CRYSTAL PALACE on 4/19 PICS 10 days in the World: 22 years old! Pop/Jan2009

[SnowandMittens]

The Intro:
Hi everyone! I'm Snow and this is the first TR I've done... ever! I've been a long time Disboard lurker and found the board after my first trip to the World. It's nice to be finally posting!

Who's Going?:

Me, Snow. I've been a Disney nut my whole life and I'm planning on moving to Florida after I'm done with school to start a professional internship with Disney, and hopefully end up on the good side of the management team. I have a very ambitious goal to become an Imagineer, and have no doubt I'll get there eventually!

My boyfriend, Mittens. He's not too fond of the nickname... hahaha. I think he's amazing and he's fully into the whole park experience. It's so nice just having us on the trip. We're both still in college and he's totally ready to move to Florida with me and we've started looking at buying a condo already.

Where Are We Staying?:
We've done one trip at POFQ, but when the buy 3 get 4 free deal came out, we crunched some numbers and figured out we could get 10 nights at POP, the meal plan, plane tickets, and park tickets for... $2200.00

Amazing!

We've never stayed at a Value before, so we were a little skeptical about what the quality of the rooms would be.

The Plan:

We were driving to Chicago, staying the night at a hotel, and flying out of ORD. (Got some good deals on airfare!) We would be getting into Florida that night, staying at the hotel, and then starting our trip the next day!

 

[MushuGirl06]

firsttt!

cant wait to read more of your TR!

 

[tracyjbros]

can't wait to read more!

 

[mickeystoontown]

Signin' on for more.

 

[SnowandMittens]

Packing and Chicago! Jan 7th, Wednesday, DAY #1
I totally forgot to mention that my bf and I are celebrating our fourth anniversary. When I booked the vacation on the phone, the Disney phone lady asked if we were celebrating anything, and I told her about the fourth anniversary of dating.

“Sounds like a celebration to me!” she said. And she proceeded to note it on all of our dining reservations as well. Yay!

We also had gotten a Pal Mickey on e-bay before our trip. I know that they’re discontinued, but honestly, I wanted one (I loved the idea that he would tell you ride wait times.), so we got one. Unfortunately, we spent about three hours the night before we left looking for him. Still have no idea where he went.

We started packing early in the morning. I did miss a day of class just to pack and we were doing some MAD laundry during the day. For my birthday, my Bf had gotten me two tortie kitties which I promptly named Lilo and Stitch. (Stitch is one of my favorite characters… don’t ask why because I have no idea.) These guys would wait until I had turned around to pack something and then jump inside of my suitcase. I was worried about leaving them for so long (my bf’s sister had agreed to come and take care of them during our trip, so I guess I wasn’t that worried.).

Here they are:

Stitch is on the left and Lilo is on the right. They're both rescue kitties and we got them at 6 weeks old because the shelter was too full. They were next on the list to be put down.

The director of the shelter said that he was just getting out of his car in the morning and a car dove by and threw a box out the window. A bigger cat jumped out and ran away and when he went to look inside the box, 2 of the 3 kittens were alive. Those are my babies!

They don't look too happy because this was probably the tenth time I had put them back on the couch. Hahaha.

So I totally overpacked for this trip. Here’s a tip: If you don’t have children, less is more. In hindsight, I wish I would have not brought my coffee maker (instead slurged on the starbucks double shots or just sucked it up with the Nescafe coffee. My boyfriend later said that he wouldn’t have minded hopping on the monorail for the days we went to MK or Epcot to grab a cup of Kona coffee from the Poly. I was like “Why wasn’t this said BEFORE I packed an ENTIRE coffee maker into my suitcase?”) would have NOT brought BOTH of our computers, and being that I have a smart phone that does get online, I should have just used that for checking in/ plane time/ weather / etc…

Yes, that is a dish sponge. To wipe out the coffee mug I am gonna buy and use in my room when i get there.

This thing made me pack MORE stuff than I needed. See the bobby pins? Don't use them. Why do I have them? I might need them...

Got my Stitch for $5.00 at the Disney Store and was SUPER excited that he was going with us. Again, probably didn't need to pack it.

Now I'm a sucker for the glow toys, but am too old to justify paying $10.00 for something I can't use when it's not dark. I spend about $2.00 at the dollar store buying glow sticks and, man, AWESOME!. You can also see the diet pepsi going along. I am a firm believer that if diet pepsi doesn't follow me on my trip, the trip will be sad.

I brought along about 100 disney pins (I am obsessed with pin trading and the boyfriend doesn’t mind it because it doesn’t take up THAT much room in our apartment.) which I got off of ebay for $132 with free shipping! And that was the majority of my own souvenirs… need something for mom BAM Disney pin. Something for dad? BAM Disney pin. My boyfriend’s friends who are unconvinced of Disney awesomeness? BAM have a Pirate pin! HA!

I also packed WAY too many clothes. Again, if I had to re-pack, I would have packed HALF of the clothes and just washed them in the middle of the trip. The washers and dryers at POP are HUGE TRIPLE LOAD WASHERS. (Well, maybe not that big… but our apartment has stackable washer/dryer and it makes 10 pairs of underwear look like a load.)

So we got into my bf’s G6 (with me driving) and braved the snow storm to head down to Chicago. I swear, it snowed the ENTIRE way down there (about 3 hours). We got out of the storm once we hit Chicago and checked into the Hyatt Rosemont.

The hotel was nice, but very business like. We chose this hotel because they had a park and fly deal where you stayed one night with them, and could leave your car in a 24 hour security parking garage. They shuttled you back and forth to the airport in a van, and since overnight parking at ORD is upwards of $20.00 a night, we figured the $150.00 hotel room was worth it.

Here are some shots of our room:

See all those bags that no one needs? yeah, they came along.

The View of Other Buildings:

Here is some more of my useless stuff:

I swear, next trip we are doing carry on only. I am bound and determined that I will NEVER have to lug that much stuff around an airport again.
We ended up eating dinner at the hotel restraunt, which came to about $50.00 for two burgers, a beer, and a soft drink. We felt like we were in Disney already.

We ended up getting to bed at about 11pm and spent the next two hours trying to get to sleep. Every time Mittens was almost asleep I would say, “We’re going to Disney tomorrow.” And every time I would almost be asleep, he would say, “Oh my gosh, Minnie and Mickey are breaking up!” and it would launch me into a fit of giggles.
Next: Flying in a snow storm, and WHY ARE WE IN NEW YORK?

 

[SnowandMittens]

Signin' on for more.

Yay! I'm excited that you're following!

can't wait to read more!

A new update should be appearing soon! With pictures this time.

firsttt!

cant wait to read more of your TR!

Happy to be of service!

 

[SnowandMittens]

I did have this part of my trip already written and posted, but I guess something happened after I hit submit...

I forgot to mention that this trip, my bf and I were celebrating 4 years of dating! I'm only 22, so 4 years of a serious relationship was nothing to be scoffed at. We had taken a 3 year trip last Jan, and this year we decided to celebrate it as our anniversary trip with buttons and everything.

(Well, I wore the button... my bf's just happened to be left in the hotel room. Every day. For ten days.)

We were flying out of ORD, which was a little bit of a drive for us (about 3 1/2 hours) and a little longer in the snow (about 4 1/2 hours). I was driving the bf's newly purchased Pontaic G6 and we were testing out the Garmin navigation system for the first time. Let me tell you, when you are driving in the dark through downtown Chicago with all of those interchanges and have NO idea where you are going, the Garmin was wonderful!

We started off the day packing. And packing. And packing. I had decided that it was too much of a hassle to do a coffee pot swap at POP and just packed my own 4 cup maker. We also got some soda and snacks, which went into my bag.

On top of it, Lilo and Stitch, my two torti rescue kitties decided that the suitcase was some giant kitty toy I had been hiding in my closet. Every time I would turn to fold a shirt, one of these guys would jump in. (Side note: Lilo and Stitch are both girls, and they were thrown from a moving car as the shelter was opening. They're mother took off, and their other siblings died. These two have been eating solid food since 4 weeks and when we took them home, they were only 5. My boyfriend doesn't consider himself a pet person, but he insisted that we get two kitties and he's been in love with them ever since. I swear, it's the cutest thing ever, even though he'll deny it.)

They were pretty mad that I kept putting them back on the couch. (Stitch is on the left, Lilo on the right. And, yes, the personalities fit the names.)

I totally overpacked for this trip. Honestly, ladies, just plan on doing laundry half way through your trip and make it easier. I was so overpacked on the way home that the $50.00 overweight baggage fee was applied. And there was no getting around it. It was horrible lugging all of that stuff around, and if you can, just do the carry-ons. Carry-ons are what our plan for the next trip is.

Here is some of the damage:

This did not save me space because it made me think I had room for things I did not need. Like the hair pins? Don't use them! Why do I have them? Because maybe I'll need them because I'm in Disney! I shouldn't be allowed to pack my own stuff.

Here's Stitch overseeing the damage:

And here is what my suitcase looked like after my boyfriend packed it. I couldn't get it to close, but he managed to!

So we took off from our house at about 6:00 pm. We had to wait for the bf's little sister to come by and check out the litter box and kitty food and to explain that the kitties still needed human interaction. Since they were separated from their mother so early, they've imprinted on my boyfriend and I as other kitties. Or so says the vet who thinks he can talk to my cats. Point is: they need play time.

So we drove to Chicago and ended up staying at the Hyatt Rosemont. Note to anyone thinking about staying here: do it. It's a very business feeling hotel and the lobby is a little cramped, but packing overnight at ORD is about $25.00 for a non-security non-covered spot. We were going to be gone for 10 nights, so that would have meant an extra $250.00 for parking alone!

The hotel room, on the other hand, allowed us to spend the night before our flight in direct proximity to the airport, park our car in their 24 hour security covered parking garage, and shuttle us back and forth to the airport... for $150.00. We were paranoid about snow delaying us the morning of the flight anyway, so HOTEL IT IS!

We arrived at 9:00 - 10:00 ish and ate dinner in the hotel restaurant. The room was really nice and here were some of the pictures:

Wait, here's MORE stuff I managed to pack. I got a tip from a DISer to use a tupperwear container to pack my shampoo/jewelry/makeup/etc... it was probably the only useful packing tip I used. Didn't have to worry about stuff leaking or getting crushed.

The Room:

The View the morning we left:

We were so excited when we went to bed. I swear, we just stayed there on the bed and kept whispering in the dark... "Disney!" "We get to see the castle." "Why did you bring so much stuff?" "What are we going to do with the dish sponge?" "Did you pack the pins?" "I love you. But I'm starting to have feelings for Mickey."

And finally, right before I was asleep, he get's really close to my ear and does the most spot on impression of a Mickey laugh. I freakin' fell out of bed, I was laughing so hard.

That's when I knew this was gonna be an awesome trip.

Up next: What are we doing in NEW YORK? And why is that little kid calling me sir?

 

[SnowandMittens]

Alright, I've tried to make a few updates to add pictures, but they are telling me that I need to wait for a moderator reviews my posting...

any idea why? I have the next segment all typed and ready!

 

[pezheadmeg]

I'm in. need a new trip report to get hooked on.

 

[SnowandMittens]

The next part of the update is split because of my picture count. I have no idea why it is only allowing me to post 3 or 4 pictures at a time, but here is the update!

 

[SnowandMittens]

I did have this part of my trip already written and posted, but I guess something happened after I hit submit...

I forgot to mention that this trip, my bf and I were celebrating 4 years of dating! I'm only 22, so 4 years of a serious relationship was nothing to be scoffed at. We had taken a 3 year trip last Jan, and this year we decided to celebrate it as our anniversary trip with buttons and everything.

(Well, I wore the button... my bf's just happened to be left in the hotel room. Every day. For ten days.)

We were flying out of ORD, which was a little bit of a drive for us (about 3 1/2 hours) and a little longer in the snow (about 4 1/2 hours). I was driving the bf's newly purchased Pontaic G6 and we were testing out the Garmin navigation system for the first time. Let me tell you, when you are driving in the dark through downtown Chicago with all of those interchanges and have NO idea where you are going, the Garmin was wonderful!

We started off the day packing. And packing. And packing. I had decided that it was too much of a hassle to do a coffee pot swap at POP and just packed my own 4 cup maker. We also got some soda and snacks, which went into my bag.

On top of it, Lilo and Stitch, my two torti rescue kitties decided that the suitcase was some giant kitty toy I had been hiding in my closet. Every time I would turn to fold a shirt, one of these guys would jump in. (Side note: Lilo and Stitch are both girls, and they were thrown from a moving car as the shelter was opening. They're mother took off, and their other siblings died. These two have been eating solid food since 4 weeks and when we took them home, they were only 5. My boyfriend doesn't consider himself a pet person, but he insisted that we get two kitties and he's been in love with them ever since. I swear, it's the cutest thing ever, even though he'll deny it.)

They were pretty mad that I kept putting them back on the couch. (Stitch is on the left, Lilo on the right. And, yes, the personalities fit the names.)

I totally overpacked for this trip. Honestly, ladies, just plan on doing laundry half way through your trip and make it easier. I was so overpacked on the way home that the $50.00 overweight baggage fee was applied. And there was no getting around it. It was horrible lugging all of that stuff around, and if you can, just do the carry-ons. Carry-ons are what our plan for the next trip is.

Here is some of the damage:

This did not save me space because it made me think I had room for things I did not need. Like the hair pins? Don't use them! Why do I have them? Because maybe I'll need them because I'm in Disney! I shouldn't be allowed to pack my own stuff.

Here's Stitch overseeing the damage:

And here is what my suitcase looked like after my boyfriend packed it. I couldn't get it to close, but he managed to!

 

[SnowandMittens]

I did have this part of my trip already written and posted, but I guess something happened after I hit submit...

I forgot to mention that this trip, my bf and I were celebrating 4 years of dating! I'm only 22, so 4 years of a serious relationship is nothing to be scoffed at. We had taken a 3 year trip last Jan, and this year we decided to celebrate it as our anniversary trip with buttons and everything.

(Well, I wore the button... my bf's just happened to be left in the hotel room. Every day. For ten days.)

We were flying out of ORD, which was a little bit of a drive for us (about 3 1/2 hours) and a little longer in the snow (about 4 1/2 hours). I was driving the bf's newly purchased Pontaic G6 ( I am in love with his car. ) and we were testing out the Garmin navigation system for the first time. Let me tell you, when you are driving in the dark through downtown Chicago with all of those interchanges and have NO idea where you are going, the Garmin is amazing!

We started off the day packing. And packing. And packing. I had decided that it was too much of a hassle to do a coffee pot swap at POP and just packed my own 4 cup maker. We also got some soda and snacks, which went into my bag.

On top of it, Lilo and Stitch, my two torti rescue kitties decided that the suitcase was some giant kitty toy I had been hiding in my closet. Every time I would turn to fold a shirt, one of these guys would jump in.

(Side note: Lilo and Stitch are both girls, and they were thrown from a moving car as the shelter was opening. Their mother took off, and their other siblings died. These two have been eating solid food since 4 weeks and when we took them home, they were only 5. My boyfriend doesn't consider himself a pet person, but he insisted that we get two kitties and he's been in love with them ever since. I swear, it's the cutest thing ever, even though he'll deny it.)

They were pretty mad that I kept putting them back on the couch. (Stitch is on the left, Lilo on the right. And, yes, the personalities fit the names.)

Haha, they're glaring at me:

 

[SnowandMittens]

I totally overpacked for this trip. Honestly, ladies, just plan on doing laundry half way through your trip and make it easier. I was so overpacked on the way home that the $50.00 overweight baggage fee was applied. And there was no getting around it. It was horrible lugging all of that stuff around, and if you can, just do the carry-ons. Carry-ons are what our plan for the next trip is.

Here is some of the damage:

This did not save me space because it made me think I had room for things I did not need. Like the hair pins? Don't use them! Why do I have them? Because maybe I'll need them because I'm in Disney! I shouldn't be allowed to pack my own stuff.

Here's Stitch overseeing the damage:

And here is what my suitcase looked like after my boyfriend packed it. I couldn't get it to close, but he managed to!

 

[SnowandMittens]

So we took off from our house at about 6:00 pm. We had to wait for the bf's little sister to come by and check out the litter box and kitty food and to explain that the kitties still needed human interaction. Since they were separated from their mother so early, they've imprinted on my boyfriend and I as other kitties. Or so says the vet who thinks he can talk to my cats. Point is: they need play time.

So we drove to Chicago and ended up staying at the Hyatt Rosemont. Note to anyone thinking about staying here: do it. It's a very business feeling hotel and the lobby is a little cramped, but packing overnight at ORD is about $25.00 for a non-security non-covered spot. We were going to be gone for 10 nights, so that would have meant an extra $250.00 for parking alone!

The hotel room, on the other hand, allowed us to spend the night before our flight in direct proximity to the airport, park our car in their 24 hour security covered parking garage, and shuttle us back and forth to the airport... for $150.00. We were paranoid about snow delaying us the morning of the flight anyway, so HOTEL IT IS!

We arrived at 9:00 - 10:00 ish and ate dinner in the hotel restaurant. The room was really nice and here were some of the pictures:

Wait, here's MORE stuff I managed to pack. I got a tip from a DISer to use a tupperwear container to pack my shampoo/jewelry/makeup/etc... it was probably the only useful packing tip I used. Didn't have to worry about stuff leaking or getting crushed.

The Room:

The View the morning we left:

We were so excited when we went to bed. I swear, we just stayed there on the bed and kept whispering in the dark... "Disney!" "We get to see the castle." "Why did you bring so much stuff?" "What are we going to do with the dish sponge?" "Did you pack the pins?" "I love you. But I'm starting to have feelings for Mickey."

And finally, right before I was asleep, he get's really close to my ear and does the most spot on impression of a Mickey laugh. I freakin' fell out of bed, I was laughing so hard.

That's when I knew this was gonna be an awesome trip.


Up next: What are we doing in NEW YORK? And why is that little kid calling me sir?

 

[SnowandMittens]

So we took off from our house at about 6:00 pm. We had to wait for the bf's little sister to come by and check out the litter box and kitty food and to explain that the kitties still needed human interaction. Since they were separated from their mother so early, they've imprinted on my boyfriend and I as other kitties. Or so says the vet who thinks he can talk to my cats. Point is: they need play time.

So we drove to Chicago and ended up staying at the Hyatt Rosemont. Note to anyone thinking about staying here: do it. It's a very business feeling hotel and the lobby is a little cramped, but parking overnight at ORD is about $25.00 for a non-security non-covered spot. We were going to be gone for 10 nights, so that would have meant an extra $250.00 for parking alone!

The hotel room, on the other hand, allowed us to spend the night before our flight in direct proximity to the airport, park our car in their 24 hour security covered parking garage, and shuttle us back and forth to the airport... for $150.00. We were paranoid about snow delaying us the morning of the flight anyway, so HOTEL IT IS!

We arrived at 9:00 - 10:00 ish and ate dinner in the hotel restaurant. The room was really nice and here were some of the pictures:

Wait, here's MORE stuff I managed to pack. I got a tip from a DISer to use a tupperwear container to pack my shampoo/jewelry/makeup/etc... it was probably the only useful packing tip I used. Didn't have to worry about stuff leaking or getting crushed.

The Room:

 

[SnowandMittens]

The View the morning we left:

We were so excited when we went to bed. I swear, we just stayed there on the bed and kept whispering in the dark... "Disney!" "We get to see the castle." "Why did you bring so much stuff?" "What are we going to do with the dish sponge?" "Did you pack the pins?" "I love you. But I'm starting to have feelings for Mickey."

And finally, right before I was asleep, he get's really close to my ear and does the most spot on impression of a Mickey laugh. I freakin' fell out of bed, I was laughing so hard.

That's when I knew this was gonna be an awesome trip.


Up next: What are we doing in NEW YORK? And why is that little kid calling me sir?

 

[noahdove]

Ok, I am ready to read

 

[SnowandMittens]

Ok, I am ready to read

Awwwww! Thanks!

We're thinking about possibly taking an Aug - Sept trip this year! (If we can afford it. Being students, our budget is always tight.)

Can't wait to read your trip report! Celebrating anything?

 

[mickeystoontown]

You're comment about packing too many things cracked me up. I always pack stupid stuff like safety pins, ponytail holders (I don't know why, my hair isn't long enough to put in a ponytail) and tape. But, in my own defense, I did have to use the safety pins one year when a button came off my shorts.

 

[MushuGirl06]

love your new updates

i have the same problem with overpacking; i just cannot help it
its a nightmaree

but cant wait to hear about the rest of your trippie!