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[jackskellingtonsgirl]

Elizabeth,

I have loved the report. Because of Kristine we have booked AKL CL for two nights in December. We're really looking forward to it -- and are trying to add on a third night because Paul is exceptionally excited about it. Should I have a room request for this? All I know is that they are in the main building - so if you have any tips, I'm all ears!

We didn't have any requests for the CL room at all. (The only request I made for the entire trip was Grandstand section at SSR, which we got. If we stay at SSR again I will request Grandstand NOT on the first floor!) I am pretty sure the CL rooms are all on the 4th floor because the 5th & 6th are all DVC. We were thrilled with our room. The location and the view were fabulous. They did take us to the room first so we could make sure we were happy with it before we went up to the concierge desk, so I imagine if you don't like the room you can ask them to change it.

You will love it!! We thought the breakfast offerings in the lounge at AKL were better than the Poly. If we were doing a cash trip (as opposed to points) I would look at AKL CL first.

 

[PNO4TE]

Elizabeth,

I have loved the report. Because of Kristine we have booked AKL CL for two nights in December. We're really looking forward to it -- and are trying to add on a third night because Paul is exceptionally excited about it. Should I have a room request for this? All I know is that they are in the main building - so if you have any tips, I'm all ears!

When are you going, Marti??? We are at AKL CL from December 22-27!

 

[Steamboat Marti]

Oh man -- we'll miss you, but not by much. We are arriving on the 5th but heading to Vero Beach for three nights, then AKL CL (villas concierge I think) and then OKW until the 15th. Let's all hope for sunny weather this December!

 

[yellowfish78]

Oh man -- we'll miss you, but not by much. We are arriving on the 5th but heading to Vero Beach for three nights, then AKL CL (villas concierge I think) and then OKW until the 15th. Let's all hope for sunny weather this December!

...and Janet, Anne Marie and myself will miss you too since we leave on the the 8th.

 

[Steamboat Marti]

That stinks! We are trying to AKV CL for Sunday night; we really only want to be at Vero for two nights -- but we aren't able to get it. We are on a wait list though. If that comes through - let's meet up!

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

Since we have been home for awhile and some of my brain functions are returning I have remembered a few things I wanted to share!

I saw some strange things on this trip, and I know when I saw them I thought "I must post about this!"

One that comes to mind was the guy behind us on "Small World". He kept dipping his hand in the water and then rubbing the water on his child, a boy who was about 3. Um, ewww! That water isn't very clean! It just seemed like a really bizarre thing to do.

The other thing that struck me as being very strange was at Boma. There was a table where an American Girl doll was seated in a booster chair, pulled up to the table like a person. Did that family book all of their ADRs counting that doll in their head count?! Maybe they had an odd number in their family so they ended up with an extra chair at TS meals. It will be a cold day on the equator when I allow a child to drag a doll AND a booster seat to a TS restaurant at WDW. Just my opinion, of course.

 

[NWOhioAngela]

The other thing that struck me as being very strange was at Boma. There was a table where an American Girl doll was seated in a booster chair, pulled up to the table like a person. Did that family book all of their ADRs counting that doll in their head count?! Maybe they had an odd number in their family so they ended up with an extra chair at TS meals. It will be a cold day on the equator when I allow a child to drag a doll AND a booster seat to a TS restaurant at WDW. Just my opinion, of course.

Yea, but was she eating all the Zebra Domes?

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

Yea, but was she eating all the Zebra Domes?

I don't think she had a plate. Maybe she sent someone up to the buffet to get her food while she stayed at the table to watch the bags?

 

[yellowfish78]

I can totally picture this!! I can see that picture in the scrapbook too!

 

[PNO4TE]

Yea, but was she eating all the Zebra Domes?

 

[missj1975]

I have really enjoyed reading your trip report over the last couple of weeks. I know you pin traded a lot but I don't remember you saying too much about your pin trading experiences. Can you share some pin trading stories or tips for pin trading? We are going at the end of September and can't wait to pin trade.

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

I have really enjoyed reading your trip report over the last couple of weeks. I know you pin traded a lot but I don't remember you saying too much about your pin trading experiences. Can you share some pin trading stories or tips for pin trading? We are going at the end of September and can't wait to pin trade.

What would you like to know?
We typically trade exclusively with cast members. DH will tell you it eats enormous amounts of time to stop and look at EVERY cast member lanyard you pass, but I can't help it. Once in awhile we will trade with children if they catch us early in the morning when our lanyards are all traders. I did trade with a guest at MGM who asked to see my pins. He was interested in one I was planning to trade, and he offered me a Jack Skellington, so we were both very pleased with the exchange.

We found the best pins early in the morning at MK and Epcot. We saw plenty of hidden Mickey pins if those are what you like to collect. You can go to www.odpt.com to see the latest releases and plan for purchases while you are at WDW. I knew which pins were being released on which days so I added that info to my daily itineraries. I bought a Cheshire Cat pin on my birthday, I bought a special release Stitch on 8-8-08, I bought a Jack Skellington on 8/12, and a Passholder pin on 8/15.

If you are traveling with a laptop you can go on PinPics to see if you can verify authenticity of the pins you get each day. We pretty much gave up on that because there are so many fakes and we traded so many pins each day. I brought home a King Louie that the back stamp is hugely fake (says it is a limited edition, but it isn't even close!), DS brought home a Mickey that is listed as a bootleg, several that we got are counterfeits. If you are just collecting pins for yourself it's not a big deal, but if you plan to trade them to other collectors or sell them then you need to make sure they are authentic. PinPics also has "pin groups" that you can print off to see which pins are in the hidden Mickey sets. Very helpful when you are trying to remember which ones you have and which ones you need!

Each park (and DTD) has a "pin book" at Guest Relations that you can trade from - you just ask to see the book. Some of the resorts (GF and Poly for sure) have a pin board they bring out at certain times, WL has a pin book, there is a pin book at the pin store in Frontierland. The Contemporary hosts pin trading once a month but we have never been to one of those. DS really enjoyed trading with "King Pin" at AKL. He is in the gift shop weekdays at 3 PM.

If you have any other questions I will do my best to answer them! We love our pins!

 

[missj1975]

Each park (and DTD) has a "pin book" at Guest Relations that you can trade from - you just ask to see the book. Some of the resorts (GF and Poly for sure) have a pin board they bring out at certain times, WL has a pin book, there is a pin book at the pin store in Frontierland. The Contemporary hosts pin trading once a month but we have never been to one of those. DS really enjoyed trading with "King Pin" at AKL. He is in the gift shop weekdays at 3 PM.

If you have any other questions I will do my best to answer them! We love our pins!

Thanks for the great info. I had no idea each park had a pin book. Was it worthwhile to trade from the pin books? Hmmm, what I mean is did you find neat pins from the books or was it just as easy to trade with CM's? We plan on trading with just CM's. Our last trip we only traded with CM's and one kid who approached me. I would trade with guests if they approached me but I'm not approaching any of the pin traders who sit around with their books. I'm afraid their "sharkiness" would ruin pin trading for me.

I understand the frustration about fake pins but I try not to worry about it while we are there. We only trade for our personal collection and only what we like. I do love the pinpics database to keep track of my pins. I collect Alice and the Hidden Mickey Pins.

I will have to check out disney's website to see if there are any Alice pins being released while I am there. Luckily I got my DBF addicted to pins on our last trip so he doesn't mind stopping and looking at lanyards all day.

Thanks for all the great info. What was your favorite pin you traded for during the whole trip? And how many pins did you trade?

 

[Steffy]

Elizabeth! Wonderful trip report. I'm so glad you got the trip you wished for. It sounds (and looks) so absolutley perfect.

 

[Steffy]

That stinks! We are trying to AKV CL for Sunday night; we really only want to be at Vero for two nights -- but we aren't able to get it. We are on a wait list though. If that comes through - let's meet up!

Terry and I will be there from December 11-16th at Pop. Also December 5-7th at ASMo. Can you say Dole Whip???

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

Stephanie - I am so jealous of all of you going in December! But a Dec. trip is just not in the cards for us this year. We ARE planning for Dec. 09.

missj1975 - Some of the sharks are not too bad. I did trade for a pin for DS with a man who specifically told me I was getting the short end of the stick, but I was OK with it. DS had the "scuba" hidden Mickey set from last year and the Goofy had some of the paint fall off. (It was kind of weird. Not sure how that happened.) I really wanted him to have another one so I traded a limited edition pin to get it for him. I knew it was an LE pin, and we bought them on clearance planning to trade them so I didn't care. The sharks I don't care for are the ones who tell you to go buy them 3 or 4 pins in the shop and they will give you ONE of their pins in trade. I have personally not ever had that happen, but I know it does happen from time to time.
The Guest Relations books are hit and miss. We have found some neat pins in them in the past.
I don't know that I really have a "favorite" pin from the trip. I was able to find the rest of the ones from the box set where each one has a little saying. My favorite is Ezra from Haunted Mansion with "Where everyone is dying to meet you." I found that at Epcot one morning waiting for the Soarin' rope to drop. DS found the Aladdin one for me so now I have all 10 different ones.
DH likes to look for unusual/rare pins. Sometimes he finds some neat ones! I haven't added his new ones to PinPics yet so I don't know what his best find was this time.
I think we traded close to 400 pins between all 3 of us. I think we brought close to 500 to trade, but we came home with traders left over.
We were REALLY disappointed in the pins at MGM. Even on the days we were there at rope drop it was obvious that none of the lanyards had been refreshed - it was basically a waste of time to look for pins in that park.
DS did get a cool "dream" when he traded with a Dream Squad guy at MGM one night. DS chose a pin that had a "magic" back, so he got to choose a ride to have a Fast Pass for. The Dream guy took us straight to ToT (which DS hated before this trip, but that was what he chose) and went through the Fast Pass queue with us. He told us all sorts of facts about the attraction and pointed out some little details in the theming. He was very nice! DS got a magical moment certificate, too. DS and I both won the "magic pin" game last summer but we weren't sure if they were still doing it this year.

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

Here are some pics from our resort photo shoot at Saratoga Springs.

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

"Magic" photos from MK.

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

Miscellaneous pics from our PhotoPass CD.

 

[Steamboat Marti]

Elizabeth - really nice family pictures. I especially like the ones near the water fall.