I want to go back to Pop Century Resort! Spring Break Trip 2016! Trip Update 8/25/16

[deedee2177]

Here I am again with another Trip Report! I’m beyond thankful that we have been blessed to visit Disney so frequently this year!! This trip did not go as according to plan, but it was still a very memorable trip.

If you are following me from my PTR or my previous November TR, thanks for tagging along on this adventure. If you’re new, WELCOME, to the craziness that is my life.

A little background on who made up our journey this time around:

There is me:





I’m a 38 year old married Mother of 2 kids. I work full time from home which is great! I grew up in South Florida so I grew up going to Disney World, but now live in NC! I always dreamed of when I would take my own family to Disney some day, and there were moments on this trip that I realized my dream had come true!
https://flic.kr/p/FW6Cfk

There is Keith:




My hubby, Keith! We got married in 2011 and met online (those dating websites do work sometimes). When we started discussing where we (well I) wanted to go on our Honeymoon…there was no other place for me…Disney!! He was a little hesitant at first. He had only been once when he was young. Well, he was smart and we went to Disney…he was officially bitten by the Disney Bug.
https://flic.kr/p/FTMCYd
There is Emma:



Emma is my 9 year old Step-Daughter. Neither one of us like the reference “step-daughter”…she is my daughter…plain and simple! I tell her I fell in love twice when I met her Daddy…once with him and then again with her! She is amazing and very active. She is very involved with her Dance Studio and is a part of a number of competition teams. She is my sassy girl!


There is Joey:





Joey…where do I begin with him? He is 4 years and is absolutely AMAZING!! We went through a tough few years with him with his Speech and Behavior. There were times that Specialists were stating he was showing signs of Autism. We had him in some intensive therapies and that progress he has made is unbelievable. He does not have the official diagnosis of Autism, but he does still struggle at times with behavioral and sensory issues.

There is my Mom:



My Mom is the greatest Mother in the world. She truly is my best friend and we have always been close. My Mom was born to be a Mom (and a Nanny…what my kids call her). I feel blessed that she is my Mom, and I only hope I can be half the Mom she is!

Finally, my sister…Ashley:



I’m 14 years older than Ashley, so I tell her all the time she is my 1st baby. She will tell you she has 2 Moms. When she was first born my Mom would have to tell me to give Ashley over to her because I just considered her my baby! Ashley has had a tough few years but has come out amazingly on the other side. This was the first family trip Ashley had been a part of in a long time.

So, there are the cast of characters for this trip! I think I will start a fresh update with the details of our trip!

 

[deedee2177]

March 27 & 28: On our way and Disney Day!!
March 29, 2016: Animal Kingdom!
Major Announcement: Going to Disney in 30 Days!!
March 30, 2016: Part I: Magic Kingdom
Personal Life Update!
March 30, 2016: Part II: Magic Kingdom

 

[Elevationist]

FIRST!!!

 

[deedee2177]

March 27, 2016: On our way!!

I had picked up the rental car (Ford Edge) the day before, and Keith and I spent the morning of 3/27 packing it up. Emma’s Mommy and Step-Daddy dropped her off at noon and we loaded the kids in the car and were on the road by 12:10 (10 minutes later than the goal, but that is ok).



We were driving to Jacksonville, FL for an overnight stay and then head the rest of the way to Disney the next day. We stopped off in SC for a quick lunch at a Wendy’s. We filled up with gas while there because we knew it would be cheaper there than in GA.

The remainder of the ride to Jacksonville was pretty smooth. We found our hotel for the night and got checked in. Keith decided to run out and get himself some dinner. The kids and I were not too hungry so we just made ourselves some PBJ, got ready for bed and called it a night.

March 28, 2016: Disney Day!!

Emma and I were the first ones up, and she and I headed down to the free continental breakfast. We were both super excited we would be at Disney that day. We took a few things back up to the room for the boys and started getting ready. We were on the road by 8am which was the goal.



We made really good time and arrived at Pop Century around 10:30am.




I went over to check-in, but our room wasn’t ready yet. No big deal, onto the Magic Kingdom. We went out to the car to change shoes and get Joey’s stroller. From there we headed to the bus stop for Magic Kingdom!! We didn’t have to wait too long for the bus, and we were on our way.


Everyone got through with the magic bands without any issues. Our first stop was City Hall to get Joey’s DAS card, and a sticker that allowed him to stay in his stroller through lines. As I have mentioned earlier Joey still has some behavioral/sensory issues and they seem to be heightened when enclosed in a smaller space or for long period of times, so having to wait in a long line could be troublesome for him (and the people around him).

From there I took Joey to the bathroom and this is where we discovered the automatic flushing scared him to pieces!! Poor guy. It was a struggle until I remembered a tip I had read somewhere…put a sticker or a post-it over the sensor so it doesn’t flush. After that we were good! When we came out of the bathroom the parade was going on so we watched the tail end of that.

I had lined up some fast passes for the day, but we headed toward the Mine Train first to get a return time with Joey’s DAS card. I walked up with Joey and spoke with the CM there, and let her know I wanted to get a return time since I knew that Joey could not wait in the line for 2 hours. Joey began talking with the CM telling her how excited he was about the Mine Train. The CM asked me if my whole party was with me, and I told they were (Keith and Emma were standing off to the side). She told us to go ahead and get in the FP line now, and told Joey to enjoy his ride!! I gave her a big hug and teared up. Joey had been talking about the Mine Train for months and watching YouTube videos. We made our through the line and got onto the ride.



Everyone was really excited. Joey laughed and screamed, and we got one of the funniest pictures of the trip.


Luckily, you can see Emma in this one since I was blocking her in the other one!


Mine Train was a big hit with the kids. From there we decided to grab some lunch before going on our FP rides. We headed to one of our favorites which is Columbia Harbour House. We were able to grab a table near the line. I got the shrimp platter, both kids got the chicken nugget platter and Keith got the fish and nugget platter. I will tell you now I was a bad Diser and did not get any food pictures. I was good to get the kids all settled and eating, let alone take pictures of our food. Lunch was yummy and from there we headed over to Adventureland.
I went over to Aladdin to get a return time for Joey, and again they had us go ahead and go on right then. Emma was hoping either me or Keith would get spit on by the camels, luckily that did not happen. However, I don’t think I would have minded so much because it was pretty warm!



After our Aladdin ride I decided to call my Mom and Sister to see where they were. I told them I had got an email that our rooms were ready and they were next to each other. They said they were hoping to arrive by 5pm. I let them know their room number so they could head right to the room in case we weren’t back by then.

From there it was time to use our first FP of the trip….Pirates!!! Joey absolutely loved scanning his magic band and making the Mickey Mouse turn green! This is one of our favorite rides. Luckily we were sitting far enough back we didn’t get wet after the drop, but I did get wet by a cannon. After the ride checked out the shop for a bit.



[url=https://flic.kr/p/FjgGx6]

Then we found a quiet shady spot for us to sit down. Keith went to get us a surprise and came back with Dole Whips for us!! YAY! WOW, I don’t remember them being the sugary. LOL

After the Dole Whip yumminess it was time to head to our next FP, which was Splash Mountain. This is Keith’s favorite ride. I was worried Joey may not be tall enough, but thankfully he just hit the height requirement! Keith and Emma got the honor of riding in front and Joey and I were right behind them!
[URL='https://flic.kr/p/G32rRk']

Next up was our last FP for the day, Thunder Mountain! By the time we got up to the front of the line Joey had had enough…he was TIRED. He rode with his Daddy, but later we found out that we probably should have let him skip the ride all together. He was not a fan of it at all, and I think it had a lot to do with him being so tired and overwhelmed at this point.

After Thunder we made the decision to head back to Pop, and we told Joey that was what we were going to do. He just looked at me with a pitiful face and said, “I want to go back to Pop Century!” and that was when the title of this TR was born as it became a reoccurring theme for the remainder of the trip.

We got back to Pop and headed to our room 4661. It was in the 60’s building at the very end, and faced the pool and part of the lake.

This is a view from one end of the building where our room was...our room was at the very end of this building.

This is the view from our room, if you looked in the other direction you could see the lake.

Mom and Ashley’s room was right around the corner and faced the lake. Keith started bringing up all our stuff and I started unpacking and getting things organized in the room. Before long I got a call from Ashley that they had just pulled in. I went down to get them and helped them find their room. Keith helped them bring their stuff up and then we decided to go get something for dinner at the Food Court. Ashley wasn’t feeling very well so she decided to lay down for a bit while we went to get something to eat.

The Food Court had a bunch of selections. I went with the Sesame Chicken which I ended up not being a big fan, but it was fine because I was hungry. Keith had pizza and so did Emma. Mom got a burger and got one to go for Ashley. Joey said he wasn’t too hungry so I just got him some grapes and a drink. I had stuff back at the room I knew he would eat.

After dinner we headed back to our rooms to call it a night because we would be up early the next day to head to Animal Kingdom! We agreed to meet up in the Lobby at 8:15 the next morning.[/url][/url]

 

[deedee2177]

FIRST!!!

I would not expect any less from you!!

 

[unwritten01]

Looking forward to the tale Dee Dee - we were there during Spring Break as well - best trip ever now that youngest is almost 5 and could really engage (like Jedi training). We got lucky - two storms that blew up - the big ones - we were at character meals during both.. Not so lucky on Kali - was wonderful but soooo wet the wife's iPhone perished. Thank you protection plan. Anyway, you guys look like you had a GREAT time too!

 

[deedee2177]

Looking forward to the tale Dee Dee - we were there during Spring Break as well - best trip ever now that youngest is almost 5 and could really engage (like Jedi training). We got lucky - two storms that blew up - the big ones - we were at character meals during both.. Not so lucky on Kali - was wonderful but soooo wet the wife's iPhone perished. Thank you protection plan. Anyway, you guys look like you had a GREAT time too!

Thanks for following along. We were back at the room when a major storm came through so we lucked out there. I'm not brave enough to go on Kali for the exact reason you shared! I hate being soaked to the bone in my clothes. I have vowed to try it at one point though, just haven't decided when yet. I loved watching the kids this trip...great ages. Emma is still young enough to believe and Joey is starting to believe

 

[unwritten01]

For that reason it was the end of the day - last ride - 7PM - went on it once (little wet), a very cool family from France rode with us so we all u-turned and went right back on and then..yep..that was it...whole thing drenched.

 

[ariane37]

Joining in I absolutely love that the CM let you guys go into the 7DMT FP line right away, it made me tear up! It was nice that it happened again at Aladdin but kind of means more for the mine train since lines there are always crazy, and Joey was looking forward to it so much

We've never been to Pop but I think that's a neat view from your room!

 

[DisneyCoasters]

Yay! Following along!

 

[missjackiemcg]

Good luck so far with the DAS issues. Hopefully it was like that for the remainder of your trip! So glad you were able to make it there and start your day at MK right away Can't wait to read more!

 

[deedee2177]

Joining in I absolutely love that the CM let you guys go into the 7DMT FP line right away, it made me tear up! It was nice that it happened again at Aladdin but kind of means more for the mine train since lines there are always crazy, and Joey was looking forward to it so much

We've never been to Pop but I think that's a neat view from your room!

I agree with you 100%, letting us go on the Mine Train right away was wonderful. It was appreciated at Aladdin, but the Mine Train was great! Joey had spent so long talking about it and was so excited, Emma was also looking forward to it as well. It was the perfect start to our trip!

We all liked Pop a lot, our section was close to the Lobby/Food Court but it did get loud at points because of the pool activities. Other than that...it was great!

Yay! Following along!

So, glad you have joined!

Good luck so far with the DAS issues. Hopefully it was like that for the remainder of your trip! So glad you were able to make it there and start your day at MK right away Can't wait to read more!

It was the perfect way to start the trip!

 

[BlvInMagic]

Joining in! Wow... you guys had an action-packed first day! Joey is one brave little guy.... we couldn't get our 6 yr old DS anywhere near Mine Train or Splash Mountain -- he was just not having it Can't wait to read more about your adventures!

 

[Disneylvr]

Following! My first solo trip and POP Century stay is in 29 days and I love your resort photos!

 

[Victoriasmom98]

Love the start of your trip report. This is the first one of yours that I've read. You've got links in your signature, so I'll have to go check them out!!! First of all, I'm another one of those on-line success stories. Peter and I also honeymooned in Disney (he had never been) and now he's hooked! We even bought into the DVC in 2014!!!! My daughter Victoria was also so darned afraid of those auto-flush toilets!!! So, now that we are practically twinsies, I'll be waiting for more!!!

 

[OnceUponADisneyTime]

I'm really looking forward to following along. We're planning on going next year during our spring break and my boy who just turned 5 a few days ago has similar issues

 

[Elevationist]

we loaded the kids in the car and were on the road by 12:10 (10 minutes later than the goal, but that is ok).

Totally still counts!!

The CM asked me if my whole party was with me, and I told they were (Keith and Emma were standing off to the side). She told us to go ahead and get in the FP line now, and told Joey to enjoy his ride!!

HOORAY for awesome CMs! I love when this happens!

Joey's hair, though... I'm super amused that you're doing the "Mom Arm."

I will tell you now I was a bad Diser and did not get any food pictures.

What? Why am I even here then? *unfollows*

Keith went to get us a surprise and came back with Dole Whips for us!! YAY!

Husband of the Year right there!

This is Keith’s favorite ride.

MINE TOO!!!

 

[Chicago Mo]

saving my place... Thankfully i read this on ANOTHER BOARD otherwise i would NOT KNOW ABOUT IT!

 

[Chicago Mo]

FIRST!!!

Because she TOLD you there was a TR!

Joey’s DAS card,

what does that mean?

I gave her a big hug and teared up

AWWWWWWWWWW Cm's are the best in the WORLD!

and we got one of the funniest pictures of the trip.

OMG! it's looks like you are all horrified! HA HA HA

and did not get any food pictures.

WHAT?!?!
Im am revoking your Dis card...

Keith went to get us a surprise and came back with Dole Whips for us!!

What a man!

Ashley wasn’t feeling very well so she decided to lay down for a bit while we went to get something to eat.

Ugh oh....

We agreed to meet up in the Lobby at 8:15 the next morning.

I hope you do!

Ok i am caught up... your may continue...

 

[ALEXandFAB]

Hi! Gladly joining in.

This photo is
The expression on the faces of every single person in that log could win an award!

This is the view from our room, if you looked in the other direction you could see the lake.

That's a great view

Now off to read your November report!