Oh the places We Go, The People We see

[KatMark]

Glad you went to the MK and got pictures of the beautiful decorations and got your last Dole Whip (I'm one of those who doesn't care for them); love that Claire had that and her candy.

I'm like you...I worry that I'll be late for the ME bus.

But glad you had time to walk around AOA and Pop for a little bit beforeo your bus came.

 

[Beth D]

I think you know more about the MK than most of the cast members, and are definitely a pro at the dining plan!

There is actually a character or two that will give autographs in the "street" players you were watching. One year we got the fire chief's autograph. He has a special name, can't remember offhand. I'll have to go dig up DS's autograph book.

 

[mom2rtk]

I think you know more about the MK than most of the cast members, and are definitely a pro at the dining plan!

There is actually a character or two that will give autographs in the "street" players you were watching. One year we got the fire chief's autograph. He has a special name, can't remember offhand. I'll have to go dig up DS's autograph book.

Smokey Miller.

 

[mickeystoontown]

I've encountered a few of those "that's not on the dining plan as a snack credit but we'll try it and see if it works" situations. Usually, I'm the one that's right and we were able to use the credits. The treats you saved your credits for look pretty darn good!

Oh I almost forgot...I alwys buy an extra day (sometimes two) tickets. It's better to be safe than sorry and have to worry about standing in line to add them once you're there. Who wants to stand in line if you don't have to?

I'd have probably done the same thing as you and left the park. If not, you'd have been worried about encountering some sort of delay.

 

[jenseib]

After falling so far behind, I thought you might appreciate one timely reply from me.....

I'm glad you got to pop into the MK on your departure day. We usually try to take the last flight of the day and spend a few hours there. It keeps us distracted on such a sad day.

The Dole whip float looks pretty awesome. Was that the orange one? I have only tried pineapple but would love to try an orange one next. I'm hoping they have the orange version at DL.

I also wandered around taking more photos of AoA when we were back at the resort on departure day. I walked those grounds SO many times. I wouldn't even want to start counting how many photos I took there that week. Of course, I have the same problem you do, waking up early every morning, so I would walk the grounds then.

You go girl!!!
yes that was an orange one and I like them better. Both are good, but something about the orange with pineapple juice is just amazing.
I think I took close to 400 pictures at AoA in our 3 days there. Not bad for not actually spending a lot of resort time.

That was nice that you made it to Magic Kingdom on the last morning. I have never been brave enough to try this, but are determined that I will go to Epcot for a couple of hours on the last day this time round.

What a shame about the car trouble. Expensive repairs are the last thing you need straight after a vacation.

Corinna

I worry too. In fact, I know we would've had plenty of time to do the things Claire wanted to, but I just worried that something would happen and then we would be super late.
The car ordeal was such a pain! And I was helpless and Skip was helpless as it was over 2 hours away from him too.

Glad you went to the MK and got pictures of the beautiful decorations and got your last Dole Whip (I'm one of those who doesn't care for them); love that Claire had that and her candy.

I'm like you...I worry that I'll be late for the ME bus.

But glad you had time to walk around AOA and Pop for a little bit beforeo your bus came.

You might like the orange one...if you are into orange icecream. Those I think are better. But that me.
I had plenty of time, but I just rather be close...just in case. And it was nice to get to go over to Pop for a short time.

I think you know more about the MK than most of the cast members, and are definitely a pro at the dining plan!

There is actually a character or two that will give autographs in the "street" players you were watching. One year we got the fire chief's autograph. He has a special name, can't remember offhand. I'll have to go dig up DS's autograph book.

I am a big fan of the dining plan. It was a hit for me when everything was prepaid and knowing Skip, he would complain everytime we ate anywhere and a bill came. LOL. In fact when we did a day trip in March of 2012 with our Universal trip, Skip was pretty darn cheap about where we ate. He wanted the most bang for his buck.
I have seen pictures of many of those street people, but never saw one personally. So it was a treat to finally see one.

Smokey Miller.

I've encountered a few of those "that's not on the dining plan as a snack credit but we'll try it and see if it works" situations. Usually, I'm the one that's right and we were able to use the credits. The treats you saved your credits for look pretty darn good!

Oh I almost forgot...I alwys buy an extra day (sometimes two) tickets. It's better to be safe than sorry and have to worry about standing in line to add them once you're there. Who wants to stand in line if you don't have to?

I'd have probably done the same thing as you and left the park. If not, you'd have been worried about encountering some sort of delay.

I was so worried we'd have another issue like we did earlier in the trip with the wonderland tea party and be super late. The party was one thing, a plane is much different.
I hate when they try to tell you something different than what you know is right. Darn it! I know how to read! There were also several others filling them to use a snack credit too and I wonder how many she tricked into paying for them. Some people will just go with the flow and not make waves. I make waves.....big ones if I have to.

 

[jenseib]

We have always been big fans of Pop! It was our first onsite Disney stay and we have stayed there several times. In fact it’s the only onsite spot Skip has stayed at so far.







The pool games have been added since our last stay there.





This guy totally cracked me up. He was hard at work spraying and checking his phone.









This used to be the smoking area and a lot of people complained that it was right out the door that everyone walked through. I see it is gone now.





We had to go inside to see the Christmas décor.





Finally I get to see the Pop tree! I have always wanted to see it.









I liked the decorations, but I liked AoA’s better.













I have no clue why Claire is making that face.

 

[jenseib]

I really thought this tree was cute!



Thinking back now, I am not sure why I didn’t take any close ups of some of the decorations.

A quick peek outside.





Claire felt the need for another picture.







Look at all those lucky people going to a park…and we would be leaving soon.





We then headed in and checked out the gift shop, which is always one of my favorites on property.











See that security guard in the next picture. We saw her quite a bit and we think she was following someone, though I never figured out whom.



She talked on her radio quite a bit though.





Again I eyed this shirt, but again, I couldn’t justify the price.



Out to look at the arcade.





There she is again. We watched her for a bit. I also wondered if we looked suspicious since we kept seeing her. LOL.

 

[jenseib]

We made our way around the pool.







Lots of work was going on.















I tried to get this bird, but my focus was completely off.



Pop had a few plant issues as well.





Time to head back. A view to the right as we got off the bridge.



And a view to the left.







A little bit of running around once again.

 

[JKSWonder]

Claire felt the need for another picture.

Make sure you save this one so that it can be hauled out on her 50th birthday to embarrass the heck out of her!

 

[mom2rtk]

Make sure you save this one so that it can be hauled out on her 50th birthday to embarrass the heck out of her!

I love that idea!

I'd love to do that with the photos I took of Katie in the same spot, when she turns 50. But it just dawned on me I'll be 87. If I'm still around, I probably won't remember I ever too the photo!

 

[dolphingirl47]

I know a few people who love POP, but I have to admit I don't get it at all. It is too in your face for me. I do love the Christmas decorations though.

Corinna

 

[jenseib]

Make sure you save this one so that it can be hauled out on her 50th birthday to embarrass the heck out of her!

I wonder if I will live that long.

I love that idea!

I'd love to do that with the photos I took of Katie in the same spot, when she turns 50. But it just dawned on me I'll be 87. If I'm still around, I probably won't remember I ever too the photo!

I know, I'll be 86 then

 

[jenseib]

I know a few people who love POP, but I have to admit I don't get it at all. It is too in your face for me. I do love the Christmas decorations though.

Corinna

Thats exactly what I love about it...the in your face stuff. I honestly love the Value resorts theming much more than the deluxe and mods because of the in your face Disney stuff. I know not everyone likes that, but I can live with that.

 

[JKSWonder]

I wonder if I will live that long. I know, I'll be 86 then

Even if you don't, you could put it in your will!

 

[jenseib]

Even if you don't, you could put it in your will!

 

[mom2rtk]

Thats exactly what I love about it...the in your face stuff. I honestly love the Value resorts theming much more than the deluxe and mods because of the in your face Disney stuff. I know not everyone likes that, but I can live with that.

That's how I feel about it. I can get elegant or stuffy somewhere else. At Disney I want FUN!

 

[jenseib]

Time was starting to tick down unfortunately now.





Another quick bathroom stop.



And we then went back outside to have a seat for a few more minutes and just take it all in.



While sitting there I noticed a group of people walk by. Hey, that’s Rita!!!! (in the blue shirt). I had done a convention a few years ago and she was one of the leaders and she and her partner Timmy took us on tours of resorts. She must be leading a tour! I looked around, but didn’t see Tommy.



We decided to head back in and took one more look around the gift shop where I debated on a couple of shirts once again. I didn’t buy them, but I did buy an AoA magnet that was really cute. I think Claire bought something too, but I no longer remember what. We then went to go get our carryons and who do I see outside?????? Tommmy! (he’s in the yellow shirt with his back to us)



Tommy was the one that led my particular group and he was fabulous!!!!



We had a seat on the bench to wait for unMagical Depress.







Backside of entrance sign.





While sitting there I saw Tommy and his group walk by and get on their tour bus. I said hi to him and told him I had done this program in 2011. He asked how I liked it and I told him it was awesome. He said he didn’t remember my face, but was better with names and so I told him and he did seem to remember that…or so he says at least! He then introduced me to his group and told them to ask me any questions. LOL. Basically I just told them that it was a fun trip and I learned a lot and got to do new experiences. Tommy asked if I had been staying at AoA and I said yes and told him about my long trip and how sadly this was our last day and introduced him to Claire, who just stared at him…because she is shy and not friendly when she should be!

I sat back down with Claire, who had pulled out her popcorn bucket and proceeded to eat what was left.





Finally the bus pulled up and we got our front row seats for the 3rd time in a row! SCORE!!!!!

Claire’s thoughts about leaving!



We did have to wait a few minutes for stragglers.





Claire sat patiently waiting for the movie to start, though I told her it wouldn’t for awhile.



Here we go! Good by Art of Animation!















I think we had a full bus. I kind of remember someone asking if they could ride this one instead of the next and they guy told them no. I also don’t think we stopped at any other resorts. If we did, then I didn’t take pictures, but I am pretty sure we headed straight to MCO.

 

[mom2rtk]

That's all.

 

[jenseib]

We made good time getting to the airport and let me just say it was sooooo wonderful not to have to go and check our bags in, or struggle with them for that matter.
Since we were early, we headed in to a few shops to have a look around. We really liked the Sea World shop.



I would love to go to Sea World on a Holiday trip.



Claire thought we should get one of these guys……Um no!



We then moved on and made a quick stop to see Snow White.



And then we wandered around the Disney store, and Claire tried to talk me into buying something there and again I said no.



And then we went to get in line for security. HOLY! CRAP!



It was insane! But we got in line and finally got through. I did have a few moments of panic, thinking we may not make our flight after all, but we did get to the gate with time to spare.

That is the last picture I took of the trip.
The rest was of this day was fairly uneventful. We made it on the plane on time and we dozed off and on, worked on a bit of homework and Claire watched a movie on her ipod touch (which we have since lost in no mans land).

Amanda was there promptly to pick us up. I think we swung into a fast food place to get something to eat to bring back to her place for dinner. We told her about the trip and laughed and talked a bit till it was time for bed. There was no way I was going to drive home tonight. I had done that after my Sept. cruise and I was about to fall asleep by the time we got close to home. That was too much travel in one day.

Amanda had gone to Sears automotive and they did move the spare tire of my car to the back and put the good tire on the front, at the suggestion of Skip‘s friend. So we were good to go for the morning. I was going to let Claire sleep in and Amanda had to work, so she gave me a key to lock up.

We said our good nights finally and went to sleep in yet another bed….the first bed that we had slept in at the beginning of this trip almost 2 weeks earlier.

Nov. 15, Thursday, Day 15……..

Amanda headed off to work and I let Claire sleep in and I just lounged around a bit. Once she got up we set off for home. We barely made it out of Amanda’s condo complex when I noticed a weird sound coming from my front tire…the good tire. I drove down the road a bit and it sounded awful and I was nervous. I noticed an AAA repair shop on the corner and we stopped in. I talked to the guy and told him the long story about the tires and how I had to drive back to Toledo and was worried something else was wrong. He said my car would be next, but it might be about 30 minutes, so Claire and I walked across the street and got some lunch while we waited.
When we returned, he told us that the wheel dust cover was bent and rubbing on the tire. It’s nothing major and they just took it off and all was good to go and to just drive slowly. Good deal. And it didn’t cost me a dime!
The guy was so friendly and he is a big Disney fan (Had a picture of his daughter in her princess costume on his desk) and we talked about our trip a bit before heading off once again.
We now were officially on the road and I gave Skip a final call to let him know we were on our way.
I kept the car at 55 the whole way and we did fine, though at times I felt nervous. More so because I know I was holding up traffic at times, but I needed to be safe. It took us a little longer to get home, but not by much, which impressed me.
It was good to be home and of course the unpacking and laundry started then.
Skip ended up ordering a used from a junkyard that was only about $50, compared to the several hundred dollar charge for a new one and the tired itself was never actually damaged…. in a few days everything was fixed good as new.

Sadly life went right on after we got home …with school for Claire and work for me. I do love my job, but it took a few days to get back in the swing of things.
Up next, my recap and thoughts of the trip.

 

[jenseib]

One Year ago today, Nov. 1, we left for my sisters house (after Claire got out of school) to start this journey! Today I am close to finishing this trip up. I knew it would take me a long time to write it, but I had no clue it would take me a year to the day.