# Sleepy and Grumpy visit TatooineA SWW TR! - The End - All done and Link to new TR



## franandaj

*Sleepy and Grumpy visit Tatooine  A SWW Trip Report!​*
Welcome to my latest WDW Trip Report!  We had a fabulous time on this trip, and Im looking forward to sharing our adventures with folks! To give you some perspective our plane left California on Wednesday May 29 and we returned home June 5. Normally I start my trip reports much more promptly, but I still have one more update to post for my Southwestern Road Trip Report that we took at the beginning of May.  Since that TR is mostly wrapped up and written, I decided that it was time to finally start this one live. 

For those of you who dont know us, let me introduce the cast of characters.  As usual it is myself and spouse Fran.  Here we are at a recent visit to Disneys California Adventure riding TSMM





And again out at the Disneyland Hotel for Valentines Day.





And on a recent trip to the Pixar Studios.





We both love to travel and while we do spend a fair share of our income with Disney, we do have non-Disney travels as well.  Ive just wrapped up a Trip Report of our Southwestern Roadtrip which you can find here.  Southwestern Road Trip Report

We also like to travel with our Car Club, who also throw fabulous parties and we have lots of other exciting plans in the works. 





But lets get back to the trip at hand.  We had eight nights at WDW, our first night was added on at Coronado Springs when we couldnt get a flight to arrive on the first day of our week long stay at the Villas at the Grand Floridian.

Some of the highlights include Star Wars Weekends, opening of the Seven Dwarves Mine Train the week before our arrival, and lots of new dining adventures!  Plus there were a few DISmeets, some planned and some a surprise!

If you want to read all about the plans, here is a link to the PTR, Ill warn you, there are a lot of off topic posts and tangents, but youll find all the plans in the PTR.  Im not going to repost them here, well because we sort of threw them out the window a bit and just went for it!   Pre Trip Report

Now why the title?  And I bet youre wondering which one is Sleepy and which one is Grumpy.    Well both and neither, at any given time during the trip we traded off and sometimes we both embodied them, but either way it seemed fitting for the trip that we had.  So come along and join us and Ill tell you the whole story.


----------



## franandaj

*Day 1*
Getting There

*Day 2*
Getting Started Part 1
Getting Started Part 2
Our First Park of the Trip
Our Fabulous Room
A Yummy Buffet
Hanging with the Stepsisters
A Glimpse at MSEP and the Castle Show
Fireworks and Haunted Mansion
Haunted Mansion and our Final FP+

*Day 3*
On our way to a galaxy far far away
Shopping and Breakfast
Rides at DHS
Darth's Mall Haul
Motorcade Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5
VGF Resort Tour
More Resort and Dessert Party
Symphony in the Sky Fireworks

*Day 4*
Back on Tatooine Part 1
Back on Tatooine Part 2

*Day 5*
A Refreshing New Day Part 1
A Refreshing New Day Part 2
And the Heavens.....you decide!

*Day 6*
A brand new day
Trip plans, drinking around the world and a ride
A ride and a meet
Dinner and Goodbye

*Day 7*
Safari
The Rest of the Day

*Day 8*
The Last Day Begins
The Last Night, Seven Dwarves Mine Train
The Last Night, Be Our Guest, Part 1
The Last Night, Be Our Guest, Part 2
Electrical Parade
Fireworks and Electrical Parade


----------



## franandaj

So it came to the day where we had one more sleep before the trip....





or most normal people would have.

Our plane left at 6:30AM Wednesday morning from LAX which is about 45 minutes from our house “without traffic”.  Those who have lived in LA understand exactly what that phrase means.  It implies that in all normal circumstances you double the “without traffic” time at best, and at worst, it’s more of a “you never know” kind of situation.

To add in further lack of sleep, we play in a community concert band that rehearses Tuesday nights.  The rehearsal gets out at 9:30PM and it’s in Hollywood.  It takes us half an hour to get to Hollywood “without traffic”, so guess what?  It takes us about an hour to get home, and with dropping off our friend Jim who rides with us, well, we rarely see our front door before 11PM. 

So if you “do the math”. 6:30AM flight, arrive 2 hours in advance, time for travel to the airport put us at a 3:00-3:30AM departure from home.  Backing it up to 11PM getting home from band, even with two suitcases and a scooter already in the car it would still take an hour or two to pack up the rest, and put it in the car. Now our window of sleep has been reduced to 1AM to 2:30AM. Add in the fact that I wanted a shower and something to eat before we left and there went the sleep time!

So now you have it Sleepy and Grumpy all rolled up into one cruising down the freeway. And this would not be the last time we would be channeling these two dwarves.  It’s a good thing that we have our airport drop off down to a routine. I leave Fran, the scooters and the luggage at the curb. She finds a porter to check the bags and issue boarding passes, I flash my ID to prove I’m not a registered terrorist and then go park the car.  I really don’t remember any of that. But since the car was where it was supposed to be when we got back and the house and car keys were in the armrest (love that keyless entry), I suppose everything went as planned.

The next thing I have a memory  of was being on the plane.  It was a really cushy plane, the seats had a buffer between the rows of seats so that whatever the person in front of you did with their seat didn’t affect your personal space.  There was a big pocket in front to fit puzzles, lap tops or whatever you wanted.





And the seats almost fully reclined into a sleeping position.





They brought us something for breakfast, I believe that I had oatmeal and Fran had some kind of an omelet or quesadilla. I ordered a Bloody Mary, and put the seat in full recline. I got my first sleep in over 24 hours.

Almost like the hypersleep in Mission to Mars wears off, I woke up to our descent into DFW. We had checked our scooters through to Orlando so we were at the mercy of the gate helpers to get us to our connecting flight. We had a planned long layover (about 2 hours) and the guy driving us around on the golf cart figured that we had arranged for the layover in order to get a tour of the Dallas Ft. Worth airport, because he took us all over the airport dropping off all kinds of other people before taking us to our gate.  I think we spent about an hour riding around on the stupid golf cart.  Once we got to the gate we had very little time to wait before they were boarding.

This plane had normal seats which were not conducive to sleeping for me. I did have a couple glasses of wine which made doing my puzzles a little challenging given my tired brain.  They served us some lunch which was pretty “meh”, but we ate it anyways.





The best part about flying American First Class is the cookies they serve you just before landing, although we didn’t get any cookies on the previous flight.  Maybe we slept through them.





Once we were on the ground, we had to deal with my oversight. You see I was so excited when I received my envelope from DME that I neglected to see if there were any luggage tags enclosed. While we were in our frenzy of packing Fran had asked me where the tags for our suitcases were and I panicked. I looked through the recycling next to my chair/computer as it is only emptied every few weeks and found nothing, only the empty envelope from my return DME tickets. So off to baggage claim we went.  I think that was a first in over 15 years.

Hauling our suitcases back to the DME bus we also put on these puppies.  





Now we also had a set of these for our second resort stay.  I have since learned that your MBs stay active until you deactivate them, so ladies be sure to order a full array of colors and bring them with every trip because you can match them to your outfits!





After arriving at DME we learned that we could have just left the suitcases, come directly to DME, let them know of my oversight and they would have retrieved the bags for us.  Oh well, live and learn.  Soon we were on our way on the Magical Bus!  They have changed the video, and while I didn’t particularly love the previous video, I did find it a lot more engaging than the current video. This was just one big advertisement for MBs and FP+.

Coronado Springs was the first stop and we couldn’t wait to get off the bus!  We were greeted by a Bellman who happily took our bags to hold until we finished dinner.  Then we went off to Registration to Check in.





There was a short line, but we were checked in relatively quickly.





One of the CMs suggested that I take this pic.  Cool.





We made our way to the Pepper Market and took some pictures along the way.





















This restaurant was an interesting concept.  You choose your food from various stations, they stamp your ticket for what you got, and then you pay for all of it on the way out. Here were the choices.





















We ended up splitting a bowl of Broccoli Cheese Soup. It was very good.





And a Philly Cheesesteak Sandwich.





We also got a cookie and a brownie to go.  Boy were these rich and tasty!









Then we headed off on a trek to find our room!


----------



## Leshaface

Wow I can't believe I made it on the first page!!!  Now that i'm done bragging, off to read!


----------



## Leshaface

Oh my gosh.  How did you even manage going to your practice the night before, I have no idea.  For me, I cancel all plans DAYS before our trip and here you guys are hours before your trip having band practice.

I did not know about re-using MB's.  So if I really wanted to, could I reuse my last years MB in accordance with the new one I would receive?  

That is a really cool hidden mickey pic at CSR.  Never noticed that before.

I really like Pepper Market!


----------



## jedijill

I'm here!  Going back to read.

Jill in CO


----------



## rentayenta

Here too.


----------



## jedijill

What a first day!  I would be a zombie with no sleep like that....my 5:30 AM flight was bad enough!

Can't wait to hear more!

Jill in CO


----------



## AJaquins

I'm a long time lurker of your reports.  I love that you got to go this year and I'm happy to be able to read another one of your reports.  You and Fran do so many cool things and I can't wait to read more.


----------



## rentayenta

I start my trips sleepless as well. Welcome to my world.  Definitely not the best way to begin a trip but hopefully you bounced back quickly. 

Food looks yum! Love the magic bands. You must have a few. Are they reusable?


----------



## Dis_Yoda

Can't wait to read about it!


----------



## PrincessInOz

Jumping in the hyperdrive.


----------



## Captain_Oblivious

I'm here!  As Arnold Schwarzenegger would say, "I'll be back."


----------



## Pinkocto

I'm here! Must come back and read but wanted to see if I made the first page


----------



## podsnel

OOOH! New restaurants!! Can't wait!!!


----------



## franandaj

Leshaface said:


> Oh my gosh.  How did you even manage going to your practice the night before, I have no idea.  For me, I cancel all plans DAYS before our trip and here you guys are hours before your trip having band practice.
> 
> I did not know about re-using MB's.  So if I really wanted to, could I reuse my last years MB in accordance with the new one I would receive?
> 
> That is a really cool hidden mickey pic at CSR.  Never noticed that before.
> 
> I really like Pepper Market!



 I'm not sure how we managed to go to band and then take the trip.  Normally we don't go, but politics in band have changed this year. Fran wants to keep her spot as section leader, so she wants to set a good example by not missing too many rehearsals.  This was one of those times where there was some SERIOUS negotiation. She had to agree to be almost all the way packed before we could leave to go to band otherwise we weren't going.

Evidently as long as the bands show active in your MDE account you can still use them.  This was my first trip with MBs that actually worked so I only have the two from this trip.  I got one for my AP so that makes a third one.  I'll get a fourth next April when we go again.  DisYoda has a whole complement of MBs and she was the one who let me know you could reuse them.

Pepper Market was good.  I didn't know that there was a hidden Mickey and I didn't even see it until later when I looked at the picture.  I couldn't see it in the regular light, but it showed up great in the picture.



jedijill said:


> What a first day!  I would be a zombie with no sleep like that....my 5:30 AM flight was bad enough!
> 
> Can't wait to hear more!
> 
> Jill in CO



  Who's to say that we weren't zombies that first day!  The Sleep Number people actually called while we were having dinner to schedule the disassembly/assembly of the bed and you should have seen the squirrels in my head trying to concentrate and figure that one out in that state!



AJaquins said:


> I'm a long time lurker of your reports.  I love that you got to go this year and I'm happy to be able to read another one of your reports.  You and Fran do so many cool things and I can't wait to read more.



  Thanks for coming out of lurkdom!  We got to some really cool things on this trip, but we also did some really mundane things too.  It will be a balance!



rentayenta said:


> I start my trips sleepless as well. Welcome to my world.  Definitely not the best way to begin a trip but hopefully you bounced back quickly.
> 
> Food looks yum! Love the magic bands. You must have a few. Are they reusable?



  This is trip #2 with no sleep. I do NOT want this to become a pattern!  As I said above I have three.  The ones from the Coronado part of our stay unlocked our next room door when we stayed there, and I was able to use Fran's CSR MB to use her FP+ for the ones she didn't want to use.  Kind of convenient.



Dis_Yoda said:


> Can't wait to read about it!



  Thanks for coming over!



PrincessInOz said:


> Jumping in the hyperdrive.



  Glad you're on board!



Captain_Oblivious said:


> I'm here!  As Arnold Schwarzenegger would say, "I'll be back."



   Cool!  I'll be waiting for your witty repartee! 



Pinkocto said:


> I'm here! Must come back and read but wanted to see if I made the first page



  you did!  



podsnel said:


> OOOH! New restaurants!! Can't wait!!!



   New for me!  I think you've been to most of these already, but I got to add a few more to my list!


----------



## dolphingirl47

That was an intense start to the trip. I was whining because I was up about 24 hours at the beginning of our last trip. I think I would have collapsed in a heap after 36 hours with very minimal sleep.

Good to know about the Magic Bands. I really like my blue and pink ones from last trip. I think they may need to be packed next year.

I love the photos of Coronado Springs. I know that Graham has visited this resort before, but I have never been. This looks like it is right up my street.

Corinna


----------



## franandaj

dolphingirl47 said:


> That was an intense start to the trip. I was whining because I was up about 24 hours at the beginning of our last trip. I think I would have collapsed in a heap after 36 hours with very minimal sleep.
> 
> Good to know about the Magic Bands. I really like my blue and pink ones from last trip. I think they may need to be packed next year.
> 
> I love the photos of Coronado Springs. I know that Graham has visited this resort before, but I have never been. This looks like it is right up my street.
> 
> Corinna



   Yeah, I'll say it was intense and the worst part was that most of it was real life stuff.  I can understand it taking a long time to fly across the pond and then with the delays you experienced, you definitely had the frazzled nerves.  Me I just had to deal with life for like 16 hours and then the rest were trip related. 

You just made me realize and went back and edited, I had only been up for 24+ hours when the plane took off.  The 36 hours was when we got to the hotel room, not when we got on the plane.

I don't know which to order for next year, I like both Blue and Pink and I wear lots of both colors.  I guess I'll have to decide once the trip gets closer.  Pretty soon they will be issuing them for the cruise line too, I'm pretty sure that's where they are headed.

I'll have more pictures of CSR in the next update.


----------



## franandaj

So we started on our way back to the room, but Fran couldnt resist a turn in the gift shop, Panchitos. Fran fancied a soft drink for the room, but we traversed the entire shop and I believe she bought the shot glass.  If they had one that said Coronado Springs specifically.  





Then we started on the road to our room.





I believe that we did see some lizards on the way, but I dont think they made it into our count, yet.  Our room was in the Ranchos section.  I think that it was the farthest we could have possibly been from the lobby.  I didnt put in any requests, so what could I expect.  By this time all we wanted was to get to our room.

Here it is.





























It was clean and it had beds and a bathroom.  That was about all that we needed.  The Bellman brought our luggage and we got settled.  Fran fell right asleep.  Me not so much.  I watched Jimmy Kimmel on the TV, took a bath and still couldnt fall asleep.  Somewhere in there, sleep did hit me for a few hours but by around 6AM I was awake again.

I got Fran up and convinced her that we should go get breakfast and get the day started.  I took some pictures of the area around our room while she waited for the Bellman.





If we had been staying longer, there was a laundry facility right here.





And a quiet pool.





Looking down at our building.  The room was right in the middle of the first floor.  Our room was just to the right of the walkway.





While we didnt hate the resort, we werent as impressed with it as it looked a lot like home.  I mean not our house, but palm trees and rock sculptures in the yard are fairly common as they are water saving and many people have converted their yards to look like this with city incentives to save water.













Once our bags were picked up and happily on their way to the Grand Floridian, we headed back to the Pepper Market.

It is a very pretty resort.

















However, I wanted to see something that is iconic for this resort.





The main feature pool.  Practically all the pictures of this resort that you find online are of this pool.  I wanted to see what it really looked like.  It was cool, but Im not going to cry that I didnt go to it.  But I have my own picture now!  





We headed back out to the main path and back to the main building.







 

*[Continued in Next Post]*


----------



## franandaj

*[Continued from Previous Post]*

We encountered Donald, Jose and Panchito along the way.





Back inside they had changed the signs over for breakfast fare.





















We went with an Adult plate of Mickey Waffles and Bacon (which I thought tasted just fine, not sure what the complaint is with WDW bacon).





And Biscuits and Gravy with Sausage and Potatoes. We split both plates and totally got the best of both worlds.  Sausage and Bacon, Waffles, potatoes and biscuits with yummy gravy!  





We were definitely stuffed after breakfast and ready to move on to our next activity.  What would that be?


----------



## dolphingirl47

franandaj said:


> I don't know which to order for next year, I like both Blue and Pink and I wear lots of both colors.  I guess I'll have to decide once the trip gets closer.  Pretty soon they will be issuing them for the cruise line too, I'm pretty sure that's where they are headed.



I think I may go with the green next time round. I liked Graham's green Magic Band. 

I am sure you are right about Disney Cruise Line. Now that they have the locks on all 4 ships where you just touch your card against and also have readers where you just touch your card to get on an off the ship, this would be very easy to do. They already have Magic Bands for Youth Activities.

I can see that this resort would not excite you when you can see pretty much the same thing every day. For me it is very unusual and I do love it from what I have seen in your photos. The room looks very nice, too.

That breakfast menu looks amazing. I was looking at those photos and trying to decide what I would have. I just could not make up my mind and I am not really a breakfast person.

Corinna


----------



## Captain_Oblivious

franandaj said:


> Our plane left at 6:30AM Wednesday morning from LAX which is about 45 minutes from our house without traffic.  Those who have lived in LA understand exactly what that phrase means.  It implies that in all normal circumstances you double the without traffic time at best, and at worst, its more of a you never know kind of situation.



Gee, I can't wait to visit the LA area! 



franandaj said:


> So if you do the math. 6:30AM flight, arrive 2 hours in advance, time for travel to the airport put us at a 3:00-3:30AM departure from home.  Backing it up to 11PM getting home from band, even with two suitcases and a scooter already in the car it would still take an hour or two to pack up the rest, and put it in the car. Now our window of sleep has been reduced to 1AM to 2:30AM. Add in the fact that I wanted a shower and something to eat before we left and there went the sleep time!







franandaj said:


> We had a planned long layover (about 2 hours) and the guy driving us around on the golf cart figured that we had arranged for the layover in order to get a tour of the Dallas Ft. Worth airport, because he took us all over the airport dropping off all kinds of other people before taking us to our gate.  I think we spent about an hour riding around on the stupid golf cart.



On your left, you will notice a public restroom.  And on your right, a Cinnabon.  Get those cameras ready!



franandaj said:


> And a Philly Cheesesteak Sandwich.



Now that's gutsy.  I get nervous ordering one outside the greater Philly area.



franandaj said:


> While we didnt hate the resort, we werent as impressed with it as it looked a lot like home.  I mean not our house, but palm trees and rock sculptures in the yard are fairly common as they are water saving and many people have converted their yards to look like this with city incentives to save water.



I can understand that.  I know people rave about the Boardwalk/Yacht Club/Beach Club resorts, and I'd never turn down a room there, but at the same time I'm not in a hurry to stay there.  They look like the buildings I see in the area all the time and don't feel exotic to me.  Always interesting to see reactions from people around the country.



franandaj said:


> The main feature pool.  Practically all the pictures of this resort that you find online are of this pool.  I wanted to see what it really looked like.  It was cool, but Im not going to cry that I didnt go to it.  But I have my own picture now!



You can always say you went in.  No one will know!



franandaj said:


> We went with an Adult plate of Mickey Waffles and Bacon (which I thought tasted just fine, not sure what the complaint is with WDW bacon).



It's usually really, really thin.  So much so that you can see through it.  Also kinda tasteless.  



franandaj said:


> We were definitely stuffed after breakfast and ready to move on to our next activity.  What would that be?  [/COLOR][/SIZE]



Finally getting some sleep at the Hall of Presidents!


----------



## Paula Sedley-Burke

I'm here! After a rocky start glad to see you made it to CS resort. I see you have a tub in your room. No walk in shower? You said you had no sleep when we saw you in MK! But you were both looking forward to VGF  the pool looks nice and bacon tastes just fine to Jo! She loves it. We both love the waffles. 

Looking forward to reading the rest.


----------



## Pinkocto

Now that was a whirlwind of a travel day!  

Loving your pictures of the resort. But I can imagine if it's something you see all the time it wouldn't be as exciting. We stayed there the year it opened and I'm pretty sure they were still building the section you were in. I could be wrong of course. That was one of two trips to WDW with my dad so lots of happy memories  Love the colors of your room. 

On to the VGF!!!


----------



## franandaj

dolphingirl47 said:


> I think I may go with the green next time round. I liked Graham's green Magic Band.
> 
> I am sure you are right about Disney Cruise Line. Now that they have the locks on all 4 ships where you just touch your card against and also have readers where you just touch your card to get on an off the ship, this would be very easy to do. They already have Magic Bands for Youth Activities.
> 
> I can see that this resort would not excite you when you can see pretty much the same thing every day. For me it is very unusual and I do love it from what I have seen in your photos. The room looks very nice, too.
> 
> That breakfast menu looks amazing. I was looking at those photos and trying to decide what I would have. I just could not make up my mind and I am not really a breakfast person.
> 
> Corinna



I think I'm going to get Blue, I liked Fran's Blue one this time.  We'll just have to see on DCL, but I'm betting it will go that way.  I loved the breakfast menu.  I had a very hard time choosing what to have.



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Gee, I can't wait to visit the LA area!



Well at least you are not venturing beyond the Orange Curtain into LA proper so you should be OK



Captain_Oblivious said:


> On your left, you will notice a public restroom.  And on your right, a Cinnabon.  Get those cameras ready!



Pretty much!



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Now that's gutsy.  I get nervous ordering one outside the greater Philly area.



Since I have never had an authentic one, I wouldn't know the difference.  But you should see what they try and pass off as Philly Cheesesteaks in California!



Captain_Oblivious said:


> I can understand that.  I know people rave about the Boardwalk/Yacht Club/Beach Club resorts, and I'd never turn down a room there, but at the same time I'm not in a hurry to stay there.  They look like the buildings I see in the area all the time and don't feel exotic to me.  Always interesting to see reactions from people around the country.



Yeah, having spent my summers as a kid mostly on Cape Cod, I do find the place nostalgic, but we bought there so that we would have the shortest possible trip to stumble home from F&W. Worked out pretty good for the last trip!  



Captain_Oblivious said:


> You can always say you went in.  No one will know!







Captain_Oblivious said:


> It's usually really, really thin.  So much so that you can see through it.  Also kinda tasteless.



Maybe they're listening to the customers.  Naw, it's Disney, why would they do that.



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Finally getting some sleep at the Hall of Presidents!







Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> I'm here! After a rocky start glad to see you made it to CS resort. I see you have a tub in your room. No walk in shower? You said you had no sleep when we saw you in MK! But you were both looking forward to VGF  the pool looks nice and bacon tastes just fine to Jo! She loves it. We both love the waffles.
> 
> Looking forward to reading the rest.



I don't think that we had a HA room.  They sort of looked dumbfounded when we checked in like they had given away our correct room. It was OK, we spent about 8 hours in there.  However, just wait until you see the next one.  Be very careful when you reserve at the VGF, because I don't know what disabled person designed the room we had.  I had to assist Fran more than in any other DVC room!



Pinkocto said:


> Now that was a whirlwind of a travel day!
> 
> Loving your pictures of the resort. But I can imagine if it's something you see all the time it wouldn't be as exciting. We stayed there the year it opened and I'm pretty sure they were still building the section you were in. I could be wrong of course. That was one of two trips to WDW with my dad so lots of happy memories  Love the colors of your room.
> 
> On to the VGF!!!



I did like the room, but it was so far away from the lobby.  Yes on to the VGF!


----------



## rentayenta

Breakfast looks great and not expensive.  The pool looks so great. I'd contemplate staying there just for the pool. I have read its a huge resort. 

Glad you got some sleep.


----------



## franandaj

rentayenta said:


> Breakfast looks great and not expensive.  The pool looks so great. I'd contemplate staying there just for the pool. I have read its a huge resort.
> 
> Glad you got some sleep.



I'd say it was one of the better QS resort breakfast options that we exercised on this trip.  it was huge, we had quite a trek to find our room.

Evidently not enough sleep!


----------



## franandaj

We headed to the bus station and had probably the second longest bus wait of our entire trip.  When a bus to the MK finally arrived it was so packed that there was no way to get the scooters on it.  The transportation guide assured us that another bus was on its heels and it would have room for us. This is was not the first time we made this compromise, but we were happy to do it.  There is nothing worse than making people get up out of their seats, and then you have to take yet another seat because they wont let you stay on the scooter.  The glares that you get are awful.

It must not have taken us that long to get there because it was only 9:15 when we arrived.  We decided that since it was close to rope drop, maybe we should go to Fantasyland and see if the line for the Seven Dwarves Mine Train was manageable.  Well the ride was down, and the wait was already up to 90 minutes.  Forget that!

So we meandered back to Main Street to check out the shopping opportunities. On the way we ran into Polly and Jo in front of the Castle on the way from Liberty Square!  We neglected to take a picture and only chatted briefly.  Unfortunately this would be our only time that our paths would cross.  I should have made arrangements to meet up for a day or two before we left so that we could have spent some quality time with them.

Then we went back to Main Street. I believe Fran picked up something from the Clothiers and I spied a necklace in a window with a castle that I liked in the Jewelry Store.  While I was picking out some earrings to go along with the necklace, (it was silver and I had only brought the set of gold jewelry that I was wearing and you cant mix silver and gold!) Fran bellows, Alison, get over here RIGHT NOW!"

Yikes!  What have I done?  Now Im not sure how many of you have heard of the Dooney and Burke Haunted Mansions purses, but these things are very very very rare.  Turns out there were three of them on display in this store.  Fran asked the gentleman who was helping us with the jewelry how he came to have three HM purses in his store, and he replied, Because I started the day with nine of them.  It was barely 10:30AM and the park opened at 9AM.  I am lucky enough to have one of these purses, but I have a friend here on the DIS who though she was on Disneyland Property the day they were released, was not lucky enough to get one as they sold out as her plane was landing.  So we righted that situation. I need to get that thing in the mail and on the way to her!





And since this is a light on pictures day, heres the jewelry that I picked up.









We wandered around through the shops a little bit more and stopped in the Candy company, picking up a few treats for in the room.  Maleficent was due to come out the next day and they had these candy apples, though we didnt buy one.





Fran did get an Olaf.





Next we went to the Emporium.  I bought some Maleficent Kitchen towels and a coffee mug to use in the room.  For those of you who stay DVC, you know that all the coffee cups in the room are pathetically small, and I like a nice big cup of coffee and dont want to have to go back to the pot and keep filling it.  I was astonished to find this display taking a large portion of the store.  No, Disney isnt trying to capitalize off folks and make money on merchandising MBs.





As we were about to exit the park and check if our room was ready we saw Marie in the square taking photos.  We waited a good half and hour for her, she took two milk breaks, so we passed the time taking some photos.













Eventually it was our turn.













After waiting half an hour in the full sun, we were done.  We decided to head over the Grand Floridian and see if the room was ready.  It was an easy monorail ride over there (have I mentioned that I really LOVE  staying at a monorail resort?), and lo and behold our room was even ready!  Score!

My first inclination was to find the store which has the groceries (not that I needed anything, I just like to know where it is in case of emergency).  So la la la, we come rolling into the store, I come around the corner and this woman is staring at me.  And she looks strangely familiar.  A little befuddled and definitely taken off guard the only thing I could come up with was, Is that YOU?  

To which she answered, yes.  Well of course, but she knew what I meant!  Finally it came to me, Lisa or Lisaviolet.  She had been planning on coming and crashing our dinner that evening, she confessed that she knew our trips would overlap and she had stayed away from my PTR so that she could surprise me. Sadly this would be the only time that we said hello.  I should have made arrangements to meet up sometime later, but our sleepless night had already started to catch up to us and we were starting to revert back to Sleepy and Grumpy again.

In the PTR the plan was to have lunch at a QS in MK, but since we were at the resort and our room was ready, why bother going back to a hot park when we could relax in our nice cool spacious villa.  I made a quick trip over to the Grand Floridian Café to see if they could fit us in for lunch.  They gave me a pager and said it would 15-20 minutes, but in less than five it went off. They walked us past all kinds of empty tables to the back of the restaurant and we were seated.

Here is the menu.









We each ordered a beverage to go with the meal.  I dont know what Frans was, but it was something berry flavored and alcoholic.  It was tasty, mine was a glass of white wine from Marlborough New Zealand.





Im not sure whats come over us lately, but this seems to be the second meal Im posting on a TR recently where we had soup and a Cobb Salad.  It just sounded really good, better than anything heavier on the menu.





She got the Wild Mushroom Soup which she stated was to die for.





I got the French Onion, which was pretty darned good!





These were the split portions of the salad!  I cant imagine anyone being able to eat the whole thing.  We couldnt finish our half salads.









And then here is Fran post lunch and post cocktail.  I think she evens looks done.





And with that we decided to head off to find our room.


----------



## Pinkocto

That HM bag is really nice! 

Bummer that the mine train was down. 

A surprise delicious lunch! We had looked at that menu but nothing caught our eye. I know mom would have died over that mushroom soup though. 

I'm glad our meet up was planned!


----------



## rentayenta

Jo, Paula, the HM Dooney, Marie, _and_ LisaViolet?  That's a fabulous day right there!   

 I cannot believe you got that purse! It's amazing. If it's there in December, I'm getting one. M knows this already. Its amazing. Dd I say that? I can smell it from here. I love the way my D&B's smell. Does the inside have two pockets? If you want to feel free to post a few more pics of it.  

 Lunch looks yum and that's a nice looking salad. Whats that white stuff on the top of Fran's soup? Its looks maybe like cream but then maybe like an egg white.


----------



## mvf-m11c

I finally able to read your latest WDW trip report. 

The Coronado Springs looks very nice. The Three Caballeros topiary looks very nice at the hotel. The Magic Bands look nice and I can't wait to go back to WDW one day and try the Magic Bands. 

A very nice day at the MK and the meal at the Grand Floridian Cafe looks great.


----------



## Misskitty3

I am really enjoying your trip report!

Sounds like the beginning was tough due to very little sleep but hopefully, you will both be able to catch up on your sleep and have a fabulous time!

That Coronado Springs looks amazing!  But I understand what you mean about it being too similar to what you are used to at home.  

I have never seen Marie at Disneyland.  Is she there too or just at WDW?  

That lunch looks awesome!  I love a good Cobb salad!


----------



## Paula Sedley-Burke

Glad to read you are now at VGF! Oh to be at a monorail resort! It was lovely seeing you we should have organised a meeting what are we like! But us all with jet lag our brains weren't in gear :-( 

Love the jewellery you do need both gold and silver for different outfits. Omg the HM bag how did I miss that? We must have walked right past :-( I wonder if Jo saw it and stayed mute lol.

How nice a quite lunch in A/C at GF menu looks ideal for lunchtime. 

I always want to try one of those toffee apples but fear for my teeth! Sort of thing that you bite into and you leave a tooth in and there is a massive dentist bill for you right there! Olaf looks much more teeth friendly  

Interesting about accessible rooms at VGF. We have one booked for a studio. Depending on your review I may change it because the non disabled room does have virtually a flat base shower I can use. Just worried about no grab rails.


----------



## dolphingirl47

What a shame that the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train was down and then had a huge line. I love your jewellery. How lucky that you were in the right place at the right time for the Haunted Mansion purse. I hope that one of those days, I get lucky, too.

I have to say, the Grand Floridian Cafe was never on my radar, but the menu looks great. I can't believe that those two huge plates are one split salad.

Corinna


----------



## sarahk0204

franandaj said:


> Next we went to the Emporium.  I bought some Maleficent Kitchen towels and a coffee mug to use in the room.  For those of you who stay DVC, you know that all the coffee cups in the room are pathetically small, and I like a nice big cup of coffee and dont want to have to go back to the pot and keep filling it.



It may have been a trip report, but I heard the cups referred to as "coffee shot glasses".  Now that is how we refer to them in our family, and DH always buys a new mug each trip for just this reason!


----------



## ajf1007

Yay!  I guess alittle late is better than never right?  I'm loving the trip so far...I have to say I agree with you about Coronado Springs - looks pretty but I can see where it's more like home than "HOME" - I get it!  

I can't wait for more!


----------



## Leshaface

Just thinking about your walk from the Pepper Market to your room sounds exhausting. It was fine to stay there, but probably never again unless we absolutely have to.  Even then I would consider POP or AoA before CSR.

Way to go Fran on the HM bag!  

I'm surprised you guys waited so long (not that it's even that long) for Marie.  However the pictures turned out great, so i'm sure it was worth it!  

Love when the room is ready!  I got to thinking.  Back in 2010 when we stayed at CSR and did the red-eye flight arriving at CSR at 6:00am, I wonder what would have happened if our room wasn't ready!    That would have sucked.

Sometimes, salads are the only thing that sounds good.  Especially on warm days.  Fran looks happy in that picture!


----------



## franandaj

Pinkocto said:


> That HM bag is really nice!
> 
> Bummer that the mine train was down.
> 
> A surprise delicious lunch! We had looked at that menu but nothing caught our eye. I know mom would have died over that mushroom soup though.
> 
> I'm glad our meet up was planned!



Well even if it wasn't I would not have waited 90 minutes!  The mushroom soup was seasonal, so you would be hit or miss as to whether or not they would be serving it.



rentayenta said:


> Jo, Paula, the HM Dooney, Marie, _and_ LisaViolet?  That's a fabulous day right there!
> 
> I cannot believe you got that purse! It's amazing. If it's there in December, I'm getting one. M knows this already. Its amazing. Dd I say that? I can smell it from here. I love the way my D&B's smell. Does the inside have two pockets? If you want to feel free to post a few more pics of it.
> 
> Lunch looks yum and that's a nice looking salad. Whats that white stuff on the top of Fran's soup? Its looks maybe like cream but then maybe like an egg white.



The purses sell out within hours.  They only get a few every few months and as soon as they stock them, they're gone.  I was amazed we happened to acutally see some on the shelf!

I asked Fran what the white stuff on her soup was and she said, "Dragon Puss".  I think it was Crème Fraiche.



mvf-m11c said:


> I finally able to read your latest WDW trip report.
> 
> The Coronado Springs looks very nice. The Three Caballeros topiary looks very nice at the hotel. The Magic Bands look nice and I can't wait to go back to WDW one day and try the Magic Bands.
> 
> A very nice day at the MK and the meal at the Grand Floridian Cafe looks great.



 Bret!  I'm glad that you made it over here!



Misskitty3 said:


> I am really enjoying your trip report!
> 
> Sounds like the beginning was tough due to very little sleep but hopefully, you will both be able to catch up on your sleep and have a fabulous time!
> 
> That Coronado Springs looks amazing!  But I understand what you mean about it being too similar to what you are used to at home.
> 
> I have never seen Marie at Disneyland.  Is she there too or just at WDW?
> 
> That lunch looks awesome!  I love a good Cobb salad!



You'll see that the lack of sleep becomes more of a consistency than a recovery.  I'm not sure if I've seen Marie at Disneyland, but I haven't really seen her anywhere before which is why I was so keen to meet her.  Cobb Salad is my favorite salad, it's got everything you need, bacon, eggs, and cheese!



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Glad to read you are now at VGF! Oh to be at a monorail resort! It was lovely seeing you we should have organised a meeting what are we like! But us all with jet lag our brains weren't in gear :-(
> 
> Love the jewellery you do need both gold and silver for different outfits. Omg the HM bag how did I miss that? We must have walked right past :-( I wonder if Jo saw it and stayed mute lol.
> 
> How nice a quite lunch in A/C at GF menu looks ideal for lunchtime.
> 
> I always want to try one of those toffee apples but fear for my teeth! Sort of thing that you bite into and you leave a tooth in and there is a massive dentist bill for you right there! Olaf looks much more teeth friendly
> 
> Interesting about accessible rooms at VGF. We have one booked for a studio. Depending on your review I may change it because the non disabled room does have virtually a flat base shower I can use. Just worried about no grab rails.



Yes our brains were evidently not in gear.  Did you stop in the jewelry store?  They were hanging there in plain sight.

If we ever got one of the apples, I would have them cut it into pieces for easier eating.  They do that at DL, so sure about WDW.  Next time we are going for a non disabled room, maybe even a lake view.



dolphingirl47 said:


> What a shame that the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train was down and then had a huge line. I love your jewellery. How lucky that you were in the right place at the right time for the Haunted Mansion purse. I hope that one of those days, I get lucky, too.
> 
> I have to say, the Grand Floridian Cafe was never on my radar, but the menu looks great. I can't believe that those two huge plates are one split salad.
> 
> Corinna



It's going to take a while for the Mine Train to cool down wait wise.  I think it's a bit like RSR right now.  I really enjoyed our meal at the GFC and was torn between a number of items.



sarahk0204 said:


> It may have been a trip report, but I heard the cups referred to as "coffee shot glasses".  Now that is how we refer to them in our family, and DH always buys a new mug each trip for just this reason!



  Sarah!  That is too funny about the coffee cups because it is TRUE!  I left my mug in the OL because I didn't want to have to keep buying mugs.  I have plenty at home already!



ajf1007 said:


> Yay!  I guess alittle late is better than never right?  I'm loving the trip so far...I have to say I agree with you about Coronado Springs - looks pretty but I can see where it's more like home than "HOME" - I get it!
> 
> I can't wait for more!



  You changed your Avatar!  Long time no see!  I'm glad you made it.  I'm just barely getting started.  Haven't even finished the first full day.



Leshaface said:


> Just thinking about your walk from the Pepper Market to your room sounds exhausting. It was fine to stay there, but probably never again unless we absolutely have to.  Even then I would consider POP or AoA before CSR.
> 
> Way to go Fran on the HM bag!
> 
> I'm surprised you guys waited so long (not that it's even that long) for Marie.  However the pictures turned out great, so i'm sure it was worth it!
> 
> Love when the room is ready!  I got to thinking.  Back in 2010 when we stayed at CSR and did the red-eye flight arriving at CSR at 6:00am, I wonder what would have happened if our room wasn't ready!    That would have sucked.
> 
> Sometimes, salads are the only thing that sounds good.  Especially on warm days.  Fran looks happy in that picture!



We wanted AoA, but the only rooms we were willing to pay for were the Little Mermaid section and I really wanted a family suite if we stayed there, but I guess with how little time we spent in the room it wouldn't have mattered.  I also didn't like that they didn't have guaranteed Queen or King size beds in the LM section.  It turns out that we were both so tired that we ended up sleeping on separate beds that night anyways due to the lack of room to walk on the outsides of the beds.

The line for Marie didn't look all that long, but with having to go backstage for milk breaks it took longer than we expected.  She's a character I haven't seen much, so I was willing to wait.


----------



## franandaj

So we made it to the room, and just WOW!  These rooms are gorgeous!

























Here is the murphy bed.





And this is the bed folded down.





There was a full size washer and dryer





Moving on to the bedroom.













Our Mickey Towel Animal.





From the bedroom to the bathroom there was a large hallway.  This was about the size of my kitchen in my first apartment.









And finally moving on to the bathroom area.













Now raise your hand if you think this is a handicapped accessible tub.  I had already prepared myself that there would not be a Jacuzzi in the room as the description said, soaking tub not Jacuzzi or Jetted tub, but it was still sad to confirm my fears.





This was our view.









Fran laid down for a nap and I called Bell Services to have our owners locker brought up. I asked if our bags had arrived from CSR and they said they would check.  To my delight a Bellman showed up at my door five minutes later with all our suitcases and the Owners Locker.

Just as I was finished hanging up our clothes and placing everything where we needed it for the next week, I got a call from Amy at We Go Shop and she had just dropped my groceries off with Bell Services, so I rung them up and they brought me the groceries right away.

Here is my stocked pantry, and notice the new mug on the counter. 





And the fridge full of groceries.





After I finished unpacking, I think that I decided to go down and check out the pool. I thought there would be a hot tub, but I guess that is only at the main pool.  I didnt want to walk that far.  After I got in the pool and cooled off, the skies started to darken and it appeared that they were closing the pool so I left and went back to the room.

I believe that our FP window for the Seven Dwarves Mine Train was about to open.  Fran decided that she would rather extend her nap than experience the ride, so I hopped on the monorail and headed over to the MK and Fantasyland. My first try at FP+ worked like a charm and I was on the ride in no time.  

I didnt take any pictures because I just wanted to experience the ride on my first time. It was a fun little coaster.  There were some good turns and the way that the coaster swayed back and forth, helped to mellow out some of the pull of the banked turns.  Almost as soon as it started it was over again. They had some great touches in there. It was a very cute ride, but I would not wait more than 20 minutes for it.  Later in the trip, I did take pictures so I will post those later in the report. 

*[Continued in Next Post]*


----------



## franandaj

*[Continued from Previous Post]*

Mine train conquered, I headed back to the room to wake up Fran since we had dinner with the Evil Stepsisters.  Back to 1900 Park Fare for our fix of Strawberry Soup!  It didnt take long for our pager to go off after we checked in at the podium and we were taken to our table.  The characters were on a break so we hit the buffet first.  First round to develop my strategy and take pictures.

Heres the kids buffet on the right hand side.





Not sure what the front salad is, but I recognize the caprese salad in back.





Im already forgetting, not sure what the dish on the right was, but the left is penne alfredo.





This was some sort of an Indian Curry dish.





Fruit salad and of course the Strawberry soup!





Now the Asian section.  Potstickers and pork spareribs.





Asian noodles and veggie salad with Edammame.





And the carving station.  I believe this was New York Steak and Ham.





And the sauces for the meats.





Sushi rolls, I believe that there was a California Roll, a Tuna Roll and a Veggie Roll.  They had these on sale at the Pool Bar in a package with all three kinds.  That makes sense.  If they have to prepare them for the dinner buffet, why not make a few extras and have them available at the pool bar for individual sale.





I believe that this was a cous cous dish, salmon and some green beans.





Mashed Potatoes and Chicken Marsala





Pasta Salad and Peel em and Eat em Shrimp.





Here we have some carrot salad, I have no idea what, Ambrosia? And a Caesar Salad.    Theres a hint of a greek salad in there, but I guess I didnt take more pictures.





And then we are back to the kids bar on the left side of the buffet.





Moving on to Dessert, I think these are all pretty self explanatory.































*[Continued in Next Post]*


----------



## franandaj

*[Continued from Previous Post]*

And now our plates.

This was my first plate.





And Fran started off with either some strawberry soup or mushroom soup.  Whichever one it was she had finished it by the time I got back to the table. Must have been the strawberry because her second bowl of soup was the mushroom.  She said it was the same she had at lunch.





Then the characters began to come to our table.  Prince Charming and me.





Cinderella and me.





Fran moved on to another bowl of the strawberry soup.





My main course.





And Frans main course





Then the evil stepsisters came by.  They were quite a hoot!  





Fran made a comment to this one about taking a picture of two redheads together, and she looked at me and said, Youre a Redhead?

I made some kind of remark about well before it all went gray.  And she was appropriately rude.





I dont remember what the interaction with this one was, but I think Fran was dissing Cinderella or something like that.





I dont remember who picked up these desserts.





Then the Step Mother came around, she promised wed play bridge at Gastons Wednesday night.





I finally made my way around to the strawberry soup.





And then I finished off my meal with this delicious Bread Pudding and Apple Crisp.





What next?  Did we go back to the room and rest up for our early day at SWW?  Or were we evil like the stepsisters that we had just encountered?


----------



## Pinkocto

Fabulous update. I've booked that restaurant twice and canceled twice. Looks pretty good. The character interaction looks like great fun. 

Glad you went for the mine train. It's just too short. For this long making it it should have been longer, in my opinion anyway. 

Love the room. Sorry about the tub though. And no that does NOT look like a HA friendly shower. Did they have the stall as well? In the regular 1BR it's a huge jacuzzi tub. I was disappointed it didn't have claw feet but the CM said it had to be flush to the floor for the jets. That's why I was confused when you were telling me about it at Epcot.


----------



## jedijill

Glad you got to ride the Mine Train but too bad its short.  I've never eaten at 1900PF but that strawberry soup looks great!  The room is gorgeous but the tub is a disappointment!

Jill in CO


----------



## PrincessInOz

AARGH!!! 

I've missed out on all these updates.  Darn e-systems!!!  I don't know what happened.  I subbed in but I haven't been getting any notifications.


Anyway....all fixed now and I'm back on this gold mine train now.


Fantastic updates.  
I was interested to hear your views of CSR.  It's a lovely resort but I'm the same.  I can take or leave it.
But that room at the VGF!  WOW!  WOW!  WOW!  If that's the standard of the new rooms at WDW now, I don't think I'd ever leave the room.

Fantastic food pictures.  I'm licking the screen here.  Looks like great interactions with the characters.

Excellent DisMeet.  

Love the jewellery.  
And that's a great score with the HM bags.  Talk about timing!  Well done.


----------



## Captain_Oblivious

franandaj said:


> The transportation guide assured us that another bus was on its heels and it would have room for us. This is was not the first time we made this compromise, but we were happy to do it.  There is nothing worse than making people get up out of their seats, and then you have to take yet another seat because they wont let you stay on the scooter.  The glares that you get are awful.



I've said it before, but Disney needs a better system in place as far as buses/scooters go.



franandaj said:


> After waiting half an hour in the full sun, we were done.  We decided to head over the Grand Floridian and see if the room was ready.  It was an easy monorail ride over there (have I mentioned that I really LOVE  staying at a monorail resort?), and lo and behold our room was even ready!  Score!







franandaj said:


> So la la la, we come rolling into the store, I come around the corner and this woman is staring at me.  And she looks strangely familiar.  A little befuddled and definitely taken off guard the only thing I could come up with was, Is that YOU?







franandaj said:


> So we made it to the room, and just WOW!  These rooms are gorgeous!



I have to agree!



franandaj said:


> I didnt take any pictures because I just wanted to experience the ride on my first time. It was a fun little coaster.  There were some good turns and the way that the coaster swayed back and forth, helped to mellow out some of the pull of the banked turns.  Almost as soon as it started it was over again. They had some great touches in there. It was a very cute ride, but I would not wait more than 20 minutes for it.  Later in the trip, I did take pictures so I will post those later in the report.



Sounds like fun!  Can't wait to ride it someday.



franandaj said:


> What next?  Did we go back to the room and rest up for our early day at SWW?  Or were we evil like the stepsisters that we had just encountered?



One could even say you joined the dark side...


----------



## skylizard

I love all of your TRs, especially when you visited Washington DC (my hometown ).
Looking forward to reading about the rest of your trip!


----------



## ajf1007

franandaj said:


> You changed your Avatar!  Long time no see!  I'm glad you made it.  I'm just barely getting started.  Haven't even finished the first full day.



Hi Alison!!!!!  Yes, I changed my Avatar - new Avatar, new beginnings right?  Your pictures of the room at GF are amazing.  That room is so elegantly decorated, I just love it!  It looks like your off to a great start on the TR too, I loved the pictures with the wicked stepsisters, that would be probably one of my favorite meets!

Ohhhhh, just for the record, I did NOT raise my hand with regard to the handicap bathtub - that was the oddest thing I ever saw and fail to see how that would be easy to get into.   Just sayin


----------



## Leshaface

Is that the 1 bedroom?!  I'm so excited!  I haven't said anything yet, but we were able to snag a few nights in a 1 bedroom during our trip and made 2 waitlists for the remaining days of our trip.  It's absolutely gorgeous!  I doubt that DS would use it, but is the murphy in every 1 bedroom?

Boo, I was afraid you were going to say how short the ride was.  I purposely have not watched videos or read articles on the ride because I knew some of my DIS friends would be checking it out soon.

That is a pretty good buffet spread.  But I would definitely go more for the characters.  I love their snarkiness. I've never met them but from reading about their interactions on the boards, I really want to meet them!


----------



## wdrl

Thanks for posting all your photos!  Coronado Springs Resort is our favorite moderate resort at WDW and we have stayed there several times when we don't enough DVC points available.  Its a big resort, but we've always had a car with us so we've been able to keep some of the walking to a minimum.

Lots of people are interested in seeing the modifications made in a handicap accessible villa.  I'm going to put a link to your VGF photos in the VGF Villas and Views thread on the DVC Resort board.  

We recently stayed in a VGF studio and really liked it.  I like that the VGF studios and one-bedroom villas have large walk-in showers in addition to tubs.  I'm surprised your HA villa did not have a walk-in shower.




Leshaface said:


> . . . is the murphy in every 1 bedroom?



Yes, the murphy bed is in all VGF one-bedroom villas and studios.  The murphy beds in the 1BRs have Mary Poppins artwork, while the murphy beds in the studios have Dumbo artwork.


----------



## Leshaface

wdrl said:


> Yes, the murphy bed is in all VGF one-bedroom villas and studios.  The murphy beds in the 1BRs have Mary Poppins artwork, while the murphy beds in the studios have Dumbo artwork.



Thank you!


----------



## Pinkocto

Leshaface said:


> Is that the 1 bedroom?!  I'm so excited!  I haven't said anything yet,*but we were able to snag a few nights in a 1 bedroom during our trip*  and made 2 waitlists for the remaining days of our trip.  It's absolutely gorgeous!  I doubt that DS would use it, but is the murphy in every 1 bedroom?




Awesome news!


----------



## rentayenta

Great update Alison. 

Glad you went ahead with the Mine Train. Worth the hype? 

Your villa is beautiful. I'm sorry you didn't have your jetted tab. Liking the full pantry and fridge!

Your meal looks delicious. The stepsisters are some of the Disney's best!


----------



## Paula Sedley-Burke

Loved the update! Lush room at VGF. Shocking about the 'handicap tub' I would need a winch to get in there! Obviously not tested by a disabled person. Also I don't think they consider who else travels with disabled person. Reason we would get a 1BR is so Jo can use the spa tub and me the walk in shower. Jo would be gutted at no spa tub! We have a studio so see how that is!

Glad to see your cupboards stocked! Did you find not enough clothes space at VGF? We looked around because we don't use murphy bed thinking where are the drawers! The guide said under the bed but I can't bend down. However it is such eye candy it makes up for it and that wonderful monorail! Love that you could just pop to do the mine train!

Agree cute ride but too short also I couldn't see very well into Snow Whites cottage. Maybe just me.

1900 Park fair looks fab both breakfast and dinner. Great line up of characters and food! Lol re ugly sisters they sound great fun  

We are trying AoA next year for a couple of nights filler between saving DVC points. LM accessible room. I heard good things about it.


----------



## afwdwfan

franandaj said:


> It was a really cushy plane, the seats had a buffer between the rows of seats so that whatever the person in front of you did with their seat didnt affect your personal space.  There was a big pocket in front to fit puzzles, lap tops or whatever you wanted.


  I didn't know planes like this existed...   



franandaj said:


> While we didnt hate the resort, we werent as impressed with it as it looked a lot like home.  I mean not our house, but palm trees and rock sculptures in the yard are fairly common as they are water saving and many people have converted their yards to look like this with city incentives to save water.


I thought the resort was beautiful... but our experience was soured by other guests.  We might give it another chance someday, but it isn't high on our list, for sure.



franandaj said:


> We decided that since it was close to rope drop, maybe we should go to Fantasyland and see if the line for the Seven Dwarves Mine Train was manageable.  Well the ride was down, and the wait was already up to 90 minutes.  Forget that!


  That's disappointing.  I know that is the first thing I want to do when I get there! 



franandaj said:


> Turns out there were three of them on display in this store.  Fran asked the gentleman who was helping us with the jewelry how he came to have three HM purses in his store, and he replied, Because I started the day with nine of them.


 



franandaj said:


> A little befuddled and definitely taken off guard the only thing I could come up with was, Is that YOU?
> 
> To which she answered, yes.  Well of course, but she knew what I meant!  Finally it came to me, Lisa or Lisaviolet.


Nice surprise! 



franandaj said:


> So we made it to the room, and just WOW!  These rooms are gorgeous!


  Wow.  That room is great! 



franandaj said:


> I believe that our FP window for the Seven Dwarves Mine Train was about to open.  Fran decided that she would rather extend her nap than experience the ride, so I hopped on the monorail and headed over to the MK and Fantasyland. My first try at FP+ worked like a charm and I was on the ride in no time.


You really should have taken her band and tried to ride it twice.


----------



## mvf-m11c

The villa looks very nice. I could easily enjoyed the outside view of your room seeing the Monorails go by. 

The food at 1900 PF looks very appetizing and the characters pictures were great.

Nice to hear that you were able to ride the Mine Train. I am also curious of your take on the Mine Train.

Great update.


----------



## dolphingirl47

Your villa looks amazing. I am glad that you got to ride the mine train. Dinner looks very nice and I am glad that you had a good character interaction.

Corinna


----------



## franandaj

Pinkocto said:


> Fabulous update. I've booked that restaurant twice and canceled twice. Looks pretty good. The character interaction looks like great fun.



You really should try it.  We love the place. This was our first time for dinner and we think that we liked it even better than breakfast.  The food was spectacular and that's something to say about a buffet.  I loved the things with meat, but there is plenty there for both you and your mom.



Pinkocto said:


> Glad you went for the mine train. It's just too short. For this long making it it should have been longer, in my opinion anyway. .



It was short, especially the dark ride part.  I really wanted that to be longer, but there really were some cute effects.



Pinkocto said:


> Love the room. Sorry about the tub though. And no that does NOT look like a HA friendly shower. Did they have the stall as well? In the regular 1BR it's a huge jacuzzi tub. I was disappointed it didn't have claw feet but the CM said it had to be flush to the floor for the jets. That's why I was confused when you were telling me about it at Epcot.



There was no stall shower, which made it a challenge for Fran to use it. She would have been better off in a regular room, and I would have had my Jacuzzi tub. By the time I realized that it was a "soaking" tub, the other Villas were sold out for part of our stay.  I should have waitlisted it, but next time.  We'll be back for SWW in two years and we'll book there again



jedijill said:


> Glad you got to ride the Mine Train but too bad its short.  I've never eaten at 1900PF but that strawberry soup looks great!  The room is gorgeous but the tub is a disappointment!
> 
> Jill in CO



For as long as it took to build, you'd think there would have been a little more to it!  They did really pack in some cute effects, you'll see when I post pictures.  I love the strawberry soup, I have a recipe for it that is much healthier, but doesn't taste nearly as rich.  On our last visit the CM gave us the recipe and no wonder it tastes so good.  Heavy cream and all.



PrincessInOz said:


> AARGH!!!
> 
> I've missed out on all these updates.  Darn e-systems!!!  I don't know what happened.  I subbed in but I haven't been getting any notifications.
> 
> 
> Anyway....all fixed now and I'm back on this gold mine train now.



I was sort of wondering what happened to you.    I hate when that happens.  At least you weren't reading along and forgetting to comment like I always do!  



PrincessInOz said:


> Fantastic updates.
> I was interested to hear your views of CSR.  It's a lovely resort but I'm the same.  I can take or leave it.
> But that room at the VGF!  WOW!  WOW!  WOW!  If that's the standard of the new rooms at WDW now, I don't think I'd ever leave the room.



We might stay there again, but we still have POFQ, AoA, CBR and the other values to hit first.  I'm waiting for the DVC at the Poly to open to tick that off my list.  Then there's the Swan and Dolphin too.  So many resorts, so little vacation $'s.



PrincessInOz said:


> Fantastic food pictures.  I'm licking the screen here.  Looks like great interactions with the characters.
> 
> Excellent DisMeet.
> 
> Love the jewellery.
> And that's a great score with the HM bags.  Talk about timing!  Well done.



Thanks!  The characters were a lot of fun and the food was great.  

I really like the jewellery! and we need to get that bag to it's new owner!



Captain_Oblivious said:


> I've said it before, but Disney needs a better system in place as far as buses/scooters go.



Sentiments of a true transportation engineer!  



Captain_Oblivious said:


> .







Captain_Oblivious said:


> I have to agree!.







Captain_Oblivious said:


> Sounds like fun!  Can't wait to ride it someday..



Hopefully you'll be able to get your crew back there again.  Drew hasn't seen the place yet.  



Captain_Oblivious said:


> One could even say you joined the dark side...



Actually I preferred the "Force", but Fran really liked the "Dark Side".  More on that later!


----------



## franandaj

skylizard said:


> I love all of your TRs, especially when you visited Washington DC (my hometown ).
> Looking forward to reading about the rest of your trip!



Wow!  You've been lurking for quite some time!

  I'm glad you spoke up!  That trip to DC was a lot of fun, but looking back the things I remember most were spending most of our time in Smithsonian Museums and eating oysters every other day!



ajf1007 said:


> Hi Alison!!!!!  Yes, I changed my Avatar - new Avatar, new beginnings right?  Your pictures of the room at GF are amazing.  That room is so elegantly decorated, I just love it!  It looks like your off to a great start on the TR too, I loved the pictures with the wicked stepsisters, that would be probably one of my favorite meets!



Good for you!  New beginnings are awesome when you need it.  Been there, done that!  Not only is it elegantly decorate, but it was so spacious.  Maybe that's because it was the HA room, but it was really nice, especially compared to our old house which was so cluttered there were only "pathways" and no open spaces.



ajf1007 said:


> Ohhhhh, just for the record, I did NOT raise my hand with regard to the handicap bathtub - that was the oddest thing I ever saw and fail to see how that would be easy to get into.   Just sayin



I know, right.  I thought it was totally strange too.  Not what we have had at the BCV or VGC.



Leshaface said:


> Is that the 1 bedroom?!  I'm so excited!  I haven't said anything yet, but we were able to snag a few nights in a 1 bedroom during our trip and made 2 waitlists for the remaining days of our trip.  It's absolutely gorgeous!  I doubt that DS would use it, but is the murphy in every 1 bedroom?



Congrats on the VGF.  Probably DS wouldn't use it this trip, but in a couple more, definitely!  Plus they have them at the VGC and I've heard they are pretty comfortable.



Leshaface said:


> Boo, I was afraid you were going to say how short the ride was.  I purposely have not watched videos or read articles on the ride because I knew some of my DIS friends would be checking it out soon.



I watched some YouTube videos, but you really don't get the gist of it.  It was definitely fun, but way too short.



Leshaface said:


> That is a pretty good buffet spread.  But I would definitely go more for the characters.  I love their snarkiness. I've never met them but from reading about their interactions on the boards, I really want to meet them!



I saw it on bangzoom (Bonnie's) TR when they had the strawberry soup at breakfast.  I made sure that we went on our next trip, and now Fran has made sure we go on every trip since then!  She goes for the Strawberry soup, if you weren't counting, I think she had three bowls full!



wdrl said:


> Thanks for posting all your photos!  Coronado Springs Resort is our favorite moderate resort at WDW and we have stayed there several times when we don't enough DVC points available.  Its a big resort, but we've always had a car with us so we've been able to keep some of the walking to a minimum.



  Thanks for coming out of lurkdom!  We are working our way through all the WDW resorts and trying the Moderates and Values for a night or two prior to our DVC stays



wdrl said:


> Lots of people are interested in seeing the modifications made in a handicap accessible villa.  I'm going to put a link to your VGF photos in the VGF Villas and Views thread on the DVC Resort board.



Thanks! If my report can help someone out to know what they're getting into that would be great.  I loved seeing your floorplan maps of where the various rooms were.  It was nice to know that we would be in one of two rooms.  Next time we stay we will have a wider assortment of rooms since we won't be getting an HA room. 



wdrl said:


> We recently stayed in a VGF studio and really liked it.  I like that the VGF studios and one-bedroom villas have large walk-in showers in addition to tubs.  I'm surprised your HA villa did not have a walk-in shower.



I was really surprised that there was no walk-in shower as well.



rentayenta said:


> Great update Alison.
> 
> Glad you went ahead with the Mine Train. Worth the hype?



It's worth a 20 minute wait in my opinion.  I enjoyed it, but it's not something that I will have to hit every trip like RnRC.  As long as I have FP+ or the line is manageable it's a fun ride.



rentayenta said:


> Your villa is beautiful. I'm sorry you didn't have your jetted tab. Liking the full pantry and fridge!
> 
> Your meal looks delicious. The stepsisters are some of the Disney's best!



Yeah, at least I have one at home, even though it leaks still.  You know I love my full pantry!

We liked it so much we're trying to figure out how to squeeze it into our dinner rotation next April.  We had planned breakfast, but now we like dinner better.



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Loved the update! Lush room at VGF. Shocking about the 'handicap tub' I would need a winch to get in there! Obviously not tested by a disabled person. Also I don't think they consider who else travels with disabled person. Reason we would get a 1BR is so Jo can use the spa tub and me the walk in shower. Jo would be gutted at no spa tub! We have a studio so see how that is!



I almost DID need a winch to Fran in there!  That's exactly why we do 1 BRs is for me to have the Jetted Tub.  Now it is better since I have one at home, but what kind of vacation is that without a jetted tub.  Boy has DVC spoiled me!



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Glad to see your cupboards stocked! Did you find not enough clothes space at VGF? We looked around because we don't use murphy bed thinking where are the drawers! The guide said under the bed but I can't bend down.



In the 1 BR there was plenty of space.  We hang most of our clothes in the closet, but we only used three of the six drawers in the dresser in the bedroom.  I think it's only the studios with the storage problems.



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> However it is such eye candy it makes up for it and that wonderful monorail! Love that you could just pop to do the mine train!
> 
> Agree cute ride but too short also I couldn't see very well into Snow Whites cottage. Maybe just me.



It was so easy to just pop over to MK and back!  I couldn't see very well when I was in the front seat, but much better when in the back of the train.



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> 1900 Park fair looks fab both breakfast and dinner. Great line up of characters and food! Lol re ugly sisters they sound great fun
> 
> We are trying AoA next year for a couple of nights filler between saving DVC points. LM accessible room. I heard good things about it.



We love the place!  I'll be looking forward to your report on the room!



afwdwfan said:


> I didn't know planes like this existed...



This was my first experience too!  We didn't get a cool plane like this on any other legs of the journey.



afwdwfan said:


> I thought the resort was beautiful... but our experience was soured by other guests.  We might give it another chance someday, but it isn't high on our list, for sure.



That's too bad when other guests spoil a trip.  People are so rude sometimes.



afwdwfan said:


> That's disappointing.  I know that is the first thing I want to do when I get there!



Make sure you have FP+!



afwdwfan said:


> Nice surprise!



It was great to meet her even if it was only a couple minutes!



afwdwfan said:


> Wow.  That room is great!



I can't wait to go back now!



afwdwfan said:


> You really should have taken her band and tried to ride it twice.



You know, I should have.  We had used the band for entrance into the park once that day.  Who is to say that I left the park and she didn't stay in there?  I did do that later in the trip!  



mvf-m11c said:


> The villa looks very nice. I could easily enjoyed the outside view of your room seeing the Monorails go by.



I did mean to take a picture of the monorail going by, but I don't think I ever did!



mvf-m11c said:


> The food at 1900 PF looks very appetizing and the characters pictures were great.
> 
> Nice to hear that you were able to ride the Mine Train. I am also curious of your take on the Mine Train.
> 
> Great update.



The food was great.  Basic take on the Mine Train: Fun, too short, nice theming.



dolphingirl47 said:


> Your villa looks amazing. I am glad that you got to ride the mine train. Dinner looks very nice and I am glad that you had a good character interaction.
> 
> Corinna



Thank you!


----------



## franandaj

We had just finished dinner with the Stepsisters and what were our plans next?  What I failed to mention earlier was that when I made my FP+ plans two months ago, I had done that from the comfort of my house in Long Beach located just blocks from beach where the cool ocean breeze keeps the temperatures civilized.  What I hadnt taken into account was that Orlando was nowhere near the ocean and certainly not civilized in temperature!

I had used the same strategy for FP+ as Cynthia (eandesmom), but her trip was over NYE and mine was during the blazing hot time of year.  Most of our FP+ were for the middle of the day, the time when you want to be back at your resort in the pool or taking a nap.  Earlier I had moved all of our FP+ but the Seven Dwarves Mine Train (no other times available) to the late evening.

So off we headed to the MK!  Little did we realize that the MSEP was in full swing and as soon as we entered the park we were faced with crowds everywhere.  So we just decided to do our best with it and see if we could see anything over the heads of all the tall people in front of us.

Well look at that!  I did get a few glimpses of the parade.





























We had FP+ for the HM and tried heading in that direction, but the crowds were just too thick.  Half the people in the park were headed out and the other half were headed to the hub.  We were almost down Main Street to the hub when our clump of people pretty much stopped moving.  We were stuck in the middle of the street with people all around us, so we just decided to go with the flow and wait like everyone else.  Pretty soon the castle show started.  Here are a few of the pictures I took.  I think I would put my readers to sleep if I posted every picture I took, plus my bandwidth at photobucket would be through the roof!



































 

*[Continued in Next Post]*


----------



## franandaj

*[Continued from Previous Post]*

Then came the fireworks.  I will add a disclaimer, since I have only been back at really trying to take quality pictures (rather than documentation pictures) for a month (at the time of these pictures), I didnt have a tripod, nor did I even think I might be taking fireworks pictures.  I know that these are nothing in comparison to Brets or PIOs fireworks pictures, but perhaps you will all come with me on my journey as I learn to improve upon my long exposure nighttime photography.









































































Due to the fireworks delay we were about 20 minutes late for our HM FP+ but it still worked and we were on the ride in no time.  Fran wanted to do the interactive queue, but you bypass that with FP+.  Oh well next time. I tried to take as many pictures as I could to help us with decorating our Media room (whenever that gets put back on the table), but unfortunately I need a lens that will open wider, as most of the pictures didnt come out.  

We need to figure out how to do cobwebs like this.















 

Were on a slab, so I doubt well be able to incorporate the stretching room feature into our HM room.





We do have at least three rolls of this wallpaper.





*[Continued in Next Post]*


----------



## franandaj

*[Continued from Previous Post]*

I think Fran recently got us a Leota head, now how to float it.  





We do have this haunted bride.





None of my graveyard photos came out.  _*Photobabble ahead* We need to invest in some lenses that will open to a wider aperture.  Mine only goes to 4.0 and I remember as a kid I used to like to shoot on 2.8 a lot of the time.*/End Photobabble*_

We headed over to our next FP+ which was in 





We saved about 10 minutes wait time with our FP+. Do you know which ride we were on?









Weve been recruited into the army of Space Rangers!





You know until looking at these pictures, I never really noticed how creepy all the creatures in the ride are.  Ive always been so busy shooting the targets, I missed so much!





















But of course the little green men arent creepy, they are cute!













And of course our main man, Evil Emperor Zurg!





















I think that I spent more effort doing a different kind of shooting on this ride.





At least I knew when to put down the camera!





At least they got him where he belongs.





By this time it was almost midnight and we had a 5:30AM wake up call, so we headed out of the park, but not before taking a couple long exposure shots.  (well as long as I could without a tripod or a trash can).









We had an easy trip back to the resort and a nice comfy bed for the night.  Next up Star Wars: May the Force be With You package!


----------



## Leshaface

franandaj said:


> Congrats on the VGF.  Probably DS wouldn't use it this trip, but in a couple more, definitely!  Plus they have them at the VGC and I've heard they are pretty comfortable.



Good to know about VGC - for you know, just in case I need to kick DH out of the bed



franandaj said:


> I saw it on bangzoom (Bonnie's) TR when they had the strawberry soup at breakfast.  I made sure that we went on our next trip, and now Fran has made sure we go on every trip since then!  She goes for the Strawberry soup, if you weren't counting, I think she had three bowls full!



Speaking of Bonnie, I had sent her a PM a few months back seeing how things were going.  She was super busy with school and productions but everyone was doing well.


You got some good shots of the parade along with some amazing shots of the castle!  

There are a few YT videos about how to make realistic cobwebs.  It would probably look 'nicer' than using cotton to spread out over the chandelier, but that would work too 

Sheesh you had a long night, but I can't wait to hear about your next day!


----------



## jedijill

Your fireworks pictures turned out awesome!  Great work!  Sounds like you had a great evening....I love the HM and can't wait until you finally get to do you HM room. 

Jill in CO


----------



## Pinkocto

What fun that you went over to MK after dinner! Knowing me I'd probably have gone straight to sleep   Great shots of the castle show and fireworks! 

I am so bad at Buzz, I'm convinced the laser does not go where I'm pointing


----------



## rentayenta

Pinkocto said:


> I am so bad at Buzz, I'm convinced the laser does not go where I'm pointing






Mine does the same thing.  

Nice shots Alison. Love the Buzz ones. I never really pay attn to the creatures either but I will now. 

I vote cut the slab and add a Stretching Room.


----------



## mvf-m11c

Your nighttime pictures are very nice Alison. You were able to get some nice shots of the MSEP, Celebrate the Magic! Castle Projection show and Wishes. Without a tripod and keeping the camera steady can be hard to do and overall they are very nice.

I sometimes think to myself which Buzz ride I like. The MK or DL version. I am so used to the DL version since I go there a lot of times but Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin is a nice one too. Nice picture on the ride.


----------



## wdrl

Your fireworks and castle photos are awesome.  It certainly doesn't look like you really need better lenses!


----------



## heaven2dc

Hi neighbor!   well....almost lol  I moved to the LA area 2 years ago and live about 10 mins from LAX.  It should only take 8-10 mins to get the airport but most times it takes 15 mins minimum so I understand how what should be a short trip can involve all day sometimes in the LA area  

CSR is a pretty resort but the deluxe resorts spoil us, don't they?    The Villas at the Grand Floridian are absolutely beautiful!  One day I hope to buy into DVC.....always rent points when we've gone to WDW and stayed at BWV.   How did you like the beds?  They look so comfy!   

OMG....loved that HM Dooney & Bourke purse!  That was super sweet of you to pick it up for your friend.

Would love to do a Dismeet sometime at DL - have always visited DL solo the past year since I've had my AP.   

Can't wait to read all about your 2nd day at WDW!


----------



## disney ny

I made it to your report- 5 pages in but I made it.  Haven't been able to DIS much with the end of the school year but I am done now so I will have lots of time this summer.  We are under the 60 day mark for our trip so I am very excited to see everything in your report!!
   Glad you liked the mine train and I am actually glad it is somewhat mild because I think I have convinced my 5 year old son to go on.  He sees the commercials on the Disney channel and thinks he wants to.  I come from a family of chickens so that is saying something  Your dinner looked nice, we did the breakfast there once and loved the characters. Coronado also looks really nice- don't know when we will ever get to the moderates and values now that we are DVC but someday and I loved the menu from the Pepper Market.  The one downfall of the deluxes is the quick service.  Anyway I am going to go see if there anything to catch up on the dream house thread now too!!


----------



## Paula Sedley-Burke

Lol I laughed so much reading your post! We did the same thing re FP+. Booked them all in England where it was an average 65 degrees when we left lol. Yes we also hit every parade but we were trying to get out of the park in the afternoon. One day a CM escorted us on a secret route! 

Your photos are amazing of the Fireworks. I enjoyed them all but the first one of the castle. Outstanding! You don't need to invest in a lens I thought that was the bees knees  

I think that is so cool you have that HM wallpaper. I love that! 

Lovely photo on Buzz and thank you for your helpful comments about VGF. Very useful.


----------



## Captain_Oblivious

franandaj said:


> I had used the same strategy for FP+ as Cynthia (eandesmom), but her trip was over NYE and mine was during the blazing hot time of year.  Most of our FP+ were for the middle of the day, the time when you want to be back at your resort in the pool or taking a nap.



Unless you're one of those crazy families that tries to cram way too much into a single day. 



franandaj said:


> Here are a few of the pictures I took.  I think I would put my readers to sleep if I posted every picture I took, plus my bandwidth at photobucket would be through the roof!



But they look so nice!



franandaj said:


> Then came the fireworks.  I will add a disclaimer, since I have only been back at really trying to take quality pictures (rather than documentation pictures) for a month (at the time of these pictures), I didnt have a tripod, nor did I even think I might be taking fireworks pictures.  I know that these are nothing in comparison to Brets or PIOs fireworks pictures, but perhaps you will all come with me on my journey as I learn to improve upon my long exposure nighttime photography.



I think they turned out great!



franandaj said:


> We do have at least three rolls of this wallpaper.



Can I borrow some for my kids' bedrooms? 



franandaj said:


> You know until looking at these pictures, I never really noticed how creepy all the creatures in the ride are.  Ive always been so busy shooting the targets, I missed so much!



See that target on the inside of the robot's hand?  That's one of the 100,000 point-targets. 



franandaj said:


> By this time it was almost midnight and we had a 5:30AM wake up call, so we headed out of the park, but not before taking a couple long exposure shots.  (well as long as I could without a tripod or a trash can).



I liked the one of Tomorrowland.


----------



## lisaviolet

franandaj said:


> We headed to the
> So la la la, we come rolling into the store, I come around the corner and this woman is staring at me.  And she looks strangely familiar.  A little befuddled and definitely taken off guard the only thing I could come up with was, Is that YOU?
> 
> To which she answered, yes.  Well of course, but she knew what I meant!  Finally it came to me, Lisa or Lisaviolet.




*Pictures or it didn't happen.*  



_______________________________________________________

*And then here is Fran post lunch and post cocktail.  I think she evens looks done.*





And with that we decided to head off to find our room. [/QUOTE]

Really?  

I think she looks sexy like she's totally up to something.     It must be her done/sexy look.  

Oh boy, I am so behind.  Man!  But can't wait to get a chance to catch up.


----------



## dolphingirl47

I love all your nighttime photos. I still have not managed to see the Main Street Electrical Parade at the Magic Kingdom. I managed to catch it many years ago at California Adventure. I love your photos from Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin. They look so vibrant.

Corinna


----------



## afwdwfan

franandaj said:


> I think I would put my readers to sleep if I posted every picture I took, plus my bandwidth at photobucket would be through the roof!


But if you'd posted just a few more, your readers could scroll down really fast and it would be like we were watching the video!  



franandaj said:


> Then came the fireworks.  I will add a disclaimer, since I have only been back at really trying to take quality pictures (rather than documentation pictures) for a month (at the time of these pictures), I didnt have a tripod, nor did I even think I might be taking fireworks pictures.  I know that these are nothing in comparison to Brets or PIOs fireworks pictures, but perhaps you will all come with me on my journey as I learn to improve upon my long exposure nighttime photography.


Fireworks pictures are always welcome, and always good. 



franandaj said:


> Were on a slab, so I doubt well be able to incorporate the stretching room feature into our HM room.


Digital picture frames with an animated image?  



franandaj said:


> By this time it was almost midnight and we had a 5:30AM wake up call


I'm getting tired just reading that.


----------



## franandaj

Leshaface said:


> Good to know about VGC - for you know, just in case I need to kick DH out of the bed



  



Leshaface said:


> Speaking of Bonnie, I had sent her a PM a few months back seeing how things were going.  She was super busy with school and productions but everyone was doing well.



That's good to know, I've thought about her lately.



Leshaface said:


> You got some good shots of the parade along with some amazing shots of the castle!



Thanks!  Once I have a tripod, I hope to get some even better ones.



Leshaface said:


> There are a few YT videos about how to make realistic cobwebs.  It would probably look 'nicer' than using cotton to spread out over the chandelier, but that would work too



Interesting, I'll have to check it out when we go back to building the HM room.



Leshaface said:


> Sheesh you had a long night, but I can't wait to hear about your next day!



I know, why do we keep doing this to ourselves?



jedijill said:


> Your fireworks pictures turned out awesome!  Great work!  Sounds like you had a great evening....I love the HM and can't wait until you finally get to do you HM room.
> 
> Jill in CO



Thanks!  It was a lot of fun!



Pinkocto said:


> What fun that you went over to MK after dinner! Knowing me I'd probably have gone straight to sleep   Great shots of the castle show and fireworks!
> 
> I am so bad at Buzz, I'm convinced the laser does not go where I'm pointing



Normally we do go back to the room and sleep after dinner, this was a somewhat unusual trip for us.  I much prefer the DL version, I can shoot a lot better when I can remove the gun.



rentayenta said:


> Mine does the same thing.
> 
> Nice shots Alison. Love the Buzz ones. I never really pay attn to the creatures either but I will now.
> 
> I vote cut the slab and add a Stretching Room.



I didn't even notice the creatures until I was writing up this part of the TR.  Yeah, like cutting the slab won't add much to the cost of the room!  



mvf-m11c said:


> Your nighttime pictures are very nice Alison. You were able to get some nice shots of the MSEP, Celebrate the Magic! Castle Projection show and Wishes. Without a tripod and keeping the camera steady can be hard to do and overall they are very nice.



Thanks Bret!  Coming from you that's a big compliment!



mvf-m11c said:


> I sometimes think to myself which Buzz ride I like. The MK or DL version. I am so used to the DL version since I go there a lot of times but Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin is a nice one too. Nice picture on the ride.



I like the DL one better definitely.



wdrl said:


> Your fireworks and castle photos are awesome.  It certainly doesn't look like you really need better lenses!



Thanks!  It's probably the peer pressure of my friends who are all getting new lenses and camera equipment fueling that desire.


----------



## franandaj

heaven2dc said:


> Hi neighbor!   well....almost lol  I moved to the LA area 2 years ago and live about 10 mins from LAX.  It should only take 8-10 mins to get the airport but most times it takes 15 mins minimum so I understand how what should be a short trip can involve all day sometimes in the LA area



  to the TR and welcome to LA!  You understand the traffic!



heaven2dc said:


> CSR is a pretty resort but the deluxe resorts spoil us, don't they?    The Villas at the Grand Floridian are absolutely beautiful!  One day I hope to buy into DVC.....always rent points when we've gone to WDW and stayed at BWV.   How did you like the beds?  They look so comfy!



The beds were totally comfy!  I was very happy to sleep there!



heaven2dc said:


> OMG....loved that HM Dooney & Bourke purse!  That was super sweet of you to pick it up for your friend.
> 
> Would love to do a Dismeet sometime at DL - have always visited DL solo the past year since I've had my AP.
> 
> Can't wait to read all about your 2nd day at WDW!



Those purses are very rare, I'm glad that I was finally able to get one for her.  Let me know next time you plan on going and maybe we can meet up. My best excuse for going to the park is that I have to meet someone from the DISboards!  I'll actually be out there a lot this next month.  I have several DISmeets planned!  



disney ny said:


> I made it to your report- 5 pages in but I made it.  Haven't been able to DIS much with the end of the school year but I am done now so I will have lots of time this summer.  We are under the 60 day mark for our trip so I am very excited to see everything in your report!!
> Glad you liked the mine train and I am actually glad it is somewhat mild because I think I have convinced my 5 year old son to go on.  He sees the commercials on the Disney channel and thinks he wants to.  I come from a family of chickens so that is saying something  Your dinner looked nice, we did the breakfast there once and loved the characters. Coronado also looks really nice- don't know when we will ever get to the moderates and values now that we are DVC but someday and I loved the menu from the Pepper Market.  The one downfall of the deluxes is the quick service.  Anyway I am going to go see if there anything to catch up on the dream house thread now too!!



  I'm excited for your trip!  I think it's a perfect coaster for a 5 year old, not too scary at all.



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Lol I laughed so much reading your post! We did the same thing re FP+. Booked them all in England where it was an average 65 degrees when we left lol. Yes we also hit every parade but we were trying to get out of the park in the afternoon. One day a CM escorted us on a secret route!



I always like it when you get to take a secret backstage route!



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Your photos are amazing of the Fireworks. I enjoyed them all but the first one of the castle. Outstanding! You don't need to invest in a lens I thought that was the bees knees



I want to be able to take something with a wider angle, plus I want a larger aperture setting.



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> I think that is so cool you have that HM wallpaper. I love that!
> 
> Lovely photo on Buzz and thank you for your helpful comments about VGF. Very useful.



Fran was so excited when she found it online, she bought it immediately in case they stopped selling it.  I'm glad my comments on the VGF were helpful.



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Unless you're one of those crazy families that tries to cram way too much into a single day.







Captain_Oblivious said:


> But they look so nice!
> 
> 
> 
> I think they turned out great!



Thanks!




Captain_Oblivious said:


> Can I borrow some for my kids' bedrooms?




I'll let you know if we have any left!




Captain_Oblivious said:


> See that target on the inside of the robot's hand?  That's one of the 100,000 point-targets.



Hmmm, thanks for pointing that out.  That would change my odds completely if I could hit one of those!



Captain_Oblivious said:


> I liked the one of Tomorrowland.



Thank you!



lisaviolet said:


> *Pictures or it didn't happen.*



Like a secret affair, it only matters that you and I know it happened.  

_______________________________________________________




lisaviolet said:


> Really?
> 
> I think she looks sexy like she's totally up to something.     It must be her done/sexy look.
> 
> Oh boy, I am so behind.  Man!  But can't wait to get a chance to catch up.



After 17+ years, I know her "done" look.  Her "up to something" look has a much more evil twinge to it.



dolphingirl47 said:


> I love all your nighttime photos. I still have not managed to see the Main Street Electrical Parade at the Magic Kingdom. I managed to catch it many years ago at California Adventure. I love your photos from Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin. They look so vibrant.
> 
> Corinna



Thanks!  I think that was actually the first time I have watched the parade instead of tried to go on rides while everyone else was watching it.



afwdwfan said:


> But if you'd posted just a few more, your readers could scroll down really fast and it would be like we were watching the video!







afwdwfan said:


> Fireworks pictures are always welcome, and always good.



Thank you! 




afwdwfan said:


> Digital picture frames with an animated image?








afwdwfan said:


> I'm getting tired just reading that.



It gets even better.


----------



## franandaj

The next morning Olaf called us bright and early at about 4:30AM or maybe it was 5AM.  Either way it was much earlier than I wanted to hear from anyone, but we had a cab coming for us at 6:15 so we had to be up and atem.  There was no way we were missing THIS day!  Im pretty sure that we snoozed the first call and got a second one, and that we slept for at least another 10-15 minutes before getting up and ready.  Im pretty sure that I set the coffee maker the night before so all I had to do was hit start and I could have at least one cup of coffee before we were on our way.  I remember thinking that I should have bought a togo mug, but I think I still had my paper coffee cup from day before so I used that.

We both grabbed a yogurt along with a plastic spoon. We didnt need to eat too much as our tour pretty much included food for most of the day. When we got down to the transport area, our taxi was waiting.  The Valet/Bellman and cab driver helped us get the scooters into the cab/van and we were quickly on our way to DHS.  We arrived well in advance of the arrival time and headed over to the Guest Services area where we were supposed to meet our guides.

You see a few weeks before our trip, Disney announced a package tour with a price that would make your eyes water.  However, it included EVERYTHING that we had our hearts set on doing (plus a few more things like meals) with FOTL, reserved seating access.  No need to make FP+, no need to rush from line to line, VIP tour guides would take us seamlessly from attraction to attraction and we would get in a few bonus attractions in addition to the things we really wanted to do.  

For us it was a no brainer.  We are spending my nieces and nephews or whoevers inheritance.  Fran has no family, we have no kids and I dont have a close relationship with anyone in my family except my parents.  Heck Ive only become FB friends with my sister, her DH and DD in the last month and a half!  Were spending whoevers inheritance it might be!

When we arrived the line for the wristlets for the Celebrity autographs went back this far.













Im sure glad we werent interested in those!

So we waited outside Guest Relations and soon some plaids approached us and called us by name.  This was a little disconcerting at first. Are we the only two who booked this tour today? I asked. Well I wasnt far off, there was family of three from some country who was descended from England, and a pair of friends who were local Floridians.  Seven people and we had three plaids, plus the guy who invented this tour. Soon our plaids took us inside the park and over to the area where we would view the parade and the fireworks later in the day.









This is the stage where a lot of things happened during the day.





Our guides told us that the lighting rig was done in the shape of the Millenium Falcon and we should take a picture.  Good call!





They had Han Solo in Carbonite on the stage.





Then we headed this direction, not to ride rides.





But to get here.





They had some interesting displays in this room.

























But what was even more interesting was this sort of interactive app that you could download on your phone to take character pictures with a smartphone. Once the app was open you could focus on the background, certain character options would become available and the floor was marked as to where to stand for which character that you wanted a picture with.  There were quite a few of these, but we got a little bored after the first two, plus it was our time to go into the main shopping area.

















So after our virtual character meets, we went into the shopping area.  Fran was again in rare form. I try to be restrained when we go to these places.  I look at the T-shirts, knowing I wont wear black T-shirts, I dont buy them. I look carefully at the jewelry, I have enough pretty jewelry, I dont need to buy stuff just cause its there.  Paintings, we have more than we have wall space for, unless it TOTALLY speaks to me and I know where its going, I dont buy it.  I think I had one bin of stuff.  I know I got a dress, the T-shirt for the year, a pint glass, a shot glass and a couple other things that we collect and will go in our display case.  Fran went kinda nuts.

It was understandable.  Look at the store.









We also took some pictures with Jedi Mickey and Mini.



 

This is the dress that I got from the "Her Universe" collection.





*[Continued in Next Post]*


----------



## franandaj

*[Continued from Previous Post]*

This was the section of the store where they would customize merchandise for you.  We didnt have time for that today, but we would be back, just not every process.





Ahh yes, the Ackbar Snackbar!  We would be back for this too!





These were the various offerings of the Ackbar Snackbar.  We didnt partake today since we had plenty of food in our tour package, but we would be back!





And these are the Yoda and Darth Vader cupcakes.





Sorry about the blurriness of the limited merchandise area. This is where we landed first since it would sell out potentially first that day.  These are the gals who started our pile.





This guy was watching over the store for security.





And looking up, just some of the store markers.





And here are just some gratuitous shots of the shelves.  By this time they had started letting in the general public in limited capacity.













Here is Fran in all her shopping glory. This is one of the situations where the Plaids really helped out. Between the three who were accompanying us, we were really the only group out of the three in our tour who were power shopping so each of the guides would follow Fran with a basket. Once she filled the basket they would take it back to the pile she had started and another plaid would take over carrying the basket behind her.  









I went outside to wait because it was becoming increasing claustrophobic inside that store.  One of the plaids came out to wait with me and we had a nice long chat while waiting for Fran to check out. Everything was shipped home and these are the boxes that arrived. Keep in mind the one you cant see in the back was just as big as the front two.  There are four boxes as a result of her shopping spree this morning. She tells me most of it is going on eBay, but Ill believe it when I see it!





After our shopping trip we were escorted over to the patio at the Hollywood Brown Derby for a continental breakfast.













This was my breakfast.





And this was Frans.



 

*[Continued in Next Post]*


----------



## franandaj

*[Continued from Previous Post]*

After our small breakfast break, we went over to ride TSMM.





















Were always Beavers.









Then it was off to ToT for a ride.

















And then we still had time to ride RnRC!





At this point, it was just nearing 10:30AM when they would open the VIP viewing area, since we were sharing that with about 100 folks who had purchased the Feel the Force package we needed to be there as soon as it opened, so we hightailed it back to the parade area.


----------



## Leshaface

Wow such a small group! I'm sure you were excited about that though.

OH MY GOSH!  Look at your dress!  Too awesome and you look fab in it!

 those boxes.  But I bet it felt like Christmas when you got to open them at home...if they are opened yet that is!  Will you be posting your purchases at some point?


----------



## dolphingirl47

That was an early start. How wonderful that you were in such a small group. I can understand that Fran was in shopping heaven. I love your dress. The photo with Mickey and Minnie is so cute. You got such a lot done in a relatively short time.

Corinna


----------



## jedijill

I'm in awe!  I would try to shop like Fran in that store!

Ackbar Snackbar...It's a trap!

I love the light rigging and Han Solo...I really want one of the Han Solo in carbonite fridge covers.  

Great start to the day!

Jill in CO


----------



## Pinkocto

Love the dress! 

I am soooo bummed we didn't go into Darth's Mall  neither of us were really in a shopping mood and I had no idea what I was missing. 

What a fabulous start to the day. 

And how did I miss that frozen Han Solo on stage!

That picture character app was pretty cool, looked very realistic.


----------



## rentayenta

We're always beavers. 

That dress is darling.  Did any of the stuff go on eBay yet?   Fran is quite the shopper. What did she buy?


----------



## mvf-m11c

franandaj said:


> Thanks Bret!  Coming from you that's a big compliment!
> 
> I like the DL one better definitely.



Your welcome. 

Using the guns that are not attached like the MK are easier to use at DL version.


What an amazing day at DHS during Star Wars Weekend. This will be something that I will want to do when I go back to Florida one day. But the weather might change all that but it is nice to be able to read about it on your trip report. It was a good idea to do the tour so you won't have to wait that long.

I knew that Fran would go on a shopping spree at the mall and that is a lot of Star Wars merchandise. 

A very nice start to the day at the mall and going on a few rides. 

Nice update.


----------



## Paula Sedley-Burke

How lovely to see DHS that day in the calm before the crowds appeared! I loved the light rig  how nice the plaids helped Fran with her shopping. I agree it was very cramped in there imagine it later in the day! 

That dress is cute on you  

Breakfast looks nice! Looking forward to the parade.


----------



## afwdwfan

franandaj said:


> Seven people and we had three plaids, plus the guy who “invented” this tour. Soon our plaids took us inside the park and over to the area where we would view the parade and the fireworks later in the day.


Well, as they say, you get what you pay for.  And in this case, I'd say that is a great thing! 



franandaj said:


>


How much for the Camaro?  



franandaj said:


> Here is Fran in all her shopping glory. This is one of the situations where the Plaids really helped out. Between the three who were accompanying us, we were really the only group out of the three in our tour who were “power shopping” so each of the guides would follow Fran with a basket. Once she filled the basket they would take it back to the “pile” she had started and another plaid would take over carrying the basket behind her.


  It's great that she had that much help, but that is so funny!   I can only imagine the three of them scrambling to keep up! 



franandaj said:


> There are four boxes as a result of her shopping spree this morning. She tells me most of it is going on eBay, but I’ll believe it when I see it!


That's a lot of stuff, but Star Wars stuff is cool. 

And your skepticism about eBay is probably right.


----------



## cj9200

Long time no post over here.  Enjoying your little adventure and looking forward to the next installment.  Congratulations on spending an heir to be named laters inheritance.


----------



## Captain_Oblivious

franandaj said:


> For us it was a no brainer.  We are spending my nieces and nephews or whoevers inheritance.  Fran has no family, we have no kids and I dont have a close relationship with anyone in my family except my parents.  Heck Ive only become FB friends with my sister, her DH and DD in the last month and a half!  Were spending whoevers inheritance it might be!



I spent my kids' inheritance, too.  I got a Coke and some Skittles.



franandaj said:


> When we arrived the line for the wristlets for the Celebrity autographs went back this far.







franandaj said:


> Our guides told us that the lighting rig was done in the shape of the Millenium Falcon and we should take a picture.  Good call!



Nice!



franandaj said:


> They had Han Solo in Carbonite on the stage.



Also nice!



franandaj said:


> Fran went kinda nuts.
> 
> It was understandable.  Look at the store.



Boy, I sure hope she's a Star Wars fan. 



franandaj said:


> Ahh yes, the Ackbar Snackbar!



  Best name ever!  Jill beat me to the "It's a trap!" punchline, though.



franandaj said:


> Here is Fran in all her shopping glory. This is one of the situations where the Plaids really helped out. Between the three who were accompanying us, we were really the only group out of the three in our tour who were power shopping so each of the guides would follow Fran with a basket. Once she filled the basket they would take it back to the pile she had started and another plaid would take over carrying the basket behind her.



Quite the operation!  Is a "plaid" sort of like a red-shirt in Star Trek? 



franandaj said:


> I went outside to wait because it was becoming increasing claustrophobic inside that store.  One of the plaids came out to wait with me and we had a nice long chat while waiting for Fran to check out. Everything was shipped home and these are the boxes that arrived. Keep in mind the one you cant see in the back was just as big as the front two.  There are four boxes as a result of her shopping spree this morning. She tells me most of it is going on eBay, but Ill believe it when I see it!



 That's a lot of lightsaber key chains.


----------



## Misskitty3

What a fun update!  Good for you for treating yourselves to such an awesome tour/experience!!

Love your new dress but if I am not mistaken, really love Fran's Grumpy Cat tshirt. That is Grumpy cat, isn't it?


----------



## Paula Sedley-Burke

I want to know what's in the boxes from Darth Maul! Lol.


----------



## franandaj

Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> I want to know what's in the boxes from Darth Maul! Lol.



OK, Ok, next post I will post what is in those boxes.



Leshaface said:


> Wow such a small group! I'm sure you were excited about that though.
> 
> OH MY GOSH!  Look at your dress!  Too awesome and you look fab in it!
> 
> those boxes.  But I bet it felt like Christmas when you got to open them at home...if they are opened yet that is!  Will you be posting your purchases at some point?



It was really nice having such a small group.  We got a lot of attention from the guides.  Thanks for the compliments on the dress.  I'm thinking of wearing it the day we go to Disneyland!

To tell you the truth, I opened the boxes for the first time to get that dress out to show everyone.  



dolphingirl47 said:


> That was an early start. How wonderful that you were in such a small group. I can understand that Fran was in shopping heaven. I love your dress. The photo with Mickey and Minnie is so cute. You got such a lot done in a relatively short time.
> 
> Corinna



Thanks!  The guides were totally worth everything!



jedijill said:


> I'm in awe!  I would try to shop like Fran in that store!
> 
> Ackbar Snackbar...It's a trap!
> 
> I love the light rigging and Han Solo...I really want one of the Han Solo in carbonite fridge covers.
> 
> Great start to the day!
> 
> Jill in CO



You are so funny!  Wouldn't it make the fridge hard to get open?   



Pinkocto said:


> Love the dress!
> 
> I am soooo bummed we didn't go into Darth's Mall  neither of us were really in a shopping mood and I had no idea what I was missing.
> 
> What a fabulous start to the day.
> 
> And how did I miss that frozen Han Solo on stage!
> 
> That picture character app was pretty cool, looked very realistic.



Thank you!  We never miss at least checking out a shopping opportunity.  We have missed too many Disney shopping opportunities.  Our motto, shop now, eBay later.



rentayenta said:


> We're always beavers.
> 
> That dress is darling.  Did any of the stuff go on eBay yet?   Fran is quite the shopper. What did she buy?



The stuff from the shopping trip with Ellen last summer hasn't even gone up on eBay.  We just opened the boxes a couple days ago.



mvf-m11c said:


> Your welcome.
> 
> Using the guns that are not attached like the MK are easier to use at DL version.
> 
> 
> What an amazing day at DHS during Star Wars Weekend. This will be something that I will want to do when I go back to Florida one day. But the weather might change all that but it is nice to be able to read about it on your trip report. It was a good idea to do the tour so you won't have to wait that long.
> 
> I knew that Fran would go on a shopping spree at the mall and that is a lot of Star Wars merchandise.
> 
> A very nice start to the day at the mall and going on a few rides.
> 
> Nice update.



Thanks Bret.  The weather made it tough in the afternoon, it was brutally hot.


----------



## franandaj

Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> How lovely to see DHS that day in the calm before the crowds appeared! I loved the light rig  how nice the plaids helped Fran with her shopping. I agree it was very cramped in there imagine it later in the day!
> 
> That dress is cute on you
> 
> Breakfast looks nice! Looking forward to the parade.



The shopping was great when we first got in there, but once they started letting people in, it got really mobbed.  I couldn't wait to get out of there!



afwdwfan said:


> Well, as they say, you get what you pay for.  And in this case, I'd say that is a great thing!
> 
> How much for the Camaro?
> 
> It's great that she had that much help, but that is so funny!   I can only imagine the three of them scrambling to keep up!
> 
> That's a lot of stuff, but Star Wars stuff is cool.
> 
> And your skepticism about eBay is probably right.



I think the Camaro was just a display piece for the "trick your ride" magnets they were trying to sell.  It was fun watching the guides scramble behind her.  I don't think that they had seen anyone shop like that before.  Usually it's me!

Star Wars stuff is cool, although we have recently started power watching The Big Band Theory and I'm starting to question exactly how cool it is when I see Howard's bedroom and the lightsabers on the wall and how he uses them before going to bed.    And I havent seen anything go up on eBay yet.



cj9200 said:


> Long time no post over here.  Enjoying your little adventure and looking forward to the next installment.  Congratulations on spending an heir to be named laters inheritance.



 CJ!  Great to see you again.  How have you been?  How is your daughter enjoying college?



Captain_Oblivious said:


> I spent my kids' inheritance, too.  I got a Coke and some Skittles.
> 
> 
> 
> Nice!
> 
> Also nice!
> 
> Boy, I sure hope she's a Star Wars fan.
> 
> Best name ever!  Jill beat me to the "It's a trap!" punchline, though.
> 
> Quite the operation!  Is a "plaid" sort of like a red-shirt in Star Trek?
> 
> That's a lot of lightsaber key chains.



Dont sell yourself short.  You and Julie are young and have plenty of time to amass an inheritance to spend!  She is definitely a Star Wars fan, especially when you mix Mickey in there!

Yes that was a great name for the concession stand!  No the plaids are the Disneyland Ambassadors a phrase coined by Walt, and people pay $300 per hour with a six hour minimum for them at the parks.  We were lucky and got them for half price!  

That reminds me, when we order our outfits for the Star Trek convention, get yellow or blue shirts.  



Misskitty3 said:


> What a fun update!  Good for you for treating yourselves to such an awesome tour/experience!!
> 
> Love your new dress but if I am not mistaken, really love Fran's Grumpy Cat tshirt. That is Grumpy cat, isn't it?



Yes that is Grumpy cat. Fran loves Grumpy Cat and is always reposting posts from Grumpy Cat on Facebook.


----------



## franandaj

So here is our loot from our trip to Darth's Mall.  I still haven't unpacked the boxes yet because I need Fran to work with me on where she wants to put her part of it, which is most of it.  This first box is T-shirts, a Towel, some stuffed toys, you can see four black boxes with figurines in it.  Not sure what they are of, but they are whatever the figures for 2014 were.





The next box was full of Vinylmation (we don't even like those), Mini Action figures, a rubber Jabba the Hut, a stuffed R2D2 and a Yoda.





There was also one of these in the box.





And just in case you didn't get a good enough look the first time.





Oh and these were in there.





As well as this stuff.





A pillow.





And this one took up it's own box.





There was a picture of Mickey and Minnie as well, but I'm not supposed to get pictures out of boxes until we're ready to hang them since they can easily be damaged.  I almost got the picture of the Wookie Family Portrait.  But it's just as funny here, having done a Google search on it and much better on our wallets.  Notice the hairless cat.


----------



## dolphingirl47

That is quite a haul 

Corinna


----------



## wdrl

Catching up on your trip report.  Love your photos!  They remind me why I really love Star Wars Weekend.  We attended the opening day of SWW and wish had known about your tour.  We, too, would have gladly spent our nieces and nephews' inheritance on the price of the tour.

I didn't notice the Millennium Falcon when we walked by the Sorcerer's Hat stage.  There are so many bits and pieces of extra magic strewn around Disney that are easy to miss, so it feels so neat when someone points one out.  I wish I had better powers of observation!

We went to Darth Mall later in the afternoon and it was crowded.  We also bought the 2014 SWW t-shirt -- both the standard blue version and the brown Passholder version -- but we didn't know about the Aurasma App until a few days later.  We were wearing our t-shirts and a CM told us about them being 'interactive' shirts.  Since then, we've shown the t-shirts and the app to all our friends and relatives.

We have already booked BLT for May 2015 so we will be there for the 2015 version of SWW.


----------



## jedijill

I love that lamp!!!  Fran found some awesome stuff.  That Wookie family portrait is cracking me up!

Jill in CO


----------



## PrincessInOz

That's some serious shopping.  Glad that the package worked out for you and Fran where the shopping was concerned.  I think I would have been sitting it out with you once the mobs came in....and I love star wars stuff!!!  

What a great outcome to have such a small group in your package.  That would be fantastic!

That dress is great.  Love that picture of you in it.

I love the picture of the hairless cat with it's wookie family.


----------



## rentayenta

Did you buy most of that to sell? Its quite the haul.


----------



## mvf-m11c

Very nice merchandise from the shopping experience during Star Wars Weekend.


----------



## Pinkocto

Note to self, find Darth Mall next time!


----------



## Paula Sedley-Burke

Thanks for posting the contents! Love the Darth cushion I didn't see that! Too crowded  lol re Wookie picture! So do you sell the items you don't want?


----------



## Leshaface

Love everything, especially the lamp and the pillow.  You guys don't like Vinylmation?  Will you be trying to sell those?  I'm not a fan of them either.  But if I ever see a really cool one that I couldn't live without, I would probably get it.


----------



## franandaj

dolphingirl47 said:


> That is quite a haul
> 
> Corinna



Yup!  The gal knows how to shop!



wdrl said:


> Catching up on your trip report.  Love your photos!  They remind me why I really love Star Wars Weekend.  We attended the opening day of SWW and wish had known about your tour.  We, too, would have gladly spent our nieces and nephews' inheritance on the price of the tour.
> 
> I didn't notice the Millennium Falcon when we walked by the Sorcerer's Hat stage.  There are so many bits and pieces of extra magic strewn around Disney that are easy to miss, so it feels so neat when someone points one out.  I wish I had better powers of observation!
> 
> We went to Darth Mall later in the afternoon and it was crowded.  We also bought the 2014 SWW t-shirt -- both the standard blue version and the brown Passholder version -- but we didn't know about the Aurasma App until a few days later.  We were wearing our t-shirts and a CM told us about them being 'interactive' shirts.  Since then, we've shown the t-shirts and the app to all our friends and relatives.
> 
> We have already booked BLT for May 2015 so we will be there for the 2015 version of SWW.



So what do the shirts do?  I guess I should get them out and try the Aurasma App on my phone.  I could at least put away MY stuff from those boxes.

We are skipping SWW next year and going during F&G festival, but we plan on going back in 2016 and we'll stay at the VGF if we can get in.  That will be a busy WDW year, some other friends (on this TR) are talking about us all going during F&W too!



jedijill said:


> I love that lamp!!!  Fran found some awesome stuff.  That Wookie family portrait is cracking me up!
> 
> Jill in CO



I know, I can't wait for them to get stuff on the house done, so we can start putting some of this stuff out.  Right now we're still living in a construction zone, so nothing out of the boxes yet.  I'm so glad that I found the Wookie Family Portrait online, I couldn't figure out where in the house I would put it. Now that it's in my TR I can come back and enjoy it whenever I want.



PrincessInOz said:


> That's some serious shopping.  Glad that the package worked out for you and Fran where the shopping was concerned.  I think I would have been sitting it out with you once the mobs came in....and I love star wars stuff!!!
> 
> What a great outcome to have such a small group in your package.  That would be fantastic!
> 
> That dress is great.  Love that picture of you in it.
> 
> I love the picture of the hairless cat with it's wookie family.



There's even more to come, which made it completely worth it.  Thanks! I really like the dress too!  The cat is my favorite part of that picture, but there's a lot more funny going on in there too.



rentayenta said:


> Did you buy most of that to sell? Its quite the haul.



I never know what her purposes of buying stuff are.  All I know is that it fills some sort of need from childhood!  Me, I bought the stuff to wear or display.



mvf-m11c said:


> Very nice merchandise from the shopping experience during Star Wars Weekend.



Thanks!



Pinkocto said:


> Note to self, find Darth Mall next time!



You really must!  There was a lot there you couldn't get elsewhere.



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Thanks for posting the contents! Love the Darth cushion I didn't see that! Too crowded  lol re Wookie picture! So do you sell the items you don't want?



I didn't see it either, but Fran did.  I'm going to put a picture of us in that frame.  In theory, yes we sell the stuff we don't want.  In practice, we put them in a box labeled SWW 2014 and get another storage locker to put them in with all the other stuff "we're going to sell on eBay."   



Leshaface said:


> Love everything, especially the lamp and the pillow.  You guys don't like Vinylmation?  Will you be trying to sell those?  I'm not a fan of them either.  But if I ever see a really cool one that I couldn't live without, I would probably get it.



That lamp is definitely coming out of the box.  Supposedly while we're gone they plan on finishing all the stuff that is keeping us from putting stuff out.  You will arrive shortly after we do so the place will still be somewhat of a disaster and nothing will be put out yet.

I don't "get" the Vinylmations and really wondered why she was buying them.  She says that she will sell them.  I guess until we get somewhat settled down, nothing is going to happen.


----------



## franandaj

*We interrupt your regularly scheduled programming for a real life update:*

It may seem to some of you that I am cranking out updates in rapid fire succession.  I know that this causes folks to get behind and normally I try and wait until a sufficient amount of my readers have had a chance to comment before posting the next update.

However, the reason that I am deviating from my regular behavior is that I have quite a bit coming up in the next few weeks.  As my tickers might betray, I'm going to a Star Trek Convention in Las Vegas in a little over two weeks, and then to the Midwest to perform in a Band Concert in August.

What isn't listed there, is the trip to San Luis Obispo with the Classic Car Club next week, my DISmeet  the following Monday, the Disneyana Convention that week, and another DISmeet a week after that.  I think that gives me about ten days in the next six weeks that I am either not out of town, going to a seminar/dinner/DISmeet, or flying/driving somewhere.  And we are still moving into the new house.

So what I'm saying is bear with me as I rapid fire update in the next couple of days because there will be long stretches with nothing.  Feel free to catch up on the updates then if I'm going to fast now!

Thank you for your continued patience!


----------



## franandaj

There was a special roped off area for the folks who purchased the May the Force Be With You package (like us) and the Feel the Force package which included parade and fireworks viewing only at 10% of the price that we paid.  Both included desserts and beverages and once we were situated with a prime viewing spot, our guides brought us soda, waters and Mickey bars.





A little while before the Motorcade was scheduled to start these two came out on the stage and began to entertain us.  They were going to be the Emcees for the parade.

















They showed this video of Star Wars producer JJ Abrams announcing an opportunity for a fan to have a cameo in the next movie.  This would not be the last time we saw this video today.  





We had a decent viewing spot for the parade, with one exception.  This guy.





He would turn out to be our nemesis at times throughout the day. Im not sure what his disability was, some sort of down syndrome, and I have nothing against folks like that.  Im glad that Disney has something for everyone, but what I do have something against is that for the entire parade, he stood on the wrong side of the rope, and not one Disney CM ever told him to get back behind the rope.

I now know after reading Paulas account of the parade, and that they were only about 10 feet away from us, there was a situation brewing in the section where this guy was standing.  An able bodied kid in the disabled section was refusing to give up his curbside spot to a grandpa in a wheelchair. We were able to work around him with our photos, but it was annoying that the CMs were letting him on the other side of the rope while everyone else was following the rules.
But back to the Motorcade, Jedi Mickey leads the way













Chip and Dale as Ewoks followed closely behind.









Minnie as Princess Leia









Darth Goofy.









Stormtrooper Donald.









Every day a number of Padawans are selected to participate in the parade.





After walking down the street, the characters go up on the stage so that those who cant find a spot on the street can see them as well.













They also broadcast the parade on the Jumbotron.



 

*[Continued in Next Post]*


----------



## franandaj

*[Continued from Previous Post]*

The 501st Legion is made up of volunteers who receive no compensation. They make their costumes themselves, pay for their own transportation, lodging and other expenses to participate in events like this.



























































































 

*[Continued in Next Post]*


----------



## franandaj

*[Continued from Previous Post]*

More 501st Legion


































































That was the end of the volunteers, then came the Star Wars Universe characters.  Chewie and ewoks.









Kit Fisto









Mace Windu and Shaak Ti











 

*[Continued in Next Post]*


----------



## franandaj

*[Continued from Previous Post]*

The Celebrity portion of the Motorcade began.













Ahsoka Tano





An old favorite R2D2





And Ashley Eckstein, she voiced someone on the Clone Wars and also designs the Her Universe collection.









Commander Cody and Captain Rex













Taylor Gray. He is voicing one of the characters in the new Star Wars Rebels Animated Show.









These are some of the other characters from that show.









This is Ray Park who played Darth Maul in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace

































John Ratzenberger, his Star Wars contribution is minimal, but hes a huge star, so hes a great person to draw crowds.  Later in the TR will be a whole thing about his character.







 

*[Continued in Next Post]*


----------



## franandaj

*[Continued from Previous Post]*

C3PO didnt march past us, but he did make an appearance on stage.





Chewie and the Ewoks on the stage.





Back to the Parade









The Fetts

















The last celebrity approaches









James Arnold Taylor our host of SWW and character voice actor









Darth Vader Closes the parade with his herd of Stormtroopers.

























Chewie looks pensive.





Following the end of the parade, spectators are encouraged to move towards the stage for a show that followed the parade.





Our guides asked us not to join the procession and instead wait for it to pass.  We had something else to do!


----------



## PrincessInOz

What fantastic parade pictures!  Love it!


That person on the other side of the ropes must have had some kind of karma following him.  I can't imagine the CM NOT saying anything; but it obviously was the case.  It takes all sorts!


ps.  Have a great couple of weeks away.   Sounds like your real life is going to be a lot of fun!


----------



## wdrl

franandaj said:


> So what do the shirts do?  I guess I should get them out and try the Aurasma App on my phone.  I could at least put away MY stuff from those boxes.



When viewed with the Aurasma app, the image on the SWW t-shirt comes alive.  Mickey's X-Wing fighter dodges explosions and the Tie Fighters chasing him.  The scene lasts for about 10-15 seconds.

The Aurasma app works on any item that has the same 2014 SWW image as the t-shirts.  We bought a puzzle and a couple of coffee mugs with the image and it works on them as well.

For those who want the app, its free and available at the iTunes Store.  I'm sure its available for Android as well.


----------



## dolphingirl47

The Star Wars parade looks amazing and what a nice touch that they served you Mickey bars and sodas. What a shame that for both Paula and you people not obeying the rules caused some trouble. 

When are you heading for F&G next year? Looks like I will finally get to see this next year.

Corinna


----------



## Pinkocto

That is an awesome parade!!!! I'm so impressed by the 501st, they really go all out. 


Have fun with all your extras going on


----------



## DenLo

I finally came by to check out this TR as my DH, wdrl, has been talking about it for 3 or 4 days and showing me photos from time to time.  Wow this wonderful and fabulous photos!   Thanks for taking the time to post everything.

I have to admit I thought we bought a lot at Darth Mall, but when we picked up our large sack others were picking up large boxes like yours but Fran (and you)  still purchased more.  We are definitely not in Fran's league for shopping.

We might have to check out the _Feel the Force_ event next year.  I think your VIP event is too pricey for us. (I found out about these tours on All Ears.)

Have fun at your Star Trek Convention and I think one of you should wear a yellow and the other a blue uniform then you'd be like Kirk and Spock, BFFs forever.


----------



## rentayenta

Wow, what a fabulous parade!


----------



## cj9200

franandaj said:


> CJ!  Great to “see” you again.  How have you been?  How is your daughter enjoying college?



I could say life could not be better but that would be a slight exaggeration.  Things are good.  Doing a fair amont of traveling including a trip to visit a friend in the UK last year.  A will begin her Junior year in the fall (two years and 4 tuition payments to go) and academically is, shall we say, doing a lot better than her father did. 

I also want to add my applause on the great pictures of the parade!  Wow.

PS.  Don’t pay attention to Mark, he tends to stir the pot a bit.     



franandaj said:


> *We interrupt your regularly scheduled programming for a real life update:*



Seriously, you guys really need to get out once in a while.  Hopefully you will post some pics of the upcoming adventures here.  Have a blast and Carpe Diem.

Best to both of you.


----------



## Shazzasmd

Fantastic photos from the parade.  Your report is making me want to get to my first SWW - maybe next year.


----------



## mvf-m11c

Very nice pictures from the parade. That is a parade that I would love to see during Star Wars weekend. It was a good thing that you did that package.  After reading your trip report and seeing your pictures, I am now considering going during SWW and I don't care about the weather as long as I get to experience it.

Great pictures Alison.


----------



## Paula Sedley-Burke

Yeah the parade! Great photos! So disappointing CM did not police the lines! Sorry about that guy in your way. Able bodied boy who's Dad insisted remained in handicap viewing spent the entire parade waving a lightsaber in front of us all and was super annoying as it was in 99% of our photos! 

You got some lovely photos there though  looking forward to reading about your firework desert party!


----------



## franandaj

PrincessInOz said:


> What fantastic parade pictures!  Love it!
> 
> 
> That person on the other side of the ropes must have had some kind of karma following him.  I can't imagine the CM NOT saying anything; but it obviously was the case.  It takes all sorts!
> 
> 
> ps.  Have a great couple of weeks away.   Sounds like your real life is going to be a lot of fun!



I cant take credit for all of them. I was using the regular lens while Fran took the pictures with the telephoto lens.  I think between the two of us, we got some nice and varied coverage.

Yeah, the CMs this trip seemed a little more lax on following the rules. There were a few other occasions where they let things slide, but this was the most annoying.



wdrl said:


> When viewed with the Aurasma app, the image on the SWW t-shirt comes alive.  Mickey's X-Wing fighter dodges explosions and the Tie Fighters chasing him.  The scene lasts for about 10-15 seconds.
> 
> The Aurasma app works on any item that has the same 2014 SWW image as the t-shirts.  We bought a puzzle and a couple of coffee mugs with the image and it works on them as well.
> 
> For those who want the app, its free and available at the iTunes Store.  I'm sure its available for Android as well.



Thats cool!  Im going to have to try it with my shirt.  I wonder if it works on the pint glass!  Yes, we have Android phones and the app works with them as well.



dolphingirl47 said:


> The Star Wars parade looks amazing and what a nice touch that they served you Mickey bars and sodas. What a shame that for both Paula and you people not obeying the rules caused some trouble.
> 
> When are you heading for F&G next year? Looks like I will finally get to see this next year.
> 
> Corinna



It was nice having the sweets available to us.  We could have had fruit bars as well.  We are at WDW from April 13-20 and then we have a 4 day Dream cruise.



Pinkocto said:


> That is an awesome parade!!!! I'm so impressed by the 501st, they really go all out.
> 
> 
> Have fun with all your extras going on



I couldnt believe the amount of gear they were wearing in that heat.  They must be very dedicated!

Thanks!  I hope that I dont wear myself out on the week of Disney stuff! And that I get some relaxing in during the other parts!



DenLo said:


> I finally came by to check out this TR as my DH, wdrl, has been talking about it for 3 or 4 days and showing me photos from time to time.  Wow this wonderful and fabulous photos!   Thanks for taking the time to post everything.
> 
> I have to admit I thought we bought a lot at Darth Mall, but when we picked up our large sack others were picking up large boxes like yours but Fran (and you)  still purchased more.  We are definitely not in Fran's league for shopping.
> 
> We might have to check out the _Feel the Force_ event next year.  I think your VIP event is too pricey for us. (I found out about these tours on All Ears.)
> 
> Have fun at your Star Trek Convention and I think one of you should wear a yellow and the other a blue uniform then you'd be like Kirk and Spock, BFFs forever.



  to the TR.  Im glad your DH convinced you to come over and check it out.  Im not sure that many people are in Frans league for shopping, or would want to be!  Between Feel the Force and FP+ a lot of what we did could be easily accomplished at less of a price, however, with Frans disability, its nice to have people looking after us. We also had Disney gift cards to use for the cost of the tour, so it almost felt like we didnt have to spend anything, if that makes sense.



rentayenta said:


> Wow, what a fabulous parade!



It was definitely one of the highlights of the day!



cj9200 said:


> I could say life could not be better but that would be a slight exaggeration.  Things are good.  Doing a fair amont of traveling including a trip to visit a friend in the UK last year.  A will begin her Junior year in the fall (two years and 4 tuition payments to go) and academically is, shall we say, doing a lot better than her father did.
> 
> I also want to add my applause on the great pictures of the parade!  Wow.
> 
> PS.  Dont pay attention to Mark, he tends to stir the pot a bit.



Im glad to hear things are well with you. After your ordeal, I get concerned when you are away from the boards, but then again I dont want to be a stalker.  I know that life also gets in the way of online fun.  Good for A!  But then again, she has always been a hard worker and good student.

I do have to give half the credit for the parade pictures to Fran, she did a good job as well.

Yeah and MarkIm looking forward to meeting him and his family in 3D in just a few weeks.



cj9200 said:


> Seriously, you guys really need to get out once in a while.  Hopefully you will post some pics of the upcoming adventures here.  Have a blast and Carpe Diem.
> 
> Best to both of you.



Thanks!  2014 is the first year since 2004 that we have not been plagued with parental responsibility or medical maladies.  Just when Frans parents were laid to rest and were finally out of their misery, Fran took a downward spiral . Between knee and hip replacements, and venal ulcers (not a fun process) we practically lost another five years of fun and traveling.  

So this year she kind of went overboard in booking fun things to do.  I questioned the sanity of throwing in the Disneyana convention a week or two ago, but hey, you only live once and we arent getting any younger!

Ill post some highlights, but probably not a full blown report.



Shazzasmd said:


> Fantastic photos from the parade.  Your report is making me want to get to my first SWW - maybe next year.



  If youre a Star Wars fan, it is definitely great fun!  We already have made plans to go back in 2016!



mvf-m11c said:


> Very nice pictures from the parade. That is a parade that I would love to see during Star Wars weekend. It was a good thing that you did that package.  After reading your trip report and seeing your pictures, I am now considering going during SWW and I don't care about the weather as long as I get to experience it.
> 
> Great pictures Alison.



It was definitely a great parade and having the guides to take us everywhere was a big time saver and also we had no worries.  Thats important too, especially when I worry about Fran and her tiredness levels.



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Yeah the parade! Great photos! So disappointing CM did not police the lines! Sorry about that guy in your way. Able bodied boy who's Dad insisted remained in handicap viewing spent the entire parade waving a lightsaber in front of us all and was super annoying as it was in 99% of our photos!
> 
> You got some lovely photos there though  looking forward to reading about your firework desert party!



Isnt it too bad that some rude people make experiences not as wonderful as we would like.  We made the best of it, and luckily we were able to keep that guy out of most of our pictures.


----------



## jedijill

The parade looks awesome!  You and Fran did a great job of getting pictures.  I'm glad you guys are taking advantage of all the fun stuff!  Life is too short...get out and enjoy it!  

Jill in CO


----------



## franandaj

jedijill said:


> The parade looks awesome!  You and Fran did a great job of getting pictures.  I'm glad you guys are taking advantage of all the fun stuff!  Life is too short...get out and enjoy it!
> 
> Jill in CO



Thanks, we have become pretty adept at taking pictures in tandem.  For quite a few years, I have watched fun events happen in my backyard and we haven't been able to partake. Now we're doing stuff all over the country! And in our backyard!


----------



## franandaj

We left off at the end of the parade, and I know that it seems like we have been stopping for snacks throughout our day, but it was definitely time for lunch.  It had been five hours since we greeted our guides and while they filled us with fruit, pastries and Mickey bars, it was time for something hearty and much more substantial. We were headed here.





The restaurant was not very busy at all.  Im sure that they could have even taken walk ins.









Before heading over to Darths Mall that morning, we had preordered our lunches to speed up service.  As usual, Fran and I decided to split both our appetizers and entrees so we made sure to order different things.  She started with the Minestrone Soup.





I had the Caprese Salad.





Both of these were very tasty options and we polished them off rather quickly. For my entrée, I had the Chicken Parmagiana.  While it was not Palos Chicken Parm, it was very tasty and I actually ate the entire thing, giving Fran only a couple bites.





She had ordered the mushroom flatbread, which was also tasty, but this was a lot of food, and we took some of the flatbread with us.  Unfortunately there was so much food this trip, we never ate the leftovers.





I dont really remember the timing here, but I know we had about half an hour to kill and we could have gone out and had a look around at the shops (which the family of three did).  Instead we sat around the table with the other pair on the tour and the guides and talked about Disney wedding proposals, and the sorts of things that the guides had been hired to pull off. 

The gentleman who created the tour had recently proposed to his SO on the Haunted Mansion ride at DL.  A CM friend had helped him work out a private ride on a recent trip there and when they stepped out of the stretching room into the corridor was when he popped the question. It was a fun little moment full of happy tears as they told all kinds of heartwarming and funny stories.

After that we headed off to the Star Wars Rebels presentation. Star Wars Rebels is a CGI animated series set five years before Star Wars IV: A New Hope and will premiere in the Fall of 2014. We waited about 10 minutes outside the back of the theater before going in to take our seats in the second row.  It was great, we were seated before they even opened the doors to the folks with FP+ or the ones who had waited in line.









Here is JJ Abrams again.





It was cute that they staged the opening of the show with stormtroopers looking for a rebel spy.













A commander came on the screen and told them to stay at their posts as there was word a rebel spy was on the loose.





Notice the Jedi sneaking around in back.





The Jedi mind tricks them into thinking they should search the front.  And look!  Its Ashley Eckstein!





She was interviewing Taylor Gray, who is the voice of one of the Rebels in the New animated series.





They talked about what it was like being a part of the Star Wars family.  How different doing voice over work was from live action, and talked a little bit about the show and its story line.





Then we met one of the droids from the show.





It seems each weekend (when there is a different actor/actress from the presnew series present.) this little droid brings a clip from the directors computer to share with the audience and it features the star that is present that week.  We were asked to put away our cameras during the showing of the clip.





That pretty much wrapped up the presentation and we were dismissed from the theater.  Our guides took us over to Star Tours and we went in a back door, up two or three flights of steps and right to the boarding area for our star speeder. We had a ride on Star Tours with like only six people, and I still wasnt chosen as the rebel spy!  (Fran and a couple others declined to ride, but some of the guides did ride).  

*[Continued in Next Post]*


----------



## franandaj

*[Continued from Previous Post]*

Then we stopped for a potty break, and after that we were brought some refreshments, I had a water and a frozen strawberry lemonade.  I think Fran might have had another Mickey Bar and a Diet Soda.  Then we headed back over to the theater for the Stars of the Saga Show.  This would feature Ray Park and John Ratzenberger being interviewed by James Arnold Taylor.









But first came the Stormtrooper show.  The leader came out complaining about his team and how they were the laughing stock of the Stormtrooper fleet.





They didnt seem to understand what was wrong, so he began to point out to them their shortcomings. Notice the Magic Bands.





It seems that they were staying at a Disney Resort and trying take in the native population, by holding up the Bellman at the Beach Club where they were staying.





Enjoying the local delicacies.





Assuming the local customs.









The leader of the squadron told them that they were the laughing stock of the universe and played some clips showing what morons they were.  Youll have to check out the video links at the end of this post for the whole thing.  To lighten the mood he had the sound guy play something to change the tone in the room. He played The Death March of Darth Vader. Come one everyone sing along, said the squad Captain, its really a catchy tune! And the entire audience sang.  Dun, dun, dun, dun de dun, dun de dun. Etc, we went through the entire chorus of the song, even the dah, dun, do, de, dit, dadidowit, etc.





They even started to learn the musical favorites of the humans.  This first stormtrooper had a playlist stored and pressed buttons on his waistbelt to share his favorite songs with us.  It played Back in the Saddle and he began rockin out.

They played a couple snippets from other tunes and they had a dance routine prepared.













He had another couple songs where everyone rocked out.  I did know the last of his three tunes which was What does the Fox say?













The last stormtrooper stated he had a little different taste than the others, and pressed a button on his belt to play Miley Cyruss Wrecking Ball (I only know this song because it was played on the Entertainment report of my local news because of its ridiculouness). He played another song which I didnt recognize. The other troopers commented on his love of the power ballad to which he said that the last song was his most favorite.  And Let It Go blared over the PA system.  The troopers again did a choreographed dance.









They had a number of clips showing why the Empire was its own worst enemy, see link below. After wrapping up his presentation, he declares that the rebels have even given him a gift after he hung out with them at the Cantina.









They opened the present and it turned out to be an ornament which they tossed around onstage before tossing backstage.





The leader said he had a bad feeling about this and dimmed the lights to run some footage and this was revealed regarding the trooper who had spent the evening in the Cantina with the Rebels.





He went backstage to clean up his armor.





And with that, the remaining troopers left the stage.



 

Link to the skit, this one had about the same view that I had. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NcEo2q80nkg 

Another link  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOakPvY5uPM 

Here is a link to another view, more centered, but slightly blocked.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8EA00q4qE4


*[Continued in Next Post]*


----------



## franandaj

*[Continued from Previous Post]*

Next James Arnold Taylor and Ray Park took the stage.





They talked about Ray Parks experiences while portraying Darth Maul.  How he trained, the background of his experience and all sorts of other facets of his career.  They discussed some of the other roles that he has played and a lot of other stuff.  I didnt take notes like I do at the D23 conventions and now that it is over a month later, I dont remember a lot of the details.  His portion of the show was enjoyable. 

They took 4-5 child volunteers on stage who thought that they could outscary Ray Park.  So each child got a chance to make a really scary face at the audience, and we voted via applause on whether or not we thought the kid was scarier than Ray Park.  One kid did stand out, but most of them were just really funny.

One of the funnier highlights was they showed a clip of how Darth Maul really wanted the scene to end.  I found some clips on YouTube, Ive put links at the bottom of this post, theyre worth watching.





Then John Ratzenberger was welcomed to the stage.  If you cant tell by my pictures and reporting, as nice a guy as Ray Park is/was, we were really there to see John Ratzenberger.  





Not only did I enjoy him in Cheers, but as Pixars Lucky Charm he has voiced some great roles in their films. He said that the favorite character that he has played so far has been PT Flea, hed sell his grandmother for a nickel.





They talked about his involvement with Pixar and how he has been in every Pixar film to date.  It was exciting for me to see this picture as only two weeks earlier, we were lucky enough to visit Pixar Studios for a benefit. If I find time to write about it, Ill post a link to the pictures and report here.





Sorry about the blurry picture here.  





They played a short clip of his roles in the Pixar films, here are some stills.

























In the movie Cars, Ratzenbergers father was a truck driver and he drove a Mac Truck, hence the name of the truck being Mack.





Then there was some discussion about his role on Cheers.  





He auditioned for a completely different role on the show, and didnt get it.  In a sort of self recovering gesture, as he was leaving the audition, he made a very bold move.  He asked the Producer or Director, Do you have someone to play the bar know-it-all? You know the guy who spouts off facts like and I guess he sort of launched into the role of Cliff Clavin.  They liked the idea of a crazy know-it-all guy and thats how he got the gig.













They talked about some of his other shows like Made in America.





*[Continued in Next Post]*


----------



## franandaj

*[Continued from Previous Post]*

And then finally got around to his role in The Empire Strikes Back.





They played a clip and there were arrows over Ratzenbergers head so that you could see which one was him in the clip.  This picture illustrated that a guy who sort of looked like him was not, in fact, him.









Then they played another clip, which you can find around 17:00 into this clip.  James Arnold Taylor has overlayed Cliff Clavins voice over Ratzenbergers Character in The Empire Strikes Back and changes up the dialogue.  Hilarious!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5oLHvKMpGQ

This YouTube clip is from another day, either Saturday or Sunday because they follow a slightly different dialogue and course, but they cover similar ground as Fridays show.

This one might be from the same day, but edited differently.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0lW3F5mqs4

Because we were there on his first day, this is the first time that he is seeing this clip.  You can tell he is enthralled.





And he finds it so hilarious that he cant keep from crying a little bit.  In the videos, he holds it together a little bit better.









That pretty much concluded the performance, but we had more thing to close it out properly Disney style.





Jedi Mickey!













And our stars got Mickey Ears.





And sang us a goodbye song.













M  O  U  S  E

















And with that, we bid adieu to our guides.  Their day with us was over, but we had the fireworks show in the sky that night.  However, it was almost 4PM and we had several hours until we had to be back for the show.  We had seen this earlier in the day and now was the time.





We got one of each drink and tried them both.  It turns out that I preferred The Force and Fran preferred The Dark Side. 





Drinks finished, we headed out of the park and back to the resort. Looking at the sky, Im glad we didnt stick around in the park.


----------



## eandesmom

marking my spot, 2 weeks late, so I can go get caught up!


----------



## mvf-m11c

Very nice updates from the presentations. The Mama Melrose's Ristorante Italiano food looks very nice and so quiet just as you said from the pictures. The presentations with the Stormtroopers is very nice and it was great. That was neat that John Ratzenberger was there during the presentation and talk about his role in all the different Pixar movies. I enjoyed his voice as Mack from the Cars movies. 

Great updates.


----------



## PrincessInOz

Great update.  I always enjoy seeing John Ratzenberger.  I love him in Cheers and I love the various voices he plays on the Pixar movies.

You did good with the pictures and the clips!


----------



## Paula Sedley-Burke

Loving it! I love Ray Parks. Love the way he interacts with the children on stage. Cute! Him and James Arnold T work well I think. Lovely photos looks like a nice peaceful lunch compared to outside! Nice  good call to rest back at resort I bet that was nice. In the absence of the spa tub in room did you use hot tubs by pool? I can't use these because of my immune system but they look very inviting!


----------



## jedijill

Lunch looks great...I love talking with the CMs and getting their stories.  So much better than shopping.  

The presentation looks awesome...I would be there for John Ratzenberger too!  Love the story of how he got the part in Cheers.  

Jill in CO


----------



## Captain_Oblivious

franandaj said:


> What isn't listed there, is the trip to San Luis Obispo with the Classic Car Club next week, my DISmeet  the following Monday, the Disneyana Convention that week, and another DISmeet a week after that.



Can you believe the nerve of these people, making all these demands on your time like that?!




franandaj said:


> Yeah and MarkIm looking forward to meeting him and his family in 3D in just a few weeks.



We're looking forward to meeting you too! 

Too much to multi-quote in these updates, but I'm geeking out over all the Star Wars stuff.  I'm not much of a parade person at all, but the Star Wars characters definitely made it more interesting for me over the standard Disney parades.  

The stormtrooper bits at the show looked hysterical.  Why is it that goofy stormtrooper bits never get old?

I love the idea of someone dubbing Cliff Claven over Star Wars as well.  I'll have to go back and check out the clips when I'm not at work.  Great stuff, and it seems like it was a cool experience!

I also realized I have no idea who any of the newer Clone Wars characters are.  I think I qualify for Grumpy Old Man status now.


----------



## afwdwfan

Took me a while to get caught up, but wow.  What a cool day with your tour guides.  Definitely not cheap, but I think you got a great service for the price.  I'm sure one of the highlights of it was getting to sit around and just hear some stories from them after lunch.  

The Star Wars stuff though... just looks awesome!  The parade and everything looked great, but the show with the "vacationing" Storm Troopers looks like it would have been a riot.  Following that up with Cliff... yep, very entertaining.


----------



## dolphingirl47

Lunch looked delicious and I love the look of those drinks. I had to laugh of all those photos of the Stormtroopers checking out the resort. 

Corinna


----------



## rentayenta

Great update! Love Stormtroopers with a sense of humor. 


Did they ever say how John Ratzenberger got involved with Pixar? Someone must have loved Cliff Claven.


----------



## wdrl

Love the shows with the Stormtroopers!  I'm beginning to warm to the idea of spending $499 for the tour just to see these shows!  Knowing my luck I'll get all excited to do the tour next year only to find they won't offer it.

I would have enjoyed hearing the Guides talk about some of their experiences with guests.  One item on my bucket list is to do the Premium VIP Tour Service where you have a private Guide for the day.  The last time I checked, the Tour can accommodate up to 10 guests, but the cost is still $315 an hour with a minimum requirement of 6 hours.  In the meantime, this is about as close as I'll come to having my own "plaid", who we now have near our front door of our home:






Thanks for posting the videos, AJ!


----------



## DenLo

I loved the stormtroopers having a good time at the YC/BC.  And the one guy loving Katy Perry.  LOL It was great.  Thanks for including these photos.  This part of your tour sounds like it made the whole thing worth while IMO.

I also enjoyed one of the videos, but seeing your photos of the TVs makes it even better.


----------



## Leshaface

PHew! What a crazy month for you.  But it's filled with such awesome things

The parade is AMAZING! You even got some great shots where some of the characters are looking at you.  

Would you recommend Mama Melrose for lunch?  We were originally thinking of just doing a CS at Starring Rolls or something, because we'll be dining at Sci-fi for dinner while at DHS..

The stormtroopers eating ice cream and going down the water slide is hilarious!  What fun clips! 

I loved the second scene where the abominable snowman pops out and says to Luke, "Welcome to the Himalayas!"


----------



## kid-at-heart

You are so entertaining with your trip reports.  Every time I read a trip report I feel like I am visiting old friends.  I have not seen CJ in a couple of years, Hi CJ, the same with LisaMarie, Hi LisaMarie.  

I tend to read trip reports in my wind-down time before sleep, last night I was cruising through your parade report when my spouse glanced over.  I am not a Star Wars fan but Rob and Sarah are, so I had to back up for Rob to see the parade.  You made his night.   Now he wants to go to a Star Wars parade.

Thanks again,
Kate


----------



## cj9200

I like the way you and Fran roll.  If I want to do it, the bills are paid and I can otherwise afford it, I am going to do it.  And there is no such thing as overbooking.

Great update and until now, I never had any interest in the show.

Hey Kate.  Most of my board time is the Dads' forum.  Need to spend more time over here.


----------



## ACDSNY

A little late to the party, but the Star Wars package looks fun.  I also enjoyed seeing the GFV pics.  I don't know how people handle the heat and humidity in the summer, it's way to hot for me.


----------



## Paula Sedley-Burke

Strange question. Have you guys got a Ford Fairlane?


----------



## Pinkocto

That bit with the Stormtroopers must have been laugh out loud funny. Its fabulous the stuff they come up with. 

Lunch looked quite tasty. You're right, plenty of options for mom.


----------



## franandaj

eandesmom said:


> marking my spot, 2 weeks late, so I can go get caught up!



 I'm only on the second full day, so it shouldn't be that bad!



mvf-m11c said:


> Very nice updates from the presentations. The Mama Melrose's Ristorante Italiano food looks very nice and so quiet just as you said from the pictures. The presentations with the Stormtroopers is very nice and it was great. That was neat that John Ratzenberger was there during the presentation and talk about his role in all the different Pixar movies. I enjoyed his voice as Mack from the Cars movies.
> 
> Great updates.



Thanks!  It was all a lot of fun!



PrincessInOz said:


> Great update.  I always enjoy seeing John Ratzenberger.  I love him in Cheers and I love the various voices he plays on the Pixar movies.
> 
> You did good with the pictures and the clips!



Thanks!  You can find anything on YouTube!



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Loving it! I love Ray Parks. Love the way he interacts with the children on stage. Cute! Him and James Arnold T work well I think. Lovely photos looks like a nice peaceful lunch compared to outside! Nice  good call to rest back at resort I bet that was nice. In the absence of the spa tub in room did you use hot tubs by pool? I can't use these because of my immune system but they look very inviting!



I wanted to use the tubs, buy the pool, but they were so far.  I just used my non-spa tub.



jedijill said:


> Lunch looks great...I love talking with the CMs and getting their stories.  So much better than shopping.



It was so much fun listening to their stories.  The things that the guests ask of them were just crazy, some they could pull off and others were just impossible!  Makes me and Fran sound boring some of the stuff other people do.



> The presentation looks awesome...I would be there for John Ratzenberger too!  Love the story of how he got the part in Cheers.
> 
> Jill in CO



I love these little Q&A type thing where you get to hear the stars talk in their own words.  Especially when they are someone whose work I enjoy so much.



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Can you believe the nerve of these people, making all these demands on your time like that?!
> 
> We're looking forward to meeting you too!



I know, I mean who would do something like that?  

Check your email....  



> Too much to multi-quote in these updates, but I'm geeking out over all the Star Wars stuff.  I'm not much of a parade person at all, but the Star Wars characters definitely made it more interesting for me over the standard Disney parades.
> 
> The stormtrooper bits at the show looked hysterical.  Why is it that goofy stormtrooper bits never get old?



I'm usually not a parade person either, but with the Star Wars characters and Disney characters as Star Wars characters it was really cool.  Actually I think on this trip I watched more parades than I have ever watched in my entire life!

And I had no idea what the Stormtrooper show was going to be about, but we laughed our a$$es off!



> I love the idea of someone dubbing Cliff Claven over Star Wars as well.  I'll have to go back and check out the clips when I'm not at work.  Great stuff, and it seems like it was a cool experience!
> 
> I also realized I have no idea who any of the newer Clone Wars characters are.  I think I qualify for Grumpy Old Man status now.



Also another LMAO moment, I swear we came out of that theater tired just from all the laughing that we did.

I didn't know who a lot of those characters were, Google Images is my friend.  And I became my parents almost a decade ago.  



afwdwfan said:


> Took me a while to get caught up, but wow.  What a cool day with your tour guides.  Definitely not cheap, but I think you got a great service for the price.  I'm sure one of the highlights of it was getting to sit around and just hear some stories from them after lunch.



It was a highlight of the day, everyone was candid.  It was a little strange, I think WDW CMs aren't quite as guarded as the DLR CMs, not that they said anything bad about the company, but they just seemed more open about what they talked about. DL CMs even when you have them in a non work situation are still very guarded even when they are giving you the dish.



> The Star Wars stuff though... just looks awesome!  The parade and everything looked great, but the show with the "vacationing" Storm Troopers looks like it would have been a riot.  Following that up with Cliff... yep, very entertaining.



I think I will quote a T-shirt that I own.  Darth Vader is riding the MK Carousel with Stormtroopers and it reads, "This will be a day long remembered."  



dolphingirl47 said:


> Lunch looked delicious and I love the look of those drinks. I had to laugh of all those photos of the Stormtroopers checking out the resort.
> 
> Corinna



I'm definitely putting Mama Melrose on the go back list.  Even if we do have good Italian places at home.  I think it would be nice for a walk up if we're visiting at a slow time of year.


----------



## franandaj

rentayenta said:


> Great update! Love Stormtroopers with a sense of humor.
> 
> Did they ever say how John Ratzenberger got involved with Pixar? Someone must have loved Cliff Claven.



The stormtroopers were a lot of fun.  They didn't talk about how he got in with Pixar, just that he had been in every film.



wdrl said:


> Love the shows with the Stormtroopers!  I'm beginning to warm to the idea of spending $499 for the tour just to see these shows!  Knowing my luck I'll get all excited to do the tour next year only to find they won't offer it.
> 
> I would have enjoyed hearing the Guides talk about some of their experiences with guests.  One item on my bucket list is to do the Premium VIP Tour Service where you have a private Guide for the day.  The last time I checked, the Tour can accommodate up to 10 guests, but the cost is still $315 an hour with a minimum requirement of 6 hours.  In the meantime, this is about as close as I'll come to having my own "plaid", who we now have near our front door of our home:
> 
> Thanks for posting the videos, AJ!



The shows were available through FP+, but I think they were Tier 1 offerings.  I hope that they continue to offer it. For us it was still cheaper than hiring guides for six hours.  What a cute Minnie Plaid figure!



DenLo said:


> I loved the stormtroopers having a good time at the YC/BC.  And the one guy loving Katy Perry.  LOL It was great.  Thanks for including these photos.  This part of your tour sounds like it made the whole thing worth while IMO.
> 
> I also enjoyed one of the videos, but seeing your photos of the TVs makes it even better.



Thanks for identifying who one of the unknown singers to me was.  I haven't paid much attention to popular music since the 70s and only know a handful of songs from the 80s & 90s.  What made the tour worth it for us, was everything all wrapped up into one package. We could have easily done one or two of these things without a guide, but we got everything on our list knocked off in one day, leaving the rest of our trip to enjoy the other parks and stuff to do.



Leshaface said:


> PHew! What a crazy month for you.  But it's filled with such awesome things



Yeah, my car weekend is almost over (I'll post a short update here) and then begins my Disney immersement week!



> The parade is AMAZING! You even got some great shots where some of the characters are looking at you.
> 
> Would you recommend Mama Melrose for lunch?  We were originally thinking of just doing a CS at Starring Rolls or something, because we'll be dining at Sci-fi for dinner while at DHS.[?QUOTE]
> 
> The parade was AWESOME!  So much fun for me and I'm not a parade person, the characters were very responsive and Fran took most of those really good ones with the characters looking right back at her.
> 
> I would totally recommend it for lunch. When you're going, you might even be able to do it as a walk up.  If you couldn't there's still the other CSs you were thinking of.  We usually end up at Backlot Express for a Burger and a Hot Dog or Grilled Turkey Melt.  This was better by far.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> The stormtroopers eating ice cream and going down the water slide is hilarious!  What fun clips!
> 
> I loved the second scene where the abominable snowman pops out and says to Luke, "Welcome to the Himalayas!"
> 
> 
> 
> 
> We were literally laughing so hard that we were crying during that bit.  It was so unexpected and absolutely hilarious.  That was great too.  I had totally forgotten we saw that clip after the Cliff Clavin overdub.  If James Arnold Taylor produced those, he's quite a funny and sharp guy.  I enjoyed him hosting that event.
> 
> 
> 
> kid-at-heart said:
> 
> 
> 
> You are so entertaining with your trip reports.  Every time I read a trip report I feel like I am visiting old friends.  I have not seen CJ in a couple of years, Hi CJ, the same with LisaMarie, Hi LisaMarie.
> 
> I tend to read trip reports in my wind-down time before sleep, last night I was cruising through your parade report when my spouse glanced over.  I am not a Star Wars fan but Rob and Sarah are, so I had to back up for Rob to see the parade.  You made his night.   Now he wants to go to a Star Wars parade.
> 
> Thanks again,
> Kate
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> 
> Fran tends to wonder why I'm so interested in DIS stuff and you're right, with how long we have all been reading and writing each other's reports, it is like old friends. Even with folks I haven't met in person.  I was so glad to hear from CJ since it's been a couple years, and most everyone reading along, I care about what's happening in your 3D lives. Especially with those who I know are experiencing difficult times.
> 
> I'm glad I could give your spouse something new to look forward to at WDW!
> 
> 
> 
> cj9200 said:
> 
> 
> 
> I like the way you and Fran roll.  If I want to do it, the bills are paid and I can otherwise afford it, I am going to do it.  And there is no such thing as overbooking.
> 
> Great update and until now, I never had any interest in the show.
> 
> Hey Kate.  Most of my board time is the Dads' forum.  Need to spend more time over here.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> 
> We have been very fortunate in the past couple years. All her medical maladies are healed or under control.  We've had a couple financial winfalls so that I'm not having to scrape for every penny to make ends meet like we did while her father needed 24/7 caregivers.  We're not getting any younger, so if we can afford it, we're going for it. Too many years of waiting for people to die and wounds to heal, we're healthy enough so we might as well enjoy it!
> 
> 
> 
> ACDSNY said:
> 
> 
> 
> A little late to the party, but the Star Wars package looks fun.  I also enjoyed seeing the GFV pics.  I don't know how people handle the heat and humidity in the summer, it's way to hot for me.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> 
> If we didn't have these shows in the afternoon we would have been back in the room much sooner.  One really needs to plan for early mornings and late evenings in the parks and back at the hotel or air conditioned shows for mid day.  Florida heat is brutal!  I'll take our dry heat any day!
> 
> 
> 
> Paula Sedley-Burke said:
> 
> 
> 
> Strange question. Have you guys got a Ford Fairlane?
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> 
> Not strange.  If my FB posts have not answered your question, no we do not have a Ford Fairlane.  BUT our Ranchero is styled after the Ford Fairlane.  It was the last year they used that body style. After 1959 they switched to the Ford Falcon for the body style of the Ranchero.
> 
> 
> 
> Pinkocto said:
> 
> 
> 
> That bit with the Stormtroopers must have been laugh out loud funny. Its fabulous the stuff they come up with.
> 
> Lunch looked quite tasty. You're right, plenty of options for mom.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> 
> Oh my gosh!  Everyone in the theater was laughing so hard!   It was great, one of those times when your cheeks hurt afterwards!
> 
> Yes, your mom would have plenty to choose from.  They even have an Eggplant Parmesan as well.  She definitely wouldn't go hungry there.
Click to expand...


----------



## franandaj

After an uneventful bus ride back to the resort, we headed up to the room.  Fran most definitely needed a nap, I would love to take a nap, but history tells me that I lie in bed tossing and turning and finally end up taking a bath or something because I just dont fall asleep.  So today, I decided to go on a photo journalism spree at the hotel.

We were on the 5th floor of the resort and this is a shot looking down of the chandeliers in the lobby.





And then from the lobby, looking up at the chandelier.





Everyone loves the penguin fountain.  You really just cant get enough pictures of this.

















The carousel horse is just adorable!





And then I decided to get creative with the chandelier.





These are just some photos of the more business end of the lobby.





I never needed these concierge types, but its nice to know they are there if you need them.  Though I havent actually heard many stories of them actually being able to help folks out, most of the time they send them back to the main lobby for things.





The Port Cochere, which most people dont use because the back entrance is more convenient unless you have your own car.





Heres looking up at the balcony for our room.





And this is said back entrance.  The path leads to the front entrance of the Grand Floridian.  Its a lot more convenient for people that are using Disney transportation.





When you come out the back entrance you see this fountain.  I think it is just beautiful.













There is a small beach area adjacent to the pool and pool bar.





The main pool area for the Villas.





The kids splash area.



 

*[Continued in Next Post]*


----------



## franandaj

*[Continued from Previous Post]*

And then moving on to the main building.





Another creative chandelier shot.













I always have to take a picture of this saxophone.  It boggles my mind why they leave it out here when the band isnt playing.





A look back at the atrium.





Across to the other pool. 





Not so creative chandelier shot.





And looking forward to the atrium.









Im not sure why I like this hallway so much.





And the construction at the Poly.





I went back to the room and enjoyed this little beauty that we had picked up at the MK the day before.





And then I either tried to take a nap or I took a bath.  Usually I find that the bath refreshes me more than the attempted nap.  I dont remember now what time we were supposed to be back at the viewing area, but it was somewhere around 8 or 8:30PM.  And we started heading back to DHS around 6PM. We were hungry and since the buffet was only desserts, we decided to split one of these.





Then we headed over to the special viewing area. The CM who was working the gate to get into the area was less than magical. She told us to go wait behind the 50 something folks who had purchased the Feel the Force package, when our guides had told us that we would be entering through the other half of the entrance and could line up separately.  

It wasnt so much the fact that we had to wait behind the other people, but the way that she said it. But I wasnt ready to get all puffed up and throw a hissy fit.  Everything would turn out to be fine.

We had no idea where to get seated, so we just took a table.  It turns out that there were special HA tables at the front of the viewing area, and one of the helpful CMs brought us to that location so we would be able to see.  This is what we had to enjoy in all you could eat quantities.

















In addition to the sweet treats, there were libations which were free flowing as well.  The Dark Side mix never quite came together that night and they never served any, although they kept mixing batches up behind the bar and I guess they just never quite got it right.  I particularly enjoyed my share of Jedi Mind Tricks while Fran rather preferred The Force.





These were some of the tasty treats we enjoyed at our table.





These are the famed Yoda and Darth Vader Mini Cupcakes.





Not sure what the sweets were, but you can see both a Jedi Mind Trick and a Force.  They let you have two beverages at a time when you went to the bar.





A look around at our area.







 

*[Continued in Next Post]*


----------



## franandaj

*[Continued from Previous Post]*

They were playing music and images on the screen were dancing in time with the music.





I think by the end of the evening, this is what Fran looked like to me.





The hat was to be our backdrop for the fireworks this evening.





The fireworks were launched to the music of Star Wars, and they had a lot of it to work with.





































After less than five minutes, I gave up taking photos of the fireworks.  They just werent coming out nearly as well as I was seeing them and I decided just to sit back and enjoy the show rather than try and document it.  These were some of the best fireworks that I have ever seen.  Or it could have been the great music. 











Or the drinks.  














Either way we had a terrific evening and enjoyed ourselves immensely.  The fireworks were over a little after 10PM and we headed back to the resort.  It was midnight before we actually made it to the room, and any sleep that we had caught up on was lost again.  We had enjoyed our visit to Tatooine that day, but if we didnt slow down the pace Sleepy and Grumpy would be back to haunt us very soon!


----------



## PrincessInOz

Nice pictures of the hotel and the chandeliers.  Seems like you're starting to get bitten by the photography bug again.  


That dessert party/special viewing area looks wonderful!  The treats look delicious.  I think I would have definitely forked out money for that position.

I did see the entire fireworks show on YouTube.  The music was amazing!  It definitely was the best show/music I've experienced in a long time as well.  Glad to see your pictures of it and read your take on it.

Thanks for sharing.


----------



## rentayenta

That is the coolest fireworks experience ever! The booze alone is awesome. Add in all of those desserts and wow! The pics of the fireworks are good.


Thank you for the photo tour of the villas. The pool area looks awesome. I am very interested in the Poly construction so thanks for those too. I agree with PIO, seems like the photography bug has bit you. Between you, PIO, and Bret, I'm in heaven!


----------



## ACDSNY

Cool fireworks and dessert viewing area, I'm glad you enjoyed it.  Your pics of the GF are making me want to stay there on our next trip, whenever that might be.


----------



## mvf-m11c

It is so nice to see you able to take a lot of pictures at the GF. That is good for you to take a lot of pictures during your trips. It looks so amazing to stay there. The new expansion for the Polynesian Resort looks good from your picture and so much has been added since I last visited.

The dessert viewing area looks very nice and great to be able to watch the fireworks without having to stake out a spot. I would have no problem waiting to stake out a spot for the fireworks at DHS but the dessert package looks very nice. 

Your pictures of Symphony in the Stars fireworks are very nice and the location was nice as well. I also checked out Symphony in the Stars firework show on YouTube and it is very nice firework show. It was shorter than I have expected. But overall it was a very nice theme for Star Wars Weekend. 

Very nice updates.


----------



## jedijill

The desserts look awesome and I would love the booze!    Your photos are great!  I wonder if the fireworks were the same as I saw last year on May The Fourth Be With You....if they were they were amazing!

Jill in CO


----------



## wdrl

Love looking at your VGF and GF photos!  We had our first stay at the Grand Floridian in May and we really enjoyed our all-too-brief stay.  The CMs were friendly and we liked the generally quiet, laid-back atmosphere of the entire resort.  For years, we dreamt about staying at the Grand Floridian, but the room prices always scared us away.  The Grand Floridian is still very pricy, but now that we are DVC members we can afford to stay in the villas.  

We discovered there is a CM whose duties include removing coins from the Penguin fountain in the VGF lobby.  The coins start to corrode and can stain and discolor the fountain, so every few days the coins are removed and the stains cleaned.  I guess its human nature to toss coins in a fountain.


----------



## Luvchefmic

Good Grief I only realized 11 pages in that you started this report  Boy I have catching up to do


----------



## Paula Sedley-Burke

Great photo's of VGF and main hotel  plenty of eye candy! The fireworks and desert party look great! Nice you got handicap area also. Glad you enjoyed your day and hope you slept soundly!


----------



## DenLo

Love VGF.  Sort wish we owned there too, but we could always use more BLT points.  We found the concierge check in folks at VGF to be quite helpful.  Since we drove that is where we checked into VGF and they were quick and friendly.  But you are right that we usually went out the side door unless we were driving somewhere.  

I know what you mean about how hard it is to photograph the fireworks and sometimes you need to just stop taking photos and enjoy the show.  We could hear the SWW fireworks as we were staying at AKV Jambo House.  They sounded pretty impressive.

Thanks again for taking the time to report all this stuff.


----------



## Pinkocto

Very nice pictures around VGF and GF. I'm going to have to sit down and figure out the next time I'll get to stay there, right now there's no plans  do you remember where the lion statues were? I can't recall seeing those before. 


What a fabulous evening at HS! Did you ever report that awful CM? We caught the fireworks twice while walking back to BC, that was very cool. The desserts look mighty tasty.


----------



## eandesmom

I am caught up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

GF Cafe is a great idea for lunch.  We ate their on our last trip.  The food was quite good but I struggled a bit with the ambiance and there was a LOT of little ones.  Which is fine, but the combo of the 2 for an adult trip just wasn't ideal for me for dinner.  Lunch though would be prefect since it is so nice and airy n there



franandaj said:


> I bought some Maleficent Kitchen towels and a coffee mug to use



I almost always buy a mug for use in the room, it makes such a difference.  Interestingly I didn't on the last 2 WDW trips but came home with 3 from DL!  If I like the F&W one, I will get it, if not hopefully there will be something on DCL as I actually don't have a DCL one at all unless you count my beat to heck to go mug from Alaska.  Which seems wrong



franandaj said:


>



I want to stay in one of the 1B's SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO bad just so I can use that kitchen!  I don't see it happening but oh I want!  Just beyond gorgeous.



franandaj said:


> I had used the same strategy for FP+ as Cynthia (eandesmom), but her trip was over NYE and mine was during the blazing hot time of year.  Most of our FP+ were for the middle of the day, the time when you want to be back at your resort in the pool or taking a nap.  Earlier I had moved all of our FP+ but the Seven Dwarves Mine Train (no other times available) to the late evening.



  I hear you there, while we used the strategy in May, honestly on several of the days we used it for evening FP's, not afternoon.  And I know we simply blew off some afternoon ones!



franandaj said:


> Then came the fireworks.  I will add a disclaimer, since I have only been back at really trying to take quality pictures (rather than documentation pictures) for a month (at the time of these pictures), I didnt have a tripod, nor did I even think I might be taking fireworks pictures.  I know that these are nothing in comparison to Brets or PIOs fireworks pictures, but perhaps you will all come with me on my journey as I learn to improve upon my long exposure nighttime photography.



You got some really really lovely ones!  



franandaj said:


> franandaj said:
> 
> 
> 
> The next morning Olaf called us bright and early at about 4:30AM or maybe it was 5AM.  Either way it was much earlier than I wanted to hear from anyone, but we had a cab coming for us at 6:15 so we had to be up and atem.  There was no way we were missing THIS day!  Im pretty sure that we snoozed the first call and got a second one, and that we slept for at least another 10-15 minutes before getting up and ready.  Im pretty sure that I set the coffee maker the night before so all I had to do was hit start and I could have at least one cup of coffee before we were on our way.  I remember thinking that I should have bought a togo mug, but I think I still had my paper coffee cup from day before so I used that.
> 
> But what was even more interesting was this sort of interactive app that you could download on your phone to take character pictures with a smartphone. Once the app was open you could focus on the background, certain character options would become available and the floor was marked as to where to stand for which character that you wanted a picture with.  There were quite a few of these, but we got a little bored after the first two, plus it was our time to go into the main shopping area.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> That is SO early for vacation!  I could not get the app to download and I was in that line for a solid 30 min.  About when I got to the entry to the mall, it was ready and I said...forget it!  LOL.
> 
> So after our virtual character meets, we went into the shopping area.  Fran was again in rare form. I try to be restrained when we go to these places.  I look at the T-shirts, knowing I wont wear black T-shirts, I dont buy them. I look carefully at the jewelry, I have enough pretty jewelry, I dont need to buy stuff just cause its there.  Paintings, we have more than we have wall space for, unless it TOTALLY speaks to me and I know where its going, I dont buy it.  I think I had one bin of stuff.  I know I got a dress, the T-shirt for the year, a pint glass, a shot glass and a couple other things that we collect and will go in our display case.  Fran went kinda nuts.
Click to expand...



I would expect nothing less of Fran.  I do kind of wish I'd bought the coffee mug, I was afraid of the decal coming off in the dishwasher but now I wish I had it.  Fun dress!

Really great calvalcade pics!  I absolutely LOVED that parade but my viewing psot was less than ideal for decent pics.


----------



## Captain_Oblivious

franandaj said:


> Check your email....







franandaj said:


> I would love to take a nap, but history tells me that I lie in bed tossing and turning and finally end up taking a bath or something because I just dont fall asleep.  So today, I decided to go on a photo journalism spree at the hotel.



I'm the same way.  I have such a hard time taking naps during the day.  Especially if I'm traveling!



franandaj said:


> When you come out the back entrance you see this fountain.  I think it is just beautiful.



I agree!



franandaj said:


> I always have to take a picture of this saxophone.  It boggles my mind why they leave it out here when the band isnt playing.



This always makes me think of Homer Simpson for some reason.

"Sax-a-ma-phone....Sax-a-ma-phone..."



franandaj said:


> I'm not sure why I like this hallway so much.



Because it means you're at Disney World?



franandaj said:


> I think by the end of the evening, this is what Fran looked like to me.







franandaj said:


> The fireworks were launched to the music of Star Wars, and they had a lot of it to work with.



Fireworks timed to Star Wars music?  That's AWESOME!



franandaj said:


> These were some of the best fireworks that I have ever seen.  Or it could have been the great music.



The music I'm sure would make a big difference! 



franandaj said:


> Or the drinks.



Or that.


----------



## eandesmom

I lied, I was still 2 updates behind!  


The show looked SO good!  I can't recall who was there when we were but had I known about the storm trooper show I might have tried to go just for that.  Add in John Ratzenberger and....wow!



franandaj said:


> And with that, we bid adieu to our guides.  Their day with us was over, but we had the fireworks show in the sky that night.  However, it was almost 4PM and we had several hours until we had to be back for the show.  We had seen this earlier in the day and now was the time.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> We got one of each drink and tried them both.  It turns out that I preferred The Force and Fran preferred The Dark Side.



I preferred The Dark Side 




franandaj said:


> In addition to the sweet treats, there were libations which were free flowing as well.  The Dark Side mix never quite came together that night and they never served any, although they kept mixing batches up behind the bar and I guess they just never quite got it right.  I particularly enjoyed my share of Jedi Mind Tricks while Fran rather preferred The Force.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I think by the end of the evening, this is what Fran looked like to me.
> 
> The fireworks were launched to the music of Star Wars, and they had a lot of it to work with.
> 
> After less than five minutes, I gave up taking photos of the fireworks.  They just werent coming out nearly as well as I was seeing them and I decided just to sit back and enjoy the show rather than try and document it.  These were some of the best fireworks that I have ever seen.  Or it could have been the great music.
> 
> Or the drinks.




What a wonderful night!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Interesting that the drinks had the same names but were so very different.  It really seems like you got "value" out of your package and it was money well spent.  The Jedi Mind trick sounds tasty!


----------



## cj9200

franandaj said:


> We have been very fortunate in the past couple years. All her medical maladies are healed or under control.  We've had a couple financial winfalls so that I'm not having to scrape for every penny to make ends meet like we did while her father needed 24/7 caregivers.  We're not getting any younger, so if we can afford it, we're going for it. Too many years of waiting for people to die and wounds to heal, we're healthy enough so we might as well enjoy it!



Continued good health and more financial windfalls. 



franandaj said:


> I think by the end of the evening, this is what Fran looked like to me.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> After less than five minutes, I gave up taking photos of the fireworks.  They just werent coming out nearly as well as I was seeing them and I decided just to sit back and enjoy the show rather than try and document it.  These were some of the best fireworks that I have ever seen.  Or it could have been the great music.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Or the drinks.



Too funny.  We were at BWV during Star Wars Weekend and just hearing the finale was awesome.  Saw them our last night and it was an amazing show.

Love the pictures of the GF.  DD wants to stay there bad and we will have to sang a reservation sometime soon.


----------



## dolphingirl47

I love the pictures from around the resort and particularly the chandelier photos. 

Is the Macaroni Cheese Hot Dog any good? This was on my must try list in December, but after doing Rock'n'Rollercoaster and Tower of Terror in short succession, I was so shaken up that I did not feel like eating.

The dessert buffet looks amazing. What a shame that they did not offer the Dark Side. This looks delicious.

I enjoyed your fireworks photos. I am going to have to seek out the fireworks on You Tube as they sound very special

Corinna


----------



## Leshaface

Love the GF photos.  Can't wait to see them in person in January!  That kid splash area is actually really neat.  I wouldn't mind using it myself

Mac and Cheese Hotdog?!

I loved your blurry Fran photo.  I'm sure that's how you looked to DH on Monday night!


----------



## franandaj

PrincessInOz said:


> Nice pictures of the hotel and the chandeliers.  Seems like you're starting to get bitten by the photography bug again.



Thanks!  I learned some even more interesting stuff over the weekend that might totally get me in trouble, we'll see if I have time to work it in after this crazy season is over.



PrincessInOz said:


> That dessert party/special viewing area looks wonderful!  The treats look delicious.  I think I would have definitely forked out money for that position.



The $50 package included the parade and the fireworks. That was soooo worth that price, but I'm happy we got the whole package it was a treat to be escorted around that day and not worry about anything.



PrincessInOz said:


> I did see the entire fireworks show on YouTube.  The music was amazing!  It definitely was the best show/music I've experienced in a long time as well.  Glad to see your pictures of it and read your take on it.
> 
> Thanks for sharing.



If I'd known that it was on YouTube, I wouldn't have bothered at all.  I'll have to seek it out and watch again, it was just too cool!



rentayenta said:


> That is the coolest fireworks experience ever! The booze alone is awesome. Add in all of those desserts and wow! The pics of the fireworks are good.



Yeah, we tried to get our money's worth on the booze and desserts.  I could barely eat one of each on the table. The Yoda and Darth cupcakes were rich and I think it was Yoda that was Hazelnut.  I don't like Hazelnut.  Fran also had the ice cream treats in addition to the table sweets.



rentayenta said:


> Thank you for the photo tour of the villas. The pool area looks awesome. I am very interested in the Poly construction so thanks for those too. I agree with PIO, seems like the photography bug has bit you. Between you, PIO, and Bret, I'm in heaven!



I can't wait to stay there again, it's one of my favorite resorts, so swanky, but yet so casual.  I'm thrilled you put me in the same sentence re pictures as PIO and Bret!   



ACDSNY said:


> Cool fireworks and dessert viewing area, I'm glad you enjoyed it.  Your pics of the GF are making me want to stay there on our next trip, whenever that might be.



If you have the points, it's definitely worth staying there!



mvf-m11c said:


> It is so nice to see you able to take a lot of pictures at the GF. That is good for you to take a lot of pictures during your trips. It looks so amazing to stay there. The new expansion for the Polynesian Resort looks good from your picture and so much has been added since I last visited.



I take way too many pictures, if I posted all that I took, folks would get bored.  I'm glad you enjoy the ones I've posted.



mvf-m11c said:


> The dessert viewing area looks very nice and great to be able to watch the fireworks without having to stake out a spot. I would have no problem waiting to stake out a spot for the fireworks at DHS but the dessert package looks very nice.



For us, Fran really needs her rest and staking out a spot is rarely an option because it will wipe her out for the next day, so it's good that they offer things like this.



mvf-m11c said:


> Your pictures of Symphony in the Stars fireworks are very nice and the location was nice as well. I also checked out Symphony in the Stars firework show on YouTube and it is very nice firework show. It was shorter than I have expected. But overall it was a very nice theme for Star Wars Weekend.
> 
> Very nice updates.




Fireworks shows are almost always too short, but that's good that Disney leaves you wanting more all the time. Thank you.



jedijill said:


> The desserts look awesome and I would love the booze!    Your photos are great!  I wonder if the fireworks were the same as I saw last year on May The Fourth Be With You....if they were they were amazing!
> 
> Jill in CO



I bet they were fairly similar, there's not a lot of variation they can do.  Plus I think Star Wars fans are just happy to hear the music and see the pretty lights!



wdrl said:


> Love looking at your VGF and GF photos!  We had our first stay at the Grand Floridian in May and we really enjoyed our all-too-brief stay.  The CMs were friendly and we liked the generally quiet, laid-back atmosphere of the entire resort.  For years, we dreamt about staying at the Grand Floridian, but the room prices always scared us away.  The Grand Floridian is still very pricy, but now that we are DVC members we can afford to stay in the villas.



We stayed there one year, and that was the year we came home and bought DVC!  I'm glad we can stay there now too!



wdrl said:


> We discovered there is a CM whose duties include removing coins from the Penguin fountain in the VGF lobby.  The coins start to corrode and can stain and discolor the fountain, so every few days the coins are removed and the stains cleaned.  I guess its human nature to toss coins in a fountain.



It totally makes sense. That fountain is so pretty, I wouldn't want to see it stained either.



Luvchefmic said:


> Good Grief I only realized 11 pages in that you started this report  Boy I have catching up to do



  I'm glad you made it over here.  Better late than never.  There is a handy index in the front to help you catch up!


----------



## afwdwfan

franandaj said:


> We were on the 5th floor of the resort and this is a shot looking down of the chandeliers in the lobby.


Cool picture.  Kind of disorienting, but very cool effect. 



franandaj said:


> I never needed these concierge types, but its nice to know they are there if you need them.  Though I havent actually heard many stories of them actually being able to help folks out, most of the time they send them back to the main lobby for things.


You know, I'm kind of in the same boat as you.  Never used them, but usually don't hear success stories from those who have. 



franandaj said:


> The Dark Side mix never quite came together that night and they never served any, although they kept mixing batches up behind the bar and I guess they just never quite got it right.


Oh, come on.  Just give me the rejects.  I don't care what it looks like.  I'd hate to see all that stuff get thrown out. 



franandaj said:


> They let you have two beverages at a time when you went to the bar.


2 hands... 2 drinks.   



franandaj said:


> I think by the end of the evening, this is what Fran looked like to me.






franandaj said:


> After less than five minutes, I gave up taking photos of the fireworks.  They just werent coming out nearly as well as I was seeing them and I decided just to sit back and enjoy the show rather than try and document it.


Always the best way to do it.  Fireworks are hard to photograph and you can't enjoy them if you try.  We always have like 1 or 2 pictures of fireworks and then just take it all in.  



franandaj said:


> These were some of the best fireworks that I have ever seen.  Or it could have been the great music.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Or the drinks.


All of the above?


----------



## franandaj

Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Great photo's of VGF and main hotel  plenty of eye candy! The fireworks and desert party look great! Nice you got handicap area also. Glad you enjoyed your day and hope you slept soundly!



It was a great day all around, we couldn't complain at all.



DenLo said:


> Love VGF.  Sort wish we owned there too, but we could always use more BLT points.  We found the concierge check in folks at VGF to be quite helpful.  Since we drove that is where we checked into VGF and they were quick and friendly.  But you are right that we usually went out the side door unless we were driving somewhere.



We really love the VGF, but we'll have to live without owning there. We have too many points as it is.  Fran keeps talking about getting more to rent out, but we somewhat struggle with trying to use them all up. With a Paris trip on the horizon though, we might not have a problem.



DenLo said:


> I know what you mean about how hard it is to photograph the fireworks and sometimes you need to just stop taking photos and enjoy the show.  We could hear the SWW fireworks as we were staying at AKV Jambo House.  They sounded pretty impressive.
> 
> Thanks again for taking the time to report all this stuff.



I sometimes have trouble not "documenting" everything.  This last weekend was hard, every meal I had that urge to take out my camera even if it was just banquet food.  



Pinkocto said:


> Very nice pictures around VGF and GF. I'm going to have to sit down and figure out the next time I'll get to stay there, right now there's no plans  do you remember where the lion statues were? I can't recall seeing those before.
> 
> 
> What a fabulous evening at HS! Did you ever report that awful CM? We caught the fireworks twice while walking back to BC, that was very cool. The desserts look mighty tasty.



The lion statues were on the second floor, the two elevator side near the entrance to Citrico's and V&A's. 

No, I didn't end up reporting the awful CM.  Not worth my angst.



eandesmom said:


> I am caught up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



GF Cafe is a great idea for lunch.  We ate their on our last trip.  The food was quite good but I struggled a bit with the ambiance and there was a LOT of little ones.  Which is fine, but the combo of the 2 for an adult trip just wasn't ideal for me for dinner.  Lunch though would be prefect since it is so nice and airy n there





eandesmom said:


> I almost always buy a mug for use in the room, it makes such a difference.  Interestingly I didn't on the last 2 WDW trips but came home with 3 from DL!  If I like the F&W one, I will get it, if not hopefully there will be something on DCL as I actually don't have a DCL one at all unless you count my beat to heck to go mug from Alaska.  Which seems wrong.








eandesmom said:


> I want to stay in one of the 1B's SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO bad just so I can use that kitchen!  I don't see it happening but oh I want!  Just beyond gorgeous.



It was so nice!  Maybe someday when the kids leave the nest.



eandesmom said:


> I hear you there, while we used the strategy in May, honestly on several of the days we used it for evening FP's, not afternoon.  And I know we simply blew off some afternoon ones!
> 
> 
> 
> You got some really really lovely ones!  .



As soon as we got there, I tried to switch many of them to evenings if we planned on being in that park at night.  I know now better strategy.

Thanks!  



eandesmom said:


> I would expect nothing less of Fran.  I do kind of wish I'd bought the coffee mug, I was afraid of the decal coming off in the dishwasher but now I wish I had it.  Fun dress!
> 
> Really great calvalcade pics!  I absolutely LOVED that parade but my viewing psot was less than ideal for decent pics.



She does crack me up sometimes with the stuff she finds.  

We really did luck out on the parade. I was glad to have such great memories on film...er SD card.


----------



## franandaj

Captain_Oblivious said:


>



I'm glad we cleared THAT up!



Captain_Oblivious said:


> I'm the same way.  I have such a hard time taking naps during the day.  Especially if I'm traveling!



Unless my butt is totally whooped I don't sleep well during the day....cue foreboding music....  



Captain_Oblivious said:


> I agree!



There is just so much beauty at this resort, I really can't wait to go back. But I say that about every Disney resort I stay at!



Captain_Oblivious said:


> This always makes me think of Homer Simpson for some reason.
> 
> "Sax-a-ma-phone....Sax-a-ma-phone..."



Well since technically this is what I have a Bachelor's Degree in it has a lot more significance, more like reminds me of Lisa!



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Because it means you're at Disney World?



 



Captain_Oblivious said:


>



It's not often I can say that and get away with it!  



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Fireworks timed to Star Wars music?  That's AWESOME!








Captain_Oblivious said:


> The music I'm sure would make a big difference!
> 
> Or that.



   



eandesmom said:


> I lied, I was still 2 updates behind!
> 
> 
> The show looked SO good!  I can't recall who was there when we were but had I known about the storm trooper show I might have tried to go just for that.  Add in John Ratzenberger and....wow!



I looked it up, the folks who played Jar Jar Binks and Chewbacca were there as well as Ashley Eckstein and someone else from the upcoming Star Wars Rebels.



eandesmom said:


> I preferred The Dark Side



I'm not a fan of coconut anything, especially Rum so I knew I wouldn't really like that one.  Give me a Blue drink and I'm happy!  



eandesmom said:


> What a wonderful night!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Interesting that the drinks had the same names but were so very different.  It really seems like you got "value" out of your package and it was money well spent.  The Jedi Mind trick sounds tasty!



It was, I switched to that one for the evening!



cj9200 said:


> Continued good health and more financial windfalls.
> 
> Too funny.  We were at BWV during Star Wars Weekend and just hearing the finale was awesome.  Saw them our last night and it was an amazing show.
> 
> Love the pictures of the GF.  DD wants to stay there bad and we will have to sang a reservation sometime soon.



Thanks!

I'm glad it wasn't just the booze!

I know your DD loves the restaurants there, and they're even better when staying on property!



dolphingirl47 said:


> I love the pictures from around the resort and particularly the chandelier photos.
> 
> Is the Macaroni Cheese Hot Dog any good? This was on my must try list in December, but after doing Rock'n'Rollercoaster and Tower of Terror in short succession, I was so shaken up that I did not feel like eating.



Thanks!

The hot dog was OK, Fran prefers her Mac n Cheese on the side, but I've had several versions and this was one of the better ones.  I can see why you wouldn't want to eat after those two.



dolphingirl47 said:


> The dessert buffet looks amazing. What a shame that they did not offer the Dark Side. This looks delicious.
> 
> I enjoyed your fireworks photos. I am going to have to seek out the fireworks on You Tube as they sound very special
> 
> Corinna



I know, I love coffee with liqueurs and this sounded so good!  Thanks for the compliments on the fireworks pics!



Leshaface said:


> Love the GF photos.  Can't wait to see them in person in January!  That kid splash area is actually really neat.  I wouldn't mind using it myself
> 
> Mac and Cheese Hotdog?!
> 
> I loved your blurry Fran photo.  I'm sure that's how you looked to DH on Monday night!



You guys are going to love staying there!

 I love Mac and Cheese hot dogs!

  Yes, your DH was feeling no pain when I left you guys!  I'm sure he slept really well that night!


----------



## Luvchefmic

Caught up after being so behind: So now I have random thoughts bear with me   Amazing VGF absolutely gorgeous.  So glad you and Fran had a good time with the sisters @ 1900 I forgot that was your first dinner there, we'll have to do it next time  I laughed so hard at the Wookie family with the hairless cat, yes a much cheaper way to show us  Can't wait until you are in the house and everything is unpacked it will be so neat to see where everything goes. Your fireworks pictures are getting better & better..see you never forget.


----------



## Leshaface

franandaj said:


> Yes, your DH was feeling no pain when I left you guys!  I'm sure he slept really well that night!



Yep!  I actually didn't get him out of bed until after 9:30   I think that's pretty good don't you think?


----------



## franandaj

afwdwfan said:


> Cool picture.  Kind of disorienting, but very cool effect.



I like cool effects!  



afwdwfan said:


> You know, I'm kind of in the same boat as you.  Never used them, but usually don't hear success stories from those who have.



That's funny!



afwdwfan said:


> Oh, come on.  Just give me the rejects.  I don't care what it looks like.  I'd hate to see all that stuff get thrown out.



I know!  And that one sounded really good too!



afwdwfan said:


> 2 hands... 2 drinks.



Excactly!  



afwdwfan said:


>



 Even she thought it was funny!



afwdwfan said:


> Always the best way to do it.  Fireworks are hard to photograph and you can't enjoy them if you try.  We always have like 1 or 2 pictures of fireworks and then just take it all in.



At least I can remember that I saw them, but still got to enjoy!



afwdwfan said:


> All of the above?



Probably! 



Luvchefmic said:


> Caught up after being so behind: So now I have random thoughts bear with me   Amazing VGF absolutely gorgeous.  So glad you and Fran had a good time with the sisters @ 1900 I forgot that was your first dinner there, we'll have to do it next time  I laughed so hard at the Wookie family with the hairless cat, yes a much cheaper way to show us  Can't wait until you are in the house and everything is unpacked it will be so neat to see where everything goes. Your fireworks pictures are getting better & better..see you never forget.



We're planning on doing it for our trip in April.  I'm sure Jim and Alberto wouldn't mind if you tagged along, they're great fun.  I thought the picture was pretty darned funny as well.

It's going to be a long long time before we get everything unpacked.  At the rate the contractor is going I hope we're settled before Christmas!



Leshaface said:


> Yep!  I actually didn't get him out of bed until after 9:30   I think that's pretty good don't you think?



That's nice that you got to sleep in and have a chill day.


----------



## franandaj

Going to bed Friday night we had high expectations for the morning. Even though it was well after midnight, free drinks can do that to you. We had every intention of making the rope drop stormtroopers show and getting in a nearly full day at DHS. When Olaf called at 6AM the next morning, we said, "To heck with the stormtroopers!"

Instead we laid in bed for a while longer. Then I put together our travel breakfast of champions. Cereal, V8, and our caffeinated beverages of choice.





Then we were on our way to DHS. I think we were on our way before 9AM, just not the 7AM in our original plan.  





Our first stop, Darth's Mall of course! We visited the Trap, otherwise known as the Ackbar Snackbar.  We purchased our favorite choice of drink in the souvenir stormtrooper mug.













I know it was still relatively early because I was going to order my drink without alcohol, but when Fran said she was getting hers "fully leaded" I decided why not? Its OK to drink before 10AM on vacation!  Fran likes to take pictures of funny details that Disney does.





Then we headed over to the D-tech me section to get special CM style nametags with our names written in Aurebesh.  We both chose Tattoine as our "home planet", although there were a variety of planetary choices as well as alliances like the rebels. It took about 15 minutes so that gave Fran some more time to shop. She got a small box worth of stuff including a Jedi costume meant for Duffy that she plans to put on Olaf, thus making him Jedi Olaf.  

Then it was time for sone character shots. We headed over to Star Tours and found Chip and Dale as Ewoks.  While waiting in line we saw this sand person skulking around.





I dont have a close up picture of the name badge we purchased earlier, but you can see it on my in the upcoming character photos.













We wanted pictures with Chewie next but his line was closed down so that he could go participate in the motorcade.  We were told he would be back around 12:30 or 1PM and we could start lining up around noon or 12:15. 

We were getting hungry so we decided to head over to the Farmer's Market section of the park.  You see I have this little Golden Spoon in my signature, it is a concept invented by BirdsOfPreyDave on the DVC section of the boards. I'm really trying to get up to 50% on restaurants I've dined at in WDW so this entire trip I tried to eat at new places. We'd never even considered grabbing food from this section before so there were a whole bunch of new opportunities in this part of the park.  We settled on Rosies All American Café and a burger and fries.



 

*[Continued in Next Post]*


----------



## franandaj

*[Continued from Previous Post]*

I had scheduled FP+ for us on RnRC, so we went over there and I rode it twice, then we headed back to get in line for Chewie. He had just come back out and the line was pretty long, but he was really the only character I really wanted so we waited almost an hour. I knew from the Tips and Tricks thread that his line was almost entirely in the shade so this wasn't a big deal. We basically people watched during our wait.  Fran took almost a hundred photos of the various Star Wars shirts that she saw. And there were quite a few people in costume.





Most of the shirt pictures were not particularly noteworthy, but I thought these two were a little out of the ordinary.  If you cant make it out in the first one, its Maury Povich sitting in the interview chair, with the phrase, "You are the Father."





This was a cute mash up.





And then we finally got to the front of the line.





I'm not sure what Fran is telling this Ewok.













I had booked us FP+ for the Great Movie Ride thinking that it was silly since usually for us it is a walk on, but I was glad that I had done it today because the wait was 40 minutes!  We were pretty tired at this point, but a nice air conditioned ride through the ages certainly wasnt going to wipe us out over the edge. But first we had to get our souvenir Darth Vader Popcorn.  I cant believe that I didnt take a picture of it!









I was testing out my new found skills at photographing dark rides.





Heres the crazy lady who hijacked our tour car.





Neither of these guys were able to stop her!









But they sure tried!





She was too freaked out to even try and help us.





But then our hijacking guide had found greater treasure.





She went in search of it.





Which proved to be her downfall.





Then we headed into scary territory with an evil witch.





But Dorothy saved the day and the munkins rejoiced.





And everything was happier over the rainbow.





We were pretty hot and tired, but Fran was hungry and didnt feel like eating anything we had back at the villa so she got herself a Pretzel Frankfurter with chips from Min & Bills Dockside Diner and I got a chocolate shake. We had an uneventful bus ride home and talked about where we wanted to have dinner.  I had Chinese Chicken Salad on the schedule, but we were thinking about possibly going out somewhere, and I was surprised at the number of places that still had ADRs for a Saturday night at around 3:30PM.

Back in the room, Fran enjoyed her hot dog before taking a nap and I worked a little on my Southwestern Road trip TR. After about an hour or so on the computer, I decided that I would lay down for a few minutes before we figured out what to have for dinner.  I can never nap in the room right?  

I woke up around midnight.  

We figured that we saved some money not buying dinner that night and were thankful we didnt make any ADRs.  I think I took a bath and went back to sleep.  OK next day, well have big plans!


----------



## jedijill

Looks like another fun day!  Love the pics with Chewie and the Ewok.  

Glad you didn't make the ADR....you guys needed the sleep!

Jill in CO


----------



## afwdwfan

franandaj said:


> Instead we laid in bed for a while longer. Then I put together our travel breakfast of champions. Cereal, V8, and our caffeinated beverages of choice.


Is that also your secret hangover cure? 



franandaj said:


> I know it was still relatively early because I was going to order my drink without alcohol, but when Fran said she was getting hers "fully leaded" I decided why not? Its OK to drink before 10AM on vacation!




I really like those mugs too. 



franandaj said:


> If you cant make it out in the first one, its Maury Povich sitting in the interview chair, with the phrase, "You are the Father."


  I love it! 



franandaj said:


> I decided that I would lay down for a few minutes before we figured out what to have for dinner.  I can never nap in the room right?
> 
> I woke up around midnight.


Wow... looks like you were tired.  Oh well, a much needed nap isn't a bad thing.  At least you should be well rested the next morning!


----------



## mvf-m11c

Another great day at DHS and during Star Wars Weekend. I really like your pictures with the characters and the one with Chewie and the Ewok is a very nice. 

Very nice updates.


----------



## ACDSNY

That heat and humidity takes all the stuffin out of you so when you get back in the AC all you want is sleep.  Great pics with the characters.


----------



## dolphingirl47

There should not be any such time as 6:00 AM when you are on vacation unless you have to travel somewhere. The character photos are really nice. I think Olaf will make a very handsome Jedi. Your photos from The Great Movie Ride came out really well. You must have been really tired to "nap" until midnight.

Corinna


----------



## PrincessInOz

WOW!  You went down for a nap and didn't wake up til midnight?  You must have been tired out.

Great picture with Chewie.  The wait was worth it.

Love that you're getting pictures inside dark rides.  You're doing great!


----------



## Misskitty3

Your pictures are so great!  Looks like a REALLY fun time!  I showed my son the Chewie and Ewok photos and he loved them!  

Is Star Wars weekend just once a year and is it always at WDW?  I know Disneyland has the Star Wars run coming up in January but that isn't the same thing as this event, is it?


----------



## eandesmom

what a fun morning, low key, good characters, fun shopping (love the name badges) and some fun treats.  It's VACATION, a morning drink is just fine!

We ate at Rosie's the last trip, a first for us as well and actually quite liked it!

You needed that "nap"!  Question is....were you able to go back to sleep?

I'm not surprised, you guys had been going at it pretty hard, had to be worn out.


----------



## Luvchefmic

Love the Maury " You are the Father" t-shirt very unique

What was Fran telling the Ewok.?.hmm, first thing I thought of when I saw the picture " You sure you don't want to come home with us ? We have a beautiful new house and you can have your own room "


----------



## Paula Sedley-Burke

Great update and photos! I love the idea of the Golden Spoon  Birdsofprey is great! 

Those name badges were such fun weren't they! How nice you got to ride the RnRc twice! Even though you left slightly later than planned you still got it all done so nice rest and activities scored! You have to listen to your body don't you. No point saying oh this is what our schedule says when the body says...no way! 

The drinks look good at Darth Mall. It's always 5 o'clock some place!


----------



## franandaj

jedijill said:


> Looks like another fun day!  Love the pics with Chewie and the Ewok.
> 
> Glad you didn't make the ADR....you guys needed the sleep!
> 
> Jill in CO



I'm glad we waited for that one!  There's a reason for the title of this report.  Spoiler alert:  This might not be the only time something like that happens.  



afwdwfan said:


> Is that also your secret hangover cure?



  There could be something to that.  Although I didn't wake up with a hangover.  Drinks are good on vacation!



afwdwfan said:


> I really like those mugs too.
> 
> 
> I love it!



I have them on display in my kitchen!  Yes the shirt was pretty funny.




afwdwfan said:


> Wow... looks like you were tired.  Oh well, a much needed nap isn't a bad thing.  At least you should be well rested the next morning!



Yeah, in hindsight it was good that we rested.  I'm pretty sure we needed it!



mvf-m11c said:


> Another great day at DHS and during Star Wars Weekend. I really like your pictures with the characters and the one with Chewie and the Ewok is a very nice.
> 
> Very nice updates.



Thanks!  SWW were really fun!



ACDSNY said:


> That heat and humidity takes all the stuffin out of you so when you get back in the AC all you want is sleep.  Great pics with the characters.



I know, I mean it gets hot here, but we always say it's a dry heat, but that's sooooo true.  Florida heat just kills me.



dolphingirl47 said:


> There should not be any such time as 6:00 AM when you are on vacation unless you have to travel somewhere. The character photos are really nice. I think Olaf will make a very handsome Jedi. Your photos from The Great Movie Ride came out really well. You must have been really tired to "nap" until midnight.
> 
> Corinna



I know, especially after the day before when we were out the door at 6AM.  I think that day did us in, well that and not getting any sleep on the travel day.  That could have had something to do with it.

I can't wait to see Olaf in his Jedi outfit. We saw someone with him dressed like that at the parks and that's where she got the idea.  

I've really been working on trying to figure out light settings with the camera.  It's been fun.



PrincessInOz said:


> WOW!  You went down for a nap and didn't wake up til midnight?  You must have been tired out.
> 
> Great picture with Chewie.  The wait was worth it.
> 
> Love that you're getting pictures inside dark rides.  You're doing great!



Yeah, I don't remember going "out" like that in a long long time.  I'm glad we waited for it.  How often do you get your picture taken with Chewbacca?

Thanks for the compliments on the pictures.  I now want a new lens.


----------



## franandaj

Misskitty3 said:


> Your pictures are so great!  Looks like a REALLY fun time!  I showed my son the Chewie and Ewok photos and he loved them!
> 
> Is Star Wars weekend just once a year and is it always at WDW?  I know Disneyland has the Star Wars run coming up in January but that isn't the same thing as this event, is it?



It was a fun time!  SWW is only at WDW, it's usually from the third weekend in May to the 1st or second weekend in June.  Disney is great with coming up with things to draw people in the slower times so that there are no slower times.  I don't think the Star Wars run will spur SWW at Disney, they have enough So Cal AP holders to keep the park busy year round.  In fact they no longer sell the So Cal passes, there are so many out there.



eandesmom said:


> what a fun morning, low key, good characters, fun shopping (love the name badges) and some fun treats.  It's VACATION, a morning drink is just fine!
> 
> We ate at Rosie's the last trip, a first for us as well and actually quite liked it!
> 
> You needed that "nap"!  Question is....were you able to go back to sleep?
> 
> I'm not surprised, you guys had been going at it pretty hard, had to be worn out.



It was a fairly relaxed day, we didn't "run" anywhere and got done just enough.  Oh yeah, I'm sure I went back to sleep.  A nice warm bath and I was back in bed in la la land.

We were going at it pretty hard before the trip too.  This was only 16 days after we came back from the road trip and I have a short update that I'm going to post over there, that also was pushing it while we were home.



Luvchefmic said:


> Love the Maury " You are the Father" t-shirt very unique
> 
> What was Fran telling the Ewok.?.hmm, first thing I thought of when I saw the picture " You sure you don't want to come home with us ? We have a beautiful new house and you can have your own room "



Yeah, ya think?  She is always trying to lure woodland creatures to come to live with us!  



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Great update and photos! I love the idea of the Golden Spoon  Birdsofprey is great!
> 
> Those name badges were such fun weren't they! How nice you got to ride the RnRc twice! Even though you left slightly later than planned you still got it all done so nice rest and activities scored! You have to listen to your body don't you. No point saying oh this is what our schedule says when the body says...no way!
> 
> The drinks look good at Darth Mall. It's always 5 o'clock some place!



I have learned that if you don't listen to your body, it will force you to do what it needs and sometimes that is not pretty!


----------



## franandaj

So we have had a few days to breathe in between our busy July days and I've been able to pull together some updates. We leave again in five days for the Star Trek Convention in Las Vegas, and then after two nights at home, it's off to Ohio and Indiana for some more fun.  I'll post a short update on the Disneyana Convention last week, but here's an off topic one post TR on our trip to the Car Show two weeks ago.

Every time that I think I have a plan when it comes to a road trip, nothing works out.  I wanted everything that we were taking in a neat pile waiting to be loaded before bed Tuesday night.  Wednesday morning Fran is still picking out clothes.  The car is at the shop and its 10:00AM, there is still stuff at the old house to be picked up.  Clearly my day is not going as planned. 

Since everyone likes some pictures, Ill throw in a few.  Here is the little beauty we are taking to the meet.  Its called Its a West, West, West, West Coast Meet sort of like Its a Mad, Mad, Mad Mad World. Since that film was set in 1962, we decided to bring a car that was around in 1962.





Somewhere around 1:00PM we are starting to load the car and finally by 3:00 we are ready to leave.  I am clearly not making the 5:30PM Happy Hour today. A stop at AAA for maps and we are on the road.  Everything was going pretty well until we reached Solvang (about an hour south of San Luis Obispo) when the Generator light comes on.  Now we had been having problems with the Generator on and off for several months and know that this light being on will not cause the car to catch fire, or send a timing belt through the engine. It just means that the generator isnt charging the battery, and we run the risk of the car eventually not starting.

It was about 7PM and we decided to just forge ahead for that hour and we arrived safely. We got the car unloaded and luckily there were lots of choices for dinner in the same parking lot as the hotel. We settled on a steakhouse chain that was new to us, and it turned out to be a rather nice meal.  Steak sandwich for Fran, Shrimp Scampi for me, washed down with a Margarita and a Martini respectively. After a good nights sleep, Google was our friend to help us find a classic car mechanic who happened to be less than a mile away. We left the car before 9AM and they kindly gave us a ride back to the hotel.

We entertained ourselves by visiting big box stores in the parking lot like Bed, Bath and Beyond, the Dollar Store, Ralphs for some groceries, Kohls and lunch at the Hometown Buffet. After returning to the hotel and checking in for the event, we waited in the room for word on the car. Friday morning there would be a cruise and if the car wasnt going to be ready, we were prepared to rent a car so we could still participate.

Around 4PM we got the call that the car was ready and Fran went to pick it up and find a car wash.  I stayed back at the room to write up the first part of this report and take a nap.  I walked to most of those stores mentioned above and needed a break. Plus the complimentary Happy Hour that Embassy Suites offers nightly started at 5:30PM and I didnt want to miss that!

So all our plans for Thursday went down the tubes.  We were going to get up early, find a car wash, wax the car, have lunch at Hometown Buffet (well that worked out) and then check out the town.  Good thing Im used to being spontaneous!  We ate our leftovers from the previous night, which worked out just perfect since Hometown Buffet is one of those places that fills you up for the whole day.

Thursday night late around 9PM they had Drag Bingo, which pretty much meant that the games were called by a Drag Queen.  It was fun, but we didnt win anything.  Both of us were playing 3-4 cards per game and everyone seemed impressed that we could keep up.  Heck on the Disney Cruises, we play like 20 cards per game, but they are electronic.









Then we were off to sleep as we had a long day the next day!

Friday we were up and down to breakfast by around 8:30AM and out to the car by 9:15. We needed gas and returned to the parking lot in plenty of time to line up for the drive trip.  We were to drive from the hotel to a park via the Interstate. This was too bad. There were plenty of Country roads that we could have taken to get to the same place without having to drive 65mph and hustle.  Part of driving these older cars is taking your time and enjoying the drive.













Once we arrived we still had about an hour and a half to kick tires and compare cars.  And then the food delivery was another half an hour late. The natives started to get restless!





















Lunch was eventually served and then we headed back to the hotel. We still had a few things to wrap up for the car show the next day.









We had a couple things that we needed from Home Depot to help us put together our car display for the following day.  Plus we needed to get the car washed. It had been too late the night before and by the time Fran had picked up the car, the wash place was closed.  As we drove up to the wash, we tried to turn the car off and even though the ignition switch was in the off position, the car continued to run!

We took it directly back to the shop and he looked at it for about 20 minutes.  He couldnt figure out what was going on, but showed us how we could turn it off ourselves if this ever happened again.  We were back to the car wash, this time with no incident.

When we returned to the hotel, they had been in full swing of decorating for the meet.  If you have seen the movie, you know that they are looking for a W.  It turns out that the W is made up from Palm Trees.  Evidently they really existed in Long Beach until the 70s or early 80s when the trees all died.  Much of the end of the movie was filmed in Long Beach. Fran recognized the buildings.  Anyways they had the lobby of the hotel decorated with facets of the movie.









That night there was an optional dinner after the hotels complimentary Happy Hour.  And we had signed up for it.  They served a weed salad and some pretty decent steak that we took home for the kids.  We had some fun tablemates to share the evening with.





After that they played Match Game which seems to be quite popular these days. There were drag queens and other impersonators on the panel and it was all quite hilarious.  I cant relate any of the questions to you because none were DIS friendly.  They were all car related and many used the answer dipstick or tool and other tawdry answers.  The most tame question I can reveal is that Dolly Parton test drove a car. When she finished, she said to the dealer, I cant buy this the {blanks} are too small.





We definitely had a good time this night.

Saturday morning was the car show.  We had plans to be up early and over at the show location by 7:00AM when the open loading occurred.  However, when reality set in and Fran had to really get up, we made it in the 8:00-8:30 window for our car class (barely). There were folks who showed up as much as an hour late and wanted space to be made for them.  Here we are before I have polished the car and set up the details.





And then here she is with her staging.





I really wish that I had more pictures from the car show, but I screwed up my settings on the camera and never changed them from indoor lighting to outdoor. Every single one of my pictures was overexposed to the point that they were not salvageable.  I have relied on the kindness of friends for the few pictures that I can show you.

We were fed a pretty good lunch of pulled pork sandwiches, slaw, and cake. Fran and I also brought some Doritos mix to quell our hunger during the day.  Around 1-2 PM we took down our camp and headed back over to the hotel to relax and wait for Happy Hour and the Awards Banquet.  

You gotta love the free drinks at the Embassy Suites, evidently the bartender got to know me enough and liked my tips that by the end of the happy hour, he poured me a glass of wine that set me up for the rest of evening. He warned me how large of a glass he had poured, but I was aware.  I nursed that puppy for the rest of the evening!

Once dinner was over, they kicked off the awards show with a drag number.  I think they sang, Theres no Business Like Show Business but substituting car lyrics for the Show Business stuff.









As they handed out the awards, I believe this is the car that beat out ours.





But we did win second place, so I had an award to pick up.





Even if we didnt win, it was still a fun evening.  As the token dykes of the event, it seemed all the guys knew we were the girls from Long Beach and everyone was very welcoming and nice to us.  What is funny is that the other lesbian couple that are usually the token dykes are also from Long Beach. It will be funny when we are both there again, hopefully next year.

The next morning it was time to pack the car back up and hit the road home.  Since we had an open bed, packing was quite an art.  Here is the car all packed up and ready to go.





And here is our award.





Now with the generator repaired we thought we were home free.  However while refueling at Costco, the car wouldnt shut off again.  Luckily we knew what to do and I was able to remove the little cap that shut the car off.  Then we disabled the power system and rebooted it so the car would start again.

However, about 100 miles out of SLO near Ventura, the Generator light came on again.  We kept driving and almost made it home. We were on the offramp to our house and car died.  Some nice people helped us push it to the side and then we started calling friends.  Of all the folks we knew, Leshaface and her DH from the DIS who were supposed to meet us at the new house were the ones to come to the rescue.  Talk about a lack of 3D friends!  

And hows this for weirdness?  I texted Alicia about our location, they lived in Long Beach so they could find us. Well moments later a pick up truck pulls up and it looks like Alicia and her DH.  So I run over to the truck asking if they have jumper cables, they dont, can you fit me in there?  They cant.  Then I think, wait I thought Alicia lost the weight from the babywhen did her DH grow a goatee?  Ewww cigarette smoke.  Then it hit me, this isnt Alicia and her DH.  Its two people from alternate universe, the one where Spock has a beard!  I realized that I needed to get out of there and luckily they took off because Im not sure what else I would have done!

Anyways, I got a cab back home, it was only a mile or two, picked up the modern car, and came back, we unloaded the Ranchero to the modern car and left the Ranchero at parked on the street by the mechanic.  Thankfully Alicias real life DH had one of those things that you hook up to the battery and it will start the car.  We got it to the mechanic so that Monday morning he could take a look at it.

Now that it has been a week, we had to take it to an electrical shop as the regular mechanic couldnt figure it out.  Turns out the problem is that we put an after market A/C unit on there, and a hidden audio system and those modifications would blow out the generator after 100 miles of use.  So they  put an alternator on the car and while its not period, it will keep the battery recharging even with the A/C.  That way we can enjoy our A/C and stereo and not worry if the car will start.

As far as the rest of the night, we enjoyed some good down home BBQ once Leshaface and her DH took a tour of the house.  Then we had a blast a DLR the next day.  Back to your regularly scheduled programming.


----------



## wdrl

I'm not much of a "car guy" but I liked seeing photos of your car.  Makes me wish I had kept my 1973 Gremlin.  Gremlins never get any love.  Even in Cars 2, Pixar cast the AMC Gremlins and Pacers as the 'bad' cars.  

As always, thanks for sharing your adventures!


----------



## mvf-m11c

Your Ford Ranchero looks very nice. I have watched a lot of Counting Cars on the History Channel and it made me appreciate classic cars. That was very neat to see all those other cars. That was great that your car was able to win the second place award. 

I always enjoy reading your adventures from Disney parks, car shows, etc.


----------



## dolphingirl47

Congratulations on coming second. Looks like you had a few nice days despite various "road blocks".

Completely off topic: Have you seen the new Haunted Mansion merchandise, which is coming out in fall. I so want the shoes and the Dooney and Bourke Tote. I am now rather glad that I never managed to get the original Haunted Mansion purse. I love the design, but never loved the shape of the purse. The totes are my favourites and the Haunted Mansion design works so well on this. Good job that I will get 20% discount on merchandise when I get to Disneyland. Even better job that our Christmas bonus will be paid while I am still at Disneyland.

Corinna


----------



## rentayenta

Weed salad? Do tell........

Nice ride.  Really, what a beautiful car. 

Looks like a fun morning at WDW. Love those cute mugs. And the cute pics with the Ewoks. 

You're having a crazy busy summer.


----------



## PrincessInOz

Love the car meets.  There are some real nice cars there and I'd love to kick the tyres someday.

Despite the fun-ness of it all, I think it sounds like a harrowing time with the Ranchero.  Glad it's all sorted out now.


----------



## Pinkocto

What a fun event. Love the car, so sorry you had all that trouble. 

I'm glad you got away from the alternate universe folks! 

Wonderful that Alicia and DH were able to help


----------



## jedijill

Gotta life in a classic car.  My starter went out at the gas station pump one time.  

Congrats on the award....the car is beautiful!

I'm dropping off all the parts for the '66 today to get the interior finished?  Hopefully I can start driving her in a couple of weeks!

Jill in CO


----------



## Misskitty3

How fun to see your car show pictures!!  I love how you added the fun accessories and I was wondering if you had a/c. 


My FIL loves cars and restored a '32 Ford several years back and he is working on a '40 now.  Once the '32 was completed, he and my MIL drove it from Seattle to Pleasanton in August.  My Mil said never again without a/c ....


----------



## heaven2dc

What a fun car meet!  Weed salad?!     I see that you didn't include any explanation haha

Love your car!  My DS21 is a car enthusiast and he said you def should have won 1st prize    I used to love working on cars with my late hubby - he had a 59 Ford Fairlane 500.  So much fun driving around in - it was his first car he bought in 1977.  Always love reading about your adventures!


----------



## Paula Sedley-Burke

Oh my goodness love the car! I adore open bed cars like that  what a beauty and well done for winning a prize! Sorry she caused you trouble just like a female lol. For a moment when the engine would not shut off I am thinking this is Christine from Stephen King! 

Looks like a fun event and love the idea of drag bingo and I didn't know they had bingo on DCL I love bingo! I must look out for that  

The complementary cocktail hour I could def get use to how nice! 

Glad you made it back and thanks for photos how I love those cars and being American we don't get to see them much over here. Star Trek convention in Vegas? Oh my you lucky ducks!


----------



## Shazzasmd

Beautiful car!  And, going back a post, the photo of Fran whispering to the Ewok is the cutest ever.


----------



## cj9200

franandaj said:


>



Nice ride and what a fun event.  My dream car is a '66 Mustang.  One of these days, maybe.


----------



## Leshaface

LOVE THE STORMTROOPER MUGS! 

Okay, that sand person is a little creepy but I get it.

Fabulous pics with Chip n Dale!

I really enjoyed Rosies when we went in 2012.  Good, solid hamburger.

Brilliant Maury shirt and ET shirt! 

Speaking of Chewie, I was looking at the Disney Store online and found the coolest Chewie mug that i'm totally ordering.  





i'm shocked that you took a nap!!  You must have been exhausted.

Your car is more gorgeous in person, it's so beautiful!  I'm so happy that we were there to help you guys out.   Too funny about the 'other' Alicia and DH! 

We had such a fun time hanging out with you guys (once we were back at the house!) DH and I later as we were driving to our hotel were thinking, "I hope we didn't inconvenience you guys!"  I mean, you just got home from a long trip ride and i'm sure the last thing you guys wanted to do is to entertain guests.  But it was so fun touring your home and getting to meet your kitties!


----------



## afwdwfan

Cool car! 

The meet looks like it was a great time.  I'm sorry about the electrical issues, but I'm glad you were able to get it figured out finally and hopefully have a permanent fix for it.


----------



## scottny

Love CSR.
I love the bacon at WDW it is always crispy. 
LOL at the Maleficent apples. 
The cups are small. We keep big mugs and to go cups in our Owners Lockers. 
Great your room was ready.
Ooh I saw the GF Burger on the menu, YUM!
The room looked nice. That looks close to the Monorail. 
MMM, Dr. Pepper. I miss soda sometimes. 
1900 PF looked good and fun with the characters. The strawberry soup there is so good. 
Nice parade pics. 
I liked the fireworks pics. 
Fun night at MK. 
OH MY! I am loving the updates I am up to for Star Wars and am so JEALOUS.
Love the dress. 
Ooh personal shoppers. LOL. I need to shop with Fran. 
Did they go on Ebay? 
That is some merchandise you all got. 
Love the motorcade pics. 
Darth does not look happy with you. LOl
The rebels show sounded interesting. I am looking forward to the show being I loved The Clone Wars. 
Love Wrecking Ball. Great song but the video is not for me. Lol.
It looked like fun from the link you gave. Thanks. 
What a great time with Ray Parks and John Ratzenberger. 
The drinks looked good. 
Nice pics of VGF & GF.
I would have had the drinks at the party and been happy. LOL. 
Great way to end the night. 
Cute Stormtrooper mug. 
Um, that was a Jawa. Sand people are the Tusken Raiders. 
LOL at the Maury shirt. 
WOW! That is some nap you took. LOL. 
Love Drag Queen Bingo. So much fun if you have the right queens. 
Yeah! You won 2nd place. That is good. 
I am caught up again.


----------



## franandaj

wdrl said:


> I'm not much of a "car guy" but I liked seeing photos of your car.  Makes me wish I had kept my 1973 Gremlin.  Gremlins never get any love.  Even in Cars 2, Pixar cast the AMC Gremlins and Pacers as the 'bad' cars.
> 
> As always, thanks for sharing your adventures!



Thanks, we like our cars.  I never realized that the Gremlins were the "bad cars" in the movie.  I'll have to watch it again and pay closer attention!



mvf-m11c said:


> Your Ford Ranchero looks very nice. I have watched a lot of Counting Cars on the History Channel and it made me appreciate classic cars. That was very neat to see all those other cars. That was great that your car was able to win the second place award.
> 
> I always enjoy reading your adventures from Disney parks, car shows, etc.



We watch Counting Cars too, at least Fran does and I catch it in the background.  It's always fun to get together with the Car Club, there are folks with a lot nicer cars than ours, and some in progress.  It's just fun.



dolphingirl47 said:


> Congratulations on coming second. Looks like you had a few nice days despite various "road blocks".
> 
> Completely off topic: Have you seen the new Haunted Mansion merchandise, which is coming out in fall. I so want the shoes and the Dooney and Bourke Tote. I am now rather glad that I never managed to get the original Haunted Mansion purse. I love the design, but never loved the shape of the purse. The totes are my favourites and the Haunted Mansion design works so well on this. Good job that I will get 20% discount on merchandise when I get to Disneyland. Even better job that our Christmas bonus will be paid while I am still at Disneyland.
> 
> Corinna



I'm glad we fixed those road blocks.

I think that the HM stuff is coming out really soon.  I seem to remember that it comes out while we are out of town on one of our trips.  Fran said we have to stop in the park as soon as we get back.  Now to figure out which trip it was.    Just what I need another purse/tote to want!



rentayenta said:


> Weed salad? Do tell........



Weed Salad.  Tastes like weeds.  Seems to be all the rage right now.







rentayenta said:


> Nice ride.  Really, what a beautiful car.
> 
> Looks like a fun morning at WDW. Love those cute mugs. And the cute pics with the Ewoks.
> 
> You're having a crazy busy summer.



Thanks! I'm glad you like our car.  The mugs are now on display in our kitchen.  I loved our pictures with the characters from today.

 I can't wait to get through all our travels.  Right now I'm actually blowing off the seeing the costumes at the Star Trek Convention because I'm too tired to leave the room after the past three days. We have a full evening ahead so I'm letting Fran nap (it's after 12 and she is still asleep, didn't sleep well last night).  I got us some Sbux and came back to the room.  Sometimes you just need to chill and DIS. Besides, it's like 107+ outside and there were thunderstorms last night so I bet the humidity is 



PrincessInOz said:


> Love the car meets.  There are some real nice cars there and I'd love to kick the tyres someday.
> 
> Despite the fun-ness of it all, I think it sounds like a harrowing time with the Ranchero.  Glad it's all sorted out now.



I'm looking forward to whatever the next meet is, they're fun, and now I'll be happy to take the Ranchero knowing it's all fixed!  



Pinkocto said:


> What a fun event. Love the car, so sorry you had all that trouble.
> 
> I'm glad you got away from the alternate universe folks!
> 
> Wonderful that Alicia and DH were able to help



I'm just glad the electrical shop figured it all out!  The generator had been giving us problems for months and now we know why.  Thank goodness for Alicia and her DH.  I was a little freaked out about that other couple.  



jedijill said:


> Gotta life in a classic car.  My starter went out at the gas station pump one time.
> 
> Congrats on the award....the car is beautiful!
> 
> I'm dropping off all the parts for the '66 today to get the interior finished?  Hopefully I can start driving her in a couple of weeks!
> 
> Jill in CO



Yeah, there is always something going wrong with them.  I don't want to talk about the Lincoln or the 68 Cougar.  

I hope you get to drive yours soon!



Misskitty3 said:


> How fun to see your car show pictures!!  I love how you added the fun accessories and I was wondering if you had a/c.
> 
> 
> My FIL loves cars and restored a '32 Ford several years back and he is working on a '40 now.  Once the '32 was completed, he and my MIL drove it from Seattle to Pleasanton in August.  My Mil said never again without a/c ....



The A/C was a necessity to add, it was miserable driving around without it.  Actually the A/C in that car works better than any other car we have, it's chilly cold!

Wow that's a long trip in a classic!  I'm always afraid because when I was in college my '79 Honda caught on fire on the I5. Since that experience, I'm wary about drives in risky cars.


----------



## rentayenta

franandaj said:


> Weed Salad.  Tastes like weeds.  Seems to be all the rage right now.




I love weed salad.  Really. I hate iceberg salads. Weeds are the way to go when it comes to salad. 





> Thanks! I'm glad you like our car.  The mugs are now on display in our kitchen.  I loved our pictures with the characters from today.
> 
> I can't wait to get through all our travels.  Right now I'm actually blowing off the seeing the costumes at the Star Trek Convention because I'm too tired to leave the room after the past three days. We have a full evening ahead so I'm letting Fran nap (it's after 12 and she is still asleep, didn't sleep well last night).  I got us some Sbux and came back to the room.  Sometimes you just need to chill and DIS. Besides, it's like 107+ outside and there were thunderstorms last night so I bet the humidity is




I am loving your FB pics from the convention!  I am all about chilling and DISing as I sit here Saturday afternoon doing the same. In my defense, I did grocery shop, laundry, and some gardening already. It's 90* here. Glad you ladies are getting some rest. What's on the agenda for tonight?


----------



## franandaj

heaven2dc said:


> What a fun car meet!  Weed salad?!     I see that you didn't include any explanation haha
> 
> Love your car!  My DS21 is a car enthusiast and he said you def should have won 1st prize    I used to love working on cars with my late hubby - he had a 59 Ford Fairlane 500.  So much fun driving around in - it was his first car he bought in 1977.  Always love reading about your adventures!



See above post, I put in a picture for Jenny.  Weeds, not Romaine, or iceberg, bitter weeds.

Thanks!  The 59 Ranchero is based off the Ford Fairlane, such a pretty car!



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Oh my goodness love the car! I adore open bed cars like that  what a beauty and well done for winning a prize! Sorry she caused you trouble just like a female lol. For a moment when the engine would not shut off I am thinking this is Christine from Stephen King!
> 
> Looks like a fun event and love the idea of drag bingo and I didn't know they had bingo on DCL I love bingo! I must look out for that
> 
> The complementary cocktail hour I could def get use to how nice!
> 
> Glad you made it back and thanks for photos how I love those cars and being American we don't get to see them much over here. Star Trek convention in Vegas? Oh my you lucky ducks!



Yeah, we haven't given her a name, but as I said before, her middle name was "trouble".  They do Bingo on the sea days.  We like it, lots of fun!  Embassy Suites rock for their complimentary cocktail hour!

Yup Star Trek Convention in Vegas.  Crazy.  I think I'm tired.  



Shazzasmd said:


> Beautiful car!  And, going back a post, the photo of Fran whispering to the Ewok is the cutest ever.



Thanks!  Yeah, I still have to ask her what she was saying to the Ewok.  



cj9200 said:


> Nice ride and what a fun event.  My dream car is a '66 Mustang.  One of these days, maybe.



Thanks!  We had a mustang for a while.  It was a total fixer upper, way beyond our skill level.  We ended up selling it to someone in Australia.  I wonder how it is doing down under.



Leshaface said:


> LOVE THE STORMTROOPER MUGS!



I should have pointed them out to you when you were at our house, they are above the refrigerator along with some other SW mugs.



Leshaface said:


> Okay, that sand person is a little creepy but I get it.
> 
> Fabulous pics with Chip n Dale!
> 
> I really enjoyed Rosies when we went in 2012.  Good, solid hamburger.



I guess we both got it wrong, it's a Jawa, so I'm told.  
I love the character pics!
We thought it was really good too!



Leshaface said:


> Brilliant Maury shirt and ET shirt!
> 
> Speaking of Chewie, I was looking at the Disney Store online and found the coolest Chewie mug that i'm totally ordering.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> i'm shocked that you took a nap!!  You must have been exhausted.



They were really funny.  We were at the Disney Store yesterday and I saw the mug in person, it was really cute!  That seems to be a theme recurrent through this entire summer!



Leshaface said:


> Your car is more gorgeous in person, it's so beautiful!  I'm so happy that we were there to help you guys out.   Too funny about the 'other' Alicia and DH!
> 
> We had such a fun time hanging out with you guys (once we were back at the house!) DH and I later as we were driving to our hotel were thinking, "I hope we didn't inconvenience you guys!"  I mean, you just got home from a long trip ride and i'm sure the last thing you guys wanted to do is to entertain guests.  But it was so fun touring your home and getting to meet your kitties!



Thank you so much!  I had so much fun with you guys too! And no you didn't inconvenience us at all!  In fact since you were there, I got to go out and be served dinner instead of ordering delivery online from Eat24.  It was a much better evening! 



afwdwfan said:


> Cool car!
> 
> The meet looks like it was a great time.  I'm sorry about the electrical issues, but I'm glad you were able to get it figured out finally and hopefully have a permanent fix for it.



I'm pretty relieved too.  I think that car is now "done".  The electrical is up to snuff, it has seatbelts, A/C the engine works, what else do we need?



scottny said:


> Love CSR.
> I love the bacon at WDW it is always crispy.
> LOL at the Maleficent apples.
> The cups are small. We keep big mugs and to go cups in our Owners Lockers.
> Great your room was ready.
> Ooh I saw the GF Burger on the menu, YUM!
> The room looked nice. That looks close to the Monorail.
> MMM, Dr. Pepper. I miss soda sometimes.
> 1900 PF looked good and fun with the characters. The strawberry soup there is so good.
> Nice parade pics.
> I liked the fireworks pics.
> Fun night at MK.
> OH MY! I am loving the updates I am up to for Star Wars and am so JEALOUS.
> Love the dress.
> Ooh personal shoppers. LOL. I need to shop with Fran.
> Did they go on Ebay?
> That is some merchandise you all got.
> Love the motorcade pics.
> Darth does not look happy with you. LOl
> The rebels show sounded interesting. I am looking forward to the show being I loved The Clone Wars.
> Love Wrecking Ball. Great song but the video is not for me. Lol.
> It looked like fun from the link you gave. Thanks.
> What a great time with Ray Parks and John Ratzenberger.
> The drinks looked good.
> Nice pics of VGF & GF.
> I would have had the drinks at the party and been happy. LOL.
> Great way to end the night.
> Cute Stormtrooper mug.
> Um, that was a Jawa. Sand people are the Tusken Raiders.
> LOL at the Maury shirt.
> WOW! That is some nap you took. LOL.
> Love Drag Queen Bingo. So much fun if you have the right queens.
> Yeah! You won 2nd place. That is good.
> I am caught up again.



  I'm glad that you made it over here!  With everything you commented on I'm at a loss for words!    Just happy to have you following along!


----------



## franandaj

rentayenta said:


> I love weed salad.  Really. I hate iceberg salads. Weeds are the way to go when it comes to salad.



I love an iceberg salad, a wedge with bacon, tomatoes, and blue cheese is my idea of heaven.  Romaine, also heaven.  Weeds, bleech!  But again why life is so good, to each her own and no one need be right, we can all be different!



rentayenta said:


> I am loving your FB pics from the convention!  I am all about chilling and DISing as I sit here Saturday afternoon doing the same. In my defense, I did grocery shop, laundry, and some gardening already. It's 90* here. Glad you ladies are getting some rest. What's on the agenda for tonight?



Oh my gosh, and there are so many more pictures!  It's been lots of fun!  We've seen panels on folks from Classic Trek (funny it's mostly the women who are still around). William Shatner will be here tomorrow. But there was a TNG "boys" panel a TNG "girls" panel, and a DS9 panel.  Today is Cosplay and I don't have an outfit. We never ordered them and after what I've seen so far, I wouldn't even participate. There are some awesome costumes here.

For tonight there is a Voyager panel at 5PM. Fran bought a Groupon for the Carnival World Buffet here at the hotel and it includes a bottle of wine.  Then at 9:30 the Nevada Pops is playing music from Star Trek.  After that we have a dessert/cocktail party for the people in the ticket bracket we purchased.  We pretty much got the equivalent of the "Sorcerers" at the D23 Expo for this event.

We've been going at it quite aggressively for the last three days, so I think a day of chilling is in order so that we are feeling good this evening and can enjoy.


----------



## franandaj

*Sunday, Day 5 of the Trip*

Clearly we had exhausted ourselves and it was time for a break. I thought that I had anticipated this and scheduled our FP+ for later in the day. I think that when I realized how hot the weather was, I changed our FP+ for earlier in the day. But since we both had a good nights sleep we were up pretty early, I have a tradition on our WDW DVC vacations of making us a bacon and eggs breakfast. Today was the day.





And then we got ready and left. I took this shot of the lake as we headed towards the transportation.





Our destination.









We had a FP+ for this from 9:10-10:10AM.





I think it was almost the end of the FP+ window and Fran didnt really feel like riding so I went by myself.





This was my first opportunity to design the car. Fran designed the car on the last one, I gave my input, but she did most of the concept work.  Im not sure how well I did, but it was purple!





Here we go!





Since I was just using the P&S on this ride, I didnt get any interior ride pictures. But once we got out on the open road









And the verdict is.





By the time I finished the ride, our FP+ window was up.  I could have tried to ride it again, but instead I wanted to get to our next FP+ which was Spaceship Earth at 10:10-11:10.





More challenging my dark ride photography skills, I think you all know how this ride goes.







































 

*[Continued in Next Post]*


----------



## franandaj

*[Continued from Previous Post]*

And we begin our descent.





Oh goody our future!





I’m not sure I want to live on this modern city street.  And look how close together those houses are!  LOL!





Our kitties will love the little stream running through the house.  That won’t create a mess at ALL!





At least the dining room table of the future will be clean enough that we can eat dinner on it instead of TV trays!









Our last FP+ of the day was for Mission Space from 11:20-12:20. We had plenty of time to make this one, in fact I might have been early and had to wait about 3 minutes to board.  I took Orange team each time.





While I rode, Fran took these pictures of funny Mickey electrical stuff.









It was around noon, by the time I rode with both of our FP+ and I’d had enough rides for the morning.  Hunger was upon us.  Where did we go?  Stay tuned to find out!


----------



## Paula Sedley-Burke

Cute tradition of cooking bacon and egg. Pray you are never in a villa next to us if Jo smelt that bacon she would be knocking on your door lol. Her favourite thing is a bacon sandwich with loads of ketchup and eggs on the side! 

Great FP+ selection I find it funny they run 10 minutes past the hour starting from 9.... Why 10 mins? Did somebody think you can get to the ride in 10 mins from the gate from open time lol......

Ohhh where did you go for lunch? Do tell........ Food porn!


----------



## dolphingirl47

You got a lot done in a relatively short time span. I am impressed that you were able to do the orange version of Mission:Space back to back. I don't think I could do that at all. I have only ever tried to green version.

Corinna


----------



## franandaj

Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Cute tradition of cooking bacon and egg. Pray you are never in a villa next to us if Jo smelt that bacon she would be knocking on your door lol. Her favourite thing is a bacon sandwich with loads of ketchup and eggs on the side!
> 
> Great FP+ selection I find it funny they run 10 minutes past the hour starting from 9.... Why 10 mins? Did somebody think you can get to the ride in 10 mins from the gate from open time lol......
> 
> Ohhh where did you go for lunch? Do tell........ Food porn!



Hey I would be happy to serve breakfast to you and Jo!  Next time you are there when we are, let's make a breakfast meet in our Villa!  Just don't mind the mess and we'll cook you up an awesome breakfast.  I'll even go above and beyond this simple breakfast.  I have some great brunch ideas that I would make for guests that a just as easy and even more tasty.  This is me trying to save time and just eat well.  If we had a meet, I would make something really great!

When I went to pick the FP+ that is what they had, not on the hour, but 10 mins afterwards,  



dolphingirl47 said:


> You got a lot done in a relatively short time span. I am impressed that you were able to do the orange version of Mission:Space back to back. I don't think I could do that at all. I have only ever tried to green version.
> 
> Corinna



I'm thinking I like the FP+ because we aren't commandos who spend all day in the park, we do a few rides and we're done.  FP+ is actually perfect for us, on most occasions since we're about done after three rides.

I'm one of those who likes the thrill rides so I used to be able to do RnRC three times in a row with no problem.  I'm getting old because after two I was done.


----------



## mvf-m11c

Another great day during your trip to WDW. The FP+ selection that day was well planned out. I thought that you might of got the FP+ for Soarin. Even though the original version is it at DCA but it is always nice to go on the EPCOT version (if it is the same ride experience). 

Nice that you were able to ride Spaceship Earth. That is one of the must do rides in my opinion when I am visiting EPCOT. Great pictures during the ride and looking forward to the rest of the day.


----------



## franandaj

So a number of folks have given updates on their TRs about upcoming Trips that have no PTR, so I thought I would follow suit.  I'm sure that none of you know of any of our upcoming trips, so here's a short synopsis along with the updates that we have done in the last couple weeks.

Gay Games - Midwest Roadtrip.

This one takes us from the Columbus Airport to Cleveland via and overnight stop.  We have a couple days to relax before rehearsals for the concert begin.  Once rehearsals begin we are pretty much tied up for a few days.  Sunday and Monday we have 5 hours of rehearsal with lunch or dinner breaks and one day we actually have about three hours between sectionals and full band rehearsal. On concert day we have a tech rehearsal from 11-2 and a concert call of 6:30PM

After that we head to Auburn Indiana to see the Auburn, Cord, Dusenberg Museum.  Today our milestone is that I booked our rental car. After a couple nights in Auburn we head back to Columbus to fly back to LA.  We have a couple months of NOTHING that I am looking forward to!

Our next trip is to Ft. Lauderdale where we have booked a Disney Cruise and then the International Band Organization (the same who organized the Gay Games) has it's annual conference.  We are unfortunately delegates, so we have to go to meetings in addition to rehearsals for the concert. We were hoping that since we were not on the board that others would step up and be the delegates at the conference, but "no" even though we aren't on the board we are the only ones who go to the events.

Our next big trip is to WDW with our favorite cat sitters Jim and Alberto.  Luckily Darcy is on vacation from her school year during our trip and since her son's girlfriend is due next month, she will REALLY be ready for a getaway in April next year so she will stay over and take care of the kitties while the normal kitty sitters are gone.  We just booked our airfare and now understand how the new US Air/ American Airlines miles work.  

We used the expensive miles to book a nonstop to Florida, but used the economy miles to book a return trip that changes planes.  We have our seats booked on the trip to Florida, but are having problems trying to book the seats on the US air trip home.  I'm pretty sure if they separate the two of us, anyone seated next to Fran is not going to want to deal with her next to them and will trade, but we will have to see.

That's is for big trips we have booked, but I'll let you know that next July and August look just as busy if not more for us.  Why does every group book their things in the same weeks so we can't do them all and have to pick and choose?


----------



## franandaj

mvf-m11c said:


> Another great day during your trip to WDW. The FP+ selection that day was well planned out. I thought that you might of got the FP+ for Soarin. Even though the original version is it at DCA but it is always nice to go on the EPCOT version (if it is the same ride experience).
> 
> Nice that you were able to ride Spaceship Earth. That is one of the must do rides in my opinion when I am visiting EPCOT. Great pictures during the ride and looking forward to the rest of the day.



Thanks Bret!  I really don't like the Epcot Soarin.  I like coming up into Condor Flats not "the Land".   It really messes with my phychee to come up not in Condor Flats so I prefer not to ride the WDW Soarin.  Besides they don't even call it "Soarin over California", they just call it, "Soarin'"  I wonder if people who ride it realize that everything in the ride is in California.


----------



## mvf-m11c

Looks like you and Fran will be really busy with all these upcoming trips. Sounds a lot of fun. 



franandaj said:


> Thanks Bret!  I really don't like the Epcot Soarin.  I like coming up into Condor Flats not "the Land".   It really messes with my phychee to come up not in Condor Flats so I prefer not to ride the WDW Soarin.  Besides they don't even call it "Soarin over California", they just call it, "Soarin'"  I wonder if people who ride it realize that everything in the ride is in California.



The EPCOT Soarin is nice and just like you, I am so used to being in Condor Flats at DCA when I am about to ride Soarin. "The Land" is nice but it is so cramp tight when walking all the way down to the entrance of Soarin. The wait times at Soarin at EPCOT are crazy where it can be in the 1-2 hour range where DCA can be less than an hour during the busy times. I always try not to ride Soarin every time I am at EPCOT since I can ride it at DCA and spend the extra time in EPCOT. It is surprising that the ECPOT version isn't called "Soarin over California" where you are soaring over California. I wonder when Disney will do the new versions for Soarin. Just have to wait and hear about it in the near future.


----------



## Paula Sedley-Burke

How kind offering to cook! Sweet but due to my diet I have to sadly decline! Too stressful but thanks anyway  Sweet of you. Def meet in the parks though! 

You got some great vacations planned! DCL yeah! What's not to like! Gay games sound fun and WDW next April with kitty sitters woohooo! Lucky it worked out with Darcy! Nice one


----------



## Captain_Oblivious

Had to do some work to catch up, but I did it!  And once again, it was wonderful to meet you and hang out at DLR with you.  Thank you for making it a magical day for us!

One regret (spoiler alert): I never did get to ride Indiana Jones.



franandaj said:


> Then I put together our travel breakfast of champions. Cereal, V8, and our caffeinated beverages of choice.



Hopefully not all at once. 



franandaj said:


> Most of the shirt pictures were not particularly noteworthy, but I thought these two were a little out of the ordinary.  If you cant make it out in the first one, its Maury Povich sitting in the interview chair, with the phrase, "You are the Father."







franandaj said:


> I'm not sure what Fran is telling this Ewok.



Han shot first!



franandaj said:


> I had booked us FP+ for the Great Movie Ride thinking that it was silly since usually for us it is a walk on, but I was glad that I had done it today because the wait was 40 minutes!



40 minutes for GMR??  That's 40 minutes they'll never get back.



franandaj said:


> I woke up around midnight.



That's quite the nap.




franandaj said:


> Since everyone likes some pictures, Ill throw in a few.  Here is the little beauty we are taking to the meet.  Its called Its a West, West, West, West Coast Meet sort of like Its a Mad, Mad, Mad Mad World. Since that film was set in 1962, we decided to bring a car that was around in 1962.



Cool.  Fun movie, too!



franandaj said:


> As we drove up to the wash, we tried to turn the car off and even though the ignition switch was in the off position, the car continued to run!



I'm not a car guy, but I don't think that's good.



franandaj said:


> When we returned to the hotel, they had been in full swing of decorating for the meet.  If you have seen the movie, you know that they are looking for a W.  It turns out that the W is made up from Palm Trees.  Evidently they really existed in Long Beach until the 70s or early 80s when the trees all died.  Much of the end of the movie was filmed in Long Beach. Fran recognized the buildings.  Anyways they had the lobby of the hotel decorated with facets of the movie.



I like it! 



franandaj said:


> That night there was an optional dinner after the hotels complimentary Happy Hour.  And we had signed up for it.  They served a weed salad and some pretty decent steak that we took home for the kids.



 I'm with you on the weed salad.  I have such a hard time eating tree leaves for dinner. 



franandaj said:


> But we did win second place, so I had an award to pick up.



Nice work!  The car looked great.




franandaj said:


> Im not sure how well I did, but it was purple!



Hey, at least you had priorities!



franandaj said:


> And the verdict is...



And that's....good?


----------



## rentayenta

Love cooking breakfast while at WDW. One of my favorite things about DVC.  Looks good. I also like tomato juice and don't find many folks my age that do. 


I cannot wait to ride the new Test Track. It was closed during our last visit. This update is really making me miss WDW.


----------



## dolphingirl47

You have a lot on. I am glad that you have the cat sitter issue sorted out.

I have done Soarin a lot more often at California Adventure than at Epcot, but either is fine by me. I do like the line at California Adventure a lot better. Love all the historical aviation stuff and the single rider line is definitely a bonus.

Corinna


----------



## scottny

I do not think I would want a stream in my house. 
Orange side, oh no. I could never do it. Good for you. 
The future plans look good.


----------



## cj9200

franandaj said:


> *Sunday, Day 5 of the Trip*
> 
> Clearly we had exhausted ourselves and it was time for a break. I thought that I had anticipated this and scheduled our FP+ for later in the day. I think that when I realized how hot the weather was, I changed our FP+ for earlier in the day. But since we both had a good night’s sleep we were up pretty early, I have a tradition on our WDW DVC vacations of making us a bacon and eggs breakfast. Today was the day.




That looks sooooo good.  We made breakfast every morning at Aulani.  Saved a boatload of money and I do say for myself, I can make a good breakfast.  When the points get built back up after the Hawaii/Disneyland trip (an Aulani Ocean View 1 BR eats a ton of points) we will be in 1BR again and the breakfast that awaits.   



franandaj said:


> Hey I would be happy to serve breakfast to you and Jo!  Next time you are there when we are, let's make a breakfast meet in our Villa!  Just don't mind the mess and we'll cook you up an awesome breakfast.  I'll even go above and beyond this simple breakfast.  I have some great brunch ideas that I would make for guests that a just as easy and even more tasty.  This is me trying to save time and just eat well.  If we had a meet, I would make something really great!



I'm in.  Do you require 180 day must reserve window for reservations?    



franandaj said:


> Thanks Bret!  I really don't like the Epcot Soarin.  I like coming up into Condor Flats not "the Land".   It really messes with my phychee to come up not in Condor Flats so I prefer not to ride the WDW Soarin.  Besides they don't even call it "Soarin over California", they just call it, "Soarin'"  I wonder if people who ride it realize that everything in the ride is in California.



Soarin = Borin  
Not a fan, mostly for it's California centric experience.


----------



## PrincessInOz

That is a great tradition for bacon and eggs breakfast.  It looks yum!

Seems like you managed to get a few attractions done this morning.  Nice pictures inside SE and I love your future house.

Sounds like you have a few more trips planned.


----------



## afwdwfan

franandaj said:


> I'm pretty relieved too.  I think that car is now "done".  The electrical is up to snuff, it has seatbelts, A/C the engine works, what else do we need?


Well, I could come up with a few things, but if you're going for the classic, original look... I'd say you're done.  



franandaj said:


> I have a tradition on our WDW DVC vacations of making us a bacon and eggs breakfast. Today was the day.


That looks like a great breakfast.  Dare I say, better than the bacon and eggs you'd find at a WDW buffet.  



franandaj said:


> At least the dining room table of the future will be clean enough that we can eat dinner on it instead of TV trays!


I know exactly what you mean.


----------



## eandesmom

franandaj said:


> Now we had been having problems with the Generator on and off for several months and know that this light being on will not cause the car to catch fire, or send a timing belt through the engine. It just means that the generator isnt charging the battery, and we run the risk of the car eventually not starting.
> 
> However, about 100 miles out of SLO near Ventura, the Generator light came on again.  We kept driving and almost made it home. We were on the offramp to our house and car died.  Some nice people helped us push it to the side and then we started calling friends.  Of all the folks we knew, Leshaface and her DH from the DIS who were supposed to meet us at the new house were the ones to come to the rescue.  Talk about a lack of 3D friends!
> 
> And hows this for weirdness?  I texted Alicia about our location, they lived in Long Beach so they could find us. Well moments later a pick up truck pulls up and it looks like Alicia and her DH.  So I run over to the truck asking if they have jumper cables, they dont, can you fit me in there?  They cant.  Then I think, wait I thought Alicia lost the weight from the babywhen did her DH grow a goatee?  Ewww cigarette smoke.  Then it hit me, this isnt Alicia and her DH.  Its two people from alternate universe, the one where Spock has a beard!  I realized that I needed to get out of there and luckily they took off because Im not sure what else I would have done!



Oh my word!



Alison!



franandaj said:


> Anyways, I got a cab back home, it was only a mile or two, picked up the modern car, and came back, we unloaded the Ranchero to the modern car and left the Ranchero at parked on the street by the mechanic.  Thankfully Alicias real life DH had one of those things that you hook up to the battery and it will start the car.  We got it to the mechanic so that Monday morning he could take a look at it.
> 
> Now that it has been a week, we had to take it to an electrical shop as the regular mechanic couldnt figure it out.  Turns out the problem is that we put an after market A/C unit on there, and a hidden audio system and those modifications would blow out the generator after 100 miles of use.  So they  put an alternator on the car and while its not period, it will keep the battery recharging even with the A/C.  That way we can enjoy our A/C and stereo and not worry if the car will start.
> 
> As far as the rest of the night, we enjoyed some good down home BBQ once Leshaface and her DH took a tour of the house.  Then we had a blast a DLR the next day.  Back to your regularly scheduled programming.[/COLOR][/SIZE]



Wow, what a story, I knew a little bit of it but not all.  YAY for Alicia!


Fun TR update and lots of future trip plans!  I love cooking in the villa, there is something to nice about it to start, or end your day.

YAY for the Orange team!


----------



## franandaj

mvf-m11c said:


> Looks like you and Fran will be really busy with all these upcoming trips. Sounds a lot of fun.
> 
> The EPCOT Soarin is nice and just like you, I am so used to being in Condor Flats at DCA when I am about to ride Soarin. "The Land" is nice but it is so cramp tight when walking all the way down to the entrance of Soarin. The wait times at Soarin at EPCOT are crazy where it can be in the 1-2 hour range where DCA can be less than an hour during the busy times. I always try not to ride Soarin every time I am at EPCOT since I can ride it at DCA and spend the extra time in EPCOT. It is surprising that the ECPOT version isn't called "Soarin over California" where you are soaring over California. I wonder when Disney will do the new versions for Soarin. Just have to wait and hear about it in the near future.



I can't wait for all these trips to wind down!  The end is in sight!

I enjoy Soarin, but it really needs that update that they have been talking about.  It's been almost 15 years now.



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> How kind offering to cook! Sweet but due to my diet I have to sadly decline! Too stressful but thanks anyway. Sweet of you. Def meet in the parks though!
> 
> You got some great vacations planned! DCL yeah! What's not to like! Gay games sound fun and WDW next April with kitty sitters woohooo! Lucky it worked out with Darcy! Nice one



That's too bad about your diet. I have been able to meet a number of dietary challenges, some probably more difficult than yours, but I understand. Yes, it is a relief to have the kitty sitters sorted out while we will be gone next April.



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Had to do some work to catch up, but I did it!  And once again, it was wonderful to meet you and hang out at DLR with you.  Thank you for making it a magical day for us!
> 
> One regret (spoiler alert): I never did get to ride Indiana Jones.



I had a lot of fun with your family out at DLR, but you all sure wore me out!    Sorry you never got on Indy, but I hope that you did get to do the Matterhorn finally!



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Hopefully not all at once.



See that's the beauty of the Comma.  It's the difference between "Let's eat, Grandma!" and "Let's eat Grandma!"



Captain_Oblivious said:


>



I'd love to see Vader as a guest on one of these talk shows.  The video of him at DL was awesome!



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Han shot first!



I asked her and she doesn't remember, but she thinks it was "Don't let the big guys get you down."



Captain_Oblivious said:


> 40 minutes for GMR??  That's 40 minutes they'll never get back.



I know, really!



Captain_Oblivious said:


> That's quite the nap.







Captain_Oblivious said:


> Cool.  Fun movie, too!



We had fun watching it, although I suffer the fate that Julie does.  We had to watch it over two nights and the second night we started around 5 o'clock.



Captain_Oblivious said:


> I'm not a car guy, but I don't think that's good.



Yeah, pretty much.



Captain_Oblivious said:


> I like it!



I'm amazed at the feats that these guys are able to pull off.  Last year's James Bond (The Car Who Loved Me) themed event was filled with great props as well.



Captain_Oblivious said:


> I'm with you on the weed salad.  I have such a hard time eating tree leaves for dinner.



That's another good name for it.  Whenever I get that plate of weeds, my eyes just roll in the back of my head.  I would never order it knowingly.



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Nice work!  The car looked great.



Thanks!  I particularly liked Fran's props from the Drive in Theater.



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Hey, at least you had priorities!And that's....good?



Well, I think the color of the car doesn't help performance. Our last ride got us this score, which seems to be better, so I guess Fran is a better car designer.







rentayenta said:


> Love cooking breakfast while at WDW. One of my favorite things about DVC.  Looks good. I also like tomato juice and don't find many folks my age that do.



I love V8 for breakfast, it's one healthy thing that I can do while eating eggs, bacon and waffles!



rentayenta said:


> I cannot wait to ride the new Test Track. It was closed during our last visit. This update is really making me miss WDW.



I like the new one, but I wasn't a big fan of the old one, so what can I say?



dolphingirl47 said:


> You have a lot on. I am glad that you have the cat sitter issue sorted out.
> 
> I have done Soarin a lot more often at California Adventure than at Epcot, but either is fine by me. I do like the line at California Adventure a lot better. Love all the historical aviation stuff and the single rider line is definitely a bonus.
> 
> Corinna



Glad to have something figured out so far in advance.  I just prefer all the historical and interesting stuff on the wall in the queue, it just gives it a little more substance.



scottny said:


> I do not think I would want a stream in my house.
> Orange side, oh no. I could never do it. Good for you.
> The future plans look good.



Thanks for following along!



cj9200 said:


> That looks sooooo good.  We made breakfast every morning at Aulani.  Saved a boatload of money and I do say for myself, I can make a good breakfast.  When the points get built back up after the Hawaii/Disneyland trip (an Aulani Ocean View 1 BR eats a ton of points) we will be in 1BR again and the breakfast that awaits.
> 
> 
> 
> I'm in.  Do you require 180 day must reserve window for reservations?



 I would say come on over on our next trip, but it's with some friends, so maybe the next one.  I don't mind guests!  



cj9200 said:


> Soarin = Borin
> Not a fan, mostly for it's California centric experience.



I like to look at it as where I have yet to go in California.



PrincessInOz said:


> That is a great tradition for bacon and eggs breakfast.  It looks yum!
> 
> Seems like you managed to get a few attractions done this morning.  Nice pictures inside SE and I love your future house.
> 
> Sounds like you have a few more trips planned.



It just feels like vacation when I cook a nice breakfast.  We did get a lot done and good thing....cue ominous music.



afwdwfan said:


> Well, I could come up with a few things, but if you're going for the classic, original look... I'd say you're done.


 
Yes, we are going for the period look.



afwdwfan said:


> That looks like a great breakfast.  Dare I say, better than the bacon and eggs you'd find at a WDW buffet.



Thank you!



afwdwfan said:


> I know exactly what you mean.



  I can't remember the last time I ate dinner on the dining room table.



eandesmom said:


> Oh my word!
> 
> 
> 
> Alison!



Yeah that was quite the afternoon!



eandesmom said:


> Wow, what a story, I knew a little bit of it but not all.  YAY for Alicia!



They did good that day!



eandesmom said:


> Fun TR update and lots of future trip plans!  I love cooking in the villa, there is something to nice about it to start, or end your day.
> 
> YAY for the Orange team!



There will be a little more cooking, but not as much as I normally like on a DVC trip.


----------



## franandaj

When youre hungry at Epcot the place to go for a great meal can be found around World Showcase.  On our way there, Fran stopped to take pictures of this homage to the World Cup.









Youll recall that I have been trying to work on my Golden Spoon, so we werent going anywhere that wed been before. And those of you who know my tastebuds, you also know that I often enjoy the more exotic foods, especially from the East. So when Spice Road Table announced a menu of small plates inspired by Morroccan flavors, I was all over that. I love Morroccan food and especially anything that I can order in a Tapas format!





For most of our meal, we pretty much had the place to ourselves.





We were seated at a table with a view.









The menu

















Here are our first drinks.  I believe that Fran had the Andalusian Nights and I had glass of White Sangria.





Our first small plate arrived, which was the Chicken and Beef Skewers.





Then the Spicy Garlic Shrimp, it wasnt all that spicy and it came served with some pita bread for dipping the garlic buetter.









We also got the Tingis Sampler.  It consists of a Chicken Harissa Roll (sort of a Moroccan Egg Roll), a Lamb Slider and a piece of Lamb Sausage. This is where myself and the server had a little bit of a disagreement.  When the restaurant opened they called the sausage by its proper name, Merguez. It still appears on Allears.net this way, but the menu has been changed so that more Americans might be apt to order it. I commented about that change and the server insisted it was still called merguez on the menu, however upon closer inspection she realized I was right.





Either way it was still tasty, but not quite as spicy as others I have tasted.  I dont mean to dwell on this cut of meat, but ever since I had it at a Moroccan restaurant in France (short history lesson, all nations with colonies have their colonies come back to haunt them by the colonists taking up residence in their colonizing nation), I have been smitten by the Merguez.  My mother found a merchant at her farmers market who made it and bought me several packages which I froze and just finally finished the last package late last year. But I digress

I ordered a flight of red wines for most of these tapas.





And the beauty of tapas, is that we were still hungry after all those small plates and ordered another small plate of calamari.  Everything was quite good!





*[Continued in Next Post]*


----------



## franandaj

*[Continued from Previous Post]*

We paid our bill and were just getting ready to leave when the skies opened up and it began pouring.  I dont mean raining, I mean POURING rain, like SERIOUS Florida rain.  Our scooters were actually parked outside and I rushed to get them inside the restaurant, the folks there were kind enough to let us weather out the storm in the lobby and it went on for quite some time.









We waited for quite a while and finally the rain did let up. Some. We had one poncho in our scooter bags.  Im not sure why, we had them in our owners locker, heaven knows we have bought countless ponchos in WDW, but we had to buy one more.  And we made a break for it.  We did great getting almost all the way to the entrance of the park before it hit us again.  An enterprising young PP photographer was sitting at the gates capitalizing on all us getting drenched. Of course Fran stopped to retrieve our photo pass pictures!









And then we went to board the monorail, but not immediately.  We had planned to visit the new Ice Cream shop in France before the skies opened up and we were going to get dessert there, but our plans were cut short, so instead we decided to stop at the little kiosk just outside Epcot and get a donut to split before we took the monorail back to the TTC and our resort.

Just as we got to the top of the platform the doors of the monorail were shutting on a packed train.  Our little stops had caused us to miss the train.

So we waited for the next train which arrived shortly and we boarded.  The doors closed and we waited to leave.  And we waited.  And waited.  There was an announcement that the monorail on the tracks was experiencing technical difficulty and that they would be getting us underway momentariy. And the announcement came again, and again.  And again.  

Finally they asked us all to disembark and told us that they would have buses come and take us to our destination.  About a half an hour went by before buses to the Ticket and Transportation Center arrived. Two busses filled up before they were able to get Fran and I on a bus, and still we got some dirty looks from passengers.  Keep in mind, we were actually the first ones on that platform to miss the previous monorail.

Finally we got to the TTC and onto a resort monorail. We met up with some passengers from the stuck monorail on our trip around the loop.  Evidently they had to be towed to the TTC. The folks we talked to had an ADR at BoG and were now an hour late due to being stuck on the monorail.  I wonder if that story held up when they got there!

By the time we got back to the room it was almost 4PM and I needed a nap, again!  However this time we set an alarm for Olaf to call us and we woke around 6PM for our ADR at Narcossees. We like this place, it is always a good solid meal for us.

We started off with the bread service.





Fran had the Lobster Bisque.





I went with the Caesar Salad.





We split the House Made Shrimp Fettucine. This was sooo good!  I couldnt finish it all and ended up taking it home for leftovers!









We had considered going to MK afterwards, but in the end we just went back to the room and went to bed.  We were really trying to ward off Sleepy and Grumpy!


----------



## dolphingirl47

You must have been in food heaven that day. Like you, I love Middle Eastern and North African food and that restaurant is definitely on my to do list for next year.

What a shame that the weather put paid to your dessert plans. I had to smile about Fran stopping to get the Photopass pictures. What a pain with the monorail breaking down and you having to wait so long for a buss.

Narcoossees is my favourite restaurant and the Caesar Salad is my go to appetizer. Everything looks delicious.

On a completely unrelated matter, a certain package is showing as having been loaded onto the delivery vehicle so it should be in my greedy hands tomorrow.

Corinna


----------



## mvf-m11c

franandaj said:


> I can't wait for all these trips to wind down!  The end is in sight!
> 
> I enjoy Soarin, but it really needs that update that they have been talking about.  It's been almost 15 years now.



Soarin never gets old. It has been a long time since Soarin over California debut in 2001 during DCA opening and at EPCOT a few years after DCA Soarin. It will be nice when they do an update for Soarin. 


The food at Spice Road Table restaurant at Morocco pavilion looks so nice. I keep saying this over and over on your trip reports, PiO and others hatt I should try this restaurant when I go back to WDW. The only problem is that you can't do all the restaurants during the trip. But all the food looks so good. I will have to do a lot of research and choose which places to eat.

Wow it was pouring when you were at Morocco pavilion. 

I'm sorry to hear about the Monorail having problems. The Mark VI Monorails are almost 25 years old and I think that WDW should upgrade them. I do enjoy the Mark VI Monorails at the WDW and it has not been the same since we can't ride in the front cabin. It is so nice that the DLR updated the Mark V Monorails to the Mark VII seven years ago.


----------



## PrincessInOz

Look at that rain!  And what great work by that PP Photographer.

Love, love, love the food.  I did have a go at the Golden Spoon and came in at over 30%.  It will be a long time before I push it along.  Good for you for working at it.


----------



## Captain_Oblivious

franandaj said:


> Youll recall that I have been trying to work on my Golden Spoon, so we werent going anywhere that wed been before. And those of you who know my tastebuds, you also know that I often enjoy the more exotic foods, especially from the East.



Just like me and my family!  



franandaj said:


> We were seated at a table with a view.



Looks like a quality spot.




franandaj said:


> We paid our bill and were just getting ready to leave when the skies opened up and it began pouring.  I dont mean raining, I mean POURING rain, like SERIOUS Florida rain.



  Wait, is that Noah?



franandaj said:


> We waited for quite a while and finally the rain did let up. Some. We had one poncho in our scooter bags.  Im not sure why, we had them in our owners locker, heaven knows we have bought countless ponchos in WDW, but we had to buy one more.



Murphy's Law strikes again!  Disney's Poncho Profit Team thanks you. 



franandaj said:


> An enterprising young PP photographer was sitting at the gates capitalizing on all us getting drenched. Of course Fran stopped to retrieve our photo pass pictures!







franandaj said:


> And we waited.  And waited.  There was an announcement that the monorail on the tracks was experiencing technical difficulty and that they would be getting us underway momentariy. And the announcement came again, and again.  And again.



Ugh.  That's becoming so commonplace.


----------



## kid-at-heart

Spice Road Table is one of my favorite WDW eateries.  I really like their wine flights; the tapas also are awesomely good.  Just seeing your photos makes me want to hurry back.

Kate


----------



## bangzoom6877

Hi there!!  I had to stop by here to say hello. I will do my best to try and catch up with this TR...I miss reading your TR's!!  I've missed you...it's so great to "see" you!  

DH, my parents, sister and her family and I are in the early planning stages of Southern California and Disneyland for next summer!  So, we will make it there the summer of the 60th anniversary!  I know I had mentioned doing this a few years ago to you and Alicia.  My parents and sister are also planning to drive up to San Francisco from there, but DH, the boys and I are gonna spend some more time in Southern California. Probably a total of 7-10 days, beginning in San Diego and then staying in anaheim and accessing the beach and  LA from there.


----------



## jedijill

All the food looks amazing!  I really want to try the new Spice Road next trip.  Narcoosee's is one of my faves....I fell in love with the cherry cheesecake there a long time ago!

Jill in CO


----------



## Paula Sedley-Burke

Lol re that PP photographer that is a classic I love it! We have many ponchos in our locker, as soon as it rains they all but one hide! They are in the same scheming club as socks in the wash. 

Tapas looks great. We have many Tapas restaurant chains. Very good too. It's very popular. Well done on scoring some more on your Golden spoon. That does look fun trying to achieve that!


----------



## afwdwfan

franandaj said:


> And the beauty of tapas, is that we were still hungry after all those small plates and ordered another small plate of calamari.  Everything was quite good!


This place doesn't seem to get much love, but I'm glad that you enjoyed it.  It certainly looks like a prime location with a great view while you're eating.



franandaj said:


> We had one poncho in our scooter bags.  Im not sure why, we had them in our owners locker, heaven knows we have bought countless ponchos in WDW, but we had to buy one more.


That's just how it works.  The one time you actually need them, you forget to grab them on the way out the door. 



franandaj said:


> An enterprising young PP photographer was sitting at the gates capitalizing on all us getting drenched. Of course Fran stopped to retrieve our photo pass pictures!


Great action shots!  



franandaj said:


> By the time we got back to the room it was almost 4PM and I needed a nap, again!  However this time we set an alarm for Olaf to call us and we woke around 6PM for our ADR at Narcossees. We like this place, it is always a good solid meal for us.


Yuck...  the whole transportation ordeal just sounds awful.  I'm glad that you made it back at least in time for a nap before dinner.


----------



## ACDSNY

Whew, I'm finally caught up.  I left off back at at the car show.


----------



## rentayenta

What a delicious day! Spice Road looks wonderful. Michael would love that place. 

Photopass took those pics of you in the rain?


----------



## eandesmom

I would have been sleepy AND grumpy after that kind of deluge and delay.

I really liked Spice Road table, I am sad it isn't doing better, it is just lovely inside and everything I tried I liked.

No, not as flavorful as it could be but for Disney, more so than most.

Your dinner looks delish!

Love the photopass, those are fun!


----------



## Leshaface

Ooh, what is Eat24?! 

I didn't know you liked Mission Space, much less the orange side!  It's been a while, I think since 2010.  I thought it was really cool but I felt so claustrophobic that that is all I remember now. 

That's cool that they made some World Cup topiaries.  


good job on correcting the server.  I'm surprised she didn't know already?  The food looks really delicious though!

 I love the photos of you and Fran in your panchos! Perfect!

Ugh, that really stinks about the monorail.  Especially the part where you had to wait for a bus and people still gave you guys dirty looks after you had been waiting.

I really do need to give Narcoosses's another chance.  Just definitely won't be ordering the Surf and Turf again.


----------



## Pinkocto

You have some great trips lined up! Sounds like you're a bit tired of traveling though? 



Spice Road Table was delightfully delicious. I had the calamari and it was no 'small' plate. Very scrumptious though. 

You lucked out missing the monorail that got stuck. I know you still had to wait quite a while but getting stuck sounds awful. 

How nice you still managed a nap. And dinner looks great. I will have to get there one day.


----------



## franandaj

dolphingirl47 said:


> You must have been in food heaven that day. Like you, I love Middle Eastern and North African food and that restaurant is definitely on my to do list for next year.
> 
> What a shame that the weather put paid to your dessert plans. I had to smile about Fran stopping to get the Photopass pictures. What a pain with the monorail breaking down and you having to wait so long for a buss.
> 
> Narcoossees is my favourite restaurant and the Caesar Salad is my go to appetizer. Everything looks delicious.
> 
> On a completely unrelated matter, a certain package is showing as having been loaded onto the delivery vehicle so it should be in my greedy hands tomorrow.
> 
> Corinna



That was a great day for food.  I would go back to Spice Road Table in a heartbeat. I loved everything there.  Those are some of our best photopass pictures ever!

I will be sad not to visit Narcoosee's on the next trip, but I think we're going to try Artist Point instead.  I hope you have received it by now!



mvf-m11c said:


> Soarin never gets old. It has been a long time since Soarin over California debut in 2001 during DCA opening and at EPCOT a few years after DCA Soarin. It will be nice when they do an update for Soarin.
> 
> 
> The food at Spice Road Table restaurant at Morocco pavilion looks so nice. I keep saying this over and over on your trip reports, PiO and others hatt I should try this restaurant when I go back to WDW. The only problem is that you can't do all the restaurants during the trip. But all the food looks so good. I will have to do a lot of research and choose which places to eat.
> 
> Wow it was pouring when you were at Morocco pavilion.
> 
> I'm sorry to hear about the Monorail having problems. The Mark VI Monorails are almost 25 years old and I think that WDW should upgrade them. I do enjoy the Mark VI Monorails at the WDW and it has not been the same since we can't ride in the front cabin. It is so nice that the DLR updated the Mark V Monorails to the Mark VII seven years ago.



That's the worst part about a WDW trip is that you can never fit in all the restaurants that you want to try.  You are really a Monorail buff to know that much about all the Monorails.  I know that they run and hope they don't breakdown, but that's about the extent of my knowledge.



PrincessInOz said:


> Look at that rain!  And what great work by that PP Photographer.
> 
> Love, love, love the food.  I did have a go at the Golden Spoon and came in at over 30%.  It will be a long time before I push it along.  Good for you for working at it.



We don't get rain like that in So Cal.  I couldn't believe how long it went on for!

I am really hoping for a 50% badge after my next trip.  We are going during F&G and since they have F&W style kiosks, we are going to try a little something from each one.  There aren't as many as F&W, plus we are hitting a few other new places (in addition to some old favorites). ADRs are coming up in just two months for that trip.  Can you believe it?



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Just like me and my family!



       

I tried to put the number of laughing smileys in here that the above comment deserves, but I went over the limit!  Well you have tried some very interesting burger joints.      And I'll have to say you take the cake on exotic locales for consuming PB&J.



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Looks like a quality spot.:



It was and even better to have the place to ourselves!



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Wait, is that Noah?:







Captain_Oblivious said:


> Murphy's Law strikes again!  Disney's Poncho Profit Team thanks you. :



Yeah, and then some....



Captain_Oblivious said:


> :



They're actually some of my all time favorites Photopass Pictures!



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Ugh.  That's becoming so commonplace.



Well let's see if your engineering folks can take a look at this and figure it out.



kid-at-heart said:


> Spice Road Table is one of my favorite WDW eateries.  I really like their wine flights; the tapas also are awesomely good.  Just seeing your photos makes me want to hurry back.
> 
> Kate



I really hope that other people like it too.  I would hate to see them take it out because no one "gets it."



bangzoom6877 said:


> Hi there!!  I had to stop by here to say hello. I will do my best to try and catch up with this TR...I miss reading your TR's!!  I've missed you...it's so great to "see" you!
> 
> DH, my parents, sister and her family and I are in the early planning stages of Southern California and Disneyland for next summer!  So, we will make it there the summer of the 60th anniversary!  I know I had mentioned doing this a few years ago to you and Alicia.  My parents and sister are also planning to drive up to San Francisco from there, but DH, the boys and I are gonna spend some more time in Southern California. Probably a total of 7-10 days, beginning in San Diego and then staying in anaheim and accessing the beach and  LA from there.



Bonnie!  So great of you to stop by!   I hope that Alicia and I can meet up with you sometime during your trip.  What month are you planning it during?  My summers keep getting filled up with all kinds of exciting stuff and it is wearing me out!


----------



## franandaj

jedijill said:


> All the food looks amazing!  I really want to try the new Spice Road next trip.  Narcoosee's is one of my faves....I fell in love with the cherry cheesecake there a long time ago!
> 
> Jill in CO



When is your next trip?  Are you going to WDW before or after your cruise?



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Lol re that PP photographer that is a classic I love it! We have many ponchos in our locker, as soon as it rains they all but one hide! They are in the same scheming club as socks in the wash.
> 
> Tapas looks great. We have many Tapas restaurant chains. Very good too. It's very popular. Well done on scoring some more on your Golden spoon. That does look fun trying to achieve that!



I think I have about 12 left to go to the next level, so with F&G kiosks and a few new TS places, I should hit it on the next trip.



afwdwfan said:


> This place doesn't seem to get much love, but I'm glad that you enjoyed it.  It certainly looks like a prime location with a great view while you're eating.



Really?  I haven't heard much about it at all.  A few folks I know have loved it, but I just haven't heard of many people eating there at all.



afwdwfan said:


> That's just how it works.  The one time you actually need them, you forget to grab them on the way out the door.



I thought I had both of them in our scooter bags, but evidently not.  Now we have three in the OL!



afwdwfan said:


> Great action shots!



I thought so too!



afwdwfan said:


> Yuck...  the whole transportation ordeal just sounds awful.  I'm glad that you made it back at least in time for a nap before dinner.



That's the only time we have ever had a really bad time with transportation.  Well and the time that we stayed at the AK and had dinner at Flying Fish.  It took us an hour and a half on the buses to get home transferring through DTD.  



ACDSNY said:


> Whew, I'm finally caught up.  I left off back at at the car show.



Glad you are caught back up.  



rentayenta said:


> What a delicious day! Spice Road looks wonderful. Michael would love that place.
> 
> Photopass took those pics of you in the rain?



I'm sure he would, you probably would too, lots of great choices.

Yeah, the PPP was just sitting at the turnstiles, snapping photos of guests on their way out in the rain.


----------



## dolphingirl47

franandaj said:


> That was a great day for food.  I would go back to Spice Road Table in a heartbeat. I loved everything there.  Those are some of our best photopass pictures ever!
> 
> I will be sad not to visit Narcoosee's on the next trip, but I think we're going to try Artist Point instead.  I hope you have received it by now!



Artist Point is nice, too. Yes, the bag arrived on Monday and I adore it. It is slightly smaller than I thought, but it is still a perfect size for taking to work and of course now that I have slightly downsized from my beloved iPad2 to the iPad mini to carry everywhere with me, this works even better.

Corinna


----------



## bangzoom6877

Hi!  We should be there either the last week of July or the first week of August. It would be great to meet up with you!


----------



## franandaj

eandesmom said:


> I would have been sleepy AND grumpy after that kind of deluge and delay.
> 
> I really liked Spice Road table, I am sad it isn't doing better, it is just lovely inside and everything I tried I liked.
> 
> No, not as flavorful as it could be but for Disney, more so than most.
> 
> Your dinner looks delish!
> 
> Love the photopass, those are fun!



We definitely were, and a nap was the perfect thing right then!
I'm sad to hear it is not doing better, I felt the same way and I know Ellen liked it a lot too.
Yes definitely the dishes were more flavorful than most places!
I love eating at Narcoosee's and so glad Fran grabbed those PP pics!



Leshaface said:


> Ooh, what is Eat24?!



Eat24 is a website/app where you can order food for delivery or pick up. It depends on how many restaurants in your area participate on how good it is. Ours is really good at home. We have a lot of choices, it's easy and all you do is order online and the food shows up. No tipping, you can include it in the delivery charge or not, so if they take forever, you can take some off the tip.



Leshaface said:


> I didn't know you liked Mission Space, much less the orange side!  It's been a while, I think since 2010.  I thought it was really cool but I felt so claustrophobic that that is all I remember now.



I'm usually up for anything, high, fast and loud.  Oh wait that's in music.  Well close in rides. The only thing I can't do it spin.  Tea cups, no way, Mader's JyJ, maybe, but anything else, bring it on!



Leshaface said:


> That's cool that they made some World Cup topiaries.



I thought it was cute.  Our guides on the SWW tour were saying that the Brazilian tourist traffic all depended on the World Cup.  If their team was eliminated quickly they would all go to WDW, but if they stuck in there, he said, "We're in the clear!"  



Leshaface said:


> good job on correcting the server.  I'm surprised she didn't know already?  The food looks really delicious though!



I wasn't really correcting her, I just commented that I thought it was funny that when the restaurant opened the menus read "merguez" but now it was changed to "lamb sausage" since most American's don't know what that is.

She insisted that it still said "merguez", but I had noticed that when we ordered.  I hate that WDW has to dumb things down, but I guess if it sells more food, it's OK.  Folks just won't know when they go to France or Morrocco that Merguez was that wonderful lamb sausage that they had at Spice Road Table!  



Leshaface said:


> I love the photos of you and Fran in your panchos! Perfect!
> 
> Ugh, that really stinks about the monorail.  Especially the part where you had to wait for a bus and people still gave you guys dirty looks after you had been waiting.



I thought it was quite cute with us trying to out run the rain in our ponchos and especially the monorail breaking down.  

We're used to the dirty looks.  If able bodied people have to wait because scooters need to be loaded they get upset. Nobody likes to give up their seats to load the scooters. Most often it's the ones with multiple strollers and kids. (no judgement here to my friends with kids, you have all been most wonderful and understanding) It's like they feel kind of like what my friend Darcy's brother Jim said when they saw a kid in Walmart in a serious wheelchair, "I don't know why they bother to let THOSE people out anyways."

Some people just have attitude. We don't let it ruin our vacation.



Leshaface said:


> I really do need to give Narcoosses's another chance.  Just definitely won't be ordering the Surf and Turf again.



I've heard that is the worst dish to order there.  We have loved the lobster and the pasta.  Dessert was good last time, but this time we were just too full.



Pinkocto said:


> You have some great trips lined up! Sounds like you're a bit tired of traveling though?



Yes, as I sit here in my hotel room in Indiana, I am ready to stay home for a good while. At least two months.  But that's a Disney Cruise and more Band Friends so by then I'll be up for it again.



Pinkocto said:


> Spice Road Table was delightfully delicious. I had the calamari and it was no 'small' plate. Very scrumptious though.



You're right, it totally filled us up when the rest didn't.



Pinkocto said:


> You lucked out missing the monorail that got stuck. I know you still had to wait quite a while but getting stuck sounds awful.
> 
> How nice you still managed a nap. And dinner looks great. I will have to get there one day.



We're lucky to have missed that monorail.  You should put it on the list for when you stay there next.  It really is a nice place.  They specialize in seafood, but I'm sure they have a vegetarian entrée for your mom.



dolphingirl47 said:


> Artist Point is nice, too. Yes, the bag arrived on Monday and I adore it. It is slightly smaller than I thought, but it is still a perfect size for taking to work and of course now that I have slightly downsized from my beloved iPad2 to the iPad mini to carry everywhere with me, this works even better.
> 
> Corinna



When I get home, I'm going back to my HM purse. The one I'm using now is just too small.  I love that the HM bag is large enough to hold everything I need.  Even a small body if I needed!   LOL!  



bangzoom6877 said:


> Hi!  We should be there either the last week of July or the first week of August. It would be great to meet up with you!



I should be around until the 3rd or 4th of August next year.  We definitely need to keep in touch and hang out while you are there!


----------



## franandaj

We woke up the next morning feeling even more refreshed.  I felt compelled to use up some more eggs and the rest of the bacon on breakfast, but this time I took the same ingredients (sort of) and twisted them up to make this.  French Toast and Bacon.





Now if you were following along on the PTR you should be scratching your head and asking, Werent they supposed to pick up a rental car last night? Wasnt today the day for Theme Park Connection?  Well a couple weeks before the trip we sort of hit a proverbial wall.  Thats when the plans for the Haunted Mansion Theater Room went on hold. We also decided that there wasnt a need to accumulate more stuff (yeah you could tell that by the way we put the reins on our shopping, right?  )  But believe it or not, Fran did exercise restraint this trip.  

Since we were not going to be spending all that money on a rental car or new merchandise, I took it upon myself to find another way to use up that money.  I booked myself into here starting around 11:00AM, but I headed over a little earlier to make use of the other facilities.









I took a couple extra pictures while I was over there.  The BBQ grills are right next to the spa. They are sort of a ways from the Villas, so when using them you might want to plan your meal around the tables provided.









Back to the spa.  They frown upon pictures in places like locker rooms, so I had to be very careful. Here is the changing area.









Even though my treatment included a spa bath, I still used this for a little while.





And then I laid down on one of these tile loungers.  Now anyone who knows how these things work, please share!  When I laid down on the thing, it was room temperature or close to it.  By the time that I finally got up, the lounger was toasty warm and I can totally see how people fall asleep on them.  Just looking at it you wouldnt think it was so comfy being all rigid, but after laying on it, wow!  Im going to book the Rainforest Room on one of my days on the cruise!





Anyways, I had two treatments booked, one was from 11:00-11:45 and the next from 12:10-1:00.  The same technician would be doing both treatments and she asked if I wanted to do the concurrently and I was happy to oblige. That way I wasnt wasting half an hour just sitting in the spa.  I had a bath with some special minerals in a really cool tub, then she rubbed my body with mud or salt or a little of both, wrapped me up in a cocoon, and gave me a scalp massage and a foot massage.  Then I showered, and she massaged the rest of me. When I left there, I was so relaxed, it was wonderful.

I came back to the room to find Fran still in bed enjoying the Disney Satellite TV.  Finally I decided that we needed to have our Chinese Chicken Salads that I had been planning on making for the past couple days. I had the smaller one because I wanted to finish off my shrimp pasta from the night before.





While I was working with the chicken, I decided to put together some chicken salad mixture so that we could have chicken salad sandwiches the following day.  No I didn't put any butter in the Chicken Salad mixture, but I love it how the butter dish seems to make it's way into all of our pictures.  I only bought two sticks of butter for this trip and we didn't even use them both!





We were fed, rested and ready to go again, so we headed off to a park.  We were thirsty when we got there and decided some free drinks were in order.





They have changed the flavors since our last visit so it was interesting to check out these new flavors.





Then we were off to make good on a wrong that we were going to make right today.  The new Ice Cream shop in France.  The Menu.





They had lots of delicious flavors.





And a cute Mickey head.





I went for the Ice Cream Martini with Grand Marnier.  People confused me before telling me the flavors of Ice Cream.  I thought it was predetermined, but you can choose your own flavors.  I was very happy with that. I think I got Salted Caramel and Chocolate Chip.  It was quite yummy!





Up next, our attempt at drinking around the world, and a documented DISmeet!


----------



## Leshaface

Whaaa?! No TPC?!  I was looking forward to seeing what you guys picked up.  

The spa sounds sooo nice and relaxing!  Can you believe I have a free massage that was given to me at my baby shower....almost exactly 2 years ago, and I still haven't used it!  Sad.

Good call on making the chicken salad for sandwiches

Oh my, the ice cream martini looks phenomenal!


----------



## Paula Sedley-Burke

What a lovely day! You see this is the bonus of being DVCers and being lucky enough to go many times. We get less frantic about park days and learn to enjoy other qualities such as the spa as we should! How nice re two treatments! A true vacation! Most people's vacations consist of sitting by a pool every day! Whilst that's not for Jo and I it's easy to get caught up in the excitement of Disney and forget to relax! I am so pleased  I love being able to just pop in and out of parks now even for an hour or two at a time do you guys? 

That ice cream shop in France looks great! I must check this out and hey no rain this time  I am pleased you stayed dry. Your lunch looked great and your breakfast too. I wonder where you landed for your dinner!


----------



## PrincessInOz

Oooh!  You relaxed at Senses.  Looks fantastic.

Your salads look great.  

Nice Icecream Martini.


----------



## afwdwfan

franandaj said:


> We also decided that there wasnt a need to accumulate more stuff (yeah you could tell that by the way we put the reins on our shopping, right?  )


But Star Wars stuff isn't just "stuff."



franandaj said:


> Since we were not going to be spending all that money on a rental car or new merchandise, I took it upon myself to find another way to use up that money.  I booked myself into here starting around 11:00AM, but I headed over a little earlier to make use of the other facilities.


Not a bad idea at all! 



franandaj said:


> I went for the Ice Cream Martini with Grand Marnier.


Now, that seems interesting... 



franandaj said:


> Up next, our attempt at drinking around the world, and a documented DISmeet!


Should be a good time.


----------



## Captain_Oblivious

franandaj said:


> Now if you were following along on the PTR you should be scratching your head and asking, Werent they supposed to pick up a rental car last night? Wasnt today the day for Theme Park Connection?



Uh, right...that's exactly what I was thinking...



franandaj said:


> And then I laid down on one of these tile loungers.  Now anyone who knows how these things work, please share!  When I laid down on the thing, it was room temperature or close to it.  By the time that I finally got up, the lounger was toasty warm and I can totally see how people fall asleep on them.  Just looking at it you wouldnt think it was so comfy being all rigid, but after laying on it, wow!  Im going to book the Rainforest Room on one of my days on the cruise!



Well, from my extensive experience with spa treatments, I can say for a fact that...I have no idea how it works.



franandaj said:


> No I didn't put any butter in the Chicken Salad mixture, but I love it how the butter dish seems to make it's way into all of our pictures.  I only bought two sticks of butter for this trip and we didn't even use them both!



  Mmmm...butter...



franandaj said:


> They have changed the flavors since our last visit so it was interesting to check out these new flavors.



Along with plenty of Beverly, right?


----------



## jedijill

No trip in the works yet although I've heard rumor of a special Harry Potter event at Universal in January that I'm contemplating going to.

The new spa looks amazing!  I haven't been there since all the renovations.  The salads and the gelato all look awesome!

Jill in CO


----------



## bangzoom6877

Leshaface said:


> Whaaa?! No TPC?!  I was looking forward to seeing what you guys picked up.  The spa sounds sooo nice and relaxing!  Can you believe I have a free massage that was given to me at my baby shower....almost exactly 2 years ago, and I still haven't used it!  Sad.  Good call on making the chicken salad for sandwiches  Oh my, the ice cream martini looks phenomenal!



Hello there!!!  It's great to "see you" here!  

I'm planning our summer 2015 vacation to California including a few days at Disneyland!!  Even though we just returned home on August 3rd from our WDW road trip, lol!


----------



## bangzoom6877

That spa looks amazing!  Last year on our Carnival cruise, DH and I got the couples' spa pass to use throughout the whole cruise. We went there every day and used the thalassotherapy pool (huge jacuzzi basically, but with different places to sit and relax), saunas and steam rooms. It was heaven and a very relaxing vacation. The boys went to the kids' camp every single day because they loved the activities so much, so that's when we went to enjoy the spa. We did use the tiled loungers and they didn't look very comfy but they sure were terrific!  I also wanted to fall asleep!  

Now on our next WDW trip, I will have to find a way to fit in a spa visit. It just looks so wonderful!  Either Senses or I could go to the Swan/Dolphin Mandara Spa since it's a short walk from BWV to get there. 

I'm also loving the food pics!  We absolutely loved the new ice cream shop in france. That was some of the best coffee ice cam I've ever tasted. No, it was THE BEST coffee ice cream I've ever tasted!  It actually had very fine coffee grounds throughout, but you couldn't tell by the texture. It just added more of that delicious rich coffee flavor that I love. I didn't get the ice cream martini though, I stuck with other drinks around Epcot. We went to the ice cream shop in France two days of our trip. The first day, DH had hazelnut ice cream in an iced coffee float. I tried it and it was delicious!  I had the brioche ice cream sandwich with coffee ice cream and chocolate sauce. Oh my, was that heavenly!  The second day we went there, DH had the apple cinnamon ice cream in a waffle cone...I tried it and it was great!  I had a scoop of coffee and a scoop of hazelnut in a waffle cone. Those flavors together were terrific. I didn't really need the cone though the ice cream is just so incredible by itself!


----------



## Leshaface

bangzoom6877 said:


> Hello there!!!  It's great to "see you" here!
> 
> I'm planning our summer 2015 vacation to California including a few days at Disneyland!!  Even though we just returned home on August 3rd from our WDW road trip, lol!



Bonnie!  Great to see you back on here!

Oh yay!  I'm assuming you'll be spending a few days at DLR, yes?  Too bad you don't have the time for TR's anymore.  I really enjoyed yours


----------



## bangzoom6877

Leshaface said:


> Bonnie!  Great to see you back on here!  Oh yay!  I'm assuming you'll be spending a few days at DLR, yes?  Too bad you don't have the time for TR's anymore.  I really enjoyed yours



Hi!  I'm sure I will do a TR for our first DLR trip!  Right now, it's almost certain that we will end up staying at Desert Palms Hotel & Suites so we could just walk to the parks. We don't have enough DVC points for the Grand Californian, and we are returning to WDW the summer after DL. 

The plan is a couple of nights in San Diego first, with visits to the San Diego Zoo and Legoland. Then over to anaheim for the rest of the trip. A 3-day park hopper for DL, a visit to LA to see cousins, and one day at Universal studios. Possibly a short beach trip too. Of course I have to get on a plane for this trip, first time flying since April 2000!  We will be renting a car. My parents, my sister, brother-in--law, my nieces and nephew will be joining us, except while we will stay a couple of more nights in anaheim than they will, they are driving up to San Francisco for a couple of nights and flying home from there.   

Oh and yes, I said my nieces and my nephew...my sister had another baby this past December...actually he was born on the afternoon of December 31st so his bday is New Year's Eve!  He will be a year and a half old when we go to California and we all can't wait to see his reaction to Disneyland!

I'm really looking forward to planning this trip, and our first time on the west coast!  It would be great to see you if we can!


----------



## mvf-m11c

franandaj said:


> That's the worst part about a WDW trip is that you can never fit in all the restaurants that you want to try.  You are really a Monorail buff to know that much about all the Monorails.  I know that they run and hope they don't breakdown, but that's about the extent of my knowledge.



Definitely. The only problem for me is that I barely do any sit down restaurants at WDW. I do one to two on average on a seven day while I mostly eat off-site. I haven't even done all the sit down restaurants at the DLR and I've been going a lot these last few years. But it is nice to try all these different types of restaurants. I didn't mentioned this on my trip report yet that I am currently writing during the July trip which I ate at a restaurant that you recommended. My DB his GF and I were able to eat at UVA Bar and Cafe for lunch and it was great. I had the Lamb Burger and the fries were awesome. I got to thank you and PiO during the September 2013 trip where you ate there that night.

I am a Monorail guy. It is my favorite ride/transportation at the Disney parks. There were times where the WDW Monorails were down or not running when I was about to ride them. 


It's always nice to relax while at WDW. That sounds like a nice relaxing day at Senses.

The food looks very nice and the Ice Cream Martini sounds good.


----------



## Pinkocto

The spa sounds heavenly! I'd also like to know how those loungers work. You'll love the rainforest room on the ship. 

That icecream shop was so delicious. We went there each of the three days we were at BCV post cruise  


Odd place for the grills at VGF...


----------



## dolphingirl47

The spa looks amazing. I have to admit that I have yet to try one of the Disney spas on land, but I am hoping to put this right at Aulani. The ice cream Martini looks delicious. I can't wait until I get the chance to try one.

Corinna


----------



## franandaj

Leshaface said:


> Whaaa?! No TPC?!  I was looking forward to seeing what you guys picked up.



Well considering we already have enough stuff to fill more than three houses, Fran started to realize that she was better off letting it go. We kind of had a "too much stuff" meltdown.  



Leshaface said:


> The spa sounds sooo nice and relaxing!  Can you believe I have a free massage that was given to me at my baby shower....almost exactly 2 years ago, and I still haven't used it!  Sad.



Wow!  I can't believe you have held on to something like that for so long!  I have to go once a month for a massage otherwise I start to get really cranky!  



Leshaface said:


> Good call on making the chicken salad for sandwiches
> 
> Oh my, the ice cream martini looks phenomenal!



It made the next morning a lot easier!    I am definitely repeating that trip again!



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> What a lovely day! You see this is the bonus of being DVCers and being lucky enough to go many times. We get less frantic about park days and learn to enjoy other qualities such as the spa as we should! How nice re two treatments! A true vacation! Most people's vacations consist of sitting by a pool every day! Whilst that's not for Jo and I it's easy to get caught up in the excitement of Disney and forget to relax! I am so pleased  I love being able to just pop in and out of parks now even for an hour or two at a time do you guys?



It also helps that I had another DVC trip booked and I'm rapidly approaching the 180 day ADR mark now. We don't like running around crazy so we try to relax when we can.  Sometimes that's just how we visit Disneyland too. Do what we want and then leave.



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> That ice cream shop in France looks great! I must check this out and hey no rain this time  I am pleased you stayed dry. Your lunch looked great and your breakfast too. I wonder where you landed for your dinner!



I was laughing at myself for this update. I thought we had a really full and exciting day and all we did was eat and relax!  



PrincessInOz said:


> Oooh!  You relaxed at Senses.  Looks fantastic.
> 
> Your salads look great.
> 
> Nice Icecream Martini.



That treatment was quite wonderful.  I think I'm due for another one, the one I had last week seems to have worn off.

I think we need to have that salad again soon.  Probably the Ice cream martini too!



afwdwfan said:


> But Star Wars stuff isn't just "stuff."



True, but anything we got from Theme Park Connection would have just been "stuff" and then we would have needed to have it shipped home. I'm still opening packages accumulated during the trip we just got back from and I've already been on it for two hours. I'm taking a DIS break!



afwdwfan said:


> Not a bad idea at all!



Well, I couldn't just let the money burn a hole in my pocket!



afwdwfan said:


> Now, that seems interesting...
> 
> 
> Should be a good time.



It was very tasty!  And we're not quite a crazy as some people, so don't get your hopes too high!



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Uh, right...that's exactly what I was thinking...







Captain_Oblivious said:


> Well, from my extensive experience with spa treatments, I can say for a fact that...I have no idea how it works.



Darn, and you being the engineer and all!



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Mmmm...butter...



Everything is better with butter!  



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Along with plenty of Beverly, right?



Of Course!  



jedijill said:


> No trip in the works yet although I've heard rumor of a special Harry Potter event at Universal in January that I'm contemplating going to.
> 
> The new spa looks amazing!  I haven't been there since all the renovations.  The salads and the gelato all look awesome!
> 
> Jill in CO



Oooh and you with free admission and all!  I'm looking forward to going back again!

Renovations?  Heck they built a whole new building and facility, bulldozed the other one!  But it was really nice, well except the part when I got there and they told me to pick a "sense" then they gave me a "shot" of this weird tasting posting.



bangzoom6877 said:


> That spa looks amazing!  Last year on our Carnival cruise, DH and I got the couples' spa pass to use throughout the whole cruise. We went there every day and used the thalassotherapy pool (huge jacuzzi basically, but with different places to sit and relax), saunas and steam rooms. It was heaven and a very relaxing vacation. The boys went to the kids' camp every single day because they loved the activities so much, so that's when we went to enjoy the spa. We did use the tiled loungers and they didn't look very comfy but they sure were terrific!  I also wanted to fall asleep!



That sounds really nice.  I can't wait to be back on the Wonder and use the tile loungers!



bangzoom6877 said:


> Now on our next WDW trip, I will have to find a way to fit in a spa visit. It just looks so wonderful!  Either Senses or I could go to the Swan/Dolphin Mandara Spa since it's a short walk from BWV to get there.



I've never been to the Swan/Dolphin Mandara, but I have been to the one at SSR and that one was really nice too.



bangzoom6877 said:


> I'm also loving the food pics!  We absolutely loved the new ice cream shop in france. That was some of the best coffee ice cam I've ever tasted. No, it was THE BEST coffee ice cream I've ever tasted!  It actually had very fine coffee grounds throughout, but you couldn't tell by the texture. It just added more of that delicious rich coffee flavor that I love. I didn't get the ice cream martini though, I stuck with other drinks around Epcot. We went to the ice cream shop in France two days of our trip. The first day, DH had hazelnut ice cream in an iced coffee float. I tried it and it was delicious!  I had the brioche ice cream sandwich with coffee ice cream and chocolate sauce. Oh my, was that heavenly!  The second day we went there, DH had the apple cinnamon ice cream in a waffle cone...I tried it and it was great!  I had a scoop of coffee and a scoop of hazelnut in a waffle cone. Those flavors together were terrific. I didn't really need the cone though the ice cream is just so incredible by itself!



We're definitely going to have to go back. We had great ice cream from there!


----------



## rentayenta

How did I miss this update?   Spa looks wonderful as do both meals. 


Three houses worth of stuff?  Holy moly lady.


----------



## ACDSNY

Yay for the relaxing spa time!


----------



## franandaj

bangzoom6877 said:


> Hi!  I'm sure I will do a TR for our first DLR trip!  Right now, it's almost certain that we will end up staying at Desert Palms Hotel & Suites so we could just walk to the parks. We don't have enough DVC points for the Grand Californian, and we are returning to WDW the summer after DL.
> 
> The plan is a couple of nights in San Diego first, with visits to the San Diego Zoo and Legoland. Then over to anaheim for the rest of the trip. A 3-day park hopper for DL, a visit to LA to see cousins, and one day at Universal studios. Possibly a short beach trip too. Of course I have to get on a plane for this trip, first time flying since April 2000!  We will be renting a car. My parents, my sister, brother-in--law, my nieces and nephew will be joining us, except while we will stay a couple of more nights in anaheim than they will, they are driving up to San Francisco for a couple of nights and flying home from there.
> 
> Oh and yes, I said my nieces and my nephew...my sister had another baby this past December...actually he was born on the afternoon of December 31st so his bday is New Year's Eve!  He will be a year and a half old when we go to California and we all can't wait to see his reaction to Disneyland!
> 
> I'm really looking forward to planning this trip, and our first time on the west coast!  It would be great to see you if we can!



That sounds like a great plan. I sure hope that I can get out to the park when youre there to meet with you.  It would be even better if both Alicia and I could do it at the same time!



mvf-m11c said:


> Definitely. The only problem for me is that I barely do any sit down restaurants at WDW. I do one to two on average on a seven day while I mostly eat off-site. I haven't even done all the sit down restaurants at the DLR and I've been going a lot these last few years. But it is nice to try all these different types of restaurants. I didn't mentioned this on my trip report yet that I am currently writing during the July trip which I ate at a restaurant that you recommended. My DB his GF and I were able to eat at UVA Bar and Cafe for lunch and it was great. I had the Lamb Burger and the fries were awesome. I got to thank you and PiO during the September 2013 trip where you ate there that night.
> 
> I am a Monorail guy. It is my favorite ride/transportation at the Disney parks. There were times where the WDW Monorails were down or not running when I was about to ride them.
> 
> 
> It's always nice to relax while at WDW. That sounds like a nice relaxing day at Senses.
> 
> The food looks very nice and the Ice Cream Martini sounds good.



The difficult thing is that there are so many sit down restaurants at WDW that we want to eat at, and so many that we already like.  Im glad you got to go to the Uva Bar and try the Lamb Burger. Thats one of my favorite things ever!

Ive been really behind on TRs. Ive been reading yours, but been too far behind to comment. Plus we only have one computer right now and cant seem to find the tablet, so my computer time has been severely limited.

Im looking forward to seeing you in October!



Pinkocto said:


> The spa sounds heavenly! I'd also like to know how those loungers work. You'll love the rainforest room on the ship.
> 
> That icecream shop was so delicious. We went there each of the three days we were at BCV post cruise
> 
> 
> Odd place for the grills at VGF...



I cant wait for the cruise now! Im getting very excited, planning pirate & Halloween costumes too!  I will love to go back to the ice cream place in April!



dolphingirl47 said:


> The spa looks amazing. I have to admit that I have yet to try one of the Disney spas on land, but I am hoping to put this right at Aulani. The ice cream Martini looks delicious. I can't wait until I get the chance to try one.
> 
> Corinna



Ive been to a few of them and I really enjoy them even if they are much more overpriced than any of my local spas (well except Burke Williams which is even more heavenly).  You should try the Mandara on your trip in November.  They do a lovely body polish combined with a massage there!



rentayenta said:


> How did I miss this update?   Spa looks wonderful as do both meals.
> 
> 
> Three houses worth of stuff?  Holy moly lady.



Youve been busy girl!     Dont get me started on how much stuff we have!  



ACDSNY said:


> Yay for the relaxing spa time!



I could use some again!


----------



## bangzoom6877

Yes, it would be great if we could all meet up at the same time!  July 30th or 31st look like they would work best. We fly home Saturday, August 1st but not sure what time yet, as we won't be booking the flights until around January. DH and I are considering one of those two days I mentioned for a sleep-in morning, a little pool time late morning with the boys, then DTD. Maybe we could meet up in DTD and have dinner. We shall see!  

I've never met up with anyone from the DIS. I know that my DH is going to think I'm nutty for even considering meeting up with people from here. It's not something I tend to do, but I feel like I have to meet you and Alicia, especially in California!  The only thing similar we've done was on a couple of our cruises, we did a roll call meeting with some fellow member of the Cruise Critic forums (like the DIS but for cruises). Someone from the thread for our sailing had arranged a small gathering for everyone on the roll call thread and their families, with the cruise line for one day, late morning in one of the lounges that wasn't being used for an activity at the time. So we got to meet a lot of the people I had been chatting with for months, and my parents came as well. Once I tell DH that this is the same thing, I'm sure everything will be fine. No worries!


----------



## jedijill

bangzoom6877 said:


> Yes, it would be great if we could all meet up at the same time!  July 30th or 31st look like they would work best. We fly home Saturday, August 1st but not sure what time yet, as we won't be booking the flights until around January. DH and I are considering one of those two days I mentioned for a sleep-in morning, a little pool time late morning with the boys, then DTD. Maybe we could meet up in DTD and have dinner. We shall see!
> 
> I've never met up with anyone from the DIS. I know that my DH is going to think I'm nutty for even considering meeting up with people from here. It's not something I tend to do, but I feel like I have to meet you and Alicia, especially in California!  The only thing similar we've done was on a couple of our cruises, we did a roll call meeting with some fellow member of the Cruise Critic forums (like the DIS but for cruises). Someone from the thread for our sailing had arranged a small gathering for everyone on the roll call thread and their families, with the cruise line for one day, late morning in one of the lounges that wasn't being used for an activity at the time. So we got to meet a lot of the people I had been chatting with for months, and my parents came as well. Once I tell DH that this is the same thing, I'm sure everything will be fine. No worries!



Alison is super nice...you will love meeting her!

Jill in CO


----------



## PrincessInOz

jedijill said:


> Alison is super nice...you will love meeting her!
> 
> Jill in CO


----------



## scottny

Great updates and pics. 

That martini looked so good and great flavors. 

All caught up again.


----------



## franandaj

bangzoom6877 said:


> Yes, it would be great if we could all meet up at the same time!  July 30th or 31st look like they would work best. We fly home Saturday, August 1st but not sure what time yet, as we won't be booking the flights until around January. DH and I are considering one of those two days I mentioned for a sleep-in morning, a little pool time late morning with the boys, then DTD. Maybe we could meet up in DTD and have dinner. We shall see!
> 
> I've never met up with anyone from the DIS. I know that my DH is going to think I'm nutty for even considering meeting up with people from here. It's not something I tend to do, but I feel like I have to meet you and Alicia, especially in California!  The only thing similar we've done was on a couple of our cruises, we did a roll call meeting with some fellow member of the Cruise Critic forums (like the DIS but for cruises). Someone from the thread for our sailing had arranged a small gathering for everyone on the roll call thread and their families, with the cruise line for one day, late morning in one of the lounges that wasn't being used for an activity at the time. So we got to meet a lot of the people I had been chatting with for months, and my parents came as well. Once I tell DH that this is the same thing, I'm sure everything will be fine. No worries!



We will be around on those days. I can't speak for Alicia. I think she was my first DISmeet. Since then I've met quite a few folks from the boards.  I know my friends with kids say that their kids think it's creepy that their parents have friends online that they meet on vacation, but I've met the nicest people from the DISboards. Many I regard as closer friends than my 3D friends at home.



jedijill said:


> Alison is super nice...you will love meeting her!
> 
> Jill in CO







PrincessInOz said:


>







scottny said:


> Great updates and pics.
> 
> That martini looked so good and great flavors.
> 
> All caught up again.



Yay!  I need to get caught up on your report.  I saw that you are done writing but have 15 updates to post!


----------



## Monykalyn

Ok so I just found this TR! And as I am reading along I realized I read your Disney Dream Home thread as well.  LOVE the HM room but understand why it is on hold.  Anyway I am only up to the unpacking in GFV and the pick of the stocked fridge and spied a box of wine in there- That is sooo how I vacation!! Love your style!
Planning for next June and first SWW so back to reading your report


----------



## franandaj

Monykalyn said:


> Ok so I just found this TR! And as I am reading along I realized I read your Disney Dream Home thread as well.  LOVE the HM room but understand why it is on hold.  Anyway I am only up to the unpacking in GFV and the pick of the stocked fridge and spied a box of wine in there- That is sooo how I vacation!! Love your style!
> Planning for next June and first SWW so back to reading your report





I'm glad you're enjoying the report! Yes, I do like to travel with the comforts of home. I hope that you have a great time on your trip next year!

I'll have an update on the Dream House TR hopefully soon!  Things have been coming along quite nicely!


----------



## franandaj

Well its been so long since an update, I suppose that a recap is in order. But first a couple daily life updates. We are done traveling for two months. Our next trip is two months from yesterday so we hope to have some time to get settled in. I may do a few short updates at the end of this TR on our three trips/events since the car show a few pages back. As far as upcoming trips we have booked our excursions and dining for the cruise. 

Cruise Trip Itinerary

Day 1 - Halloween - we still need to choose costumes for that night. 

Day 2 - at sea. We will be dining at Palo for "dress up" night. 

Day 3 - Grand Cayman. We have chosen the "Island tour" which includes a visit to Hell and the Turtle Farm. We will definitely stop at the shop across from the dock for their mini rum cakes! 

Day 4 - Cozumel. We are going to Chankanaab, following Corinna's lead we will just catch a cab there ourselves. That night back on the ship will be Pirate night and our first time to experience this. Normally we just go to Palo and avoid it. I plan to skimp on dinner so we can hit the late night buffet per Pam's suggestion. 

Day 5 - Day at sea. Palo Brunch. 

Day 6 - Get off the ship and head to the Embassy Suites Ft. Lauderdale for four days of immersion in all things band, along with over 200 of our other bandos from across the country and around the world.

Our next big trip is in April to WDW for a week. We are staying at VWL with two of our friends from here. One of two couples we know locally who actually "get" Disney. After that we're taking a four night cruise on the Dream. ADR time is coming up soon and we've pretty much settled on our choices. Not necessarily in this order:  Garden Grill, Whispering Canyon (breakfast), Artist Point, Be Our Guest, Hoop De Doo Revue, 1900 Park Fare. Most of our other meals will be in the room (like cereal and yogurt for breakfast) or grazing from the Flower & Garden Festival booths. 

We'll probably take a few trips to Vegas over the winter. There is also our annual mid week weekend at the VGC in February, and I'm sure we'll make it up to the SF Bay Area to visit my parents too, but thats it for now.

So back to the TR at hand.  Recap of posts so far.

Day 1 - Sleepless travel day.
Day 2 - Transfer from Coronado Springs to Grand Floridian via MK. Meals at the resorts.
Day 3 - Kick a$$ Star Wars day. 
Day 4 - Laid back Star Wars day and a big nap
Day 5 - A fun time at Epcot with a soggy departure and laid back dinner.
Day 6 - Relaxing spa morning,  light lunch and ice cream from France.

It wasnt as if we were attempting to drink our way around the world. We had not been to Karamel Kuche and it was already the sixth day of the trip.  So we meandered toward Germany, we stopped in the German shop and happened upon some kids working on an Agent P mission.  These beer steins began to sing as part of the mission.  The kid actually made them go several times as dorks like us were fascinated and tried to take pictures of the entire thing.






Then we headed over to the shops on the other side of the Plaz. 





First the wine shop, where I tried on these beauties.





Then we ordered up a couple of these.  Fran got the sweeter one and I got the less sweet one.





Then we headed over to Karamel Kuche for some treats to enjoy back in the room.





I think I had a FP+ for Mission Space again, but I had enough the day before with my two Orange Team rides, so I think we just let it go.  We did want to use our FP+ for Living with the Land so we kept going around World Showcase in that direction.  Oh look, its the margarita stand at Mexico.  Two please!





I was eager to test my returning photography skills on the challenges of this ride.  Dark light, bright greenhouse light, dark then light again.  I didnt quite get it, but it gives me something to strive towards on the April trip.  Jim is particularly interested in this pavilion and we may even do the Behind the Seeds tour on that trip.  Here we go!













Bright Light!  Bright Light! A faster shutter speed would have helped here!









Thats a little better.





Looks like Fran is doing much better with the Auto settings.





Just around the River Bend.





She seems to be fairing much better with the auto camera.













Lets compare Papayas and Papayas, mine is the first one.













Wait a minute!  I dont remember crocodile being on the menu at Garden Grill!  And besides I didnt see any of those!





I was too busy snapping the catfish!







*[Continued in Next Post]*


----------



## franandaj

*[Continued from Previous Post]*

I got a few that werent attacked by the Bright lights.













But clearly the score for this round was Auto setting 1, Manual setting 0. As clearly hers came out better, take a look.





















And then we were on to our next adventure.  We had our last FP+ for the Mickey and Pals M&G. We were going to be meeting up with Pam for dinner and we had been texting back and forth as to our locations.  She met us at the exit to the Land Pavilion and we went directly to a FP+ kiosk to see if she could get a FP+ to join us. Even though she had used up all her FP+ at MK that day, they had recently implemented a new system that once your FP+ were gone you could go to a kiosk in the park that you wanted an attraction for and see if FP+ were available.  It worked like a charm and so we all headed over to the M&G.

Fran let me go in the picture first, and then Pam would join me and finally Fran would come into the picture and have the PP photographer take our picture.  It was fun and worked out great!  Plus we have evidence of our DISmeet!  Pam feel free to post any of your pictures in case you got better ones!

















































On our way over to dinner, Pam asked if we had ever tried a Cronut.  There was a donut store in Long Beach advertising them and we stopped in and tried one.  We didnt think it was something all that special, but Pam insisted that the cronuts at the Refreshment Port were outstanding and we definitely needed to try one. It was better than the one we tried before.  I think I still prefer a standard raised glazed donut, but the three of us did devour that little morsel pretty quickly!





And then we headed over to Canada for our dinner reservation.





Fran couldnt resist the photos of the natural wildlife.  This was before we found out that we had bunnies living in our yard of our new house.



 

*[Continued in Next Post]*


----------



## franandaj

*[Continued from Previous Post]*

We gave our name at the podium and were seated fairly promptly.  I know that Pam and I sat down and chatted for a little bit before they called our names, but it couldnt have been all that long before we were at our table.  The menu.













I was a little worried with Pam eating here.  She is a pescetarian, and even at that she has a few allergies and dislikes.  I really hoped that she could find something to eat here.  She had no problems and even thought that she might try and convince her mother who is a vegetarian to dine here once, the veggie options were so good!  We started out with their bread service.  Everyone loved the pretzel bread.





My first glass of wine was a Vouvray.  For you Californians, this is pretty much a Chenin Blanc from France, but some how with the fancy French name it tastes, just a little better!





This went perfectly with my scallops.  I had intended for everyone to have some, but I think Fran and I ended up eating them all.





This was Pams Beet Salad.  She didnt have anyone fighting her for it and I seem to remember that she thought it was heavenly!





We got a serving of the Asparagus, and everyone enjoyed this as well.





I know that Fran and I split this Cheddar Cheese Soup because there is no way that I would let her have it all to herself!





Then came our entrees. Fran and I split the Rib-Eye steak.  Thats the only reason that Le Cellier went back on the table for us, when they upgraded to a Signature restaurant they added a Rib Eye to their menu (something that was seriously lacking).  





Pam ordered the pasta which she also loved, but I dont seem to have a picture.  

We also got some sides for the table.  This is the creamed spinach, it came with a lovely parmesan crisp over the top. If you have not had one of these parmesan crisps, try one.  Just heat a six inch skillet over med low heat.  Coat the bottom of the pan with a thin layer of grated parmesan.  Cook it about 2 minutes, flip it over and cook about 1 more minute.  You can mold it into a bowl, by placing it over a small ramekin.  Put a small amount of Caesar salad in it once it cools and your guests will think youre a gourmet cook.  Make sure you make extras, because youll want to eat the first three or four standing in the kitchen when no one is looking!  But I digress.

The creamed spinach was insanely good.  I love spinach and when its cooked in heavy cream, well thats a match made in heaven!





We also got some Sauteed Wild Mushrooms for the table. These were great too!





I had a glass of Frank Family Cambernet with my entrée and it was perfect.  Heres my diner.





For dessert, we split a Chocolate Mousse.





And I got a Chocolate Martini.





On the way out, I experimented with nighttime shots of Epcots premiere landmark.  

















I definitely need some more work on this, but at least its a start.  With that we said our goodbyes and headed back to our hotels.  Unless something big happens, it wont be until October 2015 that we see Pam again, but well get to spend about a week with her between the Baja California Cruise we are all booked on and her So Cal visit either pre or post cruise!


----------



## PrincessInOz

Fun update. 

Looks like you had a great time with Pam.  Food looks great at Le Cellier.
It seems funny to type this out but......I like your coconu....er....papayas better.  

There's a shop selling cronuts in LB?  I might just have to go check it out.


----------



## mvf-m11c

franandaj said:


> Im glad you got to go to the Uva Bar and try the Lamb Burger. Thats one of my favorite things ever!
> 
> Ive been really behind on TRs. Ive been reading yours, but been too far behind to comment. Plus we only have one computer right now and cant seem to find the tablet, so my computer time has been severely limited.
> 
> Im looking forward to seeing you in October!



Thank you for the tip of eating at the UVA Bar and Cafe at DTD. It was way better than I have thought and I might eat there again in the near future. 

Hope you are able to find your tablet.

My DAF and I are looking forward to the October trip as well.


After having all those trips these last few months and all of a sudden you will be on the road again. 

I always enjoy riding Living with the Land at EPCOT. Very nice pictures of the plants during your ride.

The food at Le Cellier looks so amazing. This is one of the restaurants that I will want to do every time I am at EPCOT. The only problem is that it is hard to make a reservation when you are not a on-site guests and it fills up very quickly. This is one thing I don't like staying off-site is that you can't get the reservation at Le Cellier (unless you get lucky and it isn't that busy on the date you want).


----------



## afwdwfan

franandaj said:


> Cruise Trip Itinerary


Looks like fun!  You must really like Palo.



franandaj said:


> It wasnt as if we were attempting to drink our way around the world.


But if it happens...   




franandaj said:


> First the wine shop, where I tried on these beauties.


Way more classy than the beer goggles.  



franandaj said:


> Oh look, its the margarita stand at Mexico.  Two please!


Was that followed up by "Hey, Fran!  What do you want?"  



franandaj said:


> Jim is particularly interested in this pavilion and we may even do the Behind the Seeds tour on that trip.  Here we go!


I love Living with the Land.  I really want to do that tour sometime. 



franandaj said:


> Wait a minute!  I dont remember crocodile being on the menu at Garden Grill!  And besides I didnt see any of those!


Hmmm... now that you mention it, they don't show us where they raise their cattle in that greenhouse.   

The Dismeet/dinner both look great.  I'm glad everything worked out so that you could all see the characters together.


----------



## dolphingirl47

This ended up quite a busy day. I have to admit that Fran's choice of wine in Germany was what I would have gone for as well. 

We did the Living with the Land tour in 2008 or 2009 and loved it. It was so interesting and really good value. I love the character photos and dinner looked delicious.

Corinna


----------



## Leshaface

bangzoom6877 said:


> Hi!  I'm sure I will do a TR for our first DLR trip!  Right now, it's almost certain that we will end up staying at Desert Palms Hotel & Suites so we could just walk to the parks. We don't have enough DVC points for the Grand Californian, and we are returning to WDW the summer after DL.
> 
> The plan is a couple of nights in San Diego first, with visits to the San Diego Zoo and Legoland. Then over to anaheim for the rest of the trip. A 3-day park hopper for DL, a visit to LA to see cousins, and one day at Universal studios. Possibly a short beach trip too. Of course I have to get on a plane for this trip, first time flying since April 2000!  We will be renting a car. My parents, my sister, brother-in--law, my nieces and nephew will be joining us, except while we will stay a couple of more nights in anaheim than they will, they are driving up to San Francisco for a couple of nights and flying home from there.
> 
> Oh and yes, I said my nieces and my nephew...my sister had another baby this past December...actually he was born on the afternoon of December 31st so his bday is New Year's Eve!  He will be a year and a half old when we go to California and we all can't wait to see his reaction to Disneyland!
> 
> I'm really looking forward to planning this trip, and our first time on the west coast!  It would be great to see you if we can!



Good choice on hotel!  Great location right across from the main crosswalk 

Wow it's been so long since we've talked everyone's having more babies, your kids are turning into little gentlemen, it's insane!



bangzoom6877 said:


> Yes, it would be great if we could all meet up at the same time!  July 30th or 31st look like they would work best. We fly home Saturday, August 1st but not sure what time yet, as we won't be booking the flights until around January. DH and I are considering one of those two days I mentioned for a sleep-in morning, a little pool time late morning with the boys, then DTD. Maybe we could meet up in DTD and have dinner. We shall see!
> 
> I've never met up with anyone from the DIS. I know that my DH is going to think I'm nutty for even considering meeting up with people from here. It's not something I tend to do, but I feel like I have to meet you and Alicia, especially in California!  The only thing similar we've done was on a couple of our cruises, we did a roll call meeting with some fellow member of the Cruise Critic forums (like the DIS but for cruises). Someone from the thread for our sailing had arranged a small gathering for everyone on the roll call thread and their families, with the cruise line for one day, late morning in one of the lounges that wasn't being used for an activity at the time. So we got to meet a lot of the people I had been chatting with for months, and my parents came as well. Once I tell DH that this is the same thing, I'm sure everything will be fine. No worries!





franandaj said:


> We will be around on those days. I can't speak for Alicia. I think she was my first DISmeet. Since then I've met quite a few folks from the boards.  I know my friends with kids say that their kids think it's creepy that their parents have friends online that they meet on vacation, but I've met the nicest people from the DISboards. Many I regard as closer friends than my 3D friends at home.



I should be around those dates too!  I may be solo though because DH goes back to work early in the Summer but i'll definitely write it down in my calendar!

Alison i'm SHOCKED!   I really thought you had been on tons of meets before ours.  I'm honored!


----------



## Leshaface

Yay for your break from vacations...and another yay for your upcoming vacations!  

I"m DETEREMINED to get on Living with the Land in January.  So many interruptions and distractions the last 2 times.  

Aw fun meet and greet with Pam!  Oh and those other characters too 

I also need to try a cronut.  So many things I need to do!

My first time trying creamed spinach was at Yachtsman (could have tried it a looong time ago had we made that ADR to Yachtsman in 2010!) and it's sooooo delicious.  It really should be illegal.


----------



## Pinkocto

I've really been slacking on the Dis this week, sorry I missed this. 

I'm glad you're home with some potential down time  hopefully you get some rest and aren't unpacking most of the time. 




Of course I loved this update!  That was so nice to spend the evenibg with you and Fran. I'll have a look at my photos at home and post any that are worthy. Those character pics are too cute! 

That was really a delicious meal, wow. I did try the scallop, it was quite tasty. And Fran had some beets, I think she liked them. I didn't like the cheese that came with them though.  That pretzel bread is awesome. I found some at Trader Joes that really compares. 

Your earlier evening looked like great fun! I really like LWTL. The Behind the Seeds tour is great. I've done that twice, once solo and then took mom.


----------



## Captain_Oblivious

2 months without traveling?  Are you going through withdrawal?



franandaj said:


> So we meandered toward Germany, we stopped in the German shop and happened upon some kids working on an Agent P mission.  These beer steins began to sing as part of the mission.



One of my favorite gags in that game!



franandaj said:


> I was eager to test my returning photography skills on the challenges of this ride.  Dark light, bright greenhouse light, dark then light again.



Yeah, that's a tough one.  You really have to decide ahead of time where and when to switch settings.



franandaj said:


> Bright Light!  Bright Light!



Gremlins. 



franandaj said:


> Wait a minute!  I dont remember crocodile being on the menu at Garden Grill!  And besides I didnt see any of those!



That's for the shoes in the gift shop. 



franandaj said:


> Fran let me go in the picture first, and then Pam would join me and finally Fran would come into the picture and have the PP photographer take our picture.  It was fun and worked out great!  Plus we have evidence of our DISmeet!  Pam feel free to post any of your pictures in case you got better ones!



 for DISmeets!



franandaj said:


> We started out with their bread service.  Everyone loved the pretzel bread.



Sooo good...especially with the soup.



franandaj said:


> I know that Fran and I split this Cheddar Cheese Soup because there is no way that I would let her have it all to herself!



Man, now I'm really getting hungry...



franandaj said:


> Then came our entrees. Fran and I split the Rib-Eye steak.  Thats the only reason that Le Cellier went back on the table for us, when they upgraded to a Signature restaurant they added a Rib Eye to their menu (something that was seriously lacking).



Hard to go wrong with a rib-eye.  I'm still annoyed that it's a signature place, though.   



franandaj said:


> I definitely need some more work on this, but at least its a start.



I think the Spaceship Earth shots came out well!


----------



## cj9200

franandaj said:


> It wasn’t as if we were attempting to “drink our way around the world...”
> 
> First the wine shop, where I tried on these beauties.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Then we ordered up a couple of these.  Fran got the sweeter one and I got the less sweet one.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ...Oh look, it’s the margarita stand at Mexico.  Two please!




Love the glasses.  Seriously, I need to party with you two.  Start with breakfast at your place to carb load and then drinking around the world.  That or doing the monorail drinking game.  First round is on me.


----------



## ACDSNY

Lovely pics from your DISmeet and dinner, I was drooling over all the yummy food.


----------



## Paula Sedley-Burke

You got some nice trips planned there. Nothing better than having some cruises on the horizon! Plus a nice break at VGC. That does look like a smashing resort.

Crocodile? Cool. I have actually tried this! When I worked for Microsoft they liked to put different offerings on the menu and I enjoyed trying. I liked it but could not decide if I thought it was more like fish or meat. An interesting protein. Would have again! 

I am yet to try this cronut. It would have to do some serious partying in my mouth to best a good ole fashioned glazed donut. My goto cake/pastry of choice. 

Your dinner sounds nice. I am pleased to read that Disney is open to sharing an entree and ordering more sides. Good idea! That rib eye sounds the bomb. Glad Pam found items to eat. The presentation looks fabulous. 

Nice that the new system allowed for FP+ across multiple parks. I hope they enhance that soon so you can do that in advance and not just on the day. Be cool  

Thanks for the update I love those wine shades lol and the photos are so cute of you all.


----------



## bangzoom6877

Sadly, no California for us next summer...my mom is too nervous to fly. So the 11 of us are taking a cruise to Bermuda instead, which leaves right from NYC.


----------



## franandaj

PrincessInOz said:


> Fun update.
> 
> Looks like you had a great time with Pam.  Food looks great at Le Cellier.
> It seems funny to type this out but......I like your coconu....er....papayas better.
> 
> There's a shop selling cronuts in LB?  I might just have to go check it out.



We had so much fun with Pam!  That steak was just wonderful as was the rest of the meal.  

I'll have to check out that cronut shop that I found on Yelp yesterday before you get here and make sure they are good enough to eat!  



mvf-m11c said:


> Thank you for the tip of eating at the UVA Bar and Cafe at DTD. It was way better than I have thought and I might eat there again in the near future.



That would be good, I like that place!



mvf-m11c said:


> Hope you are able to find your tablet.



We found the tablet and then lost it again!    But Fran has her own computer back so that's good!



mvf-m11c said:


> My DAF and I are looking forward to the October trip as well.
> 
> After having all those trips these last few months and all of a sudden you will be on the road again.



I still have over a month and a half before I get on the road again, it will be a very welcome trip I think.  While we are getting settled nicely into the house, putting things away and cleaning every day is beginning to get tedious.



mvf-m11c said:


> I always enjoy riding Living with the Land at EPCOT. Very nice pictures of the plants during your ride.
> 
> The food at Le Cellier looks so amazing. This is one of the restaurants that I will want to do every time I am at EPCOT. The only problem is that it is hard to make a reservation when you are not a on-site guests and it fills up very quickly. This is one thing I don't like staying off-site is that you can't get the reservation at Le Cellier (unless you get lucky and it isn't that busy on the date you want).



I hope to take the Behind the Seeds tour in April, so that would be even more fun. I don't know when we'll eat at Le Cellier again, but it is definitely back on the list.



afwdwfan said:


> Looks like fun!  You must really like Palo.



Yes, actually we do!    On our last cruise we ate brunch there on both of the Sea Days and had dinner.  Brunch and dinner are so wildly different that I just have to experience both.



afwdwfan said:


> But if it happens...



  That's usually how it is, just kind of happens.



afwdwfan said:


> Way more classy than the beer goggles.



  What's funny is in all this putting away and packing, I just found a pack of "mini beer goggles" that Fran bought on our Las Vegas trip, you put them on your beer bottle and they all different colors of the rainbow. That way you know "The pink beer is mine!"



afwdwfan said:


> Was that followed up by "Hey, Fran!  What do you want?"



   



afwdwfan said:


> I love Living with the Land.  I really want to do that tour sometime.



Hopefully in April we'll get to it.



afwdwfan said:


> Hmmm... now that you mention it, they don't show us where they raise their cattle in that greenhouse.
> 
> The Dismeet/dinner both look great.  I'm glad everything worked out so that you could all see the characters together.



Living relatively near cattle country and having stayed near a cattle raising region, I don't think they would want that smell anywhere near WDW!    But people tell me you get used to it, right Alicia?


----------



## franandaj

dolphingirl47 said:


> This ended up quite a busy day. I have to admit that Fran's choice of wine in Germany was what I would have gone for as well.
> 
> We did the Living with the Land tour in 2008 or 2009 and loved it. It was so interesting and really good value. I love the character photos and dinner looked delicious.
> 
> Corinna



Even though the morning was very relaxing, we did end up getting quite a bit accomplished. I would certainly not mind repeating that day anytime soon!



Leshaface said:


> Alison i'm SHOCKED!   I really thought you had been on tons of meets before ours.  I'm honored!



I was actually pretty wary at first. We were visiting Tulare a lot back then, and the first time when you told me that was the town you lived in, I was kind of like.....ummmmm.  I also had the same trepidation with PIO. She visited Long Beach in 2010, but I wasn't going to push a meet up.  I decided I'd read enough of your TRs and you couldn't be that different in person.  We had so much fun drinking margaritas and chatting, next time PIO came to the US, I was more than eager to meet up with her as well!  

Now many DISmeets later, I can't say that there is anyone I have met that I regret meeting.  Pretty much everyone has been fabulous and we've had a wonderful time.



Leshaface said:


> Yay for your break from vacations...and another yay for your upcoming vacations!



It's been nice being at home for the last three weeks. We have got a lot organized and the house is starting to look like a house and something a tornado ripped through.  However, that Chicken Parmesan at Palo is totally calling my name.  I'm reading Wonder TRs and getting all excited!



Leshaface said:


> I"m DETEREMINED to get on Living with the Land in January.  So many interruptions and distractions the last 2 times.



Perhaps Calvin will cooperate a little more this time!



Leshaface said:


> Aw fun meet and greet with Pam!  Oh and those other characters too



It was a good time and easy way to document our DISmeet!



Leshaface said:


> I also need to try a cronut.  So many things I need to do!
> 
> My first time trying creamed spinach was at Yachtsman (could have tried it a looong time ago had we made that ADR to Yachtsman in 2010!) and it's sooooo delicious.  It really should be illegal.



I haven't found a cronut that is all that yet, but supposedly they are out there.

I don't know how long I've been loving creamed spinach, it's been a staple for years!  I love spinach, in salads, spanakopita, crepes, I even put it in lasagna once, but Fran poo pooed that idea ever again.



Pinkocto said:


> I've really been slacking on the Dis this week, sorry I missed this.
> 
> I'm glad you're home with some potential down time  hopefully you get some rest and aren't unpacking most of the time.



I've been slacking on the DIS too.  Mostly only time to read from my phone when I wake up in the morning. But we are slowly digging out of our mess.  Hopefully we get there in time for my parents visit in a week from tomorrow. The worst is our common living space, a forest of TV trays covered in mail, computers, empty soda cans and gift cards.  That's an odd mix!



Pinkocto said:


> Of course I loved this update!  That was so nice to spend the evenibg with you and Fran. I'll have a look at my photos at home and post any that are worthy. Those character pics are too cute!
> 
> That was really a delicious meal, wow. I did try the scallop, it was quite tasty. And Fran had some beets, I think she liked them. I didn't like the cheese that came with them though.  That pretzel bread is awesome. I found some at Trader Joes that really compares.
> 
> Your earlier evening looked like great fun! I really like LWTL. The Behind the Seeds tour is great. I've done that twice, once solo and then took mom.



It was great to spend that time with you. I'm glad we shared more of the food than I remember.  Funny you finding awesome vegetarian food at a steakhouse!



Captain_Oblivious said:


> 2 months without traveling?  Are you going through withdrawal?



I know right?  



Captain_Oblivious said:


> One of my favorite gags in that game!



I never even knew about it until I saw it go off this time!



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Yeah, that's a tough one.  You really have to decide ahead of time where and when to switch settings.



I just knew when the light was coming to change it and when the dark was coming change it back.  Probably why so many were overexposed.  Next time.



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Gremlins.



*+1*  (Even though I don't know enough movies to play that game over here)



Captain_Oblivious said:


> That's for the shoes in the gift shop. :



  



Captain_Oblivious said:


> for DISmeets!







Captain_Oblivious said:


> Sooo good...especially with the soup.
> 
> Man, now I'm really getting hungry...
> 
> Hard to go wrong with a rib-eye.  I'm still annoyed that it's a signature place, though.   :



Me too, I need to make that soup.  I saw somewhere else that it's your favorite cut, mine and Fran's too!  I don't mind that it's a signature place because now we can actually get a reservation there!



Captain_Oblivious said:


> I think the Spaceship Earth shots came out well!



Thanks!



cj9200 said:


> Love the glasses.  Seriously, I need to party with you two.  Start with breakfast at your place to carb load and then drinking around the world.  That or doing the monorail drinking game.  First round is on me.



That would be fun, I've always liked your style on traveling, especially the afternoon breaks for a cocktail or two!  I've never heard of the monorail drinking game, but I have a good idea of what it is.  I'll start with a Lapu Lapu!



ACDSNY said:


> Lovely pics from your DISmeet and dinner, I was drooling over all the yummy food.



I'd sure like to repeat that one again!



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> You got some nice trips planned there. Nothing better than having some cruises on the horizon! Plus a nice break at VGC. That does look like a smashing resort.



You've got a nice one coming up straightaway don't you?  Looking forward to the funny hats and such!



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Crocodile? Cool. I have actually tried this! When I worked for Microsoft they liked to put different offerings on the menu and I enjoyed trying. I liked it but could not decide if I thought it was more like fish or meat. An interesting protein. Would have again!



I've had Alligator, I don't remember if I liked it much or not, but the price was too much for me to get hooked on it.



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> I am yet to try this cronut. It would have to do some serious partying in my mouth to best a good ole fashioned glazed donut. My goto cake/pastry of choice.



Well you can try one in just a couple weeks!



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Your dinner sounds nice. I am pleased to read that Disney is open to sharing an entree and ordering more sides. Good idea! That rib eye sounds the bomb. Glad Pam found items to eat. The presentation looks fabulous.



We almost always share a meal at Disney, actually we do it at most places.  American restaurants just don't serve reasonable portions. Hence why so many of us are overweight!



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Nice that the new system allowed for FP+ across multiple parks. I hope they enhance that soon so you can do that in advance and not just on the day. Be cool
> 
> Thanks for the update I love those wine shades lol and the photos are so cute of you all.



I don't think they will encourage park hopping. The longer they keep you in one place, the idea is the more that you spend.  I think it was only guest pressure that caused them to give the little that they had last spring.


----------



## franandaj

bangzoom6877 said:


> Sadly, no California for us next summer...my mom is too nervous to fly. So the 11 of us are taking a cruise to Bermuda instead, which leaves right from NYC.



I'm sorry to hear that.  I find it amusing that your mother feels safe on a cruise ship, but fearful of flying.  But whatever, she's your mom, so go with the flow.  California will always be here.  At least until the *BIG ONE* hits and we all fall off into the ocean!


----------



## franandaj

The next morning we wanted to get an early start.  On our visit to WDW in October 2013 we never made it to the Animal Kingdom. There was way too much Food and Wine (and Tequila and Grand Marnier) being consumed at Epcot to find time to talk to the animals. This trip we wanted to make sure we got some of that in.  It’s not like we didn’t get our fill on our January 2013 trip when we stayed at the AKV, but it had been a while and we were interested to revisit that park.

The danger of shooting on Manual is that if you don’t check your photos carefully, sometimes you forget that the camera is not properly set for your lighting conditions.  No amount of Photoshop, Microsoft photo editor or any other product can fix this. I prepared for our AK visit by preparing sandwiches (chicken salad) and some chips.  I also grabbed us a couple yogurts to eat on the way to the park.  Unfortunately my kitchen was much lighter than Epcot at night.  Even using photo editing software this is the most that I could repair this photo.





Today we had FP+ for the Safari from 9:10 to 10:10, Expedition Everest from 10:10 to 11:10 and Dinosaur from 11:30 to 12:30.  We left the room by 8:30AM and were all set at the bus stop as we saw the Animal Kingdom bus drive away.  Buses come every 20 minutes right.  There should easily be another by 9AM to get us there.  

The WDW bus system has become even more sophisticated and they can even tell you the arrival time of the next bus.  Or so they want you to believe.  We watched the arrival times of all the buses go from 9:05 back a couple minutes, eventually to 9:12, to 9:24…etc…  I don’t think one bus pulled into that bus stop for over half an hour. By the time an AK bus came there were so many people wanting to go to the AK that the “scheduler” asked us if it would be OK, for us not to ride the bus that was coming first because there was going to be another bus right behind it.

Had those people that he crammed on the bus known there would be another bus in moments they would have been pretty pissed off I think, but they all herded onto that bus like cattle. Sure enough another bus pulled right up and we practically had the bus to ourselves.  The problem?  Our FP+ were ticking away.

I learned a very important thing about FP+ that day.  Don’t book them back to back hour to hour. By the time our ride on the safari got out, we were hustling to use our EE FP+.  But let’s get back to now.  Everything worked out fine, they let us into the FP+ queue and we were on our way to riding.  They sent us off to the special handicapped loading area and we waited for a bus to pull up and unload.  Then they seated us on the bus and we waited for enough people to fill it up.

I know that you all have seen many pictures of the safari ride, so I will try to keep the pictures to a minimum, really, we have hundreds (we put the cameras on sports shooting so each picture has three images.)  If you've seen enough safari pictures to last the rest of your life, just skip to the next post.





When our bus was finally full we were off!













The Okapi





Rhino in action









The Hippo Pool





And of course the crocodiles









Then we head out onto the Savannah



















































[/IMG][/URL] 

*[Continued in Next Post]*


----------



## franandaj

*[Continued from Previous Post]*

And then we were done.  By this time my FP+ for EE was ticking away and almost at the end of the period, so we high tailed it over there, only to find that the ride was down. So we headed over to our next FP+ which was





I rode and used my FP+ and Fran waited while she read her book, I think that this is where we decided to eat our chicken salad sandwiches too. I wanted to see more animals.  Now mind you with the MDE app, you can constantly check wait times and other on property facts. All day, I kept checking the status of Expedition Everest and it was down almost all of the day. So instead we decided to go see some animals.  Right around the front of the tree of life are some animal displays that many people dont even seem to know about.  I just found these on my trip in 2010 and I hadnt been back to this part of the park for a while.













At this point we were near the entrance to the park and EE was still down, so we decided to head out and go over to the AKL to look at the gift shop.









I know we found things to purchase and then we headed to our next destination. On our way from Jambo House to Kidani, we started to play the lizard game.  We have lizards in California, but with the number of cats we own, they dont tend to frequent our house. We started counting them and I think we were up to one hundred twenty something when we finally quit the game.





We probably didnt need it, but we had a reservation for 2:30 anyways.





We had a nice view of the savannah





Neither of us was terribly hungry, but we were interested in eating so we went the appetizer route.  We got the bread service. I believe we got the mango chutney, tamarind chutney and raita.





I ordered a mojito and I have no idea what drink this is that Fran ordered.





We split an order of lamb sliders





And I think we also split this bowl of soup.





This was plenty of food for us, and in fact we had to take one of the sliders home it was so much food!  I have never seen these turtles in my times of staying here, they were so cute!





Bellies full and tired from our early start, we headed back to the room. Which from lack of pictorial evidence tells me that we both took a nap and didnt leave again until the next morning! So as a consolation, I will give you another lizard shot.


----------



## jedijill

The buses are crazy.  Glad they had another bus coming right away for you.  I love AK but it really is a half day park for me.  Too bad Dinsoaur was down.  Lunch looks delicious!  I still haven't made it to Sanaa...I keep intending to eat there.  

Jill in CO


----------



## franandaj

jedijill said:


> The buses are crazy.  Glad they had another bus coming right away for you.  I love AK but it really is a half day park for me.  Too bad Dinsoaur was down.  Lunch looks delicious!  I still haven't made it to Sanaa...I keep intending to eat there.
> 
> Jill in CO



It was Everest that was down, and now I'm really bummed.  I definitely have to go on it in April!

You need to go to Sanaa!  It's one of my favorite restaurants on property!


----------



## jedijill

franandaj said:


> It was Everest that was down, and now I'm really bummed.  I definitely have to go on it in April!
> 
> You need to go to Sanaa!  It's one of my favorite restaurants on property!



Oops, apparently my reading comprehension is as bad as my football team today.   I would reallyl be bummed if Everest was down too.  I hate Dinosaur! 

It's on my To Do list!  AKV is my favorite property so I have no excuse for not eating there!

Jill in CO


----------



## franandaj

jedijill said:


> Oops, apparently my reading comprehension is as bad as my football team today.



    Not being a sports fan, I wouldn't even know what game or who was winning/losing!



jedijill said:


> I would reallyl be bummed if Everest was down too.  I hate Dinosaur!
> 
> It's on my To Do list!  AKV is my favorite property so I have no excuse for not eating there!
> 
> Jill in CO



I hadn't been on Dinosaur in a long time.  I didn't remember it being as jarring as it was.

I'm a big fan of Indian food, so Sanaa is definitely up there on the list.  I'm just sad that I don't have the eating capacity that I did when I was swimming competitively.


----------



## rentayenta

Yay! Caught up. Sorry about the bus headache. Was it because of the scooters the driver asked you to take the next bus? Either way, you're super nice for saying yes. 

You can never have too many safari pics!  

Lunch sounds perfect! I think it was you who turned us on to the bread service. It's delicious and a steal. We love lamb- we'll have to try the sliders next go. 

Did you ever get to ride EE?  You know I hate suspense.


----------



## franandaj

rentayenta said:


> Yay! Caught up. Sorry about the bus headache. Was it because of the scooters the driver asked you to take the next bus? Either way, you're super nice for saying yes.
> 
> You can never have too many safari pics!
> 
> Lunch sounds perfect! I think it was you who turned us on to the bread service. It's delicious and a steal. We love lamb- we'll have to try the sliders next go.
> 
> Did you ever get to ride EE?  You know I hate suspense.



If you saw my comments to Jill, I can't wait to finally get on it in April.  Unfortunately did not get on it this trip.

It was because of the scooters that they asked us to go on the next bus.  They could pack a whole bus with SRO, and then have an empty bus for us to take up half the seats on the lower level.  We kind of don't have a choice because all the people would storm the bus and we couldn't get on, but nicer than having to get stared at the whole trip.

I thought I would be disappointed with the sliders since I liked the kefta so much the last time, but they were very good and filling.


----------



## dolphingirl47

What a shame about the mess with the buses. You got some fantastic animal photos. I am more than a little jealous of the great Okapi photo. They are one of my favourite African animals and somehow I always end up with blurry photos of the Okapi.

I think Fran's drink may have been the Malawi Mango Margarita and if it was, it would have been extremely delicious. I am normally a purist when it comes to my Margaritas, but I love this one.

Corinna


----------



## franandaj

dolphingirl47 said:


> What a shame about the mess with the buses. You got some fantastic animal photos. I am more than a little jealous of the great Okapi photo. They are one of my favourite African animals and somehow I always end up with blurry photos of the Okapi.
> 
> I think Fran's drink may have been the Malawi Mango Margarita and if it was, it would have been extremely delicious. I am normally a purist when it comes to my Margaritas, but I love this one.
> 
> Corinna



That was the one time when we really needed the buses to be on time and of course they weren't.

Thanks!  I really like our DSLR cameras especially since I've learned to operate them properly again!

That's what it was!  She is a Margarita kind of gal, so that would have been right up her alley!


----------



## Dis_Yoda

Animal Kingdom is the park that gets the least attention from us as well - there is usually too much at EPCOT to keep us busy!  We skipped it in May, July, and we will be skipping it in both of our upcoming trips as a couple.  My mother wants to go during her trip with me so I'll get my fill for a bit.  

Sounds like a lovely morning there!


----------



## PrincessInOz

What a shame about EE.  I hope you get to ride it next trip.

Great pics of the animals. Looks like your skills have definitely returned.


----------



## bangzoom6877

franandaj said:


> I'm sorry to hear that.  I find it amusing that your mother feels safe on a cruise ship, but fearful of flying.  But whatever, she's your mom, so go with the flow.  California will always be here.  At least until the *BIG ONE* hits and we all fall off into the ocean!



It's funny, because I'm the same way.  I panic when I think of getting on a plane but I don't think about it on a cruise ship...the only thing I worry about is hitting a storm and not being able to spend time outside...it's happened to us before. While I'm disappointed about not seeing California yet, I'm also excited about going on another cruise. We're going on the Norwegian Breakaway, a ship I've been wanting to go on since it came out last year. And I've also been wanting to return to Bermuda for years now and stay there a few days, and that is exactly what we are doing!


----------



## Pinkocto

Great pictures of the animals, I can never see enough. The rhinos especially  

Bummer about EE, but Dinosaur is one of my favorites so that would have been ok. I feel it's the same jarring as Indy. 


Bummer about the bus wait, but excellent there was another one coming behind the crammed one. 

I've not seen the turtle at Kidani either, I'll have to check them out.


----------



## afwdwfan

franandaj said:


> Had those people that he crammed on the bus known there would be another bus in moments they would have been pretty pissed off I think, but they all herded onto that bus like cattle.


eh... they'll get there 2 minutes sooner.  They're fine with it. 



franandaj said:


> Sure enough another bus pulled right up and we practically had the bus to ourselves.  The problem?  Our FP+ were ticking away.


I love Disney transportation, I really do.  But this is a big part of why we've gotten to the point that we usually just drive to the parks. 



franandaj said:


> By this time my FP+ for EE was ticking away and almost at the end of the period, so we high tailed it over there, only to find that the ride was down.


So did they give you the opportunity to ride later through the FP line if it opened back up later?


----------



## mvf-m11c

Sorry to hear about EE not running during your day. 

You took great pictures from KS. I can understand your situation on the buses that it can take some time to leave or go to the loading stations. 

Very nice day at AK.


----------



## Paula Sedley-Burke

Bless AK! Such a lovely park. We did a lot of this too in May for the same reasons as you. The previous September MK had the MNSSP going on and EPCOT the F & W. Love those rides! The safari just magic every time. Great photos thank you. Nice to pack a lunch  

The appetizers at Saana sounded just perfect. Love all the animals at AK. Shame EE was down. We love this ride too. I have not known this ride down before. Yeti's on the track?


----------



## Captain_Oblivious

franandaj said:


> The danger of shooting on Manual is that if you dont check your photos carefully, sometimes you forget that the camera is not properly set for your lighting conditions.



I know that feeling.  But it's worse when you're still set on manual focus. 



franandaj said:


> Buses come every 20 minutes right.  There should easily be another by 9AM to get us there.



Uh oh.  You're playing Disney Bus Roulette. 



franandaj said:


> By this time my FP+ for EE was ticking away and almost at the end of the period, so we high tailed it over there, only to find that the ride was down.



Ugh.   The Force has not been with you so far.



franandaj said:


> At this point we were near the entrance to the park and EE was still down, so we decided to head out and go over to the AKL to look at the gift shop.



I'm not the biggest fan of Avatar, but I'm glad they're at least building a couple of new rides.  The park still needs the attractions.



franandaj said:


> Bellies full and tired from our early start, we headed back to the room. Which from lack of pictorial evidence tells me that we both took a nap and didnt leave again until the next morning! So as a consolation, I will give you another lizard shot.



Seems like a reasonable compromise.


----------



## scottny

The cruise plans look good. 

LOL. Those wine glasses are hysterical. 

MMM, the margaritas look good. 

HIGHLY recommend the "Behind the Seeds tour".

Nice pics of LWTL.

Nice PP+ pics. 

Love the cheddar soup there but make it at home now and Vinny says it is better. LOL. 

I can never see enough safari pics. 

LOL. All the lizards. 

OOH! YUM! Sanaa is my favorite restaurant. Wish I was there now. 

All caught up.


----------



## franandaj

Dis_Yoda said:


> Animal Kingdom is the park that gets the least attention from us as well - there is usually too much at EPCOT to keep us busy!  We skipped it in May, July, and we will be skipping it in both of our upcoming trips as a couple.  My mother wants to go during her trip with me so I'll get my fill for a bit.
> 
> Sounds like a lovely morning there!



I know, as much as I enjoy the animals, I just love Epcot even more!



PrincessInOz said:


> What a shame about EE.  I hope you get to ride it next trip.
> 
> Great pics of the animals. Looks like your skills have definitely returned.



I hope that I get to ride it too. Again, we're only going to spend about half a day there next trip too.  Thanks! I keep trying with the camera



bangzoom6877 said:


> It's funny, because I'm the same way.  I panic when I think of getting on a plane but I don't think about it on a cruise ship...the only thing I worry about is hitting a storm and not being able to spend time outside...it's happened to us before. While I'm disappointed about not seeing California yet, I'm also excited about going on another cruise. We're going on the Norwegian Breakaway, a ship I've been wanting to go on since it came out last year. And I've also been wanting to return to Bermuda for years now and stay there a few days, and that is exactly what we are doing!



I thought that you were also afraid of flying and was proud of you for getting on a plane and coming out here. Though I still have cruises booked, Im more wary of that than flying. But I certainly have taken Carnival off the list!



Pinkocto said:


> Great pictures of the animals, I can never see enough. The rhinos especially



I do have to say I got some great Rhino pictures. They suggested we put our cameras on the sports setting so they were taking multiple pictures. I got some of the Rhino walking and when you view the pictures on the computer in rapid succession, you can almost see him walking. Its really cool.



Pinkocto said:


> Bummer about EE, but Dinosaur is one of my favorites so that would have been ok. I feel it's the same jarring as Indy.



Indy is jarring too, but half the time Im freaking out about the rats on the walls, the snakes and the dart shooting natives, so Im not thinking about how Im being jostled around in there.



Pinkocto said:


> Bummer about the bus wait, but excellent there was another one coming behind the crammed one.



Thats one nice thing about the mornings at the resorts. The bus monitors can call for extra busses when there are a lot of people waiting for one park.  The problem is that it takes quite a bit for the buses to be rerouted from where ever they are to get to the resort that needs buses.



Pinkocto said:


> I've not seen the turtle at Kidani either, I'll have to check them out.



We saw them from just outside Sanaa, not from the overlook, but outside near the front of the building.  I never knew that area existed until this trip.



afwdwfan said:


> eh... they'll get there 2 minutes sooner.  They're fine with it.



I was fine with it too. All the screaming toddlers were on that bus and we had nice quiet trip!



afwdwfan said:


> I love Disney transportation, I really do.  But this is a big part of why we've gotten to the point that we usually just drive to the parks.



If we lived close enough that we could drive to WDW, we would take our vehicle as well. Fran much prefers her own transportation than being at the whim of others. Many times we have rented cars.



afwdwfan said:


> So did they give you the opportunity to ride later through the FP line if it opened back up later?



We certainly could have rode later, and thats why I kept checking the MDE App, but by the time that it was actually showing open we were on our way to lunch and I didnt want to go back at that point.



mvf-m11c said:


> Sorry to hear about EE not running during your day.
> 
> You took great pictures from KS. I can understand your situation on the buses that it can take some time to leave or go to the loading stations.
> 
> Very nice day at AK.



Yeah, EE will be at the top of the list for next time.  As will be leaving earlier for the bus stops!



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Bless AK! Such a lovely park. We did a lot of this too in May for the same reasons as you. The previous September MK had the MNSSP going on and EPCOT the F & W. Love those rides! The safari just magic every time. Great photos thank you. Nice to pack a lunch
> 
> The appetizers at Saana sounded just perfect. Love all the animals at AK. Shame EE was down. We love this ride too. I have not known this ride down before. Yeti's on the track?



We were so busy doing all the F&W events and DISmeets that AK just got thrown out the window on the previous trip.  I wish we were planning to go back to Sanaa on the next trip, but next time.



Captain_Oblivious said:


> I know that feeling.  But it's worse when you're still set on manual focus.



I havent figured out how to turn off Auto focus yet, and I dont think I want to. Although sometimes when Im going for that look of blurred foliage in the foreground and crisp mountains in the horizon, it would be nice to know. 



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Uh oh.  You're playing Disney Bus Roulette.



I thought Bus Roulette was when you had no destination in mind and just got on the first bus that arrived.



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Ugh.   The Force has not been with you so far.



We were definitely not the droids they were looking for.



Captain_Oblivious said:


> I'm not the biggest fan of Avatar, but I'm glad they're at least building a couple of new rides.  The park still needs the attractions.



I can say that it definitely needs a few new rides.   Confession: Ive never seen Avatar.



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Seems like a reasonable compromise.







scottny said:


> The cruise plans look good.
> 
> LOL. Those wine glasses are hysterical.
> 
> MMM, the margaritas look good.
> 
> HIGHLY recommend the "Behind the Seeds tour".
> 
> Nice pics of LWTL.
> 
> Nice PP+ pics.
> 
> Love the cheddar soup there but make it at home now and Vinny says it is better. LOL.
> 
> I can never see enough safari pics.
> 
> LOL. All the lizards.
> 
> OOH! YUM! Sanaa is my favorite restaurant. Wish I was there now.
> 
> All caught up.



Good you're all caught up, I hope to do so on your TR today.  I'm halfway there!  Your trip is coming up really soon now huh?


----------



## franandaj

Eventually it always arrives, that fateful day of your vacation.  Nobody wants it to happen (unless you have been almost six weeks away from home).  The last full day.

Since we were evidently well rested, and the last day is usually one without plans, I suggested a spontaneous option.  So we took the bus here.





Our Destination:





Figured it out yet? This should do it.





We literally had the place to ourselves.





Which meant that our food was ready that much quicker!









Everything above is self explanatory, but this one was unique. A Breakfast Calzone.  Boy was this tasty!  We split both breakfasts and shall I tell you? This was absolutely superb!  Im normally sketchy about my eggs if they arent made to order. The clerk assured me that they make everything from scratch right there.  I would order this again in a heartbeat.





After breakfast we headed over to the art shop.  I dont remember if Fran bought something (chances are she did).  





I debated getting this picture called Marie and the Butterfly.  Spoiler alert. We bought it in July at DL and its one of the few pictures hanging on the wall in our new house.





We purchased some souvenirs in the cooking shop and just sort of meandered our way around DTD. Im pretty sure we stopped in the WoD store and purchased something. Construction was going full swing at that time and lots of the area was closed and blocked off.









Fran was shooting up a storm, but I cant seem to find her pictures of the lego monster.





The walkway between the Lego store and Fultons was completely closed and they had us going down an strange corridor to get to the rest of the shops.





The balloon was in flight that day.









It appears that they will be revamping this area for food trucks.









We wandered around looking at various art shops, but didnt find anything that really suited our fancy, so we decided to head back to the hotel, do a little packing and Fran needed a nap before going back out that night.


----------



## jedijill

WP has a great breakfast!  I finally made it there on my last trip and it was delicious!  

DTD is so sad with all the construction.  I hope it gets done soon!

Love that picture of Marie.

Jill in CO


----------



## rentayenta

Did that food truck park sign say summer 2014? Hmm..... 

Sorry you didn't make it on EE. I didn't see your response to Jill until I read back. 

Breakfast looks wonderful. WGP is on our list for next time along with about 40 other places. I'm going to need a 15 day trip.


----------



## Leshaface

franandaj said:


> I'm sorry to hear that.  I find it amusing that your mother feels safe on a cruise ship, but fearful of flying.  But whatever, she's your mom, so go with the flow.  California will always be here.  At least until the *BIG ONE* hits and we all fall off into the ocean!



Better not be in our lifetime please!  



That's actually a good idea about spacing out your FP attractions.  I'll be doing that for January.

If the ride had been up and running, could you have still used those FP's for later use?  Do they still honor those like they did for the paper FP?  I'm going to assume yes, but have no idea. 

Woah, that breakfast calzone looks delicious 

Do you know how long the construction is supposed to be going on till?


----------



## dolphingirl47

That breakfast looked delicious. Downtown Disney really is a mess at the moment.

Corinna


----------



## PrincessInOz

I'm going to have to put that WP breakfast on my to-do list next time.

Nice looking picture.  I hope it's somewhere prominent in the house.


----------



## Pinkocto

Last day already  or were you ready to be home by this point? 


DTD looks terrible, you were right, much worse than May. 

Love that Marie picture


----------



## afwdwfan

franandaj said:


> Everything above is self explanatory, but this one was unique. A Breakfast Calzone.  Boy was this tasty!  We split both breakfasts and shall I tell you? This was absolutely superb!  Im normally sketchy about my eggs if they arent made to order. The clerk assured me that they make everything from scratch right there.  I would order this again in a heartbeat.


I've never eaten breakfast at WPE, but I certainly love the lunch/dinner menu there.  I'm glad to know it was good. 



franandaj said:


> After breakfast we headed over to the art shop.  I dont remember if Fran bought something (chances are she did).






franandaj said:


> It appears that they will be revamping this area for food trucks.


That might be something interesting.  Yet with all the good food options in the parks, resorts and at DTD...  that's all I need is something else to try out.


----------



## Captain_Oblivious

franandaj said:


> Confession: Ive never seen Avatar.



It's not worth me trying to sell you.  Think Pocahontas or Dances With Wolves with better special effects.



franandaj said:


> Eventually it always arrives, that fateful day of your vacation.  Nobody wants it to happen (unless you have been almost six weeks away from home).  The last full day.



I've never been away for 6 weeks.  I think I need to test this theory out.



franandaj said:


> Everything above is self explanatory, but this one was unique. A Breakfast Calzone.  Boy was this tasty!  We split both breakfasts and shall I tell you? This was absolutely superb!  Im normally sketchy about my eggs if they arent made to order. The clerk assured me that they make everything from scratch right there.  I would order this again in a heartbeat.



Sounds good!  I've never been to WPE, but everyone seems to like it!



franandaj said:


> The walkway between the Lego store and Fultons was completely closed and they had us going down an strange corridor to get to the rest of the shops.



Seems kinda inconvenient.



franandaj said:


> The balloon was in flight that day.



Of course it was.  You know why?  Because I wasn't there.  



franandaj said:


> It appears that they will be revamping this area for food trucks.



Mmmm...grease...


----------



## mvf-m11c

WP looks completely empty and the Breakfast Calzone looks very appetizing. 

I always enjoy walking through the Disney Art shop at DTD to see what interesting art they have in store.

DTD at WDW has changed a lot since I have been there and it will be weird to see it as Disney Springs.


----------



## franandaj

jedijill said:


> WP has a great breakfast!  I finally made it there on my last trip and it was delicious!
> 
> DTD is so sad with all the construction.  I hope it gets done soon!
> 
> Love that picture of Marie.
> 
> Jill in CO



We're going to have to work it in again sometime. Im just not sure when!

I know all that construction drives me crazy. Why do they have to keep changing it?



rentayenta said:


> Did that food truck park sign say summer 2014? Hmm.....
> 
> Sorry you didn't make it on EE. I didn't see your response to Jill until I read back.
> 
> Breakfast looks wonderful. WGP is on our list for next time along with about 40 other places. I'm going to need a 15 day trip.



Yes it did say summer 2014. It's probably open now. I know what you mean. There are too many good places to eat. Not to mention going back to places I liked and want to eat at again.



Leshaface said:


> Better not be in our lifetime please!
> 
> That's actually a good idea about spacing out your FP attractions.  I'll be doing that for January.
> 
> If the ride had been up and running, could you have still used those FP's for later use?  Do they still honor those like they did for the paper FP?  I'm going to assume yes, but have no idea.
> 
> Woah, that breakfast calzone looks delicious
> 
> Do you know how long the construction is supposed to be going on till?



Yeah, hopefully not in our lifetime, but then depending where it breaks off,  you might be nearer to the beach!

Yes they do honor the FP+, however to make it useful you need to be in the park and able to get to the ride to use it!

That Calzone is awesome and I have  no idea when the construction is supposed to end.



dolphingirl47 said:


> That breakfast looked delicious. Downtown Disney really is a mess at the moment.
> 
> Corinna



I would love to have that again and yup DTD was a total mess at that point. I would guess it still is.



PrincessInOz said:


> I'm going to have to put that WP breakfast on my to-do list next time.
> 
> Nice looking picture.  I hope it's somewhere prominent in the house.



i think you shoukd put it on your list. It was very good.

The picture is prominent for me, KVC members and Olga. Maybe not too many others.


----------



## franandaj

Pinkocto said:


> Last day already  or were you ready to be home by this point?
> 
> 
> DTD looks terrible, you were right, much worse than May.
> 
> Love that Marie picture



I'm not sure we were ready to go home at this point, we'd spent so much time sleeping and not as much doing, though we'd been gone a long time, it didn't seem so much like it.

Yeah DTD was a mess. I wonder if it's better or worse now.

I know!  It's so cute!



afwdwfan said:


> I've never eaten breakfast at WPE, but I certainly love the lunch/dinner menu there.  I'm glad to know it was good.



Actually some of that might really hit the spot right now.  Too bad it's so far away!



afwdwfan said:


>



We just came across the painting that she got. And in fact we are going to put it on the same wall with Marie.



afwdwfan said:


> That might be something interesting.  Yet with all the good food options in the parks, resorts and at DTD...  that's all I need is something else to try out.



I know, if you're playing the "Golden Spoon" game, they keep adding more and more places. At first I was 5 away from 50%, now I think I have to eat at 15 new places next trip to get it.  At least there are a dozen F&G kiosks to get me there!



Captain_Oblivious said:


> It's not worth me trying to sell you.  Think Pocahontas or Dances With Wolves with better special effects.



I just found the DVD unpacking some DVD boxes, maybe we'll put it on the watch list. We will still keep trying to get you to watch Big Bang Theory.   



Captain_Oblivious said:


> I've never been away for 6 weeks.  I think I need to test this theory out.



Well, we weren't gone for six weeks in a row. Sometimes it was just for the day (like when I came out meet your family). There was just a lack of overall home time to get things cleaned up and put away.



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Sounds good!  I've never been to WPE, but everyone seems to like it!



I definitely did, one of the better QS places on property.



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Seems kinda inconvenient.



It was definitely a longer detour.



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Of course it was.  You know why?  Because I wasn't there.







Captain_Oblivious said:


> Mmmm...grease...







mvf-m11c said:


> WP looks completely empty and the Breakfast Calzone looks very appetizing.



I couldn't believe how empty it was, although I think two other parties came in while we were eating.



mvf-m11c said:


> I always enjoy walking through the Disney Art shop at DTD to see what interesting art they have in store.



The one in WDW DTD is bigger than the ones at DL, always more dangerous for Fran!



mvf-m11c said:


> DTD at WDW has changed a lot since I have been there and it will be weird to see it as Disney Springs.



I'm wondering if the transformation will be such a big thing, or all this construction will have been for no real benefit.  We'll have to wait and see.


----------



## franandaj

It was our last night and we would be returning to the MK this evening.  I had actually been able to get us FP+ for the 7DMT for this day as well. As we were leaving the lobby of the VGF Fran sort of hit her knee on a big granite pillar and decided that she didnt want to deal with riding the ride today.  So I took her wristband and rode it twice.  I didnt get any pictures of the queue, it was too dark.

Now this ride is fun, its not RnRC, Space Mtn or CA Screamin fun, but its a cute little ride. There are not a lot of jarring turns, and the fact that the cars sway too and fro makes it a little smoother than some of the other coasters.  I would recommend it, but not 60 or 90 minutes worth of wait time recommend it!













You do get some nice views of various castles from the upper vantage points.









And then there is the dark ride part of the component. The dwarves at work, the train also slows when you reach this part of the ride.

























And then you go back out into the roller coaster ride.

















Its a pretty quick little ride and soon you are heading back to the station.





The dwarves are celebrating and dancing with Snow White inside the cottage, but the train goes by so fast, its hard to see the details. Its not until you come to a full stop that you see whats going on.





And as you exit the ride, you see the front of the cottage.





This is the kind of thing that amuses Fran while Im on rides.





We also had FP+ for Big Thunder Mountain, but I think Fran was saving her scooter battery (it didnt have all afternoon to charge back up from our morning at AK) so I went across the park and rode BTMRR myself.  I never really found any good photo opportunities, and I do have to say that I am spoiled by DLs version of this ride.  It is so much improved with the refurb that I will be skipping this one at WDW until it gets an upgrade.

Then back in Fantasyland, we still had a bit of time before our ADR, so we decided to catch a showing of Mickeys Philharmagic.



 

*[Continued in Next Post]*


----------



## franandaj

*[Continued from Previous Post]*

Then it was time for our reservation at Be Our Guest.













When you enter the restaurant you get to take Lumiere to your table, but you dont get to keep him.





Place setting





We were seated in the main ball room.





Menu, sorry its difficult to read.





















This room is just so pretty, I cant get over it!





We split both of these soups, French Onion





And Potato Leek, but I ate more of the French Onion.  However, both are really good!





My Glass of White Wine and the Bread Service





Fran had a beer





The Beast makes a brief appearance as he passes on to his photo op





I ordered the Sauteed Shrimp and Scallops with Seasonal Vegetables and Mushrooms served in Puff Pastry. This was really good. The seafood was fresh, there was more shrimp than scallops, but that was ok.  The sauce was kind of rich, but I didnt mind.  It was really filling.





Fran got the Herb Crusted Lamb Rack.  Our plan was to trade entrees halfway through, but I got so full so fast, I couldnt even eat my piece of lamb.





I had a glass of red wine with my main course.





One of the reasons that I couldnt eat my lamb chop was because I had seen on Ellens TR (one of the many) that their Pomme Frites were to die for.  Im not sure what they fry them in, it must be duck fat or something like that.



 

*[Continued in Next Post]*


----------



## franandaj

*[Continued from Previous Post]*

Then there was this:









They bring the dessert cart to your table.





We went with a Strawberry Cream Cheese Cupcake





The Grey Stuff and a Chocolate Cream Puff. None of these desserts were spectacular. They were good, but I think due to being stuffed and the fact that Id had much better sweets over the course of the week.  I didnt finish any of them. Fran might have.









The room is just so darned pretty.





The other details arent bad either.

















On your way out, you get a photo op with the beast. They verify that you are in fact done, because they pretty much show you the door once you finish your picture.


----------



## PrincessInOz

I think if I ever hit WDW again, I'd like to dine at BoG.   The ambience looks great there.

Love the pictures of the mine.


----------



## Pinkocto

BoG looks awesome! Yours is one of the few 'good' reviews I've read. Most have the food as just ok. Of course everyone says the details are gorgeous! We walked in but they didn't let us past the main foyer. 


Like you I thought the mine train was cute and quite smooth but too short.


----------



## mvf-m11c

Very nice pictures from the 7DMT. It was neat that you were able to get a front row spot on the ride and get those nice pictures. This is one of those rides that I will to try when I ever go back to WDW.

BoG restaurant looks so nice every time I see my pictures when I had the sneak peek lunch back in 2012. But dinner is a different story where the experience is completely different from lunch. The only problem for me is that unless I stay on-site and can make reservations in advance for the non-hotel guests, it will be difficult to make a reservation unless I want to wait outside to get in the restaurant for dinner. This is just like Le Cellier where they are the most popular restaurants at WDW and impossible to get a reservation unless you are staying on-site.


----------



## dolphingirl47

I love the photos from the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. This looks like a real fun ride and it is absolutely OK be me that it is not in the same league as California Screamin', etc. Graham on the other hand, after assuring me for months that he had no intention to go anywhere near a park this time round, has suddenly decided he really wants to do California Screamin'. I think I may get him a one day hopper ticket for his birthday before he changes his mind.

I can't wait to do the new Big Thunder Mountain at Disneyland.

Dinner at Be Our Guest looks fantastic. I have been there for lunch twice, but never for dinner. I am hoping I can put this right at some stage.

Corinna


----------



## rentayenta

Love love love this update.  The Seven Dwarves Mine Train looks so cute! 

Be Our Guest looks amazing. Love a good lamb chop. Cute cute pics of you guys with Beast.


----------



## Sandy321

I'm Sandy, and I usually just lurk and read TR for information, and well to get that Disney fix...

but I've got to stop and say  and thank you!  I truly enjoyed the trip report, I felt like you were sitting right here telling me all about it!    We haven't been to WDW in quite some time, and I was quite fine with not planning a trip till all the fuss of FP+, magic bands, and with the closings and changes...

well, your TR put some of that pixie dust: back!  So thank you for sharing your FP+, I didn't read pre-tr but I may to get information on getting up to securing the BOG and 7D FP+  

I also like your drink reports, that's my kind of trip!  I honestly have written off LeCellier, but I may actually put it back thanks to your pictures!  and I too love the parmesan toile, I've baked mine on a sil pad, I may have to try your fry trick!

I also want to share that we did take Behind the Seeds tour, and if you like Living in the Land ride, you will definitely enjoy the tour, plus its not that long, and not expensive.  I'm planning on quite  a few tours due to the changes, we'll change up our style!

Loved going on your TR for SWW, how fascinating, I'm too afraid of the crowds, but that special tour does seem like the way to go!!

again, thank you!
(didn't mean to be so chatty.  )


----------



## afwdwfan

Cool pictures from 7DMT!!!!  I can't wait to ride it myself.  Kind of disappointing that it is such a short ride though.  

I'm really looking forward to seeing BTMRR in Disneyland.  I guess the quick comparison of riding both within a few weeks might be kind of interesting too.  I've always loved the on in Magic Kingdom, but if the DL version is that much better... I can't wait!!!

Looks like a lovely dinner at BOG!


----------



## Captain_Oblivious

franandaj said:


> Now this ride is fun, its not RnRC, Space Mtn or CA Screamin fun, but its a cute little ride. There are not a lot of jarring turns, and the fact that the cars sway too and fro makes it a little smoother than some of the other coasters.  I would recommend it, but not 60 or 90 minutes worth of wait time recommend it!



Good to know!  Sounds like a good use of FP+.



franandaj said:


> This is the kind of thing that amuses Fran while Im on rides.



Hey, whatever floats your boat, I guess. 



franandaj said:


> I never really found any good photo opportunities, and I do have to say that I am spoiled by DLs version of this ride.  It is so much improved with the refurb that I will be skipping this one at WDW until it gets an upgrade.



 I can't say I wouldn't ride it, but DL's is definitely better.



franandaj said:


> This room is just so pretty, I cant get over it!



BoG really does look amazing!



franandaj said:


> The room is just so darned pretty.



Sensing a theme...


----------



## franandaj

PrincessInOz said:


> I think if I ever hit WDW again, I'd like to dine at BoG.   The ambience looks great there.
> 
> Love the pictures of the mine.



Part of me didn't want to like it, but we are going to try for a reservation there in April now.  Thanks!  I was glad that the dark ride ones came out!



Pinkocto said:


> BoG looks awesome! Yours is one of the few 'good' reviews I've read. Most have the food as just ok. Of course everyone says the details are gorgeous! We walked in but they didn't let us past the main foyer.
> 
> 
> Like you I thought the mine train was cute and quite smooth but too short.



OK, well maybe the food wasn't OMG good, but I really liked the soups and the entrée. The pomme frites were definitely good, I don't know what they fried them in but they were tasty.



mvf-m11c said:


> Very nice pictures from the 7DMT. It was neat that you were able to get a front row spot on the ride and get those nice pictures. This is one of those rides that I will to try when I ever go back to WDW.
> 
> BoG restaurant looks so nice every time I see my pictures when I had the sneak peek lunch back in 2012. But dinner is a different story where the experience is completely different from lunch. The only problem for me is that unless I stay on-site and can make reservations in advance for the non-hotel guests, it will be difficult to make a reservation unless I want to wait outside to get in the restaurant for dinner. This is just like Le Cellier where they are the most popular restaurants at WDW and impossible to get a reservation unless you are staying on-site.



I totally lucked out on the front row spot!  I was really lucky to get that BoG reservation.  It was the first one that I made when my window opened up and even then, that was the only time showing available.  I hope I have an easier time in a couple weeks when I try it again.



dolphingirl47 said:


> I love the photos from the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. This looks like a real fun ride and it is absolutely OK be me that it is not in the same league as California Screamin', etc. Graham on the other hand, after assuring me for months that he had no intention to go anywhere near a park this time round, has suddenly decided he really wants to do California Screamin'. I think I may get him a one day hopper ticket for his birthday before he changes his mind.
> 
> I can't wait to do the new Big Thunder Mountain at Disneyland.
> 
> Dinner at Be Our Guest looks fantastic. I have been there for lunch twice, but never for dinner. I am hoping I can put this right at some stage.
> 
> Corinna



Seven Dwarves will be right up your alley.  Big Thunder is so great now that they finished the rehab!  Dinner is a whole new experience, much more elegant and the food is definitely better than lunch.



rentayenta said:


> Love love love this update.  The Seven Dwarves Mine Train looks so cute!
> 
> Be Our Guest looks amazing. Love a good lamb chop. Cute cute pics of you guys with Beast.



It was a fun ride.  I hope the hype goes down sometime soon and it has a reasonable wait time. We really should split an entrée next time, but I always want to taste so many things!



Sandy321 said:


> I'm Sandy, and I usually just lurk and read TR for information, and well to get that Disney fix...
> 
> but I've got to stop and say  and thank you!  I truly enjoyed the trip report, I felt like you were sitting right here telling me all about it!    We haven't been to WDW in quite some time, and I was quite fine with not planning a trip till all the fuss of FP+, magic bands, and with the closings and changes...
> 
> well, your TR put some of that pixie dust: back!  So thank you for sharing your FP+, I didn't read pre-tr but I may to get information on getting up to securing the BOG and 7D FP+
> 
> I also like your drink reports, that's my kind of trip!  I honestly have written off LeCellier, but I may actually put it back thanks to your pictures!  and I too love the parmesan toile, I've baked mine on a sil pad, I may have to try your fry trick!
> 
> I also want to share that we did take Behind the Seeds tour, and if you like Living in the Land ride, you will definitely enjoy the tour, plus its not that long, and not expensive.  I'm planning on quite  a few tours due to the changes, we'll change up our style!
> 
> Loved going on your TR for SWW, how fascinating, I'm too afraid of the crowds, but that special tour does seem like the way to go!!
> 
> again, thank you!
> (didn't mean to be so chatty.  )



Thank you for coming out of lurkdom Sandy!  Love chatty folks on my TRs!  I'm glad that I could help bring back some of the magic and pixie dust.  I'm thinking that we could do the Behind the Seeds tour on the day we plan to eat at Garden Grill, so that we can see where they are gowing the stuff we will be eating that night. I really think that the special tour was the way to go!


----------



## franandaj

afwdwfan said:


> Cool pictures from 7DMT!!!!  I can't wait to ride it myself.  Kind of disappointing that it is such a short ride though.



I guess like many of the other Fantasyland rides, they could make it short, but I think that they maximized what space they had for the tracks, that part is very compact.



afwdwfan said:


> I'm really looking forward to seeing BTMRR in Disneyland.  I guess the quick comparison of riding both within a few weeks might be kind of interesting too.  I've always loved the on in Magic Kingdom, but if the DL version is that much better... I can't wait!!!
> 
> Looks like a lovely dinner at BOG!



The one a DL is so smooth now, it's just great.  I won't spoil the surprise, but essentially the imagineers couldn't have done 25 years ago what they did on the refurbished ride.  The technology just didn't exist back then, so it's really cool now!



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Good to know!  Sounds like a good use of FP+.



If you can get it, that is the definite one to choose! I hear people are having a hard time with it even using their 60 day window and the additional days.



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Hey, whatever floats your boat, I guess.



I often find amusing pictures on her camera when I haven't been with her, nothing bad just a unique perspective on things. Me I would have been running screaming. I hate bugs.



Captain_Oblivious said:


> ;rolleyes1 I can't say I wouldn't ride it, but DL's is definitely better.



I'm too spoiled by the smoothness of DL's and I'm getting too old for this stuff!  It was far too rickety.



Captain_Oblivious said:


> BoG really does look amazing!
> 
> Sensing a theme...



It was!


----------



## franandaj

After we were tossed on our butts out of Be Our Guest, we had another destination in mind. If you recall the first night at MK we had stumbled upon a particular parade. One which can be very challenging to a photographer renewing their skills! We decided that we would stake out a spot for the parade and actually wait for it. We were done with dinner by 7:30 and the parade started at 9PM, kind of a long time to wait, but you know how it is when you have a goal?

While we waited, there was another thing that we had wanted to do this trip and hadnt gotten around to it. The Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom game is free and others I know had fun playing it. The thing is that we had to sign up at a specific location while it was still open. I took care of that while Fran held our spot for the parade.  Its amazing how people try to get in front of you, but we were right at the edge of Liberty Square. Right next to the shop that serves the sandwiches on the waffles. 





There was a little corner next to the rope and eventually we told two slim ladies that no one was there and they could squeeze in as long as they didnt try to block our view of the parade.  They agreed and we had nice parade companions. Not like the many families who tried to camp out in front of the rope in front of us.  Luckily we had better luck at this parade than the SWW one, and the CMs made them all move! Finally it got dark and the parade began.  Now I have never been a fan of this parade, the quirky little musical theme.  It really grates on my nerves, being a musician, I never liked synthesizers or the sound of their music, but for the sake of the pictures, I put up with it.































































































 

*[Continued in Next Post]*


----------



## franandaj

*[Continued from Previous Post]*

And the salute to America finishes off the parade.









Following the parade, we planned to go back to Main Street and play the Sorcerers from the Magic Kingdom game. With the fireworks coming up and everyone else heading that way, we decided to take a different course. We headed over into Frontierland past Pirates. I was too tired to ride anything but we took pictures (Fran took them of various merchandise options) and I took them of the fireworks which were going on.





























Finally making it over to Main street we embarked on our mission to save the puppies from Cruella. We had no idea that we were going to stay this late and before we knew it the second version of the MSEP started.  I took more pictures, and I thought that the second set of pictures came out better than the first, but actually on a few of them did.





















































By this time it was really late, and we still had more packing and a DME to catch the next day. But we couldnt resist finishing out the game and saving the puppies once and for all!  It was a lot of fun and just like Fran, she got into the spirit of it and purchased about five more sets of cards and a book to store them in.  Next time when we go back we can start a new adventure, I think its in Frontierland, but I could be mistaken.

We headed back to the Grand Floridian for our last time this trip. It went by just a little too quickly. I dont remember a lot about the trip home, we took DME and got to our flight. On our layover in Dallas we discovered the American Express lounge, they have free food, a bar, places to sleep, Wifi, and all sorts of spaces just to relax. We were able to recharge a little bit between flights before heading back to LAX. Once we got home, the kitties were all glad to see us. Usually they turn up their noses at us for a few days to punish us for being gone but not this time. I guess that they knew something was afoot!

*Trip Recap:*  We love, love, loved Star Wars weekends! We have already planned to return in 2016 and will stay at the Grand if we can get in. If they offer this VIP package, we would take it again in a heartbeat!

I think the events of the past year have taken their toll on us and its good that we have some time to relax before our next trip because we were just way too tired at the beginning of this trip. We were never able to really catch up as it seems every other night we were falling asleep and skipping dinner.

I learned a lot about FP+ this trip, so hopefully when we go back in April, I wont make the same rookie mistakes as this last trip. For the most part, I enjoyed the FP+ system. Since we are not park commandos and usually only ride a few rides (if Fran gets on any at all) the system worked out pretty well for us. Since my MB worked this time, it was relatively convenient not having to fish out my pass and room key every time we entered a park or the room. Overall, I will give the system a thumbsup.

I cant say that Ive ever had a bad trip to WDW, but I certainly know that some folks have had their share of nightmares. This wasnt the greatest trip, but it had it moments! Its funny how my parents think a trip to WDW is just a trip to WDW because I cant begin to tell you how different this trip was from the one we took in October 2013. Nor can I even compare those two trips to the one from Jan/Feb 2013, your resort, ADRs, companions and park plans can change everything about a trip. Not one of the last three trips was at all the same and I suspect the next one will again be completely different.  We have almost all new ADRs planned and quite a few experiences that Ive never had before are on the list, so it will be yet another trip full of great new experiences!  So with that having been said, this trip report is all done!  As they say in Hollywood, Its a wrap!


----------



## Pinkocto

Fabulous pictures of the MSEP! I'm sorry you don't like the music though. Love that you played the Sorcerer game til late, too cute  

You're so right, every trip to WDW is different. 

Thank you again for spending some time with me, that was wonderful to get together again  and a very delicious meal 

Great trip, thank you for sharing it with us!


----------



## mvf-m11c

franandaj said:


> I totally lucked out on the front row spot!  I was really lucky to get that BoG reservation.  It was the first one that I made when my window opened up and even then, that was the only time showing available.  I hope I have an easier time in a couple weeks when I try it again.



Hope you are able to get an easier time for BoG restaurant reservation. 


Very nice pictures from MSEP. It is so nice to see the MSEP at the MK and I do miss it at the DLR. It will be nice one day if the MSEP to return to the DLR. But I am also looking to hear if the DLR is going to do something special for the 60th Anniversary next year.

I completely agree that every trip is different from the experience. 

I really enjoyed reading your latest WDW trip report. The Star Wars Weekend is one special events that I will want to try at WDW. But I don't think my family members will want to go to Florida during those hot times. 

Great report.


----------



## PrincessInOz

Lovely pictures of MSEP.  

What a great trip and I'm totally envious.  I really wish I could go to a SWW at some stage.

And here's to many more for you.  Thanks for sharing.


----------



## Sandy321

Oh dear! 

you've done it again!  

Love the pictures you got the first round - I will agree with you about the music, but the way they create the floats, the lights look stunning!  OK< guess I have to make room for this.... AND  sorcerer's cards?  Really? 

I've managed to stay away from that game!   but in thinking of the planning, and doing "other things"  I may now have to add the cards to the list!

Glad your kitties enjoyed their time, I imagine they are loving their new digs!  (I had to read your saga on your home - Love the walk in fridge, and of course your wine -- I really enjoyed it, hope your Sleep Bed is still all that its supposed to be, we may have to switch from our waterbed! )


----------



## Leshaface

Cool pics on 7DMT!  So looking forward to riding this in January.

What an interesting dish at BoG!   I haven't started my PTR yet for January (rolleyes), but I got an ADR here for dinner!  Looking forward to having an alcoholic beverage here

Cute photo with the Beast!

Whaaa?!  How do you not like the MSEP!? It's classic!  And you did get some great shots the second time around 

What a fun TR!  I'd love to get back and do SWW one day as a 'redo'.  Still kicking myself that I went during that week and had no idea what was going on.

Looking forward to your future TR's!


----------



## rentayenta

My favorite parade of all time.  Great photos lady. 


Another fabulous trip report for the books. Thank you for always sharing with wonderful photos and detailed commentary.


----------



## dolphingirl47

Your parade and fireworks photos have come out really well. I thoroughly enjoyed looking at them. I am glad that you got to play The Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom. I love that game. I think I better bring my doubles when I come to California in November in case Fran does not have some of them.

Thanks so much for sharing. I really enjoyed reading the trip report.

Corinna


----------



## skier_pete

It just occurred to me that even though I've "known" you for a while here on the DIS, I've never really joined in on one your TRs. (Though I've lurked around you home improvement project - geez that sounds kind of creepy.) Guess I'm joining this one right at the end! Oh well, it'll give me something to do to pass the time until we head to WDW in a few weeks. You might get some weirdly old comments if I see something I might want to comment on...


----------



## Captain_Oblivious

franandaj said:


> We were done with dinner by 7:30 and the parade started at 9PM, kind of a long time to wait, but you know how it is when you have a goal?



Is that when the 3 o'clock parade starts?



franandaj said:


> They agreed and we had nice parade companions. Not like the many families who tried to camp out in front of the rope in front of us.



Don't you just love people? 



franandaj said:


> By this time it was really late, and we still had more packing and a DME to catch the next day. But we couldnt resist finishing out the game and saving the puppies once and for all!  It was a lot of fun and just like Fran, she got into the spirit of it and purchased about five more sets of cards and a book to store them in.  Next time when we go back we can start a new adventure, I think its in Frontierland, but I could be mistaken.



Glad you finally got to try it out!  My kids really enjoyed that game.



franandaj said:


> Once we got home, the kitties were all glad to see us. Usually they turn up their noses at us for a few days to punish us for being gone but not this time. I guess that they knew something was afoot!



I think they were just glad not to be locked in the garage. 



franandaj said:


> We love, love, loved Star Wars weekends!



It looked like a lot of fun!



franandaj said:


> Its funny how my parents think a trip to WDW is just a trip to WDW because I cant begin to tell you how different this trip was from the one we took in October 2013. Nor can I even compare those two trips to the one from Jan/Feb 2013, your resort, ADRs, companions and park plans can change everything about a trip. Not one of the last three trips was at all the same and I suspect the next one will again be completely different.



Some people will just never understand!



franandaj said:


> So with that having been said, this trip report is all done!  As they say in Hollywood, Its a wrap!



Thanks for taking us along for the ride!  It was great to get a peek inside the Grand Floridian Villas, or as I like to refer to them, Places I'll Never Stay.   It's been great getting to know you!


----------



## cj9200

Thanks for being our tour guide on another of your adventures.  One of these days, the planets will align and our trips intersect.  We can then meet up, have adult beverages and I am sure more than a few laughs.  I'll even buy the first round or two.


----------



## franandaj

Pinkocto said:


> Fabulous pictures of the MSEP! I'm sorry you don't like the music though. Love that you played the Sorcerer game til late, too cute
> 
> You're so right, every trip to WDW is different.
> 
> Thank you again for spending some time with me, that was wonderful to get together again and a very delicious meal
> 
> Great trip, thank you for sharing it with us!



I'm looking forward to the next segment of the game. It was lots of fun.  I loved spending time with you, I'm looking forward to our cruise next year and hopefully you can spend a few nights at our house either before or after!



mvf-m11c said:


> Hope you are able to get an easier time for BoG restaurant reservation.
> 
> 
> Very nice pictures from MSEP. It is so nice to see the MSEP at the MK and I do miss it at the DLR. It will be nice one day if the MSEP to return to the DLR. But I am also looking to hear if the DLR is going to do something special for the 60th Anniversary next year.
> 
> I completely agree that every trip is different from the experience.
> 
> I really enjoyed reading your latest WDW trip report. The Star Wars Weekend is one special events that I will want to try at WDW. But I don't think my family members will want to go to Florida during those hot times.
> 
> Great report.



I hope that it is easier to get BoG this next time too!  We already have our reservations at the VGC for the 60th birthday next year.

I'm glad you enjoyed reading along!



PrincessInOz said:


> Lovely pictures of MSEP.
> 
> What a great trip and I'm totally envious.  I really wish I could go to a SWW at some stage.
> 
> And here's to many more for you.  Thanks for sharing.



Thanks! Who knows maybe someday, however, you do have a bigger challenge as you live a little farther away.


----------



## franandaj

Sandy321 said:


> Oh dear!
> 
> you've done it again!
> 
> Love the pictures you got the first round - I will agree with you about the music, but the way they create the floats, the lights look stunning!  OK< guess I have to make room for this.... AND  sorcerer's cards?  Really?
> 
> I've managed to stay away from that game!   but in thinking of the planning, and doing "other things"  I may now have to add the cards to the list!
> 
> Glad your kitties enjoyed their time, I imagine they are loving their new digs!  (I had to read your saga on your home - Love the walk in fridge, and of course your wine -- I really enjoyed it, hope your Sleep Bed is still all that its supposed to be, we may have to switch from our waterbed! )



I really enjoy the floats once I can get past the electronic music. The game is really fun, I've seen others of my friends play it in their TRs so I had to try it out.

I'm glad you're enjoying the house thread.  I'm hoping that I'll have lots to add to it in the next couple weeks, but a lot of what we're doing is not TR worthy right now.  I  LOVE     our sleep number bed.  The massage feature is heavenly and it's so nice and comfy.  The only problem is that the kitties like my sleep number better than Fran's so they all crowd my side of the bed cause it's softer!  



Leshaface said:


> Cool pics on 7DMT!  So looking forward to riding this in January.
> 
> What an interesting dish at BoG!   I haven't started my PTR yet for January (rolleyes), but I got an ADR here for dinner!  Looking forward to having an alcoholic beverage here
> 
> Cute photo with the Beast!
> 
> Whaaa?!  How do you not like the MSEP!? It's classic!  And you did get some great shots the second time around
> 
> What a fun TR!  I'd love to get back and do SWW one day as a 'redo'.  Still kicking myself that I went during that week and had no idea what was going on.
> 
> Looking forward to your future TR's!



I'm sure you'll enjoy the 7DMT, just try and get a FP+ so you don't have to wait.

I love stuff in a puff pastry shell.  My figure doesn't!  

It's the music for MSEP that I can't stand.  The floats are starting to grow on me.

I've got some bonus features coming up before I'm ready for another TR.



rentayenta said:


> My favorite parade of all time.  Great photos lady.
> 
> 
> Another fabulous trip report for the books. Thank you for always sharing with wonderful photos and detailed commentary.



Thanks!  

Fran likes it that I do these TRs and share it all with you.  Now I'm not lugging my photo albums everywhere and subjecting my friends in 3D to look at my pictures.



dolphingirl47 said:


> Your parade and fireworks photos have come out really well. I thoroughly enjoyed looking at them. I am glad that you got to play The Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom. I love that game. I think I better bring my doubles when I come to California in November in case Fran does not have some of them.
> 
> Thanks so much for sharing. I really enjoyed reading the trip report.
> 
> Corinna



Thank you!  I'll have to put ours in the book so we see what we have when you come out. Looking forward to seeing you in a couple months!



********** said:


> It just occurred to me that even though I've "known" you for a while here on the DIS, I've never really joined in on one your TRs. (Though I've lurked around you home improvement project - geez that sounds kind of creepy.) Guess I'm joining this one right at the end! Oh well, it'll give me something to do to pass the time until we head to WDW in a few weeks. You might get some weirdly old comments if I see something I might want to comment on...



 Pete!  I'm going to have to drop over to your PTR and sub in.  I tried to read it when you started it (after the ABD trip) and I think you were already 16 pages into it.  I just never got caught up to sub in, but I'm looking forward to some F&W TRs!  I won't be going again until 2016, so I need to keep current on what is new and what is discontinued.

I'll be over there soon.  ..............................



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Is that when the 3 o'clock parade starts?







Captain_Oblivious said:


> Don't you just love people?







Captain_Oblivious said:


> Glad you finally got to try it out!  My kids really enjoyed that game.



Yeah, why do people think that these things are only for kids.  We had great fun!



Captain_Oblivious said:


> I think they were just glad not to be locked in the garage.



Ouch!  And for the record that was just Pepper.   



Captain_Oblivious said:


> It looked like a lot of fun!
> 
> Some people will just never understand!



Yeah, especially my parents, they just don't get Disney.



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Thanks for taking us along for the ride!  It was great to get a peek inside the Grand Floridian Villas, or as I like to refer to them, Places I'll Never Stay.   It's been great getting to know you!



You're funny!  I'm glad you came along for the ride.  Hopefully you'll enjoy the bonus tracks while I wait for an appropriate time to start the next TR.


----------



## franandaj

cj9200 said:


> Thanks for being our tour guide on another of your adventures.  One of these days, the planets will align and our trips intersect.  We can then meet up, have adult beverages and I am sure more than a few laughs.  I'll even buy the first round or two.



That would be cool if our trips aligned I would enjoy meeting up and having a drink.  What city do you live in?  I know you're a few hours south of Orlando.  If you're in the Miami/Ft. Lauderdale area perhaps we might have an opportunity to say "Hello" sooner rather than later.  I'll be there in about a month.


----------



## franandaj

Since Ive wrapped up the real TR and Im not quite ready to start my TR for the Cruise, I thought I would give you guys a sort of What I did this summer kind of deal. You know when the kids go back to school, (at least when I was in school) we sort of wrote an essay about what we did for the summer.  But first I thought I would sort of give everyone a life update. 


Most of you know in the past year, we purchased a new house and many of you are even following our trials and tribulations over on the house thread. For those who dont know, we make our living in the apartment rental business. We are not slum lords, in fact we have some pretty nice properties. Once were out of our old apartments, they will be rehabbed and rented. In the meantime, our tenant of 8 ½ years in the front unit of the duplex on 1st street bought her own house and moved out. So we have time before the contractors will be ready to work on our old apartments, while he fixes up that place. It has the same kitchen as when it was built in the 1950s.

So in the next couple months, we need to get the rest of our craer precious items out of the old house, have an estate sale and get the contractors in there working.  Weve got a lot of work ahead of us. Not only are we getting the stuff we want to keep out of the old house, but we are getting all the things weve always wanted to display out of storage and trying to find places on the wall for paintings and locations in the cabinets for figures. It doesnt sound like a lot of work, but when you combine all the various factors it can be quite taxing. Balancing the moving out and moving in along with daily life sustaining tasks is about all that we can take. 

The challenge and dilemma is that every day that goes by without a tenant in these units is money lost out of our pockets. While it is a pain in the butt to get our stuff out of the old house and move, we are losing money every day that we dont. So for the next however many months until were done, moving our precious items out of the old house will be the focus of the day.


Back to the fun stuff which kept us from the task at hand which is now our main focus. I told you a while back about the car club meet.  When we came back from the car club meet, Alicia and her DH helped to rescue us from our plight with the classic car. The next day I went out to the park to meet her and her DH for a fun day. You can read all about it on her TR, here is a link to the first post, and you can just follow along from there if you havent read it already.  That was Monday. On Wednesday the Disneyana convention started.

*Wed July 16*

We had been at the park picking up some LE merchandise that day so it was a quick drive down Harbor Blvd to the Wyndam hotel where most of the convention took place. The dinner that night was a benefit for the Ryman Arts Foundation.  It was also in honor of Donald Duck's 60th birthday. Artist Joe Yankovetic was on stage painting while we enjoyed our meal. I wish I'd taken a few pictures at the beginning, but I really didnt intend to do a full on TR. (I still dont)  He began with a blank canvas and this is what came of it. This picture sold for $1100 that night.





Dessert was so cute, I couldnt resist taking a picture of it.





The majority of the evening was spent on the auction. About halfway through I couldn't hold my head up any longer and my eyes were drooping shut so I went out to the car to sleep. Probably a big mistake beacuse Fran ended up with a Donald Duck watch, a gift basket assembled with Tokyo Disney items and a Donald Duck picture on canvas. I came back to help her carry her loot and then we were headed back home to feed the cats and hit the hay.

*Thursday,  July 17*

Thursday was an easy day. There was a luncheon at the Disneyland Hotel featuring the Mouseketeers. They did a little show and talked about their lives and how their lives were forever changed by their Disney experience and Walt.





After lunch members of the organization benefiting from the luncheon spoke. A Minor Consideration, its a group advocating rights for child actors. The founder was so dedicated to the kids he told a story of how he took in a child actress in the middle of the night when she was kicked out of rehab and helped her transition into another treatment program.





To close out the afternoon they held an auction with the proceeds benefiting the child actors charity. We ended up with a large copy of the Herb Ryman drawing Disney used to submit his plans to build Disneyland to the New York bankers. 

Once we finished at the Disneyland Hotel we had a little shopping in the parks to do. The day before when we had been there picking up the LE merchandise a CM at the Disneyana store (they kinda know us there) let Fran know that they had received a new Maggie Parr painting and it would be going on display this day. She also mentioned she had #1 and Fran had her put it aside so that we could pick it up this day as the day before we didn't have time for them to check it and package it properly.

We also had another picture to get. If you recall from our last day of the WDW trip I had seen the picture "Marie and the Butterfly". I wasnt sure how bad I wanted that one on the trip, but when we saw it hanging in Off the Page the day before, I decided we had to come back and get it when we picked up Fran's picture. We got my picture first and I was really getting tired. Fran said that I could wait for her by the turnstiles while she went into DL to get her picture. It turns out that some other ladies from the Disneyana Convention were waiting for some friends so that they could go into the park that day. I struck up a conversation with the one who was dressed completely identically to me. She was the auction coordinator and she gave me a whole bunch of pointers about the show and how it played out and when to expect it next year. Eventually Fran came back with her picture and we headed home.

*Friday, July 18*

The next morning should have been an early day but we were just too tired to get up and going at 7:00AM so we blew off the morning presentations.  See why its so important to stay on site for these things? At noon they were having a lunch with a Legend.  Disneyana has their own "Legends" program where they give out plaques and honor great folks for their performance. 

The first gentleman who spoke was one of the first African-American animators to work in the halls of Disney. His name was Floyd Norman.  He talked about being one of the "second generation". The nine old men were definitely established and while none of them were planning on retirement any time soon, they were all well aware that they needed to pass on their legacy to a new crop of animators. He and his friends were a number of "kids" that had just come out of Cal Arts, they were barely 20 and as far as they were concerned they were working with and for Demi Gods. His first project was Sleeping Beauty, he also worked on Lady and the Tramp, and Mary Poppins to name a few. He was assisting one of the main animators by doing backgrounds on his first job..

He talked about Walt and like other folks he never received a compliment directly from Mr. Disney.  He did have a funny story to tell. Every day Walt Disney would have two Bran Muffins sent up to his office. Evidently there were there for him if he wanted, but there were occasionally times when he would not eat them. Our gentleman found this out from Walt's secretary one time when he was called to the office for a meeting or new assignment.  Since he didn't want to let perfectly fine baked goods go to waste and it was later in the day, he decided to give those bran muffins to a good cause, his lunch. He continued to check for the muffins after that. Sometimes they were there, sometimes they weren't. He would eat Walt's unwanted Bran Muffins for him whenever they were left.  Until the day when Walt wanted them. He didn't elaborate on the details, but he did say that he never touched those muffins again.

He continued to work for Disney for the rest of the 20th century, sometimes taking on work at Pixar.  I believe he said that he worked on all the Toy Story movies plus a few others. While he really enjoyed working with the folks at Pixar it just became increasingly difficult to be away from home for long periods of time. He did say that for Toy Story Three (I think it was) they just needed a small bit of animation and they asked him and another animator to work on it. They left early on a Friday, flew from Burbank to Oakland, worked the weekend through and came back to Disney Monday afternoon.  He said that no one even noticed that they were gone. He was quite entertaining to listen to, but soon his time was over and our next guest took the stage.

This was Donny who was a Mouseketeer, he wasnt at the lunch on Thursday.  He told us his story of how he was contracted. Evidently he was a little older than some of the kids. He was already working in Hollywood and had an agent. I don't remember if the agent applied the pressure or if it was the casting director. I believe it was the casting director who wanted him. Donny was much more interested in work along the lines that he had already been doing and not some "Mickey Mouse Club" show for little kids. He tried to politely decline the role, but was told that if he didn't take the part, whoever it was would see that he wouldn't work again in this town. Evidently people had that kind of power back then. He agreed to do it with his agent, besides how long could this run? A year maybe two?  Then he said, "And here I am sitting in front of you all today."

He had some fun stories, but since I didn't take notes and just relaxed during these presentations I don't remember much. He did mention having a crush on Annette and on air I guess they had their first kiss but he realized later that she wasn't the gal for him. Besides she was a couple years older than he and at that time, it just wasn't done 

There was a silent auction here as well and I think we got a Disneyland back pack and a rolodex with Mickey hands. Evidently Fran only wanted the rolodex, but the backpack worked out great for us on the Midwestern road trip.

Following lunch there were two interesting panels that we wanted to attend. The first was on Walt and the South American trip. Evidently because WWII was in full swing and the US Government feared that Nazi influence might spread to South America. They were offering grants/ loans to movie companies to create films that would endear the people of South Americans to us folks up in the USA.

The first presentation was a lot of pictures of the traveling party that went to SA.  Of course Walt and Lillian were there, along with Paul and Mary Blair, Herb Ryman and Life photographer, Hart Preston. Since I didn't take notes, if you would like more information check out this link.

http://disneyandmore.blogspot.com/2008/11/walt-disney-and-animation-artists-in.html?m=1

Most of the pictures they showed us can be found there. The gist of this was that we got Saludos Amigos out of this trip and later a few more shorts. Jose Carioca and Panchito were born of this endeavor and the people of South America loved the film. Another success for Walt. These were the two guys giving the presentation, they made the costume changes at key points in the presentation to illustrate the characters in Saludos Amigos.





After that Joe Yakovetic took the stage and drew for us while he talked about his various jobs with Disney.  He was not really an employee but more an independent contractor who took on many projects.  Again its been too long since to remember distinct details of his discussions, but while he was drawing a figure on the stage, he would tell us the story of how this character was a part of his professional life.

As he drew this series, he talked about how he had illustrated a series of books about the Little Mermaid.









He drew Goofy for us.









OK, is this one of the dwarves?









And Tinkerbell









It was fun to listen to his stories and watch him draw. All these pictures took him less than an hour to draw and I think they were either auctioned off at a later panel or sold at the Expo on Sunday.

That night there was an auction being hosted by a private auction company, however we decided not to attend.  We had an invite to a better place. After a long rehab and complete makeover, there was a restaurant having a grand opening. While we didnt have a reservation, we did have a friend who could get us into the new Jazz Lounge to check it out.





The place was hoppin when we first got there, but soon dining reservations were called and folks were seated.









By the time we left the place was almost empty.













They have a limited bar menu and an extensive drink menu, we made our dinner out of appetizers that night.





And I enjoyed this tiny and overpriced dessert.





We had another day at Disneyana the next day so we went back home, again late.

*[Continued in Next Post]*


----------



## franandaj

*[Continued from Previous Post]*

*Saturday, July 19*

We didnt get out to the Disneyana Convention until the afternoon. Those of you familiar with our new house and the KVC also know Olga. She had lost a lot of weight and the vet was going out of town the following week, so Saturday morning was the only time she could squeeze us in. We arrived just in time for the afternoon sessions.

The first afternoon session was a great panel on Knott's Berry Farm and Disney.  For those not familiar with the history of Knott's, Walter Knott did not invent the Boysenberry, he just learned to grow and market it.  After being gifted with the last few clippings of Boysenberries from Rudolph Boysen, the Boysenberry became one of the offerings at their roadside berry stand on Highway 39. It was 1934 when Cordelia reluctantly began to serve homemade fried chicken dinner on her wedding China in an effort to make ends meet. The rest is history and you can read about it here. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Knott's_Berry_Farm

Suffice to say that Mrs. Knott's chicken dinner is still an excellent value, if you're willing to wait the hour or so to be seated.  But I'm going to tell you about all the neat Disney connections with Knott's that they discussed in the presentation. 

The Chicken Dinner restaurant became wildly popular since it was on the main road from Los Angeles to the OC beaches. Without freeways the drive was two hours and the restaurant was a great spot to break up the drive. But what were all the folks to do while waiting for their supper? The Ghost town was the first part of the expansion, and when he built it he called the thoroughfare Main Street. He also put a train around the perimeter of his property as part of the attractions to keep people busy while waiting for dinner.

Its been too long since I heard the talk for me to really remember all the things he talked about. The presenters name was Eric Lynxweller and he Co Authored a book called Knotts Preserved, if youre interested in more in depth information, otherwise, Ill just tell you the highlights that I remember.  

As Disney and Walter Knott were friends (the Knotts attended the opening of Disneyland), Knott invited him to try his new Calico Mine Train when it opened. It incorporated many innovative designs, such as being the first attraction to incorporate a hidden switchback queue. When Walt Disney came to ride he was astonished enough to exclaim "You old S.O.B!" because the trail was obscured, it appeared to have a shorter wait than actual, which is now the industry standard.

There were quite a few other things which ride designers pioneered at Knotts that the Disney Imagineers ended up perfecting, but they escape my mind now.  Oh yeah, Knotts had smellavision (think oranges and pine trees on Soarin). It was not by design, but in the flume ride, they couldnt get the smell of the pine out of the ride in several places!   For the entire hour long presentation, Lynxweller, brought up many examples of how Knotts created so many things we all think that Disney developed. Disney just learned to perfect them.  It was a fascinating session.

Im not sure what the fascination with Match Game is this summer, but just the week before we had seen a version of this 70s TV Game Show and here it was again.  They had fun Disney related questions and the panelists were all pretty funny.  It was cute and entertaining, but not the highlight of the day.  We did however win a set of cannisters in one of the silent auctions that day. While they are not filled with any sorts of baking or beverage making substances, they do make a beautiful accent to the kitchen counter of my new house.





Next they had some folks from "ToursDepartingDaily.com" who talked about their photography and how their little blog had turned into a huge business and they had thousands of followers.  Their pictures were very beautiful, they used a digital enhancement called High Dynamic Range or HDR Photography. Their website has a tutorial on how to use it and perhaps if my life ever slows down, I might investigate the possibility, but right now I prefer my unenhanced photos.

Following their presentation there was a no host cocktail reception while we waited for the dinner at 6:30PM. We chatted with our new friends and admired the costumes for the upcoming contest that night. The theme was Mary Poppins.





























There were a number of special guests at the dinner. One guest was Robbie Sherman. He was promoting his new book, and he played a few of his fathers songs on the piano.  It was kind of cute because whereas Richard Sherman knows his pieces backwards and forwards, his nephew really needed the music and wasnt all that familiar with the songs. He was definitely a talented musician though.





Then we had another guest, Karen Dotrice. She played Jane Banks in Mary Poppins. She talked all about what it was like to be a child actress for Mr. Disney and how famously they were treated and all sorts of little stories about the making of the film.





It was an enjoyable evening, but we had some shopping to do so we headed off to the hotel part of the building.  You see one feature of the Disneyana Convention is that folks can bring their own private Disney collections / stash and offer them to other Disney fans at a price. There is a hospitality room in the lobby where folks post their room numbers so that everyone knows where to find them. They display their treasures anywhere they can, on the beds, in the closets, on the dressers and nightstands. Some folks even brought their own display cabinets. We spent about an hour visiting various rooms, and ended up with some juice glasses featuring Winnie the Pooh on them, and a box of about 20 Disney CDs. Then we again headed home because we had to be there early the next morning.

*Sunday, July 20*

The last day of the Disneyana Convention is always the Expo. This is when all the vendors of Disney products showcase their wares. Its also a great place for Disney collectors who are liquidating their collections to get a fair price on their items.  There were two large rooms filled with goodies, most of the folks who were present for the seminars, banquets, etc had booths and were selling, books, memoirs, CDs or just signing autographs. Bill Farmer, the voice of Goofy, was there, as well as the guy who voiced Berlioz in the Aristocats.

We had to be there early as only Disneyana Conventionears were allowed in between 9-10AM, then from 10AM-11AM Disneyana Fan Club members were allowed in. After 11AM the general public was allowed in.  I didnt take a lot of pictures, in fact, I only got three.  One booth was selling vintage monorail sets and I thought this giant monorail set up was really cool. The view of the booth behind the monorail booth gives you an idea of what the rest of the room looked like. 









The only other photo that I took was of this guy.  See the sold tag.  Guess who he sold to!





We loaded up our car with our loot. (That Mickey wasnt the only thing Fran found at that ladys booth). And then we headed up the street. Earlier that day one of my friends had posted on FB that she and her family were headed to the park, so we met up with them that afternoon for some drinks, a nosh and few rides. All in all a fun and exhausting week!  I had been to DLR five out of the past seven days!  LOL!


----------



## dolphingirl47

That sounds like an amazing, but very tiring few days. I love the kitchen storage jars.

Corinna


----------



## ACDSNY

Sounds like you had a great time at the Disneyana convention and you finally purchased your Marie picture.


----------



## PrincessInOz

That was one heck of a week!  Seems like you and Fran did real well out of the convention.

Love the pictures of the mouseketeers.  Not that I know who is who!  LOL.
And Jane Banks still looks like Jane Banks.


----------



## jedijill

Nice wrap up!  

You need to stay home a bit and get some rest!  I'm exhausted just hearing about all your adventures.  Good luck getting everything cleaned out of the apartments!   The convention looked really interesting.  Love the Knott's history.

Jill in CO


----------



## cj9200

franandaj said:


> That would be cool if our trips aligned I would enjoy meeting up and having a drink.  What city do you live in?  I know you're a few hours south of Orlando.  If you're in the Miami/Ft. Lauderdale area perhaps we might have an opportunity to say "Hello" sooner rather than later.  I'll be there in about a month.



That would be cool.  I sent you a PM.


----------



## mvf-m11c

You two had a great week of able to do all these different events. The Disneyana Convention looks great and it would have been fun to attend.

When I saw the Monorail display that looks like the original layout when the Monorail began back in 1959 (before it was expanded to the DL Hotel), that was so neat to see the vintage Monorail toy train and track layout.


----------



## rentayenta

Bonus material indeed!  You ladies have more Disney fun than anyone I know.

How fun to see Jane Banks as an adult. 

Love the canisters.


----------



## afwdwfan

Your trip looks like it was a fun experience.  I'm glad you were able to get your parade pictures... twice on the last night.  I'd want to make that last night in MK a long one too.  If you've got to leave you might as well spend as many of the last few minutes there as possible.  

You've really had a busy summer!  Good luck getting everything moved and organized and getting your vacant places rented out.  

The Disneyana Convention looks like a lot of fun.  I'm kind of sucker for the "history of" type things, so thanks for sharing!


----------



## Leshaface

Wow you were super tired to nap in the car!  I know touring the park with us a few days before added to that.  Sorry 

Cool facts about Knottsberry Farm.  We haven't been since 2007 for the Halloween event they have there.  Never again

What a fun convention!  And love those canisters.  I wouldn't put anything in them either.  

Uh, you TOTALLY have enough room in your house for that monorail set!


----------



## Sandy321

awesome!

as busy as you are you still take time to feed us updates!!  

PS  - how are the kitties doing in their new digs?


----------



## Captain_Oblivious

Every time I hear about your move, I just start to feel exhausted myself!   Hope things have slowed down by now.

The Disneyana convention looks really cool.  It's neat to hear the stories and the history of Disney days gone by.  I think it's neat how so many of the older generations of artists have maintained a connection to Disney through the years.  They seem to really work to maintain the history of the company.


----------



## Paula Sedley-Burke

Just caching up! Been to Disney and on The Dream last two weeks. Had a blast. 

Loving photos of Parade. Omg I thought it was just me that awful music why! So tinny. I don't care for it either with all the beautiful songs and musicians why use that! I am tempted to use the ear plugs from the plane lol....

The game looks fun! We are yet to try this. But like you say no two trips the same I love that always new, old and surprises in the mix! Been a great TR. Look forward to the next!


----------



## franandaj

dolphingirl47 said:


> That sounds like an amazing, but very tiring few days. I love the kitchen storage jars.
> 
> Corinna



It was fun. I'm glad that Fran signed us up for it. I'm looking forward to going next year, but it falls over the 60th Anniversary of Disneyland so I'm not sure how that will go.  We already have our reservations at the VGC for two nights over the Anniversary.

The storage jars are on the counter more as art than function. I'm not sure what we will put in them, but not flour, sugar or anything messy!



ACDSNY said:


> Sounds like you had a great time at the Disneyana convention and you finally purchased your Marie picture.



It was fun and interesting, we will be back for that one next summer as well!



PrincessInOz said:


> That was one heck of a week!  Seems like you and Fran did real well out of the convention.
> 
> Love the pictures of the mouseketeers.  Not that I know who is who!  LOL.
> And Jane Banks still looks like Jane Banks.



It was pretty fun, the Mouseketeers were before my time.  I really didn't know who most of them were either.



jedijill said:


> Nice wrap up!
> 
> You need to stay home a bit and get some rest!  I'm exhausted just hearing about all your adventures.  Good luck getting everything cleaned out of the apartments!   The convention looked really interesting.  Love the Knott's history.
> 
> Jill in CO



It's been nice being at home for a while. We have gotten a lot of stuff put away, but there is still a ton of stuff at the old house. Like yesterday we spent two hours packing up boxes in the kitchen. Seven boxes later and we still have anther trip to finish the kitchen.



cj9200 said:


> That would be cool.  I sent you a PM.







mvf-m11c said:


> You two had a great week of able to do all these different events. The Disneyana Convention looks great and it would have been fun to attend.
> 
> When I saw the Monorail display that looks like the original layout when the Monorail began back in 1959 (before it was expanded to the DL Hotel), that was so neat to see the vintage Monorail toy train and track layout.



It was really fun, we met some new friends and learned things too!



rentayenta said:


> Bonus material indeed!  You ladies have more Disney fun than anyone I know.
> 
> How fun to see Jane Banks as an adult.
> 
> Love the canisters.



The scary thing is that I know people on FB who get out there far far far more than we do!



afwdwfan said:


> Your trip looks like it was a fun experience.  I'm glad you were able to get your parade pictures... twice on the last night.  I'd want to make that last night in MK a long one too.  If you've got to leave you might as well spend as many of the last few minutes there as possible.
> 
> You've really had a busy summer!  Good luck getting everything moved and organized and getting your vacant places rented out.
> 
> The Disneyana Convention looks like a lot of fun.  I'm kind of sucker for the "history of" type things, so thanks for sharing!



I guess we were making up for all the nights that we fell asleep early!

Im not even done with July yet!  I have a few more bonus features in the works. Im trying to keep them as short as possible without losing some of the fun, since there isnt any more Disney related in the Summer, but in a little bit, Im going to get another great Disney experience!

History would have been my second major in college if I hadnt pursued such a lucrative field as music.  



Leshaface said:


> Wow you were super tired to nap in the car!  I know touring the park with us a few days before added to that.  Sorry
> 
> Cool facts about Knottsberry Farm.  We haven't been since 2007 for the Halloween event they have there.  Never again
> 
> What a fun convention!  And love those canisters.  I wouldn't put anything in them either.
> 
> *Uh, you TOTALLY have enough room in your house for that monorail set!*



No worries about exhausting me out, thats easy to do!  I did the scary farm last year.  Youre right, never again.    on the bold!


----------



## franandaj

Sandy321 said:


> awesome!
> 
> as busy as you are you still take time to feed us updates!!
> 
> PS  - how are the kitties doing in their new digs?



I don't have anyone else who will look at my photos!  

The kitties love their new house. There's plenty of space for everyone. We're even starting to let a few go outside, and as long as they stay in the yard, they get repeat privileges.  Tesla still insists on being a brat and wrassling with anyone who won't swat him in the face.



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Every time I hear about your move, I just start to feel exhausted myself!   Hope things have slowed down by now.
> 
> The Disneyana convention looks really cool.  It's neat to hear the stories and the history of Disney days gone by.  I think it's neat how so many of the older generations of artists have maintained a connection to Disney through the years.  They seem to really work to maintain the history of the company.



I know, the whole move is overwhelming.  One more day of boxing (coming after I do this post) and I will have the kitchen of our main apartment cleaned out. I've almost got all the old kitchen put away in my new kitchen!

Next, winter clothes, books and unnecessary stuff.



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Just caching up! Been to Disney and on The Dream last two weeks. Had a blast.
> 
> Loving photos of Parade. Omg I thought it was just me that awful music why! So tinny. I don't care for it either with all the beautiful songs and musicians why use that! I am tempted to use the ear plugs from the plane lol....
> 
> The game looks fun! We are yet to try this. But like you say no two trips the same I love that always new, old and surprises in the mix! Been a great TR. Look forward to the next!



I enjoyed your posts on FB. I'm glad you had a good time.

You don't like the MSEP music either!  

Next TR will be on the cruise, it's coming up really soon! I need to get going on the FE gifts.


----------



## Pinkocto

The Disneyana convention looked like fabulous fun! All that history is wonderful. Cute about the guy eating Walt's muffins. 

Too cool about Karen Dotrice. I could have sworn I saw the kid who played Michael Banks in a recent movie only to look him up and find out he died very young. I was sad to find that info. 

What was the special picture Fran got? 

Love the canisters! 



Oh yes, before or after the cruise I'd love to see the new house!


----------



## franandaj

Pinkocto said:


> The Disneyana convention looked like fabulous fun! All that history is wonderful. Cute about the guy eating Walt's muffins.
> 
> Too cool about Karen Dotrice. I could have sworn I saw the kid who played Michael Banks in a recent movie only to look him up and find out he died very young. I was sad to find that info.



It was fun just sitting back and listening to everything. I just don't remember very well without my notes!



Pinkocto said:


> What was the special picture Fran got?



I'm confused by this question. There were four pictures in question here. 

1) Donald on Canvas which now hangs in the KVC. It's the one over the TV set.





2) The Herb Ryman sketch from Disneyland. This is safely behind a chair in the living room awaiting a frame. (I stole this picture from the internet) 





3) Marie and the Butterfly which is in the hall off my kitchen.





4) The Maggie Parr picture. This is still in it's box in the closet.  We have to locate the other Maggie Parr pictures and we'll put them all on a wall together.








Pinkocto said:


> Love the canisters!
> 
> Oh yes, before or after the cruise I'd love to see the new house!



The canisters are very pretty, I like them too!  

And of course, I would be insulted if you didn't come to visit or stay!


----------



## skier_pete

OK - So I had already said I was coming in super late but would post some comments anyways. 

I read through Days 1 - 3. I really am enjoying this! We have never been able to get down for Star Wars weekends. When DD was young enough to go before school started, she didn't like Star Wars. Now she loves Star Wars, and would LOVE SWW, but unfortunately schools in NY don't get out until late-JUne and you just can't pull your kid out of school at the end of the year. I keep telling her we will go when she's in college. She is not very happy with that (she's only 11). I am also a big SW fan, having been 7,10 and 13 years old when the OT came out. (Return of the Jedi is the movie I've seen the 2nd most in a theater.)

Anyways, so I like seeing what they have for SWW. We of course would never be able to get the premium package, but it's fun to live vicariously through others! Your first day looked like a lot of fun, though I have to say it's funny what they consider a celebrity at SWW. When Cliff Clavin is your top draw ----hmmmm. (Though personally Ray Park is a pretty cool get, as he's done a lot more than just Star Wars.) 

Gosh, the Grand Floridian is gorgeous. I would never in a million years hope to stay there. Now that we are DVC members, maybe there's a chance someday. (Part of the excitement to us of being DVC is the chance to stay at these resorts that we would never even be able to consider at Disney prices.) When I asked DWs choice of where she'd most want to stay, that was her #1. (It's like #5 on my list, but I do have to say if we ever saw nights available there at the 7-month mark for a trip I would probably pounce on it, even for just a couple nights.) 

It's funny what you say about Coronado Springs reminding you of "home", because I've never wanted to stay there simply because it reminds me of "my mom's house" - she lives in Arizona. I like Southwest architecture fine, it's just not a theme that appeals to me. Kind of like SSR - "oh goody, upstate New York themed, that's where I live!"

I gotta go, but will continue with the remaining days when I get the chance.


----------



## franandaj

So I left off with the Disneyana Convention. Ill give you another short life update. 

I thought that I would have the kitchen cleaned out last weekend, but it was a much larger job than I thought, but now its down to one more trip. I dont know when that will be though because we have a more pressing task at hand.  In 7½ days I will be having house guests arrive. While we got the place all spiffyied up for my parents last month, we have since trashed the place again. Rather than bring more craer Precious Items into the house, we need to go through the boxes that are here and get them put away.

Our cruise trip is 22 days away, and parts of that are becoming very real. I gave up the idea of making something crafty for our FEE this past weekend, although for a time there, I was inspired by Captain Obliviouss daughter and her skills with duct tape. Especially when I found Frozen inspired duct tape, but I realized that no one on the cruise probably wanted a duct tape pair of shoes, or a wallet, so I went back to food, mostly chocolate, cookies, and booze filled chocolate bottles. With Princess Crayon sets for the girls and glowing light saber key chains for the boys.

As if we havent been around this lovely country enough this year, Fran decided that it was time I got know my relatives (my sister and her family dont travel as her DH has a fear of flying). So we are going to Seattle for Thanksgiving instead of spending yet another holiday by ourselves while my parents diplomatically alternate with which daughter they spend the November and December holidays. It didnt hurt that a World Class Car Museum opened outside Seattle recently either.

So back to the non TR. We left off with Fran and I having attended the Disneyana Convention. The next week was relatively uneventful, and I went a whole whopping two days without visiting Disney. On the third day, I couldnt take it any longer. Just kidding! Actually I had booked a spa appointment with a TravelZoo voucher. Though I didnt go into the parks it was a nice break from my otherwise monotonous days of packing and moving.

*Monday, July 28*

I was back out at the park for some fun with 





Captain Oblivious, Mrs. Knowitall and their family (kids not pictured here).  But you can always join in on his TR here where you will find plenty of pictures of the kids and Baby Drew.





We had a wonderful time, and they continued on long after I had headed home. 

And then began the final whirlwind of the summer, where my trips all blurred into a couple weeks of fun. After which I was dying to stay home for a while. Ill try and keep these updates brief since they arent Disney related, but I have some fun pictures and since my 3D friends dont like to look at my photographs, I thought could share them with you all.

*Wednesday July 30*

Now this TR started off with Star Wars Weekends, but we are equal opportunity Space People. We packed up the car and headed off to Las Vegas for the largest Star Trek Convention in the world. We had registered for the Gold package which gave us all sorts or privileges like being first into the shopping area, guaranteed seats in the presentation room, assorted gifts throughout the weekend, and just the feeling of being overall really cool.

Registration for Gold package holders began at 6PM.  I wanted to be checking into the hotel at 3PM, settled and ready to go at 6PM when everything started.  Sadly this did not come to pass. At 6PM we were arriving at the hotel. The check in line went forever and it took probably half an hour just to reach the front. We did make it down to the registration area prior to the Silver folks check in time opening up, and soon we were in the shopping area.  This is the vendor where we probably did the most damage. They had great stuff and we got a lot of T-shirts, shot glasses and other useless but fun merchandise.

















They had lots of neat little photo opportunities and since the area was open on a limited basis we thought we should grab our photos now before the crowds hit.

















After we were done shopping it was nearly 10:00PM and all the decent restaurants were closing. We ended up at the Seafood restaurant and it was quite good. We had some clam chowder, Oysters and split a plate of Mahi Mahi. We passed on dessert and headed up to the room to go to bed.

*Thursday July 31*

The next morning was the first real day of the show. John DeLancie (aka Q) was going to be the first panel of the show and I thought he would be an interesting guy to see. But we needed breakfast. Someone told me about this place, I think it was Brandi, the Hash House a GoGo. Its a farm to table style breakfast place and I was all in the mood for a good sit down style breakfast. There was always a wait for this place, because it was so popular. It was also the only real breakfast place in the hotel.  I got the pancake, it was delicious. And yes it was the size of a steering wheel.





Fran got the Buttermilk waffles and proclaimed them as delicious too.





These are the only food pictures youre going to get from me on this trip. I figured that the people were more of a spectacle than the food, but at this restaurant the food was certainly a spectacle!

We took our seats in the auditorium for the opening and welcome.  It turns out that John DeLancie had to cancel at the last moment. They had this house band that played in between guests and we didnt care for them. Some people in the crowd just loved them, but we werent fans, so we headed out to the shopping area to see if we missed anything.  Fran found a couple of patches and I got a bottle of wine from Chateau Picard. Im not going to open it, its probably rancid by now, but I can put it next to my empty bottle of Klingon Blood Wine.  Eventually it was back to the theater for Nichelle Nichols appearance (Lt. Uhura). But not before we ran into this crowd of Zombie red shirts.





They had this sign posted outside the theater.





And I had to take advantage of wearing my red shirt for this photo op.





Then we headed in for Nichelle Nichols panel.  This was the stage that they designed for the Expo.





Nichele Nichols was a joy to listen to when she spoke. For a woman 82 years young she is still incredibly vibrant. That said, it was obvious she had rehearsed her speaking. She was great during the portion where the announcer was interviewing her, but in the Q&A with the audience she kept repeating her main shtick. What I didn't know about her was the work she did in the 70s.  I don't remember exactly how it came up, but somehow she told NASA that their Astronauts were an "old white boys club". Their response was that was all they had. They had no idea how to recruit anyone else. This began a campaign on her part to visit colleges across the nation and encourage students of all races, sexes, backgrounds to apply for the space program. Through her efforts, many new young people joined NASA and diversified the space program.

Fran wasnt feeling well so after this she went back to the room for a nap, but I stayed because next up was the Men of TNG (The Next Generation). They had Brent Spiner (Data), Levar Burton (Geordi La Forge) and Michael Dorn (Warf).  This was absolutely the most fun panel EVER!  These guys were a riot!  Brent Spiner was a total smart aleck and just made everyone laugh so hard it was silly. I couldnt even tell you the stupid things that they said except I remember him asking the audience what we all watched now that Star Trek wasnt making new episodes. It appears that most folks are now watching Dr. Who instead.





One of the questions asked of Brent Spiner was that his character Data had the opportunity for relations with both Tasha Yar and the Borg Queen, which one was better?  This caused the audience to laugh wildly, however, we never learned the answer because Spiner said that he would never kiss and tell.

After this I picked us up a sandwich from the QS deli in the lobby. We hung out in the room for a few hours before heading back down to hear Harlan Ellison talk.  He wrote The City on the Edge of Forever. The episode with Joan Collins in the pre WWII era where Kirk, Spock and Bones go back through the time portal and Bones changes the course of time.

It was interesting to hear him talk. He was a speak whats on your mind kind of guy and he dropped a lot of F-bombs. He was highly opinionated and really hated the final outcome of the episode, evidently major changes were made to his initial screenplay. The funniest part was that he called Joan Collins a bimbo and said that she never got the point of the episode. He said she went around on all the late night talk shows and said that she was Hitlers girlfriend. Ill have more on him later.

After his talk was the Ladies of TNG. Gates McFadden, Marina Sirtis, and Denise Crosby. 





They were almost as funny and entertaining as the men, except my face didnt hurt from laughing after their panel. 





Each one had some great stories, one talked about needing a restraining order from a fan, and several other humorous anecdotes. However the best was from Denise Crosby who talked about when a friend of hers was able to get her backstage for a filming of Saturday Night Live, among the musical acts were the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Nirvana. After the conclusion of the show she got into an elevator and the members of both bands were in the elevator with her. She rode the elevator silently in awe of being in the presence of two rock bands that she idolized. The ride was uneventful as both bands talked about their performances and how they felt about their playing. As the elevator came to a halt, one of the guys from one of the bands turns around to look at her and says, Oh my god! Youre freakin Tasha Yar!  Funny how fame works.





We had to cut out a little bit early from this one as we tickets for Borg Bingo.  It wasnt anything spectacular, but they had some great prizes for the winners, of which we were not. Basically we played four games of Bingo and three of the games were called by actors from various episodes. Those who remember Lwaxana Troi will know her man servant Mr. Homm. The actor who played him called a round. Also the man who played Adonis in one of the original series episodes called another.  I cant remember who the third celebrity was, and the first round was called by one of the founders of Creation Entertainment (the company who hosts the convention).

Once Bingo was over, we headed up to the VooDoo lounge for the Captains party.  They had a great buffet with Prime Rib, Caesar Salad, Mashed Potatoes, Chicken, vegetables, lamb chops and Chicken Parmigiana. We also got two complimentary well drinks. Problem was there were so many people and so little chairs, we got there sort of late and everything was taken, so we ate our food, had our drinks and decided to head to the casino and play a little Black Jack. We found a comfy table with a low minimum bid and played for a while before going to bed.

I woke up in the middle of the night to see the Rio tower illuminated through the window and decided that I should take some nighttime shots of Las Vegas.














*[Continued in Next Post]*


----------



## franandaj

*[Continued from Previous Post]*

*Friday August 1*

The next day we woke up late and I picked us up some Starbucks breakfast. Fran didnt really care about the panels, so I went down to hear the folks from DS9. It was entertaining, but there wasnt anything that really stuck out in my mind regarding any of the actors. I was happy to see that they were all still alive and well.





Another lunch from the deli QS and we sat down for a few rounds of blackjack before heading to the panel with Grace Lee Whitney and Harlan Ellison. Yeoman Rand was my idol on The Original Series.  I loved her hair and thought she was the prettiest woman I had ever seen (until I saw "the Redhead"). I didnt realize that she had a substance problem back in the day, but has been over 25 years sober now. Evidently the Ellison and Whitney had a falling out and hadnt talked for quite some time. Back in the day, they were getting ready to go out for a friendly dinner and while she was waiting in his living room, she decided to light up a joint. He came back to find her toking away and became thoroughly enraged and threw her out of the house and the two didnt talk for about 20 years. It appears that his house was a place where Vietnam refugees were being housed after they were smuggled into the country while enroute to their final location. The last thing he needed was for someone to be doing drugs in his house to alert the authorities to come snooping around.





The two had some great stories and were fun to listen to. Eventually they opened up for a Q&A. When Grace saw this girl in the line for questions, she had her come up on stage.  





We headed back to the room to get ready for dinner. On the way we saw this fellow.  Even the staff at the hotel was getting into it!





Originally we had planned to stay through until Tuesday, but Fran realized that we had so little time before our next trip so we decided to leave Monday. We had one dinner reservation for Monday night and if we wanted to still dine at this restaurant Friday (tonight) was the only time to do it. So we got ourselves dressed up and headed off to Des Friscos Double Eagle Steakhouse.

So I lied earlier when I said there wouldnt be any food porn.   I forgot about this meal.  Anytime we eat at Del Friscos we take pictures, its just that good!  I started off with half a dozen oysters.





We split an order of onion rings.





And we had some tomato salad.  Every one of these items was just delectable, as expected.





Now when we first sat down we were disappointed with the menu.  They didnt have our normal Tomohawk Rib Eye listed there.  We asked the waiter why they didnt have the Tomohawk Rib Eye and he told us that, yes, in fact they do have it. Would we like to order it?  Of course! Sorry about the blurry picture.





The steak with Creamed Spinach and Au Gratin potatoes.





I dont know where we found room, but I got a flourless Chocolate cake with some sort of tasty ice cream.





Fran got some kind of Caramel Cake, both were really rich and this was one of those meal where we wheeled out of there in a food coma.  I love that!





Fran may have stayed downstairs to play Blackjack, but I know I went right to bed! 

*Saturday August 2*

Being active for the past few weeks was starting to take its toll on us.  I went down to Starbucks again for breakfast while Fran stayed in bed.  This day was mostly Cosplay and presentations by Make Up Artists, Costume Designers, and some really cerebral panels that were too much for me to wrap my brain around today. 

Instead I just went down to the Convention area with the intent to take photos of the various folks dressed up in their costumes.  There were Star Fleet officers.













Star fleet officers from specific movies





Star fleet officers from specific episodes





There were Klingons.









There were Borg.









Even the Borg Queen made it out for this auspicious event.







 

*[Continued in Next Post]*


----------



## franandaj

*[Continued from Previous Post]*

There were these guys sporting their Star Fleet bathrobes.





And then there were the random characters.  Kes and Nelix.





Q





I think she is from the original series, but I really dont know.





This guy fancied himself as Adonis









These two were adorable. The Ferengi wanted Latinum for me to take his picture, but agreed when I told him that I only carried credit cards.





These folks were great!  From one of the Original Series episodes.





Data as Sherlock Holmes





And his sidekick





The Black and White guy from the Original Series





I dont remember what the heck species this guy is, but great make up job!





These two were interesting





A Gorn!





This woman even had a Horta.





But this was the part I loved. Walking past the Hash House A Go Go you saw a table of Star Fleet officers.





And a table of Klingons





After my costume photographing we decided to play some Black Jack. I believe that Fran did this for the entire afternoon.  I took a break to go listen to a panel, but it ended up being canceled so I was right back at the tables with her. We had a concert to attend that evening, but Fran had also purchased a Groupon for the buffet at the Rio, we got two dinners for the price of one and a bottle of wine! Then we headed back to the theater to hear the Nevada Pops Symphony perform music from Star Trek.





Following the concert, they had a dessert reception where you could view various props and other artifacts.  There were huge tubs of ice cream, Chocolate, Vanilla and Strawberry with all sorts of toppings. After a big bowl of ice cream, the lactose got to me and I believe I went back to the room to sleep, Fran may or may not have played some more Blackjack. 

*[Continued in Next Post]*


----------



## franandaj

*[Continued from Previous Post]*

*Sunday August 3*

There was not a whole lot going on this day, and there was really only one panel that we wanted to see, so we ended up going down late in the morning and browsing the shopping area.  I took some random photos. They had an area in the Convention section where you could buy food and adult beverages.  However beyond this door was just a convention room with tables and chairs and your standard hotel snack bar with packaged hot dogs, hamburgers, sandwiches and salads for exorbitant prices.





Speaking of exorbitant prices, here is what they were charging for photo ops and autographs.









We ran into this guy in the Expo area.





William Shatner was giving an appearance that day and the house was as full as it had been during the entire convention. He spoke for about 45 minutes. He was amusing. Almost as much as the TNG guys. 





Fran barely made it into the theatre in time for his talk. Because?  She was purchasing a Borg Tribble. It was also sound activated, so every time that the audience clapped, laughed or whatever it started doing its little coo, coo, coo and would vibrate. Finally I located the off switch, but it was rather embarrassing for the first few minutes of the presentation.





After Shatners presentation we had to get some photo ops with our new Borg Tribble.  It was kind of hilarious because as people noticed that it was a Borg tribble, they started taking pictures of themselves with our tribble!  We had to sit there for like 10 minutes while everyone got a shot of themselves with the Borg tribble!





Even this guy got in on the action for a bit.

















After stowing our tribbles in the room, we played Black Jack for the rest of the day. Turns out we were quite a bit ahead at the tables so it was a fun and lucrative way to spend the day.  The only thing left that night was at the end of the convention, they had a chance for folks who would be returning for the following year to get better seats for the next year. We had been given a card when we turned in our registration which gave us a spot in line to choose our seats. So we will be repeating all this fun next year too!

The rest is history, we checked out of the hotel and decided to visit the Forum Shops at Caesars Palace. After a wonderful lunch at the Palm Restaurant we walked the entire mall and found nothing of interest.  Everything was too overpriced and trendy, so what did we do?  You got it, played some more Black Jack! There were thunderstorms and flash flooding going on until about 5PM so we figured we were safest in a casino.  Unfortunately Caesars Palace was not as kind to us as the Rio and after losing a lot of the money we won at the Rio, we packed it up and headed home. Another memorable adventure in the books!


----------



## jedijill

That's the trouble with Tribbles....they make noise at inappropriate times.  

The convention looks like a lot of fun.  I really loved TNG..I watched DS9 too.  You and Fran have the best adventures!

Jill in CO


----------



## franandaj

********** said:


> OK - So I had already said I was coming in super late but would post some comments anyways.
> 
> I read through Days 1 - 3. I really am enjoying this! We have never been able to get down for Star Wars weekends. When DD was young enough to go before school started, she didn't like Star Wars. Now she loves Star Wars, and would LOVE SWW, but unfortunately schools in NY don't get out until late-JUne and you just can't pull your kid out of school at the end of the year. I keep telling her we will go when she's in college. She is not very happy with that (she's only 11). I am also a big SW fan, having been 7,10 and 13 years old when the OT came out. (Return of the Jedi is the movie I've seen the 2nd most in a theater.)
> 
> Anyways, so I like seeing what they have for SWW. We of course would never be able to get the premium package, but it's fun to live vicariously through others! Your first day looked like a lot of fun, though I have to say it's funny what they consider a celebrity at SWW. When Cliff Clavin is your top draw ----hmmmm. (Though personally Ray Park is a pretty cool get, as he's done a lot more than just Star Wars.)
> 
> Gosh, the Grand Floridian is gorgeous. I would never in a million years hope to stay there. Now that we are DVC members, maybe there's a chance someday. (Part of the excitement to us of being DVC is the chance to stay at these resorts that we would never even be able to consider at Disney prices.) When I asked DWs choice of where she'd most want to stay, that was her #1. (It's like #5 on my list, but I do have to say if we ever saw nights available there at the 7-month mark for a trip I would probably pounce on it, even for just a couple nights.)
> 
> It's funny what you say about Coronado Springs reminding you of "home", because I've never wanted to stay there simply because it reminds me of "my mom's house" - she lives in Arizona. I like Southwest architecture fine, it's just not a theme that appeals to me. Kind of like SSR - "oh goody, upstate New York themed, that's where I live!"
> 
> I gotta go, but will continue with the remaining days when I get the chance.



Thanks for persevering Pete!  I'll be happy to read your TR when you get it started. It's funny because John Ratzenberger really was the big draw. That's pretty much how we ended up at the VGF, I was astonished when there was availability at 7 months out.  The California desert is much like Arizona and that's what Coronado Springs totally reminded me of as well.

Glad you are still on board, the TR is starting to veer off course now drastically.


----------



## mvf-m11c

I have to find somewhere to get the Herb Ryman early sketch of Disneyland one day. I have some original big size park maps and that will be nice to have in my house.

That was a nice idea of going to the DL that Monday July 28th which was my last day during the July trip. I was in DCA for most of the morning and I was able to go to DL that morning and ride AiW with the new updates. I know that will be one of the rides that we will ride next week.

I remember really well that you and Fran attended the Star Trek Convention in Las Vegas. You two really did a lot of seminars and seeing all the different actors/actresses from the show and movies. It must have been fun to go to that event. There were a lot of fans dressed up as the characters which doesn't surprise me for those kind of events.

That was neat that you got to see William Shatner that Sunday. I did get to see William Shatner that weekend (Friday and Saturday) which he was in San Antonio during the Wizard World Comic Con on Friday and Saturday and he flew to Las Vegas for the Star Trek Convention that Sunday.


----------



## dolphingirl47

I can't believe how close your cruise is getting, but then again it is now less than 5 weeks until our big trip. That sounds nice that you get to spend Thanksgiving in Seattle. Looks like us coming to visit may have to wait for another year. Are we still OK for the Monday though?

I have never got Star Trek, but the convention sounded interesting. Looks you got a nice balance between attending events and just chilling.

Corinna


----------



## Pinkocto

I would have been totally star struck at the Star Trek convention! What fun!!!!


The print I was curious about was the one that there was only 1 of, so the fourth picture I gather? They're a all great though, very few Disney art that I don't like  but that Marie one is soooo cute!


----------



## skier_pete

franandaj said:


> Thanks for persevering Pete!  I'll be happy to read your TR when you get it started. It's funny because John Ratzenberger really was the big draw. That's pretty much how we ended up at the VGF, I was astonished when there was availability at 7 months out.  The California desert is much like Arizona and that's what Coronado Springs totally reminded me of as well.
> 
> Glad you are still on board, the TR is starting to veer off course now drastically.



Dare to dream for next August? Not a busy season, maybe we'll get in there. DW would die!

Actually, I would love to see cliffy / Pixar's lucky charm. Never thought his 15 seconds of Star Wars would rate him SWW "celebrity" though.

Oh, and the Star Trek stuff, I was a much bigger Star Trek geek (from 1984 - to around 1994 or so) than Star Wars. Would never dress up in either costumes though.


----------



## eandesmom

franandaj said:


> Now if you were following along on the PTR you should be scratching your head and asking, Werent they supposed to pick up a rental car last night? Wasnt today the day for Theme Park Connection?  Well a couple weeks before the trip we sort of hit a proverbial wall.  Thats when the plans for the Haunted Mansion Theater Room went on hold. We also decided that there wasnt a need to accumulate more stuff (yeah you could tell that by the way we put the reins on our shopping, right?  )  But believe it or not, Fran did exercise restraint this trip.
> 
> Since we were not going to be spending all that money on a rental car or new merchandise, I took it upon myself to find another way to use up that money.  I booked myself into here starting around 11:00AM, but I headed over a little earlier to make use of the other facilities.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Even though my treatment included a spa bath, I still used this for a little while.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> And then I laid down on one of these tile loungers.  Now anyone who knows how these things work, please share!  When I laid down on the thing, it was room temperature or close to it.  By the time that I finally got up, the lounger was toasty warm and I can totally see how people fall asleep on them.  Just looking at it you wouldnt think it was so comfy being all rigid, but after laying on it, wow!  Im going to book the Rainforest Room on one of my days on the cruise!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Anyways, I had two treatments booked, one was from 11:00-11:45 and the next from 12:10-1:00.  The same technician would be doing both treatments and she asked if I wanted to do the concurrently and I was happy to oblige. That way I wasnt wasting half an hour just sitting in the spa.  I had a bath with some special minerals in a really cool tub, then she rubbed my body with mud or salt or a little of both, wrapped me up in a cocoon, and gave me a scalp massage and a foot massage.  Then I showered, and she massaged the rest of me. When I left there, I was so relaxed, it was wonderful.



What an excellent choice of "excess fund" use.  Well done!!!!!!!!  I did NOT know that about those loungers, they've always looked so uncomfortable to me I've never actually tried them.



franandaj said:


> Then we were off to make good on a wrong that we were going to make right today.  The new Ice Cream shop in France.  The Menu.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> They had lots of delicious flavors.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> And a cute Mickey head.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I went for the Ice Cream Martini with Grand Marnier.  People confused me before telling me the flavors of Ice Cream.  I thought it was predetermined, but you can choose your own flavors.  I was very happy with that. I think I got Salted Caramel and Chocolate Chip.  It was quite yummy!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Up next, our attempt at drinking around the world, and a documented DISmeet![/COLOR][/SIZE]



I still haven't made it there, must fix that in Feb!



franandaj said:


> Well its been so long since an update, I suppose that a recap is in order. But first a couple daily life updates. We are done traveling for two months. Our next trip is two months from yesterday so we hope to have some time to get settled in. I may do a few short updates at the end of this TR on our three trips/events since the car show a few pages back. As far as upcoming trips we have booked our excursions and dining for the cruise.
> 
> Cruise Trip Itinerary
> 
> Day 1 - Halloween - we still need to choose costumes for that night.
> 
> Day 2 - at sea. We will be dining at Palo for "dress up" night.
> 
> Day 3 - Grand Cayman. We have chosen the "Island tour" which includes a visit to Hell and the Turtle Farm. We will definitely stop at the shop across from the dock for their mini rum cakes!
> 
> Day 4 - Cozumel. We are going to Chankanaab, following Corinna's lead we will just catch a cab there ourselves. That night back on the ship will be Pirate night and our first time to experience this. Normally we just go to Palo and avoid it. I plan to skimp on dinner so we can hit the late night buffet per Pam's suggestion.
> 
> Day 5 - Day at sea. Palo Brunch.
> 
> Day 6 - Get off the ship and head to the Embassy Suites Ft. Lauderdale for four days of immersion in all things band, along with over 200 of our other bandos from across the country and around the world.
> 
> Our next big trip is in April to WDW for a week. We are staying at VWL with two of our friends from here. One of two couples we know locally who actually "get" Disney. After that we're taking a four night cruise on the Dream. ADR time is coming up soon and we've pretty much settled on our choices. Not necessarily in this order:  Garden Grill, Whispering Canyon (breakfast), Artist Point, Be Our Guest, Hoop De Doo Revue, 1900 Park Fare. Most of our other meals will be in the room (like cereal and yogurt for breakfast) or grazing from the Flower & Garden Festival booths.
> 
> We'll probably take a few trips to Vegas over the winter. There is also our annual mid week weekend at the VGC in February, and I'm sure we'll make it up to the SF Bay Area to visit my parents too, but thats it for now.




And Seattle for Turkey Day 



franandaj said:


> It wasnt as if we were attempting to drink our way around the world. We had not been to Karamel Kuche and it was already the sixth day of the trip.  So we meandered toward Germany, we stopped in the German shop and happened upon some kids working on an Agent P mission.  These beer steins began to sing as part of the mission.  The kid actually made them go several times as dorks like us were fascinated and tried to take pictures of the entire thing.



not that there is anything wrong with drinking your way around the world....
I want to see those sing one of these days



franandaj said:


> Oh look, its the margarita stand at Mexico.  Two please!





ah manual settings, some day I will figure them out

or not

Fun meet and greet and pics with Pam.  I love the cronut but Jeff is with you, not his thing at all.

Lunch looks insanely good, I've still not eaten at LeCellier.  Good to know that they had so many lovely vegetarian options.

That's tough on the FP timing but it does seem it worked out ok thanks to EE being down.  I need to eat at Sanaa during the day, we can never see a thing outside!  Love that place.



franandaj said:


> Bellies full and tired from our early start, we headed back to the room. Which from lack of pictorial evidence tells me that we both took a nap and didnt leave again until the next morning! So as a consolation, I will give you another lizard shot.
> 
> 
> 
> [/COLOR]


----------



## Paula Sedley-Burke

Oh my that Star Trek convention looks amazing. Lol re Klingon blood wine. Great photos! I just love Vegas and Star Trek what a great combo  great view from your room. 

Love tribbles lol. I would love to watch you guys playing at Black Jack. I adore the game but am not too good at it. I could be your mascot! I tried to play it and got looks when I asked for cards I get the impression I should have not done. Think I ruined the chances for the table! I got rolled eyes...

Oh my that steak. Drool! Two please! Fancy it not being on the menu. One would think it was the signature dish! 

Your upcoming cruise on The Dream yippeee! Can't wait to hear about that. Lol re the car museum coincidence in Seattle.


----------



## Leshaface

I think food is always a good FE gift.  I'd eat it up in seconds.

Seattle will be fun!  I've been begging DH for years to take me on a road trip up to Seattle...and it may just happen next Summer!

Awesome photo with Mark and his wife. 

 your photo on SM.  I always love your ride photos

I've never really seen any Star Trek showsduck, just the movies and really like them, but wouldn't mind trying to get into it.

So I know nothing about tribbles or borgs but it's all fascinating!  And the costumes and makeup that some of these people have are absolutely fantastic!  Next year you should dress up :


----------



## franandaj

jedijill said:


> That's the trouble with Tribbles....they make noise at inappropriate times.
> 
> The convention looks like a lot of fun.  I really loved TNG..I watched DS9 too.  You and Fran have the best adventures!
> 
> Jill in CO



Yes but they are so cute.  I like TNG the best of all of them, but I pretty watched every single one!



mvf-m11c said:


> I have to find somewhere to get the Herb Ryman early sketch of Disneyland one day. I have some original big size park maps and that will be nice to have in my house.
> 
> That was a nice idea of going to the DL that Monday July 28th which was my last day during the July trip. I was in DCA for most of the morning and I was able to go to DL that morning and ride AiW with the new updates. I know that will be one of the rides that we will ride next week.
> 
> I remember really well that you and Fran attended the Star Trek Convention in Las Vegas. You two really did a lot of seminars and seeing all the different actors/actresses from the show and movies. It must have been fun to go to that event. There were a lot of fans dressed up as the characters which doesn't surprise me for those kind of events.
> 
> That was neat that you got to see William Shatner that Sunday. I did get to see William Shatner that weekend (Friday and Saturday) which he was in San Antonio during the Wizard World Comic Con on Friday and Saturday and he flew to Las Vegas for the Star Trek Convention that Sunday.



I thought that I might run into you, but figured you probably were gone by the time I got there.  I remember you commenting about William Shatner being at the event in Texas where you were at the day or two before we saw him.


----------



## franandaj

dolphingirl47 said:


> I can't believe how close your cruise is getting, but then again it is now less than 5 weeks until our big trip. That sounds nice that you get to spend Thanksgiving in Seattle. Looks like us coming to visit may have to wait for another year. Are we still OK for the Monday though?
> 
> I have never got Star Trek, but the convention sounded interesting. Looks you got a nice balance between attending events and just chilling.
> 
> Corinna



We're almost getting to the point where we get the suitcases out!  I have two more updates to post on this thread, and I'm working on the TR start for the cruise!



Pinkocto said:


> I would have been totally star struck at the Star Trek convention! What fun!!!!
> 
> 
> The print I was curious about was the one that there was only 1 of, so the fourth picture I gather? They're a all great though, very few Disney art that I don't like  but that Marie one is soooo cute!



For some reason, I only get star struck when it comes to musicians.  Not that I go up to celebrities and talk to them, but I enjoy hearing their stories!

Actually there were many of that fourth picture, she got 1 of "x amount". Sometimes she enjoys having a special number of the edition, like having the 33rd or something or the 55th.



********** said:


> Dare to dream for next August? Not a busy season, maybe we'll get in there. DW would die!
> 
> Actually, I would love to see cliffy / Pixar's lucky charm. Never thought his 15 seconds of Star Wars would rate him SWW "celebrity" though.
> 
> Oh, and the Star Trek stuff, I was a much bigger Star Trek geek (from 1984 - to around 1994 or so) than Star Wars. Would never dress up in either costumes though.



The ST convention is tons of fun.  I don't know if I would dress up, maybe wear a uniform, but not go all out like a Klingon or Borg Queen.  I'm sure you two would have a blast. I was a total Star Trek geek. I cried when TNG went off the air.



eandesmom said:


> What an excellent choice of "excess fund" use.  Well done!!!!!!!!  I did NOT know that about those loungers, they've always looked so uncomfortable to me I've never actually tried them.
> 
> I still haven't made it there, must fix that in Feb!



You're really catching up here!



eandesmom said:


> And Seattle for Turkey Day



We'll definitely have to get together!



eandesmom said:


> not that there is anything wrong with drinking your way around the world....
> 
> I want to see those sing one of these days



It is one of the funner things to do at Epcot.  Those singing mugs caught me totally off guard!



eandesmom said:


> ah manual settings, some day I will figure them out
> 
> or not



They're actually not that bad once you get the hang of it.



eandesmom said:


> Fun meet and greet and pics with Pam.  I love the cronut but Jeff is with you, not his thing at all.
> 
> Lunch looks insanely good, I've still not eaten at LeCellier.  Good to know that they had so many lovely vegetarian options.



I was surprised at the vegetarian choices too, and so glad it worked out for her because we really enjoyed our steak and cheese soup!



eandesmom said:


> That's tough on the FP timing but it does seem it worked out ok thanks to EE being down.  I need to eat at Sanaa during the day, we can never see a thing outside!  Love that place.



Definitely making EE a priority on my next trip.



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Oh my that Star Trek convention looks amazing. Lol re Klingon blood wine. Great photos! I just love Vegas and Star Trek what a great combo  great view from your room.
> 
> Love tribbles lol. I would love to watch you guys playing at Black Jack. I adore the game but am not too good at it. I could be your mascot! I tried to play it and got looks when I asked for cards I get the impression I should have not done. Think I ruined the chances for the table! I got rolled eyes...
> 
> Oh my that steak. Drool! Two please! Fancy it not being on the menu. One would think it was the signature dish!
> 
> Your upcoming cruise on The Dream yippeee! Can't wait to hear about that. Lol re the car museum coincidence in Seattle.



I'm really looking forward to next year's convention!  We don't really "think" at Blackjack, we have a little card which tells us our every move depending on our cards or the dealer's.

I was very surprised not to see the steak on the menu, maybe they didn't have a lot of them and were saving them for "those in the know."  

Wonder first then Dream Not only is there are car museum in Seattle, but there is one in Ft. Lauderdale too!  



Leshaface said:


> I think food is always a good FE gift.  I'd eat it up in seconds.
> 
> Seattle will be fun!  I've been begging DH for years to take me on a road trip up to Seattle...and it may just happen next Summer!
> 
> Awesome photo with Mark and his wife.
> 
> your photo on SM.  I always love your ride photos
> 
> I've never really seen any Star Trek showsduck, just the movies and really like them, but wouldn't mind trying to get into it.
> 
> So I know nothing about tribbles or borgs but it's all fascinating!  And the costumes and makeup that some of these people have are absolutely fantastic!  Next year you should dress up :



On all my cruises, I've always appreciated the food/booze gifts the most. I don't take them home (well at least in my suitcase ) and we end up snacking on them in the room.

We're flying to Seattle, it would take way to long to drive. I hope you two make it there next summer!

Sarah is responsible for taking that photo of Mark and his wife, she did a good job!

My parents watched the original Star Trek on Network TV, I was too young to follow it, but got it in syndication later. I know I was hooked on it in elementary school.  Some of those people did an awesome job on their make up and stuff. I hate make up so I'd be better at just wearing a simple outfit and not going for any competitions.


----------



## Paula Sedley-Burke

Oh my they have the 1926 Rolls Royce Silver Ghost 20/25 silver body at this Seattle museum. Room for a little one? Jo won't notice me gone. I will disguise a pumpkin face on a scarecrow body. She'll just think my liver is playing up again...

Don't forget the coupon on the website.....


----------



## franandaj

OK folks, this is the last OT update for this report, bear with me.  Or just hit the back button on your browser, its up to you.

It was less than 56 hours after that we returned from Vegas that we left on our next trip.  I tried to get everything packed before Wednesday night because I fancied the idea of sleeping from around 10PM to 4AM that night. Nope, not going to happen, around midnight, Fran realized that I was good for nothing and let me sleep until 3AM when she cracked the whip and made me get up and finish the packing. By 7AM we were on our way to the airport. At least all the previous trips didnt involve planes!

The flight to Columbus was uneventful. And pretty soon we were in our rental car on our way to the hotel. Our ultimate destination was Cleveland, but flying on points we couldnt find one flight from LAX to Cleveland that involved less than two transfers or got us in a day or two after we wanted to arrive, and routed us through cities like Atlanta and other totally out of the way cities. Imagine my surprise finding a direct flight, at the perfect time of day from a city only three hours from our destination. Ill definitely take a short road trip over endless layovers!

We stayed overnight at a Hampton Inn just off the highway. We were upgraded to a suite and I had a Jacuzzi tub, the downside, people had smoked in the room. But since it was only one night, we put up with the faint smell so that I could enjoy the Jacuzzi tub. We found a local place to eat called Joes Firehouse Bar or something like that.  It was our first introduction into the realm of Midwestern eateries located in bars, but at least this one had a theme and décor.  Here is a pic that I snapped on my phone for Jenny whose hubby is a firefighter.





The next morning we were on the road by around 9:30AM (pretty good for us!) but stopped at the Harley Store across the highway before getting on the Interstate. You see Fran likes to collect T-shirts and shot glasses from various Harley stores around the world. We found another one farther up the road and stopped there as well. We had an early lunch at Steak and Shake, and it would not be our last. Finally we arrived at our hotel in Cleveland around 2PM. They granted our request for an HA room, and we settled in for the next few days.

We were in Cleveland for the Gay Games, the ninth celebration of its kind.  Its a worldwide event meant to bring folks together regardless of ability, or any other type of attribute.  Everyone is welcome and it is a great positive environment to be in. Since Ive been to a few of these events, I know how overbusy and scheduled things are. Before everything got started, we knew that we needed to stock up on groceries so we headed to the suburb, Ohio City after we picked up our registration packets.  I was astonished at how all the local business had embraced the participants.  Rainbow flags were flying everywhere, signs welcomed GG9 participants and it was a really festive atmosphere.

We had dinner at place called the Black Pig and I wish I had pictures now, but everything was made with pig parts.  We didnt order the crunchy pig skins, but we heard everyone else at the restaurant crunching down on them. I had a bacon sausage and Fran had Pork Schnitzel. They also had some interesting cocktails that we tried as well. Bellies full we headed to the grocery store to get provisions for the week, and back to the room to crash.

We had a free day Saturday. The opening ceremonies were that night and we were hoping to go and see the Marching Band perform. However, unlike the Chicago Gay Games where anyone with a credential got a ticket, folks with credentials had to march in with all the athletes. This meant arriving several hours before the games started, standing around for long periods of time before going on to the field and a whole lot of waiting around. We looked into purchasing tickets so we could attend as just spectators, but the prices were almost $100 with fees and other stuff, so we gave up on that idea.  

Instead we went to the Western Reserve Historical Society Museum.  In honor of the GG9 they had an exhibit of Gay History in Cleveland.  I was impressed at how open minded the city was overall. But this wasnt why we chose this museum, can you guess what kind of exhibit that they had there?  A Car museum of course!

I wont bore you with all the hundreds of photos that we took, but just a few highlights. What I didnt know what that the fledgling car industry actually took off in Northern Ohio. Back before cars had steering wheels and folks were making true Horseless carriages, the area of Northern Ohio had the greatest concentration of budding manufacturers.  It wasnt until Henry Ford opened his assembly line plant in Detroit that the car capital of America was relocated.  Many of the early car manufacturers made motorized bicycles and just naturally moved into making cars.





I thought that this stainless steel Lincoln was quite interesting. They had two other cars completely made of stainless steel as well.





One other thing that I learned was how early headlights worked.  They literally had a propane burning candle in the light box and you had a starter switch in the interior of the car. It proved to be rather dangerous and eventually they switched to safer forms of headlights.





Also at this museum was an old carousel that they were in the process of restoring. They dont make them like this any more.













And one more, not just in Cars, but in real life there was a Stanley.





After feeling all educated, we headed off to have some fun. We had dinner at the casino and spent the wee hours of the night gambling, at yes you guessed it.  Blackjack.

Sunday marked the reason for our being there. Rehearsals began this day. That evening we had a rehearsal from 3-9PM with an hour dinner break. One of the local businesses offered a buffet dinner, but we brought along Roast Beef and Cheddar sandwiches, chips and chocolate chip cookies, so we ate in the rehearsal hall. Its fun playing with a talented group of musicians even if it is exhausting. The hall where we played was absolutely gorgeous!













The next day there were two hour sectionals for the woodwinds, brass and percussion in the morning. We had the afternoon off before returning for a rehearsal from 5-8PM.

Normally when we travel to a new town, I always check out the culinary scene.  I looked up plenty of places on Diners, Drive Ins and Dives, and unfortunately none were near where we were going to be. What I completely forgot was that Iron Chef and Chew star Michael Symon has his flagship restaurant in Cleveland. Fran reminded me about this place the day we arrived in town and though I really tried, I wasnt able to get a reservation at all over the weekend. I was able to score one for 9PM on this evening, and with a rehearsal that went until 8PM we were famished. We were seated promptly overlooking the bar.





Proof that I was there.





Since we skipped the pig skins at the first restaurant, I really wanted to try the crispy pig ears.  They were tasty, and a little tough. Not something that I need to try again, but at least I can say I have tried them.





We split both the pig ears and this lobster salad.  It was good, but wasn't overly special.





We got the corn chowder and they split the portion for us.  This was really good!





My lamb was to die for!  You know how I say that I can never finish a meal?  It was a challenge, but I ate every last bite of this except what I shared with Fran.





She got the Halibut and it was also wonderful, but I liked my lamb better.





We also got a side of this roasted corn with pancetta and chanterelle mushrooms.  It was so good!  They have corn coming out their wazoo in that part of the country, I think we tried every special corn dish at every restaurant we went to!





And finally our dessert, The 6AM Special, Brioche French Toast, Maple Bacon Ice Cream and Caramelized Apple. This was something special!





That was a fun culinary night!

Tuesday was show day. We had a technical rehearsal from 10AM-2PM, this was where they tested all the effects that they were going to be doing with lighting and other special effects.  My sax peeps.





For the show we wore all black, but on the second half we accented our wardrobe with a splash of color from the rainbow.





The concert went for almost two hours. I had a solo in one of the pieces. It was called See rock City and in case youre interested here is a link to the performance online.  Smack in the middle of the piece, youll hear a short sax solo in the Funk section.

http://vimeo.com/103700270

Our sax section.



 

After the show there was a special reception where we had a few of their signature drinks before heading back to the hotel for some pizza delivery and rest.







*[Continued in Next Post]*


----------



## franandaj

*[Continued from Previous Post]*

Once our concert was over, our obligations in Cleveland were through. However, before we split town we had to check out this place.













We spent quite a bit of time here, and Ill show just a few of the highlights. There were so many. Your visit starts off with a short film that really illustrates  where Rock n Roll came from. It shows images of some of the great Bluesmen and their music was played as the images passed over the screen. As you hear the music develop from Ragtime, to Blues and into Rock and Roll, it makes sense just how monumental Elvis Presley was when he came on the scene. While I liked his music, I never felt gaga over him.  I guess by the time I was born, he was starting to age and put on weight.

Here is Johns outfit that he wore for the cover of the Beatles Sgt. Peppers album.





Back when I was in High School, I loved the Doors.  I idolized Jim Morrison and I wanted to be him. I wanted to play the piano like Ray Manzarek.





Here is Jim Morrisons jacket.





A blast from the past.  They hailed from Ohio.





This drumset was in the lobby area. Pretty impressive.





The had the set from Pink Floyds The Wall on the fifth floor.









We strolled through the gift shop where I purchased a tye-dyed apron and a shot glass.  Anyone know what this is?





And then we were on the road. We had approximately a three hour trip to Auburn, Indiana ahead of us. We had to make several pit stops and I drove the middle leg of the trip. I was surprised at how rural Ohio and Indiana were. When you drive in California, every off ramp has multiple Fast Food choices and Gasoline stops, even on our Road trip in AZ and Utah there was only one stretch that was quite remote. Especially in Indiana we went for miles down a country highway passing houses, with small lakes in front of them and no business anywhere in sight for miles.

When we got to Auburn, we were pleasantly surprised to see an assortment of chain restaurants and stores, as well as plenty of Mom & Pop places that I had read about on Yelp and Trip Advisor. After a short rest in the room, we ended up at Mad Anthonys Tap Room. Between Ft. Wayne and Auburn, there are four locations. I had a nice flight of beer and then a glass of the one I liked best.  We were too late for the regular menu, so we had a fried fest: Cheese curds, onion rings and Chicken fingers. This was our first introduction to the Midwest/Bar restaurant (well actually the Firehouse Tavern was our intro), but we didnt realize it until the next night.

We didnt get out of the room until about 2PM as we needed to be online when the D23 Expo tickets went on sale, plus all week I had wanted to do laundry in Cleveland, but the dryer at our hotel broke and didnt get replaced until the morning that we checked out. I did a couple loads of laundry and were all set agin with clean clothes. As far as the D23 Expo, unfortunately we wont be attending in 2015 as the Sorcerers sold out within 2 minutes and we didnt get any.  It just isnt worth it for us with all the lines. We have another engagement that we could attend in Indianapolis over that same weekend, so if the sorcerer tickets dont come through, well plan on Indianapolis for that weekend.

So we headed over to the Auburn Cord Dusenberg Museum.  It was about 2 ½ hours until closing so we still had a little time.









The Museum is mostly housed in the showroom for original manufacturing plant. Because these cars were popular during the early 1930s the building had an Art Deco feel. 













They had done a very nice job on the details.





There were some beautiful cars in this place.





















The museum faced to the west and with the sun going down pictures were difficult, so we took this one last photo op and headed to the gift store and out.





It had been a long time since wed had a steak and Yelp pointed me in the direction of a place called Shortys Steakhouse. It got excellent reviews so we headed over there after we left the museum.  Imagine my surprise when the place was a bar with tables. Dont get me wrong the meal was very good. But I had a couple of criteria in choosing restaurants, I didnt want to eat at a chain where I could find at home (Applebees, Buffalo Wild Wings, Olive Garden), but I did want a place where I could get a glass of wine with my meal. That ruled out Steak and Shake, Richards Restaurant or Bob Evans. So I was starting to learn that Mom & Pop places that served adult beverages were bars that had food.

The next morning we got an early start on the ACD Museum. We started off with the photo op where I left off the previous night only Fran was in the starring role.



 

*[Continued in Next Post]*


----------



## franandaj

*[Continued from Previous Post]*

We explored the other galleries of the museum. They had one which covered the earliest cars.





And one that explored the cars of the 20s before Auburn hit its heyday.





There was a section of cars that were set for auction in a few weeks. Good thing we werent going to be in town!









Then we went upstairs to explore more cars.

















This is a particularly interesting car. Only one like this was originally made, it was on exhibition in the 1929 Los Angeles auto show. The tent housing the exhibition caught fire and within 30 minutes 320 of the automobiles that were housed in the tent were destroyed. This car only existed in pictures until 1983 when it was recreated and donated to the museum.





Following a large trip to the gift shop at the museum, we walked across the parking lot to another car museum. Because we bought a museum membership, there were five other museums in the area for which we now had complimentary admission. This museum featured more modern cars and a lot of trucks, but they also had a few Duseys.





Can you imagine if cops drove the equivalent of these today?





This car was just simply gorgeous.





Some of the early trucks.













This ones for you Jill!





They actually had the real General Lee here.





After this we were both a little bit carred out. We went for lunch at an Italian joint that advertised itself as the only 5-star restaurant in Auburn.  I wouldnt give it 5 stars, but it was by far the nicest restaurant in town. Good food, nice ambience. We chilled in the room packing until it was time for dinner, this time we ate at probably the most bar like restaurant so far of the trip. We both had burgers and they were meh. I was definitely sick of being on the road, and couldnt wait to get home.

The next day we had a three hour (or so) drive back to Columbus. There was no direct major highway to get back there and we spent quite a bit of time on somewhat country roads. We also hit three Harley Davidson stores on the way.  I got some nice shirts, and of course the shot glasses.  I did want to share some of the scenery.  This is pretty much what it looked like the. Whole. Way.  Cornfields.









It just struck me as funny. Im so used to driving through urban sprawl that miles and miles of cornfields was just unique to me.  It was also disconcerting because you could go miles without finding a potty stop!  

I thought with all the car pictures it would only be right to share our trusty steed for the week.  Also I took pictures for insurance purposes, in case they tried to say we damaged the vehicle.





We made it back to Columbus just in time to have one last meal at Steak n Shake.  This time I had the Chili 5 ways. Which is basically Chili Cheese Spaghetti. What will those whacky Midwesterners come up with next?





Out fight was slightly delayed, but uneventful yet again.  By the time I got home we were completely exhausted. We had to play a band gig the next day, so I think the following day we completely crashed and blew off everything to sleep for the entire day!

This is my last OT update for this report, but I will have one more update here before I start my TR for the cruise.  Tomorrow Im going to Disneyland with Princess in Oz and Bret!


----------



## franandaj

Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Oh my they have the 1926 Rolls Royce Silver Ghost 20/25 silver body at this Seattle museum. Room for a little one? Jo won't notice me gone. I will disguise a pumpkin face on a scarecrow body. She'll just think my liver is playing up again...
> 
> Don't forget the coupon on the website.....



We'd love to have you along with us, but I'm sure your sweet Jo would miss you in an instant!


----------



## jedijill

What a great update!  You guys work so hard practicing for the band.   You know I love all those cars...thanks for the Mustang picture.  

When you were in Denver, did you hit the Cussler Museum?  It houses the car collection of Clive Cussler and is in Arvada.  If you haven't been there you should come visit me.  

http://www.cusslermuseum.com/


Jill in CO


----------



## dolphingirl47

That looked like an amazing trip. I love the art deco car museum. Have fun at Disneyland tomorrow.

Corinna


----------



## Paula Sedley-Burke

franandaj said:


> We'd love to have you along with us, but I'm sure your sweet Jo would miss you in an instant!


   That's cute! We will both hook up with you guys next time for sure! Enjoy your trip. It does look exciting. Always wanted to visit Seattle.


----------



## rentayenta

Oh my gosh, I got far behind. We've been chatting so I didn't feel far behind. 

You look absolutely in your element with your instrument.  Love the splash of color. 

Dinner looks delicious all but the pig ears. I am all about fried food but it just sounds ick.

Think anyone actually drives the stainless steel car? I can't get last the fingerprints. LOL! 

Love the firehouse pic you sent.


----------



## rentayenta

How did I miss Seattle for Thanksgiving?? We really need that spreadsheet on like Google docs or something so we can all keep track of each other.


----------



## eandesmom

Ok I still need to catch up on our post trip updates.

I am glad you enjoyed sorcerers so much!  I agree with your review of the mine train.



franandaj said:


> We headed back to the Grand Floridian for our last time this trip. It went by just a little too quickly. I dont remember a lot about the trip home, we took DME and got to our flight. On our layover in Dallas we discovered the American Express lounge, they have free food, a bar, places to sleep, Wifi, and all sorts of spaces just to relax. We were able to recharge a little bit between flights before heading back to LAX. Once we got home, the kitties were all glad to see us. Usually they turn up their noses at us for a few days to punish us for being gone but not this time. I guess that they knew something was afoot!



Mine turns up his nose too!  Glad you didn't get the cold shoulder



franandaj said:


> *Trip Recap:*  We love, love, loved Star Wars weekends! We have already planned to return in 2016 and will stay at the Grand if we can get in. If they offer this VIP package, we would take it again in a heartbeat!



It really seems like you made the most of it and that package was a great fit for you.



franandaj said:


> I think the events of the past year have taken their toll on us and its good that we have some time to relax before our next trip because we were just way too tired at the beginning of this trip. We were never able to really catch up as it seems every other night we were falling asleep and skipping dinner.



you two were gong NON stop before your trip, I can totally understand how you might have been wiped out going into it.



franandaj said:


> I learned a lot about FP+ this trip, so hopefully when we go back in April, I wont make the same rookie mistakes as this last trip. For the most part, I enjoyed the FP+ system. Since we are not park commandos and usually only ride a few rides (if Fran gets on any at all) the system worked out pretty well for us. Since my MB worked this time, it was relatively convenient not having to fish out my pass and room key every time we entered a park or the room. Overall, I will give the system a thumbsup.



I am glad it worked out well overall for you



franandaj said:


> I cant say that Ive ever had a bad trip to WDW, but I certainly know that some folks have had their share of nightmares. This wasnt the greatest trip, but it had it moments! Its funny how my parents think a trip to WDW is just a trip to WDW because I cant begin to tell you how different this trip was from the one we took in October 2013. Nor can I even compare those two trips to the one from Jan/Feb 2013, your resort, ADRs, companions and park plans can change everything about a trip. Not one of the last three trips was at all the same and I suspect the next one will again be completely different.  We have almost all new ADRs planned and quite a few experiences that Ive never had before are on the list, so it will be yet another trip full of great new experiences!  So with that having been said, this trip report is all done!  As they say in Hollywood, Its a wrap! [/COLOR][/SIZE]



They are never the same are they? that's why we keep going back!


----------



## afwdwfan

Wow, you really did pack a lot of fun stuff in this summer.  I'd be exhausted!

The Star Trek convention looks like a lot of fun.  But I guess Vegas is a lot of fun with or without some other reason to be there.


----------



## Captain_Oblivious

Things have been crazy and I haven't been able to get to the DISboards for a while, but I can finally say I'm caught up here!  Way too much to comment on, so I'll just say this: your travels are really cool.  Between the Star Trek conventions, bands, and car shows, you and Fran really get to have a lot of fun.  I'm kinda jealous, actually. 

Anyway, keep on traveling and I'm looking forward to the next TR!


----------



## Pinkocto

Wow, what fun!!! The car museums were too cool. I really need to do more things like this. 

They had you practicing some long hours at GG9! I'm going to listen when I have some time to enjoy, thank you for that link. 

You had some delicious looking/sounding meals that's for sure! That french toast dessert looked marvelous. Bacon icecream? Was it good? 

Cute about the corn fields. Akin to the bird of paradise plant for you. They're everywhere here.


----------



## scottny

The breakfast at WPE looked good.

Nice pics on Mine Ride.

Nice pics of BOG. I liked the food there but wasn't crazy about it. "They show you the door". LOL. They do that for sure. 

Beautiful pics of the parade and fireworks. 

Great report and pics. Thanks for sharing.

Love the Disney canisters.

I have HDR on my phone. Not sure if it helps or not.

Nice sorcerer Fran got. 

Love the photos at the Star Trek convention.

Love John Delancie. Used to watch him on Days of Our Lives.  Too bad he canceled. 

That is funny the thing she bought kept going off. 

Sounds like a good trip to Vegas.

WOW! That carousel. 

Love the shirt and keychain of the disc for the middle of a 45. 

Pretty cars.

I have caught up again. 

Hope you fun with PIO in Disneyland.


----------



## franandaj

jedijill said:


> What a great update!  You guys work so hard practicing for the band.   You know I love all those cars...thanks for the Mustang picture.
> 
> When you were in Denver, did you hit the Cussler Museum?  It houses the car collection of Clive Cussler and is in Arvada.  If you haven't been there you should come visit me.
> 
> http://www.cusslermuseum.com/
> 
> 
> Jill in CO



I'm glad you enjoyed it. Music is hard work. We were both completely wiped out after this weekend's concert, and we get to do it all again in about three weeks, and then yet again the weekend after we get back from the next trip. However, that one is at Disney!  

I don't think that the Cussler museum was there when we visited Denver last, so I think we need to come back.  We like to listen to his books on CD when we go on road trips, so I think we need to see his cars.



dolphingirl47 said:


> That looked like an amazing trip. I love the art deco car museum. Have fun at Disneyland tomorrow.
> 
> Corinna



It was a lot of fun, but towards the end being away so many times and for so long started to drain us.  It's been nice to have stayed home for the past two and a half months.  I'm ready to go again!


----------



## PrincessInOz

Catching up!


WOW!  That Star Trek convention was great!  I  think that it is a very hard pick between Disney and Trek convention.  So envious you got to sit in all those panels.  We have a ComicCon that comes to Melbourne.  I'm hoping to collect Star Trek captain signatures.  I've gotten Patrick Stewart and Will Shatner so far.  I keep hoping the others will eventually come to Oz.  Love the CosPlay.  Did your tribbles multiply?


That car museum is phenomenal.  Cleveland is not exactly on my bucket list...but after seeing your pictures, I might put it in.  That Stanley is great!
Pigs ears??  I'll eat them when pigs fly!  Good on you for trying them.  The food looks great there.
What a great museum!  I'd love to visit it one day.
That Auburn Cord Dusenberg Museum is another great post.  We visited the Daimler Benz museum in Stuttgard many years ago.  This one reminds me of it.  

Corn?  Wow!  Did you see any canned creamed corn?


----------



## Leshaface

Seriously, I can't believe the amount of traveling you did this Summer...only 56 hours in between Vegas and Cleveland.  Yikes!!

Those cars are beautiful!  Aw, Stanley! 

Mmm, the 6am Dessert Special looks and sounds delicious!

Your cruise is coming up so fast now!  So looking forward to hearing about that


----------



## franandaj

Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> That's cute! We will both hook up with you guys next time for sure! Enjoy your trip. It does look exciting. Always wanted to visit Seattle.



Next time our trips align, we need to plan better and be sure we meet up for more than just a "hi" and "bye"!



rentayenta said:


> Oh my gosh, I got far behind. We've been chatting so I didn't feel far behind.
> 
> You look absolutely in your element with your instrument.  Love the splash of color.
> 
> Dinner looks delicious all but the pig ears. I am all about fried food but it just sounds ick.
> 
> Think anyone actually drives the stainless steel car? I can't get last the fingerprints. LOL!
> 
> Love the firehouse pic you sent.



You know what's going on in my life today, just not what I did in August!  

Thanks, I never thought about that naturalness coming across in the picture. But I definitely do feel comfortable holding a saxophone. At least my own horn, not someone else's.



rentayenta said:


> How did I miss Seattle for Thanksgiving?? We really need that spreadsheet on like Google docs or something so we can all keep track of each other.


----------



## franandaj

eandesmom said:


> Ok I still need to catch up on our post trip updates.
> 
> I am glad you enjoyed sorcerers so much!  I agree with your review of the mine train.



They will be there, but I may have a new TR coming up.  



eandesmom said:


> Mine turns up his nose too!  Glad you didn't get the cold shoulder
> 
> It really seems like you made the most of it and that package was a great fit for you.


 
I'm glad when the kitties are happy to see us, we miss them so much when we are gone.  When we do SWW again, I hope that they have the same package.



eandesmom said:


> you two were gong NON stop before your trip, I can totally understand how you might have been wiped out going into it.
> 
> I am glad it worked out well overall for you
> 
> They are never the same are they? that's why we keep going back!



It seems like we have been going non stop all year, with the exception of the last two months.  It's been nice to be home and enjoy guests at the house.

I'm starting to get back into WDW planning mode again!



afwdwfan said:


> Wow, you really did pack a lot of fun stuff in this summer.  I'd be exhausted!
> 
> The Star Trek convention looks like a lot of fun.  But I guess Vegas is a lot of fun with or without some other reason to be there.



We did pack a lot in, and now that we have rested for the past two months, I'm ready for some more excitement!  And Vegas just for the sake of Vegas too!  But that's next year.



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Things have been crazy and I haven't been able to get to the DISboards for a while, but I can finally say I'm caught up here!  Way too much to comment on, so I'll just say this: your travels are really cool.  Between the Star Trek conventions, bands, and car shows, you and Fran really get to have a lot of fun.  I'm kinda jealous, actually.
> 
> Anyway, keep on traveling and I'm looking forward to the next TR!



I'm glad you were able to get some family time in there, I've been behind too what with getting our house all ready for all the guests.  I've barely been around, neglecting a lot of folks TRs.  I finally got back around to comment on yours!



Pinkocto said:


> Wow, what fun!!! The car museums were too cool. I really need to do more things like this.
> 
> They had you practicing some long hours at GG9! I'm going to listen when I have some time to enjoy, thank you for that link.
> 
> You had some delicious looking/sounding meals that's for sure! That french toast dessert looked marvelous. Bacon icecream? Was it good?
> 
> Cute about the corn fields. Akin to the bird of paradise plant for you. They're everywhere here.



I'm sure you have some great museums for cars around you. Yes, there is a lot of practice time involved, but it is such a short time to prepare. We also work on the music before everyone gets to town as well.

Yes the bacon ice cream was good, the bacon flavor wasn't very strong.  We have lots of crops that grow in California, corn is just not one of them.  It seems like that's all that grows out there!



scottny said:


> The breakfast at WPE looked good.
> 
> Nice pics on Mine Ride.
> 
> Nice pics of BOG. I liked the food there but wasn't crazy about it. "They show you the door". LOL. They do that for sure.
> 
> Beautiful pics of the parade and fireworks.
> 
> Great report and pics. Thanks for sharing.
> 
> Love the Disney canisters.
> 
> I have HDR on my phone. Not sure if it helps or not.
> 
> Nice sorcerer Fran got.
> 
> Love the photos at the Star Trek convention.
> 
> Love John Delancie. Used to watch him on Days of Our Lives.  Too bad he canceled.
> 
> That is funny the thing she bought kept going off.
> 
> Sounds like a good trip to Vegas.
> 
> WOW! That carousel.
> 
> Love the shirt and keychain of the disc for the middle of a 45.
> 
> Pretty cars.
> 
> I have caught up again.
> 
> Hope you fun with PIO in Disneyland.



I'm glad you're all caught up Scott.  Now I need to finish your WDW TR!  At least I'm caught up on your most recent one.


----------



## franandaj

PrincessInOz said:


> Catching up!
> 
> 
> WOW!  That Star Trek convention was great!  I  think that it is a very hard pick between Disney and Trek convention.  So envious you got to sit in all those panels.  We have a ComicCon that comes to Melbourne.  I'm hoping to collect Star Trek captain signatures.  I've gotten Patrick Stewart and Will Shatner so far.  I keep hoping the others will eventually come to Oz.  Love the CosPlay.  Did your tribbles multiply?
> 
> 
> That car museum is phenomenal.  Cleveland is not exactly on my bucket list...but after seeing your pictures, I might put it in.  That Stanley is great!
> Pigs ears??  I'll eat them when pigs fly!  Good on you for trying them.  The food looks great there.
> What a great museum!  I'd love to visit it one day.
> That Auburn Cord Dusenberg Museum is another great post.  We visited the Daimler Benz museum in Stuttgard many years ago.  This one reminds me of it.
> 
> Corn?  Wow!  Did you see any canned creamed corn?



It sounds like you are well on your way with the whole Star Trek Con. No our tribbles didn't multiply, I just think Fran kept buying more!

I was impressed with Cleveland.  I didn't think it was going to be much, but we actually had quite a nice time. The Rock N Roll Hall of Fame was a pretty cool museum. We would have never gone there if we hadn't been in town.



Leshaface said:


> Seriously, I can't believe the amount of traveling you did this Summer...only 56 hours in between Vegas and Cleveland.  Yikes!!
> 
> Those cars are beautiful!  Aw, Stanley!
> 
> Mmm, the 6am Dessert Special looks and sounds delicious!
> 
> Your cruise is coming up so fast now!  So looking forward to hearing about that



I can't believe how much we were gone over the summer.  This reminds me though when we first got together we did A LOT of traveling. I think we made a rule the first year. No more than one trip per month. We need to get back to that because we are starting to go overboard again now that she feels better.

That 6AM dessert was awesome.  I loved it.

I am totally getting psyched for the cruise, it's really getting close and now starting to seem real!


----------



## franandaj

Ive got another short life update. The moving thing is not going well. We havent done much at all on that front.  Vacation-wise, we just passed our 180 day mark for the April trip and I got all the ADRs that I wanted.  That will be another report. I still have the Wonder Cruise coming up in a little over a week. We havent started packing, but I hope to get the suitcases out soon. I have my FE gifts under control and just need to get it together.

The Ralphs grocery nearest to us is going out of business soon and we have been stocking up on clearance liquor, deodorant, shampoo, and other random items.  Those of you coming to the housewarming and or birthday bash will find plenty of celebratory items. And anyone coming to visit for the next 5-10 years. We now have. plenty. Of. Booze.


Back to my day at the park with PIO, family, and Bret and DAF. I was a little bit late to arrive to the park on the day that I was meeting Princess in Oz, her family, Bret and his DA. They had started at the time the park opened, while I arrived closer to 11:30AM. Through the modern miracle of cell phones, we were able to text with each other to find out each others location, before meeting up.









They were riding POTC and we agreed to meet up at HMH, so I waited outside the ride and worked on taking pictures.









Once we all met up, we went on the ride. PIO got some evidence of our meet up on this ride, but I didnt get any until the end of the day.  I did get these shots of ride.





























Sorry about the blur in these next two pictures.





















Not sure about the rest of the crew, but I hadnt eaten all day. Luckily everyone else was hungry and we headed here.









They were making salads to order.





This was a Halloween special sandwich which looked better to me than the regular shrimp Po-boy.





And they had this special dessert as well.



 


*[Continued in Next Post]*


----------



## franandaj

*[Continued from Previous Post]*




I ended up splitting this meal with DAF. It was plenty of food for the two of us light eaters. Everything was just great even the vegetables were yummy!





PIOs DH had this salad for lunch.





Her DS had the Corn Chowder





PIO had the Jambalaya





As well as a Mint Julep





Bret had the French Dip





Everyone pretty much cleaned their plates, so I assume that it was good!

Then we headed over to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.





Here we are on the ride.





















Ka-bloowie!













And back to the station.





Since the gang had been at DL since park opening, we decided to head over to DCA and hit a few rides over there.









We headed directly for this place.





Luckily we had a very short wait time, and not what was listed on the Stand By Queue.



 

*[Continued in Next Post]*


----------



## franandaj

*[Continued from Previous Post]*

We had a little bit of a wait, but not too bad.





Pretty soon we were on the ride.

































We got Luigis side, and here we are sporting our new whitewall tires.





















Our redneck photo





I cant resist taking a photo of Grizzly Peak





After this we headed over to TSMM, PIO and I rode in the same car. She kicked my butt because not only was she shooting at the targets on the ride, she was also shooting in another manner!





I felt a little queasy after that. We headed over to Grizzly River Rapids, but I declined to ride on that one. I dont like getting wet. We rode Soarin after that and we all decided that we were done for the day with rides. So we headed over to a nice quiet spot.





While we enjoyed our beverages we finally got objective evidence of our DISmeet!





The next day we had a little bit more casual meet.  After their long day at the park the PIO family came to stay at Casa Nueva. Bret and his DAF were on their way back to Sacramento and stopped by for a tour and some lunch. PIO took over in the kitchen and whipped us up some tasty and authentic food.









This is  char kaoy teow





This is tom yum noodles





Our lunch table





My lunch





We were all stuffed and it was an excellent lunch! We spent the rest of the day lounging around the house before going out to dinner.



*[Continued in Next Post]*


----------



## franandaj

*[Continued from Previous Post]*

The next day we visited the Queen Mary which is one of the tourist attractions in Long Beach.









I was slightly amazed at how much larger the promenade was on this ship as compared to the Disney ships.





We booked the Historical Tour and our guide had been captain of the ship almost from the time that it was docked in Long Beach.





After a great lesson in ship history, we were taken inside the Queens Salon. It was beautiful with all the woodwork. You wont see this kind of wood on any modern ship.













Then we were taken to the bow of the ship where the Outlook Bar was located.













This ticket window was in the First Class passenger area and could actually book excursions on land when passengers arrived in New York or London.





Our tour guide turned down the sign reading, Please do not touch the piano and then asked if anyone would like to try.  PIO being the loving mother she is, volunteered her son to demonstrate his mastery of the keyboard.  He gave a stunning performance.





After our tour, I couldnt resist taking this picture of the Long Beach skyline.  There was much more to our day, but youll have to read about that on PIOs TR!





We had a few more good times, including some pool time, tequila sipping and a whole lot of food porn, but since I wasnt on vacation, I left it up to PIO to capture that. Consider this a preview into our trip and if you want the whole story, youll need to read her TR!


----------



## franandaj

And here we are the link to the new TR!


A Haunting, plundering and a Fiesta Caliente!


----------



## Paula Sedley-Burke

What a wonderful update. The HM looks amazing great photos! You got to do so many rides. The beauty of both those parks being side by side like that. Your lunch looks yummy. I like the look of that halloween sub  

How wonderful seeing The Queen Mary. We must see that next time we are across. Great to see PIO and all your pals. How nice you had a cook off! 

Wish we were coming to your house warming! Be there in spirit


----------



## Pinkocto

What a fun couple of days!!! As much as I don't like NBC the overlay looks great.  I started thinking, 'I want to see DL during Halloween' and then suddenly remembered I will next year! Yeah! 

I've wanted to see The Queen Mary for ages, it is such a beautiful ship.  Too cool that your guide was the captain.


----------



## mvf-m11c

Nice to see you start your report from last week trip. That was a great day at the parks and we had a lot of fun to do all the different activities and rides. Your photos with the Sigma lens are very nice. 

It was nice to eat at the French Market that day and it has been years since I have ate at that place. 

All of our DISMeet pictures turned out really well and I should have got a picture when we were at the HMH that afternoon. I know PiO took a picture of us when we were in the queue and we'll have to wait until she writes up her trip report.

We had a great lunch that afternoon at your place where PiO made great noddle dishes. 

That is great that you went to the Queen Mary the next day and did the tour.


----------



## Leshaface

What a fun day you had at DL with everyone!  And you went to back to French Market again   so glad you told us to eat there when we hung out in July.

Mmm, I would love a homemade lunch from PIO.  Looks delicious!

Aw, I haven't been to the Queen Mary since my Dad was alive, I think in 2005 or 2006.  Still such a beautiful ship.

Pam!  What do I have to do to make you like NBC!?!


----------



## Captain_Oblivious

franandaj said:


> Ive got another short life update. The moving thing is not going well. We havent done much at all on that front.



Well, it'll happen eventually.  Right?



franandaj said:


> Ka-bloowie!



I still miss this, however many months later.



franandaj said:


> We got Luigis side, and here we are sporting our new whitewall tires.



I got Ramone every time!  Nice to see what this side looks like.



franandaj said:


> The next day we visited the Queen Mary which is one of the tourist attractions in Long Beach.



This looks really cool!  And very reminiscent of the Disney ships.


----------



## dolphingirl47

It is so nice to see photos from Disneyland and especially from Haunted Mansion. The lunch at your house looked great and the photos from the Queen Mary brought back some very fond memories.

Corinna


----------



## franandaj

Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> What a wonderful update. The HM looks amazing great photos! You got to do so many rides. The beauty of both those parks being side by side like that. Your lunch looks yummy. I like the look of that halloween sub
> How wonderful seeing The Queen Mary. We must see that next time we are across. Great to see PIO and all your pals. How nice you had a cook off!
> 
> Wish we were coming to your house warming! Be there in spirit



If you two come out to DL we will definitely get you on all the rides as well.  You are also welcome to stay at the KVC and we could go to the Queen Mary, it is quite a place to visit.



Pinkocto said:


> What a fun couple of days!!! As much as I don't like NBC the overlay looks great.  I started thinking, 'I want to see DL during Halloween' and then suddenly remembered I will next year! Yeah!
> 
> I've wanted to see The Queen Mary for ages, it is such a beautiful ship.  Too cool that your guide was the captain.



Yes you will be here when the overlay is in effect next year.

I hope that you will come stay at the KVC following your VGC stay and the Cruise, or prior.  It doesn't matter when, but you are welcome at any time. 



mvf-m11c said:


> Nice to see you start your report from last week trip. That was a great day at the parks and we had a lot of fun to do all the different activities and rides. Your photos with the Sigma lens are very nice.
> 
> It was nice to eat at the French Market that day and it has been years since I have ate at that place.
> 
> All of our DISMeet pictures turned out really well and I should have got a picture when we were at the HMH that afternoon. I know PiO took a picture of us when we were in the queue and we'll have to wait until she writes up her trip report.
> 
> We had a great lunch that afternoon at your place where PiO made great noddle dishes.
> 
> That is great that you went to the Queen Mary the next day and did the tour.



That's pretty much the TR from our meet. I enjoyed the French Marketplace, and PIO did take a lot more pictures so her report will be the one to check out! I'm glad you enjoyed the lunch, PIO did a great job and it was very tasty.  We had fun at the Queen Mary.



Leshaface said:


> What a fun day you had at DL with everyone!  And you went to back to French Market again   so glad you told us to eat there when we hung out in July.
> 
> Mmm, I would love a homemade lunch from PIO.  Looks delicious!
> 
> Aw, I haven't been to the Queen Mary since my Dad was alive, I think in 2005 or 2006.  Still such a beautiful ship.
> 
> Pam!  What do I have to do to make you like NBC!?!



We had a fun day at DL and It was so good! Both the lunch at French Market at the lunch that PIO made!



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Well, it'll happen eventually.  Right?



Geez!  I hope so, we have to eventually rent out these units and make some money!



Captain_Oblivious said:


> I still miss this, however many months later.



It's a cool ride, I'm glad I can see it really often!



Captain_Oblivious said:


> I got Ramone every time!  Nice to see what this side looks like..



Luckily, I've gotten to see both, Ramone's is more interesting.



Captain_Oblivious said:


> This looks really cool!  And very reminiscent of the Disney ships.



Of which I can't wait to be on in another week or so!



dolphingirl47 said:


> It is so nice to see photos from Disneyland and especially from Haunted Mansion. The lunch at your house looked great and the photos from the Queen Mary brought back some very fond memories.
> 
> Corinna



Pretty soon you will be seeing Disneyland!  We really enjoyed the lunch with PIO, I hope that she gives us the recipe soon, I'm looking forward to making that.


----------



## Paula Sedley-Burke

Thank you. I hope we make it out your way one day!


----------



## Pinkocto

Leshaface said:


> Pam!  What do I have to do to make you like NBC!?!



Not gonna happen. It FREAKS ME OUT!


----------



## Pinkocto

franandaj said:


> Yes you will be here when the overlay is in effect next year.
> 
> I hope that you will come stay at the KVC following your VGC stay and the Cruise, or prior.  It doesn't matter when, but you are welcome at any time.



Thank you so much   Once it gets closer and flights get booked I'll have a clearer vision of the time frame.  Just in case I'm still at this job I put in a vacation request already for 10/14-10/25.  I think Jenny and crew will be getting to DL 10/15, so maybe that first night or post cruise.  With all that time we'll definitely be able to coordinate something.


----------



## afwdwfan

I'm sorry.  There were like 4 updates there, but I'm still stuck on one of the first lines you wrote... clearance liquor.  

Looks like a good time in Disneyland.  The Queen Mary looks kind of cool.  We won't have a lot of time, but we might look into checking it out if it can work out for us.


----------



## PrincessInOz

I'm late!  I'm late!

Dang internet!  Sorry for being off the air and I'm really not sure how stable my connection is going to be today.  We came home to internet issues and I'm definitely all twitchy with withdrawal symptoms.  

Anyway.....love the updates!

I know I took pictures outside HM but somehow, I don't have them in my collection and can only assume that they were so dark that I deleted them.  I haven't checked DH's camera yet.  Perhaps there are more pictures there.  At least, I can only hope.

Your pictures are great.  I've really enjoyed looking at them and reliving the trip.  I've made the Char Kaoy Teow this weekend; so I should get round to posting the recipe when our internet connection is fixed.

That guide on the Queen Mary was very entertaining.  Glad you got a picture of DS on the piano.


----------



## PrincessInOz

So.....Ralph's are really discounting stuff now?  Hope you stock up on the essentials.


----------



## rentayenta

Holy caught up. 


Discount booze? I need to get back to CA! 


Love love love the RSR pic. So cute!


Lunch at Casa Nueva looks amazing. What a fun afternoon with good friends.


----------



## franandaj

rentayenta said:


> Holy caught up.
> 
> 
> Discount booze? I need to get back to CA!
> 
> 
> Love love love the RSR pic. So cute!
> 
> 
> Lunch at Casa Nueva looks amazing. What a fun afternoon with good friends.



It was great!



PrincessInOz said:


> I'm late!  I'm late!
> 
> Dang internet!  Sorry for being off the air and I'm really not sure how stable my connection is going to be today.  We came home to internet issues and I'm definitely all twitchy with withdrawal symptoms.
> 
> Anyway.....love the updates!
> 
> I know I took pictures outside HM but somehow, I don't have them in my collection and can only assume that they were so dark that I deleted them.  I haven't checked DH's camera yet.  Perhaps there are more pictures there.  At least, I can only hope.
> 
> Your pictures are great.  I've really enjoyed looking at them and reliving the trip.  I've made the Char Kaoy Teow this weekend; so I should get round to posting the recipe when our internet connection is fixed.
> 
> That guide on the Queen Mary was very entertaining.  Glad you got a picture of DS on the piano.



I think the picture of us in on your DH's Camera.  I'm glad you enjoyed the pictures I posted.



afwdwfan said:


> I'm sorry.  There were like 4 updates there, but I'm still stuck on one of the first lines you wrote... clearance liquor.
> 
> Looks like a good time in Disneyland.  The Queen Mary looks kind of cool.  We won't have a lot of time, but we might look into checking it out if it can work out for us.





PrincessInOz said:


> So.....Ralph's are really discounting stuff now?  Hope you stock up on the essentials.



OK since you two are focused on our trip to Ralph's here it is.

These are the premixed beverages that we got.





This is the Vodka and Rum that we picked up.





And the tequila and cordials.





I'm not exactly sure how long this all will last us, but I'm guess quite a while, years...we are not heavy drinkers. I drink wine, but not liquor, at least much.  Yikes!



Pinkocto said:


> Thank you so much   Once it gets closer and flights get booked I'll have a clearer vision of the time frame.  Just in case I'm still at this job I put in a vacation request already for 10/14-10/25.  I think Jenny and crew will be getting to DL 10/15, so maybe that first night or post cruise.  With all that time we'll definitely be able to coordinate something.



We'll work it out!


----------



## PrincessInOz

I checked DH's camera.  There's one there of the 3 of us outside the HM.  

Holy ethanol, Batgirl!  That's a lot of grog.  Enjoy!


----------



## franandaj

PrincessInOz said:


> I checked DH's camera.  There's one there of the 3 of us outside the HM.
> 
> Holy ethanol, Batgirl!  That's a lot of grog.  Enjoy!



I know! There is tequila to last a lifetime!  I don't even drink the premixed stuff, way too much sugar for me!  I'll let you all know if we ever have to go to the liquor store again.  It kills me that I have to buy wine when we get to Florida, but even if I stuffed a box of wine into my suitcase, I would still need go to the store for soda, so why not just buy both and not worry about the extra weight in the suitcase!


----------



## scrpbookr

Good Morning! I just read through this latest WDW adventure and it was a really fun way to spend Sunday morning with my coffee.  Thanks for sharing  I'm excited to read about your upcoming cruise, too.  Keep the adventure coming!


----------



## scottny

Great pics and updates. It looks like a fun few days.


----------



## cj9200

franandaj said:


> These are the premixed beverages that we got.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This is the Vodka and Rum that we picked up.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> And the tequila and cordials.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I'm not exactly sure how long this all will last us, but I'm guess quite a while, years...we are not heavy drinkers. I drink wine, but not liquor, at least much.  Yikes!



That is your story and I guess you are sticking to it.  I'm going on Travelocity right now to check flights to California.


----------



## Kwaschitz

Just joining in now - late to the party as usual   But I always love your trip reports and am BEYOND excited to see CSR.  It was (pre-DVC) our favorite resort but we haven't had a chance to stay there since I think 2010 - it's actually making me REALLY miss it seeing the pictures of the lobby and pepper market.  Hmm....  May trip is VGF again, but maybe we'll have to figure out a way to include a night or two back at CSR.

Now, to get past the first pics of CSR and read the rest of the report


----------



## franandaj

scrpbookr said:


> Good Morning! I just read through this latest WDW adventure and it was a really fun way to spend Sunday morning with my coffee.  Thanks for sharing  I'm excited to read about your upcoming cruise, too.  Keep the adventure coming!



Sorry to be so late in responding!  I'm glad that you enjoyed the report!



scottny said:


> Great pics and updates. It looks like a fun few days.



Thanks!



cj9200 said:


> That is your story and I guess you are sticking to it.  I'm going on Travelocity right now to check flights to California.



I'd be happy to share a drink or two!



Kwaschitz said:


> Just joining in now - late to the party as usual   But I always love your trip reports and am BEYOND excited to see CSR.  It was (pre-DVC) our favorite resort but we haven't had a chance to stay there since I think 2010 - it's actually making me REALLY miss it seeing the pictures of the lobby and pepper market.  Hmm....  May trip is VGF again, but maybe we'll have to figure out a way to include a night or two back at CSR.
> 
> Now, to get past the first pics of CSR and read the rest of the report



I'm glad you are enjoying reading about our trip!  Thanks for joining in, better late than never!


----------



## cj9200

franandaj said:


> I'd be happy to share a drink or two!



Only two?  I better bring a bottle.  

When we do meet up, drinks for you and Fran are on me.


----------



## franandaj

cj9200 said:


> Only two?  I better bring a bottle.
> 
> When we do meet up, drinks for you and Fran are on me.



Our next trip is in just under three months from now.  We arrive at WDW on April 13 and head to the Dream on the 20th.  In about a month or so, I'll be starting the countdown and Trip Report.

When are you next planning to head up to Orlando?


----------



## Paula Sedley-Burke

franandaj said:


> Our next trip is in just under three months from now.  We arrive at WDW on April 13 and head to the Dream on the 20th.  In about a month or so, I'll be starting the countdown and Trip Report.  When are you next planning to head up to Orlando?


  i will look forward to your next TR. Please let us know the link when you start


----------



## franandaj

Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> i will look forward to your next TR. Please let us know the link when you start



I'll post it over on the current TR when I get around to it!


----------



## DLFan123

Just found this and need to get caught up. That certainly is a lot of liquor!  

I enjoyed reading about your dream home...somehow I was late to the party.

I hear your advice often: always take pictures of your food. I am trying to get caught up on posting some of those pictures lately!

We may be in WDW very near your timeframe...where will you be staying? I think we will just miss you as you set sail...


----------



## franandaj

DLFan123 said:


> Just found this and need to get caught up. That certainly is a lot of liquor!
> 
> I enjoyed reading about your dream home...somehow I was late to the party.
> 
> I hear your advice often: always take pictures of your food. I am trying to get caught up on posting some of those pictures lately!
> 
> We may be in WDW very near your timeframe...where will you be staying? I think we will just miss you as you set sail...



We will be staying at the Villas at the Wilderness Lodge.  We leave on the 20th of April for our Dream Cruise.

I have so many pictures of my food that I've never posted.  You can always make the decision of whether or not to post once you have the pictures, but if you don't take them you don't get to make the choice!


----------



## DnA2010

Wow! What a great report! Thank you so much for getting me through the day after ankle surgery! Your report has been a fantastic pain distraction and I can't wait to read more in the comin days (totally immobile and stuck in bed) 
Love all your great pictures,especially food and fireworks. Thanks again


----------



## sarahk0204

Hi there! Sorry it's been so long since I've been by. I will have to check out the next report. 



franandaj said:


> Now this ride is fun, its not RnRC, Space Mtn or CA Screamin fun, but its a cute little ride. There are not a lot of jarring turns, and the fact that the cars sway too and fro makes it a little smoother than some of the other coasters. I would recommend it, but not 60 or 90 minutes worth of wait time recommend it!



When we finally get to DL, I will have to pick your brain RE: jarring or not jarring rides. DH likes roller coasters, but with his back problems he needs to be careful.



franandaj said:


> Now I have never been a fan of this parade, the quirky little musical theme. It really grates on my nerves, being a musician, I never liked synthesizers or the sound of their music, but for the sake of the pictures, I put up with it.



See, now I have a musical background, but this is all about the nostalgia for me. I remember seeing this parade as a child in WDW, so the first strains of the CD make me choke up.



franandaj said:


> but we are equal opportunity Space People







franandaj said:


> Then we headed back to the theater to hear the Nevada Pops Symphony perform music from Star Trek.



There is what your musical heart needed!



franandaj said:


> We split both the pig ears and this lobster salad. It was good, but wasn't overly special.



Yes, the Midwest is not known for it's seafood. 



franandaj said:


> They have corn coming out their wazoo in that part of the country



 Now this is what we are known for!



franandaj said:


> I was surprised at how rural Ohio and Indiana were.



And Illinois. And Iowa. And Wisconsin...



franandaj said:


> So I was starting to learn that Mom & Pop places that served adult beverages were bars that had food.



And often really good food. 



franandaj said:


> Whole. Way. Cornfields.



Yup.



franandaj said:


> It was also disconcerting because you could go miles without finding a potty stop!



Since we usually drive to WDW from IL, I can tell you that most of Florida is like this as well.


----------



## franandaj

DnA2010 said:


> Wow! What a great report! Thank you so much for getting me through the day after ankle surgery! Your report has been a fantastic pain distraction and I can't wait to read more in the comin days (totally immobile and stuck in bed)
> Love all your great pictures,especially food and fireworks. Thanks again



I'm glad that you were able to keep yourself amused with my ramblings!



sarahk0204 said:


> Hi there! Sorry it's been so long since I've been by. I will have to check out the next report.



That's OK, the reports aren't going anywhere.



sarahk0204 said:


> When we finally get to DL, I will have to pick your brain RE: jarring or not jarring rides. DH likes roller coasters, but with his back problems he needs to be careful.



I'll be happy to give you whatever knowledge I can.  I'll even come out an meet you and go on rides for a day!



sarahk0204 said:


> See, now I have a musical background, but this is all about the nostalgia for me. I remember seeing this parade as a child in WDW, so the first strains of the CD make me choke up.



The first time I heard the song for the parade was in college when I moved to Southern California.  I was a music major and my first few years of school, I was really a musical snob and I discounted lots "music" as not at all music.  I still don't consider rap as a form of music.



sarahk0204 said:


> There is what your musical heart needed!



It was a really good concert.



sarahk0204 said:


> Yes, the Midwest is not known for it's seafood.



But the pork products were outstanding.



sarahk0204 said:


> Now this is what we are known for!



I could tell!



sarahk0204 said:


> And Illinois. And Iowa. And Wisconsin...



I have not yet visited those state.



sarahk0204 said:


> And often really good food.



Unfortunately we didn't come across any that had really good food.  Most of the places we ate were adequate at best.



sarahk0204 said:


> Since we usually drive to WDW from IL, I can tell you that most of Florida is like this as well.



The only part of California that is like that is parts of the Central Valley, and the roads to Nevada and Arizona.


----------

