Compromise is a Disney word: Taking one for the team over Thanksgiving 2016* August PTR link! 5/28

[Raeven]

The Universal training sounds really cool! I'm so excited that you get to go so many times this year!

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

That is all SUPER exciting! And I totally get how most family and friends just don't get how we could want to go so much! YEAH!!!!

 

[Jenny Sanders]

ARIANE, I am so happy for you!!!! You will have to let me know about CSR, since I will be staying there in July...I'll be anxious to here if you were given a refurbished room, if you still like it, etc...

 

[ariane37]

YAY for Universal training!! That sounds so fun!! Hopefully you can check out some of their eats and drinks, too!

I hope so! We haven't gotten an itinerary yet, so all I know is one morning we're eating breakfast at the Leaky Cauldron. I got to put my order in already
And being a 3 night trip we BEST be able to try some drinks!!

Wahoo for more Disney! You are incredibly lucky to have such a Disney fan for a hubby! I'm hoping to hook mine on this trip!

I'm crossing my fingers you convert him because then you can do that kid-free trip you already have pretty much planned out

I also think you guys need to look into DVC with all these trips planned!

We've actually discussed this a few times! Just not ready to take the plunge.......a parent at Chris's school just told me tonight they recently bought DVC at SSR and BCV.

I'm very excited to read all about all your upcoming trips. It should help pass the 133 days until my trip!

I find that once you hit 99 days it goes pretty fast. Just think, in only 34 short days, you'll be in single digits

Wow that sounds awesome, I get it for sure lol!

I knew you guys would!

One of my local friends is also going to that training at Universal (or at least a similar training there, also early next month)!

I'm sure it's the same training if she's a TA, that's pretty cool! Is she excited?

I'm excited for you and your trips!!

Because it means I can live vicariously through them, lol!! If I can't be there myself, I want YOU to be there documenting things FOR me

That's exactly how I feel when you're on a trip lol

More Disney trips, how exciting! Now you just need to book one for early next January...

We loved our trip last January so it's definitely a possibility!

I'm so jealous of the flight prices you guys get in the US. We paid just under $600 each round trip for our trip earlier this month, and that was a decent deal...

HOLY CRAP We've never paid that much, the most we've ever paid pp round trip is a little over $300! The norm is between $225-$270 pp. I'd be jealous too if I were you

Wow $80 RT flights, thats crazy cheap, good for you

I know, right?? We never luck out like that lol. We had been watching flights and were seeing $133 each way, which wasn't bad. Being in NY we NEVER get anything under $200 pp RT and it's usually at least $250. Steve logged on one morning and there were the $40 flights! He tried booking and when he got to the screen to pay it wouldn't let him so he called. Apparently it was a mistake but since they'd put it up, they honored it. As he was on the phone with JetBlue the flights disappeared online.

We love POR so at some point take a leap and try it. I love being able to take the boat to Disney Springs.

I do want to try it, especially for "research purposes" lol. The boat to DS is definitely a plus.

We are heading to F&G on the 14th of March so super excited for that.

Awesome! Have you done F&G before? We love it so much!

I'm still here and reading! I love that you guys have been to BOG for dinner so many times. I've only been for breakfast and lunch and would love to do dinner but DH isn't a fan, so I'm going to have to try it on a Bob free trip!

I love that line! I'll have to do the same thing with Skippers Canteen on a Steve free trip We ate there once, he wasn't impressed, so he doesn't want to go back but I'd like to. I'm very lucky all the guys like BOG dinner so much!

Lol about your bangs on Splash. my hair and Florida don't get along either. Going from a very dry climate to a very humid environment freaks it out and it ends up looking like crap for the whole vacation.

I've had Disney vacations where I have to come to an understanding with my hair-that understand being I understand it's going to look horrendous the minute I step out the door each day and there's nothing I can do about it! On our first Aug. trip I completely gave up and just washed it in the morning and put it all up, even the bangs. My shiny sweaty forehead was glistening in every pictures!

That's so awesome!!!!!!! Wow, $80 r/t is amazeballs!

I know, we couldn't believe it! Major mistake on JetBlue's website that we caught

We need to fix that! Which means you need to book another trip for around October 21 ( hint, hint)

Right after we booked our March flights, we started discussing a possible F&W/MNSSHP trip for this year...........

I'm so jealous! You have my dream job

I haven't been doing it too awfully long but yeah, it's pretty awesome

 

[ariane37]

The Universal training sounds really cool! I'm so excited that you get to go so many times this year!

Thank you! I'm really looking forward to the training since we haven't been back to Universal since 2015. And while I know the basics and a decent amount about the parks, I really know nothing about the resorts and that's the main focus of this training

That is all SUPER exciting! And I totally get how most family and friends just don't get how we could want to go so much! YEAH!!!!

Isn't that the truth lol! I was just talking to a new receptionist my chiropractor has, telling her what I do for a living and how often I go She's a bit older than me, travels a lot, and said she prefers going on "exciting" vacations. I get it but I started going on about ALL the different things you can do at Disney, all the adult things, etc. Then I finally shut up lol.

ARIANE, I am so happy for you!!!! You will have to let me know about CSR, since I will be staying there in July...I'll be anxious to here if you were given a refurbished room, if you still like it, etc...

!!! I will definitely report back on CSR and the refurbs they're doing that I learned about AFTER we booked. They're doing away with the Business Class rooms! It'll be interesting to see........

 

[Raeven]

The resorts are awesome you'll love them!

 

[wdwnut61]

I'm so excited you are adding a March trip but sad we will miss each other The Universal training sounds very cool congrats!

 

[ariane37]

I'm so excited you are adding a March trip but sad we will miss each other The Universal training sounds very cool congrats!

I was really hoping we'd be able to meet again, but Steve couldn't get off work until the very end of March Hopefully well be able to meet up on a future trip!

 

[wdwnut61]

I was really hoping we'd be able to meet again, but Steve couldn't get off work until the very end of March Hopefully well be able to meet up on a future trip!

Hope so

 

[Grumpy's Wife]

How exciting! Going to Disney twice and coming up so soon. I would have passed out if my husband would have sent me a text like that. He isn't the Disney lover that I am. He just puts up with me and the kids and tags along. Whatever you want honey. Have a great time planning. I like planning my trips almost as much as going on them.

 

[princessemsmom]

I know I read and replied in the DR - but reading it here I got excited for you all over again!! 2 trips!! We stayed POR the last few years and we really loved it. We booked Royal Rooms each time so the location was great - DD and DH would just keep staying there if I did not force them to change it up.

Very cool about Universal. I have not been in years. I want to plan it in to a trip, but am waiting til DD gets a bit older so we can read HP together and she can really appreciate it.

But how is the weather north of the city? We just are getting rain and wind in the city. I hope not too bad up that way!

 

[ariane37]

"We Are FA-Mi-LY, Now Get Me A Drink!"
​

That pretty much sums up how I was feeling by mid-morning on Day 5 of our trip! That's how far into the trip it was for Chris and I, and it was day 2 of us all being together. That means 5 whole days of not having 1 minute to myself other than when I was showering or.......in the bathroom, so keep that in mind later in the report when you're judging me!

We were spending the day in AK with plans to go to DS after it closed at 8. Originally we were doing MK morning and AK later, but blah, blah, blah, you know how my original plans went for this trip so a full AK day is what we had. Normally we don't do a whole day, maybe 2 half days, even though I love AK. Everyone else only likes 1 or 2 things and they aren't the same things. But this trip I had lots I wanted to do:

1. Have the kids see the Tree of Life Awakenings Steve and I saw in Aug.
2. Have Ricky ride EE at night like we did in Aug; he loves EE
3. Do ITTBAB for the first time in years
4. Chris wanted to ride KRR since we missed it last Nov.
5. I wanted to catch lots of street entertainment none of us had seen before
6. See FoW which we missed in Nov. and hadn't seen since
7. see FOTLK, a fave of everyone's​

So that's why I thought we'd fill a day, plus we had a Yak and Yet ADR at 5:30. It's the thought that counts...........
We also originally weren't getting to a park until mid-morning since Ricky and Steve were supposed to get to the resort after midnight the night before, but since they'd arrived earlier they were up for getting to AK earlier. We were at the bus stop 8:40 but the bus didn't come until 9:05; Ricky and I headed to EE to get a ride in with a hopefully short SB line while Chris and Steve walked slowly towards Asia, enjoying sights along the way such as DiVine:





This was the first time any of us have actually seen her!
We approached the mountain:


Nice little view of the Rivers of Light theater I MEAN, the Jungle Book: Alive with Magic theater I MEAN.......yeah
the park had been open about 30 minutes but we still hit a 45 minute wait, once again longer than the DeVizio rule allows. However my Ricky wanted to wait and, just like I tried to keep Chris happy for the beginning of the trip, I now wanted to keep my oldest who had recently arrived happy. Luckily 45 minutes was only 30, and I was able to take some pictures of the queue:





I loosely knew the storyline behind the ride and the queue, but I'd never really looked close at the items or read any of the signs. Here's a close up of the sign in the above picture explaining what all that stuff is:


Pretty neat, huh?
Once we were approaching the loading area I saw this pop up on a screen!



Not the best picture but if you look close you can make out my name under "welcome". I was excited since these features didn't work for us yesterday on HM or IASW.
I didn't like our ride photo but Steve was able to catch us coming down the mountain:



Our first FP wasn't until 1:00 so we had time to kill. We were all hungry and I suggested going to Kusifari bakery since it was fairly close in Africa but Ricky wasn't interested in anything there. Instead, he wanted to walk back to the front of the park and get a breakfast sandwich from Starbucks. OK, we're used to backtracking.....but I made them stop for some PP pics on the way:



You can see I was using the "erase my chins" trick handed down to me by my mom, who learned it from her mom; whereby you raise and stick out your chin when pictures are taken so only one chin shows. I look weird but, I only have one chin
I used this one of the boys as our Christmas card, much to Ricky's dismay:



But I did get that sun spot out of the picture for the card

We had a small breakfast at Starbucks and tried to decide what to do since our first FP was at 1. I wanted to get the kids' picture taken with Mickey and Minnie in their holiday gear at Character Outpost like we did in 2007 so I could use it for our Christmas card, like I did in 2007. As you can see from my comment above, that didn't happen. Because right about now things slowly started going downhill. I know deep down that MAYBE they were trying to please me, or maybe they just......really didn't want to be there?? But nobody would say they wanted to do ANYTHING. Anything I suggested was met with "if you want to" or, " I don't care", by all 3 of these guys. I wasn't at the point where I wanted to demand they do stuff or make all the decisions because in all seriousness, it's just not fun if you know nobody else wants to do what you're doing
But it was still early on so I was trying to keep a good, go with the flow attitude! And we started walking...............

It was about 10:45. Dinosaur had a short wait but nobody wanted to ride. Nobody wanted to go on the trails and of course nobody would go get their picture taken with characters. We'd missed the 10:30 FoW show I'd suggested we see since we had to go back to Starbucks instead of the bakery in Africa. So we wandered and came upon the Festival of the Lion King theater. Steve chimed in that he wanted to see it so we hightailed it over there to try catching the 11:00 show-it was now 10:53. The line was HUGE! As soon as we got on line they announced that they would try getting us all in but couldn't guarantee. Should we stay? They left it up to me of course so I said we'd wait a few minutes since I knew Steve wanted to see it and the boys missed it last Nov. At 10:59 they announced they could most likely fit us all in but it was standing room only now lol, so Steve, who is the love of my life, almost had a cow and walked out of line No way was he standing and quite frankly I didn't want to either, but he was NOT happy about not getting in. I again suggested the trails or Dinosaur which was still at 15 minutes but nope. So we moseyed over to the FoW theater and watched a trainer with an owl for about 25 minutes until showtime. Oh, but Steve took this picture on the way:



They do still look happy! We finally got into the FoW theater. We haven't seen this show in a couple years but I remember enjoying it and I was looking forward to seeing it. Ricky was "eh" but Chris was very vocal about his disinterest, and that continued through the show. He's such a peach! I ignored it as best a could and focused on all the different birds they have in the show:



This parrot sang "How Much Is That Doggie In The Window" and "Yankee Doodle Dandy". I love it!
This big guy came really close to us:



When it was over we still had an hour before our KRR FP. Ricky was hungry again so we debated where to eat; nobody could decide. I suggested we try It's Tough To Be A Bug since it's not long, and then eat, but it had a 30 minute wait. At that point Chris started whining that we should've gotten a FP for it, why didn't I get a FP for it? Needless to say we didn't get in line. Back to food: one was hungry one wasn't. One wanted food, one wanted a snack. Steve got aggravated with them. Ricky wouldn't go by himself to get something. Then they all just stared at me asking what I wanted to do, so I walked away from them and did this:



It's ok, it was like 12:15! This is the sangria they serve in Harambe Market; I got it for the first time back in August and it's VERY good. I sat on a bench in the Market listening to a guy who walks around playing some type of instrument - a lyre? That's my completely uneducated guess. The 3 of them wandered around Zuri's Sweet Shoppe, came and looked at me and walked away again. Then Steve sat with me while the boys wandered around. I drank my sangria and enjoyed the music.

After about 20 minutes the kids came over and asked if we could go to Kali so we did. Once it was time to tap our bands I still had just under half my drink left, now what's a girl to do?

I chugged it. Yup, I knew I'd be a lot happier in the long run if I finished that baby up.
Kali was fun but a little disappointing since none of us got wet! When we got off I let Ricky eat but I wanted to go back to Harambe Market for something else I'd had in August. Steve took the boys to Pizzafari while I grabbed this and met them there:



Yes, that would be another sangria because 1. I love it and 2. I knew what kind of day it was going to continue to be. Along with the sangria was the beef and pork sausage in curried corn batter from Harambe Market.

I will leave you guys here! It's taken me way too long to do this much, photobucket is not my friend tonight. I'll continue our fun-filled AK day next time!

 

[ariane37]

How exciting! Going to Disney twice and coming up so soon. I would have passed out if my husband would have sent me a text like that. He isn't the Disney lover that I am. He just puts up with me and the kids and tags along. Whatever you want

Our first trip as a family was Oct. 2006. A week after we got home, Steve was on the computer looking to book another trip! I was amazed and I am lucky he loves going almost as much as me lol!

Have a great time planning. I like planning my trips almost as much as going on them.

I enjoy planning too, and I normally do it asap but for some reason I've fallen off the wagon with these 2 trips! I think the Universal thing combined with it being basketball season is throwing me off Although yesterday I did finally make some plans for March and today I made FP's

I know I read and replied in the DR - but reading it here I got excited for you all over again!! 2 trips!! We stayed POR the last few years and we really loved it. We booked Royal Rooms each time so the location was great - DD and DH would just keep staying there if I did not force them to change it up.

thank you!!! I think eventually we'll try POR I do love the look of the fireworks on the headboards in the royal rooms! Steve is that way about the Epcot resorts, he'd stay there every visit if I didn't ask him to switch it up!

Very cool about Universal. I have not been in years. I want to plan it in to a trip, but am waiting til DD gets a bit older so we can read HP together and she can really appreciate it.

Steve and I went to Universal back in 2000 and then didn't go again until we took the boys in 2015, when they were almost 10 and 13. Man it had changed almost 100%! Ricky loved it since he's into thrill rides; Chris thought it was ok. Steve and I enjoyed it but I'm a Disney girl at heart I'm also the only one who had read the HP books so while they liked the rides I was the only one who could fully appreciate that aspect of the parks.

But how is the weather north of the city? We just are getting rain and wind in the city. I hope not too bad up that way!

We had our first snow day!!! We ended up getting major sleet/hail/freezing rain, and a few inches of snow. Roads were way too icy this morning for the buses to go out. It stopped doing anything by about 10 but then all of a sudden began hailing/freezing rain again around 2:30, shortly before I had to take Chris for his physical Now it's pretty much ok and it's supposed to be close to 50 tomorrow.......it's regents week for Ricky and today was the only day he had to go for testing, now it's not being rescheduled so he's done for the week!

 

[buzzrelly]

I'm sorry, but I'm laughing out loud at your latest update It's so funny how we plan these trips and imagine (for months and months!) how these days are going to go and then we get there and reality sets in! It's a good thing they sell sangria in the park, AND that you now have two trips planned for just you and Steve! My one saving grace is that I have a daughter and she likes to plan almost as much as me. DS doesn't care to plan but will be the first to complain when he doesn't want to do something

Flights of Wonder is one of my favorite things in AK…I skipped it from 2006 until 2013, but once I saw it I decided I have to see it every trip!

 

[Raeven]

I don't blame you for needing a drink or 2 after the way they were all acting

The Lion King shirts return! I can't get Josh to wear his anymore He's seen too many people in them at this point, and refuses to wear it so it's my pajamas now.

 

[ArielSRL]

I'm crossing my fingers you convert him because then you can do that kid-free trip you already have pretty much planned out

This, exactly! LOL

We've actually discussed this a few times! Just not ready to take the plunge.......a parent at Chris's school just told me tonight they recently bought DVC at SSR and BCV.

Oh, I would so love to buy in! I get emails from a few resale companies and totally have planned out what I would buy!

I find that once you hit 99 days it goes pretty fast.

Oh, I hope so!!

 

[Grumpy's Wife]

I have to say that the sangria looked so good. I will have to try that out. My girls are in their 20's and we are all looking forward to trying some adult beverages in the parks.

 

[ArielSRL]

Nice little view of the Rivers of Light theater I MEAN, the Jungle Book: Alive with Magic theater I MEAN.......yeah

I suggested going to Kusifari bakery since it was fairly close in Africa but Ricky wasn't interested in anything there. Instead, he wanted to walk back to the front of the park and get a breakfast sandwich from Starbucks. OK, we're used to backtracking.....but I made them stop for some PP pics on the way:

I would probably riot if I didn't get to go to Kusifari this trip because I am so looking forward to grabbing something(s) there. But since I am in charge this trip (we will see how long that lasts), I should be good....lol. However, I do usually have tons of gift cards for Starbucks bc its the go to teacher gift, so we will need to hit it up at least once on our trip. I'm thinking the one on Main Street in MK, though.

I used this one of the boys as our Christmas card, much to Ricky's dismay:

Haha. I can't wait to get all our PP photos! We've never gotten family photos done so this will be in lieu of that...and yes, I plan to use some for our Christmas card!

You can see I was using the "erase my chins" trick handed down to me by my mom, who learned it from her mom; whereby you raise and stick out your chin when pictures are taken so only one chin shows. I look weird but, I only have one chin

This is so funny because I was taught this trick before as well! It does sometimes look funny in photos but you are correct...only one chin!

But nobody would say they wanted to do ANYTHING.

So frustrating!

Then they all just stared at me asking what I wanted to do, so I walked away from them and did this:

I think you made a very wise decision! And I'm glad you were able to grab another! You definitely needed them by this point! My goodness, you dealt with a lot of attitude! My sympathies!

 

[ArielSRL]

I forgot to mention, though I may have before, that I have that same Hakuna Matata shirt for DH! I have seen it in several trip reports!

 

[pepperandchips]

so keep that in mind later in the report when you're judging me!

No judgment here. We all gotta do what we gotta do!

even though I love AK. Everyone else only likes 1 or 2 things and they aren't the same things

Haha I feel like so many folks feel this way. Meanwhile I'm over here like OMG LOOK AT THE GROUND IT IS SO AMAZING and having a meltdown of happiness because Animal Kingdom is my magic place.

I wanted to catch lots of street entertainment none of us had seen before

Good call! They have some really talented performers. Burudika fangirl, party of one!

Luckily 45 minutes was only 30, and I was able to take some pictures of the queue:

I love when that happens! Much better than the other way around. And that queue is really cool. But only for like 30 minutes. Then it sucks.

I look weird but, I only have one chin

YES!!

so I walked away from them and did this

Again, . That's what you should do. When life hands you vacation grumpsters, make your own happy!!

I chugged it. Yup, I knew I'd be a lot happier in the long run if I finished that baby up.

Well things are looking up! I think it's hilarious that it was a negative no one got drenched on Kali. Your sausage looks yummy and I love the sides there at Harambe Market. I personally love the chicken skewer and the beef ribs. Can't wait to go back!