Oh, Just A Few GALLONS of Pixie Dust! - A July/August 2012 TR

[disneyhockeymad]

I'm here too having lurked and commented roughly once on your last TR I am going to try and comment and get involved on this one can't wait to read all about it, your family are adorable

 

[burly]

I'm in too.
I'm last.....
sigh. i always work late...

Cannot wait for the fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

KIM

 

[marDgreen88]

Just found you!!! I can't wait. You had me at pixie dust!

I'm so glad you did! Yay! Thanks for joining in!

(And PS. I love your DIS name! Ariel is the BEST.)

Hello!! Can't wait to read all about your pixie dust.

And just know, that every time I read your TR title, I will think "I personally could have a gallon of Alan."

Hey! Glad you're here!

HAHAHAHAHAHA. Let me just tell you... I laughed at that for a solid 10 minutes.

OH and also, I didn't comment on your souvenir post BUT I totally have that Cinderella mug that says "Once a Princess, Always a Princess." LOVE IT!

Oh that's okay! That's awesome! I LOVE that mug. It's too cute!

Ooh pixie dust - I'm in! Can't wait to hear all about it

Yes, and lots of it! Thanks for joining in!!

I love it when I can catch a TR from the start (yay for Twitter filling me in)! Haha, your intro is awesome. You embraced it all at 21, which I think is the best time to do so! As a kid, it's just about the rides and such, at least in my eyes. When you're older, it's about the magic and appreciation! So I'm all for the "no shame" aspect of your TR!

Haha, hooray for twitter! Thank you! I've never thought of it that way, but you're probably right! Thanks for joining in, I'm glad you're here!

I'm here too having lurked and commented roughly once on your last TR I am going to try and comment and get involved on this one can't wait to read all about it, your family are adorable

Yay! I'm so glad to have one less lurker! I'd love that, thank you so much!

I'm in too.
I'm last.....
sigh. i always work late...

Cannot wait for the fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

KIM

Yay! Hahah don't worry, it doesn't matter! I'm just glad you're here! Thanks for joining in!

 

[Reberella]

Yay I'm here! Can't wait to hear about all the pixie dust sprinkled your way! You have a really precious family YAY!

 

[marDgreen88]

Yay I'm here! Can't wait to hear about all the pixie dust sprinkled your way! You have a really precious family YAY!

Hey! Glad you're here! The pixie dust was all over the place!!! Aww thank you, and thanks for joining in!

 

[marDgreen88]

Before we begin, I just want to clarify something. You may be asking... how can pixie dust be measured by the gallon? I was not aware of its liquid status.

However, no one ever said that pixie dust was indeed a solid. (It's certainly not a gas, so we can just axe that one right out of the running.) For me, I think pixie dust is whatever you want it to be! It is a magical substance that can take on many forms and many meanings. For this trip, it was a liquid. Why? Because on this trip I drank a lot of liquid. (Mostly in the form of WATER.) Also, the word 'gallon' for liquid is a lot more appealing to me than the word 'ton' for solid.

So yeah... in case you wanted me to be technical, I decided to be technical. Only for you lovely people! You're very welcome! Now that we've taken care of the technical side of things... on with the show!



The One Where We're On Our Way!

Day 0: Saturday, July 28-Day 1: Sunday, July 29, 2012

On my Disney Eve, I actually went to play putt-putt and have lunch with my friends Amanda and Kristen! (You may remember them from my first trip report!) They had gone to Ecuador and only returned a few days earlier, and I hadn’t seen them in forever! We had a lot of fun and would you believe that the thing we talked about most was DISNEY? I know, I’m shocked too. Just kidding, it’s not shocking at all.

When I got home, I had to start packing. You know, most sane people save their packing for the night before a trip. You didn’t know? Oh…

The good news is that it only took me 500 hours to pack, and then I was ready to go to sleep! Okay, that isn’t true either. There is just so much sarcasm in this update!

My stuff was ready!

I was going to Disney the next day… do you think I slept peacefully? Hahah, I can’t imagine that ever happening. I watched Alice in Wonderland (the cartoon version, basically the only one I like) while I ‘fell asleep.’ The next thing I knew, four hours had passed and it was time to wake up!

My alarm went off at exactly 4:37. (Something you might want to know about me is that I’m really weird and I always like to wake up on sevens. I don’t understand either!)

As soon as that alarm started sounding off with ‘He’s A Pirate,’ I JUMPED out of bed. No time to waste!!!

HAPPY DISNEY DAY, ONE AND ALL!

I made my bed, brushed my teeth, and got dressed in record time! I was ready. Whenever I fly, I get a little bit of a nervous stomachache. I don’t like to eat before a flight for that reason. I get sick easily (as many of you are aware) so I find it’s better to be a little hungry than it is to be throwing up on an airplane. No one wants that! (And while we’re talking about it, let me just go ahead and get it out in the open… there was NO sickness on this trip. THANK GOD.)

Everyone else had breakfast, and while they were doing that I spent some quality time with my sweet cat, Sammy. I miss him so much when I leave him!

Can you spot him in this picture??? He’s precious. (He actually looks a little angry in this picture... he knew we were leaving him.)

After everyone was done with breakfast, we packed up the car and headed out!

They were excited.

I made us a CD to listen to in the truck on the way to the airport, complete with Disney songs. What else, though? It seriously took us NO time to get to the airport! It probably helped that the rest of Virginia was still asleep.

We parked in Daily Parking, and headed inside to check in for our flight!

My dad ended up leaving his sunglasses in the truck, so he went back to get them. I guess Florida gets pretty bright in the summer?

While we waited, I took this picture.

Try to resist the urge to get this framed, okay? There are even better pictures coming!

My dad came back, sunglasses in hand, and we started to make our way through security. I have no idea why, but I always get SO nervous before I go through security. Of course I don’t have any weapons or contraband in my carry-on bag, but I can’t help getting nervous anyway!

Luckily, security went extremely smoothly, and before I knew it we were really close to boarding the plane! While I waited, I was able to check the DIS app on my iPod! That passed the time really quickly, and then it was time to board the plane!

We flew AirTran on this trip because it was the airline with the best flight times to give us the most time at Disney! We were on flight 215 and it took off at exactly 8:13 AM. I sat next to Jacob and basically just talked to him and listened to music for the entire flight.

(Since I knew none of you would believe that I actually listened to music on the flight, I apparently had to have photographic evidence. I don’t know.) I’m pretty obsessed with the Brave soundtrack right now. If you haven’t seen that movie yet, well, you MUST. It’s amazing!

One of the coolest things (in my opinion) about flying to Florida is seeing beaches from the sky. Virginia is on the coast, so we basically just follow it all the way down to Florida!

We actually ended up landing at 9:49, which was exactly 15 minutes ahead of schedule! So far, so good!

When we got off the plane, the flight attendant said, “Have fun at Disney! Say hi to Ariel for me!”

Oh girl, you know I will! I’m not even sure how she knew we were going to Disney… do you think my shirt with the castle on it clued her in?

To keep the pixie dust flowing, we did NOT get lost at MCO, and we were able to make our way directly to Magical Express!!!

Some pictures along the way (even though I’m sure you’ve all seen this stuff thousands of times)!

The lovely tiled floors.

The schmonorail.

A hotel that I would not want to stay at.

TA-DA!!! We made it to Magical Express! We were able to get right onto a real Disney bus!

I took a picture of one of the Water Parks busses too, because that’s the kind of bus I rode in December, but I never got a picture of it!

We weren’t able to get front row seats, but I didn’t really mind! Can’t get them every time, you know?

Our bus driver was named Rafael, and he was really nice! He told us that he’d first be stopping at Wilderness Lodge, and then the Contemporary Resort! After that I lost consciousness for a while, so I don’t know what else he said.

He started the beautiful, magical movie, and I started the waterworks. It’s basically inevitable by now. If you show me those videos, there will be tears.

Here is some brand new information for you: after they play the Donald Duck cartoon, they play OTHER ONES! WHAT? I was under the impression that the Donald camping cartoon was the only one they ever showed.

Anna and my dad were really enjoying the ride.

AND THEN…

Hahaha, that’s the best we could do from our seats. But who cares? DISNEY!!!!!!

As soon as we arrived on property, I was just a mess. I always get so excited and happy and just plain crazy when I arrive at Disney. There is just too much happiness and it’s so overwhelming, in a good way!

To make things even better, the bus driver actually got into it this time! He said, “You’re here! You made it! Welcome to Walt Disney World!”

AHHHHHHHH. We have arrived!

So there we were, driving along, reveling in the magic of those beautiful purple road signs, and then BAM! Spaceship Earth was clearly visible out of the window on the left! BOOM! On the right, we saw the monorail tracks, complete with monorail!!!!

I was loving it.

Our first stop was the Wilderness Lodge! I’m not entirely sure why, but lately I’ve been really obsessed with the Wilderness Lodge, and I was really excited to FINALLY see it in person!

It’s beautiful! Wow, I was impressed! I definitely want to stay there one day.

There was an adorable little family in front of us on the bus, and they were staying at the Wilderness Lodge. When we pulled up, the little girl yelled, “OH MY GOSH! It’s all made out of LOGS!!” OH, it was adorable. They were the sweetest family! I hope they had (or are possibly still having) a wonderful trip!

The next stop was… DISNEY’S CONTEMPORARY RESORT. Oh my gosh. I can’t even explain to you how I was feeling at this time. It was all becoming so real. Everything I’d been planning for and picturing for months was actually happening! I can’t even put it into words. It’s the best feeling ever!

Luckily for us, none of us had put any bags under the bus, so we were able to beat the crowds to the check-in counter! Before we could even do that though, a female CM approached us. She was holding what looked like an iPad, and she told us that she could check us in right there, and we wouldn’t even have to wait in line! I was happy about that, because the check-in line looked like this:

SO many people! (You have to say that in the Rafiki Jammin’ Jungle Parade voice.)

The CM was very nice and pleasant, and as she checked us in, she asked us questions that we had to confirm about our reservation.


“Five adults?”

Yes.

“You're on the Disney Dining Plan?”

Yes.

“One-bedroom villa at Bay Lake Tower?”

Yes.

“Lake view?”

Yes.

“Great! Let me go put this through the computer and get your Key to the World cards and your welcome package. It shouldn’t take long!”

OKAY!


She walked off to get everything taken care of, and we stood there and waited.

Then we waited some more.

We waited a little more after that.

More waiting.

Some waiting in between all the waiting.

…And more waiting.

While we were waiting, I walked around to take some pictures.

I was loving the look of the Contemporary lobby! We were all wondering what was taking so long though! I think we waited for close to 15 minutes.

Little did we know, there was a VERY good reason why it took the CM so long…

Continued in Next Update
​

 

[SoNotAPrincess]

BOO-YAH! I'm first...I think. Maybe. We'll see!

Whew, I'm glad I speak fluent sarcasm, otherwise it sounds like I'd be in trouble!

I love that feeling after all the planning where its really, really real, and you're finally really, really at DISNEY (which, in my opinion should always be spoken like it's in all caps)!

 

[hbmonkeygirl]

First of all, let me say that I LOVE your bag! It's very cute! I'm so happy for you and your family getting to stay at the Contemporary Resort! My family will actually be staying at the Polynesian Resort in October and we are SO excited!!! It will be the first time we will be staying in a Deluxe resort I can't wait to hear more about your trip!

 

[bellaally]

Why, why was she taking so long, lol. I'm I gonna have to keep waiting and waiting for the next post. Enjoying reading your review can't. Great resort choice, we going for the first time in December so reading your tips. Helps pass the time.

 

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

Yay for a good travel day!!! The ME bus really is the most exciting moment! (Well, the one ARRIVING at Disney! )

Can't wait to hear why it was taking the CM so long!!! A start to the pixie dust gallons, perhaps??

 

[mermaid764]

Wow girl what a cliffhanger to leave us all with....I'm gonna guess that you were possibly upgraded??

I seriously admire you for being to able to pack the night before a trip and remember everything, lol I know I would forget everything if I waited till that late there's no way my mind could comprehend that.

I loved your intro explaining the "gallon of pixie dust" too funny.

And also on the fact that you set your alarms to sevens, i almost always set mine to two's so i'm glad i'm not the only one that has a weird quip with setting alarm clocks.

Yay you've arrived the wilderness lodge and the contemporary are both GORGEOUS and are both on the list of resorts i want to stay at someday.

Can't wait for more

 

[teedee]

I'm coming out of lurkdom to tell you how much I am loving your trip report. I just finished your other one and knew I had to check this one out. So far I'm not at all disappointed and certainly don't expect to be! I've got WAYYY to long until my next trip so I love reading trip reports to get my Disney fix!

Terri

 

[MINNIEmeetsTINK]

HI!

I lurked on your last report... I dont think I ever commented (i caught it very late).

But Im almost on time for this one!!

So excited to hear what took so long

 

[amazingact21]

Ahhh, you've got to post another update. I was sitting at my computer, completely engrossed in your arrival, thinking to myself, "I wish I were arriving at Disney right now!" and then you left us with a cliffhanger!

I can't wait to hear more about Bay Lake, it seems like such an awesome resort. Plus, I bet it was wonderful being within walking distance of Magic Kingdom.

 

[weswife]

Well Hello!!!!!


Loving the report! Now I am


waiting

waiting

waiting

 

[Nermel9]

Yay an update!

Haha, weird that you like to wake up on sevens...I wake up on 8's...I have such a weird thing with clocks and time, and I try to explain it to people and they think I'm nuts...oh well!

I loved all of the music in Brave, I should get the soundtrack!

I love seeing the beaches from the plane too, and then when you finally start to see land and you know you're over Florida, that is the best!

Yay, Magical Express! I cannot wait to take ME someday so I can see these movies/cartoons that are always making everyone cry! I love having a rental car when we're there, but I really want to use ME!!!

Ahhhh, my home, the Wilderness Lodge! I hope you can stay there someday, it's beautiful! I've been obsessing about the Contemporary lately, which is weird, the Poly has always been my dream but lately it's shifted to the CR!

OMG...did you guys get upgraded to a MK view room? I cannot handle it, if that's what's happening in your next update, just so you know...

 

[sbprincess]

Yea - you're there!

I could never pack the night before a trip. I actually start semi-packing about a month out! I start buying things here and there so Wal-Mart doesn't get SO much of my money all at once I would also forget way too much if I didn't do it this way.

I absolutely love the Contemporary! I'm going to miss staying there in November. The walk to MK is just the BEST! I hope you guys enjoyed your stay in BLT.

Hoping for many more gallons of pixie dust! I'm not sure I would have ever questioned your word choice in the title - but I appreciate the clarification. I have a much clearer picture of the magical substace now. And ya know, if we're talking about dust from pixie's, I agree - gallons makes more sense than tons.

 

[Disneyfreak616]

Oooh the suspense!!! Your excitement is making me SO EXCITED!!!!!

 

[wdhinn89]

Hey Marissa it's Victoria, great update!!!
Like always my comments are going to be wild and sparatic so bear(or bare, however the heck you spell it) with me!

This commercial basically describes every Disney Eve. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b95oyhSd5ls I love this commercial so much <3

I feel your pain when it comes to getting nervous before flying. Whenever I get nervous or I'm really stressed out about something I get this anxiety "attack". It's not how like when someone has a panic attack they can't breathe for me I feel like nauseous and since throwing up is one of like my biggest fears (I know it's stupid but ) I like freak out and drink a whole bunch of water and stuff. It's bad news bears and seriously sucks.
Anywho thank God know one got sick on this trip. No one likes being sick in Disney!

Aww Sammy is adorable! I have a cat too, Lexi, and like Sammy she always gets angry/upset when she knows we're leaving.
(Btw I love the picture of you and your family on splash that's right by Sammy)

Your "try to resist the urge to get this framed" comment made me laugh out loud. You're to funny.

Don't hate me but I haven't seen brave yet. I want to go SOO bad but no one wants to see it with me (being 15 going on 5 really has its drawbacks).

Oh the Contemporary, home sweet home. I <3 that hotel so much.

I can't wait for the next update!! :

 

[JessicaFaye508]

Well.... isn't pixie dust like a sparkly gas? Because I mean, it floats in the air. That's what I would classify it as, anyway.

YAY for no sickness on this trip! That's a reason to celebrate.

Gahh I love Wilderness Lodge. I stayed there once when I was in middle school. I wish I would have been more immersed in it. It's SO beautiful and it's one of my favorites!!

Meeep I can't wait to hear about what happened next!