“IT’S OUR MOTHER DAUGHTER TRIP!” Our Spontaneous Getaway - April 2011 COMPLETE 9/13

[JessicaFaye508]

We're actually staying at the Poly this time around. And, like you, we have a reservation at Ohana for dinner that night! But ours is at 9pm. I see a possible DIS meet on our horizon.

Are you really!? That's lovely I've always wanted to stay there!! Do you guys have DVC?
p.s. your trip report helped a lot with familiarizing me with BLT I'm glad you had lots of pictures from there!
And haha do you really!? Yeah, that's the place to be on New Years Eve! I'm SO excited!! And I agree..... perhaps that will happen! I'll have to let you know where we went up seeing fireworks!
How long are you going to stay for this trip?​

 

[IheartDDuck]

Are you really!? That's lovely I've always wanted to stay there!! Do you guys have DVC?
p.s. your trip report helped a lot with familiarizing me with BLT I'm glad you had lots of pictures from there!
And haha do you really!? Yeah, that's the place to be on New Years Eve! I'm SO excited!! And I agree..... perhaps that will happen! I'll have to let you know where we went up seeing fireworks!
How long are you going to stay for this trip?​

We do have DVC, but my mom really wanted to stay at the Poly again, so we are using points to stay there. It is definitely my favorite resort, but even with DVC, it costs a lot of points to stay there, so we don't normally do it.

We are arriving on December 30th (after work though) and staying through January 7th.

 

[JessicaFaye508]

We do have DVC, but my mom really wanted to stay at the Poly again, so we are using points to stay there. It is definitely my favorite resort, but even with DVC, it costs a lot of points to stay there, so we don't normally do it.

We are arriving on December 30th (after work though) and staying through January 7th.

Yeah I could imagine. I wish they had villas there haha. Everything is so expensive I've been looking at the point charts with my Mom for the past couple of days and there's just not enough points or time to do everything that sounds amazing haha. One day I'll stay at the Poly though!
And that's lovely! I'm sure you'll have a wonderful time ​

 

[Disneyfreak616]

Why thank you! Yes, it's a nice dorm... I'm a frump and I spend a lot of time in there. But why wouldn't you when it's so spacious and comfy? lol
And LOL you are correct! That picture is right in the middle of my bulletin board. There are LOTS of pictures of you on my walls hahaha
And thank you! I hope so!
That carrousel at the Beach Club sounds lovely!! Good thing I booked Cape May! I'm gonna have to spend some time there!
And those two ideas sound cute... I'll try and see if I could squeeze them in. Do they decorate the waterparks for Christmas? I don't even know. I bet my Dad and Jonathan would love to go mini golfing!!
And I can't wait either!!! And for Lion King 3-D

Exactly!
I'm so loved. Hehe.
Yeah you will! I bet it's awesome!
I think they'd probably decorate Blizzard Beach for Christmas, considering it's all wintery.
Yeah mini-golfing would be so fun!
YAY Lion King. I watched it with Sarah today. It's SO good.​

Thank you!! I will treat myself to that once I get all of my homework done!
​

You should! It's great! P.S. I AM OFFICIALLY A DISNEY VACATION CLUB MEMBER!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ​

 

[JessicaFaye508]

You should! It's great! P.S. I AM OFFICIALLY A DISNEY VACATION CLUB MEMBER!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ​

Yay it's time to party!!!!! YAYYYYYY WE'RE BOTH DVC MEMBERS NOW
"hi i'm kristen, i'm an alto, and i like disney." "oh."
haha i can't wait for our olive garden at 6 date ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY what a life.

 

[katt789]

Just caught up with this trip report, I'm loving your love of disney It also makes me really excited for the surprise mother daughter trip I'm taking next fall!!

 

[Disneyfreak616]

Yay it's time to party!!!!! YAYYYYYY WE'RE BOTH DVC MEMBERS NOW
"hi i'm kristen, i'm an alto, and i like disney." "oh."
haha i can't wait for our olive garden at 6 date ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY what a life.

I AM SO EXCITEDD!!! Our home resort is Kidani Village and my mom wants to do our family trip in August again next year. I asked if we could do a split stay at Kidani and the Boardwalk and she said probably!!! You will have to come over and help me plannnn!!!!!!!

I can't wait either. We crack me up.

 

[JessicaFaye508]

Chapter 18 - Via Napoli
April 10th, 2011

We caught the bus and rode it to Epcot!

We, of course, took some more Flower and Garden pictures. Who can get enough of those?!

It's funny how the evil bear always looks so cute...

I love this fountain!

The Pixar Ball!

Mother!

YAY FOUNTAIN OF NATIONS!

I enjoy Epcot very much.

The sun is setting again.

We made our way to World Showcase.

We stopped in the Japanese gift shop. That place is AWESOME. I love all of the Hello Kitty stuff in there! I really wish I had a friend who was obsessed with Hello Kitty because I would know exactly where to get them a present! There are so many cute items!

We bought a few lucky cats because they're so adorable. My Mom loves those things! Now don't quote me on this... but I think the green one is for academic success, the black one is to keep away evil and illness, the gold one is for wealth, and the pink is for luck in romance. We got a few cats to share between me, Jonathan, and my Dad.

Japan has pretty flowers, too!

We left the shop after a while and we passed by the Flower Power concert. Marilyn Macoo and Billy Davis Jr. were playing. Mom was excited because she knew who they were!

We continued walking and decided just to head to Via Napoli for our reservation, even though it was a little early. It was only 7:55 pm when we checked in for our 8:30 pm ADR.

We were actually seated within 5 minutes! That worked out very well.

We sat in the little room off to the side as opposed to the main area of the restaurant. I didn't even know it was there!

Here's our view out the window:

Our waiter's name was Guiseppe.

Mom started off with a salad:

We ordered a large flat bread pizza to share. It was half pepperoni and half egg plant.

We ate the WHOLE thing. That's 4 slices each haha. But that's okay... they're really thin! My only complaint about the pizza is that it was burned a little bit on the crust. (as you can see in the picture) Which is fine because I just ate around it... but I'd rather have it not be burned, you know?

For dessert we ordered Zeppoles, which I used to pronounce zeh-pole-eys... but I guess they're actually pronounced zeh-pole-ehs. Haha oh well! You learn new things every day, I guess!

YUM! Mother loves those things.

The whole meal was delicious! It was very different sitting in the back room, though. It's really funny.. because some guy and his dog just randomly came walking into the room. I was like... why hello there haha. The family they went to sit down with was very grouchy, though. How sad. BE HAPPY IN DISNEY, PEOPLE!

Overall, we loved Via Napoli once again. It's a great spot and still remains as one of our top favorites!

Overview of Via Napoli Dining Experience
Food: So sooo good. We couldn't let any of it go to waste because it was just that amazing. That pizza is fantastic, even though the crust was slightly burned. I forgive them, though. 4.5/5
Waiter: Guiseppe
Service: Good. Nothing special, though. Guiseppe was from Italy and he gave us tips on where to visit if we ever go there. 4/5
Overall Experience: So great! I love Via Napoli so so much! The food is SO DELICIOUS! 4.5/5

Continued in Next Post​

 

[JessicaFaye508]

I AM SO EXCITEDD!!! Our home resort is Kidani Village and my mom wants to do our family trip in August again next year. I asked if we could do a split stay at Kidani and the Boardwalk and she said probably!!! You will have to come over and help me plannnn!!!!!!!

I can't wait either. We crack me up.

Haha oh wonderful, I'm so glad! That would be a lovely vacation! Yay, I'm so glad you got vacation club.... it's definitely going to be worth it! I would gladly help you plan haha
And hahahahaha i know. So funny. ​

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

Looks delicious! I wish we had not bailed on our ADR. Oh well, next trip!

 

[IheartDDuck]

You made me so hungry looking at those pictures! I can't wait for my ressie there in October!

Epcot at dusk is so pretty to me. I don't know what it is, I just love how it looks.

 

[Disneyfreak616]

YAY an update!

Lovely Epcot pics. Springtime at Disney looks so fresh and pretty.

Ahhh Sue's fountain. <33

I LOVE Mitsukoshi. I used to love Hello Kitty but then I sorta grew out of it haha.

That pic of Via Napoli is GORGEOUS. I love it.

Oooh that little room is so cute!

YUM. I really wish I had gone there in August. Oh well, there's always next time!

GINGGGGGGG. Haha just kidding. Ging would be with a family that would be happy to be in Disney.

YAY I can't wait for more!!!!!

 

[JessicaFaye508]

Just caught up with this trip report, I'm loving your love of disney It also makes me really excited for the surprise mother daughter trip I'm taking next fall!!

Aww thank you! I hope you enjoyed it. And hahaha I love disney And aww that sounds like a fantastic trip!!

Looks delicious! I wish we had not bailed on our ADR. Oh well, next trip!

Aww yes, that's just another reason to go back!

You made me so hungry looking at those pictures! I can't wait for my ressie there in October!

Epcot at dusk is so pretty to me. I don't know what it is, I just love how it looks.

I'm sorry! I know I get hungry every time I look at food pictures haha. But you're gonna love it! It's delicious!
I agree! It is really pretty!

YAY an update!

Lovely Epcot pics. Springtime at Disney looks so fresh and pretty.

Ahhh Sue's fountain. <33

I LOVE Mitsukoshi. I used to love Hello Kitty but then I sorta grew out of it haha.

That pic of Via Napoli is GORGEOUS. I love it.

Oooh that little room is so cute!

YUM. I really wish I had gone there in August. Oh well, there's always next time!

GINGGGGGGG. Haha just kidding. Ging would be with a family that would be happy to be in Disney.

YAY I can't wait for more!!!!!

It's so nice! I love it! Yay for springtime. It can't come fast enough
I love that store too! I used to have a bunch of Hello Kitty stuff too. But Disney overtook her place.
I love Via Napoli! Yum! Well, you'll have to go next time!!​

 

[PirateKate]

Via Napoli looks so good! I'd love to try the pizza and the zeppoles, especially now that I'll know the correct pronunciation.

I love your new dresses. They're so cute and I bet they'd be really comfortable for touring.

What I loved about college at first, is that everyone is new. There's so much potential- new friends to be made, new activities to try, new places to go and new things to learn. It's not long before you feel at home and the first few weeks when everything was hard is nothing but a blur.

I'm so excited for you going to Disney at Christmas! That's always been one of my favorite times to go. I love the Osbourne Spectacle of Lights, Holiday Wishes, the Christmas parade at MK, and the Celebrate the Season show.

There are a few other Christmas things that I like that you don't hear as much about, like the character Christmas trees at Camp Minnie Mickey. There are Christmas trees with decorations themed like a certain character. It's fun to guess which character the tree is for.

I'm not sure if they're coming back this year, but I loved hearing Joyful perform at Epcot last December. Joyful is a group of extremely talented musicians and singers and they perform gospel-y Christmas music.

My all time favorite Christmas show is sadly no longer performed- the Country Bears Christmas Special. It was discontinued in 2005, I think, and I've been hoping it'll come back every year since then. It's probably a long shot, but if they have it, it's a fun show.

 

[basketkat]

I love all of the Epcot pictures!!!

And your dinner looked really good! Just one more place to add to my "want to try" list!

 

[AlliGirl]

Hi! I love reading your trip report! I think I commented on your report a bit before my own recent mother and daughter trip in August, but reading about yours is so fun! I'm a senior in college this year and I was trying to think of any wisdom to impart and here's the biggest thing I thought of: So your first week or two of school you meet a million people, everyone at freshman week activities, everyone on your dorm floor, everyone in all your classes and people make bonds super quickly and you get a bunch of "bffs" very quickly. My advice is, don't feel so attached to the first people you meet that you don't branch out to meet new people throughout the entire year! And if it turns out after a couple of weeks that you decide some of these new friends aren't really your style, that's ok! Don't feel guilty about moving on! Anyways, I didn't hear about the Disney College program until last semester! I'm going to be done with my student teaching in December of 2012 and I'm considering doing the CP the semester after I graduate since you can still do it then. Wouldn't it be funny if we ended up doing it at the same time? Sorry for writing such an essay!

 

[Home@WDW]

Well if I've got the information, might as well share. I definitely want to help my dis-friends through the craziness that is Christmastime at WDW.

Do I want to get there right at sundown for the beginning of it?
I've been there right at sundown (by accident) when they first turn them on, but it's not a big show. I would wait until a little later in the evening to walk through the lights. They run all the way through park closing & sometimes they'll let you stay in the lighted area a little longer just to walk around.


I booked a Candlelight Processional Package at Teppan Edo because I figured the package would be the way to go after hearing about the insane waits. I am excited to see that - I bet it'll be great! My Mom loves the Christmas story so I'm sure it'll be beautiful!
Oh, Teppan Edo sounds wonderful right now! With the Japan pavilion's location being relatively close to the American Gardens Theater that will be a great place to relax and eat before the show. Another tip would be to bring something soft (like a blanket or another jacket) to sit on during the show. The America Gardens Theater seating is all metal benches like you would find at a football stadium. Those can get rather uncomfortable during a long show & cold during the "Florida winter".

Magic Kingdom Christmas Parade-
Yeah I haven't seen it, so I will make sure I do! How early should we line up for that? And is Main Street the best place to see it?
Especially during the Christmas week when you plan on being there, I would imagine the crowds are going to be flocking to watch this parade. I can't say for certain how early you should be lining up, but if you want to watch on Main Street I would grab a snack from the bakery and find a seat maybe an hour before the parade is scheduled to start.
Also, double-check where the parade is supposed to start (sometimes Main Street & sometimes Frontierland). If it is going to start in Frontierland sitting on Main Street closest to the entrance and train station is best. If the parade starts on Main Street than sitting closer to the Castle is preferred. My family normally picks to watch the parades in Frontierland near the Country Bear Jamboree. The crowds are usually lighter because everyone is drawn to Main Street. This location is also great if you plan on hitting a ride (like Splash or Big Thunder Mountain) immediately after the parade.
One last thing: You can check the official Disney website for parade times during your stay. Sometimes if the Magic Kingdom is open late (like they will be on Christmas) there will be an early parade followed by fireworks and a second parade. Both parades are the same and crowds have usually gone home after the fireworks. So finding a good seat is usually easier.

New Years Eve-
That sounds really cute! I made an ADR at Ohana 7:35 pm... so should we venture out into the parks? We're staying at BLT so I don't know if my family wants to go out into the parks... but I sort of want to to get the experience. Haha we'll see. What happens at Magic Kingdom for the countdown?

Actually, O'hana will be a great place for dinner that night. If I remember correctly The Polynesian & The Contemporary stream in the Magic Kingdom firework music. So if your family does not wish to venture into the park you can comfortably view the fireworks and hear the music from either resort. BLT, the bridge that connects it to the Contemporary, and the viewing platform outside the Contemporary are all prime viewing locations for the fireworks (so don't be surprised by a crowd).
The Magic Kingdom's New Years Eve celebration is a basic countdown with fireworks, but I know every year they change the show a bit based on the "year's theme" (i.e. Celebrate Today, Year of a Million Dreams).

 

[LilAnn]

So I finally got caught up after being away for a bit (but since part of my absence was in Disney, I figure that's excusable) and I can't even remember all the stuff I would have commented on. But basically...

Love the dresses that you got. Super cute.

I am sitting here drooling with my stomach rumbling over all of your yummy food pics.

Wow, your dorm room looks so nice! My dorm room was not nearly as spacious, definitely didn't have air conditioning, and I had to share a bathroom with half the girls on the floor. Kickin' it old school style. Love how you decorated it. It's great that you get along with your roommate. One of my absolute best friends (who has made an appearance on my TR) I met while a freshman at college - she lived next door.

I don't know how big your college is, but I went to a HUGE university and I was totally homesick for a while (and I went 8 hours away - by car). But I have made some lifelong friends, some friends that just made appearances in my life, and some better left forgotten. Enjoy your time, it flies by. And I agree with someone else, if you want some care packages, let us know! I'd totally love to put together a Disney themed care package for you!

Can't wait to hear about the surprise trip too! Yay for more frump adventures!

 

[Enchanted88]

First of all, the Disney dress is way too cute! I'll have to order one next spring! Via Napoli looks sooo good! I think DH and I are def. going to have to try that one next time! The flowers are oh so pretty as well! It looks like you had a wonderful time with your mom!

 

[TanzUnited99]

Great Epcot pics - can't wait to spend lots of time in that park!

Your VN pics are making me hungry! Glad you enjoyed your meal.