Our Short but Sweet, Sizzling HOT Summer Trip to the World! Updated 12/3...Finally!!!

[wdwgirl03]

I'm in...saw you posted on another TR I'm reading and decided to come on over. We were there around the same time as you were (the 20-25). I'm trying to find all the other August people! Can't wait to hear more.

 

[Angies1274]

I'm in...saw you posted on another TR I'm reading and decided to come on over. We were there around the same time as you were (the 20-25). I'm trying to find all the other August people! Can't wait to hear more.

Hi and I'm happy you joined it!! I see that you have a TR too!! Yay! Another August TR--I'm on my way over to check it out.

 

[Angies1274]

When I left off, we had just arrived at Orlando International. We'd had a smooth flight with very little turbulence, which we were very happy about. We stopped for a quick break before heading toward the DME counter.

After taking the elevator down to the first floor, we made our way to DME. I was very happy to see that the line was short, and sent DH up to get us checked in. Just as I was setting our luggage down and preparing to get comfortable, I turned around and he was back. What? Wow, that was quick!! Apparently,we didn't need to check in and we were sent on our way!! YAY! We stopped and showed someone our ME booklet and then she pointed us in the direction of the Pop Century line. This was the one lonely picture I got.....

As we walked outside, the humidity hit us hard!! Wow, we are Northerners and not used to the heat. We are lucky to see an 80 degree day, much less 95 degrees with humidity of over 100. It was quite a shock to our systems, considering we had spent most of the summer battling the cold, rainy day blues. We were however very pleased to see that the line was moving and with no wait, we hopped aboard. Now, I was hoping that I would be able to snag a seat in the front of the bus this time because I really, really wanted a picture of the arch! But, of course the front was filled and we made our way toward the back. No worries though, the boys were able to get a seat right behind one of the TV's and the fabulous Disney video kept them occupied the whole way. I took a seat by the window just so I could take in the sights. I'm sorry to say that I didn't get any pictures during this time, because I was so busy watching my parent's and brothers reaction to everything. Honestly, I remember laughing to myself because their expressions were of pure amazement.

Do you know how there are moments when you see something--want to get a picture but then think...Aaah...I'll just get it later. Well, I guess that was my thought as we were pulling into Pop Century. I have taken many, many pictures as we were pulling in on our last two trips. So this time, I just tried to just enjoy the moment. Oh well... Anyway, once we arrived we pulled open the doors of the lobby and felt a blast of cold air...ahhh.....and we saw this--

and this hanging on the wall....there was one for each year but I only took a few pictures of them this trip. (I'll post the other two later)

I had such good luck with online check-in last visit, that we decided to do again. I was somewhat concerned this time though because I had made two requests--connecting rooms and the 70's section. We had paid for a preferred room to be closer to the Classic Hall but I also wanted something quieter, and since the 70's didn't have a pool out front,it seemed perfect. We were again pleased to find a non-existent line and made our way over to receive our welcome packet and get our room keys. We were granted the 70's section!! But we didn't get connecting rooms. I guess one out of two requests aren't bad. Especially since our rooms were right next to each other. We ended up being on the second floor, just over top of Twister, and very close to the Classic Hall. (you'll see from the pictures)
Ahhh...we finally arrived.... could you tell poor Nick was tired. He saw that nice comfy bed and climbed right in to relax--

DH relaxing on the bed--

Now, this is what I like to see--EXCITEMENT!!! We are in Disney after all!!!

A few pictures of the rest of our room--

A Hidden Mickey!!!

A picture hanging on the wall--

I had asked Noah, if he wanted to walk around with me, so I could get some pictures outside our room. He happily agreed, and attempted to put on his sunglasses. Oops...wrong way!

Our room number!!

Looking down, we had a great view of Twister--pretty cool until one night at 11:30pm just as I had barely fallen asleep, I was woken up by a very loud game outside.

It was about this time, that my poor camera started fogging up from the change in temperature. A foggy view from our room--

Okay, I wiped the lens--now lets try this again-

A picture looking down the hall toward the Big Wheel--

As you can tell, it started raining...

You can see, we were pretty close to the Classic Hall, which was awesome!!!
Here is another close up of Goofy's Water Jets (I think that's what it's called?)

The walkway up to our room--

This little guy was waiting for us in the window....not sure what he was??

We decided to walk a little further down and this is what we saw-

I couldn't resist getting a picture of Noah w/ Mickey in the background!

At this point we decided to walk back to the room to see if we could persuade Nick to get up and go down, and get cooled off a little with Goofy. It had stopped raining but it did nothing to battle the humidity. Noah was excited and went in to change into his swim trunks. It didn't take much persuading and soon they were both getting cooled off.

You may be wondering, where the rest of our party was? Well...they were exhausted after the trip and decided to take a quick nap before dinner. Then we needed to decide what we were going to do next?

Up next--Plans change?

 

[wdwgirl03]

Yay, you made it to WDW! I know what you mean about taking pictures. Usually I take a TON but this trip I didn't take as many. I sort of wanted to just enjoy everything. Plus I always feel like I end up getting the same pictures over and over.

Pop Century looks really fun!

 

[cjackearl]

Wow, Pop looks so fun! I'd really like to break the glass on the shadow box and play with all of those toys from the 80s!

Cute pictures of the boys in the water jets. Did they hit the pool also?

You must have all been whipped, since you were up before the crack of dawn, but it seems Disney adrenaline is keeping you going, Angie.

A change of plans, huh? Wondering where dinner will be.

 

[mommytothreeboys]

I think if we ever decide to go with 2 rooms at a Value, we'll definitely go for Pop. I am always impressed by the pictures I see of that resort! It looks like so much fun!

Love the excited picture of Noah...at least someone knows how to react when you get to Disney!! Sleep??? Puh-lease!

 

[Mickey_Mom]

Ummmm, where the heck have I been?!? Going back to read!!!

 

[Mickey_Mom]

....aaaaaand I'm back. You know how much I love the Pop.

I saw your lobby photo and I had to let out a little giggle because I was there when you took that picture! OK, I'm not in the picture of course, but I was there at the same time as you. Ok, I was actually at DHS when you took that picture but..... oh you know what I mean!

I'm glad your parents feel better about flying. Do they have the travel bug now?

Oh dear, plans change? Is that why I never saw you at DHS?

 

[MouseKTeer]

Following along...

Fun photos of the Pop! In our group, we have grandparents, parents, and 2 boys, just like yours--only your boys are a little older. So, looking forward to reading more!

 

[dismagiclover]

I'm a little late but I'm here How exciting for your parents and brother! This was quite an adventure for them, I'm sure. I can't wait to hear about their reactions to all the Disney Magic. I think you've given us enough hints for me to guess that they loved it! Can't wait for more

 

[Angies1274]

Yay, you made it to WDW! I know what you mean about taking pictures. Usually I take a TON but this trip I didn't take as many. I sort of wanted to just enjoy everything. Plus I always feel like I end up getting the same pictures over and over.

Pop Century looks really fun!

That's exactly how I was feeling!! I usually take a ton of pictures too, but since this was our 3rd visit to Pop Century--I kept thinking, well..I have a picture of that already and two pictures of that too. It sometimes becomes a challenge to find what I haven't taken a picture of.

Wow, Pop looks so fun! I'd really like to break the glass on the shadow box and play with all of those toys from the 80s!

Cute pictures of the boys in the water jets. Did they hit the pool also?

You must have all been whipped, since you were up before the crack of dawn, but it seems Disney adrenaline is keeping you going, Angie.

A change of plans, huh? Wondering where dinner will be.

I know...me too!! How I would love to play with all those toys!! They bring back such good memories....
The boys did hit the pool eventually, but not that night. Although it was super hot, it kept raining off and on.
It was definitely Disney adrenaline that kept me going because I don't think I got a wink of sleep the night before.

I think if we ever decide to go with 2 rooms at a Value, we'll definitely go for Pop. I am always impressed by the pictures I see of that resort! It looks like so much fun!

Love the excited picture of Noah...at least someone knows how to react when you get to Disney!! Sleep??? Puh-lease!

Pop is such a fun resort!! This time we stayed in a preferred room and it was so worth it because we were very close to everything--the pools, the food court, gift shop and bus stop.

We walked in the room and everyone just collapsed on the beds. You'd think we'd been traveling for days the way they acted. I mean we were in Disney!! You'd think they would have shown a little more excitement......

 

[Angies1274]

Ummmm, where the heck have I been?!? Going back to read!!!

Yay!! You're here!!! I was hoping you'd find me!!

....aaaaaand I'm back. You know how much I love the Pop.

I saw your lobby photo and I had to let out a little giggle because I was there when you took that picture! OK, I'm not in the picture of course, but I was there at the same time as you. Ok, I was actually at DHS when you took that picture but..... oh you know what I mean!

I'm glad your parents feel better about flying. Do they have the travel bug now?

Oh dear, plans change? Is that why I never saw you at DHS?

My parent's feel so much better about flying! They loved it and are ready to go back!! My father mentioned the other day, how he would love to go back at Christmas next time.
We love Pop too!!! It's so funny--I can't believe we were there at the same time!! But, we didn't get to see each other. hmmm.....plans did change...that may be the reason you didn't see us. But...a scavenger hunt may be on the way.

Following along...

Fun photos of the Pop! In our group, we have grandparents, parents, and 2 boys, just like yours--only your boys are a little older. So, looking forward to reading more!

I'm so happy you joined in!! Wow!! that's so cool--I'm off to check out your TR now!!

 

[Angies1274]

I'm a little late but I'm here How exciting for your parents and brother! This was quite an adventure for them, I'm sure. I can't wait to hear about their reactions to all the Disney Magic. I think you've given us enough hints for me to guess that they loved it! Can't wait for more

Yay!! I'm so happy you're here!! It was so awesome seeing Disney through their eyes this time. It made it feel new all over again.

 

[Mickey_Mom]

My father mentioned the other day, how he would love to go back at Christmas next time.

...a scavenger hunt may be on the way.

I'm really, really trying to go back December 2010. My aim is December 17th-ish to a few days before Christmas, over the school holidays. Perhaps they (and you!) would like to go then .....

A scavenger hunt!!! Woo-hoo!!!

 

[Angies1274]

I'm really, really trying to go back December 2010. My aim is December 17th-ish to a few days before Christmas, over the school holidays. Perhaps they (and you!) would like to go then .....

A scavenger hunt!!! Woo-hoo!!!

Next December, huh?? I'll start working on them now!!

Yup, a scavenger hunt. I finally got that list together. Thanks to you pointing me in the right direction.

 

[WDWRocksMySocks]

Love your latest update. We actually stayed one night at Pop. We were in the 70s building, too, in room 303. I was really happy w/ the location and how close it was to Classic Hall. Plus, it was really quiet. Nice!!

 

[Angies1274]

Love your latest update. We actually stayed one night at Pop. We were in the 70s building, too, in room 303. I was really happy w/ the location and how close it was to Classic Hall. Plus, it was really quiet. Nice!!

Thanks and welcome!!! We loved staying in the 70's section, it was great not having all the pool noise that the 50's and 60's sections have. But the best part was how close we were to everything, which made things much easier when we came back from the parks.

 

[Angies1274]

After the boys cooled off in Goofy's water jets, it was around 4:30pm. If you read our plans in the beginning you would remember that we were supposed to have fun exploring the resort and hopefully??? visit DHS. We had only purchased 3 day MYW tickets with the hopes of adding an extra day once we got here. I knew that DHS had EMH from 7-10pm this night, so it would work out. However even before we left my father seemed against it because he knew how tired my mom would be after getting up so early and then the drive/and flight. Before we left, we knew this trip would be much different and that we couldn't keep up the same pace we are so used to. My mom has some health problems and has to be really careful not to get too tired out. We were concerned because we knew we had 3 more days ahead of us, with tomorrow morning being an EMH. Plus the days were jam-packed with everything we wanted to do including our ADR's.

So, when they woke up we pretty much knew what their decision would be and prepared ourselves. We had such a great time at DHS last trip, and were anxious to visit again. But...we didn't want to separate, it was our first night and we wanted to enjoy all being together. In the end we knew it would just give us a great excuse to return next year. Mom was still really tired when she woke up but was looking forward to touring the resort. But first we wanted to wander over to the Classic Hall to pick up some souvenirs and grab a bite to eat.
After looking around for quite a bit, we decided on these purchases. Now, I usually wait until we are well into the trip before I buy something for myself. I prefer to look and take my time deciding but.....after seeing this on another TR (thanks, cjackearl ) I knew I just had to pick one up and for the price, I think it was $2.99?--I couldn't go wrong and it would definitely come in handy!!

A photo album (thanks, dad)

Some autograph books for the boys. If you read my last TR, you would remember that my boys can become a bit intimidated by the characters, so I was hoping getting their autographs this trip would help them be more comfortable around them. Did it work? Hmm.. you'll have to wait and see.

Of course, we picked up our refillable mug--

Noah got the Sorcerer Mickey w/ Villains figurine set. He tore it open before I could get a picture of it. They also got a few friends that night, who enjoyed the rest of the trip with us. (well, at least the room) This picture was taken when we got home.

With a little shopping accomplished we figured it was time to get something to eat. Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures because I had forgotten to bring my camera with me when we went shopping and to eat.But I ended up getting the Greek Salad which I love with the Tye-dye cheesecake and a bottled water. To at least give you an idea, here is a picture that I took sometime during the trip posted in the elevator of the salad.(see I told you I really like it!!)

All the guys got a burger and fries, the boys got chicken nuggets with grapes and applesauce and my mom got the Chicken TV Dinner which she loved!! Everyone was very pleased with what they ordered and since it wasn't too busy, everything was nice and warm when we got it back to the table.
After dinner on our way out, the boys spotted the arcade and begged to go inside. Their uncle loves the arcade as much as they do and had a great time!!I just walked back and forth watching, the arcade is really not my thing. I guess it needs to start being my thing though because we promised the boys we’d take them to Disney Quest next trip.
After the arcade, we stopped back at the room to drop off our purchases and pick up my camera. Here are a few pictures I took as we began to walk around--

They stopped to play a quick game of Twister!

Posing by Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head-- Say Cheese!!!

Another one of all of us (or almost)

We eventually made it over to the Generation bridge

We looked in the water and thought it was very cool to see some turtles swimming around--

Scavenger Hunt on next post!!!

 

[Angies1274]

During this walk around the resort, I wasn't the only one taking pictures. Since, this was our 3rd time staying here I was looking for a way to get the boys excited about exploring the resort again and one day I happened to stumble upon a scavenger hunt list. I was so excited--what a great idea!! Unfortunately, as the trip got closer I couldn't find it--until I was pointed in the right direction! (thanks Mickey Mom) I decided instead of having the boys go against each other because they are very competitive anyway and I didn't want any fighting. I had them work together and take turns snapping the pictures. It worked out great. I didn't think my parent's would appreciate running all over the resort So, when I made our list I decided to pick a few randoms items but group them so they were in the same general area. It worked out great because as my parent's and brother were looking all around the boys were running around the different years snapping pictures like crazy!! It was really nice seeing them work together to accomplish their goal!!

Scavenger Hunt!!!
1. Find and take a picture of the Big Wheel--

2. Find Mickey and take his picture with somebody in front--

3.Find Twister, take a picture and then play a game-

4. Take a picture of something in the area we are staying--

5. Find Baloo and Mowgli, take their picture--

6. Find the Play-doh and then take a picture--

7. Find Tramp from "Lady and the Tramp", take his picture--

8. Now, find Lady and take her picture--

9. Take a picture of everyone beside the year they were born--

10. Take a picture of every animal you see--

11. Take a picture of our room--

(we were just above the shoe on the second floor)
12. Find Goofy, now take his picture--

13. Find the Hippy Dippy Pool and take a picture--

14. Where is the playground? Take a picture--

At this point we were actually supposed to be passing by the playground and heading over to the 80's/90's section to complete the scavenger hunt. However, two little boys decided that they had enough and once they saw the room they were ready to call it a night. So, as you can tell the last picture of the playground was taken as we were walking back to our room. Even though we didn't quite finish, I think they had a great time!! It was definitely alot of fun watching them.
Once we got to our rooms, we decided to grab our refillable mugs and head back to the Classic Hall for some drinks and a snack before bed. We were very excited because tomorrow was our first official day in the parks and we picked Epcot as our first park to visit!! I couldn't wait to see everyone's reactions. It was a long exhausting day and I couldn't wait to climb into bed. Even though we were disappointed to have missed DHS this trip, we knew it was the right decision and like I said before it always gives us an excuse to come back.


Up Next--There's a ride in that?

 

[onelilspark]

I love the Scavenger Hunt! We have some time to kill on our first day, I'm tempted to use it