Trip Report No Sounds Like Summer? We'll JOURNEY Anyway! *COMPLETED*

It was this week last summer that @TrolleyFollower91 and I had an epic girls trip to WDW.

http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/...e-july-journey-completed.917246/#post-7369605

On our first day we rocked to the music of DSB ~ the ultimate Journey tribute band ~ at the America Gardens Theater in Epcot. It was an event we'll always remember. DSB was the final band in the annual "Sounds Like Summer" concert series. The lead singer said the band was looking forward to returning next summer.

And here we are.....it's "next summer."

But there has been no "Sounds Like Summer" concert series in 2017.
No DSB.

Don't. Stop. Believin'.

Em and I refuse to go our Separate Ways. We have too much fun together. We have one last chance to do WDW together before school starts and by golly we're gonna do it....even without DSB.

Want to tag along?

Attempting a full-fledged LIVE trip report is daunting and difficult, so I decided to follow @TheMouseFan's lead and be LIVE-ish. Real time pics and updates to be expanded on after my return home.

Oh, and I will finish my currently-in-progress trip report.

Who's ready for Summer #2?

We are!!

 

[rshell68]

Is Belle allowed in to the waiting party?

 

[Gabe1]

@epcotisbest Look what has returned!!!

View attachment 217736

Believe they were rescued for Irma. They were there the days leading upto Irma but gone at least temporarily during and after Irma.

Em wouldn't do it because @Tuvalu asked a random child enjoying some in her stroller if she could have a piece

@Doc Disney apparently Disney is an ok place to eat food from strangers!

Oh My! What your Mom won't do for a Photo-Op for a trip report.

I wish there were pictures of @Tuvalu reaching into the stroller for a little taste. (and one of the child's parents reaction, I want to read that post in THEIR trip report )

And @MinnieM123 she could have had the dryer lint at her beloved poly at Kona's

Hmmmm.....

Seems Mom needs an increase in her 'spending money' allowance.

 

[Gabe1]

How did our day end?

View attachment 218045

Happily Ever After!
View attachment 218048

View attachment 218049

We had that view from our balcony last month. We were so surprised what an excellent view it was. Now that they fed the forest to the wood chippers the view of the fireworks from that side is awesome!

 

[Gabe1]

I remain bitter about them getting rid of my favorite spot in all of WDW, Hidden Springs Pool, but this new swimmin' hole looks nice. I will reserve judgement until I am lounging there poolside, and make up my mind then. It is only fair to at least give the new place a chance.

IMO, it is a perfectly fine pool that is large, lots of concrete, chairs for many to be seated, the infinity is new but all and all it is a gated pool. Kinda like a nice pool at a chain luxury resort. My take, it lacked the charm of of the Hidden Springs Pool.

 

[epcotisbest]

IMO, it is a perfectly fine pool that is large, lots of concrete, chairs for many to be seated, the infinity is new but all and all it is a gated pool. Kinda like a nice pool at a chain luxury resort. My take, it lacked the charm of of the Hidden Springs Pool.

I have always maintained that Hidden Springs Pool was my favorite place in all of WDW. When we stayed at WL, we would head to Hidden Springs early in the morning, when everyone else was headed to the parks, and practically have it to ourselves. It was a quiet, tranquil retreat where we would spend hours enjoying and de-stressing from the real world. Just something extra special about being there. We were lucky to get to enjoy it many times.

 

[epcotisbest]

Believe they were rescued for Irma. They were there the days leading upto Irma but gone at least temporarily during and after Irma.

What @Tuvalu is referring to is the buffalo topiary were removed from their spot at the front of the Wilderness Lodge, near the main entrance, and were nowhere in sight for quite a long time. Then, with the new villas and cabins, they made their return in a new spot. Don't know about the Irma thing, but they have been back in their new spot for a little while now. Seems odd they would move them for Irma, but maybe since they were not at the new spot for a terribly long time, maybe grounds decided their roots might not be sufficiently established and did not want to take a chance on damage.

 

[Gabe1]

...

What @Tuvalu is referring to is the buffalo topiary were removed from their spot at the front of the Wilderness Lodge, near the main entrance, and were nowhere in sight for quite a long time. Then, with the new villas and cabins, they made their return in a new spot. Don't know about the Irma thing, but they have been back in their new spot for a little while now. Seems odd they would move them for Irma, but maybe since they were not at the new spot for a terribly long time, maybe grounds decided their roots might not be sufficiently established and did not want to take a chance on damage.

They moved everything for Irma even tree trunk carved benches. The buffalo were there at the beginning of our stay. There was not a lot of damage at Wilderness I believe cause everything was brought indoors or tied down. The worst I saw was the kids splash area that could still be down. Many tilted landscape in cabin area. That was newly planted. They just started straightening I hope the buffalo came back. They look great in that quad

 

[blreinsel]

I'm late in catching up on your report, but congratulations on the wedding and new baby coming soon! You look lovely and your dress is beautiful! Woody looks rather dapper as well. Okay who am I kidding.. the whole family looks great!

There are a lot of people who consider teaching to be a “cushy” job because “you get the whole summer off.”

(And all you teachers just sighed, “If only!”)

I really did.

 

[Songbird76]

Monday, July 24

There are a lot of people who consider teaching to be a “cushy” job because “you get the whole summer off.”

(And all you teachers just sighed, “If only!”)

Between post-planning and pre-planning, training for additional certification, a conference and tutoring, Em had exactly two weeks and three days of summer vacation. The first week was spent in semi-park commando mode during our June trip.

This week was all about “ree lax A shee on”. (This may be my toughest pop culture reference yet. )

Sleeping in was a must. I would’ve loved to have joined her, but my body clock no longer allows it. On the plus side, I was able to have an extended time of quiet solitude on our balcony and watch the sun rise.
View attachment 236514

Our room faced due east but the cloud cover this morning prevented me from solar blindness and melting into a puddle of sweat. (Sadly this would not be the case the next two mornings!) I enjoyed listening to the birds, crickets and boat horns off in the distance. I watched as the resort grounds slowly came to life with a geyser eruption, a sweeping of the pathways by a janitor and a washing of the pool deck by a lifeguard. Soon after a few guests were out walking towards the boat dock. When the resort background music started at 8 am, I decided to go down to Roaring Fork and pick up something for breakfast.

Em was stirring when I returned and we had our chocolate chip muffins, juice and coffee al fresco. We lingered on the balcony for quite a while.

“I like this easing into the day,” Em said.
“Me too,” I agreed.
“Doesn’t work well with our usual rope drop strategy though!” laughed Em.
“No it doesn’t. But wouldn’t it be real Disney magic if it did?!”

Fortunately visiting a park was not on our morning agenda. There was no mad rush to shower, dress and head for the bus stop. The only energy we needed to expend was to put on our swimsuits and make for the pool.

Which we eventually did.

View attachment 236515

We’ve never been big fans of the main pool. Its odd shape makes it feel even smaller than it is and there are not many lounge chairs. We preferred the former Hidden Springs quiet pool near the villas ~ though also small, it was typically sparsely populated and we could always find chairs. As I watched the construction and transformation of the Hidden Springs area, I was uncertain how I would like the new Geyser Point pool.

“Like” would be an understatement.
“Adore” would be a much better word!

Not just the size (although this is definitely a case where bigger is better) but the features ~ zero-depth entry, infinity edge, a sitting shelf, rock waterfall, hot tub (or to use the trendy term “spa”), lots of lounge chairs, patio furniture and three free (at least for now) cabanas. To top it off, we still felt that same sense of “tranquility” we used to feel at the Hidden Springs pool.

View attachment 236516

View attachment 236517

View attachment 236518
(I spy with my little eye....@TrolleyFollower91)

View attachment 236519

Teachers deserve more than 3 months off for all they do. It's a TOUGH job. I taught music for about 6 months and I subbed for about 4 (I took over a class when the teacher's husband got transferred and she wanted to move and I was the only music qualified sub in the district). I loved the little ones, but I am not cut out to deal with pre-teen and up children...unless they are my OWN children. I have infinite respect for anyone who can deal with other people's monsters on a daily basis and not throttle them all.

 

[Songbird76]

I am finally caught up, real life is getting in the way of my trip report reading.
Congrats on a beautiful wedding and a new grand baby on the way to spoil.

Real life has hit me too...not sure I will EVER catch up.

 

[Songbird76]

Lunchtime!

The “grill” part of Geyser Point Bar and Grill is actually a walk-up quick service place.

View attachment 237320
You place your order at the counter and are given a number to put on your table. A server brings your made-to-order food to you. We later discovered that a server roams the pool area and we could have ordered (and eaten) in our lounge chairs. But it was better that we had left the pool for lunch, if only to prove to ourselves we weren’t total slugs!

View attachment 237321

The burgers were huge and Em and I could have easily shared one. The one pictured below is a bison burger. Since bison is leaner than beef it doesn’t have the “greasy feel” of regular burgers, yet the meat is still tender and flavorful. The applewood smoked bacon was a nice touch but the bison held its own without it. The waffle fries were crisp and covered in seasoned salt. I am usually not a fan of waffle fries but these were quite good.
View attachment 237319

We liked the open-air seating and ceiling fans provided a slight breeze. We chatted with some folks beside us who were enjoying drinks from the bar. After they left we got to witness a mini-meltdown of a young adult female who “forgot” her ID and had to drink her frozen beverage sans alcohol. She made sure everyone within earshot knew how “stupid” that was.

We pitched the remainder of our lunch into the trash and returned to our beloved pool shelf. Warm sun + cool water = bliss. As I mentioned earlier, we could have lingered there for the rest of the afternoon. I kept doing the mental math of how long Em and I could stay before returning to the room for showers and catching the bus in time for our FP. We remained until the last possible moment.

Passing these lovely falls certainly made the walk back pleasant!
View attachment 237322

I hope she was complaining about how stupid it was to try ordering alcohol without an ID! And really...do you HAVE to have alcohol to enjoy it? You are in Disney!

 

[Tuvalu]

People posting pictures on their cats makes me want one.

DO IT!!!

We had that view from our balcony last month. We were so surprised what an excellent view it was. Now that they fed the forest to the wood chippers the view of the fireworks from that side is awesome!

Love that view! (And I won’t eat the dryer lint from the Kona Cone.)

I'm late in catching up on your report, but congratulations on the wedding and new baby coming soon! You look lovely and your dress is beautiful! Woody looks rather dapper as well. Okay who am I kidding.. the whole family looks great!

Thank you, Brittany. Have you and Dylan set a date yet?

I hope she was complaining about how stupid it was to try ordering alcohol without an ID! And really...do you HAVE to have alcohol to enjoy it? You are in Disney!

I don’t think that is what she was complaining about....

 

[Tuvalu]

Mo (@PacNWTigger), Emmy (@mcstensrud), and Belle (@rshell68) ~

Poly climbed to the top of Bookcase Mountain and threatened to stay there until I posted another update.

This of course means she vacated the chair (@MinnieM123 ) and I can now carry on......

 

[Tuvalu]

Monday (con’t)

What was the Force that compelled us to leave the sanctuary of the Geyser Point pool? Nothing Star Wars related, that’s for sure!

However we did end up at the park soon-to-be-dominated by it.

(Think I can use my status to get the star sign changed to “Show Your Shirley Side”? )

A quick stop for a pic before arriving at our destination.

Two weeks earlier we’d learned the sad news of the permanent closing of the Great Movie Ride. First our beloved Osborne Spectacle of Dancing Lights.....and now this. It was surprising how quickly the ride was to be shuttered after the official announcement was made. I immediately booked a FP for it because I knew we needed to experience GMR one last time. And that FP was indeed the Force that drew us away from the pool.

(Of course the rain clouds eventually may have done the same thing!)

I may have mentioned this before, but the GMR was the very first attraction we used FP+ on, back in August 2013. We were staying at AKL which was one of the “test” resorts for MagicBands. I will never forget the excitement of the CMs at this entrance as Woody, Em and I walked up and scanned our bands. What we now take for granted was indeed a novelty then!

Em and I were full of bittersweet emotions as we sat in the tram.
“Ready when you are, CB!” has become part of our family’s vernacular.

Em took lots of pictures. I’ll share the best.

I was one of the lucky ones who got to see this turntable working back in the day.

Bye Mary and Bert!

Favorite set ever. Love the details. Totally transported to the seedy side of NYC.

Hidden Oswald!

I need to apologize to @TrolleyFollower91 for a decision I made several years ago that I now regret. Tables in Wonderland was hosting a (very pricey) progressive dinner inside the GMR on the first night of one of our summer vacations. Appetizers and drinks were in the NYC set. Dinner was in the Western set. And dessert and cordials were in Oz. The event sounded super fun, but the cost made me balk and we would have been pressed for time (and tired) from our long drive down.

If I could turn back time.......

 

[Tuvalu]

......we could have gotten up close and personal with Clint...

...rushed past the alien...

...kept a safe distance from the ark...

...wiped away Ingrid’s tears....

...and celebrated with the munchkins!

I think we’ll miss them most of all.

 

[TrolleyFollower91]

I need to apologize to @TrolleyFollower91 for a decision I made several years ago that I now regret. Tables in Wonderland was hosting a (very pricey) progressive dinner inside the GMR on the first night of one of our summer vacations. Appetizers and drinks were in the NYC set. Dinner was in the Western set. And dessert and cordials were in Oz. The event sounded super fun, but the cost made me balk and we would have been pressed for time (and tired) from our long drive down.

Apology accepted.

I think we’ll miss them most of all.

 

[mcstensrud]

Mo (@PacNWTigger), Emmy (@mcstensrud), and Belle (@rshell68) ~

Poly climbed to the top of Bookcase Mountain and threatened to stay there until I posted another update.
View attachment 238284

This of course means she vacated the chair (@MinnieM123 ) and I can now carry on......

To infinity and Beyond!

 

[blreinsel]

Thank you, Brittany. Have you and Dylan set a date yet?

June 22, 2019

(Think I can use my status to get the star sign changed to “Show Your Shirley Side”? )

Perhaps not, although I am surprised that you and @TrolleyFollower91's picture isn't one of the ones included on the film behind you.

 

[Tuvalu]

Em and I slowly made our way out of DHS’ iconic attraction. We’ll reserve judgment on its replacement after we experience it....but I can say that neither of us are fans of the new Mickey and Minnie animation.

We went old school for our next FP. It had been years since the two of us watched Indy’s antics. I think we female members of the Tuvalu family got a little burned out on Indy, since it was a must-do on every vacation with the boys.

Speaking of boys...these two little guys provided some adorable pre-show entertainment!

That Indy sure knows how to make an entrance!

Is anyone else tempted to yell, “STEVE!”?

While the rest of the audience sat on the edge of their seats during this nail-biting action, naked-shoulder chick decided it was the perfect opportunity to FaceTime with some friends. FOR THE WHOLE SHOW!

How Rude!

 

[Tuvalu]

Can you spot the “plant” in the line of extras?

These guys are every bit as good as tumble monkeys!

Since I am not in a crowded theater I am allowed to yell, “FIRE!!”

FIRE!!

FIRE!!

FIRE!!