Cass, Rob & Kira - Disney & Universal August 2018 - The heat index is what???

[Timon]

Welcome, peeps, to my latest and greatest!

I will try to get this one done relatively quickly (my trippies usually take about 2-3 months to complete!) because I actually have another one to write immediately after this (already traveled!) and things are already getting kind of blurry . That's what happens when you get old



If you know me from my previous reports, then you will probably be a little shocked at the fact that we decided to take a two-week vacation to Orlando at a time when the temperatures rival that of the surface of the sun. Well, because Kira is now in Junior High, she just can't miss more than a day or two of school or she will fall behind, it was either go to Disney in the summer or not go at all.


I'm not going to lie, I was a little worried about this one. Heat is a main trigger for me when it comes to my Lupus. I can barely tolerate our summer, with no humidity and cooler temps so how was I going to handle Orlando???


The answer to that, my friends, will be uncovered over the course of this report.





So, sit back, relax, pull up a chair...

...................................................

As I proudly present...


............................... this trippie!


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Check out my other trip reports

2011 DCL Second sailing of the Dream
2013 October WDW & DCL Fantasy
2015 Disneyland

2016 Christmas on the Wonder
2017 Universal & DCL 10-Night Southern Caribbean Fantasy

2017 Christmas on the Wonder
2018 Summer WDW & Universal

2018 Christmas on the Wonder
2019 Disneyland
2019 Universal Orlando
2019 Christmas on the Wonder
2020 Galaxy's Edge

2021 Christmas on the Wonder
2022 UO & DCL Fantasy
2022 Alaska Wonder Cruise



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[Timon]

Chapter Links


August 18th, 2018 - Part 1 - Good-bye, ole smokey!
August 18th, 2018 - Part 2 - Hello Pop Century!
August 18th, 2018 - Part 3 - ̶D̶o̶w̶n̶t̶o̶w̶n̶ ̶D̶i̶s̶n̶e̶y̶ Disney Springs!

August 19th, 2018 - Part 1 - MK - Does she do the big rides?
August 19th, 2018 - Part 2 - CHH & more rides!
August 19th, 2018 - Part 3 - No more coffee for you!

August 20th, 2018 - Part 1 -Who designed this place, anyway?
August 20th, 2018 - Part 2 - Take me to the A/C!
August 20th, 2018 - Part 3 - That was fantasmic!

August 21st, 2018 - Part 1 - Soarin' on an ikran.
August 21st, 2018 - Part 2 - Africa to Asia...to Dinoland, to Asia, to Pandora...
August 21st, 2018 - Part 3 - And I would walk 27,815 steps...

August 22nd, 2018 - Part 1 - Epcot rope drop, baby!
August 22nd, 2018 - Part 2 - Our home and native land.
August 22nd, 2018 - Part 3 - Back...to the future (world)!

August 23rd, 2018 - Part 1 - Back to the Kingdom of Ariel.
August 23rd, 2018 - Part 2 - Okay, we're done!
August 23rd, 2018 - Part 3 - Everything happens for a reason.

August 24th, 2018 - Part 1 - We are strong with the Force.

August 25th, 2018 - Part 1 - Delighted to grumpy and everything in between.
August 25th, 2018 - Part 2 - Food, storms, pool...repeat!

August 26th, 2018 - Part 1 - Early Entry Success!
August 26th, 2018 - Part 2 - World of Wizards...mostly Harry Potter!
August 26th, 2018 - Part 3 - Did you just say what I think you just said???
August 26th, 2018 - Part 4 - Broomsticks, Sirius and Italy, oh my!
August 26th, 2018 - Part 5 - A five-dollar cookie!!!

August 27th, 2018 - Part 1 - Good for the mind, body & soul!

August 28th, 2018 - Part 1 - A little weather and a party.
August 28th, 2018 - Part 2 - Memories, old and new!
August 28th, 2018 - Part 3 - Boo to you and you and you...

August 29th, 2018 - Part 1 - Brunch and a Volcano
August 29th, 2018 - Part 2 - Kia Ora!

August 30th, 2018 - Part 1 - Ohno is right!

August 31st, 2018 - Part 1 - We all need our space!
August 31st, 2018 - Part 2 - Too many pennies.

September 1st, 2018 - Part 1 - That's all folks!



Now complete!

YouTube Vacation Videos

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Buh-bye!


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[Timon]

August 18th, 2018 - Part 1


Time to go to Disney!!!

It's always a good day when you're going to Disney!

Up early to shower, get ready and do the last-minute packing and then rolling out by 6:40am.

A tired but happy kid!

I, for one, was glad to be getting out of Calgary! The B.C. forest fires had been burning for weeks and we had been under an air quality advisory for all of August. We were eager to breathe some fresh air again without having our allergies go nuts! I can't imagine what it was like for those poor people in B.C. who were in the thick of it

Yup, that's smoke, not smog!

As usual, Rob dropped us off at the curb so we could tag and drop our luggage off while he dropped off the car at Park2Go.

Kira and I dealt with our luggage and then waited for Rob to get back.

It wasn't long before he was back with us.

Time for security then US Customs!

We got through security pretty quickly but Rob always gets stopped at Customs because way back in 2008, he was denied entry going from Vancouver to Seattle for a business dinner, so now he always gets asked about it. Thankfully we had a great customs agent who was trying to fix it so that he wouldn't have to go through the same hassle every time. He said he would try to escalate it for us but he wasn't sure if he could make it happen.

This is when Rob can finally breathe free...now in the USA!

I always take this shot because Rob goes from slightly stressed to relieved that he's actually going

Our tradition of breakfast at Wolfgang Puck's The Kitchen continued...

Kira wasn't overly hungry so she just got a bagel.

Rob got the oatmeal that he loves.

And I got my usual

Delicious every time! We were sad to miss our favourite server, Noel but Rob had ran into her there recently and found out that she would be working the later shift today so we knew we wouldn't see her.

We had about an hour or so before boarding began so we just chilled. This will become a very familiar sight, Kira with her phone/ear buds attached to her. Pretty sure it's just an appendage now

Then it was time to board!

Kira was actually pretty good on this trip when it came to me taking photos. She's at that age where it's getting a little old but I reminded her before we left that she loves to read our trip reports and watch our trip videos and a huge part of that is because I take a lot of photos/videos.

She had a couple of moments where she threw me the stink-eye but I would say 95% of the time, she would happily comply when I pointed my phone at her

Airplane selfie, which Kira now takes for us!

Good-bye smokey Calgary

Hello, blue skies in Orlando!

 

[CJK]

I'm here, I'm here!! I'm also pretty sure that we were in Orlando at the same time (during your second trip!!). Ahhhh! We were staying at the Dolphin. Can't wait to read about this trip and may I say that Kira is looking sooooo grown up!!! Beautiful young lady! I'm grabbing my popcorn and am ready for a great TR that only YOU can write!!

 

[wilma-bride]

I'm here Cass, looking forward to reading this

 

[Timon]

August 18th, 2018 - Part 2

The 5-hour flight went by so quickly! Before we knew it, we were descending into Orlando! We have ALWAYS come in from the south, this was the very first time we flew in from the north end!

When we landed, we spotted FOUR 747's! Rob and I are plane/flying fans and we never get to see 747's at home so we always love to look for them

Shuttle to the main terminal...

This is our first time flying into MCO since Westjet has changed terminals. We normally land on the opposite end of the Hyatt Hotel but since they moved, we now get to fly out of the higher numbered terminals, which are way nicer and we get to see the beautiful atrium!

Grabbed our luggage...

Then across the street to Alamo to pick out our vehicle for the next two weeks.

We ended up choosing a Nissan Rogue since we both enjoy driving it. We've had either a Rogue or a Murano the last 5 trips so might as well go with what you know

I always make sure we have US quarters on us for the tolls. I know that most people will just drive through and let the rental car company charge them but it costs $4 USD per day plus the cost of the tolls. I hate spending extra money when I don't have too.

Plus, stopping at the tolls is kind of a vacation tradition so we don't mind it one bit! And we always use the exact coins lane so it's super fast!

Since we were going to be staying at Pop Century, which is the very south end of Disney, we would be taking a new exit this trip. My friend Nancy is going to be going this way too in November so I took some photos to show her where to turn.

Super easy! Once we hit the HUGE construction project going on near Wide World of Sports (getting ready for Star Wars next year!) we turned right, passed Art of Animation and then turned into Pop.

Kira and I headed in to check-in...

And then she ASKED me to take this photo of her...

Well, when a tween actually asks for their photo to be taken, you take it!

We checked in and grabbed our Magic Bands. Red is her favourite colour these days. (Don't bother to Google it, I have not spelled those words incorrectly, just used the Canadian and English spelling )

And then they asked us if we wanted to skip Mousekeeping in lieu of a $60 gift card, which we totally did because we actually don't need daily maid service. We are pretty clean and neat anyway and we just called when we wanted fresh towels and they brought them anyway, so it was a no-brainer.

After checking in, we stopped by the other desk to have our grocery order delivered to our room. The guy looked us up and said that they were just delivered!



Umm, we JUST checked in, a minute ago, so how could you have just delivered our stuff???? We just got our room number assigned!

He checked again and assured me that it had just been delivered. I knew in bones he was wrong but ooookay! I asked him that when we arrive to our room and see that our groceries were not there, could we just call for them because we were pretty far away and we didn't feel like walking over. We were starving and we wanted to head over to Disney Springs for some dinner. He said yup, just give them a call and they would deliver them right away if they weren't already there. Cool.

Off to find our room in the '90's!

Honestly, we could not have asked for a better room. It was at the very end of the building, on the corner so only one neighbour and super duper close to where we parked!

We loved the newly refurbished room! It was clean and fresh and very functional. TONS of storage space! We unpacked for the week and we still had room to spare!

Loved the big TV too!

This is Kira's bed! Yup, it's a table, it's a bed! More than meets the eye

Kira lowered her bed and tested it out. She loved having Pluto watch over her and she said it was very comfortable.

We really did love this room! Considering it was a Value resort and we knew we weren't going to be spending a huge amount of time in it, it was the perfect choice for us to save some money but we ended up really liking it, more than I thought we would anyway.

There was only one thing I didn't like about the room and that was when the second bed is down, the space at the bottom of the bed was very tight. It stuck out way more than the regular bed did and made it harder for us to get around. You can see in the pic above just how tight it was with the chair and dresser on the very right-hand side.

Other than that, it was great!

We unpacked a little and got organized for the week.

We were only lacking one thing...our groceries.

 

[dnllmz]

Following along! Kira looks so much older since your last TR I read. It’s crazy how kids do that!

 

[lucas]

I'm so excited! Another Timon trip report! You guys are so darn cute and Kira has become quite a lovely young lady! Can't wait to read more.

We usually stay at POP Century and when we had our first re-furbished room, I really did not care for it. It is just dh and myself so we didn't need the pull-down bed (but missed having the second regular bed). The room actually seemed smaller to us with one bed. In the past, there was always a table and 2 chairs so we didn't gain anything - just lost a bed!

 

[buteraa]

YES! another trip report!

 

[LISAMWDW]

n

 

[cntkg1]

The “Old One w/Insurance” is here!
Love to relive your vacations, Cass!!! You’re always so candid and honest with these.

I’ll be tuning in daily for all the adventures!

 

[Timon]

August 18th, 2018 - Part 3

Since we didn't have our groceries and I was hoping to throw some water and Diet-Coke into the fridge right away, I called to see if they could deliver our luggage.

I ended up waiting over 45 minutes on hold (well, I had to pass the phone to Rob, then he passed it to Kira ) before Rob hung up and called the front desk. They apologized for the extra long wait on hold, said they were super busy and that our best bet was to drop by the desk.

Ugh. Okay, off we go!

I went back in and spoke to the same guy that originally helped us and then I also
spoke the his manager/supervisor when he was at a loss. His records indicated that our dry groceries had been delivered to another room (even gave me the room number) but our cold stuff was still here in the fridge.

I totally didn't care about the mix up but what ticked me off was the fact that the supervisor wouldn't give me a straight answer. She was very vague with her answers, never actually answering me. I think maybe she thought I would flip out if I knew my groceries were already in someone else's room??

The thing was, I already knew they were in another room because the guy gave me the room number to where they were delivered!

They wanted me to stick around until they figured it out but we were now STARVING and we needed to get to Disney Springs! I told them if they could please locate all of my groceries and have them delivered to my actual room, I would appreciate it

Off we go to get some food!

Passing by Caribbean Beach, you could see all of the construction going on there with the gondolas. At least they know that Galaxy's Edge is going to change things and they were smart enough to plan ahead

When we got to Disney Springs, all of the garages were full

We ended up at surface parking instead, across the street.

I was totally okay with that because it afforded us this view...

Rob and Kira wanted Blaze Pizza and I wanted D-Luxe Burger so we parted ways. It was obviously very crowded and the lines were long!

I had intended to use mobile ordering at D-Luxe but when I tried, I got this...

BAH!

So I got in line and it took about 20 minutes just to get to the cashier to order. Rob had texted me that their line was very long too. They got their food just as I had finished ordering mine so they grabbed a table and I told them I would meet them over there.

About 10 minutes later, I grabbed my burger and joined them at their table.

I wasn't sure if this was rude but I was so hungry at this point I didn't care

They each got a pizza and Rob got some weird bread roll things that made me want to barf each time I looked at them

We all stuffed our faces and then we hit up some stores while our food settled. I love Disney Springs at night!

We eventually made it over to the Marketplace and grabbed some dessert to share

We were awfully tired by now since we had such an early morning and while it sounds weird, flying across a country or two is very tiring. Yup, all you do is sit there for 6 hours in a chair but we are always exhausted by the time we get to our destination

Back to our room, in the perfect location, ground floor, corner room on the end of building 8 in the '90's section!

And looky looky what was in our room...they found our groceries

And they even put the cold stuff in the fridge for us, yay!

Kira was happy because I got her some sugary cereal, something she never gets at home! She only ate three of them, she tried 3 others but she said they were too gross.

Time for bed, we have a loooooong day tomorrow.

Up next...Magic Kingdom!

 

[disneyseniors]

Happily following along on your adventure, LOL. The room at POP looks great. I actually love the refurbed rooms, which I was against when they first announced it. Much more space. Can't wait for more trip!
We fly from extreme north Minnesota (almost to the Canadian border, and it takes 4 hours, so I know what you mean by flight fatigue!

 

[Lesley Wake]

Following along! I saw your pictures on facebook and it looked like a fun trip!

 

[lucas]

Following along! I saw your pictures on facebook and it looked like a fun trip!

Link, please.

 

[Timon]

I'm here, I'm here!! I'm also pretty sure that we were in Orlando at the same time (during your second trip!!). Ahhhh! We were staying at the Dolphin. Can't wait to read about this trip and may I say that Kira is looking sooooo grown up!!! Beautiful young lady! I'm grabbing my popcorn and am ready for a great TR that only YOU can write!!

Oh man! I wish I knew, I would have crashed your party to come meet you

Yes, she is a little lady just like that! She also looks older when I flatten her hair for her, you will see her curls soon enough though

I'm here Cass, looking forward to reading this

Yay!

Are you going to write one too, Joh?

Following along! Kira looks so much older since your last TR I read. It’s crazy how kids do that!

I think it's just the hair...and the height

I'm so excited! Another Timon trip report! You guys are so darn cute and Kira has become quite a lovely young lady! Can't wait to read more.

We usually stay at POP Century and when we had our first re-furbished room, I really did not care for it. It is just dh and myself so we didn't need the pull-down bed (but missed having the second regular bed). The room actually seemed smaller to us with one bed. In the past, there was always a table and 2 chairs so we didn't gain anything - just lost a bed!

Glad you're here

Yeah, it's a weird set up but they have that extra cabinet thing with the fridge which was nice. I guess it all depends on your tastes and what you are used to, huh?

YES! another trip report!

n

The “Old One w/Insurance” is here!
Love to relive your vacations, Cass!!! You’re always so candid and honest with these.

I’ll be tuning in daily for all the adventures!

Next one is featuring that old lade with the insurance

Happily following along on your adventure, LOL. The room at POP looks great. I actually love the refurbed rooms, which I was against when they first announced it. Much more space. Can't wait for more trip!
We fly from extreme north Minnesota (almost to the Canadian border, and it takes 4 hours, so I know what you mean by flight fatigue!

Yeah, 4 hours will do it too!

Glad you're here!

Following along! I saw your pictures on facebook and it looked like a fun trip!

Glad you found me I have some tales to tell

 

[Timon]

Link, please.

These boards have rules against it, sorry, no can do. I'm sure you could find them if you Google hard enough


But don't! Then you'll ruin the whole trip report for yourself!

 

[Lesley Wake]

Glad you found me I have some tales to tell

Yeah, I don't even remember how or when I started following along on that page!

 

[kastoney]

Just finding your report and subbing in! Our trip started on the same day so I know what kinda heat you are in for.

Your Pop room looks awesome. I haven't seen much of the reformed rooms and they did an awesome job. Perfect location too.

 

[tammy]

Hello, I saw your pictures on Facebook. We just missed you. We left early on August 18, we stayed at Pop too. I love Disney Springs...I could and have spent all day there. I haven't tried D-Luxe yet...maybe next trip. There's always a next trip! Looking forward to more.