The $6,688.00 Disney World Trip - It's a wrap 6/30, Has it really been a year? 3/2 Link to new TR 4/18

Day 11

I woke up from a very strange nightmare where I was driving my scooter on the 405 North from West LA to the SF Valley through the Sepulveda Pass (which is impossible and illegal). This is a major highway, like five lanes on each side, and is normally bumper to bumper when the sun is up. But this was in the dark of night, with no moon, and no streetlights. On the southbound side there were terrible accidents happening. Someone had dumped several tons of this weird foam like substance and once the cars got inside of it there was no visibility and I could hear the vehicles crashing into each other. I could see the flames in the dark night. It was very scary.

No idea where that dream came from! I was glad to wake up from that! I’m wondering what stories there were on the news that may have affected my dream.

So this update is very light on actual photos, so I’m going to insert some random cute cat photos or other funny ones to make it more amusing.

When I woke up the last day, it was 5:30AM and Fran had set an alarm, but I wasn't ready to get up. For the past couple days I had been powering up on the Vitamin C, cause I felt like something was coming on. So I took another one and laid back down for another 45 minutes, but at 6:15 I knew that I had to get up and get started. I had all the suitcases packed by 7:30, and we were pretty nearly ready to go. I weighed them and locked them and at 8AM Fran called the Bellman. It took half an hour for him to get to us, evidently he was the only one working. What's up Disney? This was the second time they only had one bellman for a large resort.

When we got to the resort airport check in, they were not able to check Fran in or her luggage. I think this had to do with the way the third ticket was booked. Usually they give it a separate confirmation number, this time all three seats were booked on one confirmation. So we had to take two bags with us on ME, and we had to go check the other two once we got to the airport.

I've got to remember that when booking these flights. What a PITA!

Luckily our DME was right on time, and we were the last stop. We got to the airport by 9:30, and we were through security and gate checking the scooters by 10:20.

With plenty of time until boarding (one hour and ten minutes), we went to find some food. All the vitamin C that I was taking made my stomach a little wonky. What I really wanted was some soup, but no one was serving that at breakfast time. We settled on pretzels from Auntie Annie's. I got a salted pretzel with cheese sauce and planned to eat about half of it. Fran got a pretzel dog, and some cinnamon sugar covered pretzel bites. I ate a few of those too. Sorry no pictures. So here’s a cute cat and her baby kittens nursing.



Our flight was uneventful but full so no refunds on the third seat would be coming for us this time. I didn't eat a whole heck of a lot before the flight, I think the Vitamin C made me queasy. So I was starving by the time they brought around the Ritz bits. I would have even eaten the pretzels, if they gave them to me.

Here’s two of those kittens all grown up.



When we landed in Dallas I was determined to find something to eat. It turned out that our gates were all in the same proximity and we didn't have to walk across the terminal like we did on the incoming flight. If you're not familiar with the Dallas Southwest terminal, there is a food court in the middle of the terminal. I'm not sure what is at the end of the terminal with the higher gate #'s. We were at the end of the terminal where gates 1-5 were located, and there was a Mexican restaurant with a QS option. I got an order of Fajita tacos. I'm not sure what made them Fajita since there wasn't any peppers. I let Fran have all the avocado and we each had 1½ tacos. The rice was meh, but the beans were pretty good.



I had a S'mores treat leftover from the day we went to the movies in my carry on so we had that for dessert. And then we waited patiently for the flight to board. Again, a full flight so at least we were comfortable. That third seat is a lifesaver, especially when you're the large economy size like us. I watched our baggage being loaded on the plane. Always a good sign.



There is goes!



And they’ve even got the scooters.



Anyways, everything went basically as planned for the rest of the trip home. And as could have been predicted, it was three hours from touch down on the ground to walking in the door of our house.

Here’s another cute cat pretending to be a little mountain goat on her cat post.



Between getting the scooters up from the belly of the plane, picking up the car from the remote lot, LA rush hour traffic, and a stop for milk and bread, it's consistently three hours to get home.

Oh well the kitties were eventually happy to see us, some sooner than others, but by morning they had all forgiven us and were piled in bed with us sleeping away and making us overheated. This one likes the R2D2 clothes hamper.



Reflections: So everyone congratulated us on the "upgrade" after the first post, but I'm not so sure I'd call it that. While it is the new fancy hotel, it is seriously lacking in amenities. I heard people comparing it to the Grand Floridian and there is no comparison at all. The GF blows this place out of the water!

Why is there no spa at such a fancy resort? I would have switched my spa reservation over in a heartbeat. As it was I agonized over canceling it until the last day possible.

And dining options? Pathetic. They have an over the top fine dining place that gets mixed reviews where you can buy a $50 steak. And then they have the QS on the ground floor that was fairly mediocre. I realize now that the menu I posted was lunch because there are a few dinner options that are missing from the menu. The QS had a $17 steak. I don't remember if it was a flat iron or a hanger steak, but what frustrated me was that the QS didn't have just a plain old side salad or Caesar salad. Only the fancy Greek, Caprese or Nicoise.

What that place needs is a nice little French Bistro TS that serves Steak Frites,



Quiche, Roasted Chicken, Coq au Vin,



a decent Croque Monsieur or Madame, Escargot, Ratatouille, Haricot Verts, good French comfort food, at reasonable-for-Disney prices. And maybe a place more like Les Halles instead of the current QS.

And transportation options? I did get over my fear of the Skyliner, but geez those cars come into the station fast. Just about every time coming into the station, I cringed hoping I wasn't going to be the next Skyliner mishap. Maybe it was because most of the time I was riding alone and didn't have people talking to me and distracting me, but really I would rather just take the bus. Except they only run once an hour to Epcot and DHS. This is what I found the most frustrating.

I certainly won't be buying points here. There are so many restrictions on the points if you buy them on the resale market they can only be used at the Riviera. Also something about resale points bought after a certain date can't be used there either. Then there are the actual point values. Our room at SSR cost us 32 points a night for weeknights whereas Riviera was 38 points. Over the course of 5-6 nights that's an extra day at SSR. On F&S the respective prices are 38 points and 48 points. That means that you could have 4 nights at the Riviera or 5 nights at SSR. For the exact same amount of points. Other than a little more marble, there is nothing that the Riviera room had over a room in the same category at SSR. If I had actually booked here in the first place it would have cost 68 more points for the entire stay. That's about 20% more, or nearly a midweek weekend at the Grand in low season!

Plus there were some transportation benefits we had hoped to take advantage of at SSR as well. Like on the nights that we were returning from dining/drinking at other resorts, we had just planned to take the bus to DS and then motor back to our room. Obviously the benefit of no bus rides after my spa treatment. I had also wanted to try out the Polite Pig at DS, and that would have been a simple one from SSR, but from RR it required a bus and we just never fit it in.

And then there were the hallways. I may have addressed this earlier in replies, but there are some resorts with fun hallways. AKL has interesting halls if nothing besides the neat patterns on the door. I think the halls at BCV are cute and New Englandy, and even BLT. They both have halls that are kinda interesting. This place was just sterile and trying to exude elegance, unsuccessfully.

But here’s a laugh for you our quarantine eats with our first take out order from Acapulco Restaurant complete with take out Margarias and all. You can see the kitties are just as interested in our dinner as we are!



Well that’s it for my Florida trips to Disney for who knows how long. I’ve still got a few California Disney bonus features for you left, but not a lot. I wrote this a while ago, “Pretty soon, there won’t be any TRs left on the DIS.” But now we know that isn’t true and by the end of July we should have plenty to read about.

I’ll just leave you with this image of Fran cutting onions when we made Clam Chowder last December.




 
I had gum surgery sometime way back, Fran was in the picture, but I still lived up in the SF valley. They just went in hacked out a bunch of my gums at the back of my mouth. Since then my hygenist has to be very delicate in that area. Evidently it got bad enough that he (the Periodontist) had to go in, clean it all out and then do a bone graft to the part that was missing so my tooth had a "higher wall" to hold it in.
Whoa! That sounds... less than pleasant.

:hug:

Hope you're feeling better soon, Alison.
It was a week ago, and the pain is just sort of starting to subside. I think the stitches are starting to dissolve too.
"Just starting"??? Yikes! A week is too long to go with dental pain.
Florida is far worse for reasons that can not be discussed on the DIS.
Oh?
The P word.
Totally lost now. P word that can't be written on the Dis... hmmm... can't be that. Public? No idea. :confused3
However, I'm hoping by January of next year, the 21st to be exact, we should start turning this thing around. If everyone isn't already dead yet.
:rolleyes1
I'll put it on the list! :teacher:
That must be some awfully long list you have by now! I'm going to have to make a trip down and stay a month just to get through it all! :laughing:
Huh. I have not experienced this on filming that I have witnessed. Most of the time they just film in the daylight. Probably costs less.
Probably because it costs less to pay everyone during the day, than at night or on weekends.
 
Nice wrap up! Liked seeing your review on Riveria. We debated on staying there in August but decided BLT was more our speed. Points per night seem excessive for what you get.

Hopefully we can all travel soon. We're sticking with WDW for our trips for the next year as we live in Florida and already subjected to it all anyway and can drive.
 
I woke up from a very strange nightmare where I was driving my scooter on the 405 North from West LA to the SF Valley through the Sepulveda Pass (which is impossible and illegal). This is a major highway, like five lanes on each side, and is normally bumper to bumper when the sun is up. But this was in the dark of night, with no moon, and no streetlights. On the southbound side there were terrible accidents happening. Someone had dumped several tons of this weird foam like substance and once the cars got inside of it there was no visibility and I could hear the vehicles crashing into each other. I could see the flames in the dark night. It was very scary.
Yikes! That's not pleasant at all.
Why is it impossible and illegal? Did you mean the scooter? Or you can't go north on 405 from West La?
So this update is very light on actual photos, so I’m going to insert some random cute cat photos or other funny ones to make it more amusing.
I'm okay with that. :)
For the past couple days I had been powering up on the Vitamin C, cause I felt like something was coming on.
Uh, oh. Did you come down with something? I think you did?
What's up Disney? This was the second time they only had one bellman for a large resort.
That's... a bit light in that department, for sure.
So we had to take two bags with us on ME, and we had to go check the other two once we got to the airport.
Annoying. :(
Luckily our DME was right on time,
I always wish it'd be just a little late. Not so late I miss my flight, but late enough that I can squeeze a few last moments out of the Disney time.
and we were the last stop
That part I like.
When I get picked up, I don't want to be reminded that there's more Disney.
So here’s a cute cat and her baby kittens nursing.
Awww...
Our flight was uneventful but full so no refunds on the third seat would be coming for us this time.
Poop. Still... good thing you booked it.
If you're not familiar with the Dallas Southwest terminal,
Nope! Never been in that neck of the US. Texas, Louisiana, New Mexico... to name a few.
I'm not sure what is at the end of the terminal with the higher gate #'s
Gates.


There are gates.



Okay, now that I gave you the wise guy answer, I felt guilty so looked it up.
At the other end there's the ubiquitous Hudson News, as well as a Jason's Deli, Hops & Grapes, the also ubiquitous Chili's, and the even more ubiquitous Starbucks.
there was a Mexican restaurant with a QS option.
Cantina Laredo.
I'm not sure what made them Fajita since there wasn't any peppers.
I Googled. Apparently, according to the one and only definition of fajita that I looked at, it just says "vegetables", not specifically peppers.
"a dish of Mexican origin consisting of strips of spiced beef or chicken, chopped vegetables, and grated cheese, wrapped in a soft tortilla and often served with sour cream."

I checked one more spot:
"The word 'fajita' is actually a reference to the type of meat traditionally used in the assembly of the dish—carne asada, or skirt steak. This tough cut of meat is sliced against the grain, grilled, and accompanied by grilled vegetables with flour or corn tortillas on the side."
That third seat is a lifesaver, especially when you're the large economy size like us.
You're not economy. You guys are priceless.
I watched our baggage being loaded on the plane. Always a good sign.
::yes::
I've yet to spot my bag being loaded. And I have watched. (But not obsessively, which probably explains why I've never seen it.)
Here’s another cute cat pretending to be a little mountain goat on her cat post.
"Baa!"
(Or whatever sound a goat makes.)
Between getting the scooters up from the belly of the plane, picking up the car from the remote lot, LA rush hour traffic, and a stop for milk and bread, it's consistently three hours to get home.
Long. If you got back at 2am, how long would it take?
If I get home at 2am it takes about 30 minutes. During rush hour, 45.
Reflections: So everyone congratulated us on the "upgrade" after the first post, but I'm not so sure I'd call it that. While it is the new fancy hotel, it is seriously lacking in amenities. I heard people comparing it to the Grand Floridian and there is no comparison at all. The GF blows this place out of the water!
Ah! Interesting observation.
What that place needs is a nice little French Bistro TS that serves Steak Frites,

Quiche, Roasted Chicken, Coq au Vin,

a decent Croque Monsieur or Madame, Escargot, Ratatouille, Haricot Verts, good French comfort food, at reasonable-for-Disney prices. And maybe a place more like Les Halles instead of the current QS.
That all sounds really good! Send Disney this idea! (Not that they'd listen... but they should.)
And transportation options? I did get over my fear of the Skyliner, but geez those cars come into the station fast. Just about every time coming into the station, I cringed hoping I wasn't going to be the next Skyliner mishap. Maybe it was because most of the time I was riding alone and didn't have people talking to me and distracting me, but really I would rather just take the bus. Except they only run once an hour to Epcot and DHS. This is what I found the most frustrating.
Don't they slow down enough for scooters and wheelchairs??? Poor planning, Disney.
There are so many restrictions on the points if you buy them on the resale market they can only be used at the Riviera.
I'd heard something like that. Actually, the reverse, I think. That your old resale market points couldn't be used there.
Over the course of 5-6 nights that's an extra day at SSR. On F&S the respective prices are 38 points and 48 points. That means that you could have 4 nights at the Riviera or 5 nights at SSR. For the exact same amount of points. Other than a little more marble, there is nothing that the Riviera room had over a room in the same category at SSR. If I had actually booked here in the first place it would have cost 68 more points for the entire stay. That's about 20% more, or nearly a midweek weekend at the Grand in low season!
Disney must really be counting on enough people wanting in so much they don't care about what they (the buyers) lose.
This place was just sterile and trying to exude elegance, unsuccessfully.
Doesn't sound great.
But here’s a laugh for you our quarantine eats with our first take out order from Acapulco Restaurant complete with take out Margarias and all. You can see the kitties are just as interested in our dinner as we are!
:laughing: Did the kitties swipe some?
I’ll just leave you with this image of Fran cutting onions when we made Clam Chowder last December.
:laughing:

And I'll leave you with this image I saw yesterday (on the internet, not my photo).


505591
 


Ooh, hope your mouth heals soon!

LOVE LOVE LOVE the kitty pics!

Thanks again for sharing with us!
 
Thanks for adding in the kitty pictures and the hilarious one of Fran cutting up onion. :rotfl2:

It's crazy to think that I won't be having your trip reports to read for a while. I don't know what the future holds for any of us when it comes to Disneyland, but I'd love to meet up with you ladies for a drink or something at Trader Sam's or anywhere around the property. Again, I'm not holding my breath as who knows what will happen with any of us between now and then. My Long Beach daughter and I do have a night booked at the Grand in August. We aren't really planning on going to the parks if they are open. We were thinking more about getting a cabana and enjoying the food and drinks at the hotel. I'm not even sure (if it does open by then) that they will have a full menu. I think if most of what we were planning doesn't look like it will be open, we'll probably cancel. :(

My next big plan is Gay Days weekend, but you know how massively crowded that is. I'm also caring for a hospice dog right now and not sure I'll want to spend a whole weekend away at that time if she's still around.

Meanwhile, you still have an Acapulco? I'm pretty sure all the ones in San Diego have closed as well as their sister El Torito. Dang - I used to love going to those places. How did they sell to go margaritas? Where they just in a normal to go soda type cup?
 
Wow. How have I messed your reports! I have read through this one and will go back and read your others as I have time.

First, I only read your report and not any of the comments between updates. But in case no one has told you, when you get the extra seat for COS on SWA, the flight no longer has to not be full to get the refund. All you have to do is ask for it. My son pointed this out to me. So even on a full flight, you can get a refund on the extra seat.

I LOVED your TSA notes!!

I was surprised to see no walk in shower, but I have learned that with HA rooms you have to specifically ask for roll in/walk in showers. After a long day in the parks, I'm not sure my knees would let me get in that tub anymore.

So glad to read about the scooters and the Skyliner. I usually travel using a scooter and so does a friend of mine. So if we were together, it is good to know the one per car and the spacing.

I also love your spice kit. I unfortunately have something similar, only it is a medical kit, lol. A plastic container with anything you could need for non-emergency room requiring things. We learned after our first trip to carry it because trying to locate a medicine on Disney property can be challenging and expensive!

Can't wait to read your other reports. And I will be checking out your cookbook!
 


a very strange nightmare
No idea where that dream came from! I was glad to wake up from that!

Yikes! I have very vivid dreams, I've even had some nightmares where I realize I'm in a nightmare and manage to wake myself up out of it..then I don''t want to fall back asleep toooo quickly as I don't want to go back into the crazy dream!

they were not able to check Fran in or her luggage.

A bit annoying for sure, now you know I guess?


Hello there you little cuties!



I'm always a bit weary of ordering steak fajitas/tacos as it can be soo tough..
I watched our baggage being loaded on the plane. Always a good sign.

Love it when I see a bag!

And they’ve even got the scooters.


They look like they were handled nicely too!


I like the picture behind this balancing act too!


r traffic, and a stop for milk and bread, it's consistently three hours to get home.

When you are doing Orlando, it's pretty much always LAX hey?


Mmm that looks good! Doesn't help I'm almost done work and hungry!

most of the time I was riding alone

Oh they put you in with a scooter mostly solo hey?


I got distracted in this picture..so much that it distracted me from margs and Mexican food!
I wrote this a while ago, “Pretty soon, there won’t be any TRs left on the DIS.” But now we know that isn’t true and by the end of July we should have plenty to read about.

I will have to find some more to read I think

I’ll just leave you with this image of Fran cutting onions when we made Clam Chowder last December.



I actually laughed outloud here! Good thing I'm still working from home!!
 
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Whoa! That sounds... less than pleasant.

:hug:

Hope you're feeling better soon, Alison.

Well Wednesday was the first day that I didn’t wake up at 5:30AM due to excruciating pain (the pills from the night before had worn off). I stopped taking the narcotics the day after the surgery because I couldn't stand feeling funny. I went back to taking ibuprofen, but was taking it too often because Monday I felt icky and didn't realize what was causing it until I googled "ibuprofen symptoms".

Now I'm doing a mix of the ibuprofen and the turmeric based pain meds. I still wake up sore with the pain pills of the night before having worn off, but at least the pain is not the reason I'm waking up anymore. Thats a difference.

"Just starting"??? Yikes! A week is too long to go with dental pain.

Now we're on Day 10. While its not as bad as last week. It still hurts.

Did you ever get your dental problem fixed?

Oh?
Totally lost now. P word that can't be written on the Dis... hmmm... can't be that. Public? No idea. :confused3

Politics. Verboten an das DIS.

That must be some awfully long list you have by now! I'm going to have to make a trip down and stay a month just to get through it all! :laughing:

Actually there's only 8 items on it. But a lot is eating, so that may take a while. One can only eat so many meals in one day.

Probably because it costs less to pay everyone during the day, than at night or on weekends.

Not to mention the hardware you mentioned.
 
Alison, you’re a hot ticket, love the picture of Fran cutting onions for your chowda!

Thank you for allowing me to be a part of your travels, I’m going to miss reading of your adventures....until the next time!❤️
 
Yikes! That's not pleasant at all.
Why is it impossible and illegal? Did you mean the scooter? Or you can't go north on 405 from West La?

OK, first off the illegal. California Freeways say that, I'm not sure how its worded, but essentially only cars, trucks, and motorcycles are allowed to travel on them. No bicycles, pedestrians, and I assume scooters would be included in that group.

Impossible because getting there would be a huge PITA. The pass itself has limited off/on ramps. The farthest north on ramp before "the pass" would be Sunset Blvd. There's no parking on Sunset, its a very busy street. Two lanes in each direction. And looking at the satellite map I don’t see any sidewalks. It's been a while since I've driven there, but I don't recall any either.

Since we can't just apperate onto the freeway, I'm not sure exactly how you could. That part of town is very traffic heavy, many roads are multiple lanes and such. If you got on the freeway before Sunset, more than likely you would be picked up before getting to Sunset.

Also in my dream/nightmare I was on the portion between Sunset and Mulholland. The road was going upward on my side and the cars crashing were on the downhill side.

If you're in a car, the 405 is one of three routes from West LA to the valley. You can also take Sepulveda Blvd which parallels the freeway, but its only a couple lanes in each direction and there are stoplights. The other one is very roundabout, you can go up the coast on PCH to Malibu and cut across the mountains on Las Virgenes Canyon Road, but that would only be in a extreme case, where you want to take the scenic route or the pass was closed due to wildfires or a major accident which closed down all the northbound lanes.

I'm okay with that. :)

Good cause that was the easiest genre to choose from for filler!

Uh, oh. Did you come down with something? I think you did?

Actually I didn't, the vitamin C worked.

That's... a bit light in that department, for sure.

Yeah, at least have an extra person between 7AM until noon. People are bound to be checking out.

I always wish it'd be just a little late. Not so late I miss my flight, but late enough that I can squeeze a few last moments out of the Disney time.

I start freaking out when they're late.

That part I like.
When I get picked up, I don't want to be reminded that there's more Disney

I just don't like more people getting on the bus! :laughing:

Poop. Still... good thing you booked it.

Yes. Nice not to be squished in.

Nope! Never been in that neck of the US. Texas, Louisiana, New Mexico... to name a few.

Never been to New Mexico, Louisiana needs a do over, but I've had fun in Texas. Some good Chicken Fried Steak to be had there. And ive had margaritas the size of my head!

Gates.


There are gates.



Okay, now that I gave you the wise guy answer, I felt guilty so looked it up.
At the other end there's the ubiquitous Hudson News, as well as a Jason's Deli, Hops & Grapes, the also ubiquitous Chili's, and the even more ubiquitous Starbucks.

OK. I'll believe you.

Cantina Laredo.

Sounds about right.

I Googled. Apparently, according to the one and only definition of fajita that I looked at, it just says "vegetables", not specifically peppers.
"a dish of Mexican origin consisting of strips of spiced beef or chicken, chopped vegetables, and grated cheese, wrapped in a soft tortilla and often served with sour cream."

OK. That makes sense, but peppers seem logical as they are popular in the Southwest.

I checked one more spot:
"The word 'fajita' is actually a reference to the type of meat traditionally used in the assembly of the dish—carne asada, or skirt steak. This tough cut of meat is sliced against the grain, grilled, and accompanied by grilled vegetables with flour or corn tortillas on the side."

Interesting that they base it around steak, cause you can find chicken and shrimp fajitas at many places. When I plan fajitas in the menu, it usually in conjunction with either sausage and peppers or chicken a la king days earlier/later. That way I use up the peppers between the two meals. However two weeks ago. I ended up bailing on the fajita concept and just made the skirt steak (on the grill) with fries in the airfryer. I ended up tossing the leftover peppers.

You're not economy. You guys are priceless.

I'm not sure how to respond to that! :laughing:

::yes::
I've yet to spot my bag being loaded. And I have watched. (But not obsessively, which probably explains why I've never seen it.)

I just happened to see that. I was playing a game on my phone waiting to push back so I happened to see them, and the phone camera was handy.

"Baa!"
(Or whatever sound a goat makes.)

This time I Googled and you are correct sir!

Long. If you got back at 2am, how long would it take?
If I get home at 2am it takes about 30 minutes. During rush hour, 45.

Well the three hours is the process.

15 to 20 minutes to taxi to the gate and exit the plane. We wait until most people have exited the plane since we have to wait for the scooters anyways.
15 to 20 minutes to wait for the scooters to come up at the gate.
10 minutes to -ahem- use the facilities
10 to 15 minutes to get luggage. On American our bags used to be waiting for us, but Southwest seems to be a little slower about getting them off the plane.
40 minutes to take the shuttle to the remote lot, get the car and drive back
10 minutes more to load the car.
30 to 45 minutes to drive back to Long Beach
15 to 20 minutes to stop for milk and bread

If you add up the worst case timings above you get exactly 3 hours.

I dont think 2AM would affect that timing more than 15 minutes cause it would still be half an hour from LAX to our house. It seems the extra time is in all the other steps.

Ah! Interesting observation.

What about it is interesting.

That all sounds really good! Send Disney this idea! (Not that they'd listen... but they should.)

That's OK. Not being listened to has been the story of my life.

Don't they slow down enough for scooters and wheelchairs??? Poor planning, Disney.

Well at most of the stations they have a separate loading area for scooters and wheelchairs. However what I'm talking about is when you approach the station. The cars in front of you are stopped and you rapidly approach the stopped cars and then your car abruptly breaks. I seem to be the only who finds this disconcerting.

I'd heard something like that. Actually, the reverse, I think. That your old resale market points couldn't be used there.

Actually "old" resale points can be used there, but there is a cut off date where your points purchased after said date cant be used there. My original BRV and BCV contracts were purchased less than a month before the first incarnation of this policy was put in place (no using resale points for cruises, non DVC hotels, ABD, etc.). Our BLT contract and second BRV are subject to all the restrictions. But that's only 130 of 1018 points.

Disney must really be counting on enough people wanting in so much they don't care about what they (the buyers) lose.

Or new buyers are not savvy enough to understand the nuances.

:laughing: Did the kitties swipe some?

No they patiently waited for us to give then bits of our taco meat.

And I'll leave you with this image I saw yesterday (on the internet, not my photo).

Is that a real cat or a stuffed toy?
 
Well Wednesday was the first day that I didn’t wake up at 5:30AM due to excruciating pain (the pills from the night before had worn off).
Well... progress?
I went back to taking ibuprofen, but was taking it too often because Monday I felt icky and didn't realize what was causing it until I googled "ibuprofen symptoms".
Oh! I hadn't heard of that. I seldom take pills of that kind. I have to be feeling pretty bad to do so. (Obviously you were, so makes sense.)
I still wake up sore with the pain pills of the night before having worn off, but at least the pain is not the reason I'm waking up anymore. Thats a difference.
::yes::
Now we're on Day 10. While its not as bad as last week. It still hurts.
:hug:
Hope it heals completely, quickly.
Did you ever get your dental problem fixed?
I did!
Um... well... I had the opposite experience you had.
I figured out that it probably wasn't a broken molar so much as a filling broke, and it turns out that was the case. I went in and he poked at it a bit and said "Does that hurt?" I hadn't felt a thing. So he went and gave me another filling without having to freeze it. It was a breeze and felt great immediately. He even said "That must've been the easiest filling you've ever gotten."
And he was right!
Politics. Verboten an das DIS.
Ohhhh...
Actually there's only 8 items on it. But a lot is eating, so that may take a while. One can only eat so many meals in one day.
I'm not an "eat and purge" kinda guy. ;)
Not to mention the hardware you mentioned.
Nope. They'd already own that, so no extra cost there.
Unless it's a small company that rents them.
OK, first off the illegal. California Freeways say that, I'm not sure how its worded, but essentially only cars, trucks, and motorcycles are allowed to travel on them. No bicycles, pedestrians, and I assume scooters would be included in that group.
Okay, that part I figured.
I just wanted to know what you meant by saying you couldn't do it. Because it was physically impossible or legally impossible.
Impossible because getting there would be a huge PITA. The pass itself has limited off/on ramps. The farthest north on ramp before "the pass" would be Sunset Blvd. There's no parking on Sunset, its a very busy street. Two lanes in each direction. And looking at the satellite map I don’t see any sidewalks. It's been a while since I've driven there, but I don't recall any either.
Okay, think I got it.
If you're in a car, the 405 is one of three routes from West LA to the valley. You can also take Sepulveda Blvd which parallels the freeway, but its only a couple lanes in each direction and there are stoplights. The other one is very roundabout, you can go up the coast on PCH to Malibu and cut across the mountains on Las Virgenes Canyon Road, but that would only be in a extreme case, where you want to take the scenic route or the pass was closed due to wildfires or a major accident which closed down all the northbound lanes.
I'm gonna need a map for this. :laughing:
Actually I didn't, the vitamin C worked.
Good. :)
I start freaking out when they're late.
Yeah... there's that, too.
I just don't like more people getting on the bus! :laughing:
:laughing: Okay, That too.
Never been to New Mexico, Louisiana needs a do over, but I've had fun in Texas. Some good Chicken Fried Steak to be had there. And ive had margaritas the size of my head!
Reason to go!
OK. That makes sense, but peppers seem logical as they are popular in the Southwest.
That does seem logical. Unfortunately, peppers don't agree with me, so while I like the taste, I avoid them.
Interesting that they base it around steak, cause you can find chicken and shrimp fajitas at many places. When I plan fajitas in the menu, it usually in conjunction with either sausage and peppers or chicken a la king days earlier/later. That way I use up the peppers between the two meals. However two weeks ago. I ended up bailing on the fajita concept and just made the skirt steak (on the grill) with fries in the airfryer. I ended up tossing the leftover peppers.
You're right. I usually do chicken fajitas myself. Never done sausage though. Do you skin and break them up or slice them?
I'm not sure how to respond to that! :laughing:
:hug:
This time I Googled and you are correct sir!
A first!!
15 to 20 minutes to taxi to the gate and exit the plane.
I don't count that part. I consider it as part of the flight. Plane's moving, plainly.
I start my countdown when I walk out the door. So not even after we've parked and the door's open.
We wait until most people have exited the plane since we have to wait for the scooters anyways.
::yes:: Had to do that when I was in the wheelchair.
40 minutes to take the shuttle to the remote lot, get the car and drive back
:scared: That's long!!!
I dont think 2AM would affect that timing more than 15 minutes cause it would still be half an hour from LAX to our house. It seems the extra time is in all the other steps.
Okay, got it.
What about it is interesting.
That it wasn't an upgrade, really and the comparison to the GF.
That's OK. Not being listened to has been the story of my life.
:rolleyes1
Well at most of the stations they have a separate loading area for scooters and wheelchairs. However what I'm talking about is when you approach the station. The cars in front of you are stopped and you rapidly approach the stopped cars and then your car abruptly breaks. I seem to be the only who finds this disconcerting.
Ah okay. Someday I'll see what it's all about.


Someday.
Or new buyers are not savvy enough to understand the nuances.
That's me!
(the not savvy part. Not planning on buying.)
Is that a real cat or a stuffed toy?
That's one real tired kitten.
 
Thanks for adding in the kitty pictures and the hilarious one of Fran cutting up onion. :rotfl2:

I'm glad you enjoyed them!

It's crazy to think that I won't be having your trip reports to read for a while.

Well, I've still got a few more bonus updates from times at Disneyland, so there will be more to read for a little bit.

I don't know what the future holds for any of us when it comes to Disneyland, but I'd love to meet up with you ladies for a drink or something at Trader Sam's or anywhere around the property.

That would be great fun! We'll have to see how things turn out!

Again, I'm not holding my breath as who knows what will happen with any of us between now and then. My Long Beach daughter and I do have a night booked at the Grand in August. We aren't really planning on going to the parks if they are open. We were thinking more about getting a cabana and enjoying the food and drinks at the hotel. I'm not even sure (if it does open by then) that they will have a full menu. I think if most of what we were planning doesn't look like it will be open, we'll probably cancel. :(

Yeah, we will have to see where we're at. Here we thought things were reopening and now we are going back to closing down. So who knows?

My next big plan is Gay Days weekend, but you know how massively crowded that is. I'm also caring for a hospice dog right now and not sure I'll want to spend a whole weekend away at that time if she's still around.

I'm sorry about the dog you're tending. :hug:

Meanwhile, you still have an Acapulco? I'm pretty sure all the ones in San Diego have closed as well as their sister El Torito. Dang - I used to love going to those places.

We had an El Torito and an Acapulco on the same street within half a mile of each other. The El Torito closed but the Acapulco is still open. It's at the Marina Pacifica shopping center on PCH, if your daughter knows where that is.

How did they sell to go margaritas? Where they just in a normal to go soda type cup?

This isn't from Acapulco, but it's the same concept. It was about 2 weeks into the shut down that LA county legalized "Take Out Liquor". This is an example from our favorite local Tiki Bar called the Bamboo Club. There are two different drinks here along with their "chicken plate". The drinks sell for $24 each and are supposed to have four servings, although we seemed to only get two servings from each one. Acapulco was the same, but I think we opted for their Cadillac Margarita for $27 instead of the standard for $24. Places can deliver Beer, Wine, and Mixed drinks, just not bottles of liquor.

 
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Wow. How have I messed your reports! I have read through this one and will go back and read your others as I have time.

:welcome: Wow! That's a lot of dedication!

First, I only read your report and not any of the comments between updates. But in case no one has told you, when you get the extra seat for COS on SWA, the flight no longer has to not be full to get the refund. All you have to do is ask for it. My son pointed this out to me. So even on a full flight, you can get a refund on the extra seat.

That's good to know. I will call and ask in the future, if we ever end up flying again.

I LOVED your TSA notes!!

Thanks! I was surprised that it worked.

I was surprised to see no walk in shower, but I have learned that with HA rooms you have to specifically ask for roll in/walk in showers. After a long day in the parks, I'm not sure my knees would let me get in that tub anymore.

I would have called and asked for one because that's what we had reserved at SSR, but Fran said she could work with it, so we stayed put.

So glad to read about the scooters and the Skyliner. I usually travel using a scooter and so does a friend of mine. So if we were together, it is good to know the one per car and the spacing.

Yeah, it was kind of disconcerting. It worked out better for me if she went first, then I wasn't sitting at the end station fretting about whether it would break down with her on it.

I also love your spice kit. I unfortunately have something similar, only it is a medical kit, lol. A plastic container with anything you could need for non-emergency room requiring things. We learned after our first trip to carry it because trying to locate a medicine on Disney property can be challenging and expensive!

I hear you! We learned that on our Alaskan cruise. I have a similar thing that I pack now, but I just throw it in a baggie. Mucinex, a Z-pack, Cepacol tablets, and a couple other prescription meds that we have in case of emergencyish situations.

Can't wait to read your other reports. And I will be checking out your cookbook!

Well, thanks!
 
z20MU0213TD10.jpg
What a way to go!!! :) LOL this is a great picture!

I appreciate your honest reflections on the upgrade you received. Definitely interesting to get a different resort than you booked, but it can come at a cost for sure!

I'm interested to hear the Disneyland bonus features!!! Disneyland is still on my "someday" list for now, but is definitely a place I am drawn to visit, even more than other Disney parks internationally. I feel the need to walk where Walt walked and see where the vision began!
 
We had tickets to Moonlight Magic

I've not heard of this!
since this was the first year in decades that Michael hasn’t had a Disney pass.

I wonder if he'll get one moving forward...?

Pretty!

We had a choice of Flame Tree, Pizzasafari, Satuli Canteen, or Restaurantosaurus for our complimentary dinner. T

I'm in the Satuli camp, but depending on my mood, I could easily see picking Flame Tree too.

Boy is Everest a trip in the dark! So much fun!

I'm not sure I've ever done that!!! Need to fix that! I guess cuz the park always closes so early.


So I gave Fran my other bar and while I went on the ride, she ended up eating three Mickey Bars! :eek:

Did that come with a side of insulin?! :scared1:
The wait was 20 minutes, and they sent us through the regular queue. I'd never been through there before and it was pretty neat. But not 180 minutes wait neat.
I've never once been through that queue. :( would love to someday!
 
We probably even went right past Eight Spoons, I could have tried their Mac and Cheese! But I totally forgot about it. Instead we headed over to Yak and Yeti QS.

D'oh!!! ::headache:

Great photo of her!

There were extenuating circumstances related to the band which was causing her grief. Luckily, being away for so long gave her a chance to chill out and process the situation. She still wasn't happy, but she was no longer at the proverbial edge, like she was when we left.

UGH! Not again!

OMG! I just noticed that I neglected to remove the kid's finger from the edited shot! :eek:
:lmao: I didn't even see it!

I woke up from a very strange nightmare where I was driving my scooter on the 405 North from West LA to the SF Valley through the Sepulveda Pass (which is impossible and illegal).

:scared1: That is CRAZY!!! Holy cow!

Why is there no spa at such a fancy resort? I would have switched my spa reservation over in a heartbeat. As it was I agonized over canceling it until the last day possible.

Fair assessment. And excellent question!

This place was just sterile and trying to exude elegance, unsuccessfully.

Yeah, I just had this rant on my TR a while back. Disney's new "dumb down the resorts" campaign.

I wrote this a while ago, “Pretty soon, there won’t be any TRs left on the DIS.” But now we know that isn’t true and by the end of July we should have plenty to read about.

I think we'll be starting to see some trickle back to life, but.... could take a bit.
 
It was a great TR, thanks for taking us with you! Hopefully it's only upwards from here and we're back making Disney memories again!! I hope you both keep well and I look forward to seeing your next adventures!
 
No idea where that dream came from! I was glad to wake up from that! I’m wondering what stories there were on the news that may have affected my dream.

Wow. That sounds pretty disturbing.

I weighed them and locked them and at 8AM Fran called the Bellman. It took half an hour for him to get to us, evidently he was the only one working. What's up Disney? This was the second time they only had one bellman for a large resort.

That poor guy! What did he do to tick them off?

When we got to the resort airport check in, they were not able to check Fran in or her luggage. I think this had to do with the way the third ticket was booked. Usually they give it a separate confirmation number, this time all three seats were booked on one confirmation. So we had to take two bags with us on ME, and we had to go check the other two once we got to the airport.

That sounds like a real pain!

So here’s a cute cat and her baby kittens nursing.

Aww....

If you're not familiar with the Dallas Southwest terminal, there is a food court in the middle of the terminal.

Hey, I was there once! I remember that.

Between getting the scooters up from the belly of the plane, picking up the car from the remote lot, LA rush hour traffic, and a stop for milk and bread, it's consistently three hours to get home.

That sounds like an ordeal, too.

Reflections: So everyone congratulated us on the "upgrade" after the first post, but I'm not so sure I'd call it that. While it is the new fancy hotel, it is seriously lacking in amenities. I heard people comparing it to the Grand Floridian and there is no comparison at all. The GF blows this place out of the water!

The overall impression I get from your comments is that they were trying to make it seem like a true deluxe hotel but do it on the cheap.

And transportation options? I did get over my fear of the Skyliner, but geez those cars come into the station fast. Just about every time coming into the station, I cringed hoping I wasn't going to be the next Skyliner mishap. Maybe it was because most of the time I was riding alone and didn't have people talking to me and distracting me, but really I would rather just take the bus. Except they only run once an hour to Epcot and DHS. This is what I found the most frustrating.

I have a feeling I'd enjoy the skyliner, but you would think a deluxe resort would have more options.

I certainly won't be buying points here. There are so many restrictions on the points if you buy them on the resale market they can only be used at the Riviera. Also something about resale points bought after a certain date can't be used there either.

It's almost like they're trying to make it as miserable as possible.

This place was just sterile and trying to exude elegance, unsuccessfully.

I got that sense, too. The theming looks bland to me. I don't see anything that pops as special or different than "nice hotel".

But here’s a laugh for you our quarantine eats with our first take out order from Acapulco Restaurant complete with take out Margarias and all. You can see the kitties are just as interested in our dinner as we are!

The art on the walls looks cool!


:rotfl2: :rotfl2: :rotfl2:
 

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