Lesson learned. Need more days in Disney!!! Aug 2010 (NEW 1/20-COMPLETE)

[YukiPhnx]

HELLO WORLD!!!

Yes, that was a nerdy greeting for you nerds out there. I would call myself more of a geek.

to my first TR ever!

I'm Yuki and my trip was from Aug.17-Aug.24th. Some of the HOTTEST DAYS OF THE YEAR in Florida. Woohoo!

I had a couple of contenders for my TR title. I've decided to just use them as chapter titles. I settled on this one because a) It got 3 votes in my PTR, and that's enough for me and b) I learned a LOOOT of lessons during this trip. That's pretty much the theme of my trip.

We had a lot of laughs, a lot of fun, a lot of food, and surprisingly little tears. I overblew my budget on the 3rd day, and Andrew fell in love with the Earl. I got drunk at Epcot and we went on ToT 7 times! We had an incredible time with LOTS of pictures and about 2 hours of video footage taken by moi. I would be honoured if you would join me as I relive my adventures.

WARNING: I deviate a LOT during my chapters. So be prepared for me to go off-topic often. I also have many side-stories to tell along with my TR. I hope you know what you're getting yourself into.

Some vital deets:
Who: ME (Yuki) and DBF (Andrew)
When: August 17 - August 24, 2010 (that's 8 days if you're counting)
Where: Pop Century!!!
Why: Do I really need a reason? Actually, yes I did.
Why cont'd: We celebrated our 3rd anniversary, his 22nd birthday, and his graduation from Queen's University's Engineering

Alright, let's get this party STARTED!!!

 

[YukiPhnx]

Table of Contents

Ch 1. More about the cast and trip

DAY 1
Ch 2. Oooh! AMERICAN restaurants!
Ch 3a. I'm all fired up!
Ch 3b. Look, it's our hotel! Take pictures of the sign!
Ch 4a. This hotel has giant yoyos? Awesome!
Ch 4b. Oh snap, the mom is looking our way!
Ch 5a. When I look the animatronics in the eyes, it's as if they're saying "Help me!" or "You're next!"
Ch 5b. Those alligators are SOOOO cute.

DAY 2
Ch 6. Let the step-by-step touring BEGIN!
Ch 7. Touring plans? What touring plans?
Ch 8. Encounter with the Beverly
Ch 9. Where are the photopass?
Ch 10a. I'm not drunk, it's a heat stroke!
Ch 10b. Which one do I pick???
Ch 11a. Wow, it's REALLY your birthday!
Ch 11b. The best mustard in the world.

DAY 3
Ch 12. A love affair has begun
Ch 13. Wow, that's a lot of money
Ch 14. That guy sure looks angry
Ch 15a. Hollywood, here I come!
Ch 15b. Tower of Terror? You mean, of AWESOME!

DAY 4
Ch 16. My oh my, what a wonderful day!
Ch 17. Yes, I want the beard! OR Hey, I’m manlier than you!
Ch 18. Stop staring at me!
Ch 19. Helloooooo Capt'n Jack
Ch 20. Hidden Mickeys with friends!

DAY 5
Ch 21. Taking on The Skillet
Ch 22. Chilling at the Contemporary
Ch 23. Night on the (Down)Town

DAY 6
Ch 24a. Let's go on again!
Ch 24b. We took a lot of pictures in AK
Ch 24c. That dinosaur is LOUD
Ch 25. I'm completely SOAKED!!
Ch 26a. I love rhyming names
Ch 26b. More rhyming names!
Ch 27a. The animals are so close!
Ch 27b. The pictures just don't stop!
Ch 28. Now the party really begins
Ch 29. Like real trailblazers
Ch 30. An experience of a lifetime
Ch 31. Man, that's some good Kool Slai

DAY 7
Ch 32. The beginning of the end
Ch 33. For a small park, it sure is confusing
Ch 34a. Farewell to Hollywood
Ch 34b. Last night on the (Down)town

Day 8 (Last)
Ch 35. A fitting end to our great adventure
Ch 36. Lesson number 24

Videos
Day 1 to Day 5
Some of Day 6

Mini Trip Report
Niagara Falls Pt.1
Food and Wine
January Niagara Falls Dismeet
Montreal Pt.1
Montreal Pt.2
Montreal Pt.3
Montreal Pt.4a, Pt.4b
Montreal Pt.5a, Pt.5b, Pt.5c
Montreal Pt.6
Montreal Pt.7 (complete!)
NYC Day 1 pt.1
NYC Day 1 pt.2
NYC Day 1 pt.3

Other
Side Quest: Duffy and cheddar cheese soup!
McDuff Stuff #1
McDuff Stuff #2- Halloween with McDuff
Anime North

​

 

[YukiPhnx]

Chapter 1. More about the cast and trip

Don't worry, the chapter titles only get more clever.

The Cast
So on this trip, there were a cast of 2 FABULOUS characters. Ok, only one of us was fabulous, and he worked it!

We are two Canadians originating from Toronto originating from China and Taiwan (which are pretty much the same but they get pretty testy about it....).

This is me in my awesome Minnie Mouse sunglasses (bought from Walmart, not actually officially Disney)

I'm a Social Development Studies Major with a minor in Psychology at the University of Waterloo. I'm a big geek of many things, including Disney of course. Some of them are anime, gaming, cosplay, Munchkins and uh.....ya, more geeky stuff. Kudos if you got that last one!

I was the "planned everything for this trip" person. I've never booked a flight, bought park tickets, connected with 2 different airlines, or arranged travel insurance EVER. So along with a lot of firsts for me, I also learned a LOT of lessons. Hopefully, this will all make for an even BETTER trip next time!

This is Andrew, in the DME line waiting to go to POP. He held the camera, so there aren't a lot of photos of him.

He had just graduated from the Engineering program at Queen's University at the time of our trip. He is now currently working as a business consultant in Toronto.

He was initially not so keen on this trip. It was all really my idea. He didn't give me much to work with when I planned it, so I tried my best to keep him in mind in my plans.

Luckily for me, he really enjoyed himself! He appreciated a lot of the programming and background works that go behind the rides. He also really appreciated all the planning I did for this trip. He loved that he never really had to make a decision. Yay for my obsessive planning!

The trip
3 is a pretty big number for me. It may not actually BE a very big number, but it's my favourite number. Why's that? I'm not really sure....But let's ponder that another time.

A trip to WDW is pretty pricey, especially for students. Coming from Canada too! So we needed more than the simple reason of just wanting to go, to actually get our butts there.

Reason number 1: This September is our 3rd anniversary. Again, 3's a big number for me, so it was definitely worth celebrating.

Reason number 2: It's Andrew's birthday! I knew I wanted an August trip, but it also had to be after my exams. Luckily, they ended about 2 weeks before his birthday, so we were able to be at WDW for his actual birthday! Funny story about that later.

Reason number 3: Andrew's graduation! Yups......I needed a 3rd reason to top it off....and there it is!

For more background planning of the trip and my one and only past trip, click on the PTR link in my signature.

 

[mousebymarriage]

can't wait to hear more!
I love the wal-mart minnie mouse sunglasses, they are so cute!

 

[vamassey1]

I'm here!

Great start. Can't wait to read more.

 

[YukiPhnx]

can't wait to hear more!
I love the wal-mart minnie mouse sunglasses, they are so cute!

When I saw them, I only had two thoughts.

1)They're like Minnie Mouse sunglasses! and
2)I MUST have them

They went well with my MinM ears too

I'm here!

Great start. Can't wait to read more.

Hey Vanessa! Great to see you here!

 

[PrincessCaitlin]

I'm here!

I might fall behind though but I wanted to subscribe before I left on my trip!

 

[LisaKeys]

Being a fellow lover of the #3 - I'm on board! LOL would have been on board either way. Looking forward to follow up TR's.

 

[Mustangdi]

Great pics, want to hear more

 

[Kellybelly777]

SURPRISE!!! ok not really, you knew I'd be here But I am!!!!!

 

[dancer4life22]

delete

 

[YukiPhnx]

I'm here!

I might fall behind though but I wanted to subscribe before I left on my trip!

Hey Caitlin! Omg, are you leaving tomorrow already??? Have an awesome trip! I can't wait to hear about YOUR trip. And don't worry about falling behind, that's what the chapter links are for!

Being a fellow lover of the #3 - I'm on board! LOL would have been on board either way. Looking forward to follow up TR's.

Hi there Lisa! Great to have you on board with us!

Great pics, want to hear more

We take pretty funny pictures. Well, Andrew likes to.

SURPRISE!!! ok not really, you knew I'd be here But I am!!!!!

Haha, SO not a surprise. Still great to see you though

 

[NancyLuvsMickey]

I'm here and can't wait to read your TR...

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

I'm here, can't wait to read all about your trip!

 

[YukiPhnx]

I'm here and can't wait to read your TR...

I'm here, can't wait to read all about your trip!

Hey Nancy and Lessa! Great to have you both here!

 

[JacksLilWench]

Totally subscribing....can't wait to hear more!!!

 

[YukiPhnx]

Totally subscribing....can't wait to hear more!!!

JLW, great to have you here!

Don't worry guys, I'll have the first post up soon!

 

[YukiPhnx]

Chapter 2. Day 1 pt. 1-Oooh, AMERICAN restaurants!

Or alternatively, "I wonder if we'll see a Sonic???"

Oooor, "What? They have whole terminals for airlines here???"

Our first day started bright and TOO EARLY when we woke up at 5am on Aug.17th. Andrew slept over the night before so we didn't have to go pick him up on our way to the airport, even though his place is actually on our way.

I use the words "slept over" loosely, because 5am is part of MY "night". It was more like....we took a 4-5 hour nap. Well, he did. I probably slept about...2-3 hours before my cell-phone alarm woke me up. I mean, who could SLEEP when you're about to leave to go to Disney IN A FEW HOURS.

Of course, It felt like I had just shut my eyes before I had to wake up again. Was I tired due to lack of sleep? Are you kidding me? I hopped up, brushed up, dressed up (or down, whatever floats your boat), and woke Andrew up. WE'RE GOING TO DISNEY.

I woke my Dad up too, cause he was driving us there. I planned to be out the apartment by 5:30am. I took a look at the watch I specifically bought for Disney. 5:25am! SCORE! So far so good.

(not the actual time, this was taken later of course)

Ok, story about the watch. I HATE wearing things on my wrists. Watches, bracelets.....um....other stuff.....The main reason is because my wrists are too small to wear that stuff. I can only wear children's watches, and bracelets? I don't even bother. They always find their way off my wrists.

So WHY buy a watch JUST for this trip? Well, before my last trip, my dad bought me a pretty cool looking green watch (green is my favourite colour, btw), that actually fit pretty well on my wrist. So I decided to give it a try, since he got it for me. I wore it all during the trip and it didn't bother me much at all! By the end of the trip, I thought my annoyance with wearing watches had worn off. But as soon as I got off that plane in Toronto, the watch came off. I guess it was only ok in Disney. That makes sense, right?

So, knowing this, and knowing how often I will be checking the time and what a hassle it will be to pull out my cell-phone that often, I decided to invest in a watch. A children's watch. On the innermost notch. And STILL a little loose! Bought from Walmart.

So...where was I...oh yes! Arriving at the airport! We arrived with plenty of time to spare, and checked in at one of the express kiosks. I can't imagine why anyone would want to line up, when it's so simple to use those kiosks! You only need to know some very simple information.

Alright, so lesson number 1 is learned here. Book all the flights of the same party, under one reservation! We had to go through the whole process at the kiosk twice, when it should only take one time. It also pretty much guarantees that your party will be sitting together. More about that on the return flight.

So why did I book separately? Well.......I'm not sure I remember.....

Going through US customs was pretty routine. The officer last time was so much cooler though. He smiled and was excited for us that we were going to Disney! Since it was just my 17yr old self with my younger siblings flying by ourselves for the first time, it helped us A LOT. Thank you officer I cannot remember the name of!

While waiting to board, we nom-ed on the taro buns I bought and bought a surprisingly reasonably priced airport coffee. Andrew jacked into the airport wi-fi and I uploaded a shot from my cell-phone onto my PTR!

It was pretty cool watching the kids on the same flight as us. Even though we had a connecting flight in Chicago, it was obvious some of them would be going to Disney too. There were two brothers, about 4 and 7 yrs old, playing around with Buzz and Woody dolls! It was SOOO cute to watch them play. We tried to take a picture, but they were moving around too much.

On take-off, I reminded Andrew of a Familly Guy joke. Where Peter puts on a virtual reality helmet and says, "I'm flying! I'm flying!", then it shows you what he sees, and he's sitting on a plane with a menu in his hand, deciding what to get.

We're on a boat, I mean plane!

Oh yes, I'm also a huge TV, cartoons and internet meme fan. I will be making references. Don't worry, I'll try to remember to mention where they're from. If you're lucky.

So after the plane settles, the flight attendant comes by and asks us what we would like to drink. We ask for ginger ale and get THIS.

Seagram???

Woooaaah.....It must be an American thing. Of course, since the ginger ale we're used to is Canada Dry. It figures we'd be offered an American brand on American Airlines. It wasn't bad. I don't drink ginger ale enough to know if there was a difference.

So after landing in Chicago O'Hare airport, we discover the time is 11:30am? Shouldn't be 10:30am? I just learned that Chicago is in a different time zone. What???? I had no idea!!! So that was a shocker, and I had to think about the current time whenever I looked at my watch.

After we get out of the gate, we look on that big board with the flight numbers and gates of departing flights, and we can't find ours. What's going on? We look around and I realize I can only see American Airline posters everywhere. We go up to a boarding desk and ask for United Airlines. They pointed us in the right direction and off we went!

We stopped and asked more people for the direction, finding out that the bigger airlines have their own terminals! I had no idea Chicago O'Hare was THIS huge.

We also passed by a Johnny Rockets and a Chili's express. American restaurants we don't get in Canada! I videotaped them, no lie. Yes, I'm that touristy. Then Andrew said, "Oh! Maybe they have a Sonics here!". They didn't, but I would SO have bought a drink. We see commercials for them all the time. My favourite is the guy and the "cheap date" he was describing

They had a couple of Garrett's too. I heard they make the BEST popcorn. I'll have to try it the next time I'm at that airport. I hear the one in the city is swamped ALL THE TIME. I was also surprised to see a Wolfgang Puck Express! After seeing it, I remembered reading about it on someone's TR. I videotaped this place, but realized that only -I- would get it. Oops, my bad family (the only other people interested in watching it).

Up next: Pepperoni pretzels?? OMG, we're finally at Disney!!

 

[PrincessCaitlin]

Your watch is adorable!!!

You two look excited in your pics!

I just love flying to Disney the plane always seems to get there in a short amount of time but on the way back it feels like it takes forever!

That's cute about filming the different restaurants! You should post some for us if you can

Can't wait until you get to Disney!

 

[tinkerbells mum]

hi i'm subbing, can't wait to hear more of your trip xx