And at Last I See the Light...Or at Least the Tangled Bathrooms! **COMPLETED 2/8**

[WildernessExplorer04]

And at Last I See the Light...Or at Least the Tangled Bathrooms!
A June 2013 Trip Report!​

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A Whole New Journey!​

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Hello everyone and welcome to my FIRST TRIP REPORT EVER. OH MY GOODNESS THIS IS SO EXCITING. Anyways, lets start off with what trip reports are usually started off with: introductions!

This is me:

My name is Alex and I'm a HUGE Disney fan. Sometimes my Disney obsession can get a little bit insane, but I'm okay with that. I'm 16 years old and this was my twelfth trip to Disney World. I JUST LOVE IT SO MUCH. I'm hoping with all my heart to be able to do the Disney College Program during my sophomore year of college. CROSSING MY FINGERS. Anyways, this wonderful vacation was actually my SECOND one this year; I went with my high school band in April, which you can read all about right here: LUCKY NUMBER ELEVEN! And this time, we brought newbies! It's written by my fabulous DBF (Disney best friend), MaiLei, and it recounts all of our amazing adventures! (Shout out to MaiLei for taking the time to help me navigate my way around writing this TR!) I also have another DBF who took part in our grand April band trip and his name is Abe. The three of us are CRAZY about anything and everything Disney and they'll probably both be mentioned in this trip report periodically.

This is my brother, Nick:

He's 13 and also has a big love for Disney, although he's not as maniacally obsessed with it as I am. This is his ninth (I think) trip to Disney World! He loves Star Tours, Expedition Everest, and Splash Mountain.

This is my mom:

Throughout this trip report, I shall refer to her as "Mom." Short, simple, completely non-confusing. She loves Disney and is the one who introduced me to it at the mere age of 11 months when I took my first trip to the World. She gets super excited for every Disney vacation we take and this was no exception! Her favorite ride of all time is Rock 'n' Roller Coaster!

This is my dad:

He shall be called "Dad" during this trip report to, again, keep it simple. This guy's definitely not a thrill ride type of person; he draws the line at Splash Mountain and can't even stomach the tea cups. But that's okay, because he still loves to just soak up every ounce of Disney magic he can and loves the slower rides and shows and, of course, the FOOD!

So, you've met the whole cast of this trip report now! Our trip started on June 10th and went through June 23rd. We stayed at Pop Century. But, we actually didn't just go to Disney World this time; we made some other stops in the Smokey Mountains, at Fort Sumter, and at Mammoth Cave. I'm not quite sure yet if I'll include that in the trip report; maybe I'll just quickly go through it. Thank you to anyone who reads this; until next time!

Here's the link to the table of contents for easier reading.

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[GaBelle]

Your TR title is precious!

 

[Goofy442]

Joining in!!!!

 

[wiigirl]

Following along.

 

[WildernessExplorer04]

Your TR title is precious!

Thank you so much!

 

[WildernessExplorer04]

Joining in!!!!

I'm excited to have you along!

 

[WildernessExplorer04]

Following along.

Hooray! Thank you!

 

[FancyNancy]

Subbin in to your first ever TR!

 

[WildernessExplorer04]

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Introductions
A Whole New Journey!

Day One--June 10th, 2013
June 10th-Driving and driving and driving and driving...and driving some more.

Day Two--June 11th, 2013
June 11th (Part One)-Traveling Through the Magical Gates at Last!

June 11th (Part Two)-Our Art of Animation Adventure

June 11th (Part Three)-Our Art of Animation Adventure (continued)

June 11th (Part Four)-Downtown Disney and Finishing Off the Night!

Day Three--June 12th, 2013
June 12th (Part One)-"Haven't seen a dragon, have yeh?"

June 12th (Part Two)-Flavorful Food, Colorful Candy, and a Jovial Joke Shop!

June 12th (Part Three)-Dinosaurs and Superheroes

June 12th (Part Four)-More Food and Resort Exploring!

Day Four--June 13th, 2013
June 13th (Part One)-"I'm walking right down the middle of Main Street U.S.A.!"

June 13th (Part Two)-"The most magical place on earth is HERE!"

June 13th (Part Three)-Swimming below sea level and drying off in the wild West!

June 13th (Part Four)-Dead men tell no tales, except if they're currently residing in the Haunted Mansion.

June 13th (Part Five)-OFF TO NEVERLAND! And the most BEAUTIFUL BATHROOMS EVER.

June 13th (Part Six)-Doors that open "Automagically" and the never ending song of dolls.

June 13th (Part Seven)-Exploring the technology of tomorrow!

June 13th (Part Eight)-Evil Emperor Zurg is going DOWN.

June 13th (Part Nine)-"What's a Dole Whip?"

June 13th (Part Ten)-This Lovely Bella Notte.

June 13th (Part Eleven)-"Like a bolt out of the blue!"

Day Five--June 14th, 2013
June 14th (Part One)-An early Epcot morning!

June 14th (Part Two)-Exploring Mars, Test Track ride numero dos, and FOOD.

June 14th (Part Three)-An abundance of plant life and MY FAVORITE PURPLE DRAGON.

June 14th (Part Four)-A Reoccurring Theme of Water

June 14th (Part Five)-When dogs lick mice.

June 14th (Part Six)-That one time we experienced all of Mexico and Norway in under two hours...

June 14th (Part Seven)-The fairest of them all!

June 14th (Part Eight)-"THIS IS LEGITIMATELY THE BEST SOUP I'VE EVER EATEN."

Checking In--Real Life Update

Day Six--June 15th, 2013
June 15th (Part One)-Toy Story Mania!

June 15th (Part Two)-Red Velvet Heaven, More Mania, and Entering THE TWILIGHT ZONE.

June 15th (Part Three)-"Why is there blue fuzz all over my camera?"

June 15th (Part Four)-"Tale as old as time..."

June 15th (Part Five)-"Make it a super stretch."

June 15th (Part Six)-"I'm gonna WRECK IT!"

June 15th (Part Seven)-"I SAID NO ELBOWS ON THE TABLE!"

June 15th (Part Eight)-"Nothing is more wonderful than the imagination..."

Day Seven--June 16th, 2013
June 16th (Part One)-"Good morning! Good morning! To you and you and you and you!"

June 16th (Part Two)-Meeting Princesses!

June 16th (Part Three)-Cinderella's Castle and Breakfast!

June 16th (Part Four)-The time when one of the biggest accomplishments of my life took place.

June 16th (Part Five)-A Colonial Lunch

June 16th (Part Six)-More Adventures on the Island and in the West

June 16th (Part Seven)-"When you close your eyes, then you realize, any dream is possible!"

June 16th (Part Eight)-"Did you ever see an elephant fly?"

June 16th (Part Nine)-"The dining room proudly presents: your dinner!"

Day Eight--June 17th, 2013
June 17th (Part One)-"LET THE PROCESSION BEGIN!"

June 17th (Part Two)-"The wilderness must be explored!"

June 17th (Part Three)-On Safari!

June 17th (Part Four)-On Safari! (continued)

June 17th (Part Five)-"Wait a minute! We're penguins! We can't fly!"

June 17th (Part Six)-SO MANY ANIMALS.

June 17th (Part Seven)-Zebra Domes for Days

Day Nine--June 18th, 2013
June 18th-Farewell!

Days Ten & Eleven--June 19th & 20th, 2013
June 19th-Non-Disney Adventures/June 20th-Non-Disney Adventures (continued)

Days Twelve, Thirteen, & Fourteen--June 21st, 22nd, & 23rd
June 21st-Non-Disney Adventures (continued)/June 22nd-Non-Disney Adventures (continued)/June 23rd-Arriving at home and trip wrap-up.





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[WildernessExplorer04]

Subbin in to your first ever TR!

Thank you! Woo!

 

[PrinceNotSoCharming]

I can't wait to read more! I'm waited with baited breath!

 

[meyemai]

I JUST LOVE YOUR TR SO MUCH AND ALL YOU'VE WRITTEN SO FAR IS AN INTRODUCTION. I'M PROBABLY GOING TO DIE FROM HOMESICKNESS AS YOU CONTINUE ON IN YOUR JOURNEY (INTO IMAGINATION WITH FIGMENT). AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. Okay. I'm good. I think you understand my point.

 

[WildernessExplorer04]

I can't wait to read more! I'm waited with baited breath!

Thank you! An update shall be coming your way sometime in the next two days, because I know you just can't wait (to be king)!

 

[WildernessExplorer04]

I JUST LOVE YOUR TR SO MUCH AND ALL YOU'VE WRITTEN SO FAR IS AN INTRODUCTION. I'M PROBABLY GOING TO DIE FROM HOMESICKNESS AS YOU CONTINUE ON IN YOUR JOURNEY (INTO IMAGINATION WITH FIGMENT). AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. Okay. I'm good. I think you understand my point.

YOU'RE SO KIND, THANK YOU! I really really really enjoyed your Figment reference, also!

 

[WildernessExplorer04]

June 10th-Driving and driving and driving and driving...and driving some more.​

As you can probably already discern by the title of this update, we drove to Disney World, and since we live about 22 hours away, it took quite a while. I've never driven to Disney with my family before, so I was ready for the new experience!

The night before, I set my alarm for 4:30 a.m. because we wanted to be on the road by 6:00. That night, I could hardly sleep because of the intense excitement I was feeling, so when I finally fell asleep, I went out cold and didn't hear the alarm go off. Mom woke me up at 5:30 and I jumped out of bed and was actually able to get ready by 5:50. Record time! I finished packing my suitcase and then waited for the rest of my family to finish their last-minute preparations.

Here's our stuff all ready to go!

We loaded up the car and then OUR ADVENTURE OFFICIALLY BEGAN.

The night before, I also tried to paint my nails in a Disney-esque style. My inspiration was Cinderella Castle.

They didn't turn out as perfect as I'd hoped, but they were satisfactory.

So, we continued to drive and stopped at a few rest stops along the way. The first one had a vending machine and on it was a little piece of paper in which they had misspelled the word "candies" and attempted to correct it.

It was very amusing that early in the morning. Because we hadn't eaten breakfast, Nick and I decided to be SUPER healthy (sarcasm) and got some food to eat. I got a chocolate éclair ice cream bar and Nick got Cheetos.

As we drove, we listened to the Newsies CD, because I am slightly really obsessed with that music. After the CD made it's loop, Nick and I watched Brave with the audio commentary on the DVD player in our van.

I like that movie very much. Merida is probably my second favorite princess, as Rapunzel is my absolute favorite. When Brave ended, we put in Wreck-It-Ralph. WE WERE GETTING IN THE DISNEY MOOD.

After that tear-inducing movie, we all decided we wanted more Disney music, so we listened to the Classic Disney Volume II CD, I believe. As we were driving and rocking out to "Be Our Guest," we passed a billboard for Jimmy John's that said, "No Grease. Just Lightning." I thought it was the most hilarious thing EVER. Very creative, but unfortunately, I didn't manage to get a picture of it.

Eventually, we arrived at a rest stop to eat our uneventful lunch of peanut butter/jelly/nutella sandwiches, pretzels, and fruit.

It felt like it was already 5:00 in the evening when we ate, but it was really only around 12:30. The dark clouds overhead weren't helping.

Anyways, we all jumped back in the car, eager to get to our destination. Then we watched the best movie in the history of good movies: TANGLED!

I can't even explain how much I love that movie and Eugene Fitzherbert. HE'S MY FAVORITE PRINCE EVER AND I LOVE HIM SO MUCH. Pascal is also adorable and I really enjoy the Pub Thugs.

When that glorious movie ended, we watched Up!

I also love that movie A LOT. Russell is one of my favorite characters. ADVENTURE IS OUT THERE!

We stopped at this quaint little rest stop sometime during the movie.

We kept driving and passed by Nashville, where we got stuck in a GINORMOUS traffic jam; we were stuck for about half an hour.

BUT that was actually a good thing, because there was a tornado in the Franklin, Tennessee area; that was south of us and right where we were headed. Because of the traffic jam, we missed the tornado and were safe. When we finally started moving again, we saw a rainbow!

Then we stopped at a McDonalds for dinner and encountered a bus full of high school kids there. We took off again after getting our food and ate it in the car; we couldn't waste time at McDonalds; we WANTED TO GET TO DISNEY. We watched the vacation video MaiLei and I made for our high school band trip to the World.

It made me really homesick (for Disney of course!) and I couldn't wait to get there! Then we watched WALL-E. At that point, we were driving through some mountains in Tennessee and they were so green and peaceful; WALL-E, on the other hand, was living in quite a dirty world. So I had to take a picture to capture the differences.

Eventually, we crossed over into Georgia. ONLY ONE STATE AWAY FROM FLORIDA. It started getting dark.

WALL-E ended and we arrived in Atlanta!

We were all getting pretty tired by now, as it was around 10:30. I, especially, was quite delirious from getting only five hours of sleep the night before. So, we decided to stop at a Holiday Inn Express just south of Atlanta. The man who checked us in at the front desk was very friendly and he and my dad joked about the Tinker Bell design on my dad's credit card (we have Disney Visa, so my mom picked out that nice design to decorate it with) and told us that every third person who stays at that hotel seems to be heading to or from Disney World. We headed up to our room and my mom's card didn't work, so she got another one at the front desk, and then we all settled in for the night!

I took a shower, everybody got ready for bed, and then we all went to sleep!
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[PrinceNotSoCharming]

Woohoo! This post was really charming! Is it sad that I'm getting excited for you to write about getting to Disney? NAW.

 

[mrsmoku]

excited to read the rest of your TR!

 

[Goofy442]

Long ride, I thought our ride was long at 24 hours. You were not to far away, I think we would have just kept going. Need to get to Disney right away.

 

[FancyNancy]

Those are some great movies to watch on your drive! Tangled is a favorite of mine as well! I love Eugene

 

[WildernessExplorer04]

Woohoo! This post was really charming! Is it sad that I'm getting excited for you to write about getting to Disney? NAW.

Haha, WE'RE ALMOST THERE.

excited to read the rest of your TR!

Thank you! I'm excited to write it!

Long ride, I thought our ride was long at 24 hours. You were not to far away, I think we would have just kept going. Need to get to Disney right away.

The ride was REALLY long. We didn't think we'd do well if we kept driving without sleep, but we got there eventually!

Those are some great movies to watch on your drive! Tangled is a favorite of mine as well! I love Eugene

I COMPLETELY understand.