WannaBeImagineer

Awesome pictures!

Thanks for posting!

WBI

21 hours ago, Travisma said:

 

And as much as I hate to see the prices going up and up, if you break down what you get for your $$, it's still a pretty good deal.  Compare the cost of  Disney with going to a county or state fair with their sketchy, maybe properly maintained rides and overpriced foods.  Or see how much a boat or train ride would cost you elsewhere.

We were just having this conversation over the weekend and I agree 100%. 

WBI

Is ReserveAmerica going away completely or just for the federal sites?  I did a quick google search and nothing came up.

It looks like all the state parks I frequent are on ReserveAmerica.  Not that it really matters, I'm just curious.

WBI

We're big fans of Via Napoli!

It's hard to get past the idea of spending a sit down meal at Disney World eating at a pizza place but our last experience in May 2017 was so good we're going again this year.  All we got last time was a large pizza half one thing and half another and a pitcher of sangria.  The pizza was so good we ate the entire thing between two adults, a 3 year old, and an infant.  I was hurting afterward but I couldn't let it go to waste!

I'll report back after Thanksgiving on how it was.

WBI

37 minutes ago, BradyBzLyn...Mo said:

There aren't too many "Disney foods" I actually crave, but that flippin' popcorn... there were days we'd fill the bucket on the way OUT of a park just to have some for later.

Oh and popcorn for dinner?  Totally a thing.

I don't like carrying stuff in the parks (hence the terrible fanny pack) but I didn't hesitate to clip the refillable bucket to my belt loop.  We just about wore that thing out over our 6 week trip last fall.

W & I do the same thing, we keep the bucket full and always get a full bucket to take out of the park.  I ruined my appetite quite a few times last trip by eating too much popcorn, and I was totally fine with that!

WBI

2 minutes ago, BradyBzLyn...Mo said:

I'm thinking this one... 

Yeah that would work!

20 hours ago, Katman1356...Jason said:

haha. we filled out backpacks with sodas to before leaving. Not much I agree but I was getting everything I could. Silvia had a ton of popcorn. 

I would totally do that too Jason, and I would probably fill a backpack with popcorn!

Am I the only person that never ate at Artist Point?  We always intended to try it but never found the time, we did enjoy Territory Lounge though.

On another note, they just converted half of WL to DVC, then refurbed the concierge lounge, and then temporary stopped the antics at Whispering Canyon saying they wanted to make the Lodge feel more like a high end deluxe resort...now the silliness is back and they are adding dwarfs?  Odd.

WBI

I entered before looking at the date, but then I was like heck I'm free this weekend.  Then I just saw only open to Florida residents, oh well no last minute trip for me.

WBI

10 hours ago, Katman1356...Jason said:

my understanding is yes you can leave it at the Fort but we have driven over for a better arrival time than busing it. It was more affordable than taking the DCL bus. The bus is $70 per person each way. 

Last time I checked to get the DCL bus you will get picked up at Wilderness Lodge not at the Fort. 

I second the driving idea.  That way you get to choose when you arrive and $140 for transportation vs the parking at $17 per day (not night).

Unless of course you are taking a cruise longer than 7 nights ($136) then you would come out ahead with the Disney Transportation. 

Here's our last full day in Barcelona, we took a train out of town to see a monastery built high up on a mountain.

Here's a short video from Day 7

After making it back from the coast, we had another date night at the most excellent restaurant where we spent a lot of time reacting to the food like Phil Rosenthal from Somebody Feed Phil.  We found this restaurant thanks to his show.

Update time, 

I think this is Day 6

We took a tour up the coast to see a couple of the seaside towns, spoilers they were great, the sand was rocky, the water was cold and the beaches were topless.

Great video!

Man I love that area!

I forgot how long the boardwalk was at Topsail!

WBI

Part 2 of Day 5

16 hours ago, DaveInTN said:

That's a beautiful cathedral.  Can you imagine the construction on that...considering it was built in the 1300's!  They didn't exactly have cranes to work with.

Did you see that church that's been under construction forever?  Is that also in Barcelona?  That church has always fascinated me.  

I know that's what mind boggling about all the old structures in Europe and the old world, they built that stuff mostly by hand!  Of course they also built on some of them for 50 years or more but still its incredible.

There was another cathedral in this area that was built by the common workers so they would have their own place to worship.  That was really impressive to think that they built it on their own and mostly on their days off.

Yes we did go to Sagrada Familia on our first full day, it was unbelievable.  The size of it is hard to grasp until you are standing inside looking up at the huge columns.  And the biggest spiral isn't even built yet.  They started construction in 1882 and think they'll have it finished in 2032, that's only 150 years total, lol.  I like how they finance it with visitor entrance fees though, no public money or donations, of course that still gives them a construction budget of $28 million dollars a year, not too bad.

Great update!

I really want to drag the camper out to that section of the US, one of these days I'm going to.

Thanks for posting the trip report!

WBI

On 7/30/2018 at 2:40 PM, Humphrey Bear…Rob said:

Wow! Great pics!

Thanks!

Here's part one of day 5, I decided to break it up to keep the videos shorter.

2 minutes ago, mouseketab.....Carol said:

 and i HATE paper straws!!!

Me too!

All of the restaurants in Seaside, FL tried to do this last year, they said no more plastic straws and started using paper ones.  Sounds great for the turtles and litter problem, BUT tourists hated it.  Paper straws are horrible, especially in sodas or sipping a mojito on a hot day.  We started noticing people pulling plastic straws out of bags when they ordered a drink, lol.  Straws are super cheap at the store so it didn't really eliminate the problem.  I get the push to eliminate plastic, but they need better straws first.  

By the way this past spring plastic straws were back at Seaside,I'm not sure how long the push lasted but it was definitely over at the restaurants we visited.

WBI

2 hours ago, DaveInTN said:

Ain't that the truth.  How many cargo ships full of Disney crap come over from China every year?  And beyond the actual crap they sell, what about all the plastic and cardboard the toys are packaged in?  How many of you parents have cursed the Mouse on Christmas morning when your kid wants to play with the new toy, but it takes you 20 minutes to free it from its cocoon of plastic, which then goes into a huge trash bag with all the other plastic and cardboard from the assorted Barbies, Fisher Price toys, and Disney princess garbage?  I get the straw thing, but that seems small compared to all the packaging trash from those things, not to mention Amazon.   

I totally agree with all of this.

Another Post, Day 4 we went to the Barcelona Aquarium, took a boat ride, walked a lot, had more tapas, then dinner at Cal Pep in the El Born area.  It was ok but I wouldn't recommend it due to price.

WBI

Here's another video update:

Day 3, we hit some Gaudi sites and Camp Nou. 

Sorry it's not the most exciting video today but some of the later ones will be better. lol