What is Disney made of? Dreams!!! A Jan 2013 TR! *UPDATE 4/22*

[MistDis]

Hi everyone! I have been wanting to do a TR for a long time now and have decided to finally just go for it. I love reading everyone's and hope that mine will even be half as good as some of yours! This trip was one of the best I've ever been on! Lets get started!

We went from Jan 2 - 12, 2013

Lets meet the cast!
First there's me, Misty. I am an xray tech and work as a Disney vacation planner on the side. I LOVE everything that is Disney!! I talk, plan, and think about it all the time.

I get so sick of people telling me there are so many more places we could go each year but no one (except you guys on here ) get that that is where I am my absolute happiest. Nothing compares to that Disney feeling. My favorite thing in the world is the castle and my favorite spot in all of Disney is on the beach at the Poly with the castle straight ahead

My family brought my brother and I up on Disney and they always took us while we were growing up so Disney has been in my blood from the beginning! My husband blames my parents for my Disney obsession, but he's taken me there at least once a year since we have been together

This pic is from our stay at the Poly last summer since all my photos are still uploading.


My DH, Robert. He does construction and usually has some winter months off which is the perfect time to go to Disney! He doesn't completely "get it" but he always agrees that we go and has a great time. We have been together for going on 8 years and had our honeymoon there after getting married on the beach in St. Petersburg. His favorites are Animal Kingdom and the dining plan


My brother, Travis. If there is one thing we can actually agree on, it is our love for Disney!! He worked for Sea World last summer and is leaving again in May to do the same. He had the time of his life while working there. Hopefully I can talk my hubby into going down to see him in July. His favs are Haunted Mansion and Wishes tied with Illuminations!
His friend Kayla came with us too! She was celebrating graduating from Penn State! She loves Ariel and we were so happy she got to come along with us and fit in so well with our family!



My 2 cousins Chey and Malorie. Chey is 1 of my best friends and we have so much fun together! She is the thrill seeker and loves everything Disney too! He favorites are Tower of Terror, Expedition Everest, and Grey Goose Slush!
Malorie was too young to remember going to Disney so this was like her first trip there. She loves everything that isn't a thrill ride which suited me fine so no one could pressure me to ride and I could watch her while the rest rode


Save the best for last, Peggy. She's my great aunt and Chey and Malorie's grandma. Even though she is a grandma, she is one of the wildest carefree people I know! You are always bound to laugh and have a good time when she is around. Her laugh is contagious and that's why I was so happy when she wanted take Chey and Malorie when we went. She recently had leg surgery so she had a scooter most of the time which made for some interesting moments..



I hope you follow along and feel free to say Hi!!!

[MistDis]

Saved for Chapter Links


Jan 2, 2013
Chapter 1: Let's Get The Show On The Road!

Jan 3, 2013
Chapter 2: SeaWorld!
Chapter 3: More SeaWorld!

Jan 4, 2013
Chapter 4: Finally Some Disney!

Jan 5
Chapter 5: Pop Century/AoA!
Chapter 6: More AoA fun!!
Chapter 7: Celebrate A Dream Come True!
Chapter 8: New Fantasyland!
Chapter 9: A Castle Photo Shoot And Wishes Dessert Party!
Chapter 10: Magic Kingdom Fun!

Jan 6, 2013
Chapter 11: Hollywood Studios!
Chapter 12: Hollywood Part 2!

Jan 7, 2013
Chapter 13: Animal Kingdom!
Chapter 14: AK Part 2 and Ohana!

Jan 8, 2013
Chapter 15: An Early MK Morning!
Chapter 16: Crystal Palace!
Chapter 17: Fantasyland!
Chapter 18: Tomorrowland and Storybook Circus!
Chapter 19: MK, Cape May Cafe, and Disney Quest!


Jan 9, 2013
Chapter 20: Epcot And Le Cellier!

[katt789]

I'm in!

[MistDis]

Chapter 1: Let's Get The Show On The Road

Chey and I were up all night on the phone talking about how excited we were! We couldn't sleep and couldn't wait until 6am came! We had been wanting to go to Disney together for YEARS so the fact that it was finally happening was unreal.

Finally, after only a few hours sleep it was time to go to Disney!!!!!!!!! Seriously, no greater feeling than that!!!!!

So, we packed the car and mini U-Haul and began our 16 hour journey to Florida!!


The ride was mostly uneventful but I slept basically off and on the whole time. We always drive straight through and Robert always insists he drive, so what better thing to do than rest up for 16 hours because we all know once in Disney, there is NO sleeping!!!

The further we got to Florida, the goofier everyone was acting. Hours in the car mixed with being tired, mixed with excitement just leads to randomly laughing and craziness. And remember how I said Peg's laugh is contagious?
Click here to here what my poor hubby had to listen to on this long trip..

What you'll hear is when Peggy started laughing to herself talking about how in a tv episode of I Love Lucy, a trailor or something like the U-Haul came undone and was riding beside Lucy while she was driving. Peg just thought this would be hysterical if that happened to us. Well I guess Robert wasn't paying attention and he thought this really happened to someone she knew and he was perplexed as how they got the U-Haul to stop. When we heard him say that, we just died laughing!!! Maybe you had to be there but it was just sooo funny!

So then how the name of the TR happened..
Malorie didn't know what all parks made up Disney World. I didn't know that she didn't know that at the time when she asked me "What is Disney made of?" Well I thought for sure she knew the parks so I decided to say "Dreams!" Well this turned into yet another laugh fest. As soon as that happened I knew that if I did do this, that would have to be the title!

Finally at about 2am we came to Days Inn! We had to stay there for 3 nights before we checked into Pop because we all were able to get off work extra days and didn't want to spend a lot of money. We usually go down before our actual Disney vacation starts to have whatever days and shop and relax.

This is my brother giving a sarcastic thumbs up to Days Inn. He and Kayla left earlier than us and warned us of how dumpy it was. He was so right!! I should have known better as cheap as the rooms were. We had 3 rooms between all of us and each room only had ONE washcloth per room. Seriously! We couldn't get over this and after getting more washcloths we just found the whole thing so funny. What hotel gives you 1 washcloth? I could see if maybe they forgot in 1 room, but 3!??

[MistDis]

Chapter 2: SeaWorld!


Since my brother worked at SeaWorld in the summer he wanted to go and see his friends! Malorie had been dying to go and everyone else thought it'd be fun so off we went! We got up early and soon saw this!




Now usually I am planned to the max. I always have what time were seeing what show, what ride, etc etc. Well with Trav telling me the night before that we could go to Sea World that left me with NO time for planning. I was so tired and couldn't function at that point to make an itinerary. So I hurried and got on my phone as were driving in to put somewhat of a game plan together. I was soooo stressed out over not having a plan!

We went inside and they still had their Christmas stuff up!! I was so excited over this because I had recently went to Sea World so this changed things up a bit!


First things first, we had to get Peg a scooter. She was getting one shipped to Pop Century when we checked in so for now she had to rent one here.


From there we went past the flamingos and stingrays





Everyone was getting hungry so we stopped at Cypess Bakery! I forgot to take pics but your not missing much because we all got muffins and or strawberries!







They had Christmas trees in the water and were so pretty when they lit up!


One of the most memorable things of the day was with the whales! They have a viewing area and you can get some really great pictures!










Yea so our family picture with the whales turned out like this:


And this is my favorite




We headed over to the stadium to see One Ocean!! I know people complain that it isn't as good without the trainers being in the water with the whales but it is still a lot of fun to watch! I love the music to One Ocean too!! While we waited for the show we texted our names to the number on the screen

[MistDis]

Chapter 3: More Sea World!









I could watch them all day! Next we went to Wild Arctic! We skipped the ride/show and went straight to the animals! It is so dark inside there that all my pictures are too dark or blurry to see anything. Inside Wild Artic are the beluga whales, polar bears, walrus, etc! We did run into Santa Claus and that pic did turn out


From there we went on our way to Dolphin Cove


Chey and I kept trying to touch them but it never happened since we weren't feeding them. You can feed them at certain times of the day for a small fee though!


Some were playing and made a huge splash right where Kayla was standing and she got soaked!


Gotta love that Florida humidity for your hair!




Next we went to Turtle Trek. It wasn't open the last time I went. Wow it is such a cool experience! You literally feel like your underwater. You just go in a room and stand there and put on 3D glasses. The ceiling and walls transform into a screen that shows the beach, underwater, etc. and shows you the life of a turtle. It made me dizzy but it was a lot of fun!!






Then we went to Pacific Point Preserve to see the sea lions!! They are so adorable!



Then we decided to feed them! We got a couple plates of sardines and all the birds kept trying to catch them before the sea lions. Chey just finished a blue slushy, can you tell?




From there we went to Shark Encounter and walked through it.


The day was almost over and I could not believe we only saw 1 show! If you ever get the chance to go, make sure you go to the Clyde and Seamore show and the Pets Ahoy! show. They are both really cute and fun!! Hopefully next time Malorie will get to see those!

On our way out the trees were just getting lit up





As we headed out, we passed a giant snow globe that you could go inside and get your picture taken. It was free to do and you could buy the picture if you wanted.





I had Robert take those but we ended up buying theirs since it looked much better!

We left the park and went to Joe's Crabshack. Robert and I always go there when we see one so we stopped at our usual Disney one and ate. We sat outside since that was the only table open and no wonder, because it was soo cold out there! We all had the steam pots! We then went to do the best thing to start a Disney vacation!!! We went to the Polynesian to sit on the beach and watch Wishes!!!! This is something we do on every Disney vacation start and it just makes me so happy and excited. I can't think of anything better.
After it ended went back to the hotel and slept!!! We had a big day of shopping ahead!

[MistDis]

Originally Posted by katt789

I'm in!

Great!

[MistDis]

Chapter 4: Finally some Disney!


I woke this morning so happy. It was the day I would pass under the wonderful gates, see the new Magic Kingdom sign, get a glimpse of my beloved castle, and so much more! I had been in Orlando and only seen 1 thing Disney so far and it was killing me!

It was also our 3 year wedding anniversary!

We got ready, all jumped in our car and soon we saw the most wonderful sight!!




It was one gorgeous sign after another


We arrived at the Poly and right away my hubby and I threw a penny in the fountain to make a wish to stay there again very soon!! That's our tradition!



Then we were walking through the doors into the lobby! I didn't even have to say anything to my family and they were already talking about how good it smelled! I was so happy to be there.



We went to Capt. Cooks to get tonga toast!


It was perfect as usual then we headed to my favorite spot.




We left the Poly and headed over to WL. My brother and I wanted to show the rest of the group different places around Disney that they have never been to. So far they got to experience the Poly and tonga toast for the first time so not too bad!




They were amazed by WL and even liked it better than the Poly! I wanted to take them to AKL but we ran out of time. I know they would have loved it there! But we had shopping to do! We went to the outlets and stayed there for a little. They were out of scooters so Peg just sat on a bench while we shopped. We didn't want to leave her hanging by herself for long and we had somewhere we needed to be anyway!


Downtown Disney!! I love it there! It will always be DTD to me!



We ate at Earl Of Sandwich and everyone really enjoyed it! Again, no pictures..I swear I get some as the trip goes on!









We stopped at the little margarita bar and had some drinks by the water. It was so perfect being there with my family except now Rob was starting to get sick. I was sick up until that day... I swear, Disney fixes everything!



I felt bad because he just fell asleep right there. He took some of my medicine when we got back to the room and felt better the next day. Thank goodness because that is when the real vacation was going to start!!!


We took Malorie to the T-shirt place to pick up her shirt. She hated Days Inn sooo bad that she had them make her a Pop Century one! We were going to put "where you get more than 1 washcloth" but we thought of that too late. Tomorrow we would finally be going to POP!!

[MistDis]

Chapter 5: Pop Century/AoA!

Today we were all so thrilled to be leaving Days Inn and checking into Pop!
Malorie was all about getting out of there!









We did online check in and our rooms weren't ready yet. It was 11am so we decided to go over to AoA to check it out before lunch! I had seen its progress at many stages so it was exciting to see it finished!
First we had to go to bell services to pick up Peg's scooter. We rented from Apple Scooter and they already had it there for us. It was a really easy process!







On our way to to AoA




We got to the Generation Gap bridge and could already see awesome AoA was going to be!










We are so classy













Next up, Little Mermaid section! Kayla was in heaven!

[wiigirl]

Great TR! Love the pics!

[MistDis]

Originally Posted by wiigirl

Great TR! Love the pics!

Thank you so much!

[MistDis]

Chapter 6: More AoA fun!!


Inside the lobby! It is so bright and colorful. I would love to stay here sometime.







Cars Land section











By that time, we all got texts saying our rooms were ready! We were all starving though so we went to the food court back at Pop first. My favorite thing is Pop's nachos!! I get them every time we eat there and they are the best! I could eat these everyday


We all got some sort of cake for dessert and couldn't finish it. We put the containers inside the basket in Peggy's scooter. Well, she got real cocky and was going backwards and forwards fast. Her wheels went off the dip into the mulchy area and the cakes went flying out of her basket It was so funny and would be the first of many scooter mishaps throughout the vacation


We then went to our room in the 50's section. We always end up in that section and we like it. We were near the parking lot which was convenient since we drove down. I had requested the connecting room but they gave my brother and Peg that so Rob and I were on the end.





We all unpacked and got ready to finally be in the Magic Kingdom!!!!! We were doing something I had always wanted to do there that evening and I could not wait!!

[MistDis]

Chapter 7: Celebrate A Dream Come True!


We were on way to MK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


We parked the car and walked toward the ferry. I know a lot of you are in love with the monorail, but I absolutely love the ferry! I love being on it and seeing the castle come closer to view while being on the water!!



So beautiful!















We entered MK at exactly 3! Perfect timing for the Celebrate a Dream Come True parade! I was glad to be wearing my sunglasses because it always makes me teary eyed!

















I was so excited to show everyone the Christmas decorations!

[MistDis]

Chapter 8: New Fantasyland!


I kept telling everyone how it wasn't going to be crowded our week. I knew that day, being a Saturday would be more crowded than most since it was the end of the new years week but it was more crowded than I expected!





We went straight to New Fantasyland and we could not wait to see everything done! When I was there last summer there were walls up everywhere and saw the guys working on the new castle so it was awesome to see it finished!!











The Little Mermaid ride! We were so anxious to ride this so we grabbed FP since the line was crazy long.









It was crowded and every line was super long. We did wait in line for POTC and even that took forever. Just look at all those people!


At that point, I was afraid everyone would think our whole vacation was going to be like this. I kept telling them that after that day everyone would be checking out and things would be fine. I didn't want anyone to worry about anything on this trip especially when they left all the planning up to me.

We were getting hungry so we stopped at my favorite QS spot, Columbia Harbour House! We actually beat the crowd and didn't have a huge line to wait in. Everyone really liked it there. I got my usual tuna sandwich and the hubby got his usual lobster roll. I couldn't tell ya what anyone else got

We left CHH and it was starting to get darker out and the castle started turning colors, which is my favorite thing. When my mom and dad go with us they always make fun of me saying I have to get a pic of the castle in every color with every angle possible, oh well





I could not wait to show Peggy, Chey, Malorie, and Kayla the castle dream lights!













We made our way to the front of the castle and caught some of Move it! Shake it! Celebrate it! Hearing that song always makes me so happy!!!! It is so upbeat and fun! I couldn't get over that we were in actually in Disney and that our trip that we waited months for was really happening.

[MistDis]

Chapter 9: A Castle Photo shoot and Wishes Dessert Party!


There weren't many people right in front of the castle so we decided on a little photo shoot!


Sibling love! *this only happens in Disney*






















Then we went to see a family favorite, Phillarmagic! They had me take a pic with Wheezy because when I was sick thats how I sounded on the drive down. It was fantastic as usual!


After that we headed for Tomorrowland!

We had something special planned


We were seated at a perfect table with a perfect view of the castle. I was so thrilled to be doing this that night so we wouldn't have to be on top of people for the fireworks since it was more crowded. Also, it was the best start to our trip.

They had so much to choose from and plenty of it!







Celebrate the Magic started


Wishes!!






We all thought it was worth every penny and we want to do it again next time. It was such a different experience than being jam packed with other people. Just being able to sit and relax and have all kinds of dessert while waiting for Wishes turned out to be one of our favorite things from the week!