YCFAN
<a href="http://www.wdwinfo.com/dis-sponsor/" targ
- Joined
- Oct 21, 2003
- Messages
- 2,545
Just a few words before I start my trip report. We have been taking a friend along on our vacations for my oldest son since he was about 10. This year we took his 18 year old girl friend! Here are the cast of characters:
Me - 46 - avid Disney planner. Would go every 6 months if allowed.
DH - 42 - Steve- tolerates my Disneymania because he's a good husband but would prefer to be at the beach.
DS - 16 - Evan - use to love Disney, now he's a teenager, only loves his truck.
DSGF - 18 - Kate - hasn't been to Disney since she was 5.
DS - 3 - Andrew - potential Disney partner in crime. Has already been to WDW twice and Disneyland once.
Day One
We pulled up at Kate's house at 5:30 AM to begin our drive from NC to Orlando. By 5:45 we had loaded up and said our goodbyes to her parents, pulled into McDonald's for breakfast and were headed out. It was a pretty uneventful drive only taking seven hours, the fastest we've ever made it. The kids were watching DVD's in the back which was going well until Kate pulled out her full season of "Friends" DVD's. That was still OK until I had heard between each 30 minute segment "so no one told you life was gonna be this way, your job's a joke, you're broke, your love life's DOA......I'll be there for you, cause you're there for me too........"
I use to like this song. After a condensed entire season being played back to back I was really hoping I would never hear it again. Oh well, we're here!!!! We pull up to the YC around 2:00 pm, we had taken a quick lunch break in Daytona. There it is....home.....the guy at the guard house asks for our name and says, "Welcome back." We pull up under the portico and immediately the bellman and valet rush to help us with the luggage and car. Barely having to give them any information at all I simply give our name, he fills out a slip for the valet and I tell him we're concierge guests. I then proceed inside with the rest of the family to the elevators bypassing the entire lobby because Amy, the itinerary planner at YC, has previously sent me an access key to the 5th floor in the mail. The doors to the elevator open and there were pleasant waiting smiles asking if they could help me. I gave my name and they said, "yes, Mrs Duffy, we've been expecting you....let me give Amy a call right now." Before Dane could even get our keys made up which was very quickly, Amy appeared to welcome us with a big hug. She told us to have a magical stay and let her know if there was anything she could do for us. We were then presented with a copy of our itinerary and we were off to our room.
5175 - What a room!! Wonderful view of Crescent Lake and I could already tell that the view of Illuminations was going to be wonderful!!! I had asked Amy to purchase a Mickey, Minnie and Goofy for the kids to be waiting in the room. Along with the plushies she had added autographed corresponding pictures with the plushies except for Andrew's. His autographed picture was from Woody and Buzz Lightyear because she knew they were his favorites. There were also balloons for Andrew and a big Mickey head shaped basket with all kinds of goodies inside. On the bed was a wrapped package addressed to me. It was a beautiful framed picture of the YC with a note from Amy saying that you couldn't buy this in any of the stores and she hoped it would remind me of the YC when I returned back home. She's unbelievable!!!! She never misses a trick and is the MOST thorough CM I have ever met. Everything was crisp and clean and just how I remembered from our last trip. We immediately went down to walk around and the hardwood floors were gleaming. Andrew watches a lot of cartoons at this age and he has a new favorite called "Jakers, the Adventures of Piggly Winks". This cartoon is about Irish barnyard animals and they have a favorite saying when they get excited, it's something like "Jilly Mac" Well, Andrew was going all over the property, around Stormalong Bay and out by the lake and saying over and over "Jilly Mac" "Jilly Mac". It was so funny but I knew it meant he was excited. We had a 6:00 pm PS at the Yachtsman Steakhouse and I was looking forward to this as I had never eaten there before. We were seated and believe it or not, we got Oscar!! He was absolutely wonderful and I told him I had heard of him before. He was very flattered and took wonderful care of us. The meal here was probably the best we had all week. I'll go into detail in my dining reviews but for now I'll just say that I wouldn't hesitate to go back to the Yachtsman Steakhouse any time. My husband jokingly told Oscar to teach Kate to open the wine and he did just that! He had her stand up and was showing her how to open the wine when she broke the cork off in the bottle. Oscar said not to worry and he returned with a carafe and a cheesecloth for straining. He poured the wine through the cheesecloth into the carafe and all was saved!!
The dinner ended with desserts all around (by the way, whoever invented the child's puzzle with paints was a genius) and Oscar presented a rose to Kate for her help with the wine.
After dinner we were worrying because my son had a surprise for Kate and it looked as if it was going to storm. He had secured a Breathless Illuminations Cruise for the two of them and knew if it was storming they would cancel. Just as the critical time drew near where they had to decide whether to cancel or not, a beautiful double rainbow appeared and only a slight drizzle continued. I knew Amy had connections, but now I'm starting to worry a little. They took off on their cruise while my DH and DS3 and I returned to the room. I had ordered champagne and chocolate covered strawberries to be sent to the room while we were at dinner. The rain stopped completely just as Illuminations was about to start. The teenagers were watching from the boat while the rest of us watched from the comfort of our balcony. It was gorgeous and what a way to end our first day in WDW. Andrew watched bedtime stories on TV and the teenagers walked around the property until around midnight. Then everyone turned in looking forward to the next day which would be July 4th!!
Me - 46 - avid Disney planner. Would go every 6 months if allowed.
DH - 42 - Steve- tolerates my Disneymania because he's a good husband but would prefer to be at the beach.
DS - 16 - Evan - use to love Disney, now he's a teenager, only loves his truck.
DSGF - 18 - Kate - hasn't been to Disney since she was 5.
DS - 3 - Andrew - potential Disney partner in crime. Has already been to WDW twice and Disneyland once.
Day One
We pulled up at Kate's house at 5:30 AM to begin our drive from NC to Orlando. By 5:45 we had loaded up and said our goodbyes to her parents, pulled into McDonald's for breakfast and were headed out. It was a pretty uneventful drive only taking seven hours, the fastest we've ever made it. The kids were watching DVD's in the back which was going well until Kate pulled out her full season of "Friends" DVD's. That was still OK until I had heard between each 30 minute segment "so no one told you life was gonna be this way, your job's a joke, you're broke, your love life's DOA......I'll be there for you, cause you're there for me too........"
I use to like this song. After a condensed entire season being played back to back I was really hoping I would never hear it again. Oh well, we're here!!!! We pull up to the YC around 2:00 pm, we had taken a quick lunch break in Daytona. There it is....home.....the guy at the guard house asks for our name and says, "Welcome back." We pull up under the portico and immediately the bellman and valet rush to help us with the luggage and car. Barely having to give them any information at all I simply give our name, he fills out a slip for the valet and I tell him we're concierge guests. I then proceed inside with the rest of the family to the elevators bypassing the entire lobby because Amy, the itinerary planner at YC, has previously sent me an access key to the 5th floor in the mail. The doors to the elevator open and there were pleasant waiting smiles asking if they could help me. I gave my name and they said, "yes, Mrs Duffy, we've been expecting you....let me give Amy a call right now." Before Dane could even get our keys made up which was very quickly, Amy appeared to welcome us with a big hug. She told us to have a magical stay and let her know if there was anything she could do for us. We were then presented with a copy of our itinerary and we were off to our room.
5175 - What a room!! Wonderful view of Crescent Lake and I could already tell that the view of Illuminations was going to be wonderful!!! I had asked Amy to purchase a Mickey, Minnie and Goofy for the kids to be waiting in the room. Along with the plushies she had added autographed corresponding pictures with the plushies except for Andrew's. His autographed picture was from Woody and Buzz Lightyear because she knew they were his favorites. There were also balloons for Andrew and a big Mickey head shaped basket with all kinds of goodies inside. On the bed was a wrapped package addressed to me. It was a beautiful framed picture of the YC with a note from Amy saying that you couldn't buy this in any of the stores and she hoped it would remind me of the YC when I returned back home. She's unbelievable!!!! She never misses a trick and is the MOST thorough CM I have ever met. Everything was crisp and clean and just how I remembered from our last trip. We immediately went down to walk around and the hardwood floors were gleaming. Andrew watches a lot of cartoons at this age and he has a new favorite called "Jakers, the Adventures of Piggly Winks". This cartoon is about Irish barnyard animals and they have a favorite saying when they get excited, it's something like "Jilly Mac" Well, Andrew was going all over the property, around Stormalong Bay and out by the lake and saying over and over "Jilly Mac" "Jilly Mac". It was so funny but I knew it meant he was excited. We had a 6:00 pm PS at the Yachtsman Steakhouse and I was looking forward to this as I had never eaten there before. We were seated and believe it or not, we got Oscar!! He was absolutely wonderful and I told him I had heard of him before. He was very flattered and took wonderful care of us. The meal here was probably the best we had all week. I'll go into detail in my dining reviews but for now I'll just say that I wouldn't hesitate to go back to the Yachtsman Steakhouse any time. My husband jokingly told Oscar to teach Kate to open the wine and he did just that! He had her stand up and was showing her how to open the wine when she broke the cork off in the bottle. Oscar said not to worry and he returned with a carafe and a cheesecloth for straining. He poured the wine through the cheesecloth into the carafe and all was saved!!
The dinner ended with desserts all around (by the way, whoever invented the child's puzzle with paints was a genius) and Oscar presented a rose to Kate for her help with the wine.
After dinner we were worrying because my son had a surprise for Kate and it looked as if it was going to storm. He had secured a Breathless Illuminations Cruise for the two of them and knew if it was storming they would cancel. Just as the critical time drew near where they had to decide whether to cancel or not, a beautiful double rainbow appeared and only a slight drizzle continued. I knew Amy had connections, but now I'm starting to worry a little. They took off on their cruise while my DH and DS3 and I returned to the room. I had ordered champagne and chocolate covered strawberries to be sent to the room while we were at dinner. The rain stopped completely just as Illuminations was about to start. The teenagers were watching from the boat while the rest of us watched from the comfort of our balcony. It was gorgeous and what a way to end our first day in WDW. Andrew watched bedtime stories on TV and the teenagers walked around the property until around midnight. Then everyone turned in looking forward to the next day which would be July 4th!!
