"I'm gonna throw up, all over your faces" My surprise 19th birthday trip! May 2012

[ThroughLookingGlass]

Hello! Welcome to my surprise 19th Birthday trip! I'm Abigail! Let's get started,


On May 15th I was ready to go out to dinner with my sister Rachel and our friend Rebecca, when my mom asked me to check the zipper on a newly sewn bag.

My mom is one of the talented ladies on the creative boards so I thought it was for a Make a Wish give. It was a makeup bag made of beautiful oldschool Through the Looking Glass/Alice in Wonderland fabric, I was really jealous.

I opened the zipper no problem and saw a note inside, at first I thought it was maybe instructions she left in there by accident but it had my name on it!
And then when I looked up everyone was kind of crowded around me smiling.

"SURPRISE! You're going to Disney at 5am! Go pack!"

I was so excited! The note was my itinerary! And my mom explained that it would be myself, Rachel and Bec! Not only was I going to Disney but I was also going to Harry Potter World! ON MY ACTUAL BIRTHDAY! It was kind of unreal. That night I ran a few errands to prepare for the trip and packed.

I woke up at around 2am because of thunder and lightening. I'd had about an hour or two of sleep by then and knew I was up for good. So to pass the time I started catching up on the Frumps (Disneyfreak508) and Joni and John's (therussells08) trip reports. I love them. I also watched some Disney specials on Netflix.
My dad usually wakes up at 4am so I went downstairs with him, and Captain Jack our 7mo old German Shepard, for coffee.
One by one Rachel, Rebecca, and my mom were all up and about. My dad went to work and my mom took us to the airport. We got through security fairly quickly and found nice armchair to lounge in. We chatted sleepily for an hour or so before boarding.

So good so far?

INDEX
Getting there.
My birthday! (Harry Potter)
My birthday part 2! (and throwing up)
Star Wars Weekend!

 

[ThroughLookingGlass]

Wellllll it seems no one really cares about this trip report. Was it the title? The title will be explained I promise! Here's the second part anyway...



The flight was boring. I fell asleep and woke up with an hour left in the flight. UGHHHHHHH. We FINALLY landed and got our traditional celebratory Starbucks before heading to the Magic Express.

We got my favorite Magic Express bus driver. Still can't remember his name but he is hilarious, and so nice. Always happy and witty.

Once we got to POP Century we realized that they had put us in the 90's building! DUN DUN DUNNN!!! It was kind of cute because it was my birthday trip and I was born in the 90's but it would not be cute at midnight walking back to our room. It was especially not cute to Rachel, who was 7months pregnant at the time. So the girl at the desk was really understanding and moved us to the 70's. I was hoping for the 50's or 60's because of my love for the show Mad Men, but I'd already stayed in 60's before so it was nice to go to a new section. We loved the 70's! It had a lot of interesting decorations. We stayed in the back facing the water, the 70's yoyo, and the new Art Of Animation hotel. It was SO quiet and I loved coming out of our room and seeing the lake!

After I got my birthday pin:

we dropped our bags off in our room, and headed over to Downtown Disney!

When we got there we were starving so we ate at The Earl Of Sandwich. I really enjoy their meatball sub it is so good. The environment is really nice and relaxing, they're always busy but manage to get order out fast. I was so hungry I didn't get a picture of our lunch.
Earl Of Sandwich: 5/5

After that we went into Tren D!!!! AND I FOUND THE MUPPETS OPI COLLECTION! Not everything was there but I got 'Gone Gonzo' it was really beautiful sparkly and Gonzo blue! Cinderella blue even! I wear it all the time! I was really hoping to find Rainbow Connection but they didn't have it! I also bought myself pins! Not trader pins, button pins. I decorate the strap of my camera bag with them.

After that we shopped, and shopped, and I made fun of Rachel by telling her I was going to take a picture everytime we took a bathroom break, which was every ten - fifteen minutes. No kidding.

We all went to Goofy's candy company to get something sweet and make a plan for the rest of the afternoon. Bec got fudge and jelly beans, Rachel got an apple, and I got a Micky cake pop and a rice krispy treat for later.

It was so cool to see the bright colors on everything! I've only ever been to Disney in the fall when it's Halloween/Christmastime. So I only ever see orange and purple or green and red.

We all sat down to make a plan and eat our snacks. The cake pop was SO good. It was almost brownie like.

We decided to head back to the hotel to swim! Swimming was so nice! It was May afterall, so it'd been a while since I had the chance to swim. I was pretty excited. It was a good 'vacation' moment just sitting in the pool cooling off. We headed back to the room, got dressed, and got on a bus to the Magic Kingdom.

It started to rain while we were waiting for the MK bus:

From the MK we took the Monorail to the Poly.

Unpopular opinion: I despise the monorail. I think it's scary and I don't know why the track isn't bigger. I just feel like I'm going to tip over and fall off everytime I'm on it! It just wouldn't be Disney without it though!

At the Poly we strolled over to Captain Cook's. Rachel and Rebecca got Haiwaiian Nachso (which I didn't even KNOW I was absolutely IN LOVE WITH until I ate some of Rachel's) and I got flat bread pizza.

Captain Cook's is so impressive for being a 'food court', seriously. And the resort is so lovely to walk around and shop in when you're done eating.
Captain Cook's: 5/5

After dinner we strolled around the poly before getting on the monorail back to the MK. While we were on it my sister spotted the peach colored monorail and snapped a picture. I laughed at her making a fuss over this monorail. She just said, "that's the peach monorail, it's a big deal. People care about that." HAHA!

We saw the Avengers monorail a few times which made me all excited, but I didn't get a good picture.

From the MK we went back to the hotel to sleep.


Next: HARRY POTTER WORLD! AND MY BRITHDAY!!!

 

[nilla]

I'm subscribed, which means this is now on the list of Trip Reports I'll fall behind on

Good one so far. It takes a while to get readers. Your title WILL do that, though. Put a link in your signature line and comment on others' TRs, too. I would say I'd mention your TR in mine, but only about 5 people read mine, so that wouldn't do much good

It took me a little bit to get over the "Monorail will tip" fear. It's gone this long and still hasn't, so I trust it's ok!

Not sure how I'd deal with a surprise trip, since I like to prep for months in advance. Can't say I'd turn it down, though.

Anyway, I'm along for the ride! Hopefully I can keep up!

 

[ThroughLookingGlass]

I'm subscribed, which means this is now on the list of Trip Reports I'll fall behind on

Good one so far. It takes a while to get readers. Your title WILL do that, though. Put a link in your signature line and comment on others' TRs, too. I would say I'd mention your TR in mine, but only about 5 people read mine, so that wouldn't do much good

It took me a little bit to get over the "Monorail will tip" fear. It's gone this long and still hasn't, so I trust it's ok!

Not sure how I'd deal with a surprise trip, since I like to prep for months in advance. Can't say I'd turn it down, though.

Anyway, I'm along for the ride! Hopefully I can keep up!

Yay! Thanks for reading!
Oh yeah that's a good idea putting a link in my signature!
I'll be sure to check out your TR too, I love reading them.

 

[PrincessBrittany06]

I'm in! cant wait to read more
im always looking for younger dismember trip reports!

 

[ThroughLookingGlass]

I'm in! cant wait to read more
im always looking for younger dismember trip reports!

Well good! I'm 19 (obviously) and Rachel and Rebecca are in their mid twenties. So we're a pretty young cast of characters

 

[Mousemom234]

Welcome aboard !

It's nice to get in on a TR when it starts - can't wait to hear more of your adventures.

The cake pop does look yummy, and I'd never heard of Hawaiian nachos, either - something new to look forward to

 

[nilla]

My money is on Rachel being the puke-threatener, btw.

 

[mike the canuck]

Following along

 

[TDluvsDaisy]

I'm in too!! Let's party!!!

I didn't know about the Poly nachos!! Waahh. Gonna have to try and get back there and get some for myself!

 

[disneyfreak18]

I'm in! Can't wait for more!

 

[ThroughLookingGlass]

Yay welcome everybody!
Thanks for reading! Will post again very soon!

My money is on Rachel being the puke-threatener, btw.

 

[ThroughLookingGlass]

WARNING: This is the Universal/Harry Potter part of the trip. I'm sorry if there are any non HP fans reading and it seems like I'm speaking some kind of made up language throughout most of this. It really is quite cool give it a chance! ANOTHER THING: I am a proud Hufflepuff! So I will be loving on all things Hufflepuff throughout this post.


We got up at 6am on my birthday. It was dark outside and everyone was still very, very sleepy. My sister rolled over, opened the bedside table drawer and handed me a bunch of birthday cards from my family. I looked at my phone and all of my crazy friends were texting me and writing on my facebook wall at midnight while I was sleeping. It was all really nice to wake up too.

PLUS I WAS GOING TO HARRY POTTER WORLD! AGHHHHH!!!! Harry Potter has always been just as important as Disney has to me. I spent hours reading those books over and over again when I was a kid. I was so excited to go see it in person.

We got dressed (after a lot of getting up and laying back down and warnings from Rachel that if we "didn't leave we wouldn't get breakfast") and headed to POP's food court. I made sure I had on my Harry Potter t-shirt Rachel gave me for Christmas. It says "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good" on the front and the back says, "Mischief Managed". Perfect.

I made the biggest rookie mistake at breakfast! I didn't really know what I wanted but I just wasn't feeling traditional Disney breakfast junk right at that moment. So I skipped the food stations and headed for a bagel and pineapple. I knew I wanted caffeine so I didn't get a headache, but I was not drinking nasty Disney coffee. I should have got one of those frozen coffee drinks they have but no, I got this stupid coffee in a can drink for $3.99, I got a bagel for $2.99, pineapple for $3.99, and a little kid's chocolate milk (because I really wanted some) for $1.49. Altogether it was $12.84!!! I should have just gotten an omelette and a frozen capppucino and it would have been maybe about eight bucks, and way more filling! Never buy a bunch of a la carte items! That's a big Disboards rule! And I totally failed you Disboards, I'm sorry.

This was not very filling for long with the amount of walking and exploring we did. By noon I was STARVING.

So after that mistake we ate and got on the Mears shuttle. It was really odd to be outside of Disney. I would never think to go anywhere else except Universal but only for Harry. When we arrived at Universal I started to get excited about the park. It was a new experience for Bec and I. Rachel lived in Florida for a few months earlier this year so she had been to Universal/Harry Potter before and knew what she was doing. We waited and waited and waited and waited and there was some kind of opening the park ceremony but it was so mumbled and unmagical it didn't really matter. It was really hard to get into the park. Their thumbprint systems aren't very reliable making the ticket line very slow. And I was amazed at how tiny the entryway was! Even our tiny little friend Rebecca just made the cut! The entryway was just way too small. As I started walking through the park I noticed my shoes were dangerously slipping and sliding all over the place. I had already fallen twice that morning but thought it was me being clumsy. I looked at the bottom of my comfy and beloved mickey flip flops to see that they were completely flat! I'd worn them out! Since the ground was wet and made out of this cool looking cobblestone type decoration I knew I wouldn't last all the way to Harry Potter without seriously hurting myself. I was worried about it being crowded. I wanted to be there when it was empty, but oh well. I NEEDED to be comfortable (and safe) or else my day would be miserable. Plus I would be back many times so I stopped and got myself a pair of.............CROC FLIP FLOPS. I NEVER EVER EVER IN MY WILDEST DREAMS WOULD HAVE EXPECTED THAT I WOULD BUY MYSELF A PAIR OF CROC SHOES. Even if they didn't look like crocs! I despise crocs. They're just plain black flip flops so no one would ever know they're crocs unless they reallyyy paid attention and saw the logo. They are amazing, they fit perfectly to my feet and have great traction! I was so comfortable all day and for the rest of the trip.

As we walked through I took a few snapshots of Dr.Seuss world (I'm not sure what they really call the different sections but since I'm so Disney minded everything is '*insert theme here* world')

We sped our way through everything because of me, my poor sister kept trying to explain how cool everything was and all I cared about at the moment was Harry!

AT THIS POINT I DEMAND THAT IN ORDER TO GET THE FULL HARRY POTTER EXPERIENCE YOU LISTEN TO THIS BEAUTIFUL PIECE OF MUSIC WHICH WILL SET THE MOOD: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GnUJhY90rxg&feature=related

THEN WE FINALLY MADE IT TO HOGSMEADE!

I was so excited! I stood for a little while checking everything out, all the little details and then we headed into Zonko's joke shop!

It was just so crazy to be saying I was in Zonko's joke shop, seriously. I picked up and looked at all the things I thought I'd only ever imagine when reading the books or see when watching the movies. It was a bit crowded in there so then we went into Honeydukes! Which was beautiful!

I love it!!! I started picking up candy like a crazy person. I got Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans(which are as gross as intended, so I ate a few to say I did it and ended up throwing away the candy and keeping the beautiful box), a vampire blood pop, a jar of some kind of hard fruity candy didn't matter I just wanted the jar because it said 'Honeydukes' on it (I ended up throwing the candy out it was all melted and gross), peppermint toads (which are so good I bought them from the universal store in the airport on our September 2011 trip) and a chocolate frog. Right after picking up my chocolate frog it fell out of my hands. I expressed that I hoped it wouldn't be broken and Rebecca scooped up the dropped one and picked me up a new box*

I brought all my candy to the front and asked the guy who rang me up to send it to the front of the park so I didn't have to carry it around all day and it wouldn't melt in the heat. We went back out into Hogsmeade and looked at the window displays. They had wizard's chess on display it was so cool, and then they had this awesome chocolate frog themed window for Honeydukes with all the cards on display. I saw Helga Hufflpuff was one of the cards and said to the girls I was really, really hoping she was in my chocolate frog box!*

As we stood there Rachel said "OH! I have to go potty again but you have to come with me!" I was really excited because I knew there had to be something interesting in the bathroom. So I walked in there with her and heard Moaning Myrtle! It was so cool! It's the little touches that really add up and make the experience so awesome.

After the bathroom break Rachel 'herded' Bec and I through the crowd and finally we came upon the castle right as Hedwig's theme (the piece of music I demanded you listen to as you read this part) was playing and the sun was shining behind it! I completely lost it! I was bawling my eyes out under my sunglasses! Standing in the middle of this huge childhood dream come true on my 19th birthday, it was really bittersweet. And I was just so grateful to my parents who sent me on this awesome trip.

We went into the castle and it was just absolutely amazing.

All of the paintings throughout the castle move and talk to each other. They have this one part of the line where you're in Professor Bins' class and the fab three make an insanely realistic appearance, thanks to crazy technology. It was meant to be a distraction from waiting but the line was really short. Everyone could have moved on but they wanted to see it so they stopped to watch the little skit of them just talking about being at Hogwarts. I'm glad the line stopped because I was planning on it anyways. At the end they do a spell that made it snow! Right there in the castle! Cue more tears from me.

Now my sister kept saying how scary the ride is and I had heard that it featured most of the thrilling parts of Harry Potter so I was nervous AND ALMOST WENT OUT THE CHICKEN EXIT WITH MY SISTER. But she was like "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! GIVE ME YOUR BAGS AND GO WITH REBECCA ON THIS RIDE!!!!!" so I just bit the bullet and went. My concerns started to fade away although Bec was really just being a trooper. She doesn't know much of Harry Potter and was enjoying the park but didn't like the idea of dementors, the whomping willow, or the giant spiders. THE RIDE WAS MAGNIFICENT! It was very scary and I just closed my eyes at some parts, I'm sure the day will come when I will laugh at how 'cheesy' the effects are but for right now it is definitely modern and realistic. It starts out where you really feel like you're flying and playing quidditch! And you're sweeping over and under and into the castle and dodging the whomping willow and the dementors! You go into the forrbiden forest where there are tons of giant spiders and then you return safely to Hogwarts' Great Hall where the school and Dumbledore cheer you on and Dumbledore tells you that you are always welcome to come back. More tears! Just tears EVERYWHERE. It was so magical and fun and I was giggling the whole time! I absolutely loved it. I skipped out of there while Bec, somewhere between having fun and being absolutely terrified, followed along and we found Rachel sitting on a bench outside the gift shop. I told her all about it (even though she'd already been on it) and how much I loved it and how magical it was. The two older women sitting next to her waiting for their kids said they were thinking of going on it since I was so enthusiastic and they had enjoyed the books. SCORE!

We strolled back down to Hogsmeade and Rachel said she needed another bathroom break, as did Rebecca. So they went off as I entered Ollivander's wand shop. Everything just kept getting better and better. I saw they had original wands that weren't assigned to a character so they'd be more unique and personal, and wands that had character names on them. No doubt about it I wanted Sirius Black's wand. He is my favorite character. I grabbed that and made my way through to a connecting shop which was Flourish and Blotts. I was looking through a really big shiny silver bowl of school patches when a wizard came up to me and asked (in a British accent) if I needed help! I told him I was looking for a Hufflepuff patch and he went into this whole spiel about how I was such a good Hufflepuff because of my determination and loyalty to my journey to find my treasure. And then he went on to say that I must be a very loyal friend and kind hearted. He found the patch handed it to me and I kid you not, I looked down at my patch and as I was saying "Thank you" and looking back up at him HE WAS GONE. POOF GONE. LIKE OH I DON'T KNOW, MAGIC?!!! It was so wonderful! From there I collected a Hufflepuff tie and winter scarf. I wanted a sweater and robe too but I had already planned to get a hoodie later on and figured I was spending enough for one trip. Several people asked me where I got my shirt and I kept telling them it was a gift but to be sure and google it when they were home.

Rachel and Rebecca found me as I was checking out and presented me with BUTTERBEER! I WAS SO EXCITED! I took a sip and it was really good. I expected it to be a little more like a butterfinger bar (minus the chocolate obviously) that's what I had always imagined, but it tastes a little sweeter.

After that we sat down and just enjoyed the surroundings and little details. We decided to venture to the Sinbad part of the park. Rachel and Rebecca got a snack and we shopped around that area to kill time before the next Poseidon show. We ended up waiting in line for about twenty minutes beforehand which was okay because it was nice and air conditioned in there. Sadly I failed in taking pictures of things but the decorations are IMPRESSIVE. It's an entire temple for Poseidon. So detailed. As we waited the girls played drawsome and I wrote out the trip report on my phone. The Poseidon adventure (or it's official title, Poseidon's fury) is an attraction where you explore Poseidon's temple and end up unlocking a curse and you move through it and stop Zeus I think it was? From taking over the world. It was cool.


Up Next: Back to Harry Potter for lunch at the Three Broomsticks!

 

[Epaima]

Just read through everything you've written so far and loved it! It's super awesome that you got to go to Harry Potter World on your birthday. I went two years ago and the Forbidden Journey ride is still one of the best I ever rode, even if it is really scary!

Looking forward to reading more!

 

[ShortStuff]

What wonderful birthday memories!!! Can't wait to see Harry Potter land!! I'm looking forward to more of your trip report!!

 

[nilla]

Wow, the HP stuff looks UNBELIEVABLE. I love the books and movies, too, and while I'd feel like a traitor leaving Disney property, I think it's even more securely fastened to the "must do" list after reading your account. The detail is amazing. Great pics, btw.

I've heard another person complain about the line for the ride being not backed up enough for him to really enjoy the theming of the queue I often wonder how different things would be if Disney had the rights to the attractions, or even moreso, had made the films.

I'm confused about how you were able to drop your chocolate frog and get it back without it hopping away. Quick reflexes, I guess?

 

[ThroughLookingGlass]

Wow, the HP stuff looks UNBELIEVABLE. I love the books and movies, too, and while I'd feel like a traitor leaving Disney property, I think it's even more securely fastened to the "must do" list after reading your account. The detail is amazing. Great pics, btw.

I've heard another person complain about the line for the ride being not backed up enough for him to really enjoy the theming of the queue I often wonder how different things would be if Disney had the rights to the attractions, or even moreso, had made the films.

I'm confused about how you were able to drop your chocolate frog and get it back without it hopping away. Quick reflexes, I guess?

The details were fantastic! Not quite Disney but very good!
My mom always tells me that I have the mind of an imagineer because I have so many details to add to Disney, so I found a LOT of details I'd like to add to Harry Potter! Like the castle, it's built like the new castles in Disney, it's meant to look far away and therefore bigger. I want a full on Cinderella sized Hogwarts! With the option to eat in the Great Hall! And I think the mirrors in the bathrooms should have ghosts in them. Or possibly find a way to have ghosts in the stores? Using a projector overhead? They used this really cool see thru screen effect for Harry, Hermoine, and Ron in the castle. I think they should do the same for Ghosts. And have more moving painting decorations. Or pictures. I also think they could add more interactive things. Like sending mail from the owlery where you have computers all lined up in there, and can pick your owl and e-mail a cool postcard or something to that affect. Maybe have the option to send a howler like Mrs. Weasley sent Ron hahaha!

I wish Disney had made a Harry Potter park as originally planned. I am very disappointed by this 'Avatar' park. I really disliked Avatar, I didn't understand why it was so special They just stole the plot from Pocahontas and made them Aliens. I think the effects were as special as Aslan's in Narnia and Tim Burton's Alice In Wonderland. I mean it looked BEAUTIFUL and the emotion to animation type stuff was very cool but the story was lacking and I feel if you make a movie that's supposed to be that big you should have a cooler plot and better dialogue. I'm very into movies so I think I just expect too much.

Haha my chocolate frog was still trapped in the box

 

[nilla]

I probably would've passed out when I heard Moaning Myrtle, not out of fear but out of an overwhelming feeling of "omg that is SOOO cool". Had a similar moment at MK this year when the CM "sprinkled pixie dust" on our boat at the beginning of Peter Pan's flight to "get the lap bar to go down". I just love that kind of stuff.

To be honest, I have yet to see Avatar. I'm purposely avoiding it, because I really didn't think it looked that great to begin with and was a bit disgusted by all of the hype. I also don't see building a whole land around it, since it certainly does not have the type of cult following HP has. They'd be better off making Twilight World. Or Killer Klownz From Outer Space World. Darnit, these are all good jokes I could've used in MY Trip Report

 

[brandihead2012]

Subscribed, sounds like so much fun! Who wouldn't love to be surprised with a trip!!! Love the Harry Potter stuff!

 

[ThroughLookingGlass]

I probably would've passed out when I heard Moaning Myrtle, not out of fear but out of an overwhelming feeling of "omg that is SOOO cool". Had a similar moment at MK this year when the CM "sprinkled pixie dust" on our boat at the beginning of Peter Pan's flight to "get the lap bar to go down". I just love that kind of stuff.

To be honest, I have yet to see Avatar. I'm purposely avoiding it, because I really didn't think it looked that great to begin with and was a bit disgusted by all of the hype. I also don't see building a whole land around it, since it certainly does not have the type of cult following HP has. They'd be better off making Twilight World. Or Killer Klownz From Outer Space World. Darnit, these are all good jokes I could've used in MY Trip Report

OH I LOVE GETTING PIXIE DUSTED! That is magical. I know I freakout over the little things too! I was freaking out in the bathroom and scaring all kinds of people with my excitment.

Killer Klowns From Outer Space in Disney can you imagine?!
I think they'd much sooner have a roller coaster starring Metallica or Black Sabbath.

Subscribed, sounds like so much fun! Who wouldn't love to be surprised with a trip!!! Love the Harry Potter stuff!