Thanksgiving in my happy place?? Don't mind if I do! (RL Update 4/22)

[Stacybaeasm]

Hello once again!! I'm back with another trip report. I had so much fun reliving my trip in April I decided to do it again for Thanksgiving week. And what a week it was!! Breaking in an annual pass (again), doing my first Christmas party, seeing my aunt for the first time since 2018. This trip was just the break I needed after a VERY hard semester. Was I probably too tired to go? Sure. Would I do it again? Absolutely.

So, let's kick this report off with a little background. I'm Stacy - professor of stage management and production manager for theatre at Virginia Tech. I have been to Disney MANY times, most recently April for one of my best friend's wedding and my birthday. Right after I got back from that trip, I decided to get my annual pass again after a break of 3 years and immediately started planning a trip for Thanksgiving.

My aunt decided to join me for the first part of the trip. Barb is my mom's middle sister and lives in Florida. Due to my work and life in general, we hadn't seen each other in person since I did the Princess half in 2018. It was so nice to spend time with my favorite aunt again.

Plans for this trip:
- Stay at Pop Century from Sunday, Nov. 24-Saturday, Nov. 30 (Barb there from Sunday-Wednesday)
- Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party on Tuesday (first time for both of us) with plans to get all the cookies and eat many of the specialty items plus MERCH!!!
- Dining reservations: Steakhouse 71 for dinner Monday; Toppolino's for breakfast Wednesday; Diamond Horseshoe for Thanksgiving; Via Napoli for dinner on Friday
- park reservations for each day (with planned hopping)
- See Fantasmic, Christmas Fireworks, and Happily Ever After
- See Festival of Fantasy and the Christmas Parade
- Do Festival of the Holidays at Epcot (with many planned eats and drinks)
- Pool time

Stay tuned to find out if everything was accomplished. First up - the drive down.

 

[SEAGULL59]

I hope you had a great trip!

 

[DLo]

Following along. Looking forward to reading more

 

[ThreeBoyMama]

How nice that you got to spend time with your aunt. Can’t wait to hear about your trip!

 

[Stacybaeasm]

I hope you had a great trip!

I did!! And spoiler alert - no illness this time. Although my body wasn't happy with the go, go, go all the time. Some day I'll learn to relax a bit on these trips.

Following along. Looking forward to reading more

Welcome!!!!

How nice that you got to spend time with your aunt. Can’t wait to hear about your trip!

It was so nice to get to spend time with Barb. She has been amazing helping out long distance via phone with my mom's health since July. I've always been pretty close with her and every time I go to Florida, I become "her responsibility" so at least this time, she was with me for part of the trip to keep me from doing dumb things.

 

[Stacybaeasm]

Day 0
The Long Drive Down​

I was up bright and early on Saturday to make the 10 and a half hour drive (without stops) from VA to Orlando. The plan was to be up about 5am and be on the road by 6am. I had loaded the car and gotten gas, etc the day before. The alarm went off at 5 and I sprang out of bed. Only for Disney, friends. I am NOT a morning person and being up before the sun goes against the very fiber of my being - unless Mickey and friends are waiting for me. I quickly put in my contacts, put some makeup on my face (so I didn't scare people at the various stopping points), got dressed, made my spark, and went to the car. It was 31 degrees and snow flurries as I started the car. Oh Florida, please be warm!!! I got Google maps set up and was backing out of my parking spot at 5:31am. Woo hoo!!!

Honestly, most of the drive was uneventful. I expected there to be a moderate amount of traffic. The early part of the drive was very easy - not many cars on the road - just me and the truckers mostly. I think I probably amuse them as I pass them since I am usually car dancing and singing along to Sirius XM 80's on 8. Yep - 80's dance party in my car all the way to Florida!!! Going through the mountains in Southern VA/Northern NC at sunrise is always beautiful but today, it was a bit windy and a little slippery from the flurries so I didn't push it too hard. First rest stop just outside of Charlotte, NC for a quick break, a fresh bottle of water, and a Poptart from a vending machine for breakfast and back on the road.

As I got into South Carolina, Google maps suddenly was like "Big time traffic ahead. Let's offroad a bit and avoid it." I have learned to trust Google with this so I left the interstate and spent about 30 minutes on back roads that are 55 mph and single lane each way. But, it sounds like it saved me a couple of hours in crazy traffic so thanks Google!!!

Several gas/food stops later, I am finally entering Florida. And once again, I remember how crazy drivers are in Florida. Speed limit??? What speed limit?? Also, they seem to think that 2 solid objects can occupy the same space at the same time, given how they cut it so close to other cars as they weave in and out of traffic. Not me. I'm going to set my cruise control at a speed that keeps up with most of the traffic and keep to 1 lane. I would prefer to not have a car accident to kick off Thanksgiving break.

As I finally get on to I-4 for the last hour and a half to Orlando, Google again says traffic is not going to be good and recommends I take the state roads. Ok, no problem. Except, of course, that I forget that those roads are Toll roads. I'm still waiting on that bill to come. I'm sure that little detour (that DID end up saving me over an hour) probably cost me Eleventy billion dollars. Oh well, time is money at Disney, right??

I finally get to Scotty's house about 6:00pm - so 12.5 hours in total. Not bad at all. Scotty and I went to dinner at a local place he really likes and chatted for a bit. Stephen (Scotty's husband) got home from work about 9pm and we chatted while he had dinner and then we all headed to bed early. Stephen had to be back at Animal Kingdom at 7am the next day for his shift, Scotty has been working crazy hours getting the Christmas Parade ready at MK so he was exhausted (and had a late night shift on Sunday), and I wanted to be up and headed over to Pop by 8:30am to check in, drop off my car, meet Barb, and get to MK for the day.

All in all, not a terrible day to get down to Florida. I will say, since I moved to VA, I don't mind the drive down. Sure, it makes for a long day prior to the parks with a 12 hour drive but it actually saves me money over flying plus, I can pack as much as I want. 2 suitcases, 2 carry on type bags, 2 cases of water, and a cooler of snacks. And the added bonus of not having to worry about buying too much at the parks and not being able to get it back on the plane. So yay driving!!!

Up next: First day at the parks. How can plans go wrong already??

 

[disneyAndi14]

I’m back and joining in! Sounds like a pretty good day overall! My travel day the Sunday after Thanksgiving was awful! Being in a car alone wouldn’t have been to bad! Haha except not from Minnesota!

 

[VAtink]

Joining in! Can't wait to read more!

 

[Nicnicnic.nic]

Following

 

[mommyk8]

I'm here. We are driving for the first time next June. From Pennsylvania so I few more hours. 80's on 8 and 90's on 9 are my go to stations for long droves.

 

[Stacybaeasm]

I’m back and joining in! Sounds like a pretty good day overall! My travel day the Sunday after Thanksgiving was awful! Being in a car alone wouldn’t have been to bad! Haha except not from Minnesota!

Welcome back!!! I hope your trip was great!! Yay - driving from Minnesota is no good. I made that drive once from Sarasota to Minnesota. Even for me, that's a long trip. And I'm headed to Minnesota on Friday for the holidays. Please, please - can you make it not so cold???

Joining in! Can't wait to read more!

Welcome!!!! I followed your kind of trip and did a few photo shoots along the way. I don't usually, but I thought why not?

Following

Welcome!!!

I'm here. We are driving for the first time next June. From Pennsylvania so I few more hours. 80's on 8 and 90's on 9 are my go to stations for long droves.

Pennsylvania is a bit further. But 80's on 8 will get you through!!! Don't forget to dance. I really believe car dancing should be an Olympic sport. I would medal for sure!

 

[Vero4us]

I’m joining in on your trip

 

[footballmouse]

 

[Stacybaeasm]

I’m joining in on your trip

Welcome!!!!

I know. I promise an update is coming. It's finals week here so I am in grading frenzy. I just have 1 graduate committee and 2 semester evaluation letters to write. But hopefully an update tomorrow!

 

[DenaRox]

Following along. Our trips were a week apart, you checked out the day I arrived at POP. Excited to read more of your adventure ◡̈

 

[Stacybaeasm]

Following along. Our trips were a week apart, you checked out the day I arrived at POP. Excited to read more of your adventure ◡̈

Thanks for following me over from YOUR report. Welcome!!!

 

[Stacybaeasm]

Day One, Part One
Let the Adventure Begin!
​

I was up bright and early this morning to get the Disney adventure started. The plan for the day was: I would head to Pop, park my car, get us checked in, and meet Barb to head off to MK. Barb was supposed to be leaving Sarasota VERY early to get to Disney and drop Lil' Bit (her chihuahua) off at the pet place and then get to Pop by 9:30am. I leaped out of bed at Scotty's and quickly got ready for the day - only to find that my contacts would absolutely NOT go into my eyes for any reason. I think the combination of being in for so long yesterday AND a new climate made my eyes rebel. I finally managed to get the right one in and gave up. I have very "special" eyes that need specialty contacts - and each eye has a different type of contact - I decided 1 eye was enough because that at least made me legal to drive. I quickly packed my stuff, filled my water cup, and snuck out of Scotty's house. He was still sleeping and Stephen had left for work before I got up. I sent a quick text to say "Hey. I left but I couldn't lock your front door so maybe check that. See you tomorrow night for dinner." Jumped in my car, set Google Maps for Pop, and off I went.

It didn't take long to get to Pop because traffic in that area on a Sunday morning at 9am was pretty light. I pulled into the check in parking and made a quick phone call to Barb to see if she was at the pet place. And the plan for the day derails already. Barb had only been in the car for 20 minutes. I guess her morning went very wrong and she was WAY behind. Ok. This is Disney. We are not going to stress. I said I would check in, grab something to eat, and then head to MK. She should text me when she got Lil' Bit settled and we could figure out the best next steps. I went inside to find out that our room wasn't ready yet...of course not sir, it is 9:08 am. I didn't expect it to be ready but could you at least tell me what section we are in so I can move my car? He was just getting ready to do that when a supervisor came over. She had heard my question and stopped him "in case something has to change." Umm...ok but then what should I do with my car? Your signs in the check in parking area CLEARLY say "20 minutes for check in only." She said, "No. It doesn't matter. Just leave your car there until you get your room number." Ok, you are the boss. And off I went to the food court to get some breakfast.

Well, the food court was a zoo and I decided I wasn't THAT hungry. I grabbed a bottle of water and headed to the bus. And, in an omen of bus luck to come for the whole trip, a bus was waiting WITH room to sit. Woo hoo!!! Once at MK, I had to go to guest services to activate my annual pass. I had a lovely conversation with a CP Cast member. I made it a point the entire trip to ask every CP CM what they were studying in school. Just a way to interact with them a bit and give them a chance to talk about themselves. Hopefully, it brightened their day a bit since it WAS Thanksgiving and it WAS crowded.

Annual pass in hand, I scanned in and came around the corner for my first glimpse of my summer house, I mean the castle. I quickly found a photopass person and...


After some quick photos, I popped in to the Jewelry store. Thanks to Dapper Danielle and oh goodness, that other vlogger whose name escapes me now but the blonde who mostly posts from Disneyland, I knew that I wanted some Christmas earrings. Both of these women have the same taste as me and they had been showcasing some of the new merch and boy did I want. I quickly found both sets that I wanted - the Bauble Bar earrings that have 2 pair and the snowman Mickey earrings with the ball of fluff hanging down. I decided to get the Bauble Bar set (since 2 pair, right??) and just that quickly, used my shiny new annual pass discount.

I then headed off to Tomorrowland. The wait for Space Mountain wasn't very long at this point. I jumped in the standby line and we moved pretty steadily up to the point where they send you right or left. As I got to that CM, they said "How many?" When I said "One", the pulled me out of line and sent me right up to the front. Party of 1 for the win!!! I think I got to jump about 15 minutes of wait time.


As we were loading into our space rocket, the lady in front was worried about her bag. She asked the CM if it was ok to hold it in front of her. He said yes and moved on. However, she had a baseball cap on her head. I leaned forward and said "You might want to take that hat off if you want to keep it." She was very grateful for that information and thanked me at the end of the ride.

I wandered out to the bench by the Joffrey's cart to look at wait times, check for a text from Barb, and figure out what came next. I noticed that I had a text that my room was ready. 11am and it was ready??!!! I called Barb and she said she was about an hour away. Hmm...ok. I decided to head back to Pop, unload and unpack, and change out of my jeans. The forecast had said a high of like 65 so I had dressed more warmly than usual. However, it was WARM and I wanted out of my jeans.

I got to the bus area for Pop and there was a bus waiting!! I jumped on and the nice driver said "Leaving already??" I explained I had just gotten to Disney and my room was ready so I was going back to unpack but I would absolutely be back later today. He made sure to tell me that the park closed at 6 today because of a Christmas party. Thank you kind sir. I am fully aware! We waited another 10 minutes or so and then back to Pop I went.

And now, I really should sign off here and go finish my end of semester stuff. All 5 of my classes are graded and grades turned in. I just have 1 graduate committee review today and 2 semester evaluation letters to write for my MFA students and I am DONE with Fall semester.

Up next: Barb and I tackle Magic Kingdom together for the first time since 2018.

 

[DenaRox]

Hope Barb’s morning wasn’t too stressful!!

After some quick photos, I popped in to the Jewelry store. Thanks to Dapper Danielle and oh goodness, that other vlogger whose name escapes me now but the blonde who mostly posts from Disneyland,

Ohhh! That’s Megan the Magical Millenial!! Love them!! Their podcast, Disney Countdown is

As I got to that CM, they said "How many?" When I said "One", the pulled me out of line and sent me right up to the front. Party of 1 for the win!!! I think I got to jump about 15 minutes of wait time.

I really loved this about solo travel.

Looking forward to more ◡̈

 

[Stacybaeasm]

Real Life Update
​

Hi all!! Happy New Year!!!! Sorry I have been MIA for the last couple of weeks. I went home to Minnesota for the holidays. My parents are aging and not in the best of health. My mom fell and fractured her spine in 1 place in July. In October, she fell again and added 4 more spinal fractures and some broken ribs. We also found out she has Diabetes (the reason for her falls). The spinal fractures meant she was unable to drive and my dad wisely gave up his driver's license a few years ago. So, all told, there was a BUNCH of stuff that needed to be done for them. I got them out to do all the Christmas present shopping, all the grocery shopping, cleaned, did dishes, did the baking, etc. And, of course, tried to spend as much quality time as I could with them. Having aging parents isn't for the weak and living so far away, it brings home the fact that we never know how much time we have with someone. Anyway, they are good now. Mom got cleared to get out of her back brace so she can at least drive again. Right before I left, I took her out and got all of the heavy stuff (laundry detergent, cases of water, distilled water for their C-paps, cases of Shasta soda (did you know they still made that stuff???) for Dad, etc) so she didn't have to lift anything.

Now I'm back to a snow storm (thanks Winter Storm Blair). Wednesday I head to Virginia Thespian Festival to (hopefully) recruit students for next year. And then it's time to kick off spring semester. I promise to get back and continue with this report soon. Thanks for hanging in!!!

 

[Stacybaeasm]

Day One, Part Two
Let's do Magic Kingdom
​

When we last left off (a long, long time ago), I was headed back to Pop to unpack after getting my room ready text at 11:00am. And woo hoo!!! The room was just a couple of doors down from the room I requested through Touring Plans. Friends - I am a creature of habit in many ways - much like Sheldon "You're in my spot" I like to be/sit/etc in the same area all the time. It's weird, I admit but I like to be in a place in the resort where I know exactly where I am and how to get everywhere I want to go. I have had great success with using Touring Plans room request system. I was literally 6 doors down from the room number I requested. Sure, it's a parking lot view but I don't care about the view at all. We were in Building 1 in the 50's section - a 2 minute walk from the buses and the lobby, around the corner from the bowling pin pool, a 2 minute walk to the Hippie Dippie pool, and about a 5 minute walk to the Skyliner. Absolutely perfect!!

I moved my car over to the parking lot and found rock star parking. I mean - first spot closest to the building. Transportation luck is holding strong (sure it's day one but still...) AND there was an abandoned luggage cart hanging out close to my room. I grabbed that and quickly unloaded my car. I may have mentioned this before but I am not a light packer. I had 2 big suitcases, 2 carry-on type bags, a cooler full of snacks, 2 cases of water, and 2 coats of differing weights because the forecast was a bit allover the place temperature wise before I left. Got all the stuff in the room, loaded the "fridge" with water, and started unpacking. I am also one of those people who completely unpacks in every hotel room. I need my stuff out and organized and ready for me to grab. This also allows me to pack as I go each night so I don't have the dreaded "I have to pack to go home" on the last night. After I got settled, I quickly changed out of my jeans and grabbed some peanut butter/cheese crackers and waited for Barb.

It wasn't long until I saw her convertible pull into the parking lot. I grabbed the luggage cart and headed to her car. After some hugs (again, it was 2018 the last time I saw her in person), we unloaded her car and I showed her the room. Now, Barb is a resident pass holder and often goes to Disney with some friends of hers. Her friends only stay club level at Beach Club or Yacht Club so Pop was a bit of an adjustment to her bougie self. Sorry Barb. Welcome to balling on a budget. We stay value so we can stay longer and come more often. She didn't want to unpack so we threw her stuff into the room, returned the luggage cart to bell services, and headed to the MK bus.

Once again, there was a bus literally waiting as we walked up and there were seats on it. On the ride to MK, we discussed that we were both starving so food was the number one priority. After some discussion, we decided on Casey's Corner. As we were getting ready to go through security, I decided to pull my extra phone charger out and hold it in front of me. I had gotten pulled aside for the extra bag check when I was in the park earlier that day and the charger was the only thing I could think of that might have set off the detector. Sure enough, that must have been it because we both sailed through security and the tapstyles. We headed over to Casey's and decided to split an order to the corn dog nuggets and fries (with fake cheese sauce thank you very much) and diet cokes. The deal we had made was Barb was going to pay for meals since I paid for the hotel room. Works for me!! I sent her out to find a spot to sit on the curb since the parade would be coming soon and I waited for the food.

Barb was back in about 5 minutes with the news that there was no room. I really should have expected that - it was about 1:30 and the parade was at 2. We finally got our food and we pulled out of the way of the counter to get organized. I really didn't want to take the tray out so we got the food and drinks organized to carry without the tray and headed out. There was a spot along the fence across the street that we could sit on so we headed that way. While we ate, we started making some plans for where to head next. We figured we might as well stay for the parade and then we could move on. About 1:45, there was an announcement of a special group marching before the actual parade. Now, earlier that morning I had seen a bunch of girls wearing cheering uniforms and carrying pom poms. And sure enough, here come the cheerleaders - 450 of them!!! As a person who has taken groups to Disney before, I applaud the work it takes to get a group to Disney. But 450??!!! Wowser. Anyway, we moved closer to the curb to watch and cheer! Why oh why does no one cheer/applaud the parades?? That is a LONG, hot path to dance, cheer, smile, etc. Show some love people!!!

As soon as the cheerleaders went by, curb space opened up so Barb and I slipped right in for Festival of Fantasy. Gosh I love that parade, especially the Maleficent Dragon. She rewarded me by breathing fire TWICE while in my line of sight. And I just realized I didn't take a single picture of the parade. Sigh. I am a bad trip reporter sometimes. Oh - and right before the parade, I got a text from Scotty. He was in the park because he had to work soon, but he had a bit of time to kill before clocking in. We told him where we were and right after the parade, he found us so we could hang for a bit.

And with that, I best go get some work done. Remember those evaluation letters I mentioned I had to write for my MFA students in order to wrap up fall semester?? Guess who hasn't written those yet. And I guess my spring syllabi aren't going to write themselves. Sorry for an update with no photos. I promise some in the next part.

Up next: I get to pet the dog??