The year of living Disney TR - Winter edition! Update! 11/27/17 mini November trip report

[cinderkelly]

Hi Friends!

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I've been terribly neglectful of my TR and have no valid excuse other than pure laziness , so I just thought I'd just pop in for a quick real life update.


We have a trip to Disneyland coming up in just a little over two weeks, which we are really excited about. We haven't been to DLR for a couple of years and it will be great to go back. DLR is Bob's favorite, so he is a happy camper and we will be staying at the Disneyland Hotel Club Level . We will just be there for 3 nights but since it's so easy to do DL for three days I'm ok with the shorter trip. CL will be awesome and we have one special dinner planned at Blue Bayou. This was "supposed" to be our last Disney trip for at least a year, which is why we went all out with Club Level but somebody ( ok, me) pitched a fit and the Hubs, bless him, caved in and let me plan some more. #spoiledwifehappylife


So since all that happened we booked a "birthday" trip for me back to DW, we leave the day after my birthday ( June 30), so we leave July 1st and will only be there 3 nights, leaving July 4th. We will unfortunately miss the July 4th fireworks, but I'm still excited to be able to go just for a couple of days. We plan on only going to MK and to AK to check out Pandora and hang out at the pool and relax the rest of the time. We will be staying at WL again since it's so easy to get back and forth to MK via boat. We also have the DxDP for this trip, doing Cali Grill brunch, Artist Point and Narcoossee's for dinner, all of which will be new places for us. I'm having a hard time not going back to FF this trip since it's our favorite and we have always had great dinners there, but I'm trying my best to try new things!

Our Grand Daughter is due in just about 5 weeks so we are hoping that she hangs tight and waits to arrive until her due date on May 17, since we will be in Cali April 29-May 3.


I also have tentative plans for the three kids and I to head back to DW November 10-15, nothing booked yet, but plans are to stay at WL again and do MVMCP while we are there.


Work has been keeping us busy as always, but things in my neck of the woods are good. I know I still need to get my Spring trip wrapped up and then go back and wrap up the Winter trip ( hopefully)

Wishing all those that celebrate a Happy Easter!

​

 

[pkondz]

I've been terribly neglectful of my TR and have no valid excuse other than pure laziness

Inexcusable! If you're busy, that's one thing... but sheer laziness???

We have a trip to Disneyland coming up in just a little over two weeks,

Coming up fast!

we will be staying at the Disneyland Hotel Club Level

Nice!

we have one special dinner planned at Blue Bayou.

Also nice! It looked pretty good from the little I saw of it.

somebody ( ok, me) pitched a fit and the Hubs, bless him, caved in and let me plan some more. #spoiledwifehappylife

We plan on only going to MK and to AK to check out Pandora

Oh good! You'll have to tell us all about Disney's newest addition.

We will be staying at WL again since it's so easy to get back and forth to MK via boat.

Then why not one of the monorail resorts? Or are they even more $$$?

doing Cali Grill brunch, Artist Point and Narcoossee's for dinner, all of which will be new places for us.

Haven't been to any of them.

Our Grand Daughter is due in just about 5 weeks so we are hoping that she hangs tight and waits to arrive until her due date on May 17, since we will be in Cali April 29-May 3.

Meh. Kids these days. Just tell her on Snapchat or Twitter.
They start younger all the time.

 

[kastoney]

We were supposed to be taking a year off from Disney too and are headed back in November. Disney clearly has this marketing thing down.

Can't wait to hear about your DL trip. We're thinking about going sometime in 2018 so I'll be most interested.

if you go in November we may overlap for a day. We'll be headed down on the 3rd and then home on 11 November.

 

[DonnaBeeGood]

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[Steppesister]

we will be staying at the Disneyland Hotel Club Level

NICE!!!!

we have one special dinner planned at Blue Bayou

EVEN NICER!!!

but somebody ( ok, me) pitched a fit and the Hubs, bless him, caved in and let me plan some more. #spoiledwifehappylife

NICEST OF ALL!

Cali Grill brunch, Artist Point and Narcoossee's for dinner, all of which will be new places for us.

I try to get to new places every trip. Glad you get to make it to 3 next time!

 

[kittylady1972]

We have a trip to Disneyland coming up in just a little over two weeks, which we are really excited about. We haven't been to DLR for a couple of years and it will be great to go back. DLR is Bob's favorite, so he is a happy camper and we will be staying at the Disneyland Hotel Club Level . We will just be there for 3 nights but since it's so easy to do DL for three days I'm ok with the shorter trip. CL will be awesome and we have one special dinner planned at Blue Bayou. This was "supposed" to be our last Disney trip for at least a year, which is why we went all out with Club Level but somebody ( ok, me) pitched a fit and the Hubs, bless him, caved in and let me plan some more. #spoiledwifehappylife

How fun! We loved the Disneyland Hotel when we were there a few years ago. We didn't do Club Level though. Really liked Blue Bayou also.

So since all that happened we booked a "birthday" trip for me back to DW, we leave the day after my birthday ( June 30), so we leave July 1st and will only be there 3 nights, leaving July 4th. We will unfortunately miss the July 4th fireworks, but I'm still excited to be able to go just for a couple of days. We plan on only going to MK and to AK to check out Pandora and hang out at the pool and relax the rest of the time. We will be staying at WL again since it's so easy to get back and forth to MK via boat. We also have the DxDP for this trip, doing Cali Grill brunch, Artist Point and Narcoossee's for dinner, all of which will be new places for us. I'm having a hard time not going back to FF this trip since it's our favorite and we have always had great dinners there, but I'm trying my best to try new things!

I've done a few birthday trips to WDW as well. They were great! Just an FYI...they do the July 4th fireworks at MK I believe on July 3rd as well...so DEFINITELY catch them if you can as they are FANTASTIC!! Your dining choices sound awesome. I haven't done the Cali Grill brunch but have heard great things...haven't done Artist Point either. We did Narcoosee's a few times, but it's been years...and it was very good!

Our Grand Daughter is due in just about 5 weeks so we are hoping that she hangs tight and waits to arrive until her due date on May 17, since we will be in Cali April 29-May 3.

EXCITING!

I also have tentative plans for the three kids and I to head back to DW November 10-15, nothing booked yet, but plans are to stay at WL again and do MVMCP while we are there.

Also exciting! I really want to do MVMCP this year myself and I'd like to stay at WL again.

 

[cinderkelly]

Inexcusable! If you're busy, that's one thing... but sheer laziness???

I know. How about being lazy because I've been busy?? Does that count?

Also nice! It looked pretty good from the little I saw of it.

I've only been to Blue Bayou once and enjoyed it. Love the atmosphere in there.

Then why not one of the monorail resorts? Or are they even more $$$?

Yes, the monorail resorts are quite a bit $$$. WL and AKL are the are the most "affordable" of the deluxe resorts. Plus we love the quietness of the boat vs the monorail. Don't get me wrong I love the monorail, but at the end of the day it's lovely to hop on a boat with 35 ppl as opposed to 250!

We were supposed to be taking a year off from Disney too and are headed back in November.

It's so hard to do, isn't it? It's like Disney crack or something

Can't wait to hear about your DL trip. We're thinking about going sometime in 2018 so I'll be most interested.

I really love DL for shorter trips, for us 3 days is perfect. But it's also a much closer choice for us flight wise. I hope you get there someday, it's nice to be able to compare the two and see which one you like best.

if you go in November we may overlap for a day. We'll be headed down on the 3rd and then home on 11 Novem

Awesome!!! I'll be sure to bring some hand sanitizer so Kiya and Casey can bond.

Really, I suppose that being too busy to wrap up trip reports due to planning more trips and good real life news is about the best excuse ever!

I'm not so sure it's the planning more trips that is keeping me from wrapping up, just sometimes at the end of the day the last thing I want to do is think about how to form coherent sentences and write.

Even short bits of fun are going to be fantastic, and it is nice how everything is close together at DL

Absolutely! I also love how close DL and CA are to each other, makes park hopping a breeze!

try to get to new places every trip. Glad you get to make it to 3 next time!

I try to do at least one, but I'm also terrible at changing my mind, as you may recall so since my last update we have made a couple of changes....
We have decided to move from WL to AKL for example, just because we have never stayed there before.

We loved the Disneyland Hotel when we were there a few years ago. We didn't do Club Level though. Really liked Blue Bayou also.

I love the Disneyland hotel also. I actually think I like it better than the Grand Californian. Plus everything there is so so close it's awesome. Is will be out first time doing CL there so I'm excited.

They were great! Just an FYI...they do the July 4th fireworks at MK I believe on July 3rd as well...so DEFINITELY catch them if you can as they are FANTASTIC

Thank you so much for that information!!! I did not know that. Our MK that trip is on the 3rd, so that's perfect!!!

We did Narcoosee's a few times, but it's been years...and it was very good!

Welp, I've probably booked and cancelled Narcoosse's 4 times over the last few trips and sadly it has been on the chopping block once again. Since we moved resorts ( WL to AKL) for our July trip we decided to ditch poor Narcoossee's once again for our favorite FF. I think we finally figured out that FF is our one must do dinner and we'd be sad if we missed it. So Narcoossee's out, FF in.

I really want to do MVMCP this year myself and I'd like to stay at WL again.

I really enjoyed MVMCP, but personally I like the Halloween party just a little better, but my two older kids have not been to DW during Chrisntas time so they choose that one. Of course I'm good either way, I get to go so that's all that matters . But WL is so beautiful all decorated for Christmas!

 

[pkondz]

I know. How about being lazy because I've been busy?? Does that count?

Yup!

Yes, the monorail resorts are quite a bit $$$. WL and AKL are the are the most "affordable" of the deluxe resorts. Plus we love the quietness of the boat vs the monorail. Don't get me wrong I love the monorail, but at the end of the day it's lovely to hop on a boat with 35 ppl as opposed to 250!

Oh! You know... I never thought about that aspect of it....
Relaxing on the way back to the resort as opposed to feeling like a sardine... hmmm.... novel concept.

 

[cinderkelly]

Day 6

Let's get this Spring trip wrapped up, shall we?
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This was our last day of the trip and while we were sad I think we were feeling ready. I had worn poor Devin out and she decided that 4 days was her ideal amount of time to do DW, probably because her Mom is a Crazy park commando person and doesn't know how to do "relaxing vacation".

So we slept in just a little bit and got to packing our things up since the plan was to stay at MK for EMH until 1:00am.

Things packed and "thanks for staying with us but you're being kicked out tomorrow" paperwork in hand we made our way to MK.

Disclaimer ... I don't have many photos of this day because I just wanted to enjoy the time being there with Devin so my phone stayed put away most of the day.

We spent the morning visiting our fav's, PP, Splash, 7DMT, BTMRR and HM. We grabbed a quick snack at Gaston's for breakfast, cinnamon roll and LaFou's brew ( nothing like a sugar rush in the morning) and wandered around taking it all in.

We had a reservation for afternoon Tea at the GF at 1:30 and the minutes were flying by so soon it was time to make our way over there. We got checked in and were quickly seated in the lovely Garden View tea room for relaxing afternoon tea. If you've never done afternoon tea and like this sort of thing I highly recommend it. The CM's are so lovely and it's such a nice way to spend an hour or so. It wasn't very busy while we were there so we had a great time talking about our favorite parts of the trip.

You have your choice of teas and what you would like with it, and we both chose the "Cheshire tea" which consisted of fresh Fruits and cheeses, small finger sandwiches, a golden raisin scone and a choice of small pastries or strawberries and cream or English Trifle. I choose traditional English Breakfast tea and Devin got what I think was called Superfruit tea which was beautiful. It was pink and very fruity, hence the name superfruit!

I'm having trouble uploading my own photos so I gratefully borrowed these images from the kind folks on the interweb.





(It wasn't this empty when we were there )


Yea! I got that one to work!

We had a lovely time just relaxing and laughing so at around $50 pp ( prices vary depending on your tea experience) it was well worth it for us, but we were full afterward and it was a pretty warm day so we choose to spend a couple of hours resort hopping.

We caught the monorail and spent some time at the Contemporary and then took the boat over to WL where Devin almost fell asleep on one of the lobby couches while I looked in the shop. #teenagerscansleepanywhere.

Around 5:30 it was time to go back to MK and like I said we had intentions of staying until 1:00am but we were both wiped out and really wanted to stay but kind of didn't all at the same time.

So we did a lot of people watching ( one of my favorite activities) and when it was getting close to time for Wishes we found a spot behind the castle near the carousel to watch. I grabbed us a pot roast mac and cheese from Friar's Nook for us to share for dinner and it actually ended up being one of our very favorite dinners!

This stuff is super yummy comfort food to the max!

We dug into the mac n cheese while wishes started and before you know it we were both crying like babies. . It was a fantastic trip and we don't get to spend much one on one time together and it just got to us both at the same time. But it was a good cry, happy tears and all.

By the way, I think this is my new favorite place to watch MK fireworks! You are surrounded by them back there and it's so much less crowded than in front of the castle. Give it a try sometime.

We had the energy for one last ride before calling it a night so over to Space Mountain we go!



And then we dragged ourselves out of MK and back to the BC for bed. We had a 9:00am flight home the next morning so we needed to be on the tragical depress at 6:00. It was an easy and uneventful flight home and I actually slept for 2 hours in the plane which I never do!

It was an amazing trip with my Daughter and I feel so lucky to have been able to spend alone time with both my older kids this year, I hope that someday when they have families of their own they will continue with that tradition. And yes, of course, I'll be taking Kiya just her and I someday too .


Observations and final thoughts...

I love the location of the BC but the DVC rooms are pretty boring and lacking in theme. We would have been happy just staying at POR in our Royal Room.

After staying at 3 DVC resorts the Poly by far had the best bathrooms and shower but I just don't think I'm a DVC person. I think we prefer the regular hotel side of the resorts but renting points gave us a great chance to stay at some the the deluxe resorts at more affordable prices.

The BC has the best pool hands down.

Favorite signature restaurant so far is still FF with Yachtsman Steakhouse a close second.

The Contemporary Resort still has the best Pillows and the WL the most comfy beds.

Best quick service this trip was most definitely that pot roast mac n cheese!

The end of February was an awesome time of the year to visit DW, the weather was perfect and we didn't see a drop of rain the while trip.

Thanks so much for reading along with me! This wraps up the Spring edition of the Year of Living Disney!

Next up we go back in time and finish up the Winter edition, but I need to go back and read my own TR to remember where I left off

Thanks again everyone and See Ya Real Soon!

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[DonnaBeeGood]

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[Steppesister]

"thanks for staying with us but you're being kicked out tomorrow" paperwork

Hate that crap.

Just perfect! Loved Tea there!

we choose to spend a couple of hours resort hopping.

Best way to spend a couple of hours!

OMG! WOW!! I need this!

By the way, I think this is my new favorite place to watch MK fireworks! You are surrounded by them back there and it's so much less crowded than in front of the castle. Give it a try sometime.

I love it back there too! Plus, when they're over you can beat the crowds onto rides!

I hope that someday when they have families of their own they will continue with that tradition.

WE can only lay the groundwork... but yes, that's the hope!

After staying at 3 DVC resorts the Poly by far had the best bathrooms and shower but I just don't think I'm a DVC person. I think we prefer the regular hotel side of the resorts but renting points gave us a great chance to stay at some the the deluxe resorts at more affordable prices.

THis is a very helpful observation. I've thought a few times about buying in, but I'd imagine you're right. And for me, a HUGE part of the draw is the yummy food out. I would NEVER use the kitchen, so a waste there. And I do love the theming! It's Disney afterall; otherwise, you could save all that money and just stay at a Marriot.

Best quick service this trip was most definitely that pot roast mac n cheese!

I actually tried to get this but they were closed when I wanted it. Remember, the meal from Cosmic Rays that night of our Halloween Party? Yeah.... that night.

 

[pkondz]

This was our last day of the trip

Booo!!! Don't go!

I had worn poor Devin out and she decided that 4 days was her ideal amount of time to do DW, probably because her Mom is a Crazy park commando person and doesn't know how to do "relaxing vacation".

That's how I broke Ruby.

So we slept in just a little bit and got to packing our things up since the plan was to stay at MK for EMH until 1:00am.

Well, that should take care of it!

Disclaimer ... I don't have many photos of this day because I just wanted to enjoy the time being there with Devin so my phone stayed put away most of the day.

That's okay. I did much the same on my last trip.

We grabbed a quick snack at Gaston's for breakfast, cinnamon roll

I must get one of those!

If you've never done afternoon tea and like this sort of thing I highly recommend it.

But.... I don't like tea!

You have your choice of teas and what you would like with it, and we both chose the "Cheshire tea" which consisted of fresh Fruits and cheeses, small finger sandwiches, a golden raisin scone and a choice of small pastries or strawberries and cream or English Trifle. I choose traditional English Breakfast tea and Devin got what I think was called Superfruit tea which was beautiful. It was pink and very fruity, hence the name superfruit!

Well (except for the tea) it all sounds pretty darned good.

#teenagerscansleepanywhere

#Icantsleeplikeateenager

I grabbed us a pot roast mac and cheese from Friar's Nook for us to share for dinner and it actually ended up being one of our very favorite dinners!

Whoa. That looks amazing!

We dug into the mac n cheese while wishes started and before you know it we were both crying like babies. .

Oh. So the food was actually really bad, huh?

That photo of you cracks me up.
You've got this "I know where the camera is!" smile going on.

I actually slept for 2 hours in the plane which I never do!

#Icantsleeplikecinderkellyeither

The BC has the best pool hands down.

I think everyone agrees on that one.

Thanks so much for reading along with me!

Thanks for the TR!

 

[kastoney]

As always awesome trip report. Glad you and Devin could have some mother daughter time. Thanks for sharing!

 

[Steppesister]

I try to do at least one, but I'm also terrible at changing my mind, as you may recall so since my last update we have made a couple of changes....
We have decided to move from WL to AKL for example, just because we have never stayed there before

Didn't see this before... but! I'm always a fan of trying new places just for the sake of that alone.

And you?! Change your plans? LOLOLOLOL!

 

[cinderkelly]

Great summary.

Thanks, Donna

Hate that crap.

Me too!

THis is a very helpful observation. I've thought a few times about buying in, but I'd imagine you're right. And fo

I'm glad it was helpful to you! We are going to listen to the DVC presentation while we are at DLR next week, just to crunch the numbers and see what they have to say. Plus the $100 gift card they are offering us to sit and listen for an hour isn't such a bad return. But I do agree with you, we would most likely never use the kitchen ( except to warm up leftovers) and the theming could be better. I don't care for how plain most of them are either.

Well (except for the tea) it all sounds pretty darned good.

You can go and just not drink tea! They allow that

Whoa. That looks amazing!

It was!

That photo of you cracks me up.

It cracks me up too.

As always awesome trip report. Glad you and Devin could have some mother daughter time. Thanks for sharing!

Thanks Kari

Didn't see this before... but! I'm always a fan of trying new places just for the sake of that alone

Me too

And you?! Change your plans? LOLOLOLOL!

I know, it's quite rediculous, isn't it? Drives Bob crazy. I need a support group.

 

[Steppesister]

I know, it's quite rediculous, isn't it? Drives Bob crazy. I need a support group.

Hello, my name is Kelly, and I can't freaking make up my mind!

 

[cinderkelly]

Hiya!

Springtime in Colorado is never boring. We were supposed to leave for California tomorrow evening but we are in this rediculous winter storm warning. Do any of you guys remember last April when our trip to London got delayed by two days because of a stupid Spring snow storm? #stoptravelinginaprilkelly

I'm not letting history repeat itself and we are leaving tonight instead!

We were able to switch our Southwest flight to tonight ( gotta love Southwest) and are flying into LAX late this evening after work. We will stay at a hotel near the airport tonight and then move hotels up to a place near Orange County airport, where we reserved for Saturday night, then move hotels AGAIN on Sunday morning to the Disneyland Hotel. It's a lot of hotel moving, but I'd rather be safe than sorry and get stuck in Denver tomorrow night. Spring snows in CO can be very unpredictable, so you never know what you're gonna get.

I'll try and post a couple of pics from Disneyland while we are there but I'm not planning on doing a TR, since y'all know im so great about keeping up with it.

Have a great weekend everyone!

 

[kastoney]

Have an amazing trip!!!! Can't wait to hear all about it.

 

[chunkymonkey]

I'm all caught up now! Just want to stay first of all, yay for leaving CO early for Disneyland! Boo to the spring snowstorms...that's crazy.
It's actually 80 degrees here in NYC today...the warmest day of the year so far, although I'm pretty sure it's short lived and back to spring-like temps for the rest of the week. But it sure gives us a taste of what's to be had in a few days when we head to WDW!

Your last few days at WDW sounds like a lot of nice bonding-time fun. That GF tea looks awesome. I did that many years ago during my first trip to WDW with DH, who wasn't even my DH back then. I think in 2003. It's probably different now but we had a great time.

Yay for staying out for EMH at MK, and isn't that pot roast mac n cheese so good!?!? I really want to get some again this time, if it isn't too hot outside. Although I will probably just bring it over to PVH and eat it inside the comfort of A/C.

Aww that's sweet that you both teared up at Wishes, especially since it's the last time you'll see it. Very memorable way to end the trip!

Have fun in Disneyland! I'll wave to you from the East Coast!

 

[pkondz]

Springtime in Colorado is never boring. We were supposed to leave for California tomorrow evening but we are in this rediculous winter storm warning. Do any of you guys remember last April when our trip to London got delayed by two days because of a stupid Spring snow storm? #stoptravelinginaprilkelly

Why yes. Yes I do remember.

We will stay at a hotel near the airport tonight and then move hotels up to a place near Orange County airport, where we reserved for Saturday night, then move hotels AGAIN on Sunday morning to the Disneyland Hotel.

Isn't there some way you could fit another hotel in there?

Hope you're having fun!!