xoktenox
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Sep 5, 2008
- Messages
- 3,176
Aloooooooooooooooooha!
Hello and welcome to xoktenoxs 3rd ever trip report!! Im so, so, sooooo excited to share this trip with you all because it was a different type of trip this time. For one thing, this was our shortest trip to the World yet. Secondly, we took two of our friends with us, both who had never been to WDW before. There were lots of ups but definitely a fair share of downs on the trip but of course, we had a wonderful, excellent, fun filled, albeit TIRING, time. If youre interested, I did write a short PTR which you can find here. In case you didnt read the PTR or are new to my trip reports, let me start with some short introductions!
First, theres me, Kristen, 24 years old from Long Island, NY. I finished my Masters degree in education this past December and am currently beginning to substitute teach since there are ZERO teaching jobs on Long Island. I also work as a part time teller at a local credit union. My favorite Disney park is the Magic Kingdom and my favorite Disney movie is Beauty and the Beast! Then we have my fiancé Chris! Hes 27 and works full time as a cable technician. He also plays hockey as often as he can and we are both DIE HARD NY Rangers fans!! We also love the Giants (Super Bowl champs, baby!!!) and Yankees. In case you cant tell, Chris loves sports haha Chris had only been to Disney for one short day when he was a teen before he met me. He now loves Disney ALMOST as much as I do. His favorite park is Hollywood Studios and his favorite Disney movie is The Nightmare Before Christmas.
Here is the other couple we went with, Sam and Joe. Chris and Joe work together at the cable company and although we all went to the same high school, never knew each other back then! They are 21 and 22 years old and are definitely NOT Disney people like Chris and I. We hoped to bring the Disney magic and wonder into their lives on this trip. Did we succeed? Youll have to wait and see!
So enough with that, lets get on with the trip! Before I start, let me just give you a few details. Our dates were January 31, 2012-February 4, 2012. We stayed at Pop Century and flew down to FL from NY. Sam and Joe had the dining plan while Chris and I did not. This was mine and Chris Christmas present from my parents so we had to keep ourselves on a tight budget! Alright, here we go!!
Were starting the day before the trip. Sam, Joe and I all had to work full days. Chris has actually been out of work for almost a month now. He overstretched and bruised some tendons in his foot playing football and hockey so he was home that day. Hes been in a big walking boot and wore it the whole trip! Im sure it was annoying! Anyway, Sam and I checked us in for our flights on Southwest the morning before the trip and we were group A, numbers 51, 52, 54 & 56. I packed late Monday night (typical me, waiting until the last minute) and by 10:00 Chris and I were in bed attempting to get some sleep!
4:15 am came VERY quickly! We got up and got ourselves ready, throwing our last minute items into our suitcases and carry-on bags. Sam and Joe were stopping to get us some bagels and his mom was going to drop us off at the airport. They arrived at my house promptly at 5:15. We said goodbye to my mom and we were off! We got to the airport by 5:35 and saw NO LINES and really no people! We breezed through security, even with Chris walking boot which we didnt know if they were going to give us a problem about and super search it or what. First stop once we got inside was Starbucks! I tried their new blonde roast coffee and it was GOOD! We finally went and got situated by our gate, waiting for our boarding to start!
Around 6:40, boarding began! We lined up on our side and waited to get on the plane.
Since we were in group A, it was easy to grab 4 seats across the aisle from one another.
Before we knew it, we were off! We kept ourselves occupied, playing computer games, reading and sleeping. A quick two and a half hour later and we were landing in Orlando airport!! Yay!!!
Being the seasoned Disney professionals that Chris and I are (haha!) we headed right over on the fake monorail to side B of the airport. Before we headed to DME though, we made a bathroom break to change into some warmer weather clothes! Off went my sweatshirt and sweatpants and on went a t-shirt and capris! It felt great to be dressed like that at the end of January, coming from cold NY!
Finally, I saw one of these through the window
A DME bus!! Ahhhh!!! I was FREAKING out, skipping and all. Sam and Joe probably knew then that the intensity of my Disney obsession was more than they expected lol Entering the DME area we again saw NO LINES. We were having awesome luck! We waited all of 5 seconds after being shown to the line for Pop and were then escorted onto our motor coach. It was nearly full so we knew we wouldnt be waiting long to leave! The bus driver announced the stops would be Caribbean Beach, Pop, then Animal Kingdom Lodge. Since we were in the back of the bus I wasnt able to get my usual awesome shot of the WDW gates so I had to settle for this
Then this
And finally, this BEAUTIFUL sight
I think I starting tearing up at this point. We were back. I was in my happy place, with the love of my life and two of my good friends. I couldnt wait to see what Sam and Joe thought of Pop and to get this trip really started!!
Hello and welcome to xoktenoxs 3rd ever trip report!! Im so, so, sooooo excited to share this trip with you all because it was a different type of trip this time. For one thing, this was our shortest trip to the World yet. Secondly, we took two of our friends with us, both who had never been to WDW before. There were lots of ups but definitely a fair share of downs on the trip but of course, we had a wonderful, excellent, fun filled, albeit TIRING, time. If youre interested, I did write a short PTR which you can find here. In case you didnt read the PTR or are new to my trip reports, let me start with some short introductions!
First, theres me, Kristen, 24 years old from Long Island, NY. I finished my Masters degree in education this past December and am currently beginning to substitute teach since there are ZERO teaching jobs on Long Island. I also work as a part time teller at a local credit union. My favorite Disney park is the Magic Kingdom and my favorite Disney movie is Beauty and the Beast! Then we have my fiancé Chris! Hes 27 and works full time as a cable technician. He also plays hockey as often as he can and we are both DIE HARD NY Rangers fans!! We also love the Giants (Super Bowl champs, baby!!!) and Yankees. In case you cant tell, Chris loves sports haha Chris had only been to Disney for one short day when he was a teen before he met me. He now loves Disney ALMOST as much as I do. His favorite park is Hollywood Studios and his favorite Disney movie is The Nightmare Before Christmas.
Here is the other couple we went with, Sam and Joe. Chris and Joe work together at the cable company and although we all went to the same high school, never knew each other back then! They are 21 and 22 years old and are definitely NOT Disney people like Chris and I. We hoped to bring the Disney magic and wonder into their lives on this trip. Did we succeed? Youll have to wait and see!
So enough with that, lets get on with the trip! Before I start, let me just give you a few details. Our dates were January 31, 2012-February 4, 2012. We stayed at Pop Century and flew down to FL from NY. Sam and Joe had the dining plan while Chris and I did not. This was mine and Chris Christmas present from my parents so we had to keep ourselves on a tight budget! Alright, here we go!!
Were starting the day before the trip. Sam, Joe and I all had to work full days. Chris has actually been out of work for almost a month now. He overstretched and bruised some tendons in his foot playing football and hockey so he was home that day. Hes been in a big walking boot and wore it the whole trip! Im sure it was annoying! Anyway, Sam and I checked us in for our flights on Southwest the morning before the trip and we were group A, numbers 51, 52, 54 & 56. I packed late Monday night (typical me, waiting until the last minute) and by 10:00 Chris and I were in bed attempting to get some sleep!
4:15 am came VERY quickly! We got up and got ourselves ready, throwing our last minute items into our suitcases and carry-on bags. Sam and Joe were stopping to get us some bagels and his mom was going to drop us off at the airport. They arrived at my house promptly at 5:15. We said goodbye to my mom and we were off! We got to the airport by 5:35 and saw NO LINES and really no people! We breezed through security, even with Chris walking boot which we didnt know if they were going to give us a problem about and super search it or what. First stop once we got inside was Starbucks! I tried their new blonde roast coffee and it was GOOD! We finally went and got situated by our gate, waiting for our boarding to start!
Around 6:40, boarding began! We lined up on our side and waited to get on the plane.
Since we were in group A, it was easy to grab 4 seats across the aisle from one another.
Before we knew it, we were off! We kept ourselves occupied, playing computer games, reading and sleeping. A quick two and a half hour later and we were landing in Orlando airport!! Yay!!!
Being the seasoned Disney professionals that Chris and I are (haha!) we headed right over on the fake monorail to side B of the airport. Before we headed to DME though, we made a bathroom break to change into some warmer weather clothes! Off went my sweatshirt and sweatpants and on went a t-shirt and capris! It felt great to be dressed like that at the end of January, coming from cold NY!
Finally, I saw one of these through the window
A DME bus!! Ahhhh!!! I was FREAKING out, skipping and all. Sam and Joe probably knew then that the intensity of my Disney obsession was more than they expected lol Entering the DME area we again saw NO LINES. We were having awesome luck! We waited all of 5 seconds after being shown to the line for Pop and were then escorted onto our motor coach. It was nearly full so we knew we wouldnt be waiting long to leave! The bus driver announced the stops would be Caribbean Beach, Pop, then Animal Kingdom Lodge. Since we were in the back of the bus I wasnt able to get my usual awesome shot of the WDW gates so I had to settle for this
Then this
And finally, this BEAUTIFUL sight
I think I starting tearing up at this point. We were back. I was in my happy place, with the love of my life and two of my good friends. I couldnt wait to see what Sam and Joe thought of Pop and to get this trip really started!!
I am so excited to see what happened on your trip!
I hope your wedding planning has been going well though! 
