~~ Sew the crowds in WDW were frightful, but the weather was so delightful ~~Nov 2015 COMPLETE! ~~

[Wood Nymph]

This trip was extremely hard to plan. Not only was I trying to consider how D would want to tour, but also had a TON of new experiences to figure in. We had never been during Food & Wine, never seen Christmas at Disney, and a new resort. It was hard to say the least.
It KILLED me that I couldn't tell her what resort. Because can't you all see how much this resort just screams for a custom bag and cute outfit??!​

We did both the Food and Wine and the Halloween party in the same trip last Oct and it was a lot of work to plan. Adding a new resort on top of it would really be hard, especially a complicated one like AKL.

I agree that AKL needs a matching outfit.

See, I thought that was a plus for Jambo. We wouldn't use that extra counter and I feel like it takes up too much room. This was just perfect.

Now that I see the layout of the villa, the smaller kitchen area works perfectly. The whole Kidani vs Jambo, value villas vs regular villas is very confusing. I guess the WL is converting regular guest rooms to villas the way AKL did.

We went down a bit early, it was so nice to have a reservation at our own resort – it didn’t feel rushed and we knew we wouldn’t be late. The food was excellent.

It is really nice to have a restaurant in your resort, or walking distance to your resort. It is hard to get to Boma from another resort, so it was especially nice that you just had to go downstairs.

The line was short and only took me a few minutes to take care of business. Due to the recent changes in the AP, and since I purchased mine before the new additions (lucky) – I was automatically upgraded to a Premium AP, which means I now have Memory Maker for the remaining 2 trips with the girls. I couldn’t have planned that one any better.

I'm glad you were able to go over to MK for your pass that night. You got lucky with the AP pass with Memory Maker, too. So far, there seems to be a lot of lucky things about this trip.

While we were there, I grabbed some creamer and some sugar from Cpt. Cooks for my coffee in the morning.

I don't use creamer in my coffee but I always grabbed some sugar packets from the quick serve locations for the room coffee. They never give you enough in those coffee service packets.

And according to my fitbit… I slept very well.

You really did sleep well. I stopped tracking my sleep because it was too depressing to see how much I toss and turn at night.

Suzi and I agreed that it would be best if she took the bedroom with Bradey – she is a very light sleeper, and I am always up incredibly early with my coffee/FB/Dis time… And considering that I can sleep almost anywhere, I was the most comfortable this way. It worked out very well for us – this way, I didn’t have to worry about waking her when I got up.

It usually works best to have the early riser in the living room.

I did my morning ritual of coffee/FB/Dis... On the balcony - with this view, of course...

I just love your view, even though it doesn't have any giraffes.

I was wearing one of my Steam Boat Willie outfits… And I just have to say – I adore this theme! It was so fun and so unique, and it was so easy to pull together. I will be wearing this theme again in January.

Your outfit looks great on you. I see you have a matching grey MagicBand, and your Fitbit matches, too.

 

[DMGeurts]

GREAT report! We actually usually stay at Kidani, and I must say we LOVE the pool there and the slide is awesome. However you do have to walk back to the main lodge for food but it isn't a bad walk.

LOVE your nap on the bench. I have had that same experience myself, once napped on a bench in EPCOT near the World Showcase and it was THE best. I only woke up when Duffy the Bear came clomping past me! Disney park naps are NICE!

Can't wait to read more!

Thanks!! We didn't even make it to the pool! We were right there too. LOL

Hehehe... If a person is tired enough - LOL...

Room looks great. Looks like the trip is off to a great start

Thanks! It was awesome! It was a great start (and a great middle... just saying goodbye to everyone was hard).

Your quick service meal looks awesome! In the 3 days we spent at Kidani last week, we didn't make it to the Mara. I had hoped to. Next time for sure.

And that room I love it! That pool view looks amaaaaazin!

It was very delicious - and refreshing after a long day of travel. I hope you make it there on your next trip - the food is very good.

The room was awesome - the balcony was awesome - I used it a lot. And loved the view.

All the room pictures are amazing!! I just love the shower/tub detail - Disney does know how to make even the most mundane things cute and fun!

Glad you got to explore the resort so much - we tend to be so busy that it doesn't get priority

The food at the Mara looks awesome, especially for QS! Can't wait to read more

I know - I loved it too! It was cool!

Yes, we did explore a lot - every time we walked out our door.

It was really good and a good value too!

I've never been to AKL. Excited to get to see your pictures and hear about it!

You should go - at least to look around - there are so many areas you can explore, even while not staying there.

Hey D! I am loving your TR so far!

Is that a Donald mug I see - what a perfect way to start a Disney day!

Yay for landing early!

Gosh i love that view when going on the Fake-O-Rail, only when arriving of course lol, it just makes me so excited!!!

SO cute! All of your smiles say it all!

AKL is beautiful! There is just so much to see and explore! And the lobby is just beautiful!

That sounds very yummy:

Loving that view!

This is one of my favorite AKL room touches...it's so cool! I always wish I could have that in my bathroom at home!

Giraffes! My favorite animals at AKL. All the animals in general are just so much fun to see!
And loving the bag!

LOL, I remember reading that - you are good sleeper, that's a good thing! Glad you were able to get in a nice nap after your busy morning getting to Disney!

Looking forward to reading more!

Thanks!!! Yes, that is a Donald mug... V bought it for me on one of our trips, and I love it!

Hahaha... Sadly - I got to see it twice this year, but that's for much later in the TR.

I really was just so happy to be there! Pictures and words cannot do it justice - just like the Castle lit up for Christmas, but I"ll get to that later too.

The giraffes are my favorite too! I loved them!

Yes, I'd had a long flight and a full belly - the perfect combo for a nap on a bench.

Fun!!!! Yes I wonder if you were snoring?!?!

I probably was.

I love the resort pictures. AKL is on my list of resorts to try. I'd love to hear why you thought Jambo was better. That is so funny that you fell asleep on the bench. I guess if you're so tired anywhere seems reasonable.

You must try it! Like Suzi replied below - we did eat at and use Mara a lot, and - like her - I am not sure I could stay at a resort with out a QS location? So, that alone is worth it - IMO. Also the theming - I also agree with Suzi, I think the theming at Jambo is much MORE than what is at Kidani... Kidani just seems so plain to me.

The resort looks great. Sounds like a good idea to get some sleep on the bench since you didn't get much sleep before your flight.

It was wonderful - and just laying there and enjoying the sounds (and screams) around me, was enough to put me to sleep. LOL

Wow! Page 4, I am late for the party I love the title you chose
I am amazed Suzi was able to keep the surprise and what a nice surprise it was! AKL-Oh my gosh, gorgeous and I bet Bradey loved the animals

Nah - you're never late Monica!!!!

Hehehe... I don't know how she was able to keep the surprise? I am quite certain that almost everyone knew where I was staying except for me - so she wasn't the only one who was able to keep a secret. LOL

It was amazing - I think Bradey enjoyed all of the animals immensely.

That resort is BEAUTIFUL. It's at the top of my list of places I want to surprise the boys with this coming trip. We are booked at POR, but I want to switch and pull a Suzi and not tell any one

It is gorgeous!!! It's going to be hard to stay at SoG in a few weeks! But I will say... POR and FQ are still my first loves in Disney - and I would not be heartbroken to stay at either of those resorts... For Mods - they are quite spectacular... And their busses are so much better, IMO.

I hope you are able to pull off a surprise for your family though - it was a lot of fun to be surprised!

DH and I went to AKL just to check out the Christmas decorations and mistakenly got off the bus at Kidani. Although it has a nice view of the animals, it really doesn't have the jaw dropping architecture that Jambo House does. The the walk from Kidani to Jambo is long and boring. It was December for us, though, and the warm sun felt great on a cool day.

Bradey looks like he is having a great time in that splash pad. He reminds me of my 8 year old grandson. He is lean like Bradey and his hair is about the same length.

The view is fantastic. You really feel like you are on vacation with a view like that.

I see that the villa is smaller than a lot of the other DVC villas. It doesn't have the nice kitchen counter that some of the other DVC villas has. I see a couple of refill mugs on the counter. Are they the new design? We missed the new mugs by about ten days.

We always unpack at Disney and use the empty suitcases as our laundry basket. We don't fold the dirty laundry until is is time to pack to go home. But folding them sounds very smart.

I agree completely - even though Kidani is a nice resort - it just doesn't have the "oomph" or the "aaaaah" that Jambo has - IMO.

Bradey had a blast at the splash pad!

Loved the view - We couldn't have had a better location, not for the view and not for the walk - it was perfect. Although - I did compare it to our walk at FQ and I would have to say - from the bus stop at both locations, our walk was about the same to our room... Just that FQ is outdoors and Jambo was indoors.

Yes - I think I am going to fully try this packing/unpacking strategy in January.

Joining in. Still on day 1 so I'm not too late to this party. How I wish I could take a nap anywhere! I was not blessed with that gift. I've ready several of your other trip reports. I look forward to reading along on this one too.

Welcome!!! Yes - no one is ever late here! I promise! I am super happy to have new and old firends join me on reliving this trip!!! it was so much fun - and something that will bring a smile to my face for decades to come!

Great update! What a fantastic surprise resort! Was this your first time staying Deluxe? I just love the HUGE smile on your face on all of these photos... HEAVEN!

Hello there my good friend - so happy to have you back... I did a longer welcome reply to you in my PTR... So, I will just tell you again - I am so happy to see you back here, I've missed you very much!!!

Going to have to follow along! I love AKL and we had almost the exact same dates!
Already miss it

Yay!!! Welcome!!!! I wonder if we ran into each other and didn't know it?

I'm excited to see your pictures of The resort. We'll be at Jambo house in Sept.

Yay!!!! It's a fantastic resort - I highly recommend our room location!

I'm here, finally! We stayed at Kidani last year for a few days, but our next trip, we are staying at Jambo. So looking forward to it! Can't wait to read all about the fun, you, Suzi and Mo had!
.

This is awesome! So, you'll be staying there in Jan? Or do you have another trip between now and then?

AKL looks amazeballs!!!! I probably wont get back to Disney until my 15th wedding anniversary in 2018 but ive told my husband its either a value resort and extra experiences like the wild africa trek and marceline tour etc, or a deluxe and go crazy at the parks. In between now and then i have to plan a trip to Universal. So at least i have something to keep me a little occupied.

It was!!!! I totally agree with you - gotta go BIG in some way. LOL Ooh - I am trying to figure out Universal for our Jan trip.... it's totally foreign to me - I am going to be that person there at opening that is studying a park map. LOL

Following along!

Welcome!!! So happy to see you here!

**********************************************************************************

Ok not totally caught up on replies - but I've made a dent. Phew!!!

I hope to catch up on the rest of them either this afternoon or tomorrow morning. Having no internet for 36 hours, really threw a wrench in my replies/updates.

I hope you all have a great day - and don't miss out on the 2 updates I did last night.

D~

 

[Terkina]

Looks like you had a great day at Magic Kingdom so far. I love all the pictures.

 

[Vernie822]

Really cute outfits - you are so creative!

The food at Boma looks delicious, especially that salmon. Yum.

That pool view in the morning perfect for some coffee and relaxation first thing in the morning!

Your girls look SO much like you! Wow!

 

[Iamthequeen]

We are staying at Jambo in December - a little over a week away!

 

[lovesdumbo]

Hi D!

I'm home. Still recovering from my trip.

So glad you were able to experience AKV. The first time I stayed there in a regular room I honestly wasn't looking forward to it. I let Joe pick during one of the pay for 4 nights get 3 free deals. But once I got there I really fell in love with the place. It's really beautiful! So many beautiful details everywhere you look. I also stayed in a regular room with Emma and we've stayed at Kidani twice. Kidani works better for us with the 2nd bathroom in the 1 bedroom and we like to cook a few meals and we rent a car so having the garage under the building is a plus.

It looks like your bags make good pillows for a bench nap!

What a fun morning in MK. How great that you got to see Santos! I tried that chicken waffle sandwich for the first time this trip. I enjoyed it but would order it without the coleslaw next time. I found it a bit too peppery for me.

 

[andera42]

I love your black and white mickey purse and your nails.

 

[texasaggie1998]

joining in! Loving your review so far! Going to MVMCP on Dec 15...can't wait to hear all about it!!

 

[DMGeurts]

Looks like you had a great day at Magic Kingdom so far. I love all the pictures.

It was a great day and we were able to accomplish a lot!

Really cute outfits - you are so creative!

The food at Boma looks delicious, especially that salmon. Yum.

That pool view in the morning perfect for some coffee and relaxation first thing in the morning!

Your girls look SO much like you! Wow!

Thank you!!! I truly enjoy planning out all of my outfits - they really make my trips more special.

It was delicious - the salmon was incredible!

Yes... It was my favorite place to sit - so relaxing... And I am pretty sure I was the first person awake in the resort that week. LOL

Thank you so much! I will take that as a compliment... I love my girls immensely and I think they are beautiful. So, to hear that we look a like - well, it's the ultimate compliment.

We are staying at Jambo in December - a little over a week away!

I thought you might have another trip in there, but I couldn't remember for sure. It will be awesome!!! Have you figured out a room location to request yet?

Hi D!

I'm home. Still recovering from my trip.

So glad you were able to experience AKV. The first time I stayed there in a regular room I honestly wasn't looking forward to it. I let Joe pick during one of the pay for 4 nights get 3 free deals. But once I got there I really fell in love with the place. It's really beautiful! So many beautiful details everywhere you look. I also stayed in a regular room with Emma and we've stayed at Kidani twice. Kidani works better for us with the 2nd bathroom in the 1 bedroom and we like to cook a few meals and we rent a car so having the garage under the building is a plus.

It looks like your bags make good pillows for a bench nap!

What a fun morning in MK. How great that you got to see Santos! I tried that chicken waffle sandwich for the first time this trip. I enjoyed it but would order it without the coleslaw next time. I found it a bit too peppery for me.

Yay!!! Glad you made it home OK Bernadette!!! I was so happy to see you during this trip and to spend so much time with you!

I know... I just love Jambo. I can see where Kidani would be more convenient if a person had a car, but I sure love the beauty and details in Jambo.

Hehehe... They do, actually. LOL

Yes - it was great to see him, as always. Looking forward to possibly spending more time with him in January, when Allison and I are there.

I think I would do the same thing... Or for sure - order the coleslaw on the side... I think if I added the coleslaw myself - rather than letting it sit there and soak into my waffle - it might be better?

Again - it was great seeing you and spending so much time together!!!!

I love your black and white mickey purse and your nails.

Welcome!!! It's great to have you here and following along! Awww... Thank you!!! I really loved carrying that bag and the entire theme wrapped around it - it was a lot of fun and I received many compliments on it. And I am happy with how my nails turned out this trip... I wanted something "Disney" but not necessarily my standard red/white dots theme... I think this is a good look as an alternative.

joining in! Loving your review so far! Going to MVMCP on Dec 15...can't wait to hear all about it!!

Welcome!!! How exciting!!! We really did enjoy MVMCP! It was a lot of fun and I am glad we did it. However - now that I have been there at Halloween and at Christmas, I do have to say that I do enjoy the Halloween festivities more (just slightly), and I am really looking forward to doing them with V in October.

********************************************************************************************

Ok all... Next on my agenda... I hope to do another update this morning.

D~

 

[DMGeurts]

Day 2 Part 2

After shopping our way down Main Street, we hopped a bus to AKL... Swoozie likes to snap pictures of me when I am not looking...

Upon returning to AKL, we stopped @ Mara to grab a snack... I chose a peanut butter cupcake and chocolate milk (no photos). The line at Mara was incredibly long - probably 15+ people, with only one register open... We were about 3rd in line. After about 10 minutes waiting, they finally opened another register, and asked the next person to come over - as I was backing up to go - the family behind us rushed over... I hate it when people are inconsiderate like that! So, Suzi and I just stayed in our line and waited our turn. The mom kept giving me the "stink eye" though, so I gave it right back to her... Don't mess with my Disney happiness - seriously - and besides, she was the one in the wrong, not me. I like to think that there was karma involved in that situation for later.

After devouring our wonderful cupcakes... We decided to take a dip in the pool... However - I know how long it takes me to get ready, so in an effort to save time later, I opted just to dip my feet/legs into the water - then all I had to do was rinse them off, vs. having to take a whole shower/wash my hair/redo my hair and make up... But I enjoyed the pool and my feel felt so much less tired after their soak.

Then I decided to take a short nap (this became pretty normal for me during this trip... Just an hour - but it allowed me to stay awake later into the evening)... While I took a nap, Suzi and Bradey went out and enjoyed the savanna.... I assured them that if they wanted to be in the room while I napped - it was totally OK with me, I can sleep through anything...

Once my nap was over and I was rejuvenated, I changed outfits and got ready for MVMCP... I loved our outfits this night... I loved our outfits every day - most days Suzi and I managed to coordinate quite well.

We boarded a bus to MK at 5pm... Upon arriving and going through the turnstiles, we went immediately to get our party band on. It was at this time, I notated - we could have easily gotten into the park early with our regular tickets, and when they put our party band on, they never checked that we had party tickets - they just slapped the band on and we went on our Merry way... It would have been very easy to get in with out a ticket.

First things first - we met up with Bernadette (lovesdumbo)... I have meat Bernadette and her family in WDW on several occasions - on our 2013 trip and our 2014 trip... So, Bernadette is a good friend of mine. This trip was a solo trip for her - so it was fun to have her tag along with us!

I decided that I must grab some caffeine at Starbucks, if I was to have any hopes of making it to the end of the party tonight. The line was long, but it was worth it for me... It was in this line that I first saw the Starbucks "you are here" ornaments, and I knew I must complete this collection while In WDW this year - as the ornaments are only there during Christmas, while the mugs are there all year long. V would KILL me if I brought another mug into the house - so I thought the ornaments were a good plan. But I didn't buy one this time...

We watched the Castle lighting... None of our pictures do this view justice... You can try to capture it on camera - but there's just no way... Seeing it in person is the only way to go.

We decided to ride the People Mover, and it was so nice, when we got to the end, we asked if we could stay on, and they let us. Soooo... People Mover x2 = awesome!

When we exited the PM, my friend Monica (tartar63?) was waiting for us... We visited for a few minutes, and then we parted ways.

We were starving at this point - so we decided to go in search of food... We came upon Pinocchio's Village Haus, and thought that was a good choice. It didn't look to busy and there was NO ONE eating on the balcony - which had a gorgeous view of the castle & Fantasyland.

I ordered the Caprese Flatbread & an ice water, it was very good.

We decided to try our luck in standby for 7DMT... the wait was posted at 30 min (I think?) - so we waited, and we were so glad we did. Riding 7DMT during the day is a little underwhelming, IMO - but riding it at night (and we were lucky enough to get front row) was truly amazing!!! Loved this ride so much at night!

Then Suzi & Bradey did Bradey's favorite ride - BTMRR...

While they did that, I roped Bernadette into riding Splash (I didn't know, until we were at the bottom of the hill, that Bernadette doesn't particularly like this drop).... Since Bradey wasn't in the mood to do Splash this entire trip - anytime that someone joined up with our group, I offered to ride Splash with them... I was able to get several rides with friends this way.

It was time to find a spot to watch the Castle Show and Wishes... We decided that Crystal Palace was a great place for this... The lights were still on around us (they don't get dimmed there), but despite that, we had an unobstructed view in a not-so-crowded area, so that was nice. My pictures are awful... I had to zoom in really far to get the castle details - which made them super grainy.

What a beautiful show... One I have never seen, because we never seem to have the energy to stay late enough/deal with the crowds when I am there with the girls.

From here, we made our way to the front of the park to find a spot to view the parade... I will end this update here, as I have a bazillion parade photos to share with you all.

Link to Day 2 Part 3

D~​

 

[DMGeurts]

Day 2 Part 3

As Suzi and I were hunting for a great spot to view the parade, we were eyeing the tree... As we were walking up - we noticed Monica sitting there, with a few open spots next to her. She was nice enough to let us enjoy the parade next to her, with nice curb seating. Perfect! Thanks Monica!

Annnd... Since Monica was nice enough to send me every one of her parade photos upon returning home - I am going to use her photos, because they turned out the best. So, photo credit to this post goes to Monica!

This was a great parade with a great viewing spot! Thanks Monica for the pictures and for letting us share the parade with you!

We exited the park immediately after the parade ended.

It was a LONG and FULL bus ride back to AKL...

We were in bed at 12:30am.

Link to Day 3 Part 1

D~​

 

[Wood Nymph]

Once my nap was over and I was rejuvenated, I changed outfits and got ready for MVMCP... I loved our outfits this night... I loved our outfits every day - most days Suzi and I managed to coordinate quite well.

The matching jewelry goes well with your outfits. I'm going to guess that Bradey took this picture based on the angle of the camera. He did a good job.

We boarded a bus to MK at 5pm... Upon arriving and going through the turnstiles, we went immediately to get our party band on. It was at this time, I notated - we could have easily gotten into the park early with our regular tickets, and when they put our party band on, they never checked that we had party tickets - they just slapped the band on and we went on our Merry way... It would have been very easy to get in with out a ticket.

If your party ticket is linked to your MDE account then you don't need the actual party ticket to get through the touchpoints. Your regular MB will work. I would hope that a CM would note that someone without a party ticket was entering the park at 5pm and they wouldn't get a party band. But it is probably easy to sneak in. We never had our bands checked when we were at MNSSHP. It would have been extremely easy for a party crasher to watch the first Hocus Pocus show. That crowd was so huge there was no way to police it.

We watched the Castle lighting... None of our pictures do this view justice... You can try to capture it on camera - but there's just no way... Seeing it in person is the only way to go.

We have never seen the castle lighting show. I'm am going to have to put this on our to do list.

When we exited the PM, my friend Monica (tartar63?) was waiting for us... We visited for a few minutes, and then we parted ways.

Monica's Mickey shoes are adorable.

While they did that, I roped Bernadette into riding Splash (I didn't know, until we were at the bottom of the hill, that Bernadette doesn't particularly like this drop)..

It looks like they turned the extra splashing water off for the party crowd. They did that for the Halloween party. I'm glad you found so many people to ride Splash with you.

 

[sewdisney]

As always, your bags look fabulous. I love the black and white headband - you look so cute! I am glad you found people to ride Splash with. I know how much you like that ride and that would have been a bummer if you didn't get to ride it!

I absolutely love reading all about your trip. I can totally picture myself being right next you!

BTW, my name is Debora - sorry I didn't include that info in my earlier post!

 

[andera42]

Ok I love your bags and beads and headbands. How do I find more info on your bags?

 

[Nohal]

I always enjoy your trip reports, can't wait to read the rest.

 

[lovesdumbo]

What a fun night! Thanks again to you, Suzie & Brady for a great night. It was great meeting Monica too!

I pretty sure they were only letting party goers with tickets through those gates and they had the area after the gates roped off so only those who went through those right hand gates could get party bands. I was sitting by the tree waiting for you to arrive and there was a CM who was very vigilant about keeping guests who were already in the park out of the band distribution area. I came back to MK another day after 4pm on a party day & the left hand gates were being used for folks without party tickets.

I loved having that 2nd floor patio all to ourselves. It's one of those things I've always wanted to do but always seem to forget.

Loved riding The Mine Train at night! That was so fun! And thanks for keeping me safe (but not dry) on Splash. I have a bit of love/hate with that ride. I love how wonderfully themed the ride is but I hate the anticipation of the big drop. The drop itself isn't as bad as the anticipation for me.

Really enjoyed the laser show and the special party Wishes. Loved the parade and love Monica's pictures! The Toy Soldiers are my favorite.

Thanks again for a fun night!

 

[jandlinz]

The party looks like a ton of fun. We always do the Halloween party, but next year will be our first Christmas party. Thanks for sharing. The lines don't look bad. Your Splash log had two open seats! Did you try the cookies and cocoa they handed out?

 

[DMGeurts]

The matching jewelry goes well with your outfits. I'm going to guess that Bradey took this picture based on the angle of the camera. He did a good job.

If your party ticket is linked to your MDE account then you don't need the actual party ticket to get through the touchpoints. Your regular MB will work. I would hope that a CM would note that someone without a party ticket was entering the park at 5pm and they wouldn't get a party band. But it is probably easy to sneak in. We never had our bands checked when we were at MNSSHP. It would have been extremely easy for a party crasher to watch the first Hocus Pocus show. That crowd was so huge there was no way to police it.

We have never seen the castle lighting show. I'm am going to have to put this on our to do list.

Monica's Mickey shoes are adorable.

It looks like they turned the extra splashing water off for the party crowd. They did that for the Halloween party. I'm glad you found so many people to ride Splash with you.

Yes - he did. He's pretty good at working the cameras on our phones now.

I would hope so too... I just noted that we were able to get in, and no one checked our ticket when they were putting the physical band on.

It was beautiful!

Yes - Monica is just adorable in general... but I loved her shoes too - I may have to look into something similar for my next trip? Although, my black/white dotted shoes did serve their purpose and I am not too much worse off for the wear.

Me too!!! I was so happy to have so many willing participants.

As always, your bags look fabulous. I love the black and white headband - you look so cute! I am glad you found people to ride Splash with. I know how much you like that ride and that would have been a bummer if you didn't get to ride it!

I absolutely love reading all about your trip. I can totally picture myself being right next you!

BTW, my name is Debora - sorry I didn't include that info in my earlier post!

Thanks! I just adored the grayscale theme!!! It was so fun and easy to pull things together right from my closet.

I know - I would have easily ridden it alone many times, I don't mind riding rides as a single rider - it's just more fun when you can have someone with you.

Thanks!!! I am glad you enjoyed it.

YES!!! I did know that!!! Well, I remembered just as soon as you told me, as I knew I would. Thank you! I hope you are doing well, and it's so wonderful to see you back on The Dis!!!!

Ok I love your bags and beads and headbands. How do I find more info on your bags?

Awww... Thank you so much!!! I am very flattered and I am so glad you like them - I have so much fun coordinating everything and pulling my outfits/accessories together. My apologies, but due to the soliciting policies on The Dis - I am not allowed to mention anything about my business name or my business in general. I hope you understand, and will continue to follow along with my TR.

I always enjoy your trip reports, can't wait to read the rest.

Awww... Thank you!!! I am so happy that you enjoy them! I love sharing them!

What a fun night! Thanks again to you, Suzie & Brady for a great night. It was great meeting Monica too!

I pretty sure they were only letting party goers with tickets through those gates and they had the area after the gates roped off so only those who went through those right hand gates could get party bands. I was sitting by the tree waiting for you to arrive and there was a CM who was very vigilant about keeping guests who were already in the park out of the band distribution area. I came back to MK another day after 4pm on a party day & the left hand gates were being used for folks without party tickets.

I loved having that 2nd floor patio all to ourselves. It's one of those things I've always wanted to do but always seem to forget.

Loved riding The Mine Train at night! That was so fun! And thanks for keeping me safe (but not dry) on Splash. I have a bit of love/hate with that ride. I love how wonderfully themed the ride is but I hate the anticipation of the big drop. The drop itself isn't as bad as the anticipation for me.

Really enjoyed the laser show and the special party Wishes. Loved the parade and love Monica's pictures! The Toy Soldiers are my favorite.

Thanks again for a fun night!

Hi Bernadette!!! I am so happy that you made it home OK and you had a great trip!!!

Oooh - I didn't see that part... I just noticed that we were able to go through the gates, then they just slapped the band on our wrists, without checking our ticket. I sure hope that's the way they do it.

Yes - that was so fun, just watching the world with no one around us - it couldn't have been more perfect.

Hahaha.... Yup - when I do FPs for Allison's trip, I am hoping for a 7DMT FP at night... If I am lucky enough to get one at all? Since I have to do it at 30 days... No biggie if we can't, crowds shouldn't be too awful in Jan - I hope.

Yah - I can only keep you safe or dry - not both. HAhahahaha.... Love ya!

Thank you for the fun night too - it was a blast! I loved spending time with you!

You'll have to send me a PM about work and how that meeting went.

The party looks like a ton of fun. We always do the Halloween party, but next year will be our first Christmas party. Thanks for sharing. The lines don't look bad. Your Splash log had two open seats! Did you try the cookies and cocoa they handed out?

It was a lot of fun... I enjoyed it immensely... but I do honestly think I like MNSSHP better... I dunno if it's the parade? Or the parade music? I am not sure? But I do love it so much!!! Yes, lines weren't too bad for most of the night... We just kind of wandered and did what we wanted. I did try a cookie and cocoa - it was good... the cookie was a little hard, for my tastes, but it was tasty.

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I am hoping to do another update later today.

D~

 

[DMGeurts]

Friday, November 13, 2015 Disney's Hollywood Studios

My alarm was set for 5am - I hit "dismiss" instead of "snooze" & overslept until 6am!

I jumped out of bed when I realized I'd overslept... Gulped my hot coffee quickly while I did my morning ritual of FB/Dis.

I did a quick shower and got ready... Suzi likes to take pictures of me getting ready too...

We were out the door at exactly 7:34 am... I did good.

We took a bus to MK then a walk to the Contemporary.

We had a breakfast reservation at The Wave... We checked in and were seated in just a few minutes...

Now I have to say - this is the BEST hidden gem in all of WDW! The food was amazing!!!! The restaurant was quiet, not a lot of people there, the buffet was incredible... After eating here - I had NO desire to do our Tusker House breakfast the next day (bet you never thought you'd hear me say that?) or ever again. Seriously.

My favorites were the Pumpkin Bread Pudding... The eggs benedict... and the grits... Along with everything else they served.

Never once in my life have I ever cleaned a plate at a buffet... I always leave something - or a lot of somethings behind... Not here folks - if it would have been proper to lick my plate clean, I would have. It is THAT good.

Bellies stuffed, we decided to do a little shopping in the Contemporary shops... I purchased my Alex and Ani 2015 bracelet.

We also stopped to look at the gingerbread house - which I found out later is actually a chocolate house.

We took the monorail to the Poly... Then the walking path to Shades of Green to get Allison's Military Salute ticket for our upcoming trip. The line for the ticket counter at SoG was LONG - it took me about 45 minutes to get through it. I felt horrible, because Suzi and Bradey just had to sit there and wait for me. But they were both very good sports about it, and I really appreciated them allowing us to take time our of our day to get this done.

We stopped at bell services at SoG when we were done, and asked if we could ride the Shady Shuttle to the end of the property.... Our driver was awesome, and super funny! You could tell he'd made the trip many times, the way he speeded towards the gate, narrowly missing it with the top of the golf cart as it opened. It was a great ride - he even pointed out an alligator sitting on the edge of one of the ponds. I tipped him generously.

We walked from the edge of SoG property to the buses at the Poly, and took a bus from the Poly to DHS.

Upon arriving at DHS, we saw the Photopass photographers outside the gates with the Christmas tree.... Ooooh - I wanted that picture!!! As I was walking up, I recognized Daniel from last year! Believe it or not, he remembered me (not sure if he truly did?)... but he hopped into the picture with us anyways. It was fun! I love it when they do that.

Then an actual picture too.... Hehehe....

Once we were done with our picture taking, we headed to our FP at Star Tours...

When we were done with Star Tours, we walked around aimlessley for a little while, until we realized that there was nothing else we wanted to do here in DHS. None of us really wanted to do ToT or RnR... And we knew the wait was incredibly long for TSM - we had FPs for it waaay later, but we had a long time to kill before that time arrived.

So, I texted a friend of mine that I was supposed to meet up with - and thankfully she was able to meet up with me earlier. We all chatted for quite some time, and Bradey had the opportunity to grab a snack on a park bench.

We grabbed a picture of our meet up and we were off again... Headed out of the gates of DHS.

Stopping for Photopass pictures along the way... I must stop here for a second though... For those of you that have followed my TRs before - you know I am a little obsessed with getting Photopass pictures, I stop at almost any and all opportunities to get one. Gotta get my $$ worth, ya know? Well, at this point Bradey - I think - was a bit sick of stopping for pictures... So from here on out, not only will you see pictures of all of us together, and some of Suzi and Bradey too... but you will also see a lot of solo shots of me... These were the times where I couldn't resist stopping. Thankfully - Suzi and Bradey didn't mind waiting for me.

Hahhaha... Then I found these guys... I am sure you all will remember who they are? I can't remember - are they the "Men at Work"? Drawing a blank here... Anyways... They crack me up! Watching paint dry...

As we were walking out... I happened upon Joe... My favorite Photopass photographer from last year! I remembered him, because he took Robyn and I, then the girls and I on some long photo-shoots in DHS... He did not remember me, but I pulled up a few of the pictures he took of me last year from my FB page and he immediately recognized me... (Last year, Joe actually took the photo of me screaming in DHS in front of ToT in my intro post on this thread) He was so delighted to see me again... So, he took me on another little photo-shoot. Sadly - I did not get a picture of Joe and I on this day - but I did run into him later, and grabbed a selfie of us... So, a pic of Joe is coming later in the TR. (As a side note, I think I could have tightened my belt another notch - it's kind of just hanging there and looks dumb...)

We hopped a bus back to AKL at 1:20pm...

Link to Day 3 Part 2

D~​

 

[jnjusoioa]

I love your purse's, they are all so awesome!!!! Does the 7 Dwarf Mine Train take your photo? Your photos from there are very cool.