Celebrating Legacies, Love, and Jalapeno Pretzels: Anniversary TR (Replies 6/12)

[jenneth79]

Celebrating Legacies, Love, and Jalapeno Pretzels: A Sept ’11 Anniversary TR
Musings and Commentary provided by: Jen aka Evil Red
Where: Disney’s Yacht Club
When: September 17th – 25th

Dear Reader, I am my father’s daughter.



I share his sense of humor (that no one understands) his love for family (which most people agree with) and his unhealthy love of all things spicy. And tequila, but that’s neither here nor there. I most importantly share his love of Disney, and I am blessed to have a husband who (we found out on this trip) shares the same.

If you want to hear more about how we got here, head on over to our PTR for the nitty gritty details.Rolex Vacation: Timex Budget For a quick overview about your cast of characters for this trip however, I present to you….us:


(this is us. just in case you were wondering.)

Me: I’m Jen, 29 years old (+3) and I’m an engineer. With a lower-case “e”. That means my title is Solutions Engineer, but I never got an EE degree. Or any degree, actually. I work in the IT industry for a major hosting provider. I also love Disney. A lot.

My DH: Mike (35) is also in the IT industry. He has a degree in Psychology. This you will understand in the days to come why he married me. He is also a former Army Infantry soldier and National Guardsman. I’m not sure if that has anything to do with why he married me or not.

Why are we travelling to Disney without kids? Well, my father passed away in January of this year. He worked for Kodak while I was a kid, and we went to Disney all the time, almost every other year. He gave me a love of all things Mouse since I was only 3 years old… among many other blessings. A few weeks after the funeral, we decided we would go to celebrate his life along with our 3 Year Wedding anniversary this September. Why wait until we had little ones to share it with?

So here we are!

And here YOU are, welcome! You’re in for some real excitement here… everything from exploding toilets, kung fu fighting with Stitch, tons of pictures, and me repeating “inside the boat!” over and over again after a week in the Parks. Oh yeah, and there’s CAKE too!

Hope you enjoy,

Jen

 

[jenneth79]

*~*~*~DAY ONE~*~*~*

Chapter One
In which our heroine finds herself without much sleep, any makeup, or an arrival picture of the Yacht Club.

Chapter Two
In which our heroine finds herself sans room,mais,avec slushies.

Chapter Three
In which our heroine attempts to blow her whole trip spending budget in one spot, gets the best seat in the house, and finally gets a room with a view!

Chapter Four
In which our heroine gets her room, learns the joys of Photopass, and rides a very fast car.

Chapter Five
In which our heroine cries, wants to go home, and helps our hero drink his Scotch.

*~*~*~DAY TWO~*~*~*

Chapter Six
In which our heroine bores you to death with the morning buildup to actual PICTURES!

Chapter Seven
In which our heroine tries to bring her internet connection down with picture overload...

Chapter Seven and One Half
...because our heroine is lazy and cannot come up with a clever title

Chapter Seven and Three Quarters
....because let's face it, this isn't enough to stand on its own!

Chapter Eight
In which our heroine tests the laws of physics and accepts change.

Chapter Eight(Again)
In which our heroine sets us up for Chapter Nine...

Chapter Nine
In which we learn that ninjas just might be cooler than pirates….

Chapter Ten
In which our heroine gets a hat trick before noon, and sees a ghost (or 999).

Chapter Eleven
In which the rain rain rain came down down down….

Chapter Twelve
In which our heroine FINALLY finishes talking about Day 2....


*~*~*~DAY THREE~*~*~*

Chapter Thirteen
In which our heroine sleeps in. Kinda.

Chapter Fourteen
In which we get a little queasy, and a little electric!

Chapter Fifteen
In which you, dear reader, experience animal picture overload.

Chapter Sixteen
In a place much like this one, a night much like tonight....

*~*~*~DAY FOUR~*~*~*

Chapter Seventeen
In which our heroine triumphs over the Yeti.

Chapter Eighteen
In which we go on safari!

Chapter Nineteen
....Part Two
....Part Three
I would say lions and tigers and bears…but all we saw were tigers and flying monkeys….

Chapter Twenty
In which our heroine discovers a new watering hole….

Chapter Twenty-One
In which our heroine gets twisted, and (almost) soaked.

Chapter Twenty-Two
In which our heroine takes a dip, a sip, and a flip.


*~*~*~DAY FIVE~*~*~*

Chapter Twenty-Three
In which our heroine doesn't do anything, rather like a platypus.

 

[Cinderumbrella]

Hooray! I was hoping you were going to do a TR!! I read your mini-review on the YC/BC FAQ and I was so sad for you about your first night

But I can't wait to read all the details!!
Kristin

 

[jenbear123]

HERE!!!!!!!! ​

Ok now that I've made a reasonable annoucement of my presence, I shall go back and read

ETA: Great start! You two look GORGEOUS! Can't wait to read all the lovely details of the trip

 

[natebenma]

I'm SO in!!!

Can't wait to hear all about it!

Dee

 

[JanetMom]

I'm in! With an intro that includes "tons of pictures" and "CAKE" it seems like a must read trip report to me.

I just discovered your PTR yesterday, so I'll be catching up on that while reading this report (and using your report and pictures to help tide me over while I wait for the next several months to pass.)

Looking forward to more!

 

[swwake]

I'm in!

 

[jenneth79]

Hooray! I was hoping you were going to do a TR!! I read your mini-review on the YC/BC FAQ and I was so sad for you about your first night

But I can't wait to read all the details!!
Kristin

Hey Kristin, look at you with the first post! In the end it didn't take away from an amazing trip...but I'll tell you, really don't ever want to experience THAT again.

HERE!!!!!!!! ​

Ok now that I've made a reasonable annoucement of my presence, I shall go back and read

ETA: Great start! You two look GORGEOUS! Can't wait to read all the lovely details of the trip

Jen, that's an awesome "reasonable" announcement.... but we can bet you'll bring the party, right?

I'm realizing this morning as I go through the first day's pictures that things are a bit random what I took shots of and what I didn't. I'm going to work extra hard to fill in the blanks... I'm soooo glad I kept a journal while we were there!

I'm SO in!!!

Can't wait to hear all about it!

Dee

Woo hoo! So glad you came over Dee!

I'm in! With an intro that includes "tons of pictures" and "CAKE" it seems like a must read trip report to me.

I just discovered your PTR yesterday, so I'll be catching up on that while reading this report (and using your report and pictures to help tide me over while I wait for the next several months to pass.)

Looking forward to more!

Welcome!!!! There is, indeed, cake.... with a rather funny story surrounding it as well. Then again, a trip with us an no funny story... well, that's just not normal.

Hope you enjoy! I'm working on at the least the first part of our travel day now, so there should be an update coming soon.

I'm in!

Yay, glad you came over!

 

[IheartDDuck]

I'm joining!

I got my love of Disney from my dad too (my mom loves it too, but my dad a bit more). We've been going regularly since I was 4 years old. I'm sorry to hear about your loss, and I couldn't think of a better way to celebrate him.

 

[TiggerFan3590]

I am joining in.... love your PTR.... can't wait for the TR!!!

 

[jenneth79]

I'm joining!

I got my love of Disney from my dad too (my mom loves it too, but my dad a bit more). We've been going regularly since I was 4 years old. I'm sorry to hear about your loss, and I couldn't think of a better way to celebrate him.

Isn't it great to Grow Up Disney? Thank you for your thoughts, and I agree, it was the best way to celebrate his life. Even if it brought a few tears, it brought more smiles.

Also, welcome to the TR! I hope you enjoy it!

I am joining in.... love your PTR.... can't wait for the TR!!!

Yay! Thanks for coming over, about to update with Chapter One this afternoon so you got here just in time.

 

[jenneth79]

Chapter One(In which our heroine finds herself without much sleep, any makeup, or an arrival picture of the Yacht Club.)


Dear reader, I am not a morning person. By which I mean if the sun has not risen, I don’t either. Of course I had not considered this fact when I booked our flights to Orlando, as all I could think about at that time was getting the most out of our first day in Disney as we possibly could. In the end, this meant I had to wake up at the ungodly hour of four in the morning. I don’t even know why they say “in the morning” as we all know it’s not the lark that’s singing out there!

Anyway, my wonderful husband, Mike, woke me up as gently as possible while still making sure I was dressed and out the door by four thirty. This involved two things. One, a fresh cup of coffee between the bed and the bathroom (he makes me get out of bed to have it… smart man) and a demon furball (this time is was Zoe) who wanted breakfast….now.

Our luggage had already been packed and was being guarded by our two travelling companions, Chester and Buddha:

Chester is the Otter and Buddha the penquin. These two guys actually sit in the back seat of my car, they were a joke years ago and have been there ever since. We decided to chronicle the adventures of Chester and Buddha at Disney, creating a photobook for my nieces once we got back. That plan kind of fell apart after the first day, but at least we tried.

Cats fed and bags in the car, we were on our way to Dulles International Airport! We decided to forgo a cab this time, as the DC region has a strange “exclusive” agreement with a specific cab company. What does this mean? Well, it cost the same amount to park our car in the daily (read: more expensive) lot right next to the terminal as it would to get a cab to and from the airport. Plus I, being a control freak, knew there was no way we wouldn’t get there on time!

Another benefit is the fact that I only live twenty minutes away from the airport, so it was a short drive with no one on the road. We had checked in online the day before, so all we had to do was drop off our bags at the kiosk (where all the computers were broken… of course….) then wait in Security. Oh yeah, *this* is why I hate flying. I’m wearing flip flops. They make you take off your shoes.

All together now: EWWWWW!

I was (literally) bouncing from foot to foot once I went through he scanner, I wanted my shoes back STAT. And yes, I know that the likelihood of picking up germs on your feet wearing flip flops vs. barefoot is about the same… but still… ew. On the other hand, apparently travelling with stuffed animals while over the age of thirty sans children does not automatically send you to the pat down room. (I proved my husband wrong… ha.)

Anyway, got to our gate, no problem, and had some time to kill….since I knew Starbucks was a no-go on Disney Property, I decided to get my first PSL of the season! Pumpkin Spice Latte… heaven. Even Buddha and Chester loved it!

Oh yeah, Mike did too:

Our flight was blissfully on time, and we were in the air just as the sun was really rising. I don’t like flying.

(but, Chester and Buddha LOVE flying!)

I hate taking off. Since we had scored an upgrade (woo hoo!) on our flight down, Mike immediately ordered me a bloody mary. I don’t drink before noon as a rule. Vacations I will accept Bloody Mary and Mimosas, but not before 10. Flights? If you can get me a shot before I get on the plane, no problem.

(They were just making sure we got the pours right, I swear….)

Chester and Buddha apparently went on a bender, and since we weren’t sure how to include that in the children’s book, we felt it might be better here.

(we buckled them up in the seat next to Mike… which was empty in an awesome little bit of pixie dust… poor little guys had too much vodka!)

(me without makeup is not a pretty sight, but at least me without makeup but with adult beverage brings a smile)

Flight was uneventful, and within two hours we were on the ground in Orlando! I love the little “not a monorail” tram that takes you between the gates. Waiting at our luggage carousel was Renata from Tiffany Town Car service, holding a placard with our name on it. This is the first time I ever booked car service from the airport. Let me tell you it will NOT be the last. BTW – for those of you who were wondering, there were a TON of people at the ME desk, I was honestly surprised as I felt it was a slow time for Disney. However, there were only two people behind the desk, so that might have had something to do with it.

Renata was excellent and she and Mike fought over who was going to carry my just under the weight limit bags. I stayed out of it. The drive was smooth and the town car was lovely. An older model but really well kept. Renata was a sweetheart and we chatted about all sorts of things, the economy, Disney, the economy affecting Disney, her homeland (Bulgaria) and probably the economy in Bulgaria. I suspect it’s something about driving in a Lincoln that makes people want to talk money. I can actually prove this, as I talk about money all the time while driving mine. Mostly how much gas costs in the sucker!

(A pic of the back of the Town Car, Mike and I noticed we flew past at least 3 ME busses on the way.)

In what seemed like no time at all, we passed this sign:

Oh yeah, I was getting excited at this point. There was a sign for Disney that meant we MUST be close! Sure enough, a few minutes later we drove under….

(I guess this was the moment that made it seem real to me, like we were actually going to Disney! As if I didn’t realize that for the last seven months….)

A few moments later, we pulled up to the Yacht Club. First impressions? Wow. So much so I forgot to take a picture of it. That, and the guy at the guard station was demanding we show him our IDs. Is security always that tight? I have to wonder if there might have been a VIP at the resort or something. Just seemed a bit of overkill when you can just walk right into the resort from the Epcot side.

Here ends Chapter One, aka “getting the boring travel stuff out of the way”. Stay tuned for more fun and games!

 

[TanzUnited99]

Yay you started!!! Can't wait to read all about your trip - a shame that we missed each other at AKL.

Edit: Just read your flight journey - am glad you made it on time and had a safe flight. Love the little mascots!

 

[IheartDDuck]

Love Chester and Buddha! I like having mascots on my trips too. Even though people look at me funny sometimes, but I don't care!

I am not a morning person either, which is why I try to avoid early flights too. I normally like to fly out the night before. Works for me. And I agree wholeheartedly that if it's not light outside, it is not yet morning.

 

[Cinderumbrella]

at your traveling companions! I just know those 2 will be up to more trouble!!

As for getting up early, I ONLY do it for WDW! We live about 90 minutes from the airport, so for a 6 am flight I am up around 2:15 am. One year I tried just staying up instead of "napping" and it was NOT pretty

Can't wait for more!!

 

[redlight]

I'm in!

Chester and Buddha apparently went on a bender, and since we weren’t sure how to include that in the children’s book, we felt it might be better here.

That was so funny!!

 

[natebenma]

Great start!

Love your traveling companions. I can hear them squeaking and barking (is that how otters and penguins talk?), that it is "Five o' Clock Somewhere". But I think that is supposed to refer to PM not AM!

Thanks for the info on Tiffany Town Car- I have heard good things!

That WDW is most definitely the magical border point!

Can't wait to hear more about your trip!

 

[jenneth79]

Yay you started!!! Can't wait to read all about your trip - a shame that we missed each other at AKL.

Edit: Just read your flight journey - am glad you made it on time and had a safe flight. Love the little mascots!

Thanks! I just found your TR so I'm looking forward to hearing about your trip as well!

Perhaps there will be a next time in Disney for us to meet!

Love Chester and Buddha! I like having mascots on my trips too. Even though people look at me funny sometimes, but I don't care!

I am not a morning person either, which is why I try to avoid early flights too. I normally like to fly out the night before. Works for me. And I agree wholeheartedly that if it's not light outside, it is not yet morning.

I told Mike we should always travel with suffed animals. When we were waiting to have our IDs checked in security, one of the officers got so excited because she thought Buddha was from the movie Happy Feet, and I guess there is a Happy Feet 2 coming out.... she was so full of energy at 6 in the morning. It was nice though, they are conversation starters. Even if people think I'm crazy.

at your traveling companions! I just know those 2 will be up to more trouble!!

As for getting up early, I ONLY do it for WDW! We live about 90 minutes from the airport, so for a 6 am flight I am up around 2:15 am. One year I tried just staying up instead of "napping" and it was NOT pretty

Can't wait for more!!

TWO AM??? Woman, are you crazy? Actually, now that I think of it, you aren't crazy, you're just way braver than I am!

My biggest problem is that I can't sleep on flights, not sure if you have that issue as well? While an Orlando flight for us is only about 2 hours gate to gate, I would still love it if I could catch a few winks. Even transatlantic flights....no sleepies for me.

 

[jenneth79]

I'm in!



That was so funny!!

Welcome!!! Funny but true, my friend, funny but true......

Great start!

Love your traveling companions. I can hear them squeaking and barking (is that how otters and penguins talk?), that it is "Five o' Clock Somewhere". But I think that is supposed to refer to PM not AM!

Thanks for the info on Tiffany Town Car- I have heard good things!

That WDW is most definitely the magical border point!

Can't wait to hear more about your trip!

Oh let me tell you Dee, they were somewhere near 54 bottles of beer on the wall before they passed out.....

I would certainly recommend Tiffany Town Car, and plan to use them on our next (potentially surprise for hubby) trip to Disney.

I should have my Photopass CD in the next day or so, then I will continute with the updates. We got some really great shots!

 

[Cinderumbrella]

TWO AM??? Woman, are you crazy? Actually, now that I think of it, you aren't crazy, you're just way braver than I am!

My biggest problem is that I can't sleep on flights, not sure if you have that issue as well? While an Orlando flight for us is only about 2 hours gate to gate, I would still love it if I could catch a few winks. Even transatlantic flights....no sleepies for me.

In all the travel I did for business and/or pleasure over the past 15 years, I have slept twice on a plane (and since I won't incriminate myself on a public forum, they may or may not have had something to do with alcohol consumption prior to boarding the plane )

I tend to fall in the category of "But Mommy, we're too excited to sleep!!" when it comes to WDW trips. So the sooner we can get up and out the door, the better!! Last year we had a 7am flight (which required a 3am wake up call) and we still closed MNSSHP down at midnight on our arrival day! We will be attempting this feat again in a few short weeks...

DH, however, is asleep before wheels up any time we fly. And DS watches out the window, patiently (read: impatiently) waiting for the tone letting us know portable electronics can now be used so he can play his Nintendo DS for the duration.

Anyway, enough about me.... I just read about your first evening's dinner on your dining report. And sadly we know all about the plumbing issues from the YC FAQ. So I am looking forward to Day 2!