Trip Report "The Best Disney Trip EVER"

Hello, hello everyone!! A warm welcome to everyone reading--I'm so glad you're here!!

WHEN: Tuesday, November 5th - Tuesday, November 12th

WHERE: I think you know us well enough by now!!

WHO: I'm sure you know most of us(don't worry--I'm not going to confuse you all like I did in June;)). In case you don't though, there's me, my nephew J, & my sister E. Besides us usual 3 Musketeers, E's husband/J's dad/my BIL joined us for the fun!! To keep confusion to a minimum for this TR I will refer to him as JSR.
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You could also call us "The Red Family". When E asked J what color MB he wanted he said that he wanted red & that we should all get that color so we could be "The Red Family". I know you can't see E's but trust me, her's was red also.

Looking forward to reliving "The Best Disney Trip EVER" with you all!!

Tuesday, November 5th

The plan was to leave E & JSR's at 7:00. I went to work for 5:30 to get a few last minute things done--also so that I could say to my boss that I was only off for 7 days, not 8. He teases me that "vacations are 7 days not 8". After doing some work & him teasing me a bit I was off on my merry way!! I got to their house only to find out that JSR was still packing!!:jawdrop: E was not thrilled in the least. He must have been close to being done though b/c we were only delayed a few minutes.

Then came the next delay. It was Election Day and E & JSR wanted to due their civic duty. I sat in the car with J & we talked Disney while we waited.
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And, in typical Pittsburgh fashion, it was raining.
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Rush hour traffic + heavy rain = a slow commute to the airport. I don't know what it is with this town but it seems like no one can drive in the rain around here. Trust me, we get more than our fair share of it so you think people would be used to it.
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As we were waiting to check our luggage in the woman behind us noticed our luggage tags & said that she was going to Disney also and was staying at Caribbean Beach. She asked if this was our first time going which prompted JSR to throw in a few digs about us & the frequency of our trips. I think he's just jealous ;)
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The Southwest agent was slower than molasses but after 10 minutes or so it was our turn.
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JSR made fun of me all week b/c of this. I had two suitcases. The small one weighed 20 lbs & this one was 36.5. He kept saying, "How did you manage to bring 56 lbs. of clothes?" As it turned out, due to his last minute packing there were quite a few things that he forgot so I told him at least I didn't have that problem. He also told me not to tell E about what he had forgot b/c he didn't want to hear her say "I told you so".
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E went to park the car while the J's & I proceeded to security. But wait, I couldn't go just yet. For whatever reason the Southwest agent left one of the suitcases behind. After unsuccessfully trying to get his attention for about 5 minutes I finally interrupted him & asked him to please put it on the belt. I was getting nervous that it would somehow get forgotten. He looked at me with a surprised look on his face & said he didn't notice it there. Really??
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On the "monorail" we go!!
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Piglet_the_brave

Well-Known Member
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 10TH

I went out onto the balcony to check it out.
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It was really cool but I'd be lying if I said the odor didn't bother me a little!!
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I love watching giraffes esp. when they are walking. They're so graceful.
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This little guy was making all kinds of noise.
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Back in the room I checked out the lighting. I liked this.
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Lights on!!
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The room looked pretty.
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I went out to the balcony again to see what was going on.
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Lovely views of the animals. But I also love the labels on the light switches, the number of times I’ve had to just randomly press what seems like a bazillion switches to see what they do
 

Darstarr

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
No
So, JSR had got a Christmas one. I know if I asked him to sneak it out of their house & I would smuggle it down & attempt to use it he would be all for it but.....I wonder how a CM would handle that!! We're going mid-January so I'm sure the Christmas ones won't be around anymore!!
(Yes this is a late reply but that Christmas thing you spoke of has been messing with me too.)
I really really want you to do this^^^. And take pictures! And video! And report back!!!
 

riverside

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Welcome to the Big Kids club! And, yeah, Tiffins doesn’t come close to being on Jiko’s level.
Thanks!!:) Nowhere near!!
Love the room photos. AKL is a place we’ve always wanted to stay, but haven’t yet. Your meal at Jiko looks like it was incredible. That’s also on our bucket list!
I'm glad we checked it out. I was pretty impressed with the foods they had at The Mara. Jiko was really good. I can't say enough about it!
Lovely views of the animals. But I also love the labels on the light switches, the number of times I’ve had to just randomly press what seems like a bazillion switches to see what they do
They were pretty handy. I could actually use that at home for lights that I don't use that often. I can never remember which switch goes to what!!
Woman in front of me yesterday at AK: “Gosh, this popcorn bucket is annoying!”

I had to double check it wasn’t E :joyfull:
🤣🤣🤣That's great!! If I told her that I could hear it now, "See, I told you it's a pain!"
(Yes this is a late reply but that Christmas thing you spoke of has been messing with me too.)
I really really want you to do this^^^. And take pictures! And video! And report back!!!
It would be funny to see what kind of reaction I would get. I know E would never go for it. She would(as I would be) be embarrassed trying to use a Christmas bucket in the middle of January plus we all know that she won't want to carry it!! So, here's my plan: I'm going to be at her house for Christmas Eve. JSR will think this is hysterical so I'll ask him if he knows where it is at & to get it for me(hopefully she hasn't thrown it out!!) If he doesn't know I can ask J. If I tell him I want it to play a joke & we have to keep it a secret for now he will go along with it!!
 

krause

Well-Known Member
Sorry I’ve been a bit silent on here! I was so disappointed we couldn’t meet up, I still owe @AKemily a visit to Yeehaw Bob so I’m sure it will happen some day! My 2 year old was sooo sick we got to experience the US Health Care System first hand (I work in health care in canada so it was actually quite fascinating to me.. until the $600 bill hit.. thank goodness for insurance reimbursement when we got home). My fave part of Disney these days is doing new things but you at AKL.. might be too much for me :joyfull:
 

riverside

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Sorry I’ve been a bit silent on here! I was so disappointed we couldn’t meet up, I still owe @AKemily a visit to Yeehaw Bob so I’m sure it will happen some day! My 2 year old was sooo sick we got to experience the US Health Care System first hand (I work in health care in canada so it was actually quite fascinating to me.. until the $600 bill hit.. thank goodness for insurance reimbursement when we got home). My fave part of Disney these days is doing new things but you at AKL.. might be too much for me :joyfull:
It's all good!! I admit I was very bummed myself but I totally understand. It would have been fun. I'm sorry he was so sick. That stinks esp. being in Disney:cry: Out of curiosity, any big differences in the health care?

I really enjoy doing new things also but staying there was so different for me! I'm glad we were at POR for the majority of the trip!!
 

riverside

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
CHRISTMAS EVE/DAY

I hope everyone had a great Christmas & continue to enjoy the holiday season!! I thought I'd share a few pictures from the last few days.

Grandpap & J playing ball in the house--that never would have flown when I was growing up:cautious:
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Me & my buddy.
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E with our BIL & brother.
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Santa paid us a visit as he does every Christmas Eve(kind of a bummer--all the kids have figured out that it is R. J is the only one who hasn't yet!!)
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Santa is holding a very special book. My mom was an excellent cook/baker. She had tons of recipes on index cards. My sister, Ch,(2nd from the right) took all 500&some recipes, organized them & put them into a cookbook!! Not only did she have them made for all of us(brothers & sisters) but she also had them made for my aunt(my mom's sister) and some cousins. Santa gave me & all my siblings a box then we played a game where we could take each others boxes. At the end we found that each box had the cookbook in it along with a frame. In each frame were different recipe cards. It is nice to have the cookbook but it is also nice to still have recipes in mom's handwriting. Something very nice to hang in the kitchen & hopefully mom is there guiding us(esp. me--with my lousy cooking abilities!!)
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All my nieces & nephews minus one. She's in the military & couldn't come home for Christmas.
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My favorites!! This is a special part of Christmas. My mom made all these stockings. It's hard to tell but there's about 30 of them up there(the dogs even got them over the years!!) She also made countless stockings for family & friends. I can't begin to imagine how many she did over the years!! She also made the ceramic figurines that are on the floor.
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J on Christmas day.
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No Christmas is complete without ending the day with bar bingo!! My nephew C is so into it for an 8 year old!!
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It's only $.25 a card but man is my family competitive!!
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It stunk not having my mom here but we made the best of it!!
 

riverside

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
THE PLANNING STAGE

I'm excited to report that I think I'm making good progress procuring E's nemesis, the popcorn bucket!! On Christmas Eve I told JSR why I needed him to locate the popcorn bucket for me. He thought it was hysterical as I figured he would. He said he would make sure to get it to me. I also told J that we were going to play a joke on his mom when we go to Disney. He agreed to keep it a secret.

So, JSR has already started playing games with her. This is a text I got from him Christmas morning!!
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Apparently they have more than one popcorn bucket floating around their house!!

If she only knew.....
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These were hysterical!! MJ chomping away on his popcorn at the beginning of the Thriller video & this giraffe one really cracked me up. You can't see what he wrote under it but it says, "Animal Kingdom Memories":hilarious::hilarious::hilarious:

@Darstarr Let the games begin!!
 

riverside

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 11TH

As much as I love Riverside I admit it's pretty cool to wake up & look out at this first thing.
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I felt like this dude & I were having a staring competition. It seemed like he was looking at me forever.
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Nice refrigerator with a clear door but I didn't think it was as practical as the ones at POR. I missed not having a place on the door to put things.
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This vanity kit became a lifesaver for me!!
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First off, how do I manage to break a nail while I'm sleeping??:facepalm: I figured I would have to make a trip to the gift shop to buy a nail file but the Disney Vanity Kit saved the day!! Without a file that nail would have got caught on something then I would have a real mess on my hands. If you're wondering why I don't have one in my travel bag that would be b/c I don't own one. I can't even paint my nails. Not only do I not own a nail file I don't even own a single bottle of nail polish!! Needless to say when I break a nail here I text the girl that does my nails & she tells me what time to come to get it fixed!! It's much easier that way!!
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After getting ready I glanced through the wildlife spotting guide.
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I went outside to see what kind of animals I could spot & since I couldn't find any I took a selfie.
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Finally this guy came around!!
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Nunu

Wanderluster
Premium Member
Looks like you and your family had a fun Christmas gathering. The cookbook is the kind of meaningful gift that you'll get to treasure for many, many years. Thank you for sharing your Christmas pictures with us!

I keep my nails short-ish and paint them every once in a while, so why do I own an insane amount of nail polishes in every shade imaginable? Crazy, I know! I don't paint them when we go to WDW, for practical purposes. Glad the nail file saved the day (and night!).
 

Darstarr

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
No
These were hysterical!! MJ chomping away on his popcorn at the beginning of the Thriller video & this giraffe one really cracked me up. You can't see what he wrote under it but it says, "Animal Kingdom Memories":hilarious::hilarious::hilarious:

@Darstarr Let the games begin!!
You made my day!!!
And I loved the Christmas pictures/stories and how you are all remembering your Mother and keeping her spirit alive.
 

Matt and Kelly

Well-Known Member
Merry Christmas! Love all the Christmas pictures.
and in answer to your question about our health care system everything is free. All surgeries or procedures, visits to the dr, having a baby is all free. The only thing we pay for would be prescriptions but if you have insurance through your work than that would be covered. We are very lucky, it’s very Different from the states. With Ella’s diabetes we have never had pay a cent. They have a pump program where the government pays for all her supplies. However I do not know what happens if someone travels to Canada and needed medical treatment. We are so nice it would probably be free too lol
Kelly
 

Swissmiss

Premium Member
Merry Christmas! Love all the Christmas pictures.
and in answer to your question about our health care system everything is free. All surgeries or procedures, visits to the dr, having a baby is all free. The only thing we pay for would be prescriptions but if you have insurance through your work than that would be covered. We are very lucky, it’s very Different from the states. With Ella’s diabetes we have never had pay a cent. They have a pump program where the government pays for all her supplies. However I do not know what happens if someone travels to Canada and needed medical treatment. We are so nice it would probably be free too lol
Kelly

If you aren’t from Canada, you do have to pay for your health care ... but since Canadians don’t, it is sometimes difficult for the hospital to produce a proper bill for you to submit to your insurance company :banghead:
 

krause

Well-Known Member
It's all good!! I admit I was very bummed myself but I totally understand. It would have been fun. I'm sorry he was so sick. That stinks esp. being in Disney:cry: Out of curiosity, any big differences in the health care?

I really enjoy doing new things also but staying there was so different for me! I'm glad we were at POR for the majority of the trip!!

Just the paying part! Haha! $250US just to check in and then another 80 for a rapid influenza swab, 70 for a puffer, 50 for an antibiotic, and another 50 for a steroid. Came out to about $630 Canadian but thankfully my insurance reimbursed it all shortly after we got home. In Canada you just show up to any walk in clinic, urgent care, emergency, etc and you don’t pay a cent so the patient never knows what it all actually costs the system it’s all just “free” :rolleyes:

Looks like you all had a great Christmas! That cookbook idea was fantastic! And SO much work I imagine.
 

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