The Double-and-a-half Trippie ** COMPLETED **

[marivaid]

Yeah! Updates! I'm still reading!

Have you tried Arnica for the bruising? It's good stuff and really does help with the pain and discoloration.

I love all the pictures - I love the stories! Keep them coming!

Hi again, I'm so happy when people reply to my TR And thanks for the tip, I'll try it !!

I just started to read your trip report and can't wait to get caught up! Sounds like a lot of fun!

I hope you'll like the rest of it

I'm so happy you've continued your trip report. Have fun when you go back. My parents are there now ,staying at POFQ and said it was pretty busy in the parks but all the decorations make up for it. You're pictures are great!

How are they liking POFQ ? Did they say if the decorations are pretty there ? I can't say I'm overly thrilled to go back there, because I thought it was a little "blah" last year, but we didn't really take the time to tour the resort at all.

Thanks for the updates. When do you leave for you next trip?

SUNDAY !!! I'm both excited and worried, first solo trip. I can't wait for Grumpy to get there since I haven't seen her for almost 2 months.

I love your report, keep the updates coming. I also love using the "would you mind if I went alone" trick, always guilts someone into going back to the parks with me!

Guilt is bliss

 

[DisneyTabby]

They loved POFQ but it's not as great as the deluxes which they went to Poly,GF,BC and said they were gorgeous. The parks were totally decked out.

 

[CPer'sMom]

Yay! I was excited to see an update and it didn't disappoint Have a great time on your upcoming trip

 

[marivaid]

Hey guys, I'm heading back to Disney in the morning ! My shuttle is coming in less than 3 hours and as usual, I'm doing last-minute laundry

So I ended up getting 2 flights on Southwest after all. I'm flying out of Tampa, and connecting in Ft Lauderdale. I know, nuts. I'm basically crossing to the other coast of FL just to get back to where I was

And for the first time, I have a LGMH tag on my park bag !!!! It doesn't look very good, as I'm "craftably impaired" but it'll have to do. I met my first DISer in Epcot on our last trip, so I just *had* to have one. By the way, every Home Depot in the Clearwater area is out of lime green paint samples.

Disney World, Here I come... AGAIN !!

 

[Hedy]

Have fun!

 

[marivaid]

Have fun!

Right now I'm "having a ball" waiting for my 2nd flight in Ft Lauderdale. Should have left at 11.35am and it's been delayed to 3.55pm. I'm so sad I had planned to go to Epcot and go see the tree lightning ceremony, no way will I make that. Our flight is coming from Providence and they're having a snow storm here too. And I'm one of the lucky ones, only going to Orlando, others have connections they've already missed and will probably not make it home tonight.
I'm worried about Grumpy getting stuck in JFK when she comes Thursday,too.

 

[Hedy]

Right now I'm "having a ball" waiting for my 2nd flight in Ft Lauderdale. Should have left at 11.35am and it's been delayed to 3.55pm. I'm so sad I had planned to go to Epcot and go see the tree lightning ceremony, no way will I make that. Our flight is coming from Providence and they're having a snow storm here too. And I'm one of the lucky ones, only going to Orlando, others have connections they've already missed and will probably not make it home tonight.
I'm worried about Grumpy getting stuck in JFK when she comes Thursday,too.

I left yesterday, and am so glad I wasn't flying today. I'm north of Providence, so I think you may be there even longer, although it's clearing up.

 

[jeminni]

I was at MNSSHP on 11/02 and at LLT tavern the same time as you and your mom. I'm waiting for your review on that night .

 

[marivaid]

I was at MNSSHP on 11/02 and at LLT tavern the same time as you and your mom. I'm waiting for your review on that night .

WOW !!! Small world. How did you like the party ?? I thought the fireworks were incredible!

 

[marivaid]

Don't listen to Cute Weather Dude

During the night, Grumpy started to snore. I threw my pillow at her, and she didn't wake up. I whistled, and she kept on snoring. So I started clapping, and it did the trick.

Of course, I had to do it every half hour...

When we got up, I waited until she'd had her 2nd cup of coffee (I know better than to talk to Grumpy or even gaze in her direction before she's had coffee) and asked her if she had slept well.

"They must have been doing some construction over there,because I kept hearing weird clapping noises."

Yeah, that's what it was.

We turned on the TV and checked the weather. Cute Weather Dude said, 95% humidity.

Grumpy groaned and said she didn't want to be in the rain all day. When we go to WS, we mostly stick to walking around the pavilions and taking photos. Future World is 2-3 hours for us, at best.

Since Grumpy wanted to go to Premium Outlets, why not go today ? We can shop in the rain. Heck... we could shop during a hurricane.

My mom asked me what reservations we had today. Despite the fact that I printed itineraries and ADRs for her, she had no idea what we were doing and when. Today was Le Cellier at 1.10pm.

"Oh."

"What do you mean "Oh" ? You wanted to go back. You begged me to go back."

"I don't think I want to anymore."

Wow. She'd been dreaming about that filet for weeks. I had to tell her a few days before that the creme brulee was gone from the menu and she was disappointed. Either way, she didn't want to go. And although I had liked the food back in December, it wasn't on top of my list either. At Disney, I like my meals to be fun.

I started looking at my itinerary & checking to see what I could possibly move around. Grumpy looked too and said, why don't we go to Chef Mickey's tonight ? We were supposed to go the next day.

I cracked up. Sure, Grumpy. It's Halloween, with a party in MK, I'm sure no one else has an ADR for Chef Mickey's tonight.

Well, it wouldn't cost you anything to call.

Alright. I did it to make her happy because I am DISer, and I knew that I'd never get a same-day ADR for Chef Mickey's on Halloween night.
The girl I got on the phone actually laughed when I asked her. Let me check, she said, you never know.

"Oh, my GOD ! I can't believe it, you've got it! 6pm !"

"Are you SERIOUS???????"

I'd been trying to get an ADR at a decent hour there for 3 months, without success. Apparently, a large party had canceled that morning and now there were several tables of 4 available.
Grumpy was gloating. If it hadn't been for her, I wouldn't have even tried.

So, our plans had changed. We would go to Epcot and do a couple rides on Soarin' before heading to the Outlets. After shopping, we'd rest a little at the resort and then go to Chef Mickey's. With such a great ADR time, we could even go see Illuminations if the weather wasn't too bad.

We had a quick breakfast at Mara and got on the bus to Epcot.

As soon as we got there, I wished I'd taken my camera. First, the weather was beautiful. And Epcot was decorated for the Food & Wine festival, with Ratatouille things everywhere. And the best part - the stupid wand was GONE! They were still working on taking it off when we were there in July, and it was the first time I'd seen the Epcot sphere wand-less. So much nicer!

We went straight to The Land and once again were shocked to see that Soarin' was only 20mns wait. Grumpy said we'd definitely be back in October.
We grabbed some FPs and got in line.

Soarin' was amazing as usual. I'll never get sick of this ride.

In-between Soarin' rides, I wanted to do Test Track, but Grumpy didn't want anything to do with it. She'd chickened out on that ride in July and had no intention of going this time, either. Plus, she didn't want to walk all the way to Test Track just to come back here. After all, Cute Weather Dude said it was going to rain all day, and it would start anytime now.

Instead we went to see something new for us, the Circle of Life movie.

It didn't expect much from this, but I really enjoyed it. The movie was beautiful and so was the music. I'd go back again between Soarin' FPs

After another flight, we stopped for lunch at Sunshine Seasons. The shops at Premium Outlets are great, but the food is disgusting, so we never eat there. I got a chicken caesar salad and Grumpy got a goat cheese and "beef" salad. I thought it was a little weird to put goat cheese and beef together, but what do I know... I'm known to eat onion Pringles with chocolate milk.

Grumpy hates beets with passion, and the guy serving us gave us a weird look. We later figured out that it was beet and not beef salad.. but Grumpy still enjoyed her beetless beet salad, so all was well in the world.

We left Epcot, and had still hadn't seen a drop of rain. But it should start any time now, after all, Weather Dude knows his stuff. Cabs were waiting right next to our bus stop and we were on our way to the Outlets.

A tip : if you're going to shop there and need to use a cab, consider taking a bus to Epcot or DTD and get the cab there. It'll cut the cost in half.

We shop fast. In less than an hour we'd been to Timberland, Nike, Skechers, and Gap. Then I let my mom go to Guess by herself. She browses the store, then calls me so I can "check" the things she wants to purchase. Since the T-Shirts here run about $10, instead of the $30 or $40 they'd cost at home, Grumpy goes nuts in that store and basically will buy any shirt available in her size.

When she was done, we hopped back on a cab to AKL.

And still, not a drop of rain.

Clearly, Cute Weather Guy only wanted our ADR.

For the first time ever, we were asked to show our resort IDs when we got to the gate at AKL. Apparently, only Mears cabs are allowed to stay on Disney property, and ours was from a different company. They must have a deal with them in exchange for the Magical Express transport, I guess.

We barely had time to get changed before we had to be on the bus to MK. Back in July, Grumpy & I bought matching WDW T-Shirts at the POP Century store and we wanted to wear them to Chef Mickey's. Since it was Halloween, we could dress up a little We also put some small glittery stars on our faces and mickey-shaped clips in our hair, because we were looking silly already and might as well go all the way. Almost everyone on the bus to MK was dressed up for the party, and so we looked almost normal.

From MK, we walked to the Contemporary. It's only a 5mns walk or so, and is definitely an advantage. I really don't care for CR, too modern and "cold" for my taste, but being able to walk to MK is great.

Our ADR was for 3 persons, not 2, because I couldn't get one for 2. I was a little worried we'd get scolded for that, but the CM didn't even blink, just said "Okay, no problem!" with a big smile.

We were seated almost immediately and our server was soon there to take our drink order. Since Grumpy didn't think we'd go anywhere after dinner, she got a Grand Margarita. It was pretty big, and I knew she wouldn't last very long tonight after this.

The characters came by and at first we did try to take pics with them, but the restaurant was extremely busy with dressed-up kids, so after a while I just snapped a picture of the character quickly as they came by. We love character meals, but had been to Chef Mickey's twice already and so we have dozens of pics with them.

All in all, we had a really nice time. While the food wasn't gourmet, it was good and fresh. The parmesan mashed potatoes were yummy.

Since it was still early when we finished dinner, I wanted to go to Illuminations. Grumpy wasn't too crazy about that idea. The tequila has set in and she was starting to slowly fade into unconsciousness.

I made her wait while I snapped a few pics of the Ratatouille decorations at the entrance of Epcot and then again at the fountain.

When I turned around, this is what I found :

 

[*KeepMovingForward*]

Sounds like you had a great day at Epcot and the Outlets. You guys were sooo lucky to get those ressies at CM at the last minute! Your pictures brought a smile to my face as I'm going through Disney withdrawl!

 

[CPer'sMom]

Yay, a new update! Love the pic of Grumpy on the bench!!

 

[SeptemberGirl]

Great update - great pictures!

 

[Hedy]

I love Grumpy grabbing Mickey!

 

[marivaid]

Sounds like you had a great day at Epcot and the Outlets. You guys were sooo lucky to get those ressies at CM at the last minute! Your pictures brought a smile to my face as I'm going through Disney withdrawl!

Awww.. Disney withdrawal stinks The only cure for that, is to book and plan your next trip !!

Yay, a new update! Love the pic of Grumpy on the bench!!

She's not too crazy about me posting that pic online though. And the worst part is coming soon

Great update - great pictures!

Thank you !

I love Grumpy grabbing Mickey!

And this is the woman who "doesn't care about character meals"... She'll jump out of her seat whenever a character comes by.

---

I haven't updated in a while because.... I've been busy planning our next trip !!!!! This time we're taking Granny AND my sister AND her friend.

 

[Hedy]

Wow, that trip sounds like it'll be interesting.

 

[SeptemberGirl]

I love those extra trips! We just got back last night from my four day best friend trip...I guess I need to get on the TR writing! It makes me happy to be going again in March...I don't really have time to miss it.

 

[Hedy]

After your post on 1900 PF, I want to hear about your Christmas trip.

 

[marivaid]

After your post on 1900 PF, I want to hear about your Christmas trip.

Then I should get moving LOL..

 

[marivaid]

So, where were we ? In Epcot, after a dinner at Chef Mickey's where Grumpy had a huge margarita...
I was taking photos, turned out around and found Grumpy slumped on a bench, barely conscious.

"Come on, wake up !!!"
"Hhuhmuhhnu ??"

The woman can't handle Tequila. I went to a nearby cart, bought a Diet Coke and brought it to her. "Drink."
For some reason I thought the Diet Coke would wash the tequila out of her system ???

It didn't really work, but she did get up and we made our way to World Showcase, in search of an Illuminations spot. We went down some stairs, somewhere around France (I think) and sat on some sort of wall surrounding plants.

Well, tried to sit, for one of us. Grumpy is short and couldn't quite get herself up there. After some pulling and pushing, she made it. A few minutes later, a couple who had a better spot than us on that wall thingy left, and instead of getting down and back up, Grumpy decided that CRAWLING there would be a better idea. People started looking as us like we were aliens again. And they were not going to change their mind any time soon.

Illuminations was about to start, the lights went dark, everybody went silent,and I was looking at the beautiful World Showcase around us, thinking how lucky we were to be here again .....

HIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIUUUUUPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPS!

The noise startled me so much I jumped off the wall and almost yelled "BUG!!!!!!. Because only a bug can make such a nasty noise.

It was Grumpy. She had the hiccups. Making her drink a whole bottle of Diet Coke maybe hadn't been such a great idea after all.

She had covered her mouth and was hiding her face in her sweater, but it couldn't quite contain the giggles that were coming out of her. Of course, once I realized a giant bug wasn't going to attack me, I started giggling too.
We forced ourselves to stop - it wasn't easy - because Illuminations had started and we didn't want to ruin the experience for the other people there.

Unfortunately, Grumpy wasn't quite done yet.
About 2mns through Illuminations, right when it was quiet, it came again...
HIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIUUUUUPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPS!
And again, again and again. The more she did it, the harder it was not to laugh.
And EVERY time, she'd do it during one of the "quiet" moments.

"You've seen this show three times, can't you at least TIME it right?"

No answer. Between the hiccups and trying to contain her laugh, she could barely breathe.

I was looking for a way out, but the place was packed, including the stairs. We were stuck here. And worse, everyone else was stuck with us.

When Illuminations ended, we let everybody leave, then when we thought it was safe, we were finally able to let it out (no pun intended) and laughed until we cried and the little stars we'd glued on our faces fell off.