dvccamper

On 12/23/2020 at 1:15 PM, Tri-Circle-D said:

Mark- thanks for sharing this article. I ran into Billy several years ago when he was running a special event we attended at the Magic Kingdom. Great guy!  I love the part of the article mentioning that Prince Charles, Diana, William, and Harry attended the Hoop Dee Doo show. Wow. 

TCD

I don’t believe Charles went to WDW with them. Maybe we’ll know in the next season of The Crown.

I remember Billy playing Ken in the Barbie show at Epcot years and years ago.

“I’d be surprised if they were interested in charging at the group” 

Thanks for the clarification, that made me laugh 🤣

My sympathy on the loss of your mother-in-law.

Very nice beginning to your trip, Africa trek right at the start! The suspended bridge and the vultures I’d be okay with but being that close to the hippo pool would have concerned me. Could they have charged out of the water towards the group? Was there any barrier? I’ve always heard they can be pretty aggressive. 

That looks so good.

Have a great time!

Enjoyed reading along.

Note to self: book Boma breakfast next time.

18 hours ago, shoreline99 said:

We had a great time on HHI last week, and it only took us three tries to get a dole whip!

First time, we stopped at the DVC lobby and they waved us through, but we got to the QS five minutes after they closed. The next day we walked down to the beach house and the side window was already closed for the day. We went back the next day for lunch and got our dole whips (mine with rum, yum). Our kids biked there a few times for DW during the week.

We really enjoyed the beaches there and it was a nice surprise to get a little Disney feel in while we were there.

Glad you had a fun trip and that your persistence paid off for the dole whip 🙂

27 minutes ago, shoreline99 said:

We are renting a condo in Palmetto Dunes, and their beach house is near the Disney one. We're looking forward to our stay on HHI, and the info I've gotten from others is that they normally allow visitors (you have to check in at the front desk) to the resort as long as there is not an event going on, and they can visit the mercantile and the restaurant if it's open.

That sounds promising. Enjoy your vacation!

I don’t see why not. Even if they didn’t let you pull your car in you could park at the stores/marina that are right in front of it and you could walk in.

Keep in mind they have a beach house that is probably about a mile from the resort. It’s doubtful you could gain access to that. You may be able to walk through to the beach but I seem to remember you needed your key card (probably magic band now) to get in to the actual building and pool area.

We’ve been there once and really liked it. Have wanted to return but just haven’t made it back yet.

Edited to add: I just looked back to find a quick overview I posted about it back in 2012. Can’t believe it’s been that long. If you’re interested it’s here: 

On 3/19/2019 at 5:52 PM, Beckers said:

lots of info on here to look up and think about, which is why I knew we needed to plan this one a year in advance. 

Definitely plan a year in advance, especially if you plan on staying in any of the National Parks. We had to book exactly a year in advance to reserve a tent cabin on the Yosemite Valley floor.

Also if you may be renting a car with a different drop off location we found the earlier the better, and look for a company with no drop off fee. We reserved a Ford Expedition pick up in LA, drop off in SF, we paid around $700 for 12 days. As the months went on that price climbed to over $2000! 

We flew into LA, spent a couple of days at Disneyland plus a day for Hollywood/Warner Bros tour. Then we drove inland, first to Sequoia/King’s Canyon which was beautiful. Then we headed north to Yosemite which was phenomenal. Those national parks were places I will never forget. From Yosemite we drove over to San Francisco. We made our base in Half Moon Bay, just south of SF and from there did day trips to SF, Monterey, 17-mile drive, going down the coast as far as Big Sur. We flew home from San Francisco.

Our trip was 12 days total, us and the three kids in a Ford Expedition. I honestly felt the drives were manageable and we didn’t overdue it. True, we didn’t really get to do anything in depth but we were able to experience the huge variety that California has to offer.

I’m enjoying your trip report. Love the tea pictures, we go almost every trip and just managed to get a reservation for our trip next month. 

Just read your report, really enjoyed it. I had to laugh as it went on, as each time Sinead’s name came up I started rolling my eyes. I mean, she had to have some idea what it would be like tent camping. In July. In Florida. Hope you got some peace once she moved.

Joining in! I haven’t been to Universal in probably 25 years. But every time we’ve offered to do a Universal trip the kids have opted to do Disney (again!). Maybe your trip report will help me convince them.

I’m late to the party but I just have to comment that it’s nice to see you got a pedicure for your classic hammock shot.

Finally logged on to read the rest of your report. Looks like a fun year, hope 2018 is even better!

On 1/29/2018 at 7:19 PM, CCIntrigue...aka Gwen said:

But is it still like Mo said that you can't get the  cheese plate without ordering something else?

You might be right on that because we did get it with the sandwiches and desserts. Usually they're pretty accommodating, they wouldn't let you order just the cheese plate?

Hope you're feeling better soon.

On January 16, 2018 at 1:56 PM, wendinator said:

I was back for tea today. I'll spare you the pictures of stuff that's the same so here's a quick update of what's new since I was there in August.

Not much noticeable in terms of work that was done to the room during the closure in August. My server said they did a bunch of work to the kitchen and something with the ceiling.

They have new vests, though, so there's that.

On the food front, there was a new sandwich. And it was in addition to the sandwiches I got last time, not instead of. So that was a nice surprise. They now give you a poached pear with gorgonzola. You can see it at the top right between the cucumber and the roasted tomato. It has a nice hint cinnamon, and my server said the pears are poached in red wine  (the dark slices) and champagne (the light ones).

I still think it's a little weird that of the 5 sandwiches they give you, all but one are open faced. Call me crazy but I kinda think you need two pieces of bread to be called a sandwich.

Price remains the same - $35 for the Bedfordshire.

My kids were there on the 16th too!  We had taken them when they were little girls and now as young adults they love it even more.

5 hours ago, BradyBzLyn...Mo said:

That cheese plate was killer. The last time I was there the cheese plate wasn't on the menu, but you could still order it as long as you were also ordering something else off the menu.  But that was a couple of years ago now, so not sure if it's still the case.

My husband and I were there earlier this month and we got a fruit and cheese plate in addition to the offerings above. It was delicious. Oh, and it was on the menu.

We were there for the first time last week and loved it. Just my husband and I went while the kids were at the MK. We told them how much fun we had and the next night they went without us!  

We noticed they did make an announcement just before 8:00 that all under 21 would have to leave.

So I'm trying to catch up since getting back from WDW. But I just read your post about Raglan Road and you asked if anyone had been there recently. Well we were, last Tuesday!

We had never been before but we went with some friends who were also down there and they go just about every trip. I had the salmon, DH had the chicken pot pie and we were both very pleased with our meal. When it came time for dessert, which we don't normally order, our friends said "We're all getting the bread pudding. There is no other choice, that's what you're getting." So DH and I split one and we both thought it was delicious. Of course it was our first time so I can't compare but our friends seemed happy with it and they always get it.

Just my two cents. 

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

What??!!!!! What did we miss here??? Who got married??

I missed it too! But I miss everything, lol.

As far as the dachshund/captain, I didn't see that coming. Are you sure you weren't on some hidden camera show?

What a treat, I haven't been on FF in ages but logged on tonight and found your thread. 

Excellent start at WL. We head to WDW a week from today and we're spending a couple of nights in one of the cabins. After reading about your visit Geyser Point and the Territory Lounge are two must-do's (as if they wouldn't be anyway...those drinks looked delicious).

I notice the Festival of the Arts starts Friday Jan. 12th. I have an Epcot evening planned Thursday the 11th. I thought I read somewhere that F&W and F&G have had a sneak preview the day before. Does this generally hold true?

Thanks!

I'm enjoying your trip report, fantastic photos as usual!

I'm glad you seized the opportunity to get away. Speaking from experience, it is so important to take some time for yourself when you're caring for elderly parents. It truly recharges the batteries and what a great place to do it!