We Are Going to Drink Mickey Under The Table! March 09' TR!

[nutmegg]

So I think I’m finally ready to actually start writing this Trip Review. It has been almost an entire year since our trip has ended, and what a better way to test my memory than to try to remember what happened during our fun -sometimes alcohol induced – adventures at Disney! I will try my best to make this a factual tale of our trip, but as a disclaimer, some parts may be embellished, and a few parts may even be blatant lies!

For those of you that want a background of our trip please visit our PTR “We Are Going to Drink Mickey Under the Table March 09’ PTR” in my Signature.

First, I’ll quickly re-introduce our Cast of Characters (in a less confusing way.)

Megan (nutmegg) – 27 yrs old. Taken several trips to Disney throughout the years. Newly engaged to Ashley (Stick around if you want to hear how it all went down. Or skip over that part if you’re not interested. )

Ashley(Mrs. Potts) – 25 yrs old. One previous trip to Disney. Excited to be heading back again but unaware of the surprise that is to come.

Jen (GingerTwist) – turned 27 during the trip. Also been to Disney many times in the past. Enjoys drinking. And rides. And more drinking.

Dan (Magic Carpet) – 24 yrs old. Been to Disney twice before. Not a huge fan, but is willing to go along with just about anything . Also enjoys drinking.

When: March 20-28 2009

Why: It was Jen’s birthday and why not!

Our plan was to have Jen and Dan pick me up Friday night so we could pack the rest of the car and head down to pick up Ashley at work. We stuck to this plan and they arrived at my house at around 10pm. Just after we have finished packing the rest of our luggage I received a text from Ashley that she just got a bunch of tables (she is a waitress) and would be a bit longer than expected. We killed some time at my house and then got on the road for our hour ride down to pick up Ashley. We made it down there in good time and luckily she was just finishing up as we arrived. One quick stop later at her dads to hit up the bathroom and say goodbye and we were officially off!

 

[praisehisname]

I'm in!

 

[nutmegg]

It was probably around 1am or so when we finally hit the road and Dan (having slept all day) was taking the first leg of driving. In an attempt to keep ourselves entertained during our ride down Jen and Dan had purchased a CB. While Jen was trying to hook it all up and prepare her best trucker voice ”Breaker one-nine, breaker one-nine, this is Christmas-Carol,” she soon realized that the mouth piece speaker part that you talk into (sorry I’m not up on trucker lingo) wasn’t working. A few tears were shed, but at least we were able to listen to all the fun trucker talk. And we also knew we would be free of any scary truck driver encounters (Candy Cane? Hey anybody know a Candy Cane? ) Knowing this, Ashley and I made ourselves cozy in his backseat and drifted off to sleep.

"On this very night, ten years ago, along this very stretch of road in a dense fog just like this. I saw the worst accident I ever seen. There was this sound, like a garbage truck dropped off the Empire State Building..." No wait, that was in Pee Wee’s Big Adventure, not our Disney adventure, but something similar did happen. A few hours in, maybe around 4am (I think DC area) we hit a dead stop. Dan starts checking the CB channels and quickly realizes there was a bad car accident just ahead and the entire road is shut down.

Everyone is awake now, and we spend the next hour amusing ourselves with listening to CB stories (we must have tuned into a channel of truckers that were stuck in the same jam) of people having to use the restroom and going to the side of the road thinking no one could see them. At one point we also had a front row showing of a girl (from a car just behind ours)that couldn’t hold it any longer and decided to run up the hill on the side of the road. Within seconds, we heard all this hooting and hollering on the CB!

After about an hour or so we finally start moving again and luckily, we were at the beginning of the back-up and were able to pass by it quickly. (Side note: it was one of the worst crashes any of us had ever seen- but we did check the news reports the next day and thankfully no one was seriously injured.)

We all drift back to sleep (except Dan of course) who keeps on trekking south. Oh, I forgot to mention that when we decided that this was going to a road-trip Jen spent a lot of time planning our route. Or rather planning our route around 3 stops that were absolutely mandatory – JR Cigar (Selma, NC- If you have never been before I highly suggest watching the 4min clip below of everything they have to offer!)


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICmSC7QUWYo

South of the Border (south of NC border)

and the Florida Welcome Center (you know in Florida.)

 

[nutmegg]

I'm in!

Thanks! There is at least one person reading this!!!! Yay!

 

[Ginger Twist]

Thanks! There is at least one person reading this!!!! Yay!

Hey I'm reading it also. It still counts even though I was on the trip with you, right?

 

[nutmegg]

As the rest of us were waking up that morning, we realized we were getting close to our first stop – JR’s! I for one had never been there before, or ever heard of it. Jen insisted that it was one of the best stores to stop at given their great variety, and cheap cigarette prices (Jen and Dan were still smokers on the trip but not anymore!)

For those of you that have never been to JR’s (and didn’t watch the clip I had previously posted) let me just give you a short run-down of their wide variety of items for sale:

Wedding Dresses for less than $99
porcelain dolls
books (Dan and Jen bought the complete idiots guide to Pirates and the complete idiots guide to foreclosures for $3 each)
awesome puppets (there is a pic of Jen playing with one that I hope to be able to find soon)
biker leather attire, and so much more!

(If you don’t believe me, just read their 10,000 billboards they have spread out down I 95.)

To me, it felt like a giant indoor flea market that was the size of Costco. It also was the most secure store I have ever been in. We were there just after they first opened around 7am. At that time there were several security guards casing the premises, a security guy at the bathrooms waiting for you to check your bags, and security people at the door waiting to check your receipt and purchases.

After about a bit of browsing I bought a book lamp, and received my purchase in a bag that was stapled shut with my receipt on the front. I then walked approximately 2 feet to the door to 2 men that had to inspect my receipt and bag to verify I hadn’t snuck anything else into it. I don’t know what type of crowd they expect on Saturday’s but I’m guessing it’s a rowdy bunch! With books, book lights, and one smokeless ashtray in hand (which Dan still has unopened in his bedroom) we leave JR’s and Ashley takes the next leg of driving as we continue to our next stop – Pedro!

I’m not quite sure what time we arrived but it was before most of the stores, restaurants, (and arcades) were open. We explored for a bit and took some typical South of the Border pics:

The only thing I remember buying was South of the Border nail clippers (which did come in handy during the trip.) Since Dan couldn’t play in any arcades or find any ice cream, we were soon back on the road.

 

[nutmegg]

Hey I'm reading it also. It still counts even though I was on the trip with you, right?

Yup, you count too Jen! Woo-hoo up to 2 readers! Maybe it will have 3 by the weeks end?

 

[redlight]

I'll be your third reader. Looks like a fun trip!

 

[nutmegg]

Thanks redlight! I'm going to be ambitious and hope for 5 readers by weeks end now!

 

[nutmegg]

The next few hours passed by uneventfully. Before we knew it we had finally arrived in Florida at our last mandatory stop – the Welcome Center!

Based on the pictures I think it was pretty cold and windy that afternoon. We ventured insides to make a very important decision – Orange or Grapefruit. Since we were headed to the land formerly covered in orange groves, it was all fresh squeezed OJ for us.

We were getting a bit stir crazy from sitting the car for so long and when that happens these type of pics occur (that’s me all the way down at the bottom – not sure how I got stuck contorting my body to fit that little hole)

I know we also spent a decent amount of time watching Dan play some video games (since he wasn’t able to get his fix at South of the Border.) After Dan got his fill of Stackers

(I swear I watched him play for a good 20min and still do not have a clue what he was trying to accomplish) we were back on the road heading to our final destination!

The last few hours were also pretty uneventful minus the torrential downpours that we drove through about an hour outside of Disney. The rain finally stopped as we approached our first official Disney sign. As we drove through the entrance, a single tear rolled down Jen’s cheek (I’ll have to be prepared next trip to capture this moment on camera.) Being as it was so long ago I can’t remember when we actually arrived, but I want to say it was around 6ish (the setting sun also gives a clue.)

After 16 hours of sitting in a car and over 1,000 miles driven were we ready for some fun (and alcohol!)

 

[Diamondintheruff]

I'm in again.

I had wondered how your Epcot plan worked out.

Can't wait to hear about the engagement. Of course we are all interested. So you must include it.

Never heard of JR's before but familiar with South of the Border. We drive to Myrtle beach each year and always say we will stop there but never have. Maybe this year... But the kids love reading the signs.

Looking forward to hearing more and welcome back!

 

[jenbear123]

Am I your fifth? Love the plot so far! Proud of you guys being able to drive 16 hours straight. Looking forward to hearing about the engagement

 

[nutmegg]

I'm in again.

I had wondered how your Epcot plan worked out.

Can't wait to hear about the engagement. Of course we are all interested. So you must include it.

Never heard of JR's before but familiar with South of the Border. We drive to Myrtle beach each year and always say we will stop there but never have. Maybe this year... But the kids love reading the signs.

Looking forward to hearing more and welcome back!

Happy to see you again Diamond! Epcot worked out very well, I like to refer to it as speed-drinking around the world, but I'll go into more details later. Our Monorail Bar crawl was also a great time!

Jen was the one that insisted we go to JR's. It was definitely an experience. If you like flea markets and browsing through a lot of random crap this is the place for you!

South of the Border is a big tourist trap - but I would suggest at least stopping once. My mom used to take my brother and I down to Disney every year when we were younger and we always drove straight through. We know once we hit South of the Border Mickey wasn't too many hours away! (Honestly, reading the signs on the way down is more exciting than anything you can actual find our do there.)

 

[nutmegg]

Am I your fifth? Love the plot so far! Proud of you guys being able to drive 16 hours straight. Looking forward to hearing about the engagement

You are the fifth jenbear!! Thanks for joining! We were all surprised at how well and fast the drive went. Except for the one accident we hit when we first got on the road, it was pretty much smooth sailing after that. The year before we all drove out to Ohio together (that was about a 9 hour drive) to go camping at Cedar Point (awesome amusement park by the way if you have never been.) That drive was a piece of cake, so we figured whats a few more hours in the car?

The engagement story will be coming up soon, I couldn't wait very long once we had finally arrived. I was too scared she would find the ring or see me acting nervous.

 

[nutmegg]

(Sorry for the lack of pictures in the post – I’m not sure where our cameras were.)

The check-in desk was quiet when we arrived, I’m guessing because of the late hour. We had booked two separate rooms since at the time they were offering a free $200 gift card with each room. These gift cards came in very handy throughout the week! Upon check-in, we also received coupons for Planet Hollywood, and free arcade cards (Dan was in heaven.)

We had asked for adjoining rooms, which were granted, but were given the furthest possible building away from everything – the Country Fair Section. (Side note – Ashley had bought a pedometer prior to the trip to calculate how far we were walking each day. Walking one way from the bus drop off at the front of the resort to our room in the back was over ½ mile! Just walking around our resort for the week we prob racked up at least 15 miles if not more.)

While at the check-in desk, Jen was able to secure her birthday button and promptly (and proudly) pinned it onto her shirt. Room keys and resort map in hand, we quickly walked back to the car to attempt to find our building and rooms. Here is our building:

(Disclaimer – the picture below was “borrowed” since I can’t find any of ours)

(Our room was just on the other side of those boots)

We lucked out and were able to find a spot to spark that was a short distance away from our room. I think I neglected to mention how much crap we had actually brought with us for our week stay. I think between the four of us we had over 12 different bags, and then add on blankets and pillows and portable DVD players (which came in handy for our Power Hours later in the week – if you don’t know about Power Hour stick around to find out), it took a bit to get everything moved into our rooms.

At this point we were all starving and decided to take advantage of the Planet Hollywood coupons (I’m pretty sure we each received $15 off our meals) so we decided to head off to DTD. Oh but first of course, Jen and Dan had to take a smoke break. Luckily, they quickly realized that there was a smoking section just behind our building (just past those fancy boots.) We also found out that this is where they met their first smoker friend – Paul. He was a nice paraplegic man from Canada who had lost movement in his legs from Polio. He was able to make a successful living as an Ice Road Trucker (anyone else love watching this show?) in Canada his whole life. (I never was able to meet Paul - but I'd like to think he looked something like this)

He was down in Disney for the week for his granddaughters cheerleading competition. Well enough about Paul and back to us. Now that the smokers were happy, it was off to the buses!

 

[Mrs.Pottss]

I'm sooo excited you finally started to write this!! Brings me back to our trip allll over again. I can't wait to go back and make more memories...Don't worry Meg I'll be popping in from time to time if I remember anything you forgot.

 

[nutmegg]

(Again I apologize for the lack of pictures in this post as well. I promise there will be plenty of pictures to come once we start hitting up the parks.)

Now, I’m a planner. Jen is also a planner. We spent months and months creating excel spreadsheets and detailing everything possible about our upcoming trip (from what day and time to see Fantasmic to every single alcoholic beverage available for purchase in Epcot and their prices – you know the important things in life.) Both of us had neglected to do any planning, our find out any details about DTD. Granted we had both been there before, but always had just wandered around and didn’t really know where things were actually located. We also did not know that there were multiple bus stops at DTD. Given our lack of planning, of course we got off at the wrong bus stop on the complete opposite side of Planet Hollywood. And, it got better. Instead of heading in the direction of Planet Hollywood, we went the opposite way – how or why I do not know. We eventually realized our mistake, found a map, and corrected our direction. At this point we were all famished. We started doing a quick walk-run through the crowds before any of us keeled over from starvation.

After a good 20min or so of walking around DTD we finally made it to Planet Hollywood. I remember it being very crowded in there (it was around 8ish) but we were luckily sat very quickly (I believe on the 2nd level. ) We spent a few min looking at all the memorabilia by us, and placed our drink order. I don’t remember (sorry there is going to be a lot of that) what it was called but it was very tasty! And cheap! And filled with lots of alcohol!

Jen and Dan both orders beers, which Jen was too tired to even finish. Food was ordered. The only thing I recall any of us eating was Dan who got the buffalo chicken wings. And the only reason I do remember that is because we all snacked on his leftovers the next morning before heading out to the parks. I’ll assume that Ashley and I both had burgers (I tend to stick to the same 3 items while eating out – burger, chicken fingers, or buffalo chicken tenders – I know I’m like a 5 yr old) and Jen not a clue. After our food was consumed, we paid our bill (our server was very nice and let us use both of our coupons on the same bill) and headed back out to explore more of DTD.

 

[Mandie_Jo]

Sounds like a fun trip! Can't wait to read the rest!

 

[redlight]

I don’t remember (sorry there is going to be a lot of that) what it was called but it was very tasty! And cheap! And filled with lots of alcohol!

Ha ha. It looks like there's orange juice in it. Do you remember what kind of booze? Vodka?

 

[lazidazi07]

joining in. can't wait to hear more..and see all the tasty drinks consumed, as well as the adventures that followed!