ABCs of a Nursing School Grad Trip + FL Keys Mini Report;D is for: Dang! Last Chapter of this TR...

[pkondz]

Who needs TR notes anyway. Don't we all make this stuff up as we go along anyway?

HEY! I love Burrito Supremes. Crunchwrap Supremes are pretty noshable as well.

I wouldn't know. Never been.

Well, in Halloween candy anyway.

ah

TR writer gets stuck in the rain after waiting in line for 2.5 hours. Naw, if that ain't entertainment, nothin' is.

What idiot would do that??

Guess who pretended to be a woodpecker today?

Don't say that.
I dropped in on my folks the other day...
"Hey! What happened to your tree? It's totally wrecked!"


woodpecker.

FB has its place. If you wanna see quick little snippets of just everyday life, that's your place.

I suppose.
I barely have time for life as it is.

Fine. Taking my moon shots and going home.

You two have fun now storming the castle.

<waves as they go off>

He can have his transportation pkg. I'd rather keep my clothes dry. And... not red.

That was one time! One!

 

[mom3sonstt]

We also....


Went to the Rocky Horror Picture Show multiple times that year. We were THOSE people. We threw the rice, ate and threw the toast, and yes, much to my utterly fond memories, actually knew AND DANCED The Time Warp in the aisle.


I'd do it again tomorrow too.

Did you dress up? This is my grandson and a friend at a local showing.
Thankful that he went like this and not in the short tight gold lame shorts his friend Dayton went in . I'll spare you all from that group shot

 

[Steppesister]

Contest Results So Far:​

Contest Points for Steppe (so far): REMEMBER, these are the scores you are hoping your guessed scores match closest to. Your job was to guess Steppe's overall success (or failure) on the following parts of the trip and have YOUR guessed score most closely match hers.


Transportation: 45- Steppe’s final score! (Category complete)

Both departures were ON TIME- 20
Only 1 aisle seat for your Queen- 5
We sat together on both flights- 20
Steppe did NOT sleep- 0

ADRs- 5, so far

75 total points available (5 for each ADR made + 20 pt. bonus if we did them all)
So far, Steppe has gone to 1/11 ADRs- Raglan Rd.
A full review of that is coming later by the way....

Drinking Around the World: To be revealed later
But, you already know of at least 3 I've had:

A ir Pirate Mule @ Jock Lindsay's
D awa Mary @ Dawa Bar
E ppo Sangria @ Dawa Bar

Hidden Mickey’s: 0, so far
I haven’t posted any yet?

Resorts: 0, so far, but AKL is coming
0 for AoA being ready
0 for an upgrade at AoA

Top 10 Lists: Still coming in TR

Transportation: 0 points so far

Misc. Points: 30, so far

1. No blisters: ??, 5 possible
2. Forgetting something- 0 forgot shoes
3. Character photos- 5 (and already 2!)
4. The MNSSHP Pentafecta (7 Dwarves, Parade, Hallowishes, Spelltacular, and Cadaver Dans)- 10
5. Riduculousness- 5 points, I’ll just tell you now, there was plenty of ridiculousness at Yeehaw Bob, photos soon
6. Awesomeness because of wearing my Nurse ears of Graduation Hat: 10
7. Pools I get in: ??, but 20 possible

Now a word about your guesses:

I’ve printed out every single answer you have each given me and have them all tabulated on an Excel spreadsheet (the things I do for you people ), but it’s still too early in the Trip Report to list everyone’s answers out. There just hasn’t been enough revealed to make it relevant yet.

So, for the Mystery Photos, here are the final points along with answers for A-H:


A- The American Pavilion (bunting above the front entrance)



B- Beast Gargoyle at Be Our Guest



C- Patricia’s leg from Carousel of Progress, Christmas scene



D- Dragon from Festival of Fantasy Parade



E- England (part of the red phone booth in the shop)



F- France Pavilion (mural on exterior of Le Plume et Palette)



G- Grand Floridian Gable



H- Hollywood Tower of Terror exterior

I can't for the LIFE of me find my original of this. Sadly, I think I must have accidentally overwritten it when saving from LR? If anyone wants to post a frontal view of Hollywood's Tower of Terror, feel free.

POINTS:

Captain_Oblivious- 7

Mom3sonstt- 7

Pkondz- 3

Flossbolna- 8

amberg- 2

Magicfor2- 3

Donnabeegood- 3

Franandaj- 6

Cinderkelly- 7

Irene_dsc- 1

Terra Nova Guy- 8

Mailia78- 8

afwdwfan- 5

Disneymoon10121991- 8

Chrystmasangel- 8


Some, I admit weren’t easy. But, it keeps us on our toes, right?


Lots, LOTS more points coming Steppe’s way soon as more of her Adventures are revealed. Best of luck to you all as we march forward with new photos for each letter. Next round: I-P

 

[Steppesister]

Did I-Phind It? Pt.1​

Get up, Kids! “You’ve already slept til 6:00, so haul your hineys out of bed and get moving! Things to do; places to see!”


“But, Mooooom!”

“Yes, Son, I’m aware you’ve only gotten 6 hours of sleep. Deal with it, because this will be your life for 10 days.”

“But, MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!”

“I hope when you’re pushing my age, you can outlast your kids too. The bus leaves at 8:00, be on it, or rot.”

“Okay, fine.” <insert typical teenage eyeroll>


My notes say we arrived at the bus stop at 8:08. I’m pretty sure that 45 full minutes of that time... from the 7:00 alarm to arriving at the bus stop... was walking from the most outer-reaches of AoA where our room was to Animation Hall where I began my morning ritual of grabbing a large coffee to sip while we waited in line and rode the bus. Best $2.59 daily expenditure of all time. Not the best coffee in the world (faaaaar from it!), but caffeine nonetheless.

8:08 AM on our first morning of Park Fun! Woot! By this time, we’d already enjoyed a great evening at Disney Springs (still more TR material to come from that!), and now it was time to dive headfirst into the Disney Bubble that I was happy to drown in. No better place to take the plunge than EPCOT.

8:18 and we were off. Too late to get front of the tapstile pole positions, but at 8:35 there was still plenty of time to get through Security and then wait in the line that went on forever. <Noted to self: Light the fire under the kids even more tomorrow morning> Regardless, we were in at RD and my carefully crafted plan went perfectly!!! Mostly.

We hoofed it to TT and sailed through the queue in no time. In fact, we sailed through so fast, we didn’t even bother to do the build-your-car thing. Probably should have, but I knew that it’d add a lot of time and put us behind in getting to Soarin’. Fun ride. Not nearly as fun as before they destroyed it when GM was replaced with Chevy, but still enough entertainment value to do it once a trip. Interestingly, I actually think the after-exhibits are a major improvement. In fact, I picked out my one big ticket souvenir and made arrangements for it to be shipped home immediately. I made sure to install the green lights on the garage floor too, you know, to make sure she felt at home at all times. It sits right beside the reserved spot for my '63 that I'm going to buy when I win the lottery.

ETA: Carrie informed me that the lights are actually ON the car. I did some research for the sake of 100% accurate Trip Reporting, <ahem> and found out that Corvette indeed does NOT install undercarriage lighting at the factory. That is all aftermarket stuff and NOT street legal, at least here in Oregon. And since I actually like to drive my car AND avoid citations, well... The cool green glow is only in the garage at this time and will not be going on my baby as Corvette knows what they are doing. I've seen it myself... remember?




Anywhoooo, the ride was good, not great; we got off, picked out my car (What color you ask. Red, of course!) and stepped out into the Florida morning sunshine heading toward The Land. Just shy of “the tunnel” my blood ran cold. I literally broke out into a sweat and nearly puked. Stopping dead in my tracks, I let out a shriek scaring the kids half to death. "What's a matter, Mom? Did you run out of coffee?"













"NO, MY PHONE'S GONE!!!!!", I wailed in retort.


First. ride. of. the. trip. (Not that losing your phone would be ok on ANY ride of the trip, but seriously. 1st thing that happens?!) And absolutely NOT where I KNEW I had put it just before the ride started.


I frantically tore open every single pocket of my bag, turned my pockets inside out, frisked my kids, and howled in terror.


Gone.


Voice of reason on the right hand shoulder: "Ok, Steppe, think. Act cool. Not the end of the world."

Voice of hysterical, rising panic on the left: "YOU FOOL! WHY would you put it in an unzipped pocket, your moron?! It's gone forever, you know."

Time for an executive decision: If it had fallen out of my pocket and into the ride car, the car would have to make a full circuit before someone could turn it in, assuming there is still yet good in this world. I went with the assumption that yes, there are still good people walking around. (If you leave your trash on a CS table, push your way in front of me at a parade, or or harass young girls in ride lines after you've been at F&W too long, you are not one of the good people walking around that I am talking about.)

I also assumed that having a password on it was a strong deterrent. I made the call to trudge on (a bit faster), get Soarin’ done, and hightail it back to TT to see how much more expensive (and inconvenient) this trip had suddenly gotten.

Soarin’ went the way of TT. Why, oh WHY does Disney keep doing this?! I honestly don’t mind changing things up. Freshening up attractions is a good move given the constant improvements and advances in technology. But, seriously! TT went downhill. Maelstrom went… Frozen, and now Soarin’ just went…. bent? And CG.

Again, I was in Commando-mode (no, not that kind, I’d already pulled that stunt the night before) so no photos whatsoever of That Side of the Park. S’ok, more in another installment, because you KNOW this TR will go on for… oh, I dunno, forever.

We got the middle section and over to the left... just enough that the Eiffel Tower looked like it needed a cup of coffee the morning after a rowdy New Year’s Eve Party. The Taj Mahal looked like it’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory chocolate palace counterpart in the middle of July. Sad. I did like the transitions for sure- huge improvement there, but meh. Probably not a huge rush to do it next time. I guess I can try for the middle and see. Rant over.

OK, GREAT! Been there, done that, now, “Hurry up, Kids! I’ve got an iPhone to Phind!”


Or not.


Tune in next time for: You’re Dying to Know, Aren’t You?!!

 

[Steppesister]

Don't say that.
I dropped in on my folks the other day...
"Hey! What happened to your tree? It's totally wrecked!"


woodpecker.

Luckily, we don't have that many that come into the house.

I suppose.
I barely have time for life as it is.

<waves as they go off>

Well, be sure to check in here once in a while. I'll miss you two.

That was one time! One!

It only takes once.

Did you dress up? This is my grandson and a friend at a local showing.
Thankful that he went like this and not in the short tight gold lame shorts his friend Dayton went in . I'll spare you all from that group shot

I honestly don't even remember. I don't think so though. But these 2 look super cute! I love it!

 

[orangecats2]

Dude, Where's My Phone?

The green lights under the car? Not on the ground. They are coming from the car. You never saw under carriage lights on a car? All the ones I know about are after market.

 

[Chrystmasangel]

Well, I have survived my first week of being back in school! Only 3 more years to go! OMG! Medical terminology is like speaking another language! Seriously!

I hope to get caught up tonight on your trip report and banter.

 

[Steppesister]

Dude, Where's My Phone?

The green lights under the car? Not on the ground. They are coming from the car. You never saw under carriage lights on a car? All the ones I know about are after market.

Ahh, so that's how that works. I'm not sure they're street legal here (?) and I sure as heck drive it!

 

[Steppesister]

Well, I have survived my first week of being back in school! Only 3 more years to go! OMG! Medical terminology is like speaking another language! Seriously!

I hope to get caught up tonight on your trip report and banter.

Congrats!!! YOU CAN DO IT!!!!!!

But yes, this will be a long road; it'll take perseverance and determination. My mom was one of the very first professional coders with a degree in medical terminology and coding. Lots to learn for sure! Chin up, you've got this!

 

[franandaj]

This is now QueenSteppe's Party in Hades, Kiddos. We have so many more terrifying adventures ahead of us.

Payback time, Baby!!

I'm glad my mom didn't have a sadistic side like you do!

We kept wandering around, passing this (possibly one of my favorite shots of the whole night).

That is cool. I saw the ones that Ponzi modified first so I was glad to finally see the one that started it all.

The Cadaver Dans were in a dead heat with the Spelltacular Show

Great costumes!

A 3 year old waking up after a root canal at a surgical center after getting Propofol and Versed.

I know about Propofol from all the Michael Jackson coverage, but not well versed in Versed. See what I did there?

I don't know about your household, but there may possibly BE nothing more blood curdling than 2 teenagers who've been deprived of food for more than 3 hours.

Nope, not familiar with that sound. Is it anything like when one cat has another cornered?

I'd have a few more carts open with heavy appie type foods like eggrolls, or pizza slices or, I dunno, hot food that is filling, but not a full meal.

Sounds like a plan to me. I wish they served egg rolls, that's one of my go to snacks when I want something small and don't want to spoil my dinner.

I'm giving it a Steppe's 2 Thumbs Up, and would highly recommend going at least once just to check it out. IMHO, very worth the price.

I'll have to give it another shot. We didn't really know what to do and spent a lot of time just waiting around and searching for other people in our party.

Why would Steppe's Clan ever qualify for a quick wait for a bus? It just doesn't happen. Ever. Instead we waited... oh... <consults Notes on phone> about 23 minutes.

At least there are no buses at DL.

I'll bet the bus is going to be colder than Crapistan in January.


Guess what?! I was right!

They always turn out to be freezing.

And that concludes our series on H is for Happy Halloween, Boys and Girls. For those of you who've been, I hope this was a fun trip down Memory Lane;

Actually it showed me all the things that I didn't do.

 

[ljcrochet]

Yikes on the phone.
Your morning isn't off to the best start.

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

Great you made it for rope drop at EPCOT.

Oh my your iPhone going AWOL. I hope that you locate it. Quick buy another phone and look at find my iphone..

I agree re Soarin I was unimpressed too. I mean didn't they watch it and think oh my what did we do? The Taj looked like a building from a computer game in the 90's. I enjoyed the landscapes but the buildings were cringe city.

I haven't done TT I think it would snap my neck in a second looks fun though you can design a car.

 

[franandaj]

Tree's still up.

So is mine.

Haven't grocery shopped in ohhh... maybe 2 weeks.

Well now there I draw the line! Food must be had in this house!

Hopefully soon.

Please. Take your time. Or not.

Let's return, now Ladies and Gentlemen to 1984, shall we? Liesa, in her Junior year of high school

OK so now I know where we are agewise. I was in either freshman or sophomore in college.

Hmmm... Now I'm thinking......

Love this!

Tune in next time for: You’re Dying to Know, Aren’t You?!!

Well yes and no. I do know you get it back before the end of the trip.

 

[KathyM2]

OMG!! I'm dying to know if you found it. And totally sympathize with that sick "I don't know where my phone is" feeling. The. Worst.

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

I’ve printed out every single answer you have each given me and have them all tabulated on an Excel spreadsheet (the things I do for you people ), but it’s still too early in the Trip Report to list everyone’s answers out. There just hasn’t been enough revealed to make it relevant yet.

I quit doing the movie quotes contests because I got so tired of keeping track of the points!

F- France Pavilion (mural on exterior of Le Plume et Palette)

I don't think I would have recognized that if you gave me 100 guesses.

We hoofed it to TT and sailed through the queue in no time. In fact, we sailed through so fast, we didn’t even bother to do the build-your-car thing.

I think that was the best of the new changes to the ride!

Fun ride. Not nearly as fun as before they destroyed it when GM was replaced with Chevy, but still enough entertainment value to do it once a trip.

I liked the older version better, when you knew exactly what test the car was doing when. Now the Tron stuff kind of makes you lose a sense of the story.

The cool green glow is only in the garage at this time and will not be going on my baby as Corvette knows what they are doing. I've seen it myself... remember?

If you had designed the car yourself, it could have been the glow from the plasma burner engine.

"NO, MY PHONE'S GONE!!!!!", I wailed in retort.


First. ride. of. the. trip.

(If you leave your trash on a CS table, push your way in front of me at a parade, or or harass young girls in ride lines after you've been at F&W too long, you are not one of the good people walking around that I am talking about.)

What if I go pool-hopping at resorts? Use last year's refillable mug? Don't move to the end of the row at the theater?

Soarin’ went the way of TT. Why, oh WHY does Disney keep doing this?! I honestly don’t mind changing things up. Freshening up attractions is a good move given the constant improvements and advances in technology. But, seriously! TT went downhill. Maelstrom went… Frozen, and now Soarin’ just went…. bent? And CG.

That's disappointing. @pkondz described the same problem. That stinks! I was hoping the new version would be really cool.

 

[DonnaBeeGood]

.

 

[cinderkelly]

Not nearly as fun as before they destroyed it when GM was replaced with Chevy, but still enough entertainment value to do it once a trip.

I like TT ok, although I'm not willing to wait in the standby line for 45+ minutes for it, the single rider line is the way to go. But it doesn't hold a candle to Radiator Springs Racers at DL!

NO, MY PHONE'S GONE!!!!!", I wailed in retort.

Oh no! I hate that sinking feeling! I'm constantly checking my park bag after almost every ride because I'm paranoid of loosing something

First. ride. of. the. trip. (Not that losing your phone would be ok on ANY ride of the trip, but seriously. 1st thing that happens?!) And absolutely NOT where I KNEW I had put it just before the ride start

I have a very similar story. Our first trip in 2014, first ride, EE, my daughter leaves her camera in the little goodie pouch on the ride, someone finds it, turns it in, bless them. We have the camera back in 15 min. Next day, first ride, my son looses his phone on Star Tours, someone finds it on the next cycle of rides and turns it in to a CM, CM amswers a text I sent to him because I didn't ride ( his phone didn't have a password) to come pick it up in the dump shop. . We have the phone back in 15 min. Craziness. Now I bug the crap out of everyone constantly asking them if they've got everything...

Makes me wonder just how many cameras and phones get turned in every day

 

[Steppesister]

I'm glad my mom didn't have a sadistic side like you do!

Muahahaha! Happy Halloween, Kiddleywinks!

That is cool. I saw the ones that Ponzi modified first so I was glad to finally see the one that started it all.

He certainly took creative licensing- with a little help from @afwdwfan. Quite a pair.

Great costumes!

Aren't they? Super creative!

I know about Propofol from all the Michael Jackson coverage, but not well versed in Versed. See what I did there?

I do!

Nope, not familiar with that sound. Is it anything like when one cat has another cornered?

Sounds like you're very well versed. Or is that Versed?

Sounds like a plan to me. I wish they served egg rolls, that's one of my go to snacks when I want something small and don't want to spoil my dinner.

See? I really should be on staff.

I'll have to give it another shot. We didn't really know what to do and spent a lot of time just waiting around and searching for other people in our party.

Dang! Too much money to wander for sure! Next time, you'll have a better plan.

At least there are no buses at DL.

It's a beautiful thing. It's weird though to have a park now where I used to park my car for work. I used the Snow White lot pretty often.

They always turn out to be freezing.

Actually it showed me all the things that I didn't do.

You should think about October!

 

[Steppesister]

Yikes on the phone.
Your morning isn't off to the best start.

First off, WELCOME!! I'm so glad you're here.

You'll have to stick around until next time to find out how the rest of our morning goes!

Great you made it for rope drop at EPCOT.

Barely. But still enough time to make things work.

Oh my your iPhone going AWOL. I hope that you locate it. Quick buy another phone and look at find my iphone..

LOL! If only!

I really need to get a chip. Badly!

I agree re Soarin I was unimpressed too. I mean didn't they watch it and think oh my what did we do? The Taj looked like a building from a computer game in the 90's. I enjoyed the landscapes but the buildings were cringe city.

I know!!! What the heck. Maybe they let every test rider on individually and only tested the middle seats. One at a time. Seriously. This is really poor Imagineering. Such a shame.

I haven't done TT I think it would snap my neck in a second looks fun though you can design a car.

Yeah, sadly probably a bit rough for you. I wonder if you could do the build your car part of it with your wife and then have her ride to see your results? Then you could have at least part of it to do together.

 

[Terra Nova guy]

Oh dear, another "meh" review of Soarin'. I have not experienced the new version yet, but all the complaints are basically the same, CG heavy and warped photography. My youngest loved this ride on our last trip. I hope she still enjoys it next time around.

I hope you get the phone back! In my limited experience with losing things at Disney, it generally works out. Oldest DD lost her camera back in 2008, she left it in the bathroom. We got it back at guest relations after it was picked up by cleaning staff. The other was on Expedition Everest, DW left her purse in the seat pocket. We realized it almost right away but the cars were already moving out at that point, so we waited for the same car to make a circuit. You know, on the ride it seems to go pretty fast, but waiting for a train to cycle around seems like forever.