We want to do it all over again - minus the trip to the hospital! *COMPLETE*

[natebenma]

Another fabulous update! Beatriz is so adorable!!! As I am reading your report I keep thinking- that is the best picture ever. Then I see the next one! You have some really special memories there with your sister and your family!

The photos you posted of the Beauty and the Beast show are great! I love the dancing one. With two boys, I don't have a lot of opportunity to see this show or Little Mermaid. In 2009 I saw Beauty and this year I saw Little Mermaid for the first time, solo.

Lunch at Starring Rolls looked yummy- haven't tried the food there yet. Sorry you had a soggy, cramped mealtime.

Your experience with the Incredibles sounds like a lot of fun. Too bad Beatriz would not meet with Buzz and Woody, but the prop photos you got were very cute.

Really looking forward to hearing about your visit to the Beach Club and Cape May!

 

[ladybugmom]

Hi Queila!! I'm joining in--better late than never, huh?! I've been MIA here on the DIS for several months but I'm back and counting down the days to our No ov/Dec trip! I'm throughly enjoying your TR! But I hate that we never ran into each other this past May! It sounds like you had a great trip minus the trip to the hospital!! Can't wait to read more!!

 

[DIS_Indoctrination]

Love your latest update. Starring Rolls is on our hit-list of quick service places to check out at Hollywood Studios. I love the idea of getting a fresh deli sandwich, I know DH will be excited to find Sushi (the menu at Allears.net lists Sushi) and I know we'll all like the dessert options.

I know we'll have to be selective in how we spend our time so we won't be able to do all characters, but we'll make a point to check out the Incredibles when we go to HS. DD loves one of the Incredible shorts where Mr. Incredible can't get his utility belt on. She likes the movie a lot too, but she could watch that little short over & over & over again. It's nice to know the Incredibles work so hard to make it a good interaction.

 

[Queila]

What a cute update! Loved the pic of Beatriz in front of Beauty & the Beast - 15 months apart Little ones grow up SO fast! Your lunch at Starring Rolls looks yummy - we may have to try eating there. I wasn't certain where to use our CS credits at HS and now I have a better choice!

Thank you. I absolutely recommend Starring Rolls to anyone visiting DHS. Even if you decide to eat somewhere else you have to go for a snack. The pastries and other desserts not only taste good but they look amazing. It is a perfect way to use a snack credit from the your DDP.

Great update! I can't believe how much Bea has grown when I looked at the two pictures. You should definitely make that your "go to" picture spot.

Too bad that you had to rush back into Starring Rolls to finish up your lunch. Florida weather can be so fickle.

Looking forward to more!

Thank you. The funny thing is that I am sure if we would go back to DHS today and take the same picture we would be stunned to see how much she has grown in the last five months. No trace of baby on my girl anymore.

Great updates Q!!

You saying goodbye to your sister made me weepy...I am so blessed to have my sister 15 minutes away....she used to live in Vancouver so to have them close now is fantastic!!!

I love that idea of making the entrance to Beauty and the Beast your special spot for pictures in the future....hard to believe how she changed in 15 months....she's a little angel

Thank you. It is a true blessing to have family nearby. I have wonderful in-laws but it is not the same. You are fortunate to be close to your sister now. I don't know about our family though. Nobody seem to be willing to relocate anytime soon. Unless we all move to Orlando, FL.

Another fabulous update! Beatriz is so adorable!!! As I am reading your report I keep thinking- that is the best picture ever. Then I see the next one! You have some really special memories there with your sister and your family!

The photos you posted of the Beauty and the Beast show are great! I love the dancing one. With two boys, I don't have a lot of opportunity to see this show or Little Mermaid. In 2009 I saw Beauty and this year I saw Little Mermaid for the first time, solo.

Lunch at Starring Rolls looked yummy- haven't tried the food there yet. Sorry you had a soggy, cramped mealtime.

Your experience with the Incredibles sounds like a lot of fun. Too bad Beatriz would not meet with Buzz and Woody, but the prop photos you got were very cute.

Really looking forward to hearing about your visit to the Beach Club and Cape May!

Thank you! We did have a lot of fun watching the princesses shows. Even though we had seen it many times before it was very interesting to look at them through Beatriz' eyes. On the other hand, most of the boyish stuff like Indiana Jones, Jedi Academy and the car stunt show went totally overlooked.

I strongly recommend a visit to Starring Rolls in your next visit. Even if it is just for a coffee and some pastry. Everything looked so yummy!

Hi Queila!! I'm joining in--better late than never, huh?! I've been MIA here on the DIS for several months but I'm back and counting down the days to our No ov/Dec trip! I'm throughly enjoying your TR! But I hate that we never ran into each other this past May! It sounds like you had a great trip minus the trip to the hospital!! Can't wait to read more!!

Hi! And to my TR. Did you write one for your May trip? I looked for it but couldn't find it. I love to read about people that were there at the same time as us.

I remember we had similar plans about the evening of May, 22nd. But we never made it to the beach at the Poly to watch Wishes. Did you guys see it?Unfortunately I did not make it to the Dis meet on the Friday either but more on that later.

Anyways, I am stopping by at your PTR asap.

Love your latest update. Starring Rolls is on our hit-list of quick service places to check out at Hollywood Studios. I love the idea of getting a fresh deli sandwich, I know DH will be excited to find Sushi (the menu at Allears.net lists Sushi) and I know we'll all like the dessert options.

I know we'll have to be selective in how we spend our time so we won't be able to do all characters, but we'll make a point to check out the Incredibles when we go to HS. DD loves one of the Incredible shorts where Mr. Incredible can't get his utility belt on. She likes the movie a lot too, but she could watch that little short over & over & over again. It's nice to know the Incredibles work so hard to make it a good interaction.

Stariring Rolls food is nice and fresh and I am sure you guys won't regret it. I don't remember seeing sushi when I was there but I t is possible that I simply overlooked it. In any case, make sure you try some of their cup cakes. They are to die for.

Character hunting was one of our favorite thing to do during this trip. Make a list of the characters that are a must- see for you guys and go for it. I beleve it is worth the time. It makes for great pictures anyways!

 

[Queila]

So once we left the Animation Building it was time to use our Fast Passes at Toy Story Mania.

So we sat Beatriz between us and I asked her if she wanted to play herself and she said no. I could tell she was starting to get tired....

So I played against Joey and I lost by A LOT. Joey is very competitive but I am the complete opposite. I don't even put on a fight and I guess it takes some of the fun away from him poor thing. . Too bad my BIL wasn't there anymore. They would have had fun together.

Still, it is Joey's favorite Disney ride and he thoroughly enjoyed it.

So from Toy Story we went straight to try to find a spot to see the Block Party Bash Parade at 15h00. We were a bit "late" to secure a good spot and ended up near The American Idol Experience which means we would only get to see the second half of the parade.

It was extremely hot and humid and while Joey stayed with Beatriz I went off to try to find us some refreshments. I was dying for some sort of icy drink, a slush of some kind, but had no luck. All I could find was the little carts selling ice-cream which I knew was going to melt too fast.

So I brought a popsicle to Joey and I shared one with Beatriz. We had to have it super fast to avoid a major mess. I could tell the heat was bothering Beatriz too so I sat her on her stroller to protect her from the sun and she asked to have some milk.

I gave her her bottle and just as the parade is finally coming our way I look down to check her level of excitement upon finally beholding Jessie and wouldn't you know she had fallen asleep.

"Look Beatriz! Here they come!!"

Too late:

I even tried to wake her up but there was no way. She was gone. I felt so bad for her. She really loved that parade when we had visited in 2009.

Oh well... I guess she will see it again next time!

So Joey and I watched the parade for only 5 or10 minutes and decided to look for a shade. We walked a bit and sat somewhere near the Backlot Express.

Now we had a decision to take.

When we visited the park in 2009 we did not get to see the Indiana Jones Stunt Show due to a cheer leading competition and Joey was looking forward to that. There was a show starting at 16h00 but we would have to take Bea out of her stroller to get into the theater and we did not want to risk waking her up. The little girl had to rest.

With Beatriz sleeping on her stroller it was a perfect opportunity for us to go on some of the thrill rides using the swap pass. But we were not in the mood for that either.

I am not sure if it was the heat or if the fatigue from the long days was finally catching up with us but we were not happy campers at that point. Maybe I was still a bit bummed because of the departure of my sister that morning but we knew we had had enough of DHS already.

We had a reservation at Cape May Cafe at the Beach Club Resort for 17h30 so we decided it was time to make our way over there. Even if it was only 15h30.

Last picture before leaving the park:

​

 

[Queila]

So we took the Friendship boat out of DHS and as soon as we arrived at the Beach Club we started feeling better already. That place is so beautiful!!!! We were just walking outside saying "wow" to everything. So nice and peaceful and what a view!

So we knew it was still too early for our meal and we were not very sure of what we were supposed to do with our time. That is when Joey spotted some very inviting chairs under a shade by the swimming pool of the Yatch Club.

Oh man, we wanted those chairs. We needed those chairs.

So we told the guy at the entrance of the pool our situation. We explained we were staying at AKL on DVC points and we had a reservation for later on at Cape May and all we anted was to sit and rest by the pool for 45 minutes. The guy said "no problem" and so we went in.

Now think of perfection. That is what that moment felt like. Beatriz sleeping in her stroller, a shade, the sound of the water and the wind blowing at the leaves on the trees around us, taking our shoes off... The moment was just too enjoyable and it became a huge highlight of our trip.

Within the first two minutes spent over there I looked to my side to tell Joey something and realized he was not only sleeping but he was also snoring. It was so cute. My two babies taking their naps at the same time.

Of course, I HAD to get up and take pictures:

So we stayed there for a good hour and even though I never really fell asleep (I was too afraid someone would "steal" Beatriz ) I closed my eyes and went into some sort of deep relaxation state.

So at about 5pm we got up, picked up ourselves and finally made our way inside the Beach Club resort. We went to the bathroom at the lobby, washed our faces and checked-in the podium at 5h15 (15 minutes earlier than the time in our reservation). The CM at the podium was also named Beatriz and she was also South- American and we had a small chat about why I decided give that name to my daughter. Too bad Bea was still sleeping...

In no time, a table was ready for us.

So they gave us a perfect table in a corner in a spot where I could leave the stroller opened and Beatriz could keep on sleeping while we ate. And eat we did! We LOVE sea food and I crave it fairly often so the meal at Cape May cafe is right up our league.

I even ordered a Maragrita to celebrate my new found favorite spot at Disney.

The meal was delicious and we went back to the buffet for seconds and thirds. Joey loved the crab legs and I satisfied my hunger for clam chowder. Hmmm. My mouth starts watering just thinking about it!

Now it was about 18h00 and Beatriz was still sleeping profoundly but I decided it was time to wake her up so she could eat. It was a three hour nap but she still did not want to wake up. I guess she was pooped my little one. I insisted a little bit and finally I was able to wake her up and make her eat. It was funny because I woke her up only after Joey and I had had our whole meal and I think the waiter thought we were already about to leave when, in fact, we were still going to feed our child.

I am sorry but we were having too much of a good time and we decided to overstay.

Anyways, we took our time to feed Beatriz an she had lots of shrimps with steamed vegetables. I could tell she was enjoying it too.

I also took the time to chat with our waiter a little bit.

Up until that point I was very puzzled with the crowd level at the parks. Where were all those kids coming from??? Weren't they supposed to be at school??

That's when the waiter explained to me that the last day of school in the southern states was May, 21st. THE DAY BEFORE OUR ARRIVAL!

Believe it or not, I planned our trip on that week of May assuming the American kids would still be in class. School vacation in Quebec does not start until the end of June after all! I never thought there would be so many families at the parks at that time of the year. And I was wondering how come so many parents were pulling their kids out of school earlier to come to Disney. Silly me! Since my kid is not still at school I have the advantage of traveling "out of season" but I guess I blew it by not making enough research. Oh well, I will know for next time.

So after spending almost an hour and a half inside Cape May we finally decided to leave. I gave Beatriz a potty break and changed her clothes into something more comfortable before we made our way back to DHS.

All satisfied and happy at the lobby at the Beach Club:

Next up:
Back to DHS
Do we make it in time for Fantasmic?
​

 

[Queila]

So once our meal was over we were hanging around the lobby of the Beach Club for a little bit taking in the beautiful details of the place when we were approached by the guy at the DVC counter. He asked if we would be interested in learning more about DVC and offered to book us a meeting with an agent.

Now, we were staying at AKL on DVC points but I have to admit we knew very little about it and we did wonder if becoming members would be right for our family. So we took an appointment for the next day since it was supposed to be our "day off" anyways... It did not hurt that they offered us a $100 gift certificate to show up.

So we took one last stroll outside of the resort, took some last pictures and went to the quay to wait for a boat back to DHS.

I have to say we waited A LOT for a boat. More than we waited for any bus during the entire trip. I think it is because it was Fantasmic night at DHS and the amount of people flocking to the park was very big. But while we were waiting for the boat we saw someone getting married at the Boardwalk and that helped the time to pass faster. So beautiful!

So the boat finally arrived and this time around I had to close the stroller to be able to go on board. It was very crowded in there but in no time we were back to DHS and it was already starting to get dark:

So we decided to go wait in line for Fantasmic! but got discouraged when we saw hundreds upon hundreds of people elbowing each other close to the entrance of the amphitheater. Since Beatriz had slept a lot and was well rested we decided to wait for the second presentation of the show at 10 pm.

In the meantime, we were going to explore the park a little more and because most of the people were trying to get a seat for the show we felt like we had the park for ourselves. So we visited Lightning Mc Queen and Mater:

And then we went to Joey's second favorite attraction in all WDW: The Muppet's Show!! And the best part of it, in my opinion, it was a walk-in. After the show we just spent some time hanging around the area around the Muppet's theater. It is so beautiful around there! I think next time we go I will try to eat at Mama Melrose. There are a lot of mixed reviews about it out there but I think I would be willing to give it a try.

I find that are specially beautiful at night. Don't you?

Here I am showing off some glow sticks I had bought at the Dollar store back home. Beatriz is just too young to know the difference.

So by this time we realized all the other shows or attractions that Beatriz could be interested in were already closed for the day. So I decided I wanted to ride Aerosmith Rock'n Roller Coaster. We hadn't been in a single thrill ride the whole day and I felt like going for it. So we picked up a swap pass and I went first while Joey stayed watching Beatriz play with some other kids that were outside probably on the same situation.

I LOVE that ride but I have to say it felt weird to go all alone. I guess part of the fun is to share the thrill with someone else and I felt a little self- conscious to be there all by myself.

Weird, I know.

So when I came out and it was time for Joey to ride he said he had changed his mind. He did not want to ride it after all! Ok then...

So we slowly made our way back to the Fantasmic! amphitheater and what a difference. We could just walk in and calmly find seats for the second show if we wanted to. And just as we were taking Beatriz out of the stroller to go in Joey turns to me and says: Let's go back to the hotel!

What?

Why?

What???

Well, he said he was tired and he wanted to be well rested for the next day. He reminded me of how busy the bus ride back to the hotel was going to be after the show. And he pointed out to the fact that most likely Beatriz was going to be scared during the show anyways. My first instinct was to reply: NO SENSE. But deep inside I knew he was right. Last time I saw Fantasmic! was in 1994 at Disneyland and Joey has never seen it so I was looking forward to it but at the same time I knew we were pushing hard with our long days and we still had a lot to see for the rest of the week.

Last thing you want is to run out of stamina in the middle of the trip. So with a broken heart and a promise to see the show "next time" we headed towards the exit.

On our way out Beatriz found this horse and spent good ten minutes in pure blissful state riding it. All the way to WDW and she is the happiest riding this little horsey.

Who needs Fantasmic! after all?


Then someone offered to take a picture of the three of us and we called it a night:

Next up: the day off.
Did we become DVC members?
Swimming at AKL
Our favorite sit- down meal of the trip​

 

[mickeystoontown]

How nice was it that you got to relax a little while before your ADR. The spot you found certainly looked like a great place to spend a little quiet time.

Thanks so much for posting about your dinner at Cape May Cafe. We were thinking about booking a dinner there but I didn't know how we'd like it.

I hated to hear that you didn't get to see Fantasmic. While my kids have never been frightened by it, I have seen a lot of little ones who are afraid. Like you said, you've always got "next time".

I have a picture of my son on that same pony at Hollywood Studios. As a matter of fact, it's his profile picture on Facebook.

 

[natebenma]

Hi Queila- Great updates! Somehow I missed that you posted them.

It was great to read about how much you loved your visit to the Beach Club. What a great opportunity for some relaxation time in the lounge chairs! Also very lucky that Beatriz was still snoozing during your Cape May meal. We ate there in July, and we spent so much time helping the kids with their seafood that by the time we were ready to eat, they were already onto dessert and ready to leave!

The picture of you at the Beach Club is really nice, and the photo of Beatriz on the horse is absolutely precious! You also have some great family pictures with the Cars characters too

If you were near American Idol when you were looking for slushies, you were not too far away! There is a place that has frozen cokes and frozen Minute Maid drinks (like blue raspberry and cherry). I just looked at the HS map, but I don't see it listed, it is tucked into a building across from Echo Lake as you exit. The street it is on is parallel to Hollywood Boulevard. "Next time"

 

[heaven2dc]

You made the right choice after all and not staying for Fantasmic - the look on your DD's face was priceless when she was on the pony I hope we get to see Fantasmic on our upcoming trip (can't believe it's only 10 more days!). I wasn't sure whether to do HS on our arrival day since it is open late or go on the night when Fantasmic shows.

 

[Queila]

How nice was it that you got to relax a little while before your ADR. The spot you found certainly looked like a great place to spend a little quiet time.

Thanks so much for posting about your dinner at Cape May Cafe. We were thinking about booking a dinner there but I didn't know how we'd like it.

I hated to hear that you didn't get to see Fantasmic. While my kids have never been frightened by it, I have seen a lot of little ones who are afraid. Like you said, you've always got "next time".

I have a picture of my son on that same pony at Hollywood Studios. As a matter of fact, it's his profile picture on Facebook.

Relaxing at the resort was actually a highlight of our trip and so was the meal at Cape May. I am sure you guys would enjoy it.

Missing out on Fantasmic was a bummer but I guess it gives us an extra reason to come back.

Hi Queila- Great updates! Somehow I missed that you posted them.

It was great to read about how much you loved your visit to the Beach Club. What a great opportunity for some relaxation time in the lounge chairs! Also very lucky that Beatriz was still snoozing during your Cape May meal. We ate there in July, and we spent so much time helping the kids with their seafood that by the time we were ready to eat, they were already onto dessert and ready to leave!

The picture of you at the Beach Club is really nice, and the photo of Beatriz on the horse is absolutely precious! You also have some great family pictures with the Cars characters too

If you were near American Idol when you were looking for slushies, you were not too far away! There is a place that has frozen cokes and frozen Minute Maid drinks (like blue raspberry and cherry). I just looked at the HS map, but I don't see it listed, it is tucked into a building across from Echo Lake as you exit. The street it is on is parallel to Hollywood Boulevard. "Next time"

Thank you! The meal at Cape May was really delicious and Beatriz, nap allowed my husband and I to have some "alone" time. I guess that is one of the reasons it ended up being a highlight of our trip.
I knew a slush shouldn't be that far but I guess I ended up on the complete opposite direction. And it was so hot I ended up settling for whatever I could find.

You made the right choice after all and not staying for Fantasmic - the look on your DD's face was priceless when she was on the pony I hope we get to see Fantasmic on our upcoming trip (can't believe it's only 10 more days!). I wasn't sure whether to do HS on our arrival day since it is open late or go on the night when Fantasmic shows.

How was the trip?? Did you get to see Fantasmic afterall?

 

[Queila]

Check out the video my brother-in-law put together with the footage of the 2 and a 1/2 days we spent together at WDW last May. It is only 1m17sec long and it is worth it. I promise!

http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=xzkyavr42lU&vq=medium#t=23

Pretty cool, eh?​

 

[Queila]

Day 5- Wednesday- May, 26th 2010.
When I was planning the trip I had decided to give us a break from the parks in the middle of the week. I was so happy we did that. We were definitely ready to take it easy for the day.

However, we were talked into going to a DVC presentation that morning. I booked it for 9 am so we would still have the rest of the day for ourselves and it worked out just fine. We slept in a bit and Joey even went to Mara to pick up some cheese danishes for us.

So the DVC van picked us up at at AKL and brought us Saratoga Springs where we met the CM who would take care of answering all our questions. We ended up spending almost three hours at the place because we were really serious about it.

I am very happy we went for it. We were very curious about the whole thing and we were wondering if a membership would be right for our family. We do take vacations often and we love Disney so it just seemed like a good investment.

However, my parents and extended family are still in Brazil and we spend most of our vacations down there. Realistically speaking we cannot afford having a Disney trip and a Brazil trip every year AND we would like to give Beatriz a sibling soon so how often would we be really able to use our membership in the next couple of years? Not much.

Now, I am usually the impulsive buyer of the family and my husband has always been the rational one but guess who was about the to sign the contract?? That's right! Joey was ready to become a member when I reminded him that yes DVC would be awesome but not right now. So with a heavy heart we walked out of Saratoga Springs the same way we had arrived: NOT DVC members

I am convinced we will rent DVC points again in the future but I am not sure about the membership. Hopefully, one day...

So we asked the DVC driver to drop us at Downtown Disney so we could have lunch at Earl of Sandwich (sorry, no pics. The place was packed). We loved our sandwiches and I particularly enjoyed my dessert: the brownie frosting sandwich. It was AMAZING! Click here to read about it at he Disney food blog.

So after eating we went for a quick stroll and Beatriz found these guys and was all over them. I guess they are a lot less intimidating then the real ones in the parks:

Before we had left for our trip, we had told Beatriz that she could chose one stuffed animal. Not sure if she is old enough to understand the concept but I have to say she is not the type of kid that wants everything she sees at the stores. She is content just looking at them and saying good-bye when it s time to leave.

We had noticed that ever since she had seen the Nemo toy for the first time at Epcot on our first day, she was drawn to it wherever we would go. So we "helped " her chose her toy and we bought her this one at DTD. She was very happy!

I also got her the little Mickey elastic for the hair and I have to admit I have worn it myself once or twice since we got back home.

Joey and I didn't really shop for ourselves. We were still thinking about DVC and throwing numbers around. At that point we were still not 100% convinced that walking out of the deal was the best decision.

We did not spend too much time at DTD. It was HOT and we knew the swimming pool back the hotel was waiting for us so we decided to go back to the hotel and start doing what we were supposed to do that day: RELAXING!

Back to the hotel. "Let's hit that swimming pool already!"

​

 

[natebenma]

Awesome video, Queila! Tell your brother-in-law he did a great job!!! Loved the short clips and the music is very peppy. What is the song?

It sounds like the DVC presentation was about as low-pressure as you will ever get with a time-share. Was Beatriz with you? How did she do through it?

Did they give you anything for going? Fast passes or gift cards?

Sounds like you had fun at DTD. The picture of Beatriz kissing Minnie, is of course, ADORABLE!

Great purchases, too. The hair elastic is cute and Nemo is a great little sidekick for Beatriz.

 

[mickeystoontown]

I so wish we had bought into the Disney Vacation Club many years ago. Now, with two kids (one a teenager and one in college), there's just no way we can do it. So, I understand that "I wish we could" feeling.

It sounds like you guys had a good time at DTD. I love going over there and looking around. Ms. Beatriz found a really cute stuffed animal and you can tell she loves it from that beautiful smile of her's.

 

[onescgirl]

I just read your TR & it's great! I love your daughter's name. Beatriz pictures at Character Spot cracked me up looking at her expressions!
You have a beautiful family & I'm glad that you were able to spend time with your sister.
I watched the family video & it was so great!!!!! I wish I was talented enough to know how to make one for our family!

 

[Queila]

Awesome video, Queila! Tell your brother-in-law he did a great job!!! Loved the short clips and the music is very peppy. What is the song?

It sounds like the DVC presentation was about as low-pressure as you will ever get with a time-share. Was Beatriz with you? How did she do through it?

Did they give you anything for going? Fast passes or gift cards?

Sounds like you had fun at DTD. The picture of Beatriz kissing Minnie, is of course, ADORABLE!

Great purchases, too. The hair elastic is cute and Nemo is a great little sidekick for Beatriz.

I did not feel pressured to acquire the DVC timeshare. Of course they would love for you to seal the deal right there but we had told them from the beginning we were curious about it but did not have the intention to become members that day. Beatriz was rested enough to make through the whole thing with no melt downs. They are very accommodating, of course. She got all sorts of treats and ice cream. They even have a play area for the small children but she spent the whole time with us.

Yes, they offered us a $100 gift certificate just to come to the meeting so that didn't hurt.

Our little visit to DTD Disney was very fast. At that point I thought we would be able to go back later that week but that ended up never happening. Next time I would like to spend some extra time over there to check the new area and take more pictures.

My BIL used a program called IMovie on his Mac to do the video. Apparently it gives you all the tools (music and all ) to do the clips and anyone should be able to do it. His words. Not mine.

I so wish we had bought into the Disney Vacation Club many years ago. Now, with two kids (one a teenager and one in college), there's just no way we can do it. So, I understand that "I wish we could" feeling.

It sounds like you guys had a good time at DTD. I love going over there and looking around. Ms. Beatriz found a really cute stuffed animal and you can tell she loves it from that beautiful smile of her's.

Maybe one day we will regret not having bought our DVC membership right now but I am convinced it was not the good time for us. I believe that if we lived closer to WDW (a driving distance) things would have been different but when you factor plane tickets for the whole family every time we visit things start getting way too expensive.

I just read your TR & it's great! I love your daughter's name. Beatriz pictures at Character Spot cracked me up looking at her expressions!
You have a beautiful family & I'm glad that you were able to spend time with your sister.
I watched the family video & it was so great!!!!! I wish I was talented enough to know how to make one for our family!

Thank you and . I love your journal too and I am very happy you made it here.
Beatriz is a strong name that fits my little one very well. Some people find it too outdated but I love it anyways.
My BIL says he did the video with his mac with a program called IMovie. According to him the whole thing is very easy to do and he was just the monkey pressing the buttons. His words. Not mine.

 

[Queila]

Sorry for my absence. This is turning out to be the endless trip report, isn't it?

We just came back from a trip to Knoxville, TN and it was great to be among family! On our drive down we stopped to sleep somewhere in West Virginia and when we checked in our hotel Beatriz asked us where were the animals. The poor thing thinks hotel equals AKL.

Well, where were we... oh yes... Wednesday was our day off and we had just gotten back to our hotel for a swim. We had reservations to eat at Sanaa at 6pm but by then we realized that this was going to be "too early" for us. We then asked at the front desk if they could change our reservation for later that night and they moved it to 8h30 pm. That gave us enough time fr a swim and a nap before super time.

We loved the pool at Jambo house. The zero entry is a great feature and allowed us to relax and enjoy ourselves with Beatriz.

There she is in her little Piglet swimsuit:

Beatriz loved it so much we had a very hard time taking her out of the water. Her lips were purple and her hands and feet all wrinkled but she was loving it!

So we decided to take a little walk around the hotel grounds and look at some animals from a little closer.

And then we found the "Hakuna Matata" playground but there were no other kids playing over there so Beatriz played by herself for a little bit:

So it was around 4pm by then and we headed back to our room, showered, closed the curtains and went down for a nap. Joey called front desk again for a wake up call at 6 pm and the CM wished us a "magical nap". I thought it was cute. ​

 

[Queila]

So after our nap we got dressed up and gt ready for our meal at Sanaa. It was great to be all dressed up and rested for our super. We wanted it to be a special night, like a little break in the middle of the week to slow down and count our blessings.

So we took a walk from Jambo House to Kidani and it was a very pleasant one. It took us something between 10 to 15 minutes at a small pace.

When we got to the restaurant we realized it was very empty. Maybe it was because it was passed the "rush hour" or maybe because it is still a Disney hidden gem but we practically had the whole place to ourselves.

At the entrance of the restaurant we asked someone to take a picture of us but I guess they decided Beatriz was not important:

Oh! There she is!

I have to say that Sanaa was our favorite sit down meal of the whole trip. I understand this type of thing is subjective but it ranked number 1 for us for a number of reasons.

The service was impeccable. Our waiter was an Italian guy Mario and he treated us like royalty. Of course he did not have another dozen of tables to wait at the same time so he could give us his full attention.

The fact that we were relaxed and rested did not hurt either and the food was just AMAZING. As I said before we really enjoy ethnic food so we did not shy away from anything from the menu.

As an appetizer we ordered the Indian- style bread service for two ($8.99) which we payed out of pocked since it was not included in our DDP. Sorry. No picture.

As a main dish I ordered the Tandoori lamb served with Apricot-Raisin Chutney and Five-Grain Pilaf. Hands down, best dish I had on the trip!

Joey had the sustainable fish of the day with shrimp and scallops served with seasonal vegetables in a light curry broth.

We also ordered on the side a portion of white rice with steamed vegetables for Beatriz and she had that with bits and pieces of our main dishes. They never charged us for the rice and vegetables and when we pointed to that fact to our waiter he told us it was on the house. Disney magic.

I just felll in love with the place:

For dessert I ordered the dessert sampler which consisted of Chocolate Cake, Tropical Fruit Kulfi, and Chai Cream:

Joey had a full serving of Chai Cream for himself. Best dessert of the trip according to him:

Family shot after our meal:

​

 

[natebenma]

Super update!

I enjoyed your great review of Saana. The food looks and sounds incredible. I love all of the exotic dining choices available at Disney! Good call on pushing back your reservation and resting up for it. Nothing can ruin a dining experience more than an exhausted family.

Once again, fantastic pictures of Beatriz. The closeup in the pool and the playground pictures are stunning. Her hairpiece (sorry, mom of boys, don't know what it is called), is adorable.

Beatriz seems to love the water. Does she get many opportunities to swim back at home?