RachelNinja
Sometimes I'd rather live in VMK than in real life
- Joined
- Jul 16, 2007
No, I am not pregnant.
(Well, this was true when I first started this TR ...
)
I felt that I needed to start this trip report getting that out in the open before I get into the rest of what I have to say. This trip was definitely a memorable trip. On our last day, I was so close to tears thinking about how this might have been the FINAL trip that we take where it's just the two of us. When I wrote something like that in a caption for Instagram, all my friends commented on the picture exclaiming, "BABIES?!?" I guess I didn't clarify enough! I do believe that we'll be able to go back to WDW before we have kids, but we often go with my family as they have a timeshare in Kissimmee and we have tentative trips in 2015 with our friends and my cousins. However, who knows if the two of us will get to go on our own before we have kids!
The day I married my best friend, 5/19/12!
Now don't get me wrong; we are ecstatic about the idea of having kids. We joke about having twins named Luke and Leia all the time! When I see ideas for countdowns and Disney-themed movie nights for the kiddies, I stow them away in the back of my head and look forward to using them in the future. I smile thinking about the ability to see the parks through the eyes of our offspring while knowing that Howard will be snapping away so that we have these memories in photographs. However, as much as people say it's fun to have a family and go to WDW, I feel that Howard and I are a family already even with just the two of us, so we're enjoying these "solo duo" trips while we can. After our Disneymoon and our Christmas trip, we had to tell so many people that we weren't ready to have little ones yet, and a handful of them said, "You need to go to WDW at least one more time by yourselves!" It just felt as if this was the "one more time," so that's why I felt a little bit of sadness as it MIGHT be a goodbye to the way things were and a hello to a new way of touring the parks.
With that being said, I think it's extremely important to document this trip here on DIS! I actually never wrote a TR for 3 trips that we've been on since I joined DIS, but maybe I'll do a combined report after this one is done and I'm waiting for our next vacation!
Jotting down some TR notes during our trip in April 2012
Rachel
That's me!
Right now I'm a homemaker, which is unusual to say considering I'm a 29-year old living in NYC. Nowadays, both spouses usually need to work especially living where we do, but thankfully, I was able to take some time off. I taught math and English in middle school for 6 years, but I felt so overworked and underpaid that I wanted to leave. I prayed about it for quite some time throughout my 5th year, but it wasn't until my 6th year where I believe God said it was okay to go. I actually worked at a doctor's office doing administrative work for a brief moment last year after I left teaching, but with that opportunity, I realized that I didn't feel satisfied doing that kind of work AND I just didn't feel as if it was right fit for me. I was clearly spoiled having gotten to know my colleagues at my former school as friends; I cried with them and shared life's joys with them. In fact, when I knew I was leaving that job, I actually cried to my mentor saying that I wanted to be able to walk through the academy's doors and tell them all that I was pregnant! Despite the frustrations, I was satisfied knowing that I was able to hopefully positively affect my students' lives.
It seems so simple writing it all here, but this was months and months of tears and feeling as if I were being pulled in two different directions, but now that it's all said and done, I will be returning to my school to teach again if they'll have me back! I do believe that God answered my prayers and said it was okay to leave because He wanted to show me where I truly belonged and that He had given me the gift of teaching. I was kind of throwing it away by wanting to go elsewhere and do something else, but I needed to be away from it to realize it.
Having this year off was also good for my mental health and physical health as well. I have a plethora of health issues that have affected Disney trips in the past, but I was HEALTHY throughout this trip and able to enjoy every moment of it! I didn't have any nausea, gastrointestinal situations, reflux, or issues with my vasovagal syncope and fainting. Other than a headache or two, this was an amazing trip.
I know most people write their introductions and focus more on their favorite movies, characters, and rides, but I feel that my job and health situation is a better way to describe myself and help you understand who I am in terms of reading this trip report! I mean, there's so much more than that, like the fact that I'm a papercrafter and a couponer. In short though, my FAVORITE thing in all of Disney World is looking at ride vehicles and examining how they move on the tracks. Haha, is that odd? If you've read my previous TRs, that's nothing new for you!
Snapping pictures throughout all trips including this one in December 2012
Howard
My 28-year old best friend and husband! When writing, I often refer to him as "hubs." He's HowWeird here on DIS.
Despite being married for over two years at this point, I still get excited writing that this guy is my best friend AND husband! It doesn't get old! I am so blessed to have been able to marry an amazing man. Seriously, he is beyond patient with me and so caring. Case in point? You know how some people start to get a little grouchy when they need to eat? Yeah, that's me. Howard doesn't take offense when I start losing my Disney cheerfulness because I need some food. As patient as he is with me though, he does get annoyed at strangers when they're inconsiderate or just downright rude. I've been learning that it seems to be more of a male vs. female thing though based on what I've observed in my family. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think that women have more issues when people they know personally say or do something offensive, but men have more issues with strangers while out and about or driving.
Huh, this is starting to sound more like a sociological commentary as opposed to an introduction of the hubs. Maybe I should ask him to write his intro! Howard just started a new job setting up video conferences and other AV stuff at a well-known bank in NYC at the beginning of 2013 that is a much better fit than what he did beforehand at his former college. I am so proud of who he is when he works because he doesn't like slacking off and will look for more things to do if there's a moment of downtime. He does have an earlier shift though, so he leaves the apartment around 5:30am, but that means he gets to leave around 3pm! When he gets home, he's still just a big kid though, and we just laugh about the most ridiculous things. Why not have fun when making dinner and breaking down boxes for recycling? Why not burst out into song and dance when hanging up laundry or washing dishes? If we can have so much fun while doing mundane things, imagine how much fun we have in Disney World!
Howard's favorite thing in Disney World is taking pictures! He really appreciates great photography, and being in WDW is the best place for him to practice this skill since he doesn't get to do much shooting here at home. In the same way that I love ride vehicles/track, Howard adores light fixtures and other details like that. I think it's amazing that even with both of us there trip after trip, we STILL find new things that we haven't seen before. It really helps that he loves pictures so much because I have a ton to use here on DIS.
Waiting at the AKL bus stop during our Disneymoon in May 2012
Each time we get to go to Disney World together, I'm so grateful for the chance. This is our SEVENTH trip together! We went in April 2010 with my family, Feb 2011 with friends and my cousins, April 2012 with my family, May 2012 for our Disneymoon (Animal Kingdom Lodge), Dec 2012 by ourselves (Pop Century), and June 2013 with my family once again. As you can see, when it's just the two of us, we get to stay on property. I do very much enjoy my parents' timeshare, but having the freedom to just hop on a bus to go wherever we want allows us to have a completely different vacation experience.
And THIS vacation (January 25-31, 2014), whether it's our "last" vacation for just the two of us or not, was fantastic and magical. We hadn't expected to be able to go back this year. The original plan was to go to the timeshare with my cousins from our 2011 trip, but due to financial issues (Danielle's saving money to record music, and Nikki is getting married this year!), we pushed it back again. In December, Howard started pricing a trip because he got an email about some good deals. He came home from work and talked about it very casually since his Jet Blue points would cover the majority of our flights and we both had many days left on our 10-day no expiration tickets. It would really only be the cost of the resort. We initially thought about staying at Art of Animation, but I contacted Jennifer (Jennifer48) here on DIS to look into prices for us for that and Pop Century. We had never used a travel agent before, but I figured it'd be beneficial for her to book it for us and I'm all about helping out Disney friends! We emailed back and forth about it, and before we knew it, we ended up booking for Pop!
Enjoying the TTA during a hot summer trip in June 2013
We really couldn't believe that we were going to go, and we have tons of stories, pictures, and videos to share! Let's get started! I hope you guys are here for the long haul!
Oh, and MeMom, you can keep those quarters in that piggy bank for a bit longer because if possible, we'd still like to have another "one last trip"!
Table of Contents(Well, this was true when I first started this TR ...
)I felt that I needed to start this trip report getting that out in the open before I get into the rest of what I have to say. This trip was definitely a memorable trip. On our last day, I was so close to tears thinking about how this might have been the FINAL trip that we take where it's just the two of us. When I wrote something like that in a caption for Instagram, all my friends commented on the picture exclaiming, "BABIES?!?" I guess I didn't clarify enough! I do believe that we'll be able to go back to WDW before we have kids, but we often go with my family as they have a timeshare in Kissimmee and we have tentative trips in 2015 with our friends and my cousins. However, who knows if the two of us will get to go on our own before we have kids!
The day I married my best friend, 5/19/12!
Now don't get me wrong; we are ecstatic about the idea of having kids. We joke about having twins named Luke and Leia all the time! When I see ideas for countdowns and Disney-themed movie nights for the kiddies, I stow them away in the back of my head and look forward to using them in the future. I smile thinking about the ability to see the parks through the eyes of our offspring while knowing that Howard will be snapping away so that we have these memories in photographs. However, as much as people say it's fun to have a family and go to WDW, I feel that Howard and I are a family already even with just the two of us, so we're enjoying these "solo duo" trips while we can. After our Disneymoon and our Christmas trip, we had to tell so many people that we weren't ready to have little ones yet, and a handful of them said, "You need to go to WDW at least one more time by yourselves!" It just felt as if this was the "one more time," so that's why I felt a little bit of sadness as it MIGHT be a goodbye to the way things were and a hello to a new way of touring the parks.
With that being said, I think it's extremely important to document this trip here on DIS! I actually never wrote a TR for 3 trips that we've been on since I joined DIS, but maybe I'll do a combined report after this one is done and I'm waiting for our next vacation!
Jotting down some TR notes during our trip in April 2012
Rachel
That's me!
Right now I'm a homemaker, which is unusual to say considering I'm a 29-year old living in NYC. Nowadays, both spouses usually need to work especially living where we do, but thankfully, I was able to take some time off. I taught math and English in middle school for 6 years, but I felt so overworked and underpaid that I wanted to leave. I prayed about it for quite some time throughout my 5th year, but it wasn't until my 6th year where I believe God said it was okay to go. I actually worked at a doctor's office doing administrative work for a brief moment last year after I left teaching, but with that opportunity, I realized that I didn't feel satisfied doing that kind of work AND I just didn't feel as if it was right fit for me. I was clearly spoiled having gotten to know my colleagues at my former school as friends; I cried with them and shared life's joys with them. In fact, when I knew I was leaving that job, I actually cried to my mentor saying that I wanted to be able to walk through the academy's doors and tell them all that I was pregnant! Despite the frustrations, I was satisfied knowing that I was able to hopefully positively affect my students' lives.
It seems so simple writing it all here, but this was months and months of tears and feeling as if I were being pulled in two different directions, but now that it's all said and done, I will be returning to my school to teach again if they'll have me back! I do believe that God answered my prayers and said it was okay to leave because He wanted to show me where I truly belonged and that He had given me the gift of teaching. I was kind of throwing it away by wanting to go elsewhere and do something else, but I needed to be away from it to realize it.
Having this year off was also good for my mental health and physical health as well. I have a plethora of health issues that have affected Disney trips in the past, but I was HEALTHY throughout this trip and able to enjoy every moment of it! I didn't have any nausea, gastrointestinal situations, reflux, or issues with my vasovagal syncope and fainting. Other than a headache or two, this was an amazing trip.
I know most people write their introductions and focus more on their favorite movies, characters, and rides, but I feel that my job and health situation is a better way to describe myself and help you understand who I am in terms of reading this trip report! I mean, there's so much more than that, like the fact that I'm a papercrafter and a couponer. In short though, my FAVORITE thing in all of Disney World is looking at ride vehicles and examining how they move on the tracks. Haha, is that odd? If you've read my previous TRs, that's nothing new for you!
Snapping pictures throughout all trips including this one in December 2012
Howard
My 28-year old best friend and husband! When writing, I often refer to him as "hubs." He's HowWeird here on DIS.
Despite being married for over two years at this point, I still get excited writing that this guy is my best friend AND husband! It doesn't get old! I am so blessed to have been able to marry an amazing man. Seriously, he is beyond patient with me and so caring. Case in point? You know how some people start to get a little grouchy when they need to eat? Yeah, that's me. Howard doesn't take offense when I start losing my Disney cheerfulness because I need some food. As patient as he is with me though, he does get annoyed at strangers when they're inconsiderate or just downright rude. I've been learning that it seems to be more of a male vs. female thing though based on what I've observed in my family. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think that women have more issues when people they know personally say or do something offensive, but men have more issues with strangers while out and about or driving.
Huh, this is starting to sound more like a sociological commentary as opposed to an introduction of the hubs. Maybe I should ask him to write his intro! Howard just started a new job setting up video conferences and other AV stuff at a well-known bank in NYC at the beginning of 2013 that is a much better fit than what he did beforehand at his former college. I am so proud of who he is when he works because he doesn't like slacking off and will look for more things to do if there's a moment of downtime. He does have an earlier shift though, so he leaves the apartment around 5:30am, but that means he gets to leave around 3pm! When he gets home, he's still just a big kid though, and we just laugh about the most ridiculous things. Why not have fun when making dinner and breaking down boxes for recycling? Why not burst out into song and dance when hanging up laundry or washing dishes? If we can have so much fun while doing mundane things, imagine how much fun we have in Disney World!
Howard's favorite thing in Disney World is taking pictures! He really appreciates great photography, and being in WDW is the best place for him to practice this skill since he doesn't get to do much shooting here at home. In the same way that I love ride vehicles/track, Howard adores light fixtures and other details like that. I think it's amazing that even with both of us there trip after trip, we STILL find new things that we haven't seen before. It really helps that he loves pictures so much because I have a ton to use here on DIS.
Waiting at the AKL bus stop during our Disneymoon in May 2012
Each time we get to go to Disney World together, I'm so grateful for the chance. This is our SEVENTH trip together! We went in April 2010 with my family, Feb 2011 with friends and my cousins, April 2012 with my family, May 2012 for our Disneymoon (Animal Kingdom Lodge), Dec 2012 by ourselves (Pop Century), and June 2013 with my family once again. As you can see, when it's just the two of us, we get to stay on property. I do very much enjoy my parents' timeshare, but having the freedom to just hop on a bus to go wherever we want allows us to have a completely different vacation experience.
And THIS vacation (January 25-31, 2014), whether it's our "last" vacation for just the two of us or not, was fantastic and magical. We hadn't expected to be able to go back this year. The original plan was to go to the timeshare with my cousins from our 2011 trip, but due to financial issues (Danielle's saving money to record music, and Nikki is getting married this year!), we pushed it back again. In December, Howard started pricing a trip because he got an email about some good deals. He came home from work and talked about it very casually since his Jet Blue points would cover the majority of our flights and we both had many days left on our 10-day no expiration tickets. It would really only be the cost of the resort. We initially thought about staying at Art of Animation, but I contacted Jennifer (Jennifer48) here on DIS to look into prices for us for that and Pop Century. We had never used a travel agent before, but I figured it'd be beneficial for her to book it for us and I'm all about helping out Disney friends! We emailed back and forth about it, and before we knew it, we ended up booking for Pop!
Enjoying the TTA during a hot summer trip in June 2013
We really couldn't believe that we were going to go, and we have tons of stories, pictures, and videos to share! Let's get started! I hope you guys are here for the long haul!
Oh, and MeMom, you can keep those quarters in that piggy bank for a bit longer because if possible, we'd still like to have another "one last trip"!
Pre-Trip
Be Prepared!
Saturday, January 25 - Travel Day
Travel with My Version of "Magic" Bands
SNACKS on a Plane
Enjoying an MCO Chik-fil-A Picnic
The Most Magical Bus Ride in ALL the Land!
It Doesn't Matter 'Bout the Car I Drive or the Ice Around My Neck
Art of Animation Tour: Cars (continued) (continued)
Art of Animation Tour: Lion King
Art of Animation Tour: The Little Mermaid (continued)
Returning "Home"
Going to the Polynesian
Reporting for Eating Duty, Captain Cook!
Enjoying the Poly Before Journeying Home (continued)
Monday, January 26 - Magic Kingdom
A Magic Kingdom Morning
An Early Morning Battle Against Zurg
Round Two! (continued)
Identifying with the Pooh Characters (continued)
It Says "5-19"! (continued)
When You Hear the Knell of a Requiem Bell
Early Lunch Delight
Exploring Fantasyland
Doing What WE Want
Hub Friends
Dole Whip Vs. Citrus Swirl
"Daddy, I Love Him!"
The Tremaines Don't Like Photobombers!
Frontierland Hoedown
Ground Beef: A Cow with No Legs
Dancing in the Rain
Glitter and Sparkles on Main Street
Memories of our Dear Friend Bill
Nighttime Train Ride
Not for Kids
Experiencing a Rite of Passage: Dumbo!
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That fountain grants other wishes - jobs, new houses, etc. - not just babies. 
Although the baby ones, when they come true, are the most exciting! 
Can't wait to read more! And what a great idea about bringing the the breakfast bars! I might actually bring some for this trip since we are eating some later breakfasts in order to eat at some signature restaurants. 
. 
