Kinda Hot In These Rhinos... an August 2019 TR (updated 1/21)

[Newsies]

Until you do the backwards math that comes with flying. A 6:00 departure means you should be at the airport by 4:00. The airport is a 30-45 minute drive from where we live, so we should be on the road by 3:00, just in case! We were meeting up at my sister's house and I was picking up my SIL on the way, which meant I should leave my house by 2:30. Slowly that 6:00 AM departure wasn't looking so great, but these are the sacrifices we make for Disney, right?

I hate backwards flying math! I'm in the process of trying to figure out flights right now and the backwards math is killing meeee.

Finally, it was nearly 11:00 and we could not put off bedtime any longer. DS2 fell asleep almost immediately but DS1 was upset that I was going to be gone when he woke up and tried his very hardest to stay awake but eventually got to sleep. Which meant I could finally start packing for my trip! at 11:30 PM! Three hours before I needed to leave! At this point, I realized there was not much hope left of getting any sleep.

I hope you got some sleep on the plane at least!

When we arrived, the Southwest counter was not even open yet, so we killed time by comparing our vacation manicures.

Everyone's nails look amazing!!!

I love your Epcot band and Big Sis' decal!

My jaw DROPPED as this update went along and you remained awake longer and longer! I don't know how you survived more than a full day without sleep and made it to Epcot!!! I can't wait to read more!!!

 

[TheOneWithTheTriplets]

Joining in. Can't wait to hear about your kidless touring!

Oh my goodness, I can't believe you didn't sleep. I could not have handled that one bit.

My girls were also bummed about the Disney store being closed at the airport. They practically ran off the tram saying they were going to get pictures with the Mickey and Goofy statues only to find out they weren't there.

 

[PadfootnProngs]

Joining! Seems like a smooth (but OMG early) start!! How could you not sleep? I'm a total baby and could never have survived...

We'll be doing a 6am flight a week from tomorrow, so it's nice to get a glimpse into the future!

 

[cinderaimee]

It's the Vacation Strut!

What a great start, in spite of not sleeping at all!

It was definitely a smooth start to our trip!

It sure was hot down there!

Yes, but it's hot and humid in DC too, so we were all pretty used to it at this point.

Sorry we didn’t run into each other, it sounds like a fun trip!

I know! Sad I missed you!

I hate backwards flying math! I'm in the process of trying to figure out flights right now and the backwards math is killing meeee.

I mean, just stay up! Once you get to Disney it won't matter!

Everyone's nails look amazing!!!

Thank you and I feel compelled to brag that mine are the only non-professional manicure set there and I think they look pretty dang amazing. I have my own gel lamp and kit and used two different kinds of sparkles, even though you can't tell from that picture, they were super sparkly and amazing. That's what I did Thursday night instead of packing but I think it was totally worth it.

My jaw DROPPED as this update went along and you remained awake longer and longer! I don't know how you survived more than a full day without sleep and made it to Epcot!!! I can't wait to read more!!!

Caffeine and adrenaline man, they're the real heroes of the story here.

Joining in. Can't wait to hear about your kidless touring!

It was incredible how much more we got done than when I was there with kids!

Oh my goodness, I can't believe you didn't sleep. I could not have handled that one bit.

Once we got down there, it was just pure adrenaline and excitement. I really didn't even notice that I was very tired. BUT in my real non-Disney life, I usually sleep only 4-5 hours a night anyway so exhaustion is just a normal state of being for me.

My girls were also bummed about the Disney store being closed at the airport. They practically ran off the tram saying they were going to get pictures with the Mickey and Goofy statues only to find out they weren't there.

Yeah that was such a bummer! I can't wait to see what they do with it!

 

[cinderaimee]

Joining! Seems like a smooth (but OMG early) start!! How could you not sleep? I'm a total baby and could never have survived...

We'll be doing a 6am flight a week from tomorrow, so it's nice to get a glimpse into the future!

So glad you're here!

It's crazy how little I actually thought about how tired I was. I was in Disney! With no kids! Who could sleep at a time like this!

Here's a tip for your 6 am flight. There is probably no need to be at the airport at 4 Also maybe don't chug a coffee at the gate if you are planning to sleep on the plane.

 

[lvcourtneyy]

We flew. The end. Have a nice weekend!

Slowly that 6:00 AM departure wasn't looking so great, but these are the sacrifices we make for Disney, right?

Yup this is me every time we fly- planning an entire day on an hour of sleep!

Which meant I could finally start packing for my trip! at 11:30 PM! Three hours before I needed to leave!

Also me lol! I don't have kids though so I have no one to blame except myself!

But yay you made it to Disney !

 

[ariane37]

I'm here! I love those early flights when we get down to Florida but leading up to it.......it's rough! I wish I'd known you were going to be down there the same time as us, we were there the 18-21st over at Coronado I'll be interesting to see if we were in the same place at the same time at all!

 

[missangelalexis]

Sounds like a busy night before you left! You must have been running on empty!

 

[cinderaimee]

Yup this is me every time we fly- planning an entire day on an hour of sleep!

Gotta maximize those vacation days!

Also me lol! I don't have kids though so I have no one to blame except myself!

One day I will be less of a procrastinator. Maybe.

I'm here!

Yay! So happy to see you here!

I love those early flights when we get down to Florida but leading up to it.......it's rough!

I could have made things easier on myself if I had packed in advance or not let the kids stay up until 11 but that is just not the person I am lol

I wish I'd known you were going to be down there the same time as us, we were there the 18-21st over at Coronado I'll be interesting to see if we were in the same place at the same time at all!

Oh, man! It seemed like so many DISers added on last minute trips for the SWGE previews, I lost track of everyone down there.

Sounds like a busy night before you left! You must have been running on empty!

We were all running on fumes, but so excited to be on vacation that it didn't matter!

 

[cinderaimee]

Sorry for being quiet this week, we've been super busy with these guys going back to school!

There has been a lot of adjusting with the new house and a new after school program but I think we're getting the hang of it.

They also started tae kwon do and I can't get over how cute they are in their little uniforms

I think they're getting their first belts today.

But let's get back to the TR! Before I start, I do want to give my big sister credit - she took a lot of the pictures I'm using here! She takes pictures of everything and has a newer phone with a better camera than mine (iPhone SE in the house! ), so a lot of the time I just sat back and let her take pictures.

Saturday, August 17 - Epcot - Part 1

After we had dropped off our bags with Bell Services, we headed over to the buses. We had originally planned to go to the front desk first so my sisters could set up their Magic Bands to charge to their own credit cards, but the line was so insanely full of people checking out that we decided to do it later. The queue for Epcot was pretty full and an Epcot bus was pulling up when we got there, but it didn't look like we'd fit on that one. But another Epcot bus pulled up immediately behind that one so we barely had any wait.

We made it to Epcot and were greeted by a very strange sight - absolutely no security line! I have never been able to walk straight up to a bag check table at Epcot before, so that was a good start. My sisters got through the tapstiles like pros and we said hello to SE!

Then we headed straight to the Land for our very first FP

We were actually a few minutes early so we just hung out and waited until we could tap our bands. We talked about going on LWTL but the SB time was over 30 minutes so we chose not to. Also, I really wanted Soarin' to be our first ride.

We headed down to our concourse and got section B1 without even asking for it. I was super excited - I've always been on one of the sides and I knew B1 would be a great first ride for my sisters, and they really enjoyed it! I told SIL that this was DH's (her brother) favorite ride and she said she could totally see why.

After Soarin' we were all feeling pretty hungry so we went into Sunshine Seasons for a little bite. We were planning on having lunch in the Mexico Pavillion a little later, but none of us had breakfast so we used a couple of snack credits and split a cheese box, hummus and veggies, and a 3-pack of mandarins. When we went to check out, I assumed my sister's bands would all be linked to my PIN, since that was how it always worked on my trips with DH, but the only one we could use to credits with was mine, weirdly enough.

Our little snack was just what we needed and then we headed over to our next FP, after we scanned had scanned our bands at Soarin', I was able to modify our next FP up from 12:05 to 11:30 so we didn't have a bunch of time to wait around.

We didn't really need a FP for this ride and I might have skipped it altogether if Disney didn't force you into the tier system. But it was cute and my sisters liked it.

After the ride, Big Sister (the scuba diver), loved the demo going on, and showing us all the different fish she knew about in the tanks.

We spent quite a while in here looking around and I was able to modify our SE FP from 1:20 up to 12:45.

We went through the gift shop and my older sister thought about getting this shirt (she loves Dory)

And then they all got very distracted by pins.

SIL did pin trading with her kids at AK in Disney Springs on their trip in 2016 and she thought it was so much fun so she brought a bunch of pins to trade on this trip. In January, DS1 did some pin trading and had given me a handful of pins that he wanted me to try to trade for him (his requests were Star Wars, Toy Story, and Aladdin pins) My sisters looked through SIL's pins on the plane and thought they were so cute so they were hooked too. (Me, I don't like collecting things or having a bunch of knick-knacks around, and I think the pins are overpriced so... it was fun to watch them and trade for DS1). I bought a mystery pin 2-pack to open with DS1 on Facetime later.

By time they had looked at all the pins and bought a few packs and lanyards, we were ready to go ride SE. We stopped to take a picture with the Nemo statutes, but I haven't downloaded the PP pictures yet so just use your imagination here I'm so good at trip reports, right?

As we walked up to SE, it was obvious it was about to pour. The clouds were dark and the wind was whipping. Luckily, there was no FP line and we were able to walk right onto the ride.

During the initial part of the ride, I looked for another FP and one for FEA at 2:45 popped up! But as I went to confirm it, I lost internet for a second on my phone and lost the FP! I spent probably too long trying to get MDE to work while I was on the ride which I kind of regret now since I won't see it again until after the refurb.

My favorite lady!

While we were in the backwards part of the ride, you could hear the rain just hammering the outside of the building, so I was glad we had made it inside.

We ended up hanging out and sending postcards from the future and playing some of the games while we waited for the rain to let up.

After about 20 minutes, the rain had slowed down to a drizzle so we made a break for it,

we stopped at the pin trading booth for a bit and then down to Disney Traders so I could swap out my fuel rod, but their machine was acting up and it took like four tries before the machine would give me a new one.

Big sister loves Halloween so she was going crazy over all the Halloween merch everywhere.

Finally we made our way over to Mexico!

We were absolutely starving at this point and La Cantina had a huge line but it was moving fast and soon we were chowing down. This was our first meal using credits and my sisters were kind of shocked when the cash total was over $100 but we didn't have to pay anything for it.

I had the cheese empanadas and a mango margarita and both were excellent! Big sister had a salad because she's a healthy person, Little Sis picked tacos and SIL got the nachos. You can also see the pin packs my little sister opened while she was saving the table, lol.

My sisters got sangria with their meals and said it was good.

After we ate, we all ended up calling home and I Facetimed with DS1 and opened his pin pack - it had two different color Mickeys and he picked one to keep and told me to trade the other.

This is a good place to stop for now. Up next: we attempt to drink around the world while being awake for over 24 hours. Guess how that goes.

 

[missangelalexis]

Sounds like a great start to your day at Epcot! Soarin is a perfect first ride

 

[BLAllee]

This is a good place to stop for now. Up next: we attempt to drink around the world while being awake for over 24 hours. Guess how that goes.

Oh man, I did that once. Hopefully you fared better than me.

 

[lvcourtneyy]

Sounds like a great start in Epcot. Sunshine Seasons is a great place to stop for a quick snack before you get to the World Showcase!

I fought the urge to start pin trading for several trips because I knew I would get hooked and spend too much money on it and that's exactly what's happened!

 

[cinderaimee]

Sounds like a great start to your day at Epcot! Soarin is a perfect first ride

Soarin' is so wonderful. I love the music, I love Patrick, I love all the smells. It's just so good.

Oh man, I did that once. Hopefully you fared better than me.

I might try it again on a day I was more well rested

Sounds like a great start in Epcot. Sunshine Seasons is a great place to stop for a quick snack before you get to the World Showcase!

I fought the urge to start pin trading for several trips because I knew I would get hooked and spend too much money on it and that's exactly what's happened!

It's fun but I'm more casual about it, like it's fun to do to kill some time or check out the big boards. SIL was on a serious hunt and would constantly veer off the path we were on to look at pins, which kind of got old after awhile, but it was her vacation too!

 

[chri3060]

Joining in! Epcot sounds like it was a great way to start your trip! Soarin' is my favorite ride in Epcot, and I always try to have that be my first ride in the park!

 

[TheOneWithTheTriplets]

When we went to check out, I assumed my sister's bands would all be linked to my PIN, since that was how it always worked on my trips with DH, but the only one we could use to credits with was mine, weirdly enough.

Odd. I know all of our bands worked automatically, too.

Me, I don't like collecting things or having a bunch of knick-knacks around, and I think the pins are overpriced so... it was fun to watch them and trade for DS1

I agree with you. I think I'd be into it if I started as a kid, and my kids are really into it, but they are just so expensive! I do appreciate that it's a small physical size, though, so you could get a bunch without taking up too much more space than maybe a small display.

But as I went to confirm it, I lost internet for a second on my phone and lost the FP! I spent probably too long trying to get MDE to work while I was on the ride which I kind of regret now since I won't see it again until after the refurb.

Bummer! You definitely have to remind yourself to put the phone away when you're refreshing and about to board a ride.

This was our first meal using credits and my sisters were kind of shocked when the cash total was over $100 but we didn't

The Mexico pavilion was my favorite use of a qs credit. Nachos and margaritas? Yes, please!

 

[amazingact21]

I'm jumping in right on time! (I was hopelessly late to your last report.) I love the idea of going to WDW with the girls in your family, and I can only imagine that it was exactly what you all needed after the loss of your mom. Such a devastating time for you all, I have no doubt.

Isn't it funny when you're on a trip and a catchphrase kind of presents itself. Starts to feel like a theme some days.

 

[KathyM2]

Sounds like a great trip so far!! Here finally to follow along!

 

[disneylove16]

I love your TR so far! I can't believe you were running on no sleep! I'd faceplant before getting on the Epcot bus!! Can't wait to read more!

 

[cinderaimee]

Joining in! Epcot sounds like it was a great way to start your trip! Soarin' is my favorite ride in Epcot, and I always try to have that be my first ride in the park!

Who doesn't love Soarin'?! It's so good.

I agree with you. I think I'd be into it if I started as a kid, and my kids are really into it, but they are just so expensive! I do appreciate that it's a small physical size, though, so you could get a bunch without taking up too much more space than maybe a small display.

That is true! DS1 has all of his pins on a small cork board in his room and likes to rearrange them and they've probably gotten more play time than any of the silly toys they picked out on the trip.

Bummer! You definitely have to remind yourself to put the phone away when you're refreshing and about to board a ride.

It's so easy to get sucked into the refreshing!

The Mexico pavilion was my favorite use of a qs credit. Nachos and margaritas? Yes, please!

I'm jumping in right on time! (I was hopelessly late to your last report.) I love the idea of going to WDW with the girls in your family, and I can only imagine that it was exactly what you all needed after the loss of your mom. Such a devastating time for you all, I have no doubt.

Thanks for joining in! Some sister time was definitely what we all needed.

Sounds like a great trip so far!! Here finally to follow along!

So glad you're here!

I love your TR so far! I can't believe you were running on no sleep! I'd faceplant before getting on the Epcot bus!! Can't wait to read more!

I honestly don't know how we did it!