Trip Report Our 2nd Anniversary DREAMy Boardwalk Adventure (Sept. 2015) COMPLETED

We have arrived home from our wonderful Disney vacation, and are ready to start our trip report! I say "our" because my husband has recently joined the forum as MRhappyplace, so he will add contributions (and corrections) as we go along.

We are Amber (age 36) and David (age 45). Our 2nd Anniversary was on August 31, and we honeymooned at Disney in October 2013, so it had been almost 2 years since our last trip. This is us:





Our trip began on Saturday, September 12th. I had to go to work for a few hours to train some staff, and while I was gone, DH took care of packing up the car, getting everything set up for our kitties, and cleaned out the fridge. All that fun stuff. I came home at around noon, and we did all the last-minute things and then we headed out for a couple of stops. We ultimately got on the real road (aka highway-driving from around 45 miles northeast of Atlanta) at around 2:15. Not too shabby.

We weren't heading into the bubble until the following day, Sunday. We added on a hotel stay in Bay Lake, Florida for this Saturday night, so that we could get to the World fairly early, and much less tired on Sunday. After a stop at Chick-fil-a for dinner around 5pm in Perry, GA, we got to the Country Inn & Suites at around 8pm. We were given Room 306, so were quite confused when we stepped off the elevator to this sign:



??? Turns out our room was just behind the elevator. Not a bad room at all, we would stay here again. We went to Steak n' Shake for dinner, then contemplated taking a dip in the indoor pool at the hotel, but there were three older women in there, singing at the top of their lungs, having a good ole time. We didn't feel it necessary to join them Went to bed.

Sunday, September 13th:
The continental breakfast was so-so the next morning, but we did have a bit, and were on our way.

We hit a bit of rain, and the skies were all gloomy as at 11:15, we saw in the distance, then passed under the Walt Disney World sign-no amount of rain was gonna bring me down; I did my slap-the-hubby's arm-squeal-clap-bounce thing in the passenger seat!





We pulled into the Boardwalk at 11:25!


Just a little teaser for tonight-will continue more tomorrow evening. Thanks for joining our thread!

 

[Disneyfalcon]

So glad we met up!

 

[myhappyplace]

Monday, September 13th

We slept well, though we were up super early. I think DH got up around 4:30, then laid back down, then we got up before 6. We could hear Illuminations the night before just before we laid down, so that tells you how early we went to bed. DH said he also heard some of the nightlife on the boardwalk.

Here was our gorgeous morning view.






Yacht Club across the water:


We had a Kona Cafe breakfast scheduled this morning, so headed out as soon as we were ready.

This is because we kept forgetting our room number the day before...


We were right off of an open little area, just below the Innkeeper's Club.




I loved the carpeting in the hallways...


OK so we got a little lost at this point. We decided to try an alternate route, and wound up accidentally near the Villas. It even involved going down a stairway which was not themed in any way, shape or form. And we passed two maintenance people who looked very surprised to see us. Heh.


We finally figured ourselves out and headed to the bus stop. A much sunnier version of yesterday's arrival pic...

 

[Mrhappyplace]

This includes a few I have of "Team HappyPlace" at our tasting class.

Stalker. Also Shhs, spoilers.

Lovely to meet you both at the Poly!! (That's yet to come, I know!! Spoilers!!)

Nice to meet you too!

Spoilers from you too, What's next someone gonna reveal how I pulled the sword out of the stone in MK? Oops.

DH is still trying to learn how to behave in front of a camera (before he married me he hated having his picture taken; now he has no choice). After taking this shot, I said "could you possibly look ANY more bored?"

I may have no choice but I'm gonna keep lobbying for the right to have silly facial expressions.

The best dessert ever. Bread & Butter Pudding!

Hmmm, I think you will contradict that statement during the cruise. Shhs, spoilers.

Yeah, there was a bit of rain each day but I think that was the worst.

Nahh the worst was the time we actually broke out the ponchos.

So glad we met up!

Me too, nice to put a face to the name.

 

[myhappyplace]

We took the bus to the Magic Kingdom. We sat near the back of the bus, just behind a family of three-Mom, Dad, and a little girl, maybe 2. Dad was on a seat facing the Mom and girl, in a relaxed pose. At one point, DH and I could see the Moms shoulders just shaking, and at first I didn't know what was happening. I SWEAR I did not try to read it but she was right in front of us, and she had her texts open, and had apparently texted her husband to "close his legs". We realized she was laughing, and he was laughing too. Apparenly he had been giving his wife quite the accidental view up his shorts. Then the little girl asked what was funny, and Dad said while laughing "we're just so excited to go see Mickey". DH didn't know until I told him after we got off the bus what had occurred.

We walked from the bus stop to the resort boat launch, and took the boat to the Poly. We were second in line behind another little family, and the little girl was quite enamored with DH. Little girls tend to just love him.

View of the Grand Florida from the boat...




Poly and GF


Our (co?) Captain...the one driving was "Earning his Ears"


The one resort I have no real desire to stay at, though wouldn't turn it down, lol...Contemporary...




Stop at the GF dock...






The Wedding Chapel


Arriving at the Poly dock...

 

[myhappyplace]

Kona Cafe is the one restaurant we repeated from our Disneymoon, just because I fell in lurve with Tonga Toast. We were a bit early, so we got the beeper thingy, and looked around in the shop.

I wanted DH to take a picture of me wearing some ears, but I forgot I had the front facing camera on, so I got a series of silly DH pics:





The pic I wanted him to take-


Our buzzer went off, and so we went back to the counter. A wonderful hostess (don't remember her name) said "party of 3?" and we said "no, 2". She said "Let me try again, party of 3??" while pointing to herself, and we said "oh! Yes, that's right, you are joining us!" It was sweet. Our server was Eric who was very nice.



Goofball.


My beloved Tonga Toast. I also got a side of bacon.


I could just drink the strawberry compote.


DH was unsatisfied with the Big Kahuna platter he got last time on our Disneymoon, so he went with the Samoan, and enjoyed it.




After breakfast, we went by monorail back to the Magic Kingdom. While on the monorail, we answered a man's questions about where all the monorail went. He was a DVC member, but had never ridden it?! From MK, we took a bus to Port Orleans French Quarter. This bus wasn't a regular bus, it was like a charter bus with cushioned seats, and TVs. We were one of two parties aboard; the other was a family who was headed back to POFQ to go back home to Illinois. The little girl was sad because she didn't want to leave. I could totally relate.

So, we had never been to POFQ, and we're interested in touring it because it's on our short list of where we might want to stay in the future. We were super impressed. Loved the decor and the layout.

The older gentleman in the jesters outfit who opened the doors was just the sweetest thing! We realized later that we should have had our picture with him, but we did get his recommendation for the beignets.





Toward the pool area-




Love how this pic turned out...a nice woman asked if we wanted her to take one of the both of us. Love how that happens so much at Disney


Closer to the pool...


OK, so as we enter the pool area and turn left, there in front of us are two young women with thong bikini bottoms on, and their tops completely off, lying face down on the chairs. I am not a prude in any way, but thought this was a bit too much for Disney. DH said "take a picture...for @DRD " (a friend of ours, new to this forum, who is headed to the World in October for the first time)...uh huh, suuuuure that's who it's for honey...but being the awesome wife I am, once we got a bit further away, I did snap a pic. I won't be posting it though, right?

Anyway, here's the backside of water as done by POFQ.


More of POFQ...love the colors and the balconies


The boat to DD/POR

 

[myhappyplace]

Good morning all! Continuing on! We were at POFQ, and we decided to take the boat over to POR.





Ol Man Island Pool...I think it is called?








A little buddy that followed us along the bridge


We just wandered all around...I remembered that during the one other time when I visited POR, back in 2006, I used the bathroom I think right off of the lobby, and it had the old fashioned pull-chain tank above (whether real or ornamental, I can't recall). So I wanted to find it and take a picture, but the bathroom I chose didn't have it anymore. Anyone know if I'm just mis-remembering??

Inside Boatwright's




We got back on the boat to POFQ, and discussed the two resorts. Back when I visited POR in 2006, I fell in love with the place (mind you, that was back when I stayed in values and never dreamed I would ever be able to do a moderate, let alone deluxe). But I also lived in PA at the time, and just felt the themeing was just wonderful (still do). But now that I live in GA, and the theming of POR is sorta similar to stuff I see more often (Spanish moss, etc) I am more drawn to POFQ. I would gladly stay in both, but I have put in my POFQ request with the DH

Anyway, back we came to POFQ--with those beignets on our mind!




Get in my belly!


(Now here, I believe, we made a small mistake. We took them back to our resort to eat, when they probably would have been much better still warm. But still tasty. Also, we commented that Mousekeeping would probably think we had a drug problem, with how much powdered sugar we got all over!)

From POFQ, we took the bus to DHS. That's where we were headed the next morning for our first park day, and wanted to estimate how long the walk would take (yes, from the boat, lol). We got out at Dolphin to look around. I really don't care for the theming of the Swan and Dolphin, but we did like the fountains.





Looking across to the Boardwalk


Then we walked over to the Boardwalk

 

[myhappyplace]

We went up to the room, sampled those beignets, and changed into our bathing suits...time to enjoy Luna Park Pool! DH especially, but I as well, wanted to try the waterslide!


Here is DH







And splashdown! The lifeguard on duty kept smiling each time an adult came down.




Looks like a man who enjoyed the Kester Coaster thoroughly -




It was at about this time that DH commented that we haven't seen any of those lizards that Florida is known for, when..




They were all over the pool area...so funny to watch! We see them every once in awhile in GA, though [Spoiler alert: when I got in the shower the morning after arriving back from our trip, there was one in the shower!! Startled the bejeezus out of me!]


We enjoyed a dip in the hot tub, then back to the pool for a bit. Then it was time to head to the room and shower; we were visiting a resort and restaurant that neither of us had ever been to...

 

[lostpro9het]

It was at about this time that DH commented that we haven't seen any of those lizards that Florida is known for, when..

We make a game of it, see how many we can count during a trip, even counted a few at Castaway this year.

 

[myhappyplace]

We make a game of it, see how many we can count during a trip, even counted a few at Castaway this year.

I bet you get some high totals! They were running across the sidewalk right under our feet at the Boardwalk, and yeah we saw a couple, including a pretty big one at Castaway!

 

[Mom@disney]

Happy Anniversary! You 2 are so adorable and look like a fun couple!
Love the pictures, so don't change the size. The Boardwalk looks gorgeous, but I don't think I could stay there due to my phobia of clowns :O Though I think the view makes up for it. Now to make time to read up on your past reports

 

[myhappyplace]

Happy Anniversary! You 2 are so adorable and look like a fun couple!
Love the pictures, so don't change the size. The Boardwalk looks gorgeous, but I don't think I could stay there due to my phobia of clowns :O Though I think the view makes up for it. Now to make time to read up on your past reports

Aw, thank you so much! We do have fun together for sure!

The Boardwalk is gorgeous though I don't have a problem with clowns, I completely understand those who do. We did visit the quiet pool later in the week...not themed, but that's an option.

Thanks so much for your comments and for reading along!

 

[Mrhappyplace]

The Boardwalk is gorgeous though I don't have a problem with clowns, I completely understand those who do. We did visit the quiet pool later in the week...not themed, but that's an option.

The Boardwalk is quite a nice resort and if the clown is too scary and use of the quiet pools are not a option Beach Club & Yacht Club (or even Swan & Dolphin) are so close together one could enjoy the Boardwalk views while staying at any of these resorts. And the nighttime performers at the Boardwalk are worth a walk from any of these resorts or World Showcase to experiance at least once.

 

[myhappyplace]

We headed by bus to DAK, then by bus to...



Animal Kingdom Lodge for dinner at Boma! We arrived early so that we could explore; we definitely want to stay here in the future!










We headed downstairs near Boma and Jiko, and decided to join the culinary tour of the two that was just about to begin. Our tour guide for Boma was Minkie, from Botswana. She was just the sweetest thing! She discussed the decor choices for the restaurant, including the significance of items such as the clay pots, beads, coins, the Chief's table, the mortar & pestle, the lamps (sun colors), the fabric, the thatching , the animals-basically every thing, color, decoration, etc in there had a very intentional and deliberate purpose/meaning. It was very fascinating.

We got to talk with the chef about the spices that were used in the meat station, including the bobotie. We got to sample (and by sample, I mean we got a bowl) of the peanut soup, and a zebra dome.

Here is Minkie:


Talking about the Chief's Table


A very dark pic of the fabric and beads:


Right after our taste testing, Boma was opening for dinner. The welcoming drums:


We still had to tour Jiko, but were due at Boma in 15 minutes. We decided to start the tour, then we would duck out when we needed to.

This is Nosipho, from South Africa, who guided us through Jiko.


She told us about the birds flying into the sunset, the wine tree, neck rings worn by ladies of some tribes, and showed us a hidden Mickey above the ovens.





See the Mickey?


Then we got to taste the bread service. Yuuuuum. I would eat here just for that!


We then had to leave the tour (though I think it was wrapping up) because it was time for our Boma reservation. Overall, we really enjoyed the culinary tour, especially being a free tour, and loved that we got to sample some of, and see all of the foods we were about to have at Boma, since neither of us have ever eaten African foods.

 

[Mom@disney]

The Boardwalk is quite a nice resort and if the clown is too scary and use of the quiet pools are not a option Beach Club & Yacht Club (or even Swan & Dolphin) are so close together one could enjoy the Boardwalk views while staying at any of these resorts. And the nighttime performers at the Boardwalk are worth a walk from any of these resorts or World Showcase to experiance at least once.

That is a great option! Hopefully one day soon the family will have a chance to stay here.

 

[myhappyplace]

Some food pictures-


This chef said he'd better not see a video of him on youtube. He will have to be OK with being on a forum!!







DH's first plate-


My first plate-






DH's 2nd plate-


My 2nd plate-yes, I was already slowing down...


Zebra domes!!


I was a bit nervous to try this, but we ended up really enjoying it!


It is the shiny round thing on the right of the plate...

 

[myhappyplace]

We did share one more plate before dessert, which we didn't take a pic of...we both wanted a little more beef.

Some more photos of Boma-






Then our server brought out a little Anniversary surprise-




After a yummy dinner, we walked around the grounds




We marveled at how odd and broken the flamingos' necks looked!






















Lots of giraffes and zebras out

 

[myhappyplace]

Back to the lobby for one last look-







We loved our visit at AKL, and want to stay here sometime, if even only for a night or two. We took the bus to DHS, and this time, actually walked the path back to the Boardwalk. DH wanted to shower, and I wanted to look around the Boardwalk at night.


Coming up, Boardwalk nighttime entertainment...

 

[Mrhappyplace]

Everything at Boma tasted great and I thought doing the culinary tour before the meal was a nice intro to the food we would be eating shortly. I was pleasantly surprised by the sweet taste that accompanied the spiciness of the Nigerian peanut soup, I have coworkers from Liberia who often eat a peanut butter soup and they tend to not like sweet foods.

All the meats were great and I really liked the Pap and the coconut rice was awesome! Zebra Domes are quite good but I did like the Cassava Cake better so I think with all the buzz around the domes people should try that as well.

Greatly enjoyed our time at AKL and hope to stay there someday.

 

[myhappyplace]

I headed out on to the Boardwalk in the evening and took in the sights-








I must have a thing for bikes lined up in a row...


So I did come across a little show already in action-with a beautiful sunset as a backdrop-














Sorry, I took this shot many times, at all times of the day...



DH texted that he was out of the shower, but I stayed till the end of the show, and went back up to meet him after. I really enjoyed the act, very cute with the audience members. When I got back up to the room, we could hear and see Illuminations going on, so even though the pictures aren't that great, I wanted to include some so you could see the view we saw from our balcony.




Then, DH decided he would like to go out on the Boardwalk and see some of the acts for himself, so back out we went.

This guy was pretty funny-

 

[myhappyplace]

Some more...

This was our room (the left side of the lighted balcony in the pic)










We saw a couple more acts, really cute with the kids


So that's it for Day 2! We hit our first parks tomorrow, stay tuned! Hope you are all enjoying!