Who's Turn Is It To Throw Up Today? A Feb 2014 Wedding TR - New TR link 10/27!!

[katt789]

Looks like lunch was good at least! I was gonna say, I barely recognized the food courts! Then again, I was only there for 3 days when I stayed at Sports lol!

I do have to say though, it's interesting to me the differences between the choices at value resorts, versus Art of Animation, the options at aoa are just healthier, even the make your own pasta has grilled meat/prawns, etc, the pasta is multigrain…interesting… Lol.

Ugh, this is why I'm having such internal struggles with the fact that there are 5 of us going in Sept, that's just 1 person too many for me, i like the smaller groups. Getting ready I always budget 30 mins to an hour in the morning, Steven & I would be ready and done in under 10, it's glorious, adding on more people just takes so much more time!

I do hope things worked out better later on for you!![/FONT]

 

[MEK]

Ack - I'm such a Disney commando that I'm getting anxious just reading about spending so much time in the food court! Get thee to a park!

Sorry - this cracked me up!

Love the room. It's so cute. And the new food court is also really adorable!

Now I agree - get thee to a park!

 

[Chicago Mo]

i haven't seen the rooms at AS. they're adorable!!! all the food looked YUM!!


ooohhhhhhhh need to know if you made it!!!

 

[PhoenixStrength]

All caught up now!

Your family explanation was not confusing to me. Glad everyone made it there in time. I seem to have bad luck with the ME line too, so maybe I also jinx them to be slow!

Your dealing with your family while they slowly ate is the exact reason why I like solo trips! When I'm done I want to jump up and go, so sitting around waiting would drive me nuts.

Can't wait to hear about the rest of your first day.

 

[disneychic2]

Yes, I agree with everyone that it would make me crazy to have to wait so much! I guess that's why it's always just Dan and I. Our last trip was different with our Granddaughter along, but that's another story.

I do like the room decor for ASSports. You took a lot of pictures, which is good. I seem to always forget to take pics when we first arrive. And our meals are half eaten when I remember food pics. I'm certainly no Mo! haha

Can't wait to hear how the group did in the park. I'm sure your patience was tested more than once!

 

[Pluto0809]

I feel for you. I've gone to WDW with parents and siblings. It's not fun trying to marshall everyone to get moving; especially when you know what it could be like at the parks; and they've never experienced it before.

It was a bit stressful herding everyone for the whole week!

Shame about the mediocre food. It all looks good. But cold and dry should never be used to described food you chew. Beer and Chardonnay? Completely different.

I kind of expect mediocre food at the All Stars. I had a similar experience at Music.

Sorry your food wasn't the greatest. Man you must have a lot of patience, because I would've gotten so annoyed and antsy! Bummer that you couldn't change your GMR time

Oh believe me I was annoyed I'm just really good at hiding it. This was the only day that I had trouble making FP+ changes. I'm guessing it was because it was a Saturday and the park was very crowded.

You just discribed my classic Disney nightmare, having to wait what seems like hours for my large group to start moving. That's the one that wakes me up screaming and in a cold sweat!!

It was somewhat of a nightmare!

Honestly, it's amazing to me that the All Stars seem to be better themed than POP. I do love POP, but I still find it interesting.

The All Stars are very well themed. I've stayed at Music and Sports now and liked both. I still prefer Pop though because it has a much better food court.

Now THAT is a job I would love to have like the CM's at All Stars. All you have to do is play. Sounds like .

They did seem to be having a lot of fun with the kids!

It's so funny to me now. When I traveled in a group I was ALWAYS so anxious to get moving. I hated wasting time and it always drove me . But on my solo trips, I tended to stop much longer. Go figure.

I'm the same exact way! I guess when you are along it's your choice to waste time rather than at the whim of other people.

Ack - I'm such a Disney commando that I'm getting anxious just reading about spending so much time in the food court! Get thee to a park!

Oh I was right there with you. I'm usually very commando when I'm by myself. That's why I like taking a solo trip once in a while to balance out the family trips.

You know, I HAVE seen (and taken) my fair share of pictures in All Star rooms, but the rooms seem to have changed since I last stayed in one! So it's interesting to me, at least. Hahha

I do know that they just renovated the food court but I'm not sure about the rooms. I could tell it had been a while though because the carpet in our room was pretty worn.

Oh man, times like those can be pretty aggravating, where everyone else is content on hanging out and not in a hurry, and you just want to GO!

I was pretty annoyed sitting there!

 

[Pluto0809]

Looks like lunch was good at least! I was gonna say, I barely recognized the food courts! Then again, I was only there for 3 days when I stayed at Sports lol!

Well, they just completely renovated the food court so that's probably why you didn't recognize it. It was closed for a while in January and they were busing people to the other All Stars to eat.

I do have to say though, it's interesting to me the differences between the choices at value resorts, versus Art of Animation, the options at aoa are just healthier, even the make your own pasta has grilled meat/prawns, etc, the pasta is multigrain…interesting… Lol.

Yeah, I think the choices at AOA and POP are much better than the All Stars.

Ugh, this is why I'm having such internal struggles with the fact that there are 5 of us going in Sept, that's just 1 person too many for me, i like the smaller groups. Getting ready I always budget 30 mins to an hour in the morning, Steven & I would be ready and done in under 10, it's glorious, adding on more people just takes so much more time!

At least it was just Mom and I in the room but it was hard getting everyone ready in the mornings. Starting with the second day, I told my group to meet 15 minutes earlier than I really wanted to leave. That actually helped some.

I do hope things worked out better later on for you!![/FONT]

Well, you'll see with the next update that the rest of the day wasn't the best. But it did get better as the week went on.

Sorry - this cracked me up!

Love the room. It's so cute. And the new food court is also really adorable!

Now I agree - get thee to a park!

I never saw the old food court but I thought it was pretty cute! I was really anxious to get moving that's for sure!

i haven't seen the rooms at AS. they're adorable!!! all the food looked YUM!!


ooohhhhhhhh need to know if you made it!!!

The rooms are very cute. Probably much smaller than you are used to at the Poly but it worked fine for just Mom and I. The next update is coming right up!

All caught up now!

Your family explanation was not confusing to me. Glad everyone made it there in time. I seem to have bad luck with the ME line too, so maybe I also jinx them to be slow!

Glad you were able to keep everyone straight. I was very worried for a while about the group coming from up North with all the snow they have been getting. I was very happy that everyone made it on time!

Your dealing with your family while they slowly ate is the exact reason why I like solo trips! When I'm done I want to jump up and go, so sitting around waiting would drive me nuts.

Me too! I need something to balance out the family trips!

Can't wait to hear about the rest of your first day.

Coming right up!

Yes, I agree with everyone that it would make me crazy to have to wait so much! I guess that's why it's always just Dan and I. Our last trip was different with our Granddaughter along, but that's another story.

That's why I like to do solo trips once in a while to balance out the family trips! So did you ever start a TR?

I do like the room decor for ASSports. You took a lot of pictures, which is good. I seem to always forget to take pics when we first arrive. And our meals are half eaten when I remember food pics. I'm certainly no Mo! haha

I've got myself pretty well trained to take pictures of the room. I will say I was not as good about the food pictures this time. There was a few occations I started eating before I got a picture.

Can't wait to hear how the group did in the park. I'm sure your patience was tested more than once!

Oh believe me, it was! You'll see in a few minutes when I post the next installment.

 

[Pluto0809]

I was pretty bad with pictures the rest of this day mainly because it rained off and on and I didn’t want to get my camera out. So I’m going to go ahead and finish up this day with this update. I promise I took a lot more pictures the rest of the week!

Once we finally made it to the bus stop at 2:45 pm, the bus to HS came pretty quickly. I was still hopeful at that point that we could make our first FP+, there is a 15 minute grace period so we still had till 3:25 pm to get there. The bus was packed with mostly groups of cheerleaders when it pulled up but we managed to find a seat for my Mom and Pat. The rest of us stood. Then we headed on to the other two All Stars where tons of people got off and on the bus. Bob, Jocelyn and I managed to snag seats but John chose to stand. We finished up at All Star Movies and headed out. But then we circled back to All Star Sports and picked up even more people. The bus was jam packed!

All of the circling took forever and it was almost 3:30 pm by the time our bus pulled up to the stop at HS.



We headed in and I checked wait times which were all long. I expected that though since it was a Saturday and an EMH day. The line for GMR was luckily only 25 minutes. Since there was no chance to make the FP+ I decided we needed to stop for some Photopass pictures. I had pre-purchased Memory Maker and wanted to get my money’s worth.

Unfortunately Bob wasn’t too keen on the pictures but he did at least smile for them.





He didn’t participate in the thumbs up that the Photographer asked us to do.



We continued back towards the hat and got in line for GMA.



Even though the wait time said 25 minutes I know by the time stamps on my photos we only waited about 15.

















When we loaded there was only one car running at a time so that meant we would be getting the gangster scene. I snapped this picture:



And then I realized I could still see the back end of the car that loaded before us sitting under that sign. We sat there for a few minutes then the CMs announced that the ride was down, unloaded us and sent us out the exit door. So we waited in line for absolutely nothing. Not a great start to our HS afternoon! The only good thing to come out of that was at least we didn’t get stuck on the actual ride. I wonder how long the people had to sit before the ride started up again.

Continued in Next Post

 

[Pluto0809]

Continued from Previous Post

In line we had discussed a few of the shows at HS and Pat had mentioned how much she liked American Idol. It was now 3:55 pm and the next show started at 4 pm so I hurried everyone in that direction and we made it in time to see the show.

Sometimes they tell you no flash photography in this show and sometimes no photography at all. This was one of the times they said no photography but I did try to sneak a quick picture without being noticed. Not a very good one since I mostly got backs of heads.



The show was pretty good. If you haven’t seen the show, they basically have three contestants (park guests who try out earlier in the day) who sing, get critiqued by three judges and then the audience votes for the winner. The first guy was supposed to be a theater major but he was horrible. My brother was convinced he was a plant so the judges had someone to be mean too. The second contestant was a 14 year old girl who looked scared to death. But when she started to sing, she was amazing. She did an Alicia Keys song and it was beautiful. The third girl wasn’t too bad either, she sang a Spanish version of Reflection from Mulan but she did go flat on some of the high notes. It was pretty obvious that the second girl was going to win and she did.

Our next FP+ was for RNRC from 3:50 – 4:50 pm so we headed that way after AI. I had wanted to catch it towards the end so we were finally on the schedule I had for this day.



This coaster tends to make me a bit queasy but I did alright this time, I think because I rode it first before TOT. Afterwards, I headed to the desk to get our pictures since I had Memory Maker. It was a very easy process. I took a picture with my camera of the number and gave them to the CM at the photo desk. A quick scan of my MB and I was on my way again. I think my brother wins for funniest face this time.





When we exited the building it had started to rain again. It really wasn’t raining that hard and most of us didn’t even bother to pull out the ponchos I had brought for everyone. People were acting like it was a monsoon though and we had to fight our way into the restrooms for a bathroom break before our next FP+.

Our TOT FP+ was for 5 – 6 pm and I managed to time it almost perfectly and it was just a little past 5 pm when we headed into the line. This ride is rapidly becoming one of my favorites and I really enjoyed the experience as usual. I still haven’t quite figured out the timing of the photo though. The people in the back on the other side of us obviously have!



I had planned on some time exploring the Streets of America and maybe the Star Wars area so Bob and Pat could see some more of the park but it was still raining when we got off of TOT. Pat had mentioned she wanted to do some shopping for their grandkids so we made our way up Sunset Boulevard and then down Hollywood Boulevard through the shops. I can’t remember what all they bought but I do know they got a cute set of Cars Matchbox cars.

We headed out of HS about 6 pm having done way less than I had originally planned and headed to catch a boat to our dinner destination.



A boat was waiting for us but there weren’t enough seats so I ended up standing along with my brother and Jocelyn. I was fine with that as long as my Mom got a seat. She has some minor balance issues so I always make sure to get her a seat.

We were headed to the Beach Club and Cape May for dinner so we got off at the second stop after the Swan and Dolphin. Since we caught a boat so quickly we were pretty early so we found a little alcove and sat for a while. Bob noticed the light fixture above the area and told me I needed to take a picture.



He also told me I needed to take a picture of this fixture:



He seemed pretty impressed with all the little details that Disney puts in everywhere. That was all the pictures I took because I noticed there was no line at the concierge desk so I went to pin trade. I decided on this trip not to just look for Pluto pins but to trade for other ones I liked. There was no Pluto ones but I found a Mickey one I liked. I was very bad this time with taking pictures of my pin trades so I will post those all together at the end of the TR.

At 6:45 pm I went and checked us in and our buzzer went off right at 7 pm which was our ADR time. We were seated in a little room that is immediately to the right when you enter the restaurant. Our server scanned our MBs to get our dining plans and then took our drink orders. Then we all headed up to the buffet. Here’s my first plate. Sorry but this was the only plate I took of the meal because eating crab is messy so I put my camera away.



I really struggled with the buffet this time. I am very picky but I can usually find enough to eat. I really missed the beef short ribs they had last time. On my plate I have mashed potatoes, pork ribs, mac and cheese, a crab leg and prime rib. The only reason I got the pork ribs was because the waiter mentioned they were really good. I only took one bite, they were very fatty and I did not like them at all.

We all struggled a bit with the crab legs because they were pretty cold. They are really hard to crack and get the meat out if they aren’t hot enough. Jocelyn is a champion when it comes to crab cracking and she was really looking forward to this meal. But she only got crab on her first trip because she said it wasn’t worth trying to get the meat out.

There were some dishes that were hits. Everyone who had the seafood chowder said it was delicious. There was also some kind of mixed veggie dish that everyone was getting seconds of.

For dessert, I was looking forward to one thing, the Boston Crème cake and it did not disappoint. Since that was all I got, I didn’t take a picture but John tried a little of everything so I got his plate.



The Boston Crème cake I was talking about is the item on the back. Besides that I’m not too sure what everything else was.

Overall I think everyone enjoyed the meal but Mom and I were both a little disappointed as we both felt it was much better when we were there in 2012. Our server was just ok during the meal he took a little long clearing out our dirty plates. At one point we had quite a stack in the middle of the table. We also had to ask him to bring wet napkins which were provided right away when we went last time.

After a brief stop in the Beach Club gift shop, we left and walked towards Epcot. I did finally take some more pictures of the Boardwalk at night.







We entered Epcot through the International Gate and I asked if anyone wanted to see Illuminations. It had stopped raining but it was pretty chilly so no one wanted to stay. Oh, funny thing, Pat didn’t realize we were entering Epcot and she walked right through the gate without scanning her MB. None of the CMs noticed so I think that’s one of the bad things about the open layout they now have.

We didn’t do much in Epcot, just walked through. I did see the pin board out at the pin store and stopped really quickly to pin trade. I traded for another Mickey pin and also a Pirate pin for Jim. There was a Pluto pin on the board but the little girl in front of me took it.

We exited out the front gate just as Illuminations started and didn’t wait too long for a bus back to our resort. I went to bed feeling like the day was mostly a failure. Between the rain, the broken down GMR, very little time in HS and the mediocre dinner, it just didn’t seem like a great day.

Up Next: Lighten Up, You’re at Disney!

 

[DisneyKid4Life]

Wow, I'm kind of surprised the bus was that packed in the middle of the afternoon.

Wow, really... No photography allowed AT ALL??? Admittedly I haven't seen AI Experience in quite some time, but that seems odd.

I think the thing that's standing out to me in the ToT ride photos is how bundled up everyone seems to be. Is that girl in the back wearing mittens????

I was always curious about about the fact that you could "technically" walk right in to a park without scanning. Clearly that seems to be the case. I guess FP's probably wouldn't work, but who knows? Still an odd design.

 

[Marsheliz]

I'm in!!

Hate it was raining but I'll take a rainy day at Disney anyway!

Can't wait to read more!

 

[missangelalexis]

Love the pics in front of the hat. And I LOVE that border! I've seen some other people use that and I am very jealous it wasn't available when I did mine.

UGH how frustrating about GMR It just wasn't meant to be I guess.

And I'm sorry that dinner wasn't as good as the last time you were there, that's always disappointing.

I'm sure I would've felt bummed out too, not the best way to start your Disney vacation. But at least you got RNR and TOT in and of course you have your other days to (hopefully) make up for it!!

 

[RunningGirl]

Love some ToT! That's a great pose by the guy in the back. DHS is a decent park in the rain, since at least the rides are inside and don't get shut down.

Sorry for the disappointing dinner. I've never been there; I never feel like I eat enough to justify the cost of a Disney buffet. The exception I'll make is breakfast at CP, mostly just to get in the park early!

 

[wiigirl]

Great pics!

 

[PrincessInOz]

Love the photopass/memory maker pictures you got at HS. I like the group ones with the Hat in the background.

Shame you missed a FP+ ride and that GMR was down. Sorry that you felt like the day was a failure. It still seems pretty good to me.

Hope that tomorrow ends up being a better day.

 

[DMGeurts]

I love your hat pictures - despite the rain, they turned out nice and bright.

I dream of the day I can wear sweatshirts in Disney again.

We kind of came to the same conclusion about Cape May dinner buffet... It was good - there was some good food (loved the chowder) - but unless you were an expert at crab cracking (which I am NOT) - then it's kind of a waste to eat there.

It's too bad that your day wasn't all you hoped it would be. I sure hope the next one is better.

D~

 

[PhoenixStrength]

So sorry your first evening was a disappointment! At least you got in a couple of good attractions at DHS and some nice pins trades.

 

[sweetpeaandevie]

oooh, two days and you have two updates already!!!!

well, boo, I hate that you didn't get as much done as you wanted....but still, it is Disney!!!

Hoping the next day is better.....and maybe several more before the sickness starts (why is there not a fingers crossed smilie?)

 

[marDgreen88]

Wow, I'm so surprised you had so many stops until you got to the park! In all the times I've stayed at the All Stars, I've never had a shared bus. So strange.

I'm sorry your day wasn't all you hoped it would be... but I hope it got better throughout the trip!

 

[cstorm65]

I'm subscribing and enjoying your report so far! What a bummer about the crab at Cape May. The crab was great on our dinner there last summer. It was hot, easy to crack and eat. I bet it is just one of those places it depends on the night and who is cooking it and getting it set out. Hope things get better for you as the trip goes on!