"IT'S A TRAP!" A January 2012 trip report ~ *Updated FINALLY! 7/6*

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

The honey wall story with your dad made me laugh, I think the wall would freak out DBF too - he HATES touching his food. Like, he even eats wings with a fork and knife!

That Pina CoLava looks great! I love the Disney detailing too, how funny that they added the little copyright info to Mr. Potato Head!!

 

[MeMom]

I thought this was going to be a normal Friday, but I got to sit by the Hippy Dippy Pool and take a walk around in that beautiful sunshine at Pop Century before I leave for school! This day just got so much better already! Thank you, thank you, thank you! I love Pop pictures!

Oh yeah, glad you got to experience an empty Fantasyland.

 

[manntra]

Looks like you had a fun morning at the MK Yeah....I am not a morning person either....I have been told I can be quite violent But I am a totally different person at WDW waking up every day with a smile on my face
Too funny about the honey and freaking your Dad out! I have heard so many good stories about that sandwich that I need to put that on my list. I am not a fan of crunchy things in my tuna so I might have to ask for a sample ahead of time
That's my kind of afternoon...relaxing at the pool with a cocktail!

Tracy

 

[Tink9721]

I read your last update a few days ago and haven't had a chance to comment yet I'm FINALLY done with the crazy studying, so I can DIS! And I can do the single digit dance

We never made it to Pooh last year so I still haven't seen the new queue! I can't wait to see it!

I noticed the themed chip bags last year

I can't wait to walk around WL and take pictures Did you see any Disney bunnies at Pop? We usually see them at WL but last year we didn't see any. We also see ducks in the pool 2010 was the year I saw a ton of wildlife. Other than the WL animals, I saw two armadillos and a deer. I had never seen an armadillo in my life. I saw one on the ground when I was on the monorail. Don't ask me how I saw that from way up there; I have no idea I saw the other one when I was on the train at MK. I also saw the deer on the train. It was walking around near the fake deer, looking at them like "Why aren't you guys moving?"

 

[Megablocks]

The honey wall story with your dad made me laugh, I think the wall would freak out DBF too - he HATES touching his food. Like, he even eats wings with a fork and knife!

That Pina CoLava looks great! I love the Disney detailing too, how funny that they added the little copyright info to Mr. Potato Head!!

Any weird qualms I have over touching my food are RIGHT from my dad - he needs to have the little wet-naps at the ready if he's eating anything he has to pick up with his hands

The pina colava was soooo good! I should have gotten a picture of the Big Wheel, too...there's some crazy weight limit on that there that I am SURE the Imagineers actually sat down to figure out based on the bike's size!

I thought this was going to be a normal Friday, but I got to sit by the Hippy Dippy Pool and take a walk around in that beautiful sunshine at Pop Century before I leave for school! This day just got so much better already! Thank you, thank you, thank you! I love Pop pictures!

Oh yeah, glad you got to experience an empty Fantasyland.

Glad I was able to repay the favor!

The empty Fantasyland was soooo nice, I was really glad to see it for myself finally!

Looks like you had a fun morning at the MK Yeah....I am not a morning person either....I have been told I can be quite violent But I am a totally different person at WDW waking up every day with a smile on my face
Too funny about the honey and freaking your Dad out! I have heard so many good stories about that sandwich that I need to put that on my list. I am not a fan of crunchy things in my tuna so I might have to ask for a sample ahead of time
That's my kind of afternoon...relaxing at the pool with a cocktail!

Tracy

I'm so picky about certain foods - tuna sandwiches are one of them. Like, I hate celery, so if DBF's mother makes tuna salad even with really small, finely chopped pieces celery in it, I cannot eat it because I KNOW it's there and I CAN taste it. The one at CHH is different, I really could not detect any crunchiness. The bread is also amazing!

Honestly, when I was down at the pool with the drink, I thought of you! All I could think was, "Tracy would appreciate this"

I read your last update a few days ago and haven't had a chance to comment yet I'm FINALLY done with the crazy studying, so I can DIS! And I can do the single digit dance

We never made it to Pooh last year so I still haven't seen the new queue! I can't wait to see it!

I noticed the themed chip bags last year

I can't wait to walk around WL and take pictures Did you see any Disney bunnies at Pop? We usually see them at WL but last year we didn't see any. We also see ducks in the pool 2010 was the year I saw a ton of wildlife. Other than the WL animals, I saw two armadillos and a deer. I had never seen an armadillo in my life. I saw one on the ground when I was on the monorail. Don't ask me how I saw that from way up there; I have no idea I saw the other one when I was on the train at MK. I also saw the deer on the train. It was walking around near the fake deer, looking at them like "Why aren't you guys moving?"

And now you're leaving THIS week!

I can't remember if I saw any Disney bunnies. I might have. I know I saw some in the parks and I might have seen a couple around Pop...I can't remember. Gosh it's been too long since the trip.

 

[Megablocks]

Sorry for the lack of updates, guys...things have been crazy and I did not realize, again, that I went so long in between updates. So here is the rest of day three!

Day three continued - Friday, January 6

When I last left you, long ago, we had decided to head to Epcot and then maybe DHS for the evening EMH. We left for Epcot around 3:40 and barely had to wait for a bus, so we arrived around 4:00. When we were going through the bag check, the security guard checking my bag started to sing. My park bag is a small backpack that I got when I went to see RENT with my BFF a few years ago, so when the security guard saw it, he started singing, "525,600 diapers...that's how many diapers, I'll see in a day!"

We rode SSE with no wait, and then the guys wanted to check out Test Track for Fastpasses and then Mission: Space. In the meantime, me, mom, and Kailyn went to Club Cool. One of the guys called us, so we headed over to Mission: Space. Kailyn really wanted to try M:S, but mom and I decided to sit out. I tried it years ago, before there were two sides, and I was SO nauseous. I can handle any roller coaster but I cannot handle simulators. Mom and I were concerned about how Kailyn would do, since she seems to have sort of a sensitive stomach on rides. So we sat and waited for everyone to ride. They decided on the orange side.

Hidden Mickey? This was right next to me

We finally saw them coming out and I think the first thing we did was ask Kailyn if she did okay. She very nonchalantly said, "oh, yeah, I'm fine. It wasn't that bad." Mike and Kailyn were okay but Dad was a little woozy. We decided to head over to the countries, and started in Canada this time. I think the only stop we really made was at the caramel shop. I got the milk chocolate caramel with sea salt this time, and mom got some oatmeal apple caramel cookie. I did not get a picture, but it was HUGE!

I think it was around this time that a friend texted Mike and said he would meet us at Magic Kingdom the next morning. He moved down to Orlando last year and has a couple roommates who work at Disney, so he was going to come meet us the next morning. That would make for TWO MK rope drops for me!

We decided to ride Maelstrom, since we didn't get to the day before. I think it was only like a 20 minute wait.

After that, we decided to split up. Dad, Mike, and Kailyn wanted to go to DHS for the nighttime EMH, and mom and I decided to stay at Epcot and catch Illuminations.

We were starting to get hungry, since we hadn't really had a meal for a while, so we stopped in the American pavilion to eat. I got chicken fingers with fries, and mom got some kind of veggie sandwich, I think. She also picked at her cookie from the caramel shop for dessert. I didn't get a picture of the food, but I got a picture of some of the flags, since I am a nerd.

Massachusetts:

Going crazy over this one...Pennsylvania?

I think the top one is North Carolina, and the bottom one might be Rhode Island. Feel free to correct me if I am wrong on any of these:

And, of course, the beautiful tree outside.

After we ate, we still had some time to kill, so we took the long way back around to Mexico (I decided I wanted a margarita while I watched.) My pictures are out of order and my notes are actually not as good as I thought they were while I was taking them so I'm throwing these in right here and hoping this IS close to what we did. I decided I really wanted a shirt that Kailyn got on her trip last April with friends - it says "keep calm and carry on." We stopped in the shop in the Britain pavilion, and heard music. Mom told me she'd meet me out there, so I grabbed the shirt and paid. It turned out it was the British Revolution, who we'd never heard before. They were really, really good. They played some Billy Idol, I think "White Wedding," some other stuff I didn't really recognize (my mom did), and also some Queen. They were really, really good and we wanted to try to catch them on another one of our Epcot days. It didn't happen but they're definitely going to be something we look out for when we're there next.

After that, we went to Mexico so I could get my margarita, and we wandered around to find a spot for Illuminations. I can't remember exactly where we decided to watch from, but it was a path that had a railing we could lean against.

As SOON as I took a sip of my margarita, I started coughing. Uncontrollably. I had been fighting this really annoying dry cough for a few weeks, but it had been pretty okay till now. I literally could not stop and the harder I tried to, the worse it got. I felt so bad for everyone around me! Finally, FINALLY, I stopped, had some of my mom's water, and proceeded to very carefully drink my margarita.

I don't have any pictures, because I was only half-planning on writing a TR and just wanted to enjoy the show. It was amazing, as always, and I cried. "We Go On" ESPECIALLY gets me. Every time. And, where we were standing? Some of the fireworks were shot off RIGHT in front of us! It made me jump a mile but it was awesome!

After Illuminations, we found a bench to sit on and just waited for the crowds to filter out before we headed out. I apparently took these at some point. I loved that the Christmas tree was right there.

Next update: ANOTHER Magic Kingdom morning...on marathon weekend...would it be ridiculous?

 

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

I love the security guy's RENT song!!

I'm glad that Kailyn didn't have a problem on Mission: Space!

Ahhh I love Illuminations!! Your pictures of Spaceship Earth that night are beautiful!

 

[MeMom]

Beautiful pictures of Spaceship Earth, palm trees, and the Christmas tree!

I am so excited that I can see your pictures here at school. I saw your batch of the ones from Pop the other day when checking in at a break, and it made me smile very 'bigly'.

 

[sunny_stace]

Ahhh Rent! I love that show! Good job on the security guy! I love evenings at Epcot! When all of the lights come up it's just so pretty!

 

[Tink9721]

And now you're leaving THIS week!

I can't remember if I saw any Disney bunnies. I might have. I know I saw some in the parks and I might have seen a couple around Pop...I can't remember. Gosh it's been too long since the trip.

Yes I am!!!!! I can't believe it! I'll be there in less than 48 hours!

I wanna see Disney bunnies! They're SO cute!

I think the top one is North Carolina, and the bottom one might be Rhode Island. Feel free to correct me if I am wrong on any of these:

Yup that's my wonderful little ocean state!

It turned out it was the British Revolution, who we'd never heard before. They were really, really good. They played some Billy Idol, I think "White Wedding," some other stuff I didn't really recognize (my mom did), and also some Queen. They were really, really good and we wanted to try to catch them on another one of our Epcot days. It didn't happen but they're definitely going to be something we look out for when we're there next.

I think they're new. I'm pretty sure they replaced the Beatles cover band that was there before, unfortunately I loved them! My dad's a huge Beatles fan and I had so much fun calling/texting him to say I was in the UK watching the Beatles

 

[Megablocks]

Beautiful pictures of Spaceship Earth, palm trees, and the Christmas tree!

I am so excited that I can see your pictures here at school. I saw your batch of the ones from Pop the other day when checking in at a break, and it made me smile very 'bigly'.

Thank you! I was so happy with how they came out!

Glad you can see the pictures at school and you can get a little bit of a "fix" while you're there

I love the security guy's RENT song!!

I'm glad that Kailyn didn't have a problem on Mission: Space!

Ahhh I love Illuminations!! Your pictures of Spaceship Earth that night are beautiful!

I was cracking up when he started singing...he was awesome!

I was so relived that she was okay on that. I found out the next day that it's not just M:S I can't handle, it's simulator rides, period!

Thank you! I was happy with the way the pictures came out. I forgot how much I love Illuminations. "We Go On" came up on shuffle on my iPod when I was going to work and I can't even tell you how many times I kept on restarting it

Yes I am!!!!! I can't believe it! I'll be there in less than 48 hours!

I wanna see Disney bunnies! They're SO cute!



Yup that's my wonderful little ocean state!



I think they're new. I'm pretty sure they replaced the Beatles cover band that was there before, unfortunately I loved them! My dad's a huge Beatles fan and I had so much fun calling/texting him to say I was in the UK watching the Beatles

You are there NOW!

I think I was trying to get pictures of specific flags because you, Katie, and Hope also all live in one of the original thirteen colonies and I had to get them for my DIS friends.

I think they did replace the Beatles cover band. I know this could get me kicked off the earth but I am not huuuuge on the Beatles so I never really made it a point to see them. I LOVED these guys, though!

 

[Megablocks]

I don't have time to do a real update but realized I passed the point of where I got the title and wanted to explain it. It does have a little bit of a spoiler to do with the new Star Wars ride, so for anyone who does not want to spoil it, don't read it! I'm posting it in white so whoever wants to read it can just highlight it.

So, on the new Star Wars ride, there are apparently a few different storylines. I only rode it once this trip because I found out the hard way that it's not M:S I can't handle, it's ANY simulator ride. Anyway, there's several different storylines, so you never really know which one you'll get. They also pick out someone on your ride as a "rebel spy." The first time dad and Mike rode it, Mike was the rebel spy!! So that was an ongoing joke the rest of the trip.

The title comes from when dad, Mike, and Kailyn rode it when mom and I stayed at Epcot and dad, Mike, and Kailyn went to DHS. They got a storyline with Admiral Ackbar, and I think it was after they picked out the rebel spy that Admiral Ackbar says "IT'S A TRAP!" They all found it hilarious so that was said ALL the rest of the trip...stuck on a ride? "IT'S A TRAP!" Kailyn would say it in her best Admiral Ackbar voice and put her hand under her chin to mimic his tentacles. When I say it was said several times a day for the rest of the trip, I mean it...we STILL say it!

So, there is our title explanation. Have a great weekend, guys!

 

[Poolrat]

Love the security guard breaking out into song. That is how my week has been sort of... But that Disney giddiness I have is putting everyone in a good mood.


Beautiful pictures of the ball and the tree. I cannot wait to see Illuminations again. I love "we go on" so romantic.. ahhhhh

 

[Megablocks]

Love the security guard breaking out into song. That is how my week has been sort of... But that Disney giddiness I have is putting everyone in a good mood.


Beautiful pictures of the ball and the tree. I cannot wait to see Illuminations again. I love "we go on" so romantic.. ahhhhh

I ended up watching the finale on YouTube a bunch of times! I love it so much I unfortunately took all the Disney music off my iPod when we got back. I think I still have a Disney playlist but I'm not sure. My BFF figured out how to change the language on my iPod and I haven't figured out which is "playlist" yet!

 

[Megablocks]

Day 4 - Saturday, January 7th

Apologies in advance because this is going to be kind of all over the place. I DID take notes, but I'm realizing not very good notes.

SO. This was the day that Mike and I were planning to meet our friend Rogue at MK. He moved to the Orlando area at like the end of 2010/beginning of 2011, and has roommates who are WDW CM's, so he wanted to meet us at MK. We were going to meet after opening (9 AM), so this was the SECOND time I was getting to see the MK rope drop!

This was also the weekend of the WDW marathon. I had let Mike know the night before that this meant the buses would be kind of crazy, so we'd have to leave in decent time (I'm not really a morning person and he is even less of a morning person than I am.) But, I guess that WDW pixie dust hit him, too, because he was up around when I was. I took this on my phone when we were walking towards Classic Hall...I miss it so much!

The bus came around 8:15. I think it's usually about a 20 minute drive to MK from Pop to MK, but we arrived at MK around 8:40, so it wasn't too bad. There were some crazy detours, so I, of course, was super interested in seeing parts of Disney I'd never seen before.

I kept on saying to Mike how excited I was that I'd get to see the opening again, and kept telling him how magical it was. He just smiled and nodded every time I said something. This pretty much sums up how I felt, and probably how he felt about me right then.

I cried at the opening, of course, and when it was announced that the Magic Kingdom was now open, it was SO HARD to stand there and wait while people were pouring in. Mike was texting with Rogue and I kept asking, "where is he?" "Where is he now?" "Is he almost here?" Finally, I said, "I'm really really sorry, but I have to see the castle right now. Do you mind if I go in?" Mike, of course, said he didn't care, which was ALL I needed to hear.

Right after I took that, I saw the MAYOR OF MAIN STREET WALKING AROUND! He was talking to people and taking pictures. My first reaction was, "THE MAYOR OF MAIN STREET? HE'S A CELEBRITY!" My second was, "why did I leave Mike? I need a picture with the mayor, right now." Now, in real life I am not what you'd consider a "people person"...I'm shy and kind of reserved and standoffish until I get to know people, and I most definitely do not speak to random people and ask them if they would please take a picture for me. BUT, I did for this!

(Notice I was wearing my "keep calm and carry on" shirt that I got the night before...got a lot of comments on it!)

I cannot even remember what was said, but I was SO EXCITED about meeting the mayor. I thanked both him and the nice woman who took my picture, then went back to my post to wait for the guys. I texted Mike with "I'm to the right of the tree right next to the confectionary and I GOT A PICTURE WITH THE MAYOR OF MAIN STREET!!!! I am NOT sorry for leaving you to go in!!!"

Not long after that, I saw the guys coming in. We decided to head to Tomorrowland to ride Space Mountain. We ended up walking on, riding, then walking on AGAIN! When we were heading there, I had another awesome interaction with a cast member. This guy was out in the middle of Tomorrowland, kind of next to Stitch's Great Escape, and he said, "gentlemen, my lady! Keep calm and carry on!" He took my hand and escorted me as we walked and said, "are you two with the princess? Because there be pirates near..." I can't remember all of what was said, but it was SO cute and I was so giddy over it! Anyone who refers to me as a princess gets an A in my book!

Now here is where the notes get really crappy. I know Rogue's roommate was working in Frontierland, and he had said he'd hook us up. Our friend went to go meet him, and came back and said, "you guys won't believe this." He had a STACK of Fastpasses, including some "rider switch" passes that were good at ANY Fastpass ride in the MK for several days! I can't remember exactly what the Fastpasses were for, but we made good use of them. That morning, we walked on Space Mountain twice, rode Pirates, saw the pirate tutorial, rode BTMRR, Haunted Mansion, Splash Mountain twice, and the People Mover twice. My parents and Kailyn ended up coming a bit later, closer to noon, when it was getting quite crowded, but they were able to make use of some of the Fastpasses, too.

As I said, we saw the pirate tutorial. It was going on right when we excited PotC, so I asked if we could stop and watch. I didn't really get any pictures of the actual tutorial...I was too interested in getting pictures of the good captain.

I don't have any pictures of this, but we had an early lunch at Peco's Bill Cafe, around 10:45. I had never been, but I really liked that you could order a burger and top it however you wanted at the fixin's bar. Mike and I each got a burger, and Rogue got the taco salad, which I was immediately jealous of...it looked soooo good!

When Mom, Dad and Kailyn got to the park, we decided to all ride the TTA. We rode with all the girls in one, and all the guys in another. Dad was yelling to me from the other car, "Meg, look at this! Get a picture of this!"

After that, me, Mike, and Rogue decided to go on Space Ranger Spin. Rogue got almost 100,000 on Buzz, and Mike hit something that got him ALL these points! He got 999,999, which I had NEVER seen in person before. I got 19,100.

We met back up with my parents and Kailyn, and decided what to do. It was getting really crowded at this point, Mike was quickly losing steam, and Rogue had plans to meet another friend from Boston who happened to be in Disney at Animal Kingdom, so we all split up. Mike went back to the room, Rogue went to AK, and the rest of us headed to Frontierland. Dad didn't care to ride Splash, so mom, Kailyn and I all rode with one of the several rider switch passes. After that, Kailyn and Dad headed to HM, and mom and I decided to head back to Pop. We got back around 3 and hit the food court. I got a pepperoni pizza, Mom got a veggie calzone, and we decided to share a dessert. We decided on the apple blossom a la mode. It had a big scoop of vanilla ice cream on top, with caramel drizzled on the ice cream. It was absolutely delicious, but it was a LOT! I could never have finished one on my own.

Next update: nighttime at DHS!

 

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

Oh, there's definitely no way I could have waited at the front gate of the MK without going in either!!! How cool that you got a picture with the Mayor!

Sounds like you guys got a lot done in MK! Were there a lot of detours because of the Marathon? I know when we got to Epcot that day a bunch of the walkways were half-closed.

 

[MeMom]

Look at you, hanging out with the big shots! Great picture! Glad you were right there at the right time.

A stack of Fastpasses?
Nice!

 

[Mndisneygirl]

What a great MK morning!
The mayor, walk on rides, FPS? Sweet.
It looked like your dad on the TTA was doing the thing on the sign to keep your arms and legs inside the vehicle. I always tease my kids and do that and say "now don't do this"

Question about your Keep Calm shirt. We were just in London and I bought a magnet with that phrase too. I had Wigd check the UK pavillion, but she didn't see any Mind the Gap stuff. Have you noticed it there in the past?

 

[Megablocks]

Oh, there's definitely no way I could have waited at the front gate of the MK without going in either!!! How cool that you got a picture with the Mayor!

Sounds like you guys got a lot done in MK! Were there a lot of detours because of the Marathon? I know when we got to Epcot that day a bunch of the walkways were half-closed.

I think I lasted like five minutes after they announced MK being open...maybe not even that long! I felt kinda bad because I realized once I was inside, I had told Mike to tell Rogue we'd be easy to find because of my ears...but I was so happy to get a picture with the Mayor that I didn't even care

Oh, yeah, the drive from Pop to MK was riddled with detours. It didn't take toooooo much longer to get there...closer to half an hour than the usual twenty minutes. Of course, I was staring out the window because I was seeing a part of Disney I'd never seen before!

Look at you, hanging out with the big shots! Great picture! Glad you were right there at the right time.

A stack of Fastpasses?
Nice!

Thank you! I was so happy to get that picture! Definitely motivation to be there for rope drop again.

His roommate was so good to hook us up. We didn't get to use all the rider switch passes, so I ended up giving them to Katie when we met up a few days later, since they were still good for a few days.

What a great MK morning!
The mayor, walk on rides, FPS? Sweet.
It looked like your dad on the TTA was doing the thing on the sign to keep your arms and legs inside the vehicle. I always tease my kids and do that and say "now don't do this"

Question about your Keep Calm shirt. We were just in London and I bought a magnet with that phrase too. I had Wigd check the UK pavillion, but she didn't see any Mind the Gap stuff. Have you noticed it there in the past?

It was an awesome morning!

Yeah, I realized that is exactly what he's doing. He likes us taking pictures of him disobeying

Hmmm...I can't remember seeing anything like that there before. There is a Museum of Fine Arts store in the Faneuiel Hall/Quincy Market area of Boston, and when I was there last month, I saw some "keep calm" stuff. I can't remember if I saw any "mind the gap" stuff, but I may end up in that area next weekend, so if you want, I can check for you!

 

[Tink9721]

Hi Meg! I haven't had DIS time all week. I've missed it!

You're doing much better with your TR than I am...I still haven't started. I've had sooo much school work since I got home, and my mom's been on a business trip all week so I've had a lot of extra stuff to do. I'm planning on doing absolutely nothing tomorrow, so I'll probably get my first update done then

I was so glad I made rope drop this year!!! I loved it!