Attilla and the Munk's First PTR

[DerangedChipmunk]

GAH! The trip is almost here, which means my very first PTR is overdue, and that’s not a very good beginning, now is it? Now that we’ve gotten off on the wrong foot, I’ll try not to put the other in my mouth. Lets just go straight to:

Who is this bozo anyway?
I’m Emily. This trip is to celebrate my graduation from high school. Personality wise, just think of me as mostly Rapunzel (quirky, outgoing, but a little shy at the same time, kinda naïve, and as my family loves to remind me: short) with just a dash of Tiana (love to cook and a hopeless Daddy’s girl).

(This is the only recent picture I have of me without someone else in the picture—will have more as soon as we hit Disney!)

Also along for the ride is my Mother, Teri. Everyone calls her the ATM, not because she gives out money (I wish!) but because she’s “Atilla The Mom.” She’s tough as nails and will make you toe the line, but she’s amazing and gobs of fun.

Continued in the Next Post.
 

 

[DerangedChipmunk]

Details:
So we’re going to DISNEY WORLD!!! (bet you didn’t see that coming, cause this isn’t a forum about Disney or anything…)

The Resort:
POP Century is our resort of choice for this trip, because I’m a nut for anything 1960s.

The FOOD:
Dining: Food is the focus of our trip, but we’ll get into that later. As far as ADRs go, we have:

Raglan Road
Tutto Italia
Flying Fish
50s Prime Time Café
Garden View Tearoom
Le Cellier
The Hoop-De-Do Revue
Tokyo Dining
And, my favorite: the Rose and Crown (mmmm Bangers and Mash)
 

 

[DerangedChipmunk]

The Background

A little trip down why-are-we-going-to-Disney-World Lane.

Well, I’ve already mentioned that I love to cook as well as that I’m graduating. What I haven’t mentioned is that I’m homeschooled. [Yes. I have friends. Yes. I see them often. No. I do not to school in my pajamas, but back to the report.] For homeschoolers, we have to throw our own graduations. To me, this sounded like throwing a party for people to watch me wear a goofy hat and have my parents hand me a piece of paper. Instead, I asked if my Mom and I could do a girls trip to… somewhere. I figured a week in some as of yet undetermined spot sounded much better than the goofy hat party.

So the search was on to find a destination. My mom quickly realized that everywhere I wanted to go (Italy, England, New York, or a Cross Country trip) would be very expensive. Especially since all I wanted to do there was eat. So she asked me what I would do there when I wasn’t eating. I had no clue. So the search was on for a place with both thrill-worthy food *and* something for me to do when I wasn’t eating.

One night, while I was leaving work, I got a text from my Mom suggesting Walt Disney World.


Thus began my Disney dreaming. The next day we grabbed our laptops and got cracking. We didn’t have a plan for dates or anything, but we were vaguely thinking May or June. Mom plugged in a random date and asked it to show us any ADRs it had for that day. Up popped Le Cellier. This sealed the deal—we were going to Disney, and we were going soon.

Mom’s wanted to go to Le Cellier since the first time we visited the parks in 2000. Unbeknownst to me, while I was at work, she had called the ADR line and asked casually about Le Cellier. The CM came as close as they can to laughing at her, informing her that reservations were generally booked six months in advance.

Feeling our trip was touched by providence, we continued. The way the schedule shook out, the instant I finish my last final, I’ll be getting in the car to get on the plane to get to the World. You can imagine what that test is going to look like.

Packing
Next came the frantic pre-packing buzz. One thing I forgot to mention about mom in her lil intro is her wonderful way with spreadsheets. This woman is a planning wizard! The last month has been filled with the purchase and organization of outfits for each day in the park. We also checked to ensure that our outfits would

a) Match each other
b) Coordinate with the park we were visiting
c) Be appropriate for our ADRs
d) Have all the pieces when we got there
No easy task, let me tell you!

Numerous trips to three different malls later, we had a spreadsheet detailing each outfit (down to the earrings for some) for each day.

We had planned on laying out all of the clothes on my brother’s bed (as he’s currently at college) so as to not alert the dog to the fact that we were leaving. He gets extremely nervous when anyone even mentions the word suitcases! The day we were to start packing, my mother got a phone call.

David: Hi Mom, um… the good news is—I’m not dead.

Mom: 0_o any reason you would’ve been?

David: Well, a tornado hit the school and it knocked out the power and water. What I’m calling about is that they’ve ended the semester and you need to come and get me. Oh, and I haven’t really been able to shower. For three days. See you soon!

And so my mother, the saint, got in the car and commenced the 12 hour drive to fetch my brother.

The long and short of it is, we couldn’t pack on his bed because, well, he’d be in it, which led to the packing being laid out on my floor. Every inch of it.
 

 

[DerangedChipmunk]

My New Love

I’ve been collecting Disney pins since my first visit in 2000. On a wander through the Disney store in our mall, I saw the Vinylmations and thought:

HOW UGLY! They all are shaped like Mickey. But they’re none of them Mickey. That one’s Woody, and that one’s a monorail, and that one’s a Thanksgiving Turkey.

Needless to say, I didn’t get it.

But, ruminating on what I’d seen, in addition to what I’d heard here on the DISboards, I started really wanting to try my hand at the Vinylmation trades.

As luck would have it, a young woman from the Disney Store came into the sandwich shop where I work that evening, and I asked her about them. She mentioned that they were putting the new Muppets II collection out that evening for its premier in the morning.

Cut to 8:30 the next morning, with me camped out in front of the Disney Store trying to make it look like I was really interested in the orange Hyundai and not the little lump of vinyl sprinkled in pixie dust that waited for me inside.

I was the first one in, and the woman I’d talked to the previous evening was shocked to see me there that early.

I picked one box in the middle and opened it before she’d even swiped my card.

Ripping open the cardboard I saw…




















An opaque baggie.

Ripping open the baggie I saw…

Ugh.

You have to know that I’m a Muppet purist. I grew up on DVDs of the original Muppet show. I can tell you who Angus McGonagle, the Argyle Gargoyle who gargles Gershwin gorgeously is… but Pepe? Not a fan. Needless to say, I’m looking forward to my first trade in Mouseland.

 

[clayfolks]

I love your writing. I'm in!!
Sue

 

[DerangedChipmunk]

Yay! Hello Sue, nice to meet you! Thanks for joining us!







So now you know a little about us, and a little about why we’re going, lets get right down to what you’re really here for: DISNEY! And lots of it. What are we going to do when we get there? Lets break it down.

DAY 1:

As soon as I flunk my last final due to Disney dreaming (just kidding! Studying hard for it, I promise!) We’ll be popping off to the airport for our flight to Orlando. Upon arriving, we’ll catch a Magical Express to Pop Century. Now, it has been years since I rode a magical express (we had a car pick us up at the airport last time) so I’m afraid I don’t remember the movie. I’ve read on so many trip reports that this is *the* transition from the real world to Walt Disney World for so many people, but I just don’t remember it at all. Can’t wait to see what I’ve been missing! That evening, we’ll hang out in Downtown Disney with Raglan Road for dinner and shopping until we collapse of exhaustion.

DAY 2:

Extra Magic hours! Starting out early early in Epcot hoping to get front row on Soarin (any tips or tricks for this?) and hit up Test Track before the lines get bad. Hoping to catch the Flower Power concert this afternoon, then head to the Flying Fish for dinner

DAY 3:

More Magic! EMH at Animal Kingdom with Lion King, Kilamanjaro Safaris, and Expedition Everest top of our list. But though the rides were exciting, the real draw was the wonderful BBQ to be had at the flametree—yum! Night would bring our ADR at the Tutto Italia and sleep (which, by this point, I had a feeling we’d be needing)

DAY 4:

Day Four would be Rope Drop at the Magic Kingdom. With any luck, this would be the day I convinced Attila to “Darn the calories, full speed ahead!” and blow some snack credits on giant, gooey cinnamon rolls at the Main Street Bakery. With any luck, the universe will have two new “Galactic Heroes” as we plan to break our record (currently holding at 9 concurrent rides) on Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin. Also on the top attractions list are: The Haunted Mansion, the Jungle Cruise (once in the morning and at least once more that evening, plus more throughout the rest of the trip—this ride has a special place in our heart) and the Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor (Mom’s favorite). This will also be my first ever ride on Space Mountain (every Disney trip since I’ve been old enough to ride, it’s been closed). We’re hoping to go to the Tomorrowland Noodle Terrace for lunch rotfl:…. Well, here’s hoping) and we have Le Cellier for dinner, so it should be a good day

DAY 5:

Day five is our relaxation day. I’ve read in so many trip reports about your resort days. So we’re doing the same thing on day five—just not at our resort. We’re headed to the Grand Floridian for massages and tea in the Garden Tea Room. Rejuvinated, we’ll head back to Epcot for evening EMH.

DAY 6:

On day six we’re doing MGM (ok, Hollywood Studios, but it’ll always be MGM in my heart) for EMH (are you seeing a theme here?). This is the day of our 50s Prime Time Café ADR. I’m going for pot roast with a PBJ shake for dessert as I’ve heard they are the business here. Yum! Our Dinner ADR has fond memories for me, as I still remember doing it on my very first trip to the World. Namely: the Hoop de Doo Revue. Oh Goody!

DAY 7:

Our second relaxation day, we’re headed to Typhoon Lagoon. This’ll be my first Disney Water Park and I’m fantastically excited. We will be very wet and very sunburned at the end of the day. The plan is to pop back to the hotel and get pretty before heading to the Tokyo Dining restaurant in Epcot for some sushi for me and tempura for Attilla. Possibly Magic Kingdom for evening EMH

DAY 8:

Our last full day! *sniff* *sob* *sniffle* *sniff* er, ahem. Anyway, day eight is our Backstage Magic Tour. I’m really excited for the behind the scenes look. Does anyone know if this is the tour you get to see that actual animatronics for the HM? I hope so!
Off to the Rose and Crown for Dinner (In addition to being a wannabe flower child, I’m also a bit of an anglophile, watching British “telly” using British slang and loving British FOOD!)

DAY 9:

Epcot Again, or really, anywhere we want to go back to, and then flying home. I’ve just realized how food-centric this trip sounds, but that’s just because we wanted to structure the trip around ADRs and decide the rides to ride when we’re there depending on wait times and mood. All in all, I think it’s a good looking schedule, let’s just hope I’m not counting my chickens before they hatch…

 

[beebeeryan]

You made me laugh a lot and I love your screen name so I'm joining in. Nothing wrong with planning a trip around food, we gotta eat.

 

[DerangedChipmunk]

For this section of the PTR, lets take a look in our Madame Leota’s crystal ball to see a closer look at each day to see the (projected) highlight of each day. Will I be right? Probably not. Will todays projected highlights of the trip be out of date tomorrow in favor of completely different ones? Probably. But putting all naysayers aside, let’s get started!

Say Goodbye to the Shrimp

Yes, yes, I know—he’s a “King Prawn!” but he’s not for me. So the highlight for day one (aside from the whole getting to Walt Disney World buzz and magical first moments on property) will be going to D-Street to shop for more urban-inspired Disney outfits as, sadly, I don’t fit in the princess dresses any more. Also at D-Street will be my first Vinylmation trade! Hoping for something recognizable, but I’ll be satisfied with almost anything!

It’s a Small World After All



If you remember from my last post, day two will be Epcot, which means one thing: world showcase. Mom and I have separate highlights for this day:

Mom—the French Patisserie

We love this place. From our very first visit, we’ve done the French Patisserie for lunch (yes, we’re very healthy people) on our first World Showcase day. One of my earliest memories in Disney is sitting in France with a “Marvelous” (sweet crust pastry filled with chocolate mousse, whipped cream, and chocolate shavings. Just the lunch for a seven-year old!

Me—The Morocco Pavilion Shop
I’ve been informed that this shop has shoes very much like a pair I had for years. Mine were yellow leather slippers with embroidery and studs which don’t sound very nice, but they were cute and comfy and my favorite and I wore them right up until my mother put her foot down. With some unreasonable excuse (such as the fact that I was missing a cubic inch of heel) she threw them out. Humph. So I’d like to see if I can find some to replace them.

Duck, Duck, Chocolate Mousse

When last we went to the Animal Kingdom, we had chosen the Flametree BBQ for lunch. After picking up our meals (Roast Chicken and Key Lime Pie for her, Ribs and Chocolate Mousse for me) we headed for the only seating area we could see: and were at once surrounded by ducks and lanky white birds. At this point, I feel I should mention that my mother is terrified of birds. But what else were we to do? We sat down and she glared at anything with wings on that came too close. My cousin, 17 at the time, had great fun luring the birds closer and I spent half of the meal with a duck sitting on my foot. Even with the… unique dining experience, we really enjoyed the food and can’t wait to go back! I’ve read about alternate seating areas and we’re hoping to be able to find them to avoid our avian lunch buddies.

Hay Un Amigo En Me

Day four’s highlight I already covered—Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin! It’s like TSM, but not. Yet, we love it so dearly. Fingers crossed for 10 concurrent rides this year!


“Why didn’t you tell me you were British?”

While in a gathering room for a competition I was in, a friend of mine came over, sighed, and asked me the above question. His reasoning? I’d passed up a carafe of coffee and whipped a tea bag out of my purse to make myself a proper cuppa. With this precedent, it won’t surprise you that I’m looking forward to a pot of tea and tray of sweets after a lovely massage. So really, the whole day is kind of a highlight, but hey, that’s not a bad thing, is it?


Aaahhm Gonna Get Yeh, You Dirty Rat!

Highlight for MGM? The Great Movie Ride. Funny Story about the Movie Ride: last summer when we went, we thought this was a brand new ride! We’re idiots, I know. But we were so excited about this thrilling new ride. Ah well, we had fun. But I’m excited to do it again.

Running out of Catchy Titles

My little title says it all, but I’m not out of vacation days yet!

The excitement for today comes from a first: Typhoon Lagoon. I’ve never done it at all, so I’m not sure what to expect. From the descriptions though, I’m thinking a day in the lazy river floating round a million times and bodysurfing in the wave pool if I can. The challenge of the day will be to get my Mom in the water!

Faith, Trust, Pixie Dust, and Closed-toed shoes

(as a side note--look at those suspenders! Wow, they must have had this tour around a while!)

Ah, it’s time for the Backstage Magic tour—So excited! Hoping for a good group and some fun behind-the-scenes facts!

Back to…where?

Any opinions? We have no specific idea for this day, so no specific highlight as of yet. We’ll have to see what we’re still craving after eight days of Disney. Maybe another ride on the Space Ranger Spin? Maybe more Epcot? Who knows?

 

[HmschlMom]

You're a great writer. I'll enjoy watching this unfold,

 

[DerangedChipmunk]

You're a great writer. I'll enjoy watching this unfold,

Ahem... I'd like you all to meet my Mom. Be nice, she's a big part of this TR. Speaking of... It's started! Link in the 1st post