Christmas Magic & Freezing Temps! Dec 10 TR (Upd 6/26, the last night!)

[francis6306]

Hello! I'm not promising a perfect report and timely updates, but HOPEFULLY this will be interesting to read none the less!

The Cast:
Well, this is where it gets slightly tricky! I'll introduce my family for now. We went with two other families (see my PTR in my siggy for the background!).


Christen (Thats ME) Cortlyn and Corey. This was taken on our trip! YAY

I'll try to make sure to add links, in case this gets long...

Travel to Disney!
Arriving at Pop!

 

[francis6306]

Our trip started out GREAT! We planned to leave right after I got out of work, and drive to Tallahassee,Fl for the evening and then drive the rest of the way Friday morning. Cortlyn was very excited and did really well, with the help of our handy dandy DVD player for the Car! . We stopped in Mobile, AL for dinner at one of my favorite places that we’re missing in our new hometown- Panera Bread! YUMMY! No pictures of this food! heehee... Actually, we don’t have many pictures at all until we actually get to WDW and unpack, since my husband packed the camera. Its fine, because really... the car pictures aren’t all that necessary.

Finally, we heard the voice on the Tomtom telling us to exit ahead. Woohoo... except the Tomtom had the configuration for the exit, so we sort of missed it. Honestly, we should have been paying more attention ourselves, because the La Quinta sign was RIGHT there, but we both totally missed it. Oh well. We went down to the next exit and came back around. Cortlyn by this point was D.O.N.E. So, while Corey went in and checked into the hotel, I unstrapped her and let her sit up in the front seat with me. I know, I know... HORRIBLE mother. But she was done and I didn’t want to go inside the lobby with a crying toddler. She was excited just to be out of the seat, so we sat and talked while we waited on daddy. Corey came back out and we drove around to the side of the building (less than 50 yards!) and parked in front of our room. YAY! We were there!

The hotel was nice, older but updated. We got into the room around 11:30. Cortlyn had never stayed in a hotel before, so I think she was a little confused. She didn’t want to lay in the bed... she wanted to lay her blanket and pillow on the floor. HAHA... She has slept on the floor at family and even at home (what can I say? She ASKS to sleep on the floor sometimes... weird). We finally convinced her to get in the bed with me and watch her princess movie (The Enchanted Tales with Aurora & Jasmine). I figured she would fall asleep watching it, but she was WIDE awake. I think part of the problem was, I thought she might wake up scared and get out of the bed and not know where she was- so I left the bathroom light on. Bad idea apparently... because she was awake until around 3... Corey had fallen asleep while she was watching the movie and I was dozing in and out. Corey woke up around 3 and realized she was awake and so he took her in his bed and he turned off all the lights and wham- instant sleeping baby. Oh well... we learned that lesson!

So, since that was such a LONG night, the next day went much slower than expected. I figured Cortlyn would be up early and we’d all be so excited! Yeah... no. Since we were all so tired, we just took our time. We didn’t stress and I kept reminding myself, Magic Kingdom wasn’t going anywhere! We stopped by Target and picked up a few things we forgot and grab me some gloves and a toboggan since it was going to be colder later in our trip than we expected.

The drive to Orlando was pretty uneventful. We did have some drizzling rain in Gainesville, and that got us worried, but we heard from our friends Shelley and Brian that they had landed in Orlando and that the weather was perfect. Of course, I was praying we’d be leaving that yucky weather behind! The traffic wasn’t horrible, but really people... slower traffic stay RIGHT! What part of that do people miss???

 

[francis6306]

Finally, we were paying the tolls and getting super close to the Exit for Walt Disney World. Cortlyn was so excited to be at Disney World, but she still had NO idea what this was going to be about! haha...Just driving up, she was excited. We followed the signs to our resort... Pop Century and pulled in! Corey was immediately impressed by the security guard. He was super nice and talked to Cortlyn in the back seat. Corey is easily impressed if he is given good customer service and this guy was excelling. Of course, the Cast Members are paid to be happy, but you know, you can tell some of the CM’s really ARE happy to work at the happiest place on earth!

We parked and went into check in. Cortlyn was just in awe with the Christmas decorations and Corey was enjoying looking at the stuff hanging on the walls. We walked down to check in (we did not do online check in). It went very smoothly and the lady that checked us in was super nice. I *might* have teared up when she gave me the “1st visit” buttons for Corey and Cortlyn. They immediately put them on and I snapped a picture and Cortlyn was just so excited! Who could blame her?? And her trip was JUST getting started! We added our credit card to our room key and then I noticed that they printed out a room key for Cortlyn! I wasn’t expecting that since she didn’t need partk tickets being under 2, but they did print one! I thought that was a nice extra, since it has her name printed on there.

We walked over to the 70’s building (and we were super close!) and we were in room 0118, building 10. It was perfect! I didn’t want to be close to the pools and we weren’t! In fact, we never go near the pools (Cortlyn would want to go swimming and while we did bring the stuff to swim, its a little cool for that, so I didn’t want to tempt her, you know? I know the pools are heated... but we would be FREEZING in the walk back and forth! Anyway, so our room is near a little hidden playground and it looks like a little forrest right outside our room. (Our room was close to where that guy is standing I believe.)

In fact, there are lots and lots of squirrels... which I have an unnatural fear of! I have had quite a few run up near me or across the path that I am walking!! We are pretty close to the checkin area and the buses- YAY! So, I’ll always be requesting this building, because for us, its perfect!

My phone starts to ring and its Shelley... asking me to open up the door to the room next to us! They are standing on the other side of the door! YAY!!! We did our girly scream and we startled Cortlyn... She ran off crying! Poor thing! We didn’t mean to!! We finally convinced her to come out of hiding and that Shelley & Brian are our friends! Corey is busy getting our stuff out of the car and I’m trying to get a little settled in.

Here are a few pictures from Pop. This resort was GREAT for our trip and we were perfectly happy with our choice of value! My husband had wanted to stay at All Stars Sports, but he loved this resort.

Cortlyn walking with Brian and Shelley around Pop:

Corey LOVED the massive fooseball game!

Us at Pop! Heehee... Cortlyn had NO idea how close we were to the pools right then! This was just outside the food court area I believe

Coming from the Parking Lot, LOVE the huge 8 track!

Building 10! We were down this side to the left. Not a bad walk to the parking lot AND we we pretty close to the buses!

Walking from the parking lot to our room. Isn't this just beautiful??

 

[jenseib]

I'm here....now I have to go read it!

 

[jenseib]

Claire went through a phase where she wanted to sleep on the floor all the time too.
Looks like a great start.

I think one picture you tried to post didn't go. It is when you talk about your room being near the playground.

 

[francis6306]

Claire went through a phase where she wanted to sleep on the floor all the time too.
Looks like a great start.

I think one picture you tried to post didn't go. It is when you talk about your room being near the playground.

Thanks! I fixed it! It has been a while since I've posted and forgot what I was doing at first! I thought I had a picture of the playground, but apparently I didn't... oh well.

 

[stephielela]

Subbing! I am second!! Can't wait to read more!

 

[teachermommy78]

Joining!!! Will catch up later, though. I'm also subbing to your PTR.

 

[fairydust1278]

also subbing in! can't wait for another update!

 

[MinnieMouse880]

joining in!! great trip report so far and great pics of POP

 

[francis6306]

Subbing! I am second!! Can't wait to read more!

Hello again!!!

Joining!!! Will catch up later, though. I'm also subbing to your PTR.

Hey!! Thanks for joining!

also subbing in! can't wait for another update!

Coming right up!

joining in!! great trip report so far and great pics of POP

Thanks! I LOVED staying at Pop, and I will probably talk more about the resort later!

Don't get spoiled by all my prework and all these updates! I might not be able to do as much as fast in future, unless work slows down! I work in a medical office doing patient accounts. New deductibles and blah blah blah... lots of extra work for me!

 

[Purpleblanket]

Looking forward to reading your TR! We just got back and stayed in the 80's section with the roobiks cubes!!! We were there from Dec. 27 - Jan 2/10
Maybe I'll start my own TR soon but for now, I'll follow yours!!

Debbie

 

[francis6306]

We have 3 o’clock ressies at The Plaza, and I’m thinking it was right at 2 when we finally got out the door! Cortlyn enjoyed the bus ride to the Magic Kingdom. We walked in and I was just in awe of the beauty of the Christmas Decorations! I have seen pictures, but people, this is just something to see in person! There is no way to explain how the setting was just perfect!

Corey held Cortlyn as we entered the park. I couldn't get over my excitement that they were about to experience MAGIC KINGDOM! We walked towards Main Street and my excitement just built and built. Then, we started to round the corner and I ran ahead a little to catch this:

We walked over to the Plaza and checked in, and Cortlyn, Shelley and I went to the bathroom- had to change Cortlyn’s diaper. I have to say, I wish I had a changing pad with me, because the changing station there near the Plaza was that stainless steel, so it was kinda chilly. Oh well. I don’t think they are all like that, but I noticed that one to be that way. While we were in there, the buzzer went off and the guys called us to tell us it was time to eat!

The Plaza was just a perfect little hole in the wall, and the food was just wonderful. I was the only one that didn’t get a burger, I got the Steak and Cheese. Cortlyn got the PB&J with grapes & banana slices and her dessert, I ordered the milk and cookies. Corey ordered a chocolate milkshake and OMG it tasted SOOO good. It was like eating cold chocolate! We ALL enjoyed a taste of that (Cortlyn was sad that she couldn’t gulp it down!). They brought it out in a nice glass cup with whipped cream and a cherry on top, and then they also brought the stainless steel cup that they made it in with the “leftovers” that basically filled the glass up again. I think it was totally worth the money we paid for it! We paid out of pocket for this and I think it was around $51 with tip. Oh... and there ARE pictures of the food, however, I think they must be on Shelley's camera! Sorry!

I had booked Cortlyn’s first haircut, but totally forgot what time it was booked for! Yikes! So, Shelley, Cort & I headed out to the Harmony Barber Shop and left the guys behind to handle the bill (I asked for Cortlyn’s cookies to go and somewhere in the excitement we lost them. Sorry!) We got there and there were quite a bit of people piled in there! Oh it was TINY! It didn’t seem so tiny in the pictures I had seen- but this place is smaller than my living room! They had 3 stations set up and there were a ton of families in there... Even one guy who came just to “look” at the place. Uhhh... now’s probably not the time to push through to “look” when there are 5 people in line, but I was nice and didn’t say anything. We finally made it to the front and checked in. We actually had plenty of time before our reservation, but they could work us in right away, and Cortlyn already started climbing in the chair, so... we went with it! I nervously told the man that I had never cut her hair, and I wanted the tiniest amount of hair cut. He was wonderful and didn’t treat me like a crazy mom! He talked to me about it and showed me that he would only take off the very thinnest of the ends to help thicken it up and did a great job following the lines of her natural layers. I know that I watched him cut a tiny amount, but I swear, her hair looks so different and fuller now! She’s a kid- no longer my baby!!!

Momma setting the rules up!

He gave her a toy to keep her mind off what he was doing! Smart man!

 

[francis6306]

So, after the haircut, we traveled over to Fantasyland... I wanted to get in some of the classic children’s rides before they were changed or possibly gotten away with after the expansion project. We rode “It’s a Small World” and Cortlyn was so impressed. She loved pointing out all the different children. It was such a neat experience to watch her take it all in! After that, we went to the carrousel and Cortlyn got to ride that. I think around this time we got fast passes for the Winnie the Pooh ride and we watched the PhilHarMagic show. Cortlyn wasn’t impressed at first with the glasses, but we finally convinced her that she had to wear them... although, they didn’t quite fit her right. heehee. I love that show!

Corey and I about to ride our FIRST disney ride! Well... HIS first!

Cortlyn was READY to get on the boat!

We were in the first row, so Cortlyn had a PERFECT view!

I'd say she was fully into the ride!

Riding the carousel

She LOVED the PhilHarMagic!

It started to get chilly and while everyone else had their sweaters and jackets, I had left mine in the car. So, I had to buy one! I walked over to look at the hoddies, and the adults were like $52 and I just couldn’t imagine paying that much for a hoodie- even if it DID have mickey on it! So, I started looking at long sleeve t’s. Corey and Cortlyn were shopping in the same shop and I noticed they had kid’s hoodies... hmmm, lets see... Children’s XL? Why, yes, that will work for now! Woohoo! $34! Take that! I am about 5 months pregnant, so its tight when I zip it, but its perfect everywhere else. I typically wear a small or medium and I’m like a size 8 right now, in case anyone wants to try to get around the prices for adults! Only thing I noticed LATER was that it was a 2011 hoodie! Oops! haha... I'm just ahead of my time!

After that, we walked over to Winnie the Pooh, which I’m pretty certain I have never rode before and that was neat. Like I said, it was getting chilly, and you could feel the heat as soon as we loaded on the ride. I don’t remember ever riding this before, and we enjoyed it. Cortlyn thought it was a lot of fun!

Us on Winnie the Pooh! You can see my hoodie!

 

[TanzUnited99]

Enjoying your TR so far. Am subbing and looking forward to more

Yikes on the prices of fleeces Am glad you managed a way around it and the pink fleece looks really nice

 

[jenseib]

The hoodie looks great...from what I can see of it. If you remember (or maybe not) I have an obsession with Disney hoodies. I bought 2 last trip. I have one from 2007, 2008, 2009, plus in 2009 I got one with a the year because it was s darn cute. When my parents went in 2010 they brought me one back...and I can't wait to get my 2011 one. And now that we are going on the cruise, I might have to see if they have a cute cruise themed one. Hoodies and pictures are my 2 things I just seem to have to have.

 

[Fantasyland Mom]

I'm subbing! We love Pop Century, too! We have a couple of other similarities, too...DD got her first haircut at Harmony Barbershop, and I laid down the law, as well! I also was pregnant on our last trip, 30-31 weeks!
I have started a PTR about our upcoming trip, and I hope to do a TR when I get back--I hope I can be as quick and thorough as you are! Can't wait to read more!

 

[francis6306]

The hoodie looks great...from what I can see of it. If you remember (or maybe not) I have an obsession with Disney hoodies. I bought 2 last trip. I have one from 2007, 2008, 2009, plus in 2009 I got one with a the year because it was s darn cute. When my parents went in 2010 they brought me one back...and I can't wait to get my 2011 one. And now that we are going on the cruise, I might have to see if they have a cute cruise themed one. Hoodies and pictures are my 2 things I just seem to have to have.

HAHA! I totally thought about you as I bought this one! I knew you would appreciate my hoodie story! They have several cute ones for this year! OH!! And I totally forgot to mention that I used your letter to fax in my requests for our room that you posted over on the Groovy thread! Thanks!!!

I'm subbing! We love Pop Century, too! We have a couple of other similarities, too...DD got her first haircut at Harmony Barbershop, and I laid down the law, as well! I also was pregnant on our last trip, 30-31 weeks!
I have started a PTR about our upcoming trip, and I hope to do a TR when I get back--I hope I can be as quick and thorough as you are! Can't wait to read more!

FUN! And I'm only quick, because I've been working on it offline, gathering my thoughts and such. I actually took our laptop and worked on notes about the trip during naptime!

Enjoying your TR so far. Am subbing and looking forward to more

Yikes on the prices of fleeces Am glad you managed a way around it and the pink fleece looks really nice

Yeah, the prices were steep, but I could NOT go another minute without it! Trust me- you will see in later pictures, it was FREEZING!!!!!!

 

[cdarby6]

We were there Dec 12-17 and it was FREEZING!!! I think Monday was the worst. I love looking at the pictures. Looks like your daughter was having so much fun!

 

[patches07]

Enjoying your TR so far.And looking forward to more