A Heaping Helping of Disney with a Side Dish of Drama - June 2013 TR

[BridgetR3]

Next up was one resort that I was really wanting to see. It had opened RIGHT before our last trip and I was eager to see it then but we went with family who did not feel it was worth it to just visit a resort. They don't quite tour Disney like we do so I obliged and we ate, slept, drank in the parks. This would be my first time to visit Art of Animation!!!





These pictures are HUGE!!!



My favorite "Princess"



I realized at about this point in our walking to the entrance that this was a mistake.....a big mistake. The boys will NEVER have eyes for any other resort besides this one. Every time we talk about going to Disney, they ask to stay here. If we say no or we'll think about it, we get a . We will stay here one day as well but not on the next trip because it was all planned by this date and being DVC, this place doesn't count.



The lobby is HUGE, very colorful, and fun!



Loved all the paint jars in the shop



Even the lights in the food court are themed to the section that they represent



Too cute!! "The Drop Off" is written with a sea of fish.

So we head over to the Cars section to take pictures.....



But it was hot!!!



A little better...



Oh yeah, look at that pose! I'm going to post the rest of the cars section without comment since I took SOOOOOO many pics!















Once we got to the back, we entered a building and walked through the a/c to the Nemo section.

 

[BridgetR3]

Now for the Nemo section....



Ooh dark clouds again....let's hope it doesn't rain.











Again we decided to walk through the inside on the way to the Lion King section, so here are pics of the inside.





Sadly we never made it to Lion King or Little Mermaid because the growling we heard was actually our stomachs!! We headed into the QS for lunch and chose our food. DS11 and DH were able to get their food and start eating before mine and DS7's was ready. Actually they were more than half way done when I finally sat down. What was the hold up? French fries!!!





Gorgeous burger and it tasted good. We found that the QS really wasn't clean. The tables were sticky. There was trash in quite a few places and it just seemed to need a good washing. What scared me was that this place is ONLY 1 year old and it is already getting nasty. I wish more people appreciated the work put into those things and cleaned up after themselves.

After we ate, we decided that Lion King and Little Mermaid would have to wait for another time. We had somewhere else to visit.

 

[BridgetR3]

Our last resort to visit and my stopping point for today is Animal Kingdom Lodge. We wanted to see where we were staying in November! We were also hoping to convince the boys that they liked the resort since they were now sold on AOA.



Disney is all about the details. I loved this one!



We will be home again in 33 days!!! Can't wait!



Oh that lobby!!! The ceiling and the gorgeous lights. I was so hooked the minute we walked in. I love the design of the Wilderness Lodge and AKL. Tiny bit of info - they were designed by the same person and to me you can really see the similarities. They are both top notch in my opinion and I LOVED AKL.





Sadly, it was so hot that there were no animals out on the savanna. Hopefully in Nov. when it's cooler we will have better luck!



Wait!! We did find a bird.

We could see the other animals but they were SOOOOOOO far away that it was really hard.





It's almost the end of our vacation. Can you tell??

Overall, we loved AKL and the feel of it. The boys of course rathered AOA but they are kids so of course they would like that one. I hope they are still excited when we drive up to AKL!

 

[overthemoon4mickey]

Just Found your trip report. We are heading to Disney in June 2014....the day after school gets out. Our first time without a stroller and our first time driving. We too will be heading out on I-10. However, we are coming from an hour north of Houston.

Can't wait to see how it worked out for you. I've only read your first post and already I had to post a comment... can't wait to read more!

 

[BridgetR3]

Looks like the rain did not put a damper on your fun. Probably kept some people out of the park too.

Yes the crowds were low on that day!! Well they were low until it stopped raining of course!!

Loving your report. We are hoping to get a ressie for BOG on our next trip. Philharmagic is one of my favorites.

I am always amazed how the park can go from nobody to zillions in what seems like minutes.

Waiting to see what happens next....

I have found that the way to get a BOG reservation is to make it on your last night or really close to the end of your trip because on the day you can book your ADR's, you can book them for up to 10 days out if you are staying on property for that time. Not many people can book that far out (190 days) and you get a better shot. I was able to get it for both our summer trip and the one coming up in November, although it is back on the chopping block for the November trip.

Yes MK filled up FAST!!!! Once the rains stopped people just kept pouring in!

Thanks for following along!

 

[BridgetR3]

Just Found your trip report. We are heading to Disney in June 2014....the day after school gets out. Our first time without a stroller and our first time driving. We too will be heading out on I-10. However, we are coming from an hour north of Houston.

Can't wait to see how it worked out for you. I've only read your first post and already I had to post a comment... can't wait to read more!

I know you will have a great time!! The drive isn't too bad. We HATE the Atchafalaya Basin Bridge because there always seems to be an accident on it when we pass but other than that it's a smooth (boring) ride. We often divide it up into two parts though, usually leaving after work one day and stopping along the way and then arriving at Disney the next day.

Thanks for reading along with me!

 

[DisneyJo]

Oh my goodness the wait on the monorail was terrible, I thought your BoG ADR was earlier, thank goodness you'd allowed plenty of time!

I loved looking at your resort tour, it's something we always say we'll do but the swimming pool normally takes precedence in August

 

[BridgetR3]

Oh my goodness the wait on the monorail was terrible, I thought your BoG ADR was earlier, thank goodness you'd allowed plenty of time!

I loved looking at your resort tour, it's something we always say we'll do but the swimming pool normally takes precedence in August

Nope our BOG reservation was around 5:30 if I remember correctly. I left plenty of time in case we had to run from building to building during the Tropical Storm. DS11 is really afraid of weather so I wanted to give us time to deal with it.

We love resort tours and fortunately so do our children or at least they endure it with us!!

 

[dismom9761]

Loved the updates! Glad things worked out and you got to your ADR. We will be there at the same time! You are so lucky to be going back so soon.

 

[BridgetR3]

Loved the updates! Glad things worked out and you got to your ADR. We will be there at the same time! You are so lucky to be going back so soon.

Thanks!! We are very lucky!! DH worked a whole lot of overtime last November and December. I think he worked something like 31 straight 12 hour days so we took some of the excess and bought APs for this year. We will actually get three trips out of them because we will be back at Disney in May with his parents. The only problem is......I think I'm hooked!

I can't wait to be there during the Christmas season. We have never seen it decorated and I'm so excited!!!

 

[dismom9761]

Thanks!! We are very lucky!! DH worked a whole lot of overtime last November and December. I think he worked something like 31 straight 12 hour days so we took some of the excess and bought APs for this year. We will actually get three trips out of them because we will be back at Disney in May with his parents. The only problem is......I think I'm hooked!

I can't wait to be there during the Christmas season. We have never seen it decorated and I'm so excited!!!

I haven't seen it decorated for Christmas either!
I am upgrading mine and my girls tickets to APs too. So excited!!

 

[BridgetR3]

After touring the resorts, we decided to spend this gorgeous and HOT day indoors at Disney Quest!! The boys really wanted to go back and see what they missed so we drove over to DTD. Notice we didn't take the bus this time?? lol....

Soon we were inside and off to fun.



Posing with Ralph - One of my favorite pics from vacation

We had no clue what to do or where to go. Sure they gave us directions that these rides are on the first floor and this is on the top floor and this.......but I was a bit overwhelmed so we pressed the elevator button for floor 3 I think and off we went.

DS11 rode the Astro Blaster.



DS7 was too short to ride and was upset but we went to play other games while we waited on brother.





The boys said that the ride was REALLY rough and that they mostly just spun in circles because they were getting shot constantly. Once the boys were done with their ride, we all decided to see what the rides on the first floor were. We ended up riding Pirates and Aladdin. I really really enjoyed Pirates!! We steered our boat to victory and defeated Davy Jones on the high seas. Definitely something we want to do again this trip. We also all enjoyed Aladdin.

We ended up playing video games for a couple of hours before we decided that we had had enough. I'll be honest and say that the next time we go to DTD we will probably stop by and play Pirates and Aladdin again but I didn't find a whole lot to do at DQ otherwise. Just my opinion.....

Since it was snack time, we decided to grab a quick snack and sit on the grass next to the water to enjoy it.



These are the neatest looking things but I just never seem to get one. Maybe one day next trip we will split one. I think I could do one or two slices but not a whole apple covered in all of that not to mention that they are $9.99 which is pretty expensive for a snack!



These were part of the Monsters University obsession.



Loved the flip flops!

I ended up getting a pecan caramel cluster which is what I always get. I just love those things! We found our quiet spot on the grass and ate our snacks while we watched the Characters in Flight balloon.



Then we headed back to our hotel for an evening of rest......we really were tired and wanted to enjoy the pool some more before we had to leave the next day. Sad that it was our last night at Disney.



These cute babies were swimming in our quiet pool every time we passed it during the week.

I took some time to take some more pictures of the lobby at BCV.

 

[BridgetR3]

After a quick rest, we decided that we wanted to eat a sit down meal again on this evening and again we did not have any ADR's....... WHY OH WHY do we do this to ourselves?? Hint - I made sure that this would NOT happen on our November trip. We have a sitdown meal EVERYDAY except one.

I looked up ADR's and of course they were all gone. We decided to try Big River Grille since it doesn't take ADR's. As we were heading to the Lighthouse we spotted this.....



Hmmm....that's interesting. It was a private party on the beach of the Beach Club. Because of the private party, there were no boats leaving or returning to our dock at this time so we had to walk to Big River Grille. It wasn't far and I enjoyed taking pics along the way.



Another pic of the party from by the Lighthouse (because the sign warning us about the lack of boats using our dock was at the lighthouse...... )





So we turned around and walked to Big River Grille......







We arrived at the restaurant and were seated right away. They offered to seat us outside but we wanted air conditioning so we sat right next to......



Pretty neat!



Sadly neither of us had a drink....even though that's what it's known for. I don't drink beer and DH wasn't interested.



The food was just okay, nothing special and actually pretty flavorless. It is not on the list for our November trip at all.



The boys enjoyed their grilled cheese.



For dessert they had fruit cups but it was weird fruit.....I'm not even sure what kind it was. I want to say the reddish orange fruit was mango?? Maybe?? Who knows? I liked it but DS7 did not.

After dinner, we finished the circle along the Boardwalk back to our hotel.









The boys were scheming and planning what they were going to do at the pool.



We were home and it sure felt like home by this point in the week. I loved our time here.



Hidden Mickey!!!

Sadly I don't have any other pictures from this evening because I left my camera in the room to go swimming.

Earlier in the week, DH had a Banana Cabana at the Poly while we waited on the fireworks. I was able to enjoy one on this evening and it was the BEST drink I had all week at Disney. LOVED IT!!

We met a teacher from one of our DS's schools in the hot tub that night as well. We had no clue that we were each there or even staying in the same resort. It was neat to visit with someone from home.

The fireworks from that party were VERY VERY nice. They went off to the score from Wishes and they must have spent a fortune on it because it was great!

Unfortunately after all of that was done, our last night was over. Our dream vacation was coming to an end.

 

[BridgetR3]

I haven't seen it decorated for Christmas either!
I am upgrading mine and my girls tickets to APs too. So excited!!

SOOOOOO EXCITING!!!!!

 

[teekathepony]

I have to say I'm really not a fan of Disney Quest myself. It's been a while since I was in there but I was pretty disappointed in the offerings.
Glad you found somewhere to eat but too bad it wasn't very good.
Too funny that you met up with someone you knew there! It's a small world indeed, isn't it?

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[BridgetR3]

I have to say I'm really not a fan of Disney Quest myself. It's been a while since I was in there but I was pretty disappointed in the offerings.
Glad you found somewhere to eat but too bad it wasn't very good.
Too funny that you met up with someone you knew there! It's a small world indeed, isn't it?

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

Yep we didn't have a whole lot of food luck on the trip. Hopefully the next one will be better!

It is a small world indeed!!! With my recent job change she is now a coworker of mine!

 

[DisneyJo]

We only really like Pirates and Aladdin at DQ too, oh and the Jungle Cruise although we're hopeless at it. My girls aren't gamers so aren't interested in much that's there. I also agree it's a maze in there - so easy to get lost!!

It sounds like a lovely last evening, well except the food, I'm so pleased you've booked lots of ADRs for next time

 

[BridgetR3]

We only really like Pirates and Aladdin at DQ too, oh and the Jungle Cruise although we're hopeless at it. My girls aren't gamers so aren't interested in much that's there. I also agree it's a maze in there - so easy to get lost!!

It sounds like a lovely last evening, well except the food, I'm so pleased you've booked lots of ADRs for next time

I don't think I could handle Jungle Cruise. I get motion sickness and did really really well on both Pirates and Aladdin but Jungle Cruise looks a bit too rough for me.

It was a great evening. The fireworks were beautiful and we watched them on the sandy beach part by the lighthouse so it was neat to kinda have our own private fireworks!

 

[BridgetR3]

Our last evening was finished. It is always such a sad time for me. I'm never ready to go home!

However, we were exhausted so we slept well in our beds in my dream resort one last time. When we woke up, we packed our bags and finished up our last minute things like......



Yep, picking prizes from our night in the arcade. (It was super crowded the first time so we told the boys we would come back later.)



One last walk through the solarium



Good bye BCV! We WILL be back and hopefully soon!

We loaded into the car and headed over to our last ADR of the trip. We were going to......



for breakfast with Mickey and Friends!!!



Love this topiary.



Too cute! Obviously we were a little early for our ADR so we just hung out taking pictures and shopping.





DS11 found EXACTLY what he wanted while here but it was a large Monopoly game that I didn't feel like carrying around all day so we told him he had to wait until after our park day. Would we forget? NEVER!! No way would he let us! We heard about it all day!



It was a gorgeous sunny HOT day. Hard to believe that yesterday was so rainy!! Today was beautiful......for now at least......



One last pic and we headed for our breakfast!

 

[BridgetR3]

Sometimes people ask why we go to Disney so often....they ask why don't we go somewhere else. Often I just say that we love Disney. What else do you say? They don't get it and that's o.k. but these next pictures hopefully show why we go to Disney.

You see my DS11 is a worrier by nature. He has anxiety issues. He is not one to just let loose and be free but at Disney he has no worries, no problems. He loves life. Seeing the smiles on my children's faces makes every single penny of each trip completely worth it.



Spin those napkins round and round....





Donald is DS7's favorite character.



Minnie was really sweet.





Mickey was great with them.

But then, well, we got downright Goofy!!







Fistbumps and all.....

and of course, Pluto had to join in on the fun!



DS7 thought this was hilarious!



ESPECIALLY when Pluto started licking him!!



Sadly I don't remember what Pluto did right here.



Chef Mickey's was totally worth every penny in my opinion. Was the food amazing? Nope, it was typical breakfast buffet food that you could probably get somewhere else for a LOT cheaper. What you can't get somewhere is the character interaction that creates memories for a lifetime.

We will definitely return one day but not on this upcoming trip. Nope, we won't be visiting Chef Mickey's. We have a different set of characters to party with!

After breakfast we headed up to the monorail and over to MK. Luckily today there was no great delay and we were exiting at the MK very soon. When we got out of our monorail, DH saw this.....



.....and said, "Now that's a nice monorail!! You can tell they worked on that one unlike the Monster's University one." Ummm....so he wasn't impressed with the MU one!



Another pic of DH's monorail



One last time on this trip, we enter these gates.... it's a little after 12 and the crowds don't look bad at all!