MARCH 2011 : My First Trip As A "Grown Up" ( now w/pics )

[jelloarms]

So I am in the midst of planning a trip back to Disney World in March of 2011. I realize this is over 7 months away. However, the other day, my sister, knowing my love for the DisBoards, came home from Home Depot with some lime green Mickey Heads for me to hold on to. I took that as a sign that it was time to get a PTR going. I realize it is way early but you can never be too early when it comes to planning your Disney trips! I've never written a PTR before but I figure updating it every now and again will keep me sane until the time comes. So here I go!



1. The Cast


2. I Hope My Time Off Will Be Approved!


3. Origins


4. Without Mom


5. Dates, Flights, and Food


6. Lodging and a Random Thought on Pictures


7. Disney Past Saturdays 1.0


8. Disney Past Saturdays 2.0


9. Disney Past Saturdays 3.0


10. Disney Past Saturdays 4.0 and some minor updates


11. The Flight


12. Flat Mom


13. Disney Past Saturdays 5.0 and BirthMas


14. Disney World Survey


15. Disney Past Saturdays 6.0 and more BirthMas


16. Disney Past Saturdays 7.0


17. Wet Shoes


18. Disney Past Saturdays 8.0


19. 3 New Experiences


20. I Am Not Dead


21. 14 More Days

 

[jelloarms]

So let me introduce you to the cast.

On the left of the photo is me, Kellie. I am 22 years old but will be 23 by the time the trip rolls around. I live in Hawaii. I've been to Disney World 4 times so far, in 1992, 1997, 2001, and 2008. Wayyyy less then most of you Dis folk out there but kind of a lot compared to most people here at home. What can I say, when you are traveling over an ocean and across a continent, airfare can get super expensive! Anway, I am a HUUUGE Disney Freak, always have been. I love the parks, the movies, the music...everything! I think I've memorized almost every Disney movie song that came out after Oliver and Company. I am always frequenting random Disney sites, looking for the latest info on Disney. My room is decorated with Disney posters and figurines...even my trash can has Minnie and Mickey on it. Obsessed much? The only thing Disney I don't care for at all is the Disney Channel. I guess I'm just not the target market for the current shows...they irritate me somehow. Anyway, as you can see from my current avatar, my favorite character is Mulan. I think it's awesome that she risked her life for her family and ended up saving an entire country.

On the right of the photo is my sister Kristina, but I usually just call her Kris. I may refer to her by both those names. I apologize in advance if this confuses anyone. She is a 19 year old student but will be 20 by the time the trip rolls around. She's been to Disney World twice, in 2001 and 2008. She's a fan of Disney too but not as much as me. However, I don't think being a bigger fan of Disney than me is possible. Her favorite character is Ariel because she likes her rebelliousness for some reason.

In the next post, I'll tell the origins of our upcoming trip.

 

[jelloarms]

So I realize that I said my next post would be about how the trip came to be but I just wanted to post that on Friday, I am putting in my request for time off and I am hoping to get an answer within one week. Yes yes, I am already planning a trip without even knowing for sure if it will be approved. I am pretty sure it will but I am still nervous about this! Man, this up comming week is going to draaaag!

I guess that's why it's been a little while since I've updated this. I don't want to get my hopes waaaaay up, and get super excited, only to have it all crashing down with a big fat NO on my time off form.

Anyway, here is to hoping everything will be approved and I can OFFICIALLY start planning. Not just pretend planning, I mean actual planning. Haha!

 

[jelloarms]

So I'm not that great of a writer. If this whole entry seems a bit scattered, well, it probably is.

Really, there is not much too it. I've often thought to myself that whenever I got my first real grown up job, (I've had part time jobs in the past but none of them "real" in my opinion) my first "grown up" purchase was going to be a trip to Disney World. Yes, Disney World. Most 22 year olds would much rather go to Vegas for their first no-mom's hovering over your shoulder trip but not me! I've done Vegas...when I was 16. Yes, I know, I'm sure you want to tell me now that you are an adult, Vegas is a lot better. Well I don't like shopping and I don't believe in throwing my money down the toilet. So really, what else is there to do?

Actually, now that I think about it, you all are Dissers, so you probably DON'T want to tell me that which is stated above. Haha!

I remember sitting on the kitchen table last year in November, just randomly crunching numbers, estimating how much a trip to Disney would cost. I asked my sister if she would go with me to Disney World in March of 2011, just she and I. My mom wanted to come too but alas, the planets were not aligned in our favor. She was able to go in spring of 2008 because Hawaii public school spring breaks used to be 2 weeks long but now they are only 1. Soooo not enough for Disney World. Since my mom is a teacher, she was a no go. Anyway, while my sister said yes to coming along, I don't think she really truly believed that I was planning it. I think she thought it was just one of those silly fantasies. Every time I would bring up Disney World, she would ask, "are we REALLY going?" Of course I replied yes but she still didn't believe me. She said she'd believe it when she sees it. Even though my mom wanted to come along, I don't think she really believed that I was seriously going to plan a trip either.

Anyway, in March of this year (5 long seeming months after turning in my job application), I finally got hired for my first "real" job. Although I said that my first real "grown up" purchase was supposed to be a trip to Disney World, it turned out to be a new car. Haha! I hope the Disney Gods will forgive me.

Fast forward to 2 weeks ago. I had FINALLY built up enough time off hours to put in a vacation request. At my job, you can't ask for time off that you have not already accumulated which is why I waited this long. One good thing though is that time off is not granted by seniority, but by first come first serve. Since I asked a little over 7 months in advance, I was pretty sure I would be granted the time off and luckily, that is exactly what happened.

So tomorrow, I am going to call Disney, book the room and tickets, all while proving my mom and sister wrong. Hah!:

 

[jelloarms]

So this installment is one I like to call "Without Mom."

[Just so you could put a face with her name]


This trip is just going to be my sister and I. We've never been on any trip without any adult supervision. We HAVE been on trips without our parents, but only because they were high school marching band trips so there were still authority figures of some sort. Although I was legally an adult at the time of our last trip in 2008 (I was 20), I still didn't feel like one because my mom was with us. If there was ever any issues, who did we turn to? MOM. Who funded the trip and handled all the reservations? MOM. Who bought all the meals? MOM. Who did the laundry? MOM. Who did the yelling (sometimes haha!)? MOM. Who held parade seats while sis and I ran off to ride something "cool" on multiple occasions? MOM.

So yeah, my sister and I will be all on our own. We are both legally adults but somehow, I still feel like I am somewhat responsible for her, even though I myself am not all that responsible! Really though, it's Disney, I don't think I have to be too worried about her getting into trouble. Actually, I can see her reprimanding ME for doing something she perceives to be dumb. Happens all the time! Of course, the vice versa is also true.

So just for fun, I decided to make a list of things that I think will be different since it'll be just us.


1. No one will do laundry.

I know we will think about doing it and pack laundry soap but honestly, we will probably be too lazy. I don't want to do it, I don't want to have to wait in the laundry room. I realize you don't actually have to wait in there but I don't trust people. I don't think she'll want to wait either. I guess I'll just pack enough shirts to last the whole trip and jeans can be worn multiple times. The only thing that would really show the grime of 11 days is our jackets. Maybe I should bring 2?


2. We will NOT see the Hall of Presidents.

Sorry mom, I saw it in 1992 and 2008 just to see if it was any good compared to when I was 4. It wasn't.


3. We will do a bit more waiting for parades.

Mom isn't a fan of a lot of the fast rides. She would hold parade spots while Kris and I went off to go ride them. This time, we will hold our own places.


4. We will have much fewer bathroom stops.

I don't know what is with her bladder but EVERY TIME we go on vacation, mom's bladder shrinks down to nothing. What is it? The weather? Does cold weather make you go pee a lot? I don't think she was drinking any more liquid than she usually did. I swear, she had to go to the bathroom every 30 minutes. Maybe I'm exaggerating but only by a little bit!


5. We may do a little more exploring.

Sometimes I would come across an out of the way path, or sometimes I just wanted to kind of wander around, just to take in the sights. I don't think mom enjoys aimless walking so I tried to refrain from doing so. I wanted to help her have a good trip. I remember feeling really bad when mom would sit out certain rides and wondered multiple times if she was actually enjoying herself so somehow in my head, curtailing my need to aimlessly wander made a better trip for mom. If Kristina complains about my aimless wandering, she can just go somewhere else, what do I care? I'll see her back at the hotel.


6. There will be a lot less photos of me.

Normally, it was mom or I who did the picture taking. Rarely ever did Kristina do it. She is in most of the photos from our last trip. I always had my camera in hand because I like to take pictures of everything. She on the other hand, doesn't feel compelled to take a lot of pictures. She says that everything she sees lives in her brain, she doesn't need to photograph it. Her computer died a few months ago and she lost ALL of her pictures from her senior year of high school AND her Korea trip. I would just DIE. I LOVE photos. I look at our albums all the time. Maybe I wouldn't die but I definitely would at least cry...possibly go crazy. But anyway, she just shrugged it off. I just don't get it! She and I joke that our photographic evidence of our upcoming trip will make it seem like she had a solo Disney adventure. Ah well...thank goodness for Photopass!


That's all I can think of for now.

 

[YukiPhnx]

FIRST!! I'm here for the ride!

Omg, I'm SOOO excited for your first trip without your mom!!

My first trip to WDW ever was a trip just like this. I was 17 and brought my 15 and 13 yr old siblings with me on a non-parent trip. It was SO AWESOME. I was a bit worried at first, but everything worked out really well.

I can't wait to hear more!

 

[gellybean]

I'm in!

I think it's awesome that you are taking your first real trip as an adult to Disney World!!

And very cool that you are bringing along your little sister!

Great start! So glad you got the time off approved! Very smart doing it so early!

Can't wait to read all your plans!

 

[wdwgirl03]

I am joining in! First off, congrats on your first real job and for going to Disney World!

I actually just got back from a sisters-only trip too...it was the first time for us too. It was a little strange being there without our parents but we had so much fun (shameless plug, the link to my TR is in my signature ).

Also, I'm going in March '11! Can't wait to hear more of your plans!

 

[jelloarms]

My sister has been questioning me the past couple of days if I was ever going to update this PTR. So I guess I'll do it now. I actually haven't been to the Dis Boards since early September but really I find that to be a good thing. Whenever I come here, I get all hyped up and excited for the upcoming trip and the days just draaaaaag by. But the other day, I logged back on here and saw my ticker. It was so awesome to see how much time had passed. I am almost at the 4 month mark! Woot!


Anyway, here is just some updates.


DATES
We are leaving Hawaii sometime during the latter part of the day on Tuesday, March 15th and after some layover at who knows what airport (I haven't booked the flight yet), we will arrive in Florida sometime on the 16th. We will play in the parks from the 17th - 25th and go home on the 26th.


AIR
The airfare dance is making me really worried. The day before I got my time off approved, tickets were in the $600 range which was a really good deal but I didn't book it because I didn't know if I was going to be granted time off. Ever since that day, the prices have been stuck in the $800s. I am so so SOOO paranoid they are just going to go even higher and I want to buy them now but mom says I should wait till January and they will be more reasonable again. I am hoping it will be at least in the $700s.


FOOD
We have our ADRs booked, both of them for Hollywood Studios.

On Monday, March 21, we have a 12:45 lunch reservation at the 50s Prime Time Cafe. Haven't been there since 2001. I don't remember the food being anything spectacular but I did like the atmosphere. Hopefully it will be a more enjoyable experience than last time. I remember my dad was in a grouchy mood that day and he had a grouchy expression on his face. Our "brother" told him it would be nice if he would smile but dad didn't budge.

On Thursday, March 24, we have a 4:30 Fantasmic dinner reservation at Mama Melrose's. Kristina actually had to fight me on this one. I am not a fan of Italian food at all. I know, strange yeah? Who in their right mind doesn't like pasta? ME! I don't know, I've just never found restaurant pasta to be that great to me. Something about the cheese they use...it has a bit of a stinky odor. I wanted to eat at Hollywood & Vine. The buffet last time was pretty good although 75% of what I ate was chicken nuggets. What can I say? I LOOOOOVE chicken nuggets! And the desserts were amazing too! I tried to come to a compromise and have us eat at the Brown Derby but then I looked at the menus online and realized there is nothing that I would eat at the Brown Derby while at Mama Melrose's, there is at least 1 thing I would eat. So Kristina is happy.

And that's all for the ADRs. We are perfectly fine eating quick service most of the time. Saves a ton of money, and we get a little more time for rides .

 

[jelloarms]

I mentioned in a previous post that my sister went to Korea and took a bunch of pictures but her computer died and she lost ALL of it. I would have been DEVASTATED. I love looking back on photos! She however, wasn't at all fazed by it. She says all the memories are in her head. I told her today (since I am normally the photographer and all the pictures end up being of her) that when we go to Disney World, she doesn't need to be in any of the photos. She can be the photographer and and take all pictures of me. Yes, photographically it will appear that I took a solo trip to Disney but in her memory, she will know that she was there. She didn't know how to respond to that.

I don't know...it was just something I found funny!

It also occurred to me that I didn't mention where we are staying. We will be at Pop Century in probably the most far away junky section ever because I didn't pony up the extra money to get a preferred room. That's okay. Walking is good exercise!

 

[jelloarms]

Introducing....


DISNEY... PAST... SATURDAYS!


(You have to read that in the slow sounding Muppets Pigs In Space Intro Voice to get the full effect)


So just for fun, I am going to do this thing where every Saturday until my day of departure, I am going to upload one picture from my Disney past, whether the photo was taken at Disney World or Disneyland, and just tell the story behind the picture. I may even post more than one if I feel like it.

These two photos were taken at the entrance to Disney's California Adventure theme park. Kristina is with the A because she is a good student and I am trying to look like a delinquent with the F because...well...err...my study habits in school were not the greatest.

 

[jmskinner]

Joining in. You joined me and my BFF's PTR so I thought I would hop over here to yours. Glad I did.

How exciting. And I don't blame you one bit, choosing WDW over Las Vegas. And yes, I have been to Las Vegas (Dad took me for my 21st birthday) and I would love to go back, but I would much rather give Mickey my money than the rich guys that own all those hotels.

I just had to respond to the comments below, so they are in a different color.

So this installment is one I like to call "Without Mom."


1. No one will do laundry.
I don't do laundry at WDW either. That's why I am on vacation, no laundry, no cleaning what so ever.

2. We will NOT see the Hall of Presidents.





3. We will do a bit more waiting for parades.

The good thing, you can always just stand. That way you don't have to wait as long.


4. We will have much fewer bathroom stops.

Your poor Mom, I speak from experience. What is it about our bodies as we get older. I use to be able to wait all day, not now. Oh, and I don't know about others, but cold does make me go. Took a week long class one time in a FREEZING classroom and the teacher gave us breaks every 30-45 minutes. Every time I was rushing out of that room to go. And I wasn't the only one. It was crazy. Don't think March will be too cold though. Beautiful time of year.


5. We may do a little more exploring.

All for exploring. We still see things we have never seen before.

6. There will be a lot less photos of me.

Oh, hope you do get lots of photopass pics, because this is going to be a trip you need lots of pics together.

So sorry to hear about you sisters pics. I've had that happen, now as soon as I upload pics from the camera, off to Smugmug they go. Of course I have to pay Smugmug for the rest of my life.


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Can't wait for next Saturday for another pic!

 

[lilandvisma]

I'm in!

And I totally get you wanting Disney over LV. My sister chose vegas over WDW with us! People in my family just don't get it

 

[Eight]

Joining in, hope that's cool.

I also understand wanting to go to Disney World over Las Vegas. I mean, Las Vegas can be fun and I do want to go there now that I'm 21, but as fas as I'm concerned, you can get the best parts of Las Vegas in Disney World. Like themed hotels, entertaining shows, and you can always drink around the world in Epcot. It's kind of like Las Vegas, only cleaner and less sleazy.

 

[SimmerBaggins]

Hey, girl!! I see my BFF did make it over here -- funny thing is, I was gonna comment on your poor mom's bathroom habits, and my BFF says her's are the same!!! I have to say that I can only relate to the percentage of coffee I am drinking -- and I usually drink it on cold days...so...!!

Congrats on your first job as an "adult"! I still have to tell myself I'm an adult, sometimes...

Oh...and I can SO totally relate to your disconnect with your sister about pictures. I LOVE them, and my husband will take them like crazy, but neither HE nor my DD will care to EVER look at them!! I have 3 photo albums and a scrapbook, and I am the ONLY one EVER to break them out and look at them.

Now, my DD will take pictures of herself and post them on FB...I am just not impressed by that.

 

[jelloarms]

FIRST!! I'm here for the ride!

Omg, I'm SOOO excited for your first trip without your mom!!

My first trip to WDW ever was a trip just like this. I was 17 and brought my 15 and 13 yr old siblings with me on a non-parent trip. It was SO AWESOME. I was a bit worried at first, but everything worked out really well.

I can't wait to hear more!

Wow, that's really cool that your parents let you guys go to Disney all by yourselves and you were still minors.

I'm in!

I think it's awesome that you are taking your first real trip as an adult to Disney World!!

And very cool that you are bringing along your little sister!

Great start! So glad you got the time off approved! Very smart doing it so early!

Can't wait to read all your plans!

Yeah, thank goodness for getting that time off approved early because now there are a few people who want time off during spring break but not everyone can get it!

I am joining in! First off, congrats on your first real job and for going to Disney World!

I actually just got back from a sisters-only trip too...it was the first time for us too. It was a little strange being there without our parents but we had so much fun (shameless plug, the link to my TR is in my signature ).

Also, I'm going in March '11! Can't wait to hear more of your plans!

Will def. check out your TR! Good to find one that I can relate to.

Joining in. You joined me and my BFF's PTR so I thought I would hop over here to yours. Glad I did.

How exciting. And I don't blame you one bit, choosing WDW over Las Vegas. And yes, I have been to Las Vegas (Dad took me for my 21st birthday) and I would love to go back, but I would much rather give Mickey my money than the rich guys that own all those hotels.

Can't wait for next Saturday for another pic!

Yeah, Mickey is definetley way better than Vegas.

I'm in!

And I totally get you wanting Disney over LV. My sister chose vegas over WDW with us! People in my family just don't get it

Vegas over Disney? Blasphemy!

Joining in, hope that's cool.

I also understand wanting to go to Disney World over Las Vegas. I mean, Las Vegas can be fun and I do want to go there now that I'm 21, but as fas as I'm concerned, you can get the best parts of Las Vegas in Disney World. Like themed hotels, entertaining shows, and you can always drink around the world in Epcot. It's kind of like Las Vegas, only cleaner and less sleazy.

Interesting how you say you can get the best parts of Vegas in Disney World. I often half joke that you can get the best parts of the world in Disney World...mainly Epcot Center. You can visit 10 countries for the price of 1!

Hey, girl!! I see my BFF did make it over here -- funny thing is, I was gonna comment on your poor mom's bathroom habits, and my BFF says her's are the same!!! I have to say that I can only relate to the percentage of coffee I am drinking -- and I usually drink it on cold days...so...!!

Congrats on your first job as an "adult"! I still have to tell myself I'm an adult, sometimes...

Oh...and I can SO totally relate to your disconnect with your sister about pictures. I LOVE them, and my husband will take them like crazy, but neither HE nor my DD will care to EVER look at them!! I have 3 photo albums and a scrapbook, and I am the ONLY one EVER to break them out and look at them.

Now, my DD will take pictures of herself and post them on FB...I am just not impressed by that.

Ugh, my family is the same way with photos albums! I am the only one who ever looks at those things. Same with our old home movies. I am the only one who ever watches them.

 

[jelloarms]

Hey boys and girls! It's time for part 2 of...

DISNEY...PAST...SATURDAYS!

(meant to be read in the slow sounding Muppets Pigs in Space voice)

This picture was taken in 2001 in a gift shop in what was then MGM Studios. I think it was the one right near the Little Mermaid Show.

This is a screencap of some 2001 home video we took while waiting in line for The Little Mermaid show. I wanted to tell the story of Kristina's red dot. So 2 nights before, she was swimming around in the All Star Music pool and while trying to do a flip turn, she banged her face on the wall. This was the result. I thought it was hilarious.

 

[jelloarms]

Hey boys and girls! It's time for part 3 of...

DISNEY...PAST...SATURDAYS!

(meant to be read in the slow sounding Muppets Pigs in Space voice)


Here we pretty much have 2 of the same pictures, taken in that photo place somewhere on Main Street. The first one taken in 2001, the second taken in 2008. I think it's freaking hilarious that in the first one, Kristina is the one hamming it up while I am being my calm, cool, and collected 8th grade self. In the 2nd one, our roles are totally reversed. It wasn't planned that way I promise!

2001

2008

 

[jmskinner]

Loving the old photos!

 

[jelloarms]

Hey boys and girls! It's time for part 4 of...

DISNEY...PAST...SATURDAYS!

(meant to be read in the slow sounding Muppets Pigs in Space voice)




But before I show the pictures, I just wanted to say that there are 101 more days till I leave! Woot! I'm almost in the double digits! The trip is beginning to feel a lot more "real." I actually paid the balance of the trip off earlier this week. I'm STILL waiting on airfare to come down though. I'm hoping after the holidays things will ease up a bit but if not, I just have to fork over the nearly $900. Ugh, what a disgusting price!


Anyway, on to the real reason why you are here. The pictures! These 3 are just different occasions when I didn't feel like forking out the money to buy the real pictures but I wanted a copy anyway. All from 2008.

Why do I look so angry in the last one?