Hot Times in the World: A June 2011 Trip Report!

We’ve been home for a week, I’m back at work, and reality is truly setting in. Time to escape it with a trip report!

The cast includes myself (Shannon, 27) and my husband Will (26) spending 8 days in WDW for our second anniversary!

Since this was an anniversary trip and all, here we are a little over 2 years ago on our wedding day…

…and 2 days later on our honeymoon!

We’ve been together since February 2005, and we met in math class during my junior and his sophomore year in college. NERDS.

This was our fourth trip to WDW together after the aforementioned honeymoon in May 2009 (Boardwalk Inn), a quick Thanksgiving trip with the in-laws in November 2009 (Boardwalk Inn – no trip report! For shame.), and another quick trip in February for the 2011 Princess Half Marathon (Port Orleans – Riverside).

For this trip we decided to rent DVC points for the first time as a way to save some cash. Will suggested we do a split stay (great idea since I couldn’t decide on one resort anyway) and we put our requests in with excellent results. For the first 3 nights we scored a savanna-view studio villa at Kidani. For the remainder of our trip we’d be traveling back to the Atlantic coast, staying in a “preferred/boardwalk-view” studio at the Boardwalk Villas. Woot!

Pretty early on in the planning process we ultimately decided that we also wanted to fit in a one-day trip to Universal, primarily to spend a morning frolicking in HP-land. Of the two of us, I am the giant Harry Potter fan (admittedly, more a fan of the books than the movies), and being the fabulous husband that he is, Will tags along with me to the movies and enjoys them, though I don’t think he fully grasps the awesomeness of HP since he refuses to read the books.

Other than that, we made our ADRs, put down some cash for a tour, changed said ADRs a million times, and had some major face palm moments along the way

Above all else, I was most excited to get to spend some quality time with Will. It seems like we were both (separately) super busy for the entirety of spring, and I was more than ready to put real life aside and have another adventure together in WDW!

Onward!

 

[grwnupprincess]

Archie is super cute..is he a puggle? thanks for sharing!! I have a huge spot in my heart for adorable doggies! we almost took Dutch down to Disney last year for him to stay at the new best friends resort...but logistically, we couldn't take the time to drive...maybe some day though - that place looks amazing! anyway...enough of my crazy dog talk

 

[TakeMeThere81]

Hi Shannon!! I was so excited to see that you have a trip report up! I will forever remember you as a fellow Princess!!

I hope you are having a nice summer! I remember prior to the Princess Half, it had dumped snow in Ohio! Hopefully you are getting a true summer!

And you are right, the theming at AKL is amazing! Love your pictures! We ate at Jiko on our last trip, I enjoyed reading about your experience! Yummy appetizer bread/butter!

The themeing in this hotel is just awesome.

I have this same shirt! Princess Half I tell ya!!

Back to the Hat…I had one more must-get character photo on my agenda before returning to Pixar Place…Minnie!

Here's me right after the race:

Speaking of which...have you had trouble with the transfer peeling off of your shirt?? I am scared to wash mine because the first time I washed it my washing machine setting was messed up and washed it on hot which practically melted most of the transfer off. I called the company(because it had been the first time I washed it!) and they were super nice and sent me a new shirt, free of charge. This time I'm afraid to wash the second shirt so I really haven't worn it. Somehow when our w/d were hooked up the hoses were switched or something so I don't know how to wash it on delicate without ending up frying the shirt! Well anyway...sorry to go on and on! I still love my shirt!

We weren’t at the pool for very long (10-15 minutes maybe) before we began to hear loud thunder. I was a lifeguard for 5 years, and any time we heard thunder, the pool was automatically closed for 20 minutes. Apparently Disney doesn’t have the same policy, because guests were still merrily swimming and the lifeguards didn’t seem worried. I felt a little uneasy about it, so we began to pack up our stuff as it began to rain. Finally, lightning was spotted and the pool was closed. As we made our way up toward the lobby, we saw two ladies still sitting in the hot tub, sipping cocktails, despite the lightning. Crazy ladies!

Before returning to Jambo, we headed in to the small Kidani gift shop in search of an AKL coffee mug…success!

So for anyone keeping score, if you want an AKL shot glass, head to Jambo. If you’re a coffee person like me, Kidani has you covered!

Wow! We lived in Alabama for 5 years and swam in pools every summer. I'm very familiar with the thunder rules and I've never heard of them being so lax before...

Awesome mug!! I LOVE it! I'm a huge coffee person and I always get a mug too! This one is fantastic!

I picked out 3 Bath Bombs (which I have yet to use) and a small $2 bag of some chunks of soap before we decided to call it a day...

I LOVE Basin too! It is one place I always stop! I usually get two chunks of the fun soap and 2-3 bags of the collaberated samples(like the bag you bought). They are so fun and they extend the magic once you get home. Right now I'm using a piece of bar for my hand soap in the bathroom. The other day I said to DH, "This soap smells like Disney..." to which he replied, "Hey, it really does!" He doesn't take on the details like I do, but I know he appreciates them!

Ok, all done. The report is awesome! I can't wait to hear about your Boardwalk room. Keep it coming!

 

[foreverbelle]

Love it. Thank you for the review of Raglan Road. Its one that doesn't often get reviewed and the hubs and I always debate about it but it looks like a fun time!!!

And the new Lego displays are awesome. Sure think my son will get a kick out of them....oh all the stuff...

What a shame that they didn't care that you were leaving how rude! LOL.:ROFLOL: Don't they know better??

I have never done a segway tour but it looks like fun. I think I would be to concerned that I would fall all over the place....

 

[Ariel484]

Archie is super cute..is he a puggle? thanks for sharing!! I have a huge spot in my heart for adorable doggies! we almost took Dutch down to Disney last year for him to stay at the new best friends resort...but logistically, we couldn't take the time to drive...maybe some day though - that place looks amazing! anyway...enough of my crazy dog talk

Thank you! Archie is a Beagle/Cavalier King Charles mix. Not sure what you call that...a Beaglier?

Can Dutch handle a car or plane ride? Archie does not do well in the car at all...I think a plane ride would give him a heart attack!

Hi Shannon!! I was so excited to see that you have a trip report up! I will forever remember you as a fellow Princess!!

I hope you are having a nice summer! I remember prior to the Princess Half, it had dumped snow in Ohio! Hopefully you are getting a true summer!

Yay! Hi Princess Melanee! :wave:

The summer in Ohio is quite nice...there has to be some sort of trade-off for those awful winters!

And you are right, the theming at AKL is amazing! Love your pictures! We ate at Jiko on our last trip, I enjoyed reading about your experience! Yummy appetizer bread/butter!

Oh right, I remember your Jiko review! Isn't that bread and butter heavenly? I am drooling just thinking about it...oops, too much info.

I have this same shirt! Princess Half I tell ya!!

Here's me right after the race:

I know! I only discovered that shirt thanks to your trip report! So thank you! :sohappy:

Speaking of which...have you had trouble with the transfer peeling off of your shirt?? I am scared to wash mine because the first time I washed it my washing machine setting was messed up and washed it on hot which practically melted most of the transfer off. I called the company(because it had been the first time I washed it!) and they were super nice and sent me a new shirt, free of charge. This time I'm afraid to wash the second shirt so I really haven't worn it. Somehow when our w/d were hooked up the hoses were switched or something so I don't know how to wash it on delicate without ending up frying the shirt! Well anyway...sorry to go on and on! I still love my shirt!

Ugh, that stinks! That's great that they gave you a new one though, because as you know, those shirts are not cheap. I have probably washed mine at least 5 times since then and haven't had any problems. I love mine too! So comfy.

Wow! We lived in Alabama for 5 years and swam in pools every summer. I'm very familiar with the thunder rules and I've never heard of them being so lax before...

I know! I could not BELIEVE that the lifeguards didn't clear the pool. :shrug:

Awesome mug!! I LOVE it! I'm a huge coffee person and I always get a mug too! This one is fantastic!

I was so happy to find this. I'm not sure if it comes across in the picture, but it's sort of short and fat. I love having fun mugs at home.

I LOVE Basin too! It is one place I always stop! I usually get two chunks of the fun soap and 2-3 bags of the collaberated samples(like the bag you bought). They are so fun and they extend the magic once you get home. Right now I'm using a piece of bar for my hand soap in the bathroom. The other day I said to DH, "This soap smells like Disney..." to which he replied, "Hey, it really does!" He doesn't take on the details like I do, but I know he appreciates them!

Ok, all done. The report is awesome! I can't wait to hear about your Boardwalk room. Keep it coming!

This was my first time in Basin, normally I just walk right by but I'm glad I stopped in. I still need to use my bath bombs though! You and your husband are totally right...the smells definitely take me back to Disney.

Love it. Thank you for the review of Raglan Road. Its one that doesn't often get reviewed and the hubs and I always debate about it but it looks like a fun time!!!

It really was fun...certainly not a place for a quite, intimate dinner!

And the new Lego displays are awesome. Sure think my son will get a kick out of them....oh all the stuff...

Will was completely geeking out over the dragon/prince display. They still have the dragon in the water as well...your son will love it!

What a shame that they didn't care that you were leaving how rude! LOL.:ROFLOL: Don't they know better??

I know, right?? :lol:

I have never done a segway tour but it looks like fun. I think I would be to concerned that I would fall all over the place....

Honestly, once you get the hang of it, it's easy. You have to have decent posture though, and that was a struggle for me! :lol: :lookaroun

 

[Ariel484]

So…the room!

This was our third stay at the Boardwalk resort overall, first time on the Villas side. And it did not disappoint!

Near the door to the room:

The kitchenette:

Bathroom area…the Inn gets points here for having 2 sinks.

Will getting our third message from Mickey and Minnie wishing us a happy anniversary! The couch he’s sitting on is a sofa bed:

The daybed and dresser/TV area:

Looking back at the room from the balcony:

What’s that I see???

THE VIEW!

 

[Ariel484]

Seriously, can you believe this??

It may not look like it in the picture, but he’s doing a celebratory dance!

This sign was KILLING me over the course of our stay…totally in my way!

One of my favorite things about the Boardwalk is the music that they play, and it was fabulous being able to hear it in our room. However, we quickly realized that we could hear it even when the balcony door was shut. Hmm…how is that going to work out when we want to sleep??

Anyhoo, at this point, Will decided it was nap time. I must have been hyped up on adrenaline, because I skipped the nap that day. Instead, I showered and wandered around the resort for awhile. I think it’s evident how much I love the Boardwalk resort and the boardwalk itself, because I took lots of pictures that afternoon!

I love these little chairs!

The pool (I’ll admit it…the clown freaks me out a bit):

The Keister Coaster slide:

The pool bar:

And now…well, what the sign says!

 

[Ariel484]

Delightfully cool, you say? Don’t mind if I do!

So here’s an idea of where our room was. If you exit the hotel and turn left, you come to Thimbles and Threads…

And then Big River Grille. That sign that I said was in the way of my picture is the last sign above Thimbles and Threads before Big River Grille. In the picture below, our balcony is the one on the second floor, directly above the middle umbrella…so it was directly above Big River.

That sign!!!

The heat was getting to me a bit, so I made my way back to the resort.

Love this sign!

Near the Belle Vue Lounge:

And inside the lounge itself:

 

[TakeMeThere81]

THE VIEW!

OMG!!! That is amazing!!!

(sorry to post so soon, I can tell you are in the middle of working on your TR...one last question...)

So are you going to run another Disney race any time soon?? I've been scheming at how I can get away with running the Inaugural Tinkerbell Half down at Disneyland

 

[mouselvrmom]

I'm loving all the Boardwalk pictures! It's definitely one of my favorites, although my husband prefers the Beach Club. There is just something about the feel and decor of the Boardwalk that is so relaxing!

 

[HollyBelle]

Love, love, LOVING your trip report, Shannon! I'm finally all caught up. Don't you just love it when all the restaurants are knocking it out of the park?! It makes for such a great trip... as does a great room upgrade!! That Boardwalk view is uh-ma-zing!!! :sohappy:

I couldn't agree with you more about Islands of Adventure and WWOHP. When I saw what you paid for butter beer, I was floored - we were there in December and only paid $3.25 for a plastic cup (I even had to look back at my trip report to confirm). That kind of mark up in six months time is absurd.

I thought the same thing about the end of Forbidden Journey... I was totally waiting on Lord Voldemort to show up. And Brett, being a HUGE fan of Professor Snape, was none to happy that he wasn't included.

Back to the wonderful world of Disney... loved your G.O.B. shout out! We also had Lamont as a Segway guide - he was awesome. We're hoping to do the tour again in November when we take my parents.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot...so cool that you got a complimentary Little Green Man keychain. Brett has that one, he only has one eye these days though. :lol:

 

[oommggitskait]

I feel like I am late to the party here, but I just caught up! Loving the trip report! I can't believe how many free desserts you are getting! YUMMY! And all the phone calls from Minnie and Mickey haha

Reading about both of your heat melt downs reminds me how important that afternoon swim/nap break is. I am quick to be cranky too when I'm hot, crowded and hungry, so I feel you guys on that one!!

Can't wait to keep reading, it seems like it was a wonderful trip!

 

[meganw1985]

LOVE THE BOARDWALK VIEW!!! My husband refuses to ever stay at the Boardwalk. He has a crippling fear of clowns. And not the scary demon-clown, the kid-friendly Bozo-type. Not sure how that came about....

Anyhoo, had to comment on the mirror pic! I see you Mickey balloon Dooney wristlet!!! I just got the Collette style of that purse for my birthday from my hubby in the mail today! Along with a matching cosmetic bag! My mom ordered me the blue Sketch wristlet from my son, it will be here in a couple of days. I now have a terrible addiction. The perfect combination of my two favorite things in life, Disney and designer purses!

Agreed on IoA. I had fun while I was there, but about 4 hours was all I could take. By noon I was ready for some Disney magic. Harry Potter was hugely immersive, but extremely small. Maybe someday when the "new" has worn off it will be more enjoyable.

 

[Raven66]

Loving the report and all the pictures!!

 

[PartOfYourWorld]

Nah, all in good fun here!
They'd better! Of course, I'm one of those who comes out of the movie complaining about what they cut out from the book. Well, not complaining, just wondering how they're going to explain certain things since they left other parts out...ya know??

I am definitely one of those type of people too, don't even get me started on the 5th movie, that was the one I complained about the most...oh well

I LOOOVE the pictures of the Boardwalk!!! I would love to stay there one day! And That view is just simply amazing!!!!

 

[foreverbelle]

Boardwalk looks AMAZING!! It is on our to try out list...we just have to be lucky enough that we actually time it right so we can stay there on our points. But how amazing is the view!!!

And I am loving the room.....

 

[Ariel484]

OMG!!! That is amazing!!!

(sorry to post so soon, I can tell you are in the middle of working on your TR...one last question...)

I know! We were stunned!

So are you going to run another Disney race any time soon?? I've been scheming at how I can get away with running the Inaugural Tinkerbell Half down at Disneyland

Yes...Princess Craiggy and I are signed up to do the marathon in January!

That would be so cool to do a inaugural race at Disney! Would your husband run as well? I hope you get to do it!

I'm loving all the Boardwalk pictures! It's definitely one of my favorites, although my husband prefers the Beach Club. There is just something about the feel and decor of the Boardwalk that is so relaxing!

I totally agree...I love how light and airy everything is there. We'll be at the Beach Club in January and are looking forward to it!

Love, love, LOVING your trip report, Shannon! I'm finally all caught up. Don't you just love it when all the restaurants are knocking it out of the park?! It makes for such a great trip... as does a great room upgrade!! That Boardwalk view is uh-ma-zing!!! :sohappy:

Yes, we had lots of good eats on this trip...NOM NOM NOM! And this is the first time we've ever gotten a sweet room like this, so that was a nice surprise.

I couldn't agree with you more about Islands of Adventure and WWOHP. When I saw what you paid for butter beer, I was floored - we were there in December and only paid $3.25 for a plastic cup (I even had to look back at my trip report to confirm). That kind of mark up in six months time is absurd.

Yeah, I am glad that we went, but it just doesn't grab us the way Disney does. I wish I'd had more of an opportunity to take my time looking around WWOHP, but it was just too crowded.

WHAA? You paid $3.25?! Let me just say that normally I would NEVER pay $11.50 for a (non-alcoholic) drink...I wanted some kind of souvenir and that mug was it. Wow, I wonder how much they make off selling butterbeer.

I thought the same thing about the end of Forbidden Journey... I was totally waiting on Lord Voldemort to show up. And Brett, being a HUGE fan of Professor Snape, was none to happy that he wasn't included.

I feel like they sort of glossed over Snape in the most recent 2 movies, which surprised me, so I'll be curious to see how the last one goes since he's so important.

Back to the wonderful world of Disney... loved your G.O.B. shout out! We also had Lamont as a Segway guide - he was awesome. We're hoping to do the tour again in November when we take my parents.

Yay! Will's such a huge AD fan (G.O.B. in particular), so I knew he'd love the tour. I hope you guys get to do the tour again! I forgot to mention it in the report (and you probably already know this, but just in case you don't), I did get some sort of discount when I booked, I think because I used my Disney Visa or got an AP rate.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot...so cool that you got a complimentary Little Green Man keychain. Brett has that one, he only has one eye these days though. :lol:

Now that you mention it, one of my guy's eyes is starting to "close" already...oh no!

I feel like I am late to the party here, but I just caught up! Loving the trip report! I can't believe how many free desserts you are getting! YUMMY! And all the phone calls from Minnie and Mickey haha

I know! We didn't get any desserts when we went on our honeymoon, so this was surprising to us...I think that was a dining plan thing though.

Reading about both of your heat melt downs reminds me how important that afternoon swim/nap break is. I am quick to be cranky too when I'm hot, crowded and hungry, so I feel you guys on that one!!

Can't wait to keep reading, it seems like it was a wonderful trip!

Yes, absolutely. We didn't swim every day, but we did take some sort of afternoon break. Beyond that, we tried to go into the A/C a lot and drink lots of water, and I know we didn't do as good a job at that as we should have.

Thanks for reading! :wave:

LOVE THE BOARDWALK VIEW!!! My husband refuses to ever stay at the Boardwalk. He has a crippling fear of clowns. And not the scary demon-clown, the kid-friendly Bozo-type. Not sure how that came about....

Best view ever! Too bad about the clown fear...I bet that's an issue for a lot of families!

Anyhoo, had to comment on the mirror pic! I see you Mickey balloon Dooney wristlet!!! I just got the Collette style of that purse for my birthday from my hubby in the mail today! Along with a matching cosmetic bag! My mom ordered me the blue Sketch wristlet from my son, it will be here in a couple of days. I now have a terrible addiction. The perfect combination of my two favorite things in life, Disney and designer purses!

Yes, I love it! I had a different wristlet that I'd bring to Disney to store my money/tickets/phone, etc., and then I got a new phone that wouldn't fit, so I picked up the balloon Dooney in February and it's perfect! I also have the medium sketch bag.

So am I right that you have 3 Disney Dooneys?! Lucky!

Agreed on IoA. I had fun while I was there, but about 4 hours was all I could take. By noon I was ready for some Disney magic. Harry Potter was hugely immersive, but extremely small. Maybe someday when the "new" has worn off it will be more enjoyable.

Will and I had a few discussions as to whether or not we thought we'd have enough time there with our shuttle due to pick us up at 3 (he thought it was too early)...and we were done after 4 hours, just like you said. The sun/crowds absolutely contributed, but at Disney I feel like I can just walk around for hours soaking in all the details, and I didn't get that at IOA.

You're probably right and the "new" factor...I wonder how long that will take for the newness to wear off?!!?

Loving the report and all the pictures!!

Thank you! :wave:

I am definitely one of those type of people too, don't even get me started on the 5th movie, that was the one I complained about the most...oh well

I was okay with the 5th movie...the 6th one I HATED. I felt like everyone was making out the whole time and they left out some important details. It makes me wonder how well people who haven't read the books are really able to follow what is going on.

I LOOOVE the pictures of the Boardwalk!!! I would love to stay there one day! And That view is just simply amazing!!!!

Thanks!! It's definitely our favorite place at Disney.

Boardwalk looks AMAZING!! It is on our to try out list...we just have to be lucky enough that we actually time it right so we can stay there on our points. But how amazing is the view!!!

And I am loving the room.....

I hope you get to try it! I love the atmosphere there, and you can't beat the location.

I was afraid I wouldn't like the room after having been in the Inn side twice, but we really liked it. The decor was fun and it was nice to have the space.

 

[Ariel484]

At some point I decided I needed to wake Will up so that we could start getting ready for dinner, so I began to make my way back toward the villas.

I love this painting near the lobby. If they sold it as a print, I would definitely snatch one up.

Actually in the lobby now:

I love how light and airy it feels here.

And now, back to the villas!

But first, I had to check the small gift shop for a Boardwalk coffee mug…no luck

Seriously, nothing with this logo on it? Boooo.

Over the next few days, I checked the stores on the boardwalk as well…nada. Bummer.

 

[Ariel484]

When I returned to the room, Will was already up and showered…excellent. We hopped on a bus to the Magic Kingdom (this would be the first of many times)…after quick stops at the Swan and Dolphin, we were off!

Upon arrival, we quickly made our way to the monorail station just in time to catch one!

Dinner tonight was at the Polynesian. We’d gone to this resort for the first time in February (a delicious lunch at Kona Café) and loved it immediately. Maybe we can start saving up for a Poly stay for our 5-year anniversary?

During our February lunch at Kona, Will had spotted ‘Ohana, which we knew nothing about. We decided to try for a reservation, and were lucky to snag a 7:05 table!

Other hungry folks:

Our buzzer went off after about 5 minutes. I loved how they explained about the welcome bread…Disney even makes a show out of taking you to your table!

And what a table it was…another window table!

If you look really hard, you can make out the pool...

Excited for our first-ever ‘Ohana dinner!

From our table, we had a good view of the show kitchen:

 

[Ariel484]

And now…we feast!

The yummy bread and salad:

Dumplings and wings (both mighty tasty, but I only had one of each…gotta save room!):

The veggies and noodles…we both agreed that the noodles were our favorite part of the non-dessert foods:

And the meats (we’re not shrimp-eaters):

Up to this point, everything was really, really good. I wasn’t too impressed with the pork and chicken – I thought both were a little tough. That steak, though, was awesome. So tender and juicy! Will felt about the same as me about the chicken, but he liked the pork.

And finally…double desserts!

The amazing bread pudding and 2 anniversary cupcakes! My strategy of taking smaller nibbles of the previous courses had paid off and I was able to quickly polish off a cupcake and a decent amount of that heavenly bread pudding (in case you haven’t figured it out by now, I have a major, major sweet tooth ). Will had not used the same strategy, and by the end of the meal, he felt like this:

That is to say, he ate too much. Oops! Despite all the food, he agreed to get up and dance with me to “the dance of love” played on ukulele…and we got leis!

‘Ohana was excellent…I’m ashamed it took us so long to get here, and we can’t wait to go back again (hopefully in January!)

 

[BoardwalkGlenn]

I was loving your report and then I got to the Boardwalk Villas pics and I was loving it even more. We're staying at the BWV in October, so it was a good preview for me!!