Weird and Ninja’s Pre-Disneymoon [Completed!]

[RachelNinja]

Tuesday, April 6: Goodbye DTD!

Wait, how is it possible that I can be saying goodbye to DTD? We only went to a few stores! Well, it's possible when we're there with my dad! He was DONE. Haha, he wanted to leave. Tren-D was definitely the last stop. That means we didn't get to go to the Lego store (my mom went with Matt though) or World of Disney! I also didn't get a chance to go see Basin! Oh well.

As we left Tren-D, we walked through the sports store. I don't even care enough to look up the name. All-Star? I don't know. Agh, I was just way too upset that we had to go! These oversized shirts didn't entice me either.

Goofy playing golf didn't entertain me.

Chip and Dale didn't make me smile.

Oh wait, is this placed called Team Mickey? Haha.

Okay, Tigger playing basketball was kinda cool. I mean, isn't that an unfair advantage because of his bouncing?

Sorry World of Disney! We'll have to visit you next time!

Goodbye Fulton's. I'll probably never get to try you! Haha, that's because I'm semi-allergic to some seafood (I get hives). Goodbye balloon! Hehe, cute story, but recently Weird said, "I didn't know that the balloon could come down." I said, "Huh? Then how do the people get on?" He then replied, "OH, I didn't know people rode it. I thought it was just decoration!" So cute!

Last pic ... look at that wingspan! I mean, earspan!

Well, although we weren't done with the day, we were forced to be done with DTD. I'm looking forward to spending a lot more time there in February! If anything, the other 4 will be forced to stay because Weird's the one driving the rental, hehe.

 

[RachelNinja]

Tuesday, April 6: Even Getting Groceries in Florida Is More Fun!

Before we went home, we stopped by Publix to get groceries. I don't remember what we go, and I don't remember what we had for dinner. It might've been ... um, no, I can't even venture a guess. Weird did take some pics while we were there though because as the title says, even getting groceries in Florida is more fun! Of course, when we're together, almost everything is fun!

Look at all those Mickeys on strollers! How cute!

I guess even Mickey gets tired walking around his parks and whatnot all day long!

Haha, there was only one Minnie. What does that mean?

I really loved this keychain because it had the characters in the letters. I'm always fascinated by those things. It makes it easier because I don't have to pick one favorite character! Even though, of course, it'd be Mickey! I didn't buy this though.

I don't know why he took a picture of mini pepperoni ...

We were clearly being entertained by everything! Meat manager just sounds funny!

This was rather interesting. It's a meat roll. I wish the amount was reversed ... more stuff, less meat!

Mmm, who doesn't love salsa? I absolutely love dipping everything. Those flavors just looked so good, and I love Paul Newman stuff! Tequila lime, peach, and mango? Yes, let's try them all! Haha, not that we did.

We thought it was funny to see this, and I'll explain why. I don't think I wrote about it here yet. It was about that Tuesday morning. We brought potato pancake mix to make for breakfast because it's cheaper to bring it down instead of buying it in Florida. Well, mom didn't bring the boxes down because it would've taken more space, so she took the little silver bags out of the boxes and wrote the directions on the outside. Unfortunately, she couldn't remember if she wrote down the directions for both packages combined or for each separate bag! HAHA. We ended up messing it up when we mixed it. The batter was really thin because we thought it was wrong at first. We tried looking it up online, but we couldn't find it. Then when we saw this, we realized we could've waited to have potato pancakes on another day after checking out the correct measurements at Publix!

One of the things we HAD to get while we were there was honey. Yup, we only buy our honey from Florida! My dad's pulling out a bunch of the jars. It's Orange Blossom honey (not to be confused with Golden Blossom), and it's only sold in the southern states. I've checked, haha. They don't ship either; they only ship it in crates to stores. That means when we go to Florida, we stock up. It's the only honey that works for our sore throats (2 full spoonfuls dissolved in hot water), and it's the only one we like on our salmon. My mom mixes it with soy sauce and these other things and uses it as a glaze over salmon. SO GOOD. When we ran out and had to use "regular" honey, we didn't like it at all. Well, my dad claims that he couldn't tell the difference~ haha. Anyway, we can stock up since we drive and don't have to worry about carrying it back on a plane.

Don't know why Weird took a pic of iced tea. I think he likes or wanted to try the pomegranate acai one?

As we walked to the register, Weird took this pic as a joke considering I kept doing it in Epcot!

It became a joke for the rest of the trip, so I made my feet ham it up for the camera.

Then I started skipping in the store. See, Florida supermarkets really are more fun!

Oh wait, I lied. We weren't headed to the register yet. We were heading to the ice cream aisle for THEM. Haha, I say it like that because Weird and I are both lactose intolerant even though there are some things we can handle (or some things we have anyway if we know we can be home just in case!). I thought this was funny because it looked like make-up!

Last picture of the day is this banana pudding stuff. There was a sample somewhere, and I don't think my mom liked it! Haha. Don't worry; we didn't leave it in the cart. We threw it out when we finally found a garbage can. Don't you hate it when people leave stuff in carts?

YUP, so that was the last part of TUESDAY! That means we can finally move on to WEDNESDAY, and that's MAGIC KINGDOM!!! YAY!!!

*Oh, for those of you who asked for my blog link AGES ago, I also finally updated my blog with info about my next HUGE purchase!*

 

[not_Joanna_eggs]

Great updates!

TrenD is very overwhelming. There's so much to look at and it's in such a tiny space.

I love all your detailed pictures. It's easing my withdrawal!

Your grocery store pictures are too funny. It is weird how every day things are so much more fun when you are on vacation!

 

[klacey1]

Tren-D is just a mass of so many things! Way too much! I do think some of their shirts and things are cute, but it's hard for me to buy "Disney wear." I may think I like it while we're there, but I have to dress up for work and don't wear tee shirts on the weekends, either. So hard to justify those prices when I know I'd literally never wear it! I really prefer more subtle things.
Love hearing about your grocery adventures lol. Oh, if you're still interested in trying the Paul Newman salsa, the peach kind is SO delish! I only buy that kind and the fresh kind that's in the produce section that's more of a pico de gallo than a salsa. Definitely recommend trying it!

 

[wdwgirl03]

YAY, an update!!! I love the photo shopping spree. Tren-D is a cool store. If only the stuff weren't so expensive (atleast it seemed like a lot of the stuff was expensive).

I am intrigued by your next huge purchase. I don't think I ever saw your blog but now I'm interested! LOL.

 

[Bridora]

I loved looking at all of Weird's TrenD pictures! That was just as good as being there myself, only actually better, because I didn't spend any money! I did see some things that I though were really cute, though...like those scarves. We flew through there in May, but I think we should spend more time in there next year.

I agree, everything in Florida is more fun!

 

[SoonerGirl]

I'm glad you posted all those pictures from Tred-D, because I walked into that store and turned right around and walked out again. There is just so much crammed in there that your eyes don't even know where to focus - it was just too overwhelming for me I guess

Looking forward to Magic Kingdom! Is this the day you met Sarah? She told us about it so long ago that I've forgotten

 

[Cat0727]

Great updates! I *think* I went into Tren-D last month, but I can't remember. I am pretty sure it's the store I walked into, oohed and aahed over the cute stuff and then as soon as I turned the price tags over I walked out! Weird did a great job taking pics of everything.

 

[Jennifer48]

I love virtual shopping with you guys, even if it is food shopping!

 

[RachelNinja]

Great updates!

TrenD is very overwhelming. There's so much to look at and it's in such a tiny space.

I love all your detailed pictures. It's easing my withdrawal!

Your grocery store pictures are too funny. It is weird how every day things are so much more fun when you are on vacation!

I actually don't think I'll need to go back to Tren-D any time soon. I know I won't buy anything, so it's kind of just a waste. I'd rather spend time in the other stores!

Only on vacation do I feel okay taking out a camera! If I tried doing that here, I KNOW that I'd probably end up bumping into someone I know (ex. a student's mom or something!).

Tren-D is just a mass of so many things! Way too much! I do think some of their shirts and things are cute, but it's hard for me to buy "Disney wear." I may think I like it while we're there, but I have to dress up for work and don't wear tee shirts on the weekends, either. So hard to justify those prices when I know I'd literally never wear it! I really prefer more subtle things.
Love hearing about your grocery adventures lol. Oh, if you're still interested in trying the Paul Newman salsa, the peach kind is SO delish! I only buy that kind and the fresh kind that's in the produce section that's more of a pico de gallo than a salsa. Definitely recommend trying it!

I thankfully get to wear my tees during dress down days at school! I get really excited about that because otherwise I don't get to show 'em off! I have all my business casual clothes and then all my Disney shirts. Haha, I don't seem to have anything in between.

Ooo, knowing that you've had the peach salsa and liked it makes me want to have it even more! I'm SUCH a dipper. Not even a dipper ... a SCOOPER! Maybe we'll get it in February since there will be 6 of us eating it!

YAY, an update!!! I love the photo shopping spree. Tren-D is a cool store. If only the stuff weren't so expensive (atleast it seemed like a lot of the stuff was expensive).

I am intrigued by your next huge purchase. I don't think I ever saw your blog but now I'm interested! LOL.

Yeah, I really like my $12 t-shirts from the Disney Store. Haha, those make me equally as happy (if not MORE because they don't cost as much as those at Tren-D!).

My next huge purchase should be in my possession within the next week or so!

I loved looking at all of Weird's TrenD pictures! That was just as good as being there myself, only actually better, because I didn't spend any money! I did see some things that I though were really cute, though...like those scarves. We flew through there in May, but I think we should spend more time in there next year.

I agree, everything in Florida is more fun!

Because we missed all the other stores, I feel like going to Tren-D ended up being a waste. Haha, however, if we DIDN'T go there, I would've been upset! I just need an entire day at DTD!

Even eating at Olive Garden is more fun in Florida than it is here at home!

I'm glad you posted all those pictures from Tred-D, because I walked into that store and turned right around and walked out again. There is just so much crammed in there that your eyes don't even know where to focus - it was just too overwhelming for me I guess

Looking forward to Magic Kingdom! Is this the day you met Sarah? She told us about it so long ago that I've forgotten

Once was enough! I'll go if my cousins want to go and we have the whole day. Otherwise, there are so many other stores to explore!

Yup! That's the day I met Sarah! It was AGES ago! I'm terrible! I wish there were some way that my photos could be combined with Howard's photos and put in the correct order so that I don't have to go through both albums.

Great updates! I *think* I went into Tren-D last month, but I can't remember. I am pretty sure it's the store I walked into, oohed and aahed over the cute stuff and then as soon as I turned the price tags over I walked out! Weird did a great job taking pics of everything.

Yup, that must've been the store! I mean, I saw that black and white comic bag and was like, "Oh, it can't cost THAT much." I expected it to be $40 or so, and I was shocked when I found the tag inside the bag!

I love virtual shopping with you guys, even if it is food shopping!

Haha, but virtual food shopping is only fun when they're vacation pics. Would you still be interested if I had food shopping pics each week from home? Haha, I really need a vacation ...

 

[RachelNinja]

Wednesday, April 7: Party of 4 Instead of 5

What a momentous occasion to finally be moving on to the next day! I really didn't expect this TR to take me so long, but I guess that's what happens when there are 2 sets of pictures to sort through! Anyway, we can finally move on to MAGIC KINGDOM! It was a day full of a lot of fun despite the crowds, my first ever DIS meet, anddd the only "fight" that Howard and I had all vacation (and pretty much for the past 2 years too!). Haha, stay tuned for all of that fun stuff!

Let me explain the title first. The night before (or it might have been the Epcot night), my dad decided not to go with us to Magic Kingdom. He was so exhausted from Epcot, and he just didn't have fun. He always wants to rush us, and that meant that the rest of us couldn't enjoy the day. He was willing to let us go by ourselves just because Weird was with us. If it were just my mom, Matt, and me, he most likely wouldn't have liked that. He trusted Weird to take care of us just in case we needed it or if someone felt sick (I'll go into that more later if you haven't read my past TR).

Well, we got up that next morning so so so excited! I do really love Epcot, but there's still something about Magic Kingdom. I know MK the most, so that's probably why I'd choose to spend 2 days at another park if we actually did that sort of thing. However, MK is the park with the rides that just don't get old. Ever. I love them as they are, and I even miss the ones that aren't there anymore. Dream Flight anyone?

My dad still drove us to the park. We figured there had to be a place where there was passenger pick up or drop off. I mean, logically it had to be there since I'm sure there are parents that sometimes drop their kids off. Plus, there are people who go there in taxis too! Once we got to the parking lane, we asked, and they directed us to the taxi area.

We hopped on out of the car, and my dad said that we could call him to pick us up whenever even if it was late. I just really wanted to make sure that was the case and that we wouldn't be rushed. He said he wouldn't be sleeping anyway until we were home, so it's not like we'd be interrupting him. And it was vacation! Might as well use a day on our no expiration tickets wisely! Oh, random thing ... even though my dad doesn't want to go to the parks anymore, he still has days on his ticket. I'm sure he'll use it when my older brother or I have kids! It'll be different taking the grandkids.

Because we didn't park in the lot, we did miss one part of the Disney experience ... the tram! We have ALWAYS had a car in Florida. Even the 2 times or so that we flew down to WDW, we rented a car. It felt so odd going straight to the monorail! I felt like something was missing. Oh well! It meant that it wouldn't take as long to get to the front! Maybe we would be able to catch the Opening Show!!!

I had to take a picture here when we were walking up to the monorail.

Years ago when I was still in high school, we were walking up the monorail on the other side. When we were a little bit farther along than where the fence just turns into the bar, I started feeling sick. Well, I should say I started feeling SICKER. I woke up that morning unable to eat my Cheerios. I also had to put my head down in the car, but I figured I'd be okay and that it would pass because it's happened before. Well, waiting for that monorail proved to be too much because I suddenly told my mom, "I'm going to faint." My mom quickly gave Matt (he was a baby) to the mom of the other family we were with, and she told my dad to catch me. I had to be carried all the way to the top of the platform. I came to when I was lying down on one of the benches with my head on my mom's lap. A CM had gotten us a cold pack or a cold towel or something to put on my head. I felt better at that point, so I decided to keep going. Bad move because I felt sick later on, and my mom and I ended up having to go back to the condo. We stupidly didn't go to Guest Relations to ask about our tickets since we didn't ride ANYTHING! Bad vacation ... I spent the remaining days sick and was still sick on the ENTIRE drive back home!

Anyway, that story is basically to explain why I get a little nervous when we pass by that spot. I kinda go really quickly because it brings back too many bad memories. That's also why I took the picture from far away; I didn't want to linger in that area too long! Well, after our uneventful monorail ride, we made it to the front of the park! Such excitement! You can just smell it in the air!!! In a few minutes, we'd be walking right down the middle of Main Street USA!

 

[wdwgirl03]

Ooh, your first ever DIS meet, I can't wait to hear about that! hehe

 

[RachelNinja]

Ooh, your first ever DIS meet, I can't wait to hear about that! hehe

And I'll finally be able to post that pic of that GREAT DISer I met! Let's see how long it takes for me to get to that part of the day! I already have the next update to post for tomorrow, but that's just Main Street!

 

[RachelNinja]

Wednesday, April 7: Right Down the Middle of Main Street USA!

We're ready to head on down into Magic Kingdom! When I put my finger on the finger scan and it let me through, the CM there said, "Good job!" Haha, I had to laugh at that.

What was weird about the start of this MK day was that we actually went to rent a locker. We didn't actually want to carry stuff around with us all day since it was warmer, but we knew that since we were staying later, we might be cold. We didn't even have the option of leaving anything in the car since my dad dropped us off. We ended up not even going back to the locker at all, but it was a good to have our stuff there if it did get colder. Weird left his bag in there that day and ended up just carrying his camera.

Well, the "weirdness" continued because we walked into MK from the right side! Since the lockers are on the right, we just went underneath the train station on that side. I think we normally always go through the left! What creatures of habit we are. So strange that doing something like this felt so new.

We saw the horse-pulled trolley, and I was reminded that I wanted to get on one of the Main Street vehicles at least once during the day. Sadly, it just didn't happen! I guess it's not really something that can be done without sacrificing other fun things when you go during Spring Break (and don't have EMH!). It was still cool to see it though, and I really like this picture because of the smiling CM hanging on to the side!

Our first glimpse of the castle! I admit that I don't get as excited about the castle as some other people do. I think the thing that gets me really excited is my first glimpse of the TTA!

As we continued strolling, who did we see? The MAYOR! Haha, I was so excited when I saw him and pointed him out to Weird who then took a picture.

I went up to him and asked if I could take a picture with him. The interaction was a lot of fun. Though there wre 5 pics, none of them came out that great because I was partially laughing at the same time. Anyway, since this interaction was MONTHS ago, I'll actually have to refer to my trip journal! Thankfully, I actually wrote this down! When I first asked him I could take a pic with him, he replied, "Sure, I like standing next to pretty girls." After the pictures were taken, the mayor then said, "Enjoy the honeymoon!" I told him, "Oh, not yet" because we weren't married yet. Then the mayor said to Weird, "Better luck next time!" Haha.

I randomly snapped this pic while walking, and then when I came home, I realized it's the store that a lot of people take pictures in front of while sitting on the curb because Lou Mongello has a pic in that spot from when he was a little boy! Next trip, I'll have to sit in that spot!

I've never been inside Crystal Arts, but I'm curious to know what it's like inside since I've read a few trip reports where people go there to get surprise gifts. I doubt I'd actually like anything there to want to get it or have it as a gift, but I still want to see it.

I was searching for this one particular window, and I thought that I wouldn't be able to find it so I just took pics of any window so that I could look up the names later on. In this one, I did get Roy E. Disney! Haha, I also get excited about this pic because there's a Cricut cartridge called Sweet Treats. I'm getting the Cricut Expression for those who don't read my blog.

Hold up! I FOUND IT! I found the one window I wanted to find!

Iwerks-Iwerks is for Ub Iwerks who was the guy who worked with Walt Disney all the way at the beginning. He was the one who actually did most of the drawings.

When many of Walt's team were pulled/lured away by other companies, Ub (yes, I feel like I'm on a first-name basis with him!) stayed with Walt.

Haha, here's a much clearer pic that Weird took. I felt I had to post mine because it reminds me of the excitement I felt when I found it.

I was excited to see Casey's Corner also because in the 6th grade vocabu-lit book (vocabulary from literature), they put part of the poem in there for "Casey at the Bat." During my first year, I looked up the rest of it and read it to the class because I thought it was funny! Well, not funny in a ha-ha way, but I really liked how it ended! Anyway, inside Casey's Corner is also a reference to Mudville, the town in the poem. I wanted to go in that day to get some corn dog nuggets and fries in cheese sauce, but we never made it back there.

Next time! What's funny is that in the past, I used to wonder why people would want to go all the way to WDW just to get a hot dog ...

Here are Matt and my mom getting closer to the castle. It's funny that at Disney, my brother was fine with holding my mom's hand!

Before we veered off to enter our first land, I saw the double decker bus! Ahhh, oh how I wanted to ride it!

Lastly, even though I saw this one someone else's TR, I was excited to see it myself in person. The garbage can was making bubbles! Such a cute added touch even though many people probably don't even notice it as they rush off to hit their first attraction!

Goodbye for now, castle. Oh, and family taking a PP picture in front of the castle! Oh, and you can see the "rope" thing where Tink flies down from the castle!

Obviously by the angle of the castle shot, you know where we're headed first!

 

[wdwgirl03]

Good morning Rachel! I'm glad to see another update as I'm up for school (I swear that was the shortest winter break ever, LOL!). It's so funny seeing your pictures and knowing we were there at the same time. Except when we got there it was still dark!

Now that you mention it, I think we've always gone through the left entrance too. Strange how that works out.

Wow, I don't think I have EVER seen that double decker bus!!! That is cool!

 

[Bridora]

I loved your conversation with the Mayor!

When we're in MK and my kids point out that line that Tink flies on, I always pretend not to see it and insist that she is really flying!

I've got to catch up on your blog, and find out what a Cricut Expression is!

 

[SoonerGirl]

Thanks for the walk down Main Street this morning. I think next time we go I want to take a really long trip so that I can devote as much time as necessary to just explore every shop, corner & window on Main Street - there's just so much to see.

LOVE that you met the Mayor, how fun!

I had a picture of Jared playing in the bubbles coming out of the trashcan on my Christmas report, that might have been where you saw it

 

[klacey1]

Yay for being at MK-- I love that the TTA gives you that "Disney" feeling! The picture of you with the Mayor is too cute!

 

[Cat0727]

Loved your photo tour of Main Street. I'm guilty of rushing by all the stores just to get to the rides. Aww your pic with the Mayor is so cute! I wonder how good Casey's hot dogs are? I've always wanted to try them.

 

[not_Joanna_eggs]

That bus is so cool. I don't remember ever seeing that before. How cool.

Funny about the Mayor. I think that must be his line. You know, I think he's said "enjoy your honeymoon" to us on every trip except our actual honeymoon