Yes, we did!!!!
Despite crowds, cool temperatures and some rain we are still walking around our house saying, “That was a great vacation!”.
Details soon.
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Trip Report All Together Now - Completed
- Thread starter Tiki Traveler
- Start date
Yes, we did!!!!
Despite crowds, cool temperatures and some rain we are still walking around our house saying, “That was a great vacation!”.
Details soon.
Wicked Sisters
Well-Known Member
- In the Parks
- No
So looking forward to hearing about this trip.
MinnieM123
Premium Member
I'm in! 
ajrwdwgirl
Premium Member
Looking forward to seeing more.
Ellen Ripley
Well-Known Member
looking forward to it
I think every time I see your TR title I am going to have the Beatles song stuck in my head
I searched YouTube for that song title and saw the Beatles song but THIS is the song I really had in mind when I came up with the title. Funny thing the lyrics are “All Together Now in No Man’s Land” - what? I figured Disney World right after New Year’s w/a Marathon and two local schools out of session would kind of be like that. 
I'm in!
Welcome! And how is your beach month?
Swissmiss
Premium Member
Thanks for sharing it - I’ve never heard this song.
looking forward to it
Yachting life is pretty nice!
Introduction
Hi There! Some of you may have read my first trip report - 50 Firsts for the 50th Anniversary - about our first trip back to Disney World after Covid.https://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/50-firsts-for-the-50th-anniversary-completed.979990/
That trip was just DH and me. We had a great time but wanted to go back with our children whose last visit was August 2019. In a bit of unexpected foreshadowing I referred to our children as Chip and Dale then.
As our children have asked for privacy these names still fit well. If we ever meet in person I will go full proud mama and bore you silly!
One thing I learned is that even when your children are home from college they are still busy. Last summer it seemed we were running a hotel and we don’t expect that to change in the next few years. We’re happy for all the opportunities they have but sometimes you just want family time.
If we wanted to go to Disney World together it had to be Jan. 2 - 7th.
Pretend this is the PreTrip Section
I almost titled this report - The Big Maybe. Though limited to a certain timeframe we also live in the Buffalo, New York area. Wondering if the weather would cooperate for us to leave was a big question. Ironically we are in the midst of a major snowstorm which has even moved the Buffalo Bills NFL game to tomorrow.Here are pics from two of the major storms we had last year before Christmas. And yes, we live in the region that received seven feet of snow. (DH was a rockstar w/the snowblower.)
We were really looking forward to palm trees!
Most bookings were done in early June:
- Non-stop JetBlue flights
- 3 day park tickets with park hoppers (last days of park reservations)
- Yacht Club (new to us) because of its location
I encountered many technical glitches trying to make advanced dining reservations. Our trusty desktop no longer supported this pursuit (no big surprise) but our new iPad wasn’t great either. Most of the reservations were made via iPhone. Though it took longer than expected I was prepared for this because of a previous forum thread.
A couple times this fall Chip sent articles about mobile ordering, virtual ques and Genie+. They also texted us asking if we knew about park reservations. How did they think we managed last trip?
One last thing - has anyone else felt like they had whiplash vacationing right before or after a major holiday? Thankful we could take this trip but I was less focused on some aspects of Christmas.
On With the Report!
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Travel Day - Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2024
We woke at 3:30am to catch a 7:10am JetBlue Flight. Even though the TSA line at the Buffalo Airport looked full it took only 13 minutes to get through.
JetBlue’s 100% Blue was an Airbus A320 which has three seats across, an aisle, and three more seats across.
We landed on time around 10:15am and our driver from Orlando Chauffeured Services met us at baggage claim. We were in the newish Terminal C and our bags arrived promptly.
DH and I booked Orlando Chauffeured Services on our last trip also. This time we needed a Cadillac Escalade SUV. We like cars and this was the first time we rode in an Escalade so it was our second fun ride of the day.
There is now a Mears waiting area inside of Terminal C and people were also waiting outside by some of the coaches. Also, there was a Happy Limousine coach parked in the bus bay as well. I still miss Magical Express but at least Terminal C now has choices too.
The driver stopped at Publix so we could pick up water, yogurt, cheese sticks and fruit. We checked everything with Bell Services when we arrived at Yacht Club.
The lobby was still decorated for Christmas w/the tree and model train! My family was hungry and urged me to hold off on photos. We ordered two Cuban sandwiches and two Grilled Chicken Paninis at The Market at Ale & Compass. We also bought drink mugs (first souvenirs). The Market also has a Coke FreeStyle machine which was a nice treat. (Instead of Sugar Free Raspberry or Cherry Lemonade they had Sugar Free Orange Lemonade which was still delicious.)
There were a few tables inside The Market but we were here for the palm trees so we ate outside by the pool. The temperature was cool but it was sunny. Before entering the pool area a life guard checked our MagicBands and gave us pool wristbands.
It was early afternoon and we knew we had time before check-in so we explored the pool area.
We walked through Beach Club. Love the details on the swags!
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Arrival Day (cont.)
Last photo from our tour of the Beach Club.We continued on to the Boardwalk. Favorite resort chandelier.
Funny enough in both resorts w/Chip leading we ended up in laundry rooms.
No pictures - you’re welcome.The Skyliner was new to our children so we rode it to the end and checked out Pop Century.
While touring Pop we received a text at 2:20 pm that our room was ready!
We didn’t realize Yacht Club was so big. We were in Room 2040 on the Dolphin side. It was a bit of a maze to get there.
Doesn’t this hallway remind you of The Shining or Tower of Terror?
Love the carpeting though!
We booked a standard room and expected a view of the parking lot or rooftops. It seems we received a little pixie dust!
There was a dog walking area to the left of the pool but we never saw any dogs there.
As others have said the rooms don’t have much Disney charm. The curtains are where you’ll find it at YC.
Bell Services brought everything up and we (I) unpacked and prepared for our first day in the parks.
Incidentally these drink mug lids were much better than the anniversary mug lids. Glad they didn’t stay w/the prior design.
We hung out in the room and on the balcony until it was time for dinner.
Doesn’t this hallway remind you of The Shining or Tower of Terror?
Love the carpeting though!
We booked a standard room and expected a view of the parking lot or rooftops. It seems we received a little pixie dust!
There was a dog walking area to the left of the pool but we never saw any dogs there.
As others have said the rooms don’t have much Disney charm. The curtains are where you’ll find it at YC.
Bell Services brought everything up and we (I) unpacked and prepared for our first day in the parks.
Incidentally these drink mug lids were much better than the anniversary mug lids. Glad they didn’t stay w/the prior design.
We hung out in the room and on the balcony until it was time for dinner.
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DH really enjoyed our dinner last time at Todd English’s blue zoo at the Dolphin and wanted our whole family to try it so off we went for a 5:30pm reservation.
By dinner I was wiped out. Everyone else had napped in the room before dinner but me. I was so tired I was freezing. However, I was not going to pass up one of the blue zoo’s specialty cocktails.
I had the Deedee stay out of my laboratory which had an impressive presentation and was my favorite drink of the trip! DH had a barrel aged manhattan which he maintains is still the best manhattan he ever had.
Here is what we ordered:
- bluezoo’s signature clam chowder - me because I was so cold
- ceasar salads - kids
- tappan seared sea scallops - me - had this appetizer served w/the soup as my entree
- butler steak - Dale
- bluezoo’s simply fish - mahi mahi - Chip
- whole roasted fish - yellowtail snapper - DH
The plan was to walk back to the Boardwalk and find a place to watch the Epcot fireworks outside the parks. We explored the Dolphin and the Boardwalk stores but it was so cold outside we decided to return to our room and rest up for our next excursion.
The night wasn’t quite over as we had a 9:50pm reservation at Beaches & Cream. I fell asleep and almost opted out but I am so glad I joined in! The joke in our family is that on past trips in hot and humid June and August Dale has never been able to get an ice cream cone or sundae in the parks because of the crazy, long lines. Well, we were going to make up for that now!
We had not been to the parks yet, not ridden any rides but we had (almost) conquered the Kitchen Sink Sundae!!
Steps - 19,678
Miles - 8.34
Next Up - Adrenaline is a Great Thing
By dinner I was wiped out. Everyone else had napped in the room before dinner but me. I was so tired I was freezing. However, I was not going to pass up one of the blue zoo’s specialty cocktails.
I had the Deedee stay out of my laboratory which had an impressive presentation and was my favorite drink of the trip! DH had a barrel aged manhattan which he maintains is still the best manhattan he ever had.
Here is what we ordered:
- bluezoo’s signature clam chowder - me because I was so cold
- ceasar salads - kids
- tappan seared sea scallops - me - had this appetizer served w/the soup as my entree
- butler steak - Dale
- bluezoo’s simply fish - mahi mahi - Chip
- whole roasted fish - yellowtail snapper - DH
The plan was to walk back to the Boardwalk and find a place to watch the Epcot fireworks outside the parks. We explored the Dolphin and the Boardwalk stores but it was so cold outside we decided to return to our room and rest up for our next excursion.
The night wasn’t quite over as we had a 9:50pm reservation at Beaches & Cream. I fell asleep and almost opted out but I am so glad I joined in! The joke in our family is that on past trips in hot and humid June and August Dale has never been able to get an ice cream cone or sundae in the parks because of the crazy, long lines. Well, we were going to make up for that now!
We had not been to the parks yet, not ridden any rides but we had (almost) conquered the Kitchen Sink Sundae!!
Steps - 19,678
Miles - 8.34
Next Up - Adrenaline is a Great Thing
Attachments
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