A Tale of Two Trippies Rolled into One

[Victoriasmom98]

A Tale of Two Trippies Rolled into One:

Who: Me, Victoria and Kali
Where: first Caribe Royale for Playlist Live 2014 and then to Pop Century
When: March 20 – 29th

Yes folks, another trip report from me. I swear I write these so that in my old age I will remember what I did and the fact I like to talk about trips and Disney, but mostly Disney. I’m obsessed, yes I am!



Who am I? I’m Ann, a 46 year old wife and mother. If you are truly interested you can read up on me and the girls on my pre-trip report located here. And yes, yes I did get sunburned. Amazing, huh?



Then there is my daughter Victoria --- ahh Sweet 16 on this trip. Yeah, not so much of the sweet thing, but I’m sure that’s with all 16 year old girls, right?! No?! Bueller?



And introducing Miss Kali. Oh this is my Disney partner in training for sure!!! This is Kali’s FIRST TRIP TO DISNEY WORLD!!! She seemed to love it almost as much as me! She and I were definitely buddies during this trip! She even likes Hollywood Studios the best ---- yep, my shadow! Although this will be the last time I get to take her as her parents feel it’s not fair that she gets to do all these trips and her younger brother doesn’t. Hey, I can’t help it if Kali’s friend’s mother is the most awesome woman in the world!!! Oh well. And yes, those ARE gummy worm leggings!!!

So, are you ready for the ride? It was definitely a trip of ups and downs, twists and turns…….here we go……

 

[PracPerfPatricia]

Ann,


I'm here ... I'm here... I can't wait to read more...

 

[Victoriasmom98]

So it all started this morning at 3am sharp. I had set my alarm, although I didn't really need to as I didn't sleep well at all. I was worried that we would not make it to Portland on time for our 6:05am fight. It has snowed the night before and it was still snowing ---- the heavy wet stuff. We had loaded the car the night before so at least that was done. I went to wake up the girls and then head to the shower. Unfortunately we didn't have enough hot water for me to shower. Grrrrr. I got dressed and out the door we were by 3:45am. Peter wanted to leave as soon as possible due to the freaking snow!





It was horrible driving!! The heavy snow stopped around Gardiner, (thirty miles south of Augusta), but the slush on the roads kept us at 30 to 35 mph. We honesty didn't know if we were going to make it to the airport on time. This is becoming a theme with us, I believe. Also, on the way to the airport we got a call that Augusta schools had a 2 hour delay due to the weather, so you know the driving was bad! We were finally able to speed up a bit when we got into Portland. It was about 5:20am when we got the desk and were told to hurry up as the plane would start boarding soon.

Something crazy then happened. At the beginning point of the security line a TSA agent looked at my boarding pass and put us in the "speedy" line. You know, the one where you don't have to take your shoes off. Usually you have to prepay to get into this line but I didn't. I have know idea how I managed that one, but I am sooo glad I did! Otherwise I don't think we would have made it past security as the line was so long! But we made it and were on our way to Baltimore. Well, that is after 30 - 40 minutes late due to de-icing. Really??? So all during this first flight we were wondering if we were going to make the connecting flight. Ugh!. We landed in Baltimore at 8:15am with our next flight due to leave at 8:20am. Oh Man!! Good news --- we were told they were holding the plane for those of us on that first flight. Yay!!! The gate we had to go to was only 2 gates down, so that was very convenient. Phew. There were not 3 seats together, though, so Kali and Victoria sat together and I sat with others. Fun.... not!!

We had one more stop in Charlotte, but didn't have to disembark the plane. We did however move up to the front of the plane and all sat together for the rest of the flight. We finally got to Orlando about 20 minutes later than expected, but we got there!! Off we went to the baggage claim area and then it was off to meet Super Shuttle. I had scheduled a pick up online and they even texted me when my plane landed. Excellent service that I definitely recommend! Off to the Caribe!!!

 

[Victoriasmom98]

Ann,


I'm here ... I'm here... I can't wait to read more...

Yay Patricia!!! I'm soooooo glad! I've missed you!!!!

 

[Kitten<3Duck]

Subscribed. I'm looking forward to your updates!

 

[Victoriasmom98]

Subscribed. I'm looking forward to your updates!

Hi Kitten (ok, you need to tell me your name as I feel a bit silly calling you kitten). Welcome to the fun! I see you only have a month to go before your trip. I've never stayed at the Coronado. Are you going to write a trip report? I'd love to see pictures!!

 

[Nanaji]

Hi there

I am looking forward to your report. I would love to go to Disney with a daughter and her friend. Alas, only sons and now they are all grown. Fun but with lives of their own.

I hope to live vicariously through you guys. I am going solo in October and starting to get revved by reading other reports. I'm looking forward to it. Tell all!

 

[wiigirl]

Following along!

 

[Victoriasmom98]

Hi there

I am looking forward to your report. I would love to go to Disney with a daughter and her friend. Alas, only sons and now they are all grown. Fun but with lives of their own.

I hope to live vicariously through you guys. I am going solo in October and starting to get revved by reading other reports. I'm looking forward to it. Tell all!

Hi Nanaji and welcome! . Most of the time it's super awesome to have a girl, but there are other times.... A solo trip sounds lots of fun --- no one you have to please other than yourself. I hope you don't get too bored with my report. I do try my best to keep it fun!

Following along!

Somehow I just knew you'd find this report! You're awesome!!

 

[Kitten<3Duck]

Hi Kitten (ok, you need to tell me your name as I feel a bit silly calling you kitten). Welcome to the fun! I see you only have a month to go before your trip. I've never stayed at the Coronado. Are you going to write a trip report? I'd love to see pictures!!

Believe it or not that's one of my nicknames! J is one of my other nicknames, so we'll go with that one!

I've never thought of writing a trip report. Our style of touring is pretty laid back compared to most of what I see so I have to wonder if it would just be far too boring for everyone to read. A lot of what we do involves wandering around and sitting on benches taking in the sights.

Coronado is beautiful and quiet. It was funny, in the past, we always said we wouldn't stay anywhere but Port Orleans FQ. When I was booking the trip we took in 2012, there were no available rooms there for our selected stay, so I chose Coronado and hoped for the best. Now I can't imagine going anywhere else! Well... except the Polynesian. But my money tree hasn't sprouted yet.

 

[heaven2dc]

Sounds like a stressful start to your trip with the snow and delays but glad you got there without too much of a delay!

 

[OhioDisneyLover]

Subbing............

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

What the heck Ann?!?! You didn't tell me or anything? I had to go searching!!!!!

I know, you were just trying to be nice to everyone else and give them a chance to be first for once.

Whoohooo! BRING IT ON! I'm excited to hear all about Playlist, the good, the bad, and the ugly please! I need to PLAN!!!!!!!!!

 

[Victoriasmom98]

Thank you very much Dis! I had my installment all typed up and as I was inserting photos, I was booted out. NOT NICE DIS!!

As we arrived at the Caribe you should have seen Victoria’s face. She was sooo excited to be back and Kali was tearing up. I just wished I would have captured that on camera, but, alas, I didn’t. It was truly awesome! After tipping shuttle dude, I went to the desk to sign in. It was busy but I only waited a short time before being helped. The girls were a bit disappointed as we requested Tower II, but was put in Tower I. Oh well, that’s really no big deal. We were assigned to the 5th floor, Room 1542 --- yep, facing the parking lot.



Again, really not a big deal, but it would have been nice to overlook the pool. We set our stuff down and headed to the lobby to Café Largo for some grub. Mind you, none of us had eaten breakfast unless you call the wonderful plane peanuts a sufficient meal. Ah, nope. Not for this diabetic. You would think I would have learned after all these years to pack a snack --- at least pb crackers, but no…..I always think I’m going to be able to have time to buy something at the airport. I promise not to think that way ever again! After lunch the girls decided to go stalk YouTubers while I decided to rest and try to cure this massive stomach ache I had. I took some Tums and off to take I nap I went.

When I did wake up I felt much better. I think the food and the rest helped a lot! The girls had come back after a bit and it was then time to get ready for Café Osceola which is at the Rosen Shingle Creek resort. We found this little gem last year and it’s FANTASTIC!! They have a buffet that is AMAZING!!! We caught a car and off we went. I love the Rosen ---- they have finches in their lobby! They are so cute, although they were making me miss my chickens at home.





Yep, we incubated chicken eggs in February and are now the proud parents of 23 new chicks. Actually they’re not little chicks anymore as they are getting quite big!



Anyways, (that wasn’t a tangent at all, was it?) we arrived about 15 minutes before the dinner opening so we sat outside on the rocking chairs and just looked out upon the courtyard.













Of course we took pictures!! It’s so beautiful there. Dinner was wonderful as usual. We did have to order Victoria a plate of linguine as there was no linguine on the buffet like there was last time. She did take a bit of mac n cheese from the buffet, but really wanted linguine. I had a $100 gift certificate from Restaurant.com to use, so it was not a problem.



Would you believe we had the same waitperson as we had last year and he remembered us? Unreal! Of all the people he serves all year long, he remembered us! And no, it’s not because we started any food fights or danced on the tables!! I thought that was pretty cool!





When we got back to the hotel I decided it was hot tub time!! The girls, surprisingly, went stalking again. I tell you, they meet more YouTubers walking around the grounds than at the actual event. I spent over an hour in that hot tub. After the morning of travel we had, I deserved it! It was chilly coming out, but soooooo worth it!!! By the time I was dried off and ready for bed the girls came in. Bed time was had by all!!! Well, after a good pillow fight, that is….

 

[Victoriasmom98]

Believe it or not that's one of my nicknames! J is one of my other nicknames, so we'll go with that one!

I've never thought of writing a trip report. Our style of touring is pretty laid back compared to most of what I see so I have to wonder if it would just be far too boring for everyone to read. A lot of what we do involves wandering around and sitting on benches taking in the sights.

Coronado is beautiful and quiet. It was funny, in the past, we always said we wouldn't stay anywhere but Port Orleans FQ. When I was booking the trip we took in 2012, there were no available rooms there for our selected stay, so I chose Coronado and hoped for the best. Now I can't imagine going anywhere else! Well... except the Polynesian. But my money tree hasn't sprouted yet.

Ok.....you will now be known as J. Got it! Yeah, I wish I could be the laid back kind of touring person. I just don't have that in me unless I'm at a beach where I'm forced to relax. I just have to do everything and see everything even though you and I both know that isn't possible in Disney! Oh, I would love to stay at the Poly, but I just can't justify the expense for a room!! Maybe someday!

Sounds like a stressful start to your trip with the snow and delays but glad you got there without too much of a delay!

Yeah, it was a rough start. But that's in the past now, right? It's moving forward now. And thankss for joining along!!

Subbing............

What the heck Ann?!?! You didn't tell me or anything? I had to go searching!!!!!

I know, you were just trying to be nice to everyone else and give them a chance to be first for once.

Whoohooo! BRING IT ON! I'm excited to hear all about Playlist, the good, the bad, and the ugly please! I need to PLAN!!!!!!!!!

Ooooooh, I KNEW I was going to get in trouble with you, but hey, look at my last update....LOTS OF PICTURES!!!! And really, I sound desperate if I say "Hey Karen, I have a trip report. Come read it!!!" I mean you have other things to do, don't you? I still have to get Vic's pics from her phone from the actual event!

 

[Tink-erin-belle]

I'm here! I am so glad you decided to do a TR after all!

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

I'm ready for another update. I think there should be another update. Where's my update?

 

[Victoriasmom98]

Friday:

We didn’t get up very early at all as I think everyone was exhausted from the previous day’s travels. I was up and showered first and once the girls were ready (which, considering they are teenage girls wasn’t too long). We went to the lobby to the Tropicale restaurant where they serve a really nice breakfast buffet.


So cute!


Just in case you were curious

It was yummy!!!! Since there were no real plans for the day, we decided to take the complimentary shuttle to the Orlando Premium Outlet Mall on Vineland Avenue. The shuttle schedule was pretty limited so we chose the noon time pickup. The mall is not too far away from the resort --- maybe 15 minutes tops.








Oh yeah…..Mama spent some time in the Character Warehouse! I bought a HM lamp and also a 2013 backpack for only $5!!! That came in handy for the rest of the trip!! The park bag I was planning on didn’t work out so well.




It is such an awesome mall!!! It’s all outdoors with the stores all line up in sections. So cool. We don’t have anything like that around here. We first spotted a candy store.



OMG!!! They had all kinds of stuff! Even grumpy cat stuff. Oh the money I could have spent in there! I can’t even think of a candy store in this area. We had lots of fun! Then we split up and I was off to Kay Jewelers. I was looking for the charms for my Pandora bracelet that were Disney! I did end up buying a Mickey head for (gulp) $89!!! For one charm, but it was on my list of things to get so I just had to! I also bout a doggie charm as she gave me 10% off my total purchase so what the heck! While I was there I gave the associate my rings to clean. I love it when my rings sparkle! After my purchase I texted the girls and asked if they were done. They were so we decided to meet up at McDonald’s (it’s also where the shuttle drops people off). We got a bite to eat and I looked down at my hands…..OMG!!! GUESS WHAT I FORGOT AT THE STORE!!! MY RINGS!!!! I could not believe it! So, I told them to wait there while I walk back to the store and grab them. I just couldn’t believe that! What could I possibly be thinking to do something like that? I haven’t even told Peter about that little faux pas yet! Good thing it was only about a 10 minute walk. Again, I just couldn’t believe it! No worse for the wear the shuttle picks us up and we were headed back to the hotel.


Now, I have to explain this picture. As we were waiting for the shuttle I bumped into this pipe sticking out of the ground and said “excuse me”. Well the girls thought that the most funniest thing they had ever seen/heard --- why would I feel the need to say excuse me to a pipe. So, that became a running joke for the rest of the trip. Kali decided she was now going to be dating the pipe! Oh boy!

I can’t remember the exact time we got back but we put our stuff in our room and back to the lobby we went to grab a taxi to go to supper. Now what do you think our choice for the next fancy dancy restaurant we were going to? Any guesses? GOLDEN CORRAL!!!! Yep!! We don’t have any of those up here and Victoria loved that place the last time we went so that was on her list to do this time around. Our taxi driver was named Gabriel…..don’t ask me what company he was with --- I didn’t catch that, but he was awesome! The girls really got along with him well and Victoria decided he was her new best friend. She really had her flirt going with him until he said he was married with kids. Oh, that was a riot!!! I was just sitting back listening to her. She is definitely MY CHILD!! He’s maybe 30 if that. He was just so personable. Victoria got his cell number and saved it to her phone so that she could call him later when we needed a taxi back to the hotel. Of course when we were done with supper, she called him and back to the hotel we went.

 

[Victoriasmom98]

I'm ready for another update. I think there should be another update. Where's my update?

There you go, my buddy!!!!

 

[Victoriasmom98]

I'm here! I am so glad you decided to do a TR after all!

Me too.......we really did have some good times at the beginning of the trip!