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Post by Joeli on Jul 7, 2024 21:13:52 GMT -5
Hey there everyone! Thought I would share our trip…on this Adventures By Disney tour, are the usual suspects…DW, DS(10), DS (7) and me. This is a 7 day tour that goes to the following: Phoenix, AZ - start Sedona, AZ - 2 days Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona - 2 days Monument Valley, Arizona - 1.5 days Moab, UT - 1.5 days Grand Junction, CO - end… Here is the link to the photo album uploaded at the end of our trip. it is ordered from oldest to newest. Sorry I couldn’t break it up by location easily. redirect.viglink.com/?key=71fe2139a887ad501313cd8cce3053c5&subId=7235170&u=https%3A//www.flickr.com/gp/57192213@N04/9Ta2w8LC2P 7/7 - Flight on AA out of Miami to Phoenix, Az. Early flight at 11am, airline employees super nice. No delays, early flight seemed to be the smartmove, with afternoon storms here. We Flew in a day early to try and avoid airline issues. Staying at the Marriott Phoenix airport overnight. Meeting up with ABD group tomorrow at around 12:30 pm. At the hotel, we were upgraded to concierge level. Decided to go for a family swim. Holy moley forgot what hot desert breezes feel like! 109 degrees!! Crazy…deck of the pool was so hot, had to tell the kids to try not to grab onto the side of the pool with your hands it’s so hot. I guess if we had eggs, we could fry them. Lol. The hotel was nice enough for an overnight. Easy dinner in the hotel restaurant. 3 hours earlier, time change is fun….my stomach is confused! Early or late to bed, depending how you look at it…. FYI 111 degrees at 7 PM.  |
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Post by baymaxfan on Jul 8, 2024 7:42:47 GMT -5
Looking forward to the report. Had to chuckle at the “early” flight at 11AM.
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Post by brp on Jul 8, 2024 8:20:47 GMT -5
Looking forward to the report. Had to chuckle at the “early” flight at 11AM. Same. That's a leisurely late flight for us. Early flights (preferred) are at 6AM.
Cheers.
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Post by tomandrobin on Jul 8, 2024 9:25:37 GMT -5
Have fun!!!
You guys will have a blast on your tour.
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Post by melk on Jul 8, 2024 13:22:31 GMT -5
Have a great trip! We’ve been to many of the places you’re going and the beauty is just amazing. I have never seen as many stars as we did at Monument Valley. Breathtaking!
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Post by Eli's Nana on Jul 8, 2024 16:42:31 GMT -5
Have a great trip! I look forward to reading all about it!
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Post by Joeli on Jul 8, 2024 16:52:57 GMT -5
7/8
Woke up, had a nice family breakfast. Headed to
the airport terminal to meet up with the ABD group at our predetermined 12:00 PM time. Met our 2 guides, and they took our pre-orders for the food that we will be served during a few events. Asked us if we are all comfortable for an off road bouncy jeep ride or on asphalt (paid) event. We picked bouncy dirt! We then waited till the rest of the groups showed up. We then departed on a motor coach to Sedona. Hope the kids iPads work!
We have 2 tour guides and about 28 people on the tour. They mentioned that they cap them out at 40 individuals. Seems like they work these guides harder then Disney VIP tour guides. We are on the way to the Enchantment resort in Sedona.
On the ride there, the Guides were very informative with information about Arizona, including the seasons, cacti, elevations (some mountains up to 12,000 feet above sea level). Learned some info about altitude sickness and of course staying hydrated, with propel, liquid over (electrolytes). As we were being bused, a large brush fire closed the roads, they were flying helicopters with water buckets to drop, crazy stuff. Thankfully the standstill traffic didn’t last for long and they started letting vehicles thru. You could still see the fires as we drove by. Watching Disney film on the bus about desert animals, pretty cool. They gave out prickly pear candy, and scorpion lollipops…YES, real scorpion in the lollipop that could be eaten…DS says, souvenirs for the grandparents! lol. Onward!
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Post by sherrih on Jul 8, 2024 18:52:46 GMT -5
This sounds like it will be an amazing trip. Enjoy. Can't wait to follow along.
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Post by Joeli on Jul 8, 2024 23:26:51 GMT -5
7/8 - continued: We stopped on the way with a surprise visit to Montezumas Castle..American Indians built homes in caves in the cliffs. The national monument was amazing to see and to learn the history of how it was built by the native Americans…short event but very cool. It was so hot I had to buy a crazy over priced hat as my baseball cap was not cutting it. I knew I should have bought it on Amazon before we left. lol
Sedona is a beautiful city, the mountains are so beautiful and the resort is quite pretty. Once we were settled into the room we went to welcome dinner event that was nice and got to Shmooze with all the other people on the tour. Series calling for a golf cart to pick you up at your room and take you where you need to go. The dinner was nice, beer and wine included. Best part was the native American that played music and told us stories from his culture, showed us artwork and crafts with stories tied to them. The kids enjoyed it almost as much as we did. Everyone was given a special Disney pin, which was very cool, and unexpected. Kids were excited!
Long day of traveling, kids were tired also with the time change. We headed back to the room to get ready for bed. Stepped outside to see the amazing sky and stars. Tomorrow will be another amazing day!
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Post by annamaria on Jul 9, 2024 4:56:02 GMT -5
Amazing already. Enjoy!
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Post by zulaya on Jul 9, 2024 6:57:34 GMT -5
Following along! Sounds like an amazing start!
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Post by Joeli on Jul 9, 2024 8:19:59 GMT -5
7/9 - sunrise 5:30am…kid up at 5:45am…ugh. Well this is what vacation is all about, time together right? lol
Breakfast opens at 6:30. The group offered a sunrise trail expedition at 4:45am. NOT for me! They do have a star gazing event at 8:30pm. Since my oldest wanted binoculars yesterday ( and we got it for him) and he had been using a star gazing app (SkyView) for the past few weeks, I have a feeling I will be taking him tonight (it’s only offered on Tuesdays). Who knows possibly see a UFO - or so they say…lol. We have an off road jeep excursion setup at 9:45am, then a group lunch in Sedona at a place called sound bite grill. Have an option after lunch walk around and shop for an hour (in 110 degrees - lol) or can head back to the resort and do whatever we want. We will see, we talked about a massage for me, and/or pool time as a family. Have dinner planned at a rest in the resort for this evening…
Time to get up slooowly, drink a decaf coffee, LOTS of water and prepare for a day in one of the “vortexes” that we were told about to cleanse your energy and rejuvenate.
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Post by Joeli on Jul 9, 2024 16:52:55 GMT -5
7/9 - continued: Breakfast at the resort restaurant with a view of the most beautiful mountains, cacti and nature. Views that make you want to relocate until you pull up Zillow and check prices!
DS10 woke up with a belly ache that hopefully will clear up soon. We have all been looking forward to the “Morning Pink Jeep tour”. Not looking good as it departs in 30 minutes…here’s to hoping.
Well Ds10, his tummy ache and me hung out at the hotel. Dw and ds7 had fun on the jeep (real bouncy), our little one enjoyed it. They both had lunch with the group, and brought me and ds10 a doggie bag. Unfortunately, his appetite is now off. Ugh, what a way to start this trip.
DW made me schedule an hour massage for later tonight before dinner to try and relax….
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Post by annamaria on Jul 10, 2024 5:46:16 GMT -5
7/9 - continued: Breakfast at the resort restaurant with a view of the most beautiful mountains, cacti and nature. Views that make you want to relocate until you pull up Zillow and check prices! DS10 woke up with a belly ache that hopefully will clear up soon. We have all been looking forward to the “Morning Pink Jeep tour”. Not looking good as it departs in 30 minutes…here’s to hoping. Well Ds10, his tummy ache and me hung out at the hotel. Dw and ds7 had fun on the jeep (real bouncy), our little one enjoyed it. They both had lunch with the group, and brought me and ds10 a doggie bag. Unfortunately, his appetite is now off. Ugh, what a way to start this trip. DW made me schedule an hour massage for later tonight before dinner to try and relax…. I hope your son is feeling much better this morning  . |
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Post by Joeli on Jul 10, 2024 11:53:42 GMT -5
Thank you all for following along and the thoughts and well wishes.
When I got back from the massage ds10 was still not well, and sleeping. When he woke he was so fatigued, disoriented and no appetite. After a looong bath we were able to get some water and liquid IV in him, some chicken noodle soup and crackers. We never made it to stargazing, but thankfully this morning he was at %100.
7/10
After packing up our room and leaving our overweight suitcases outside our room we headed for a nice leisurely breakfast. Good at the resort has been amazing big and the service I would say a 9 out of 10.
Boarded our bus at 9am said goodbye to the Majestic red mountains and cliffs and are heading to Williams, Arizona known as the gateway to the Grand Canyon.
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