(NEW TR LINK) Mickey MMMouse,McDonald Duck& Memo: 12 Days & 13.1 Miles. Nov 2013 TR

[Tinker326]

Howdy Folks! Welcome to my all exciting, jaw-dropping FIRST EVER trip report.

I got 12 days of Mickey MmmMouse, McDonald Duck & Memo in store for you. Along with my FIRST EVER 1/2 Marathon(and last ever)...and a trip to the DARK SIDE (aka Universal).

The trip was a flurry of people, trips to the airport, parks, hurts, good weather, bad weather, good times (Disney Term for this: Pixie Dust ) and not so-good-times (Disney Term for this: I paid a lot of money for this! Where the h#ll is my pixie dust? ).

This section is reserved for chapter details:

Who's Ride are You Joining? AKA Intros 11/21/13
The Boring One...AKA The Travel Post 11/22/13
Early Mornings and Expos 11/26/2013
Afternoon at EPCOT 12/2/2013
Pre-Race 12/9/13
THE RACE 12/18/13
The Day After the Race 12/30/2013
Beach Club Villa Review 1/10/2014
The Dark Side- Part 1 1/16/2014
The Dark Side- Part 2 1/16/2014
The Dark Side- Part 3 1/22/2014
Family Vacation Commences 1/29/2014
A Park and Some Princesses 2/3/2014
Memo in Future World 2/5/2014
The One with the Tire Light 2/6/2014
Morning at MGM 2/12/14
Afternoon at MGM 2/18/2014
Food, Fun & Friends 2/23/2014
New Trip & New PTR 2/25/2014
Magic at the Magic Kingdom2/27/14
Storybook Circus 3/3/2014
Be Our Guest at the Enchanted Cottage 3/6/14
Adventures In the Rain 3/9/14
Hooptiest Dooptiest Show In the South3/16/2014
Rain, Rain Go Away 3/20/14
Dinos and Yetis 3/31/14
The One Where We Meet Barney's Relatives 4/10/14
No Magic in the Magic Kingdom 4/17/14
Cousin Time in the MK 4/27/14
Fun In Fantasyland 5/1/2014
Paging Mr. Tom Morrow 5/24/2014
World Showcase 5/26/2014
Afternoon at Epcot and the Pool6/10/14
A Magical Last Night Part 1 6/11/14
A Magical Last Night Part 2 6/11/14
New TR LINK 6/13/14

Attention is in the details..and the details of this trip were...

Dates: November 8th-19th 2013

Nov 8th-12th: Girls/Adults ONLY- Beach Club Villas, 1/2 Marathon, Throwing Up. (am I building the suspense?)



Nov 12th-19th: Family Trip with Hub, 3 kids & Mother (who almost got sold to the pirates on the ride)- Animal Kingdom Lodge- Kidani.



I hope you enjoy the ride of our trip...

Next up... Who's ride are you enjoying? AKA- Introductions.

 

[Tinker326]

So who are the players in this hip-happenin' TR?

That would be us.. of course. My family. And some more family. And some family by marriage. Or if we are using Disney Terms. My Ohana. Aloha. Oh wait.. I'm not in Hawaii. Although I wish I was....

Ok- Introductions.

Me. Nicole.



I love Disney. This should not be a revelation. (I mean obviously if you are on these boards and reading or writing Trip Reports- you love Disney more than your average Yogi Bear). We have been to Disneyworld too many times to count, Disneyland a few times & Disneyland Paris once. I am Type A- obsessive planner. (who, me? ) I get great joy in planning out every detail of every trip. I wave my Dis-Freak flag Proudly. I also love to take pictures, scrapbook and read. Things I do not love are running and long distances. Hence the irony of the 13.1 mile race thrown into my vacation...and the meaning of the shirt in this picture! Also, by now.. it should be clear that A) I'm a bad speller (sorry) and B) I'm sarcastic when the mood strikes. I also ramble a lot in writing. So.. yhea..you have permission to skim straight to the pictures. My favorite Dis characters are Donald Duck & Stitch.

DH- Kurt.



His love of Disney rivals mine in absolutely no way. He is a participant in about 1/2 of our Disney excursions. His Pixie Dust-Meter is permanently on medium-low. In other words, he can sometimes be a Disney Kill-Joy. However, on this trip he came because it was a special trip of a certain someone's first ever trip. And because I told him he had to. He's kinda more of a 'cruise' type vs. a Disney type. And that's ok. I still love him most of the time except when he won't stop for a picture in front of the castle for the 100th time to capture the PERFECT CASTLE PICTURE. He likes the thrill rides. And he likes the Pirates. Grr.......

DD #1- Becca



She's a tweeny. And my Disney soul-mate. She loves it as much as me. The magic of the Mouse radiates through her whole being. I love that so much about her. Oh, and she will totally stop for the 100th time for the PERFECT CASTLE PICTURE. With a smile. Her dream when she grows up is to be a Princess at Walt Disney World. Some parents dream of their kids being doctors or lawyers... me- I'm happy with her life ambitions because it also means free tickets for me into Disney. She truly is a princess...she has always loved them and still does. (even if she won't admit it in front of friends..OH THE HORROR). She is patiently waiting for her prince charming to come & she will wait it out (with her momma) at the Happiest Place on Earth. Oh, and she hates thrill rides. With a passion.

DD #2- Sarah



This girl- oh this girl keeps me on my toes. She does love Disney. But not like her older sister. She's incredibly smart and inquisitive and fearless. She also falls on the high (very high) functioning autism spectrum. So many things can be a trigger for her. (crowds, little sleep, anxiety). She also has a habit of blurting out whatever comes in her brain. This is especially fun in places like Disney while standing in line next to someone who might have body odor. In her own words "I don't want people to think I'm a girl who likes puppies and Justice".. (that's the Sarah way of stating she's a tomboy- and there are many, many horrors in liking puppies). Yup, this girl loves dirt, snakes, bugs and dinos. We found plenty in Disney to keep her occupied. She loves thrill rides!

DD #3- Charlie



This girl is seriously adorable. I can't take any credit for her cuteness. Although I am the super lucky one she calls mama, I did not give birth to her. Charlie came to us from China last year at age 4. This girl had a hard, hard start in life and the fact that she smiles and hugs shows what an amazing, resilient spirit she has. She is my hero. After a hard year of adjustments (it's hard to learn what Ohana is, my friends, when you never had it from the get-go) we are in a good place. And it was time for her first trip to Disney. She was a trooper through it all (I too big for stroller!!). She tromped all around the world looking for Mickey Mmmouse, McDonald Duck & Memo- her favorites. (she also happens to love McDonald's). This is how she pronounces it and that's what we now call it- hence the title of the trip report. She tried everything she was big enough for & her favorite ride when asked was "the yellow one". Any guesses on what that was?

Other players-

The Girls:: Sis-in-law (left) and The Cuz



Sis-In-Law (the big D) is a runner. She has done 1/2's galore and a full. She is the one who talked me into thinking I could do this 1/2 running thing. I currently don't like her right now. No kidding, I like her. I do. ANd she was right- I did do it. Even if I did not like any of the steps it took me to get there. She is also a Dis-Freak and we share Type A tendencies. I consider her one of my best friends in life...

The Cuz- Well this girl is 6 weeks younger than me & my very best friend in life! We grew up together as we are cousins...and she is the sister I never had. I was the one who talked her into running this race and she currently hates me. She is not a runner either..and still isn't after the race. She didn't train. Or run the race. She walked and kept the balloon ladies company (i.e- the pacers).

The Mother-



My mother joins us on many trips. My step-father does not like to travel and she does. I am her only child and she loves her three grand babies fiercely. However she is a bit (okay BIG) martyr and it can get old..quick. I wasn't sure we were going to make it through the vacation without me selling her to the Pirates on the ride. But she made it & I think even had a good time! Even though she is currently sick and blaming it on my children (who are not sick btw!) She LOVES Chip and Dale and she loves Disneyland. She constantly reminds me how much better her Disneyland is than MY Disneyworld (which I prefer).

So there you are, the players of this trip report. And I'm tired writing this... Ohana is tiring. phew.

If you want a bit more details on us peeps- you can read my PTR - my 1/2 training is in there as well. Link is in my siggie.

Oh, and one last shot... is it the PERFECT CASTLE SHOT?!?



Nope. But it's the best we got. And I'll blame it on DH's reluctance to stop for that 100th time for the picture attempt.

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

I'm HERE! I'm HERE!! Ooooh and I'm first! You know how much I love that Nicole!

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

I love it already! Puking! Hate running! Can't wait to hear about it. No, really! I also want details about Beach Club Villas! We get a special 2 nights there after my race and I'm looking so forward to it!

Oh the elusive castle shot. I seriously don't know what the deal is, but my family did the same thing! They kept saying LATER and then later they were tired and the sun was in the wrong spot!

Yellow ride that is her fav? I'm guessing Pooh!

Now, excuse me while I head off for a run!

 

[Tinker326]

I'm HERE! I'm HERE!! Ooooh and I'm first! You know how much I love that Nicole!

Hahahaha, I figured you would be.

I love it already! Puking! Hate running! Can't wait to hear about it. No, really! I also want details about Beach Club Villas! We get a special 2 nights there after my race and I'm looking so forward to it!

Oh the elusive castle shot. I seriously don't know what the deal is, but my family did the same thing! They kept saying LATER and then later they were tired and the sun was in the wrong spot!

Yellow ride that is her fav? I'm guessing Pooh!

Now, excuse me while I head off for a run!

It is not Pooh. Although she did like that ride as well.......

I have pictures and details on BCV. I will say this- the location to EPCOT is WONDERFUL!!!! Selling poing FOR SURE.

 

[Tinker326]

Oh, and one last shot... is it the PERFECT CASTLE SHOT?!?



Nope. But it's the best we got. And I'll blame it on DH's reluctance to stop for that 100th time for the picture attempt.

Ok, I'm cracking up... I spent a whole lot of time on this trip searching out Hidden Mickey's...and I just noticed there is one in my PERFECT CASTLE SHOT.. which totally really does make this picture the perfect one!

Can you spot it? Hint- left hand side of the picture..........

 

[-Hope-]

I'm here! Rushing out the door so I'll be back later to catch up.

 

[Victoriasmom98]

I'm HERE! I'm HERE!! Ooooh and I'm first! You know how much I love that Nicole!

It's because you are stalking these darned boards!!!! Ugh!!!

But, Hi Nicole, I'm here, too!!!

 

[Tinker326]

I'm here! Rushing out the door so I'll be back later to catch up.

It's because you are stalking these darned boards!!!! Ugh!!!

But, Hi Nicole, I'm here, too!!!

Hi Hope & Ann!!!

 

[skier_pete]

You know I'm in - we're gonna have overlapping trip reports! A little disappointed we didn't make it into the "family" shots. I kid, I kid.

Looking forward to hearing more details and seeing more pictures. (And how did you get a photopass picture so darn fast!)

I've started writing, but need to upload pictures before I start my TR. I'm betting that you will finish before me...life is just too busy right now.

Gotta run...

 

[-Hope-]

Okay, all caught up! You're off to a great start, with just the intros. I also have a DH who doesn't understand my love for Disney, a DD who loves it as much as I do (and also despises thrill rides) and a mom who likes to travel with us because my dad doesn't like to. And she loves to play the martyr card as well.

I'm guessing TSM for the favorite ride- that's yellow, right? I can't remember!

 

[Imbri]

Missed your PTR, but joining in for the TR!

So excited to hear about the F&W run! I'm doing Princess in Feb. Yay running! Lol.

Your daughters are darling, omygosh! <3

 

[Tinker326]

You know I'm in - we're gonna have overlapping trip reports! A little disappointed we didn't make it into the "family" shots. I kid, I kid.

Looking forward to hearing more details and seeing more pictures. (And how did you get a photopass picture so darn fast!)

I've started writing, but need to upload pictures before I start my TR. I'm betting that you will finish before me...life is just too busy right now.

Gotta run...

I only started mine because I'm impatient. I really don't have time either & Sarah had to put herself to bed last night while I was working on it. Mother of the Year right there. Ha!

And no worries... you are in plenty of my pictures. Actually more DD... but I have some nice ones of you, DW & Chip (or Dale..or whatever one it was).

I edited my photopass pics last night... and did the download to my computer. Took all of 2 hours. Was nice since my new laptop does not have a CD drive in it...

Looking forward to following yours!

Okay, all caught up! You're off to a great start, with just the intros. I also have a DH who doesn't understand my love for Disney, a DD who loves it as much as I do (and also despises thrill rides) and a mom who likes to travel with us because my dad doesn't like to. And she loves to play the martyr card as well.

I'm guessing TSM for the favorite ride- that's yellow, right? I can't remember!

We have many similarities Hope! Love it!

And it's not TSM. Good guess! It's actually not all that obvious......

Missed your PTR, but joining in for the TR!

So excited to hear about the F&W run! I'm doing Princess in Feb. Yay running! Lol.

Your daughters are darling, omygosh! <3

WELCOME!!

Is this your first 1/2 or are you seasoned? I will say this, as much as I did not like my running adventure.. the ONLY reason I was able to FINISH the 1/2 was because it was a Disney run and they put on one HECK of a run!!! Without the diversions I don't think I could have made 13.1 miles!

My sis-in-law ran the Princess 2 years ago... and loved it.

And thanks for the compliment of the kiddos. I think they are cuties too, but I am totally biased!

 

[Tinker326]

So let's get this party started. We are well acquainted now that you have read my intro & we can move into the fun part of the report. The actual trip!

Of course, it is fair to mention that the first post is usually the boring travel one. Without a lot of pictures. So let's get this over with.

So let's see. The beginning of the trip. The beginning, for some reason, always starts off rather flustered because as much as I PLAN the trip months in advance, I never pack until the day before. And then I'm up all night packing. And that's what happened. I had to pack myself and everyone else (who would be coming later because DH was not to be trusted with packing them up because they would have no underwear for a week. He was in charge of packing himself and I was actually surprised to see that underwear for him did make it into the bag).

I was up early Friday morning to work half a day. Lovely fire drills as always..to put an anxious spin on leaving for 12 days. But I decided WORK SHMERK and I shut down.

I will take this time to point out as well that I'm usually a rather park commando- I am a type A planner & travel that way. And I admit it can be tiring for my family who are not type A travelers. This can result in frustrations for everyone when things do not work out the way I envision in my head. So I made a VERY conscience effort this trip to be 'whatever, whatever'. I would go with the flow of how things happened and not fret over what I perceived as 'lost memories'. This was hard for me but I pulled it off & am proud of myself for doing it.

Back to the story... DH drove me to the airport to catch my flight. I arrived at the gate approx. 3 hours before departure because that's how I operate. Always early, never late (my step-father drilled this into me as he would literally leave anyone not in the car on time).

So I found myself with a lot of time on my hands. So I loaded up a Breaking Bad episode on my phone off Netflix and watched that. I was in the last boarding group and the flight was full.

First unhappy pixie dust moment was them telling me I had to check my carryon. It had my big camera and my laptop in it. I was not happy about this. So I got down the end of the gate and pulled all that out to stow under my seat when the flight attendant says "oh we have room, do you want to keep your bag?" Um, really..you couldn't tell me this one minute ago before I pulled everything out? Sigh.......... So.. I repacked. And got to take my bag on the plane. Yhea.

Flight was uneventful 2.5 hours. And I arrived in MCO without incident.

I wandered down to the bag area. And got my bag..and wandered over to the car rental place and got my car. I got to pick whatever car I wanted out of the lot (in my class I reserved). This proved tough as there were approx. 30 Grand Caravans and nothing else. What Grand Caravan to pick?

I picked this one.



Would my choice be a good one? Stay tuned. (Hint... the answer is no.) Shoot. I gave it away. But you'll have to wait for the story.

I asked my good friend Siri (who I have programed to use a British accent because Brittish accents are so cool!) how to get to my resort.... and off I went.........

I did not get lost. And found the Beach Club just fine. I went in..got my room number and headed off to find my room!

Viola. Room 528 of the Beach Club Villas.



Holy blurry picture. Sorry. That's an iphone pic. I will do a write up of BCV later... but I will just say, while this isn't my favorite resort, our room was a GREAT location.

My sis-in-law was off in the parks enjoying herself. And my cuz was with her family till the following night. So that left me to head off to get a refreshment and dinner.

I wandered into the QS of BCV which was small with little choice. I was very careful about my food intake leading up to the race so I wouldn't get sick during the race. I decided, based on very limited options, to go with a child's cheese pizza. A little carbs, a little protein & not too much dairy. (child's portion). I paid for that & my 'unlimited cup' (I have a sliiiight Diet soda addiction) and headed back to enjoy my dinner on my balcony.



If only I didn't have 13.1 miles weighing on my mind...life would have been perfect.

As I sat there on my balcony, imagine my surprise when this occurred...



SCORE!! Magic Kingdom fireworks. Totally wasn't expecting that.

Big D (sis in law) returned and we chatted briefly before deciding to go to bed...as she was running the Jingle 5K and had to rise up at 4am. Which meant, since I am an EXTREMELY light sleeper- I would be up at 4am too.

(which is a prime time to point out that NO ONE in my travel party likes to room with me because of this minor detail). I brought a noise machine which helps me sleep but it ticked off the Big D and bothered her. So I relented and kept it off which meant I got to hear her snore! A lot. Whatever, Whatever.

Also time to point out the next unmagical moment.... and that was I felt the inklings of the beginning of a migraine right about 10pm. I suffer from rather frequent migraines from sinus problems. They come on strong and last at least 24 hours usually waning by the 30 hour mark. My life is miserable when I have one. Starting one 24 hours before my race was NOT good. I could not write this off as a whatever, whatever...

I decided to take an ambien in a vain attempt of ANY hope of sleep pre-race. Between my nerves and my headache- I needed it.

As I drifted into painful slumberland with visions of Gatorade and GU in my head.... I hoped St. Nicholas would come and leave the gift of no headache & getting through the race under the tree...........

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

LOL...ok, you must be my sister from another mister. I've never met anyone else that has to get to the airport 3 hours early...other than me! I even TRY to get there later so I don't sit as long, but I just cannot help myself.

I had the same issue with carryon's having to be checked at the gate and that's a no-go with my camera, so I make sure now to put my camera in the small bag/purse(larger than a purse but smaller than a carryon) that I carry.

I'm excited to stay at BCV!!! I don't love the inside decor, but the balcony looks fantastic and the location cannot be beat! So wait, you were facing the pool (not Epcot) and could see MK fireworks?!?! This is fantastic news!

I'm concerned that I will be nervous from Friday through the race Sunday morning as well and won't be able to enjoy myself. Hopefully a half day at MK will calm my nerves!

 

[Tinker326]

LOL...ok, you must be my sister from another mister. I've never met anyone else that has to get to the airport 3 hours early...other than me! I even TRY to get there later so I don't sit as long, but I just cannot help myself.

I had the same issue with carryon's having to be checked at the gate and that's a no-go with my camera, so I make sure now to put my camera in the small bag/purse(larger than a purse but smaller than a carryon) that I carry.

I'm excited to stay at BCV!!! I don't love the inside decor, but the balcony looks fantastic and the location cannot be beat! So wait, you were facing the pool (not Epcot) and could see MK fireworks?!?! This is fantastic news!

I'm concerned that I will be nervous from Friday through the race Sunday morning as well and won't be able to enjoy myself. Hopefully a half day at MK will calm my nerves!

I swear I can't do it either. I'm always insanely early to my flights. And marvel how people wander up 10 minutes before boarding like it's no big deal. I would have been having anxiety attacks in the security line if I was that close to my flight leaving.

And yes, we were facing the pool(edited to say- we were facing the BCV Quiet Pool- not Stormalong which I don't think BCV faces anyways & you would not see the MK fireworks from) and could see the fireworks!! They hit at 10pm exactly so they had to be MK ones (it was XMAS party night!)-Illuminations is closer and on the other side of our building and hit at 9. It was awesome..although we were on top floor and not sure if you would see them on a lower floor?

The nerves did play a big part in the pre-race enjoyment. I kept saying "I wish we could just get to this already!!!"

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

I swear I can't do it either. I'm always insanely early to my flights. And marvel how people wander up 10 minutes before boarding like it's no big deal. I would have been having anxiety attacks in the security line if I was that close to my flight leaving.

And yes, we were facing the pool(edited to say- we were facing the BCV Quiet Pool- not Stormalong which I don't think BCV faces anyways & you would not see the MK fireworks from) and could see the fireworks!! They hit at 10pm exactly so they had to be MK ones (it was XMAS party night!)-Illuminations is closer and on the other side of our building and hit at 9. It was awesome..although we were on top floor and not sure if you would see them on a lower floor?

The nerves did play a big part in the pre-race enjoyment. I kept saying "I wish we could just get to this already!!!"

Aye, we are so much alike! I suspect I will be anxious until it's over as well, which is why I planned MOST of the trip after the race...although I still have to get there Friday so I can hit the expo and then we'll do MK half a day on Saturday. I think Saturday afternoon will be hard b/c I'm supposed to "take it easy" and I'll just be wanting to go to sleep at 4pm in the afternoon so I can get to the race already! I'm thinking that's not going to go over so great with the girls.

 

[B&WMickey]

Signing on. Love it so far. We were at WDW for the first part of your trip. Look forward to hearing your perspective for the same time period.

 

[Tinker326]

Signing on. Love it so far. We were at WDW for the first part of your trip. Look forward to hearing your perspective for the same time period.

Hi!!! Welcome!

I see you are from Wisconsin- my parents live up in Minocqua for all the seasons except Winter where they retreat South to AZ!

 

[Imbri]

WELCOME!!

Is this your first 1/2 or are you seasoned? I will say this, as much as I did not like my running adventure.. the ONLY reason I was able to FINISH the 1/2 was because it was a Disney run and they put on one HECK of a run!!! Without the diversions I don't think I could have made 13.1 miles!

My sis-in-law ran the Princess 2 years ago... and loved it.

And thanks for the compliment of the kiddos. I think they are cuties too, but I am totally biased!

Hehe, you already posted in my PTR, but yep! First 1/2 and first Disney run, yay! And I have come to love running, but the first few months when I started working out and developing a routine, I hated everything and the only thing that got me through was imagining crossing that finish line in Disney. =D I've done a couple 10ks so far, it's nice to know I know for sure right now I can do half a half and still have almost 3.5 months left.

I can't wait to do my run, I love hearing about other people who enjoyed it! <3