40th Birthday Extravaganza-Pretrip report About This Page:

[pparm]

Welcome back and Happy Birthday! I can't wait to read all about it.

Paula

[LLaffinPlace]

Welcome back, Kris! I am glad you had a great time and I can't wait to hear all about it!

[krisk11]

Well I woke up way too early on Thursday morning. I didn't have to be up until 3:00 am but I was up closer to 2:00 am. Got up and got dressed and packed the remaining items and watched Oprah on a rerun of the Eileen Show (Not much on TV at 2:30 am). Kelsey woke up early too and we got ready. At 3:30 am the three of us left for the airport. We found the parking lot we were using (Central Airpark) quite easily and were quickly on the shuttle to the airport. Once thru security we sat by the A line at the Southwest gate. I eventually went to get bagels for the flight and while I was gone Kelsey came to find me. She went back ahead of me and when I got there she was sitting all alone. Her father had wandered off and Southwest changed our gate and everyone else had moved down one gate. We moved and I called her dad on his cell to tell him where we were. The flight left on time and was very uneventful. We napped and woke up in sunny Orlando. After meeting up with our driver from QuickSilver we got our luggage and was off to the grociery store and then Beach Club. We checked in but our room wasn't ready since it was around 10:00 am. We got on a bus for DTD and did some shopping and had lunch at Cap'n Jacks. I know alot of you don't like that restaurant but we had our second great meal there. DD & I split the fetticini alfredo & Court had the chef salad with chicken and we split the artichoke spinach dip. My dd bought me a watch from WOD for my birthday and I have to say it's one of the prettiest watches I've ever seen. I wear it all the time although I kept forgetting I had it all vacation and kept asking what time it was. We rode the bus back to the resort and our room was ready. It was a gorgous room. We had a full balcony on the second floor room 2436. Two queen beds plus the day bed so everyone had their own bed. We could see the water, beach & part of the boardwalk from our room although we weren't directly facing the beach. Court & Kelsey laid around for a while and I wandered around the resort. I went on the beach, walked around the pool, found the health club Beaches and Cream and the arcade then wandered off to see how far away World Showcase was. I think from the path that's in front of the beach it couldn't have been more than 4 or 5 minutes into WS. I was thrilled. I went back to the room and showered for our dinner at Jiko. Our ADR was for 7:00 and for 6 people but unfortunately due to Passover and a conflict our friends who live in Florida were unable to join us so we went to AKL early and explained it to the hostess and she said no problem and seated us right away. It was only around 5:30 or 5:45 but we were getting tired from our early day and really didn't want to wait until 7:00 to start eating. Dinner at Jiko was fabulous. Our waitress was great at answering all our questions and making suggestions. We started with the taste of Africa and Courtney had the Asparagus soup. I had the Broiled filet of Artic Char which is like Salmon but better, Kelsey had the kids version of the Artic Char but they put it on mac & cheese instead of the mashed potatoes. Unfortunately she didn't like the mac & cheese because it was a sharper cheese than normal so I ate it and gave her some more of my fish since my piece was huge. Courtney had the short ribs which were also great. Our waitress brought two wines for me to choose from and Courtney had a beer from South Africa. They gave me a creme brule as a complimentary dessert for my birthday along with a card and my birthday button which I had forgotten to get from the front desk. Kelsey ordered the build your own Smores and Courtney skipped dessert and he usually does. We had taken a cab to the resort since we didn't want to have to switch buses at a park and did the same thing on the way back. The bus service at the deluxe resort was disappointing to say the least. We seemed to have better bus service when we stayed at the All Stars twice. We ended up taking taxies a couple of times and between that cost and the cost of the towncar to and from the airport we realized that we should have rented a car. Hindsight is 20/20 vision as they say and we have learned from our mistake. After we got back we just crashed in our room and watched some tv and listened to the fireworks from Illuminations. We went to bed early since I had to get up and go to my Hidden Treasures of World Showcase tour by 8:45 am then next morning.
Next up - Tours & Parks

[jimmymac]

Sounds like you had a great first day. Waiting for the next chapter

[Colexis Mom]

Great update Kris and great dinner at Jiko I agree with you......that's my one complaint about the BC is the bus service. Certainly lacking for a deluxe resort

More please

[MBUS]

Kris - Happy Birthday! I am so excited to read more about your trip! Sounds great so far.

And don't you agree turning 40 was pretty painless at WDW?

Beth

[krisk11]

Day 2 Friday April 6th
I got up and got dressed and went down to the store and bought some doughnuts for Kelsey & I for breakfast. I left the room around 8:15 to head into Epcot for my Hidden Treasures of World Showcase tour. No one really knew where I should go and as it turned out you had to go outside the front of the park. That would have been fine except I was staying at the BC so I entered the park from the back. After my long walk up front the tour turned around and headed straight back from where I had come. The tour was fabulous. It was so great being in World Showcase before it opened. Ben, our tour guide, had an extensive knowledge of the park and gave us great information which I bored Courtney with for the rest of the trip. We went behind the scenes in France and Canada and got a cool pin at the end of the tour. Unfortunately the tour is changing at the end of the month and will be a corporate event from then on. If you want to take it you would need to book it thru The Disney Institute with 10 of you closest friends. When I was done the tour I met up with Courtney and Kelsey in our room. Courtney had gone running in the morning and was at the gym when I left. I never exercise on vacation. Courtney and Kelsey spent about an hour in the pool while I was gone but it was too cool so they went back to the room. Toward the end of my tour our friends from Florida called about getting together. We decided to meet up late afternoon on the Boardwalk and Kelsey & I went into World Showcase while Courtney went to MGM. He didn't ride anything because the waits were all at least 90 minutes and he didn't want to wait an hour for LMA. So he came back to the hotel room. While on my tour we were informed that The Grande Fiesta Tour was opening that day in the Mexico pavillion so Kelsey and I rode it while in WS. It was updated and the colors and sound was much better but it's just a Donald Duck cartoon now. I do love Donald but kinda miss the tacky 70's pictures from El Rio de Tiempo. We got Churros and a Conga Fruit Drink to enjoy during our travels around the world. We went all the way around WS and did Impressions de France for the first time because I have the music on a cd and just love it. Kelsey didn't like the way the screen wrapped around but I enjoyed it. After we went back to the room and got Courtney we met up with our friends Karen, Steve and their dd Anya at the boardwalk. We chatted for a while since we hadn't seen them since 2005 and got some ice cream. Karen suggested renting a surrey bike and the men quickly headed to the ESPN Zone. The 4 girls rented the bike and did 3 laps around the lake. The bikes look fun when people ride them past you but once you get on one you realize how much work it really is. Karen, Anya and Kelsey were up front and I was in the back. We almost rolled backwards down the hill on the bridge heading to the Swan and once I had changed sides and was behind Kelsey and we tried to work up some speed to get up the hill and when we turned the corner the bike almost tipped over and Kelsey almost fell off. She was holding on by the poll that holds on the canopy. We were laughing so hard that we almost didn't make it up the hill again. Anya had it easy since she is too short to reach the pedals. After the almost 3 miles on the bike we decided that we deserved some burgers from Beaches and Cream so we called the guys and told them to meet us in the room. We showed the room the Karen and Steve since that is one resort that they have not stayed in yet although they have stayed in many then we headed down to get some dinner. Everyone was right and the burgers were great. We were too full for ice cream and while typing this section of the trip report my dd & I just realized that we never went back to try the Kitchen Sink sundae. Oh well just one more thing to put on the list for the next trip. We went back to the room after dinner and hung out with our friends a little more before they headed home. After they left Court decided he didn't feel like heading over to MK with us so Kelsey & I jumped on a bus. Trying to walk into MK after the first Spectromagic was a nightmare but once you got to the right side of the Partners statue you could move more easily. We walked right on to POC. We decided that we want a Johnny Depp anamotronic for our own but couldn't find one in the gifts shops. We also rode BTMRR and IASW along with watching the second Spectro parade. We got back to the room around 12:30 and went to bed.
Next up: Afternoon tea and more manly bonding.

[Colexis Mom]

Another great update Kris I'm impressed.......3 times around the loop on the surrey bike (I think we only made 2) Glad you had a great dinner, enjoyed your tour, and met up with friends!

More please

[LLaffinPlace]

Kris, loving the TR! Glad you had a great meal at Jiko. Isn't it a beautiful place? The servers are so knowledgeable, too.

It's funny--I don't recall any problems with the bus service at BC, but we were only there for 3 nights. Marnie would know better--don't you stay there pretty much part of every trip?

Too full for ice cream at Beaches and Cream?! Oy! Tell you what, I will dedicate my "No Way, Jose'" to you when we go there on the upcoming trip!

Looking forward to your next post.

[soozaay]

Great TR! I'm turning 40 this year (tomorrow infact) and DH & I are doing our 40th birthday celebration in October (his bday is in August) with our families. Can't think of a better way to celebrate going over that dreaded hill!

[SouthernBelle]

Kris,

Great trip report, even though we are not flying, I will probably be up early just to make sure no one over sleeps on our departure day. Can't wait to read your next installment.

Happy Belated Birthday, my DH and I are going back in October to celebrate our birthdays with no kids in tow Jiko sounds wonderful, maybe I will get us ADR's.

[MontiMouse]

Great trip report so far Kris. Hurry back with more!

[krisk11]

Day 3 Saturday April 7th
Courtney wanted to get up early this morning and go to AK as soon as it opened to ride EE. I wasn't as game since Kelsey and I were staying up late the night before going to MK but agreed. When the alarm went off very early Courtney asked Kelsey & I if we wanted to go to AK or sleep in. The vote was unanimous!!! We slept in. I was nervous that if we went to AK we would miss our ADR for breakfast at Kona Cafe. I had the days planned out which always works when it's just Kelsey & I but when you throw Courtney into the mix he likes to monkey with my plans. Like plans for my favorite breakfast food on the planet that I had made 180 day (6 months mind you) ago. Well I did manage to win this one and we slept in and then got up and got dressed and off to the bus stop. On our way to the bus stop a couple were walking back toward the hotel and told us if we hurried down to the bridge over to the bus stop at BC we could see a big Aligator. Well the three of us took off running and saw a gator that must have been close to 10 feet long. It was great to see him just swimming along the little canal that runs around BC. I took a picture and then we headed over to the bus stop. We waited and waited for a MK bus but none showed up so we went back to the main entrance and hopped in a cab again. Like I said before the buses were disappointing and we really should have rented a car (Courtney wanted a mustang of course) and I think if we are ever in that same situation as we were at the BC I will get a car. We arrived at Poly and checked in at Kona. They said the wait was 20 minutes so Courtney went over to the coffee cart and Kelsey and I wandered over to the store after requesting a french vanilla cappacino. Two minutes after walking away from the restaurant our beeper vibrated. I walked past Courtney who was waiting for his coffee and my cappacino. The lady told him a price of $4.29 and he paid. I couldn't figure out why he didn't get himself coffee since I knew the $4 was for my cappacino. They handed him my drink and he was standing there waiting for his coffee. I told him they only charged him for my capp and he couldn't believe how expensive the little cup was. I was confused by that because he use to drink Starbucks???????? We were seated (a little too close to the kitchen as far as I was concerend) and our waitress came and took drink orders. Courtney got some coffee and Kelsey ordered oj. The oj came and was declared too pulpy so we got her a chocolate milk and I drank her oj after my capp was done. I ordered the Tonga Toast (my entire reason for spending $15 to ride a cab over to the Poly) Courtney got steak and eggs and Kelsey got the Donald breakfast off the kids menu. I'm always surprised they still let her order off of the kids menu in Disney. She is only 11 which I understand is over the age but close but she is 5'6" and looks about 14. We all enjoyed our meals and afterward got on the monorail back to MK to take the bus back to BC. Well we waited and waited and waited and no bus picked up. Quite a few dropped off but none of them were picking up. Then we saw a bus picking up for the Boardwalk so we jumped on that and walked from there back to the BC. Once back in the room Courtney decided to go to the gym and work off breakfast and Kelsey & I went down to the marina and rented a Sea Raycer. It was fun but we are at the top of the weight limit together and going toward MGM was nice but heading back the other way the wind would blow the water back at us. The left sleeve of my fleece was very wet when we were done. We met Courtney back at the room and I used the blow dryer to dry the sleeve of my fleece. We then took off in the bus to MK because we had a ressie for afternoon tea at the GF. Well the ressie was for 3 but Courtney had decided that afternoon tea wasn't really his thing so the 3 of us went over and our friends met us there and Kelsey & I along with Karen and Anya had tea while Steve and Courtney went to the All Star Cafe at Wide World of Sports. We decided to ride the boat over to GF instead of the monorail and it was a nice ride. I got to see Narcoosee restaurant while walking from the dock and then we hung out in the lobby to wait for our friends. Tea was fabulous. The girls had a great time. We all had the Buckingham Tea except for Anya who had the Mrs. Potts. The three courses were very filling. The sandwiches were interesting, I liked some more than others but the sweets were to die for. After lunch we wandered around the grounds and took the girls pictures in a large Easter egg that was on the lawn next to the one pool. I wasn't too impressed with the pools but it doesn't really matter because unless I hit the lottery or marry a millionaire (sorry Courtney) I won't be staying there anyway. While waiting for the guys to get back there was a wedding party having pictures done in the lobby. After the pictures the bride got in Cinderella's coach to go the the pavillion. It was cool to watch. We went back to the room and took a little nap. Then we headed over to MK for another night of fun rides. We hit POC walking on again so Courtney could see the new Johnny Depp character and then doubled back to Casey's for some hot dogs. I had mentioned earlier that I would love to try them and after that Courtney had it in his head that he had to have a hot dog. After eating we rode BTMRR, HM and Buzz Lightyear. Courtney and Kelsey also rode Stitch while I sat outside of it and waited. I'm claustraphobic and didn't want to ride it since it has those over the shoulder harnesses. We had fun wandering around MK and took a bus back to the hotel around 11 and went to bed.
Next up - Someone turns 40!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

[KandJluvdisney]

sounds like you are having a great time so far
hurry back with more

[DyanKJ130]

Just found your TR!! Sounds like you are having a great time so far!! Can't wait to hear about YOUR birthday celebration!!