"I Think I Broke Myself" - a "mom and me" Oct 2011 TR - "my last day"

[ZehnJahren]

Well, it's happened.

We went to Disney, and now it's over. The time really does fly.

And you diehard Disney fans know exactly what that means - time to plan the next trip!

But first, we have to report on THIS trip - and it was a great time. The cast of characters? Me and my ma, our first adult trip and our first trip together to the World since the early 90s (that's right, I was a teenager when we last went together. I assure you, there was a lot less complaining this trip). Here we are, below, on day two at the MK.

If you didn't follow my PTR, here's the link: "Where are we staying again??". I'm sure you're hardly going to be able to contain yourself from rushing over there and reading it in full, so I'll wait here for you. Don't worry; I'll still be here when you get back.

Ok, you're back already? Wow, I don't really think you read that whole PTR. But it's ok, at least you came back to this TR, and that makes me happy.

This might take a little time to get going, as I just returned from vacation today (yes, I left WDW on 10/15 - I also spent a week at the beach in Ft. Myers and lived through the great tsunami of 10/19 <---- exaggeration). But I do plan to gear up and get through our trip as soon as possible now that the ball has started rolling, and not just for me: I'll be sending my mom the link to this report - maybe she'll have something to say too!

So, did we follow my strict schedule? Did we get a decent room at Pop? Did I manage to surprise my mom with plans for us to stay at the Contemporary? Did we make it to MNSSHP? What's the blister count? I'll answer these questions and more as I go on and on in this, my very first TRIP REPORT! *applause*

 

[ZehnJahren]

Pre-chapter 1) Pre-trip report: "Where are we staying again??" My very first, an Oct 2011 PTR
Pre-chapter 1) Some additional info

Tuesday, October 11th
Chapter 1: The part where I go to Florida... ALONE

Wednesday, October 12th
Chapter 2: The part where I got my Annual Pass
Chapter 3: The part where I make the mad dash to TSMM
Chapter 4: The part where I finally ride ToT
Chapter 4.5: The part where Mom shows up
Chapter 5: The part where we head to the Magic Kingdom for the first time (!!!)
Chapter 6: The part where we decide enough is enough

Thursday, October 13th
Chapter 7: The part where we're leaving Pop... FOREVER!!!
Chapter 8: The part with the surprise
Chapter 9: The part with MK EMH
Chapter 10: The part where we arrived at Epcot
Chapter 11: The part where we go to our room
Chapter 12: The part where we walk to MNSSHP!

Friday, October 14th
Chapter 13: The part with 50s PT and Mom's first trip in a faulty elevator
Chapter 14: The part where we take a midday break
Chapter 15: The part where we end it all at MK (Wishes Dessert Party!)

Saturday, October 15th
Chapter 16: The part where Mom almost misses her bus
Chapter 17: The part where I ... HEY THAT MONORAIL HONKED AT ME!!!
Chapter 17 cont.: The part where I'm leaving

 

[IheartDDuck]

Yay, I had good timing on the DIS and found that you started! I can't wait to hear about your trip and how everything worked out for you guys.

 

[ZehnJahren]

So, for you who are only mildly interested in the background of the trip but still maintain an interest, here's a condensed version of my PTR.

First, me and Ma:

This is our first trip together for fun, as adults. Mom hadn't been to MK for about 20-ish years; on her last trip in 2000, we managed to make it to Epcot and then her BF was a real downer and didn't want to go back to any of the parks. She was forced to go watch spaceships launch into the sky or some other crap rather than hang out at the World. What a bummer!

We weren't sure up until the last minute what she would be able to ride due to some possible medical constraints. Turns out, she was able to ride EVERYTHING - and DID! There were a few firsts for us both on this trip - my first rides on Soarin' and Nemo, and Mom's first rides on Soarin', Nemo, TSMM, and ToT!

We started going to WDW many a year ago. Here's us at the campground we always stayed at:

And me with Pluto back in 1981:

And then, on our trip in 2000 (in which she was forcibly removed from Orlando and made to go to the coast with her DBF), we at LEAST got this picture taken:

(that's us on the bottom row, 2nd from the right).

I had us booked for Pop the whole time (I spent a night alone at the hotel, and then Ma showed up the next day, staying three nights); I put in a request for a 50s room facing the lake (Mom's a child of the 50s, so I thought it could be fun), but right before the trip, I was a lucky lucky girl and managed to secure a GREAT Bay Lake view room in the CONTEMPORARY on an AP rate, a childhood dream and definitely a place my mom always said we'd stay at some day - well, this time, I got to treat my mom to the fulfillment of a dream and we spent two of her three nights in a gorgeous tower room at the Contemporary. It was a (big) surprise, and so much fun to pull off!

We had tickets for MNSSHP, and I bought my very first annual pass. This was definitely a busy trip for us, and we had a blast. I hope you'll join us as I get into the nitty gritty, as well as the reason for my title!

 

[ZehnJahren]

Yay, I had good timing on the DIS and found that you started! I can't wait to hear about your trip and how everything worked out for you guys.

Oh yay! Hello! Thanks for joining! I hope I can keep up a good pace here - so much to say and relay and we really just had a wonderful time together. I can't wait to relive it; expect a good amount of pictures!

 

[ZehnJahren]

I worked all day on Tuesday, arriving early to work so I could depart a little early and try to make sure I was completely packed. After all, once I left for WDW I'd be gone for 11 nights - four of those would be spent in WDW and seven in Ft. Myers. I'd be splitting my trip between a me-and-mom trip and and me-and-DBF trip, and I was ready to go!

I arrived at O'Hare at a reasonable time - around an hour and a half before my flight took off. My flight didn't leave until around 7:30 p.m., so I had plenty of time to miss traffic and then get settled in at the airport.

I have a process - I go and buy a Diet 7up and a water, then get a chip snack of some kind. Those three things go with me on the plane. This time, I brought my own snacks, so what I really needed was drinks - and I managed to find both water and Diet 7up at the same store, so once I purchased I was ready to go. I chatted happily with a woman in the store with me. I was ready to get on the plane and get going!

I paid for the "premium" seating; I ended up in the aisle seat in row 10, which was very far up in the plane. There was no one in the middle seat, and the man at the window seat was very pleasant and nice. Once we got in the air, I settled all the way in. I was hoping for a nap, but instead I enjoyed watching "Tangled" on my iTouch.

The flight was wonderful and quick, and I arrived at MCO early. It was after 11 p.m. in Orlando, so there weren't a lot of people at the airport. In fact, I was greeted by this line at Magical Express.

Wow! I couldn't believe I was LITERALLY the only person in the ME line. I was boarded almost immediately, and took the front seat behind the driver.

I have some stomach issues, so I verified that there was a bathroom on board the bus. Then, I fell into discussion with a woman and her daughter, who were sitting across from me. The daughter was turning 10 on the trip, and they hadn't been to WDW for a number of years. Of course, I just couldn't shut up; I let them know they could use their FP late, and asked them if they were on the dining plan. They were, so I mentioned the F! package. The mother was excited to learn about this; I also talked to her about "best parks" and shared some of the info from TP and UT that I had - she took notes, it was cute. We chatted for quite some time, and then we were off!

Pop was the first stop; the bus was pretty full, but only a few of us got off at the Pop Stop. I was so grateful to be traveling with only a carry-on; things had already been so much easier. I went and checked in here:

I was sorry to see this was closed:

...because I was ready to SHOP! But it was after midnight at this point and I'd have to wait. I wanted to make rope drop in the morning at HS and try to get on TSMM, so I needed to get to my room and do my traditional bedbug check so I could get to bed.

But boy oh boy, I was FAR AWAY! I'll grab the room number for my next post, but it was SO FAR AWAY. It was in the 50s, but not facing the lake and was not an ideal room. It did, however, give me a great excuse to tell my mom that we'd be "changing rooms" (and she wouldn't have any idea that "changing rooms" meant heading to CR!).

There's the room after I was done ransacking it for bedbugs. I'll tell you, I bring a flashlight every trip and check for bedbugs - they're gross, expensive, and impossible to get rid of if you end up with them, so I take no chances at ALL. And I'm paid back with the piece of mind I get after verifying I've got a clean room. By this time, it was around 1-1:30 a.m., and I was TIRED.

Since I wouldn't be unpacking, it was time to get some shut-eye and prepare for rope drop at HS the next morning! Would I make it, after such a busy day? Or would I just be SOL? I wasn't sure when I went to bed.

 

[caaraa]

Looks beautiful!

 

[ZehnJahren]

Looks beautiful!

Thanks - I took about 800 shots and then last week, while at the beach, I deleted everything that didn't look very good. It didn't leave me with a whole lot!!

But I still think we have some good pics. I tried to take as many as possible, but I guess I got too into the touring spirit, because there are some blank spots as well.

 

[Merida]

Subbing!

 

[ZehnJahren]

Subbing!

Yay! Thanks and welcome!

 

[Disneychix]

Can't wait to read about your trip

 

[teekathepony]

Hi!!! I'm here!!

 

[ZehnJahren]

Can't wait to read about your trip

Hi!!! I'm here!!

Hi and hi! Thank you for coming to read! It's a short trip, so it should be a short TR, but I'm glad you're here!! More coming very soon; work is getting in the way today - I was gone for almost two weeks, so I have a big backlog but have most of the next installment typed out so it's just a matter of getting it posted (and adding a few more pics).

 

[ZehnJahren]

Where was I? Oh, right, I was at Disney!

So, after a late night last night (and losing an hour on the flight down due to changing from CST to EST), I was a little concerned about making it to rope drop this morning at HS. And why am I heading to rope drop at HS? Well, I am going to try to join and lead the stampede to TSMM and that means I need to be on an early bus in order to not get trampled once that rope drops!

I set the alarm for 7:40 (ugh, that's 6:40 at home!) and yes indeed, I peeled open my peepers at 7:45 a.m. Looks like the Disney Adrenaline came in the mail this morning - must be something they put in the water - as I popped out of bed like a jack-in-the-box and was dressed and ready to go faster than I imagined I could be.

I trudged away from my room (very last room on the left in this picture - obviously, it's not on the right). I was excited but pretty darn tired too; I needed a pick-me-up.

Ah, now I'm feeling it! The early morning air, coupled with the people already out and about was started to get me excited to get on the bus and get my butt to a park!

I took a quick look back towards my building to get a camera pic to send to Mom, who should be at the airport by now. Maybe getting up this early was a good idea - all the people I'm seeing are still eating!

I made it out to the front and there was a healthy line for the bus already. So, of course, right on cue, my stomach started acting up; luckily I received a text from my ma saying she was at the STL airport, so that gave me something to focus on - we loaded up as she and I were on the phone, and within minutes I was at HS!

It looked empty! I couldn't believe how few people I saw. I had my AP voucher, so I needed to go exchange it - and there was no line, so I marched right up to Barb at the ticket counter and asked if I could exchange my AP voucher for my AP, please, and fast. She was happy to oblige.

I got Donald - which made me happy, as I love Donald. But when I went to sign it, I saw that they misspelled my first name (not a big surprise) - I pointed it out, and the lady (who was super-helpful and very friendly) said "Oh well we'll just print you out a new one."

Oh no! Am I going to end up with a good character? (is there a bad one? )

Look who I got!

Even my new good friend Barb was excited - "You got Mickey!" she squealed, which made me more excited to have good ol' Mickey on my very first AP. As Barb collected brochures to give me, I turned around and took a pic to mark this auspicious occasion.

See, still no one there!

Barb gave me my AP, some brochures, and a "Celebration" pin (it said "1st Annual Pass" and I wore it until the Sharpie came off), and I headed in.

By now, everyone was lining up at the front gate. I was so early, they still weren't letting people in to congregate in front of the big hat for the TSMM mad dash (not a fan of that hat, by the way).

I took this pic for DBF, who was probably wakened a bit early back in Chicago by my excitement over standing in line. He texted me back and said "all I can see are happy people." You got that right, sweetheart!

And then a better pic with my camera:

I couldn't help but strike up a conversation with the couple behind me; they both were excited to be there too! They were retired, with grown children; this was a "parents only" trip for them, and they were very nice. The husband tried to sell me on DVC; I said they didn't need to sell me, I already knew more about it than I should. He told me he was buying some additional property and planned on renting it out sometimes; he said if I gave him my info he'd contact me if he had availability - unfortunately, I'd left my pen back in the room. Oh well, live and learn.

Finally, they're letting us in! Oh boy!

Oh wait, it's another area to congregate.

No one seems as excited about this as I am.

(The people in the red were a husband and wife, and they were DEFINITELY commando on this trip; she was giving him a laundry list of "did-we-do's" and "first-thing-second-thing" the whole time I was standing there - he just kept saying "check, check".)

Being just one person, I slowly made my way through the empty spots in the crowd, trying to get as close to the actual "rope" of "rope drop" as I could get, without being pushy or annoying. I finally settled about 30 yards from the rope and began the wait.

There were a lot of fast-looking people in the crowd; people wearing running sneakers, people tying back their hair and putting on headbands; and I swear I saw some people stretching in preparation for the mad dash in our near future. So, where would I fall in this group, once the gauntlet was thrown and the rope was dropped ? I was ready to find out!

 

[IheartDDuck]

Oh, the TSM mad dash! Always exciting. Hopefully you had your game face on!

Very impressive getting up early after having such a late night the day before.

 

[ZehnJahren]

Oh, the TSM mad dash! Always exciting. Hopefully you had your game face on!

Very impressive getting up early after having such a late night the day before.

Oh, I had my game face on. Usually, that face would be sneering and combative - but I was at Disney, so it was all "hi I'm so happy to be here" and grinning. But I still sneered a little.

Once I got alongside the pool at Pop that morning, I was just filled with fresh energy. Maybe the smell of chlorine in the morning snapped me out of my tired stupor. It lasted until around, oh, 1 p.m.

 

[ZehnJahren]

So last I left you, I was standing in the hot sun by the commando tourers at Hollywood Studios, waiting (im)patiently for the running of the bulls ... er, the TSMM mad morning dash, and wondering if I had what it takes to face down the masses and make it to TSMM.

I had a plan - I'd head straight to the ride, and then grab the FP afterwards. After all, my goal was to ride this morning, and I can't stand in a 45 minute-or-more line - my stomach just won't stand for it. So my hope was a quick line at opening, and then possibly a FP for late morning or earlier in the afternoon, since Ma would be arriving in the afternoon and I'd be heading back to Pop to meet her.

Finally the rope dropped, and in the mad dash I didn't take a single pic. I was far too interested in keeping my pace and moving as quickly as I could through the crowd; pictures would have just slowed me down.

I did make the decision to head through the big part of the arch at the Animation Courtyard instead of the bottleneck to the left. It ended up being a good decision, as I ended up ahead of the stroller I was behind when we hit that arch.

I moved straight to the line, and was frankly shocked at the fact that most people were stopping for FPs; this meant that I was WAAAY up in the line when the CMs started ushering us through! As I walked, I heard the distinctive and beloved sound of german in the line behind me; come to find out, the family behind me (who was complaining about us being "herded like animals"), was from Germany. The line was moving too fast for me to find out where, but I did talk to them a bit once we reached the end of the line; I gave my usual "kommen sie aus Deutschland?" (do you come from Germany?) to open a conversation. It became something I said several times during the trip.

We walked straight through - and by the time we stopped, here's what I saw:

Yes, I was so far up in the line that I didn't even stop until I reached the BOTTOM of the stairs! Once I got separated into a line, I was only behind one other person!

So it looked like the mad dash paid off for me, and I didn't even have to push anyone. Here's my score - it's not too impressive, but my accuracy was one of the best I've had:

The "top score" for my car for the day at this point was mine; I'm sure my score was obliterated in the following few minutes after I got off the ride. But for now, I was excited! Look at me, I'm at HS!

While on the ride, I started laughing maniacally. I just couldn't believe I was here, spinning around on TSMM, while all the other sad saps I knew were at work. Suckers! I felt like the luckiest, happiest girl in the world.

I got off the ride, but I missed riding it already. With the lines that accumulate, I didn't know if I'd make it back on again on this trip. So I took a moment to look back and snap this picture:

When I got off the ride, I went straight into "One Man's Dream" - I thought it would be silly to get a FP, since it was already at 10:30 and there was a long line. See?:

So "One Man's Dream" it was. I was in there about, oh, five minutes when I thought "what the heck am I doing? GO GET A FASTPASS." So I hightailed it out of there and the FP line had, oddly, died down quickly. I got in line, and got this:

Whew, that was close!

My return time wasn't too bad (um, although it WAS only about 9:20 a.m. at this time), so I thought maybe I'd be able to use this bad baby before heading back to Pop to meet mom.

So I went BACK to "One Man's Dream" and wandered. I took a pic or two:

... and then a CM told me the show was starting, and asked me if I'd like to watch it. "Why not?" I said, and headed into the theater. It was packed <= that's sarcasm, because it was just me and a couple who sat about 5 rows behind me.

I sat in the air conditioning and wondered "why am I in here wasting my precious early-morning time on a show I could have watched later?" But it was too late then.

Once I left, I ran into this robot:

This thing was cracking me up! I couldn't find the guy who was controlling him, but he kept following the mom and daughter (behind him in this pic; the daughter is in the pink shirt) and making comments - for example, they kept turning around to see if it was still following them, and it would say "I'm still here, I haven't gone anywhere".

Then it was time to head over to the Tower. I wanted to see what the wait was like, and maybe ride if I could, so I headed to the street leading to ToT.

But boy it was HOT; I had already been sweating quite a bit, so I decided I needed a bottle of water. I planned on buying a new one every morning and filling it up for the duration of the day. That worked.

But of course, you always think twice about Tot - so I glanced back down the street to view my getaway route:

Yep, all clear!

The photopass guy said "look scared". I guess this is how I look when I'm scared. ...

...

Hm. I guess when I'm scared, my neck disappears and my cold water bottle becomes a weapon.

At this point, I realized that I was going to need to think about getting a GAC. I had thought about it before the trip and figured I wouldn't get one if my stomach acted like a regular stomach this trip - but it was already giving me a lot of trouble. Without going into too many details, I just don't have a very sturdy stomach - this results in me having to leave a lot of long lines to find a bathroom, and then having to stand in line again (in my everyday life, it can make long drives, lines at the mall, or drive-thru lines at fast food places almost impossible, but not always - most times I'm good ). My hope was that I could get some assistance with "standing in line" - in other words, I was hoping they could let me stay to the side a certain amount of time, preferably near a bathroom, and then ride when it was my turn. That really wouldn't have bothered me - I AM at Disney after all!

So I left Sunset Boulevard and went to Hollywood Boulevard. Halfway to Guest Services, I stalled, thinking "do I really need a GAC?", so I headed into a store to double-think this. While I thought it over, I saw this coming my way:

Watching the moving show make its way down the Boulevard made me realize - I'm at Disney! I should cut out the anxiety about the lines and just go and talk to Guest Services to find out what my options are. They fixed me up with a GAC, but didn't really tell me what it would do; they said it would give me an alternate entrance. The nice woman (Tracy) told me to show it to someone at the ride. Ok, I can do that. I'll give this a try and see what happens. And I met this little fellow:

So a little embarrassed but now emboldened, I headed back to ToT. I joined the masses heading towards the monolith, but received a bit of a shock once I got there!

 

[IheartDDuck]

Haha, I love your scared face. I think mine normally ends up looking pretty close to that too.

Good idea waiting in line for TSM instead of getting a fastpass. The fastpasses tend to waste time first thing in the morning, unless your timing is good.

I think it was wise to get a GAC. Better to have it to use if you need it then to not have it at all.

 

[ZehnJahren]

Haha, I love your scared face. I think mine normally ends up looking pretty close to that too.

Good idea waiting in line for TSM instead of getting a fastpass. The fastpasses tend to waste time first thing in the morning, unless your timing is good.

I think it was wise to get a GAC. Better to have it to use if you need it then to not have it at all.

Isn't that scared face ridiculous?

The way that line built for TSMM FPs, I was really surprised how many people were essentially choosing to wait to ride. You might get a ticket to come back and wait for 15-20 minutes later, but then you have to wait for 40 once you get in line. I waited less than 5 minutes that morning, plus got a FP to come back in the early afternoon.

As for the GAC, it really saved my entire trip. I was so grateful for it by the end of the trip; I didn't end up using it at all on my last day, but the rest of the trip I used it and it really made everything so much easier.

 

[teekathepony]

Wow, I can't believe how far up you were at TSM! That's awesome! I've never done the rope drop dash to TSM, I always go the other way to RnR and get a fastpass for TSM later on, but your way does look awfully fast!