You Guys Part of the Family? You've Got the Magic In Your Eyes!!->Updated 10/19x3!!!!

[katt789]

Hellllloooo Hummaaannnsss!!! (and any other kind of creatures that may or many not be able to read this trip report) and WELCOME!!! Its me again (Katt that is), and I have just returned from my most recent trip down to Disney World, and am once again going to share all of the magic and memories and insanity with you! We had such an amazing trip, in total I was down there for 11 days, we split between two amazingly beautiful resorts, and had a blast. We had some incredible adventures, practically backstage experiences, multiple character meets (in which, a certain someone *may* have let a not so Disney appropriate word slip out?! ) and there were many happy tears shed, and may pixie dusted moments! Now, onto the details that you need to know!

Who:
Me (Katt!)

I am your fearless TR writer and lover of all things Disney, my first trip to the parks was in 1997, and was to DLR, then last May, I went to WDW for the first time, and followed that up by 2 more trips that year, and 4 more trips down to Disney property in 2012 (not including this Sept one) I travel with different people all the time, and have gone solo as well, and not to fret, I do have an annual pass (which saves me a ton on ticket prices!). Ive been performing my whole life, and now have a little obsession with getting into the Disney company to work somehow, whether that be being friends with characters, or dancing in parades, or some of the shows, I do not care, bringing that magic alive to others is just something that I dream of doing!! My favorite characters include Tigger, Tinkerbell, Periwinkle, Ariel and Rapunzel, and some of my favorite rides include Splash Mountain, the People Mover, Expedition Everest, and Tower of Terror!

My Mother: (Ann, will be referred to as Mom for the remainder of the TR)

Mom has never been to Disney World before (her parents waited until the kids were all grown up and moved out before they went to any form of Disney) but back in 1997 she took me to Disney Land over Spring break, and that was about it for her park experience. This trip celebrated her being an awesome Mom, and her birthday (as her actual birthday is Sept 2nd) and it was a surprise all paid for by me! I had a bunch of things like a back pack, and photo album for her for Christmas, and then she had a little scrap book telling her where wed be going for her Bday celebrations, and SURPRISE, its not Banff, its DISNEYWORLD!

Next up is Paige:

Shes 18, and newly graduated, and has always been a huge Disney nut. She traveled to Disney land in the past, but it was her first time at WDW. We used to work together at a dinner theatre up here, and I would always ask her to come on trips, but she was still in school, so when this opportunity arose, I knew I had to ask her! Paige was definitely one of the people who truly loves and appreciates Disney, and I knew Id have an amazing time with her, especially once we got talking about youtube videos and how we would both be sitting at home watching them crying, haha!! We get along great! Paiges favorite characters include Goofy, Tink, Ariel and Rapunzel, and she definitely has a fondness for Space Mountain, Everest and Tower of Terror!

When: September 10-21st 2012! The trip was split up like this though: Sept 10-17 was my Mom and I, with Paiges trip starting on the 15-21, so they overlapped for a day and a half!

Where:
Sept 10-17th was the Deluxe half of the trip, staying at Animal Kingdom Lodge with a Savannah view! I have wanted to stay here for the longest time, it just seemed so awesome, and my Mom loves all things Africa, so I figured it would be a good choice. Originally, I had us booked in to a pool view room, but then figured, if I was splurging, I should just go all the way, and get a Savannah view room! Yay! I justified by saying that this trip was longer, and I figured wed spend a little more time in the room than usual, haha!

The second half the trip (checking in Sept 15 til the 21st) was at Disneys Art of Animation Resort, staying in the Little Mermaid Standard Rooms! This resort had looked absolutely amazing, and combined a bunch of my favorite movies, I was hoping that I could stay in the LM rooms, and when I found out that the standard rooms were the LM rooms, I knew we had to book in there! Love love love!!

Extras:
We managed to get Free dining when we booked (for both trips!) it was my first time on something other than the quick service dining plan, so I had a blast picking and choosing the ADRs for the trip, with some old time favorites, and some new adventures to try! We also attended two separate Mickeys Not So Scary Halloween Parties, and had many adventures planned for this 11 day adventure!!

And now that all of the intros are done, we can get on with the show!!

Chapter Links
Day 1->Monday Sept 10th
A *Very* Rough Beginning
Safe & Sound Inside the Disney Bubble
Ya Picked the Right One Girl

Day 2->Tuesday Sept 11th
It's Time To Fly
Journeying Into the Future
I Got A Buzz Man
Hey Mickey You're So Fine!
What Means Aye Carumba?
My Childhood Returns
I Never Get Any Tea at Parties!
The GREATEST Meal of My Life->Dining Review Included
Gosh Minnie, You've Always Been A Princess To Me
Did Someone Say Adventure?!
You Can Reach the Stars if You Just Believe!
From the Briar Patch, to New Orleans, to Pixie Hollow
Reflections of Earth

Day 3->Wednesday Sept 12th
I'm Not Your Mother, Break Those Plates!
If You Can Dream It, You Can Do It
One Day I'll Be Part of Your World!
Ooooo! I love games!
Who Could Ever Learn to Love A Beast?
Much More Than This Provincial Life
What's There Momma?
It Is You!
Princesses, Muppets & Lost Ears
Da-da-dadadada-da
Indy's Here to Save the Day
5-4-3-2-FUN
Come As Your Are, You're A Superstar
Cousin Dale Serves Up Some Grub
The Imagination Can Create Many Things
Some Imagination, Huh?

Day 4->Thursday Sept 13
Mommy Do You Believe in Dreams
Disney's A Place for All Ages of Kids
Finishing Tomorrowland Before the Park's Officially Open!
Wee Little Candy Thieves
Will Ye Join Jack's Crew?
We Have HOW Many CS Credits Left?!
Pumpin Up The Party Now
My Twin!
Princess Partay!
Adventures with Lost Boys
Realize Any Dream is Possible
Naveen's Got All the Moves
The Winter Woods are Like Home
I Miss You Already
I Promise Your Birthday Dinner is better than the backside of water!
Wishin on Stars is for Babies and Crazy People
I See the Light...lots of them
When You Wish Upon A Star

Day 5->Friday Sept 14
Isn't Three In A Row A Little Much!?
It's Safari Time!
Someone's Feeling Sassy Today....
Welcome. Now....listen...
They're Pickin' Bugs off Each Other
Katt's Feels Explode
Let's Do This
That's A Long Canoe Ride!
Single Rider Line's the Best!
If There Aren't Any Animals Imma Die!
This is A Legit Costume
Nice Satchel, Wanna See What's in Mine?
No! Go! We've Already Replaced You!
Give A Scream, it's Halloween
Hello new Boyfriend!
Happy Hallowishes Everyone
Let Mr Oogie Kick it Up A Notch
They Put Us By the Help
A Boo To You Bash
I Wanna Be A Haunted Mansion Dancer!
Seeing Double

Day 6->Saturday September 15
I'm All Gloomy Now
Such a Pretty Boat...ship...
The Mighty Pachyderm
I May Be Obsessed with Dancers
This Elevator Goes Straight to..The Twilight Zone
We Sing, We Dance, We Eat
It's Time to Take some Action Boys
Relaxing out of the Rain!
An Emotional Reunion
Everything the Light Touches
Under Da Sea!
Uhm...one bed?
Dowtown Disney Explorations

Day 7->Sunday Sept 16
The Big Blue World
I had A Turtle Shell Once
M-I-C-K-E-Y!!
Too Many Pictures
Even Characters Like to Play
Canada Oh Canada
Stalking Up On Tea
The Obsession with Perry Continues
Hats! Look at all the hats!
On Our Way to Make some Magic
Royalty, and Some Not So Royal
I Finally Get My Cinnamon Bun!
Close Your Eyes and Realize
Birds of a Feather
Say Ribbit
Free Magic Buns!
A Late Night of Magic
Flying Elephants and Saying Goodbye

Day 8-> Monday Sept 17th
The Twilight Zone
Bean's Goin Out....FOREVER?!
A Woman Shouldn't Read!
My Favorite Dancers!
This Seatbelt Goes Left to Right
The Big Blue World
Not A Long Wait At All
Royalty Makes its Way In
Here Come the Bad Guys
I Just Can't!

Day 9-> Tuesday Sept 18th
That's Just Creepy
What Sound Does A Giraffe Make?
Hey Big Guy..Uh..Nice Hat
Paige Gets Punched
THIS SEATBELT IS NOT LEFT TO RIGHT!
Pretty Sure This is a Hurricane
Seeing Double Take 1
The Last Thing I Stole Was Her Heart!
Don't Say Your Name!
I'm Not A Bad Guy!
Your Day is Made
A Trick, Or Treat
You Like that Ladies
Guard the Portal!!

Day 10-> Wed Sept 19th!
The Magic In the Eyes
The Dream
It's Coming True
Kinda Mushy If You Ask Me
Just Believe!
Shake Ya Tailfeather
Tut Tut Looks Like Rain
Rainy Day Calvacade
How Do You All Know Each Other?!
See the Light
Once Upon A Dream

Day 11- Thurs Sept 20th
Don't Step On It
All of My Feeeeeeeeeeelllllsss
Which Way Does the Seatbelt Go?
See You In Rehearsals!
So Excited

Standing Room?

Day 12-> Friday Sept 21st
A Not So Practically Perfect Breakfast
Run Away with You?! It's all so sudden!
Closing Thoughts



LIFE UPDATES
#1->Your thoughts & opinions??
#2->Dance Competition & Disney Plans
LOOK! A PTR!!

 

[IheartDDuck]

Thanks for the link dear!

First, woo hoo!

 

[shan23877]

Thanks for the heads up, can't wait to hear all about it!

 

[katt789]

Thanks for the link dear!

First, woo hoo!

Thanks for the heads up, can't wait to hear all about it!

Bahahhahaha my faithful two! Lol. Glad you're here!! I'm excited for you to read all about it!

 

[ThroughLookingGlass]

Sounds like it's going to be good!

 

[katt789]

Sounds like it's going to be good!

Thanks!!! I'm glad you're here to read along!

 

[katt789]

Our Disney trip begins the night before the trip officially started, Sunday Sept 9th, my Mom came into Calgary, about 3 hours south of where she lives, and spent the night at my place. I was lucky enough to have my room mate dog sit for the week (she also happens to work at a doggy day care, so that helps haha). I had to work that night, but managed to leave early, get home, finish packing, and get to bed by around 10:00pm! Why so early, you ask? Well, our wake up call was:

That’s right! The un-godly hour of 3:45 in the morning! Definitely early for both my Mom and I. We got up and ready nice and quick (I’ll admit, I took a little bit longer as I was putting on just a little bit of make up before flying) and said goodbye to Daisy (the dog) and with the help of my Iphone’s GPS, were on our way down to the airport.

Now, we had originally been planning on taking a cab, but once I looked up airport parking and found a lot that was only $40.00 for the week, however once we got towards the airport, we completely couldn’t find the right parking lot, UGH, not to mention we were running a little bit late already, so we pulled into a lot a bit further away with a shuttle that I’m pretty sure ended up costing my Mom $80.00 for the week, but at least we got parked and onto the shuttle! The driver was super chatty and telling jokes the entire way, definitely not expected for the graveyard shift haha! We got into the airport right at 4:25, and there were far too many line ups, it seriously just took too long to get through everything.

At the security point, Mom forgot about her water bottle having water in it, and they almost made her go all the way back to dump it out, but luckily one of the agents did it for her, thank goodness! We so didn’t have time to back track! After grabbing some breakfast from Tim Horton’s (the last for 2 weeks! Eeek!) we managed to sit down at our gate JUST as our boarding group was called. Ugh, talk about cutting it close!! That parking shenanigan was not what I was expecting.

Thinking that our troubles were behind us, and we were on our way to DISNEY WORLD, we boarded the plane, got seated and all ready to go…and there was a problem with a valve…something that just needed air blown in it, so it should be a quick fix, we just had to pull back into the gate and wait for the people to come and fix it, no biggie, right? HA! We ended up waiting for 2 hours…yup…you read that right…two whole freaking hours…on the tarmac, in a little baby plane, which just made me nervous.... After they FINALLY got it fixed, we took off, and the flight attendants announced that they were already in contact with Denver (where the connection was) and that they would be holding some planes if the connection ended up being close enough, and they would have everything figured out for us, and there would be agents at the gate waiting for us. Thanks to the time difference, we were thinking that our plane would be held for us, *fingers crossed* and it would all work out well, come on pixie dust!

Well…the bad luck streak continued….we landed in Denver at 10:07, our connecting flight had been scheduled to take off at 10:07, so we RUSHED off the plane to find an agent to see if they had held out plane…and there was absolutely no one at the gate…there was also no kind of announcement made on the plane, no updates, NOTHING. I thought about waiting for someone to turn up, but my mom jumped on the first person she saw to ask, and they sent us over to customer service….no planes had been held…great. The line at the desk was already huge, but we managed to get through pretty quickly.

The agent did my Mom’s ticket first, and got her on the flight that was leaving in a couple of hours, but only managed to get me on the standby list…okay….my actual confirmed flight….not until the next afternoon…it would get into Orlando the next day at 5:00pm…are you freaking kidding me?! NO! THIS IS NOT OKAY!! There was no “I’m sorry this happened” there was no “here’s a meal voucher” there was no “here’s a hotel voucher so you can at least get a discount on something because we’re making you stay by yourself in an airport for over 12 hours” ….nothing. The last time I was delayed, the airline gave us meal vouchers, and that was only for a few hours (although a different airline…)

We found the gate of the flight, and then went to attempt to get some food, when we had gotten off the plane, I was starving, but after this ordeal, I wasn’t sure if I could eat at all, ugh. There was this nice little French themed restaurant in the food court type area that we chose, and the first thing I ordered was a strong Long Island Iced Tea…booze helps, right?

I ordered a cup of French Onion Soup and a Garden Salad that were both really good, if there’s something I love, it’s some French Onion Soup, om nom nom. And for any of you that were wondering, yes, the drink did help me calm down, and also brought my appetite back, it was a stressful day so far… My mom got Vegetarian Panini and a Stella for her lunch!

Something hilarious that we noticed during our meal, was they the knives they had were plastic, but painted to look like they were real metal ones!

Lol, it was quite a surprise when you went to pick it up! Soon enough it was time to head over to our gate, and see what kind of luck we would get with getting me on the flight. We headed to the desk to check in first, and ask if they knew more on what was going on, well the agent at the gate was definitely not friendly at all, and not helpful, she said she couldn’t even tell us where I was on the standby list, and that the flight was fully booked. Are you kidding me. We sat down to wait, and that was seriously when I just lost it, I had tried so hard not to cry, and just cracked. Mom at that point went over to talk to them again, explaining that I had to get on this flight as I had an audition down there the next day, I told her to mention that I needed her for transportation as I wasn’t old enough to rent a car down there, but they seriously did nothing. Not even 5 minutes after the witchy woman said she couldn’t tell us the standby list order, the list went up on the screen, I was 5th, but behind a family, so maybe there was a chance, if one seat opened up.

Mom offered to let me go instead, and she would stay overnight in Denver, but there was no way I was okay with that either, because we were flying in together, I had all the information, the Magical Express stuff, and she had done no research, she’d have NO clue where she was going. And there was certainly NO WAY I was staying in Denver overnight by myself, it just didn’t work like that, I didn’t want to have to wait over 24 hours for my Disney plans to begin. UGH.

Finally, after what seemed like forever and my Mom talking to a bunch of different agents, and we ended up sitting behind the family that was on standby, there was one seat that was opened. Well, there was one agent who called us over to her and was talking to someone on the phone, and the one seat that was open, the person had yet to get off the other plane (or something) and this agent was shooing my mom onto the plane. The witchy one from earlier immediately started shrieking, asking who she was and what she thought she was doing, and the lady helping us pretty much told her to suck it, she had this under control. (not exactly those words, but you get what I mean haha) She then practically pushed me running into the hallway that lead to the plane, telling me my seat number as the doors were all closing, so that if the person who’s seat I was taking showed up last minute, they were able to turn them away due to closed doors.

Seriously. That just happened. Thanks to the gong show of the situation, I didn’t even think to LOOK at the lady’s name tag, I wish I knew her name, she really deserved a email “thank you” for what she did. Once I had kind of calmed myself down, I started freaking out about my luggage, thinking that it would be on the other flight, the next day, but my Mom said that it was already taken care of, and it was on this plane. And now that the gong show was over, I was on the plane, seated, and we were taking off, I was still upset as all heck, but calmed myself down, turned on Princess and the Frog, and passed the heck out practically immediately.

With the gong show of a rough start to the vacation behind us, we landed in Orlando at 5:53, about 3 hours late, but we made it, and it looked like we might just make it to our dinner reservations that night! After a quick stop to pick up our luggage, we were onto the Magical Express right at 6:25, and were on our way to Animal Kingdom Lodge. And THANK GOD we were in the Disney bubble officially, THANK YOU. Seriously, the trip on the ME is always amazing and beautiful and wonderful, but thanks to the day we had had so far, this one just seemed so much more awesome!

Yup, there it is, the sign of glory, the sign that says “Welcome Home” “You made it” “Forget about the real world for the week” and all that jazz. And now that we have reached that amazing Disney bubble, you’ll have to wait for the next update, as this has a lot of text, and I’m sure you’re a little bored!

Stay Tuned!!

 

[StitchsGurl]

Woohooo another Katt trip report!!!!

I LOVE the picture of you and Mickey ... how adorable!

Wow, what a rough start to the trip - I would have been stressed to the max ... but glad everything worked out for you.

I love seeing the WDW sign ... finally makes me realize that I'm REALLY there.

Great first update ... can't wait to see the next update~

 

[IheartDDuck]

3:45am is not an ungodly hour when you're going to WDW!

I seriously have to get somewhere that I can try Tim Horton's because you guys love it so much, and I'm all like "awww, I'm missing out!"

Grrr, two hours stuck on the tarmac! The worst!

I do not understand the holding or not holding of planes. I've been sitting on a plane that's been held for like 45 minutes for people to arrive from a connecting flight, but then you are a matter of minutes late to others, and it's gone? What's with that!?

Booze always helps.

OMG, that's crazy what happened to you! How amazing that you got on the plane. Such pixie dust you had. That's so awesome. But, I would have been freaking out myself too, and there's nothing wrong with crying.

Woo hoo, you're there!!!!!

 

[DVCWDWMEMBER]

Wow how unbelievable what you went thru. Glad you made it on the ME and are on the way to WDW. Can't wait to hear more.

 

[ronnmel]

I'm here!

I would have been fuming too if I had to go through what you went through for the flight down. That kind of thing happening is exactly why it stresses the heck out of me to take a flight with a layover and I often end up just paying a lot more just for the ease of mind of a direct flight. I know it's not possible for you though.

 

[bluejasmine]

Oh my goodness! Your vacation started like our last one! Cant wait to read more!!

 

[katt789]

Woohooo another Katt trip report!!!!

I LOVE the picture of you and Mickey ... how adorable!

Wow, what a rough start to the trip - I would have been stressed to the max ... but glad everything worked out for you.

I love seeing the WDW sign ... finally makes me realize that I'm REALLY there.

Great first update ... can't wait to see the next update~

Hey! I'm glad you're excited! Hhaha, I do love that pic of Mickey and I, I thought he was super cute in his little captain gear, it was over at DLR.

UGH, it was horrible, seriously, nothing was better than seeing that WDW sign that trip, a moment to just take a big deep sigh of relief!

Thanks!! I'm glad you enjoy!

3:45am is not an ungodly hour when you're going to WDW!

I seriously have to get somewhere that I can try Tim Horton's because you guys love it so much, and I'm all like "awww, I'm missing out!"

Grrr, two hours stuck on the tarmac! The worst!

I do not understand the holding or not holding of planes. I've been sitting on a plane that's been held for like 45 minutes for people to arrive from a connecting flight, but then you are a matter of minutes late to others, and it's gone? What's with that!?

Booze always helps.

OMG, that's crazy what happened to you! How amazing that you got on the plane. Such pixie dust you had. That's so awesome. But, I would have been freaking out myself too, and there's nothing wrong with crying.

Woo hoo, you're there!!!!!

Ahahha....let's just say..... I had a bit of a party summer...I was usually still up at like, 6 am, so with a just under a week of back to 'regular" schedule, it was weird to have to get up at 3:45 am haha. You really do!! If it would last, I would totally bring it down in November! Hahah!

I really do not understand it, and I really wasn't impressed because they said it would all be taken care of, and people would be there to help us. Like, my Mom on the way to Sweden with gymnastics, said that they're plane was a little late, and they came over the loud speaker to even say "there are people making tight connections, let them get off the plane first" kinda thing, I feel like it's just the airline that makes that decision, and I was far less than impressed!

I was freaking the heck out, let me tell you, it sure was amazing to finally get onto Disney property that day, I could not have been happier to be in my happy place

 

[NancyLuvsMickey]

I'm here...

What a way to start the trip!!!

So glad you found a nice agent that took care of you and got you to Disney!!!

Let the Magic begin!!!

 

[Grumpy's Wife]

Wow Katt, talk about playing it close. So glad you got on that plane.

 

[pirateprincess1976]

I'm joining in! What a rough start to your trip at least it can only go up from there. All is right in the world when your at Disney

 

[jane2073]

Holy cow!! I was getting stressed just reading about your ordeal!! Glad you made it on the plane with your mom!!

My husband brought me a Tim Horton's donut when he went to Canada for a business trip.

 

[Merida]

Subbing! Aw, Denver's my local airport. It actually is quite nice (it's a big tent that's supposed to look like the Rockies)! I'm sorry you had such a bad experience there, what airline were you flying? Denver's a big Frontier hub so that's who we fly and they've always treated us well! I'm glad you and your mother got everything worked out. I would NOT want to miss any Animal Kingdom Lodge time!

 

[katt789]

I'm here...

What a way to start the trip!!!

So glad you found a nice agent that took care of you and got you to Disney!!!

Let the Magic begin!!!

Yay! Ugh, it was crazy, and honestly, I owe my sanity to that one single agent, she was amazing. I don't know whether she was just trying to do her job, took sympathy on the crying mess that was me, or just wanted to get rid of the crying mess, who knew?! Haha

Wow Katt, talk about playing it close. So glad you got on that plane.

I'm amazed it happened, honestly, it was such a blur, and let's be serious, I've blocked most of it out! HA!

 

[katt789]

Hey guys, I guess I can take this time to let you know: I will be doing "life updates" throughout this TR as well, so you are kept up on anything exciting/Disney related that is going on with my life.

SO, for any of you who have been my TR readers for a while now (number one, you're awesome and I love you) but mostly, you know about my obsession with wanting to work for Disney, whether that be as a dancer, parade/show mover, or character. Well, with Avatarland kinda in suspense right now, there's a possibility that FOTLK may close in January....so I started putting more hope towards Dream Along With Mickey recently, and after an amazing experience this past trip, I really wish I could be up on that stage. Last year, they had auditions in Spring for all the dancers, well, lo and behold,I check the audition website today (daily, let's be serious) and:

THE DREAM ALONG WITH MICKEY AUDITIONS ARE IN TWO WEEKS.

In Chicago... I. AM. DYING. I freaked out at work, and immediately got online to a couple of dance studios to see how much cramming I could do before then, and honestly, I think I'd be more than okay. I'd also have to kick it up at the gym, but again, it is two whole weeks. Money isn't really an issue this time, I think I'd be able to afford everything, Chicago isn't as far as Orlando to go.

I'd be flying down Oct 21st, audition the 22nd, and fly home the 23rd.

So....do you think I should do it?? Or should I hold off & wait to see if they do continue FOTLK/do any dancer auditions in the spring?? What if I'm not ready?!

AAAAHHHH

Any words of advice are greatly appreciated!! Thank you!!