Sharing the Disney Magic with Family & Friends-DL Diamond Anniversary-DCA F&W Fest Kiosks & The End!

[franandaj]

I am not dealing very well with that either. I so wanted to meet up with you and Fran

I wish that back when we did our DC trip I was better with DISmeets. I would have pushed for us to get together, but back then I was a little gunshy. I know now that we would have had a great time meeting up!

I finally got back to read, life has been crazy busy lately!

Your trip sounds marvelously fun. Did I meet Jim? He didn't come out to eat with us but was he at the concert? I'll look at my photos again if you remember.

I'm pretty sure you did meet Jim. I would have introduced you to him backstage as he is one of my best friends in the band. Back when, everyone was my best friend in the band. It's sad. When I turned 40 I think the whole band came to my birthday party, it was a murder mystery party on a reproduction of a Riverboat. There were 96 people on the boat and our party made up half of the boat. Only one table of 8-10 did not have band people. That's like 30+ folks.

My 50th involves about 20-25 folks, and less than 10 of them come from the band. One third band, one third family, and one third DIS!

Lots of delicious things at F & G this year for whatever reason I didn't realize how soon your trip was.

I'm soooooo looking forward to it!

Naked Jim rocks! That story made me smile. Hope you have great time!

I'm glad you found the story funny. I figured that since he shared it with me, and was willing to share it with others, it paints a great picture of what a free spirited and fun kind of guy he is. Hence why we are going to have so much fun with him on this trip!

BTW - the Disney archives was one of my favorite places I have ever been! I had that particular set of books, along with several other ones in that room. My love for all things Disney started with a little tubby cubby. I had a Winnie the Pooh room with a giant pooh head rug. Then, I got to know Uncle Walt who came to visit once a week. I finally made it WDW in 2008, but I made it DL last year. My eyes were so leaky those few moments sitting in front of the castle before opening looking out as Walt must have every day.

I couldn't believe all the treasures that we saw in the Disney archives. But the books were amazing. I especially remembered those. Every Sunday we came in from playing to watch Uncle Walt and this was in the 70s so he was long gone. I take it for granted all the things I get to experience, but I wouldn't trade it for the world. I love living so close to the original park and I love sharing with other folks when they come to town!

I hope Naked Jim enjoys the World. I love taking people for their first time. It is so much fun to share that. Thanks for sharing! I always enjoy your cruise reports.

Thanks about the cruise reports! I hope to have a couple more this year, but I really hope that Jim enjoys this trip. I know he will. He is one of those guys who always sees the glass half full and makes the best out of everything.

That looks like you have a lot of good options to pick from at the booths. I envy you.

Good luck on getting to 50% on your Golden Spoon!

I'm sure we will have some good eats at the booths. I just hope we can add enough walk up places to get that 50%!

Wow, that's a lot of food options! I'm sure you'll have a great time visiting the booths.

I think I'd probably be hanging out at the BBQ and pineapple stands, myself!

Yeah, those are the ones that I'm looking forward to, the others are kind of like, OK, what is there that I would possibly eat here. If you noticed one of them, the only thing was the Bloody Mary!

Since I have recently read your reports I immediatly thought "I wonder if Alison is going to pack some meat"
The list of food and drink offerings sounds amazing, lots and lots of great things to try,especially that macadamia nut rum dome whip! Yummy!

Definitely packing meat this time! I hope to try a lot of the great food offerings!

All of the pineapple! I love all things pineapple!

I love pineapple too, that and the Barbeque option!

Someone that departed from Long Beach...say it isn't so! I'm so homesick now! Glad I found your report even if I'm a WDW newbie. I grew up with an annual pass to Disneyland and worked at Knotts Berry Farm. Can't wait to keep reading !

Sorry you had to leave Long Beach, I definitely love living here and wouldn't trade it for anywhere else!

 

[Flossbolna]

I wish I had the time to go back and read past reports. I can barely keep up with the current ones! Maybe once we get all moved in/out and have all our apartments rented, I can kick back!

Oh, hopefully you get the house moved soon!! And not just that you can read my old reports... Seems like you had a lot of far too stressful times in the last few years, you deserve some kicking back big time!!

 

[dgbg100106]

I too wish we had meet up in DC and yes we would have had a blast! But we can have that fun in the future too. David and I have to plan DL trip.

 

[disney ny]

I'm here and excited for your next report!

 

[Dis_Yoda]

I'm here!

 

[franandaj]

Oh, hopefully you get the house moved soon!! And not just that you can read my old reports... Seems like you had a lot of far too stressful times in the last few years, you deserve some kicking back big time!!

Thanks, we're not going to get the house finished up anytime soon, but I do hope that this trip proves to be fun and relaxing.

I too wish we had meet up in DC and yes we would have had a blast! But we can have that fun in the future too. David and I have to plan DL trip.

You really do need to plan a trip to DL!

I'm here and excited for your next report!

I love your new Avatar picture.

I'm here!

I'm glad you made it over here!

 

[franandaj]

Well we are now 33 days away from the trip. My owner's locker is scheduled to arrive at the VWL the day we get there. We have booked our transportation to the port. I have placed the grocery order. And I have completed the preliminary stage of my FE gifts. I still have a few more things to do to them, but I got the main part done.

ETA: I forgot to add that I got Mickey Mail in the last couple days. Not only did I get my DME luggage tags, but we got the cruise tags as well! It's getting so real!

Another interesting twist to the trip, do you remember Jim’s granddaughter from the first post? Well it turns out that Jim’s son was planning to take his family and two daughters to WDW this year, and the son switched the dates of their trip to coincide with ours. We tried to see if there was availability to add them to any of our reservations but I don’t think that it will work out. We may just meet up with them on some of our days and join them for some counter service meals and some kiddie rides.

And another quick life update. On my last Trip Report I had hoped that we could have all our stuff moved out of the old house before going on this vacation, but I can see now, that won't happen. We have been bringing stuff back and packing it up, but not enough that it will be done in a month.

One reason we haven't been able to get moved is that the contractor is almost done with our property on 1st Street. All they have to do is install a dishwasher which was done today. As a result, Darcy and I have been over there washing windows, scrubbing floors and drawers, and scraping adhesive off surfaces. It's nice collecting the rents, but I always forget about this part of being a landlord. It's a big PITA.

But back to the trip, Naked Jim leaves a full 12+ hours before us. I am hoping that our bags are packed and we have a relaxing evening at home with our kitties. Who am I kidding? We will probably be gathering the last of Fran's stuff. Sometime after midnight I might get an hour or two of sleep before we leave at 5AM for our 8AM flight.

Luckily we used more miles to get the non-stop flight out of LA, so we touch down in Orlando at 4PM. Jim will have already been there for sometime. I modified the online check in so that he will receive the text when the room is ready. Hopefully it's ready early and he can get a nap in while we're on the way.

The groceries should be there when we arrive and I'll get started on dinner. We'll be having Crescent Dogs, potato chips and Cole slaw for dinner that night. Since I haven't had many pictures I'll add these here.







I think you all know what Potato Chips look like! I’ll probably take a Jacuzzi tub and go to bed after that. After all we need to get going early in the morning.



Our first full day will be Tuesday April 14th. We are starting off slowly since we've been on West Coast time. It will seem like 5:30AM but we have breakfast scheduled at Whispering Canyon Café. I’ve never been there before so that’s our first new place for the Golden Spoon.

After that we rush off to the MK to ride 7DMT







And Pirates








Inbetween the two rides, we may catch Mickey’s Philharmagic and check on the wait for the Haunted Mansion. But I suspect that by this time we will be ready for some lunch and Fran will want to head down Main Street to shop on the way back to the resort for a nap. While Fran naps, perhaps Jim and I will go to the pool.



After some down time, it’s off to here!



For some of this!



(Strawberry Soup, if you didn’t know already) And hang out with these ladies.





Then it’s back to the MK for reserved seating for Wishes.



I’m sure by that point, we will be dead tired, and ready for sleep. And we’re going to have an early morning the next day!

 

[Pinkocto]

Those crescent dogs look mighty tasty! I never thought to cook them with pickles

Fun day planned.

Whispering Canyon was a very delicious lunch, one of the best salmons I've ever had. But I've never been there for breakfast. I imagine it's delicious as well.

Too bad you couldn't link any reservations with Jim's family, but fun that they'll be there too and he can share some excitement with his granddaughter

 

[eandesmom]

I am so here!!!! Thank you so much for the bat signal, I have been a traveling crazy person lately, it's "busy season" as I explained to my Aunt today.

I just love that story and can't wait to meet Jim. What are his plans post red eye before you guys get there?

I ate at Artists point this past trip which was a first and absolutely adored it. I need to go back when it's not the night before a race and I can really enjoy it.

Good call staying on the ship in Nassau

We enjoyed WCC for breakfast, very happy to see Fran will get her strawberry soup!

 

[franandaj]

Those crescent dogs look mighty tasty! I never thought to cook them with pickles

That was Fran's idea, it's really good! Gives them kind of a crunch!

Fun day planned.

Whispering Canyon was a very delicious lunch, one of the best salmons I've ever had. But I've never been there for breakfast. I imagine it's delicious as well.

Too bad you couldn't link any reservations with Jim's family, but fun that they'll be there too and he can share some excitement with his granddaughter

I hope it's a fun day with not too much so we can acclimate to the new time zone. I'm really wondering what I'll eat at Whispering Canyon with this new eating plan. I may or may not stick to it, but will sort of try, so there is a lot I can't eat, we'll have to see how it pans out.

Yeah, I looked up expanding our reservations from three to seven, but every choice messed up our existing FP so it wasn't a go. We have plenty of times that we are going to grab something at a QS so we can hopefully meet up with them during that period and ride a ride or two and then grab lunch. His granddaughters are pretty young, so we might even have to do a rider swap, at which point I think Fran will choose to go shop and I might too. Jim can hang with his family and we will perhaps go back to the room.

I am so here!!!! Thank you so much for the bat signal, I have been a traveling crazy person lately, it's "busy season" as I explained to my Aunt today.

I just love that story and can't wait to meet Jim. What are his plans post red eye before you guys get there?

I knew you were running ragged and decided to send you the bat signal when it had gone quite a while. I know he wants to check out the MK rope drop show since we told him that it's cool and they don't have one at DL. Other than that he is going to wander aimlessly (he's good at that) until getting the room text. If nothing else he will sleep at the pool.

You will all love him when you meet him at the birthday party. Jim is the funniest guy and his partner Alberto is also just a hoot! We are going to be laughing and having a great time all weekend. There are no party poopers (well at least among my friends) I hope that the other relations live up to the spirit of the event!

I ate at Artists point this past trip which was a first and absolutely adored it. I need to go back when it's not the night before a race and I can really enjoy it.

We can't wait to have the mushroom soup and the Berry Cobbler!

Good call staying on the ship in Nassau

Yeah we have massages booked at 3PM, so even if we get off the boat, we will be back well before sailing.

We enjoyed WCC for breakfast, very happy to see Fran will get her strawberry soup!

I'm even planning on making it for the birthday weekend! I just can't decide whether to make a double or triple recipe. I'm thinking triple, but then I always go overboard!

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Seems like you plan on two busy first days!

 

[PrincessInOz]

Sounds like a fantastic busy couple of days.

YAY for nearly getting 1st street finished.

 

[dgbg100106]

Wow that first day after the flight is a busy one. I am sure no one will have to rock you all to sleep.
My golden spoon was so bad I refused to post it, so I am glad to hear that you are adding a new restaurant to it.

I am excited to see your picture from the reserved wishes spot.

 

[rentayenta]

I've never made crescent dogs but I agree with Pam, I like the pickle idea.

That Strawberry Soup looks delicious every time I see.

Why did it just occur to me we get to meet Naked Jim!? Can I call him Naked Jim?

I can't believe your trip is so close. Come to think of it, I can't believe I'll be in Disneyland in 19 days. And then quickly after get you see some of you lovely ladies.

Relaxing night with the kitties the night before your trip. I'm crossing my fingers for you!

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

I forgot to add that I got Mickey Mail in the last couple days. Not only did I get my DME luggage tags, but we got the cruise tags as well! It's getting so real!

I am hoping that our bags are packed and we have a relaxing evening at home with our kitties. Who am I kidding? We will probably be gathering the last of Fran's stuff.

Spoken like the voice of experience.

Hope you enjoy WCC! We like that one a lot, just for the fun of it.

 

[afwdwfan]

ETA: I forgot to add that I got Mickey Mail in the last couple days. Not only did I get my DME luggage tags, but we got the cruise tags as well! It's getting so real!

Mickey mail is always a good thing! A good feeling once the trip starts to feel closer.

Well it turns out that Jim’s son was planning to take his family and two daughters to WDW this year, and the son switched the dates of their trip to coincide with ours. We tried to see if there was availability to add them to any of our reservations but I don’t think that it will work out. We may just meet up with them on some of our days and join them for some counter service meals and some kiddie rides.

That's great that they'll be there. I hope you can work some things out to do together, but you're right... not worth missing out on ADR's or FP+ that you'd already obtained for the 3 of you.

And another quick life update. On my last Trip Report I had hoped that we could have all our stuff moved out of the old house before going on this vacation, but I can see now, that won't happen. We have been bringing stuff back and packing it up, but not enough that it will be done in a month.

Sorry you didn't meet your goal.

We will probably be gathering the last of Fran's stuff. Sometime after midnight I might get an hour or two of sleep before we leave at 5AM for our 8AM flight.

I love the realistic element you're adding to your PTR!

The groceries should be there when we arrive and I'll get started on dinner. We'll be having Crescent Dogs, potato chips and Cole slaw for dinner that night. Since I haven't had many pictures I'll add these here.

Mmm... looks good!

I think you all know what Potato Chips look like!

I don't know... are they wavy? Plain? Sour cream & onion? Cheddar? BBQ?

While Fran naps, perhaps Jim and I will go to the pool.

Love that pool. And that view.

I’m sure by that point, we will be dead tired, and ready for sleep. And we’re going to have an early morning the next day!

Looks like a fun filled first day!

 

[eandesmom]

I knew you were running ragged and decided to send you the bat signal when it had gone quite a while. I know he wants to check out the MK rope drop show since we told him that it's cool and they don't have one at DL. Other than that he is going to wander aimlessly (he's good at that) until getting the room text. If nothing else he will sleep at the pool.

I've been known to sleep at the pool post red eye. Oh wait, I haven't even gotten to that tr yet. Lol!

Yes, running ragged is apt. Though Jeff does not have any sympathy for me as I torture him with pictures of food and drink porn. Bless his heart.

You will all love him when you meet him at the birthday party. Jim is the funniest guy and his partner Alberto is also just a hoot! We are going to be laughing and having a great time all weekend. There are no party poopers (well at least among my friends) I hope that the other relations live up to the spirit of the event!

I can honestly say I have never been called a party pooper

We can't wait to have the mushroom soup and the Berry Cobbler!

OMG

The mushroom soup. I had it and our CM brought the rest of the table a small sample so I wouldn't have to share.

If there was such a thing as mushroom soup crack..that would be it.

Yeah we have massages booked at 3PM, so even if we get off the boat, we will be back well before sailing.

Perfect! Nassau is nasty.

I'm even planning on making it for the birthday weekend! I just can't decide whether to make a double or triple recipe. I'm thinking triple, but then I always go overboard!

Ok remember it is YOUR birthday and you have an army of willing hands. I am fairly decent in the kitchen, put me to work!

 

[Victoriasmom98]

Hello. I hope you don't mind me crashing in on this party! I absolutely love the Naked Jim story and can't wait to see all your adventures!!!

 

[rentayenta]

I am not great in the kitchen but I am a master bartendar.

 

[franandaj]

Breaking News!


This entire trip may be in jeopardy . Today is our 30 day no penalty day for canceling DVC, and I have no idea what the cruise line policy is. Last night Fran fell, she injured her ankle, whether it is broken strained or what we don't know. I just sent her off to the ER with Non-Emergency Medical Transport. She didn't need the paramedics, in fact she fell just around midnight and we were able to get her back into bed for the night. This morning we called our Doctor who suggested calling an ambulance company to transport her and get the ankle checked out.

Because it could be hours before she even sees a Doctor, I stayed behind and will head up to the hospital in the next 30 minutes. I'm not quite sure what to do with myself, so I might as well head up to the hospital and sit there and wait. The suspense is killing me. Wish us luck!