Trip Report THE ONE WITH THE FRIENDS IN FEBRUARY; Feb 16-23, 2019 *COMPLETE*

Hi all. Just returned from our February break trip and I can’t wait to share it with you!
First things first.....

THE WHO:
We have some friends we go away with every other February break.
In 2017 we did a Royal Caribbean cruise:
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In 2015 we stayed in a grand villa at AKL:
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And in 2013 we did the Disney Dream:
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Sorry, no matching shirts. We were still feeling each other out😎

So who do we have?
( @Rista1313 pay attention!)

Me
Husband-Ant
Son-AJ, 15
Son-Dre, 13
We have another son, X, who was at school and did not come with us but makes a guest appearance, or two❤️

Our friends
J tall bald and male
L short blond and fun
3 out of their 4 kids
Son-T, 17
Son-R, 13
Daughter-H, 12
Their oldest is away at college.

THE WHERE
We stayed in the Saratoga Springs Treehouse villas. Love them!!! More later!

I think that is all you need to know for now.

2019!
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Click to expand...
Darstarr

Darstarr

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
In the Parks
No
Day5/Feb 21 cont

J had hit a wall. I think he was a little over hung. T and AJ wanted to stay. I was able to get them a RnR FP.
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Ant and I also stayed and went here:
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While watching I was working on getting FP’s for the boys and for Ant and I. I was able to get the boys TSM. Then I was also able to get Ant and I TSM so we headed that way.
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I had told the boys, “tell me when you tap in.” When I got the tap in text I started working on their next FP and got them Star Tours.

Ant and I headed here:
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Is Anna wearing Louboutins? Red sole.
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Waiting for the show to start I was able to get the boys and Ant and I ToT FP’s. I was on fire with this FP thing. I had figured out a system and just kept working it.
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And dont they look excited?
 
Darstarr

Darstarr

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
In the Parks
No
Day 5/Feb 21 cont

Soon after AJ sent me these:
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Seems as though the boys were heckling the storm troopers. And the storm troopers did not like that too much.
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T looks a little out of place here.
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Ant and I went into some shops. We had a ADR about 6:00? 6:15? So I asked everyone to return by then. We were killing time until then.

Love❤️
A girl can never have too many shoes or ears! But I didnt get them☹️
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Also liked this but....
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Did not get it either.

Then we were walking down Sunset and,
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WHAT???
This is one of Ant’s buddies wives. They went to HS (high school not hollywood studios) together. She was having a girls trip with her mom, daughter and a couple cousins. Crazy!

Small world??? I think so.
 
Darstarr

Darstarr

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
In the Parks
No
Day 5/Feb 21 cont

We made it over to sci fi a little early and sat down outside at baseline taphouse. I sent a message on the group text telling everyone where to meet. Long story short, only L and R came back. J and H decided they did not want to come back which was fine, but neither J nor L woke Dre. He slept through dinner. That annoyed me. I was texting but he was asleep so was not getting them.

It actually worked out ok because now we were 6 instead of 9. Table for 6 please!!!

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Our server with the man responsible for it all in the back ground.
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Ant drank this:
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Red velvet. Pretty good.

I drank this:
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Also, pretty good.

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It was too dark to get photos of everyones food. R and L had burgers. I have no idea what AJ had. Mom? Will I like this? Can I get that? What if I split this and do that and .....
I gave up. He ate and he didnt complain so I count it as a win.

Ant got the shrimp pasta
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White shirt, cant be too careful!
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I had the buffalo chicken salad
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It did the job.

That was my first time there. The darkness bothered me. I mean, the place could have been totally filthy and how would we know?

On our way out we ran into Ant’s friend again.
 
Darstarr

Darstarr

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
In the Parks
No
MegRuss626 said:
I look at those ears every time but I never buy them for whatever reason! And I agree....no such thing as too many ears! I have a friend that is down there now and is bringing me back the new navy and pink ones! 😍
Click to expand...
I bought the navy and pink at mouse gear. I will tell you a secret...tomorrow is my birthday and I may get myself those ears. Or, I love the new silver ones with the castle. Of course, being a California girl, I need the ones with Sleeping Beauties’ castle. I may have to order those on line. No instant gratification☹️
 
MegRuss626

MegRuss626

Well-Known Member
Darstarr said:
I bought the navy and pink at mouse gear. I will tell you a secret...tomorrow is my birthday and I may get myself those ears. Or, I love the new silver ones with the castle. Of course, being a California girl, I need the ones with Sleeping Beauties’ castle. I may have to order those on line. No instant gratification☹
Click to expand...

Happy (early by a day) birthday!!! 🎉 Oh I love the ones with the castle too! And since it’ll be your birthday, it’s a must for new ears!
 
Darstarr

Darstarr

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
In the Parks
No
Day 5/Feb 21

After dinner everyone went back except me. I love love love Fantasmic. To me it is iconic Disney. It’s like the OG of night time shows. A show with a theme as old as it is new. Good vs evil. Plus I use to sit on the ground and watch it at Disneyland when I was growing up. So that helps with the positive vibes.

Ha ha. I checked MDE and got a FP for Fantasmic. However, I arrived so late it did not matter. As I was walking in, a CM held out a bag and asked me if I wanted some desserts. They were left over from the Fantasmic dessert party he said. For you and your party he said. Ummmm, if I am a party of one can I eat it all???
This is the bag he gave me:
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Picture from the top. There were two containers of mini pastries, one container of fruit and cheese and one container of a kids make your own dirt dessert. It had gummy worms, cookie crumbs and pudding or mousse.
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Boo hiss
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The hero!!!
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Steamboat Willie Mickey. I love how everything is in color around him but he is firmly in black and white.
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I didnt take too many pictures. Night time. Far away. Why bother?

On my way out I did take a few. ToT looks so peaceful.
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I love the exit through the backstage areas, it makes me feel so extra! (Ha ha, I know I am using that wrong but when Dre tells me I am being “extra” I always reply “extra special”.)

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I really love the theming in this park. I think it will be all star wars’d out before long. (Yes making up expressions now I am)

I hopped on a bus back to SSR and got off at the first stop which is the Grandstand. From there it was just a short walk down a path around the golf course. But, there is always a but, the golf course sprinklers turned on as I was walking and I got soaked. Forget the Splash Mountain water cannons! The golf course sprinklers are where it is at for maximum soakage.
No wet tshirt photos.
 
Darstarr

Darstarr

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
In the Parks
No
Day 6/Feb 22

4:00 am came early. That is what time L, J and their kids got up to leave for the airport. Ant, the boys and I were going to sleep in. Check out wasnt until 11:00. But, there is always a but, I woke at 6:00 with a terrible stomach ache. I swear I did not eat all those fantasmic desserts.

We showered, cleaned up the tree house and called bell services to come get our luggage. We were moving over to the Beach Club Villas. The bell hop who took our luggage also gave us a ride to the carriage house. He told us our luggage would be delivered between 1-3. We packed swim stuff in our back packs and were off. First I paid our bill and remembered to pick up our packages we had sent to the resort. Now we were off.

Good bye golf course
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Hello boat to Disney Springs.
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Such a beautiful day.
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Darstarr

Darstarr

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
In the Parks
No
Day 6/Feb 22


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❤🌴

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👎

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Why did we move to the Beach Club? Why didnt we go home like our friends? We thought X was going to have a game so we stayed on through the weekend. X ended up not having a game so we decided to stay at WDW but the four if us were not going to stay in the big treehouse. We waitlisted BCV and got in. I was shocked because it was a run weekend.

Here we were:
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I waited in line to check in. There was a man and his son in front of us, a CM with a tablet was helping/talking to them and I was behind them. It was their turn and they stepped up to the desk. I was next. While waiting I was doing something on my phone. Nothing major like talking or sending a text. I think I was checking the weather or wait times or something. A spot opens at the desk and the CM says next. I click off my phone and bend down to pick up my backpack and the man behind me goes around me and cuts me in front of me I could not believe it. There are ropes so it is obvious who is in line and who is just milling about. My options were to say something or just stand there. I stood there shooting daggers at him. The CM with the tablet said hello and asked how I was doing. I said, a little loudly, “I was doing fine until that guy just cut me. ”
I should have just confronted him but instead I let it eat at me and it completely soured my mood. Add two tired teenagers missing their friends and we were not off to a great start at the Beach club!!!
 
Darstarr

Darstarr

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
In the Parks
No
Day 6/Feb 22 cont

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We changed into our swim attire and headed to stormalong bay.

We ordered some lunch and ate poolside. I had a buffalo chicken wrap.
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They boys got....
Wait for it....
Chicken nugget kids meals served in a pail with a shovel.
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Some lady planted herself right between us. Those are her feet. Not mine.


The recreation department has pool activities for the kids. One game was Nemo and shark. Basically it was tag in the pool. When you got tagged you were no longer a Nemo you became a shark. The CM just needed a shark to begin the game. Hmmmm...
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Yes that is AJ (glowing because he is so pale). AJ was the shark. He was so awesome at it too. Not to aggressive. He could have dominated these kids but he was gentle and fun.
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The Nemos loved him!

He got a special sticker for helping out.
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He can be a pain but he is a good person. Animals and little kids love him. You can not fool animals and little kids!!

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About 3:30 I headed in to shower and get dressed to go to Epcot. I stopped by bell services to inquire about our luggage that was being transfered from SSR. They told me between 3-5. What?!? At SSR I was told between 1-3.
I figured it out: SSR leaves for BCV between 1-3. It arrives at BCV between 3-5. That is a big difference. If we had known we may not get our bags until 5:00 we would have carried them with us.
We had a 4:25 FP.

Luggage came at 4:35.

This picture was taken at 4:50. Showers???
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What do you think?
 
Darstarr

Darstarr

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
In the Parks
No
fractal said:
I'm trying to decide what was more rude; the golf course sprinklers or the guy that skipped in front of you.

Maybe the lady by the pool that decided to be part of your family.

Love the Beach Club Villas and the pool games!
Click to expand...
You know, I was taken aback by the rudeness I encountered. It wasn't like that in the seclusion of the Treehouse Villas!!! I was no longer in the country. I was now in the big city😉
Swissmiss said:
Definitely would not have let it go if the guy had cut in front of me - I would have made a made a snarky remark in an incredibly nice voice like “oh, i guess your time is more important than mine”. I’ve found that using a nice voice makes the impact stronger 😉
Click to expand...
I really wanted to voice my displeasure but I didnt give you all the facts. The man with the boy in front of me? The boy had down’s syndrome. Cutting in line compared to that just didnt seem like such a big thing. Does that make sense?
 
Darstarr

Darstarr

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
In the Parks
No
Day 6/ Feb 22 cont

We made our FP at SSE. Then went to MS. Ant and I sat outside and waited for the boys. We had an ADR for Tutto Italia. I pulled up the menu to see what looked good. I will tell you what did not look good! The prices. Yikes. Right here I made the best decision of the trip (until the next day that is). I told the boys to strike out on their own. Eat dinner where ever they wanted, ride whatever they chose or go back and swim. Just stay together.

Ant and I headed to Italy (I wish! We headed to the Epcot pavilion called Italy) We were seated right away and given menus.
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I ordered a Bellini and Ant ordered an Arnold Palmer.

Bread and olives were brought.
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I ordered the Tortino di Zucchine and Ant ordered the Insalata di Mare.
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And this is where my camera said no mas. Excuse me but I am full.

My zucchini was nothing special to look at so you are not missing anything. Ant loved his appetizer. Especially the octopus.

Entrees:
Ant was torn so he asked the waiter for his opinion. Our waiter said his hands down favorite was the lasagne. It was a traditional version with béchamel. I hadn't had that in ages and was hoping Ant got it. He did and it was fabulous!
I got the Osso Bucco. It was nice and tender.

After dinner we poked around the Italy gift shop for a bit. The boys were heading to test track. I took a pass and walked out the International gateway.
I detoured left and went to Ample Hills. I got peanut butter cup and chocolate fudge brownie. It was good but with all the hype I was expecting more flavor. Dont get me wrong, I ate it!!!
I went back to our room and surprise surprise, our terrible view had mediocre views of the fireworks.
Thank you and good night!
 

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