Update! 7/6- 8 am ADRS?! a 2013 TR, Fueled by Pixie Dust and Coffee..

[t_daniels]

Maybe he'll get that tattoo eyeliner?

Hehehe.

Nah. He likes applying it too much!

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

Have a lovely time see you there roaming around Jambo!

 

[PrincessInOz]

Safe travels!

 

[t_daniels]

Thanks!! On Disney s Magical Express!! Can't believe it .

 

[thetorit]

Thanks!! On Disney s Magical Express!! Can't believe it .

OHMYGOODNESS Have fun! I always cry at that movie!

 

[t_daniels]

I didn't cry this time!

My ears are still unpopping , though.

They did a button pinning ceremony for us when we checked in -- celebrating anniversary this trip! So cute. Called whole lobby to watch.

Had killer tiramisu, and a surprise dessert, too!

Sigh. Fantastic so far!

 

[Carable]

I'm in! Can't wait to read all about your trip. We leave in 4 days ourselves!

 

[PrincessInOz]

I didn't cry this time!

My ears are still unpopping , though.

They did a button pinning ceremony for us when we checked in -- celebrating anniversary this trip! So cute. Called whole lobby to watch.

Had killer tiramisu, and a surprise dessert, too!

Sigh. Fantastic so far!

Aww...you're making me cry! That's so sweet.


Enjoy!

 

[t_daniels]

We're home!

My heart is already aching for coffee, among other things.

Ordered Photopass yesterday, will start on the tr soon!

 

[t_daniels]

I'm in! Can't wait to read all about your trip. We leave in 4 days ourselves!

Welcome!

Enjoying your trip?

 

[t_daniels]

Okay! So, this trip report is officially off and running!

Sort of, anyway.

See, I'm typing this up, and I don't even have Photopass pictures yet. But, it can't be helped. The husband, having learned his lesson from waiting months for me to finish last trips report, has put a time limit on me this year.

The catch is, if I don't finish the TR within two weeks of being back home -- for every extra week it takes, it'll be another year before we go back to WDW. Unfair stakes if you ask me, but...... sadly, I didn't put up a big enough fight when the terms were laid out, so... here we are!



At the moment I have a week left, and I'm furiously typing into Evernote, while Matt is at band practice. (Though, since this isn't technically Day 1 I'm typing, more like a Day -1, I could post it now. You know, since there are no Photopass pictures to add to this update... Hmmm. I may!)

Anyway. Enough of my rambles, you'll see enough of those in the report itself! (And, if you haven't joined me in a TR or a PTR before... well.... eek! Should have warned you. Oh well! )

OH, right. I'm just going to be saying Matt and I's name. Matt isn't much longer than DH, and since it's just two of us, I feel silly using the board acronyms in my own report. So, Matt = DH. Good? Ok! Here we go.



T Minus one day and counting....

I could do the 'normal' thing, and start out my trip report on the day we left. But... that's really kinda boring. And, truly, the craziness of a trip starts the night before.

For whatever reason - I'm not sure why - we flew out on a Tuesday. Ungodly early. (Okay. Not really. Our plane took off at 6 something. We had to be up around 4. So, not pleasantly early, but not exactly torturously so.

But really.... Mondays are hard enough, why did we decide to leave on a Tuesday??

Monday, I had to work- but Matt had taken the day off, so he spent all day packing, my stuff included! (This included SEVERAL phone calls to me at my Mom's house. (Anyone who doesn't know - I work at her house, taking care of her. She's wheelchair bound from a stroke. )

We'd packed some things early - there were clothes and toiletries neatly piled all over the house... just not all of them, and not in a suitcase yet. We would have packed everything early, but one of our suitcases had broken, so we had to buy a new one last minute.

We DID pack our clothes for Victoria and Alberts early, though. Which, was a nightmare. We decided not to take hangers. We also, didn't have a hanging bag. So, the problem remained. How do we pack a crisp, snow white suit, and keep it clean?!

Matt came up with the idea to put it in the bags that our clothes are in when they come home from the cleaners, and lay it in the bottom of the suitcase. It worked out great, but actually getting it in the bags (we put one over it, then slid one the other way, so none of the suit would actually touch the suitcase) was a great deal trickier than it sounded. It didn't help matters that Matt and I look at/approach problems in different ways. So, while the end result would be the exact same, the ways of getting there -- AND communicating what we need the other person to do -- can be completely different.

Usually results in an argument. Mass confusion. Tons of fun, let me tell you! But, thankfully, we lived through it. Hard to be too Grumpy, when you know you're headed for Disney.
Which, wasn't so great, considering his brother and sister in law were coming over for dinner, and then were staying the night, to take us to the airport .

So, back to Monday - Matt spent all day packing and cleaning, while I worked at mom's, coughing and miserable. I'm still bitter about being sick for this trip. . . I'm convinced the junk in my throat was the reason my ears never popped properly...

I got home, and things were pretty uneventful... we made dinner for Adam and Danielle, we kinda walked them through where our cat's food/litter was, the alarm code - everything they'd need to check on the cats while we were gone.

8:30 came around, and we left them up to watch movies - and we headed to bed. A good nights sleep was exactly what we needed - especially with me being sick.
...
Too bad that's not what we got,

See, Monster, our female cat, isn't fixed. My husband would like to get a litter out of her at some point- her coloring is gorgeous. And since our boy kitty is fixed (and clueless, I might add...) it isn't an issue. But, sadly, she does go into heat. And she was in heat today. She walked through the house yelling, yowling, and trying her hardest to piss everyone off, I think.

Adam and Danielle were sleeping in the living room - poor things. I'd wake up and hear the cat screaming... then I'd hear one of them yelling, and then the cat would yell louder. Before I go any further - Matt had the cat before we met , so his brother was familiar with her -- and her attitude.

I woke up a few times to some pretty hardcore sounding human/vs cat fights. A shoe hit the wall at some point, though I didn't find out it was a shoe until the next morning. But no matter what they did, she wouldn't shut up. She actually got louder, in spite of them.

So, it led to Adam and the cat squaring off. I'm really not sure who won - it was loud, and ugly sounding.
I'm sure everyone's going to be pissed - because by now, it's 3 something in the morning. So I make Matt get up, and go check things out first.

He comes back in the bedroom, and tells me that the cat took a chunk of out Adam's hand.

That's really NOT what you want to hear first thing the morning of a trip. Not in the least. .
He seemed okay, (Found out later he ended up going to the ER for it..... ) we put some alcohol and bandages on it, and went on with the day... Though, we did find out our other cat did whine pretty pathetically when they got onto Monster. They think he was sticking up for her-- which is very likely. When she goes into heat, she's actually nice to Ping Pong. Otherwise, he tries to make friends....she smacks him around. We think, he's just learned that if someone gets in trouble, he's likely next.

Funny how we learned it . . . (Warning: Slightly mushy couple stuff ahead.) We were playing around one day, and Matt catches me when I turned around, and swatted me. It didn't hurt at all, but it made a pretty loud pop. I squeaked, but the cat flattened himself against the couch, and started crying.

Which,baffled us. We'd never seen him do that, except for when Monster got in trouble. (Which, the cats either get swatted, bopped on the nose, or we clap/snap at them) So, of course, like good kitty parents, we tried it again.
Sure enough,I got swatted, he started whining. Crazy, he thinks Mom is getting in trouble, so he must be next ! Cracked us up for a week!




Matt and I couldn't go back to sleep, so we just took a little more time than normal to get out stuff together, he did a full workout before we left, and Adam and Danielle tried to get a nap in, as they'd only been able to get an hour of sleep, thanks to our Monster of a cat.

Finally, around 5, we wake them up, and go. We were really hoping our coffee shop would be open, but no luck. She must have been running a few minutes behind. Next stop was Wal Mart for Alka Seltzer, then off to the airport!

They dropped us off at the Southwest gate.. but it was more like where everyone comes when they arrive in from a flight, so we had to do some walking to figure out where we should be, but it was easy enough.

It didn't take long before we were boarding the plane!

Which, even though we're technically on 'Day 1', this seems as good a time as any to go ahead and stop, and pick up "Day 1" of the report, when we land in Orlando. Because, for once, nothing eventful happened on the plane.
No tears or panic attacks on my part - though, I did notice on the descent in Orlando, the motor seemsed to stop a lot. And apparently one of them was smoking? I wasn't a happy camper. And LOTS and LOTS of turbulence.... But I handled it really well, for me anyway! Didn't even need alcohol. Gold Star for me! (I'm thinking being sick may have helped...)

Last minute packing! He's not amused....

Boarding passes - and my reading material for the trip. Tosca Lee's Havah. Beautiful, beautiful book. That lady has so much talent......

Next up? The search for Disney's Magical Express.... and finally -- pizza!

 

[PrincessInOz]

WOW! Your DH packed? That's amazing.

 

[t_daniels]

WOW! Your DH packed? That's amazing.

I can't believe I forgot this part..he had a checklist on his phone of everything we needed. He used that.

And at wdw..he used it to repack-- mostly alone-- so we'd be sure to have everything!

 

[wiigirl]

Woo hoo!

 

[t_daniels]

As uneventful as the plane was - as always, I was ridiculously happy to get OFF of the plane.
We rode the fun little monorail, claimed our baggage, (yes, we know DME can and will claim it for you, but we've never used that option on the way TO WDW. We like having it get to the hotel when we do, and figure if we have it there's no chance of it getting lost. )

Then, the hunt for DME started.

The thought was, we'd done this song and dance twice before ... and gotten lost twice before. So, third time was a charm, really. We knew what floor it was, and knew which terminal side it was (which was our main trip up before) so we figured we were gold.

Only, we disagreed on exactly how to get there. Matt was saying we had to go up before getting there, and I don't remember exactly what I thought. But I saw a sign that I thought supported my theory, so I shook my head, and led the way. Even, mentioning a few times how I couldn't believe that Matt didn't remember where it was. ESPECIALLY after last year.

When will I learn not to be cocky?!

Anyway, we get to the area where the Mears shuttles/rentals are - and I am practically beaming. I know I'm right, and the very next area is where ----

Nothing is.

Absolutely nothing.

No roped off area. No fun-outfitted cast members. Nothing at all.

Needless to say, I literally drooped. My face fell, and I had my tail tucked between my legs while I followed Matt back to the area where the baggage claim was, and did it his way.

And, what a shame, he was right... crap.

Didn't matter though. I was happy enough once we got in line. The buses were outside, there was practically NO ONE in our line.... and soon enough, we were on the bus!

Surprisingly, the little intro video they play as they drive you to the parks, didn't make me tear up. Though, I'd bet it's because I'd YouTubed it and had shown my mom the 2005 version of it. (And, or the record, yes, I teared up then.)

We pulled up to Art of Animation first - it looks GREAT! I don't care that it isn't a deluxe, I'd seriously consider staying there. I should have taken pictures. Didn't, but I should have. I was too excited to get to where we were going!

Next was Pop, then home!!

AKL is gorgeous. I thought that the first time we went, and will think that for the rest of my life, I'm sure.

A cast member met us before we'd even made it into the hotel. and gave us the usual "Welcome home," (love, love!) and then walked us inside to check in.

The Cast Member who checked us in, was fabulous. He cracked jokes, was super sweet and very informative. But, the highlight of the entire experience for me, was the button ceremony.

When he noticed that we were celebrating our anniversary (Technically it's Valentine's Day, but a trip then just isn't convenient. So, we celebrated it early. ) he pulled out two pins, and wrote down what we were celebrating.
Then, he reminded us about a ceremony we'd taken place in years before where we stood in front of some people, and said some vows. Well, now; we were going to have another ceremony.

He then proceeded to get everyone in the lobby's attention, and announced us, and that we were celebrating our 5th anniversary. Next, he had us pin our celebratory pins on each other, while everyone watched, and applauded.

No pressure, right?

Thankfully, we got it, and no blood was shed. Whew.

Though, I'm pretty sure I was still giggling while we worked our way to our room.

We haven't always had the best experience with our rooms. I think our first year, we paid for a Savannah view, and ended up with a parking lot view. That one wasn't so fun. But they moved us, no problem. Last time we went, we had two beds, instead of a king bed. If I remember correctly, we didn't even complain on that one. We just used bed # 2 as a table. Whatever works, right? Sadly though, that year some wasps had made camp on our balcony, so we didn't get to use it at all. (What's the protocol for that? Do you call the front desk and complain? Or, do you cut your losses and ignore it?)

This year however -- it was perfect. Easy to find, a King bed, (which, let me tell you, was HUGE. In order to cuddle, I felt like I was swimming across the bed. MUCH bigger than our bed.) savannah view, and wasp free! I was elated.

A quick check of the room, and then we were off! Thank God , because I was starving.

I don't think I've ever been quite so happy as I was while waiting for our first bus, but I was. Still on the excited/elated high of being there -- even though my ear hadn't popped yet. Add that in to the fact that Matt had literally no voice, and one of his ears was doing something similar... and we were a mess!

We made it to Epcot, and grabbed the usual: a Guidemap, Character Guide, and a special one this go around - the Flower and Garden guide.

Epcot, was gorgeous.

Admittedly, Flower and Garden wasn't one of our priorities, but we did look at quite a few of the booths/stations.. Dinner wasn't for a few hours, and if I didn't keep busy, I'd order everything in sight. I was already debating to order something from a booth and split it with Matt.

Before we did anything - we hopped into a gift shop, and started looking for an autograph book. My cardstock that I bought wasn't a book like I though, just loose paper. And that, would be a nightmare to carry around WDW. So, a book it was! We finally find a simple blue one, and picked it up. Of course, we saw a ton of coffee cups, Stitch stuff, and kitchen gear that I wanted. (My poor husband. I'd buy every piece of kitchen equipment that they sell. Every. One. He wouldn't, of course. haha)

That being done, we headed out. The idea was to look at some F&G, while working our way to the World Showcase, for dinner.

We took picture of a few topiaries. The cars area was adorable, we loved the Monster's University ones, and made a note to take a picture with them before we left. The Oz land - beautiful. I loved the Tinkerbell Butterfly house too - though I didn't get swarmed by butterflies. Sad me. Ah well.

A few pictures: (We didn't take much! I know, horrible. But. )

Vidia, my husband's spirit pixie. Purple, and attitude. He's only heard about her for me, and he's in love. Now, I have to make him watch the Tinkerbell movies. Muahahaha.

Can't see it, but it was a little white butterfly!

Oz!

BATB Topiaries in France!

I loathe pictures by myself. I never know what to do! But this one came out okay!


This poor guy. I was so out of it, and I stopped to ask someone if he was Photopass.
....

Well, for starters, he had no camera, tripod, or the PP uniform. Way for me to be oblivious. But he took our picture anyway. Bless him. I'm not sure where that one is... on my or Matt's phone, but I'll find it!


Photopass:

Oh. Right.

Turns out Photopass? They like anniversary buttons. And smoochy pictures. You've been warned....


By the time we were almost to WS, I was hungry. And, we noticed a pineapple themed stand... Matt remembered I wanted to try the Dole Whip with rum , so he steered me that way.

I LOVED it, but I was hoping the rum would somehow be blended in. Instead, it was poured over like a Dole Float.

I took a bite, getting extra rum in it --- WOW. Big mistake for someone who doesn't drink rum much anymore. It had a kick to it!

So, I ate some of the Whip down, then mixed it up.

We ambled on into the UK, and of course, had a look around. (My husband wants to move there, eventually. I'm all for it, but I didn't see any housing in the pavillion... )

Whilst checking out the shops - Pooh and Tigger were meeting people. SO, of course, we hop in line. I've met Tigger - but never Pooh - so it was a must.

This is the part, where I have to hang my head in shame. My first Disney snafu.

They took a 5 minute honey break. The families in front of and behind us were discussing where they went. Of course, me being a stupid know it all piped up to Family B, who had said the guys in the costumes had to take a bathroom break.... I piped in that no, in all likelihood they were just changing CM's. They can only wear the outfits for so long....

Turning back to Matt, he had this scowl on his face, and shook his head at me. Turns out, Family A was the family talking about CM's. Family B had just said that they had to take a bathroom break.

Ugh. Fabulous. I'd just become one of the WDW guest's that I complain about. It was hard- but I made sure to keep my mouth shut during most of the trip. Even if people were blatantly, blatantly, wrong.

Meeting Pooh and Tigger was great! Fairly quick and uneventful - but it's always odd meeting the fur characters for me - especially for the first time on a trip. So, that was fine by me!

Next up - dinner! But, I'm over my picture limit... and my breakfast is judging me very much for typing this up before eating it. I should post the rest tonight!

 

[bluejasmine]

Great start!!!

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[t_daniels]

Woo hoo!

Great start!!!

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

Thanks!@

 

[PrincessInOz]

Awww.....you're on an anniversary trip and you start off.....being w...w...w...r...wron...wrong!

Your bed looks huge and I love the topiary. I could see the white butterfly...it's on the sign.

 

[t_daniels]

Awww.....you're on an anniversary trip and you start off.....being w...w...w...r...wron...wrong!

Your bed looks huge and I love the topiary. I could see the white butterfly...it's on the sign.

I know. It was awful. I'm still kicking myself over it! How could I be so ... so... not-Disney! I'm the one always complaining about people who try to talk about the characters like they aren't characters! ACK!

And it was! I loved it!

 

[t_daniels]

Okay!

Good grief. This day might possibly hold the record for the most drawn out day in TR history. Especially considering it was only a half day, technically!

Anyway. When we last left off, my foot was firmly in my mouth. Unfortunately, metaphorical feet don't do much for hunger. Neither did the dole whip/rum float. Thankfully, it was almost time for our dinner ADR, so off to Italy we went.

Italy is one of my favorite World Showcase pavilions, but we didn't spend a lot of time looking around. Instead, we were staring at the long line, in dismay.

Last year, we'd shown up a bit early for our ADR, and there was no line in sight. So, we weren't sure if we were supposed to wait in line with everyone else... or if we could duck inside and give the people at the desk our name.

Matt wasn't sure either. So, he stayed out in line, and after a moment of praying angry tourists wouldn't mob me for making my way past their long line, I headed inside to ask. Which, thankfully, we didn't have to wait in the line.

So we gave them our name, and sat down on one of the benches. It wasn't long at all before we were escorted to our table, and had our order taken.

This meal, we were paying out of pocket. So, we ended up getting an appetizer. (Though, I think they changed the dining plan. Because last year.... we were allowed appetizers on the dining plan. So, I'm confused in that aspect, but, whatever. Didn't affect us tonight!)

It was pretty crowded where we were sitting. Lots of larger parties. Lots of LOUD parties. But, ah well. Could have been a LOT worse. We were just happy for food.

For an appetizer, we ordered calamari. I'm addicted to the stuff. It wasn't until it was almost gone that I remembered I was supposed to be taking pictures. Some blogger I am, huh? But anyway. The calamari was gone long before the red sauce that it came with. (It was topped with crushed red peppers. Spicy, but I loved it. I kept dipping bread in it... my pizza crusts... whatever I could. I LOVE red sauce.

Drink wise, Matt had water, but I ordered a strawberry acqua fresca. Handmade fruit coolers. So delicious!

For our meals, we both ordered 'individual' size pizzas. That's in quotes, because the term isn't quite accurate. Disney says individual size, but I could have eaten half a pizza and had been happy.

I did have a pretty big complaint with the pizzas.

Last time we went, our waiter made a point of explaining to us that when you ordered a multiple topping pizza, each topping was on its own section, unless you specified you wanted all the toppings all over the pizza. It was odd, but it ended up tasting really good. So, naturally, that's what I expected this time around. So I picked toppings I wanted - not necessarily toppings I'd mix together on the same pizza.

Lo and behold, the pizzas come out - and it's just like if you'd ordered a multiple topping pizza at home.

So, I wasn't too happy with my pizza - I wouldn't have put some of the toppings together that I did - I assumed they'd all be separate. (And, it ended up being soggy and hard to eat. Matt's wasn't, though.) I didn't complain or anything because, well, I could have asked about it, and avoided the entire issue. And it really did taste good, but it's not what I would have ordered if I'd known.

I on't fully remember what Matt got on his pizza. Arugula, for sure. I think eggplant, red bell pepper, and maybe mushroom? I'll ask, and report back. My pizza, I had mushrooms, onions, red peppers, and parma cotta ham. Plus, the base of a margherita pizza. Mmmm.

For dessert, Matt didn't want anything - he's pretty health conscious - and even though he'd promised me he'd ease up a bit at Disney, he was nervous about a suit he was wearing for V&A the next night - and - frankly, was stuffed. Those pizzas were huge.

I was stuffed too. Really, I should have passed up dessert. But they had tiramisu. And I was a little depressed the pizza I'd spent almost two years fantasizing about hadn't quite lived up to the fantasy, that I had to get it.

I did right.

It was amazing. Spectacular. I was in heaven. SO GOOD.

But... sadly, I couldn't eat it all. There was a tiny square left on the plate.

No problem though, right? We were done eating for the night anyway.

Or.. so we thought.

A few minutes later, three servers - ours included - are marching through the restaurant, singing. One is holding some sort of pastry (A zeppoli, I think) with two candles and some whipped cream. The other two are clapping while they sing/chant. Some people in the restaurant join in. I started to look around to try and see whose birthday it is, and offhandedly join in. I always feel so awkward at restaurants when they do that. You don't know the family, so.... do you join in anyway? Do you sit and pretend you don't see the celebration? What about awkwardly staring at the family?

I glanced over at Matt to see what he was doing, and he was giving me this weird look, and looking like he wanted to hide behind his hand. I didn't get it. Why on earth would he be embarrassed that I was singing along? I was about to ask him, but I never got the chance.

The trio of singing servers had came to a stop -- at our table.

Oh. Ohhh.

Needless to say, I stopped clapping, and probably looked like a deer in the headlights. I giggled a little, and I'd bet turned a few different shades of pink. They finished their song, and wished us a happy anniversary, leaving the zeppoli behind.

After blowing the candles out, we exchanged panicked glances. We both were stuffed. I was pretty sure if I ate anything else, it'd all come back up. Which, would put a damper on the evening. (The current plan was to watch Illuminations!) But... on the other hand, they'd just brought out a free dessert. It seemed rude to just leave it....

So we started in. Tiny bite, after tiny bite. We didn't eat it all, but we ate a good portion of it!

Needless to say, we passed on Illuminations, and headed back to the hotel room. Thankfully, no one had to be rolled back.

We had tea out on the balcony, and then called it a night. Matt was still a touch grumpy that we had to be up super early for Ohana the next day - I'd booked us an 8 am ADR. (I thought it was brilliant. He thought it madness. Ah well..)

Next up- Ohana, Magic Kingdom, and Victoria and Alberts! (Subtitled: The Dinner That Almost Wasn't!)