May Vacay - Let's celebrate the end of the school year. But why is it surface of the sun hot? (Updated 6/19)

[Stacybaeasm]

Hello friends! I'm back for another trip report. I was in my happy place May 25-June 1, staying at Pop Century. Overall, it was a great trip! But first, introductions.

That's me - Stacy. This trip was mostly a solo trip so it's all about me!! LOL. Just the way I like it. Some facts:
Favorite Park - Magic Kingdom
Favorite Ride - Guardians of the Galaxy
Favorite Princess - Belle (she reads!!!)
Favorite overall character - The Evil Queen! (My students are pretty sure I AM the Evil Queen and they aren't wrong, although I have no illusions I am the fairest in the land.)

I had some plans and goals for this trip. First and foremost - I was going to learn to RELAX on these Disney trips. Every trip I say I am going to take it easy and just enjoy instead of pushing. Every trip, I do the opposite. And then I read trip reports from all of my Dis friends and see them spending time at the pool, doing crafts, taking breaks and I say "I want to do that!" and then never do. This trip I was absolutely determined to do this. Especially after surviving spring semester. This was a HARD academic year altogether and spring was insane. I needed a chance to just let go and find some joy again.

Other plans along the way - do the make your own tiara thing at Arribas brothers in MK, Steakhouse 71, After Hours at Hollywood Studios, Toppolino's breakfast, Liberty Tree dinner, meet up with Caroline (DisneyAndi), see Scotty, Stephen, and Eli, watch one of my former students perform in Fantasmic!, Flower and Garden Festival, and see my aunt Barb. Lots of plans if you are also determined to relax every day. Did I accomplish it all? Did I survive the crazy storms every day? And that heat! I mean, it was August hot in May.

Anyway, I hope you will join me on my May adventure.

Up next - the drive down.

 

[kclark9830]

Joining in! I am the same way, always wanting to slow down at Disney but never pulling it off.

Also, we are going this summer, which hadn't necessarily been in our plans, but after a very rough school year decided it was necessary .

 

[Jodo98]

its so hot it feels like the AC cant even cool in Florida. Its a furnace.... Hope you enjoyed your trip! How was Steakhouse 71?

 

[GGOOFY1]

I'm back!! Can't wait to hear about your adventure.

 

[Stacybaeasm]

Joining in! I am the same way, always wanting to slow down at Disney but never pulling it off.

Also, we are going this summer, which hadn't necessarily been in our plans, but after a very rough school year decided it was necessary .

Welcome!!! Let me tell you, slowing down and enjoying is AMAZING!! I also recognize it is a very privileged place to be - I can slow down because I know I have been here many times and will be back many more times. I feel badly for the folx who have the "once in a lifetime" trips because they CAN'T slow down and accomplish it all.

Go!! Relax and recover from the school year. Because I'm not sure next year is going to be easier. I'm spending my "vacation" developing 2 new classes and hiring 4 positions. Not so much vacation, lol.

its so hot it feels like the AC cant even cool in Florida. Its a furnace.... Hope you enjoyed your trip! How was Steakhouse 71?

Hi!! Thanks for joining in! It was a furnace the entire time. I thought I was prepared but I was not. Enjoyed the trip anyway!

Steakhouse 71 was wonderful as always. It is now a staple in my dining on trips. I know people complain about the decor, but I have never had a bad experience and I love going!

I'm back!! Can't wait to hear about your adventure.

Welcome back!!! Thanks for coming along for another of my adventures.

 

[DLo]

Following along. Looking forward to reading more .

 

[disneyAndi14]

I’m here! I tried to relax some but man I’m bad at it, lol
I agree it was just like my late August trips weather wise! It was really hot, humid, and a few crazy storms.
Excited to hear all about it!

 

[Stacybaeasm]

Following along. Looking forward to reading more .

Welcome!!!! Fingers crossed I write this report faster than the Thanksgiving report. Given that it's summer, that might be something I can accomplish.

I’m here! I tried to relax some but man I’m bad at it, lol
I agree it was just like my late August trips weather wise! It was really hot, humid, and a few crazy storms.
Excited to hear all about it!

I am notorious for being bad at relaxing (especially at Disney). But, the lure of the pool is strong for me. Now that summer is finally here in VA, I'm at the pool every day. My doctor always wonders why my blood pressure goes down in the summer. She doesn't understand that an hour and a half a day, laying by or in the water, with a good book will do wonders for you!

 

[Noreen411]

Looking forward to hearing all about your trip and if you find some time to relax

 

[footballmouse]

 

[Stacybaeasm]

Looking forward to hearing all about your trip and if you find some time to relax

Thanks and welcome!!! And spoiler alert - relaxing was one of the things I got right this time!!!

I know, I know. Being on 4 hiring committees makes the summer almost as busy as the school year. I am officially on "vacation" starting Monday until Aug. 4. Want to place bets on how many days I have to work while on vacation???

 

[hardcorestitch]

Thanks and welcome!!! And spoiler alert - relaxing was one of the things I got right this time!!!

I know, I know. Being on 4 hiring committees makes the summer almost as busy as the school year. I am officially on "vacation" starting Monday until Aug. 4. Want to place bets on how many days I have to work while on vacation???

That doesn’t count if the word “work” is even included

 

[Stacybaeasm]

Day Zero - The Drive Down
Oh goodie, another storm
​

If you have followed my previous 2 reports, you know that since I moved to Virginia, I prefer to drive down to Disney. It's only about 12 hours with stops and it allows me to take a lot more stuff. I am a girlie who needs STUFF so my baby SUV is perfect for these trips. I was packed and the car loaded up the day before (Saturday) so that I could just get up in the morning, get dressed, throw my makeup bag into my "carry on", make some drinks, and GO! Packing had been an adventure because I really got in my head about the heat. I knew it was going to be HOT and HUMID, so I thought I should bring some extra clothes in case I wanted to put on something fresh after my afternoon pool/rest. This resulted in me bringing double EVERYTHING - 2 full outfits for each day plus 2 swimsuits, etc. Sure, I got it into 2 suitcases (mostly) - thank you packing cubes - but there is no way those suitcases would have made plane weight if I was flying. I also had 2 cases of water, 1 case of "hydroboost" water, snacks, and Liquid IV packets. I was ready for anything.

The plan was to get up and be on the road by 5:30am. I was originally going to stay with Scotty and Stephen this first night, but things had come up so I had added a night at Pop. But, Caroline (DisneyAndi14) was there and we had plans to meet for a drink or something so I wanted to get on the road. I was up before my alarm and got ready quickly. Poptarts in hand, along with a Stanley of Spark and a Buck-ee's cup of Diet coke and I was backing out of my parking spot at 5:25am. Let's go!!!

The first part of the drive was normal. Once again, going through the mountains in Southern VA/Northern North Carolina as the sun is coming up is lovely. I had Sirius XM 80's on 8 playing and we were just cruising. It was late morning when I started to run into the storms. The weather forecast had said that there was a giant storm system heading for the East Coast over the weekend but I thought I would probably miss it all. Silly rabbit. Nope. I hit every storm there was all day long. Sometimes, it was raining so hard, I couldn't see the front of my car. It was...intense sometimes. And then, it would clear off, the sun would come out, and I would cruise again until the next storm. I lost count of how many storms I hit on the way down. I will say, I had great timing overall. Any time I needed to stop to get gas/use the restroom/get food, it was sunny OR just getting ready to storm. My last stop at the Buc-ee's in St. Augustine was a race against time. As I was gassing up my car, I could hear the thunder and see the clouds rolling in. I quickly ran in to use the rest room and then ran back to my car. Which made me sad because Buc-ee's is one of my favorite experiences and I wanted to shop for snacks! Oh well, priorities I guess. I made it into my car and back on to the interstate before the storm hit.

Finally, after some intense moments on I-4 between traffic and the storms, I was heading under the sign and on property. (The only thing I hate about driving by myself is I can't get the iconic picture of driving under the Walt Disney World sign.) I had gotten the text from Pop about 45 minutes prior with my room information. I was...not happy. I had somehow been put in the 80's section which is my least favorite part of the resort. But, I decided to at least drive over that way and see before I tried to switch rooms. Maybe something new was the way to go?? Alas, nope. I was in the building that was the farthest from everything AND there was no parking anywhere near. They had closed off most of the lot in that section for re-surfacing. I just didn't see being happy there for a week so I headed up to the lobby to see what could be done.

Inside, a lovely CM greeted me and I explained the situation. Was it possible to find something in the 50's or 60's? He explained that they had gotten my touring plans room request but the combo I had asked for - first floor in the 50's - wasn't available. Since touring plans doesn't prioritize your requests, they had guessed that the first floor was most important and that's why I was in the 80's. I said that 50's (or 60's) would actually be my first priority. Well, he said let's see what we can do and got on the phone to the room assigners. 10 minutes later, I had a new room on the 4th floor of building 1 in the 50's. Woo hoo!!! Building 1 is actually my favorite building (is it weird that I have a favorite building) and floors don't matter a lot at Pop because they actually have elevators. I moved my car over to the the 50's lot, grabbed a couple of easy to carry bags (and my umbrella since it was raining a bit) and set out to find my room. And bonus again. I got one of the newly renovated rooms, overlooking the Bowling Pin pool! Loved it.

Of course, then it started storming again. I sent a text to Caroline to see if we were able to meet up. Since she was at Caribbean Beach and I was at Pop, we decided that meeting at the Riviera would work - once the skyliner was back up and running after the storm. I looked out my window and the rain had stopped so I wanted to get my car unloaded and start unpacking. I headed over to Bell Services and borrowed a luggage cart and then went to my car. I had just gotten the last bag on the cart when the skies opened up and it started POURING again. Have you ever tried to push a fully loaded luggage cart while also trying to keep an umbrella over your head? Not easy. Both myself and my luggage was soaked by the time I got to my room. I quickly opened my suitcases and started pulling stuff out so my clothes wouldn't be wet. Luckily, the water hadn't gotten all the way into the suitcases yet although my Liquid IV boxes basically disintegrated as I pulled them out of their tote. Oh well.

I unpacked, changed clothes (because dripping wet), and soon the storm passed and I was able to jump on the skyliner to head to the Riviera to meet Caroline at Bar Riva. As the skyliner was coming into the Riviera station, I looked out and saw someone who looked like Caroline walking toward the murals underpass. I sent a text that said "I think I see you!" We met up by the murals and headed over to Bar Riva. We luckily got a table in the back (since it stormed more after we got settled). I was a bad trip reporter and didn't take pictures but I know I got a strawberry daquiri and, at the recommendation of Caroline - some really amazing parmesan garlic chicken fingers. I know Caroline got the burger and some mixed drink with mezcal and tequila. We happily chatted for a couple of hours.

After, we headed back to the skyliner to make our way back to our respective resorts. Caroline stopped a CM and asked if it was quicker to walk or take the skyliner back to Caribbean Beach since she was going up to the main area to do some shopping. Turns out, it is faster to walk there so we said our goodbyes. The lovely CM took a picture of us before we parted.


I look like a drowned rat. LOL. Anyway, we said goodbye and I got on the Skyliner and headed back to Pop. I got ready for bed and it wasn't long before lights out. I was getting up for early entry at Magic Kingdom and I was exhausted from battling the storms for several hours. Sleep was needed to kick off my first day!

Up next - early hours - are those characters walking around?

 

[Stacybaeasm]

Day One, Part 1
Magic Kingdom or Bust
​

I thought I'd do something a little different for me with trip reports this time. I'm going to start each day writing down my initial plans for the day (made months in advance of course) and then at the end of each day, comparing that to what I actually did. Let's see how we do.

Day one Magic Kingdom plans: early entry to ride Peter Pan; initial LLs for Space, Haunted Mansion, Pirates; make your own tiara at Arribas Brothers; lunch at Casey's or Cosmic Rays; pool time; back to MK for the evening and Happily Ever After

Morning came early because I knew I had to be at the bus stop around 7:30 for early entry. My alarm went off at 6:45 (which, honestly, is the time I usually get up for work anyway) but today it felt early. However, I got out of bed, got ready, ate a Belvita in the room to hold me over until later in the morning, and then made some Liquid IV to fill my water bottle. Two lessons I brought with me from Thanksgiving (and those painful leg cramps), I need to carry a refillable water bottle instead of just buying water (because I need water to be COLD to really drink it) and honestly, plain water just isn't enough. I need electrolytes. I have never tried Liquid IV but I've heard great things so I brought several flavors of it with me. This morning was the rainbow sherbet flavor. Umm...HATED it. It just tastes ... salty is the best word I can use to describe it. Oh well, if it helps keep my hydrated and avoid leg cramps, I'll do it.

I left my room at 7:35 so a little later than I planned but ok. It was already HOT. Ok, I knew it would be. I'm fine. I have my personal fan and my cooling towel. Oh wait, as soon as I got to the bus I realized I had forgotten my cooling towel. But there were 2 buses there to load and I didn't want to chance going back to get it so I pushed on without it. Oh - here's my first day selfie.


This was taken after being in the park for an hour so I'm already a sweaty mess but...

Anyway, as I said, there were a couple of buses waiting to load. However, it looked like it was going to be standing room only on both as I walked up. I debated waiting for the next bus because my knee doesn't always like trying to stabilize me on a moving bus, but It was already 7:42 and I didn't want to miss early entry. I was able to find a decent place to stand by the steps up to the back. This makes it easier for me to balance. As we pulled out of Pop, I realized I made the right decision. There was a HUGE line of traffic on the other side of the road going back to Pop. Someone had a car accident and traffic was backed up for quite a ways. I counted 5 buses stuck in it. Hey - score 1 for me on bus luck already.

Once in the park, I headed straight to Peter Pan. I haven't done this ride in a few years and it is a favorite. The line went all the way down to Columbia Harbor House and then wrapped back around up to almost Small World. But, they hadn't let anyone in the que proper yet so I jumped in line and pulled out my little fan. I was already melting (and not in a good way.) Once the line started moving, I got all the way up to the true que entrance before it slowed down again. Ok, that's good. I was looking forward to going through the que because I hadn't been it since they re-did it. Yep, it's been that long. I will say, I love the que with the interactive stuff and new scenes. I don't love how deceptively long it is or how dark it is in some places. I am good at seeing in the dark (I work in theatre after all) but some places felt too dark. Oh well, at least it was air conditioned! Soon enough, I was on the ride and flying over London and through Neverland. When did they get rid of the cars driving on the streets of London? That was one of my favorite parts.

As I got off the ride, I see Captain Hook and Smee walking around in front of the ride. What??? I don't think I've ever seen that. I started to head that way when I almost got knocked over by a 20 something woman behind me. She was in a HURRY to get to our good Captain and pushed me aside - lightly. I say lightly because it wasn't a SHOVE but it was contact. For me - no big deal. But the guys she was with immediately started apologizing and trying to explain that Hook is her favorite. Seriously - no problem. And hey - if it was the Hook from Once Upon a Time - I'd be body checking people to get to him too.

At this point, it was about 8:50am. Ten minutes left of early entry. What to do? Just then, I got a little rumbly in my tumbly. I guess it's time to grab something for breakfast. And I was right by Friar's Nook. I'd heard about some new tots from some social media person so I decided to stop here. Is having breakfast a good use of early entry time? Nope. Was I going to do it anyway? Yep. I placed my order for the Bacon and Ranch tots and 2 cups of ice water. There was music playing in the entire area and the CMs were just dancing away. It wasn't the usual Fantasyland music...more like the music they play before Fantasmic. It was up beat and fun and the dancing CMs were great. My food came out quickly and since it was early entry, it was easy to find a table in the little area next to Friar's nook.

As I settled in for my breakfast, I looked out and saw some characters just walking around and talking with people - Rapunzel and Flynn were in front of me, Tiana and Naveen were over a bit, and someone else was closer to the carousel. WHAT??? Since when?? And bummer I couldn't go over because...food. But it was entertaining to watch them play with each other and guests walking by. And right at 9am, poof, music over and characters gone. I realized it must be one of the new additions for Cool Kids summer. But now, time to eat this delicious looking breakfast.


If you like tots, bacon, cheese sauce, and ranch - GET THESE! They usually come with green onions on top but, as I may have mentioned in other trip reports, I don't eat anything green unless it is lime or mint flavored so no green onions for me. Also, fun story about my water bottle. It is a Frozen water bottle that I got asked about a LOT over the week in the parks. People were generally disappointed to hear they couldn't get it in the parks. I go to a theatre conference every year called SETC (South Eastern Theatre Conference). Disney Theatricals is a huge sponsor and they host the opening night reception for presenters every year. And they always have good swag. Well, this year, they were announcing that the rights for Frozen, the Musical, were now available for educational productions so the swag was Frozen focused - a Frozen canvas tote bag, Frozen water bottle, Frozen leather bound journal, and Frozen pen. Let me tell you, that water bottle is amazing!!! Even in that heat, it kept my water cold all day. Getting free stuff from Disney is rare but THANKS DISNEY!!

Ok, so I didn't get super far into day one, but I have to run. I'm chair of a hiring committee and I need to start checking references. More to come.

Up next: every princess needs a tiara