Cousin, eat until you sleep! Mom/Dtr. Trip, 2/17-2/24/18.*NEW TR Link* 5/1*

[disneyAndi14]

Yep, this WAS convenient and made me thankful we were walking vs. on the bus.

I don't say that with a ha ha, though. I interviewed down there last month and was fully prepared to sell the house and such and move if I got it. I didn't, but I am starting a new job on the 12th and very happy about that. Looking forward to the work and great benefits.


It was the same way for us. Heard that a lot (and may or may not have said it a couple times)


The lobster roll there looks much different than where I saw it. I'm about ready to post our first day, so you'll see.


The part that bugs me the most about this is most people loved it, but because of a few people complaining, it's gotten rid of.





May I use your picture for my TR? I forgot to take a picture of this.


I don't recall either the shower or the elevators being an issue when we stayed there, but we weren't in a studio either.

We loved the short walk
I would love to live somewhere with a more milder winter.
The lobster roll was very good I was pleasantly surprised
FP lines were long this trip
It will be interesting to see the new “redhead” scene
Sure you can use my picture
The elevator was really a very tiny complaint just a long wait several times.

 

[disneyAndi14]

I cannot imagine how wonderful that must have been!!!


Nope, doesn't sound silly to me one bit! (unfortunately)


Awww, me too!

Excited to hear about your first full day

The walk was so awesome, very nice especially later at night and in the early morning
I would love to be able to walk outside all year long, the small things!
First full day coming soon, Thanks!

 

[disneyAndi14]

I love the feeling of getting off the plane for the first time in Florida and feeling the humidity envelop you…Ahhhh. It's so nice to shed the layers and layers of clothes and be warm!

Awesome view at BLT…very similar to ours in October And you really cannot beat BLT for the convenience of the walk to the MK!

I am dying to try a Pineapple Upside Down Cake now! That looks amazing!

It was so nice because our winter has been really cold and snowy this year.
Loved our view and the room, balcony, and building were wonderful.
The Pineapple upside down cake was very delicious, hit the spot

 

[disneyAndi14]

Wild about the mix-up with the flights and thinking you were military. I guess those kinds of mistakes are easy to make.

Your room looked awesome! Such a great view!

We totally felt the same way about the weather. It was so amazing to walk around in shorts and t-shirts.

And we had the same experience with FP lines. People were so confused and frustrated. I was always happy to wait for 20-30 minutes when the regular line was over an hour, etc., but it was still pretty surprising to be in FP lines so long.

It was very weird about the airline debacle, glad it was figured out
Loved the room and view, another plus to a great trip
The weather rocked!
I was fine with the FP waits, in reality we only waited about 20 minutes the longest so not bad.

 

[disneyAndi14]

Sounds like a great night at MK! Mmm that dole whip looks delicious!

It was a fun, magical, warm, and happy night. The dole whip desserts were very good, I recommend them!

 

[docsoliday1]

We needed a sweet treat after that crazy ride. Dole whip at Aloha Isle was on our brain! I decided to get the Pineapple upside down cake with swirl on top (1/2 dole whip and 1/2 vanilla) yes, swirl is back in MK yay!! Andi got a regular dole whip. The CM forgot I wanted swirl and gave me all pineapple on top, oh well, it was still really good. The cake was moist and very flavorful. Two thumbs up for this snack. Andi loved her dole whip.
View attachment 306116

Mmmm, yummy goodness.
You should have eaten half and then taken it back and told them it was supposed to be swirl. Maybe they'd give you a new one and get to keep that one too.

 

[disneyAndi14]

Love the pics of your view!

We loved our view, I would definitely stay here again. We rented points and it was quite reasonable doing that.

 

[disneyAndi14]

Mmmm, yummy goodness.
You should have eaten half and then taken it back and told them it was supposed to be swirl. Maybe they'd give you a new one and get to keep that one too.

Ahh why didn’t I think of that, the line was long so I probably would have ate it all anyhow! Lol!

 

[disneyAndi14]

Hello Everyone,

My absent minded self forgot to post our food totals on the first day so I will add Day 1 here and try to remember to add at the end of each day, going forward.

Pizza at the airport and 2 bottles of soda=$17.50 (pizza was meh at best). My pizza in Chicago airport last trip was way better.
CHH using mobile ordering so charged to my credit card=$27.80
Aloha Isle=$11.70
Gift store at Contemporary for essentials=$11.66
Total=$68.66

*For new readers, we try to stay at about $100.00 a day for food and snacks, this usually is not a problem at all for us. This includes eating when and where we want. Keep in mind, we are probably considered small eaters and we do often share. This works well for us and so by these numbers you can certainly see why a DDP is not economical at all for us especially with the cost of over $70.00 a person now.

 

[MeghanEmily]

This works well for us and so by these numbers you can certainly see why a DDP is not economical at all for us especially with the cost of over $70.00 a person now.

I'm right with you there!! Nathan loved the convenience of the dining plan, but I can't justify the cost. I'm a small-ish eater, and Nathan's pretty average, and when we're not on the dining plan we never end up spending as much as we would have if we'd bought it. We also don't typically structure our days to include one TS and one QS necessarily, so often our credits just wouldn't line up properly.

 

[docsoliday1]

I'm right with you there!! Nathan loved the convenience of the dining plan, but I can't justify the cost. I'm a small-ish eater, and Nathan's pretty average, and when we're not on the dining plan we never end up spending as much as we would have if we'd bought it. We also don't typically structure our days to include one TS and one QS necessarily, so often our credits just wouldn't line up properly.

Agreed. Same for DD. She doesn't eat enough to make it worth it. For us also, we normally take down days between park days and it's really not cost effective then.

 

[Lesley Wake]

We took a shuttle which is so nice and less stressful for me. I compared the cost and I would only save about $10.00 if I drove and did the park and fly, so this is a no brainer for me.

Oh, absolutely! I would totally make that same choice!

I told him no, not military at all and he gets on the phone and periodically keeps asking me, are you military. Andi and I were just looking at each other wondering what the heck. It took a good 20 minutes but it was straightened out. Apparently the person that assisted me on the phone accidentally put military by my name when she changed our flights. The staff at the desk said this is probably why I didn’t have to pay the change fees. Thank goodness they didn’t charge me now. The lady on the phone told me because of my illness we would not be charged a fee, so who knows but we got it figured out and he fixed it for our flight home as well. Thank goodness!!

Maybe that's how she got around the change fee but she just didn't realize it would cause issues during check-in?

We had a view of Space Mountain and Cinderella’s castle on the left and the lake to the right.

What an awesome view!

We needed a sweet treat after that crazy ride. Dole whip at Aloha Isle was on our brain! I decided to get the Pineapple upside down cake with swirl on top (1/2 dole whip and 1/2 vanilla) yes, swirl is back in MK yay!! Andi got a regular dole whip. The CM forgot I wanted swirl and gave me all pineapple on top, oh well, it was still really good. The cake was moist and very flavorful. Two thumbs up for this snack. Andi loved her dole whip.

I really want to try the upside down cake. Hopefully they'll still have it in December!

Stay tuned for Day 2, Part 1 Are these kids going to clap the whole time!

Oooh, I shudder already imagining what happens!

 

[disneyAndi14]

I'm right with you there!! Nathan loved the convenience of the dining plan, but I can't justify the cost. I'm a small-ish eater, and Nathan's pretty average, and when we're not on the dining plan we never end up spending as much as we would have if we'd bought it. We also don't typically structure our days to include one TS and one QS necessarily, so often our credits just wouldn't line up properly.

We have always come out way ahead of the DP. We did it our first couple trips and it was very convenient but when I started to actually look at the costs and our eating habits it was an eye opener. I agree with you about kids meals as well, we have had great kids meals with drink and snack included! We did really well this trip with our food and souvenir budget. I have a fair amount of money left in my GC for April, yay!

 

[disneyAndi14]

Agreed. Same for DD. She doesn't eat enough to make it worth it. For us also, we normally take down days between park days and it's really not cost effective then.

i think people get hung up on the convenience and don’t realize that often it is not a money saver at all.

 

[disneyAndi14]

Oh, absolutely! I would totally make that same choice!

Maybe that's how she got around the change fee but she just didn't realize it would cause issues during check-in?

What an awesome view!


I really want to try the upside down cake. Hopefully they'll still have it in December!


Oooh, I shudder already imagining what happens!

Welcome Back!
The shuttle is definitely a nice worry free ride for me and the cost is pretty good.
You might be right about the agent on the phone, I am just glad I didn’t have to pay the change fee for both our tickets.
We loved BLT and the upside down cake with the dole whip was yummy.
Annoying kids!

 

[docsoliday1]

i think people get hung up on the convenience and don’t realize that often it is not a money saver at all.

We did it the first year we went as a family and not since. Granted, my kids were 7, 9 and 10 at the time and they simply did not eat enough to even come close to making it cost effective. We had soo many snack credits (and a few QS) left, we brought home more food than we ate there I think. I think I mentioned to pkondz, I don't drink much soda at all and I prefer Pepsi over coke products, so the refillable mug isn't at all convenient or worthwhile to me.

 

[ariane37]

We unfortunately had to change our plans some because of illness

Ugh, I didn't know this, how crappy! But at least you didn't have to cancel your whole trip and I'm glad your TA got your Pop $ refunded. Usually Disney is really good about that when we ask nicely

I watched Bad Mom’s Christmas, it was okay, not as funny as the first one.

I agree. It was good, but I definitely liked the first one way better.

It was time to walk over to the MK, I cannot tell you all enough HOW MUCH WE LOVED THIS PERK!

We're staying at BLT in August and I think this is what I'm looking forward to the most! Yeah it'll be hot but who cares, we can WALK to MK! We did do this the first time we stayed at the Poly but it was absolutely freezing then and the kids weren't with us

We watched for awhile from Frontier Land by the Diamond Horseshoe. This was a nice place to see the fireworks especially if you have already experienced the projections on the castle.

I'll have to remember this, that's one place we've never watched fireworks from. I don't particularly like the projections so I'm fine not watching from in front of the castle.

me will miss the redhead for sure!

Not happy about this AT ALL

 

[disneyAndi14]

Ugh, I didn't know this, how crappy! But at least you didn't have to cancel your whole trip and I'm glad your TA got your Pop $ refunded. Usually Disney is really good about that when we ask nicely


I agree. It was good, but I definitely liked the first one way better.


We're staying at BLT in August and I think this is what I'm looking forward to the most! Yeah it'll be hot but who cares, we can WALK to MK! We did do this the first time we stayed at the Poly but it was absolutely freezing then and the kids weren't with us


I'll have to remember this, that's one place we've never watched fireworks from. I don't particularly like the projections so I'm fine not watching from in front of the castle.


Not happy about this AT ALL

You will love staying at BLT, the walk so easy and the resort was one of my favorites now. Have you all stayed here before? This will be our first August in 4 years we won’t be there. We can’t fit it in with Andi moving away to college. I can’t find the crying emoji but it would fit here perfect.

Check out HEA from Frontier Land it was really nice, less crowded and you can get over to one of the mountains before it ends and have very little wait

It will be interesting so see the changes at PoTC but so far almost all the changed attractions have me yearning for the original!

 

[docsoliday1]

You will love staying at BLT, the walk so easy and the resort was one of my favorites now. Have you all stayed here before? This will be our first August in 4 years we won’t be there. We can’t fit it in with Andi moving away to college. I can’t find the crying emoji but it would fit here perfect.

Check out HEA from Frontier Land it was really nice, less crowded and you can get over to one of the mountains before it ends and have very little wait

It will be interesting so see the changes at PoTC but so far almost all the changed attractions have me yearning for the original!

was probably what you were looking for.

 

[disneyAndi14]

Hello Everyone,

It is time for another update, when I left off we were tucked in for our first night at BLT. We had a good nights sleep. I usually have a hard time sleeping the first night but not this time yay!!

Day 2, Part 1......................................Epcot and Beaches and Cream.......................................
FP+ included TT, SE, and Character Spot....................
Morning title “Are those kids going to clap the whole time”

Here was the morning view from our deck, not sure what the smoke is but so nice to look at and drink my coffee, while Andi gets ready. We were off and on a monorail in no time, Lime monorail this morning. Yes, the two security checks are still in play, ugh! I hope some creative mind at Disney fixes this soon, I mean look at the animatronic in NRJ! Come on people there must be a way to funnel the monorail people directly to the park lines so no one else can slip in there, maybe??



We arrived about 8:15 and they started letting people into the park around 8:30. We were roped off before SE. We were cramped in there and we were next to these two kids that clapped the entire time, almost 30 minutes you all! Annoying, especially because their flying elbows were hitting me often, oh well they were happy! The Jamminators started to entertain us all at about 8:45 so that was nice. Soon the rope dropped and we were herded like cattle to Soarin. It was not to bad and we were on quickly, really no wait, it just was the line walk. LwtL was next with no wait, the sound was not working this morning so it was odd, the narrator was talking but none of the sound effects we usually hear, like the rain and the dog etc.. The ride was still enjoyable as always. It was time for our TT FP+ so we headed over there. The SB was already at 105 minutes and SR was 55 minutes, what?? It was only like 9:45, yikes. We had a very short wait compared to those times so that was a plus.


Unfortunately, we got a different Cars photo like we always do so I won’t post it. The ride is fun but I still like the old version better, we did get a few funny photo booth pictures at the gift shop in the TT area.


We decided to walk around and check out the cool chalk art in FW before SE FP. Some of the artists were working on the art so this was fun to watch. The weather was absolutely beautiful so it was such a nice time to be outside enjoying the park.


We headed to SE to find the FP line wrapped around the left side of SE, wow I have never had to wait in a long FP line before. It did keep moving, however, we waited longer for SE then we did Soarin and TT combined, now this is definitely unusual. My theory this trip was Disney gave out so many FP+ for attractions it did cause longer FP wait times. The waits were still way better than SB so it was okay. We waited about 15-20 for SE. I remember the good old days when SE was so easy to get on in SB, before FP+.

We had an early ADR at Beaches and Cream so we started to walk towards the International Gateway after SE...............

Cont. in the next post.