have lots more pics around the resort coming up in future updates too.

The whole deal with the timing on the bus was awful. I was so upset and overtired and cold, I just wanted to give up and go back to SSR and crawl into bed. I'm SO glad I didn't though!

 

[Disneyfan71]

I'm on board too!!! I've enjoyed your TR so far..can't wait to read more and see more pics. The SSR looks amazing!!! Wish we couuld stay there.

 

[Charleston Princess]

Your room at SSR is beautiful -- look at all that space!!!

Sorry that Henry was cranky at the tea, but all the food just looks delicious!!! I am thinking that I want to take Chelsea there for her b-day in 2010.

 

[2xcited2sleep]

Great updates!!! The more TR's I see, the more I am liking Saratoga. I thought the grounds were beautiful when I walked through in December and now I see that the inside of the rooms are great too. Me likey that tub also!! And a 4 min walk to DTD is awesome!!!

Sorry about the cold... that is disappointing. What is up with FL weather this winter??

SO glad you made it to your tea. I was getting upset as you were talking about the delays. I have that kind of luck too. I can't count the # of shift changes I've seen and also confess to less than charitable thoughts about the ECV's. Like you, glad that Disney offers that service and that it is such an accessible vacation spot for people with mobility challenges but sometimes you just don't need that delay!

Sorry H was cranky at tea. Paula (IluvCrush) wants me to go to tea w/ her in Sept. I wonder if they'll treat me like a toddler and bring me extra strawberries and cream? That might sell me. That and a glass of champagne.

Anxiously awaiting your next update and the $15 purchase that turns it all around!

 

[MeMom]

The room looks great! I hope to be able to have that much space and a kitchen and sitting area for all my crew some day in the far future. It does make DVC very tempting seeing those pictures. When we did the DVC tour, it was hard to leave the AK Villa model behind without buying in, but we knew Jill and John were planning another baby, so it was just as hard to commit to that money. Waiting won out this time. Maybe DVC will be somewhere in our future.

I'm glad the strawberries and cream worked to make Henry happy. He doesn't pretend, does he? When he didn't like it, he really showed it. He's just not going to be the dainty afternoon tea kind of guy! But when he did like the berries and cream, there was no doubt about how good he thought it was!

I'm glad it worked out for you to go. It will probably be a nice thing to do with girlfriends sometime, too.

 

[HockeyMomR]

The tea looked wonderful, I am going on a ladies trip mid April, calling today to book the tea, thanks for reporting!

I just love how well you handle Henry, what a great mom you are, lucky Henry.

 

[PNO4TE]

Brook - I am glad you FINALLY got to "enjoy" the GF Tea! My favorite photo is the one of Henry walking out of the Lounge.

Keep going back... try it at different times and know that you and Joe might have to take turns again. But I agree... it is one of our favorite things to do during our WDW trips.

I look forward to your next updates!