# You mean I DO get to go to WDW in 2014?? - Link to TR in post #523



## franandaj

You mean I DO get to go to WDW in 2014?????




​

Thats exactly what I said, You mean we get to go to WDW in 2014? Ruthie (luvchefmic) was there and she can verify it.

Those of you who know me are not surprised to know that I have my trips planned all the way through 2015 and am working on the rough outline for 2016. There was no room in 2014 for a trip to WDW with a road trip in early May, Gay Games in Cleveland in August and a cruise combined with a Lesbian and Gay Band Association trip in Oct/Nov.  Fran said the cats would revolt and forget who we were so we couldnt be gone that many times during the year.

Well, since we are taking friends with us in March of 2015, and we do have Disneyland right here, so I supposed we can live without it.  We did go all the way from April 2001 until January 2007 without a trip.  However, since buying DVC in 2007, weve been back every year with the exception of 2012 (due to medical reasons). So I was all ready to accept my fate.

And then on our last trip we went to Theme Park Connectionthose of you who have been along for the ride on past TRs know that Fran loves to shop.  She practically became TPCs best customer at the D23 Expo (when I finish that TR youll have the final reveal). But we visited their warehouse in Orlando on this last trip to WDW, and when she found out that they were moving to a new, bigger and better warehouse, well she HAD to come back and see it!  And thats when she said it, We should come back here next year when they are in their new location!

Here we are at TPC with Ruthie, this is just after Fran said we could come back in 2014.





But it didnt become real until November 6, when we actually booked our DVC stay.  I was astonished that there was still an entire week available at the Villas at the Grand Floridian in a one bedroom unit. Now I supposed we were only one week past the 7 month mark, but still, I thought it would be years before we actually had a chance at staying there!  I grabbed us an HA Villa since the BCV one worked out so nicely for us. I stole these pictures from Kat4Disney off the VGF Owners Thread.  I hope that she doesnt mind!





















View:































The next step was flights. I began to look into flights to MCO and it appears that American Airlines has likely discontinued our favorite non-stop flight to Orlando from LAX.  We learned on our trip to Atlanta this Fall that we can switch planes in DFW, but we need adequate time to do so. I was able to book us some flights with substantial layover times, our outbound flight has 2 ½ hours layover and the return flight has almost three hours layover. Im sure you think Im crazy for wanting a longer layover, but with an airport that large and we move really slowly, wed rather have a planned wait at the airport instead of miss our flight and have a forced wait.

Heres the kicker. There were no reasonable flights that arrived on May 29th. Either they required three different legs, or a 1AM departure and the flight actually didnt arrive until the 30th, AFTER our check in day. It turned out that to get a decent flight we would have to come in on Wednesday May 28th.

We ended up with these flights

Depart LAX 6:30 AM to DFW arrives at 11:30AM 
Depart DFW 1:40PM to MCO arrive at 5:10PM

Hopefully 2 hours and 10 minutes will be a long enough layover to get from plane to plane.

Return flight 

Depart MCO 11:45AM arrive DFW 1:35PM 
Depart DFW 4:15PM arrive LAX at 5:35PM

Here we have a definitely comfortable 2½ hours between flights

So the next question was where to stay? We have always wanted to stay at the Art of Animation since it opened, but I really didnt want to stay in the Little Mermaid section.  They cant guarantee queen beds and the two bed rooms have doubles.  We would have to sleep in two separate beds and after 17 years, that just doesnt seem right!

One of the family suites in the Nemo, Cars or Lion King Section were running at $365 per night!    Since that was the only value resort that appealed at all to us, we began looking at moderate resorts for the night.  We have stayed at POR, Fran has stayed at CBR, so we decided that checking out CSR was the best option.  

We were able to get an HA room, evidently it has a Queen Bed AND a King Bed!  Not that we need two beds, but since they didnt have a one King only available, we took the one King one Queen.

So flights, check!
Accomodations, check!

Next up, ADRS and plans!


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## franandaj

The Plan
My Magic Plus Rant
Day 1 Plans
Mini PTR for DL trip
Day 2 Plans
Day 3 Plans
Day 4 Plans
Kicking off a very lazy couple of days
Another Lazy Day Part 1
Another Lazy Day Part 2
Finally you know we are at a Theme Park Part 1
Finally you know we are at a Theme Park Part 2
Wrapping up our staycation Part 1
Wrapping up our staycation Part 2
Star Wars Homework Part 1
Star Wars Homework Part 2
Star Wars Homework Part 3
Day 5 plans
A FP+ Tutorial
An Off Campus Field Trip
Plans or not?
Warner Bros Part 1
Warner Bros Part 2
Warner Bros Part 3
Warner Bros Part 4
Warner Bros Museum Part 1
Warner Bros Museum Part 2
Warner Bros Museum Part 3
A DISmeet at the parks
Celebrity Dinner Part 1
Celebrity Dinner Part 2


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## rentayenta

You get to go in 2014! I'm so happy for you. And the VGF? Swanky. It looks amazing. Pam's report has got me wanting to give it a go. 

Am I first? I feel special.  

I prefer longer layovers as well. I finished my October 2013 report today and when you read it, you'll know why. Two hours is perfect.


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## Dis_Yoda

You going down there the same time as us again.  Although we are there only 2 nights at BWV that weekend for Star Wars stuff.


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## PrincessInOz

Yay!!!


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## dgbg100106

Whoop!  I am excited for you!


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## jedijill

Yay!  Another Fran and Alison trip!  So excited you found a whole week at VGF!  That is awesome.

Jill in CO


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## dolphingirl47

Checking in. I am glad that you have the accommodation and flights booked. I know Graham has visited CSR a few times and really loves it. I am with you on the long layovers. Whenever we fly indirect we go for a nice long layover, too.

Corinna


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## Pinkocto

Im here! I have to come back to read but I'm here!


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## franandaj

rentayenta said:


> You get to go in 2014! I'm so happy for you. And the VGF? Swanky. It looks amazing. Pam's report has got me wanting to give it a go.
> 
> Am I first? I feel special.
> 
> I prefer longer layovers as well. I finished my October 2013 report today and when you read it, you'll know why. Two hours is perfect.



You are first,  and you are special!    I'm hoping it will be enough.  I'm hoping that they bring her a wheelchair to get from gate to gate since the scooters will be checked through.



Dis_Yoda said:


> You going down there the same time as us again.  Although we are there only 2 nights at BWV that weekend for Star Wars stuff.



Perhaps we might run into each other.  We are planning to do the SWW stuff.



PrincessInOz said:


> Yay!!!







dgbg100106 said:


> Whoop!  I am excited for you!



Thanks!  



jedijill said:


> Yay!  Another Fran and Alison trip!  So excited you found a whole week at VGF!  That is awesome.
> 
> Jill in CO



I know!  I couldn't believe my luck, I thought it would be years before I got in at the 7 month mark.



dolphingirl47 said:


> Checking in. I am glad that you have the accommodation and flights booked. I know Graham has visited CSR a few times and really loves it. I am with you on the long layovers. Whenever we fly indirect we go for a nice long layover, too.
> 
> Corinna



We won't have a lot of time to check it out fully, but we plan on a little bit of time to go around the grounds and have a look see.



Pinkocto said:


> Im here! I have to come back to read but I'm here!



Well, let me know what you think when you get back!


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## franandaj

The Plans


So our ADR window opened up while we were up at my folks over Thanksgiving.  I should have been up at 3AM that morning, but I forgot and didnt take care of it until around 8AM my time.  We wanted to try BOG and so that was the first reservation that I tried for.  I got it but there was only one time slot available, so I nabbed it. And this was using my 7 day advance reservations for our last night (which we strategically planned to get the most out of our 180 day window). We also got Le Cellier and a few others.  Here are how the plans have worked out so far.

* Day 1, Wednesday, May 28th, 2014*
Fly to MCO take DME to Coronado Springs Resort
Dinner at Pepper Market

* Day 2, Thursday May 29th, 2014*
Breakfast at the Resort
Check out the Resort
Bus to MK, Monorail to GF, check in
MK until room is ready
Get settled in room
Dinner at 1900 Park Fare

* Day 3, Friday May 30th, 2014*
Quick breakfast in room
Head over to DHS for SWW
Lunch at QS DHS
More SWW stuff
Dinner in the room, Chinese Chicken Salad and maybe some Frozen Asian appetizers.

* Day 4, Saturday May 31st, 2014*
Quick breakfast in room, 
Head over to DHS for SWW, if there is something different from Friday (if not all bets are off and we are free to do what we want to do!)
Lunch at QS DHS (see above)
More SWW stuff (see above)
Dinner in the room, Turkey Club Sandwiches, chips and summer salad.

* Day 5, Sunday June 1st, 2014*
Quick breakfast in room, or not?
Head over to DHS for SWW, if there is something different from Friday and Saturday (if not all bets are off and we are free to do what we want to do!)
Lunch at QS DHS (see above)
More SWW stuff (see above)
We could also go to Epcot
Dinner at Narcoosees @ 7:15PM

* Day 6, Monday June 2nd , 2014*
Possible day to go to TPC
Otherwise Epcot
Dinner at Le Celier 7:15PM

* Day 7, Tuesday,  June 3rd, 2014*
Go to AK
Late Lunch at Sanaa 2:30PM
Probably eat leftovers in the room for dinner.

* Day 7, Wednesday, June 4th, 2014*
Possible day to go to TPC?
Otherwise MK
Dinner at Be Our Guest  5:55PM

* Day 8, Thursday, June 5th, 2014*
Check out of hotel early
Take DME back to MCO for the trip home.

Im not sure well be booking the one hour early DME this trip.  Already we will have to have our bags packed and ready to go by 8AM to get them checked to the airport.  Catching the 8:45 DME might be tough on us.

So I bet everyones big question is what chunk of meat will she be throwing in her suitcase this time?"  Well Im not!  Most of you know about a year ago I traveled with a Prime Rib that visited the Titanic Exhibition in the back of Frans Scooter before it was cooked into four totally different glorious meals on different nights of our trip.

Last trip I brought a couple of Tri Tips along for a big DISmeet that we had over near the Barbeque Grills at the Beach Club.  However, with temperatures in the high 80s to 90s in May/June, large chunk of meat cooked in a hot steamy oven in the Villa, just didnt resound with me.  I thought about making a pot of spaghetti sauce, but again not in hot weather.  Since I cook so many hams and turkeys at home, we always have sliced sandwich meat in the freezer so we decided to bring some of each.  The ham will be for snacks in the room.  The turkey will be combined with bacon for Club sandwiches for dinner.

In addition, those of you who are familiar with Costcos Chinese Chicken salad will know that they have a little bag of chicken, along with non-perishables (dressing, Chinese croutons, etc).  Im going to toss those in with the sliced turkey and ham.  By ordering our produce from the grocery service we can round out our meals nicely.

Here is my grocery list so far.  Im sure that it will change in the next few months.

Grocery list

12 pack cans mountain dew
6 pack bottles diet Dr. Pepper
White Bread sliced
Head iceberg lettuce
4 cucumbers
4 tomatoes on the vine
1 red onion
1 lb bacon
6 Yoplait Lowfat Yogurts (4 strawberry, 1 raspberry, 1 blueberry)
½ dozen eggs
Smallest pack of real butter available
Original Kettle Chips from Lays
V8
½ gallon 2% milk
2 individual servings honey nut cheerios

Here are some of the things that I definitely want to do on this trip.

* Go to sleep the night before we fly!

More rides!*  Hopefully they will have worked out the glitch with the Premier Passports and we can actually book FP+ online by the time the trip rolls around.  Besides the fact that I had so many F&W events to get to, we didnt do nearly enough rides last trip.  I plan to change that this trip.

I want to try the Sorcerers of the MK game.  Several friends have commented on it and it sounds like great fun.

Relax by the pool

Maybe get a spa treatment

Well thats it for this update.  I think thats quite a list for now!


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## Pinkocto

I'm loving these plans! No V & A's this trip? 

At first I couldn't for the life of me figure out why you were talking about CSR.  You booked the VGF first and flights after? I enjoyed CSR a lot, my dad took me and some friends when I graduated 8th grade.  I remember the pool was very cool.


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## franandaj

Pinkocto said:


> I'm loving these plans! No V & A's this trip?
> 
> At first I couldn't for the life of me figure out why you were talking about CSR.  You booked the VGF first and flights after? I enjoyed CSR a lot, my dad took me and some friends when I graduated 8th grade.  I remember the pool was very cool.



Yeah, we went ahead and booked the VGF for a week not worrying about other plans.  Then we really couldn't get a flight that worked coming in on the first day of the trip so the only option was to come in a day early.  DARN! We already had to borrow some points to book this trip (I rented out a whole lot of points last year, to the point that my dues were more than covered, but I didn't have enough to book this trip.)  I borrowed points to book the week and when we needed to add a day we thought about just adding a day on points, but we want to stay at all the Disney resorts.

It would have been 48 points for another night at VGF, at $10 a point that's $480, Fran wants to charge $12 a point in the future so even more.  The CSR is only about $200 for the night and we get in kind of late so why spend all the points/money when we get in late?  Besides now we get to check out another resort!


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## PrincessInOz

Great looking plans.  I'm glad you got BoG!  I assume that they serve the Strawberry soup at dinner at 1900?


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## Paula Sedley-Burke

I'm in! I was confused about the CSR vs the Grand Floridian so thanks for asking Pam! I understand now makes sense re points  

Great re TPC! Jo and I are so going to have to check that out! Wohhoo to Star Wars weekend us too  can't wait! 

Great you managed to sneak in this trip. Our May SWW trip is a sneaky one too!


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## bobbiwoz

Great plans!  How wonderful that you will be back this year!

Bobbi


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## dolphingirl47

Your plans are great and I love the ADRs that you have made. Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom is a lot of fun. You should definitely try this.

Corinna


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## dgbg100106

Lovin the plans so far.  We are about $12 a point also...


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## briand1023

Wow


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## franandaj

PrincessInOz said:


> Great looking plans.  I'm glad you got BoG!  I assume that they serve the Strawberry soup at dinner at 1900?



Yeah, I saw that in Ruthie's TR when she ate there for her Birthday.  The stepsisters are supposed to be a hoot!



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> I'm in! I was confused about the CSR vs the Grand Floridian so thanks for asking Pam! I understand now makes sense re points
> 
> Great re TPC! Jo and I are so going to have to check that out! Wohhoo to Star Wars weekend us too  can't wait!
> 
> Great you managed to sneak in this trip. Our May SWW trip is a sneaky one too!



Staying a night there also give us the opportunity to see yet another resort too!     Maybe we could all go to TPC on the same day, it's a lot more fun with friends!  I hope that they release the schedule for SWW soon so we can know what to plan for Saturday and Sunday.



bobbiwoz said:


> Great plans!  How wonderful that you will be back this year!
> 
> Bobbi



 over here!  Nice to see you!



dolphingirl47 said:


> Your plans are great and I love the ADRs that you have made. Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom is a lot of fun. You should definitely try this.
> 
> Corinna



You're one of the people who made it sound like a fun game.



dgbg100106 said:


> Lovin the plans so far.  We are about $12 a point also...



That's good to know about points.  We must be on the right track.



briand1023 said:


> Wow



  Is that a good wow?


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## scottny

Congrats on the trip. 
I loved Little mermaid for the fact of the 2 beds. Anytime I can get my own is a blessing. LOL
CSR is great. We stayed in Casitas 1 which was close to the main building and close to bus stop 2. 
The plans sound great so far.


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## rentayenta

franandaj said:


> The Plans
> 
> 
> 
> 
> * Day 1, Wednesday, May 28th, 2014*
> Fly to MCO take DME to Coronado Springs Resort
> Dinner at Pepper Market




Love choosing the resort dining option on arrival night.  I hear Pepper Market is one of the best. 





> * Day 2, Thursday May 29th, 2014*
> Breakfast at the Resort
> Check out the Resort
> Bus to MK, Monorail to GF, check in
> MK until room is ready
> Get settled in room
> Dinner at 1900 Park Fare



What sort of CS options does the GF have for breakfast? Dinner back at GF. Excellent. 



> * Day 3, Friday May 30th, 2014*
> Quick breakfast in room
> Head over to DHS for SWW
> Lunch at QS DHS
> More SWW stuff
> Dinner in the room, Chinese Chicken Salad and maybe some Frozen Asian appetizers.



What QS does DHS have? My kids love Pizza Planet. I really like 50's but it's not quick or CS. 




> * Day 4, Saturday May 31st, 2014*
> Quick breakfast in room,
> Head over to DHS for SWW, if there is something different from Friday (if not all bets are off and we are free to do what we want to do!)
> Lunch at QS DHS (see above)
> More SWW stuff (see above)
> Dinner in the room, Turkey Club Sandwiches, chips and summer salad.



I haven't been during SWW but it looks like a blast. Joshua would love that. Do they have special merchandise? Cough cough, Fran? 



> * Day 5, Sunday June 1st, 2014*
> Quick breakfast in room, or not?
> Head over to DHS for SWW, if there is something different from Friday and Saturday (if not all bets are off and we are free to do what we want to do!)
> Lunch at QS DHS (see above)
> More SWW stuff (see above)
> We could also go to Epcot
> Dinner at Narcoosees @ 7:15PM



I love that you are spending so much time at the resort restaurants? Have yo been to Narcoosees? The menu looks so good. 



> * Day 6, Monday June 2nd , 2014*
> Possible day to go to TPC
> Otherwise Epcot
> Dinner at Le Celier 7:15PM



Theme Park Connection? Still haven't been to Le Cellier. Three trips, three reservations, three cancelations.  



> * Day 7, Tuesday,  June 3rd, 2014*
> Go to AK
> Late Lunch at Sanaa 2:30PM
> Probably eat leftovers in the room for dinner.



Sanaa is our favorite.  Good wine menu and bread service. 



> * Day 7, Wednesday, June 4th, 2014*
> Possible day to go to TPC?
> Otherwise MK
> Dinner at Be Our Guest  5:55PM



 Yay for Be Our Guest. I need to look at their menu. 





> So I bet everyones big question is what chunk of meat will she be throwing in her suitcase this time?"  Well Im not!  Most of you know about a year ago I traveled with a Prime Rib that visited the Titanic Exhibition in the back of Frans Scooter before it was cooked into four totally different glorious meals on different nights of our trip.



No big meat?  




> Here is my grocery list so far.  Im sure that it will change in the next few months.
> 
> Grocery list
> 
> 12 pack cans mountain dew
> 6 pack bottles diet Dr. Pepper
> White Bread sliced
> Head iceberg lettuce
> 4 cucumbers
> 4 tomatoes on the vine
> 1 red onion
> 1 lb bacon
> 6 Yoplait Lowfat Yogurts (4 strawberry, 1 raspberry, 1 blueberry)
> ½ dozen eggs
> Smallest pack of real butter available
> Original Kettle Chips from Lays
> V8
> ½ gallon 2% milk
> 2 individual servings honey nut cheerios



I love a good grocery list.  Will you use GG or WeGoShop? 



> Here are some of the things that I definitely want to do on this trip.
> 
> * Go to sleep the night before we fly!
> 
> More rides!*  Hopefully they will have worked out the glitch with the Premier Passports and we can actually book FP+ online by the time the trip rolls around.  Besides the fact that I had so many F&W events to get to, we didnt do nearly enough rides last trip.  I plan to change that this trip.
> 
> I want to try the Sorcerers of the MK game.  Several friends have commented on it and it sounds like great fun.
> 
> Relax by the pool
> 
> Maybe get a spa treatment
> 
> Well thats it for this update.  I think thats quite a list for now!   [/COLOR][/SIZE]




That's a good list. Pool time is a must for us. I can't imagine how gorgeous the VGF pool is. Wonder if it's big and what services it offers; bar, food?


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## mvf-m11c

Nice to hear that you and Fran will be going back to WDW in May. You have a nice plan during your visit.


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## franandaj

scottny said:


> Congrats on the trip.
> I loved Little mermaid for the fact of the 2 beds. Anytime I can get my own is a blessing. LOL
> CSR is great. We stayed in Casitas 1 which was close to the main building and close to bus stop 2.
> The plans sound great so far.



That's funny that you like your own beds.  We like to share, but we need a king, we're big gals!

I'm hoping we'll be close to the main building, I've been researching the resort and it seems to be really big. I'm glad you approve of the plans!  



rentayenta said:


> Love choosing the resort dining option on arrival night.  I hear Pepper Market is one of the best.



There seems to be a lot of different choices, so I'm sure we'll find something.  Usually I cook us something in the room on arrival night so this is a stretch to get something from a CS, but I figure that's less painless then making her sit through a restaurant meal.



rentayenta said:


> What sort of CS options does the GF have for breakfast? Dinner back at GF. Excellent.



GF has the Gasparilla Grill, but we probably won't be eating there.  I will make breakfast in the Villa.  The first full day we'll probably head back to Pepper Market for breakfast.



rentayenta said:


> What QS does DHS have? My kids love Pizza Planet. I really like 50's but it's not quick or CS.



We usually end up at this place near Star Tours where they have a hot dog and a turkey melt sandwich. But I saw in the DISmom's TR that they also have a Mac and Cheese Hot dog in the ToT area.



rentayenta said:


> I haven't been during SWW but it looks like a blast. Joshua would love that. Do they have special merchandise? Cough cough, Fran?



Oh, I'm sure they have special merchandise!  You know she will be buying whatever there is!



rentayenta said:


> I love that you are spending so much time at the resort restaurants? Have yo been to Narcoosees? The menu looks so good.



We ate at Narcoosee's on the trip in Jan/Feb, it was awesome.  Way better than CA grill.  That is our "fancy" place instead of V&A's.  It's not quite as swanky, but it's pretty darned good.



rentayenta said:


> Theme Park Connection? Still haven't been to Le Cellier. Three trips, three reservations, three cancelations.



We love a good steak and have only been to Le Cellier once, however, we are hoping that since they are now a "Signature" and have added a Rib Eye to the menu, that it might be better than before.  




rentayenta said:


> Sanaa is our favorite.  Good wine menu and bread service.



I really liked it last time, and Fran didn't object, so I thought I would throw it in there.  lunch will hopefully be just as good!



rentayenta said:


> Yay for Be Our Guest. I need to look at their menu.



I've heard the Pomme Frites are to die for!



rentayenta said:


> No big meat?



At that time of year, it just doesn't sound that good.



rentayenta said:


> I love a good grocery list.  Will you use GG or WeGoShop?



I'm thinking WeGoShop, they were good for me last time.



rentayenta said:


> That's a good list. Pool time is a must for us. I can't imagine how gorgeous the VGF pool is. Wonder if it's big and what services it offers; bar, food?



I might use the bar, but not the food. It would probably be a trip to the pool without Fran. She would be in the room.  There are quite a few pools at the VGC, so not sure which one(s) I would end up at!


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## franandaj

mvf-m11c said:


> Nice to hear that you and Fran will be going back to WDW in May. You have a nice plan during your visit.



Thanks Bret!  I hope that we get in some good relaxing time as well as fun time.


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## Paula Sedley-Burke

Monday 2nd June is a good day for us to consider a visit to TPC all being well with my health  but I am scared. I will want everything and have limited room on the plane and finances lol! But Jo will control me


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## dgbg100106

Yes, they have Special Merchandise, and they have special DVC stuff....  I know you will have fun, they have an entire warehouse apart from the rest of the park, that has all the special merchandise...

Been there and done that!


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## Paula Sedley-Burke

dgbg100106 said:


> Yes, they have Special Merchandise, and they have special DVC stuff....  I know you will have fun, they have an entire warehouse apart from the rest of the park, that has all the special merchandise...  Been there and done that!


sweet


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## Captain_Oblivious

Looks like another great trip!  The Grand Floridian villas look awfully swanky.  I'm interested to see what you two think of them.  Personally, I'd be a little afraid to do things like walk, breathe, blow my nose, etc.


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## Leshaface

Happy New Year, i'm here!


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## dvc at last !

Happy New to all  !

Your plans sound great.  Love the try to sleep the night before the trip-
I am guilty of the same problem.
Have not been to BOG yet - next trip November for the Food & Wine.
We love 'Ohana.  Have you been there for dinner  ?
Would like to stay at VGF some day, but when I see the points needed
I cringe.  We did stay at GF before DVC.  Some day we will stay on points.


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## ACDSNY

I'm fashionably late to the party and looking forward to your review of VGF.


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## Leshaface

Yay just read your plans and you have such a nice long week planned!  Very excited for you


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## franandaj

Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Monday 2nd June is a good day for us to consider a visit to TPC all being well with my health  but I am scared. I will want everything and have limited room on the plane and finances lol! But Jo will control me



I’ll pencil that day in the schedule.  Of course it’s all dependent on health issues, for Fran as well.  There will be some things there, that just aren’t feasible to purchase, like the lifesize MU display that they had last time we went, and that FP return sign that you admired so much. It should be interesting, Ruthie said that they have tons more stuff than the last place.



dgbg100106 said:


> Yes, they have Special Merchandise, and they have special DVC stuff....  I know you will have fun, they have an entire warehouse apart from the rest of the park, that has all the special merchandise...
> 
> Been there and done that!



And now with the new warehouse it is supposedly more than twice the size of the last.



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> sweet







Captain_Oblivious said:


> Looks like another great trip!  The Grand Floridian villas look awfully swanky.  I'm interested to see what you two think of them.  Personally, I'd be a little afraid to do things like walk, breathe, blow my nose, etc.



 I can totally relate to this.  We just bought a swanky house though, and I hope we’ll be moved in there before this trip.  It will be quite an adjustment to get used to living in a swanky house. Hopefully I’ll be used to it by the end of May so staying at the VGF will feel like home when we get there.     The other thing I'm wondering is how will our garage sale furniture look in said swanky house?    (Don't laugh, I'm dead serious!)



Leshaface said:


> Happy New Year, i'm here!



Yay!   



dvc at last ! said:


> Happy New to all  !
> 
> Your plans sound great.  Love the try to sleep the night before the trip-
> I am guilty of the same problem.
> Have not been to BOG yet - next trip November for the Food & Wine.
> We love 'Ohana.  Have you been there for dinner  ?
> Would like to stay at VGF some day, but when I see the points needed
> I cringe.  We did stay at GF before DVC.  Some day we will stay on points.



Happy New Year to you too! and 

I should have specified when I said, “go to sleep the night before the trip”, I meant, “Have the car fully packed by 6PM so I can have a peaceful dinner and go to sleep, not spend the night packing until 4AM when I have to leave for the airport.”  

I’ve been to ‘Ohana before and I love that place!

The points are pretty hefty, but I figured that we have a ton of points, and why not splurge and use them on ourselves.  I rented out over half my points in 2013, now, I’m using almost half my points to stay there!  



ACDSNY said:


> I'm fashionably late to the party and looking forward to your review of VGF.



  Glad you made it over here!



Leshaface said:


> Yay just read your plans and you have such a nice long week planned!  Very excited for you



It’s been a long time since I’ve stayed for one week in a resort, so it will be nice to unpack and get settled and not have to change after 3-4 days.


----------



## franandaj

So changes are a happenin at WDW.  I wasnt really able to take advantage of My Magic Plus on the last trip since Premier Passholders couldnt make online FP+ selections.  Since I had no idea what was available, I couldnt make any decisions.  This trip, Im hoping that the bugs are all worked out so that we can see what the options are and I have all the information about my choices.

Things are looking good since when I log into MDE it gave me the option to use My Magic Plus, but well see when the 60 day window opens.   On other My Magic Plus news I have customized our MBs for both our stays.  I know Im not the only one who thinks this is a complete waste that we get two sets of MBs for this trip AND we are only staying at Coronado  for one night for a place to sleep before we check into the VGF.  We wont be using those bands for a park, but I guess they are needed for DME and our room key.

I do wish that I could use my MB from the BCV for this trip and I wouldnt have to create more waste with them making new MBs. The batteries are supposed to last up to three years.  Besides, I picked my favorite color for the BCV trip and now its practically a doorstop (if it were strong enough to stop a door).  Now I have to choose all the other colors other than my favorite so I dont get it mixed up with the other band.  I suppose I could throw the band away, but then I would be helping to fill a landfill.  Oh the dilemmas!

Anywho, I have customized my Magic Bands for both hotels.  Gray for the first night and yellow for the rest of the stay.  Fran chose Orange for the first night and Blue for the remainder of the trip.  I guess well be sporting UCLA colors!   I suppose we will have to pick out our FP+ attractions, but we wont be able to do that until sometime in March, so Im not even going to start thinking about that just yet.

I did receive something in the mail that was so wasteful, I cant believe this whole My Magic Plus concept.  Many of you know that they ship the bands in an incredibly costly packaging via UPS Next Day Air.  At least this package came via First Class Bulk Mail but still, take a look!













The flash drive takes you to an online presentation featuring Edna E Mode and how the Magic Bands work and how you can use My Magic Plus to enhance your park experience.  It was cheesy but cute.  I just cant imagine how much this whole package cost to produce!  And. I. Just. Got. Another. Identical. Package. On. New. Years. Eve. They must really have a lot invested in all the parkgoers wearing their little GPS trackers!

I think thats it for my rant about the bands and the waste that Disney is going through just to have us schedule ourselves into their little world and keep better track of us.  I will be curious as to how this works out in the long run and just how invasive the technology becomes. Be back with Day to day plans.


----------



## jedijill

I agree that the whole MB system is crazy!  I got 2 bands for my trip in October and they sent me both by next day air too.  I didn't get the flash drive though so I'm a little jealous!

Jill in CO


----------



## tb1972

Just found your TP tonight and enjoyed reading.  I feel the same way when we leave our cats!  They get moody and upset, but forgive us quickly when we return.  

We stayed at CSR a few times before buying DVC.  It's my fave mod with beautiful grounds.  I remember the Pepper Market is good with a variety of different stations: Mexican, Chinese, sandwiches, pasta, pizza.  The dessert selection was really good too - I always remember desserts! 

We will be in WDW May 23-27 staying at OKW, then we check out and head to VB May 27-31.  Trying to use our PAP's and also get a beach trip while in FL.


----------



## PrincessInOz

You get to pick MORE MB??

That's crazy.  Those bands are supposed to be reusable.  Such a waste of resource.

I hope that the FP+ works for you this time.


----------



## rentayenta

I'm so baffled by the whole MB thing anyway.  I'm going to need a serious tutorial for our next trip....whenever that is. The packaging is neat if nothing else. Of course, I'm the girl who keeps every ticket, every map, every everything.


----------



## franandaj

jedijill said:


> I agree that the whole MB system is crazy!  I got 2 bands for my trip in October and they sent me both by next day air too.  I didn't get the flash drive though so I'm a little jealous!
> 
> Jill in CO



I think they were in the testing phase in the Fall so they weren't in full roll out. Now we're getting the full waste of resources.



tb1972 said:


> Just found your TP tonight and enjoyed reading.  I feel the same way when we leave our cats!  They get moody and upset, but forgive us quickly when we return.
> 
> We stayed at CSR a few times before buying DVC.  It's my fave mod with beautiful grounds.  I remember the Pepper Market is good with a variety of different stations: Mexican, Chinese, sandwiches, pasta, pizza.  The dessert selection was really good too - I always remember desserts!
> 
> We will be in WDW May 23-27 staying at OKW, then we check out and head to VB May 27-31.  Trying to use our PAP's and also get a beach trip while in FL.



Too bad we will just miss you! I'm glad to hear another positive review of Pepper Market. I've yet to hear a negative review so that's good!



PrincessInOz said:


> You get to pick MORE MB??
> 
> That's crazy.  Those bands are supposed to be reusable.  Such a waste of resource.
> 
> I hope that the FP+ works for you this time.



I know, its a huge waste! I really hope we can pick FPs online. If they haven't worked out the Premier passport glitch, some CM will be reading me every available ride or attraction and eating their salary that day!



rentayenta said:


> I'm so baffled by the whole MB thing anyway.  I'm going to need a serious tutorial for our next trip....whenever that is. The packaging is neat if nothing else. Of course, I'm the girl who keeps every ticket, every map, every everything.



Well the good thing is so far its been easy. Our glitch last time was the Premier passes thing. For you when you go next I guess you will have WDW only passes so it won't be a problem. I hope ours are fixed!


----------



## Paula Sedley-Burke

Great re June 2nd. We have a rental car that week and are use to changes due to health so we are on the same no pressure page there! 

I know re MB and waste of money! We also have two sets for one week in May! I also wanted to use my cute yellow one from AK last year. Jo has come up with the idea that we choose a colour for each resort so we don't get mixed up. Then every year we are going to always pick that colour so I know ahhh red is SSR. They gave us a little tag with the year on last year so I know which one is current and to stop up mixing up our bands between the two of us we have little clip on buttons we bought in the AK shop that are different that clip on to the bands ( an excuse for bling ) 

Should work in theory...

It's as bad as the refillable mug.....how many of those have we got..I threw them all away in the end... Plastic mountain what a waste. 

But do love FP+ !


----------



## GiantsNiners11

Great balcony pics. Thanks for posting your TR!


----------



## dgbg100106

rentayenta said:


> I'm so baffled by the whole MB thing anyway.  I'm going to need a serious tutorial for our next trip....whenever that is. The packaging is neat if nothing else. Of course, I'm the girl who keeps every ticket, every map, every everything.



I am in the same boat..  When and If I every make it back, I will have to have tutorial on how to use them..


----------



## scottny

I think 2 bands is a waste too but we got them. 
I never got the drive.


----------



## twinsouvenirs

We will be visiting VGF in Feb... and excited to hear you'll be visiting us up here in Cleveland this year!!!


----------



## lisaviolet

Just when I come over to catch up, there's NEW too!  Oh no.  

Yeah VGF and you.


----------



## franandaj

Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Great re June 2nd. We have a rental car that week and are use to changes due to health so we are on the same no pressure page there!
> 
> I know re MB and waste of money! We also have two sets for one week in May! I also wanted to use my cute yellow one from AK last year. Jo has come up with the idea that we choose a colour for each resort so we don't get mixed up. Then every year we are going to always pick that colour so I know ahhh red is SSR. They gave us a little tag with the year on last year so I know which one is current and to stop up mixing up our bands between the two of us we have little clip on buttons we bought in the AK shop that are different that clip on to the bands ( an excuse for bling )
> 
> Should work in theory...
> 
> It's as bad as the refillable mug.....how many of those have we got..I threw them all away in the end... Plastic mountain what a waste.
> 
> But do love FP+ !



I probably need to just toss the old ones and get over it!  We always save too many things.  I'm planning on pitching a lot of stuff in the move, either that or trying to unload it at a yard sale.  Our new neighborhood is so swanky, they don't allow yard sales!     Fran will have to drive far from our neighborhood to get her Saturday morning entertainment, but at least we won't be tempted by neighbors across the street!  



GiantsNiners11 said:


> Great balcony pics. Thanks for posting your TR!



 Thanks!  I haven't quite gotten to the TR yet, these are just the plans!  



dgbg100106 said:


> I am in the same boat..  When and If I ever make it back, I will have to have tutorial on how to use them..



They're pretty simple, for a smart gal like you.  They work for everything, room key, DME pass, park pass, charge card.  I doubt we will use them like that, but if our passes truly get linked to the bands it will save us a lot of hassle.  We have "funny" passes, and CMs have even told us "that's not a valid pass" we had to bring the lead over to convince them.

It's pretty easy to make them work, at least so far.  I haven't got to the point where it get to select my FP+ attractions.  We'll see how I feel about them when I get to that point!



scottny said:


> I think 2 bands is a waste too but we got them.
> I never got the drive.



I think you guys went while they were still in testing mode.  I think now they are in full roll out so folks are getting the whole nine yards.  Such a waste that they send of two of everything.  You'd think that since DL has a dossier on us, that WDW could get it together that they have already sent us one and hold the second one.  The information on the drive wasn't customized to us.  Here are the links that it sent us to.

Part 1 of our special message

Part 2 of our special message



twinsouvenirs said:


> We will be visiting VGF in Feb... and excited to hear you'll be visiting us up here in Cleveland this year!!!



 I'd love to see pictures from your stay!  The resort looks fabulous!  We will be in Cleveland from the 8th of August until the 13th.  The opening ceremonies are on the 9th so we plan to attend that.  When they had Gay Games in Chicago we got free admission to the opening ceremonies and had a special area for the band people to sit in.  It was really fun.  We have intense rehearsals from the 10th until the 12th and on the night of the 12th we give a concert somewhere in downtown.  There will be over 200 musicians on the stage for the concert.  Something you don't see too often!  It's usually a pretty cool even to witness!



lisaviolet said:


> Just when I come over to catch up, there's NEW too!  Oh no.
> 
> Yeah VGF and you.



 Yeah, I always try to have one in the hopper!  It keep the depression away!    I can't believe that we're going to be staying at the VGF so soon!  I thought it would be booked up for a couple years and not available at the 7 month mark, but what do you know?  It did book up rather quickly, but I got in a week after it opened for non owners.

I just set my dates for the next WDW trip.  We are bringing two friends of ours and staying for a week at the VWL, after that Fran and I plan on taking a 4 day cruise on the Dream, but they have to go home.  Who wants to come babysit the house while we are on vacation?


----------



## rentayenta

Me!  And cats. Can I bring my kids?  


WDW then a cruise? Is this your October trip? Awesome!  

I can't believe you'll be at the VGF so soon either.    I like it so much more than I anticipated.


----------



## Paula Sedley-Burke

Jo has 'issues' throwing things out or getting rid of things so I remove them when she is at work lol. Sell them on ebay or give them to charity. 

No yard sales lol! You know you've made it when your house deeds say 'no RV's or Satellite dishes' lol...


----------



## franandaj

rentayenta said:


> Me!  And cats. Can I bring my kids?
> 
> 
> WDW then a cruise? Is this your October trip? Awesome!
> 
> I can't believe you'll be at the VGF so soon either.    I like it so much more than I anticipated.



Well you could, but I'm not sure that they could miss two weeks of school!  This is our April 2015 trip.



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Jo has 'issues' throwing things out or getting rid of things so I remove them when she is at work lol. Sell them on ebay or give them to charity.
> 
> No yard sales lol! You know you've made it when your house deeds say 'no RV's or Satellite dishes' lol...



I would kill you if you did that to me!     Fran has been packing up stuff and she has these boxes labeled.  "Unpack new house"   She has been throwing MY things in those boxes. I'm never going to see those things again!  

Yeah, I'm not sure how we're going to measure up in this new neighborhood, but it's got to be better than where we are now, or the one we were going to move into where her father's old house is located.


----------



## franandaj

*Day 1 - Plans*

Our flight leaves at 6:30AM which is really early for us.  I need to make sure that we are all packed two days before we want to leave because I am not pulling another all nighter this time!

I was able to find out that the American ticket counters at LAX open at 4:00AM, so no problem on the outgoing flight. Hopefully well be there at the airport rested and packed, waiting at the gate at 5:30AM, ready to board the plane.  Theyll serve us breakfast on the plane.

We land at DFW just before lunchtime.  Im hoping that the plane gets in on time. Maybe well grab something for lunch in the terminal on our layover. The next flight takes off at 1:40PM and gets in around 5:10PM.  We probably wont get much more than some snacks on the flight. Once we get to Orlando, well be looking for this.





From what I can tell, this resort is absolutely HUGE!





From what I can tell, we want to be in either the Casitas or Cabanas areas of the resort.  They are the two sections closest to the main building where the restaurants are located.  The other section, the Ranchos, is very far from the restaurant building.

With a 5:10 arrival time at MCO, I imagine that we will arrive at CSR around 7PM. Depending on where our room is located, we may go directly to the Pepper Market to get dinner instead of dropping off our carry ons in the room.  In fact that is probably the more likely option as Fran will not want to leave the room once we get there.  Here are some shots of the Pepper Market that I found online.  It seems that they have quite a selection of food choices, burgers, sandwiches, pastas, salads, and Mexican options.

















Once we get our dinner, Im sure well head directly to the room and crash.  Since were checking out in the morning, we wont need to unpack, but we might need a couple of things like toothbrushes, and other stuff, but well keep that to a minimum here tonight and just worry about sleep.

Here are some shots of the rooms.  Evidently the Rancho rooms look like this.





The Cabana Rooms look like this.





The next morning it will be back to the Pepper Market for Breakfast before we head out and explore the resort. I learned that there is a resident of the CSR named Glenn, we might be on the lookout for him.





Other than searching for the Alligator, Im not sure how far well get, its a big resort.  Next stop will be Magic Kingdom bus drop off!


----------



## ACDSNY

Good start to your trip.  I didn't know about the alligator.


----------



## PrincessInOz

Okay.  We stayed at the Cabana section.  CSR is a big resort and our room felt like it was quite far away from the facilities.  Good idea to hit Peppers before the room.


----------



## lcataldimay

Hope you have a safe flight


----------



## dgbg100106

franandaj said:


> They're pretty simple, for a smart gal like you.  They work for everything, room key, DME pass, park pass, charge card.  I doubt we will use them like that, but if our passes truly get linked to the bands it will save us a lot of hassle.  We have "funny" passes, and CMs have even told us "that's not a valid pass" we had to bring the lead over to convince them.
> 
> It's pretty easy to make them work, at least so far.  I haven't got to the point where it get to select my FP+ attractions.  We'll see how I feel about them when I get to that point!



ok what are _"We have "funny" passes"_?


----------



## Paula Sedley-Burke

Not stayed at the resort but it looks really nice! We we to see it once and really liked it. I was impressed with the Pepper market. Lol the resident Gator! Sometimes SSR has these cute otters. Such a lovely vision in the morning. I was thinking about the MB's it might have made more sense for Disney to theme them by resort.


----------



## Leshaface

Glad i'm not the only one who thought the packaging was so wasteful!

The resort is SO BIG! I requested Casitas too and we got building 5....doesn't look too far away but it's FAR!  Trust me, it was exhausting after a long day at the parks.  If you can get the first building that would be great!


----------



## dolphingirl47

With that early start, it would make sense to stay at an airport hotel the night before. I had not appreciated how big the resort is. I love the photos of the rooms.

Corinna


----------



## disney ny

I was so excited to see your plans for the next trip.  I religously follow all your reports.  I am so excited that I am back in planning mode again finally.  It has been way too long since I had a trip on the horizon but now I am at the 7 month mark for our August trip and am playing the waiting game as I check in constantly on the DVC site to try and get just what I want.  I look at it as a challenge.  I think the planning is so fun and obviously we think alike because your detailed plans are right up my alley. It keeps me from depression to plan my next trip!  I am planning to do my first trip report this time and have started typing all of the back story/plans into a word document.  I thought about doing a pretrip report but it is still so far out.  I guess I could just start the report like you did but I don't have a cult following like you!  Anyway I am always excited to hear about the adventures of you and Fran! (My 5 year old who is watching me just insisted I add that smiley face ....)


----------



## rentayenta

franandaj said:


> Well you could, but I'm not sure that they could miss two weeks of school!  This is our April 2015 trip.




They can miss a little.  





Your plans look great and CSR looks huge. The Cabana rooms look a little more up to date decor wise. 

I hope you sleep the night before, that's a dang early flight. 

I looked at the pepper Market menu on Allears; nice selection. 

Resort alligator?  No thanks!  I don't do scales and nails and tails. Scares the bejeezus out of me.


----------



## Captain_Oblivious

Never stayed at CSR before, but I know there's a sizable contingent on the boards who love it!


----------



## eandesmom

I'm here!



franandaj said:


> So our ADR window opened up while we were up at my folks over Thanksgiving.  I should have been up at 3AM that morning, but I forgot and didnt take care of it until around 8AM my time.  We wanted to try BOG and so that was the first reservation that I tried for.  I got it but there was only one time slot available, so I nabbed it. And this was using my 7 day advance reservations for our last night (which we strategically planned to get the most out of our 180 day window). We also got Le Cellier and a few others.  Here are how the plans have worked out so far.




I totally spaced on our May ADR's too, think I was 2 days late 

The plans look good, nice and easy.  I miss Sanaa, Jeff and I tried to get the boys over there on our last night but they were dead set on Olivia's.  We really really liked BOG and had the best CM of our trip, just a wonderful evening.



franandaj said:


> Go to sleep the night before we fly!
> 
> More rides![/B]  Hopefully they will have worked out the glitch with the Premier Passports and we can actually book FP+ online by the time the trip rolls around.  Besides the fact that I had so many F&W events to get to, we didnt do nearly enough rides last trip.  I plan to change that this trip.



Good goals!  I am sure you will be fine on the MB's, they seem to be working well for everyone, I didn't have any issues at all with my PAP but I know the Premier can be funky so I'll be interested to see how that goes.  Have you tried to link your AP to your band yet?  You'll need to do that to make the FP selections.

Once you get your AP linked to your band, any band assigned to you should work actually, it's just a matter of collecting colors.  Which yes, is wasteful.  And is supposed to stop at some point but isn't.  We had a total of 18 bands sent to us for our trip.  They were not sent 2 day air though and we didn't get any flash drives so I guess that is something but wow, the packaging is crazy!

I agree, with a flight that early you'll want to be ready 2 days before.  I despise early flights!

Pool and Spa...those are on my agenda for May!  Pool for sure at least but oh I'd love the spa.



franandaj said:


> Our flight leaves at 6:30AM which is really early for us.  I need to make sure that we are all packed two days before we want to leave because I am not pulling another all nighter this time!
> 
> I was able to find out that the American ticket counters at LAX open at 4:00AM, so no problem on the outgoing flight. Hopefully well be there at the airport rested and packed, waiting at the gate at 5:30AM, ready to board the plane.  Theyll serve us breakfast on the plane.



Are you flying first class?  It is so much nicer to have them serve you food than to carry it on.  I hate holding the food and waiting until we get high enough to use the tray table.  Sometimes it is better food options to carry on but it depends on the airline.  I haven't flown American in years, probably decades and have them for my red eye in May so that will be interesting.

CSR looks HUGE!  I have heard nothing but good things about the Pepper Market.    Would you just leave the bags with Bell services and then call for them after you eat?  I do like the look of the Cabana rooms much more.


----------



## scottny

Okay I can do without the message about the bands. LOL. Thanks for posting.
Casitas 3 was wonderful. Bus stop 2 is behind them. It was perfect for us when we stayed there. 
Only one night I would pack a carry on with stuff for that night only so I dont have to touch the luggage. 
Sounds good so far.


----------



## franandaj

ACDSNY said:


> Good start to your trip.  I didn't know about the alligator.



Thanks!  I only found out about him in the last couple pages of the CSR thread and it was mostly 2008 information.  It has pretty much been dormant since then with occasional post.



PrincessInOz said:


> Okay.  We stayed at the Cabana section.  CSR is a big resort and our room felt like it was quite far away from the facilities.  Good idea to hit Peppers before the room.



Thanks for the confirmation.  We did the same thing when we stayed at OKW.  I realized as we started to head out to our room that Fran was tired and cranky and wouldn't leave once we got there, so we headed back to the restaurant and got dinner.  This resort seems equally as spread out, so live and learn.

Besides in looking at our flights, we'll get breakfast on the flight to Dallas, arrive in time for lunch, which will be from an airport QS place.  Our flight to MCO leaves at 2PM and arrives at 5:30 so I doubt we'll get a proper meal, probably just a snack. We will probably be starved by the time we get to the resort and with a long travel day like that dinner and bed will be just the ticket!



lcataldimay said:


> Hope you have a safe flight



Thanks!  and 



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Not stayed at the resort but it looks really nice! We went to see it once and really liked it. I was impressed with the Pepper market. Lol the resident Gator! Sometimes SSR has these cute otters. Such a lovely vision in the morning. I was thinking about the MB's it might have made more sense for Disney to theme them by resort.



It's just one night, so we'll probably mostly crash and tour in the morning.  We have wanted to stay there for a while, too bad it's not longer, but we did the same with OKW (except we left at the crack of dawn).  At least here we will plan a leisurely departure and check out the place. 



Leshaface said:


> Glad i'm not the only one who thought the packaging was so wasteful!
> 
> The resort is SO BIG! I requested Casitas too and we got building 5....doesn't look too far away but it's FAR!  Trust me, it was exhausting after a long day at the parks.  If you can get the first building that would be great!



Well the good news is that we won't have to come back after the parks, but after a long flight, so I hope that night we don't have too far to go.  We'll have to go back in the morning because I will want breakfast before we take off, although if I know us we will be having lunch for breakfast!  



dolphingirl47 said:


> With that early start, it would make sense to stay at an airport hotel the night before. I had not appreciated how big the resort is. I love the photos of the rooms.
> 
> Corinna



I would LOVE   to do an airport hotel kind of thing, but Fran hates to be away from the cats that long.  The times we did a park and fly we never got there until like 12 midnight, so it almost didn't make sense.




disney ny said:


> I was so excited to see your plans for the next trip.  I religously follow all your reports.  I am so excited that I am back in planning mode again finally.  It has been way too long since I had a trip on the horizon but now I am at the 7 month mark for our August trip and am playing the waiting game as I check in constantly on the DVC site to try and get just what I want.  I look at it as a challenge.  I think the planning is so fun and obviously we think alike because your detailed plans are right up my alley. It keeps me from depression to plan my next trip!  I am planning to do my first trip report this time and have started typing all of the back story/plans into a word document.  I thought about doing a pretrip report but it is still so far out.  I guess I could just start the report like you did but I don't have a cult following like you!  Anyway I am always excited to hear about the adventures of you and Fran! (My 5 year old who is watching me just insisted I add that smiley face ....)



I think you should do a TR, and you can start the PTR anytime you want!  I always do mine in Word and then copy and paste them on the DIS that way I can work on it as I have time and post when I am able.  The main thing is people want pictures!  Most folks are more apt to follow a TR when you have pictures and if you want Jenny to follow, you need to have pictures of your family!    She likes to know who the people are.  I like pictures of anything!  Food, resort, people, attractions, but mostly the food, resort and parks and attractions, I like to see the people, but if that's all there is I get bored because I like to learn about new things that I didn't know about, games, sights, tasty treats....I would read your TR!  



rentayenta said:


> They can miss a little.
> 
> Your plans look great and CSR looks huge. The Cabana rooms look a little more up to date decor wise.
> 
> I hope you sleep the night before, that's a dang early flight.
> 
> I looked at the pepper Market menu on Allears; nice selection.
> 
> Resort alligator?  No thanks!  I don't do scales and nails and tails. Scares the bejeezus out of me.



I would love to do Corinna's idea of the airport hotel, but Fran would never go for it, especially since we have the road trip a couple weeks earlier.  I just need to make sure we are packed Monday and we don't go to bed Monday night if we aren't packed!  We don't go to band if we aren't packed!



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Never stayed at CSR before, but I know there's a sizable contingent on the boards who love it!



I hope that we like it as much as they do!  



eandesmom said:


> I'm here!
> 
> I totally spaced on our May ADR's too, think I was 2 days late
> 
> The plans look good, nice and easy.  I miss Sanaa, Jeff and I tried to get the boys over there on our last night but they were dead set on Olivia's.  We really really liked BOG and had the best CM of our trip, just a wonderful evening.



Nice to hear another good review of BoG!  I can't wait to go back to Sanaa, I loved it on our Jan/Feb trip!



eandesmom said:


> Good goals!  I am sure you will be fine on the MB's, they seem to be working well for everyone, I didn't have any issues at all with my PAP but I know the Premier can be funky so I'll be interested to see how that goes.  Have you tried to link your AP to your band yet?  You'll need to do that to make the FP selections.
> 
> Once you get your AP linked to your band, any band assigned to you should work actually, it's just a matter of collecting colors.  Which yes, is wasteful.  And is supposed to stop at some point but isn't.  We had a total of 18 bands sent to us for our trip.  They were not sent 2 day air though and we didn't get any flash drives so I guess that is something but wow, the packaging is crazy!



I had linked our APs to our MDE account for the last trip, but they were having issues.  I was really happy when I signed into MDE a month or two ago and it offered me to make FP+ reservations.  I'm hoping that when the end of March comes along it won't be a problem!



eandesmom said:


> I agree, with a flight that early you'll want to be ready 2 days before.  I despise early flights!
> 
> Pool and Spa...those are on my agenda for May!  Pool for sure at least but oh I'd love the spa.
> 
> Are you flying first class?  It is so much nicer to have them serve you food than to carry it on.  I hate holding the food and waiting until we get high enough to use the tray table.  Sometimes it is better food options to carry on but it depends on the airline.  I haven't flown American in years, probably decades and have them for my red eye in May so that will be interesting.



I would love to do some spa time, but that might have to spontaneous based on what is going on during SWW.  Yes we are flying FC, so they feed us and usually the food is actually pretty decent.  I am so used to eating food in my lap that I wouldn't even wait for the ability to use the tray table.  We have drive through food more often than I care to admit.  



eandesmom said:


> CSR looks HUGE!  I have heard nothing but good things about the Pepper Market.    Would you just leave the bags with Bell services and then call for them after you eat?  I do like the look of the Cabana rooms much more.



I know!  It looks bigger than SSR!  I never thought of leaving the bags with Bell services!  Brilliant!  We will do that, and then call for them at the room because it is a real pain with two scooters to push all our carry ons.



scottny said:


> Okay I can do without the message about the bands. LOL. Thanks for posting.
> Casitas 3 was wonderful. Bus stop 2 is behind them. It was perfect for us when we stayed there.
> Only one night I would pack a carry on with stuff for that night only so I dont have to touch the luggage.
> Sounds good so far.



I need to much cra...err precious items to put them in a carry on, but I will pack all the stuff for the first night in one suitcase so we only have to open one of them. I have to wear new clothes the next day.  Otherwise I feel...dirty.


----------



## franandaj

We interrupt your WDW PTR for a brief DLR PTR.

Im sure anyone who isnt reading this PTR (meaning my 3D friends) thinks that we are crazy for buying into a timeshare ½ an hour away from our house. But back in the day, they used to have a Food and Wine Festival and I really wanted to be able to stay in the magic for the festival.  However, expansions occurred and stuff happened and now we just have a whole lot of points at the DLR when we dont realistically stay there as often as we intended.

But it has allowed us to do some crazy things like rent out the 3 bedroom Grand Villa the night before our concert band played in DCA, at no cost so to speak, and let 10 friends stay there with us.  It also lets us book a few nights here and there to just enjoy the parks without having to drive home and pretend we are tourists.  Well I book these weekday weekends often (at least once a year in the off season) and we have one coming up in less than a month.  I finalized all the details recently and thought I would share them with you and figured that I would post a full report of said trip once we get back.  

Its too short a trip to give you live updates, but I will bring my computer along and keep up with the banter if I can.  After all we are on call and if something happens with the buildings, we need to have access to all the resources that we have at home to fix whatever emergency might come up.  For instance as I write this, a tenant called a couple days ago to say she has no hot water.  Turns out the thermocoupler on her water heater went bad and it can only be ordered from the manufacturer. They are sending one, but in the meantime she has no hot water until they send the new thermocoupler.  Luckily the unit next door is vacant so she can go over there to take a shower.  Its the little things.  

So back to the planswe check in to a one bedroom Villa on Wednesday, February 5. The villas are usually not ready until 4PM but you never know, so we will head out to Anaheim after noon and check into the resort.  





























I think we might be able to arrange an upgrade to include access to the concierge lounge through a CM friend, so well hang out there eating finger sandwiches, fruit, uncrustables and chocolate covered strawberries until the room is ready.  Well unpack and get the room set for our two nights, which includes disinfecting the Jacuzzi tub.  

Steakhouse 55 at the Disneyland Hotel has a new Chef and we are very interested in checking out the new menu, so we have a reservation for 6:30PM.  





We will enjoy checking out the new menu and whatever they have to offer.  And Im sure by the time were done with dinner, well be ready for bed.

The next morning we are looking forward to a bit of sleeping in, but if we do get to use the lounge we need to be there before 10AM for breakfast. After that Fran plans on heading back to the room with her book to relax while I have a visit to the Mandara spa planned.  That will keep me busy until sometime after noon, but not too much.  At that point we have the rest of the day to do as we please.  





We can hit the parks, ride some rides, do some shopping, get something to eat.  We should definitely go back to the lounge before 4PM when they put away the chocolate covered strawberries. Other than that we can do what we want. Hang out in our swanky room enjoying the Jacuzzi tub, or go to the parks or whatever.  We looked over the menus of various restaurants and the one that sounds like the best menu and most fun for dinner is Trader Sams. We can just snack on appetizers and have some fun drinks. Here are some photos from our last visit there.  Its been a while, so we are due to go back.

























Im sure well stumble back to our room after this and get a good nights sleep!

We check out of the hotel on Friday and we plan on taking whats left of this day to get on some rides. After a couple days of R&R we should be up for a few rides.  Definitely RSR, CA Screamin, I think the HM will be open in its regular glory, and POTC is a must.  Id like to try the other side of the Matterhorn.  We did the left side in September with PIO and Id like to try it on the right side see how different that is.

I think if we get on that many different rides, that will be sufficient for me. And then we will go home and collapse.


----------



## ACDSNY

Enjoy are VGC/DL escape next month, your plans sound great.


----------



## Paula Sedley-Burke

Great Feb getaway! I don't think it's crazy to have points 30 minutes from your house I think it's ideal! Lovely for a short break exactly what you are doing! Otherwise you never get around to doing it. Let's face it we all need that down time away from our environment where we can just truly relax.

Nightmare re constant demands of tenants. I bet it's never ending and you are always 'on duty'. 

I am excited by these PTR because never stayed at these villas so it's very interesting to me. The shower in the 1 br looks nice. Is that an accessible room? If not it's still got a nice accessible shower like at VGF. The shower there is good enough for me to not want an accessible room but I may miss the grab rails so we will see. 

I see you disinfect the jacuzzi what a good idea. Pam was talking of this also. One of my concerns after getting many infections is picking something up. Perhaps you would be so kind in your TR if you get time to let me know the best way of doing this. Not knowing American products which is the best to buy in Walmart etc. i have see n Clorox we use that in our studio. Would this work?

Yum re Steakhouse 55 can't wait for meat food porn!  

Shame they don't have F & W anymore! I don't know why it was quite basic but I just adored the Matterhorn!


----------



## jedijill

yay!  Can't wait to hear all about your DL trip.  I don't think its silly to have points at VGC either...tons of people in Colorado have timeshares or cabins in the mountains!

Jill in CO


----------



## Leshaface

I still haven't been able to get over to Steakhouse 55.  Looking forward to hearing what you think about the new chef and the menu!  

Yay for Trader Sams!

I'm shocked you like the Matterhorn.  Even after the refurb, it's still way to rickety for me!


----------



## Captain_Oblivious

Cool!  A getaway to DL sounds awesome.  Given my love for the Wilderness Lodge, it's not too much of a stretch to say I love the Grand Californian too!  Or at least, I'm sure I would if I got the chance to see it.


----------



## eandesmom

franandaj said:


> Nice to hear another good review of BoG!  I can't wait to go back to Sanaa, I loved it on our Jan/Feb trip!



Ask for Abby (Abigail), she was amazing!  Used to be at Artist's Point.  LOVED her!



franandaj said:


> I had linked our APs to our MDE account for the last trip, but they were having issues.  I was really happy when I signed into MDE a month or two ago and it offered me to make FP+ reservations.  I'm hoping that when the end of March comes along it won't be a problem!



If you log in and it shows your AP as active under the bands and cards section, you will be fine!



franandaj said:


> I would love to do some spa time, but that might have to spontaneous based on what is going on during SWW.  Yes we are flying FC, so they feed us and usually the food is actually pretty decent.  I am so used to eating food in my lap that I wouldn't even wait for the ability to use the tray table.  We have drive through food more often than I care to admit.



I swear it's almost easier in the car than it seems to be for me on an airplane.



franandaj said:


> I know!  It looks bigger than SSR!  I never thought of leaving the bags with Bell services!  Brilliant!  We will do that, and then call for them at the room because it is a real pain with two scooters to push all our carry ons.



Even without scooters it's a pain!  I used them for our groceries in Dec...granted I couldn't really carry 16 target bags plus a half case of beer by myself and even with Jeff helping it was like...Bell Services please! 




franandaj said:


> We interrupt your WDW PTR for a brief DLR PTR.
> 
> Im sure anyone who isnt reading this PTR (meaning my 3D friends) thinks that we are crazy for buying into a timeshare ½ an hour away from our house. But back in the day, they used to have a Food and Wine Festival and I really wanted to be able to stay in the magic for the festival.  However, expansions occurred and stuff happened and now we just have a whole lot of points at the DLR when we dont realistically stay there as often as we intended.




I was so excited in 2010 when our DCA trip included F&W.  Boy was I sorely disappointing to see what F&W at DCA looked like compared to WDW!  I'd sure love to have some of those GCV points right now...we are hoping to get 3 nights for marathon weekend right at the 7m mark.  I looked today at 9:06am EST and the first night of the booking window was gone which makes me quite nervous fur us.  We are still 13 days out but...it's going to be interesting!  Hopefully the fact that we are booking 3 nights separately may actually help our chances if we do have to waitlist but we will see.  Part of me wants to know if it's already booked up as it may well be and part of me doesn't!



franandaj said:


> Its too short a trip to give you live updates, but I will bring my computer along and keep up with the banter if I can.  After all we are on call and if something happens with the buildings, we need to have access to all the resources that we have at home to fix whatever emergency might come up.  For instance as I write this, a tenant called a couple days ago to say she has no hot water.  Turns out the thermocoupler on her water heater went bad and it can only be ordered from the manufacturer. They are sending one, but in the meantime she has no hot water until they send the new thermocoupler.  Luckily the unit next door is vacant so she can go over there to take a shower.  Its the little things.



Hot water is not a little thing!  thank goodness she has that as an option.



franandaj said:


> I think we might be able to arrange an upgrade to include access to the concierge lounge through a CM friend, so well hang out there eating finger sandwiches, fruit, uncrustables and chocolate covered strawberries until the room is ready.  Well unpack and get the room set for our two nights, which includes disinfecting the Jacuzzi tub.



I find it fascinating how many folks do that with the tubs.  I can honestly say I've never used them in the villas and can't recall if the kids have.  We have one at home I never use and it's a pain to clean so it's kind of like why deal with it on vacation if I hate cleaning the one I have?  LOL!  Pathetic huh.



franandaj said:


> Steakhouse 55 at the Disneyland Hotel has a new Chef and we are very interested in checking out the new menu, so we have a reservation for 6:30PM.



I don't see us going here in April but for Marathon weekend you never know so I will look forward to your review.




franandaj said:


> The next morning we are looking forward to a bit of sleeping in, but if we do get to use the lounge we need to be there before 10AM for breakfast. After that Fran plans on heading back to the room with her book to relax while I have a visit to the Mandara spa planned.  That will keep me busy until sometime after noon, but not too much.  At that point we have the rest of the day to do as we please.



Ah, Mandara!  I love the one in WDW, really hope to visit one again soon!  Again, likely not in April but maybe May, either in WDW or their Hawaii one depending on when the next work trip is.



franandaj said:


> We can hit the parks, ride some rides, do some shopping, get something to eat.  We should definitely go back to the lounge before 4PM when they put away the chocolate covered strawberries. Other than that we can do what we want. Hang out in our swanky room enjoying the Jacuzzi tub, or go to the parks or whatever.  We looked over the menus of various restaurants and the one that sounds like the best menu and most fun for dinner is Trader Sams. We can just snack on appetizers and have some fun drinks. Here are some photos from our last visit there.  Its been a while, so we are due to go back.
> 
> We check out of the hotel on Friday and we plan on taking whats left of this day to get on some rides. After a couple days of R&R we should be up for a few rides.  Definitely RSR, CA Screamin, I think the HM will be open in its regular glory, and POTC is a must.  Id like to try the other side of the Matterhorn.  We did the left side in September with PIO and Id like to try it on the right side see how different that is.



Trader Sam's looks great, I think we are going to try it around 7pm before it goes adult only.  Thinking an hour might be enough...?  I am so excited for the Matterhorn it's a bit silly!

Nice to be able to go straight home and recover from your vacation!


----------



## dolphingirl47

I love your plans for Disneyland. I can't wait to read your report about Steakhouse 55. We love this place and I am curious about the new menu. We also love Trader Sam's. We only ever have been for drinks, but are planning to check it out for appetizers on our next trip.

Corinna


----------



## rentayenta

Can't wait to hear all about dinner at Steakhouse 55.  I don't see any cocktails in the Trader Sam photos but the munchies look so good.


----------



## PrincessInOz

Have fun with the staycation.  Looking forward to the Steakhouse food porn.


----------



## franandaj

Oh my god!  I responded to all of you I even had pictures of the cocktails for Jenny and the DIS ate my update!  I'll have to get to back to everyone on the weekend as we have a big day tomorrow and no time, but hopefully over the weekend I can respond as I meant to tonight and show Jenny that we did have a cocktail in that picture!  It just wasn't like you think it would be!


----------



## rentayenta

franandaj said:


> Oh my god!  I responded to all of you I even had pictures of the cocktails for Jenny and the DIS ate my update!  I'll have to get to back to everyone on the weekend as we have a big day tomorrow and no time, but hopefully over the weekend I can respond as I meant to tonight and show Jenny that we did have a cocktail in that picture!  It just wasn't like you think it would be!




Was it the fun drink that makes the statues come alive? You sound so busy. No hurry, we're patient.  Sorry your update got eaten. That's super frustrating.


----------



## dgbg100106

I hate when the DIS eats my posts....

Have a great weekend. and enjoy!

Look forward to the pictures.


----------



## PrincessInOz

Dang!

The DIS ate a picture of cocktail drinks??




Personally, I would have sipped the cocktail drinks.  



Hope real life isn't too stressful.  We'll be here when you have time.


----------



## scottny

Getaways are always fun. it sounds great.


----------



## mvf-m11c

Very nice plans for your trip next month. I will look forward to your update at Steakhouse 55.


----------



## franandaj

ACDSNY said:


> Enjoy are VGC/DL escape next month, your plans sound great.



Thanks!  Its getting really close now!  I NEED that R&R!



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Great Feb getaway! I don't think it's crazy to have points 30 minutes from your house I think it's ideal! Lovely for a short break exactly what you are doing! Otherwise you never get around to doing it. Let's face it we all need that down time away from our environment where we can just truly relax.
> 
> Nightmare re constant demands of tenants. I bet it's never ending and you are always 'on duty'.
> 
> I am excited by these PTR because never stayed at these villas so it's very interesting to me. The shower in the 1 br looks nice. Is that an accessible room? If not it's still got a nice accessible shower like at VGF. The shower there is good enough for me to not want an accessible room but I may miss the grab rails so we will see.
> 
> I see you disinfect the jacuzzi what a good idea. Pam was talking of this also. One of my concerns after getting many infections is picking something up. Perhaps you would be so kind in your TR if you get time to let me know the best way of doing this. Not knowing American products which is the best to buy in Walmart etc. i have see n Clorox we use that in our studio. Would this work?
> 
> Yum re Steakhouse 55 can't wait for meat food porn!
> 
> Shame they don't have F & W anymore! I don't know why it was quite basic but I just adored the Matterhorn!



I really need to get away at this point, it will be a sheer pleasure!
Yes, I have another nightmare tenant being demanding.  Perhaps once we get our loan, he will get a 30 notice to move!  
I just use Clorox to disinfect the Jacuzzi.  Its easy and readily available.
I cant wait to EAT at the Steakhouse!



jedijill said:


> yay!  Can't wait to hear all about your DL trip.  I don't think its silly to have points at VGC either...tons of people in Colorado have timeshares or cabins in the mountains!
> 
> Jill in CO



Cool!  Im glad you guys understand my obsession!



Leshaface said:


> I still haven't been able to get over to Steakhouse 55.  Looking forward to hearing what you think about the new chef and the menu!
> 
> Yay for Trader Sams!
> 
> I'm shocked you like the Matterhorn.  Even after the refurb, it's still way to rickety for me!



I know well like the new chef, Ill just be excited to see what he does to the menu.  
Thats why I want to try the other side.  The one side was pretty jerky, I want to see if the other is as bad.



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Cool!  A getaway to DL sounds awesome.  Given my love for the Wilderness Lodge, it's not too much of a stretch to say I love the Grand Californian too!  Or at least, I'm sure I would if I got the chance to see it.



Other than the fact that it doesnt have the cool sedimentary rock chimney, they do have lots of similar wooden beams and cool architecture that does resemble the WL.  Ill be sure to post some pictures!  



eandesmom said:


> Ask for Abby (Abigail), she was amazing!  Used to be at Artist's Point.  LOVED her!
> 
> If you log in and it shows your AP as active under the bands and cards section, you will be fine!



Ill try to remember that.  Im not sure if it shows as active under the bands section, but it is linked to MDE on my account, same with Fran.



eandesmom said:


> I swear it's almost easier in the car than it seems to be for me on an airplane.
> 
> Even without scooters it's a pain!  I used them for our groceries in Dec...granted I couldn't really carry 16 target bags plus a half case of beer by myself and even with Jeff helping it was like...Bell Services please!  !



Hmmm,  Ill remember that, we seem to get enough miles to keep flying FC, but if that changes Ill have to see about taking on food, because I will not buy airline food, Ill make my own meals!



eandesmom said:


> I was so excited in 2010 when our DCA trip included F&W.  Boy was I sorely disappointing to see what F&W at DCA looked like compared to WDW!  I'd sure love to have some of those GCV points right now...we are hoping to get 3 nights for marathon weekend right at the 7m mark.  I looked today at 9:06am EST and the first night of the booking window was gone which makes me quite nervous fur us.  We are still 13 days out but...it's going to be interesting!  Hopefully the fact that we are booking 3 nights separately may actually help our chances if we do have to waitlist but we will see.  Pa!



The DCA Festival was very different, it was more locally based and the Signature events were what really made it.

I would walk the reservation if I were you.



eandesmom said:


> rt of me wants to know if it's already booked up as it may well be and part of me doesn't! !



I can look it up, but I have to have time to do it, I have been so busy, I have not had time to do anything.  Im lucky I can respond to my thread!



eandesmom said:


> Hot water is not a little thing!  thank goodness she has that as an option. !



She told me that she felt like she was camping!    I can see that



eandesmom said:


> I find it fascinating how many folks do that with the tubs.  I can honestly say I've never used them in the villas and can't recall if the kids have.  We have one at home I never use and it's a pain to clean so it's kind of like why deal with it on vacation if I hate cleaning the one I have?  LOL!  Pathetic huh. !



I love the Jacuzzi tub and use it almost every day, sometimes twice.  After I read a nasty thread I disinfect it just in case.



eandesmom said:


> I don't see us going here in April but for Marathon weekend you never know so I will look forward to your review.
> 
> Ah, Mandara!  I love the one in WDW, really hope to visit one again soon!  Again, likely not in April but maybe May, either in WDW or their Hawaii one depending on when the next work trip is. !



I loved Steakhouse 55 a couple years ago and this chef is even better.  Im sure well be going here a lot more soon!

I dont love the Mandara spa because of their prices, but when I can get a TravelZoo certificate, I love it!  They are way over priced, but with the half off thing, Im more than happy to go there!



eandesmom said:


> Trader Sam's looks great, I think we are going to try it around 7pm before it goes adult only.  Thinking an hour might be enough...?  I am so excited for the Matterhorn it's a bit silly!
> 
> Nice to be able to go straight home and recover from your vacation!



I didnt know that there was a time when kids were allowed, its really fun inside as certain drinks trigger interesting events in the bar.  Outside it is a nice place to relax.  Im not sure that an hour would be enough since it takes a while for your order to arrive.

It is nice that it only takes us half an hour to get home, but sometimes, its a curse.  Fran expects me to go home and do work instead of relaxing a bit more.



dolphingirl47 said:


> I love your plans for Disneyland. I can't wait to read your report about Steakhouse 55. We love this place and I am curious about the new menu. We also love Trader Sam's. We only ever have been for drinks, but are planning to check it out for appetizers on our next trip.
> 
> Corinna



Im sure you will enjoy the new chef at Steakhouse 55.  You enjoyed his Chateaubriand in the past as well as his Mac n Cheese,  



rentayenta said:


> Can't wait to hear all about dinner at Steakhouse 55.  I don't see any cocktails in the Trader Sam photos but the munchies look so good.



You just werent looking for the right kind of cocktail!





This is not THE cocktail that makes the room do funny things.  Its _one_ of the cocktails that makes the room do funny things.  If you were to zoom in on THIS picture, 





You would see this picture.  We have some pictures of more traditional looking drinks that also made the room do funny things, but I didn't want to give away everything we might do on the trip. Gotta save something!







PrincessInOz said:


> Have fun with the staycation.  Looking forward to the Steakhouse food porn.



Thanks!  It cant get here soon enough now!


----------



## franandaj

rentayenta said:


> Was it the fun drink that makes the statues come alive? You sound so busy. No hurry, we're patient.  Sorry your update got eaten. That's super frustrating.



There are many fun drinks that make the statues come alive, in fact parts of the whole room come alive.  I AM so busy!  We did the first "big move" into the house yesterday.  The sad part is all that we moved was collectibles and curio cabinets, and we filled a 16ft truck with that stuff and wait....there's more!   



dgbg100106 said:


> I hate when the DIS eats my posts....
> 
> Have a great weekend. and enjoy!
> 
> Look forward to the pictures.



It was a busy, busy, busy weekend, and the week is proving to be that way!



PrincessInOz said:


> Dang!
> 
> The DIS ate a picture of cocktail drinks??
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Personally, I would have sipped the cocktail drinks.
> 
> 
> 
> Hope real life isn't too stressful.  We'll be here when you have time.



I'm hoping that I will have some time soon, at least I one big time sucker to cross off my list!



scottny said:


> Getaways are always fun. it sounds great.



I really need this getaway!  Disney is always good!



mvf-m11c said:


> Very nice plans for your trip next month. I will look forward to your update at Steakhouse 55.



Thanks Bret!  Now I need to make it over to your TR and get caught up too!


----------



## dolphingirl47

franandaj said:


> Im sure you will enjoy the new chef at Steakhouse 55.  You enjoyed his Chateaubriand in the past as well as his Mac n Cheese,



I love the sound of this. I definitely have to make a reservation there for our November trip. The Macaroni Cheese was already the second best I have ever tasted and was the best until I tasted an even better one in May.

Corinna


----------



## franandaj

dolphingirl47 said:


> I love the sound of this. I definitely have to make a reservation there for our November trip. The Macaroni Cheese was already the second best I have ever tasted and was the best until I tasted an even better one in May.
> 
> Corinna



I believe this is the chef whose mac and cheese you had last May. He is only new to the steakhouse,  not the resort.


----------



## lisaviolet

franandaj said:


> But it has allowed us to do some crazy things like rent out the 3 bedroom Grand Villa the night before our concert band played in DCA, at no cost so to speak, and let 10 friends stay there with us.  It also lets us book a few nights here and there to just enjoy the parks without having to drive home and pretend we are tourists.



Oh man, that gives me such joy to read that, Alison.    Totally.  I don't understand why people don't get it. That, to me , is creating your own joy and your own happiness.     Fun!  

 And great points to have in terms of future value as well.


----------



## franandaj

lisaviolet said:


> Oh man, that gives me such joy to read that, Alison.    Totally.  I don't understand why people don't get it. That, to me , is creating your own joy and your own happiness.     Fun!
> 
> And great points to have in terms of future value as well.



I know, I'm so glad that we have points so close.  When they first came out I thought it was crazy, but now I can schedule things way in advance and we can know we have some fun close to home.  I love the VGC and just need to come up with more reasons to stay there because it's the best DVC resort as far as I'm concerned!


----------



## jedijill

franandaj said:


> I know, I'm so glad that we have points so close.  When they first came out I thought it was crazy, but now I can schedule things way in advance and we can know we have some fun close to home.  I love the VGC and just need to come up with more reasons to stay there because it's the best DVC resort as far as I'm concerned!



Here's a reason....You favorite friend from Denver would like to stay there and is out of points until August of 2015.  

Jill in CO


----------



## eandesmom

franandaj said:


> I would walk the reservation if I were you.
> 
> I can look it up, but I have to have time to do it, I have been so busy, I have not had time to do anything.  Im lucky I can respond to my thread!



Not enough points to walk, or I probably would.



franandaj said:


> I dont love the Mandara spa because of their prices, but when I can get a TravelZoo certificate, I love it!  They are way over priced, but with the half off thing, Im more than happy to go there!



spa's in general are way overpriced.  What is a TravelZoo certificate?



franandaj said:


> I didnt know that there was a time when kids were allowed, its really fun inside as certain drinks trigger interesting events in the bar.  Outside it is a nice place to relax.  Im not sure that an hour would be enough since it takes a while for your order to arrive.



Good to know, according to the website, before 8pm it is ok to have kids in there.  Maybe it's a better lunch spot in that event?


----------



## rentayenta

I thought that big drink was some sort of vase filled with flowers!  Yummy!


I cannot even imagine the stuff you have to move.  So worth it though to be in your beautiful new home eventually with all of your lovely collectibles displayed.


----------



## franandaj

jedijill said:


> Here's a reason....You favorite friend from Denver would like to stay there and is out of points until August of 2015.
> 
> Jill in CO



  I can work with that, but I'm not sure I can convince Fran!  



eandesmom said:


> Not enough points to walk, or I probably would.



Ahhhh...I understand.



eandesmom said:


> spa's in general are way overpriced.  What is a TravelZoo certificate?.



It's like a Groupon.  Every so often they come out with a deal, buy a certificate for $99 and redeem it for $200 worth of spa services.  Pretty good deal.  I jump on those and buy the maximum of two per person whenever I see them.



eandesmom said:


> Good to know, according to the website, before 8pm it is ok to have kids in there.  Maybe it's a better lunch spot in that event?



I've probably never been there before 8PM.


----------



## PrincessInOz

That tableware looks very interesting.


----------



## eandesmom

franandaj said:


> It's like a Groupon.  Every so often they come out with a deal, buy a certificate for $99 and redeem it for $200 worth of spa services.  Pretty good deal.  I jump on those and buy the maximum of two per person whenever I see them.
> 
> .



Well if you ever see one, PM me here or on FB


----------



## rentayenta

eandesmom said:


> Well if you ever see one, PM me here or on FB





I get the OC Groupn too. I'll keep an eye out for you.  Alison is right, it's $99 for $200 of spa services before tip.​


----------



## eandesmom

rentayenta said:


> I get the OC Groupn too. I'll keep an eye out for you.  Alison is right, it's $99 for $200 of spa services before tip.​



I am SO down with that.  Either for April, or August

or both....



Man our groupons are never for actual NICE spas like Mandara....although the FL one does give a decent DVC discount (which I may need to use in May!)


----------



## franandaj

rentayenta said:


> I thought that big drink was some sort of vase filled with flowers!  Yummy!
> 
> 
> I cannot even imagine the stuff you have to move.  So worth it though to be in your beautiful new home eventually with all of your lovely collectibles displayed.



  Like we would have a flower in the middle of the table!  

I don't even want to think about the stuff we have to move.  Monday was killer and that was barely the beginning!  



PrincessInOz said:


> That tableware looks very interesting.



The Uh-oah mug? 



eandesmom said:


> Well if you ever see one, PM me here or on FB



I will.  The one I bought over Thanksgiving wouldn't have worked for you.  It's only good through March 31, 2014.



rentayenta said:


> I get the OC Groupn too. I'll keep an eye out for you.  Alison is right, it's $99 for $200 of spa services before tip.​







eandesmom said:


> I am SO down with that.  Either for April, or August
> 
> or both....
> 
> 
> 
> Man our groupons are never for actual NICE spas like Mandara....although the FL one does give a decent DVC discount (which I may need to use in May!)



TravelZoo is different than Groupon, but same concept.  You might check out TravelZoo they seem to have a lot of upscale types of experiences, but the Anaheim Mandara is the only one that I've ever purchased.


----------



## PrincessInOz

franandaj said:


> The Uh-oah mug?




I wasn't quite sure what to call it.  It just seemed so much more than just a mug.  I'm not sure I could have drunk that!


----------



## franandaj

PrincessInOz said:


> I wasn't quite sure what to call it.  It just seemed so much more than just a mug.  I'm not sure I could have drunk that!



Yeah, it was much more than a mug, the four corners were lit on fire when it was served to us, I don't think I could catch that in the pictures as it went out pretty quickly.  It did say on the menu recommended for two or more.    We had at least one more drink...

Here's a better picture of the drink.









I'll save the others in case we have them on the next trip!


----------



## dgbg100106

franandaj said:


> I'll save the others in case we have them on the next trip!



That ring is beautiful!  Do you have a close up?


----------



## Leshaface

franandaj said:


>



LOVE this drink!   I'm pretty sure you were one of the influencers to get us to Trader Sams and for that I thank you!


----------



## PrincessInOz

That is one heck of a 'mug'.


----------



## Paula Sedley-Burke

Oh my goodness I love that mug! In the UK that is the average size of house in London lol.


----------



## franandaj

dgbg100106 said:


> That ring is beautiful!  Do you have a close up?



I do not.    In fact just now I went to look for it, and I have no idea where she even has that ring.  It's not with any of her others!  



Leshaface said:


> LOVE this drink!   I'm pretty sure you were one of the influencers to get us to Trader Sams and for that I thank you!



You're welcome!  I'm looking forward to having another one in less than two weeks!  



PrincessInOz said:


> That is one heck of a 'mug'.







Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Oh my goodness I love that mug! In the UK that is the average size of house in London lol.


----------



## franandaj

So back to Day 2 of our trip to WDW

*Day 2 Plans*

I suspect that by the time we get to the Magic Kingdom bus stop it will be well after noon.  We will head directly to the Resort Monorail so that we can travel over to the Grand Floridian on the off chance that our room will be ready.  Its highly doubtful, but stranger things have happened.  Whether the room is ready or not, Im sure our luggage will not have made the trek over from Coronado Springs and Im not sure for what time I will be scheduling my grocery delivery, so regardless, we will probably head over to the MK. 

We will definitely be hungry so some lunch will be in order, most likely from a QS.  We like Columbia Harbor House and have heard that they have added a lobster roll since the last time we ate there. Regardless of where we pick up a bite to eat, we will probably want to ride the Seven Dwarves Mine Train.  I hope that it is available through FP+ because I will definitely make one of those for this ride.  It will be so nice to see these walls come down.









We may also do FP+ for the Mickey meet and greet as well as the Haunted Mansion.

I would also like to play the Sorcerers of the MK game while we are there.   I hope that this isnt too many things to cram into one afternoon!  Im sure by this point we will have received the text that the room is ready and we will be more than ready to go back and take a rest.  Our dinner that night is at 7PM at 1900 Park Fare.  When I found out that they serve the strawberry soup at dinner, I couldnt resist dining there, especially since its at our resort!









I also hear that Cinderellas Step Sisters are a real hoot, plus Cinderella and Prince Charming should be fun too!

















After dinner, Im sure well be ready for bed, or at least a Jacuzzi tub! Besides we have a big day ahead of us!


----------



## PrincessInOz

Great MK plans.  I had hoped to do the Sorcerer's game when we were there but  it never happened.

Sounds like a great day with a few rides - especially if you get to enjoy the new 7 Dwarves ride - and dine with Strawberry Soup.


----------



## rentayenta

The lobster roll at the Harbour House is not great.  Lots of mayo/sauce and bits of veggies and not big chucks of lobster. The one at F&W is much better and even that one is just okay. Just my unsolicited opinion.


----------



## dolphingirl47

I love your plans. I can't wait to read what you are making of the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. Magician Mickey is really magical so that would be a must do for me and I love The Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom. Strawberry soup for dinner will be a very fitting end to the day.

Corinna


----------



## dgbg100106

franandaj said:


> I do not.    In fact just now I went to look for it, and I have no idea where she even has that ring.  It's not with any of her others!



Well what I can see it is lovely...

Hope you find it, I hate when I can't find things.


----------



## dgbg100106

rentayenta said:


> The lobster roll at the Harbour House is not great.  Lots of mayo/sauce and bits of veggies and not big chucks of lobster. The one at F&W is much better and even that one is just okay. Just my unsolicited opinion.



Wow, that is not saying much for Harbour House, b/c the one at F&W sucked...  Nothing like a New England Lobster Roll... 

I will take your advice on that one...   even though this is not my TR....


----------



## dgbg100106

Your plans for the day sound great, and can't wait to find out if you think the soup is the same as the ships...


----------



## rentayenta

dgbg100106 said:


> Wow, that is not saying much for Harbour House, b/c the one at F&W sucked...  Nothing like a New England Lobster Roll...
> 
> I will take your advice on that one...   even though this is not my TR....



It was like sloppy tuna salad but instead of tuna it was teeny shreds of lobster.  Nothing like a New England roll. The best roll I've ever had was at Sayles Seafood in Nantucket. 

http://www.saylesseafood.com/restaurant1.htm






Like OMG good. Ever so lightly freshly toasted roll with huge chickens of lobster.


----------



## dgbg100106

Huge Chickens of Lobster....  











It does look good.


----------



## Paula Sedley-Burke

Well if this was my groundhog day I would be very happy! Columbia house great! Excited to hear they added a lobster roll. Seven dwarfs mine train. Great. Hope so re FP+. Mickey meet. Greet. Score a nice photo or two. Jazuzzi and rest. Great. 1900 Park Fare and Strawberry soup. My word are you kidding me that sounds amazing. 

Oh yes def a groundhog day keeper! Roll on May!


----------



## franandaj

PrincessInOz said:


> Great MK plans.  I had hoped to do the Sorcerer's game when we were there but  it never happened.
> 
> Sounds like a great day with a few rides - especially if you get to enjoy the new 7 Dwarves ride - and dine with Strawberry Soup.



Seeing that we are staying at a MK resort, I really hope that we do get to play that game.  This will be my mission for this trip!



rentayenta said:


> The lobster roll at the Harbour House is not great.  Lots of mayo/sauce and bits of veggies and not big chucks of lobster. The one at F&W is much better and even that one is just okay. Just my unsolicited opinion.



 Hmmmmm, however, Fran likes mayo!     We'll have to see.



dolphingirl47 said:


> I love your plans. I can't wait to read what you are making of the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. Magician Mickey is really magical so that would be a must do for me and I love The Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom. Strawberry soup for dinner will be a very fitting end to the day.
> 
> Corinna



It sounds like an awesome ride, so I can't wait to try it and Strawberry Soup will be an awesome end to the day.



dgbg100106 said:


> Well what I can see it is lovely...
> 
> Hope you find it, I hate when I can't find things.





dgbg100106 said:


> Wow, that is not saying much for Harbour House, b/c the one at F&W sucked...  Nothing like a New England Lobster Roll...
> 
> I will take your advice on that one...   even though this is not my TR....



Well I thought that the one at F&W didn't have enough mayo!



dgbg100106 said:


> Your plans for the day sound great, and can't wait to find out if you think the soup is the same as the ships...



The soup on the ships is definitely different.  They have more herbs and stuff in the ships version, this one is more pure strawberry.



rentayenta said:


> It was like sloppy tuna salad but instead of tuna it was teeny shreds of lobster.  Nothing like a New England roll. The best roll I've ever had was at Sayles Seafood in Nantucket.
> 
> http://www.saylesseafood.com/restaurant1.htm
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Like OMG good. Ever so lightly freshly toasted roll with huge chickens of lobster.



I take it this is not the one from CHH?  



dgbg100106 said:


> Huge Chickens of Lobster....
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> It does look good.



Chickens of Lobster!    

Sound like autocorrect to me!  

I just found out (to my horror) that on someone's TR I typed photopass pictures and my phone changed it to pitiless pictures.    



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Well if this was my groundhog day I would be very happy! Columbia house great! Excited to hear they added a lobster roll. Seven dwarfs mine train. Great. Hope so re FP+. Mickey meet. Greet. Score a nice photo or two. Jazuzzi and rest. Great. 1900 Park Fare and Strawberry soup. My word are you kidding me that sounds amazing.
> 
> Oh yes def a groundhog day keeper! Roll on May!



  Looking forward to it!


----------



## Leshaface

Your plans for Day 2 look fab!  I didn't think the Mine Train would be up and running by then.  Awesome!


----------



## franandaj

Leshaface said:


> Your plans for Day 2 look fab!  I didn't think the Mine Train would be up and running by then.  Awesome!



From what I've read it says "Spring 2014" is the opening and I found this video on You Tube from Allears.net  Looks like they are running unmanned testing next would be the CM tests and then AP previews!  

Seven Dwarves Mine Train Video


----------



## PrincessInOz

The Lobster Roll at Columbia Harbour House; at least the one I was served when I was there in September.  

Mayo, lettuce and you can see the lobster in it.  It's not like New England lobster rolls, not like what Jenny posted, but I thought it was better than the one at F&W.  If Fran likes mayo, she may well like the one at CHH.

If anything, the portion was on the small side (which is saying something given that I do think that US portion sizes are generally large).


----------



## dgbg100106

franandaj said:


> Chickens of Lobster!
> 
> Sound like autocorrect to me!
> 
> I just found out (to my horror) that on someone's TR I typed photopass pictures and my phone changed it to pitiless pictures.



I thought it was auto correct also, but I thought it was really cute...  I am sure it was chunks but it just tickled me...

pitiless pictures,,,  Oh my.....


----------



## rentayenta

dgbg100106 said:


> Huge Chickens of Lobster....
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> It does look good.






CHUNKS damn autocorrect.   




Correct Allison, that was from Nantucket not CHH.


----------



## Captain_Oblivious

We're definitely going to need in-depth reporting on the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train.  I've been looking forward to that more than any of the other New Fantasyland additions.  Can't wait to see the results!

My kids really loved Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom.  I was happy to watch it once.


----------



## eandesmom

The stepsisters are an absolute riot, you will love it and the buffet isn't bad either.  I'm not generally big on buffets but it does have a few nice and different options which helps a ton!  But really the characters at that one, make the experience, one of our favorites ever.


----------



## franandaj

PrincessInOz said:


> The Lobster Roll at Columbia Harbour House; at least the one I was served when I was there in September.
> 
> Mayo, lettuce and you can see the lobster in it.  It's not like New England lobster rolls, not like what Jenny posted, but I thought it was better than the one at F&W.  If Fran likes mayo, she may well like the one at CHH.
> 
> If anything, the portion was on the small side (which is saying something given that I do think that US portion sizes are generally large).



Hmmmmm.....I showed this picture to Fran and she said, "That's a salad not a lobster roll."  I think the last really good one we had was at the Union Oyster House in Boston and that was over 10 years ago.  We have made our own at home, and she even bought a pan to make the traditional New England hot dog buns that you can grill on each side.  We just need to find the time to make our own bread and then make us some lobster rolls.   

In the meantime, we hear that the Gelson's that opened near Belmont shore has a Wolfgang Puck's Express with a pretty decent lobster roll.  Maybe we'll head over to Sonny Eclipse's instead and get ourselves a burger loaded down with toppings.  Or just go for the Fish and chips and a bowl of chowder at CHH.  I think we have some time to decide.



dgbg100106 said:


> I thought it was auto correct also, but I thought it was really cute...  I am sure it was chunks but it just tickled me...
> 
> pitiless pictures,,,  Oh my.....



I felt so bad when I saw it.    She had already responded and quoted, but I changed it none the less.  She's still posting over here, so hopefully no offense was taken!



rentayenta said:


> CHUNKS damn autocorrect.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Correct Allison, that was from Nantucket not CHH.



Gotta love that auto correct.  After the major system update my phone did a couple weeks ago, I have to be careful, it does new stupid things that I don't expect.    They need a "bad phone" smiley here!



Captain_Oblivious said:


> We're definitely going to need in-depth reporting on the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train.  I've been looking forward to that more than any of the other New Fantasyland additions.  Can't wait to see the results!
> 
> My kids really loved Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom.  I was happy to watch it once.



So far all I know is that half the ride is outside and half the ride is a dark ride.  I can't wait to try it.  It's supposed to be a bit more than Goofy's Barnstormer, but not quite Space Mountain.

Since I haven't seen Sorcerers of the MK, I'll be happy to see it once and then figure out if I want to see it again!



eandesmom said:


> The stepsisters are an absolute riot, you will love it and the buffet isn't bad either.  I'm not generally big on buffets but it does have a few nice and different options which helps a ton!  But really the characters at that one, make the experience, one of our favorites ever.



We tend to like buffets if I'm in the right mood.  The Strawberry Soup was the clincher, that's what we love about this buffet, but the fact that they had a couple carved meats, there is Mac and Cheese and salad and a few other dishes that sounds good, I'll be plenty full.  I enjoy a good character interaction and I'm sure the Stepsisters will be fun!


----------



## franandaj

*Day 3 of our trip means “Star Wars Weekends!”*

As of yet, no real information has been released other than this is an official Star Wars Weekend.  However, there is no information on the celebrities that will be there, the presentations that will take place or anything else.  Believe me!  I keep checking back at the Disney website at least once a week for some new information!  However, in doing research for this post, I found a thread on the DIS with a wealth of information started by yulilin3, a local mom and SWW vet.

At first I said that “I will not assume that we don’t need to be there at the crack of Dawn even if the presentations that we want to see start at 12:00, 1:00 or 2:00PM.  Hopefully the schedule will come out soon so we know what we want to do, but if it’s anything like any other Disney stuff that we totally geek out over, we will want to be there for the presentations.  Depending on how the seating is determined will also dictate how we get up and show up for the park this day.” After finding the thread on the DIS I know that we need to be there at 7AM if possible because even with a posted 8AM park opening, they start letting people go in at 7:30AM.

Our plan is to just have some yogurt or cereal for breakfast with a glass of V8.  That’s our vacation breakfast of champions and sometimes even the at home choice.  Since the bus is the only transportation method to DHS we’ll be there as early as possible for us.  

I’m not interested in autographs and that is good because I read online that there are separate queues that form OUTSIDE THE PARK BEFORE IT OPENS!!!!  The people queue up for FP type wrist bands which allow them to wait in the lines for the celebrity autographs, I think we’ll skip that part.

Our first stop will probably be here.  This is excerpted from a site where I found these pictures.

_“A Galaxy of merchandise will be on display and available for purchase at "Darth's Mall," designed just for Star Wars Weekends. There will be event-exclusive merchandise including limited edition pins as well as Vinylmations, posters, clothing, and other items that commemorate this special occasion.  You can even get a nametag with your name written in Aurebesh, a Star Wars alphabet.  My advice, get there early as they can sell out.”_





Here are some of the merchandise items that they had on offer last year.





If the schedule from last year is any indication of the 2014 schedule (and I am guessing that it is), we can form a rough plan based on this.

*2013 schedule:*

Autograph Sessions throughout the day
 Motorcade at 11:00am
 Celebrity Welcome (Main Stage) 11:15am
 Behind the Force (Premier Theatre) - 12:00p, 1:45pm
 Stars of the Saga Talk Show and Q&A Session (Premier Theater) - 3:30pm
 Obi-Wan and Beyond (Premier Theater) - 6:30pm
 Jedi Training Academy - 8:45am, 9:20am, 10:05am, 10:35am, 12:00pm, 12:30pm, 1:00pm, 1:30pm, 2:00pm, 2:30pm, 3:00pm, 3:30pm, 4:00pm, 4:30pm, 5:00pm, 5:30pm, 6:30pm, 7:00pm, 7:30pm
 Visit to the Maul starring Ray Park (Premier Theater) - 5:00 pm
 Padawan Mind Challenge (kids 12 and under) at 2:10pm and 4:30pm
 Hyperspace Hoopla (Main Stage) - 8:00pm 
 Star Wars Character Encounters- 8:00am - 7:30pm

After we finish shopping, we should head over to whatever you call Main Street in DHS to wait for the parade.  Evidently you need to get there at least an hour and a half prior to the parade to get a good seat, two hours ahead of time if you want to be in the shade. I’m not sure how we will get all the shopping in by 9:30 to line up for the parade, but maybe one of us will go scope out the spot while the other pays for and schelps the goods.  We can also have them shipped home.  

Back to the parade, Mickey seems to lead off the festivities followed by all sorts of Villians and other aliens, at least that seems to be the case from the 2010 pictures that I found online.

















































We really need a refresher course in the Star Wars world before we go!  I’m not remembering a lot of these cats!





And of course who could forget this dude?





So if the schedule holds true, I think we will follow yulilin3’s advice and hop off to find a QS restaurant to grab some lunch. I am leaning towards Fairfax Fare and their gourmet hot dogs.  They have one with Mac & Cheese and Truffle Oil and another with BBQ Pork and Coleslaw.  I have it on good authority from the DIS moms that both are good.  Then there is always our standard for DHS which is the Backlot Express, we usually gravitate toward either the hot dog, the grilled turkey sandwich or the burger.

Since we are supposed to be eligible for FP+ I think that I might see if I can squeeze in a few of them here.  RnRC, TSMM, and since people are saying you have to choose three of them, maybe either ToT or Star Tours.  I mean it is Star Wars Weekends.

There should be two relatively identical presentations around 12:00 and 1:45PM so we will try to make those. However, still no word on what they will be.  I have a feeling that we will be wiped out by this point and ready to head back to the room for a nap. Especially if I actually go on the FP+ rides!

Another thing that I forgot to mention is that it will be hotter than Hades when we are there!  We will definitely need a nap by the time we get back to the room and some good A/C!

Dinner is planned to take place in the room and I planned something nice and refreshing.  Chinese Chicken Salad a la Costco. It’s not terribly exciting, but it is tasty and easy.  Following dinner we have any number of choices, we could go back to the MK, we could go out on the beach to watch the electric light parade, I think there are movies on the lawn, or we could just get a movie from the Community Hall (or wherever you get them at the VGF). We’ll want to make it a low key evening, because we have another day of Star Wars Weekends!


----------



## Paula Sedley-Burke

Sounds great re SSW! I am also finding that SWW thread from the Mom helpful. I am really looking forward to the Hyperspace Hoopla that sounds like a blast! And of course the merchandise. I really hope as this is one of the last weekends there is some left! 

Your plans sound great. I loved it when we went one year and they had Storm Troopers on the roof at the entrance of HS! But it was so busy and we misjudged the parade wait times I see you have that in hand! 

I am not bothered by the autographs either. I can't wait to hear who is going to be there though. I hope for a big name like Carrie Fisher! Now that would be too cool. I prefer the original movies myself. 

Maybe we will bump scooters in the crowds!


----------



## dgbg100106

So we were at SWW once, 2011, and only for graduation, not really for SWW, but I can tell you that I was so miserable in the heat, please take lots of water and lots of naps, most people were really cranky by the afternoon.


----------



## PrincessInOz

SWW sounds like great fun.  Looks like nice plans!


----------



## dolphingirl47

I hope that the schedule is published soon. I have to admit that the photos from the parade look great, but I am not sure if I would have the patience to wait two hours for it. Friends of ours were at Hollywood Studios for one of the Star Wars Weekends last year and they said it was crazy busy and they did not bother with the autographs either.

Corinna


----------



## rentayenta

Could that Princess Leah Minnie be any cuter? Great plans.


----------



## Pinkocto

The characters dressed up in SW outfits are just too cute!!!


At VGF you get the movies at concierge right in the villas lobby. This is the first place that said we could keep the movies our whole stay, didn't have to bring them back or call for an extension.


----------



## scottny

MMM. I could drink that alone. LOL. Okay maybe not now but I could in the past. 
That strawberry soup is so good. I have the recipe and should try to make it one day. 
The plans look good. I have gone twice to SWW and have never seen the parade. LOL
Jealous here. I would love to go down for SWW again but it is not happening this year. 


----------



## franandaj

Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Sounds great re SSW! I am also finding that SWW thread from the Mom helpful. I am really looking forward to the Hyperspace Hoopla that sounds like a blast! And of course the merchandise. I really hope as this is one of the last weekends there is some left!
> 
> Your plans sound great. I loved it when we went one year and they had Storm Troopers on the roof at the entrance of HS! But it was so busy and we misjudged the parade wait times I see you have that in hand!
> 
> I am not bothered by the autographs either. I can't wait to hear who is going to be there though. I hope for a big name like Carrie Fisher! Now that would be too cool. I prefer the original movies myself.
> 
> Maybe we will bump scooters in the crowds!



Perhaps we will bump scooters!  Shopping will take precedence over lining up for the parade (for Fran) so unless I go scope us some spots we won't have them.  I know that her shopping takes a couple hours because they have to show her each of the figures she is buying and checking out takes a long long time.

I've heard about the storm troopers on the roof, but I'm not sure if they have them any longer. Perhaps we will run into each other as we each try to take care of our SWW goals!



dgbg100106 said:


> So we were at SWW once, 2011, and only for graduation, not really for SWW, but I can tell you that I was so miserable in the heat, please take lots of water and lots of naps, most people were really cranky by the afternoon.



We always have lots of water and if we run out we buy some.  We know when we have reached our limits and never try to go a whole day in the park.  If we get there early we know to go back in early afternoon.  If we want later afternoon, we don't get there at rope drop!



PrincessInOz said:


> SWW sounds like great fun.  Looks like nice plans!



Thanks!  



dolphingirl47 said:


> I hope that the schedule is published soon. I have to admit that the photos from the parade look great, but I am not sure if I would have the patience to wait two hours for it. Friends of ours were at Hollywood Studios for one of the Star Wars Weekends last year and they said it was crazy busy and they did not bother with the autographs either.
> 
> Corinna



I don't mind waiting an hour or two for the parade, between the two of us we can talk, check out local shops or just play games or DIS on the phone in line.  I just don't want to wait for hours on end with no relief in sight.  I know that Disney waits range in the 1-2 hours range if it's something unique and worth doing.  I figure Friday is a better day to wait for the parade than Sat or Sun.



rentayenta said:


> Could that Princess Leah Minnie be any cuter? Great plans.



I know all these characters are so cute!  I would also like to get pictures with them if I don't have to wait too long!



Pinkocto said:


> The characters dressed up in SW outfits are just too cute!!!
> 
> 
> At VGF you get the movies at concierge right in the villas lobby. This is the first place that said we could keep the movies our whole stay, didn't have to bring them back or call for an extension.



We'll see how we do.  We never end up having time to watch the movies as much as we say we want to.  I wish it was like the Cruise line, that they were just on all the time and you could tune in while in the room.



scottny said:


> MMM. I could drink that alone. LOL. Okay maybe not now but I could in the past.
> That strawberry soup is so good. I have the recipe and should try to make it one day.
> The plans look good. I have gone twice to SWW and have never seen the parade. LOL
> Jealous here. I would love to go down for SWW again but it is not happening this year. 



I have the recipe for the strawberry soup too, but I also have a healthier one which I have made and is very tasty.
I'll take plenty of pictures of the parade!

I just need to catch up on the newer episodes.  I fell asleep every time we tried to watch them.  Now we need to watch them before we go an all our movies are packed up in boxes for moving.    I'm hoping we might watch one or two episodes while we are the VGC now that they are predicting rain.  Heck I wouldn't complain about just kicking it in bed or on the couch watching movies there!  We can hit the parks anytime, when can we sit back and relax watching a movie!!!!


----------



## franandaj

*Day 4 of our trip means more Star Wars Weekends!*

Since we barely accomplished half of what we wanted to do on the previous day, we will back for more on Saturday.  This time I dont think well try to get there at rope drop because the things we will want to do are later in the day and we want to have the stamina left to do them.  Ill also schedule the same FP+ options as the day before in case I dont get on them.  If I do get on them, I hear that it is fairly easy to change them and Ill have a computer and a smartphone to do so.  If we see the parade and the 12:00 or 1:45 presentation the day before, Ill be wanting to see the 3:30 and 6:00 presentations on this day.  Ill also be keen on getting a few character photos as well.

This is the advice given by yulilin3 on character meets:_
I always do Jedi Mickey, Leia Minnie, Stormtrooper Donald, Darth Goofy first, why/ because their line is completely in the sun and it gets hot, fast. So get one or hopefully 2 of the mentioned characters, then go to...Chewbacca's line, very, very popular, but in the shade. By this point you should expect to wait around 45 minutes for the loveable Wookie.  Then you can do Chip and Dale as Ewoks, they are right across from Chewie, maybe go to the Clone Wars characters by Mama Melrose, The Jedi Council by the San Francisco Mural.  Darth Vader is another long line but it's under roof and he meets during the parade, so you can meet him then. Expect 1 hour wait.
Then you can do Darth Maul, The Fetts, and the roaming characters around Backlot Tour._

I dont think I will be that exuberant to get character photos, but I will want a couple.  Heres some character photos that I found online.









Heres a picture of the Marquis for the Theater where most of the presentations take place.





Well probably squeeze lunch in there somewhere.  I know that I wont be having the mac and cheese topped hot dog for lunch because Im weird and cant have the same food twice in one day!  But Im sure we wont go hungry.   

By the time we get out of the 6:30 presentation, it will be getting close to 8PM.  There is something called the Hyperspace Hoopla that goes on at 8PM, but someone posted a link of the 2013 show and it didnt seem like something I would really be into sticking around for.  I think it would be nice to head back to the room for a glass of wine and dinner.  In my first post of the Plan, I said that I was planning on Club sandwiches for dinner, however, a couple weeks ago, I rethought out that plan and decided Id much rather have Cresent dogs.  How could you not want these beauties?





I think by this time, we will be all Star Warsd out and will be ready for a change of pace on Sunday.


----------



## dolphingirl47

The characters look precious in their Star Wars costumes. Donald in particular looks like a keeper.

The Cresent dogs look delicious. What do the consist of?

Corinna


----------



## franandaj

dolphingirl47 said:


> The characters look precious in their Star Wars costumes. Donald in particular looks like a keeper.
> 
> The Cresent dogs look delicious. What do the consist of?
> 
> Corinna



Pilsbury's recipe is that you take their crescent rolls that come in a tube and wrap them around the hot dogs and bake for 15-20 minutes. We take it a step further and slice the hot dogs down the center and putting part of a slice of cheese and a pickle inside before wrapping them with the crescent roll. It's an easy and yummy meal. Sometimes I even say that the pickle meets my veggie requirements!


----------



## dolphingirl47

franandaj said:


> Pilsbury's recipe is that you take their crescent rolls that come in a tube and wrap them around the hot dogs and bake for 15-20 minutes. We take it a step further and slice the hot dogs down the center and putting part of a slice of cheese and a pickle inside before wrapping them with the crescent roll. It's an easy and yummy meal. Sometimes I even say that the pickle meets my veggie requirements!



Thanks, I have to try if I can find something like the crescent rolls in the UK. We would both love this.

Corinna


----------



## Pinkocto

Those crescent rolls look mighty tasty! 

Funny thing is that last year we stumbled upon a SWW and didn't pay any attention. It was so hot starting off at 9:00 we headed out not much later. Now I'm totally regretting not stopping in the shop or finding any of the characters.


----------



## PrincessInOz

I hope you don't get star wars out during this weekend.  I'm a star wars geek and I want to enjoy the vicarious living as much as possible.

interesting dogs.


----------



## Paula Sedley-Burke

So looking forward to those cute characters! I am glad Corinna enquired about the crescent delights because I had never seen or heard of them. I love the sound of them! I prefer your enhancements  yum. I just adore hot dogs but in the UK we aren't big into them which is a shame. The other day on Man Vs Food a show I enjoy he had a hot dog with like a whole bowl full of chilli put on top. Looked amazing  
I read about how amazing this hoopla thing was saw it online and wasn't over impressed either. Will save my energy for something else.

I wonder what delights Fran will score in stores! I hope you post ! I am hoping to get a few pieces myself ...I have my pocket money saved!


----------



## franandaj

dolphingirl47 said:


> Thanks, I have to try if I can find something like the crescent rolls in the UK. We would both love this.
> 
> Corinna



If nothing else you can use puff pastry or if you have some other kind of dough that would be fine. I hope you can work it out. Keep me posted.



Pinkocto said:


> Those crescent rolls look mighty tasty!
> 
> Funny thing is that last year we stumbled upon a SWW and didn't pay any attention. It was so hot starting off at 9:00 we headed out not much later. Now I'm totally regretting not stopping in the shop or finding any of the characters.



The pack had eight so we did make four according to the package, but you and your mom could have these with veggie dogs. They're really good albeit not that healthy.



PrincessInOz said:


> I hope you don't get star wars out during this weekend.  I'm a star wars geek and I want to enjoy the vicarious living as much as possible.
> 
> interesting dogs.



I think we'll get the most of the experience before we max out, but the heat will definitely be a problem. Those doing cosplay must really suffer.



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> So looking forward to those cute characters! I am glad Corinna enquired about the crescent delights because I had never seen or heard of them. I love the sound of them! I prefer your enhancements  yum. I just adore hot dogs but in the UK we aren't big into them which is a shame. The other day on Man Vs Food a show I enjoy he had a hot dog with like a whole bowl full of chilli put on top. Looked amazing
> I read about how amazing this hoopla thing was saw it online and wasn't over impressed either. Will save my energy for something else.
> 
> I wonder what delights Fran will score in stores! I hope you post ! I am hoping to get a few pieces myself ...I have my pocket money saved!



You probably don't know about this American commercial, but it was in the 70's, the jingle went, "Baseball, hot dogs, apple pie and Chevrolet..." Hot dogs are quintessentially American. We have them everywhere. Unfortunately I do like them. Sometimes we watch Man vs Food but not often, its fairly bulgur. 

Fran will find the best of the best in the stores!


----------



## franandaj

Well we made it safe and sound. We arrived just before 3PM and the room was not ready, but I got the text about two minutes to 4PM that the room was ready.

Both of us were exhausted, we didn't get to sleep until about 2AM. After band we had to pick up the rent checks, scan them and write up the deposit. I had to write a letter to let the tenants know Fran will be coming by today with an appraiser who needs to enter all the units. I also had to write up a sheet with new kitty feeding instructions since we have all the new faces since our last trip.

We were up at 6AM to meet the guy surveying the new house and making detailed measurements in order to draw a floorplan. We also had to buy some plants, light fixtures, and a sprinkler timer and drop them off. After a visit to the bank, the tailor and dropping all our items from HD off at the new house, we went back home to pack Fran's items and load the car.

Needless to say, we were quite punchy by the time we got tot the room. Fran went out right away, but I was so tired that I couldn't sleep. Instead I decided to use the Jacuzzi tub. Remember how I mentioned that I bring along some bleach and run it through the jets in the tub? Best $.97 I ever spent! When I started the water running I noticed something odd about how the water pooled in the tub. Upon closer inspection I noticed an odd sort of yellow tinge to the tub.

The water was "beading" as it touched the sides of the tub. I also noticed "trails" coming down from the jets of a sort of dirty nature. From my best guess someone must have used bath oil and the maids either didn't clean the tub or if they did, it must have been REALLY awful! I used a washcloth to scrub the sides of the tub, thankful that I had a large bottle of bleach handy. This was NOT how I wanted to be starting off my midweek relaxing weekend. 

However, once the task was complete the tub was nice and clean and I was convinced all the cooties were removed. I really enjoy my jacuzzi tub at DVC resorts. We're about to get some breakfast and then I'll head to the spa for my massage. By this afternoon I should be feeling much better!


----------



## Paula Sedley-Burke

franandaj said:


> Well we made it safe and sound. We arrived just before 3PM and the room was not ready, but I got the text about two minutes to 4PM that the room was ready.  Both of us were exhausted, we didn't get to sleep until about 2AM. After band we had to pick up the rent checks, scan them and write up the deposit. I had to write a letter to let the tenants know Fran will be coming by today with an appraiser who needs to enter all the units. I also had to write up a sheet with new kitty feeding instructions since we have all the new faces since our last trip.  We were up at 6AM to meet the guy surveying the new house and making detailed measurements in order to draw a floorplan. We also had to buy some plants, light fixtures, and a sprinkler timer and drop them off. After a visit to the bank, the tailor and dropping all our items from HD off at the new house, we went back home to pack Fran's items and load the car.  Needless to say, we were quite punchy by the time we got tot the room. Fran went out right away, but I was so tired that I couldn't sleep. Instead I decided to use the Jacuzzi tub. Remember how I mentioned that I bring along some bleach and run it through the jets in the tub? Best $.97 I ever spent! When I started the water running I noticed something odd about how the water pooled in the tub. Upon closer inspection I noticed an odd sort of yellow tinge to the tub.  The water was "beading" as it touched the sides of the tub. I also noticed "trails" coming down from the jets of a sort of dirty nature. From my best guess someone must have used bath oil and the maids either didn't clean the tub or if they did, it must have been REALLY awful! I used a washcloth to scrub the sides of the tub, thankful that I had a large bottle of bleach handy. This was NOT how I wanted to be starting off my midweek relaxing weekend.   However, once the task was complete the tub was nice and clean and I was convinced all the cooties were removed. I really enjoy my jacuzzi tub at DVC resorts. We're about to get some breakfast and then I'll head to the spa for my massage. By this afternoon I should be feeling much better!



Oh my that's only 4 hours sleep if that! You both must be so tired. Plus trying to do all those tasks! Thank goodness you brought your clorox you saved yourself some germs and lord knows what else. I bet when you were done and finally got in the tub it was like heaven! I hope you enjoyed your breakfast and well deserved massage.


----------



## dgbg100106

I am glad to hear that you finally got to soak and then today you are off to a massage.  I know you will enjoy every minute of it...


----------



## Leshaface

You don't even KNOW how PO'd I was at myself for being at SWW in 2008 and not even knowing it  This was before I was a DIS'er and it was our first trip to WDW.  I'm a HUGE SW fan and seeing the parade, merchandise, etc gets me so irritated.  I'm very happy that you're seeing it!  Wish I would have been a more precise planner back then.  So PLEASE, go into full detail with this TR....Whoops!  Forgot who I was talking to for a sec  

Those crescent dogs


----------



## dolphingirl47

Goodness, this sounds like a very busy day and night. I am sure that the soak will have felt heavenly after this. I hope you get some time just to relax and recharge the batteries.

Corinna


----------



## Pinkocto

That sounds heavenly! You certainly deserve the break. Enjoy it to the max


----------



## PrincessInOz

Glad you're there safely.....and clean.


----------



## Paula Sedley-Burke

Looks like they are adding a second Fantastic showing on Memorial weekend when we are there at 10:30pm in addition to 9pm if you are interested


----------



## spiritsim

franandaj said:


> I did receive something in the mail that was so wasteful, I cant believe this whole My Magic Plus concept.  Many of you know that they ship the bands in an incredibly costly packaging via UPS Next Day Air.  At least this package came via First Class Bulk Mail but still, take a look!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> The flash drive takes you to an online presentation featuring Edna E Mode and how the Magic Bands work and how you can use My Magic Plus to enhance your park experience.  It was cheesy but cute.  I just cant imagine how much this whole package cost to produce!  And. I. Just. Got. Another. Identical. Package. On. New. Years. Eve. They must really have a lot invested in all the parkgoers wearing their little GPS trackers!
> 
> I think thats it for my rant about the bands and the waste that Disney is going through just to have us schedule ourselves into their little world and keep better track of us.  I will be curious as to how this works out in the long run and just how invasive the technology becomes. Be back with Day to day plans.



I for one would kill for that flash drive but Disney didn't send us one just a magnet......I thought with it being our first trip and all they would go all out but we got skipped....... So you are in the luckey group....


----------



## spiritsim

franandaj said:


> I did receive something in the mail that was so wasteful, I cant believe this whole My Magic Plus concept.  Many of you know that they ship the bands in an incredibly costly packaging via UPS Next Day Air.  At least this package came via First Class Bulk Mail but still, take a look!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> The flash drive takes you to an online presentation featuring Edna E Mode and how the Magic Bands work and how you can use My Magic Plus to enhance your park experience.  It was cheesy but cute.  I just cant imagine how much this whole package cost to produce!  And. I. Just. Got. Another. Identical. Package. On. New. Years. Eve. They must really have a lot invested in all the parkgoers wearing their little GPS trackers!
> 
> I think thats it for my rant about the bands and the waste that Disney is going through just to have us schedule ourselves into their little world and keep better track of us.  I will be curious as to how this works out in the long run and just how invasive the technology becomes. Be back with Day to day plans.



I for one would kill for that flash drive but Disney didn't send us one just a magnet......I thought with it being our first trip and all they would go all out but we got skipped....... So you are in the lucky group....


----------



## franandaj

Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Oh my that's only 4 hours sleep if that! You both must be so tired. Plus trying to do all those tasks! Thank goodness you brought your clorox you saved yourself some germs and lord knows what else. I bet when you were done and finally got in the tub it was like heaven! I hope you enjoyed your breakfast and well deserved massage.



It was heavenly, but all gone now!    I've been back at it again.



dgbg100106 said:


> I am glad to hear that you finally got to soak and then today you are off to a massage.  I know you will enjoy every minute of it...



I did!  



Leshaface said:


> You don't even KNOW how PO'd I was at myself for being at SWW in 2008 and not even knowing it  This was before I was a DIS'er and it was our first trip to WDW.  I'm a HUGE SW fan and seeing the parade, merchandise, etc gets me so irritated.  I'm very happy that you're seeing it!  Wish I would have been a more precise planner back then.  So PLEASE, go into full detail with this TR....*Whoops!  Forgot who I was talking to for a sec*
> 
> Those crescent dogs



    at the bold!  Don't worry, I'll probably have more details than anyone wants!



dolphingirl47 said:


> Goodness, this sounds like a very busy day and night. I am sure that the soak will have felt heavenly after this. I hope you get some time just to relax and recharge the batteries.
> 
> Corinna



That's why I need these little recharge times.  Most of our days are jam packed like this.  Even though I don't have a job "job", Fran keeps me busy!



Pinkocto said:


> That sounds heavenly! You certainly deserve the break. Enjoy it to the max



I did!



PrincessInOz said:


> Glad you're there safely.....and clean.



I certainly kept clean for those few days!



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Looks like they are adding a second Fantastic showing on Memorial weekend when we are there at 10:30pm in addition to 9pm if you are interested



I saw it on the last trip, so I'm good for a few years, but thanks for letting me know!



spiritsim said:


> I for one would kill for that flash drive but Disney didn't send us one just a magnet......I thought with it being our first trip and all they would go all out but we got skipped....... So you are in the luckey group....



 

I'll tell you what.  PM me your snail mail address, and I'll send the package to you.  Lord knows I don't need two of them!


----------



## franandaj

So we had our couple days at DL and came back Friday night.  Exhausted.

Thats how we arrived and how we came home.  Im sorry but there wont be a lot of exciting photos from the trip.  Of the 43 hours that we had the hotel room, we were in there for about 33 hours, and for 25 of those hours, one or more of us was asleep! Suffice to say we definitely got our share of relaxation this time.  Most of my photos will be food porn with the exception of the last day where we went in the parks.

Well you know how things started out with the dirty tub and arriving before our room was ready.  Luckily we were able to swing the upgrade to Club level, so we went up to the lounge to enjoy a few snacks while we waited for the room.  Frans plate.





Mine.





Here is a look at the Craftsman Club room. 





We stayed there for a little while, but Fran was really tired and wanted to lay down.  The chairs in the lobby are very comfortable so we went downstairs to wait for our text.  It was about two minutes to 4PM when we got the your room is ready text and so we high-tailed it over to the villas to get settled in.

Our room was 2507. Any room with an odd number has a pool view, which was a first for me.  Not bad, and especially since we wouldnt be in the room for any of the WoC shows, it was just fine.









We did have this view of the forest below.





I just love this picture on the wall in the living room.





So you know that I definitely spent time in the tub this trip.  Fran laid down for a nap and I tried, but it just wasnt happening for me, so instead I had my tub experience.  Finally after scrubbing and cleaning, I got to soak in it.





There are so many little details that I adore about the Villas at the Grand Californian and this is one of them.  I love looking at this wallpaper when Im relaxing in the tub.





Originally our reservation for dinner was at 6:30, but with how exhausted we were on our way to the hotel, we called and pushed it back about an hour.  Smart move.  We had set a wake up call for 6:15 and sort of snoozed it until quarter to seven, when we started to get dressed.  We headed over to the Disneyland Hotel once we were ready and were seated in a nearly empty restaurant.













We were immediately served bread and butter.





After perusing the menu, we decided to split the Rib Eye (big surprise there) and get some soups and salad along with asparagus in Hollandaise sauce.  This would ensure that we would have room enough for dessert! But first, my Belvedere Gibson, up!





I love the way that they serve the soups here.  Both of our soup bowls came with only a few morsels inside the bowl and the actual soup is poured tableside.  I didnt get any good action shots of mine, but here is Frans Lobster Bisque.









And my Seven Onion soup.





Our server was kind enough to take a picture of us.





And we shared a salad. They were kind enough to split it into two plates in the kitchen.





Our steak arrived and it was cooked to perfection!  Nothing extra required, it was delicious as is.





As was the asparagus.





As predicted, there was room left for dessert.  I had the Crème Brulee





I have no idea what this was that Fran had, but it was something merengue.  OK, after checking Allears, this is what I found.  "Root Beer" Baked Alaska - Root Beer Ice Cream, Root Beer Float Shooter Pound Cake.





After this we rolled ourselves back to the room.  I considered taking another bath, but realized that I was so tired that I would run the risk of falling asleep in the tub, so I just went to bed.  Those beds at the VGC are so heavenly and comfortable.


----------



## franandaj

We just booked a 4 night cruise on the Dream!!!!!​

We are planning for a week at WDW and then 4 nights on the Dream in April of 2015.  Even though we can't book the WDW portion, the cruise prices aren't getting any cheaper, so we went ahead and booked the cruise!

it's the standard itinerary, Nassau, CC and a day at Sea.  I've already decided, Dinner at Remy, Brunch at Palo!            

After this cruise we will have reached Gold status!


----------



## Pinkocto

franandaj said:


> We just booked a 4 night cruise on the Dream!!!!!​
> 
> We are planning for a week at WDW and then 4 nights on the Dream in April of 2015.  Even though we can't book the WDW portion, the cruise prices aren't getting any cheaper, so we went ahead and booked the cruise!
> 
> it's the standard itinerary, Nassau, CC and a day at Sea.  I've already decided, Dinner at Remy, Brunch at Palo!
> 
> After this cruise we will have reached Gold status!




Very exciting! Congratulations!!! 


Your room view looks very familiar to mine in September, I think it might be next door to where I was.


----------



## franandaj

Pinkocto said:


> Very exciting! Congratulations!!!
> 
> 
> Your room view looks very familiar to mine in September, I think it might be next door to where I was.



I thought about your room and remembered you had one of the pool view rooms.  It wasn't bad, especially since the main times we were out of the room was when WoC was playing.


----------



## Leshaface

Ooh, your meal looked delicious!  And what a cool presentation for the soups.  So you would recommend??

Definitely looking forward to a good nights sleep in those VGC beds

YAY FOR ANOTHER CRUISE!   I can't believe you'll already be Gold status!  It's hard to stop isn't it?  Once you go on one, you just find yourself rebooking before you get off


----------



## PrincessInOz

YAY!  Congrats.  So happy you booked a cruise...and here's to Gold!  Gold!  Gold!


----------



## PrincessInOz

Love the update so far from your staycation.  That food looks great.  And I'm glad you and Fran got some rest.


----------



## Fairy Floss

You probably don't know about this American commercial, but it was in the 70's, the jingle went, "Baseball, hot dogs, apple pie and Chevrolet..." 

In Australia, the commercial was "football, meat pies, kangaroos and Holden cars..."


----------



## dolphingirl47

The club lounge looks amazing. I am glad that you could swing the upgrade. Dinner at Steakhouse 55 looks delicious. I am so happy for you that you got another cruise booked.

Corinna


----------



## dgbg100106

The club lounge, soaking in a tub, and amazing dinner with dessert and Germ killer, and heavenly bedding...  

Sounds like a wonderful first day/night!



Congrats on the cruise!


----------



## jedijill

The club looks awesome.

Yay for booking the cruise!  You will LOVE Remy!  I did the Remy, Palo, Remy, Palo dining rotation last fall. 

Jill in CO


----------



## franandaj

Leshaface said:


> Ooh, your meal looked delicious!  And what a cool presentation for the soups.  So you would recommend??
> 
> Definitely looking forward to a good nights sleep in those VGC beds
> 
> YAY FOR ANOTHER CRUISE!   I can't believe you'll already be Gold status!  It's hard to stop isn't it?  Once you go on one, you just find yourself rebooking before you get off



I would totally recommend the place!

We're already planning to book another one when we are onboard the Wonder next Fall, a 2016 Alaskan cruise...  



PrincessInOz said:


> YAY!  Congrats.  So happy you booked a cruise...and here's to Gold!  Gold!  Gold!



I know, we haven't even booked the WDW part yet!  



PrincessInOz said:


> Love the update so far from your staycation.  That food looks great.  And I'm glad you and Fran got some rest.



Wait until I post tomorrow, even more rest!  



Fairy Floss said:


> You probably don't know about this American commercial, but it was in the 70's, the jingle went, "Baseball, hot dogs, apple pie and Chevrolet..."
> 
> In Australia, the commercial was "football, meat pies, kangaroos and Holden cars..."



   What's a Holden Car?  



dolphingirl47 said:


> The club lounge looks amazing. I am glad that you could swing the upgrade. Dinner at Steakhouse 55 looks delicious. I am so happy for you that you got another cruise booked.
> 
> Corinna



It's so nice when we get that upgrade, no worries about breakfast, and as you will see in the next update, spectacular coffee!



dgbg100106 said:


> The club lounge, soaking in a tub, and amazing dinner with dessert and Germ killer, and heavenly bedding...
> 
> Sounds like a wonderful first day/night!
> 
> 
> 
> Congrats on the cruise!



It was a very nice couple of days....

Your cruise is almost here!  



jedijill said:


> The club looks awesome.
> 
> Yay for booking the cruise!  You will LOVE Remy!  I did the Remy, Palo, Remy, Palo dining rotation last fall.
> 
> Jill in CO



The good thing is that we won't be doing much fine dining on the WDW portion.  They guys we are going with have a little more simpler palates and smaller wallets, so the cruise will be all about Remy and Palo.  Not sure how much fine dining I can stand in four nights.


----------



## Fairy Floss

What's a Holden Car? 

Holden is Australia's arm of  General Motors 
Thought the ad was all ours - didn't realise till your post that  it was a rip-off of an American one


----------



## franandaj

Fairy Floss said:


> What's a Holden Car?
> 
> Holden is Australia's arm of  General Motors
> Thought the ad was all ours - didn't realise till your post that  it was a rip-off of an American one



That is too funny!  I can't believe (well I can) that they "recycled" the ad for use in Australia!


----------



## franandaj

I slept great Wednesday night and was up fairly early the next morning, so I took another go around at that Jacuzzi tub.  It was nice to just lay around in bed afterwards reading the DIS on the tablet and chillin out watching the news on the TV.  I started to wake Fran up around 8AM.  Breakfast service stopped at 10AM and she had mentioned something about getting on the road by 9:30AM.

You see I had a massage scheduled at 11:00AM and two days before we got a call from the appraiser (for the loan we are trying to get on one of our apartment buildings) that he wanted to see the place at 11:30AM on Thursday.  Fran stepped up and offered to meet him there while I kept my massage appointment.

We were dressed and in the lounge by 9:00AM.  I love this coffee machine.





These are some of the other offerings.





















This was Frans breakfast.





Here was mine.  I also had a bowl of Frosted Flakes after I finished this spread.






Satiated and full, we parted company for our various activities.  I just love the floors of the elevators in the Grand Californian.  Its a work of art in itself.





These beautiful ferns grow throughout the gardens.





This fireplace is impressive.





The lobby is commanding.





I loved the little touches in the lobby.





This view of the pool even on a gloomy day was beautiful.





These decorative touches just make the Disney difference.





After taking a few pictures around the resort, I headed into the spa and got ready for my massage.  I used the steam room for a few minutes and then went into the waiting area to meet my technician.  She greeted me shortly after sitting down and soon I was off to the treatment room for a 50 minute Swedish Massage and a 20 minute Reflexology.  It was pure heaven!

I showered and changed and felt really refreshed and tired all at the same time.  Chocolate covered strawberries are one of the only cures for feeling like this so thats where I headed, also I figured that it was time that I try a scone with raspberry jam.  And some goldfish didnt hurt either.





I went back to the room and waited for Fran to get back from her business.  We had talked about going to lunch at Flos V8 café, but by the time Fran actually got back to the hotel (around 2:30ish) I was far less adventurous.  We went down to Whitewater snacks and got a cheeseburger and fries that we split.  Sorry no picture, but hey, it was just a cheeseburger.  

I got one of these.






*[Continued in Next Post]*


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## franandaj

*[Continued from Previous Post]*

We went back to the room and this time I had no problem falling asleep.  I must have slept for at least two hours.  I know that I got a phone call around 5:00 (which I missed and had to call back).  Then I just sat around DISing on the tablet trying to wake Fran up.  It must have been 8PM before we actually got out the door to hit this place.





There were two seats at the bar, so we grabbed them.  The place wasnt packed, but it definitely was hoppin.  













The cheeseburger and Mickey bar had certainly worn off and I was definitely ready to order!













Our drinks came first.  I got the Ka-Blue-ie (Im a sucker for Blue drinks).





And Fran got the Hippopoto-Mai-Tai in the Souvenir Mug.  She said that it was cheaper than buying the mugs on eBay!  I knew she had an ulterior motive for coming here!





We got the Chicken Lettuce Wraps and Fish Tacos.  It doesnt look like a lot of food, but it really hit the spot.





Another round of drinks was in order.  Fran got the Krakatoa Punch, and this drink made the room do funny things.





I went with the Safari Punch.  These drinks are really yummy even though Im not a huge fan of sweet drinks.





More people ordered drinks that made the room do funny things.  I got up to catch one on camera.

















After our drinks and light supper we were still hungry for dessert, but Trader Sams didnt have anything on the menu.  It was a few minutes to 10PM and the Club was still open so we high tailed it back there for some of these.









This was my dessert.





And here was Frans





After we got back to the room, I decided to soak in the tub again.  By the time I climbed into bed I think I fell asleep before my head even hit the pillow! 

Next up, you finally realize we are staying outside of a theme park!


----------



## Paula Sedley-Burke

What a great day! How nice you worked as a team Fran sorting out works on the house and you getting a well needed massage. How I love the look of the hotel. The details like you say are just amazing. I love the look of Trader Sams! I just adore souvenir cups it's my one of many weaknesses. Like you I favour a blue drink! 

It must be so good to have that DVC close enough to use for short stays but so that you really benefit as you don't get so tired by a long journey. You can just rest and enjoy the whole time no adjusting to time zones or travel fatigue! Plus when needed you can zip back to sort out any issues with your properties. I bet you are so glad you bought into DVC at GC


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## PrincessInOz

WOW!  Adult drinks and snacks.  Your massages sound great.

Glad you got some decompression time.


----------



## bobbiwoz

You have me more excited than ever as I anticipate our VGC stay in May!  

Continue having a terrific time!

Bobbi


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## dgbg100106

Yeah and whoop for the massage...  Do you like the reflexology?  I have never done this professionally, I have played around on my own feet looking at the maps and such!

When you say the room did funny things, at first I thought you meant there was too much germ killer in it and you felt funny, ie. spinning room.

But after reading more, I am guessing that when someone orders a specialty drink, there is some animated things going on in the room?


----------



## dgbg100106

oops double post.


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## mvf-m11c

Caught up on your PTR. Nice to hear that you will have a Disney Cruise next year.

Nice to hear that you and Fran had a great time. I got to stop at Trader Sam's one day.


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## franandaj

Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> What a great day! How nice you worked as a team Fran sorting out works on the house and you getting a well needed massage. How I love the look of the hotel. The details like you say are just amazing. I love the look of Trader Sams! I just adore souvenir cups it's my one of many weaknesses. Like you I favour a blue drink!
> 
> It must be so good to have that DVC close enough to use for short stays but so that you really benefit as you don't get so tired by a long journey. You can just rest and enjoy the whole time no adjusting to time zones or travel fatigue! Plus when needed you can zip back to sort out any issues with your properties. I bet you are so glad you bought into DVC at GC



We make a pretty good team!    Trader Sams is a lot of fun, and yes I am so glad that we have a close by DVC where I can relax and enjoy myself!



PrincessInOz said:


> WOW!  Adult drinks and snacks.  Your massages sound great.
> 
> Glad you got some decompression time.



It was very nice.  Now I have two and a half months until any more down time.  



bobbiwoz said:


> You have me more excited than ever as I anticipate our VGC stay in May!
> 
> Continue having a terrific time!
> 
> Bobbi



You will love it!  When are you going to be there?



dgbg100106 said:


> Yeah and whoop for the massage...  Do you like the reflexology?  I have never done this professionally, I have played around on my own feet looking at the maps and such!
> 
> When you say the room did funny things, at first I thought you meant there was too much germ killer in it and you felt funny, ie. spinning room.
> 
> But after reading more, I am guessing that when someone orders a specialty drink, there is some animated things going on in the room?



The reflexology was good, I think that did more good for me than anything.  It wasn't "relaxing" so to speak.  She went methodically over the various areas of my feet and "tweaked" each area.  I think that's why I felt so refreshed and tired all at once when it was done.

The room spins enough on it's own with my mild Vertigo!    No I meant that when people order specialty drinks certain things happen.  Fran's drink made the Volcano in the window go off.  I showed the shipwrecked pirate in the bottle light up.  It later rained on him, but that picture came out blurry.



mvf-m11c said:


> Caught up on your PTR. Nice to hear that you will have a Disney Cruise next year.
> 
> Nice to hear that you and Fran had a great time. I got to stop at Trader Sam's one day.



You do need to go in there sometime.  Even if you don't get the alcoholic drinks, it's great when others do.  The food is really good in there.  I love those chicken lettuce cups.  One of my favorites!


----------



## dolphingirl47

What a shame that your little getaway was interrupted. Good on Fran that she took care of it. I could just eat some of those chocolate-covered strawberries. I am really hoping to have a light dinner at Trader Sam's in November. We have only ever been for drinks. Is the food nice?

Corinna


----------



## franandaj

So our last day of our mini-trip came really quickly!  We sort of laid around the room lolly gagging since we didnt want to leave, but made it up for breakfast around 9:30AM.  Same thing as the day before, so I didnt feel the need to take pictures. Once back in the room we packed up our stuff and let Bell Services come pick it up. 

We had told our friends to meet us in the lobby at 11:00AM.  Jim sent a text around 10:40 that they were there and I let him know we had just rung up Bell Services to get our bags.  Once that was taken care of we headed off to the lobby.

Once we were all met up together, we entered DCA, we decided to head over to RSR and go on that one first. Were on our way





Blue Sky Cellar was closed today.





And entering Carsland.









Sometime we are going to get the Chili Cone Carne from here.





And here we go!





Hello Stanley!





Here we are just before we went on the ride.  These are the two guys that we are taking with us to WDW in April next year.  Our plan is to book at 2 bedroom lock off at VWL for a week from April 13-20, then Fran and I will go on the Dream from April 20-24.  Yay!





*[Continued in Next Post]*


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## franandaj

*[Continued from Previous Post]*

Soon we were off on our journey.





















All my pictures inside the ride were blurry, but Ill post one anyways.





Finally a good shot!





Here we go!





Here we dont!  At this point the ride shut down.  We were stuck!





At least this was a cool place in the ride to be stuck.  Last time we were stuck outside of town where the little tractors have tipped over. There wasnt much to see there. Here there was plenty to look at.  This is all the cool stuff that the Imagineers come up with that you cant see when the ride is going so quickly.

Ramones workshop.





Now when youre bopping through here, you would never see this level of detail, but check out the tool chest.





What in the heck do you need lace for in a workshop?





And I love this drawer that has Nothing in it!





These are great.  Notice the Retread Tire Deodorant, its a roll on.  The other puns in the signs are great too!





These are some concept art pictures which were on the wall just behind us.





The car in front of us didnt have nearly as interesting a view.





Finally the ride started up again and we were on our way to the races.





Yee Haw!  Here we go!









I dont think we won our race, but we had fun.





Taillight Caverns





Mader and Lightning





Because we were on the ride when it broke down they let everyone who was stuck go again for free!  Here is our redneck picture!





Fran chose to sit this one out so we met up with her at Ramones once our trip to Radiator Springs Racers was complete.


----------



## dolphingirl47

What a shame that this clever detail normally goes unseen. I would not have minded getting stuck there.

Corinna


----------



## PrincessInOz

How nice to see the friends you're heading to WDW with next year.  They look like a heap of fun.

Pity about being stuck again; but that's a great place to be stuck in.  So many details that never get noticed when you whip in and out of that room.  Wish I could just take a slow walk through it.


Hope the 2.5 months goes quick.


----------



## Pinkocto

I thought for sure I had commented on the last update. Sounded like a wonderfully relaxing day. The GC is just gorgeous, love all the beautiful details. 

Great place to stop mid ride, very fun to see all those details normally missed.


----------



## mvf-m11c

franandaj said:


> You do need to go in there sometime.  Even if you don't get the alcoholic drinks, it's great when others do.  The food is really good in there.  I love those chicken lettuce cups.  One of my favorites!



I will definitely think about stopping at Trader's Sam during my next upcoming trip to Disneyland. I usually don't go in the DLH area during my trips but it will be nice to go there one day. Thanks for the tips. 


Very interesting spot to break down when riding RSR. I still remember when you, Fran, PiO, her family and I were stuck in the tractor tipping area back in September. It was nice to see your pictures of where the ride broke down. I would easily go picture crazy just like PiO if we were stuck in that area.


----------



## franandaj

Before I comment on your comments, I have to let you know a development that I learned today.  On our way home from my parents house, I commented about my last post and asked Fran if I had told her *all* about where we broke down in the ride.  I told her about all the curious drawers and how I thought the one with Lace was really funny.  She then informed me that lace is actually quite common place in paint shops as they use it for "texture" on certain kinds of paint jobs.  Who woulda thunk?  



dolphingirl47 said:


> What a shame that your little getaway was interrupted. Good on Fran that she took care of it. I could just eat some of those chocolate-covered strawberries. I am really hoping to have a light dinner at Trader Sam's in November. We have only ever been for drinks. Is the food nice?
> 
> Corinna



That was nice of her to volunteer, but she also always feels guilty for us going away and I'm sure she took this as one of those times that she could "do something" and go back to the house and say "hello" to the felines, thinking that they would be happier knowing she popped in to say "hi" to them.  



dolphingirl47 said:


> What a shame that this clever detail normally goes unseen. I would not have minded getting stuck there.
> 
> Corinna



I think of all the places this probably had the most detail, although, I'm not sure about Luigi's there was probably a lot of stuff on that side as well.  Not so much inside the dark parts of the ride and I'm certainly glad that we didn't get stuck out in the Sun!  Even thought it's not as hot as it was when PIO and family and Brett got stuck, it wasn't cold outside!



PrincessInOz said:


> How nice to see the friends you're heading to WDW with next year.  They look like a heap of fun.
> 
> Pity about being stuck again; but that's a great place to be stuck in.  So many details that never get noticed when you whip in and out of that room.  Wish I could just take a slow walk through it.
> 
> 
> Hope the 2.5 months goes quick.



Jim and Alberto are lots of fun!  I enjoy spending time with them, I'm sure WDW will be a lot of fun having them along!  Alberto is also quite the cook, so in addition to some fun restaurant meals, we might enjoy a spicy in-room meal or two as well!

It was a great room to be stuck in.  If only they could have a passholder event where we get to walk through the attraction!



Pinkocto said:


> I thought for sure I had commented on the last update. Sounded like a wonderfully relaxing day. The GC is just gorgeous, love all the beautiful details.
> 
> Great place to stop mid ride, very fun to see all those details normally missed.



Every time I stay there I find new details, it's such a cool resort!



mvf-m11c said:


> I will definitely think about stopping at Trader's Sam during my next upcoming trip to Disneyland. I usually don't go in the DLH area during my trips but it will be nice to go there one day. Thanks for the tips.
> 
> 
> Very interesting spot to break down when riding RSR. I still remember when you, Fran, PiO, her family and I were stuck in the tractor tipping area back in September. It was nice to see your pictures of where the ride broke down. I would easily go picture crazy just like PiO if we were stuck in that area.



Definitely check out Trader Sam's and you should get to the DLH occasionally, there are some really cool things there.

It was a cool spot to break down.  I really wished I had my DSLR instead of my P&S at that time!


----------



## Leshaface

So after you told me about the massage deal you found on Groupon (or living social - I couldn't remember, so I signed up for both ), I still haven't seen one! 

I'm actually shocked that you didn't get the big Uh Oa! Were the other drinks pretty strong?  They look delicious regardless!  Now that really sucks.  I thought they served dessert there. 

  I liked your photo on FB about getting stuck on RSR.  Glad they let you go through again


----------



## Paula Sedley-Burke

I am amazed by RSR! The details! I don't know if it's because you got stuck but it seems a wonderful long ride as well. How great you got to do it twice! Nice to see your friends and cool re cruising on The Dream


----------



## Fairy Floss

Thank you so much for your posts 
I'll be @ DLR in May - staying at Grand Californian
I've made a list of "to-dos" - starting with Trader Sams... Then a visit to cars land.... Then....


----------



## dgbg100106

I am not sure I have seen the lace in paint for texture, but it sounds doable, we always stuck with an orange peel effects in the old enamel paint...  Now the clear coat is something different.

Glad you had a great time!


----------



## Paula Sedley-Burke

I am glad you said about the lace I was very puzzled! Thought the imagineers might be having a little naughty fun....


----------



## scottny

The crescent rolls look good, I will have a half. LOL
Ewww about the tub. 
The food looks so good especially the root beer items. Yum.
Congrats on the booking on the Dream. 
Trader Sams looked good. 
Love the pics of Carsland. I have to get out there and see it some time. 
Looks like it was a great getaway so far.


----------



## Dis_Yoda

Your trip looks like it was very relaxing.  Thats how our Feb trip was although we are just doing a dining report for that trip as we really didn't do much more than drink, eat, relax and go for the parks for like 3 hours each day.  

I did start my pre-trip for my 2 May Trips.  I'll probably start the one for the Fall Trips later this weekend as that will be more of a training log.  

http://disboards.com/showthread.php?p=50715697#post50715697


----------



## rentayenta

franandaj said:


> We just booked a 4 night cruise on the Dream!!!!!​
> 
> We are planning for a week at WDW and then 4 nights on the Dream in April of 2015.  Even though we can't book the WDW portion, the cruise prices aren't getting any cheaper, so we went ahead and booked the cruise!
> 
> it's the standard itinerary, Nassau, CC and a day at Sea.  I've already decided, Dinner at Remy, Brunch at Palo!
> 
> After this cruise we will have reached Gold status!





Woot woot! I'm late to the party but how wonderful for you!    So happy for you! 

Your time at the GCV looks perfect and what a nice break from life. Dinner looks delicious. 

I love Fran and her eBay.  Shes always scheming. 

I like the view of your room. Next time I'm not going to be so fixated in a theme park view. The pool is relaxing to look at and it closes by 10:00 so no noise.


----------



## Captain_Oblivious

I think I'm finally caught up!  Love reading about DL any chance I can get.  I really think the Grand Californian looks like an amazing place to stay--I'm jealous you're able to take advantage of it!

Radiator Springs Racers looks so cool.  I love the labels on the drawers!    Very cool that you happened to be stopped there so you could see all of the little jokes the Imagineers put in there.


----------



## franandaj

Leshaface said:


> So after you told me about the massage deal you found on Groupon (or living social - I couldn't remember, so I signed up for both ), I still haven't seen one!
> 
> I'm actually shocked that you didn't get the big Uh Oa! Were the other drinks pretty strong?  They look delicious regardless!  Now that really sucks.  I thought they served dessert there.
> 
> I liked your photo on FB about getting stuck on RSR.  Glad they let you go through again



It was TravelZoo.  I will post here when they have another, they seem to have them twice a year, because I buy them every time.  Last summer I remember it expired August twenty something because it was the day before Ellen arrived at the VGC.  

We might have got it if we had a table, but sitting at the bar, it's hard for Fran to share a drink.  Plus it's just really big and I think she was after the souvenir mugs for the Tiki bar at the new house.

It seems to be the policy.  If you get stuck they let you go again.  They did that the last time in September when we got stuck too.



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> I am amazed by RSR! The details! I don't know if it's because you got stuck but it seems a wonderful long ride as well. How great you got to do it twice! Nice to see your friends and cool re cruising on The Dream



It's a pretty long ride in comparison to others, getting stuck makes it even longer!    I'm looking forward to that trip mostly because I am thinking about planning for it a lot right now.  All my other trips are pretty much planned out as far as they can be so I have to look into the future.  I feel like Johnny Carson's character whose name escapes me, but you probably don't know him as he had an American TV late night show.



Fairy Floss said:


> Thank you so much for your posts
> I'll be @ DLR in May - staying at Grand Californian
> I've made a list of "to-dos" - starting with Trader Sams... Then a visit to cars land.... Then....



When are you there?  Maybe I could come out and say "hi!".  I'm always looking for excuses!



dgbg100106 said:


> I am not sure I have seen the lace in paint for texture, but it sounds doable, we always stuck with an orange peel effects in the old enamel paint...  Now the clear coat is something different.
> 
> Glad you had a great time!



Fran has promised to save the shows where they use lace and show it to me to prove that they do it.  I don't pay that close attention to her car shows, but I do watch some of them, it's kind of cool to see what some of them do to these cars.



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> I am glad you said about the lace I was very puzzled! Thought the imagineers might be having a little naughty fun....



That's what I was thinking too!  



scottny said:


> The crescent rolls look good, I will have a half. LOL
> Ewww about the tub.
> The food looks so good especially the root beer items. Yum.
> Congrats on the booking on the Dream.
> Trader Sams looked good.
> Love the pics of Carsland. I have to get out there and see it some time.
> Looks like it was a great getaway so far.



You definitely need to get out to Carsland, it's really cool.  Trader Sam's is a lot of fun as well.  It was a great getaway until we erased all the relaxing with the parks!  



Dis_Yoda said:


> Your trip looks like it was very relaxing.  Thats how our Feb trip was although we are just doing a dining report for that trip as we really didn't do much more than drink, eat, relax and go for the parks for like 3 hours each day.
> 
> I did start my pre-trip for my 2 May Trips.  I'll probably start the one for the Fall Trips later this weekend as that will be more of a training log.
> 
> http://disboards.com/showthread.php?p=50715697#post50715697



Cool, thanks for the link.  I'm just signing on over there!



rentayenta said:


> Woot woot! I'm late to the party but how wonderful for you!    So happy for you!
> 
> Your time at the GCV looks perfect and what a nice break from life. Dinner looks delicious.
> 
> I love Fran and her eBay.  Shes always scheming.
> 
> I like the view of your room. Next time I'm not going to be so fixated in a theme park view. The pool is relaxing to look at and it closes by 10:00 so no noise.



Really this time we didn't care.  Actually most times we don't.  We are usually planned to be out of the room during WoC either at Dinner or something else, so I've stopped making requests.  For my 50th, I'm starting to settle in on a plan.  I'm not sure who will be coming, but I'm just going to get my parents a studio so that they don't take up one of the bedrooms in the Villa. But I digress here is not the place to get into plans that are over a years and cough cough away!

I have to figure out if any DIS friends might actually come to my celebration, you are one of the most likely candidates as you live almost the closest.  I think only Leshaface and the Sacto contingent are closer!  But I need to work it out since the reservation window opens in 4 months!  Only DVC members can understand that urgency!   



Captain_Oblivious said:


> I think I'm finally caught up!  Love reading about DL any chance I can get.  I really think the Grand Californian looks like an amazing place to stay--I'm jealous you're able to take advantage of it!
> 
> Radiator Springs Racers looks so cool.  I love the labels on the drawers!    Very cool that you happened to be stopped there so you could see all of the little jokes the Imagineers put in there.



I'm amazed that you found time to make it over here and catch up!  I hope that everything is good on the home front and Julie is now relaxing comfortably with the sleepless nights that you both are probably  experiencing.  

The GCH is an amazing hotel, I really feel like it's home since we are able to get there very often and the staff are so wonderful and welcoming.  We never get to DL enough, it's so close, but real life always gets in the way, I'm so glad that we bought DVC there otherwise we might not experience the magic nearly as much.  Even for this trip, as we loaded the car, Fran was grumbling about how we needed to stay home more, get things accomplished, not be "taking off all the time".  And still once we checked into the hotel, she was thrilled to sleep and relax in those comfy beds and hardly get out of them most of the time we were there.


----------



## franandaj

After our little trip through Radiator Springs we decided to test our skills at shooting things. So we headed over to the Boardwalk, stopping to admire these pretty cacti in bloom on the way.





And a look at the scenery.





Soon we were at our destination.





We had a look across the bay at King Tritons place where they tell Ariels story, but we weren't going there today.





Finally we arrived at our destination, the loading queue.









And here we go!





Fran says that this is the first time that she has ever beat me at this game!





We were headed to Soarin via Off the Page (I know strange route), so we made it even more weird by going through A Bugs Land.





I realized that I have never been on Heimlichs Chew Chew Train and the line was short so we figured why not?  Fran went on to Off the Page while I rode this with Jim and Alberto.













Here he comes!





All aboard!





Here we go!





OK my attention span is so short, Im already distracted on this ride by an ant!





Heimlich chew chewed this watermelon.





And he was so thrilled for this animal cracker box.





A cupcake





Candy Corn





And our ride was done.  I think for little ones, this could be really cool, but now I can say been there, done that and Im done.  

We headed over to Off the Page and Fran was actually done.  Its sad when she says, I have everything in there that I want. So we headed over to Soarin.  I love the queue here so much more than WDW and it is much faster!









After this we decided to hop over to Disneyland and continue the adventures!


----------



## Paula Sedley-Burke

I just adore TSM and Soarin but the queuing system for Soarin at WDW is hard work for disabled people! What a slope! Glad to hear it's better in Cali  lol re that little train ride cute. Love the piece of Candy corn! Looking forward to next update.


----------



## Fairy Floss

franandaj said:


> When are you there?  Maybe I could come out and say "hi!".  I'm always looking for excuses!:



It's a very short visit - arriving May 30th in the morning - leaving June. 1st in the evening.
Going to a conference in Boston & squeezing in as much as I can


----------



## PrincessInOz

I haven't been on any of the Bug's Life rides in about 5 years.  DS outgrew them really quickly; but I do like them.

Love Soarin'.


----------



## jedijill

When's the big 5-0 trip?  My wheels are turning...

Jill in CO


----------



## eandesmom

What a great little getaway!  Well at least for you, Fran having to go meet the appraiser, that does not sound like so much fun.

I cannot wait to go to Trader Sam's, even if that means we are ditching Eric int the room.  Hopefully we can just make it there well before 8, how much fun!

Congrats on booking the cruise, very exciting!!!!!!!!!!!!

Love the detail at RSR, sometimes getting stuck can be a very cool thing.


----------



## dolphingirl47

I am with you on the Bugs Land rides. I did them once and got them out of my system. Nowadays I use the area mainly as a shortcut, but I have to admit that I am looking forward to seeing it all decorated for Christmas. Radiator Springs Racers, Toy Story Midway Mania and Soarin all relatively close together would be a dream come true for me.

Corinna


----------



## Paula Sedley-Burke

So I am still wondering what occurs at Trader Sam's when you order certain drinks?  curious from England.


----------



## podsnel

YAY for Fran and shopping!!!   All subbed up- back later to read- xo


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## franandaj

Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> I just adore TSM and Soarin but the queuing system for Soarin at WDW is hard work for disabled people! What a slope! Glad to hear it's better in Cali  lol re that little train ride cute. Love the piece of Candy corn! Looking forward to next update.



You're right about WDW's queue. DL's is backwards.  You go underground to get to the ride and then it's a real hike to get back up to the surface.  Fran says that's what she really needs her scooter for, is to get back up the hill.



Fairy Floss said:


> It's a very short visit - arriving May 30th in the morning - leaving June. 1st in the evening.
> Going to a conference in Boston & squeezing in as much as I can



Bummer.  I will be in WDW then.  I hope you have fun!



PrincessInOz said:


> I haven't been on any of the Bug's Life rides in about 5 years.  DS outgrew them really quickly; but I do like them.
> 
> Love Soarin'.



I love the theming of a Bug's Land, but I haven't been on any of the rides except that one.



jedijill said:


> When's the big 5-0 trip?  My wheels are turning...
> 
> Jill in CO



Put it this way, you're going to be a year and a month too early!  



eandesmom said:


> What a great little getaway!  Well at least for you, Fran having to go meet the appraiser, that does not sound like so much fun.
> 
> I cannot wait to go to Trader Sam's, even if that means we are ditching Eric int the room.  Hopefully we can just make it there well before 8, how much fun!
> 
> Congrats on booking the cruise, very exciting!!!!!!!!!!!!
> 
> Love the detail at RSR, sometimes getting stuck can be a very cool thing.



Thanks, I don't think she minded, but she did appreciate the nap once she got back to the room.

You will love Trader Sam's it is just a hoot! 

The cruise will be great, but it's so far away!

I do like when you get stopped and get to see all those little details!



dolphingirl47 said:


> I am with you on the Bugs Land rides. I did them once and got them out of my system. Nowadays I use the area mainly as a shortcut, but I have to admit that I am looking forward to seeing it all decorated for Christmas. Radiator Springs Racers, Toy Story Midway Mania and Soarin all relatively close together would be a dream come true for me.
> 
> Corinna



Maybe we can work something out on your November trip!



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> So I am still wondering what occurs at Trader Sam's when you order certain drinks?  curious from England.



Well, there was the shipwrecked guy in the bottle that I showed pictures of.  The storm lit up on him and the room made storm noises, and rain fell on him as he drove his makeshift raft inside the bottle.  Another faux window has a scene of a volcano as if you can see it out the window from the bar.  It erupts with certain drinks.  The masks on the wall chant for other drinks.  There are a variety of different effects which occur depending on the drink that it is ordered.

I dont want to give away too much for those who are reading and might go there themselves, Cynthia  .  Its really fun to sit around and watch the room in action while enjoying some cocktails!



podsnel said:


> YAY for Fran and shopping!!!   All subbed up- back later to read- xo



  Im glad you made it over here.  Im sure there will be some shopping going on in here!


----------



## jedijill

franandaj said:


> Put it this way, you're going to be a year and a month too early!



Doesn't mean I can't come back. 

Jill in CO


----------



## Leshaface

Way to go Fran with the TSMM score!

I find that it's very easy to get distracted on Heimlich's train   I agree, fun for kids.  Although the smells are pretty great on that ride!


----------



## franandaj

jedijill said:


> Doesn't mean I can't come back.
> 
> Jill in CO



   True!  I'm kinda leaning towards getting the HA Grand Villa (the one that faces DCA) for two nights and doing an in room party utilizing the DVC BBQ grills for some tri tip and sausages, maybe Costco shrimp platters, and other Costco favorites made in the room for the first night as people may arrive throughout the day.  We could watch WoC from the room that night and just have fun with the pool table and enjoying the company.  (I'll get my parents a studio so they can go to bed away from the party when they want to. Fran will always have the Master bedroom to retire to when she needs her nap.)

Then Saturday we can have a fun breakfast in the room, people can go to the parks and for those into fine dining, we'll book out the Steakhouse private dining room for dinner and have a special menu catered for us.  Picky folks can skip this (thinking my sister and her family).

Then Sunday we can take the party back to Casa Nueva.  We can depend on Ralph's for Fried Chicken, Sushi and other deli salad items while we all lounge by the pool enjoying adult beverages.  It's the first weekend in May, so I'm sure the weather will be nice.  Perhaps you might want to put it in your tentative calendar, I think it might be a fun weekend!  However, my parents have dibs on Olga's room for Sunday night!



Leshaface said:


> Way to go Fran with the TSMM score!
> 
> I find that it's very easy to get distracted on Heimlich's train   I agree, fun for kids.  Although the smells are pretty great on that ride!



I've never paid attention to our scores, but I think we've always been squirrels, never higher.  I guess she's paid attention!  

I think it was your last trip to DL that made me want to go on it, your DS had such a good time I figured I better try it!


----------



## rentayenta

franandaj said:


> True!  I'm kinda leaning towards getting the HA Grand Villa (the one that faces DCA) for two nights and doing an in room party utilizing the DVC BBQ grills for some tri tip and sausages, maybe Costco shrimp platters, and other Costco favorites made in the room for the first night as people may arrive throughout the day.  We could watch WoC from the room that night and just have fun with the pool table and enjoying the company.  (I'll get my parents a studio so they can go to bed away from the party when they want to. Fran will always have the Master bedroom to retire to when she needs her nap.)  Then Saturday we can have a fun breakfast in the room, people can go to the parks and for those into fine dining, we'll book out the Steakhouse private dining room for dinner and have a special menu catered for us.  Picky folks can skip this (thinking my sister and her family).  Then Sunday we can take the party back to Casa Nueva.  We can depend on Ralph's for Fried Chicken, Sushi and other deli salad items while we all lounge by the pool enjoying adult beverages.  It's the first weekend in May, so I'm sure the weather will be nice.  Perhaps you might want to put it in your tentative calendar, I think it might be a fun weekend!  However, my parents have dibs on Olga's room for Sunday night!  I've never paid attention to our scores, but I think we've always been squirrels, never higher.  I guess she's paid attention!    I think it was your last trip to DL that made me want to go on it, your DS had such a good time I figured I better try it!




Fun weekend planned. Jill, try to get back for this shindig!


----------



## franandaj

After our trip over California, we were definitely hungry. We had talked before going on the ride, and decided that our top choice was the Plaza Inn.  Its so awesome with DL and DCA that its a five minute walk to be in the other park.









I always say that I need to try new restaurants at DL but when it comes down to it, I just cant resist.









I mean really.





We always accompany our Chicken with the freshly mixed Cobb Salad, because everyone needs a little bacon in their salad!









The Plaza Inn was Walts favorite restaurant in the Park.  He always wanted it to have an elegant feel to it, but somewhere that folks would feel comfortable.









We found a table and sat down for lunch our friends ordered the Fried Chicken and the Pot Roast.





It was a very yummy meal, we couldnt finish it all and took home the chicken leg to feed to our kitties so that they could share the Disney magic too.  

After filling our tummies, we decided a trip to Endor was in the cards.









Turns out we ended up off course and joined the rebel alliance!  

Then we decided to defeat Emperor Zurg.  

















I pretty much suck at this game, but at least I have fun trying!

*[Continued in Next Post]*


----------



## franandaj

*[Continued from Previous Post]*




After that it was time to seek out the Yeti.  Last time I rode the Matterhorn I did the left side which is the more jerky side of the ride.  This time we did the right side and I noticed a huge difference.  It looks like the Yeti has taken over the control room!













Then we decided to head over the greet the Happy Haunts.  Last time they were on vacation while some guy named Jack Skellington had taken over the place, so it would be fun to see them back from their holiday. On the way there we passed through Fantasyland and I noticed the Frozen meet and greet.  The line for this was insane and it was a weekday.





No pictures from the Haunted Mansion and I was starting to run out of steam.  We passed this poor sight on the way.









We decided to go on Indiana Jones and call it a day. While the three of us rode Indy, Fran went over to Critter Country and got me a Tiggr Tail at Poohs Corner.   Here are a few shots from the Indy queue.









It was about 5PM and I was exhausted. Again.  We headed out of the park and said goodbye to our friends, who planned to ride Star Tours one more time.  We stopped by the Disneyana store and they had this picture out for Valentines week.  I couldnt see spending $60 on the framed picture, so I just took a picture of it.





On our way out, we stopped by Marcelines and got even more treats.  I wanted to go by Vault 28 and see if by chance they have any more of the Haunted Mansion purses.  I cant believe that they made so few of them.  It seems pointless when they have so many of all the other kinds.   Unfortunately no HM purses, but they had this D&B Small World Purse.





I did walk away with this Harvey bag as an early valentines present.





And so we managed to do it to ourselves.  We left our staycation, just as exhausted as we arrived even with more time asleep than awake!  Oh well Carpe Diem!


----------



## jedijill

rentayenta said:


> Fun weekend planned. Jill, try to get back for this shindig!



Fun weekend penciled in!  I'll have points I can borrow by then!  

Jill in CO


----------



## franandaj

rentayenta said:


> Fun weekend planned. Jill, try to get back for this shindig!



I don't have lots of 3D friends that I might want to include on the Disney part, maybe I'll invite them to the Casa Nueva part, but I'd rather have DIS friends and my family on the Disney part.  Most of my 3D friends don't get the whole Disney part of my life so y'all are invited.  I just hope that more than can fit in the GV don't hope to come along!  I could be in trouble if that happens!


----------



## franandaj

jedijill said:


> Fun weekend penciled in!  I'll have points I can borrow by then!
> 
> Jill in CO



I'm thinkin' girls room and boys room in the GV so maybe you won't need to use points!


----------



## rentayenta

jedijill said:


> Fun weekend penciled in!  I'll have points I can borrow by then!
> 
> Jill in CO



Girl, I've been in the red since after our first trip.  With no official Disney on the books this year, I may actually receive the 21 points I haven't borrowed into for 2014. LOL! 






franandaj said:


> I don't have lots of 3D friends that I might want to include on the Disney part, maybe I'll invite them to the Casa Nueva part, but I'd rather have DIS friends and my family on the Disney part.  Most of my 3D friends don't get the whole Disney part of my life so y'all are invited.  I just hope that more than can fit in the GV don't hope to come along!  I could be in trouble if that happens!




I hear ya. Most of my 3D friends don't get it but I have a few who do. I feel lucky to have made many of my 2D friends, 3D friends. 



The Plaza Inn is our favorite too, hands down. The chicken is so good. We didn't have any leftover from our last trip. The five of us shared 4 meals and scarfed it all down. Even the green beans. Not a bean left. So good. 

I'll have to look for the Yeti on the Matterhorn next time.


----------



## jedijill

Slumber party!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  


I love your staycation! It is sad to see the Club with the canvas/tarp over it.   Hopefully they will get it done soon!  Sometimes sleeping in a hotel is better than sleeping at home!  It's the only time I get the whole bed to myself!  (How does a 13 pound dog take up a queen size bed?)

Jill in CO


----------



## rentayenta

jedijill said:


> Slumber party!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
> 
> 
> I love your staycation! It is sad to see the Club with the canvas/tarp over it.   Hopefully they will get it done soon!  Sometimes sleeping in a hotel is better than sleeping at home!  It's the only time I get the whole bed to myself!  (How does a 13 pound dog take up a queen size bed?)
> 
> Jill in CO





You girls will have to post pics. I'll be sad to miss this one.  


I agree about Club 33 all tarped up. I feel so lucky that I got to enjoy it before the expansion/refurb.


----------



## PrincessInOz

franandaj said:


> True!  I'm kinda leaning towards getting the HA Grand Villa (the one that faces DCA) for two nights and doing an in room party utilizing the DVC BBQ grills for some tri tip and sausages, maybe Costco shrimp platters, and other Costco favorites made in the room for the first night as people may arrive throughout the day.  We could watch WoC from the room that night and just have fun with the pool table and enjoying the company.  (I'll get my parents a studio so they can go to bed away from the party when they want to. Fran will always have the Master bedroom to retire to when she needs her nap.)
> 
> Then Saturday we can have a fun breakfast in the room, people can go to the parks and for those into fine dining, we'll book out the Steakhouse private dining room for dinner and have a special menu catered for us.  Picky folks can skip this (thinking my sister and her family).
> 
> Then Sunday we can take the party back to Casa Nueva.  We can depend on Ralph's for Fried Chicken, Sushi and other deli salad items while we all lounge by the pool enjoying adult beverages.  It's the first weekend in May, so I'm sure the weather will be nice.  Perhaps you might want to put it in your tentative calendar, I think it might be a fun weekend!  However, my parents have dibs on Olga's room for Sunday night!
> 
> 
> 
> I've never paid attention to our scores, but I think we've always been squirrels, never higher.  I guess she's paid attention!
> 
> I think it was your last trip to DL that made me want to go on it, your DS had such a good time I figured I better try it!





franandaj said:


> I don't have lots of 3D friends that I might want to include on the Disney part, maybe I'll invite them to the Casa Nueva part, but I'd rather have DIS friends and my family on the Disney part.  Most of my 3D friends don't get the whole Disney part of my life so y'all are invited.  I just hope that more than can fit in the GV don't hope to come along!  I could be in trouble if that happens!




Sounds like a very fun shindig indeed.




Great update.  Shame that you finished up as tired as you began.  I vote that you head back for a more chill-ax staycation.


Sad to see the tarps up.


----------



## Paula Sedley-Burke

How nice you let your kittys enjoy the fun with some chicken. Huey adores chicken  The Plaza inn is a very nice place. No wonder Walt liked it. 

Cool re Star Wars lol re you joining the rebel alliance. Love the Matterhorn! 

Oh my the Frozen meet and greet! It's every snowflake parent for themselves at EPCOT...

I know right re that HM bag. They are going for mega bucks on ebay why not just make more! The same thing is now occurring with the NB Disney sneaker. It's like they made two purses and two pairs of sneakers...

Wake up the factory it's called supply and demand! I would not walk around wearing those sneakers and carrying that purse whilst scoring a front line position in the frozen meet and greet line. You won't get out alive lol...


----------



## Pinkocto

Carpe diem indeed! What a great weekend  hopefully you got some rest at home. Your birthday extravaganza sounds like it'll be a blast


----------



## Captain_Oblivious

I think it's a great weekend if you come back more tired than you left!

Thanks for all of the DL shots.  I loved your line about one park being a 5-minute walk from the other.  That must be so cool.


----------



## Leshaface

Mmm, the Plaza Inn is definitely delicious.  Good choice!  I too, always find myself going to the same places.  I've been trying to get my booty back to Cafe Orleans - it's been at least 6 years since i've eaten there!

Cute that you noticed the Yeti in the window!

One of my friends went to the new Frozen meet and said later that the line was up to 1 hour and 45 minutes!?   Uh i'll pass on that.

What a cute bag you got!

I think you had an excellent weekend and got a lot done!


----------



## dolphingirl47

franandaj said:


> Maybe we can work something out on your November trip!



That sounds great. All going well, I should be able to finalize that trip before we are flying out for the Panama Canal cruise. This is still evolving all the time.

Your birthday plans sound great. 

The Plaza Inn has never really been on my radar, but it is such a beautiful space. I think that needs to go on the to do list for November. I also finally need to try Carnation Cafe.

I am not very good at Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters either, but I so love this ride. I much prefer it at Disneyland where you can take the laser guns out of the holster.

I think we only ever have done the right side of Matterhorn. I really need to try the other side.

I love the It's A Small World purse. I better get saving as I really want one of the Aulani purses, but I want this one as well.

Corinna


----------



## mvf-m11c

I finally got to read your latest update at DL.

Very nice pictures inside the Plaza Inn. I do enjoy eating at the Plaza Inn. I got to eat there one day during lunch. You did quite a lot of rides that day. 

Very nice day at the park.


----------



## ACDSNY

Major catch up for me.  Your VGC sounded like a great much needed break and I agree all the little details make it so beautiful.  I was drooling over the scone and chocolate strawberries.

 Congrats on booking the Dream cruise.

 Your plans for WDW are coming alone nicely, you'll have a fun trip with your friends.

 That's right the big one is coming next year, I'm sure you plan out a spectacular party weekend.


----------



## Fairy Floss

franandaj said:


> Bummer.  I will be in WDW then.  I hope you have fun!



Thanks for the thought anyway
I know you'll have an awesome time in WDW - can't wait to read about it


----------



## franandaj

rentayenta said:


> Girl, I've been in the red since after our first trip.  With no official Disney on the books this year, I may actually receive the 21 points I haven't borrowed into for 2014. LOL!



I guess Im lucky. Even when we only had 248 points, I was able to keep it within my UY.  This is the only time that Ive gotten ahead of myself needing to borrow, but Im sort of all over the place.  I have points I need to bank because I need the 11 month window at VWL, but I had to borrow for my VGF trip.    For the VWL trip, Ill be using banked, current and borrowed points.  We need 350 points for a 2 bedroom at the VWL!  



rentayenta said:


> I hear ya. Most of my 3D friends don't get it but I have a few who do. I feel lucky to have made many of my 2D friends, 3D friends.



Me too!  



rentayenta said:


> The Plaza Inn is our favorite too, hands down. The chicken is so good. We didn't have any leftover from our last trip. The five of us shared 4 meals and scarfed it all down. Even the green beans. Not a bean left. So good.



I know, the green beans are really good!  How often do you say that about theme park food?



rentayenta said:


> I'll have to look for the Yeti on the Matterhorn next time.



That was the first time that I noticed that.



jedijill said:


> Slumber party!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!







jedijill said:


> I love your staycation! It is sad to see the Club with the canvas/tarp over it.   Hopefully they will get it done soon!  Sometimes sleeping in a hotel is better than sleeping at home!  It's the only time I get the whole bed to myself!  (How does a 13 pound dog take up a queen size bed?)
> 
> Jill in CO



Same way eight cats take up a King Size bed!



rentayenta said:


> You girls will have to post pics. I'll be sad to miss this one.



What happens in the Grand Villa stays in the Villa!



rentayenta said:


> I agree about Club 33 all tarped up. I feel so lucky that I got to enjoy it before the expansion/refurb.



I know an entire era is completely gone.  Even though a new one is coming, its sad to see the old one gone.



PrincessInOz said:


> Sounds like a very fun shindig indeed.
> 
> Great update.  Shame that you finished up as tired as you began.  I vote that you head back for a more chill-ax staycation.
> 
> Sad to see the tarps up.



Ill take another trip to the VGC, I need another chillax staycation!



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> How nice you let your kittys enjoy the fun with some chicken. Huey adores chicken  The Plaza inn is a very nice place. No wonder Walt liked it.



When he created the park, he wanted that restaurant to be special.  It was refurbed about 15 years ago with a new menu, and actually that chicken isnt fried, they use (at least state of the art then) air baking to get the crispy texture without the added fat.  Fried Chicken was one of Walts favorite meals.



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Cool re Star Wars lol re you joining the rebel alliance. Love the Matterhorn!
> 
> Oh my the Frozen meet and greet! It's every snowflake parent for themselves at EPCOT...



I wasnt the rebel spy tho   Im not waiting almost 2 hours, just to meet Anna and Elsa!



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> I know right re that HM bag. They are going for mega bucks on ebay why not just make more! The same thing is now occurring with the NB Disney sneaker. It's like they made two purses and two pairs of sneakers...
> 
> Wake up the factory it's called supply and demand! I would not walk around wearing those sneakers and carrying that purse whilst scoring a front line position in the frozen meet and greet line. You won't get out alive lol...



LOL!  No one really even seems to know what the purse is.  Ive only had one person recognize it since Ive been carrying it.  They were supposed to have them at the Disney store online.



Pinkocto said:


> Carpe diem indeed! What a great weekend  hopefully you got some rest at home. Your birthday extravaganza sounds like it'll be a blast



Thanks, I think I'm finally getting some rest.  I hope that by the time the birthday comes around I'll be all rested up!



Captain_Oblivious said:


> I think it's a great weekend if you come back more tired than you left!



 But when you spend 75% of your time in the hotel room sleeping and still come home exhausted, I have to wonder!  



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Thanks for all of the DL shots.  I loved your line about one park being a 5-minute walk from the other.  That must be so cool.



Thats one thing that WDW will never have over DL, the attraction saturation component.  WDW has space and as a result they spread everything out to get maximum guest attendance at each park.  At DL I am constantly amazed at how they fit the attractions in underneath the parking lots.  Your inner transportation geek would totally geek out at how they handle the foot  traffic like a well-oiled machine, and how attractions are seamlessly placed hundreds of yards outside the park and deep underground.



Leshaface said:


> Mmm, the Plaza Inn is definitely delicious.  Good choice!  I too, always find myself going to the same places.  I've been trying to get my booty back to Cafe Orleans - it's been at least 6 years since i've eaten there!



Café Orleans is another favorite of ours, we usually make that a lets go to the park for lunch today kind of meal.  We just havent had that much time lately.



Leshaface said:


> Cute that you noticed the Yeti in the window!



Thats the first time Ive seen that, I wonder how long its been there!



Leshaface said:


> One of my friends went to the new Frozen meet and said later that the line was up to 1 hour and 45 minutes!?   Uh i'll pass on that.



Uh yeah, I dont have that kind of time.  



Leshaface said:


> What a cute bag you got!
> 
> I think you had an excellent weekend and got a lot done!



Thanks!  It was definitely a much needed get away, and I had been looking at that purse for quite a while.  Im glad I finally got one!



dolphingirl47 said:


> That sounds great. All going well, I should be able to finalize that trip before we are flying out for the Panama Canal cruise. This is still evolving all the time.
> 
> Your birthday plans sound great.



Im glad you started your Panama Canal report!  We can talk about meeting up after you get back, but I think we can have a really fun time!



dolphingirl47 said:


> The Plaza Inn has never really been on my radar, but it is such a beautiful space. I think that needs to go on the to do list for November. I also finally need to try Carnation Cafe.



While Ive eaten at the Plaza Inn quite a few times, Ive never done the Carnation Café and they have so many items that look awesome, I think the fact that you need a reservation has kept me from it, but I bet walk ups arent as bad as some places, especially with the refurb.  I want to try the potato cheese soup!



dolphingirl47 said:


> I am not very good at Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters either, but I so love this ride. I much prefer it at Disneyland where you can take the laser guns out of the holster.
> 
> I think we only ever have done the right side of Matterhorn. I really need to try the other side.



I dont think weve tried it at WDW, only DL.  Perhaps well try it and see how we dont like being able to take the guns out of the holsters!  Ive done both sides many times BEFORE the refurb and I much prefer the older cars.  The new ones really restrict your space, but I guess the whole two people riding together with one person leaning up against the others crotch was not Disney like!  



dolphingirl47 said:


> I love the It's A Small World purse. I better get saving as I really want one of the Aulani purses, but I want this one as well.
> 
> Corinna



I glad that I could help feed your addiction!  



mvf-m11c said:


> I finally got to read your latest update at DL.
> 
> Very nice pictures inside the Plaza Inn. I do enjoy eating at the Plaza Inn. I got to eat there one day during lunch. You did quite a lot of rides that day.
> 
> Very nice day at the park.



We NEVER go on that many rides, well unless we are with PIO! Thats why I was so exhausted!



ACDSNY said:


> Major catch up for me.  Your VGC sounded like a great much needed break and I agree all the little details make it so beautiful.  I was drooling over the scone and chocolate strawberries.


 
Yeah, well after you spent two weeks on the Wonder!    I bet you had much better than the chocolate strawberries and scones!



ACDSNY said:


> Congrats on booking the Dream cruise.



Thanks! Even though its a short one, Im looking forward to checking out the bigger ships and trying Remy!



ACDSNY said:


> Your plans for WDW are coming alone nicely, you'll have a fun trip with your friends. .



Its kind of sad that all my 2014 trips are planned and Im already working on 2015!



ACDSNY said:


> That's right the big one is coming next year, I'm sure you plan out a spectacular party weekend.



Well Fran threw me an incredible 40th, Im hoping for a different kind for this milestone, but I hope its nearly as memorable!



Fairy Floss said:


> Thanks for the thought anyway
> I know you'll have an awesome time in WDW - can't wait to read about it



Im sorry Ill miss you.  I always like meeting DIS folks in 3D when I have the opportunity.  To obad Ill miss you!


----------



## ACDSNY

franandaj said:


> Yeah, well after you spent two weeks on the Wonder!  I bet you had much better than the chocolate strawberries and scones!


 
 The two weeks on the Wonder in 2011 were awesome compared to the two week last month on the Island Princess.  The second week was a complete bust with DH medical issue and the food was nowhere near as good as DCL.


----------



## franandaj

A couple weeks back we visited my parents up in San Jose.  It was a quick trip and besides the extra bonus of seeing my folks we had another reason for the trip.  It had to do with homework for this vacation that Im writing this PTR.  

There is an exhibit that has been traveling around the country, evidently it has been over nine years that it has been traveling from city to city, and San Jose is the last stop on the tour.  





The Exhibit?








Yes, only in the heart of Silicon Valley will they have an entire museum devoted to Technology.  





There are still a few days left for anyone close enough to make it there!









It was sort of a maze to actually find the entrance to this particular exhibit.





But eventually we did find it!





Featured in this exhibit were all sorts of models that were used in the first three Star Wars movies (episodes 4, 5, & 6).  There were not nearly as many props from the second three movies as many of the effects and robots were CGI.  There were neat little screens placed at nearly every exhibit with footage of the creators talking about their models, the way that they made sounds happen and all sorts of other fascinating things.  As with most museums that we visit with my parents, they were done with the exhibit long before Fran and I.

These first planes were based on WWII planes.  George Lucas felt that to make the Star Wars universe believable, he needed to rely on things that we were familiar with on our world.  They studied the footage of WWII pilots and flew these starfighters in the same manner.













They also had costumes for various characters on display as well.





Notice this Millennium Falcon, it is just a little larger than my fist  I think that this was the model used for the first movie.  





I know you cant really tell the difference in the pictures, but this model was required for either the second or third movie.  It is at least 10 times larger. In the screen at this model, they talked about how the Falcon maneuvered very differently in the later movies.  In the first movie it just basically jumped to hyperspace and got them from place to place.  Later it was navigating asteroid belts and other precarious situations.





Look at the detail on this model.  Another thing that they mentioned here at this model was Lucass concept of the Star Wars universe being a used universe.  The Rebel Alliance was a rag tag bunch of folks thrown together in this war.  They didnt have cool new ships like the Galactic Empire.  Han Solo pieced the Falcon together using stone knives and bear skins (to quote another of my favorite series!)  Remember the scene where Princess Leia calls the ship a tin can? Lucas liked the idea of this ship being Hans fixer upper in the garage. Again something that we can relate to.





Moving on to the next gallery, this one was about the people, places and creatures.  We started off with Hoth and some of the creatures and conditions found there.  They likened Hoth to Antarctica and based this creature on the Polar Bear.









Because they couldnt use the mechanical transportation they had to tame and harness these creatures.





There was a film about cold climates and surviving in them, but I didnt listen to it very long as I was more interested in the actual Star Wars information and not how it applied to our world.  Next we moved on to Lukes landspeeder.





They talked about how to make it believeable in its technology, and how it really should not be able to cross large chasms, and could only stay close to the ground.  The sound that it made was actually from a recording of LA Freeway traffic.





Again note the used universe part of this. This was a beat up old junker. It was supposed to be like the VW bug that your parents handed down to you when you were old enough to drive. Thats exactly what the guy said.





Im sure everyone remembers these little creatures.  I know back when I was a young teen, everyone wanted to don a hoody and have little beedy glowing eyes for their Halloween costume!  Im not sure why I only took a picture of their vehicle, but the actual model of it was pretty small, it just looked huge in the movie.





These people were a nasty lot.  They had a little video on them and why they dressed like they do and how dangerous they were.





Then they had a little demo of the hovercraft technology. You could drive this thing and see how well it actually steered.  I was spinning this wheel like crazy and couldnt get it to go anywhere that I wanted!











 

*[Continued in Next Post]*


----------



## franandaj

*[Continued from Previous Post]*

Here is one of the few models from the second set of episodes.  Annakins Pod Racer.









A look back at the last room.





The next room was about the Medicine of Star Wars.  This was Darth Vaders costume from Episode #5.





Here is his collar.





Model for General Grievous





I believe this is the robotic nurse.





Medical Droid





Star Wars Prosthetics





Storm Trooper Costume





What I found really interesting about this costume was that even though the stormtroopers seem so plastic the shoes were made out of leather.





On the other end of the medical situation are weapons that cause medical maladies.









The next room was devoted to the various characters.  Here we have some wookie suits.





And me with the wookie suits.  In this section they had video which talked about the wookies and their language.  While they can understand many languages, they can only speak wookie.  They sampled the sound of a grizzly bear (I think thats what they said) for the voice of the wookies.



 

*[Continued in Next Post]*


----------



## franandaj

*[Continued from Previous Post]*

And more costumes.









In this section they had a video with four different character options (which kind of caused a backlog at this station).  They showed C3PO in costume off camera and boy did he have a challenge.  They had to lift him up and down any steps.  He really had a hard time walking in the suit, quite a challenge for filming!  I cant even imagine potty breaks!  They must have limited his water intake and he probably suffered dehydration!





This is nakedC3PO as he appears in Episode 1.  They actually realized that he needed to be done in CGI since they couldnt get Anthony Daniels inside this suit.





R2D2 actually had a guy inside that droid!  Well not all the time, but sometimes it was human controlled and sometimes via remote.  Like the times that he fell over, no human inside.





They had a lot to say about these droids.  There was no question as to whether or not to do them in CGI. As a three legged creature they just didnt work really well in the real world.  It was difficult to even get them to move appropriately in CGI, but the animators made it work.  

I dont remember which screen we were watching when they talked about the first no brainer of creating the Clone Wars army in CGI.  There were thousands of them, and as a result there were no models to show or costumes, but they mentioned them at some point prior to us seeing the video on these guys.  These were even more problematic to design since they had to roll out and then become standing, walking creatures that only had three legs.  You never think about this stuff watching the movies, but its great when the creators share their thoughts on how they actually have to make us believe it!





This droid, Im drawing a blank although I remember watching the video on it.  This was the one that found them on the Planet Hoth, it was a Galactic Empire remote droid that sent back data.  I think it was somewhat indestructible in that it could defend itself when felt threatened.





And then theres this guy.





This model was only about 2-2½ feet tall.  It just goes to show how great camera work can create illusions, we all thought they were as big a skyscrapers!





Another amazing model.  By this time, I was starting to glaze over with information overload.  Good thing we were almost at the end of the exhibit.





By the time Fran and I had reached this point, my parents were sitting down near the gift shop.  Disney has influenced all future rides, exhibits, whatever, you always spill out in the gift shop!  My mom hadnt realized that the last character video had four different videos, so she came back and watched most of them with us.  Once we finished the exhibit Fran went through the gift shop taking pictures of the many books available on the Star Wars Universe and then we got in line for the last part of our experience.  They had a replica of the bridge of the Millennium Falcon.

This experience cost and extra 5 bucks.  I think the total cost per person for this whole day was like $30 with the extra thing.  Not exactly sure, but it was pretty cheap. We could have even got it a 50% off with entry after 2PM through Goldstar, but Fran wanted to make sure we had enough time.  We didnt know how long we would be enthralled by this experience.

After we waited about 20-25 minutes to go inside we were able to experience a trip through space in the Falcon. They used Soarin like technology to project images on the horizon in front of the ship and Anthony Daniels narrated a piece about space travel and our responsibility as humans and how we can better the universe and other stuff.  It was kind of cool going to hyperspace and was definitely worth the extra $5 to do this part of the experience.

















After this we all decided that we were more interested in a good meal than eating at the museum café.  Across the street was a McCormick and Schmicks and we ended up there after walking all over downtown San Jose checking out the other options. 

It was a great meal, but I didnt take any pictures since this trip wasnt about becoming a TR.  The whole visit did inspire us to watch the first episode in the trilogy at my parents house that night.  We have a tradition of watching movies since at their previous house they practically had a theater size movie screen in their living room.  My dad is adjusting to his only 50 inch TV screen, but we still enjoy the movies there.

Now we need to catch up on the rest of the five movies.  But there you have it, we are getting our Star Wars fix on!


----------



## ACDSNY

Cool exhibit, I've never heard anything about it.  Now you'll be ready for the Star Wars weekend.


----------



## franandaj

Well except that we still Haven't seen episodes 2 &  3 web are good.


----------



## ACDSNY

I don't think I've seen the full length of all of them either.  I've gotten bits and pieces when my kids were younger.


----------



## Paula Sedley-Burke

Omg how much would I love to see that! But thanks so much for posting the photos and narrative are like being there. As a fan of the original 3 movies I would have savoured every detail with Jo tapping her toes for hours at the gift shop! Were you able to take your scooters inside? All that reading oh my how would you stand! 

Isn't it so great to get into the Star Wars mood. All those models! I was really scared of the Sand people when I first watched SW lol. I love the Landspeeder I have never seen the model it is my favourite machine in SW movies. Cool they had the pod racer although I wasn't a big fan of the newer movies I did like the Pod racing! 

Thanks again for this. I am going to read it all again!


----------



## PrincessInOz

OMG!  I love that exhibition.  The displays are great and I would love to have that Millennium Falcon experience.

Thanks for sharing.  You better get moving on the other 5 movies.


----------



## dolphingirl47

franandaj said:


> Im glad you started your Panama Canal report!  We can talk about meeting up after you get back, but I think we can have a really fun time!
> 
> 
> 
> While Ive eaten at the Plaza Inn quite a few times, Ive never done the Carnation Café and they have so many items that look awesome, I think the fact that you need a reservation has kept me from it, but I bet walk ups arent as bad as some places, especially with the refurb.  I want to try the potato cheese soup!
> 
> 
> 
> I dont think weve tried it at WDW, only DL.  Perhaps well try it and see how we dont like being able to take the guns out of the holsters!  Ive done both sides many times BEFORE the refurb and I much prefer the older cars.  The new ones really restrict your space, but I guess the whole two people riding together with one person leaning up against the others crotch was not Disney like!
> 
> 
> 
> I glad that I could help feed your addiction!



I have been itching for a while to get the Panama Canal pre-trip report started.
Yes, there will be plenty of time to discuss the November trip when I get back. I am sure that a lot of fun is to be had on that trip.

I also really want to try the potato cheese soup at Carnation Cafe and the meatloaf is also calling my name.

I don't think I have done Matterhorn since the refurbishment.

I need very little encouragement to feed by addiction. At least there is no Dooney and Bourke bag on the cruise that calls my name this time round unless they release something new between now and then.

The Star Wars exhibition looks amazing and the extra experience definitely sounded worth the small upcharge.

Corinna


----------



## Pinkocto

What an amazing exhibit! Thanks so much for all the photos


----------



## jedijill

I am seriously geeking out!  I love Star Wars and that exhibition looked so cool!

Jill in CO


----------



## scottny

Those bugs were certainly hungry. LOL. It looked cute but it does look once is enough. 
Food looks good. 
It looked like a fun day. 
I loved the Frozen area. 
Love all the Star Wars stuff. I would love to see that. Kenny Baker played R2-D2 and one of the Ewoks. 
I would love that. Thanks for the pics. 
I recorded Star wars original trilogy yesterday on Spike. My blu rays are in storage and I needed a fix. LOl.


----------



## rentayenta

Ok, wow! What a cool exhibit. Now I want to watch Star Wars. I see a marathon in my future. I can't believe they had people in R2D2. I knew about C3PO but didn't realize they'd be close to imobile.


----------



## Leshaface

Oh what a cool exhibit!  I wish there was a way to go over to SJ and see it...but now DH has Baseball tournaments on the weekends and we're getting ready for our Vegas trip, there's really no time   This would have been fun though.


----------



## dgbg100106

All caught up again...

The shooting games, David always beats me, and the last time I did not even play, I just took so photos...

The train ride, I have never been on, but again I have only been there once so I guess something for the next time.

Lunch looked great, fried chicken is always something we go for.

The exhibit looked wonderful, and fun, and a learning experience, my Star Wars knowledge is really lacking...


----------



## franandaj

ACDSNY said:


> I don't think I've seen the full length of all of them either.  I've gotten bits and pieces when my kids were younger.



Yeah, we need to take care of that before we go.



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Omg how much would I love to see that! But thanks so much for posting the photos and narrative are like being there. As a fan of the original 3 movies I would have savoured every detail with Jo tapping her toes for hours at the gift shop! Were you able to take your scooters inside? All that reading oh my how would you stand!
> 
> Isn't it so great to get into the Star Wars mood. All those models! I was really scared of the Sand people when I first watched SW lol. I love the Landspeeder I have never seen the model it is my favourite machine in SW movies. Cool they had the pod racer although I wasn't a big fan of the newer movies I did like the Pod racing!
> 
> Thanks again for this. I am going to read it all again!



It was very cool.  Yes we could use our scooters, another reason that we could take our time.  If either of us had to stand through the exhibit we both would have been done in about 20 minutes!



PrincessInOz said:


> OMG!  I love that exhibition.  The displays are great and I would love to have that Millennium Falcon experience.
> 
> Thanks for sharing.  You better get moving on the other 5 movies.



It was really cool.  I'm glad we made the effort to go up there and see it before it closed.  Once it closes all the pieces go back to their owners never to be reunited again.



dolphingirl47 said:


> I have been itching for a while to get the Panama Canal pre-trip report started.
> Yes, there will be plenty of time to discuss the November trip when I get back. I am sure that a lot of fun is to be had on that trip.
> 
> I also really want to try the potato cheese soup at Carnation Cafe and the meatloaf is also calling my name.
> 
> I don't think I have done Matterhorn since the refurbishment.
> 
> I need very little encouragement to feed by addiction. At least there is no Dooney and Bourke bag on the cruise that calls my name this time round unless they release something new between now and then.
> 
> The Star Wars exhibition looks amazing and the extra experience definitely sounded worth the small upcharge.
> 
> Corinna



I really want to try the Potato Cheese soup as well.  We are planning on going out there this week and eating at the Carnation Café.  I hope it works out!  You would remember if you did the Matterhorn since, it's very cramped and difficult to get in and out of.  At least you don't have to worry about a D&B on your next trip.  I have to figure out how to use all of my purses. Two are still new in their bags!



Pinkocto said:


> What an amazing exhibit! Thanks so much for all the photos



You're Welcome!  



jedijill said:


> I am seriously geeking out!  I love Star Wars and that exhibition looked so cool!
> 
> Jill in CO



It was really cool!  So glad I got to do it!



scottny said:


> Those bugs were certainly hungry. LOL. It looked cute but it does look once is enough.
> Food looks good.
> It looked like a fun day.
> I loved the Frozen area.
> Love all the Star Wars stuff. I would love to see that. Kenny Baker played R2-D2 and one of the Ewoks.
> I would love that. Thanks for the pics.
> I recorded Star wars original trilogy yesterday on Spike. My blu rays are in storage and I needed a fix. LOl.



That was all Heimlich doing the eating!  And he goes back to do it again right away! 

I hope you enjoyed your Star Wars trilogy.  We need to get on watching them!



rentayenta said:


> Ok, wow! What a cool exhibit. Now I want to watch Star Wars. I see a marathon in my future. I can't believe they had people in R2D2. I knew about C3PO but didn't realize they'd be close to imobile.



The footage of him off camera was fascinating!  You wouldn't believe some of the droids that had people in them, talk about compromising positions!



Leshaface said:


> Oh what a cool exhibit!  I wish there was a way to go over to SJ and see it...but now DH has Baseball tournaments on the weekends and we're getting ready for our Vegas trip, there's really no time   This would have been fun though.



I'm sorry you can't sneak away to see it, it was so totally worth it!



dgbg100106 said:


> All caught up again...
> 
> The shooting games, David always beats me, and the last time I did not even play, I just took so photos...
> 
> The train ride, I have never been on, but again I have only been there once so I guess something for the next time.
> 
> Lunch looked great, fried chicken is always something we go for.
> 
> The exhibit looked wonderful, and fun, and a learning experience, my Star Wars knowledge is really lacking...



I'm horrible at the shooting games, but I keep trying.  You're not missing much with the bugsland rides, they're mostly for kiddies which is why I never did any of them.  I figure I might as well try them once!

I'm realizing too as I read the Star Wars Tips and Tricks thread that I don't know who half the Star Wars folks are, we need to see those next two movies!


----------



## PrincessInOz

Alison - Did you see the "live stream" of the new Festival of Fantasy parade on the Dis?  It looks great.  There's an amazing Maleficent float.  I hope you'll go to MK and see the parade and take pictures.


----------



## mvf-m11c

I can't believe I missed your update at the Star Wars Exhibit. I should consider going to that exhibit since it is not too far from San Jose. All of your pictures from the exhibit  are very nice.

Great update.


----------



## franandaj

PrincessInOz said:


> Alison - Did you see the "live stream" of the new Festival of Fantasy parade on the Dis?  It looks great.  There's an amazing Maleficent float.  I hope you'll go to MK and see the parade and take pictures.



I didn't see it, but I'll have to add it to the list.  I think MSEP will also be on the list.  Fran really enjoys that parade and after seeing your pictures I think it would be fun for her.  I'll just have that song stuck in my head until the Christmas Parade at DL starts, then I'll have that one my head instead!  



mvf-m11c said:


> I can't believe I missed your update at the Star Wars Exhibit. I should consider going to that exhibit since it is not too far from San Jose. All of your pictures from the exhibit  are very nice.
> 
> Great update.



You really should go see it, but there is only two weeks left so you better hurry!  ............................


----------



## Dis_Yoda

I'm ready for them to release the schedule for SWW too.  At least with the Tips thread, we should know as soon as its posted!  I would like to be able to plan out my final weekend more.  At least we aren't planning on any other park than Hollywood Studios that weekend.  

Then again, I've been more into planning my Fall Trips lately as I'm training for the ToT 10 Miler.


----------



## franandaj

Dis_Yoda said:


> I'm ready for them to release the schedule for SWW too.  At least with the Tips thread, we should know as soon as its posted!  I would like to be able to plan out my final weekend more.  At least we aren't planning on any other park than Hollywood Studios that weekend.
> 
> Then again, I've been more into planning my Fall Trips lately as I'm training for the ToT 10 Miler.



I'm ready too, but from what they say, we have another few weeks or so before they actually start to let things out.  

Combined with the fact that they are changing things completely, it might take longer than normal.  I totally understand the whole thing about canceling the Hoopla thing.  With Disney's strict Character Policy each character must remain in their character profile.  

Disney may be completely rewriting the SWW format, who knows?  

I don't think you're following my "House" thread, but we may need to cancel our May non Disney trip, so I'm all into worrying about that.  I have a lot of trips planned this summer that need planning so I'm lucky in that respect.  I still have yet to worry about my cruise out of Miami before I even start to worry about making reservations for my April 2015 WDW trip.


----------



## mvf-m11c

franandaj said:


> You really should go see it, but there is only two weeks left so you better hurry!  ............................



I might consider going down one of these next few days since I don't have work or basketball this week until next Saturday. Did you take the pictures with your DSLR or a point and shoot? I am wondering if I can bring my DSLR into the museum. But after seeing your pictures it is highly likely.


----------



## franandaj

mvf-m11c said:


> I might consider going down one of these next few days since I don't have work or basketball this week until next Saturday. Did you take the pictures with your DSLR or a point and shoot? I am wondering if I can bring my DSLR into the museum. But after seeing your pictures it is highly likely.



I used my P&S but I think DSLRs are allowed unless they are the totally tricked out with massive lenses.  I think if you have your normal lens they'll be OK with it.  I know they did have a restriction on massively tricked out press style cameras.


----------



## Dis_Yoda

franandaj said:


> I'm ready too, but from what they say, we have another few weeks or so before they actually start to let things out.
> 
> Combined with the fact that they are changing things completely, it might take longer than normal.  I totally understand the whole thing about canceling the Hoopla thing.  With Disney's strict Character Policy each character must remain in their character profile.
> 
> Disney may be completely rewriting the SWW format, who knows?
> 
> I don't think you're following my "House" thread, but we may need to cancel our May non Disney trip, so I'm all into worrying about that.  I have a lot of trips planned this summer that need planning so I'm lucky in that respect.  I still have yet to worry about my cruise out of Miami before I even start to worry about making reservations for my April 2015 WDW trip.



At least its something to look forward to with the changes being something new.  

Hopefully you get to go to the April Board Meeting!  I get about canceling trips.  My husband's position at his work was eliminated last Monday but the trip up in the air from that is our cruise.  I'm going to give it a month until we totally decide on what we are doing dependent on some things.


----------



## Captain_Oblivious

What an awesome exhibit!  That must have been so cool!

PLEASE tell me someone with better photoshop skillz than I is working on adding some laser effects to your picture on the "hovercraft".


----------



## mvf-m11c

franandaj said:


> I used my P&S but I think DSLRs are allowed unless they are the totally tricked out with massive lenses.  I think if you have your normal lens they'll be OK with it.  I know they did have a restriction on massively tricked out press style cameras.



Thank you for the reply Alison. You got a lot of great pictures with the P&S. Now I know what lens to bring when I go to San Jose.


----------



## franandaj

Dis_Yoda said:


> At least its something to look forward to with the changes being something new.
> 
> Hopefully you get to go to the April Board Meeting!  I get about canceling trips.  My husband's position at his work was eliminated last Monday but the trip up in the air from that is our cruise.  I'm going to give it a month until we totally decide on what we are doing dependent on some things.



With the addition of Symphony in the Sky, I think we're going to have to schedule a "come back" to DHS one of the nights, we have to figure that one out.



Captain_Oblivious said:


> What an awesome exhibit!  That must have been so cool!
> 
> PLEASE tell me someone with better photoshop skillz than I is working on adding some laser effects to your picture on the "hovercraft".



OK, this is the extent of my Photoshop, I got Version 12 for Christmas.  Can you tell what I did?  I think based on this, there are no laser effects coming to the photo on the hovercraft!  







mvf-m11c said:


> Thank you for the reply Alison. You got a lot of great pictures with the P&S. Now I know what lens to bring when I go to San Jose.



I'm glad you had a good experience at the Star Wars Exhibit.  You're right it was only a couple of hours, but I think it was a couple hours well spent!


----------



## franandaj

So Ive taken a bit of liberty on this TR to take you on a side trip to Disneyland Resort (even if we pretty much just stayed in our resort and indulged in food and drink), and then an exhibit of Star Wars props and other items.  Now its time to get back to the issue at hand.  What are we doing on our upcoming trip?  

It seems that we have another several weeks until they might actually release some information and then I will have to re do days 3-4 as things seem to be panning out differently than I had expected, but for now:

*Day 5 of our trip says we are Star Wars Weekends! out!*

After relating the plan thus far to Fran she agrees that we will definitely be Star Warsd out. Although I dont put it past her to have been brewing over some figurine that she thought about buying Friday and decided not to, but waking up Sunday she decides she wants it.  Ill give her that leeway, but otherwise we dont plan to hit DHS.

So far there are a variety of options.  If we havent had sufficient time to play the Sorcerers of the MK game, we might head over there at rope drop and give it a go.  We may decide just to take it easy, sleep in and have nice breakfast in the room.  Since weve had DVC (seven years now!), I like to make a hot breakfast including bacon at least one or two days each trip. Whether its bacon and eggs, French toast with bacon, pancakes and bacon, or just a bacon and cheddar cheese topped English muffin, to me nothing says vacation or the good life like bacon. Whether Sunday (Day 5 of our trip), is the day remains to be seen.  I might do it the day before, Im sneaky like that!

Regardless I will definitely want to get to Epcot sometime on this Sunday.  We will not yet have visited this place, and you all know from my previous trips, we like to stock up!













Ill probably be making some FP+ for 





And 





This is almost always a walk on so I think I will save my FP+ here.





And use it to meet Mickey, Minnie, Donald and Goofy!

Well need to get lunch somewhere and since I dont plan on making a reservation that leaves any of the many CS restaurants.  Id like to try Spice Road Table, Tangerine Café, Katsura Grill, or Tutto Gusto Wine Cellar.  However, I have a feeling that we might end up at Yorkshire County Fish Shop, Cantina de San Angel, or Sommerfest.

We shouldnt stuff ourselves too much for lunch, we have a nice dinner planned and I wouldnt want to spoil our appetites.   We may even snack our way around the world.  I would also really like to try one of the ice cream Martinis in France, so who knows? Well see what happens when the day arrives, this is more up in the air than we normally are!  How utterly spontaneous!

We will need to leave Epcot by 4PM as we have a rental car to pick up this evening.  I havent booked it yet, but I think we went with a midsize the last time and I think that will suit us just fine.

After we get back to the hotel, we will call up the rental car company for their complimentary shuttle. Last time from the VWL it was only a ½ hour to 45 minute process, so it should be even quicker from the VGF. Once the rental car is safely secured we can relax in the room until its time to head to dinner.  Luckily our restaurant is at the resort, albeit on the complete other side of the resort! We have a 7:15PM reservation at Narcoosees.   Last time we dined there, we split the lobster and two appetizers.  We had enough room for dessert and it was an excellent meal. I am definitely looking forward to this one again!

I went out on the deck to watch the MK fireworks the last time, perhaps this time Fran will join me.  After dinner, Im sure we will get back to the room just in time for our heads to hit the pillows before we crash.  At least I hope we make it to the bed before we crash!


----------



## dolphingirl47

Your plans sound great. As you know, I love playing The Sorcerer's of the Magic Kingdom. Just be aware that that Epcot has a tiered system for Fastpass+ and you can only have Fastpass+ for Test Track or Soarin on the same day. I love Narcoosees. This is our favourite Walt Disney World restaurant.

Corinna


----------



## PrincessInOz

Nice day planned.  I love Karamel Kuche!  I'll be so envious when I see what you stock up.

Corrina's pointed out that FP+ is now tiered.  I hope that you managed to get on both TT and Soarin'.  I suspect you might have to go stand-by for one of those.  If it came down to it, TT does have a single rider queue line; which might be the shortest queue.


----------



## mvf-m11c

You have a nice planned trip.


----------



## Leshaface

Hold on a sec...did you say you may make french toast for breakfast?!  How do you even have time for that?!  You must be amazing.  I only make it when I have like 20 minutes extra time to spare in the mornings.  I absolutely LOVE french toast/pancakes/waffles!

You may need to check out SRT so you can give me the scoop on it  Also, Tutto Gusto is fabulous!


----------



## franandaj

dolphingirl47 said:


> Your plans sound great. As you know, I love playing The Sorcerer's of the Magic Kingdom. Just be aware that that Epcot has a tiered system for Fastpass+ and you can only have Fastpass+ for Test Track or Soarin on the same day. I love Narcoosees. This is our favourite Walt Disney World restaurant.
> 
> Corinna



OK, I'm starting to wrap my head around this "Tiering" thing.  Something else I read on the SWW thread said about which attractions were Tier 1 and Tier 2.  I couldn't do FP+ at all on my last trip (well, I had to call in, and then I didn't have a list of what was available so it was worthless) so this will all be new to me.  If I had to pick, I'd choose TT. Soarin' is such an easy walk on in CA that I can just do it there on my next trip out that I decide to go to DCA, but TT, I can't do that very often.  Kind of like Star Tours.  I can usually get a FP to ride that in CA, but I can't get one for TSMM.  

My window opens up in two weeks, so I think I will be slightly pulling my hair out at that point!



PrincessInOz said:


> Nice day planned.  I love Karamel Kuche!  I'll be so envious when I see what you stock up.
> 
> Corrina's pointed out that FP+ is now tiered.  I hope that you managed to get on both TT and Soarin'.  I suspect you might have to go stand-by for one of those.  If it came down to it, TT does have a single rider queue line; which might be the shortest queue.



Fran always goes way over board, so it will be amusing to see what we come up with.  Going so late in the trip, we might actually have some left to take home!  

Yeah, this tiering thing is starting to sink in, but until I can see the options, I won't really understand it at all.



mvf-m11c said:


> You have a nice planned trip.



Thanks Bret!



Leshaface said:


> Hold on a sec...did you say you may make french toast for breakfast?!  How do you even have time for that?!  You must be amazing.  I only make it when I have like 20 minutes extra time to spare in the mornings.  I absolutely LOVE french toast/pancakes/waffles!
> 
> You may need to check out SRT so you can give me the scoop on it  Also, Tutto Gusto is fabulous!



We only make breakfast like that on a day that we have decided to take it slow.  Although there was one day on our trip in Jan/Feb 2013 when we made bacon & pancakes from a "just add water" mix at 6:30AM and we were done with breakfast by 7:00 and saw the opening show at MK.  That was at BLT. 

There are some mornings where we just say, "our vacation is worth it for us to have nice breakfast and get to the park when we get to the park."  There are other mornings when we want to get outta there and we grab a yogurt, glass of V8 and don't even have time for toast!  

I've already told Fran that we need to check out SRT, so hopefully that will be our choice for this day, if we go back to Epcot, hopefully we'll try the others.


----------



## dolphingirl47

I did just did a dummy Fastpass+ reservation.

Hollywood Studios Tier 1 (one selection)

Beauty and the Beast
Rock'n'Rollercoaster
Fantasmic!
Toy Story Mania

I am really surprised that Tower of Terror is not on this list, but this is a tier 2 attraction.

Epcot Tier 1 (one selection)

IlumiNations!
Maelstrom
Character Spot
Soarin
Test Track

Corinna


----------



## rentayenta

PrincessInOz said:


> Nice day planned.  I love Karamel Kuche!  I'll be so envious when I see what you stock up.  Corrina's pointed out that FP+ is now tiered.  I hope that you managed to get on both TT and Soarin'.  I suspect you might have to go stand-by for one of those.  If it came down to it, TT does have a single rider queue line; which might be the shortest queue.




Tiered?  



Great day planned Alison. So many good CS to choose from in Epcot. We love the CS in Morocco best but also enjoy Yorkshire and Mexico's CS. Gabby loves Japan's CS.


----------



## Paula Sedley-Burke

I agree re Star Wars / HW out by then! Sounds like a nice plan to go to MK in the morning and hit EPCOT. It is so lovely to have breakfast in the DVC unit. We do this  we rent a car and stock up at Walmart  

Lol re fixating on some figurine. With me it's always a t shirt! We then have to get CM to phone and find out where they have any left. One year had us go to the shop at the contemporary resort...then to the shop at AK...both showed stock but they weren't there! Finally my patient DW found one in OKW store lol. I still look at the t shirt and smile. 

Narcooseers sounds lovely! Hoping the car is for your trip to a certain place that stocks lots of Disney props....


----------



## PrincessInOz

rentayenta said:


> Tiered?




Yup.  They are sure taking the fun out of it all.


----------



## dgbg100106

Alison... Your plans look great!

The Karmel place is one of my favorite stops...  I always think "This time I am getting an apple"  and I never do, but they always looks so yummy...  

I love their candies, I just can't get enough of that wonderful karmel


----------



## rentayenta

PrincessInOz said:


> Yup.  They are sure taking the fun out of it all.






What's the purpose and the protocol, do you know? I hope Disneyland doesn't adapt this. Well at least I hope they don't until I learn something about it.


----------



## PrincessInOz

rentayenta said:


> What's the purpose and the protocol, do you know? I hope Disneyland doesn't adapt this. Well at least I hope they don't until I learn something about it.



If I were cynical, I would say it's to remove value out of the equation of guests and to increase revenue for Disney.  Cynical.  Yeah.  No cynics on the Dis, right?


I hope DLR doesn't adapt it so soon either.


----------



## franandaj

dolphingirl47 said:


> I did just did a dummy Fastpass+ reservation.
> 
> Hollywood Studios Tier 1 (one selection)
> 
> Beauty and the Beast
> Rock'n'Rollercoaster
> Fantasmic!
> Toy Story Mania
> 
> I am really surprised that Tower of Terror is not on this list, but this is a tier 2 attraction.
> 
> Epcot Tier 1 (one selection)
> 
> IlumiNations!
> Maelstrom
> Character Spot
> Soarin
> Test Track
> 
> Corinna



I completely understand the whole thing now after a looooooooooong phone call with Disney IT folks.



rentayenta said:


> Tiered?
> 
> 
> 
> Great day planned Alison. So many good CS to choose from in Epcot. We love the CS in Morocco best but also enjoy Yorkshire and Mexico's CS. Gabby loves Japan's CS.



Now that I understand FP+ this is probably going to change all my days that I've planned.



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> I agree re Star Wars / HW out by then! Sounds like a nice plan to go to MK in the morning and hit EPCOT. It is so lovely to have breakfast in the DVC unit. We do this  we rent a car and stock up at Walmart
> 
> Lol re fixating on some figurine. With me it's always a t shirt! We then have to get CM to phone and find out where they have any left. One year had us go to the shop at the contemporary resort...then to the shop at AK...both showed stock but they weren't there! Finally my patient DW found one in OKW store lol. I still look at the t shirt and smile.
> 
> Narcooseers sounds lovely! Hoping the car is for your trip to a certain place that stocks lots of Disney props....



I'm going to have to rethink my entire days knowing now how the FP+ system works.  Fran fixates on just about anything.  One day it's a figure, the next it's a painting, a mosaic.  



PrincessInOz said:


> Yup.  They are sure taking the fun out of it all.



Pretty much.  



dgbg100106 said:


> Alison... Your plans look great!
> 
> The Karmel place is one of my favorite stops...  I always think "This time I am getting an apple"  and I never do, but they always looks so yummy...
> 
> I love their candies, I just can't get enough of that wonderful karmel



I love the marshmallow and caramel pinwheels, those are my favorites!



rentayenta said:


> What's the purpose and the protocol, do you know? I hope Disneyland doesn't adapt this. Well at least I hope they don't until I learn something about it.



I doubt that Disneyland would adopt this, not with over 1 million So Cal AP holders who just would not put up with that much planning.  That's another reason they have so many varied QS options.  So Cal folks don't like to make reservations, and certainly not 6 months in advance!



PrincessInOz said:


> If I were cynical, I would say it's to remove value out of the equation of guests and to increase revenue for Disney.  Cynical.  Yeah.  No cynics on the Dis, right?
> 
> 
> I hope DLR doesn't adapt it so soon either.



I think it's to discourage park hopping and spontaneity, they can keep track of who rides what and when they are going to do it so that they have adequate staff to cover the attractions and no one attraction gets too busy.


----------



## franandaj

So my FP+ window opens up in about 10 days.  I wanted to make sure that I was all prepared for this, so I logged into MDE to check on my AP.  It showed that MY pass was linked to an MDE account, but that I still did not have a valid WDW AP.  

So again I was on the phone with IT, turns out passes issued in CA just aren't recognized by the WDW system.  After a long time on hold listening to just about every ride soundtrack from MK, she finally got back to me.  What I guess they did was issue me a "dummy" WDW pass which she said "would in no way affect my DLR pass" and it's functions, and that I could just leave that pass at home as my MBs would do all the functions of the pass.  Well, I'm not sure that the MB is going to get us our discount at the stores, so we'll be bringing the passes!

So she also informed me that in addition to my two MBs that I'm getting for CSR and VGF, I get another for being an AP holder!  Yay!    TWO more wasted bands!  Right now as an AP holder I can make FP+ selections 30 days in advance without a reservation on property.  But 60 days out, I will be able to make them for my entire stay. That's March 30th for the VGF.  So I began to play with the system and thought I would demonstrate for any of you out there who are confused, *cough* Jenny, like I used to be on how this works.

The first thing you do is select that park that you will be visiting for the day.





I picked Epcot for this example because Epcot and DHS are the only ones right now showing the Tiering.  So you can pick one ride from the top selection and two rides from the lower selection.  You scroll through to see which rides are offered in which tier and the "next" button won't light up until you have made three selections.  See so Corinna was right when she said I wouldn't be able to do both Soarin' and Test Track, so I'll skip Soarin'.  I can ride that anytime in CA.





Once you've picked your three attractions, it asks you to prioritize them.





Then MDE chooses your options for you.  This is the part that I don't like.





It picks what it thinks are your best matches which were all early FP+ selections before noon.  I didn't like the best match, but thought option B was a better fit for us.





I wanted to see what happened next, and I guess that was the last step, because now I have FP+ for April 15, 2014 at Epcot.  I need to figure out how to cancel these!  





Well, I went back and played with it some more and it seems that once you have your times confirmed you can go in and change them individually.  See I moved the attractions around and now are FP+ are all in a row.  This would actually work out well for us on this day (if we were going to be in Epcot). Because on one of our Epcot day we have a Le Cellier reservation at 7:30PM, we could arrive in the park late, do three attractions, have some time for shopping and still make our reservation!





So there you go!    We might actually ride some things a little bit more than we would have prior to FP+!

I'm still not sure if I like though.


----------



## PrincessInOz

YAY for having your FP+ booked. 

Yes, that MDE isn't very user friendly, is it?  But the main thing is that you've got your FP+ booked in and the times changed to suit yourself.


----------



## franandaj

PrincessInOz said:


> YAY for having your FP+ booked.
> 
> Yes, that MDE isn't very user friendly, is it?  But the main thing is that you've got your FP+ booked in and the times changed to suit yourself.



I booked my FP+ for April 15th.  We don't arrive until May 28th!  

We're not even going to be in Florida for that day.  I hit the "next" button thinking it would give me another screen asking me to confirm my choices, but it just said "Congratulations!  You have FP+ for April 15!  

I'm probably going to have to call them up and cancel via the phone.  There doesn't seem to be a way to do it online.


----------



## PrincessInOz

franandaj said:


> I booked my FP+ for April 15th.  We don't arrive until May 28th!
> 
> We're not even going to be in Florida for that day.  I hit the "next" button thinking it would give me another screen asking me to confirm my choices, but it just said "Congratulations!  You have FP+ for April 15!
> 
> I'm probably going to have to call them up and cancel via the phone.  There doesn't seem to be a way to do it online.



You got to pick FP+ for April 15th???  And you're not even going to be there???

That's a new one for the system.  I assume that this is because you got dummy MB; or is this because you have AP???  WOW!  Just think!  You could have FP+ booked for every day of the year!!!


----------



## eandesmom

You've got it exactly right.  Once you book them, it is easy to move them around to better fit exactly what you want.  It is rare that the 3 are at the right times from the git go, even with them giving you 4 options!  We like to book afternoon/evening ones and then hit a different park in the AM.

With the AP my understanding is you can book 7 days of FP within a rolling 30 day window that keeps rolling.  Or something like that.  I too will have 3 bands for this trip, last time my bands worked on both rooms but we will see if that happens this time.  I am collecting every color lol.  What colors did you pick?


----------



## stasijane

Isn't it funny how many MB you can end up with on one trip alone. Its silly. I have every color already which is good if I want to match my outfit other than that its a pain.


----------



## franandaj

PrincessInOz said:


> You got to pick FP+ for April 15th???  And you're not even going to be there???
> 
> That's a new one for the system.  I assume that this is because you got dummy MB; or is this because you have AP???  WOW!  Just think!  You could have FP+ booked for every day of the year!!!



It's the AP, it only let's me look 30 days in advance with the AP so just started poking around in April. March 30 I will be able to book all my stuff.



eandesmom said:


> You've got it exactly right.  Once you book them, it is easy to move them around to better fit exactly what you want.  It is rare that the 3 are at the right times from the git go, even with them giving you 4 options!  We like to book afternoon/evening ones and then hit a different park in the AM.
> 
> With the AP my understanding is you can book 7 days of FP within a rolling 30 day window that keeps rolling.  Or something like that.  I too will have 3 bands for this trip, last time my bands worked on both rooms but we will see if that happens this time.  I am collecting every color lol.  What colors did you pick?



I think we're going to book mostly afternoons as well only because, we plan to be lazy on the mornings that we aren't doing SWW.  Well at least a couple of them.  I like your idea of being able to stroll into a park afternoon and not worry about some of the better rides.

I just got gray for the first night since it's only one night.  I got red for my AP one and yellow for my VGF one.


----------



## eandesmom

franandaj said:


> I think we're going to book mostly afternoons as well only because, we plan to be lazy on the mornings that we aren't doing SWW.  Well at least a couple of them.  I like your idea of being able to stroll into a park afternoon and not worry about some of the better rides.
> 
> I just got gray for the first night since it's only one night.  I got red for my AP one and yellow for my VGF one.



I got yellow for my AP, I already have a yellow one but it's not an AP one.  LOL!  What did Fran get?

The afternoon FP+ worked GREAT for us this past trip.  I don't know how much we will use it in May, we've only booked it for 4 out of our 6 days but we will see.


----------



## rentayenta

I love you for posting the screens and walking through the process. Bummer your FPs are for a month before.


----------



## jedijill

Yay for figuring out the FP+ system and "fake" scheduling for April.   You are ready for the real show!

Jill in CO


----------



## dgbg100106

Nice tutorial Alison!  Thanks for the lesson... Now if I ever get to go back I might get use it!


----------



## ACDSNY

Congrats on mastering the FP+.  I keep thinking all this planning for FP+ is going to take all the spontaneity out our trips.


----------



## franandaj

eandesmom said:


> I got yellow for my AP, I already have a yellow one but it's not an AP one.  LOL!  What did Fran get?
> 
> The afternoon FP+ worked GREAT for us this past trip.  I don't know how much we will use it in May, we've only booked it for 4 out of our 6 days but we will see.



Fran got Orange and Blue, we'll end up being UCLA for the majority of the trip with our gold and blue.



rentayenta said:


> I love you for posting the screens and walking through the process. Bummer your FPs are for a month before.



I thought you would appreciate the little tutorial.  I wondered how the whole thing would work and since I couldn't have a "valid" pass I couldn't see all the screens that others did.  I thought it might help the overall confusion to give a few screen shots of what was possible.



jedijill said:


> Yay for figuring out the FP+ system and "fake" scheduling for April.   You are ready for the real show!
> 
> Jill in CO



I'm glad that I understand how it will work before we actually have to make our selections.  By the time we see each other I hope I have it all sealed up!



dgbg100106 said:


> Nice tutorial Alison!  Thanks for the lesson... Now if I ever get to go back I might get use it!



Hopefully you will get back there sometime! It's been a long time, you guys need to find at least a weekend trip or something!



ACDSNY said:


> Congrats on mastering the FP+.  I keep thinking all this planning for FP+ is going to take all the spontaneity out our trips.



It will.  But in reality, we don't have a lot of spontaneity in our trips. At least as far as rides go.  This just means that we can get on the rides we want to without having to jump through hoops or do the single rider line.  I can still do those things if I want.


----------



## franandaj

*Day 6 of our trip is for an off campus Disney experience.*

If you remember all the way back to the beginning of this PTR, the whole reason Fran said we could come back to Florida was that Theme Park Connection was moving to a bigger better warehouse and would be able to put more of their *FANTASTIC* merchandise on display.  This was the day that made the most sense to visit the warehouse since SWW wasnt going on and we would finally be rested up from the plane trip and able to take it all in.  

As far as I know they open at 10AM and we plan on arriving right at rope drop.  I believe that Ruthie plans on joining us as well as Paula and Jo from the UK.  It turns out that their travel dates are almost identical to ours and we may run into them at SWW as well since we have similar plans to shop, catch the parade and other things.  Besides those of us in scooters just tend to run into each other and I dont mean literally!  

I only have some pictures from the old TPC, so youll have to be happy with that.

























The last time we hit up TPC it was a morning event and we were well finished by the afternoon.  In fact we were able to hit our favorite chain steakhouse on International Drive, (Lonestar Steakhouse) for some good hearty Rib Eye steaks for lunch and one of those Bloomin Onions that are so full of that hearty fried goodness. You see the one in Long Beach that we used to frequent shut down about 3 years ago.  There is still one in Tustin, but thats about 30 minutes or more away from home.  Is it worth the drive to get a Rib Eye for under $25?  Depends, we did it two Saturdays ago, but that was starting out from Disneyland so we were only about 5 miles away, from there it was a no brainer.  Especially when we had enough gift cards to cover the meal!  From our own house, we have yet to set out from here, weve only been there when were already over in Orange County, but I digress

OK back to the PTR, who knows what we will do once we leave TPC.  Obviously we will need some lunch, but I doubt we will go the Lonestar route on this day because we have a reservation at Le Cellier.  Last time after the lunch we hit Walmart, but since were nearing the end of our trip we might not, but then again were talking about Fran here.  If she has a chance to shop, especially at Walmart, were going there, so shall we place bets on what we do after TPC??????   

Well have to return the car by about 6PMish that day and then head off to Epcot for dinner at Le Cellier. Im going to put in some FP+ requests.  Based on what I learned when I wrote up the tutorial, for Sunday I will choose Test Track, Spaceship Earth and I guess Mission Space.  For Monday I think Ill pick the Character Spot, Living with the Land and Mission Space.  Mostly for the Character Spot, if I skip the other two I wont be totally upset.  This means that my FP+ windows will be starting around 4:30PM, its possible that we could still be shopping then!  

Anyways, back to Dinner. We had a little surprise today, and now have yet another DISmeet in the plans. Pinkocto emailed me this morning that she was going to be the Orlando area on this night and were we interested in having dinner?  I was SURE that Le Cellier would be booked up and there was no way we could expand to a party of three, but I guess the ADR goddesses were smiling on me today. I was able to find a reservation for three at 7:40PM, only 25 minutes later than the original reservation!  Yay!  

The last time we ate at Le Cellier, it was for lunch and it wasnt a signature restaurant yet. They didnt have a Rib Eye (which is one of the reasons we are finally going back) We will definitely have some more of the soup. I have made this quite a few times at home out of the F&W cookbook and it is a definite favorite of mine, not sure if Fran likes it as much, but I sure do!





Since we havent had the Rib eye here, we dont have a picture. They dont have the crazy Fred Flinstone Tomahawk Rib Eye that we love from the Del Friscos steakhouse, but I thought I would include a picture of that anyways.  It just gives us something to look forward to in Las Vegas or some other town that has a Del Friscos Steakhouse.  





OK, so back to the TR, I think after we eat at Le Cellier, we will be done for the night.  I dont see us hanging around for Illuminations, Fran doesnt like it nearly as much as I do, so well probably be boring and just head home for bed.  We have some animals to visit in the morning!


----------



## ACDSNY

I can't wait to see the treasures you'll find shopping and a DISmeet the Le Cellier is a great way to end the day.


----------



## dolphingirl47

That sounds like a wonderful day. I can't wait to read about all your finds and what a great place for a DIS Meet. How lucky that you get the chance to meet Pam on that day as well.

Corinna


----------



## rentayenta

What a wonderful day! Pam, Le Cellier, and the warehouse. Awesome!  

I like Lonestar too but all of ours closed. I haven't had their Bloomin Onion before. I love Outbacks though.


----------



## Pinkocto

All that shopping sounds fabulous  can't wait to hear what treasures you find. 

Im so glad things worked out that we can get together, that will be great fun


----------



## PrincessInOz

What a great day Day 6 is going to be.  Shopping at TPC with Ruthie, Paula and Jo and dinner with Pinkocto; with rides and character M&G thrown in between.  Fantastic.  I'm so envious.


----------



## jedijill

What a great day you have planned!  I haven't been to LC for ages but I love that soup!  I also love that Fred Flinstone ribeye from Del Friscos...I always order it when a vendor is paying for dinner...then I eat on it for a week!

Jill in CO


----------



## Paula Sedley-Burke

Cool re TPC! We have an early lunch/brunch reservation so if we do join you and I am well enough we were going to come down in the early afternoon so looks like we will sadly miss you! Save some stuff for us! Unless you are still there! Def see you at RD on friday though  broom broom...

63 days to go for us...


----------



## Captain_Oblivious

Theme Park Connection feels like one of those mystical places you hear whispers/rumors about, but are never quite sure it actually exists.  Thankfully, you provided pictures, so that clears it up.

I don't know a whole lot about it, but it looks like a cool place.  Especially if you happen to have kids who are into theming their bedrooms.

Good call on Le Cellier!  I was disappointed when it became a "signature" restaurant since that meant it would take 2 meals off the dining plan, but I have a special place in my heart for that cheddar cheese soup.


----------



## dgbg100106

so do you really think that half a day in the TPC is enough?  This seems like a place that Fran could get lost in... Ha-Ha, well I think I could get lost in there also, I love looking at all that.

Dinner - I have never eaten there, I have had the soup from there during Food and Wine but have never been in there for lunch or dinner, it was always booked and I could never get a reservation.

I am excited for you!


----------



## mvf-m11c

You have a great planned day at the TPC, DISMeets, and Le Cellier. Sounds like you will all have a great time.


----------



## Leshaface

I hope you find lots of great stuff at TPC (i'm sure you will )

And yay for a dinner at Le Cellier with Pam!  That will be fun.


----------



## Paula Sedley-Burke

Did you see Alison on the SWW thread that they are doing characters meals? 

http://theadultsideofdisney.com/wdw-star-wars-weekends-character-dining/

Booking from today if you are interested..


----------



## jedijill

Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Did you see Alison on the SWW thread that they are doing characters meals?
> 
> http://theadultsideofdisney.com/wdw-star-wars-weekends-character-dining/
> 
> Booking from today if you are interested..



I would totally do those meals!!!!!

Jill in CO


----------



## dolphingirl47

I would love to do the one with the characters in their Star Wars costumes. The fact that this also can be done as Fantasmic dinner package is even better.

Corinna


----------



## Paula Sedley-Burke

dolphingirl47 said:


> I would love to do the one with the characters in their Star Wars costumes. The fact that this also can be done as Fantasmic dinner package is even better.  Corinna


 I know right! Getting a booking is like trying to slip by a Jedi master unseen...


----------



## Paula Sedley-Burke

jedijill said:


> I would totally do those meals!!!!!  Jill in CO


 if I can't get a booking I am going to offer to wash up instead lol..or dress up as a Jawa just to get in..


----------



## franandaj

ACDSNY said:


> I can't wait to see the treasures you'll find shopping and a DISmeet the Le Cellier is a great way to end the day.



I hope that now that the place is even bigger we don't need to buy another suitcase to get home!  



dolphingirl47 said:


> That sounds like a wonderful day. I can't wait to read about all your finds and what a great place for a DIS Meet. How lucky that you get the chance to meet Pam on that day as well.
> 
> Corinna



I was so pleased that WDW had a reservation available for the three of us.  It will be a great ending to the day!



rentayenta said:


> What a wonderful day! Pam, Le Cellier, and the warehouse. Awesome!
> 
> I like Lonestar too but all of ours closed. I haven't had their Bloomin Onion before. I love Outbacks though.



 Should be a great day!



Pinkocto said:


> All that shopping sounds fabulous  can't wait to hear what treasures you find.
> 
> Im so glad things worked out that we can get together, that will be great fun



It sure will be!



PrincessInOz said:


> What a great day Day 6 is going to be.  Shopping at TPC with Ruthie, Paula and Jo and dinner with Pinkocto; with rides and character M&G thrown in between.  Fantastic.  I'm so envious.



It will be a great and fun day.  I just wish that I could get past the crappy days right now.  Just postponed our appointment with the tax accountant for the second time this week!   



jedijill said:


> What a great day you have planned!  I haven't been to LC for ages but I love that soup!  I also love that Fred Flinstone ribeye from Del Friscos...I always order it when a vendor is paying for dinner...then I eat on it for a week!
> 
> Jill in CO



Wow!  You have vendors who take you there for business dinners!



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Cool re TPC! We have an early lunch/brunch reservation so if we do join you and I am well enough we were going to come down in the early afternoon so looks like we will sadly miss you! Save some stuff for us! Unless you are still there! Def see you at RD on friday though  broom broom...
> 
> 63 days to go for us...



Well that's too bad.    Where are you having brunch?  We may well still be there.  If the place has become that big, you never know!

61 days until we arrive 62 days until the VGF!


----------



## franandaj

Captain_Oblivious said:


> Theme Park Connection feels like one of those mystical places you hear whispers/rumors about, but are never quite sure it actually exists.  Thankfully, you provided pictures, so that clears it up.
> 
> I don't know a whole lot about it, but it looks like a cool place.  Especially if you happen to have kids who are into theming their bedrooms.
> 
> Good call on Le Cellier!  I was disappointed when it became a "signature" restaurant since that meant it would take 2 meals off the dining plan, but I have a special place in my heart for that cheddar cheese soup.



I had never heard of TPC until the last D23 Expo.  Fran got to be on a first name basis with them by the end of the show.  And it's not just kids who are theming their bedrooms!  

We never do the dining plan because it just doesn't make sense for us.  We usually order 1 entrée for two of us, and sometimes have dinner on just appetizers so making it a signature just meant for us that it was easier to get into now that the people on the dining plan don't go there as much!



dgbg100106 said:


> so do you really think that half a day in the TPC is enough?  This seems like a place that Fran could get lost in... Ha-Ha, well I think I could get lost in there also, I love looking at all that.
> 
> Dinner - I have never eaten there, I have had the soup from there during Food and Wine but have never been in there for lunch or dinner, it was always booked and I could never get a reservation.
> 
> I am excited for you!



Since we don't have the option of leaving our luggage at the hotel while we take home our loot, I think a day will be just fine!  We had lunch there almost 5 years ago.  Wow!  I can't believe it's been that long.  We decided to give it another shot since they added a Rib Eye to the menu.  Without that it's really just a place with some good cheese soup.



mvf-m11c said:


> You have a great planned day at the TPC, DISMeets, and Le Cellier. Sounds like you will all have a great time.



Thanks Bret!



Leshaface said:


> I hope you find lots of great stuff at TPC (i'm sure you will )
> 
> And yay for a dinner at Le Cellier with Pam!  That will be fun.



All in all, I think this will be a great day!



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Did you see Alison on the SWW thread that they are doing characters meals?
> 
> http://theadultsideofdisney.com/wdw-star-wars-weekends-character-dining/
> 
> Booking from today if you are interested..



I did see that on the SWW thread.  We entertained the idea, but it really just didn't work with our schedule.  We are arriving at rope drop Friday to shop so breakfast would cut into our parade waiting time.  We're coming back for the fireworks that night, but dinner at a restaurant would take away from nap time.

Saturday we want to sleep in so breakfast is again out, and by the time we finish Sat night, we'll be ready to go back to the room and have dinner there.  Sunday we'll move on to Epcot, so we gave up on the idea.



jedijill said:


> I would totally do those meals!!!!!
> 
> Jill in CO



I would like to, but there is just so much else planned!



dolphingirl47 said:


> I would love to do the one with the characters in their Star Wars costumes. The fact that this also can be done as Fantasmic dinner package is even better.
> 
> Corinna



I'm hoping to just line up for a few of them.  The meals are kind of pricey and a lot of food.  If I didn't already have a good idea of what I wanted to do on those days, I might have changed our plans.



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> I know right! Getting a booking is like trying to slip by a Jedi master unseen...







Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> if I can't get a booking I am going to offer to wash up instead lol..or dress up as a Jawa just to get in..



  Did you get a booking?


----------



## PrincessInOz

Take care, Alison.  I hope the crappy days pass quick.


----------



## franandaj

PrincessInOz said:


> Take care, Alison.  I hope the crappy days pass quick.



Me too.  This doing your taxes thing sucks.  Every year Fran says she will do it throughout the year, and every year we are stuck at the end of March with a crazy frenzy to complete them!


----------



## ACDSNY

I'm sure my DH says the same thing about me and taxes.


----------



## jedijill

franandaj said:


> Me too.  This doing your taxes thing sucks.  Every year Fran says she will do it throughout the year, and every year we are stuck at the end of March with a crazy frenzy to complete them!



You need a fun filled week with a new friend from Colorado to make things better. 

Jill in CO


----------



## rentayenta

Taxes.  We just finished and finally spoke to the accountant yesterday. Wasn't as wonderful as I was hoping for but not bad either. Ours is difficult with just our personal and the business, I can't imagine how fun yours are with all of the rentals and such.  Good luck girl!


----------



## franandaj

ACDSNY said:


> I'm sure my DH says the same thing about me and taxes.







jedijill said:


> You need a fun filled week with a new friend from Colorado to make things better.
> 
> Jill in CO



I think you have a good point there!  Some BBQ and fine wine thrown in there wouldn't hurt either!


----------



## jedijill

franandaj said:


> I think you have a good point there!  Some BBQ and fine wine thrown in there wouldn't hurt either!



I'll see if I can find a willing victim. 

Jill in CO


----------



## franandaj

rentayenta said:


> Taxes.  We just finished and finally spoke to the accountant yesterday. Wasn't as wonderful as I was hoping for but not bad either. Ours is difficult with just our personal and the business, I can't imagine how fun yours are with all of the rentals and such.  Good luck girl!



The rentals aren't even the confusing part. We just save every bill and receipt and at tax time she enters everything into a spreadsheet. The worst part is that she doesn't want to miss a single deduction. 

The confusing stuff is the Tenants in Common. I don't know how the accountant does it, but he makes it look like we make almost nothing.



jedijill said:


> I'll see if I can find a willing victim.
> 
> Jill in CO


----------



## PrincessInOz

jedijill said:


> I'll see if I can find a willing victim.
> 
> Jill in CO



You won't need to look too hard.


----------



## jedijill

PrincessInOz said:


> You won't need to look too hard.





Jill in CO


----------



## franandaj

PrincessInOz said:


> You won't need to look too hard.





jedijill said:


> Jill in CO


----------



## franandaj

*Day 7 of our trip we are due for a talk with the animals.*

Last trip to WDW we spent so much time eating and drinking that we didnt make it to all four parks.  There was just so much going on between the meets, the F&W special events and such that Animal Kingdom was the park that got left out. So this trip I wanted to make sure that we have a day to get there and see the animals. I dont think that anything new has been added since our last visit, but its a fun park and we should hit it at least every other trip.

My plan is to get there pretty early. AK does not have tiering in effect for their FP+ so that means that we can choose any of the attractions available via FP+.  I think I would choose the safari, Everest and perhaps a meet and greet if one is offered or maybe Dinosaur.  I need to work it out, the window is opening soon!

Regardless of how our day pans out, we plan to leave the park by about 1:30 or 2PM and head over to the Animal Kingdom Lodge or should I say Kidani?  We have a special lunch planned.





Last time we ate here it was fantastic! I just hopped over to allears.net to check out the menu and they took all my favorite things off the menu.  Now the lamb kefta kebabs are replaced with lamb kefta sliders.  The seared scallops are no longer on the menu, and they changed it all around.  I may be rethinking this one!

Following our visit to Sanaa (maybe or maybe not) we have no plans.  


At all.  


We still havent made a trip to DTD, and I dont have any concrete plans for dinner.  Maybe we will skip Sanaa all together, and opt to head back to the room for a nap, and then make an evening run over to DTD and catch dinner there while doing our shopping.  How spontaneous!

Wow, there sure seems to be a lot on this trip that Im NOT planning.  However, Ive found that we need that so that all the things Fran never told me she wants to do have a space in which we can do them!

I guess this day is a wrap!


----------



## PrincessInOz

Sounds like another great day.  I like leaving days unplanned so that you can fit other things in.....like whatever Fran doesn't mention to you.  

Enjoy AK.  


Looking forward to seeing the Sanaa food porn.


----------



## franandaj

PrincessInOz said:


> Sounds like another great day.  I like leaving days unplanned so that you can fit other things in.....like whatever Fran doesn't mention to you.
> 
> Enjoy AK.
> 
> 
> Looking forward to seeing the Sanaa food porn.



That is if we end up there.  I love Indian food, but again, WDW is dumming down the menus to appeal to the masses.  I'll check the menu a couple days before our reservation and we'll make a decision.  The latest update on allears was Feb 2014.  We're going there for me not Fran so she will go with whatever I say.  At this point, I would be just as happy eating at Paradisio 37 or maybe Raglan Road outside, so we'll see.


----------



## Paula Sedley-Burke

How nice to do AK. I do like that park. No trip is complete without EE! I didn't get a SWW character dinner booking but Jo says she isn't giving up! She phones every night! I tell her don't worry but she is so sweet. She says I am denied so much in life she will score me a Jedi Mickey! 

Our late breakfast ( which we use for lunch as we have breakfast as well earlier in our room lol ) is at 11:30 at chef Mickey so we are heading down to TPC after that. Hopefully you will still be there!


----------



## franandaj

Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> How nice to do AK. I do like that park. No trip is complete without EE! I didn't get a SWW character dinner booking but Jo says she isn't giving up! She phones every night! I tell her don't worry but she is so sweet. She says I am denied so much in life she will score me a Jedi Mickey!
> 
> Our late breakfast ( which we use for lunch as we have breakfast as well earlier in our room lol ) is at 11:30 at chef Mickey so we are heading down to TPC after that. Hopefully you will still be there!



That's so sweet of Jo to do that for you.  There may be cancellations so you never know.  

Last time we got there at "rope drop" for TPC and looked through most everything and checked out by around 12PM.  Supposedly this place is larger and they will have more out to look at so we'll see how long we last there.  I suppose we will be running into each other Friday and Saturday as well, but hopefully we can catch up a little bit on Monday as well.


----------



## Paula Sedley-Burke

franandaj said:


> That's so sweet of Jo to do that for you.  There may be cancellations so you never know.  Last time we got there at "rope drop" for TPC and looked through most everything and checked out by around 12PM.  Supposedly this place is larger and they will have more out to look at so we'll see how long we last there.  I suppose we will be running into each other Friday and Saturday as well, but hopefully we can catch up a little bit on Monday as well.


i hope so! Well we will def see you at RD and in Dart Mall on Friday! I will keep an eye out for you both! Would love to say Hi!


----------



## franandaj

Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> i hope so! Well we will def see you at RD and in Dart Mall on Friday! I will keep an eye out for you both! Would love to say Hi!



I'm guessing that we are sure to run into each other this day.  Since we have the same plan we will probably run into each other at the line up and the parade.  I'm thinking that you folks will finish your shopping before we do because Fran will probably want one of everything.  So once you guys get what you want and Fran is checking out, we can go and sit and wait for parade spots.  She can come and join us after they show her every figure that she wants and all that.

So Hopefully we can watch the parade together, and then figure out what we're going to do.  We're looking forward to this time spent with you two!


----------



## Paula Sedley-Burke

franandaj said:


> I'm guessing that we are sure to run into each other this day.  Since we have the same plan we will probably run into each other at the line up and the parade.  I'm thinking that you folks will finish your shopping before we do because Fran will probably want one of everything.  So once you guys get what you want and Fran is checking out, we can go and sit and wait for parade spots.  She can come and join us after they show her every figure that she wants and all that.  So Hopefully we can watch the parade together, and then figure out what we're going to do.  We're looking forward to this time spent with you two!


oh yes let's do the parade  that would be great  see you there! 

It's sad isn't it that TIW not longer has V & A!   I just read that.


----------



## Dis_Yoda

Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> oh yes let's do the parade  that would be great  see you there!
> 
> It's sad isn't it that TIW not longer has V & A!   I just read that.




As of August 1st, it will no longer take TiW.  Might as try to get one more trip in if you haven't gone recently


----------



## Paula Sedley-Burke

Dis_Yoda said:


> As of August 1st, it will no longer take TiW.  Might as try to get one more trip in if you haven't gone recently


 we have never been to V & A's looks nice though. Probably never will now!


----------



## franandaj

Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> oh yes let's do the parade  that would be great  see you there!
> 
> It's sad isn't it that TIW not longer has V & A!   I just read that.



That's a bummer about V&A's.  We should definitely do the parade together!



Dis_Yoda said:


> As of August 1st, it will no longer take TiW.  Might as try to get one more trip in if you haven't gone recently



We went last October, sadly I will not be able to convince Fran for another visit this next trip.  We're doing Narcoosee's instead.



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> we have never been to V & A's looks nice though. Probably never will now!



That's too bad.  Chef Hunnel would really make you a nice meal that you could enjoy.

Have you made your FP+ selections girl?  I'm making mine right now!


----------



## PrincessInOz

Sounds like a great SWW meet-up.

What FP+ did you select?


----------



## mvf-m11c

Sounds like you have a great plan at AK.


----------



## ACDSNY

AK sounds like a good plan.  That's too bad about the menu changes.


----------



## franandaj

PrincessInOz said:


> Sounds like a great SWW meet-up.
> 
> What FP+ did you select?



I'll report back here about the FP+ selections.  They're pretty close to the ones that I suggested in the individual days with the exception of the Epcot days that we had tiering.



mvf-m11c said:


> Sounds like you have a great plan at AK.



Thanks!  I think it will be a good day.  



ACDSNY said:


> AK sounds like a good plan.  That's too bad about the menu changes.



I know, it was so good last year, this year sounds like not so much.  As if they changed the menu to be more "American".  The whole reason for a place like Sanaa is to have it be unique.  Why did they need to make the kebabs into sliders?????????


----------



## franandaj

Oh and hey, I forgot to announce it on this thread, but we booked B2B Cruises out of San Diego for May 2015.  I call it a 5 night cruise with stops in San Diego and Ensenada with two days at sea!     

Just the one port stop in San Diego, we have no choice as to whether or not to take a trip off the ship and go through customs.


----------



## PrincessInOz

YAY for the B2B cruise out of SD.


----------



## Paula Sedley-Burke

franandaj said:


> Oh and hey, I forgot to announce it on this thread, but we booked B2B Cruises out of San Diego for May 2015.  I call it a 5 night cruise with stops in San Diego and Ensenada with two days at sea!       Just the one port stop in San Diego, we have no choice as to whether or not to take a trip off the ship and go through customs.


cool great news! Days at sea means Palo brunch! Get some of that amazing stolen! How wonderful. We booked up May 2015 also. Other side of the coast! We are on The Magic 5 night out of PC Key West, Nassau, Castaway Cay , day at sea. Yeah! 

Have you booked your FP+ for Friday 30th May thanks you reminding me to do it! I got TSM , Star Tours and Voyage of the little mermaid. TSM in the afternoon between 3:50 and 4:50 in the handicap line. Maybe see you there! I have the car without the pull string it has buttons! But I still only score beaver lol.


----------



## franandaj

PrincessInOz said:


> YAY for the B2B cruise out of SD.



Thanks!  It should be fun, I'm thinking of it as a 5 night cruise with a mandatory port stop in San Diego for a couple hours.



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> cool great news! Days at sea means Palo brunch! Get some of that amazing stolen! How wonderful. We booked up May 2015 also. Other side of the coast! We are on The Magic 5 night out of PC Key West, Nassau, Castaway Cay , day at sea. Yeah!
> 
> Have you booked your FP+ for Friday 30th May thanks you reminding me to do it! I got TSM , Star Tours and Voyage of the little mermaid. TSM in the afternoon between 3:50 and 4:50 in the handicap line. Maybe see you there! I have the car without the pull string it has buttons! But I still only score beaver lol.



I'm hoping for Palo Brunch on both of the Sea days since we have one on the 2 night and one on the 3 night.  We'll also do one night at Palo, I'm not sure I can take two nights there in such a short time period.  much too rich.

We booked all our FP+ for the May/June trip, do you need to book separately for the HA line?  I didn't know there was an alternative to the pull string.  That would really help Fran out.


----------



## Paula Sedley-Burke

franandaj said:


> Thanks!  It should be fun, I'm thinking of it as a 5 night cruise with a mandatory port stop in San Diego for a couple hours.  I'm hoping for Palo Brunch on both of the Sea days since we have one on the 2 night and one on the 3 night.  We'll also do one night at Palo, I'm not sure I can take two nights there in such a short time period.  much too rich.  We booked all our FP+ for the May/June trip, do you need to book separately for the HA line?  I didn't know there was an alternative to the pull string.  That would really help Fran out.


 how glorious re Palo brunch and Dinner. Us too! We should be gold by then so should be able to book before Silver members! 

No you don't need to book HA separately just turn up in the handicap line and ask for the car with the buttons not the pull cord. My wrists hurt for a week after using those and a cast member told me they had the button car. I have used it ever since! I think the car is called Jessie! I just got a new gogo scooter and I named it Jessie. My other scooter is Buzz Lightyear! Jessie is coming to the world in May after your helpful advise


----------



## rentayenta

Back to back from San Diego?  Congrats!!!


----------



## Pinkocto

franandaj said:


> Oh and hey, I forgot to announce it on this thread, but we booked B2B Cruises out of San Diego for May 2015.  I call it a 5 night cruise with stops in San Diego and Ensenada with two days at sea!
> 
> Just the one port stop in San Diego, we have no choice as to whether or not to take a trip off the ship and go through customs.



Congratulations!!!!  Same room so you don't have to move your stuff?


----------



## Paula Sedley-Burke

Pinkocto said:


> Congratulations!!!!  Same room so you don't have to move your stuff?


 that is so cool you can do that! I also heard that when you disembark you can go with the crew to the local walmart and stock up on sodas!


----------



## spiritsim

WOW love your plans and love love love the cruise.......I would love to cruise one day.........congrats


----------



## scottny

MMM, love narcoosses. 
The amount of MBs is ridiculous. Such a waste of money they are throwing out the window. We got doubles when we went. I am sure if we book we would get the AP ones too. 
Love to get to TPC one day. 
MMM, Le Cellier. The only thing I care for there is the cheddar soup. I make it too and it is one of Vinnys favorites. 
Sanaa is my favorite restaurant at WDW. It is so good. 
The plans sound good.


----------



## eandesmom

I like having a chunk of time that isn't planned.  As long as part of the day is, we can then still be spontaneous but not fall into the "I don't know, what do you want to do" scenario that seems to happen if I leave an entire day open.

I love Sanaa.  We do plan to go there in Sept.  It's a must do for both of us.  Luckily our fav's are intact.

I love AK too, it often gets shortchanged on our trips and I have a feeling we will be there quite a bit in Sept.  Jeff LOVES AK.


----------



## ACDSNY

franandaj said:


> I know, it was so good last year, this year sounds like not so much. As if they changed the menu to be more "American". The whole reason for a place like Sanaa is to have it be unique. Why did they need to make the kebabs into sliders?????????


 
 I'm with you, I don't know why they have to take away what makes a place unique.  



franandaj said:


> Oh and hey, I forgot to announce it on this thread, but we booked B2B Cruises out of San Diego for May 2015. I call it a 5 night cruise with stops in San Diego and Ensenada with two days at sea!
> 
> Just the one port stop in San Diego, we have no choice as to whether or not to take a trip off the ship and go through customs.



  Yay for B2B!


----------



## franandaj

Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> how glorious re Palo brunch and Dinner. Us too! We should be gold by then so should be able to book before Silver members!
> 
> No you don't need to book HA separately just turn up in the handicap line and ask for the car with the buttons not the pull cord. My wrists hurt for a week after using those and a cast member told me they had the button car. I have used it ever since! I think the car is called Jessie! I just got a new gogo scooter and I named it Jessie. My other scooter is Buzz Lightyear! Jessie is coming to the world in May after your helpful advise



Oh yeah, I still owe you a picture of the cord thingy to see if you need to buy one or not.



rentayenta said:


> Back to back from San Diego?  Congrats!!!



Yay!  



Pinkocto said:


> Congratulations!!!!  Same room so you don't have to move your stuff?



 Very cool!  We just have to get off the ship and from what I hear, they let us off after all the other passengers have disembarked and we get priority for reboarding.



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> that is so cool you can do that! I also heard that when you disembark you can go with the crew to the local walmart and stock up on sodas!



We will stock up before the cruise so we won't need to get any on the quickie day.  I'm sure we'll board with enough for the whole 5 nights.



spiritsim said:


> WOW love your plans and love love love the cruise.......I would love to cruise one day.........congrats



Thanks!  Nice to see you back again.  Cruising is so much fun!  It's just a blast!



scottny said:


> MMM, love narcoosses.
> The amount of MBs is ridiculous. Such a waste of money they are throwing out the window. We got doubles when we went. I am sure if we book we would get the AP ones too.
> Love to get to TPC one day.
> MMM, Le Cellier. The only thing I care for there is the cheddar soup. I make it too and it is one of Vinnys favorites.
> Sanaa is my favorite restaurant at WDW. It is so good.
> The plans sound good.



The whole MB thing is ridiculous, I can't wait to get my three for this upcoming trip.



eandesmom said:


> I like having a chunk of time that isn't planned.  As long as part of the day is, we can then still be spontaneous but not fall into the "I don't know, what do you want to do" scenario that seems to happen if I leave an entire day open.
> 
> I love Sanaa.  We do plan to go there in Sept.  It's a must do for both of us.  Luckily our fav's are intact.
> 
> I love AK too, it often gets shortchanged on our trips and I have a feeling we will be there quite a bit in Sept.  Jeff LOVES AK.



Yeah, it's good to have some days open because Fran has all these ideas about what she wants to do, but doesn't come up with them until we are there.  I know now that she will want to hit the art store at DTD and the ones at Epcot and MK, but the only one that really seems to make a dent is the DTD one, they have the most stuff and a binder where you can order things from the warehouse.  That's what takes a while and costs a lot.

Hopefully we will still go to Sanaa, I never get Indian food at home, even if my favorites are gone, I'm sure I will still like whatever choices they have left.  Besides the menu could  change again before we go.



ACDSNY said:


> I'm with you, I don't know why they have to take away what makes a place unique.
> 
> Yay for B2B!



I know, the menus are becoming so generic it's just sad.

I can't believe that I have this many cruises scheduled in such a short time!    We are finally making up for all those years we were trapped by her parents and their craziness and then their infirmity!


----------



## franandaj

So not a real update, but a small little report on today's activities.  For those of you who are FB friends, you know I've been bummed because preparing our files for the accountant has become entirely long and drawn out.  It has been driving me batty and tomorrow we should hopefully be past that. However, today we took a break from real life and met jedijill at Warner Brothers Studios for their tour.

I'm going to post an in detail report of the day, and our tour, but I don't have time tonight.  After our tour we headed back South for dinner. There's a bit of fine dinng in Jill's future so she was a little more interested in a "Triple D" kind of foodie experience.  We visited Johnny Reb's Southern Roadhouse for some good downhome Barbeque.  I'll include this in the full TR, but I wanted to post the evidence of our DISmeet ASAP!  Here we are!


----------



## Paula Sedley-Burke

Roll on tomorrow hopefully you should be in a better place re accounts! How nice meeting Jill! Lovely photo  

Thank you so much for your offer of a photo re the lead. I managed to find one on ebay quite cheap so don't worry. If it never arrives I'll let you know but thanks again!


----------



## PrincessInOz

franandaj said:


> So not a real update, but a small little report on today's activities.  For those of you who are FB friends, you know I've been bummed because preparing our files for the accountant has become entirely long and drawn out.  It has been driving me batty and tomorrow we should hopefully be past that. However, today we took a break from real life and met jedijill at Warner Brothers Studios for their tour.
> 
> I'm going to post an in detail report of the day, and our tour, but I don't have time tonight.  After our tour we headed back South for dinner. There's a bit of fine dinng in Jill's future so she was a little more interested in a "Triple D" kind of foodie experience.  We visited Johnny Reb's Southern Roadhouse for some good downhome Barbeque.  I'll include this in the full TR, but I wanted to post the evidence of our DISmeet ASAP!  Here we are!




  Hello!!!

Y'all look like you're having a great time.  Wish I were there.


----------



## Captain_Oblivious

No plans after Sanaa?  Who cares?  You're at WDW!  I can think of no better problem to have than figuring out how to fill a day at Disney World.



franandaj said:


> So not a real update, but a small little report on today's activities.  For those of you who are FB friends, you know I've been bummed because preparing our files for the accountant has become entirely long and drawn out.  It has been driving me batty and tomorrow we should hopefully be past that. However, today we took a break from real life and met jedijill at Warner Brothers Studios for their tour.
> 
> I'm going to post an in detail report of the day, and our tour, but I don't have time tonight.  After our tour we headed back South for dinner. There's a bit of fine dinng in Jill's future so she was a little more interested in a "Triple D" kind of foodie experience.  We visited Johnny Reb's Southern Roadhouse for some good downhome Barbeque.  I'll include this in the full TR, but I wanted to post the evidence of our DISmeet ASAP!  Here we are!



Great DISmeet!  That food looks pretty darn good, too.


----------



## franandaj

Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Roll on tomorrow hopefully you should be in a better place re accounts! How nice meeting Jill! Lovely photo
> 
> Thank you so much for your offer of a photo re the lead. I managed to find one on ebay quite cheap so don't worry. If it never arrives I'll let you know but thanks again!



We are! After only an hour we were all done explaining the figures to him.  Now it's in his hands to put it all together and make sense of it!

OK, isn't eBay great!  I hope it arrives and works out for you!



PrincessInOz said:


> Hello!!!
> 
> Y'all look like you're having a great time.  Wish I were there.



We had a lot of fun yesterday and more in store for tomorrow.



Captain_Oblivious said:


> No plans after Sanaa?  Who cares?  You're at WDW!  I can think of no better problem to have than figuring out how to fill a day at Disney World.
> 
> 
> 
> Great DISmeet!  That food looks pretty darn good, too.



Exactly!  WDW is one place where figuring out what to do with leftover time is a lot of fun.

The food was awesome, just wait until I get to the close up shots.  This place is known for it's Fred Flintstone size Beef Ribs and huge portions.  One guy in there was wearing a shirt that read.  Vegetarian is an ancient word for Village Idiot who doesn't know how to hunt or trap. 

Sorry if I insulted any vegetarians out there.


----------



## franandaj

So were going to take a little detour from our Disney moments for a competitor.  When Jill told us she was coming out here, we immediately planned a couple different Disney experiences.  It wasnt until we had pretty much sealed up the Disney experiences that she mentioned she would like to do a tour of Warner Bros studios.  Weve heard about this, but for those of you who live in potential tourist locations, you know that the locals never get to visit what all the tourists see.  We decided to change that with respect to Warner Bros Studios.  I booked us for a 1:45 tour on March 31, 2014.  Or. So. I. thought.

Because LA traffic is so unpredictable, all of us left our respective locations in plenty of time.  It turns out that we all parked within 5 minutes of each other and we were at least an hour early for our check time.  Or. So. I. thought.

Fran wanted to sleep in the car until it was time to check in, and Jill and I are Starbucks addicts so we went inside to get some drinks and hang out until it was time for our tour.  We decided to check with the ticket counter and make sure that they would be able to accommodate Fran and her scooter on the tour.  They were happy to oblige and asked for the copy of my confirmation of the purchase. And this is where it happened.

These tickets are for March 18th the ticketing agent said.

What???????????   

Thats the day you bought them said Jill.

Ugh!  When I purchased the tickets, I went back and forth on the WB site and must have missed the fact that the date changed from the one we actually wanted back to the current date.  Luckily the nice gal at the ticket counter was able to move our unused tickets from the 18th to our actual tour day.  She also logged the fact that they needed an HA tram for our tour.  We could have checked in at the point, but since all three of us werent there it didnt make sense so we decided to go get some beverages and hang out until we had to wake up Fran.

The telecommunications device that billed my Starbucks card was having a problem and we were stuck at the check out counter for what seemed like forever, but finally they were able to bill us and we sat in some chairs that neither of us thought we would be able to get up from but we did. They had these costumes on display in the waiting area and Starbucks café.  Just a taste of what was to come. Im sorry they didnt come out very good the back lighting makes it hard to see the actual costumes.

















Once we went back to the car and woke up Fran we came back to check in for the tour.  This required showing our IDs before they handed over the tickets.





While we waited, I admired some of the Harry Potter Merchandise they had.  Much of it was similar to what we could have bought at US in Florida. Unfortunately, being the Disney girl that I am, I was really not familiar with a lot of the Warner Bros productions and kept struggling to find things they had done that I had actually seen, so no merchandise purchases for us.





After a short film that included lots of 1 second clips of movies from WB (They had a name for this at the D23 Expo, but I cant remember it now) we boarded our tram.  OK, the suspense got me, I looked it up and its called a Sizzle Reel.

Back to the Tram, it was a nice HA tram where Fran could just roll in, and they tied her down and she was good to go.  Here is a bad selfie as we take off.





And here we are passing through the gate onto the actual Studio lot.  The thing about Warner Bros. is that it is a working studio lot. There is always production going on, and the more that they can film on their own lot, the more money and hassle they save. Every building but one is as generic as it could possibly be.  We drove past a building which was all offices.  It was two stories and resembled a motel or possibly a school.  Our guide told us that the Mentalist had used it as a motel.  Just add room numbers to the doors and voila!  Others had used it as a professional office building, or classrooms at a school.  Their main rule of production was whatever you put up (ie facades, door plates, signs, etc) you take it down when youre done.





The first place that they took us was to the jungle. Upon entering the Jungle there was a structure. Evidently this structure was one of the few things to bypass that rule of cleaning up after yourself in production.  It was built for some production, and they liked it so much they let it stay.  Our guide told us that this was used as a Western bar in some productions, a cabin in the woods for others.





Just add a few signs, vehicles and voila!  Your audience is believing it.  Notice the rocks on the bottom of the building.  Our guide told us to pick your favorite rock and look about six feet away.  See it turned around in a different position?  Theses are just fiberglass or plastic facades stapled on to the building.  If you want wood siding, bricks, take the rocks off and staple on your texture.  Ill have more on this later.





This is the lagoon that you can see through the trees.





Normally the lagoon is empty, but they were filling it for some production.  Evidently it takes 15 hours to fill and 3 days to drain, if my memory serves correctly. 





Our guide mentioned that it could also be filled with sand, and was used in some movie that I wasnt familiar with.  With the bamboo here, it also works for Cambodian Jungle scenes.





For those of you who saw Jurassic Park, most of it was filmed in Hawaii, but there were a few scenes that once they returned to the mainland they realized that they didnt get the correct scenes.  Rather than fly everyone including camera crews and equipment back over there, they rented the Jungle from WB.  I believe she said it was the chase scene when they are in the Jeep and the dinosaur is chasing them.  They started at the end of this road drove all the way to the other end, turned everything around and shot them going the other way, as the road is actually quite short.  That gave them the illusion of a longer chase scene.





This house, is pretty much just the front of the house.  If you look through the windows, you can see the bushes behind it.  Notice the big wooden platform next to it.  Ive already forgotten what they called this but they use them to give the illusion of a wooded area.  Whatever they were filming in this space couldnt have a house in the shot, so they park these bush wagons in front of things to obscure them.





Here is a shot of one without the trimmings.





Our guide told us that they trim these with clippings from around the studio grounds, but eventually they die, so they just spray paint them green to look alive.  Evidently the camera doesnt really pick up on this and viewers just see it as lush green background.  See when I took these pictures yesterday, I could tell that the bushes were painted.  As I look at them now. Not so much.









Evidently the Mentalist had been filming in this trailer here.  They were done so the guy in the Maroon Pick up was towing it out of there.





One last look at the lagoon as we start to exit the area.





I took this shot to illustrate a point that our guide made.  They never keep light fixtures or door hardware on buildings.  Just this simple little touch can set the era for the production.  Antique hardware and fixtures could put this door in the early 20th century, while more modern fixtures could make it anywhere from the late eighties to current times.  This shack was used as a diner in some production. I hadnt seen it so I dont quite remember which one.





*[Continued in Next Post]*


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## franandaj

*[Continued from Previous Post]*

We moved into Warner Village.  This used to be the Western Town where Blazing Saddles was filmed, but since they arent doing so many Westerns anymore and there are more suburban needs, they built suburban looking houses.  Every one of these houses is actually some sort of production office.  I believe they showed us the offices for Two Broke Girls.

If they needed to do filming in front of any of these houses, all the employees would have to park their cars elsewhere and use the back entrances to the offices.  They were built with that in mind, so just because the outside of your office is being used in film production, you still have to come to work. These cars are all the employees who work in this house.





The place looked like your regular old suburban street right out of a TV Drama.





All of these houses could house the girl next door.  I think she mentioned shows like Mike and Molly, Two and a Half Men and other sitcoms using these houses at one time.









This one was the Two Broke Girls office.





This might have been one used on Two and Half Men.  Im losing my memory fast and this was just yesterday afternoon.  









Remember when I talked about the rocks on the siding of the house in the last post.  Notice the brickwork here. Our guide mentioned that one problem with the HDTVs and other such improvements in picture quality.  Some of the little workarounds that they have used for decades are starting to catch up with them and are sometimes more visible to the home viewer than they would like.  She pointed out the rusty staples here.





And no sooner did we round the corner, and we were out of suburbia. This area, has been used as an airport, hospital entrance, bustling downtown business district, probably shopping mall.  Again they keep it very generic so that signs could be put up to morph it into whatever type of scene the directors want.





Now I wont spoil a lot of the tour just in case some of you ever go on it.  It was clear to us that the guides were fed stories to tell us because there were at least two stories that we heard twice yesterday.  One with respect to James Dean and these lights, so if theyre still telling it today, theyre going to be telling it in 20 years.  These are film in progress lights, and if you see one flashing, you need to be Vewy Vewy quiet, like you are hunting wabbits.





Ill be back later with some more of our tour!


----------



## Paula Sedley-Burke

Great update so far I loved this tour when we did it! Jurassic Park cool one of my favourite movies  I liked the 'weather machine' they demonstrated but you might be leading up to that...scared my Mum half to death but me and Jo and Dad laughed it made our bellies hurt!


----------



## Paula Sedley-Burke

P.s glad it went well at accountants! Roll on next stage!


----------



## PrincessInOz

Great update.  That's a fantastic tour of WB.  I've never been there.....so it was really fascinating to see it all.  Thanks for sharing.  I might see if I can head that way next time I'm in LA.







franandaj said:


> Vegetarian is an ancient word for Village Idiot who doesn't know how to hunt or trap.
> 
> Sorry if I insulted any vegetarians out there.






Only pesky ones.


----------



## dgbg100106

Love the side tour, and I hate when the tickets get messed up... That happened to me once too.


----------



## dolphingirl47

That tour looks amazing. I am so glad that they managed to fix the issue with the date.

Corinna


----------



## podsnel

Hey there! 

Trying to catch up- sorry I seem to always be MIA this year, it's just been rough finding a balance of life and work etc.... Anyway, thought I would mention we had dinner at Sanaa just last week (i was there for AEP) and with the exception of 1 new item of fish on the slow cooked menu, it was all delicious as always.  I have heard they have lunch with a naturalist who comes and answers all your questions about the animals- I am thinkin about settin that up sometime, my friend Lonnie would LOVE it.  

Miss chattin with you more- xoxo


----------



## ACDSNY

Nice shots of the Warner Bros. tour and the Johnny Reb's looks yummo.


----------



## Captain_Oblivious

The movie geek in me is eating this stuff up!  I never would have noticed things like the rusty staples in the brick façade, but once you point that out, it's impossible not to notice.  Cool stuff!


----------



## Pinkocto

Im at Vero Beach lounging in the sand catching upon the Dis, life is good.

That WB tour looks like lots of fun! So glad they were able to change the tickets without any problems. 

That vegetarian shirt is too funny. My hunting skills are limited to fishing so I know I'd have been a lot smaller in ancient times


----------



## podsnel

Loving the tour! Would really have liked to have done that when I was there but o one else in the family was interested. Maybe next time!


----------



## rentayenta

Love Johnny Rebs and a good DISmeet. Looks like a very fun time.


----------



## franandaj

Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Great update so far I loved this tour when we did it! Jurassic Park cool one of my favourite movies  I liked the 'weather machine' they demonstrated but you might be leading up to that...scared my Mum half to death but me and Jo and Dad laughed it made our bellies hurt!



No, we didn't get to see the weather machine.  I imagine that each trip could be a little different, just based on what is being filmed and which tour guide you get.



PrincessInOz said:


> Great update.  That's a fantastic tour of WB.  I've never been there.....so it was really fascinating to see it all.  Thanks for sharing.  I might see if I can head that way next time I'm in LA.
> 
> 
> 
> Only pesky ones.



Next time you're here, I'd be happy to go, just give me enough notice so that I can watch a few more of the movies before I go back...

And speaking of coming back, a number of us are discussing another DISmeet in WDW.  No thread has been set up, but I might think about doing that.  We're looking at Fall 2016.  Will your pesky DH have had enough time since the last one by then?



dgbg100106 said:


> Love the side tour, and I hate when the tickets get messed up... That happened to me once too.



I've still got a bit left on it, but I'm sure glad they straightened that all out!



dolphingirl47 said:


> That tour looks amazing. I am so glad that they managed to fix the issue with the date.
> 
> Corinna



The tour was very fun, and yes good thing they sorted out the ticked debacle.



podsnel said:


> Hey there!
> 
> Trying to catch up- sorry I seem to always be MIA this year, it's just been rough finding a balance of life and work etc.... Anyway, thought I would mention we had dinner at Sanaa just last week (i was there for AEP) and with the exception of 1 new item of fish on the slow cooked menu, it was all delicious as always.  I have heard they have lunch with a naturalist who comes and answers all your questions about the animals- I am thinkin about settin that up sometime, my friend Lonnie would LOVE it.
> 
> Miss chattin with you more- xoxo



That's good to know.  I'm looking towards the Tandoori Chicken sandwich so maybe we will keep the reservation.  How can I really know, it's still almost two months away!



ACDSNY said:


> Nice shots of the Warner Bros. tour and the Johnny Reb's looks yummo.



Thanks! 



Captain_Oblivious said:


> The movie geek in me is eating this stuff up!  I never would have noticed things like the rusty staples in the brick façade, but once you point that out, it's impossible not to notice.  Cool stuff!



I thought of you and the DIS Dads while on this tour.  I kept thinking, I bet they even know some of the lines that were said in front of these houses!

I had to really zoom in to get the staples visible, but when you're just sitting in the tram looking at the house, you don't notice it until the guide points it out.  Lots of interesting things like that on this tour.



Pinkocto said:


> Im at Vero Beach lounging in the sand catching upon the Dis, life is good.
> 
> That WB tour looks like lots of fun! So glad they were able to change the tickets without any problems.
> 
> That vegetarian shirt is too funny. My hunting skills are limited to fishing so I know I'd have been a lot smaller in ancient times



Poor you!  I'm sure it's just awful being there at Vero!  

I'm not a very good hunter either, but I can pick out a steak at the grocery store better than most!  



podsnel said:


> Loving the tour! Would really have liked to have done that when I was there but o one else in the family was interested. Maybe next time!



We can go next time, like I said to PIO, just let me catch up on a few more movies so I know what they're referring to!



rentayenta said:


> Love Johnny Rebs and a good DISmeet. Looks like a very fun time.



Johnny Rebs was awesome.  I like when Jill comes to town.  We had lots of great meals and two of them, we got two meals out of them!


----------



## franandaj

Our next area to visit was the town square and older suburban village.  Our guide pointed out that the streetlights here were plug in.  Another feature that could be changed to change the era and feel of the location.









Im sure this church has appeared in countless productions.





This building looked very familiar to me as a bar, but I have no idea where I might have seen it.





We entered the town square to find this Courthouse which was repurposed into Rosewood City Hall.  I think that she said it was for Dirty Little Liars.





We stopped for a bit at these cherry pickers.  They had a more specific name for them as they are specific to the movie industry.  You see the trees here next to the cherry pickers?  They have really been through the ringer.  A couple months ago, they were filming something that needed to take place in springtime.  As you can see the trees have lost all their leaves, doesnt really represent springtime, so to simulate spring, fake leaves were zip tied to the trees.  There was another instance where they needed to film a Winter scene, the trees were full of leaves, they trimmed them all the leaves and put white all over the ground.  For a hot day in July it was believable on camera.





Our next trip was down an older suburban street.  There is an optical illusion here. While it appears that the street goes on for a while.  As soon as the street turns you meet a giant soundstage, but it looks good from here.





They mentioned various productions that used these houses.  They include the Goonies, Friends, and a bunch of others that I dont remember.  Perhaps Jill might be able to chime in on some of these.  She was geeking out more than me because she had actually seen some of these movies and TV shows.





Now this house I remember that our guide told us that they drove a car through the Bay window of this house a couple weeks before.  But part of that whole, do what you want, but just fix it.  They fixed it.





I know there was something about this house, but of course Ive forgotten.  





I think this one was the goonies house.





Anyone recognize this house?





Now were at the end of the street.  Behind us is a big soundstage, this is looking back towards the square that we just left.





Our guide pointed out that all the houses on this street had multiple entrances, I didnt get a front shot of this house, but this is the back entrance, they have it dressed up as a potential front of the house.  She pointed out a few more on the sides of the other houses on the street.





So I think this was the side of the Courthouse which also doubled as the High School.





Were getting into a little bit more urban area now.





This is another one of those buildings that was built for a specific production, but they liked it and kept it.





And this storefront was used in Casablanca, but has been repurposed and used in many productions since.



 

*[Continued in Next Post]*


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## franandaj

*[Continued from Previous Post]*

This is the Chicago section of the backlot.  They have made it like the subway in Chicago.  The beams and stuff here have been painted to look rusted.  They actually arent that way.  





Everyone has got to eat.  Here is lunch being served to the production team.  I didnt see any stars (as if I would recognize them anyways), it looked like mostly security and other production staff.  Pretty late lunch though, I think it was well after 2PM.





This subway station barely even goes under the ground.  Our guide told us that it goes down about six feet and once the people descend into the subway, the filming moves to a soundstage.





Though I didnt see it, this is the Courthouse used in Argo.  I guess some of the characters sat on the steps here eating lunch.





Back again at the train station.





And now were moving out into the parking lot.





This is the iconic water tower.  It has been moved from its original location, but kept for posterity.





Then we moved into this little town square.  This was used in Oceans 11, but I believe that it involved green screen technology and it was the roof top of the building.





The trees you see in front of you, unlike the ones in the other town square, these are removable and still in their pots.  If they dont want trees in the scene, they just dig them up.





On the next block, is this New York Street scene.





I dont remember which movie it was, but Jim Carrey did not like the look of the original buildings.  They didnt set well with him as a New Yorker, because the fire escapes werent there.  He actually paid to have fire escapes put in and had them imported from Brooklyn.  In the production Annie, they danced on these fire escapes.  However, they arent quite as sturdy as they should be and each one has a maximum weight limit (which varies by fire escape).  They literally had someone at each façade making sure that as the actors went out onto the fire escapes they didnt allow too many people at once to put anyone in danger.  Sounds a little risky to me!





And another anomaly, a traffic signal with a plug!





Another look at the rickety fire escapes, this building was on the other side of the tram, it sort of capped the T of the street in the previous pictures.





And then we headed out to the employee parking lot.  At one point we drove over the helipad for ER.  The guide also mentioned lots of production who used this area, but none were shows that I was familiar with. I dont know who produces and films the shows that I watch, but I do watch TV and movies, just I guess not the ones that Warner Brothers makes.  





And this is the Warner Brothers Studio Museum.  This is the halfway point of your tour.  They let you off here, and you can take as much time as you look browsing the costumes are other effects that they have on display.


----------



## dolphingirl47

That all looks really neat. It is amazing how versatile the buildings are.

Corinna


----------



## dgbg100106

I was beginning to wonder if you watched TV at all, but when you started recounting the names of the shows, I don't watch those either... So who knows where the shows I watch are produced!


----------



## Paula Sedley-Burke

Great tour! I love the Goonies movies and Oceans 11. I think I recall one of those houses being from the Golden Girls when they did our tour. Man I loved that show! That is very cool about the trees. I love the NY fire escapes. We don't have them in the UK on the outside like that. But I agree that did sound dangerous!


----------



## franandaj

dolphingirl47 said:


> That all looks really neat. It is amazing how versatile the buildings are.
> 
> Corinna



They really do have things well thought out, just a few fixtures and everything is transformed.



dgbg100106 said:


> I was beginning to wonder if you watched TV at all, but when you started recounting the names of the shows, I don't watch those either... So who knows where the shows I watch are produced!



Oh no, I watch all kinds of stuff, but it seems that a large percentage is CBS and ABC.  NCIS, CSI, Elementary, Castle, and then there's the Fox (Bones) and all the USA Network shows, but most of those are having their final season or just ended already.  We need a few more shows, either that or start watching more movies.



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Great tour! I love the Goonies movies and Oceans 11. I think I recall one of those houses being from the Golden Girls when they did our tour. Man I loved that show! That is very cool about the trees. I love the NY fire escapes. We don't have them in the UK on the outside like that. But I agree that did sound dangerous!



I loved the Golden Girls!  They didn't point them out, I would have known that show.  We don't have fire escapes out here either, so I guess that's why they had to "import" them.


----------



## franandaj

Once inside the museum we could browse at our own pace.   For me the ground floor of the museum was a tad bit of a let down only because I really hadnt seen any of the movies that the props were from.  They had a Smallville display, some things from Gravity, lots of Batman props (I think I only saw the first two of those movies).  Fran watched the Great Gatsby during one of her fits of insomnia, but I have yet to see it.  So the only thing I recognized on this floor was this:









However, once we went up to the second floor, my inner geek was totally satiated.  The entire floor was Harry Potter props and costumes and I read every little card and looked at every piece with great interest.  I couldnt believe this little fireplace display.  I kinda wondered how they actually did this.









Heres some costumes that Hermione, Harry and Ron wore in one of the films.





Totally geeking out on this one!





Voldemorts robe.





It was so cool to see these Horcruxes.













I really liked Sirius Black and was sad when his character was killed off.





Here is his outfit





Here is Voldemorts snake Nigini





The front costume is young Tom Riddle when Dumbledore visited him at the orphanage.  I cant remember what the back two costumes were.





Here are some costumes worm by Belatrix Le Strange and Lucias Malfoy.





And Severus Snapes costume.





These are outfits worn by Neville Longbottom and Professor Slughorn. Somehow Slughorn seemed bigger than this.





This is the troll costume and the club from the first movie.





Here are some of the things that you could purchase from the Weasley Brothers shop in Diagon Alley.





These are their matching costumes.





And the skiving snackboxes



















 

*[Continued in Next Post]*


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## franandaj

*[Continued from Previous Post]*

And all these things that you could get at Honeydukes.





Quidditch Anyone?





These outfits were worn by Mr. and Mrs Weasley.





These maquettes help the animators to visualize the characters and better animate them in CGI.









The Monster book of Monsters





This model of Dobie was used by Daniel Radcliffe to practice the lines that he had with Dobie.  The creature in the movie was actually created with CGI.





This shoe was used as the portkey when the kids went to the Quidditch Match where the Death Eaters ended up wreaking havoc.





These are the binoculars that they looked through to see Viktor Krum.





This speaks for itself.





These are outfits worn by Harry, Luna Lovegood and Draco Malfoy on the train in the movie where Malfoy beats up Harry and leaves him there unconscious under his invisibility cloak.  I dont know which number movie it was.





Here is one of the Mandrakes used in the movie.





And Professor Sprout's costume.





I just loved Gilda Roy Lockhart.  He was the cheesiest and most hilarious of all the professors.





And all of his self absorbed publications.





They had a sorting hat, and I was sorted into Hufflepuff.





A Dementor.





A hatching Dragon Egg





This was from the first movie when Hermione saw the basilisk and became petrified.





This is the piece of paper that was found in Hermiones hand when the Basilisk petrified her.





The Marauder's Map





I totally geeked out when I saw this.  Dolores Umbridge was such a wonderful villain, so evil, so easy to hate.





The cat plates. I can just imagine these all animated and mewing! 







 

*[Continued in Next Post]*


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## franandaj

*[Continued from Previous Post]*

Here is the bed from the Knight Bus.





This is Stanley Shunpikes costume.





Giant spider.





Another dementor.





Dementor hand.





Sedrick Diggorys uniform and the Golden Egg.





Hogwarts uniforms, the sword of Gryffindor and Tom Riddles Diary.





And that was it for the Warner Bros Museum!  The first floor wasnt really compelling, but the second was a gold mine!  We went back outside and reboarded our special tram for the second half of the tour. Evidently we had taken more time in there than expected because the whole tour was supposed to take about 2 ½ hours and we were already at two hours with the rest of the tour to go.


----------



## rentayenta

Wow! Now I want to read Harry Potter again. It's been a while. Thank you for the cool pics.


----------



## ACDSNY

I'm glad you enjoyed the second floor of the museum, nice update.


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## dolphingirl47

Wow, I would have loved all that Harry Potter stuff. 

Corinna


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## Paula Sedley-Burke

Love the Harry Potter stuff! You would love the Warner Brother Studio in London where they filmed it. You can get geeked out by all they have there. The whole Knight bus! The Estate where they lived set (  privet drive ) etc. you have a lot there though. Love the sorting hat! Lol re Hufflepuff. Those dementors freak me out!

I just love looking around film sets! hogwarts castle in London film set the model is so small! They make that look so realistic in the movies. I was amazed!


----------



## PrincessInOz

Fantastic updates! 


Seems like I missed the one before with all the street facades.  I loved looking at the houses.  

But this update on all that HP props?  WICKED!  What an amazing collection of memorabilia from the movies.  I'm definitely going to have to seek this tour out.


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## Pinkocto

All those fabulous Harry Potter props!!! I would have been in heaven!


----------



## dgbg100106

Love it that you got sorted to Hufflepuff


----------



## mvf-m11c

I was a little behind on your latest updates and glad that I had some time tonight to be able to read your Warner Brother Studio Tour. It was nice to see your pictures during the tour.

The museum has some very interesting props and costumes from all these different movies.

Very nice update.


----------



## Captain_Oblivious

Ok, I don't know if I can ever take my family on this tour.  With all of that Harry Potter stuff, my daughter would never leave the building!  I have to admit it's very cool to get a peek behind the scenes.

I'm disappointed in myself that I didn't recognize more of the buildings on the lot.  You mentioned the courthouse in Argo, and that looks familiar, but other than that..

Oh, if you haven't seen Gravity, check it out!  I would have loved to some of the behind-the-scenes stuff from that film.


----------



## franandaj

rentayenta said:


> Wow! Now I want to read Harry Potter again. It's been a while. Thank you for the cool pics.



I know that's a series of books that I wouldn't mind repeating.



ACDSNY said:


> I'm glad you enjoyed the second floor of the museum, nice update.



Thanks! 



dolphingirl47 said:


> Wow, I would have loved all that Harry Potter stuff.
> 
> Corinna



It was so cool to see, one of the most exciting parts of the day for me (as you can tell by the number of pictures that I took!



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Love the Harry Potter stuff! You would love the Warner Brother Studio in London where they filmed it. You can get geeked out by all they have there. The whole Knight bus! The Estate where they lived set (  privet drive ) etc. you have a lot there though. Love the sorting hat! Lol re Hufflepuff. Those dementors freak me out!
> 
> I just love looking around film sets! hogwarts castle in London film set the model is so small! They make that look so realistic in the movies. I was amazed!



We would love to come see the sets in London!  I have heard about them and seen pictures.  I wonder how many more years they will be there.  Perhaps when we do our DLP trip we can hop the Chunnel over there!

I said the same thing about the At-Ats when I saw the Star Wars Exhibits.  They were actually really small, but the filming techniques that the used made them look as tall as skyscrapers!



PrincessInOz said:


> Fantastic updates!
> 
> 
> Seems like I missed the one before with all the street facades.  I loved looking at the houses.
> 
> But this update on all that HP props?  WICKED!  What an amazing collection of memorabilia from the movies.  I'm definitely going to have to seek this tour out.



I hope by the time you come back here, they still have the Harry Potter section.



Pinkocto said:


> All those fabulous Harry Potter props!!! I would have been in heaven!



Next time you come out, we should go!



dgbg100106 said:


> Love it that you got sorted to Hufflepuff



Better than Slitherin, the gal before me sat on the chair saying "Anything but Slitherin, anything but Slitherin" And that's what she got!   



mvf-m11c said:


> I was a little behind on your latest updates and glad that I had some time tonight to be able to read your Warner Brother Studio Tour. It was nice to see your pictures during the tour.
> 
> The museum has some very interesting props and costumes from all these different movies.
> 
> Very nice update.



I totally relate, I got behind on your report.  I can't remember if I commented or not, but I finally finished reading the end of your last trip.  It was a pretty cool side stop at WB.



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Ok, I don't know if I can ever take my family on this tour.  With all of that Harry Potter stuff, my daughter would never leave the building!  I have to admit it's very cool to get a peek behind the scenes.
> 
> I'm disappointed in myself that I didn't recognize more of the buildings on the lot.  You mentioned the courthouse in Argo, and that looks familiar, but other than that..
> 
> Oh, if you haven't seen Gravity, check it out!  I would have loved to some of the behind-the-scenes stuff from that film.



It was a very cool part of the exhibit.  I almost didn't want to leave but everyone else seemed like they were finished, so I wrapped it up quickly.  It was also getting kind of late in the day.

The stuff from Gravity was Sandra Bullock's Space Suit and probably George Clooney's as well, I sort of looked at it.  We plan to watch it when we can record it on the DVR.  We are so behind in all of our TV shows that we watch.  We still have Planes on the DVR and haven't watched that.  We boxed up the DVD for moving and have no idea which box it is in!


----------



## Paula Sedley-Burke

Cool re coming over for DLP! I think Warner Brother Studio is more or less permanent so take your time! 

Not long now! Getting excited!


----------



## Pinkocto

Next time I come to CA it needs to be a 10-14 day trip. I'd love to do the WB tour, sounds like a plan


----------



## jedijill

Great updates...it's almost like I was there in person1    Your updates are so good that I may just link to them when I get my TR started!!!

Jill in CO


----------



## franandaj

Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Cool re coming over for DLP! I think Warner Brother Studio is more or less permanent so take your time!
> 
> Not long now! Getting excited!



You never know, if the sets stop drawing folks, they may take them down.  I'm not sure how long the trip will be, but it will involve DLP, some French Countryside, and not sure what else.  Maybe we should plan just a visit to the UK.  How do you do with your scooter there?  I know older cities can be a challenge.



Pinkocto said:


> Next time I come to CA it needs to be a 10-14 day trip. I'd love to do the WB tour, sounds like a plan



Cool!  



jedijill said:


> Great updates...it's almost like I was there in person1    Your updates are so good that I may just link to them when I get my TR started!!!
> 
> Jill in CO



Thanks!    Yeah I bet it feels like you were there, in fact I think I see you in the picture of Gilda Roy Lockhart's costume.  Feel free to link, but I'm sure you got a few shots that I didn't since you were on the other side of the tram.


----------



## franandaj

After leaving the museum, we headed through the workshop. We saw Conan OBriens office, but drove past so quickly, no photos.  There were are variety of Wood Shops, Metal Shops, and Set building shops.













The workshop let out into the motor area.  This building is sometimes used as a Mini Mart at a gas station, or a mechanics shop.





This is their Gas Station, it is actually a working gas station where they can fill up their many vehicles.  If they need a Gas Station for a shot they can always cover up their logo where it appears and turn it into their set.





This Dusenberg replica was built for the Great Gatsby.  They were going to use a real one, but when they found out the price they decided a replicar was a better option.  





The General Lee!





I think this might have been used in Matrix.  I just liked that it was a mid 60s Lincoln.





I forget what these next two cars were from, but they were cool.  BTW all the cars in the room with the exception of the Harry Potter car, could run.









They had several of the Batman Cars here.













But again, I liked the geeky option.













The Harry Potter car that he and Ron flew in to Hogwarts.





I took another picture of the Lincoln, just cause I liked it.





This pretty much ended the photo portion of the tour.  Our next couple stops we went to on foot.  We went to the prop room building, but didnt get to go in the prop room.  Instead we entered an area where they had staged the set of Friends.  Our guide offered to take a picture of anyone with their camera in front of the set. Not being a fan of the show, or ever having seen the show, I declined.

Next we went on to a soundstage where pictures were not allowed.  The set was for a show called the Fosters, which is shown on ABC Family.  It was a school set and was pretty cool to see.  We are considering adding this show to our DVR. They had a locker area, a classroom, a quad, an outdoor eating area.  Everything was pretty small, but Im sure that they could make it work.

After that we loaded back up into our tram and headed back to the tour building.  We were going to try and go on the set of Big Bang Theory, but they were still filming as the red light was on outside their soundstage.  By this point, the battery on my camera was running low and so was my energy so while I would have normally be snapping photos right and left, I just rode back there.

I did take a shot of these guys outside the tour center.





Before the tour we had received a sample of gelato. We were too full at the time to order any, but our tour had worked up our appetites.  I got Mint Chip and Chocolate Chip, Fran got Salted Caramel and Chocolate.  Jill ordered the Strawberry and Coconut Gelatos.





After we enjoyed our sweet treats we headed off to our next planned destination.  We had a number of meets set up for this week and Jill had a number of dinner ADRs at all the top restaurants at DLR. So instead of hitting up yet another swanky joint, we decided to hit a restaurant of a Triple-D variety.  Johnny Rebs in Long Beach, they have a couple other locations, but this one was on the way home for each of us and easy to reach from the freeway.  Ive already posted this picture here, but thought it was worth posting again.





We split two dinners between three of us and still we had containers of leftovers that fed Fran and I for another meal later in the week. Beef and Baby Back Ribs with onion rings and Mac N Cheese.





Chicken Fried Steak with mashed potatoes and fried Okra.





Even though we were stuffed, we couldnt resist dessert. Peach cobbler.





Pecan Beignets.





We said our goodbyes knowing that we would be meeting up again later in the week.


----------



## PrincessInOz

YUM!  What gorgeous cars!.......and the food porn is great too.


Looks like it was a fun time with Jill.  Thanks for posting the picture again.  Now I know where and when that was taken, in the sequence of your day.


----------



## Pinkocto

Ok, I would have officially freaked out that the actors of the Big Bang Theory were right behind a door and I couldn't go in. I am totally starstruck 

Those Batman vehicles are too cool. 

Glad you were able to enjoy such a fun day with Jill


----------



## franandaj

PrincessInOz said:


> YUM!  What gorgeous cars!.......and the food porn is great too.
> 
> 
> Looks like it was a fun time with Jill.  Thanks for posting the picture again.  Now I know where and when that was taken, in the sequence of your day.



Yeah, the cars were the only part of the tour that Fran took her camera out.

We had great fun with Jill.  We talked for quite a while eating our Gelato.  It was well after 5PM by the time we got back to the tour place for Gelato and I think they actually closed at 6PM, but the gal there said they closed once everyone had left.  I think we booked a perfect tour time.  We weren't rushed to get up there, we took care of stuff we needed to and left around 10:30 and made a stop along the way for band business then we headed over to the tour and had the time beforehand as well as some time after to just chill.

The trip back to LB was relatively quick.  It was Cesar Chavez day so some people had the day off and traffic wasn't so bad.



Pinkocto said:


> Ok, I would have officially freaked out that the actors of the Big Bang Theory were right behind a door and I couldn't go in. I am totally starstruck
> 
> Those Batman vehicles are too cool.
> 
> Glad you were able to enjoy such a fun day with Jill



I think Jill was freaking out too.  She was the one who asked if we could stop at the Big Bang taping.


----------



## Paula Sedley-Burke

Oh brilliant re the General Lee! I loved that show  also Harry Potter car cool!

Love the food porn. Yum to all those flavoured ice creams! How did you choose! One of each...  

No Europe is very poor for getting around on scooter. France one of the worse. We don't tend to go to mainland Europe anymore. Too many cobbled streets and hills! That's why we just adore coming over to your fine country much more accessible. England probably easier but still hard work!


----------



## dolphingirl47

The rest of the tour looked very interesting. Both the Gellato and dinner looked yummy. I am another huge Big Bang Theory fan and it would have tickled me being just the other side of a door from the cast.

Corinna


----------



## ACDSNY

I'm catching up with the rest of the tour, love the cars and I'm drooling over the gelato and Johnny Reb's dinner.


----------



## franandaj

Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Oh brilliant re the General Lee! I loved that show  also Harry Potter car cool!
> 
> Love the food porn. Yum to all those flavoured ice creams! How did you choose! One of each...
> 
> No Europe is very poor for getting around on scooter. France one of the worse. We don't tend to go to mainland Europe anymore. Too many cobbled streets and hills! That's why we just adore coming over to your fine country much more accessible. England probably easier but still hard work!



That's unfortunate to hear about Europe.  I suspected as much, I've been there before and seen all the stairways and cobblestone paths.  We'll have to keep that in mind with our travels.  Fran really wants to go.  I want to do a cooking school somewhere like the Loire Valley.



dolphingirl47 said:


> The rest of the tour looked very interesting. Both the Gellato and dinner looked yummy. I am another huge Big Bang Theory fan and it would have tickled me being just the other side of a door from the cast.
> 
> Corinna



It was fun on the rest of the tour and pretty interesting, we were just getting tired and with the camera battery dying so not many pictures. The Gelato was delicious and so was dinner!



ACDSNY said:


> I'm catching up with the rest of the tour, love the cars and I'm drooling over the gelato and Johnny Reb's dinner.



Maybe next time you're in So Cal we might do an off campus meet.  There is another location closer to DL in Fullerton, this one was just closer and on the way back from Burbank.


----------



## ACDSNY

franandaj said:


> Maybe next time you're in So Cal we might do an off campus meet. There is another location closer to DL in Fullerton, this one was just closer and on the way back from Burbank.


 
 Sounds fun, I'm looking forward to our November trip.


----------



## franandaj

ACDSNY said:


> Sounds fun, I'm looking forward to our November trip.



Cool!  I would love to do an off campus meet as well as our usual spot!


----------



## franandaj

So here's a quick actual trip update.  Disney released a tour package that includes pretty much everything that we were planning on doing Friday, for $$$ but we have not waits and guaranteed show spots.  In thinking about it for us it's kind of a no brainer.  We don't have to worry about getting spots and we get to do everything we want to do.  It costs a bit of cash, but hey, who are we going to leave this all to anyways?   

Here's what we get in the package:

Disney’s Hollywood Studios Star Wars Weekends will introduce an ultimate day filled with the most sought after service and experiences. A team of Disney VIP tour guides will take you on your journey designed to surprise and delight the most avid Star Wars fan.

Includes:

-Best seats in the house for shows at the Premiere Theater including Stars of the Saga

-Expedited access to attractions including Star Tours – The Adventures Continue, Rock ‘N’ Roller Coaster starring Aerosmith, Toy Story Mania, and more

-Private continental breakfast at the Hollywood Brown Derby

-Reserved location to see the Legends of the Force Motorcade

-Table-service lunch at Mama Melrose inside Disney’s Hollywood Studios

-Shopping time at Darth’s Mall (Before other guests are admitted)

-VIP Viewing and dessert party for the new Symphony in the Stars fireworks

Essentially by purchasing the package we get guaranteed seating for all the things we wanted to do.  VIP seats for the parade and fireworks, plus breakfast and lunch and a dessert buffet.  Also we get into the shopping before everyone else.  Not that we were going to need that, but it will help since I know Fran will want one of everything.  that's just how she is.  Anyone who doubt's me, I take our trip to K-mart today as evidence.


----------



## PrincessInOz

Wow!  Great package.  I hope you booked, Alison.  I think it would be perfect for you and Fran.


----------



## Paula Sedley-Burke

franandaj said:


> So here's a quick actual trip update.  Disney released a tour package that includes pretty much everything that we were planning on doing Friday, for $$$ but we have not waits and guaranteed show spots.  In thinking about it for us it's kind of a no brainer.  We don't have to worry about getting spots and we get to do everything we want to do.  It costs a bit of cash, but hey, who are we going to leave this all to anyways?    Here's what we get in the package:  Disney’s Hollywood Studios Star Wars Weekends will introduce an ultimate day filled with the most sought after service and experiences. A team of Disney VIP tour guides will take you on your journey designed to surprise and delight the most avid Star Wars fan.  Includes:  -Best seats in the house for shows at the Premiere Theater including Stars of the Saga  -Expedited access to attractions including Star Tours – The Adventures Continue, Rock ‘N’ Roller Coaster starring Aerosmith, Toy Story Mania, and more  -Private continental breakfast at the Hollywood Brown Derby  -Reserved location to see the Legends of the Force Motorcade  -Table-service lunch at Mama Melrose inside Disney’s Hollywood Studios  -Shopping time at Darth’s Mall (Before other guests are admitted)  -VIP Viewing and dessert party for the new Symphony in the Stars fireworks  Essentially by purchasing the package we get guaranteed seating for all the things we wanted to do.  VIP seats for the parade and fireworks, plus breakfast and lunch and a dessert buffet.  Also we get into the shopping before everyone else.  Not that we were going to need that, but it will help since I know Fran will want one of everything.  that's just how she is.  Anyone who doubt's me, I take our trip to K-mart today as evidence.



Oh how lovely! You luck ducks  I am soooo jealous. But that leads to the dark side lol.. It is ideal for you. I am thrilled you have booked it for yourselves.


----------



## jedijill

OMG, that package is awesome!  Well worth whatever you paid for it!  

Jill in CO


----------



## rentayenta

Ok that package sounds killer! You two are going to have so much fun. I love the name of the shopping part Darth's Mall.  Disney is just darn so clever.


----------



## Dis_Yoda

I really wish could have afforded to do that package this year but with the early May Trip, San Diego & paying off the cruise, it just isn't in the cards this year.  I can't wait to hear all about it.


----------



## dolphingirl47

When I saw the cost of the package, it made my eyes water, but I am glad that it works for you.

Corinna


----------



## franandaj

PrincessInOz said:


> Wow!  Great package.  I hope you booked, Alison.  I think it would be perfect for you and Fran.



I guess I didn't make that clear, yes we did book it!



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Oh how lovely! You luck ducks  I am soooo jealous. But that leads to the dark side lol.. It is ideal for you. I am thrilled you have booked it for yourselves.



I'm really glad we ended up doing it. I hate trying to fight people for viewing locations.  Evidently they are only booking 40 of these per day so that's a pretty manageable crowd.



jedijill said:


> OMG, that package is awesome!  Well worth whatever you paid for it!
> 
> Jill in CO



Sort of.     But hey, it includes practically three meals (dessert counts as a meal right?) and no waits, so that works for us.



rentayenta said:


> Ok that package sounds killer! You two are going to have so much fun. I love the name of the shopping part Darth's Mall.  Disney is just darn so clever.



I know aren't they?  



Dis_Yoda said:


> I really wish could have afforded to do that package this year but with the early May Trip, San Diego & paying off the cruise, it just isn't in the cards this year.  I can't wait to hear all about it.



You're going to San Diego?  Cool!  I know what you mean.  If we hadn't just refinanced a building, it would have been a stretch for us as well.



dolphingirl47 said:


> When I saw the cost of the package, it made my eyes water, but I am glad that it works for you.
> 
> Corinna



Yeah, we had to sleep on it for a night.  I found it Saturday evening, but by Sunday morning we were ready to go for it.


----------



## franandaj

Wednesday morning Jill and I met up again.  We decided to start at Disneyland and began our quest for the Mountains.  I think we started at Star Tours or Buzz Lightyear.  We did both, but dont quite remember the order, at DL they are right across from each other.  Then we headed over to Space Mountain.  I dont bother with MK SM anymore, DLs is just that much better!

After that we headed over and hopped onto the Matterhorn.  I do the right side after the refurbishment, the left side is much too jerky! Then it was off to Big Thunder Mountain.  The refurb is just amazing!  I love the pyrotechnics!.  The best part is that we had three mountains under our belt before noon!

We had a 1:10 reservation at Carnation Café, so we killed some time riding HM and Pirates.  Since I was using the scooter we got to use the HA entrances which saved quite a bit of time. Because we had such a whirlwind morning of running from ride to ride, neither of us took any pictures until we got to lunch. But here is evidence of our DISmeet!





The menu





We both wanted to try the Baked Potato Soup with Bacon and Sour Cream.  It was delicious!





We chose to split the Meatloaf, and even then it was WAY too much food for the two of us.  But it sure was good!  I enjoyed the mushroom wine sauce that it was served with.  Jill skipped the mushrooms.






After that we went on Soarin.  I never understand why in Florida the line has triple digit waits and in CA it is easily accessed by FP and often can be a walk on.  No pictures.  We headed over to RSR and were able to get on in the Handicapped line, there was a bit of a wait, but not bad.  Heres our redneck photo.





Then we headed over to TSMM again utilizing the HA line. Here we are on the ride.





Here we go!





She kicked my butt!





Then we were off to CA Screamin. It was a great ride, except that just before we hit the picture spot, they stopped our train to add another.  We felt rather uneasy on the track waiting for the new set of cars to be added.  It also messed up my pose for the picture.





After this we headed over to Aladdin, we were able to score VIP seats to this show. We stopped by the Golden Vine Winery and picked up glasses of wine/champagne to drink while we waited in line. After quite a wait we were finally admitted to the theater and the show began.





We had great seats!













It turns out that at the show I ran into one of my Disney friends who invited us for a very special experience and we went with him for some drinks and a bite to eat.  For some of you this is old hat, but I still think Its cool every time they make it for me.  The 





The bartender starts with a chunk of pure ice.





He sets the ice crushing machine in motion.





Then he mixes the cocktail.





Then he removes the ice sphere





Here is the sphere





He is spraying the glass with vermouth





Our finished drinks.  I think Jill had Hemingways daiquiri and you saw what I had.





We also got an order of the Queso.





We had considered getting another app, but my friend came back and joined us and talked our ear off for about half an hour and by that time, I was ready to head home and Jill was heading off to her next adventure.  Youll need to check out her TR to find out what she did next!


----------



## eandesmom

Ok I'm not sure which I am more jealous of, your fabulous tour or the Star Wars package!

I would have been totally geeking out over the HP stuff as well and I love seeing how they use the sets for so many different things.  Kind of makes me want to do it but I can see the boys rolling their eyes now.

Thank goodness she was able to fix the ticket snafu though.

Johnny Reb's looks yummy as do your fancy schmancy drinks!

Fun updates!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And sorry I was so behind.


----------



## dolphingirl47

What a fantastic day. I am a little worried about the pyrotechnics on Big Thunder Mountain. I have always wanted to try Carnation Cafe, but it has always been closed whenever I have been there. The food you chose would have been  what I would have picked, too. Now I want to go even more. Maybe I finally get my wish in November.

Corinna


----------



## Dis_Yoda

franandaj said:


> You're going to San Diego? Cool! I know what you mean. If we hadn't just refinanced a building, it would have been a stretch for us as well.


 
Yes, May is going to be a very busy travel month for me.  1st to 4th - Disney for Flower & Garden, 6th to 11th - San Diego, 30th to 1st - Star Wars Weekends, plus the possibility of work travel sometime between the 11th and 30th.


----------



## Leshaface

Caught up now!

That's too bad that they took off most of the things you want at Sanaa.  

Yay for a B2B cruise next May!

How cool to have a meet with Jill.  I would have been freaking out about the tickets, BTW!  Thank goodness they were able to let you go that day.

Okay, so you're not alone in not knowing these shows.  I've heard of all these shows you mentioned, but haven't seen one of them. 

But now you're on HP and i'm nerding out along with you!   How cool is that!  And how fun that you were picked into Hufflepuff house!

How do I not know of this restaurant in LB?  Where is it located?

That VIP package sounds like such fun.  Can't wait to hear all about that experience!

That martini...looks INSANE!  Quite the presentation!


----------



## ACDSNY

I agree the Star Wars package is right up your alley, I hope you both enjoy the day.


 Great update on your day with Jill at DL and DCA, the two of you accomplished quite a bit.  I was licking the screen over the Bake Potato Soup as it's one of my favorites.


----------



## mvf-m11c

Caught back up on your latest updates. The cars during the tour are very nice and would be great to see them up in person. The food porn from that day looks appetizing and yummy. 

The package during Star Wars Weekend looks very interesting and will save you time. I will have to think about going to WDW during Star Wars Weekend one day with all the reviews of being so great.

A very nice day at DL & DCA with Jill.


----------



## Paula Sedley-Burke

What a lovely day at DL with Jill  Soarin in WDW is just badly organised IMAO. The line system is horrible! That is fab you scored three mountains by 12! Fabulous  

That cafe looks good. Not being rude but I am yet to sample your dish meatloaf that does not taste like it's some form of roadkill lol. Consider it's ingredients is everything I love I cannot fathom why it turns out like a tasteless brick so often lol... I keep wanting it to be like one large moist tasty burger!

Does TSM in SoCal have the car with buttons? 

How nice re glass of champagne and the cocktails!


----------



## PrincessInOz

What a fantastic day!  Looks like you had fun on the rides.  I totally agree about Space Mountain.  I didn't even bother with the MK version in October.  

Love the drink and food porn.  I guess we'll have to wait to see Jill's take on the day.


----------



## Pinkocto

What a fun day with Jill  I loved that Aladdin show.


----------



## jedijill

It was a fabulous day!  I had so much fun with Alison.

Jill in CO


----------



## rentayenta

Looks like a fabulous day! That baked potato soup looks incredible. Yum!


----------



## Captain_Oblivious

franandaj said:


> The General Lee!







franandaj said:


> But again, I liked the geeky option.



Man, I miss Chuck.  That was a great show.



franandaj said:


> So instead of hitting up yet another swanky joint, we decided to hit a restaurant of a Triple-D variety.



Looks like an excellent choice.  Love me some BBQ.



franandaj said:


> Even though we were stuffed, we couldnt resist dessert. Peach cobbler.











franandaj said:


> Then we headed over to Space Mountain.  I dont bother with MK SM anymore, DLs is just that much better!



So, having never been to DL, what specifically makes it that much better? 



franandaj said:


> But here is evidence of our DISmeet!







franandaj said:


> We both wanted to try the Baked Potato Soup with Bacon and Sour Cream.  It was delicious!



That just looks wonderful.  Keep this up and I might break out Homer again.



franandaj said:


> She kicked my butt!



You would probably both kick mine.  I hate those pull-string thingys.



franandaj said:


> Then he removes the ice sphere



Cool!



franandaj said:


> Youll need to check out her TR to find out what she did next!



Hmmm...I don't think I've discovered Jill's TR yet.


----------



## jedijill

franandaj said:


> And this storefront was used in Casablanca, but has been repurposed and used in many productions since.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *[Continued in Next Post]*



I was catching up (binge watching) The Big Bang Theory last night, and they showed a scene shot outside this storefront.  The "Urban Lights" signage was in the show. 

Jill in CO


----------



## jedijill

Captain_Oblivious said:


> Man, I miss Chuck.  That was a great show.
> 
> 
> 
> Looks like an excellent choice.  Love me some BBQ.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> So, having never been to DL, what specifically makes it that much better?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> That just looks wonderful.  Keep this up and I might break out Homer again.
> 
> 
> 
> You would probably both kick mine.  I hate those pull-string thingys.
> 
> 
> 
> Cool!
> 
> 
> 
> Hmmm...I don't think I've discovered Jill's TR yet.



I haven't started the new TR yet but here is a link to my PTR.  I'll post a link to the TR on there when I can get started.

Jill in CO


----------



## franandaj

eandesmom said:


> Ok I'm not sure which I am more jealous of, your fabulous tour or the Star Wars package!
> 
> I would have been totally geeking out over the HP stuff as well and I love seeing how they use the sets for so many different things.  Kind of makes me want to do it but I can see the boys rolling their eyes now.
> 
> Thank goodness she was able to fix the ticket snafu though.
> 
> Johnny Reb's looks yummy as do your fancy schmancy drinks!
> 
> Fun updates!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And sorry I was so behind.



It really was a fun way to spend the afternoon, and there are tons of things like that here in So Cal.  We really need to get out there and start having more fun, and less time moving boxes, and cleaning apartments.  Especially since the only ones left to do are ours once we move out!



dolphingirl47 said:


> What a fantastic day. I am a little worried about the pyrotechnics on Big Thunder Mountain. I have always wanted to try Carnation Cafe, but it has always been closed whenever I have been there. The food you chose would have been  what I would have picked, too. Now I want to go even more. Maybe I finally get my wish in November.
> 
> Corinna



What are your dates again in November, perhaps I could come out and we could have a whirlwind day like Jill and I did!



Dis_Yoda said:


> Yes, May is going to be a very busy travel month for me.  1st to 4th - Disney for Flower & Garden, 6th to 11th - San Diego, 30th to 1st - Star Wars Weekends, plus the possibility of work travel sometime between the 11th and 30th.



That's a lot of crazy traveling!



Leshaface said:


> Caught up now!
> 
> That's too bad that they took off most of the things you want at Sanaa.
> 
> Yay for a B2B cruise next May!
> 
> How cool to have a meet with Jill.  I would have been freaking out about the tickets, BTW!  Thank goodness they were able to let you go that day.
> 
> Okay, so you're not alone in not knowing these shows.  I've heard of all these shows you mentioned, but haven't seen one of them.
> 
> But now you're on HP and i'm nerding out along with you!   How cool is that!  And how fun that you were picked into Hufflepuff house!
> 
> How do I not know of this restaurant in LB?  Where is it located?
> 
> That VIP package sounds like such fun.  Can't wait to hear all about that experience!
> 
> That martini...looks INSANE!  Quite the presentation!



Luckily, the whole ticket thing happened so fast, and she said right away, "Don't worry there is availability." So we were good on that.

Johnny Reb's is on Long Beach Blvd just south of Del Amo.  Totally cadicorner across town from where you lived.

When are you guys coming next?  We need to go have a drink together!  Oh yeah, in July, that's right!



ACDSNY said:


> I agree the Star Wars package is right up your alley, I hope you both enjoy the day.
> 
> 
> Great update on your day with Jill at DL and DCA, the two of you accomplished quite a bit.  I was licking the screen over the Bake Potato Soup as it's one of my favorites.



It will be a long one for us, but I hope we can make a beeline back to the resort for a power nap.



mvf-m11c said:


> Caught back up on your latest updates. The cars during the tour are very nice and would be great to see them up in person. The food porn from that day looks appetizing and yummy.
> 
> The package during Star Wars Weekend looks very interesting and will save you time. I will have to think about going to WDW during Star Wars Weekend one day with all the reviews of being so great.
> 
> A very nice day at DL & DCA with Jill.



It's going to be hot there, but I think it will be fun to get to see the presentations and do the shopping early.



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> What a lovely day at DL with Jill  Soarin in WDW is just badly organised IMAO. The line system is horrible! That is fab you scored three mountains by 12! Fabulous
> 
> That cafe looks good. Not being rude but I am yet to sample your dish meatloaf that does not taste like it's some form of roadkill lol. Consider it's ingredients is everything I love I cannot fathom why it turns out like a tasteless brick so often lol... I keep wanting it to be like one large moist tasty burger!
> 
> Does TSM in SoCal have the car with buttons?
> 
> How nice re glass of champagne and the cocktails!



If you had MY meatloaf (well technically it's Fran's mothers), you would like it.  Very juicy and tasty!  I forgot to ask about the TSMM with buttons.



PrincessInOz said:


> What a fantastic day!  Looks like you had fun on the rides.  I totally agree about Space Mountain.  I didn't even bother with the MK version in October.
> 
> Love the drink and food porn.  I guess we'll have to wait to see Jill's take on the day.



I was so exhausted by the end of the day with all those rides, you know get your adrenaline going and such!



Pinkocto said:


> What a fun day with Jill  I loved that Aladdin show.



This genie was even funnier than the one when you and I saw it, if you can believe that!


----------



## franandaj

jedijill said:


> It was a fabulous day!  I had so much fun with Alison.
> 
> Jill in CO



Awwww thanks! 



rentayenta said:


> Looks like a fabulous day! That baked potato soup looks incredible. Yum!



OMG, so good.  I probably would have been fine just eating that.  And I wondered why each day I got the scale that week, I was heavier and heavier!   



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Man, I miss Chuck.  That was a great show.



It sure was, anytime the geeks can be the hero, I like, said by one raised by two computer programmers.



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Looks like an excellent choice.  Love me some BBQ.







Captain_Oblivious said:


> So, having never been to DL, what specifically makes it that much better?



Well it's almost like two completely different rides, the only similarity is that they both go through space.  In WDW you sit single file and I think there is a shoulder restraint that comes down over your head.  In DL's version you ride side by side and there is only a lap belt.  The biggest thing there is that my head doesn't go side to side smashing my earrings into the shoulder restraint that also goes past my head.

I'm not sure what it is about the track, but DL's just glides smoothly over the track while WDW is just really jostling and bumpy.  It was 2010 when I went on it last at WDW, and my back hurt afterwards and at that point, I just gave up on it. Especially since I live so close to DL and technically, I could get up in the morning, say, "I'm going on Space Mountain" and drive to the park go on the ride and be back home within maybe 2 1/2 to 3 hours, and that's if I have to wait to get on more than 15 minutes to get on.



Captain_Oblivious said:


> That just looks wonderful.  Keep this up and I might break out Homer again.







Captain_Oblivious said:


> You would probably both kick mine.  I hate those pull-string thingys.



Paula says in the HA car they have buttons at WDW, I have to ask if they have them here.



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Cool!
> 
> Hmmm...I don't think I've discovered Jill's TR yet.



As she said, she hasn't started it, at least on the DIS, I know when I saw her on this day I just posted, she said she had started writing it so she wouldn't forget what happened when.



jedijill said:


> I was catching up (binge watching) The Big Bang Theory last night, and they showed a scene shot outside this storefront.  The "Urban Lights" signage was in the show.
> 
> Jill in CO



That's pretty cool.  I'm still waiting to see some shows with the scenery we saw, but don't think I'm not looking!



jedijill said:


> I haven't started the new TR yet but here is a link to my PTR.  I'll post a link to the TR on there when I can get started.
> 
> Jill in CO



Did you mean this link for the PTR?

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3240967


----------



## franandaj

Way back when, before this trip was even a twinkle in my eye, we had planned a Southwestern Roadtrip.  Fran wanted to go somewhere else before we went back to WDW and so we planned it.  That was at least a year ago.  For those of you following the house thread, you know that this trip was in jeopardy due to the fact that we are planning to add a media room to the new house and we weren't sure if we would make the hearing on April 10.

We the hearing has come and gone and the guys on the Architechtural Review Board were just great.  Even thought they Poopoo'ed  our original plan they gave us a new plan to work with and the city will be OK with it so we are moving forward.  Also they will let us submit plans etc outside the normal hearing and if necessary let our architect appear on our behalf while we are on vacation.  They urged us to go ahead and enjoy our vacation that we had planned over a year ago and it rapidly approaching.  The architects will take care of the particulars and we can just have a good time!

So if you would like to join us on our Southwestern Roadtrip.  Here is the link to the new TR.  We leave in a little over two weeks so that gives just enough to get excited over the trip.  We finalized all the bookings between this last weekend and today, so we are all set for the Wildest Ride in the Wliderness!

Soutwestern Road Trip 2014

Hope to see you over there!

And if you're not in on the house thread and want to be, there are easy links to catch up on the main developments.  Here is the link.

New House Thread


----------



## dolphingirl47

franandaj said:


> What are your dates again in November, perhaps I could come out and we could have a whirlwind day like Jill and I did!



All going well, we will be at Disneyland from November 10th to 13th (park days 11th and 12th) and then again from November 23rd to 27th (park days 24th, 25th and 26th). For the first few days we are probably staying offsite, but I have not ruled out making a cash reservation for Pacific Pier or the Disneyland Hotel. For the second stay I am hoping to snag a studio at the Grand Californian.

I must have missed something. I knew about the outcome of the hearing regarding the addition to your house, but I was not aware that the city is OK with the changed plans. That is great news.

Corinna


----------



## ACDSNY

That's great the city was Ok with the new plan.


----------



## PrincessInOz

That's great news about the City being okay with your new plans.  Full steam ahead and HM themed garage....er.....room.....here we come!


----------



## mvf-m11c

That is great news to hear that it is a go.


----------



## franandaj

dolphingirl47 said:


> All going well, we will be at Disneyland from November 10th to 13th (park days 11th and 12th) and then again from November 23rd to 27th (park days 24th, 25th and 26th). For the first few days we are probably staying offsite, but I have not ruled out making a cash reservation for Pacific Pier or the Disneyland Hotel. For the second stay I am hoping to snag a studio at the Grand Californian.
> 
> I must have missed something. I knew about the outcome of the hearing regarding the addition to your house, but I was not aware that the city is OK with the changed plans. That is great news.
> 
> Corinna



We get back from Ft. Lauderdale on the 10th. Maybe we can get together on the second part of your trip.



ACDSNY said:


> That's great the city was Ok with the new plan.



I didn't post anything about it on the house thread.  I should head over there, respond to replies and update.  Things are rapidly screeching to a standstill.  I won't give it away over here and save it all for over there.



PrincessInOz said:


> That's great news about the City being okay with your new plans.  Full steam ahead and HM themed garage....er.....room.....here we come!



Full steam ahead to a STOP!



mvf-m11c said:


> That is great news to hear that it is a go.



Yes, it is good news that it is a go.  It is the process that is


----------



## scottny

Oh. That is mistake I always fear when I book online. Glad she was able to change the tix. 
Love the Jurassic Park info. I do know that scene especially since I watched it again only 24 hours ago. LOl. 
Loving seeing the pics of the tour. When we get out there I think I want to do this. 
I am loving all these pics and am so jealous. 
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the Harry Potter pics. 
That HP part would have been worth it for me. 
Ooh! The General Lee. 
Cool Batman cars.
The food looked good. 
I AM SO JEALOUS of you doing the SW package. 
The soup and meatloaf look really good. 
What a great ending to your DLR day. 
I am all caught up.


----------



## franandaj

scottny said:


> Oh. That is mistake I always fear when I book online. Glad she was able to change the tix.
> Love the Jurassic Park info. I do know that scene especially since I watched it again only 24 hours ago. LOl.
> Loving seeing the pics of the tour. When we get out there I think I want to do this.
> I am loving all these pics and am so jealous.
> LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the Harry Potter pics.
> That HP part would have been worth it for me.
> Ooh! The General Lee.
> Cool Batman cars.
> The food looked good.
> I AM SO JEALOUS of you doing the SW package.
> The soup and meatloaf look really good.
> What a great ending to your DLR day.
> I am all caught up.



You guys would enjoy the tour, I hope that they keep the Harry Potter part there for a long time.

I can't wait to do the SW package!


----------



## franandaj

For our final Disney adventure we were able to score reservations through my friend at a special Club 33 dinner with the Winery that makes wine for Kurt Russell.

They started us off in the lounge for Steakhouse 55 with a Rose.





There were butler passed hors doeuvres. These are Green Olive Phyllo treats filled with strawberry compote, I think there was goat cheese in there too.  Im glad they didnt tell me about the olives or I wouldnt have eaten one.





This plate contained Tenderloin of Beef Medallions, Chive Sour Cream, Rose of Syrah Sea Salt, and Hearts of Palm and Squid Ink with Calvedos Misted Sea Grass.  I passed on the Hearts of Palm, but the Steak was brilliant!









We were seated at our table and given menus.









We were served Bread and Butter immediately.





Our friend was kind enough to take pictures of us.









Kurt Russell was sitting only a table away from us, but the room was so dark, I could barely snap a picture.  Instead our first course came out.  It was a Maine Lobster Cocktail tossed with Lemon Verbena Aioli, and a Lavender Mustard Seed Cracker.  It was served with a GoGi, Lulu Viognier, from Santa Rita Hills bottled in 2012.  It was fantastic as was the wine.





Kurt Russell got up to speak, and I took dozens of pictures of him, but with the lighting and the way we kept moving, I was lucky to get what it did.





Our next course came and it was the Pan Seared Halibut Cheeks with Pancetta Bacon Snow, Seared Watermelon and Cipollini Charcoal.  It was served with the Goldie Chardonnay also from Santa Rita Hills, 2012. Now this was REALLY good, both the wine and the fish, but the seared watermelon was also great!  The sauce was just perfect on the fish.





Kurt got up to speak and he told us about the name Gogi.  He couldnt pronounce his middle name Vogel so he called himself Gogo and the family used it as a nickname, turns out Goldie had the same nickname, so now Kurt is Gogi and shes Gogo.  Hence the name of the wine.  I kept trying to take pictures of him, but it was so dark, they are just big blurs.

Our next course came out. Sonoma Duck two ways, Jilleybean Vegetable Bolognese, Truffled Potato Fettucini, it was served with a Jillybean Pinot Noir, Santa Rita Hills, 2010.  This was very good, but I was definitely starting to get pretty full.  The Potato Fettucini was really unique and good.  I couldnt finish this one.






*[Continued in Next Post]*


----------



## franandaj

*[Continued from Previous Post]*


Bob Gurr was also in attendance at this even and he came around to the tables to chat and take photos with folks.





Our next course was Grilled Elk Chopped Steak, Egg Creamed spinach, Candied Carrot, Rhubard Demi Gastric.  It was served with and Ampelos Grenache from the Santa Rita Hills, 2008.  This was very flavorful and I really liked it, but was so full that I could only eat a couple bites.  They let us take this one home.  Actually Olga quite enjoyed this.





Kurt Russell spoke some more, this time about his time making movies as a kid.  He was way on the other side of the room so there was no way I could get a picture of him this time. We were served our dessert which was a Manjari Chocolate Tart, Caramelized Banana, Hazelnut Crème Anglaise, with a Mango Sorbet.  It was served with an Ampelos, Late Harvest Viognier.  I didnt care for this very much, Im not a big banana and chocolate together fan, but other really enjoyed it.





Chef Marcel came out so I asked if he would take a picture with me.





And then I was able to snag one with Kurt Russell





And then we headed out of there and took Jill home to the Anabella.

Im going to go ahead and wrap this up since the rest of our time together isnt quite enough for a full update.  The next day Jill called when she checked out of her hotel.  I gave her directions to the new house and we met there for a tour. After that we decided to head out for lunch.  We decided on the Crab Pot, a local seafood place at the marina in Long Beach.









We got the Seafood Feast with Dungeness and Snow Crab, also includes Shrimp, Andouille Sausage, Clams, Mussels, Red Potatoes, and Corn.  Basically they tie a bib around your neck, give you a mallet and a little fork, some paper towels and butter and you just go for it.





Then we took the Nickel tour of Long Beach.  

Over the bridge to Belmont Shore









Down Ocean Blvd.









Over to visit the Queen





We went up to the top of Signal Hill to look out over the city.









And that concluded our tour.  In case youre wondering about the different times of day that the pictures came from, I just recycled those from old pictures, none of them actually represent pictures we took on that day.  And then we said goodbye.  Another great week of DISmeets!


----------



## Pinkocto

Ok, even though your dinner looked fabulous I can not get over that you were in the same room as Kurt Russell, let alone TOOK A PICTURE WITH HIM!!!!! I'm having heart palpitations just imagining it!    Wow, what an evening! 

So did you eat one of the olive apps? 

Lunch the next day looked fun.


----------



## Fairy Floss

Oh my goodness!
That potato soup....
Dinner with Kurt Russell....
And... That seafood feast 
Mmmmmmmm......


----------



## PrincessInOz

franandaj said:


> And then I was able to snag one with Kurt Russell



OMG!  OMG!!


You. TOUCHED. him!!!!

HE. TOUCHED. YOU!!!!!



I'm in 7th heaven.  Someone I know actually got to touch the Computer that Wore Tennis Shoes.


----------



## PrincessInOz

Wow!  What an amazing couple of days DisMeet.

What a jackpot!

Kurt Russell AND Bob Gurr AND Chef Marcel AND that food.  I'm so envious.  

(Say hi to that friend of yours for me.)


That seafood place looks great.  Maybe next time I'm there, we can go there.


----------



## franandaj

Pinkocto said:


> Ok, even though your dinner looked fabulous I can not get over that you were in the same room as Kurt Russell, let alone TOOK A PICTURE WITH HIM!!!!! I'm having heart palpitations just imagining it!    Wow, what an evening!
> 
> So did you eat one of the olive apps?
> 
> Lunch the next day looked fun.



The dinner was wonderful and they couple next to us kept feeding us their extra wine.  We ended a little more tipsy than we expected.

I'm not a big star struck person.  I enjoy the fact that I could take pictures with Bob Gurr and Kurt Russell but I didn't really get out of stride.  I just figured it was nice to get a shot with the headliners to round out the night.  



Fairy Floss said:


> Oh my goodness!
> That potato soup....
> Dinner with Kurt Russell....
> And... That seafood feast
> Mmmmmmmm......



It was all good!  



PrincessInOz said:


> OMG!  OMG!!
> 
> 
> You. TOUCHED. him!!!!
> 
> HE. TOUCHED. YOU!!!!!
> 
> 
> 
> I'm in 7th heaven.  Someone I know actually got to touch the Computer that Wore Tennis Shoes.



I'm not sure about the Computer that wore Tennis shoes, but he did grab a hold of me and hold on for the picture!  




PrincessInOz said:


> Wow!  What an amazing couple of days DisMeet.
> 
> What a jackpot!
> 
> Kurt Russell AND Bob Gurr AND Chef Marcel AND that food.  I'm so envious.
> 
> (Say hi to that friend of yours for me.)
> 
> 
> That seafood place looks great.  Maybe next time I'm there, we can go there.



We could definitely hit the Crab Pot next time, I bet we could order what Jill and I got for me you and your DH, DS and still not eat it all!

I forgot to post the pic of how I repurposed the leftovers that night.  Seafood cakes and potatoes and corn.


----------



## PrincessInOz

That's great use of leftovers.


----------



## rentayenta

Holy chit!  Best update ever!!!!  You ladies look lovely and Kurt is still so totally handsome. 

Long Beach.  I can't believe I willingly moved away.


----------



## Paula Sedley-Burke

Kurt Russell yeah! Love his movies. What a great evening! That is brilliant you meet him. Love the photo of you with him. You all look very nicely dressed btw.

The menu looked good to me but hold the mango with chocolate with banana tart...strange combo! 

Oh love the sound of lobster pot lunch. Right up my street just bib me and tuck in to fish n seafood. Glad you had a good time with your friend. What a Dismeet


----------



## Paula Sedley-Burke

I was just watching Man vs Food. He went to Philipe's in LA for their famous French Dipped sandwich. Omg how nice do they look! Have you been? I was licking the TV....( vegetarians turn away it was meat , meat and more meat )


----------



## dolphingirl47

That dinner looks and sounds absolutely amazing. 

Corinna


----------



## franandaj

PrincessInOz said:


> That's great use of leftovers.



Thanks!  I have this "thing" about eating the same thing for two meals in a row, so this worked out as a nice change.



rentayenta said:


> Holy chit!  Best update ever!!!!  You ladies look lovely and Kurt is still so totally handsome.
> 
> Long Beach.  I can't believe I willingly moved away.



Thanks!  I do have to he is pretty handsome.  Normally I don't give too many guys much of a second glance.



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Kurt Russell yeah! Love his movies. What a great evening! That is brilliant you meet him. Love the photo of you with him. You all look very nicely dressed btw.
> 
> The menu looked good to me but hold the mango with chocolate with banana tart...strange combo!
> 
> Oh love the sound of lobster pot lunch. Right up my street just bib me and tuck in to fish n seafood. Glad you had a good time with your friend. What a Dismeet



Thanks, the invite did say Semi-formal on the attire so we cleaned ourselves up.  Actually the mango sorbet worked pretty good.  I'm not a fan of the chocolate and bananas.  When you and Jo come to California, we can go there and put on our bibs for seafood!



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> I was just watching Man vs Food. He went to Philipe's in LA for their famous French Dipped sandwich. Omg how nice do they look! Have you been? I was licking the TV....( vegetarians turn away it was meat , meat and more meat )



I have not been to Philipe's, but Fran and I have talked about going there for years.  Supposedly they invented the French Dip.



dolphingirl47 said:


> That dinner looks and sounds absolutely amazing.
> 
> Corinna



Thanks!  I was on a high from such a great experience!


----------



## mvf-m11c

I finally caught up on your latest update and that was amazing dinner. 

A very nice night.


----------



## Captain_Oblivious

Club 33??  Well, la-dee-da. 

Seriously, it looks like it was a great night, and not too many people can say they have a picture with Kurt Russell.  Nice going!


----------



## ACDSNY

I'm with PIO, I'm so happy you were able to take such a great picture with Kurt Russell.


----------



## dgbg100106

The star wars package - OMG, that is fabulous!!!  Congrats on getting that!

The food porn is killing me this morning, breakfast cereal did not cut it...  

Wine dinner   that is truly amazing, so freaking jealous!


----------



## disney ny

Hi Alison- I am still following along and have a little catching up to do on your reports since I was on vacation.  I thought of you the other day as I am trying to convince my husband that after my trip to WDW this summer we should go to Ca and Disneyland next time and use our points there. So when I think of Ca I immediately think of what else.....fran and aj of course!! I also wanted to let you know I am going to start my very first PTR after lurking about around here for years reading all of yours and the reports so many others in this thread post. You are all my favorites and I hope some of you will follow as I am trying to follow your sage advice such as what you had replied to me earlier in this thread:

Your quote: I think you should do a TR, and you can start the PTR anytime you want!  I always do mine in Word and then copy and paste them on the DIS that way I can work on it as I have time and post when I am able.  The main thing is people want pictures!  Most folks are more apt to follow a TR when you have pictures and if you want Jenny to follow, you need to have pictures of your family!    She likes to know who the people are.  I like pictures of anything!  Food, resort, people, attractions, but mostly the food, resort and parks and attractions, I like to see the people, but if that's all there is I get bored because I like to learn about new things that I didn't know about, games, sights, tasty treats....I would read your TR!  


Ok- I am taking your advice and getting ready to post my first part of the PTR!  Hoping you will follow along and I may need some help along the way as I know I am already having photobucket issues!  Trying to learn from the best! Hoping to get my first post up tonight as I have been super busy at perfecting this whole thing!


----------



## franandaj

mvf-m11c said:


> I finally caught up on your latest update and that was amazing dinner.
> 
> A very nice night.



Thanks!  Almost as good as the one we had Saturday night!



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Club 33??  Well, la-dee-da.
> 
> Seriously, it looks like it was a great night, and not too many people can say they have a picture with Kurt Russell.  Nice going!



  

I'll have to start a celebrity photo file, right now my only pictures are with Celebrity Chefs! 



ACDSNY said:


> I'm with PIO, I'm so happy you were able to take such a great picture with Kurt Russell.



Thanks!  



dgbg100106 said:


> The star wars package - OMG, that is fabulous!!!  Congrats on getting that!
> 
> The food porn is killing me this morning, breakfast cereal did not cut it...
> 
> Wine dinner   that is truly amazing, so freaking jealous!



I can't wait to do the Star Wars package, it's going to be so fun!  I've been lucky this last month, had some amazing meals!



disney ny said:


> Hi Alison- I am still following along and have a little catching up to do on your reports since I was on vacation.  I thought of you the other day as I am trying to convince my husband that after my trip to WDW this summer we should go to Ca and Disneyland next time and use our points there. So when I think of Ca I immediately think of what else.....fran and aj of course!! I also wanted to let you know I am going to start my very first PTR after lurking about around here for years reading all of yours and the reports so many others in this thread post. You are all my favorites and I hope some of you will follow as I am trying to follow your sage advice such as what you had replied to me earlier in this thread:
> 
> Your quote: I think you should do a TR, and you can start the PTR anytime you want!  I always do mine in Word and then copy and paste them on the DIS that way I can work on it as I have time and post when I am able.  The main thing is people want pictures!  Most folks are more apt to follow a TR when you have pictures and if you want Jenny to follow, you need to have pictures of your family!    She likes to know who the people are.  I like pictures of anything!  Food, resort, people, attractions, but mostly the food, resort and parks and attractions, I like to see the people, but if that's all there is I get bored because I like to learn about new things that I didn't know about, games, sights, tasty treats....I would read your TR!
> 
> 
> Ok- I am taking your advice and getting ready to post my first part of the PTR!  Hoping you will follow along and I may need some help along the way as I know I am already having photobucket issues!  Trying to learn from the best! Hoping to get my first post up tonight as I have been super busy at perfecting this whole thing!



I just made it over there!  Great start, your family (well sister, Mom and kids) are adorable...I don't think you posted a picture of your hubby did you?

I'm not sure how much help with PB I can be, sometimes it boggles my mind too!


----------



## franandaj

I thought I better get back over here and sort of wrap this thing up since I'll be leaving on the road trip in three more sleeps!  

A few updates:  Mickey Mail!  We got our DME tickets for the ride to Coronado Springs.  I realized that I had not registered us for DME for the ride home and now you can do it online!

I plan to place our grocery order with We Go Shop before we leave on the roadtrip. Other than that, no real updates for this trip.  It's too far out for any micro planning yet.

So on with the PTR!

*Oh no!  Our last day has already arrived!*

This is always the saddest day of vacation, but again it also can be bittersweet.  By this point we are starting to miss that we have no cats in our bed.  Often we bring a stuffed kitty along with us to aid in the withdrawal process, but still the stuffed kitty doesnt make up for the real kitty experience.  Tesla and DC are constantly getting into entertaining battles on the bed and Milo and Velcro usually find themselves engaged in a love fest.  We have other kitties and often times we find ourselves in the #1 apartment with six or more kitties on the bed, so vacation is sometimes a shock when we have the bed to ourselves.  But I digress.

The ONLY plan we have on this day is for a dinner reservation at Be Our Guest.  I kind of like to keep that last day pretty open.   Inevitably Fran has some secret activity that she wanted to do, that I know nothing about and then we have to squeeze it into my jam packed days.  

Already we have somewhat rearranged our schedules from what I have posted here, but that's the fun of the actual Trip Report right?  No matter how well you plan it, everything goes different.

So, I may post some pictures from a few experiences that I've had in the last week while we wait for the trip to arrive, but other than winging it for the last day, and catching DME at 8AM the following day, that pretty much wraps up the plans for this trip!


----------



## rentayenta

franandaj said:


> I thought I better get back over here and sort of wrap this thing up since I'll be leaving on the road trip in three more sleeps!
> 
> A few updates:  Mickey Mail!  We got our DME tickets for the ride to Coronado Springs.  I realized that I had not registered us for DME for the ride home and now you can do it online!
> 
> I plan to place our grocery order with We Go Shop before we leave on the roadtrip. Other than that, no real updates for this trip.  It's too far out for any micro planning yet.
> 
> So on with the PTR!
> 
> *Oh no!  Our last day has already arrived!*
> 
> This is always the saddest day of vacation, but again it also can be bittersweet.  By this point we are starting to miss that we have no cats in our bed.  Often we bring a stuffed kitty along with us to aid in the withdrawal process, but still the stuffed kitty doesn’t make up for the “real kitty” experience.  Tesla and DC are constantly getting into entertaining battles on the bed and Milo and Velcro usually find themselves engaged in a love fest.  We have other kitties and often times we find ourselves in the #1 apartment with six or more kitties on the bed, so vacation is sometimes a shock when we have the bed to ourselves.  But I digress.
> 
> The ONLY plan we have on this day is for a dinner reservation at Be Our Guest.  I kind of like to keep that last day pretty open.   Inevitably Fran has some secret activity that she wanted to do, that I know nothing about and then we have to squeeze it into my jam packed days.
> 
> Already we have somewhat rearranged our schedules from what I have posted here, but that's the fun of the actual Trip Report right?  No matter how well you plan it, everything goes different.
> 
> So, I may post some pictures from a few experiences that I've had in the last week while we wait for the trip to arrive, but other than winging it for the last day, and catching DME at 8AM the following day, that pretty much wraps up the plans for this trip!







3 sleeps until the road trip? Have fun! Hope you're all packed and ready.


----------



## dgbg100106

Three more sleeps!  It is here already!   Hope you have an amazing time.


----------



## dolphingirl47

I nice empty last day sounds great. I am looking forward to the trip report.

Corinna


----------



## Paula Sedley-Burke

How nice re reservation at BOG  sounds interesting re Fran and her secret going ons! 

Beware of leaving open days of not much planned. Look what happened to PIO lol...

Hope to see you Stateside!


----------



## PrincessInOz

YAY for Mickey Mail.  

Not long to go for the roadtrip and then you'll be heading back to WDW.  

Sounds like you have a pretty open last day.  I know Fran will probably be more than capable of filling it up; so you're probably safe with leaving it unplanned.


----------



## PrincessInOz

Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Beware of leaving open days of not much planned. Look what happened to PIO lol...




Don't. remind. me.


----------



## scottny

Nice you saw Kurt Russell. 
The food looks so good. 
YEAH! You got a pic with Kurt. 
OMG!!!! All that seafood. YUM!!
Sounds like a fun tour. 
The plans sound great for the WDW trip. 
Have a wonderful time on the drive trip.


----------



## Leshaface

Kurt Russell?!  Holy cannoli and why didn't you post that pic of you and him on FB?!  Or did I just miss it.

Oh yeah, and the food looks alright too, I guess


----------



## franandaj

rentayenta said:


> 3 sleeps until the road trip? Have fun! Hope you're all packed and ready.



As you know, I was NOT!  



dgbg100106 said:


> Three more sleeps!  It is here already!   Hope you have an amazing time.



So far pretty good, although there have been a couple let downs.



dolphingirl47 said:


> I nice empty last day sounds great. I am looking forward to the trip report.
> 
> Corinna



You can read all about it when you get back from your trip, oh wait that's the Road Trip.



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> How nice re reservation at BOG  sounds interesting re Fran and her secret going ons!
> 
> Beware of leaving open days of not much planned. Look what happened to PIO lol...
> 
> Hope to see you Stateside!



Well, they're not so secret going ons, more like she doesn't figure it out until a couple hours before she wants to do it!  

 see you Stateside!



PrincessInOz said:


> YAY for Mickey Mail.
> 
> Not long to go for the roadtrip and then you'll be heading back to WDW.
> 
> Sounds like you have a pretty open last day.  I know Fran will probably be more than capable of filling it up; so you're probably safe with leaving it unplanned.



I'm sure she will fill it up!



PrincessInOz said:


> Don't. remind. me.




  



scottny said:


> Nice you saw Kurt Russell.
> The food looks so good.
> YEAH! You got a pic with Kurt.
> OMG!!!! All that seafood. YUM!!
> Sounds like a fun tour.
> The plans sound great for the WDW trip.
> Have a wonderful time on the drive trip.



Thanks!  We are having a pretty good time.



Leshaface said:


> Kurt Russell?!  Holy cannoli and why didn't you post that pic of you and him on FB?!  Or did I just miss it.
> 
> Oh yeah, and the food looks alright too, I guess



I never even thought about posting that on FB!    I guess there are people who would make it their profile picture.    I have a whole host of new profile pictures and cover pictures.  I just have get home because Fran doesn't like me to post on FB during vacation.  Something about people coming to the house and robbing us.  

If they're my friends, why would they rob me?    Unless they are drug addicts and I don't know....


----------



## franandaj

So I thought I would kill a little time with another update.  A couple weeks ago I met Cynthia out at the park.  We had a blast, rode a couple rides, did some window shopping and sat down for a drink with her family.  We pretty much killed the whole afternoon that way!

Heres the proof that we met up!





A couple days later, I was lucky enough to attend a dinner celebrating the partnership of Disney and Coke-a-Cola.  It was called Have a Coke and a Smile and everything in the dinner was Coke Inspired.

Our first Hors doeuvre was a Sprite Battered Turkey Dog served with a Coney Island Onion Sauce.  It was pretty good!





Then we got our drinks. It was a Pemberton French Wine Royale.  Evidently this cocktail was modeled after a French cocktail of the early 20th century.  What they did was reduce the wine to a syrup and then blended it with Coke.  I dont remember if they mixed any other liquor in with it.





Another Hors doeuvre was Spicy Mellow Yellow Grilled Shrimp.  This was pretty good too.  I grabbed one of these every time they passed by.





The last one was Clam Belly Roll with a Simply Limeade Aoli.  One of these was enough for me.





On our way into the dining room they had some displays of various Coke/Disney advertising. These were a sampling of bottles that had been used in the park.





An ad for Adventure Thru Inner Space





Various pieces that they would talk about later, unfortunately I wont be able to give you any facts.    I didnt take notes!





This was for Cokes 100th Birthday.





A promo picture of Walt drinking Coke (not sure if he really liked it).





The Menu (back side)





Front Side





Our Starter was a Cherry Coke glazed Wild Boar Baby Back Rib with Barqs Root Beer Spiced Popcorn, it was served with a Barley Wallbanger.  Now this was an awesome course.  The Ribs were just perfect, the Popcorn was really flavorful and the little lollypop was actually sort of savory and a nice compliment to both things on the plate.  

The cocktail was pretty strong. It was made with Rye, Galliano, Orange Juice, Lemon Juice and finished off with Chimay Ale.  This was based on a drink made popular in the 1920s.





Next we were served Mean Joe Greens Salad, it had a bunch of olives that I gave all to Fran.  I dont like Olives.  It was served with a Highball that was made with Coca Cola.  So far the drinks were starting to knock me out!





The Second Course was Lobster Nachos, these were really good.  The sauce was made with Seagrams Ginger Ale and Crème Fraiche.  They switched us to wine, so I was much more in my element.





Then it was time for a Palate Cleanser, Coke and Pop Rocks!   





The next course was awesome and heres where I hit my food wall, we had to take part of this one home.  Coca-Cola Marinated Rib Eye, Garlic Mashed Potato Fritter, Cola Caramelized Carrots.  YUM-MY!







 

*[Continued in Next Post]*


----------



## franandaj

*[Continued from Previous Post]*

Then they handed out a booklet and started to talk about how Coke and Disney sort of grew up together.  Even though Coke started in the 1890s, they really didnt get their act together until about the time that Walt came to California, they were still fairly young in their marketing and strategies when the park opened in the 50s and both grew with each others help.





The booklet had some pictures of famous people drinking Coke and many were at Disneyland.

















Coke got in on this Video Release advertising









And some more Vintage Shots.





















Then we were served Dessert.  Gold Peak Tea Fried Dough (Funnel Cake), Bubble Gum Spun Sugar (Cotton Candy), Chocolate Fuze Banana Ice Cream.





And we got to take home one of these as a souvenir.





All in all it was a fun and whimsical night!


----------



## jedijill

You got to go to the Coke dinner....Awesome!

It looks really good and a fun event!

Jill in CO


----------



## ACDSNY

Awesome event.  I was cracking up over the coke and pop rocks and drooling over the steak.


----------



## Paula Sedley-Burke

Omg what a great event! I just adore Coke  I love the idea of lobster nachos! Oh yum! Thank you for the photos I enjoyed them. Over here we do a nice recipe of baked ham in coke at Christmas time. It adds a smashing glaze to the ham joint  really reduces to a sticky marinade. 

Hope you are enjoying your RT!


----------



## PrincessInOz

Awesome picture of you and Cynthia. 


What a fantastic dinner and what a fantastic world of Disney and Coke.  I wonder how much Coke paid for the advertising?

Thanks for sharing.


----------



## dgbg100106

Very nice dinner, That steak looks huge, no wonder you could not eat it all, that was a lot of food and fun!

Glad you had a good time!


----------



## Paula Sedley-Burke

dgbg100106 said:


> Very nice dinner, That steak looks huge, no wonder you could not eat it all, that was a lot of food and fun!  Glad you had a good time!


Oh my that steak! Our idea of steak can hide under a garnish... It's odd because it's not like our cattle is hobbit sized lol.... I have almost been in tears because I couldn't eat the whole slab of meat in your wonderful country... When will I see a slice of protein like that again....dragging and screaming out of Outback....


----------



## Leshaface

DH is the same way about me posting pics on FB while on vacation as well.  Which is why I made the DIS FB.  But I just get too excited and sometimes do it anyway!  

What a cool dinner!  Incorporating the Coke brand into every meal.  That steak...looks perfectly cooked, juicy and delicious!

What fun, thanks for sharing!


----------



## Pinkocto

What a fun meal! I love seeing all the vintage advertising and old photos. 

Great shot of you and Cynthia!


----------



## eandesmom

I am so glad you posted a picture!  I have a ton (and the photopass ones too!) but want to use them in my TR once I get there.  I need to get you the PP pics though, there are some really cute ones 

We had so much fun!!!!!!!!!!  It was a great afternoon and the perfect combo of rides, some great chill & chat time, yummy food and drinks and an amazing atmosphere.  Thank you so much for taking time out of your day, it was just wonderful all around.

OMG I am drooling over that dinner, it looks incredible from start to finish and WOW that's a lot of food, and drink!

Harvey Wallbanger.  Man, that takes me back to my early cocktail waitress days when the occasional person would order them.  They are wicked strong!

I'd have needed a cab home.

What a fun update and really neat event.


----------



## rentayenta

Cute shot of you girls.  Sounds like the perfect day! 

What a neat Coke event. Coca cola is one of my all time favorite drinks. Love the Pop rocks. 

I'm digging the Coke/33 menu.


----------



## mvf-m11c

A little late to your posts and I remember you saying about this event during our dinner at the NR. I'm glad that you and Cynthia had a great time at that event. The dinner looks very nice and I would have enjoyed it as well since I like to drink Coke. 

Very nice updates.


----------



## disney ny

Wow! That dinner looks amazing.  I am not always adventurous when eating but that is one event I think I would love.  Everything looked awesome and I would have loved hearing about all of the Coke and Disney information.  You always do the neatest things!  Thank goodness we have you as an insider to fill us in!


----------



## franandaj

jedijill said:


> You got to go to the Coke dinner....Awesome!
> 
> It looks really good and a fun event!
> 
> Jill in CO



It was such a whimsical dinner, I really enjoyed it!  From the ribs and the pop rocks to the funnel cake and cotton candy, it was just fun!



ACDSNY said:


> Awesome event.  I was cracking up over the coke and pop rocks and drooling over the steak.



I know Pop Rocks as a palate cleaner!  I remember when they were contraband substance when I was in Jr High School!  



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Omg what a great event! I just adore Coke  I love the idea of lobster nachos! Oh yum! Thank you for the photos I enjoyed them. Over here we do a nice recipe of baked ham in coke at Christmas time. It adds a smashing glaze to the ham joint  really reduces to a sticky marinade.
> 
> Hope you are enjoying your RT!



Coke can definitely be a great cooking ingredient! They did all kinds of things with the various Coke products.  It was fun!



PrincessInOz said:


> Awesome picture of you and Cynthia.
> 
> 
> What a fantastic dinner and what a fantastic world of Disney and Coke.  I wonder how much Coke paid for the advertising?
> 
> Thanks for sharing.



I'm glad that Cynthia and I finally took a picture, we had a few PP pics, but this was one of the few times that day that we actually sat down at took pictures.

It was a very cool dinner, I'm glad we were able to attend.



dgbg100106 said:


> Very nice dinner, That steak looks huge, no wonder you could not eat it all, that was a lot of food and fun!
> 
> Glad you had a good time!



It was a huge steak!  But I gave it a fighting chance!



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Oh my that steak! Our idea of steak can hide under a garnish... It's odd because it's not like our cattle is hobbit sized lol.... I have almost been in tears because I couldn't eat the whole slab of meat in your wonderful country... When will I see a slice of protein like that again....dragging and screaming out of Outback....



See we count on our steaks being huge here and that we get at least one extra meal out of a steak dinner out. We love our Lonestar for a great steak, but if you like Outback 



Leshaface said:


> DH is the same way about me posting pics on FB while on vacation as well.  Which is why I made the DIS FB.  But I just get too excited and sometimes do it anyway!
> 
> What a cool dinner!  Incorporating the Coke brand into every meal.  That steak...looks perfectly cooked, juicy and delicious!
> 
> What fun, thanks for sharing!



Well now I'm starting to post on FB the stuff from the trip.

It was a really cool dinner, I'm so glad that we went!



Pinkocto said:


> What a fun meal! I love seeing all the vintage advertising and old photos.
> 
> Great shot of you and Cynthia!



Thanks!  I hope you are having a great time on your cruise!



eandesmom said:


> I am so glad you posted a picture!  I have a ton (and the photopass ones too!) but want to use them in my TR once I get there.  I need to get you the PP pics though, there are some really cute ones
> 
> We had so much fun!!!!!!!!!!  It was a great afternoon and the perfect combo of rides, some great chill & chat time, yummy food and drinks and an amazing atmosphere.  Thank you so much for taking time out of your day, it was just wonderful all around.
> 
> OMG I am drooling over that dinner, it looks incredible from start to finish and WOW that's a lot of food, and drink!
> 
> Harvey Wallbanger.  Man, that takes me back to my early cocktail waitress days when the occasional person would order them.  They are wicked strong!
> 
> I'd have needed a cab home.
> 
> What a fun update and really neat event.



It was a fun day with you and fun night with Coke!  It was a lot of everything, but we had a great time!



rentayenta said:


> Cute shot of you girls.  Sounds like the perfect day!
> 
> What a neat Coke event. Coca cola is one of my all time favorite drinks. Love the Pop rocks.
> 
> I'm digging the Coke/33 menu.



Thanks, I'm not so much a Coke fan, but it was really cool to see what they could do with it and what a tasty menu they came up with!



mvf-m11c said:


> A little late to your posts and I remember you saying about this event during our dinner at the NR. I'm glad that you and Cynthia had a great time at that event. The dinner looks very nice and I would have enjoyed it as well since I like to drink Coke.
> 
> Very nice updates.



Thanks!  I hope that I can post the NR pics before I leave for WDW!



disney ny said:


> Wow! That dinner looks amazing.  I am not always adventurous when eating but that is one event I think I would love.  Everything looked awesome and I would have loved hearing about all of the Coke and Disney information.  You always do the neatest things!  Thank goodness we have you as an insider to fill us in!



I'm glad you enjoy reading about all these things.  I have a lot of fun attending them and feel very lucky that I get the chance to go to such special events!


----------



## pepe3penelope

Following along! We are also in the Wonder 3 night Ensenada cruise next May with you!


----------



## pepe3penelope

pepe3penelope said:


> Following along! We are also in the Wonder 3 night Ensenada cruise next May with you!



Adding to the post...just realized that you're going during SWW! Oh my goodness!!! Hope to go one day!


----------



## franandaj

pepe3penelope said:


> Following along! We are also in the Wonder 3 night Ensenada cruise next May with you!





pepe3penelope said:


> Adding to the post...just realized that you're going during SWW! Oh my goodness!!! Hope to go one day!



Yes!  I am so looking forward to the cruise next year, more than the other two cruises we have before this one!  Are you on both the 2 night to nowhere and the Ensenada?  I think you said you were?

Yes!  I can't believe that we are this close to SWW!


----------



## franandaj

So tomorrow is Single Digit Day!  We have had quite an adventurous last couple weeks for any of you following the road trip and if youre on FB, you know that I had quite a day yesterday.  I hope to be able to tell you about it before we go, because once I get back Ill be in full TR mode!  Plus I still need to finish up the RT, there are a lot more adventures to come!

Well see how much time I can steal that Fran doesnt realize Im not working on moving!  Anyhoo, I thought I would update you on the last week, its been a busy one!

1) I realized that I had not booked DME for our ride back to the Airport, so thats taken care of now.

2) I had meant to order our groceries for the trip before we left on the RT and that didnt happen, but its taken care of now.

3) The Owners Locker is set to deliver at the VGF on Thursday.

4) We still need to order our rental car for the day we visit Theme Park Connection.  From what we hear this is their best incarnation and should be a totally cool experience!

Some other things that I have gleaned from the DIS: This was opening weekend of SWW and people have been posting their experiences.  Evidently the VIP tour gets taken backstage just after 7AM, and we go through HBD to choose our lunch entrées at Mama Melrose. We shop a bit at Darths Maul before they take us back to HBD for pastries, Coffee, OJ, Bagels and other such accoutrements.

Then we ride TSMM, then our choice of ToT or RnRC.  After that they take us to the viewing area where Mickey Bars, popsicles, sodas and waters are flowing freely.  We watch the parade and are whisked to Mama Melrose for lunch, then off to ride SW. Then to Behind the Force show and then Stars of the Saga.  By this time its about 4PM and we get to do what we want.  (Go back to the room and take a nap for a couple hours). Come back by 8PM and join the dessert party for Darth Vadar and Yoda Cupcakes, Rice Krispie Treats, several other delicacies and soft drinks and three different alcoholic beverages that you can order 2 at a time, in unlimited quantities.  Not that Im planning on getting Hammered.  There was a Billboard here, you know the electronic kind, Get Hammered, Get Nailed.  Fran didnt get it!  

But a few cocktails before the fireworks couldnt hurt!  Then we would be done for the night.  Depending on how many cocktails and how Disneystrong they were, maybe put a fork in me done only because we would have been at the park before rope drop!

Other than these developments, Im not sure how much has changed since we decided on this trip.  We did change a few things, but youll just have to read about those in the TR!  Just think when I wake up tomorrow, Ill be in single digits for a WDW trip!


----------



## Paula Sedley-Burke

franandaj said:


> So tomorrow is Single Digit Day!  We have had quite an adventurous last couple weeks for any of you following the road trip and if you&#146;re on FB, you know that I had quite a day yesterday.  I hope to be able to tell you about it before we go, because once I get back I&#146;ll be in full TR mode!  Plus I still need to finish up the RT, there are a lot more adventures to come!  We&#146;ll see how much time I can steal that Fran doesn&#146;t realize I&#146;m not working on moving!  Anyhoo, I thought I would update you on the last week, it&#146;s been a busy one!  1) I realized that I had not booked DME for our ride back to the Airport, so that&#146;s taken care of now.  2) I had meant to order our groceries for the trip before we left on the RT and that didn&#146;t happen, but it&#146;s taken care of now.  3) The Owner&#146;s Locker is set to deliver at the VGF on Thursday.  4) We still need to order our rental car for the day we visit Theme Park Connection.  From what we hear this is their best incarnation and should be a totally cool experience!  Some other things that I have gleaned from the DIS: This was opening weekend of SWW and people have been posting their experiences.  Evidently the VIP tour gets taken backstage just after 7AM, and we go through HBD to choose our lunch entrées at Mama Melrose. We shop a bit at Darth&#146;s Maul before they take us back to HBD for pastries, Coffee, OJ, Bagels and other such accoutrements.  Then we ride TSMM, then our choice of ToT or RnRC.  After that they take us to the viewing area where Mickey Bars, popsicles, sodas and waters are flowing freely.  We watch the parade and are whisked to Mama Melrose for lunch, then off to ride SW. Then to Behind the Force show and then Stars of the Saga.  By this time it&#146;s about 4PM and we get to do what we want.  (Go back to the room and take a nap for a couple hours). Come back by 8PM and join the dessert party for Darth Vadar and Yoda Cupcakes, Rice Krispie Treats, several other delicacies and soft drinks and three different alcoholic beverages that you can order 2 at a time, in unlimited quantities.  Not that I&#146;m planning on getting Hammered.  There was a Billboard here, you know the electronic kind, &#147;Get Hammered, Get Nailed&#148;.  Fran didn&#146;t get it!    But a few cocktails before the fireworks couldn&#146;t hurt!  Then we would be done for the night.  Depending on how many cocktails and how Disneystrong they were, maybe &#147;put a fork in me done&#148; only because we would have been at the park before rope drop!  Other than these developments, I&#146;m not sure how much has changed since we decided on this trip.  We did change a few things, but you&#146;ll just have to read about those in the TR!  Just think when I wake up tomorrow, I&#146;ll be in single digits for a WDW trip!


 Yeah single digit dance! Well done on ME , grocery and hopefully rental car! We fly this time next week  so excited. We will be at Gatwick airport! Oh the VIP package sounds great! Takes a lot of stress out of it. Nice shaded areas, drinks and eats! I am scared I will melt like a popsicle on my scooter watching the parade. I read on that SWW thread handicap viewing has no shade! Safe flight to you both


----------



## PrincessInOz

YAY for Single digits.  


That experience sounds amazing!  Looks like you're in for a quite a ride.  
Well done on locking in a few more details.


----------



## rentayenta

Single digits!   SWW looks like a blast. I've also seen some friends posting from FB and it looks like great fun. 

Glad you've got more details taken care of too.


----------



## jedijill

for the single digit dance!

Your tease on FB from yesterday looked amazing...can't wait to hear about it!

You are going to have a fantastic time at SWW....I'm so sad I couldn't go this year!

Jill in CO


----------



## pepe3penelope

franandaj said:


> Yes!  I am so looking forward to the cruise next year, more than the other two cruises we have before this one!  Are you on both the 2 night to nowhere and the Ensenada?  I think you said you were?  Yes!  I can't believe that we are this close to SWW!


Yes, we are on both 2 & 3 night cruises. Looking forward to reading your update! So excited for you! When we went on Fantasy last year we remember the heat and humidity was so difficult. How is it this time of year? Enjoy yourselves!!!


----------



## pepe3penelope

Wow! Your backstage package sounds beyond amazing! I love how they take care of all the details and food and drink!


----------



## Captain_Oblivious

Single digits!!   Man, that's a good feeling.


----------



## lisaviolet

Umm, I struggled to figure out that nine was a single digit.  

Have a wonderful time, Alison.


----------



## franandaj

Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Yeah single digit dance! Well done on ME , grocery and hopefully rental car! We fly this time next week  so excited. We will be at Gatwick airport! Oh the VIP package sounds great! Takes a lot of stress out of it. Nice shaded areas, drinks and eats! I am scared I will melt like a popsicle on my scooter watching the parade. I read on that SWW thread handicap viewing has no shade! Safe flight to you both



Yikes!  That sucks that the HA viewing area is in the sunny side of the street.  That's awful! You should find a spot in the regular folks area and when they complain give them your plaque and say, "you go sit in the sun!:



PrincessInOz said:


> YAY for Single digits.
> 
> 
> That experience sounds amazing!  Looks like you're in for a quite a ride.
> Well done on locking in a few more details.



I hope that it's all they say it is.  Then I think it will be worth it.  If we can get Mickey bars and stuff plus unlimited drink fro mthe evenings we are cool! This package wa about use getting entry to the show.  If there if food and drinks available freaa nd they have booze! Score the package is totally: worth it



rentayenta said:


> Single digits!   SWW looks like a blast. I've also seen some friends posting from FB and it looks like great fun.
> 
> Glad you've got more details taken care of too.



It's getting closer! I'm very much getting excited! 



jedijill said:


> for the single digit dance!
> 
> Your tease on FB from yesterday looked amazing...can't wait to hear about it!
> 
> You are going to have a fantastic time at SWW....I'm so sad I couldn't go this year!
> 
> Jill in CO



I hope I can update on that event before I go. I've never been to SWW,  so I cant wait to find out what its all about!



pepe3penelope said:


> Yes, we are on both 2 & 3 night cruises. Looking forward to reading your update! So excited for you! When we went on Fantasy last year we remember the heat and humidity was so difficult. How is it this time of year? Enjoy yourselves!!!



Florida is slightly horrible this time of year. It will be terribly humid so we'll have to take our outdoor time in small doses.



pepe3penelope said:


> Wow! Your backstage package sounds beyond amazing! I love how they take care of all the details and food and drink!



It was really pricey but I think it will end up being worth it with all the crowds and heat. We will be able to do all the events that we planned without having to wait for hours in lines, plus they feed us!



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Single digits!!   Man, that's a good feeling.



You're right it is! As much as I enjoy all the various trips we take there is nothing like a WDW vacation! 



lisaviolet said:


> Umm, I struggled to figure out that nine was a single digit.
> 
> Have a wonderful time, Alison.



    Lisa you always give me  a good chuckle! Thanks, and I hope you are hanging in there!


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## Paula Sedley-Burke

Great idea re sitting in normal area! Jo has fashioned me a child's stroller parasol for my scooter lol... 

Have a safe flight next Wednesday nearly there my Disney friends


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## Pinkocto

SINGLE DIGIT DANCE!!!!!

​


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## franandaj

Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Great idea re sitting in normal area! Jo has fashioned me a child's stroller parasol for my scooter lol...
> 
> Have a safe flight next Wednesday nearly there my Disney friends



That's excellent! I hope it keeps you cool!



Pinkocto said:


> SINGLE DIGIT DANCE!!!!!
> 
> ​



You're back Pam! I hope you're going to do a TR! We want to hear all about your surprise for your mom!


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## Pinkocto

I'm uploading all the pics now. Remy was amazing. I let her in on the secret the night before, and she loved looking forward to it. They went above and beyond, she said it was the best veggie meal she's ever had


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## jedijill

Pinkocto said:


> I'm uploading all the pics now. Remy was amazing. I let her in on the secret the night before, and she loved looking forward to it. They went above and beyond, she said it was the best veggie meal she's ever had



Yay!  Remy is amazing! 

Jill in CO


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## Leshaface

Oh wow single digits already!?  Awesome i'm soooo looking forward to hearing about EVERYTHING!!!

Haven't been on FB today, hope everything was okay yesterday.





Pinkocto said:


> I'm uploading all the pics now. Remy was amazing. I let her in on the secret the night before, and she loved looking forward to it. They went above and beyond, she said it was the best veggie meal she's ever had



Yay!  Can't wait to hear it!


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## franandaj

Pinkocto said:


> I'm uploading all the pics now. Remy was amazing. I let her in on the secret the night before, and she loved looking forward to it. They went above and beyond, she said it was the best veggie meal she's ever had



That's awesome!



Leshaface said:


> Oh wow single digits already!?  Awesome i'm soooo looking forward to hearing about EVERYTHING!!!
> 
> Haven't been on FB today, hope everything was okay yesterday.



OK, now you have me confused.    All I posted on FB yesterday was about a great harvest from the garden and that we have finally nailed down a time frame in which to move, about a month from now.  Other than that everything was fine.


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## Leshaface

franandaj said:


> OK, now you have me confused.    All I posted on FB yesterday was about a great harvest from the garden and that we have finally nailed down a time frame in which to move, about a month from now.  Other than that everything was fine.



Sorry I read this 





> We have had quite an adventurous last couple weeks for any of you following the road trip and if youre on FB, you know that I had quite a day yesterday


 and thought you posted this TODAY   I was like, must have been a hard day out in your garden!


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## franandaj

Leshaface said:


> Sorry I read this  and thought you posted this TODAY   I was like, must have been a hard day out in your garden!



That's too funny!   I guess I wrote what you read on Sunday since that was the Pixar day.  I'm really hoping I have time to write that one up before we leave!


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## franandaj

About a month ago, we were lucky enough to have dinner with Bret and his Aunt at the Napa Rose Chefs Counter.  Bret and his aunt booked the seating for us and unbeknownst to us planned on treating us.  This was an extra special treat as we would never want anyone to cover our expenses at such an extravagant location.





You have a front and center seat for the chefs to prepare your meal. We ordered off the menu as we have a number of favorite dishes here and didnt want to be served dishes randomly, instead we wanted to pick and choose.









We started off by splitting their signature pizetta. Prosciutto, Grapes, Caramelized Onions and Cambizola Cheese.





Next were the diver scallops in a lobster sauce.  These are always so good.





Next we ordered the Smiling Tiger Salad.  This is so good!  Its got spicy beef on the bottom with a tasty salad topped with tempura lobster chunks.  All kinds of flavors going on in your mouth, just incredible!





We split the Rack of Lamb, it was very good, but by this time we were pretty full.









I got a dessert, and Fran didnt even want to help me with it! I believe it was the Warm Manjara Chocolate Truffle Cake with Salted Caramel Ice Cream.  I didnt need any help it was sooooo good!





After dinner Brets Aunt went back to the room.  Her pass was blocked out that day, but the three of us went to the Bugs Life Theater to see the preview for 





Then we went over to the Disneyana Shop where Fran purchased a whole bunch of paintings.  She said that she had waited long enough and so any that were still in stock were fair game for her.  They were in the steampunk style and will go nicely with the figures that she bought back in March.  I think we made it home somewhere around midnight that night!

Great fun! Thanks Bret and Fae!


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## rentayenta

Pinkocto said:


> I'm uploading all the pics now. Remy was amazing. I let her in on the secret the night before, and she loved looking forward to it. They went above and beyond, she said it was the best veggie meal she's ever had





I'm so glad she was elated! 




Fun night at Napa Rose Alison. Nice treat too. Very cool of Bret. The food looks delicious. Can't wait to go back to Napa. I also want to try Steakhouse 55.


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## jedijill

What a wonderful evening!  I had those scallops (which I will talk about eventually in my TR!) and they were divine!

Jill in CO


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## Leshaface

How nice of them!  And boy does it look fantastic.

So has the Bug's Life Theater been doing previews there for a while now, or is this the first preview they've done?  It's actually a great idea.


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## Pinkocto

What a great evening, and so nice to be treated! 

We just saw the preview at HS, I can't wait for the movie!!! Mom is convinced Maleficent was in love with the king and then was spurned.


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## Pinkocto

rentayenta said:


> I'm so glad she was elated!



She LOVED it! It was a fabulous evening. It's on the list for a repeat.


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## ACDSNY

Lovely pictures from your dinner with Bret at Napa Rose.  I'm drooling all over your dessert.


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## mvf-m11c

Looks like you got to the update first before me.

It was a nice evening at the NR and glad that you and Fran were able to join us that night. Our first experience at the NR was great and it was nice to have dinner during the Chef's Counter. It was so neat to be able to watch the chef's do all the cooking. Chef Sutton was there for a while and he recognize you and Fran that evening. All of the food was very nice and high quality. 

I knew when we went to the Disneyana store in MS that Fran was going to buy something. All those painting that she bought that day were very nice. I was surprised that she didn't find anything at Off the Page store at DCA. 

Your welcome. 

We will have to try Steakhouse 55 since you recommended it during our dinner.


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## Paula Sedley-Burke

Pinkocto said:


> What a great evening, and so nice to be treated!  We just saw the preview at HS, I can't wait for the movie!!! Mom is convinced Maleficent was in love with the king and then was spurned.


 Welcome back Pam! Looking forward to your photos


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## Paula Sedley-Burke

How wonderful re your evening at Napa Rose! Isn't show cooking where you view the kitchen the best! How nice to be treated. The new pictures that Fran got sound great!


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## PrincessInOz

WOW!  What a great dinner.  How fantastic of Bret and his DA.  




The food looks amazing!  But I know the company was even better.  Wish I could have been there.


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## dolphingirl47

The two meals sound amazing. I am glad that everything is falling into place for your trip.

Corinna


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## PrincessInOz

Your trip is coming up fast.  Hope you've got things under control.


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## franandaj

rentayenta said:


> Fun night at Napa Rose Alison. Nice treat too. Very cool of Bret. The food looks delicious. Can't wait to go back to Napa. I also want to try Steakhouse 55.



You definitely need a Napa Redo, and Steakhouse 55 is great too!



jedijill said:


> What a wonderful evening!  I had those scallops (which I will talk about eventually in my TR!) and they were divine!
> 
> Jill in CO



I love those scallops! I can't wait to hear about the rest of your trip!



Leshaface said:


> How nice of them!  And boy does it look fantastic.
> 
> So has the Bug's Life Theater been doing previews there for a while now, or is this the first preview they've done?  It's actually a great idea.



This is the first time I've seen something else in the Bug's Life Theater, but they could have done it before.



Pinkocto said:


> What a great evening, and so nice to be treated!
> 
> We just saw the preview at HS, I can't wait for the movie!!! Mom is convinced Maleficent was in love with the king and then was spurned.



I'm kind of thinking that too, however, it could be even more involved than that.



Pinkocto said:


> She LOVED it! It was a fabulous evening. It's on the list for a repeat.



I'm glad it was a hit!  I can't wait to try it in April.



ACDSNY said:


> Lovely pictures from your dinner with Bret at Napa Rose.  I'm drooling all over your dessert.



The whole thing was great!  I need some nice relaxing good food. Thank goodness I'm going to WDW soon!



mvf-m11c said:


> Looks like you got to the update first before me.
> 
> It was a nice evening at the NR and glad that you and Fran were able to join us that night. Our first experience at the NR was great and it was nice to have dinner during the Chef's Counter. It was so neat to be able to watch the chef's do all the cooking. Chef Sutton was there for a while and he recognize you and Fran that evening. All of the food was very nice and high quality.
> 
> I knew when we went to the Disneyana store in MS that Fran was going to buy something. All those painting that she bought that day were very nice. I was surprised that she didn't find anything at Off the Page store at DCA.
> 
> Your welcome.
> 
> We will have to try Steakhouse 55 since you recommended it during our dinner.



I need to get over to your TR and read some.  I couldn't load the pictures while I was on the Road Trip, and you've been busy and not updating, so I forget to find your report and get caught up!



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> How wonderful re your evening at Napa Rose! Isn't show cooking where you view the kitchen the best! How nice to be treated. The new pictures that Fran got sound great!



I really enjoy that kitchen, especially since I got to do the cooking school in there for three years.  I wish they would bring back F&W!  



PrincessInOz said:


> WOW!  What a great dinner.  How fantastic of Bret and his DA.
> 
> The food looks amazing!  But I know the company was even better.  Wish I could have been there.



Perhaps someday we can go there, I'm sure that they could make some great stuff your DH would enjoy and I KNOW you would like almost everything on the menu!



dolphingirl47 said:


> The two meals sound amazing. I am glad that everything is falling into place for your trip.
> 
> Corinna



Welcome back!  Sort of...   



PrincessInOz said:


> Your trip is coming up fast.  Hope you've got things under control.



Well, I suppose that would depend on your version of "under control". If you mean almost packed and everything settled.  That would be a "no".  

This "moving" thing is turning out to be a bigger deal than I had expected and a lot more difficult to coordinate.  I should probably update the house thread, a lot has been going on over there.


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## rentayenta

We thought Napa was wonderful. No redo necessary but I'd like a do-longer. 


Do I dare ask if you've packed?


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## franandaj

rentayenta said:


> We thought Napa was wonderful. No redo necessary but I'd like a do-longer.
> 
> 
> Do I dare ask if you've packed?



OK, not redo, but you do need to be hungrier and taste a few more delicious dishes. 

Not finished packing,  but very close. All my clothes are packed. I need a few more of Fran's. I have to get the cameras ready, find charging cords and pick up a couple things tomorrow.  I plan to have two suitcases and a scooter in the car when we leave for band tomorrow.


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## rentayenta

franandaj said:


> OK, not redo, but you do need to be hungrier and taste a few more delicious dishes.   Not finished packing,  but very close. All my clothes are packed. I need a few more of Fran's. I have to get the cameras ready, find charging cords and pick up a couple things tomorrow.  I plan to have two suitcases and a scooter in the car when we leave for band tomorrow.




 Girl, you're almost ready!   I love your pics at the chefs table/bar.

I'd like to try to that one day. M likes to watch the art in cooking.


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## PrincessInOz

Hope that you've gotten Fran's stuff all packed by now.


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## jedijill

Have a fantastic trip!

Jill in CO


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## PrincessInOz

Enjoy the Star Tour trip.


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## Dis_Yoda

Have a great trip!  Hopefully we'll run into each other either Friday or Saturday!


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## franandaj

OMG! At the airport now.  I dropped Fran of at the Gate with the luggage and scooters. I'm at the parking shuttle station waiting to meet back up with her. Last sleep was 22 hours ago. Hoping we get some sleep on the plane,  otherwise we will really slip into east coast time as we will be completely exhausted when we arrive tonight!


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## PrincessInOz

franandaj said:


> OMG! At the airport now.  I dropped Fran of at the Gate with the luggage and scooters. I'm at the parking shuttle station waiting to meet back up with her. Last sleep was 22 hours ago. Hoping we get some sleep on the plane,  otherwise we will really slip into east coast time as we will be completely exhausted when we arrive tonight!



Hope you get some sleep on the plane.


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## dgbg100106

franandaj said:


> OMG! At the airport now.  I dropped Fran of at the Gate with the luggage and scooters. I'm at the parking shuttle station waiting to meet back up with her. Last sleep was 22 hours ago. Hoping we get some sleep on the plane,  otherwise we will really slip into east coast time as we will be completely exhausted when we arrive tonight!



Safe travels my friend, have a wonderful time!


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## Captain_Oblivious

Get some rest, and have fun storming the castle!


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## rentayenta

franandaj said:


> OMG! At the airport now.  I dropped Fran of at the Gate with the luggage and scooters. I'm at the parking shuttle station waiting to meet back up with her. Last sleep was 22 hours ago. Hoping we get some sleep on the plane,  otherwise we will really slip into east coast time as we will be completely exhausted when we arrive tonight!




Safe travels lady and I hope you get some rest.


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## dgbg100106

Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Oh my that steak! Our idea of steak can hide under a garnish... It's odd because it's not like our cattle is hobbit sized lol.... I have almost been in tears because I couldn't eat the whole slab of meat in your wonderful country... When will I see a slice of protein like that again....dragging and screaming out of Outback....



Since I saw you posted a photo of you at Longhorn Steakhouse, did you get wish?


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## jedijill

Have a great trip!  Get some sleep on the plane!!!!

Jill in CO


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## Pinkocto

Safe travels! I hope you get some rest on the plane  see you soon!


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## ACDSNY

Hopefully you're resting and dreaming of WDW.  Safe travels.   Enjoy your trip!


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## franandaj

We just boarded our second plane in DFW.  If the darn HA transport drivers hadn't taken us all over Timbuktu for an hour we could have spent some good quality time in the admiral's lounge which was only two gates away.  Oh well. I slept real good for about two hours on the first flight after two Bloody Marys! 

Just a few more hours! Thanks for all the well wishes folks!  Time for airplane mode again!


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## podsnel

WOOOHOOOO!!!!! You are almost there!!!!


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## dolphingirl47

I missed you. I am glad that you got some sleep on the flight. I hope you have a magical trip.

Corinna


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## Paula Sedley-Burke

Welcome home! It was nice to see you guys in MK! Shame we didn't see you again. Next time! Hope you are getting past jet lag. Looking forward to reading your TR.


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## franandaj

rentayenta said:


> Girl, you're almost ready!   I love your pics at the chefs table/bar.
> 
> I'd like to try to that one day. M likes to watch the art in cooking.



And now I'm back.  



PrincessInOz said:


> Hope that you've gotten Fran's stuff all packed by now.



Well yes, by now....but not when you posted this.  



jedijill said:


> Have a fantastic trip!
> 
> Jill in CO



We did!   



PrincessInOz said:


> Enjoy the Star Tour trip.



I'm going to be spoiled if we go back for other Star Wars Weekends!



Dis_Yoda said:


> Have a great trip!  Hopefully we'll run into each other either Friday or Saturday!



  We got to say "hi".  I hope you enjoyed the fireworks as much as I did.



PrincessInOz said:


> Hope you get some sleep on the plane.



A little....



dgbg100106 said:


> Safe travels my friend, have a wonderful time!



Thanks!  We did!



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Get some rest, and have fun storming the castle!



We did and the Mine Train too!



rentayenta said:


> Safe travels lady and I hope you get some rest.



You'll get to hear all about it, once I get there!



jedijill said:


> Have a great trip!  Get some sleep on the plane!!!!
> 
> Jill in CO



Sleep was the key word for this trip



Pinkocto said:


> Safe travels! I hope you get some rest on the plane  see you soon!



Yay!  It was so fun seeing you!



ACDSNY said:


> Hopefully you're resting and dreaming of WDW.  Safe travels.   Enjoy your trip!



I hope you enjoyed your trip too!



podsnel said:


> WOOOHOOOO!!!!! You are almost there!!!!



And now we're back!



dolphingirl47 said:


> I missed you. I am glad that you got some sleep on the flight. I hope you have a magical trip.
> 
> Corinna



We did, and it sounds like you had one too!



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Welcome home! It was nice to see you guys in MK! Shame we didn't see you again. Next time! Hope you are getting past jet lag. Looking forward to reading your TR.



It was too bad we didn't get to see more of each other.

OK folks, update here.  I will be starting a new TR for this trip, but first I have to finish up the Road Trip.  Stay posted, it won't be too long as I have the next two installments almost all written.  Spoiler alert.  It's all downhill from there, literally.  I've also got the first day of this trip ready to go when the time comes.

With the move this week, we'll have to see if I have time to respond to everyone's posts and get any of the pre written installments up.


----------



## Leshaface

I CANNOT WAIT to hear about this trip!!!


----------



## franandaj

Leshaface said:


> I CANNOT WAIT to hear about this trip!!!



Well the waiting is over!

Link to new Trip Report Below!


Sleepy and Grumpy Visit Tatooine


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## DLFan123

Hi Allison! I've been off the boards for a while, but I'm trying to finish up a long overdue dining review and was just thinking of you two and wondering how it's going. Of course it looks like you have been having lots of Disney fun lately! We visited the Grand Californian for our first time staying on property at DL this past September, so it was great seeing your pictures! I will have to try to find your WDW review. Your pics are always great!


----------

