Trip Report October Convention/Family Trip

Login to post comments
43 posts / 0 new
JMed's picture
Offline
Joined: 02/16/2014
Posts: 3849
Trip Report October Convention/Family Trip

Ok, not really sure what is happening with me... I missed FP+ day AGAIN but didn't get lucky enough to get Flight of Passage late in the day like I did last time... gaah I already have my alarm set for the 2nd part of our trip that opens up on Wednesday. crossfingers crossfingers crossfingers crossfingers

Ok with that out of the way, here we go.

October 2017 - This is the trip that was supposed to be the entire family including my brother's family but with the new baby and my bro's appendix surgery, he couldn't take anymore time off. I knew there was a possibility that they wouldn't come but it was still a blow because we were excited about the possibility of the kiddos being there. sad

Anywho, this trip came around as dad owns several Hardee's with his partners and since the franchise meeting is in Disney, he thought it would be a great opportunity for us all to go. The convention will be at the Contemporary and he graciously booked and is paying for our room. muchlove While we will not be staying in the main building I am excited about staying there for the first time. Our rooms are in the Garden Wing with a standard view. Online check in only gives me the choices of upper or lower floors and the choice of early check-in over the other choices.

Going on this lovely trip will be my parents, Bobby and Kathy. They have been on a couple of other trips with us so they will look familiar to many of you. They are arriving Monday for the convention and will be returning home on Sunday morning. Mom just got an annual pass and loves Disney mostly for the walking, some of the rides and the atmosphere.
"I'm not here for the food." breaks my heart whenever she says it. waiting Dad got a 2 day park hopper since he will be in meetings and such most of the week. He's not a "lover" of Disney and doesn't understand a thing about it. He got all stressed out and upset when I was trying to get their reservations linked with us and purchasing tickets. laugh Mom will be roaming the parks alone during the day while dad is busy and she is perfectly happy with that.

Then of course Joe, Blondie and I. If you aren't sure who we are yet, just search JMed and a ton of trip reports will come up... This will be our 2nd trip as a family this year and my 5th. We all went on a Disney Cruise in March also.

We will be arriving on Wednesday. Leaving early enough to be at the resort by noon as we are signed up to attend the Trade Show for the convention. Now, I know I am going to be in Disney and I am happy and excited about that but to be released in a huge ball room with vendors and my very own goodie bag to fill up has me over the moon. Dad's worked for Hardee's for over 40 years so we know lots of these guys and gals. I really hope the coffee guy has my Kenyan coffee because I may steal a case of it. The Coca-Cola guys, Dr Pepper, and advertising groups always have great items. The trade show is 12-3. I have booked FP for us and mom that evening if she wants to go with us. She MIGHT no leave dad alone but more than likely she will come with us. silly I only have Frozen in Epcot booked because Blondie hasn't done it since it first opened so Epcot it is. And a couple food booths and a little Billy Ocean won't hurt for dinner!!

Thursday Again, dad has us signed up for convention stuff. Breakfast is 7-9 in the Sorcerer's Apprentice Ballroom. Afterwards we will head to MK. Again we have FP for mom if she wants to join us. Blondie only wanted Splash Mountain but it is closed for refurb yuck so we got Haunted Mansion, Big Thunder Mountain and Mine Train. We have to be back
at the resort for dinner in Fantasia Ballroom. Cocktail hour starts at 7 (I WILL NOT MISS THIS) followed by dinner and the another reception for fireworks!!! MNSSHP is that night so we will get to see them. The reception is over at 11pm. eek

Friday will be the first day dad joins us. Not sure where we will go in the morning yet but this is the day we were supposed to do Flight of Passage. Dad even said he wanted to do this and I failed him. I am going to try several times a day in case anyone cancels. crossfingers crossfingers crossfingers crossfingers crossfingers crossfingers crossfingers crossfingers crossfingers crossfingers For the time being I only have Dinosaur booked because it's what I picked. No real rhyme or reason. I will add what ever when it closer if we never get FoP. We may be standing in line...

Saturday we are starting off in Epcot with Soarin and will be hitting a few F&W booths before it gets too crazy. No real plan so we will take our time and just chill. Probably head for Hollywood Studios when we get around to the International Gateway. We have an ADR at Planet Hollywood at 7:45, Blondie wants a crazy milkshake so this is where the plan came from.

Sunday - Here is where things go wonky lol. We will all probably have breakfast at Contempo Cafe then Mom, dad and Blondie are heading home. They will keep her and get her back and forth to school a few days. Joe and I will be heading to AKL for the rest of our trip!! It's been a while since we stayed at our "home" resort so I am happy happy happy!!! I also purchased the dining plan for this portion of the trip. I want all the snack credits for F&W and we have a nice dinner booked since the trip falls between our birthdays. The next few days will be mostly Epcot. This night we will head to HS for dinner at The Hollywood Brown Derby. I've always wanted to eat here so I thought here's the perfect opportunity! Just hoping I can keep from filling up at F&W.

Monday - More Epcot!!! There is a lot I want to cover and I am hoping I got a good bit done in the previous days. A majority of the day will be spent in Epcot. We MIGHT got to MK for Happily Ever After but I doubt it. I wanted to see it while staying at the Contemporary but with MNSSHP and other things going on, it doesn't look feasible. And I do not want to deal with the madness of getting out of MK staying anywhere else. Maybe Wednesday after Frozen...

Tuesday - Halloween - Just the other day I realized we will be in Disney for Halloween. OOPS. Epcot again this day, we have a wine seminar booked at 1:30. This is the first F&W "extra" we have ever booked can you believe it??? confused Again we will just be hanging around Epcot all day for more goodies.

Wednesday - Check out day. Why does it always seem like such a short trip when you put it in writing? If space opens up, we want to do the DVC Member Tour for Soarin before we head home. I do have Boma booked in case we can't get it. The time for the long sad drive home.

So that's it in a nutshell right now. I will keep you posted if we get FoP for our 2nd half of the trip and if we luck up and get one for when we are all there.

__________________

"I do not like the cone of shame."

"I want adventure in the great wide somewhere. I want it more than I can tell."

"It seems to me that we have a lot of story yet to tell."

Jennifer Huotari | Create Your Badge

The Huotari's Disney Adventures | Promote Your Page Too

Spook's picture
Offline
Joined: 04/27/2012
Posts: 2786

Sounds like a great trip! Hopefully we'll get a chance to meet up mickey

Allie's picture
Offline
Joined: 06/26/2012
Posts: 5477

Sounds awesome! That's a bummer about the FOP FastPasses...I'm having a small panic attack about trying to get one for a group of 7 at a reasonable time in a couple of weeks here... I'm also super jealous of how much F&W festival time you have lined up!

You will LOVE Hollywood Brown Derby! Right up there with Cali Grill as one of my favorite meals I've had at Disney. I couldn't believe I was sitting in a theme park eating that meal. We're not going to be hitting Happily Ever After at all in November either so I will just have to wait until January to finally see it for the first time.

JanJ's picture
Offline
Joined: 07/14/2013
Posts: 1681

Sounds like fun JMed. Ken and I love the Contemporary and are looking forward to staying at BLT in 11 days. Too bad about the FOP FP, but you know you'll be going back. That's one of the best things about being a DVC member. biggrin

Allie wrote:
Sounds awesome! That's a bummer about the FOP FastPasses...I'm having a small panic attack about trying to get one for a group of 7 at a reasonable time in a couple of weeks here... I'm also super jealous of how much F&W festival time you have lined up!

You will LOVE Hollywood Brown Derby! Right up there with Cali Grill as one of my favorite meals I've had at Disney. I couldn't believe I was sitting in a theme park eating that meal. We're not going to be hitting Happily Ever After at all in November either so I will just have to wait until January to finally see it for the first time.

Allie - I was able to get a FOP FP for 7 people for our upcoming stay. On a Wednesday at 3pm in the afternoon. Fingers crossed you'll get it ok. I think you should be fine if you have some flexibility in your days. crossfingers

Allie's picture
Offline
Joined: 06/26/2012
Posts: 5477

JanJ wrote:
Sounds like fun JMed. Ken and I love the Contemporary and are looking forward to staying at BLT in 11 days. Too bad about the FOP FP, but you know you'll be going back. That's one of the best things about being a DVC member. biggrin

Allie wrote:
Sounds awesome! That's a bummer about the FOP FastPasses...I'm having a small panic attack about trying to get one for a group of 7 at a reasonable time in a couple of weeks here... I'm also super jealous of how much F&W festival time you have lined up!

You will LOVE Hollywood Brown Derby! Right up there with Cali Grill as one of my favorite meals I've had at Disney. I couldn't believe I was sitting in a theme park eating that meal. We're not going to be hitting Happily Ever After at all in November either so I will just have to wait until January to finally see it for the first time.

Allie - I was able to get a FOP FP for 7 people for our upcoming stay. On a Wednesday at 3pm in the afternoon. Fingers crossed you'll get it ok. I think you should be fine if you have some flexibility in your days. crossfingers

That's great to hear, Jan! How far into your trip was this? I'm looking for day three in our trip around that 3pm mark.

JanJ's picture
Offline
Joined: 07/14/2013
Posts: 1681

Allie wrote:
JanJ wrote:
Sounds like fun JMed. Ken and I love the Contemporary and are looking forward to staying at BLT in 11 days. Too bad about the FOP FP, but you know you'll be going back. That's one of the best things about being a DVC member. biggrin

Allie wrote:
Sounds awesome! That's a bummer about the FOP FastPasses...I'm having a small panic attack about trying to get one for a group of 7 at a reasonable time in a couple of weeks here... I'm also super jealous of how much F&W festival time you have lined up!

You will LOVE Hollywood Brown Derby! Right up there with Cali Grill as one of my favorite meals I've had at Disney. I couldn't believe I was sitting in a theme park eating that meal. We're not going to be hitting Happily Ever After at all in November either so I will just have to wait until January to finally see it for the first time.

Allie - I was able to get a FOP FP for 7 people for our upcoming stay. On a Wednesday at 3pm in the afternoon. Fingers crossed you'll get it ok. I think you should be fine if you have some flexibility in your days. crossfingers

That's great to hear, Jan! How far into your trip was this? I'm looking for day three in our trip around that 3pm mark.

This is day 5 of our trip. We arrive on Saturday and our AK day is Wednesday. Good luck!

JMed's picture
Offline
Joined: 02/16/2014
Posts: 3849

Allie wrote:
Sounds awesome! That's a bummer about the FOP FastPasses...I'm having a small panic attack about trying to get one for a group of 7 at a reasonable time in a couple of weeks here... I'm also super jealous of how much F&W festival time you have lined up!

You will LOVE Hollywood Brown Derby! Right up there with Cali Grill as one of my favorite meals I've had at Disney. I couldn't believe I was sitting in a theme park eating that meal. We're not going to be hitting Happily Ever After at all in November either so I will just have to wait until January to finally see it for the first time.

I keep trying every single day. Literally 3 or 4 times a day lol... I don't want to stand in line... Actually I don't want to stand in line and listen to my dad gripe... waiting

We always plan tons of time for F&W, it is my reason for living during the fall!

HBD has been on my dining list for ages. We never spend enough time in HS. Park closes at 8... ADR is 7:30,excited about getting out of the park while it is quiet!

JanJ wrote:
Allie wrote:
JanJ wrote:
Sounds like fun JMed. Ken and I love the Contemporary and are looking forward to staying at BLT in 11 days. Too bad about the FOP FP, but you know you'll be going back. That's one of the best things about being a DVC member. biggrin

Allie wrote:
Sounds awesome! That's a bummer about the FOP FastPasses...I'm having a small panic attack about trying to get one for a group of 7 at a reasonable time in a couple of weeks here... I'm also super jealous of how much F&W festival time you have lined up!

You will LOVE Hollywood Brown Derby! Right up there with Cali Grill as one of my favorite meals I've had at Disney. I couldn't believe I was sitting in a theme park eating that meal. We're not going to be hitting Happily Ever After at all in November either so I will just have to wait until January to finally see it for the first time.

Allie - I was able to get a FOP FP for 7 people for our upcoming stay. On a Wednesday at 3pm in the afternoon. Fingers crossed you'll get it ok. I think you should be fine if you have some flexibility in your days. crossfingers

That's great to hear, Jan! How far into your trip was this? I'm looking for day three in our trip around that 3pm mark.

This is day 5 of our trip. We arrive on Saturday and our AK day is Wednesday. Good luck!

Yeah, I know we are going back but it is one of the 2 things dad mentioned... Hopefully it will happen. .

And hoping to catch up with anyone that is there while we are!

56 days!

__________________

"I do not like the cone of shame."

"I want adventure in the great wide somewhere. I want it more than I can tell."

"It seems to me that we have a lot of story yet to tell."

Jennifer Huotari | Create Your Badge

The Huotari's Disney Adventures | Promote Your Page Too

JMed's picture
Offline
Joined: 02/16/2014
Posts: 3849

*Changes have been made*

We will be arriving on Wednesday. Leaving early enough to be at the resort by noon as we are signed up to attend the Trade Show for the convention. Now, I know I am going to be in Disney and I am happy and excited about that but to be released in a huge ball room with vendors and my very own goodie bag to fill up has me over the moon. Dad's worked for Hardee's for over 40 years so we know lots of these guys and gals. I really hope the coffee guy has my Kenyan coffee because I may steal a case of it. The Coca-Cola guys, Dr Pepper, and advertising groups always have great items. The trade show is 12-3. I have booked FP for us and mom that evening if she wants to go with us. She MIGHT no leave dad alone but more than likely she will come with us. silly I only have Frozen in Epcot booked because Blondie hasn't done it since it first opened so Epcot it is. And a couple food booths and a little Billy Ocean won't hurt for dinner!!

*After riding Frozen and maybe hitting a booth or 2 we are going to monorail over to MK for Happily Ever After. This will be the best night to view since we will be at the Contemp and can walk back after. I do not want to fight the crowds to TTC*

Thursday Again, dad has us signed up for convention stuff. Breakfast is 7-9 in the Sorcerer's Apprentice Ballroom. Afterwards we will head to MK. Again we have FP for mom if she wants to join us. Blondie only wanted Splash Mountain but it is closed for refurb yuck so we got Haunted Mansion, Big Thunder Mountain and Mine Train. We have to be back
at the resort for dinner in Fantasia Ballroom. Cocktail hour starts at 7 (I WILL NOT MISS THIS) followed by dinner and the another reception for fireworks!!! MNSSHP is that night so we will get to see them. The reception is over at 11pm. eek

*If we head out before the reception is over, we mad hit the Top of the World Lounge*

Friday will be the first day dad joins us. Not sure where we will go in the morning yet but this is the day we were supposed to do Flight of Passage. Dad even said he wanted to do this and I failed him. I am going to try several times a day in case anyone cancels. crossfingers crossfingers crossfingers crossfingers crossfingers crossfingers crossfingers crossfingers crossfingers crossfingers For the time being I only have Dinosaur booked because it's what I picked. No real rhyme or reason. I will add what ever when it closer if we never get FoP. We may be standing in line...

*Still have not scored FoP FP. I keep trying and I won't give up. Dinner will be Satu'li Canteen or Flame Tree. Depends on what dad wants, he is PICKY. I also have not decided where we will go in the morning. Maybe MK*

Saturday we are starting off in Epcot with Soarin and will be hitting a few F&W booths before it gets too crazy. No real plan so we will take our time and just chill. Probably head for Hollywood Studios when we get around to the International Gateway. We have an ADR at Planet Hollywood at 7:45, Blondie wants a crazy milkshake so this is where the plan came from.

Sunday - Here is where things go wonky lol. We will all probably have breakfast at Contempo Cafe then Mom, dad and Blondie are heading home. They will keep her and get her back and forth to school a few days. Joe and I will be heading to AKL for the rest of our trip!! It's been a while since we stayed at our "home" resort so I am happy happy happy!!! I also purchased the dining plan for this portion of the trip. I want all the snack credits for F&W and we have a nice dinner booked since the trip falls between our birthdays. The next few days will be mostly Epcot. This night we will head to HS for dinner at The Hollywood Brown Derby. I've always wanted to eat here so I thought here's the perfect opportunity! Just hoping I can keep from filling up at F&W.

*Hoping to meet up with AliceMouse in Epcot this afternoon before heading out for dinner. I am balking on Brown Derby, I really want Artist Point or Narcossee's, HELP*

Monday - More Epcot!!! There is a lot I want to cover and I am hoping I got a good bit done in the previous days. A majority of the day will be spent in Epcot. We MIGHT got to MK for Happily Ever After but I doubt it. I wanted to see it while staying at the Contemporary but with MNSSHP and other things going on, it doesn't look feasible. And I do not want to deal with the madness of getting out of MK staying anywhere else. Maybe Wednesday after Frozen...

*We will not be going to MK this evening for fireworks since we will do it earlier in the week, instead we will head to AK for Flight of Passage. Joe may golf in the morning and I may go to the spa*

Tuesday - Halloween - Just the other day I realized we will be in Disney for Halloween. OOPS. Epcot again this day, we have a wine seminar booked at 1:30. This is the first F&W "extra" we have ever booked can you believe it??? confused Again we will just be hanging around Epcot all day for more goodies.

Wednesday - Check out day. Why does it always seem like such a short trip when you put it in writing? If space opens up, we want to do the DVC Member Tour for Soarin before we head home. I do have Boma booked in case we can't get it. The time for the long sad drive home.

*I fastpassed FoP for this morning but even with the FP I really don't want to fight the crowds... not sure if we will go to a park before leaving*

So that's it in a nutshell right now. I will keep you posted if we get FoP for our 2nd half of the trip and if we luck up and get one for when we are all there.

__________________

"I do not like the cone of shame."

"I want adventure in the great wide somewhere. I want it more than I can tell."

"It seems to me that we have a lot of story yet to tell."

Jennifer Huotari | Create Your Badge

The Huotari's Disney Adventures | Promote Your Page Too

Kristen K.'s picture
Offline
Joined: 09/01/2011
Posts: 23803

Sounds excellent! Take lots of pictures. muchlove

Spook's picture
Offline
Joined: 04/27/2012
Posts: 2786

A bunch of fast passes for FOP have opened up! Hope you can snag some crossfingers

JMed's picture
Offline
Joined: 02/16/2014
Posts: 3849

Spook wrote:
A bunch of fast passes for FOP have opened up! Hope you can snag some crossfingers

I did!!!! yay yay yay

Again, thank you so much for this and the Facebook post! I didn't let my daddy down! muchlove muchlove

So from this you can all figure out, we now have Flight of Passage FPs for Friday night! It is one of the 2 rides my dad requested. Thanks to Spook I snagged it when I got home tonight!

__________________

"I do not like the cone of shame."

"I want adventure in the great wide somewhere. I want it more than I can tell."

"It seems to me that we have a lot of story yet to tell."

Jennifer Huotari | Create Your Badge

The Huotari's Disney Adventures | Promote Your Page Too

Spook's picture
Offline
Joined: 04/27/2012
Posts: 2786

JMed wrote:
Spook wrote:
A bunch of fast passes for FOP have opened up! Hope you can snag some crossfingers

I did!!!! yay yay yay

Again, thank you so much for this and the Facebook post! I didn't let my daddy down! muchlove muchlove

So from this you can all figure out, we now have Flight of Passage FPs for Friday night! It is one of the 2 rides my dad requested. Thanks to Spook I snagged it when I got home tonight!

banana banana banana banana banana

As Maui would say "your welcome!" laugh

Allie's picture
Offline
Joined: 06/26/2012
Posts: 5477

We got ours, too!!!! What a relief! That takes such a strain off our schedule. Congrats on your snag!

JMed's picture
Offline
Joined: 02/16/2014
Posts: 3849

Allie wrote:
We got ours, too!!!! What a relief! That takes such a strain off our schedule. Congrats on your snag!

You too!!! yeah yeah

__________________

"I do not like the cone of shame."

"I want adventure in the great wide somewhere. I want it more than I can tell."

"It seems to me that we have a lot of story yet to tell."

Jennifer Huotari | Create Your Badge

The Huotari's Disney Adventures | Promote Your Page Too

JMed's picture
Offline
Joined: 02/16/2014
Posts: 3849

OMG!! We are in the teens!!! 18 days to go! banana banana

Plans are finalized! FastPasses have been acquired. ADRs have been made. MagicBands have arrived. DIY Mickey Ears have been made. Stressing over tiny details happening. Packing will commence soon!

If you follow me on Facebook you know I have this growing obsession with making Mickey Ears! I'm actually heading out later to visit Old Time Pottery, a friend sent me a picture from inside the store a couple days ago, so many flowers!!! I've already made 8 pair with 2 underway, just need finishing touches on them. And I have at least 3 more characters in mind that I really want to make. So far I've made 2 fall sets, Hei Hei, Belle, Rapunzel, Ariel, Halloween, Food & Wine and Tink. The last one has no "character" just flowers I really liked! I'll post some pics later.

So here are the "final" "plans". Y'alll know by now I often go way off base after months of making plans! laugh

IF (and it is a BIG if) I can get Joe to drive part way down on Tuesday I would prefer this plan. We have to get there in time for the Trade show and to activate our new Annual Passes (we got the Platinum at a FANTASTIC deal) before we go to Epcot the first night.

Wednesday - Arrival day - Trade show is 12-3. We need to hit the road before the sun comes up to make it by noon so we will see. After the show we will head for Epcot for Frozen at 5:30. We will probably grab a snack or 2 at a booth before heading to MK for Happily Ever After. I am still not happy about this change. I really hope seeing it in person helps sway me. After the show we will walk back to the Contemp and if Mom and Dad take Blondie Joe and I may head to ToTWL or The Outer Rim for a nightcap.

Thursday - Lot's of Hardee's stuff going on. Breakfast and the big Finale Dinner are today. In between meals we have MK FPs for Haunted Mansion, Big Thunder Mountain and 7D Mine Train. Going to use Mobile Ordering for lunch at Casey's Corner to grab lunch.

Friday - First full day for mom and dad with us. We will head to HS in the morning. No FP here since they are set for the evening. I want to see the Frozen show and depending on lines we will hop on something or another. We head to AK around 3, I FINALLY scored FP for Flight of Passage thanks to Spook!! So we have Dinosaur, FoP and RoL since mom wants to see it again and we haven't yet. Hope it doesn't disappoint, I've heard such varied reviews. We will grab dinner at Satu'li or Flame Tree.

Saturday - Epcot - I probably should't have picked Epcot for Sat because of F & W lines but it is just how it worked out. Soarin is the only FP we have then it will be just a casual stroll around the world stopping at a few booths before heading to Planet Hollywood for dinner.

Sunday - The family leaves Joe and I today. Breakfast at Contempo Cafe (I plan on a banana) before Joe and I head to F&W to stuff our faces. Hopefully meeting up with AliceMouse in Epcot before we head to HS for dinner at the Brown Derby.

Monday - More F&W, we do have FoP FP at 6:35 so we will close out our evening at AK. At some point I want to try to head over to the Swolphin to check out the new lobby and the Phins bar. Have you see this menu??? WOW. We want to try a couple of the apps and the Smoke n' Roses drink! http://www.swandolphinrestaurants.com/menus/pdf/phinsmenu.pdf

Tuesday - Our last full day sad Back to Epcot for more F&W and our Wine Seminar. Going to take it slow and easy today since we have a long drive home tomorrow. We may end up in another park for the evening but I seriously doubt it.

Wednesday - DON'T MAKE ME GO HOME - ADR at Boma before hitting the road.

I have our F&W selections all picked out, Amy is graciously sending me a passport that I can write everything in. I am getting a sampler for my drinks. I've got it planned out to save some serious bucks with the expensive cocktails... Also have planned where I will use snack credits and then credits that turn into 3 snacks. Even purchasing the dining plan, we are going to come out well ahead the way I planned it.

Now just to sit and wait for these 18 days to pass... waiting

__________________

"I do not like the cone of shame."

"I want adventure in the great wide somewhere. I want it more than I can tell."

"It seems to me that we have a lot of story yet to tell."

Jennifer Huotari | Create Your Badge

The Huotari's Disney Adventures | Promote Your Page Too

Kristen K.'s picture
Offline
Joined: 09/01/2011
Posts: 23803

JMed wrote:
Thanks to Spook I snagged it when I got home tonight!

yay yay yay
Thats fantastic! Ohhh you'll have so much fun!

Spook's picture
Offline
Joined: 04/27/2012
Posts: 2786

Kristen K. wrote:
JMed wrote:
Thanks to Spook I snagged it when I got home tonight!

yay yay yay
Thats fantastic! Ohhh you'll have so much fun!

I'm so happy you managed to snag one! yay

JMed's picture
Offline
Joined: 02/16/2014
Posts: 3849

Dad just sent me a "helpful hints" email for the convention. Along with these hints it tells about the opening and closing festivities. Really wish I could be there for the start of this whole thing!!

Welcome Reception: Be our guest at this Haunted Mansion themed welcome party! Be sure to stop by
for a spell"if you dare. Enjoy some wickedly good treats and potions in honor of the Halloween season.
The ghostly residents are friendly and the experience is appropriate for all ages. Costumes are
encouraged!

This sounds AWESOME!!!!

For the last evening:

Awards Dinner & Dessert Reception: Join us for an INCREDIBLE evening of celebration. IHFA will
recognize it's heroes of leadership, charity and athleticism during the closing awards dinner. Bring your
camera because characters from Disney's Incredibles movie will be in attendance! And to end everything
on a sweet note, join us outside for a dessert reception before enjoying the spectacle of Magic Kingdom
fireworks from the comfort of our private viewing area!

__________________

"I do not like the cone of shame."

"I want adventure in the great wide somewhere. I want it more than I can tell."

"It seems to me that we have a lot of story yet to tell."

Jennifer Huotari | Create Your Badge

The Huotari's Disney Adventures | Promote Your Page Too

JMed's picture
Offline
Joined: 02/16/2014
Posts: 3849

Hiyo kids!!! I'm laying here in bed with the sliding glass door wide open enjoying the COOL weather yay yay
I would like to send out a personal thank you to the cast member who is controlling the weather in the bubble this week. It is Gorgeous!!!

Anywho, here goes my story!

We took off around 7pm Tuesday night. We were going to drive to St Augustine but there were NO ROOMS anywhere so we ended up in Palm Coast for the evening. It was around 11 when we got in so straight to bed we went. It was a nice enough Hampton Inn (not the nicest we've stayed in) but so hard to get out of. WOW the traffic... it took us about an hour and a half to get to Orlando on Wednesday morning. We arrived at the Contemporary Resort about 10:45. We got checked in and headed to mom and dad's room since ours was not ready yet. By the time we got there and dropped everything off, I got a text that our room was ready. So back to the drawing board lol

The rooms are really nice. We aren't in the Main Tower but the Garden Section. It is nice and quiet over here without all the fuss of restaurants, shops and the monorail. I love it. Our view is great, I'm laying here watching the boats go by now while I am typing. One negative, no balcony... Only a patio on the 1st floor rooms. I also am not a fan of the FREEZING COLD marble tile in the bathroom and foyer. I dread getting up in the middle of the night lol, gotta leave socks by the bed. And there is ZERO counter space in the bathroom. I'll attach some pics later.

After we got all settled in the room we headed for the convention center to get checked in. We had the trade show yesterday and man was Blondie on fire. She was a social butterfly!! We got tons of great little gifts from the vendors and we also had a delicious lunch.

After we headed to Epcot. We had to activate our new APs which was a breeze and into the park we went. We headed straight for World Showcase after picking up a Hide and Squeak map for Blondie. We started on the Canada side and went to the UK where we met Alice who screamed in delight when we pointed out Remy in the UK to her! We turned around and headed back as we were meeting mom in Norway and didn't want to make the entire trip around yet. We walked down to Germany and back looking for Remy and tasting a few things before our Frozen FastPass. The seat was wet so my butt was soaked grrrrrrr... We hopped on Spaceship Earth before heading back to the resort via Monorail. I'm still not a fan of Disney Transport, I missed my car. I just don't have the patience for it. LOL

Joe and Blondie grabbed a bite at Contempo Cafe before we hopped over to The Top of the Wolrd Lounge. Man was it PACKED. It was really windy and cold outside and for my first viewing of Happily Ever After I can say I wasn't impressed. While I was excited about some of my favorite songs being in it, it did NOTHING for me. waiting Maybe in the park with a view of the castle but I doubt it. I was unimpressed from beginning to end.

Afterwards we headed to the room and crashed.

So far this morning we've been to breakfast at the conference center and now relaxing in the room before heading to MK later. Blondie decided she wants to go to Epcot with Nana and Papa... She knows we won't buy her Starbucks and a bunch of junk and they will... confused

More later, have a magical day friends!!

__________________

"I do not like the cone of shame."

"I want adventure in the great wide somewhere. I want it more than I can tell."

"It seems to me that we have a lot of story yet to tell."

Jennifer Huotari | Create Your Badge

The Huotari's Disney Adventures | Promote Your Page Too

JMed's picture
Offline
Joined: 02/16/2014
Posts: 3849

For some reason my photos are not syncing with my laptop so I will have to share them with you all later. If you follow our Facebook page, the room photos are there. If not, they will be here later or you can hop over there to see them!

https://www.facebook.com/huotaridisneyadventure/

__________________

"I do not like the cone of shame."

"I want adventure in the great wide somewhere. I want it more than I can tell."

"It seems to me that we have a lot of story yet to tell."

Jennifer Huotari | Create Your Badge

The Huotari's Disney Adventures | Promote Your Page Too

Allie's picture
Offline
Joined: 06/26/2012
Posts: 5477

Sounds like a great trip so far! We're trying for a two-bedroom in BLT for our October 2018 trip with Jon's family so I'm loving all the resort pictures! muchlove

JMed's picture
Offline
Joined: 02/16/2014
Posts: 3849

Ok, FINALLY got my Google Pics to sync.. here ya go for the room.

PreviewAttachmentSize
Mom and dad's view they are 1st floor
Mom and dad's view they are 1st floor182.22 KB
Our view
Our view139.4 KB
no balcony
no balcony 127.92 KB
bathroom with no counter space
bathroom with no counter space 79.74 KB
__________________

"I do not like the cone of shame."

"I want adventure in the great wide somewhere. I want it more than I can tell."

"It seems to me that we have a lot of story yet to tell."

Jennifer Huotari | Create Your Badge

The Huotari's Disney Adventures | Promote Your Page Too

JMed's picture
Offline
Joined: 02/16/2014
Posts: 3849

Those sinks are also really low. Not sure what they were going for here...

Anywho today... which is Thursday (I think) laugh

We had breakfast in the conference center, veggie fritatta, sausage, ham, french toast, pastries, cereals and drinks were all set up. We hung around down there talking and filling up before heading back to the room to NAP LOL yes... I told Joe I have finally gotten into the "we are going to come back mentality" because I take it so easy now. He was pretty happy about that.

we were supposed to go to MK with mom and Blondie while dad was in meetings and golfing but dad ditched golfing for Food and Wine with a bunch of the Hardees people and Blondie wanted to go with them. So Joe and I headed to MK alone. We walked over from the Contemp of course. Today was a lot of firsts again. We hopped on the Liberty Belle (1st time) to pass the time before our Haunted Mansion FP. From there we headed to Casey's Corner, mobile ordering was down so I was forced to stand in line... we took our time eating before going over to Buzz Lightyear Spin (1st time) this will also be our last time. How in the world do you know what you are shooting at??? mad We were nearing our Big Thunder Mtn FP and had time to kill so we found a quite spot underneath the train and just sat talking and relaxing. Again we had plenty of time until our next FP for 7DMT so we sat again and then caught the Muppets show (1st time). Then it was off to get ice cream and frapps and Joe rode Space Mtn with a 25 min wait!! By this time we were exhausted and after riding the mine train headed back to the room. We've been here napping and resting before getting ready for the big conference dinner tonight. Cocktail hour, dinner then fireworks and desserts!! WOO HOO!!!

__________________

"I do not like the cone of shame."

"I want adventure in the great wide somewhere. I want it more than I can tell."

"It seems to me that we have a lot of story yet to tell."

Jennifer Huotari | Create Your Badge

The Huotari's Disney Adventures | Promote Your Page Too

Allie's picture
Offline
Joined: 06/26/2012
Posts: 5477

Yeah, so Buzz was fun before TSMM came out and you realized how cool it can actually be. Now it's nothing but frustrating. I normally only ride it when I'm with someone else who wants to or if we get it as an 8th FastPass... laugh

MrHub's picture
Offline
Joined: 10/29/2009
Posts: 9504

JMed those sink are a bitch aren't they? I really like the looks of the Contemporary though. We are there in 29 days but have a Lake view in the Tower.

JMed's picture
Offline
Joined: 02/16/2014
Posts: 3849

MrHub wrote:
JMed those sink are a bitch aren't they? I really like the looks of the Contemporary though. We are there in 29 days but have a Lake view in the Tower.

They really are, I have all of my stuff in one of them and we are using the other one.

SO I guess I need to catch up!!!

Thursday night dinner was fantastic!!! Room was set up with red lights under the tables, Incredibles backdrops and the city over the podium. We spent lots of time with Mr and Mrs and Frozone!! Lots of time LOL Cocktail hour was put to good use with Captain and cokes and then a nice glass of Pinot Noir for dinner. We had salad that had bacon brittle on top. YES, BACON. BRITTLE. It was to die for. Dinner was chicken, carrots, asparagus and truffle mac and cheese. Everything was really good, didn't seem like the typical "conference meal" if you know what I mean. Awards were given out (dad was a presenter) and after we headed out to dessert and fireworks.

If you have ever been to the Contemporary, if you are out front the Convention Center is over to the right. We were out there with a perfect view of the Fireworks (Halloween Party) with the music piped in, desserts and another open bar! Dessert of the night was chocolate sphere dropped in to liquid nitrogen once they cracked it they covered everything inside with caramel. There was a macaroon, a brownie, a piece of chocolate, marshmallows and little silver crispy ball decorations. (I have a video on our page) Along with doughnut holes with ice cream and cherries soaked in Jack Daniels and assorted cookies and ice creams for sandwiches. I had a chocolate sphere and a white russian. It really was a great night!!!

__________________

"I do not like the cone of shame."

"I want adventure in the great wide somewhere. I want it more than I can tell."

"It seems to me that we have a lot of story yet to tell."

Jennifer Huotari | Create Your Badge

The Huotari's Disney Adventures | Promote Your Page Too

JMed's picture
Offline
Joined: 02/16/2014
Posts: 3849

I really have no idea what day is what so I think I am on Friday...

Today was HS and AK but first the boys had to play golf. Blondie wanted to go with them even though she didn't bring her clubs this trip. Mom and I headed to HS on our own to wait on them. She wanted to do TSM and threatened to beat me. THAT didn't happen lol. We also caught the Frozen show which is always a hoot. I laughed until I cried. It was getting a little later in the morning and we hadn't heard from the boys so we grabbed an Empanada Platter. OH my was this good!!!

Once they finally caught up to us, they were hungry so back to eat for them then on to Rock n Roller Coaster. Only a 35 min wait!! My dad rode which was a BAD idea... yuck He didn't get pukey sick but he didn't feel good for a while after. ToT was 2 hours so we skipped it and headed to Launch Bay, no Rey this day which was a bummer but we didn't tell Blondie so no issues there.

It was time to head to AK. 1st FP was Dinosaur, I don't think my parents and Blondie enjoyed it LOL. We got put into different cars oops and all I could think was my mom is gonna kick my butt for this one. B and I rode Primeval Hurl while on that side of the park BEFORE eating dinner. We had Flame Tree so I could get the new Mac and Cheese and boy was it yummy!!!

From dinner we headed to Pandora. Flight of Passage was FOUR hours for the wait. One of the ride rooms was down... Luckily our FP got us in and out fast. My mom didn't want to ride it and was hesitant thru the whole line. In the end she LOVED it. She said it is much better than Soarin and she wants to do it again!! When we rode Soarin today she said it was lame laugh We were all tired and crabby at this point but B wanted to ride Everest so Joe took here. I sat with mom and dad to watch the Tree of Life Awakening. That was about it for Friday! More later!!

Joe and I move to AKL tomorrow while everyone else heads home...

PreviewAttachmentSize
hollywood studios
hollywood studios567.77 KB
rock n roller coaster
rock n roller coaster651.63 KB
dinosaur
dinosaur1.07 MB
food and PW
food and PW597.75 KB
Pandora
Pandora254.38 KB
Pandora
Pandora288.83 KB
__________________

"I do not like the cone of shame."

"I want adventure in the great wide somewhere. I want it more than I can tell."

"It seems to me that we have a lot of story yet to tell."

Jennifer Huotari | Create Your Badge

The Huotari's Disney Adventures | Promote Your Page Too

Kristen K.'s picture
Offline
Joined: 09/01/2011
Posts: 23803

What a lovely view fro your garden room!

JMed's picture
Offline
Joined: 02/16/2014
Posts: 3849

Kristen K. wrote:
What a lovely view fro your garden room!

I really loved it. Nothing fancy but just perfect!!!

Saturday - woha Saturday... Plans were to go to Epcot for Soarin (dad's other request) so early FP then hit a couple of booths before the crowds get terrible. This is what we did last year and it was a success. This year... NOT. SO. MUCH...

It was shoulder to shoulder at 11am when the booths opened.We did the best we could starting in Canada. By the time we got around to Norway, the lines were out of control. We had enough and we took off. Blondie was having some sort of meltdown so we decided to go play putt putt. Well she wasn't having any of that either so we went to the room for naps. She wasn't having THAT either so it was a fun afternoon.

We decided to head to Disney Springs around 5:45ish, you know, right when the rain was starting. We went to the Coca-Cola building for a look around and meet the Polar Bear. If you haven't met him, go... He is so awesome!!!

We went ahead and checked in a little early for our ADR at Planet Hollywood but they were PACKED. We did get to our seat a little before our time so not too bad. Now, I have heard so much negative about PH. It's a chain, Guy Fieri sucks, blah blah blah. So here is my impression. It is LOUD, I am not gonna lie about that. We could still carry on conversation but it was busy, there is music playing and lots going on. Movie clips, videos and a planetary show are all shown on the inside of the dome. SO COOL!!! The memorabilia is plentiful of course and the staff was great. Anthony our server was fantastic!!!

The food. I knew we wanted one of the awesome milkshakes so we skipped appetizers to save room. Blondie got Spaghetti and Meatballs, Dad, Joe and I got burgers and mom got the potato wedge dippers. Man the burgers were good. I should have gone with the American Kobe which Joe got, it was even better!!! The fries are fun (3 different kinds) and the Donkey Sauce I put on everything!!! Now to the Milkshakes... We ended up ordering the Chocolate for the 3 of us. Me, Joe and Blondie... they are much smaller than we expected. I loved the texture of the milkshake, it was more icy than creamy but that is how I make mine at home so I was happy. Joe and Blondie thought it was more like chocolate milk. I assume they make up the glasses and have a bunch ready. The candy on the outside was almost stale. This is the best way to describe it. The kit-kat was kind of chewy. Overall, it was a bust. Luckily the burgers were fantastic or I would have been disappointed all around.

After dinner we split up with my parents and Blondie for about 30 minutes as we have some friends who live in Celebration that we met at the golf club we are members of in GA. They were catching a movie so we had one drink with them before then headed to the resort for our last night at the Contemp. AKL and a super strange day to come...

I have to upload some pics, they will be in the next post!

__________________

"I do not like the cone of shame."

"I want adventure in the great wide somewhere. I want it more than I can tell."

"It seems to me that we have a lot of story yet to tell."

Jennifer Huotari | Create Your Badge

The Huotari's Disney Adventures | Promote Your Page Too

JMed's picture
Offline
Joined: 02/16/2014
Posts: 3849

Planet Hollywood Dinner

PreviewAttachmentSize
supernova shake chocolate comet
supernova shake chocolate comet430.14 KB
burgers and sketti
burgers and sketti426.15 KB
__________________

"I do not like the cone of shame."

"I want adventure in the great wide somewhere. I want it more than I can tell."

"It seems to me that we have a lot of story yet to tell."

Jennifer Huotari | Create Your Badge

The Huotari's Disney Adventures | Promote Your Page Too

JMed's picture
Offline
Joined: 02/16/2014
Posts: 3849

Sunday Bloody Sunday - I thought this day was going to go A LOT different than it did... waiting

So today mom, dad and Blondie are headed home and Joe and I will be staying a few more days. Dad wanted to leave around 8:30 but sent a text at 8 that he was ready. By the time I got Blondie moving and showered it was about 8:30 anyway. We said our goodbyes and finished packing up as we were heading to AKL to check in today. While getting ready, I snagged an ADR for The Wave. 2 buffets and 2 full bellies later we were ready to face the day!!! Or so we thought... eek

I stopped at the front desk because I was trying to make a FP that kept trying to cancel our ADR.. no bueno... I went ahead and checked out because I was told it would make our DDP show up on the phone faster... Checked out, here we go...

First off, Joe wanted to swing by LBV golf course to grab a shirt Blondie wanted and to look for polo shirts for our nephews. From there we headed to Disney Springs, I wanted to look in World of Disney, UNI QLO and get a pin from Planet Hollywood which I forgot to do last night. You would have thought all of the parks were closed and it was pouring rain. It was almost impossible to even walk in World of Disney, I didn't last more than 10 minutes and HAD to leave. yuck mad

I got what I needed from the other stores and back to the car we went. This was also supposed to be a F&W day but we passed because we didn't want to fight the locals crowd again. We decided putt putt was in order. Winter Summerland here we come yay or not, it is also closed for refurb along with Blizzard Beach sad Fantasia Gardens here we come ONE HOUR WAIT TO PLAY??? mad Let's go check out Phins in the new Swolphin lobby $10 to self park for 30 minutes.

By this point I was just angry, let's go to AKL and get checked in. This went smoothly thank goodness. I was excited to see my dining plan on my phone but guess what??? waiting waiting waiting waiting I'm still waiting on it to show up days later. Concierge tried, IT tried, I tried no luck. It's just not my day at all. At this point it's 1:45 room is not ready so we head to HS. We get parked, get in and in line for Star Tours and guess what??? I get the "your room is ready text". So we head back to freshen up before going BACK to HS for dinner and to meet up with Abby and her hubby for a quick drink at the new Base Line Tap House before our dinner at The Hollywood Brown Derby. It was a short but great little meet up and we all walked over together as they were going to catch the Star Wars fireworks.

We checked in for our 7:30 ADR and we were seated immediately. I still had wine from the Tap House so I finished that and ordered another. We started with the Beggars Purse which was AMAZING!!! I could have just ordered a dozen of those and I would have been happy. But we ventured on. I had the Filet and Joe had the Pork. Both were delicious and we got the sampler to go for dessert. Park was closed when we left so we walked slowly out of the park and back to the room. I was looking forward to a good nights sleep and sleeping late. Little did I know... Damn kids next door. I've never heard such racket on any of our trips and now they have drums... mad mad mad mad mad

Pics later!

__________________

"I do not like the cone of shame."

"I want adventure in the great wide somewhere. I want it more than I can tell."

"It seems to me that we have a lot of story yet to tell."

Jennifer Huotari | Create Your Badge

The Huotari's Disney Adventures | Promote Your Page Too