a Fantastical Wooden Coaster-Ride-of-a-trip

TrolleyFollower91 · Jul 2, 2013

I love that you learned certain Portuguese phrases- such a great idea! Although, I don't think I would actually have the guts to use them. If I had children that could be harmed, though, I probably would muster some courage.

I like Magic, Memories, and You way better than whatever version it is now. For some reason I didn't really like the music all that much.

Isn't the explosion of the crowds after Wishes awful? Tomorrowland is always the worst for some reason, too! A lot of times it affects my will to wait for the fireworks (and oh, I love me some Wishes) just because I literally have panic attacks in the mass of people afterwards.

gwhb75 · Jul 2, 2013

Love the trip report so far. We're DVC members too, but have never stayed at BWV before. We stayed at BC two years ago, but we all seem to be in love with AKL right now (staying there again in September)...but is was really nice being able to walk to Epcot whenever we wanted (from BC).

KappleB2 · Jul 2, 2013

Your DH reminds me of my Dad. Poor guy has 2 VERY emotional daughters who are close in age and always compare ourselves to the other!

He too is missing his word vomit filter,hopefully he'll figure it out a bit as they get older.

Really enjoying your report!

journ116 · Jul 3, 2013

tink65 said:
Just got all caught up on your TR and am loving it! I will be excited to see your photos from the shoot. We've never done that but I may need to check into that for our next visit. Can't wait to read more. Thanks for sharing!

Thanks for reading! I, too, am really, really excited to see the end result of our photo session! Hopefully, we'll get our CD next week!

journ116 · Jul 3, 2013

Pooh'sBuddy said:
That's an interesting giraffe. Your ferry pics are cool. Love all the blues!

Oh, wow. Space Mountain with its lights on. What a treat.

I do find the contrast in people amazing. Weirdos invading personal space vs. considerate strangers helping you off the bus.

I always remembered that there are 2 different kinds of giraffes on Disney's savannah, but I always ended up photographing the reticulated. I was elated to finally see the "other" kind...there's a spot on its neck that looks like a maple leaf...did you see that?

With my DH getting to see Space Mtn. with the lights on, he became less "afraid" of the rides' unknowns. He's only ever ridden it once, and it was with me in 2005. He said he was afraid of his head being clipped, but he could clearly see that the tracks are very spaced out...the next time we venture to WDW, he said he'd ride it with me!

Disney can bring out the best or the worst in people and cultures. What's OK and acceptable in one country, may not be entirely acceptable here...I know that Americans like their privacy and space...it's just the way we are...whereas, countries with a romance language are more forgiving and tolerable of one's personal domain. I guess that's the beauty of traveling to a place within the USA where we're able to experience people and their traditions in our own backyard! Buuuut, in the same breath, just don't be a creeper and touch whomever you please, because that's never tolerated!

journ116 · Jul 3, 2013

LeCellier.Lover said:
Your DDs braids looked so cute and perfect, I can't wait to see the pictures!
I hear ya about the heat, I just got back on Sunday and man o man was it humid and sticky!
I love the close-up that you got of the hippo on the safari ride, so cool! I'm sorry about the rude people you guys encountered on the monorail to the TTC! I can't believe they touched your stroller let alone ANOTHER GIRLS HAIR?! I've taken spanish for the past 6 years so when I need to tell someone to "Callate!" (even though it's not Portuguese) I have no problem doing so haha!
You're family's so cute, I love all the pictures! Can't wait to read more

I worked really hard on those braids to get them just so...lots of water and conditioner were used to achieve the look!

Seriously, the heat and humidity was like none other...like take your breath away and sweat just moving a finger, hot!

In reference to the "rude people" on the TTC, it is, what it is....it's Disney World, a melting pot of people and cultures. But actually touching someone you don't know, especially being a creeper about it, is not OK in my book.

I took Espanol for 8 years, but I never really was able to fully immerse myself, hence I can only recall conversational lines

Thanks for reading along!

journ116 · Jul 3, 2013

gwhb75 said:
Love the trip report so far. We're DVC members too, but have never stayed at BWV before. We stayed at BC two years ago, but we all seem to be in love with AKL right now (staying there again in September)...but is was really nice being able to walk to Epcot whenever we wanted (from BC).

Yay for DVC members! Seriously, our membership has been invaluable! We've stayed at all the WDW DVC properties, with AK-Kidani and Jambo being our "home resort," and although I prefer the atmosphere of AK-K&J, I cannot get over the convenience of BCV, BWV, and BLT!

journ116 · Jul 3, 2013

KappleB2 said:
Your DH reminds me of my Dad. Poor guy has 2 VERY emotional daughters who are close in age and always compare ourselves to the other! He too is missing his word vomit filter,hopefully he'll figure it out a bit as they get older.

Really enjoying your report!

Hahahahaha! My DH already has gray hairs coming thru..."I don't know how I'm going to manage their teenage years," is his biggest fear!

journ116 · Jul 3, 2013

TrolleyFollower91 said:
I love that you learned certain Portuguese phrases- such a great idea! Although, I don't think I would actually have the guts to use them. If I had children that could be harmed, though, I probably would muster some courage.

I like Magic, Memories, and You way better than whatever version it is now. For some reason I didn't really like the music all that much.

Isn't the explosion of the crowds after Wishes awful? Tomorrowland is always the worst for some reason, too! A lot of times it affects my will to wait for the fireworks (and oh, I love me some Wishes) just because I literally have panic attacks in the mass of people afterwards.

Although I know a couple of words in Portuguese, Spanish, French, German, Chinese and Japanese (i.e. Hello, Good-bye, and Thank You), I thought I should brush up on some pertinant lines in order to address our neighborly Brazilian tour groups. I actually didn't think I'd use any, but I had read and heard several horror stories of encounters with the greatly enthusiastic and sometimes abrassive groups. Plus, who wouldn't want to learn such a beautiful language?!

And I totally agree with your statement about the music to the new castle projection show...it didn't tug on my heartstrings as much as MMY did.

Oh, we should've known better to move far away from the HUB after Wishes, but our DD's really, really love the PM! I'm sure if we had moved toward FL, we would've found shorter lines...OR...if we had rode all the rides during the parade, show and fireworks, we would've found non-existent lines! Ah well!

Thanks for reading!

Pooh'sBuddy · Jul 3, 2013

journ116 said:
I always remembered that there are 2 different kinds of giraffes on Disney's savannah, but I always ended up photographing the reticulated. I was elated to finally see the "other" kind...there's a spot on its neck that looks like a maple leaf...did you see that?

Yes! That's so cool.

journ116 said:
With my DH getting to see Space Mtn. with the lights on, he became less "afraid" of the rides' unknowns. He's only ever ridden it once, and it was with me in 2005. He said he was afraid of his head being clipped, but he could clearly see that the tracks are very spaced out...the next time we venture to WDW, he said he'd ride it with me!

I've always had that latent fear, but I'm short and think I surely wouldn't be the first to have a SM lobotomy.

MouseDreaming · Jul 3, 2013

Love your TR! The girls are so cute. The family portraits in EPCOT sounds like such a great idea, too.

journ116 · Jul 9, 2013

MouseDreaming said:
Love your TR! The girls are so cute. The family portraits in EPCOT sounds like such a great idea, too.

Thank you so much for reading!! I only have 2 more travel days to post, but the old homestead has been plenty busy, keeping me from thread..."it's OK TR, I know you exist and will tend to you soon..."

Seriously though, I will probably finish this TR up over the upcoming weekend, as my oldest DD is having in-and-out surgery on Wed., 7/10.

Over the weekend, I got an email from Disney Event Photography to let me know that we could expect our CD of our photo session in another 4-6 weeks

! However, we are finally able to preview most of them online! The next time we go to WDW (thinking Nov. or Dec. 2014), I'll schedule the mini-session at one of the resorts...hopefully, our youngest DD will finally be up to "hammin' it up for the camera!" The only itsy-bitsy thing that bothered me about our portrait session: there were only 2 candid shots, and sometimes, I think the candid shots turn out better than the posed ones

.

Goofnut1980 · Jul 9, 2013

I'm only on page 1 and love your TR... so detailed... my favorite line ever...

Me, out loud, but should've been to myself: "WHAT? I GAVE THAT CONCIERGE LADY MY NUMBER 2 TIMES!!!"

Silence.

Me: "Oh, sorry about that."

hahahahahahha

6laurac · Jul 10, 2013

I felt like I have been immersed in a fun novelette. I'm stealing your idea and will be putting my items in ziploc bags next trip. Hate people riffling through my bag through security.

When that guy stroked your stroller, I was ready to clean it for you with my Wet Wipes

journ116 · Jul 15, 2013

Soooo sorry for the delay...again. This time, I was busy planning our very first trip to Disneyland!

Mon., 6/10:

AM
*First order of business: new room cards. Because I could not secure this night on points, we had to pay cash, hence, we needed new room cards. However, I didn't even need to go down to the front desk to get said cards, because they were delivered to our room and slid under the door by 8 a.m..! I opened the card sleeve and found 4 room cards for people who did not reside in 2112. A few minutes later, another set of cards slid under the door with a yellow Post-It note: "Please disregard first set of room cards. Your names are not on them." Okaaay.

*Second order of business: call Maintenance. As I opened our mini fridge that morning, I noticed that it didn't seem as cold as it was yesterday. Then I opened the butter and found that it was practically melted! The fridge had stopped working! I told them that we would be leaving soon...10 min. later, there was a knock at the door. A CM came to inspect the fridge and decided that, "Yes, the fridge had gone kaput."

He felt that since the fridge was still somewhat cold and that we were leaving shortly, we could leave our items in the fridge and that our food should be fine until a replacement came. Okaaay. I told him that most of the food in there was non-salvagable and what was I to do about that? His response:

"We have a little market out on the boardwalk where you could pick up more food."

And here's where my theme of this thread came in again: You've got to be kidding me!

I realized that he was trying to be helpful, but I was about to throw out $30 worth of groceries and food due to a fridge malfunction, so I was a bit perturbed with his response.

Moving on...

*After waking the girls up, we debated: To swim, or not to swim? No swim...ARCADE now! Since we invested in Premium AP's, we decided to hit up Disney Quest...for the very first time! I had heard thru the grape vine that guests start to line up at the entrance beginning 30 min. before opening, which was 11:30 a.m.. So, we were up, fed, and out the door to our bus stop by 9:30 a.m..

*Bus wait: Us, and one other family, were the only ones waiting under the pavilion...I guess everyone was already "up and at 'em." I asked the lonely CM who was keeping bus times if he could estimate when the next DTD bus would be arriving, to which he replied, "Probably another 10-15 min.. You just missed one." Before I thanked him for his time, I quickly glanced at his CM name tag and saw that he was from, "Northern Arizona University." I only know of two other people who went there: my year-younger sister and her husband! (It's not a well known college and is located in Flagstaff, AZ.)

I told the kind CM this little piece of personal factoid and soon found out that he would be graduating with a degree in Hotel Management (same as my BIL) at the end of the summer, because he decided to get an extra semester in at Walt Disney World thru the College Program. He informed me that most of his classmates were pulling for a stint in Hawaii, but he was happy either way. I kind of wished that this program was available when I was in school

(this was what the girls were doing while I chatted and DH stared into the heated abyss)

DSC_1285 by journ116, on Flickr

*Fifteen minutes later and my lovely chat with the CM from NAU ended as our DTD bus pulled up. We all said good-bye to our NAU friend and loaded onto a semi-empty bus. The first two stops were at the Swan & Dolphin resorts, followed by Blizzard Beach. About 30 min. later we were finally arriving at DTD, and we decided to get off at the Market Place depot and walk over (slowly, because it was already 88 degrees at 10:30 a.m.!) toward Disney Quest. As we got closer to our final destination, we briefly considered skipping the arcade to go bowling...I cannot quite remember the reasoning as to why we didn't choose Splitsville, but I do remember the oppressive heat!

*Line wait: There were only 8 other people in front of the doors, 4 of which were teenage boys, their grandparents, and a younger couple. While DH parked the stroller, I got in line with the girls. Eliza was hungry again, so I gave her a snack, made both girls sip their waters, and tried to cool them with one of our portable fans. We almost gave up hope for DQ, because all we heard from our DD's was: "I'm hot! Is it time to go in? How much longer? What's for lunch?"

*Wait time over, time for: more waiting. Even though the front doors were open, we still had to wait 5 more minutes until the building was officially open...5...4...3...2...1! Moment of truth with our cards...score! and we were all in thru the turnstile. I quickly grabbed a map and hopped into a crowded elevator to the "Create Zone." (I am terrible at remembering what floor everything was located, because quite frankly, the place was like a maze.) We were the only ones in that zone for a good 10 min., and then we headed up the steps where little miss Eliza saw this:

Ralph by journ116, on Flickr

Ralph was keeping watch over a little section that had a number of "Fix-It Felix, Jr." arcade machines. Eliza was beyond excited to see a piece of "Wreck-It Ralph" come to life! Again, we were the only ones there for about 10 min. and then we moved on (to Eliza's dismay). We located 'Aladdin's Magic Carpet Ride' and decided to try it out since we were the only ones around. Eliza didn't like the way the helmets fit, so my DH and Chloe played while we waited just outside on a bench.

As soon as they hopped off their magic carpets, we headed down below to climb aboard the 'Virtual Jungle Cruise.' That was not a success, especially at the end when a dinosaur popped up on the screen and scared the bee-geezes out of Chloe!

We calmed her down and found a small line at 'Pirates of the Caribbean,' so we sauntered on over. It took some convincing to get Chloe into this attraction...we made her Captain. This was somewhat of a success, as both girls promptly removed their 3D glasses because they didn't like the cannon balls flying at their faces; and, Eliza was not too thrilled with the feeling of being on the high seas. Time for something more their speed.

We found a nice section of arcade games, 1/2 of which were geared to and sized for littler ones. I'm pretty sure we spent at least 45 min. here, 30 of which Eliza spent in this thing:

girls in DQ by journ116, on Flickr

Walked around some more and settled back into the "Create Zone." I noticed that 'Animation Academy' would be holding its first session of the day in only 10 min.. Conversed and conveyed to my DH that I would really, really like to participate in this, so he obliged and took care of the girls for 40 min.. There were about 12 animators in my class and we were learning how to draw Mickey's head. I thoroughly enjoyed myself and could've sat there all day!

(here's my instructors' Mickey)

DSC_1287 by journ116, on Flickr

(and here's mine)

DSC_1286 by journ116, on Flickr
(my Mickey has some '70's-inspired side burns )

*Done with DQ: My DH and I agreed that if we ever go back to DQ, we were either:
A. Bringing the grandparents to help rally the girls.
B. Bringing the grandparents, but leaving the girls with them back at the resort, so we could go alone.
C. Wait until the youngest was at least 8 y.o..

PM
*Time check: 1:45 p.m.. We had almost 2 hours to waste, as our TREX ressie wasn't until 3:30 p.m.. So, we made our way over to the Lego shop.

DSC_1290 by journ116, on Flickr

DSC_1303 by journ116, on Flickr

DSC_1304 by journ116, on Flickr

Chloe has gotten into Lego Friends, so she was in her element in that store! She came out with a small box and a big grin!

However, while DH and Chloe were in the Lego store, I took Eliza over to Ghirardelli's and got 1 scoop of chocolate ice cream and a chocolate milkshake. By the time we met up with the other 1/2 of our family, the ice cream was gone. Shhhh....

journ116 · Jul 15, 2013

*Enough waiting around, let's check in already:

DSC_1291 by journ116, on Flickr
Family members had eaten here before and told us to request the Ice Age room, which my DH did. Only 10 min. passed and we were buzzed to sit down. Besides the awesome theming, all I can say is that this place is loud! By the time we left TREX, my DH and I felt like we had been at an all night concert!

trex ice age by journ116, on Flickr
(when the restaurant 'came to life,' this is what the Ice Age room looked like)

DSC_1293 by journ116, on Flickr

My retinas were burning by the time we left

We had a fantastic waitress, Suzy! She saw how slow our girls were eating (actually, not eating)and how much I was enjoying my drink, that she told us, "No worries! Take your time, enjoy your food, get another drink! We're open 'til midnight, and then I turn into a pumpkin!"
(coloring and movies on Netflix while we waited for our food)

Chloe at trex by journ116, on Flickr

And finally, some food pictures!
(Supersaurus Sampler and my Strawberry Pina Coolada)

trex food 1 by journ116, on Flickr
(I ordered Eliza the Jurassic Chicken Tidbits with potato chips and a banana)

trex food 2 by journ116, on Flickr
(Chloe got the Paleo Pizza and chocolate milk)

trex food 3 by journ116, on Flickr
(my DH's meal: a Giganticsaurus Burger...too bad he wasn't feeling good, as he only got thru 1/2 of his food)

trex food 4 by journ116, on Flickr
(and my meal of Paleo Shrimp...I conquered 2/3's of it)

trex food 5 by journ116, on Flickr

Suzy encouraged us to walk around the restaurant, take pictures, and finish our meal at our leisure! Seriously, this was the best, laid-back meal I've ever had in WDW...and it had everything to do with Suzy!

DSC_1295 by journ116, on Flickr

DSC_1297 by journ116, on Flickr

DSC_1299 by journ116, on Flickr

DSC_1301 by journ116, on Flickr

Bathroom breaks were had, a little bit more food was consumed, and we were 'ready' for the bill. If you're a ravenous eater, I'm sure you could finish off a meal here...if not, split a meal, because the portion sizes here fit in with the decor: over the top and huge!

(I had to snap this picture for my DH...I laughed so hard...and then I noticed this type of shirt more and more on WDW guests)

DSC_1300 by journ116, on Flickr

journ116 · Jul 15, 2013

*Time check: 5 p.m.. Next stop was the World of Disney maze...I mean store.

DSC_1305 by journ116, on Flickr

DSC_1307 by journ116, on Flickr

The girls left with a small assortment of souvenirs, while I bought a car decal kit (which I have yet to display, partly because my license plate cover is broken ). My DH meanwhile, disappeared with Chloe to Pin Traders.

We met back up and went to Once Upon a Toy. I think we actually left here empty-handed!

Before we left DTD all together, we let the girls get their faces painted:

DSC_1309 by journ116, on Flickr

DSC_1310 by journ116, on Flickr

DSC_1312 by journ116, on Flickr

DSC_1316 by journ116, on Flickr
(Chloe ended up with too much 'Pixie Dust' and had a minor meltdown as some had gotten into her eyes)

While waiting for the bus:

DSC_1315 by journ116, on Flickr
Chloe AND Eliza decided that they had to go potty really, really bad, and I knew that we would miss the bus as we had already been waiting 20 min.. Off to the restrooms we went, and then back to the bus stop where my DH told us that the bus for BW had come and gone. I was obviously a little agitated that we could possibly be waiting another 20+ min. and my DH calmed me down with, "We wouldn't have gotten on that bus anyways. Four scooters showed up."

Only 10 min. passed when another BW bus showed up, and not a moment too soon as the sky was darkening and lightning could be seen off in the distance. Even after stopping at the West Side for pick ups, we still only had a 1/2 full bus.

*The first stop was at Blizzard Beach, which no one got on or off, and then we stopped at Swan. My DH had the brilliant idea to get off here and just walk over to our resort. This idea was great and all, but I walked half of it in my bare feet...eeww, I know. My Crocs gave me the most terrible blisters, despite bandaids, Mole Skin, and cotton balls. I couldn't wait to get back to our room!

Goofnut1980 · Jul 15, 2013

Your report is the best!

journ116 · Jul 15, 2013

Goofnut1980 said:
Your report is the best!

Why, thank you very much! Although trip reporting takes me F-O-R-E-V-A to complete, I find it very therapeutic and rewarding at the same time. I only have another full day and 1/2 morning to report on...I hope to get those done by the end of the month

Goofnut1980 · Jul 15, 2013

journ116 said:
Why, thank you very much! Although trip reporting takes me F-O-R-E-V-A to complete, I find it very therapeutic and rewarding at the same time. I only have another full day and 1/2 morning to report on...I hope to get those done by the end of the month

The great part about it is re-living the trip all over again! so its a two-fer