No Ticker Needed, I Live 10 Mins From WDW!! (9/9/12)

[TinkerbellLuvr7]

NO TICKER NEEDED, I LIVE 10 MINS FROM WDW!!!!!

HI DIS FRIENDS!!!

Welcome to my yearly blog of sorts!!!

I tossed around the idea about doing a yearly blog/report of my time in FL and finally decided that it sounded like a pretty good plan.

With the holidays coming up, I thought it would be a great idea to report on all of the happenings around Orlando!

So welcome to the yearly blog of living in Orlando!!!!!!!



***CHAPTERS:***

EVERYTHING HAPPENS FOR A REASON (8/6/2011)

--WDW & UNIVERSAL RESTAURANT REVIEWS--
PRINCESS DINNER IN NORWAY (10/14/11)
EARL OF SANDWICH LUNCH, TUSKER HOUSE NEMO PACKAGE LUNCH, AND CONTEMPO CAFE DINNER (10/21/11)
CHEF MICKEYS (10/25/11)
NEW YEARS EVE 2011--OHANA DINNER (1/29/12)
UK FISH AND CHIPS LUNCH + VIA NAPOLI LUNCH (2/14/12)
1900 PARK FARE BREAKFAST (2/26/12)
DISNEY'S ART OF ANIMATION RESORT REVIEW!!!! (5/21/12)



~JUNE 16-23, 2011 TRIP REPORT: "CASTLES RUN IN MY FAMILY"~
**Sorry, For some reason Photobucket will no longer post the pictures from the report. If you'd like to read about the report, it's still here but there aren't pictures anymore!!**

JUNE 29-JULY 2, 2011 TRIP REPORT: MOVING BACK TO FLORIDA!!!!!
"AND OFF WE GO!!!" (8/27/11)
[URL="http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=42426117&postcount=70"]"I'LL DO MY RESEARCH NEXT TIME!!!" (8/28/11)
"WHO WANTS TO DRIVE THE UHAUL?!" (9/3/11)
"BUS OR DRIVE TO DTD ON A HOLIDAY WEEKEND?!" (9/3/11)
APT PICS (9/6/11)

*LABOR DAY WEEKEND--SEPTEMBER 2-5, 2011*
LABOR DAY WEEKEND PART I (9/11/11)
LABOR DAY WEEKEND PART II (9/11/11)

BOO TO YOU!!: A MNSSHP REVIEW SEPTEMBER 20, 2011
(9/24/11)
THIS IS HALLOWEEN
HALLOWISHES!!!
BOO TO YOU PARADE!!!
SEE YOU REAL SOON!!!

MNSSHP + FOOD AND WINE = WEEKEND FUN!!!!
PTR: DETAILS (9/8/11)
PTR: MOUSEKEEPING AND MNSSHP OUTFIT!! (9/17/11)
PTR: SCHEDULE AND PACKING PICS (9/26/11)
*BACK FROM THE WDW WEEKEND!!!* (10/6/11)
TR: "CHECKING INTO CSR + AN UPGRADE!!!!!" (10/9/11)
TR: "MNSSHP..SOLD OUT!!!!" (10/14/11)
TR: "DAD LIED AND HAD TO DO THE DISHES!!" (10/16/11)
TR: "40TH ANNIVERSARY OF MK...WORST MISTAKE EVER!!!" (10/18/11)
TR: "I KNOW WE'RE HERE FOR FOOD AND WINE BUT HOW MANY ADRS CAN I MAKE IN AN HOUR???!!!" (10/20/11)
[/URL]

PTR: A DISNEY WEEKEND WITH DANIELLE!!!
PTR: DETAILS, DETAILS, DETAILS!!!! (10/29/11)
PTR: NEWS AND MVMCP DETAILS!! (11/3/11)
RANDOM UPDATE (11/11/11)
TR: "CHECKING IN + AN UPGRADE = MAGIC!! (11/13/11)
TR: "CINDERELLA'S HOLIDAY WISH!!! (11/19/11)
TR: "DARN YOU SPOON!!!" (11/20/11)
TR: "THE ONE WITH HALF A MATTRESS!!!" (11/22/11)
TR: "HOW MANY BAGS CAN YOU HAVE IN ONE WEEKEND??" (11/24/11)

MVMCP REVIEW!!! (11/27/11)
MVMCP REVIEW: CASTLE LIGHTING!! (11/27/11)
MVMCP REVIEW: CASTLE SHOW!! (11/27/11)
MVMCP REVIEW: CHARACTERS AND HOLIDAY WISHES (12/1/11)
MCMCP REVIEW: ONCE UPON A CHRISTMASTIME PARADE!! (12/3/11)
MVMCP REVIEW: AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT!! (12/3/11)

~*~DECEMBER 2011 TR: WHO GOES TO WDW AND COMES HOME WITH A NEW CAR?!?! (12/15-12/20)~*~
PRE-TRIP REPORT AND SCHEDULE (12/11/12)
TR: Parent's Arrival and Another Resort Upgrade!!! (12/27/11)
TR: MVMCP PART I (12/28/11)
TR: MVMCP PART II (12/30/11)
TR: Who Goes to WDW and Comes Home With a New Car??!! (12/31/11)
TR: IT WAS GOOD BUT NOT AS GOOD AS DISNEY!! (1/1/12)
TR: CLP (1/15/12)
TR: ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST PART I (1/20/12)
TR: ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST PART II (1/22/12)

TR: KNOCKED CONTEMPORARY OFF MY LIST!!! (3/3/12-3/4/12)
TR: CHECKING INTO PARADISE!!! (3/13/12)
TR: POOL FUN AT CONTEMPORARY!! (3/14/12)
SPIRIT OF ALOHA (3/17/12)

*~*A DOUBLE BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION!!!! (3/22-3/26, 2012) *~*
PRE-TRIP REPORT (3/21/12)
TR: ONLINE CHECK-IN..NOT A FAN!!! (4/13/12)
TR: BIRTHDAY GIFTS GALORE!!! (4/15/12)
TR: I Will See Everything at Flower and Garden..maybe. (4/17/12)
TR: DINNER WITH PRINCESSES AND A FIREWORKS FIRST!!! (4/21/12)
TR:WHY DOES THE SCHEDULE ALWAYS HAVE TO CHANGE??! (4/29/12)
TR: HOOP DEE DOO!!! (5/7/12)
TR: MOM GETS TO BE A MIND READER!! (5/20/12)

NOW IT'S TIME TO SAY GOODBYE...(9/9/12)

 

[TinkerbellLuvr7]

EVERYTHING HAPPENS FOR A REASON

Once again, welcome to the blog!!!!!!!

I guess I should introduce myself to those who don't know me or need a refresher

I'm Megan!!!!

I'm a 26 year old teacher originally from Pittsburgh, Orlando, and Cincinnati.

I did the Disney College Program in Spring 2008 at Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique (MK). I did the Disney Professional Internship at AK's Kids Discovery Clubs in the Summer, Fall, and Early Spring of 2008 and 2009 and then went back seasonally at BBB until May 2009.

After my time at Disney, my parents were in the process of relocating to Cincinnati from Pittsburgh for my dad's job so I ended up moving to Cincinnati and got a job teaching at a private Daycare in Mason, OH. I worked at the school for 2 years until I got notice at a staff meeting in May 2011 that the school would be closing in 9 days

So I was at the point where I was 26, living at home , and was about to be unemployed with a Bachelor's degree and teaching certificate.

They say everything happens for a reason. In the meantime that all this was going on, a former roommate from my CP ( college program) had contacted me about needed a roommate in FL and that she was back as a manager at DTD gift shops (I won't disclose her name but just call her "S").

My family and I were going on vacation to Orlando to visit my brother who works at IOA (Islands of Adventure) so S and I went apt hunting and I moved back to Orlando a week and 1/2 later!!

In the meantime, we've moved into our 2 bedroom/2 bath apt, 10 mins from AK, and I've become employed!

I interviewed with a few elementary schools but didn't get any bites. I interviewed with 2 daycares and were given offers but I was also given a job offer for a Montessori school which I accepted. It will provide me with higher pay, paid holidays off, summers off, and a great schedule!!!!


Well that's enough about me, here are some pics!!!

Yachtsman Steakhouse:

TTA

STAY TUNED!!!!!!

 

[TinkerbellLuvr7]

CASTLES RUN IN MY FAMILY!!!

Before I moved back to FL, I had my mind sent on doing a TR from our June 2011 trip. I was so excited to be able to report on a full week of fun instead of short weekend trips that we had taken prior to that. I was psyched that we were going on vacation to FL for a full week since we hadn't since 2007 but I'm often reminded that short weekend trips multiple times add up to a week of fun

I was all prepped as I'm sure you know if you read the PTR. I had my Alice in Wonderland notebook and pen, packed and ready to report! Well, we left on a Thursday and by Saturday after we had picked an Apt, I knew the report was going down the drain so I stopped reporting and tucked Alice back into my backpack BUT, I was moving back to FL which made me happy!!!

Well, I guess since I'm doing this whole year report thing, I can officially now sort of report on June 2011!!!!


DATES:
JUNE 16-23, 2011

RESORTS:
June 16-19: POFQ
June 19-22: Disney's Vero Beach Resort (June 19: Mom's Bday and Father's Day)
June 22-23: Poly: Club Level (Parent's 30th Anniversary Gift)

TRAVEL:
We drove 2 hours to fly out of Columbus, OH with Southwest, rented a car with Dollar in Orlando, and returned to Columbus, OH using Southwest.

Food!
We did not do any types of a DDP the whole week. They don't have it at Vero, we weren't around to use it before Vero, and we had Club Level food our last night so we didn't spend the money for one.

TRIP REPORT TITLE: I got the idea from when we went to Harry Potter. I worked at BBB in the MK which was inside the castle and now my brother works inside of the Harry Potter castle so...'CASTLES RUN IN MY FAMILY.'

And here's the mini report!!!!!

June 16, 2011:

Travel Day!!!!

As I said, we had to drive 2 hours to Columbus to use Southwest. Cincinnati is 20 min from my house, Dayton is 30 mins, and neither have Southwest!

Our day started off pretty well. Dad went to work, mom finished packed and prepared the dogs for the kennel, and I actually got sleep the night before!!!

I helped mom take the dogs to the kennel, we washed/cleaned the car, packed sandwiches, and hit the road by 1pm for our 6pm flight to FL!!

COLUMBUS!!!

Since we were flying SW, we all had 2 checked bags. Dad dropped us off in the pouring rain at the airport and went to find a place to leave the car. In no time he was back, we did curb-side check-in, and were off to the smallest security line I've ever seen!!

We hit Max and Ermas for a light appetizer meal and by the time we went potty and got to the gate, they were ready to board!

We thought we had good A letters/numbers until we got on the plan and realized the plan had come from Denver and was a connecting flight. Our A letters meant nothing at that point and off to the back of the plane we went!

We ended up taking off 25 mins late because of the storms but we made it up in the air. Too bad we didn't take off on time because we would have gotten in super early!

We got to MCO, mom and I went to baggage, Dad went to check in at Dollar, he met us at baggage, and we walked to get our car. In the past, we have rented with Dollar 2x. We rented once in Denver, paid for a moderate size car and got an SUV. We rented in Orlando, paid for a moderate size and got a van. This time, we paid for a moderate and got a luxury! The lady noticed all of our luggage and gave us a good solid car with huge trunk space!

In no time we were on our way to WDW!!!

We got to POFQ, checked in, were given building 6 (my request), but no upgrade like in March...oh well! The room was pretty much the same!

This was my dad's first time at POFQ since 1996 (He did not come on the March birthday trip) and he was thrilled with it and couldn't wait to go walking outside!

We didn't even unpack and headed to the food court for dinner. I got:

Like I said, I kind of knew I wasn't going to be doing a report so I don't have food prices, lists of what everyone got, etc.

After dinner, we unpacked, relaxed, and went to bed to be rested for our full day at UNIVERSAL STUDIOS ORLANDO!!!!!!!!!!

UP NEXT:

~Why Castles Run In Our Family....

 

[jenbear123]

Hey Megan! I'm here Sorry we didn't get a chance to meet up. My trip just flew by. I'm sure there will be more chances in the future since you're now living there. Going back to read!

 

[wdwgirl03]

I'm here! Thanks for the message and congrats on the job too! I have to admit I was really curious after seeing your FB posts but didn't want to ask and seem too nosy. When does school start up for you then? Our first day is Sept. 1.

Can't wait to hear more about your trip and we should try to meet up when I go on my trip!

 

[Wonders10]

Hi Megsn! I love this idea! I'd say weekly, I dream about moving back to Orlando? Are you thinking of applying with Disney for part time or seasonal work?

 

[LadyBeBop]

Hi. I'm also from the Greater Cincinnati area (Erlanger). I sure wish we had Southwest here. Even though Delta cut its flights out of CVG by over half, it still has a stranglehold on the airport. I would love to see a cut-rate airline fly out of CVG.

That said, you said you lived 20 minutes from Cincinnati. Do you mean the city or the airport? If you lived in Mason, I would assume 20 minutes from Cincinnati. I live fairly close to the airport, and it still takes me about 45 minutes to get to Mason. That said, it shouldn't take you 2 hours to get from Mason to Port Columbus.

Glad to see you found a good job. That said, we hate to see the child care centers close around here.

Do you have season passes to WDW?

 

[PlutosRHM55]

I'm in! This sounds like it will be very fun to read. You're just so lucky to be living only a few minutes away from the most magical place on Earth And congratulations on your job! It still amazes me how many teachers are here on the DIS and not one, NOT ONE works at my school. I luckily do know a Disney obsessed teacher... hmmm... maybe I should invite her to the DIS now that I think about it. Hahahaha

And that's so cool you worked at Disney for so many years. I'm sorry if I bombard you with questions, but I TOTALLY want to do the DCP! I still have three years of high school, but I'm already so anxious and I want to know what I can know now

Can't wait to read all about your trips and this trip you are currently writing about !

 

[eecteacher82]

I'm here! I'm here! I'm so glad you decided to do a TR for the year! I can't wait to read about all your adventures! Livy and I will be up there from the 20-23 of this month, maybe we can meet up if it works for both of us!

 

[JoanneDisFan]

Looking forward to reading your Adventures in Disney

 

[TinkerbellLuvr7]

Hey Megan! I'm here Sorry we didn't get a chance to meet up. My trip just flew by. I'm sure there will be more chances in the future since you're now living there. Going back to read!

Hi Jen! I hope you had a good trip It has been soooo hot here the past few weeks! I haven't been to Disney in 2 or 3 weeks now and I've been to Universal twice but for only like 4 hours each time, lol.

I'm here! Thanks for the message and congrats on the job too! I have to admit I was really curious after seeing your FB posts but didn't want to ask and seem too nosy. When does school start up for you then? Our first day is Sept. 1.

Can't wait to hear more about your trip and we should try to meet up when I go on my trip!

Thanks We start on the 16th with Teacher Days but our students start on the 24th. It will be 4 teachers (1 lead and 3 assistants) with about 35 students in grades 1-3. Like I said, this will be a totally new experience and one that was not frowned upon at my college classes but just not traditional but I'm up for a challenge! Plus..It's in Celebration so already it's sort of magical right?!

Can't wait to see you this fall!!!!

Hi Megan! I love this idea! I'd say weekly, I dream about moving back to Orlando? Are you thinking of applying with Disney for part time or seasonal work?

I have already applied for Disney..seasonal. I applied in April for anything during their online job fair and never got a call because I used my Cincinnati address. Once here, I went online to change it to FL, called casting for them to "flag" it for a re-review..no calls. I just recently, went back on and updated it with the jobs they had openings for but we'll see. At this point, the only thing I can do is seasonal and the first available time I could work more than a day or two is at Thanksgiving so it's not a huge deal but it would be nice to know I have that locked in.

After 6 months, you can officially "reapply" so as of Oct 29th, I can reapply and hopefully get a bite then!

Just 2 days ago, I had an interview at Universal for seasonal but they are looking for Halloween Horror people available to work Fri-Sun which doesn't work for me since I'm mainly wanting to work a Saturday here and there..and NOT HHN!!! They told me to reapply in Nov for the holiday season but I'd rather be with Disney so we'll see! (sorry for the long reply!)

Hi. I'm also from the Greater Cincinnati area (Erlanger). I sure wish we had Southwest here. Even though Delta cut its flights out of CVG by over half, it still has a stranglehold on the airport. I would love to see a cut-rate airline fly out of CVG.

That said, you said you lived 20 minutes from Cincinnati. Do you mean the city or the airport? If you lived in Mason, I would assume 20 minutes from Cincinnati. I live fairly close to the airport, and it still takes me about 45 minutes to get to Mason. That said, it shouldn't take you 2 hours to get from Mason to Port Columbus.

Glad to see you found a good job. That said, we hate to see the child care centers close around here.

Do you have season passes to WDW?

I worked in Mason but my parents live on the Hamilton/West Chester/Fairfield Twp line so it takes us just under 2 hours to get to the Columbus airport from there. We live across from the Bridgewater Falls shopping area (on the other side of 129). We live about 20 mins from Downtown Cincinnati but the airport isn't too far from downtown. When we lived in Pittsburgh it took us a good hour and 1/2 to get to Pittsburgh airport so it's nice to have both Cincinnati and Dayton close to us...now only if either had SW, we'd be in business!!

I do have an Annual Pass for Disney and one for Universal

I'm in! This sounds like it will be very fun to read. You're just so lucky to be living only a few minutes away from the most magical place on Earth And congratulations on your job! It still amazes me how many teachers are here on the DIS and not one, NOT ONE works at my school. I luckily do know a Disney obsessed teacher... hmmm... maybe I should invite her to the DIS now that I think about it. Hahahaha

And that's so cool you worked at Disney for so many years. I'm sorry if I bombard you with questions, but I TOTALLY want to do the DCP! I still have three years of high school, but I'm already so anxious and I want to know what I can know now

Can't wait to read all about your trips and this trip you are currently writing about !

The DCP was an awesome experience and any job outside of FL will be totally interested in it when they read your resume!

I figured what a great way to showcase all of the seasons at Disney even though I'm sad to admit, I haven't been to a Disney park in a few weeks now Perhaps I'll go to Epcot today?! My roommate is very anti-Disney when it comes to parks (even though she works at DTD) so I don't see her ever wanting to just go on her days off Thank goodness I have other friends that work at Disney and love to go!!!!

I'm here! I'm here! I'm so glad you decided to do a TR for the year! I can't wait to read about all your adventures! Livy and I will be up there from the 20-23 of this month, maybe we can meet up if it works for both of us!

I kind of got the idea from you...thanks!!

I can't wait to meet up with you girlies!!! Like I said, I'll be off on the weekends and during the week, I work 7:30-4:30. I'll PM you my phone number on FB...See you in a few weeks!!! BTW..you should start packing NOW! lol

Looking forward to reading your Adventures in Disney

Thanks!! I figured with having a "teachers schedule," it will be a lot easier to keep up with! When I worked at Disney and tried this blog of sorts, it was so hard to keep up with between my work schedule, going to the parks on days off, and sleeping lol.

 

[TinkerbellLuvr7]

WELCOME TO UNIVERSAL STUDIOS!!


I'm so glad to have so many readers already!!!

JUNE 17, 2011

When we left off, mom, dad and I were sleeping in our beds at POFQ. Bro made the decision to sleep at his apt instead of with us haha.

Universal Orlando and Islands of Adventure were the parks of the day!

We got up at 6am to get ready to leave by 7am and to USO/IOA by 8am.

Bro met us at POFQ's food court and we had a very light breakfast. We were a little rushed so there aren't any pics and I can't even recall what we ate lol.

We left at 7 for the parks!

Bro could get us in USO for free but his summer block-outs for IOA started that day so we had to pay but he still got 35% off tickets so it was still a pretty good deal and worth it!

For mom, dad, and I, it was our first time at IOA and my parents had never been to USO either! At City Walk they were impressed haha.

We went to the ticket booth so we could get our IOA tickets, went potty, and then it was time to go in!!

Up first...

We head to "my brother's castle"....


UP NEXT:

~OUR ADVENTURES AT IOA INCLUDING: A zero wait at "my brother's castle", getting literally soaked, and an island lunch!!

 

[PlutosRHM55]

The DCP was an awesome experience and any job outside of FL will be totally interested in it when they read your resume!

Thanks!

Oh, that's SO good to know it is a great asset to my resume. I was nervous that if I did it, it would be just for fun and one of those experiences where it is totally useless. Now, my life is complete hahahaha

 

[PlutosRHM55]

Ooooo... what a way to start a TR with Universal! Hahaha, well I've never been there and really want to go to WWOHP, so this is nice to see some pictures of that "other place". Lucky you for getting that discount! Can't wait to read all about your experiences at Hog-- I mean "your brother's castle"!

 

[Queenofallthings]

Wouldn't miss this one for the world!! Great start btw!

 

[TinkerbellLuvr7]

"BEER AT 9AM?!!"

*Side Note..I'm trying to get as many updates out because I'm heading home Tues-Sat to pack up some things that wouldn't fit in car on the way to FL Feel free to use the chapter links! *

JUNE 17, 2011

When I left off, it was 8am and we were on our way to Harry Potter!

For those who don't know..I had not seen any of the HP movies except for the first once until April/May of this year. Mom and I decided that we had better start watching the movies while I was off work with my tonsillectomy so we ended up watching all of the movies and now I was hooked and ready to see it at IOA!

Since bro works at Forbidden Journey, that of course was our first stop! He took us through the walking tour line and right onto the ride!

We went on not once, not twice, but 3 times!! The ride was awesome! I don't typically get motion sickness but after the third time, I was feeling it! We got our bags out of the locker and headed to our next adventure!

We went to Flight but the mini roller coaster was down so we left the line.

With motion sickness..why not go on Dragon Challenge?!

After 3 times of that, I was pretty much done as far as thrill rides go! THAT NEVER HAPPENS! Anyways, mom and dad had pretty much had enough of the heat so we went into the Tavern and got some Butterbeer!!! It was at that point that my dad announces.."BEER AT 9AM?!!" We assured him that it was alcohol free but he just settled for a water instead (He HATES FL in the summer now that's he's been in Dec!!)

*Secret Tip: NEVER wait outside for the Butterbeer! I've gone back 3x since that day and there is never a wait if you go inside to the bar and it's the same thing!

Bro got the non-icee one and I got the icee one. I LOVE the icee type and don't really like the other type but it was very yummy!

After resting in the tavern, we decided to make our way out of HP and over to Jurassic Park!

The Jurassic Park movies were shown to my brother and I as soon as they came out. My parents are huge Star Wars, Indy Jones, Jurassic Park, etc. type move-watchers so I've seen all of the movies since I was very little and was looking forward to checking out JP!!

BUT WOULD WE GET WET??????????

STAY TUNED!!!

 

[PlutosRHM55]

That's awesome you just got interested into the Harry Potter movies Have you read the books? I highly recommend you read those while you continue to watch the movies, it makes it a bit more enjoyable

Sorry you got motion sickness a bit earlier than usual, but it seemed to not stop you The Butterbeer looks really good. I've heard many good things about it. I'm really hoping to fit IOA into my next Disney trip for Butterbeer and Forbidden Journey

Can't wait to read about your experience at Jurassic Park!

 

[LudwigVonDrake]

Sounds like a fun TR so far, I'm interested in hearing more. My DF and I just recently went to WWoHP, and I couldn't have possibly gone of Forbidden Journey without getting sick. My DF went on though, and she's the type that also never gets sick on thrill rides, but she said she felt a bit uncomfortable afterwards. It sounds like some crazy ride!

As a side note, I also agree with the above poster, if you haven't read the HP books you definitely should!

 

[wdwgirl03]

haha, that's awesome you're hooked on Harry Potter now. I bet after seeing the movies you appreciated the WWOHP a lot more. I agree, if you haven't, you should read the books!

 

[eecteacher82]

Great update! Can't wait to hear what you thought of IOA! I love it but haven't been since before Olivia was born. I don't plan on taking her to USO or IOA until she is old enough/tall enough to do everything. Toby isn't at all interested in thrill rides so a mommy/daddy day out doesn't work either. Maybe we should plan a day for the two of us! I've been dying to go to on HP! Can't wait to hear what your thoughts were!