Will You Chill Out if I Sprinkle You With Pixie Dust? The End p136 *New TR Link* p138

[englishrose47]

Just checkin' in!!!

 

[CandleontheWater]

Ugg the train delays! Unfortunately that is the norm for Amtrak. We took it often between DC and CT and my parents would always bank on us arriving at least an hour after we should have.

We found the interior of the treehouses to be really lovely, but like you, thought they were a little dark, and I didn't love the lack of locks on the doors.

Its nice you guys got a swim in before heading to the parks, we never seem to spend much time at the pools, something I'd like to remedy in the future.

 

[MEK]

Holy Cow! I am really behind on my own TR! YIKES!

joining in

MiaBella! Thanks so much for joining in! Glad to have you along for this TR!

I'm here to join and read along!! I definitely understand about preferring fast food to sit down after a long plane ride, and hey, McD's has some good choices haha

Katt. Thanks so much for joining in. FF is not my first choice, ever, but sometimes its just so darn convenient you just gotta go for it.

Sleeping in on a disney vacation?! Heck no, totally doesn't fly haha. Okay, okay, I guess it does when you'r just going to check in somewhere else & wait for more people.

I never sleep in. I get up so darn early for work that it takes me a week before I can even start to sleep late, but those darn teenagers can sleep for EVER!

GAH! I absolutely love SSR & the treehouses, they look TOTALLY AWESOME, I would LOVE to stay there some day. So much awesome. That's kinda weird about the bathrooms having no locks, weird. I'm excited to read more!

The treehouse was really great and I am so glad we had the chance to stay there. The lock thing was a little unnerving, but we managed without any accidental peep shows.

Great updates, MaryEllen. Love all the pictures of the villas (I had seen the living room/kitchen area, but never the bedrooms). Love the detail keeping with the theme.

Thanks Kathy! The bedrooms were pretty cool. I really did like how they used the "tree" them right into the bedrooms. The bed frame was really neat.

Hooray for them finally arriving and some pool time to cool everyone off. I didn't see a picture of your brother. Was that on purpose?

The pool was just what everyone needed. My brother didn't go to the pool, if you can believe that. In fact, he didn't go to the pool all week.

He actually is in one of the pictures but he's at the bottom of the stairs behind my SIL and their youngest.

My family just bought into DVC and our home resort is SSR. We have booked our own TV for next May.

Nawlins Cruiser. Thanks for joining in and welcome to the DIS boards. I hope you really enjoy it here and get tons of good info. Congrats on your SSR purchase and your upcoming treehouse stay. I hope you love it. It's definitely a cool place to stay.

Loving your report so far!

Thanks. I'm so glad you are enjoying it!

I HAVE experienced that GPS unresponsiveness after arriving at an airport 1,000+ miles from home! One time in Houston we were holding it out the window, trying to help it find the satellites.

Its crazy, isn't it and its not like you can give it a warning that you have changed your location by 1000 miles. Maybe if it knew what it was searching for it would warm up sooner,

Boy, you were determined to get some bathroom pictures, come heck or....high water.

Just doing what any good DISer would do! Good thing Denny or Nick didn't have to use the facilities.

The treehouse villas look really nice!

They were lovely. I was so happy to have a chance to stay there because I don't think we will have the occasion to do it again, but ya never know.

Ok, I'm all caught up now and I'm loving it!

Awesome!

The Treehouse Villa's look so great. So many great touches.

They really did do a great job with the whole theme. It ties together so well.

Sounds like pool time was the best thing for everyone. I know Danielle always wants to hit the pool, but we usually are headed to DTD on our arrival day. I'm looking forward to reading how you heard all these newbies around the world. I love showing someone the World for the first time.

I think the pool actually rejuvenated the kids a little. I think they were tired, but at the same time they needed to blow off some energy from being cooped up for awhile.

Herding the family was definitely not very easy. Its far too easy for 9 people to get really separated and that happened more than once.

 

[MEK]

Looking forward to your trip report.

:welcome" Jacksonev! Thanks for joining in and good luck with your TOT run!

I'm feeling about 60% back to my old self. The hot weather isn't helping! Been spending lots of time on Turner Classic Movies!

Well, I hope you continued to feel 10 % better everyday. Sounds like you were pretty darn sick so its still going to take some time. I hear ya on the weather. It feels terrible outside during the day. You can actually feel the heat on your skin in under a minute. Enough already.

Tell me about it we have tons of Photo Albums around the house my dad loves making them for everything. We have ones for trip and then there ar ones with some of the pictures taken during a particular year.

That's great. Its wonderful to pull out an old album from prior trips. I have photobooks from some of my trips, but they just aren't the same.

Yaeh it was a kind of neat layout although I do like the new one too.

I want to research it a bit more to see what the old model was like. I need pics.

That area has an interesting history with WDW it originally was going to be a place for people to live a lot like what celebration became, the only problem with it was they would have had to give them voting rights on everything. So they axed that idea. It eventually became the Vials at the Disney Marketplace and then they added the Disney Institute part of it. Most of the buildings for Saratoga Springs sit where the original ones did too. It looked more like your typical time share type of place then a Disney resort.

That is interesting. And I thought all the land where Saratoga Springs is was originally undeveloped. Shows how little I know. It really is a neat location. I know not everyone likes it, but I do.

I guess if people are willing to put up with it Disney doesn’t really see it as a problem.

It's funny - I usually get a survey around this time, but I haven't seen anything yet. I really want to comment on the bus system. But, sure, if people tolerate then why change it.

They did that at the Disney Institute too. I remember when we checked we took a six seat golf cart to the treehouse for the first time, well my dad drove are rental van behind us.

Was the road network different or did cars still have to go out on the main road?

All caught up, LOVE the inside of the Tree house, though I have to agree that I would be less than thrilled with no locking doors inside at all. what's up with that I wonder? maybe too far for maintenance to come open them if people lock themselves in/out of a door? strange.

I think that's exactly it. They didn't want to have to send maintenance over 5 times a day.

You are so welcome to the gift cert - it seemed a shame to waste it and I think you always make at least one stop in DTD.

Ah - yes - DTD is a must on every vacation. Especially when you are right across the river.



I

bet the boys enjoyed the pool after being stuck on the train for so long. Looks like a good start for them!

They loved it! It was just what everyone needed and it helped the, stretch after all that sitting still. Perfect timing.

Subscribing! We took the autotrain the first time we went to Florida- my son is a huge train lover. I think he kids liked it because it felt like our vacation wasn't over. Why is the train always delayed on the way down( or so it seems)?

krhst! Thanks for joining in!

That's an interesting way to look at it - the train is part of the vacation. I can see that. Well, until the first delay. Then my vacation would be over!

And I have NO idea why. I know they change crew sometime in the middle of the night but the other delays had to do with disabled cars on the tract. Ugh!

Just checkin' in!!!

Hey Rosie! Going to start another update tonight!

Ugg the train delays! Unfortunately that is the norm for Amtrak. We took it often between DC and CT and my parents would always bank on us arriving at least an hour after we should have.

Really? I did not realize that running late was so common with the Amtrak trains. That's a drag.

We found the interior of the treehouses to be really lovely, but like you, thought they were a little dark, and I didn't love the lack of locks on the doors.

The darkness worked great in the morning because I actually slept until 7am everyday, which is late for me. And I drug myself out of bed every morning. I could have easily gone right back to sleep.

Its nice you guys got a swim in before heading to the parks, we never seem to spend much time at the pools, something I'd like to remedy in the future.

The swim was perfect.

I have a confession to make - I had a lot of pool time on this trip. I took a break every afternoon and the weather cooperated every day. Totally lucked out with that!

 

[MEK]

Prelude to a Meltdown

Why no Meltdown tonight?

Probably because I have so many pictures to post I won't get there yet, but I do want to start my next update, even though it is fairly late at night. Gotta get this thing going!

In my last update we moved into the villa, my brother's family arrived, and we went for a nice afternoon swim.

But this was Disney World and MK was open late EMH, so time was awasting. It was time to get our park on.


Magic Kingdom- Here We Come!

We decided to drive. Since we had to go over to SSR to catch an MK bus, I figured it might be just was easy to drive. I was a little concerned about crowds as we were leaving, but I figured I'd give it a go. How bad could it be? Right?

We passed the Richard Petty Driving Experience, so now I know where it is.

We parked in the AAA Diamond lot. It's been years - 10 years to be exact - since I've parked here, so I couldn't remember how far this section of the lot was from the entrance.

So we took the tram

We had a short wait for the ferry

And we were off

Everyone went upstairs, except for Josh and I

It took me a sec to remember what the crane was for at the GF. I really can't wait until that DVC opens because I am SO staying there.

Love this place

It didn't take long until Space Mountain come into view

And then the MK entrance, complete with castle. I love this sight!

When we disembarked I told my SIL we could either go right to a ride or go eat dinner (despite the fact that we just ate 4 hours ago). She said they were all starving, so dinner it was.

I was originally thinking Cosmic Rays, but then the thought of everyone running this way and that made me reconsider. I decided to lead everyone towards CHH. I figured if they didn't like the menu there we could go to Peco's Bill.

But not before we got a group shot.

This was are one and only group shot of the trip. Glad I insisted on it when I did. My brother is in the orange and he IS smiling -at least he is smiling now.

The site of tomorrow's breakfast

I still had my distance lens on from the ferry ride, so no pictures of the entire castle.

I had My bro and SIL check at the menu at CHH and the agreed it would work. We ordered as a party of 9. I decided to take the smaller kids upstairs to find a table.

So, naturally, I found some time for a photo-op

From the upstairs window

Watching his mom and dad

Continued in Next Post.........

 

[ireneryan]

I just want more. I am so looking forward to hearing this whole story!! Keep up the good work. I love the pictures!!!

 

[EastYorkDisneyFan]

I want to research it a bit more to see what the old model was like. I need pics.

I'll see if I can scan them and try and post them.

That is interesting. And I thought all the land where Saratoga Springs is was originally undeveloped. Shows how little I know. It really is a neat location. I know not everyone likes it, but I do.

I though that too until I used the historic view on Google Earth. It was intresting to see the new building laid over the old ones.

Was the road network different or did cars still have to go out on the main road?

Nope the trehouses had there own entrance off of the street. I think there was also another set of vilas that had there own entrance too. Most of the way they were all designed was to be around the golf course.

 

[vamassey1]

Looks like you're in the middle of an update. I just wanted to say I love the castle shots you took and CHH is my favorite CS in MK. Good choice for a somewhat relaxing CS meal.

 

[amandaw]

Yay! Y'all made it to MK!

Very nice group shot!

I've heard many good things about CHH. Thinking of trying it on our upcoming trip.

Can't wait to hear about the looming meltdown.

 

[MEK]

Continued.........

Good thing it was empty upstairs because the 9 of us took up three tables.

My choice was the lobster roll. Why? I don't know. It was sort of an impulse choice.

Here's a picture and, honestly, it looks like a roll filled with mayo!

My opinion - It was pretty good. Not great, but not bad. It would have been better without quite so much mayo.

What I really wanted to try was the salmon. So why didn't I? Well, honestly, I really wasn't all that hungry and I have to be hungry for salmon.

Here's Denny's plate. Note: I took these food pics with my cell, so the quality is not the best.

I didn't taste his salmon, but the couscous and the broccoli were really good.

I did not pay attention to what anyone else had. For dessert, I had the apple crisp. It was yummy and one of the better QS desserts in the parks.

By this point I was pretty ready to get my ride on. After all, I had been in Florida almost 24 hours without a single ride.

First stop - Haunted Mansion. Of course, my mother called around the time we were getting in line so I didn't have my regular camera out. And because I couldn't bare to wait another minute to ride something, I took everyone through the regular queue. I know, I know - tsk tsk.

I took a few cell pics in line

No one even noticed that we bypassed the cemetery

Wow - I really didn't take very many pics. Oh well. Before I knew it, we were in the stretching room. I really wasn't sure how everyone would react to this. Having been on this ride a gillion times I positioned us for the most efficient exit.

When the hanging scene in the stretching room was over my littlest nephew, CJ, looked straight at me and, in the most matter of fact voice, said, " I was scared". Not " I WAS scared", but "I was scared". In other words, he wanted to make sure that I knew the ride had the effect it was supposed to. I cracked up! It's one of my favorite lines of the trip. Love it!

I didn't take any pictures on the ride. This is probably a first for me, so I'll leave you with these bride pics I took in December.

Heck, I can't write about HM without posting something.

HM was a success. So far the evening was going well. I had my fingers crossed that it would continue to do so.

Up Next - Not one of my fav rides, but one that every first timer must ride - It's a Small World.

The line was long, so I had to fight the urge not to leave. But, fortunately, the line moved fast.

I tried my hardest not to use a flash, but at some points its just too dark to get a good pic in natural light. Here's a few

I continued to struggle with the low light pictures until I actually turned the flash on for these

Continued in the Next Post........

 

[MEK]

Continued........

This is my favorite scene in the ride, probably because it means I am almost done listening to that annoying song

Kidding - but this section of the ride always makes me flash back to one of our first trips when all I wanted to do was get on BTMMR and Splash before the park closed (it was late August, so a 9pm close was planned), and we got stuck on this ride. I started to panic, thinking for sure we would miss both rides. We didn't - we made it. But I still have flashbacks!

Yeah - what she said......

Next stop was the carousel where Nick got on with my bro's family. I think he's texting his GF again!

Probably the only other decent pictures I got of anyone riding the carousel

I took some fantasyland construction pics while waiting for the ride to finish

Beast's Castle. I really can't wait to see this

Our Next stop was Philarmagic.

When we entered the theatre we ended up in a row with people sitting smack in the middle of it and it was obvious they were not going to move. One of my nephews said to me "Let's just sit here", meaning right next to the them. I replied, "No, we are going to do the right thing and keep moving to the end of the row". Someone in the party heard me and made some type of mocking comment to me and proceeded to giggle. Obvious, that did not go over well, but I took the high road, ignored them, and just kept walking to the end of the row.

I don't get it. These people spoke English. They know the rules. How can some people think they are so entitled to have their pick of seats and why aren't they embarrassed that everyone has to crawl over them? It's so NOT magical.

End of rant!

When we got to the row we realized that Josh was missing, The theatre was 100% packed and my SIL started to freak a little. Fortunately, she was able to find him still at the beginning of our row trying to make his way in, but that was after she screamed his name a few times in a tone akin to nails on a chalkboard.

Despite our seating woes, everyone enjoyed the show. Dinner plus 4 rides. This was going OK. Phew!

Or was it?

Dump shop pic

You have no idea how much I wanted these Princess ears, but better judgment prevailed and I put them back

When we got back outside it was starting to get dark out.

Or was there a storm rolling in?

Yum, Yeah....... It was looking a little darker out then it should.

"Don't worry", I reassured everyone. "It always rains in Florida, but it never lasts long"

Famous Last Words!

I was enjoying the calm before the storm, so I suggested we go ride Pirates if it was going to rain. I really wanted to take the family on Jungle Cruise. I wanted to taunt the tarantula in the queue, but I knew that ride would close immediately for inclement weather.

Up Next.....A Storm and A Meltdown!

 

[tinacaplan]

Love evening EMHs at MK! Haven't found them to be as productive anywhere else, but then MK is open much later than the other parks.

I would love to stay at the GF someday. But I'd love to seem them freshen up the rooms first. They just don't seem to match the grandeur of that lobby. I love the lobby. Makes me feel like I'm in Lady and the Tramp or Mary Poppins. They just nailed the Victorian thing there.

Great group shot at the castle! I think its right around the hub, as I start running toward the castle, that I get tears in my eyes. Every. Single. Time.

Wow...the distance lens gives you some great detail on the castle, something you don't get to see everyday.

Funny, but I don't remember Mark's lobster roll looking so mayo-ey when he had it in February. Lobster rolls are a funny thing here in New England. Eveywhere but Connecticut, they're the mayo sorta salady things they serve at CHH. In Connecticut, you get picked lobster meat drenched in drawn butter served in a grilled hot dog bun. Point being, the mayo always seems weird to me.

I love that you can get a salmon dinner like that at CS place.

A long line for IASW? I don't think I've ever seen that, or if I have, we've kept walking.
I will admit that this ride is annoying, but I love the hula girls. They're just so cute!

They are really making progress on that castle. Wonder if it will be done by October? I've heard some rumors that Be Our Guest will be open by then.

Oh...come on..why you'd skip the ears? I always see things like that at the parks and think they're a good idea, but then I think about how much I'd wear them and well...they go back on the rack!

Uh-oh...weather doesn't look promising at all!

 

[amandaw]

Oops...I posted before you were done with your updates. Sorry!

The Haunted Mansion is a great 1st ride! I haven't been on it during our last few trips but hope to do it this year. It's just so much fun!

No love for IASW? I know....it's the ride that people either love or hate. I finally started getting better at taking pics without my flash on that ride. But, Peter Pan still gives me lots of trouble.

Love the picture of your son texting on the carousel! Is that what I have to look forward to when Reid gets older?

Sounds like y'all were having a nice time. I hope there wasn't a storm coming y'alls way!

 

[eandesmom]

Yeah for dinner and rides! Boo for storms rolling in, too much mayo, rude people and lost kids stuck at the end of a row. All in all though, seems to going pretty well so far

 

[rndmr2]

Looks like you at least had some good times that first night.

I hate when people stop in the middle, my Mom always hated it, too. (she used to step on their feet as she climbed over them....)

 

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

I can't wait to see the GF DVC when it's all done either! I'm sure it will be gorgeous!

Your lobster roll does look very mayo-y. I really hate mayo, that would have definitely been a meal passed over to DF!

(Hey, this was the first post where I got to type "DF"! )

I'm glad things were going well! (At least, seemingly up until this point!)

 

[2xcited2sleep]

Things do seem to be off to a good start... other than the impending storm and meltdown!

I am definitely not a fan of IASW but agree it is a must for a first timer. What did the gang think of it?

What a cute response from your youngest nephew at HM. He knows how important the trip is to you.

That lobster roll does look a bit mayo-heavy but totally agree it's a good CS spot with some interesting non-standard choices. I tried the hummus sandwich in May and it was good!

You should have gotten the princess ears!!

 

[DisMomAmy]

Sounds like things were off to a good start... but I'm a bit nervous for the next update.

 

[kschafer]

AT LAST...a park!! I don't know I could have been as patient as you were!

I personally am an IASW lover but I get why not everyone is overly fond (for me, it's a childhood memory/ classic Walt thing). your "not so good, low light" pictures are great!!

I'm with you on the middle of the row thing at Philharmagic. Either let others in first or move to the end of the row! Last summer we went in to the theater and the waiting area was quite empty so I told Greg to go ahead and stop in the middle of the row since there weren't a lot of people coming in behind us and he had a hard time doing it LOL!

I'm nervous for you, there is a strong sense of impending doom in your trip, perhaps starting with HM was an omen!

 

[Disneymom77]

Love CHH But on our trip in November my sister's kids threw a fit because there wasn't anything on the menu they liked They are soooo picky!! We ended up at Pecos Bills. People that don't move to the end of a row infuriate me!! I can see not doing it if it's empty, but when it's full they need to move their butts down!! Great pics by the way!