On the Floor and Out the Door!: a 17 day HalloChristmas, RunDisney, MNSSHP, HHN, MVMCP adventure! new 2/8!

[missangelalexis]

Joining in!! I'm so excited to read all about this trip!

 

[NJlauren]

Wait i lied!

I have a 3rd thing i NEED to know! how did the ears work out? What pens did you use? Very important

 

[lvcourtneyy]

Joining!

Looking forward to hearing all about your trip...love the seasonal party pics!

Thanks for joining! We have tons of MNSSHP and MVMCP pictures!

 

[lvcourtneyy]

I'm in and can't wait to hear about all of your adventures! Super-long Disney trips are the BEST! (And my goodness, you packed a lot into your trip! Two holiday parties, multiple days at Universal, AND a Disney race?! I'm impressed!)

I am spoiled by super long Disney trips now and wish I could go that long all the time lol. It was definitely a busy long trip lol!

 

[lvcourtneyy]

Can't wait to hear about your super long trip!

Thanks for reading!

 

[lvcourtneyy]

Hopping over from your other TR. Looking forward to reading more

Thanks for joining!

 

[lvcourtneyy]

Joining in, excited to hear all about it! If I could I would love to stay that long!

Thanks for joining! I wish I could take all my trips that long lol

 

[lvcourtneyy]

heh. Aren't we all...

At least we're in good company!

Sounds like you should keep him.

Yeah I think I'll stick with him!

 

[lvcourtneyy]

Following along. We leave in less than 2 weeks for our first 12 night stay (our longest). Can't wait to read about all your adventures.

When are you going? My sister and I will be there 12/13-17!

Long stays are amazing- they will spoil you lol

 

[lvcourtneyy]

I'm here!!! Not often we get Halloween and Christmas in a singular trip. Can't wait to hear all about it

Thanks for joining! All my "non-Disney" friends think I'm insane when I tell them we hit Halloween and Christmas in the same trip lol

 

[lvcourtneyy]

Joining in!! I'm so excited to read all about this trip!

Thanks for joining!

 

[lvcourtneyy]

Wait i lied!

I have a 3rd thing i NEED to know! how did the ears work out? What pens did you use? Very important

They worked out great! I'll post a picture at some point (I'm too lazy to get up now to take one lol). i have a whole set of fabric markers that I got at Michael's when we did an autograph pillowcase but of course I forgot to pack them so we ended up getting new fabric markers at Walmart lol.

 

[NJlauren]

They worked out great! I'll post a picture at some point (I'm too lazy to get up now to take one lol). i have a whole set of fabric markers that I got at Michael's when we did an autograph pillowcase but of course I forgot to pack them so we ended up getting new fabric markers at Walmart lol.

Ok Fabric markers it is!!

 

[lvcourtneyy]

Ok Fabric markers it is!!

The ones we bought have both a thin tip and a thicker tip- I 100% recommend that! It came in handy when the characters needed to sign smaller once the ears were getting full so they could sign smaller!

 

[NJlauren]

The ones we bought have both a thin tip and a thicker tip- I 100% recommend that! It came in handy when the characters needed to sign smaller once the ears were getting full so they could sign smaller!

it is actually not a character heavy trip which is why I went with the ears!

odd for us I know we usually do tons of character meets

 

[lvcourtneyy]

On the Road Again!

Like many trip reports do, this one starts days before we actually got to WDW.

To maximize my time off, I had to work the 4 days right up until we left so October 18th was my last day off before the trip.

It would stand to reason that I spent this day relaxing and packing right?
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Wrong.

Instead, I overslept and had to rush to dinner with my family for my dad's birthday.







The next day, October 19, I woke up early to start packing before I went to work.

https://imgur.com/gjT1nOz

Being the organized one in the relationship, Mike had been packed for days. In the end, I sorted everything into piles and he did the physical packing into suitcases when he came home from work.

Bless his soul.

These last few shifts were going to feel extra long!



The next day was Sunday, October 20th and just in case there wasn't enough happening, our night assistant manager organizes brunches for the night staff a few times a year and this was the day of the Fall one. I had already committed to going before I realized what weekend it fell on and then she laid the guilt trip on when I tried to cancel. So, I left work at 3 am, had to go to brunch at 11 am and back to work at 3 pm.

Monday, October 21st, I again worked my regular shift until 3 am and then finally it was Tuesday October 22! This was my last day of work but I had switched with my best friend to work 11 am-11 pm so I only slept a few hours after leaving work at 3 am before waking up to get all the last minute stuff packed and go to work!

Finally, 11 pm came- I survived and didn't have to be back at work for 23 days!

Mike picked me up from work with the car already packed so it was time to hit the road!

I was EXHAUSTED and fell asleep within 5 minutes of being in the car. I napped for about an hour and when I woke up, the Disney excitement finally hit and I was wide awake.


The drive was pretty uneventful. Mike had slept a lot during the day so he did most of the driving through the night. I alternated between sleeping, singing at the top of my lungs and complaining that there's nothing interesting to see on I-95.

I love road trips but I'm the type that just wants to get where we're going. The first time we drove to Disney, I learned that Mike is the opposite. I like to group all my stops into one: get gas, pee, get a drink, get a snack, stretch your legs and move on. In 2017, I thought it was Mike's goal to visit every rest stop ever made. I'm happy to report that my incessant nagging about how annoying I found this has broken him of this habit.

We got to Delaware around 1 am.



Somewhere around 4 am we were in Virginia and stopped at this proud rest stop.

They were pretty clean but I wasn't planning on testing them all out to find out if they were the cleanest.


This sign was in the bathroom which made me uneasy.



I'm fully aware that this is a real issue and bringing awareness to it is important. But I also have a lot of questions like who is this person that put up the poster? Who knows who is on the other end when you call the number? And all the little slips are gone so why isn't the number on the paper itself because now no one can get help?

Maybe I watch too much Law and Order: SVU but I got out of there ASAP.

I took over the driving at this point and around 8:30 am, I was starving and Mike was sleeping so I made the executive decision to stop for my favorite road trip breakfast.




It's not winning any gourmet food awards but it's a quick, tasty, and cheap stop.

In case anyone was wondering, this is what the car looked like.



We got to Florida about 1:30 pm.



At some point we stopped again for food at a rest stop with an Arby's. I'd never had Arby's before but it was a solid fast food option.

Around 4:30 pm, we got to Mike's mom's house. We were staying here overnight and heading to Disney the next day. We spent the rest of the night catching up with his mom and hanging out with his sister, brother-in-law and her two kids.

Pretty sure I showered and crashed much earlier than everyone else.

Who knew 16 hours in a car could be so exhausting?

Next day: we make it to Disney with a meltdown on the way

​

 

[pkondz]

Like many trip reports do, this one starts days before we actually got to WDW.

Instead, I overslept and had to rush to dinner with my family for my dad's birthday.

Oh, no!

Being the organized one in the relationship, Mike had been packed for days.

Interesting. Most guys I know pack... if they're really organized... the night before a trip.

our night assistant manager organizes brunches for the night staff a few times a year

Nice of her...

she laid the guilt trip on when I tried to cancel.

… but that's really not cool.

So, I left work at 3 am, had to go to brunch at 11 am and back to work at 3 pm.

Good Lord!
Does she do those insane hours? I thought when you said she does brunches for the night staff... that the brunch would be... at night!

I only slept a few hours after leaving work at 3 am before waking up to get all the last minute stuff packed and go to work!

I thought my hours were insane.

I was EXHAUSTED and fell asleep within 5 minutes of being in the car.

So not surprised.

I napped for about an hour and when I woke up, the Disney excitement finally hit and I was wide awake.

Only an hour? Yeah, I guess adrenaline will do that.

I alternated between sleeping, singing at the top of my lungs and complaining that there's nothing interesting to see on I-95.

You must have made Mike so happy.

I like to group all my stops into one: get gas, pee, get a drink, get a snack, stretch your legs and move on. In 2017, I thought it was Mike's goal to visit every rest stop ever made.

I'm happy to report that my incessant nagging about how annoying I found this has broken him of this habit.

Woot!

Somewhere around 4 am we were in Virginia and stopped at this proud rest stop.

Um... shouldn't every rest stop be clean? It's a sad comment that they have to advertise that.

This sign was in the bathroom which made me uneasy.

Yeah...

But I also have a lot of questions like who is this person that put up the poster? Who knows who is on the other end when you call the number? And all the little slips are gone so why isn't the number on the paper itself because now no one can get help?

… exactly the same thoughts I was having when I saw your photo.

In case anyone was wondering, this is what the car looked like.

Was there room for people???

I'd never had Arby's before but it was a solid fast food option.

Never had Arby's! Really!
Then again... I don't think I've had it since before you were born...

Pretty sure I showered and crashed much earlier than everyone else.

So not surprised to hear that.

Who knew 16 hours in a car could be so exhausting?

Well, actually...

Next day: we make it to Disney with a meltdown on the way

Oh dear...

 

[DisneySweetTooth]

Following along. I love that you had such a long trip! I would love to do a trip that long one day, and even try and hit both Halloween and Christmas in the one trip. How magical!

 

[SimplyGoofy]

I know you work so many days in a row before your trips to maximize your time off, but goodness, you must be exhausted when you start your trips! I'm glad you were able to get some much-needed sleep on your road trip.

I also like to minimize my stops and knock out as many things as possible at a single stop. I'm glad you didn't have quite as many stops this time!

Hooray, you're in Florida! I look forward to your next installment when you arrive at Disney World!

 

[disneyAndi14]

Wow, you put in some long days before vacation, you were due!
Do you work 3pm to 3am? Yikes! We only did 7am-7pm shifts when I worked 12 hours.
The drive overall sounds like it went smoothly
Oh no I hope the meltdown is not to bad!