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Boo to the Halloween on the Highs Seas Crew Oct. 2016, Fantasy Trip Report


jenseib
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Hi all!

I am Jen! Welcome to my latest trip report. I do trip reports in story form....NOT ship reviews.

 

For those who don’t know me, welcome! I like to write trip reports and relive my vacations.

I tend to write slowly, so bear with me if I don’t update every day. Work and life get in the way and take priority for me. I do have this whole report written up on my computer so I just need to find the time to get here and post.

 

I am a mom of 3 and a grandmother of 1.

My husband is Skip, and he did not go on this trip withus this time. My older 2 children are intheir 20’s and do not normally travel with us anymore. My youngest, Claireusually goes with me when possible and she was on this magnificent trip.

Claire is now 12, but 11 on this trip.

 

When?

This trip took place Oct. 19-30, 2016.

 

Where?

This trip started at Disney World with a few pre-cruise days. We did not do the parks though,with the exception of the Mickey’s Not so Scary Halloween Party. We thenboarded the Disney Fantasy for a week long cruise, ending with a night’s stayat Universal Orlando.

 

Who?

We had a big group this cruise.

Claire and I, My mom and sister Amanda, My Sister Gail and her family, (Rob, Alexis and Abby), My Aunt Mary and Uncle Geoff, My Aunt Laura and Uncle Jan, My cousin Katie and her family, (Thad, Jude, Luke, &Violet) and Katie’s Mom Vicki.

For those who have read my previous reports…you may realize someone else missing…my Dad. That’s always a story unto itself.

 

30055350294_bc96ac08e6_z.jpg001by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

This cruise has been 4 years in the making….Let me fill you in the long story before we get to the fun.

We cruised with a lot of these members back in 2012 on the Disney Dream for 4 nights and had a fantastic time. Everyone wanted to do a repeat, only this time longer. We talked about it here and there and something always stopped us from being able to get us all together again. Finally about a year or so ago we decided that 2016 would be the year!

 

We had to work around different schedules and school functions and finally decided on the Oct. 22 sailing of the Fantasy.

Even though it was decided, we still had some iffy members. Katie, Vicki and I booked in early spring to be sure the prices would not rise anymore. It wasn’t till May before everyone else finally fully committed and put deposits down.

 

We told my dad the dates and his immediate reply was NO! Now if you have read some of my other reports, my dad ALWAYS says no immediately without ever thinking it through. For some reason he thinks if he says he is not going then my mom will stay home. It has NEVER happened and I don’t know why he does this. We have had a couple of trips where dad has said he is not going right up to the very last minute and then decides he wants to come. Which means we have to rearrange rooms, reservations, etc. It’s a HUGE pain and he has no clue what it involves because he does no planning at all and just joins thinking everything is fine.

We told my dad from day 1 that a cruise is different than a hotel room and you just can’t decide to come along at the last minute. With cruising they can only add you to a room if they are not at capacity and if the lifeboat station in that room’s area has room as well. Just because a room can hold 4 does not mean you can always have 4 in that room.

He was adamant he could not come as he would be busy with work in Oct (he has a lawn care business) and there was no way he could getaway.

Skip also said he could not come because of his farm duties at the time.

 

Ok, so we are all set right?

Mom said she would room with Claire and I since Dad wasn’t coming along. And since she was going to be added to our room, she said she would pay the extra to get a bigger room. So I made that change.

Gail’s family was all set. Aunt Mary and Geoff got a connecting room to Gail. Katie had 2 of her kids in her room with a connecting room to Vicki, with her son Luke rooming with his Grandma.

 

Perfect!

 

My sister Amanda knew we were going, but she didn’t have enough vacation time to take off, so she said right away she would not come.Also, on the last cruise, she and my Aunt Laura basically made fun of us all doing a Disney cruise. I think after we got home, Amanda had kind of wished she had gone back then. Amanda also has found out over the past few years she has a lot of food allergies and was worried they could not accommodate her even though I told her they could.

 

Fast forward to mid-June.

I get a call from Aunt Laura that says she would like to come on the cruise and she would like to take Amanda as her guest. I talk back and forth between the 2 of them and we finally find a room that works for them and we book them.

 

Ok ,that worked out fine and it would be nice to have Amanda joining us so she could have fun with the nieces.

 

Planning goes on for all of us and we make our excursions and all that fun stuff.

 

Flights! Holy cow.I have never seen them so high. I finally book Claire, Mom and I to arrive on Oct. 20. I keep watching the return flights but they are just so high. I now think that we may need to spend a night after the cruise because Sunday flights are much cheaper than Sat. flights for us. I would rather pay for a hotel room and stay longer than put that money into air. I’ll keep watching.

 

Now we are at mid-August. Aunt Laura sends me a text while I am grocery shopping. She says to call her as her husband Jan now wants to come and we will need to switch rooms around. Holy cow! I text her back that I will call her when I get home and do so.

Now we need to move Amanda and Aunt Laura says we can put my Mom in the room with her so that there is 2 in that room, and also give Claire and I a little more space. Because we were past the paid in full mark it took quite some time moving everyone to where they needed to be and getting names switched, etc.Then the excursions all couldn’t be carried over so I had to go back in and fix as much as I could and make notes where we had to check for openings once on the ship. Let’s just say that was one LONG day!

 

OK… NO more changes allowed!

 

Flights! I have now found out that Claire does not have school on the 19 and only a half day on the 20th. Let’s go a day early! I rebook the flight and get a $40 credit for each of us to use for our return.

I keep watching and watching for our return flight to go down and it doesn’t. Finally one day I catch the Sunday flight at the lowest I have seen it. I jumped right on it and I am so glad. It went up higher and higher after that.

Our vacation is now Oct. 19- Oct. 30. The rest of the family is coming down on the 21 and returning on the 29th.

We are all staying at Coronado Springs resort for the pre-cruise portion and then Claire, Mom and I will stay in a Cabana Bay Suite at Universal our last night before flying home. We have now also decided to add the Blue Man Group show that evening as well.

 

Now we are into late Sept. Abby’s birthday party was the last weekend of the month. We are having a nice time celebrating her 7th birthday and we are all talking about the cruise as well since we are just a few weeks away now. Dad now says he wants to come. We have told him over and over that after the paid in full date there was no adding him. We had to make a deadline and we had to follow through with it.

We tell him we don’t know if it can be done. He would not be flying down with us as that would make him away from work too long, so we look at the flights the rest of the family has. It was close to $700 now for him to fly. He will not fly on his own, so any other options that might possibly be cheaper could not even be looked at.

I called to see how much it would be to add him to Mom and Amanda’s room and it was over 1200. On top of that we would have to add him to excursions and pre-night stays.

It was going to easily be over $2000 to add him. On top of that, Amanda did not want him to stay in the room with her. I don’t blame her either. He snores for one, which makes it hard to sleep. And he takes over the room. He is king of the remote,…..you get the picture. I’ve been there a few times now and he has been added to my room when I was rooming with mom and I had said from day 1 of this planning that never again would that happen.

 

We looked at getting Amanda yet another room and the cost was just going to be too much.

Mom asked him if he had any money saved to put towards adding him and he said no and she told him it just wasn’t going to work. She was not about to dish out $2000 plus just a few weeks before we left. She said had he wanted to go in the first place then she could have budgeted for him to join us, but at this point in time she didn’t have him in the budget now and she knows him. He brings $100 on vacation and thinks that will cover every expense needed. LOL!

 

That’s it! No changes will be made now. Everyone must make peace with the choices they have made!

 

Let the final countdown begin!

 

Oh wait…What is this email from school? We are sorry to say that we WILL be having school on Oct. 19th due to a scheduling error. We will take off Oct.26th instead.

Yeah…that email came to me on Oct.15. You have got to be kidding me? We planned leaving the 19th because Claire didn’t have school that day! Well in the end she was still missing the same amount of days, but it was pretty annoying that they couldn’t get that figured out till just a few days before the actual date.

 

 

Well now it’s time to leave…..Did we get all the kinks out before arriving? Let’s hope so!

Join me in this fabulous vacation as I relive the ups and downs with my Boo to You Halloween Crew!

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Oct. 19, 2016, Wednesday Day 1

 

The day has arrived! Finally all this planning was going to pay off!

I typically like to fly on Southwest and I typically will drive to Columbus and fly out of there as they offer direct flights and the prices are usually better. Detroit is our other option (and where most of the rest of the family flew out of) but they don’t usually have direct on Southwest. I either fly on points or am trying to accumulate more points, so SW is who I usually look at first.

 

Mom decided we would take her car down as it has more space than mine. We were also going to do something different this trip. We were going to park at the airport. Since Amanda, Laura and Jan (who all live in Columbus) were all coming too, they were finishing up with work and errands this week before they flew down on Friday,so it was hard to arrange them to take us to the airport. They have several lots at the airport and I think the one we decided to park in was only going to be $5 a day, which I didn’t think was bad at all.

 

Mom arrived bright and early and we loaded up her car. I am pretty good about squeezing things in and after playing with it a bit we got it all in the trunk and back seat and still a little bit of room for Claire to sit too. LOL.

 

31532989251_81730c4e91_z.jpgarrival1by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

30865861822_04fde82390_z.jpgdepart1by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

Mom had me do the driving so we headed off. Not too long after we got on the expressway we saw this beauty.

 

31276227960_8db974b473_z.jpgarrival2by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

I had Claire take a picture, which it is hard to tell,but that is a camouflage car. (I almost didn’t see it. Hahahaha). Yeah, I am not sure why anyone would want one of those, but there it was.

 

We always tease Claire when we see an ugly car that that is what we will be getting her when she turns 16. She doesn’t think it’s so funny!

 

We always stop at a McDonalds that is about at the halfway point and use the bathroom and usually get a diet coke or something. I think we got breakfast food today though as we were hungry!

 

I had my phone set to direct me to the airport as usually I am driving to my sisters or Aunts house. I have never actually driven to the airport myself before. Luckily it wasn’t too hard.

 

We pulled up and emptied our suitcases out and checked in at the curb. I sent my carry on with Claire and I took off in the car to find the green lot. I followed the signs and then they just kind of disappeared. I ended up going to a parking lot of some business and turned around to see if I could find it again and I did. I could see how I missed it. The sign was right by the overpass and from the direction I had been coming from the overpass blocked it pretty much.

 

I took my ticket and found a spot, but then I forgot to take a picture of the spot, which made it a little bit harder to find when I came back 1 ½ weeks later. LOL.

A shuttle had been pulling right up as I got out of the car so I think that is why I was in such a hurry and didn’t take a picture of the area.

 

I got a text from Claire asking where I was. I let her know I was on the shuttle and would be there soon. Honestly I didn’t even think I was gone very long yet.

 

Now if you read my Feb. trip reports, you heard me rave about my new Samantha Brown luggage. I LOVE this stuff. In Feb I had purchased and teal ombre colored carry on and a tweed maroon 28 Inch spinner suitcase.Since then I had purchased a yellow carry on which we checked as a 3rd bag for Claire and I and also the 28 inch spinner in the teal ombre.

 

I got on the shuttle and noticed the same teal set sitting on the shelf and I asked who had the Samantha Brown luggage. A lady piped up it was hers and I told her how I had the same set and we talked luggage and Samantha Brown the whole ride to the airport. She loves it as much as I do.

 

Once back at the airport, both Mom and Claire said I have been gone forever. I wasn’t, but I suppose if you had to wait on someone the clock seems to tick slower.

 

We made our way towards security then. This summer I had applied and was approved for Global Entry. This ROCKS! I got to use it for the first time in July/Aug when I flew to Jamaica. Going through the fast security lines are so much nicer and coming through customs was a breeze too. For those who don’t know,Global Entry also includes TSA pre-check and kids 12 and under can come through that line with you. Since I had that, I told my mom that she may want to look into at least getting TSA pre-check and that that office was actually located right by her office, so she did that.

 

Now Columbus doesn’t typically have very long lines for security, but coming back…..well you all know how awful Orlando can be.

There was a little bit of a line today, though nothing compared to some other places. We got through quickly and of course part of the perk is to not have to take off shoes and all that good stuff.

 

We found our way to the gate, again Columbus isn’t very big, so they really don’t have very many gates, and we settled down right next to a spot where we could plug in electronics. Claire and I headed to Starbucks and got Strawberry Frappuccino’s and a couple of pastries to snack on. Mom went off and got a treat then after we got back.

As it got closer to boarding time we all used the bathroom and then it was time to line up.

 

We were in the A’s, which is always a good thing and we boarded the plane and found a nice row and I was in charge of lifting the carry ons into the overhead bin.

This is where things were a little strange. I start putting our stuff in and the lady in the row in front of us says something about needing room for her other bag. She has her stuff all sideways across the whole bin. I say, oh, well the bags are not in right,let me fix it and then there is plenty of room for all of us. I just thought at the time she didn’t know how to load them. She kind of got panicky but I was whipping my bags up there and I think she realized I wasn’t stopping. There was still plenty of room for 1 and possibly even 2 bags up to the inside seat in her row. She tells him the seat next to her is taken, but the inside is ok. He goes to put his bag up and she complains about it and he goes across the aisle to put his bag up, which I now realize her daughter was sitting in that row saving 2 seats there as well. She mentions that they are saving overhead space there too. I mention if she loads the bag right then there is room and she just keeps saying no. Well the guy put his bag in there anyways.

I then start saying loudly to my mom…”You know….you can’t really save seats on Southwest and for sure you can’t save over head space.” LOL. I think this lady was clueless though.

 

So the plane loads and she is saving those precious 3 other seats and as people come by and ask to sit she says no. She also makes a big deal that she has a cast on her leg. I do feel bad for her for that, but I don’t think anyone else cared.

She goes to the over heads and starts to try and move luggage but a flight attendant stops her.

 

Finally her friend and another younger girl boards….They were the 2nd to last people to board. So she had been holding these seats the WHOLE time almost everyone on this flight were boarding. She points them to the row her daughter is saving and they proceed to try and cram their bags in and banging away. A flight attendant takes one bag towards the back. Hahaha.

 

So she has saved this 3rd extra seat, the one next to her for NO ONE. She just wanted an empty seat next to her. The flight is not 100% full….I think the flight attendant said something like 2 or 3 seats would be open. There are people towards the back that are still looking for seats so the flight attendant hollers that there is a seat up here. This lady is going NO ! NO! And the flight attendant ignores her and the person comes to sit there. Of course then this lady makes a big deal that she has to get up with her broken leg. My mom and I just gave each other smiles. What a pain in the butt!

 

31532988341_51f515d4b6_z.jpgarrival3by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

We are now finally loaded and ready to take off……And the guy in front of me puts his seat in recline as we are on the runway.Seriously!!!!! How does he not know you can’t do that? And he never puts it upright till we are about to land in Orlando.

I have a pet peeve of reclined seats to begin with. I know they don’t go back far, but they are so annoying. I was working on my laptop and that makes it just that much harder to do anything when the seat is reclined. And since he was such a jerk as to put it back during take-off I was not careful with the bumping and jerking I did on the seat as I made it work for my laptop to be seen by me.

 

Other than the idiots in the row in front of me, the flight was fine.

 

31276226730_6c8a5eae25_z.jpgarrival4by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

As we were coming into Orlando I was trying to see if I could see the cruise port. I was pretty sure I saw Kennedy Space Center at one point but I could never actually see the port.

 

 

30807400314_c62e358bce_z.jpgarrival5by Jenseib, on Flickr

Edited by jenseib
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30808219534_787a4d4f87_z.jpgarrival6by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

31533767851_fd0d463bbb_z.jpgarrival7by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

30808218554_10d8a97031_z.jpgarrival8by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

And we have made it!!!! Yay!!!!!!

 

We make it off the plane, use the bathroom and take the fake monorail over and make our way towards Magical Express. We first make a stop outside to check out the weather, which was fabulous and then off to get checked in for our bus.

 

31277019710_a2383c6018_z.jpgarrival9by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

31649609935_a5c32f09d3_z.jpgarrival10by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

 

30851466743_d091b8f73c_z.jpgarrival11by Jenseib, on Flickr

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30851465593_1e3b0ebdf0_z.jpgarrival12by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

We ended up waiting something like 20 minutes before we were called to board. I was getting impatient but trying to stay calm. I always just want to hurry up and get there!

 

31515346992_9477ba8e7b_z.jpgarrival13by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

30573716774_2f0c8de5af_z.jpgdme1by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

30573714964_4c3033730a_z.jpgdme2by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

30573713834_6270e3a061_z.jpgdme3by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

 

31280347591_0d42369859_z.jpgdme4by Jenseib, on Flickr

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Finally our line is called and we board the bus and get some seats.

 

31280346081_8ee778ca16_z.jpgdme5by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

And off we go!!!

 

30851463863_bf667be0f1_z.jpgarrival14by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

The monorail is being redone and I took some pictures of it on our way.

 

31358966596_ee689f06e1_z.jpgdme6by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

31395197285_2b4d64a80c_z.jpgdme7by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

Kind of neat to see a guy just walking down it.

 

 

31358965186_42c4fb20f5_z.jpgdme8by Jenseib, on Flickr

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Why are you writing this 6 months after the trip? Memory tends to be more accurate closer to the event' date=' although that doesn't look like something you have a problem with.:)[/quote']

 

I have it written, (most of it for a few months), just haven't had time to post here and I like to have it written up before posting here as people tend to be very impatient.

Of course I forget things with in the first week, but I have a pretty good memory. ;)

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Soon we were pulling into Coronado Springs! Yay!!!!

 

30209485194_8f1c65335f_z.jpgcsr11by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

This was our first time staying here.

 

31395196175_bf54096cd8_z.jpgdme9by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

I am trying to stay at each resort at least once, so this was another one under my belt now. I had toured the resort a few years ago, but only a small area so now I was going to be able to do more exploring and experience it first hand.

 

31358963736_6f4dbdce5d_z.jpgdme10by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

We got off the bus and grabbed our carry ons and went into check in. I had done the online check in so I got in that line.

 

31090220450_3375ce7c98_z.jpgcsr22by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

30724892182_5e1a59cedc_z.jpgcsr12by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

 

30851462943_d676669f2e_z.jpgarrival15by Jenseib, on Flickr

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And waited……and waited.

 

31090219570_852e21a9e0_z.jpgcsr23by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

There were 2 other families in front of me, but there was only one person working the online check in line. That kind of annoyed me as this is supposed to be the faster line. That being said, the regular line only had 2 people working it and it wasn’t moving either. What really annoyed me the most was the fact that both families in front of me had no clue about anything and asked lots of questions,needed to get bands, need help with dining, etc. If you need these things, this is NOT the line for you!

 

31090218690_e4239b60b1_z.jpgcsr24by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

After a bit of standing there impatiently, another CM came out and directed me over to the concierge desk to take care of me there.

 

We rolled our stuff over there and she quickly took care of us. However, I had to get my documents, and she had to go hunt those down and it seemed to take a while for her to find those.

 

31090217810_43ee3320d6_z.jpgcsr25by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

31090216500_f7fc998c13_z.jpgcsr26by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

I took pictures as we waited.

 

30209482624_f6e0247d05_z.jpgcsr13by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

 

31090215070_f77428759a_z.jpgcsr27by Jenseib, on Flickr

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I was worried she would come back and say they weren’t there, as I have heard others saying the CSR is famous for NOT getting your documents, or at least brushing you off like you don’t need them, which in most cases you don’t, but she did come back with them. She also had a letter for me, which included free putt putt passes. GREAT! I had actually planned to use the free putt putt passes from my docs this trip, but now we had extra so if we wanted to, we could play 2 free games.

 

Once checked in we headed outside.

 

31293542340_bf6c4c3c5a_z.jpgcsr90by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

We stopped and just absorbed the resort and also made some calls home. Dad was already waiting for Moms call.

 

31423969366_3be57224b0_z.jpgcsr28by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

This guy stopped and asked if we wanted a ride but we declined.

 

31423968566_15f17c85a5_z.jpgcsr29by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

31345653751_48bd4b61e8_z.jpgcsr30by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

31370764141_25c6d6ca57_z.jpgcsr31by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

 

31370762821_56e79d5c93_z.jpgcsr33by Jenseib, on Flickr

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My phone call was faster than Moms. Dad was already having anxiety about her being gone and he had friends that weren’t helping the matter. One told him how a friend of theirs suffered a heart attack from anxiety and he was pretty sure his level was just as high. He had decided it was best for him to visit the Dr. and get some meds and made an appointment for the next day.

Hopefully they help!!! This was going to be a long week and a half for him if they didn’t.

 

We then set off to find our room. I had booked a preferred and the lady made it sound like we were pretty darn close to E lCentro. So we set off looking at the map and following signs and zigged and zagged and up and down walk ways. This seemed pretty darn far in my opinion.

Finally we found our room (and the next day after we got the lay of the land better released a much faster route).

 

When you are 11, magic bands are pretty darn cool, so Claire opened our door with hers.

 

Claire and my Mom both know I take pictures, so they kind of stayed out of the way somewhat while I did some quick clicking.

 

31370761771_e601c1e219_z.jpgcsr34by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

31370761141_97360d7376_z.jpgcsr35by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

31370760541_520ab4ed53_z.jpgcsr36by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

31115398200_aee553f3d3_z.jpgcsr37by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

31115397140_8f83052276_z.jpgcsr38by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

These sliding doors are nice as I often get up early and I could close off the sink area and do my thing without disturbing them too much.

 

 

31370759001_18376eb0a8_z.jpgcsr39by Jenseib, on Flickr

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31115395580_c8a19511ea_z.jpgcsr40by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

I did notice the actual bathroom was not top notch and could use some extra cleaning.

 

30649083404_6a2a63162d_z.jpgcsr41by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

30681256473_df23f5d0a2_z.jpgcsr42by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

The rooms are now getting refurbed so hopefully they update the bathrooms and then that inspires them to clean them a little more thoroughly. I ended up taking a washcloth and wiping down some areas that needed a better cleaning.

 

30649082444_1600de1ebf_z.jpgcsr43by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

Mom can’t sit still long and she was already organizing and impatiently waiting for our main luggage to arrive.

 

30681254343_e299780385_z.jpgcsr44by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

They had bug spray sitting in our room, which was really nice as the Zika Virus scare is real and it was a nice extra touch.

 

31293541660_9a1bb5962d_z.jpgcsr91by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

 

I had actually packed a can, but that was in the checked luggage and we all sprayed up with this one during our stay so I didn’t have to dig for it later.

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We were now starving for dinner. We headed up to El Centro and went to the food court to make our choices.

 

Claire got the nachos and she had a choice of adding meat and she said no. I later ( 2 days later) found out she didn’t realize what I meant and would have liked meat. Oh well.

 

31475356016_776db75fb4_z.jpgcsr68by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

I got Alfredo pasta with chicken and broccoli.

 

31366406102_1e2829d200_z.jpgcsr69by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

It was good, but I have had similar dishes at the Value resorts and theirs are better there.

 

31293540970_3247414349_z.jpgcsr92by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

Mom got some tacos. Really she should have shared with us. She always has big eyes but eats like a bird, so she barely made a dent in her meal.

 

31475354776_68b6e79a21_z.jpgcsr70by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

As we sat enjoying our meal, mom mentioned how reasonable it was. I told her I didn’t even pay attention to the cost and I had just handed over a gift card to pay with. I had to add some change to finish it off but I hadn’t even paid attention which card I pulled out or how much was on it. Claire and I also got refillable mugs since we would have 3 days here so I knew mine would be more. I pulled out the receipt and realized I had paid with a $25 gift card and my total for 2 mugs, 2 meals and a dessert was just over $25. Wow, that can’t be right and I scanned over the receipt. Aha….she never charged me for the mugs…..but they worked. I will just count that as Disney pixie dust. I spend a lot of money there so I think I can handle a freebie once in a while. LOL.

 

I had also gotten churros for Claire and I to share. She had eyed them right away and asked what they were. She has had them before at Universal, but she seemed to forget what they were.

 

31452422052_cbf240f5f2_z.jpgcsr71by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

She liked them and was worried I would eat more than she would and had to be sure she divided it up equally. LOL!

 

I took some pictures while we were there as well.

 

 

31452420452_2688eaa7eb_z.jpgcsr72by Jenseib, on Flickr

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The mug choices were scarce with not many color options. I wanted purple and so did Claire. We both had gotten the purple bands this trip as well (since they were still semi new and neither of us had gotten before). I was the nice mom and let her get the purple lid cup and I chose green so we would have different colors and not mix them up. Sadly they only had the mugs with no handles, which I do not like.

 

30757963874_cd14c0aa8e_z.jpgcsr79by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

30757962834_94a1233119_z.jpgcsr80by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

31452409122_26c16ae5b7_z.jpgcsr82by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

31452408152_2ddb6164df_z.jpgcsr83by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

31452406702_cf0ac60273_z.jpgcsr84by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

31452405532_85c665b5d0_z.jpgcsr85by Jenseib, on Flickr

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After we were nice and full we headed back to our room…..again sort of getting lost on the way back.

 

31474899192_3c9bece19b_z.jpgcsr86by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

We heard fireworks going off and we went in search of a view of them.

 

 

30811778303_26c0b3b25c_z.jpgcsr87by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

I believe they were from Hollywood Studios.

 

31621800305_16912f8dfd_z.jpgcsr88by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

We found a better spot to watch but they weren’t up high enough for us to see most of them.

 

31621799645_6a100dd15f_z.jpgcsr89by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

And then I believe they ended as we couldn’t hear the pops anymore.

 

We headed back towards our room once again, taking a long route unintentionally.

 

 

Back at the room, the luggage still had not arrived and mom was getting antsy about that. She wanted to take a bath and just chill out for the night but her things were in her checked luggage.

 

Claire and I decided we wanted to explore the resort and headed out.

 

30209481454_919ffc069a_z.jpgcsr14by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

We found one of the quiet pools.

 

 

30649081434_57f5356b8a_z.jpgcsr45by Jenseib, on Flickr

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31361742032_d363a8253e_z.jpgcsr46by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

31361741652_3d9be2dd9e_z.jpgcsr47by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

And we circled around to the dig, which is the main pool area.

 

30865860422_b7c393c75e_z.jpgdepart2by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

I asked her if she wanted to swim as I had a suit in our carry on and she asked if I was going to as well, and I told her no. She said no, she would wait till tomorrow.

 

30754081991_741101da56_z.jpgcsr16by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

31470570566_9a0a5ca8f3_z.jpgcsr50by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

I knew most of the resorts were now building fences around the pools and I saw this construction so I figured they had started to build one here now too.

 

 

31361737242_145affd592_z.jpgcsr51by Jenseib, on Flickr

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31361737932_6e4a024d52_z.jpgcsr58by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

30699128063_1572feb04f_z.jpgcsr59by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

I couldn’t capture it with pictures, but looking across the lake at everything lit up was beautiful.

 

31361741292_a554ccca4c_z.jpgcsr48by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

31470571216_42ec7e3580_z.jpgcsr49by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

30724888172_640ecd7cbd_z.jpgcsr15by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

31361736122_e229e4545a_z.jpgcsr60by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

 

Another extended golf cart went by and offered us a ride and we declined again. I think I may have called Skip while we walked as well to tell him goodnight.

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We found the other quiet pool.

 

31366414622_52ac894e16_z.jpgcsr61by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

And then we headed over by the bridge as I wanted to try and get a shot of how pretty it looked lit up.

 

30754081091_8ca064589b_z.jpgcsr17by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

I also thought this building looked so pretty at night with the lights and reflections but I could never capture it just right.

 

30541008270_988c49a0a4_z.jpgcsr18by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

30541007290_7f041b7647_z.jpgcsr19by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

I took dozens of pictures and none came out right.

 

30754079791_f3b259e609_z.jpgcsr20by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

Claire and I decided we wanted to head over to Disney Springs for a little bit to end the night so we headed back to our room to let Mom know and check to see if the luggage had arrived.

 

 

We got back to the room and still no luggage. Mom was not happy about that, so I called to check. It was now just over 3 hours, so technically we were fine but since it was getting late, I thought I better before it got too late and had to go without tonight. They said they would check on it and kind of acted like it should already have been to our room. They said they would call our room once it was located.

 

 

Claire and I gathered what we needed and told Mom to callus as soon as she heard anything so that we would know and then headed off towards the main bus stop.

 

I stopped and took a few pictures of the water fountain and other lobby photos.

 

31366411552_6c5a335427_z.jpgcsr64by Jenseib, on Flickr

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31366410322_4b471c554a_z.jpgcsr65by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

I thought this hallway looked pretty lit up too.

 

31366409352_4bfa7be8ca_z.jpgcsr66by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

We headed out to the bus stop and it took quite some time for the bus to arrive. A couple was sitting out there and said they had been waiting almost 30 minutes by the time we arrived and we still waited a good 10 -15 minutes more before the bus finally arrived.

 

We loaded up and soon we were being dropped off at the new bus stop. Wow is it ever different. I took pictures of it later in the day time, but I am not so much a fan of it. We walked through the new areas and again, it was strange and it just didn’t seem to fit the Disney feel of the older areas. It was like a fancy outside shopping mall. It felt so strange to me and Claire wasn’t a fan either.

 

We made our way towards the Marketplace, which has some change as you enter it, but still mainly has the same feel and look.

 

We spotted these living statues, which I thought was really cool.

 

31621799145_445f23dbaf_z.jpgsprings3by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

30811776943_c098924087_z.jpgsprings4by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

 

I then suggested to Claire that we get a snack at Ghirardelli. We have never had anything from here nor have we ever even been inside. Claire said she wasn’t super hungry and I said that was fine because we would share.

 

We got in line and looked over the menu. I swore I had seen in the past they had something with peanut butter and chocolate, which is my favorite combination,but I could not find anything on the menu that even remotely resembled that combo.

 

We decided to try the salted caramel sundae.

 

31272302670_e66dac2c03_z.jpgsprings7by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

Just like Beaches and Creams, this place is very pricey.

We made our order and were given a number and we went to find a seat outside.

In only a few minutes our sundae arrived.

 

 

31502579182_854a1be18c_z.jpgsprings14by Jenseib, on Flickr

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Claire was forbidden to touch it till I got a few pictures.

 

31621797975_92a624d706_z.jpgsprings5by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

31644892755_8b3a9c15f6_z.jpgsprings6by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

It was fabulous and I am so glad we shared it. We could barely finish it as it was. It was a nice treat and I am glad we made the stop.

 

Another check off my bucket list of trying things I haven’t done before.

 

We then went off and just did some exploring.

 

30803325154_e4e3aec0a6_z.jpgsprings8by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

The new Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique was spotted and we walked over to take a look. Also the stairs next to it led to a parking garage. That is all new to me as well.

 

31644891135_89e5ebec3d_z.jpgsprings9by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

It was closed but I peeked in the windows.

 

30803323764_a6b01c76e5_z.jpgsprings10by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

 

31532985901_997191a5f9_z.jpgsprings11by Jenseib, on Flickr

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We kept walking around and I made Claire stop and get pictures. She wasn’t so happy with me about this.

 

30865859062_0603250d7e_z.jpgdepart3by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

30100861954_91a75c6416_z.jpgds1by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

30865857712_e3c348535e_z.jpgdepart4by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

30865856342_26f166d4fb_z.jpgdepart5by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

As we walked along Claire started complaining about why we weren’t going to the parks. I told her this was a cruise trip and these extra early days were just bonuses and I just couldn’t afford to do it all. She was upset because no one asked her what she wanted to do and she would rather go to the parks than cruise. Wow…I had no clue. I thought she was excited to be cruising with her cousins and family.

 

I am going to chalk some of this complaining up to preteen hormones as she has been becoming more and more moody lately. And of course anything I do is dumb or so not cool.

 

We walked on, taking in the new and old sites.

 

30644780511_8018ecf2e0_z.jpgds2by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

 

30100859984_44ceb15007_z.jpgds3by Jenseib, on Flickr

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30644779321_ea1d51ee0b_z.jpgds4by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

And still no call from Mom about the luggage. Wow, this is really late. I even started posting on facebook about how it had not arrived yet.

 

This bridge was so pretty and my picture came out so bad.

 

30696228086_4f23bdf142_z.jpgds5by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

30432726240_1623b1b555_z.jpgds6by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

30696227336_2bfa4891d0_z.jpgds7by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

30432724510_8b416c428c_z.jpgds8by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

We decided it was time to head back to CSR but we kind of got lost and couldn’t find our way back to the bus stop for a while.

 

30644778081_461f198435_z.jpgds9by Jenseib, on Flickr

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We did see the balloon up though and that was a pretty sight.

 

30432723780_d08bf18e1c_z.jpgds10by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

30807398864_2f13c0353d_z.jpgsprings12by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

31532984851_212365568e_z.jpgsprings13by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

Finally after some backtracking we found the way to the bus, only to figure out if we had just went a little further than we were before we would have been right at the stop and closer to where we needed to go. The way it is set up is that you have to walk all the way to one end to get to each of the rows for the different resorts. My legs were already screaming….yeah, I am really out of shape. We got on the bus once it arrived and headed back to CSR.

 

When we arrived we headed back to the room and Claire led the way. We got back much faster but I didn’t really follow how she did it.

As we stepped in our room I saw our all of our luggage there. Hmmm….Mom never called and told me. She had been sleeping but woke up when we walked in and I asked if the luggage had just gotten there. Nope they came right after we left. Ugh, Why didn’t you call…..Oh I forgot. LOL!

So all this time I was kind of annoyed that our luggage hadn’t arrived and it had been there the whole time! I was even discussing it with some people on the bus too. Mom said that the luggage actually had been sitting to be delivered for a long time but no one did and the guy who brought it was some sort of supervisor or something and wasn’t sure why it had been left sitting there. He apologized Mom said….I think we should have gotten free fastpasses or something. Hahaha.

 

Oh well, we have our stuff and honestly, most everything I needed was in my carryon anyways.

 

 

We got ready for bed and Claire and I lay down and holy cow!!! I about slid out of the bed. It had a MAJOR slant to it and my side of the mattress was literally broken. I scooted to the middle a bit more and held on for dear life. As the night went on there were several times where I rolled and hit that slanted/broken area and caught myself before tumbling to the floor. Yeah, that is not going to work for 2 more nights. I will need to get that taken care of in the morning.

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