I want to go back to Pop Century Resort! Spring Break Trip 2016! Trip Update 8/25/16

[missjackiemcg]

WOWW!! So excited for you to go back HOME so soon!!! And even more fun that you get to enjoy your birthday, and friend and so many new things!! I cannot wait to hear your report on Soarin' Around the World and the nighttime safari.

You will LOVE 50's Primetime Cafe!!! It's one of our absolute favorites Be a good sport when they want to make you eat your veggies

 

[DonnaBeeGood]

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[ariane37]

So excited for you and yes those ADR's and FP's really came together well! What's awesome is you get to do a bunch of new-to-you stuff this trip. I also hope you do a TR about it!

 

[ArielSRL]

YAY!! So exciting! We'll be there right before you but will miss Soarin. How awesome you get to do it on Opening Day! Can't wait to hear all about it!

 

[AllysonL]

ASMu was great! I stayed there last summer with my sister, and we had a wonderful time!

 

[deedee2177]

I'm so sorry for the delay in updates. Life has been crazy. As I mentioned I had unexpected surgery and then end of school year stuff just seems to get nuts! Then of course there is that "little" trip I have to Disney in 9 days!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I still can't believe I'm going. We have made some changes since my last update (imagine that). The biggest changes are:​

• We added a lunch ADR at Morimoto Asia on our arrival day.
• We got the Jungle Book Nighttime Show Dinner Package at Tusker House (Dinner), which means we gave up Sanaa. I will make it there one day!
• We had a pre-park opening ADR at BOG, but the Magic Kingdom hours were changed and it would no longer be a pre-park opening. I think we are adding lunch at LTT instead. I'm not sure since my friend is doing the planning for this trip.
• We also were able to get a FP for Soarin' on Opening Day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm beyond excited about this!

Ok, now onto my TR Update...thanks again for your patience!

March 30, 2016 – Part I: Magic Kingdom​

Sadly, this was Mom’s and Ashley’s last day with us. I hate they could only stay a couple of days, but I’m thankful for the time they were able to spend with us. The plan was to get to MK by the Welcome Show, but I knew that wasn’t going to happen. ​

Keith was still tired from staying out with Emma the night before so he decided to sleep in and meet up with us for lunch later in the day. We decided to drive over to Magic Kingdom because of the experience we had the day before with the buses. We (me, Mom, Emma and Joey) all piled into our rental car and made our way.

We caught the tram, and were looking forward to taking the monorail over to MK. Nope! Monorail was down and only the ferry boat and buses were running over to MK. We opted for the buses.

As we entered the park and saw the Castle, Ashley started to cry. As I have mentioned she has had a tough few years. We both just stood there and hugged and cried, and were thankful that we were there together in that moment. ​

We made our way down Main Street and stopped for some MM pictures.


https://flic.kr/p/HKkafm






We headed over to Adventureland and noticed Pirates only had a 5 minute stand-by wait. We had a fast pass coming up for this ride, so we decided to ride stand-by and go right back on with our FP.



Joey loves this ride. His favorite part is going under the bridge (he calls it a tunnel) and the pirate’s foot is hanging down. He will say, “EW! Stinky feet!!”. As soon as we got off the ride, we turned around and went right back on using our Fast Pass.

After our rides on POC I called Keith to check in with him and to make sure he was ok. He let me know he was getting ready and would be heading our way soon.​

https://flic.kr/p/GYeAyw

We then all headed for a ride on Splash Mountain. Joey didn’t want to ride it, so my Mom sat with him while Ashley, Emma and I went on it. Of course Emma wanted to ride with Ashley (cool Aunts always trump Moms). They rode in the very front together.



Poor Ashley got pretty wet, and got water right in her ear. Unfortunately, she was getting over a pretty bad ear infection so that water in her ear was not very pleasant! We met up with Mom and Joey and started slowing making our way over to Main Street. We came up on the Hub and saw a pretty Disney Flower taking pictures, so we go in her line.



I texted Keith and he was on the bus. We walked over to The Plaza and waited on the corner for Keith who arrived a few minutes later. I checked in for our Lunch ADR, and we were given a buzzer. We waited about 10 minutes and were lead to our seats. We had a great table with a beautiful view of the Castle. While we were there, the Mayor came in to say hello!​

During lunch I could tell that Ashley was not feeling too well. The water in her ear was bugging her. She decided to head back to the room via bus once we were done with lunch. Joey was showing some signs of grumpiness (poor kid was still not feeling 100%), but the rest of us decided to head over to Fantasyland after lunch.​

https://flic.kr/p/GYeCJy

We went started to head over to IASW and get a return time for Joey. WOW!!!!!!!!!! The crowds in this area were unbelievable! We could barely move. There was a wait time of 45 minutes for IASW so they gave a card to come back in 45 minutes. We all headed over to the carousel, which had about a 20 minute wait. Joey started getting really cranky at this point, and I decided it was best to take him back to the resort for a rest. I told the rest of the gang (Keith, Emma and Mom) to stay and enjoy the park, but my Mom insisted on coming back with me and Joey (she wanted to check on Ashley too).

So, the 3 of us headed out of the park while Emma and Keith decided what to do next (I texted him our FP schedule for the rest of the day). Mom and I took Joey on the monorail which he enjoyed, and then waited in line for a tram to take us out to the parking lot. While we were waiting I got a text from Keith letting me know he and Emma were heading back to the resort as well.

Once out to the parking lot, I walked ahead of Mom and Joey so I could get to the car and turn the air on and cool down the car a bit. We got loaded up and started heading back to Pop. I somehow got turned around and we ended up at the entrance of Animal Kingdom…LOL. We finally made our way back to Pop, and by this time Keith and Emma were already back to the room.

Mom went to check on Ashley while I got Joey down for a nap. I had Emma lay down as well. Mom texted me and let me know she and Ashley were going down to the pool for a bit. I told her Emma and I would meet them down there in a little while. Joey fell asleep pretty quickly and I then got Emma and myself ready for the pool, while Keith stayed in the room with Joey.

The pool was great!!!! It was so nice. Emma participated in the games/dancing they did at the pool, and I enjoyed spending some time with my Mom and Sister while we watched Emma. Mom, Ashley and I discussed the plans for that evening. We decided that the 2 of us would go back to MK while Keith watched the kids. This would give us a chance to spend some Mom/Daughters time together. We told Emma and she understood…she said she got to go to MK last night with just Daddy so we should go tonight (sweet girl).

When we got up to the room, Joey was awake. Keith said he would take the kids for dinner somewhere while Me, Mom and Ash were at the park.

I think I will save my time with my Mom and Ashley at MK for the next update. ​

 

[ariane37]

Interesting you added lunch at Morimoto. I did my ADR's a couple weeks ago for our Nov. trip and while I didn't make one for Morimoto, I just recently read a couple great reviews and looked at the menu again and now want to add it. The problem is, I don't know what to take away lol! And you DO have to get to Sanaa one day, it's incredible

Cool "flower" meet! Do you know what/where she's from? Also cool the Mayor stopped in to the Plaza to say hello!

 

[missjackiemcg]

Flower meet and greet?! What the what?! Looks kind of Alice in Wonderland-ish...

I love that Mayor Weaver stopped in at The Plaza! I always hope to run into him, but never have. Maybe in December

Can't wait to read about your MK fun with Mom and Sister--my Mom and I have some of the best trips just the two of us. So special!

 

[ariane37]

Flower meet and greet?! What the what?! Looks kind of Alice in Wonderland-ish...

You know what? Now that you mention it, when we were there last Nov. I overheard someone talking on a bus about meeting one of the flowers from Alice in Wonderland earlier in MK. Bet you're right

 

[DonnaBeeGood]

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[ArielSRL]

Glad your sister got to spend time at Disney and with you and your mom!

Great update!

 

[Amberleefuta]

I'm following along as well. Thanks for sharing

 

[Cajun_country]

Your Joey is kinda like my little Blake. My son is 4.5 years old, and well he has a diagnosis thru school saying autism, but I believe he is somewhat on the spectrum and I just hate the word autism. My son has issues with behavior and some sensory. A lot of my sons issues have gotten better over this past year. I had knew about the DAS card, but never knew they'd give you a sticker to put on your stroller to keep your stroller. I think I should use try that next time because he is better behaved in stroller than standing in line. I'm sure people were wondering what the heck was up with him while we waited for Joy and Sadness (He kept tossing himself to floor, spinning and laying on ground). I'm very much enjoying your post And I absolutely love 50s Prime Time Diner and I think you will love it I've brought my kids twice and they always are pretty well behaved there, but would be more fun without kids too I love the pot roast! I might have to try the chicken pot pie next time though.

 

[Chicago Mo]

So i get caught up while your IN DISNEY! brat..

Joey loves this ride. His favorite part is going under the bridge (he calls it a tunnel) and the pirate’s foot is hanging down. He will say, “EW! Stinky feet!!”. As soon as we got

This CRACKED ME UP!

Street. We came up on the Hub and saw a pretty Disney Flower taking pictures, so we go in her line.

WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA??? Never have i seen this!

Once out to the parking lot, I walked ahead of Mom and Joey so I could get to the car and turn the air on and cool down the car a bit. We got loaded up and started heading back to Pop. I somehow got turned around and we ended up at the entrance of Animal Kingdom…LOL. We finally made our way back to Pop, and by this time Keith and Emma were already back to the room.

OH NO!
I hope everyone is feeling better?
You foot your surgery?

Just checking in to make sure everyone is healthy and you're having a great time!

 

[deedee2177]

Ok Gang! I know it has been forever since my last update but life has taken a few ugly bumps. As I shared earlier I had to have surgery to get my gallbladder removed and they also removed a hernia that the Doctor only discovered once he started the surgery. The recovery wasn't too bad and things have gotten a lot better for me with my health since the surgery.

Unfortunately, we have had a run of bad luck since then. My daughter and I were in a car accident on the night of 6/25/16. It was completely my fault. I was in a city I was familiar with for her dance competition and it was a night. I completely ran at stop sign and I was hit right on the driver's side door. We were hit pretty hard and the side air bags were deployed. My biggest concern was my daughter. Thankfully, she was on the passenger side of the car and in the back so she was not hurt at all. She was definitely shaken up, but I tried to prepare her about what would happen next (police would show up, fire department, ambulance, etc). They towed my car, and thankfully some of our dance family was still there and we caught a ride home to Keith and Joey. I was swore for the next couple of days but nothing major. My car was totaled.



Keith and I debated about whether to buy a car outright (we have a family friend who owns a used car dealership) with the insurance money or use it as a down payment for a newer car. We opted to use it as a down payment and bought a Hyundai Santa Fe. We really love it! We have been wanting a bigger car for some time, but we weren't planning on getting in an accident to make it happen!



To add to all this drama, my in-laws had to be moved into an Assisted Living facility. We all know it is for the best, but it is still sad. Also, I feel like whenever something like this happens it always brings out the worst in families. So, there has been some drama with Keith's step-brother. At this point they are all moved in and are adjusting as well as can be expected.

On top of all this my brother-in-law was diagnosed with prostate cancer. Thankfully, he is doing well and is seeking treatment. We are praying the new treatment that he is receiving will work.

There is more going on, but I will stop there. On the positive side, while I was missing from the DIS I squeezed in a trip to Disney with a friend and we had a wonderful time! I am planning on sharing those details once I finally finish up this TR.

In other Disney news Keith and I have had to change our family October Disney Trip to April (Spring Break). Just with everything going on we didn't feel that it was the right time to go in October. I had sworn I would never go back during Spring Break, but Easter is late next year (4/16/17) so I feel that will help with the crowds a bit. We went in 2014 when it was a late Easter and the crowds were not nearly as bad as they were this past Spring Break. Emma's school plans their Spring Break on when Easter is and I know not all schools do that, and they will have theirs in March no matter what. I know the crowds will still be larger in April than if we went in October but I still feel the trip will be better overall if we wait until April.

So, there are the personal updates and explanations of why there hasn't been any other updates. I promise I will get back into the swing of things soon!!!

 

[Chicago Mo]

I am so very sorry this is all happening! wow when it rains it really pours! I hope things calm down a little more!

 

[deedee2177]

I am so very sorry this is all happening! wow when it rains it really pours! I hope things calm down a little more!

Thanks Mo!!! Knock on wood, this week has been a lot quieter but I'm treading lightly and holding my breath!

 

[missjackiemcg]

I hope things get back on track for you soon!!! I was JUST thinking about this TR, wondering if I was missing updates or what?! Sorry to hear about the run of bad luck.

In better news, I finally started writing a PTR of my own if you feel like dropping in I think I put it in my signature, but I am not very good at this so far, so let me know if you can't find it!!

 

[ArielSRL]

Sorry to hear about your bad luck! I was in an accident in the spring and my car got totaled also. Thank goodness for safety features! My car flipped on its side and I had to be pulled out the window but I barely had a scratch! I was sore though, like you!

I'm glad your surgery was successful and you are feeling more healthy!

And I know it stinks to have to delay a trip but at least you still have a ticker!

Looking forward to an update when things settle!

 

[ALEXandFAB]

Happy to hear that your surgery went well and things are going better health-wise.
It's scary to hear about the car accident but at least there were no serious injuries.
And...new car...YAY!

Glad you'll be continuing your trip report