"Charlie, Everybody's HOT" - a March 2012 Mother/Daughter mini-trip

[Anntan]

originally posted in another thread, but re-posted for finishing HERE!

HELLO DISBOARDS

I'm Anna!

It's lovely to welcome you all here to my FIRST EVER trip report!

"Charlie, Everybody's HOT!"

A March 2012, 3 Day Mother/Daughter Disney Extravaganza!

A fun-filled adventure, full of Memories, Excellent Food, New Experiences, Character Love, and Meltdowns!
Yes, folks, you can have Disney Meltdowns even without small children.


I was inspired to finally do a write up after reading those of "The Frumps," Jess and Kristen (Disneyfreak508 and Disneyfreak616)
From those readings I have deduced that I am rather Frumpy myself.
Although this was not my first Disney trip, it was my most recent and one of the most special (not a hard title, as it is only 1 of 3)
So Here It Is! I Hope you enjoy reading along with my adventures and Have A Magical Day!


Let's begin with some Indroductions:


Anna

Disney has been an incredibly large part of my life since as long as I can remember. As I recently discovered, through home videos, my parents have been long-time Disney pushers. Every gift-giving opportunity would be filled with movies and plush and Disney clothes. To this day, every Christmas my two brothers and I get matching Disney pajamas and plush toys. My Disney plush collection currently stands at 63 and counting! I Love them! My Love for all things Disney skyrocketed after my family trip in 2010. I love Disney art and animation, and Have slowly taught myself how to draw Disney characters, which is now one of my favorite things to do (with a reference, of course). Ever since that 2010 trip I have been in full Disney mode. Hoping to get there more often and explore the large amounts of things I've never done there and learn more about the place that brings so much happiness.
I hope to work there VERY SOON! There are multiple things I would love to do, but Entertainment is my dream.


Favorite Park: Magic Kingdom, followed by EPCOT (especially World Showcase)
Favorite Ride: The Carousel
Favorite Resort: The Grand Floridian (as I've stayed there 2 of 3 times and it's the only one I really remember plus it's INCREDIBLE)
Favorite Movie: Lady and The Tramp, Aladdin, The Aristocats, The Little Mermaid, Beauty and The Beast
Favorite Pixar Movie: Monsters inc., Toy Story, Up, Brave
Favorite Princess: Belle and Jasmine
Favorite Restaurants: 1900 Park Fare, Cinderella's Royal Table, Narcoossee's



Theresa, My wonderful Mother

My mother has always been a lover of Disney. Obviously bringing me up the right way. Other than the many things she provided me with as a child, she gave me a love of Disney. It was she who showered me with toys and vhs tapes and sat and watched them with me over and over again. She always tell me the story of how she wrote Walt a letter when she was little and got a picture of Bambi mailed back to her. How Adorable! She supports me in EVERYTHING I do, as you will become fully aware of later in this TR.

Favorite Park: Magic Kingdom, followed by EPCOT (especially World Showcase) JUST LIKE ME!
Favorite Ride: Dumbo, Small World, Mexico' Gran Fiesta Tour, Soarin'
Favorite Resort: The Grand Floridian. aka The reason we can't go to Disney every year. I swear, the woman won't stay anywhere else!
Favorite Movie: The Little Mermaid, Dumbo, Bambi, Mary Poppins
Favorite Restaurants: Victoria & Albert's, Narcoossee's, California Grill.



Before I Begin the REAL Trip Report, A Quick Re-cap of my family's previous 2010 pre-trip
(as it sheds light on the 2012 trip):

I remember vividly when my mother told me we would be going to Disney. How could I forget?!? it had been EIGHT YEARS SINCE WE HAD BEEN TO DISNEY! EIGHT YEARS!!!! That's Insanity!!! Unfortunately, the circumstances of our trip weren't so great. My Grandmother on my father's side had recently passed away. However, she left money to my dad and my two brothers and I. Rather than hold onto the money and have it eventually spent on who-knows-what, my Dad decided to honor her and do something the family could do together and remember forever. So as it goes, My mom and I were in Starbucks after I got out of school that day and we were waiting for our drinks to come out. I remember standing near the counter and my mom explaining that Grandma had left some money for us, and that ... We had booked 5 days in Disney the week after school ended for the year! I barely registered what she said. *Remember it had been EIGHT LONG YEARS* Needless to say, planning and thinking about that trip is all that went through my mind for the next few months until June. We stayed at the Grand Floridian for the first time and it was magical and incredible and filled with wonderful dinners and memories.

A Perfect Vacation. It was the end of my Freshman year of high school and boy did it change my life forever. Something on this trip flipped a switch inside me that just said "I need to be here, I need to make magic." And that's where the current Trip Report comes in...


FAST FORWARD ONE YEAR: March 2011. Believe it or not, I'm in China at that point. I had a friend who I met through other friends on the internet and we began to chat on facebook. She was auditioning on her 16th birthday to work in Entertainment in Disney. I had always thought about auditioning and looking into working for Disney, but I never knew anyone who had. Although she didn't make it on her first time, she inspired me to go for it. When I returned home to America, On the way to the parking garage out of the airport I mentioned it to my Mom. She didn't think much of it. Who Would? 'Hey, Mom! I know I've only been home for 10 minutes, but I'm going to audition for Disney once I'm 16!' .. 'Ok, dear. Whatever you say.' But I did my research.


By the time July rolled around, I got the "So what do you want for your Birthday?" question in the car one day. I felt like it was the right moment to fully propose it (although I had been mentioning it on and off for a few months) I told my mom and dad that I wanted to go down to Orlando and audition for Disney. I didn't ask to stay in the resorts, or go to the parks. All I wanted to do was go to an audition over my Spring break and see what might happen. If it might work out. They said they would think about it, as any parent would say.


Flash Forward a few weeks:
It's my Birthday and i'm only expecting them to say 'maybe when you're a little older.' But OHHH MAN, I wish I could have captured the look on my face when my Mom said to me: "We're going to let you go to your audition." ​

​

Next Chapter​

Table Of Contents:

Prelude:
Introduction

An Magical Autumn of Anticipation (NYC) ​

Waiting Is The Hardest Part​

Down To The Wire​

Let's Get Down To Business​

March 28th, 2012:

Up And At 'Em!​

A Magical Beginning​

A New Experience​

It's Contagious​

So Spicy!​

Charlie, Everybody's Hot​

Dreams DO Come True!​

Try and tell me Magic isn't real NOW!​

Why the Grand Floridian is the best​

Magic Moments?​

Nighttime Entertainment Part I​

Nighttime Entertainment Part II​

March 29th, 2012:


March 30th, 2012:​

 

[Anntan]

A Magical Autumn of Anticipation


This was it! Nothing was official yet, but I had my parents blessing and permission to trek down to Florida and try my luck. Of course, preparations had to be made (when, how, where?) and research had to be done on WHAT exactly I was doing. At that point I really had absolutely no idea.


Over the next few months I began to figure out what i was getting myself into. Between the Disney Auditions website and a very helpful friend of mine, I had the basics down:
Auditions every thursday for Character Look alikes/Character Performers, what was most likely to happen at that audition, what I should wear, expect, etc.
Weeks past and by mid-Fall I was in full Disney excitement. And I wasn't even planning on going to the parks!


As it turned out, during the mid-Fall of 2011, my parents attended a wedding in Florida. Instead of spending the last night of the trip with the rest of the wedding party, they decided 'Hey! Let's drive to WDW and try to get a room and dinner!'

You can imagine my extreme depression when my phone buzzed to reveal a photo of that wonderfully welcoming archway labeled: Walt Disney World. Typical Spoiled Disney parents drove straight to the Grand Floridian and got a room and dinner reservations at Victoria and Albert's.
Once again, You can imagine my jealous rage!!
Upon their return I expressed my obvious jealousy, but was eased when my mother presented me with two AMAZING new Disney T-shirts! The sketched one of Bambi and Thumper (seen in the photo in my intro) and a long Gray and laced Mickey one. The shirts were wonderful and I was happy that they got them for me, because they really Didn't have to, as jealous of their trip as I was.


...But The Best Was Yet To Come...


I'm not sure if it was the Disney magic in their systems, or that for some reason my family and I thought I really did have a chance at being hired for the summer, but while at the GFla, mom and dad booked Mom and I 3 days and 2 nights at the Grand Floridian over my Spring Break! Wednesday and Friday park hopper tickets, Dinner reservations, and a car to and from the airport!(yes we are so spoiled my parents don't even like the Magical Express from the airport)


I was BEYOND excited! BEYOND BEYOND EXCITED! they did NOT need to do that! I was so happy I could barely speak! That happiness then carried over into everything I did for the next few months until the end of March.



FLASH FORWARD! (I promise the fast forwarding will end soon)
Thanksgiving week - Disney is on my mind LITERALLY every day. I'm learning as much as I can about the audition process and working on getting myself in Princess shape. I had the incredible opportunity through Camp Broadway to travel to NYC for Thanksgiving week to perform in a group Macy's Day Parade act. In itself, that was one of the greatest things I've ever done. However, experiencing New York for the first time (weird since I live in the state) was just as exciting.

Of course, the trip began with a visit to the Disney Store in Times Square.
And Ohhhh Man, was I unprepared for all the excitement.

First thing was first: Classic New York Fake Woody

We ran into Fake Woody on our way to the store, so naturally we stopped and pretended it was real Woody. Except... we had to give him a dollar... and he smelled like burritos.... So we moved on pretty quickly.

Being me, I ran straight for the Disney Store. I hadn't been to a Disney store in YEARS. Not counting the one I went to in China... which was overwhelming and I couldn't buy anything.

but I digress...
Once I walked in and saw how incredible it was I didn't know what to do but take pictures!!

*Pre-Princess conditioning and removal of braces before audition*

We found out later that the whole store was 20% off that day!!!
Unfortunately, there were no plush that I didn't already own/Hadn't ordered for Christmas!

Am I a Princess Yet?

I'm Wishing...

That Day I ended up buying An evil Queen tshirt, a Snow White sketch tshirt, a Minnie Mouse NYC tshirt, and a big pack of hand painted classic animation Christmas ornaments.

After Exploring the store a bit more (It was huge! and it made me miss the Disney store that closed 20 minutes from my house! why why why) we continued through Times Square.
Only to return to the Disney store to find amazing goings-ons right outside!

They were doing a promotional thing in which you stand on a platform in front of the store and it projects you onto the screen with a character! you interact with them until it snaps a photo, which then goes on the giant virtual castle across the street!
My Brother, John, and I did it and the character we got was Woody! (Not the fake one, the real one)

It was a perfect way to start the day!

The rest of the trip was the experience of a lifetime - with a few more little Disney bits included... which I'll just leave here

​

Next Chapter​

 

[Anntan]

Waiting Is The Hardest Part

ooof I swear, I'm almost at the REAL trip! After New York City, I had about 4 months left of waiting.
With Christmas coming up, time flew by.
Christmas was wonderfully Disney filled!

I got the Lion King on DVD/Bluray and The Hidden Magic of WDW from my brothers (they know me so well), Thomas Kinkade's, rest his soul, Disney art calendar, Winnie the Pooh in Latin, and our Plush for this year were Winnie the Pooh (I got eeyore, my brothers got owl and Rabbit)

Christmas was Awesome!


But I needed to focus! I had mid-terms coming up, and, with it being my junior year, I really needed to do well. On top of that, I had a Chinese exchange student coming and a NY state theater conference to go to!

My exchange student SiJia commented upon entering my room "You really like Disney." I really hope I didn't frighten her. Oh Well!

The theatre conference went well and when I returned I was ready to go for exams!

Exams went AWESOMELY as well! I was on a roll! On the final day of our exam week, I had no exam,
so my mom and I went to see Beauty and The Beast 3D!

As soon as the castle opening came on I was gone. Tears and happiness. I wanted to be a part of the magic so badly! And I had an opportunity to try and make it happen! I was very emotional that day, also that movie is just Sooooooo beautiful in itself, so that added to my waterworks.



- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


For the next 2 months I tried to focus as much on school as was possible. I tried to focus my Disney energy into drawing and working on my mosaic puzzle (been working for 2 years and still not done):

That worked to some extent. I wanted to keep my excitement pretty low-key, because school was getting crazy. But it was so hard!
Little Disney things were happening all around me!


I came home to THIS one afternoon. The nerve of my Mother, i mean honestly.

Then, at target, she let me buy two of THESE.

Then again!!! Was she trying to kill me with excitement?!?!

As if she hadn't already overflowed my heart with emotion and love. Valentine's day came along. Now, My mom gets us presents for this holiday. i'm not sure if that's normal or not but it's always something really sweet. This year, I had ordered myself a pair of grey Toms with pink hearts on them. And I thought, ok, that will be my gift this year. But, Ohhh no. I come home... To This:

Not only are Disney plush my all time favorite thing, but Lady and The Tramp is my favorite Disney movie.
Oh, Lord, I love my mother so much. ​

Next Chapter​

 

[Anntan]

Down To The Wire
​

The countdown clock was ticking faster and slower all at once for the next two and a half weeks!

I tried to live and breathe Snow White every day.
I worked on Belle and Jasmine too, just in case. But my biggest shot was Snow.
Everyone else seemed to think so too when I told them that I was auditioning.
I practiced my mannerisms, my voices, my smiles, watched all my movies.
Anything that would help me better embody the Original Princess I did.

I worked hard at school for the last week. . . WELL....
As hard as one can work when it's the week before Spring Break, and you're going to Disney, and suddenly Buffalo has summer weather Every Single Day!!!

By the end of the week I had one thing on my mind: PRINCESS PRINCESS PRINCESS.

The last day before Spring Break started (Friday-- I left for Disney on Wednesday) I had the double class period basically free because we had a party in my English class. Then I had Lunch period free. AND (I forget why) but I had the last block of the day free as well!

SO.... My day was spent singing Disney songs in the chorus room and frolicking around the campus acting like a princess and goofing off with my friends.

The campus was in total bloom! It was beautiful and i'm glad I got pictures of it!

They told me to put my flower like Ariel's hairpiece. So I guess this is my Ariel face

ALMOST A DEER FACE?

After a memorable afternoon with friends, We said our goodbyes for the next two weeks. Everyone wished me well on my trip and they all couldn't wait to hear about EVERYTHING when I returned!

​

Next Chapter​

 

[Anntan]

Let's Get Down To Business

To Defeat..... The Disney preparations!

Friday night also marked the return of my older Brother from college for spring break! He just finished his freshman year of university at St. Andrews in Scotland!!! Cool, right?! He's so lucky. He even went to Disneyland Paris without me BOOO! anyway.... We went straight from school to the airport to pick him up! I was extremely excited to be at the airport! I mean, i would be at the same airport in 5 days on my way to Disney! It was great to see him again and we were both super excited for our breaks from school.

But BOY, OH BOY did I have a LOT to do.


Since school had ended for Spring Break on friday, I could finally relax about that. But there were so many other things to do! I had nothing packed, I had to finalize a schedule for our 3 days in Disney (yes, i had one done already, but it needed MAJOR revisions), and I had to shop!

My memory of the weekend is a bit fuzzy, as there was just sooooo much going on in my house (my brothers were going to visit my grandparents in Florida while my mom and I were on our trip, so they had to get ready too!) If I recall correctly, Saturday we all went to the mall to see The Hunger Games, and Sunday my mom ran errands with my brother while I stayed home and did laundry and cleaned my room and gathered some things for my trip.

Monday involved a major trip to Target. In the end, We came home with two dresses (The same dress in different patterns ^_^ ), a messenger bag (I had been looking for the perfect one for Disney and I found it!!!), Hair ties, a tshirt for my audition, a few toiletries, and a minnie mouse crop top!

** TARGET TIPS : I did not buy the minnie mouse top for the trip! However, the target sale rack often has Disney tees on super sale! for like... $2-12. And you're not going to not buy a Disney shirt! I just bought a $3 Sparkly Bambi one actually **​

So I had all my things, and I started to pack...

Since we were only staying for 3 days, I packed everything in a duffle bag and my messenger bag as my park bag/carry on. My mom had a mini suitcase and her own little messenger bag. (except hers was Kate Spade, and mine was Target -___- ) While I worked on packing, we finalized our game plan: We had changed our dinner reservations from what my parents had originally booked so we changed a few other things after that. We kept most of the original reservations though, because my parents are wonderfully and they picked my favorite places

Wednesday

- Arrive at 10amish
- Gather luggage, find our driver, and head to the Grand Floridian
- Check in and see if our room is ready/store luggage
- Change clothes and head to EPCOT!
- explore flower and garden festival (OUR FIRST ONE!)
- stop and have lunch somewhere
- explore world showcase
- head back to hotel around 4
- change and get ready for dinner
- Dinner
- Magic Kingdom for Parade and Fireworks (as it's the only night to see them for us)
- Bed

Thursday

- SLEEP IN (whattt?!? There's no sleeping in Disney! ...except when you don't have park tickets that day and you have an audition!)
- Relax
- Audition at 4
- Dinner
- Bed

Friday

- MAGIC KINGDOMMMMMM
- ALL DAY
- MAGIC MAGIC MAGIC
- Until we have to leave...... @ 7pm


So we had our plan, but our big hook was that since it was just the two of us, if we decided we wanted to do something different WE COULD! it was as simple as changing our minds!

With that in mind, I continued to happily pack

By tuesday night I was finishing my packing, getting everything ready for the morning, and watching movies of course!

I had everything I needed! Except my Minnie Ears from 2010. I figured I would buy new ones in MK on Friday! Unfortunately I never did. But that's okay.


It was getting late...

And I was thinking...

Thinking is bad for me......

I was thinking about how long I had been waiting for this trip, and what it meant for me. It symbolized exactly what Disney meant to so many people. Dreams Coming True. Or, at least the opportunity for dreams to come true.

It had been two years since I had been to Disney! I was so happy to be going back to the place that I felt most at home. I fit in there. I belonged there.

But right behind the excitement was my fear. All the anxiety and nerves that I had about the trip were right along side the excitement. It was a big jumble of mixed emotions.

I wanted so much to do well at this Audition even though it was all about look. I literally couldn't do anything other than stand and be myself, and I was nervous that I might go all this way and do it wrong. Crazy, right?

Even stupider than THAT fear, is this next one...

Now, I'm sure all my teenage Disers reading this have had that fantasy of being in Disney with their crush. Right? Right. Well, it's something I have always dreamt about. And It happened to be another reoccurring theme of my trip. (Yes, there are a lot of those.) Oh Yeah, I had it bad.
There was this guy, who I had liked on and off for a few years. Not nearly as much as this other guy, but I digress... Anyway, he goes to Disney allll the time with his family and it just so happened our trips overlapped this time.

I had talked to him all the time at school about it and how we should meet up for a bit or whatever. And what do I find out, that he hadn't bothered to mention during any of those conversations? He was bringing his girlfriend of 3 months. OH YEAH. for 10 days. WHAT? I'm sorry WHAT? you don't "date" someone for 3 months and then just bring them on your family Disney trip for 10 days. Whatever.

I didn't want all my ridiculous thoughts to ruin any part of my trip, so I put on my Airplane/Disney playlist, set my alarm for 3:30am, and fell asleep looking at old Disney pictures and dreaming of working in Disney for the summer.

Old Pictures - 2010

June, 2010
My family is a little Frumpy...

​

Next Chapter - WE'RE GOING TO DISNEY​

 

[Anntan]

Up And At 'Em!

Do you have an iPhone? No? Do you know someone with an iPhone? hmm... Well... you must know what the iPhone default ringtone sounds like! No? Well, for those of you who don't, here it is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkuN9JDelVU

Listened to it?

Alright.

So now you know how annoying it is!!

Imagine your reaction to that noise blasting in your ear (literally) at around 3:30am? Pleasant? I think not.

Thankfully, I quickly remembered that the alarm did not mean just another early morning wake up call.

I Meant TODAY WAS DISNEY DAY!!

Once I realized what day it was, I was up and out of bed before I could say Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!

I was the first of my family members to hop in the shower (as I take the longest to get ready -___-) and once I was clean and awake, I finished up my packing while the rest of the family showered.

My brothers were also going to the airport that morning for a 7am flight to florida to see my grandparents while my Mom and I went for my audition. So it was a bit of a scramble out of the house!

Once I had packed my electronics and makeup and last minute morning items, I got dressed. I threw on leggings, my bambi tshirt, a sweater, and a scarf (just in case!) I knew once we got to our resort we would change for the parks, so my main concern was Plane comfort

We all finished getting ready, piled into the car, and Dad drove us to the airport.

If I had to choose one favorite instance in my whole life, it was that drive to the airport. It was just close to 5am, the streets were completely empty, and the streetlights reflected of the roads. I had that 5 year old's feeling that I was going to Disney, and I would be there in only a matter of hours. All those enchanting feelings rushed over me as we made the 20 or so minute drive to the airport.


When we arrived, Dad dropped us at the entrance, and since none of us were checking bags, we went straight in and to security check. (After hugging Dad goodbye of course!)

Security went quickly, and before we knew it we were parting ways with my brothers and heading to our gate. Mom asked me if I wanted any breakfast, but I couldn't eat due to my level of excitement! And I wanted my first meal of the day to be Disney food!!

When we got to our gate, we ran into the parents of my Brother's best friend, Mr & Mrs. Best, who happen to be very good family friends. They were on our Flight! (running into people is a theme of this trip!) we chatted with them, and called my brother to come over, for a while. They asked all about my audition, and I told them what little I knew about it. They said they were sure I'd be perfect for it, and wished me luck. Before we knew it, it was time to board!! Jojo and John went back to their own gate, and Mom and I waited to board the plane.

We got to our seats, and time went so quickly!!!! We took off, I threw on my ipod full of Disney music, and it seemed like only a few songs went by before we heard the pilot say we were arriving early!

Welcome to Orlando!

My heart was racing so fast!!! I couldn't believe we were finally here! I had been waiting for so long! It was unreal!

We hopped off the plane, said goodbye to The Best's, and headed off into the airport.

Then we got lost.

We didn't have any luggage checked, but we were meeting our driver (yes, we do not take the Magical Express, my parents are spoiled, we always get a driver) by the luggage claim. But We Had NO idea how to get there. Apparently we're bad sign readers. LONG STORY SHORT: we eventually found it, but then had to call and tell our driver where we were since he was lost too Once we saw the man with the "TANTILLO" sign (which my mom kept as a memento...) we knew we had made it!

He led us to the car, which was huge and beautiful and air conditioned, and we were on our way!

I have to say, this Driver was sooooo handsome! I was all a flutter! mostly from excitement...but whatever. He kept telling us about how wonderful Orlando is, and all the good reasons to live there, and things to do, and how nice the people are, and it was getting me so excited that I was trying to spend the summer working down there! My emotions were building up!

And then it hit me.... it was up ahead... I was so emotional I have zero pictures... It was the entrance archway.

My whole heart flooded over as we approached that line between fantasy and reality.

I closed my eyes, made a wish, and we crossed over onto Disney Property. ​

Next Chapter​

 

[Anntan]

A Magical Beginning

I couldn't believe it! I Was in DISNEY!
It had been TWO YEARS!

I watched in amazement as we passed Disney buses, and signs leading to various resorts and parks, but I knew which one to look out for.

Those beautiful Magic Kingdom signs.
And the one and only Magic Kingdom archway!

We passed under it and i felt another heart attack coming on.

I was in literal tears the whole drive. I couldn't help it!

Before long, We had finally reached out destination.

We pulled into the long driveway of the Grand Floridian and I took a deep breath. The view was incredible. The buildings there are just so flawless and beautiful. AND THE SMELL! I could already smell it as we were getting closer to the main entrance!

I was holding my breath as we pulled up to the doors!

The bellhop opened the door of the car and I let out a sigh.

I was home.

I jumped out of the car, and went around to grab my bag.
Of course, someone had already retrieved my bag and was ready to bring it inside for me.

My mom and I were in awe, we had forgotten just how perfect this place was!

We said thank you and goodbye to our driver and turned around to face our home for the next 3 days. And what a perfect home it was.

A Wonderful cast member, whose name I've forgotten since then, greeted us and led us to the front desk to check in. Along the way, he read our check in file he had and asked what my audition was all about. My parents had told them what I was there for when they booked the trip, and so everyone knew what I was doing. However, no one really knew anything about it! I explained what I was hoping to achieve with my audition and he wished me lots of luck and said I seemed like a great fit for the Disney family.

That made me so happy!


We had planned to store our bags once we checked in and head straight to the parks, thinking our room wouldn't be ready yet, But to our surprise, our room was ready early! And we could go to it right then! The man at the desk also wished me luck on my audition and gave me a "My Magical Triumph" pin! My mom and I headed off to our room to change and get the day going.

Our room was in the Big Pine Key building

It was sort of on the right side of the main lobby.
I had previously stayed at the Sugar Loaf building, which was RIGHT next to the dock to Magic Kingdom! which was awesome! But this was much closer to the main lobby, which was nice too!

We got to our room, and the smell hit me! If you've never been to the Grand Floridian, it's worth making a stop there just to take a big whiff! It's such a nice smell!! So clean and fresh and magical!

The room was beautiful and perfect for the two of us.

After I was done smelling the beds, I unpacked a few things and freshened up. I changed into my Pink shorts and my heart Toms and packed up my phone and my camera.

Of course I had to document...

I put on my pin and we headed back to the main lobby!

The pool was RIGHT outside our building! Super convenient!

Once we got back to the main lobby, we headed for the front desk.
Don't judge me for this, but it had been a while since I'd been to Disney, and I had forgotten how to get on the right monorail to EPCOT from GFla. So, we asked the woman at the desk, and she helped us out. We asked a few other questions regarding the location of my audition tomorrow, which she didn't really answer too well, but she tried. We thanked her, I grabbed a few park maps, and we headed upstairs to the monorail!

We admired all the lovely shops and went outside to wait or the monorail.

But not before taking a couple obligatory lobby pictures:

UGHHH So Gorgeous!

I could tell my mom was getting just as excited as I was! We joked and chatted until the monorail came.

We Were Ready To Go! ​

Next Chapter​

 

[Anntan]

A New Experience

As I mentioned at the very beginning of this trip report, this was a trip filled with New Experiences! The most basic of these being that this was the first time I had ever been to Disney without the whole family. It was just Mom and I! we didn't have to worry about anyone but ourselves! And we could do ONLY what WE wanted to do!
It proved to be a very wonderful way to travel.

We made our way through the monorails and traveled over to EPCOT for the afternoon. It was just before 12 when we arrived.

We had until about 4. We had dinner reservations at 6 in order to be done and back to MK and ready for the Parade at 9 and fireworks at 10. So in order to be showered and dressed and relaxed for dinner, we wanted to leave EPCOT around 4.

But until then...

EPCOT WAS OUR PLAYGROUND!

The Flower and Garden festival was going on (ANOTHER NEW EXPERIENCE FOR US!) so our main EPCOT focus would be to walk around and see all the displays. We didn't want to worry about rides, or even going into all of the World Showcase pavilions (even though I've never fully walked through all of them) We wanted this just to be for us to relax, see the flowers, meet some characters (my favorite thing to do!) and ease into our little Disney trip.

And Boy, Where We Successful!

We did JUST what we wanted to!

By travelling just the two of us we avoided tantrums, and fighting for the most part. And we could just sort of...Go.

NATURALLY, we began at the front.

We took a while walking and examining the Fantasia flowers at the front.

We quite enjoyed being a bit silly

I'm in love with the Ostriches and with Disney Eyes...

This day just kept getting more magical by the second!

Once we realized we should probably move on to the actual park, we left the Fantasia display and headed to the next Flower display on the map. Well... On my iPhone. I used the Flower and Garden festival mobile website to pinpoint where all the flowers were and so we traveled accordingly. At least until we got to World Showcase.


We passed a few special touches on our way to find Coffee though...

We reached coffee and the festival center at the same time. And more Topiaries!

We stopped for a few moments to drink our coffees and pose with our new friends...

However, I'm not the most assertive person, and so I kept letting people take their pictures before we took ours... Mom didn't like that.

Next it was on to the Fairy Gardens to see Tinkerbell and her flower Friends!
But not before running into one of my favorite aliens...

I felt bad skipping over most of EPCOT, but I had a goal in mind, and I was hoping it wouldn't be too long before I made it back to WDW.
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[Anntan]

It's Contagious

Personally, I'm a big fan of the Tinkerbell franchise.

Granted, I haven't seen all of the movies yet, I like the idea. The couple ones I have seen we're definitely cute. And I love the books and the Park characters! Also, stickers. I have a Disney sticker obsession. Like, I have two books of 600, plus a pack of like 300 minis and it's really unhealthy. But there are always Fairy stickers for sale! So i like that...


The first fairy we encountered was Terrence:

I was enthusiastically explaining Terrence's fairy duties to my mother when a wonderful CM came over and complimented my knowledge. He asked if Terrence had smiled at me. I said I thought i saw that he did

The Cast member said He's usually pretty shy around the girls, to which I responded: "Not me! Never!"


Next up was Tink

And her friend Periwinkle

Mom said Periwinkle was a scraggly fairy. I don't think she liked her too much.
Although she was kinda scraggly.

I went over to see Fawn next.

And my picture turned out all orangey and cool!!

And Silvermist

Meanwhile, my mom had gone to talk to the Cast Member working on the Winter Woods part of the garden. Mom was asking about the process of getting all of the topiaries up in such a short time.

The CM told her it was a lot of overnight work, but it was also a lot of small contagious work.

Sort of like the set up for a Holiday: A Large part of the decorum goes up after hours when no guests are there. But a lot of it is gradual throughout the day. Little bits get put up at a time, so that maybe at the beginning of the day a bridge is just a bridge, but when you come back to it later, bit by bit, it has been turned into a snow-covered wonder bridge!


The next fairy was Vidia, My Favorite!!!!

Being the 'I-think-I'm-funny-but-sometimes-it-doesn't-translate' Dork that I am, I thought it would be a good Idea to sit down in front of Vidia and scowl for a picture. So I sat down, Criss-Cross-Applesauce, in the middle of the only walking passage to her area and waited for my mom to take a picture.

It didn't really go how I had hoped.

Mom couldn't get the camera right, and I tried to explain my plan to people, and then I laughed during my scowling picture and it was just a mess. But a FUN mess!

Unfortunately, the photo doesn't get the full effect of me blocking the path and people waiting on both sides

After that incident, we decided we should probably move on.
So I snapped a few more pictures of the rest of the gang, and we headed out.

I love this picture of Rosetta because I think the umbrellas in the back look like they're for her to protect her from the sun

-------------------------------


The visit with the Fairy flowers had my Neverland Never Grow Up spirits in full blast. So I basically tipped overboard when I saw this:

I'm sitting writing this TR right now in my Peter Pan shirt and I'm basically crying because I know I'll have to grow up this year by applying and then going to college. But I know with Disney, I'll never really have to grow up.

But I digress...

If there were a high you could get from snorting pixie dust (I'm sure there is somewhere out there) that's what I felt like at this point of EPCOT.

And that photo is going on my Senior Page of my yearbook this year along with my Peter Pan, Walt Disney, etc. quotes.


We were finally to the front of World Showcase!!! We always start at Mexico and work our way clockwise. So we spent some time by the lagoon and at the Mickey & Friends topiaries before getting started.


Sun in my eyes...

Gorgeous.

Nothing could stop how happy I was right then and there.

Now...

Vamos A La Mexican Pavilion! ​

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[Anntan]

So Spicy

So Spicy! Mexican Spice...


That's a little saying we have in my household.

On Christmas, we had hot chocolate. Out of nowhere my brother goes... "mmmm Is So Spicy. Mexican Spice!"

So Now we say it at most everything. Sort of an oOoOoOoO we're excited type saying. But really. It goes with anything.

So naturally, once we began in Mexico for World Showcase, the first thing out of my mouth was "So Spicy! Mexican Spice..."

We figured we would stop inside and cool off for a few minutes, but when we saw that the wait time for Gran Fiesta Tour was a measly 5 minutes, we hopped right on!

Mom said at the end of it that it was her new favorite ride. We had only ridden it once before. But now she was SURE OF IT! Oh, Mom...


After that beautiful Gem of a ride, It was ADIOS MEXICO and movin' on.

NEXT it was off to visit my long lost brethren in Norway!

When I'm not 95% Italian....I'm 2.5% VIKING.

True Story.

Next on the loop, CHINA!

I hate to say it... But after having visited Actual China... Disney China was not as exotic as I remember it being. . .

I didn't want to visit my Puppet friends, since I was Brother-less on this trip

But I shall post old Puppet photos for Posterity's sake.

Ahhhh the good old days...


But Back to the relevant stuff.

I REMEMBER IT ALL CLEAR AS DAY.

When the skies opened up to me and said.
Here, Anna. Walk up this way a bit...
MULAN IS WAITING TO MEET YOU.


Ok. So she was meeting with everyone. But LITERALLY my only goal of my 2010 Disney trip, was to meet Mulan. Did it happen? NO.
So I was beyond ecstatic to find her and a relatively short line of guests right around the bend.

I waited in line, while Mom stood in the shade and waited to be my photographer.

I could tell that she could see the wonder in my eyes everytime I was about to meet a character. She would smile and get excited right along with me. There were definitely a few tears shed throughout the day.

Suddenly it was finally my turn!!!

This was it! My First character interaction of the day!
Of the TRIP!
I had been waiting months and months for this! Counting down for dayssss!

And ....


It was perfect.

Here I am telling her all about my adventures in China.

Here I am being too excited.

Posing like a warrior.

And finally, saying goodbye

She was incredible! So kind, and so talkative!
Just the way I imagined she would be.




ALSO A DUCK.

A little piece of peace before things get REALLY OVERWHELMING.
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[Anntan]

Mummy, I'm SoOoOoOoO HOT!


THIS IS THE STORY.... OF HOW I DIED.


But, really...


As we reach this point of the TR, things begin to kick into high gear.
We've had our first character greeting. We've gotten a little sunburnt. We've spotted multiple family meltdowns. We were in SERIOUS Disney Business by now.

And boy, was I in for an UNPREDICTABLE rest of the day.



Once we were done with Mulan, We kept on walking...

and we're walking, and walking, and THEN I CAN"T GO ANY FURTHER.


Why, do you ask?




SNOW WHITE.


That's why.

there she is. in all her glory. and why am I so freaked out?


Because I want to be her very best friend.
I have spent the past 6+ months learning everything I can about her.
Watching countless youtube videos of how she moves and talks and interacts with guests. I was so hoping to be able to spend my summer with her, that at this point I couldn't even meet her.
I couldn't handle it.
I could hardly breathe!

I had to take some deep breaths and walk away.
For now at least.
At least until My audition was over.


So

for now, I just ambled over to her topiary and hung out with that for a while.

Basically the same thing, right?

I'm Wishing...

AS IF THAT WASN'T EMOTIONAL ENOUGH FOR ME:


We moved on ever further...


Unto my ALL TIME FAVORITEEEEEEE. I'm talking ALL TIME here people.

Oh yeah, now we're gettin' in deep.

Oh wow. Wow, oh Wow. They're so perfect. I can't even.



That took a lot out of me.
We had to stop for a cold drink.



Somewhere, along the way, If i remember correctly (may have been later, but either way) we came across what has come to be the title of this here Trip Report.

We were walking along, taking in the sights and sounds and smells of the pavilions, when suddenly, A tiny British boy catches my eye. He looks quite tired, and cranky, so I watch him a bit longer. He walks along with his mother when he abruptly stops.

"Mummy! I'm Sooo Hot"

to which his mother responds,highly irritated, yet highly composed, in THE MOST BRITISH OF ACCENTS:

"Charlie... EVERYBODY'S HOT"


Maybe it was just the heat, but I burst out laughing. The whole scene was like something out of a comedy sketch. The way she said it was so hilarious! It quickly became another household phrase. And one we used countless times throughout the rest of the trip.



---------------------------------


Our iced teas led us through America. And to some familiar friends...

The woman standing nearby mentioned to me that Lotso and I had matching colors on.

So I took this picture:

A for Anna

So Long, Partner

Also, Cars 2

The next thing I knew, I didn't know what was happening.

Since my first rememberable (word?) trip to Disney in 2002 I believe, I have, more than anything, wanted to meet Jasmine and Aladdin.

For some reason, fate has NEVER allowed that to happen.

Either the line has JUST closed, or they're JUST going inside, whatever it is, I can never seem to meet them.

And they're two of my FAVORITES!

So when I saw them out meeting with guests, I was in a full on sprint.

Typical Disney magic making me feel awkward and foolish led me to them JUST as the line was closing off.

Wah wahhh wahhh


BUT

Being the creepy Disney character obsesser that I am, I stood nearby and took photos of them with strange children.

Mom made fun of me, but I just like having my own pictures of characters!

Maybe that's your child.

They finished meeting with her, and I was just about ready to keep moving on when.....


They asked the next family to wait a moment and they stood up, waved to me, and in the most adorably wonderful manner, Turned and posed for a picture!!

As you can see, i was in a full shake at this point, so the photo is a bit blurry.

I felt so special and loved. Truly a memorable moment for me.

It's things like that, that can make someone's day all that much more magical, that make me want to work in entertainment in Disney



Similarly, in France, Belle and the Beast were headed inside as well

While, not as pleasant as Jas and Al had been, Belle politely posed for someone who asked her to. Although, she didn't seem quite happy about it.

But it got me this photo!

They headed in, and we headed to the flower versions of the two.

Princess Pose...

I was getting POOPED! (a phrase which I would come to regret later on)

I figured my magical encounters were all used up for the day, But little did I know, Disney was about to show me how much Magic it really had.​

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[Anntan]

Dreams DO Come True!


Disney was working it's magic on me.
I was having the Best Day Ever!!!

I didn't expect much else to really excite me in EPCOT;
I had already had SUCH a wonderful day!

How could it get much better?!?!

Just watch....



We kept moving, taking pictures of topiaries.
We had just photo stopped at the Beauty and The Beast topiaries, when I spotted another character!

Princess Aurora and Philip were hanging out near the other flowers!

I figured I would go over and see how long I would have to wait to meet them.

Not surprisingly, they were heading inside.

I wasn't too bummed out, since Aurora isn't really my favorite.
And there were plenty of photos to be taken with the flowers

So I shrugged it off and began to take my photos.

AND THEN.


My life changed forever.



Who comes walking out of the door that Aurora had just left from?




The One




The Only





MARIE.





I FLIPPED.


Marie has always been a favorite of mine.
I had all the stuffed animals
I had MULTIPLE sets of Marie pajamas, which I wore far past the time I outgrew them.

I loved her.


Exhibit A:

Ohhh yeah. I wore that baby for years.

I still own it!!


Ontop of my love, I had NOOOOO Idea Marie was a character in the parks!
It was the most incredible surprise!

I was a bit in awe and I didn't really know how to process all of it!


So of course I just stared at her as she .....


wait for it.....



As she chased butterflies!!!!

SO CUTE!!!

Once I realized what was hapenning, I FULL SPRINTED behind her.
I needed to get in line to meet her!!

So I ran. Fast.
But she hadn't gone far.

And I arrived second in line!

Which was good because it gave me a chance to calm my nerves a bit!


I WAS SO EXCITED WHEN IT WAS MY TURN!

The Cast Member with her also mentioned that WE were matching too!

We hugged, and I asked her if she had been practicing her Scales and Arpeggios, she demonstrated for me a bit

I could not stop smiling!


We posed all cute, too !

We stood by for the next few families, just watching her meet them

And we also watched the CM there scold a mother for not putting a hat/sunscreen on her newborn's head.


Wow. What an adventure that had been!!!

We moved farther along the path, and again I SPOTTED A PRINCESS!

Ariel was meeting just over the bridge.
It looked like no one was waiting to meet her, so I figured she had either just come out, or was just heading in.

Since Marie had just come out, i decided it must have been the former.

Something was telling me to go over no matter what, and see if we could meet Ariel.


So we crossed the bridge and headed over.

little did I know...

Disney Magic was leading me to even more surprises!
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[Anntan]

Try to tell me Magic isn't real NOW!

As I was saying, The magic was OVERFLOWING as we made our way around World Showcase. As we approached Ariel, Something unbelievable happened.

I'm talking CRAZY, INCIDENTAL, COINCIDENTAL, MAGICAL, IMPOSSIBLE something...

Why is this so strangely amazing? Because THIS is the meeting of a LIFETIME!
as I said somewhere earlier in this TR, this was the trip of EVERYONE and their grandmother being in Disney! This particular meeting was so amazing because This was a first meeting. And it was NOT planned!

I had known Vi from a Disney RP website known as Fantasmic! I was part of it for a very short time, since I had no time to keep up with it. But nevertheless, I made a few friends through it! So I had been facebook friends with Vi for a while. I knew she was in Disney, all the way from California,at the same time I was, but I thought she was leaving on this day, so I didn't ask where she would be or anything, nor did I even think she was still on the property!

But of all the places she could have been in that exact moment, she was chatting with Ariel. Naturally, when I saw this, I FLIPPED. I recognized her right away! her wonderfully eccentric outfit confirmed my assumption. I said to my mom, in shock, "That's My Internet Friend!!!" Mom, who thought I was referring to Ariel, said: "SHHHHHH, You're not supposed to give the characters away!" I was all "MOM. NO. THAT'S ARIEL. THAAAAT Is my internet friend!" She questioned me, but I was positive of it. I shouted to Vi and after a moment she recognized me as well.

We chatted for a minute or so, talked about HOW INSANELY PERFECT DISNEY MAGIC WAS for having us cross paths. It was really an amazingly unexpected surprise.

Once she left, Of course I had to meet Ariel!

She liked my sunblockers (sunglasses) and I told her she could probably get some to match her hair flower...

We hugged, posed....

And before long, I was on my way to the next adventure.

But After that meeting, I was basically exhausted from all of the overwhelming magical moments I had just experienced. I was ready to head back to GFla to rest and get ready for dinner.

Our exit out of Epcot was a little rushed, and not eventful enough to Get into detail about, So i'll just leave you with some parting shots...

Back to the Grandest of Floridians!!
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[Anntan]

Why the Grand Floridian is the best

Ahhhhhhhhh It is SOOOO refreshing walking onto these grounds

We went back to our room, showered, changed, and headed down through the lobby (I forget why, I probably had to buy something) before walking over to dinner at Narcoossee's

of course, I stopped to listen to the music for a bit

I was so excited to eat at one of my all time favorite Disney Resturants!!!!

Side note: My family does NOT do the Disney Dining Plan. my parents aren't huge fans of things that "restrict access" i guess is a good way of putting it. Plus, when it comes to Disney, they want to spare no expense in making it the absolute best. They don't want to have to try and plan meals and things around the Dining Plan. So we just don't.


ANYWAY...

I'm a weirdo...

BY THE BY. Check out my cool Button-Shaped Sunburn circle! Yeah... It was really cool...


I didn't write down / remember what it was that we ate that night, nor did I realize my phone takes better food pictures than my camera (i figured it out later though) So this is all I have of Dinner:

Calamari and Crab Cakes to start.

Citrus Salad

For my entree, I'm pretty sure this is filet with truffle risotto ... IT WAS SO GOOD. .... however.... it....welll...... I'll get into it's effects later.

After dinner (we skipped dessert because we wanted ice cream in MK) we headed back to the main building to hop on the monorail and head to Magic Kingdom for our only night of nighttime spectaculars! ... I had no idea what I was in for...


We took some nice pictures in the lobby...

This one is blurry, but oh well.

As we were leaving for the monorail, the GFla band began to play Ma Belle Evangeline. That song was at the time the song that my Brother and I always sing (in our best Ray voices, of course) to eachother. So I flipped out. I filmed a bit, but it's short and blurry so I won't post it. It was really beautiful though.

But I digress.... We hopped on the monorail WHICH WAS SO CONVENIENTLY LOCATED IN OUR RESORT and one stop later, we arrived to the Magic Kingdom!
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[Anntan]

Magic Moments?

Now, you must understand, for the past two years leading up to this point since my last Disney vacation, all i've done for the majority of my days is look at pictures of the Magic Kingdom.

It was beyond overwhelming to think about walking down mainstreet in just a matter of minutes!

Before i could over-think the situation TOO much, we were already there and walking to the entrance...

Hello, i'm sunburnt and emotional.

I could honestly barely breathe while walking into the town square!!! I was shaking and tearing up and It's hard to even think about now without crying. It was all i had thought about for the past year! The Magic Kingdom welcomed me in as if I had never left.

The first thing we did was sit down in our parade spot.

we got comfy, my mom checked facebook, and i took pictures.

THEN....disaster struck....
I could feel the excitement mixing with the dinner we had just finished not 20 minutes before, and i knew nothing good could come of their interaction.
I could feel my stomach start to flip on itself... I had to find a bathroom.

Here's the deal: everybody poops. you know it, i know it. and as intelligent people, we all know that when you gotta go YOU GOTTA GO. unfortunately, just as i got up to find the nearest restroom, what do i hear? The 10 minute mark until parade time!!!

This was when i began to panic. I dodged the crowd like NOBODY'S BUSINESS and basically sprinted up to Tony's. I was running out of time. quickly I asked the nearest CM where I might find the ladies room.

Much to my dismay, upon arrival, i discovered the one thing I forgot about Disney -- A LINE. Now, this wasn't a ridiculously long line, but to me it looked much too long for my poor bowels to wait. BUT I DID. I could do this. This was Disney, wasn't it?! I could do ANYTHING!

I passed the time by texting my mom lots of poop emojis and angry/scared smiley faces. Until, finally, i got to an open bathroom. I got in as quickly as i could and was feeling better in no time. Of course, there were people waiting and I felt self-conscious taking more than a few minutes, so i rushed myself to complete my actions. but then.... disaster struck once more.

I HAD PICKED THE STALL WITHOUT TOILET PAPER.
of course i did!
So... naturally, in my most polite of voices, i asked the woman in the stall next to me if she wouldn't mind passing me some. She kindly passed TWO SQUARES.

I don't know about you guys, but if someone asked me for toliet paper i would give them as much as i could possible give.

I embarrassingly asked for more and managed to make it work. I washed my hands and headed back out to meet my mom in our spot.

I sat down, and began to tell her the horrible tale

when....suddenly... I realized I wasn't done.

With 4 minutes until parade time, i FLEW back to Tony's, back to the bathroom, back in line, Into a DIFFERENT stall , this time checking for all the necessities before committing to the act.

Miraculously, i made it back to our spot on the curb of Main Street with one minute to spare.
I hadn't felt that sick in a long long time. I was WAY too excited

But i was calming down and feeling better.
And my favorite thing in the whole world was about to happen.


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[marDgreen88]

AHHH YAY! So glad you're finishing this!

OMG... omg. Girl, I've had that exact same thing happen to me (minus the toilet paper troubles thankfully) and I know how terrible it is! Yikes! So sorry that happened but thank GOODNESS it didn't last long and YAY FOR MAGIC KINGDOM!!!!

 

[katt789]

I’m here to read along!

I have to say, the frump reports were among the first that inspired me to write my own, we’re all frumps here! Baha!

Amazing that you’ve decided to audition for Disney! I’ve done three so far, and they’ve all been amazing, I’m excited to read all about your experience! So glad your parents let you go, that’s a great birthday present!

Looks like a great trip into NYC, how hilarious that there’s fake woody and real woody in the same trip! Ha! Lady and the tramp plushies?!!? AHH! They’re adorable! I have Lady at my Mom’s house, but I’ve never seen the other ones!

Love the Grand FLo, and the feeling of arriving at Disney, it’s just so magical and amazing, there’s nothing like it!

UGH! WHY DOES NO ONE KNOW WHERE THE REHEARSAL AND WARDROBE BLD IS?!?! SERIOUSLY!!! I had such trouble talking to the cms at Pop about it in Feb, but when I called the cab line, I used the address and they were all “the ak rehearsal… facility” they knew where I was, bahah! It’s not like it’s hard to get to!

I love the fairy movies, I can’t lie, I really like that they’re all about adventures, and friendship, and all that kind of stuff, there’s no love interests, no “getting the boy” kind of thing, and it’s just awesome!

How great that you got Mulan, I’ve managed to miss her every trip and in Feb she wasn’t out the day we were there! Yay for Jasmine and Aladdin stopping for a quick photo for you, that’s awesome! Characters in training!! Yay! I love finding surprises like that in Epcot!

I can’t wait until I have the money to stay at a monorail resort again, ahaha, it’s so wonderful to be that close to MK!

 

[Marsheliz]

What a great trip report!!! I am glad that I discovered it.

What wonderful memories you have with your mother.. Ya'll are both beautiful girls and your mom looks soooo young!!

Sorry about the "before the parade bathroom drama".. UGH, I am pretty suer that everyone has gone through that a time or two. .When it hits, you got to go! I bet you were hurrying along.. I am the same way.. Don't want to miss the parades!!

 

[wiigirl]

Great TR!

 

[Anntan]

AHHH YAY! So glad you're finishing this!

OMG... omg. Girl, I've had that exact same thing happen to me (minus the toilet paper troubles thankfully) and I know how terrible it is! Yikes! So sorry that happened but thank GOODNESS it didn't last long and YAY FOR MAGIC KINGDOM!!!!

ME TOO! it's been a year since this trip today! It's about time i finish it up!!!

Oh Man... it was the worst 10 minutes EVER. but in the end it was all okay!

I’m here to read along!

I have to say, the frump reports were among the first that inspired me to write my own, we’re all frumps here! Baha!

Amazing that you’ve decided to audition for Disney! I’ve done three so far, and they’ve all been amazing, I’m excited to read all about your experience! So glad your parents let you go, that’s a great birthday present!

Looks like a great trip into NYC, how hilarious that there’s fake woody and real woody in the same trip! Ha! Lady and the tramp plushies?!!? AHH! They’re adorable! I have Lady at my Mom’s house, but I’ve never seen the other ones!

Love the Grand FLo, and the feeling of arriving at Disney, it’s just so magical and amazing, there’s nothing like it!

UGH! WHY DOES NO ONE KNOW WHERE THE REHEARSAL AND WARDROBE BLD IS?!?! SERIOUSLY!!! I had such trouble talking to the cms at Pop about it in Feb, but when I called the cab line, I used the address and they were all “the ak rehearsal… facility” they knew where I was, bahah! It’s not like it’s hard to get to!

I love the fairy movies, I can’t lie, I really like that they’re all about adventures, and friendship, and all that kind of stuff, there’s no love interests, no “getting the boy” kind of thing, and it’s just awesome!

How great that you got Mulan, I’ve managed to miss her every trip and in Feb she wasn’t out the day we were there! Yay for Jasmine and Aladdin stopping for a quick photo for you, that’s awesome! Characters in training!! Yay! I love finding surprises like that in Epcot!

I can’t wait until I have the money to stay at a monorail resort again, ahaha, it’s so wonderful to be that close to MK!

Thanks for reading along! Welcome!! I'm glad you're enjoying it so far, it's so much fun to relive it through writing these! I'll talk more about the anxiety of the audition when i get to that, but it really was an experience i wouldn't have traded for anything, even though it wasn't necessarily successful. I'm hoping to get back there next year and try again though

Those character moments are my MOST FAVORITE thing, so that was an amazng start to the trip.

And NOTHING beats the Grand Floridian! although, staying at less expensive resorts does mean going more often and for longer amounts of time!

What a great trip report!!! I am glad that I discovered it.

What wonderful memories you have with your mother.. Ya'll are both beautiful girls and your mom looks soooo young!!

Sorry about the "before the parade bathroom drama".. UGH, I am pretty suer that everyone has gone through that a time or two. .When it hits, you got to go! I bet you were hurrying along.. I am the same way.. Don't want to miss the parades!!

Thanks for reading along! and THANK YOU! I always tell her how young she looks haha and she never believes me so i'll have to let her know you think so
I was determined to make it through that ordeal! it was our only parade night

Great TR!

THANK YOU