"Can I Get A Hangover Steak, Please?" An Adults-Only, Irma-Rific TR! - NEW PTR Link 4/11

[Neverland_Girl]

So excited for this!!!

 

[NancyLuvsMickey]

I'm here!!! And loving your TR so far!!! Thanks for sharing it with us!!!

 

[thumper*]

Following along. When I saw the picture of the tree that fell into AKL I was hoping it wasn't one of your rooms. Dang that Irma.

 

[mamamelody2]

Ooh, I'm in!

 

[NYCgrrl]

Reading avidly!

 

[the2ndstar2theright]

Yayy you're back!! Can't wait to read all about your trip!!

 

[Mollydolly334]

I'm in. I love your trip reports and your family seems like a lot of fun.

I'm curious to hear how the closing of the parks went with the hurricane.

Yay, you're first!! Thank you and welcome aboard!

I'm in, I love your reports. I was so worried about you all! I am glad it all worked out! Thanks for the accolades to GMR. One of my favorites! Waiting to hear all about the Trip!

and thank you!! And awww, you're so sweet No worries, everything was completely safe and it made for one heck of a story!

Following along!

Thanks girl!!

Following; thanks.

and thank YOU for reading!!

Following along! I followed your last TR too, but never chimed in. Looking forward to reading about your exciting trip!

Hey, thanks so much! Welcome along!

I'm here!

Excited to read about your first F&W festival and Irma fun!

Hi!! Thanks for joining along, welcome aboard!

Here, following along! Can't wait to read all about it.

and thanks so much!!

So glad you've started! I am so excited to hear about your trip! I'm glad the storm didn't impact you TOO much!

YAY hi Alexis!! And yes, while the storm was a pain it could have been so much worse and we are very grateful for that!

Count me in!

Welcome along!!

Joining in! Can't wait to hear all about Irma and how traveling with the group went! Looks like it was fun!!

Thank you!! It was so much fun and I can't wait to tell you all about it!

Woo hoo! The September trip report has started!

I spent quite a bit of time in Florida as a kid due to my dad's job, but never experienced a hurricane. Actually, we were there when Hurricane Dennis went through in '81, but we got out a few hours before it hit. (Come to think of it, my mom was pregnant with my little brother at the time, and almost named him Dennis due to this.) I have experienced a few tropical storms, though. Nothing compared to a hurricane, but still pretty scary when the wind and rain really hit.

Hi Aaron! Glad to have you along

Haha, what a funny story about Dennis! And yeah, the hurricane was a little scary but we felt completely safe at AKL! We were so glad we went with AKL instead of the Poly this trip; it would have been a nightmare traveling from the outer buildings to the lobby!

I'm in!

and thanks for reading!!

Following along! Sounds like this is going to be a super fun and exciting trip report!

Hi! Thanks so much, I can't wait to get started!

 

[Mollydolly334]

Following!

Yay, glad to have you!

Can't wait to read about your new adventures - especially , the hurricane part. I left the Friday before it hit so missed the excitement.

Wow, you got out of there just in the nick of time! Thanks for following along

Can't wait for the updates! Looks like a fun trip

We had a blast!! , so happy to have you!

Hi! Following along!

Hi! Thank you so much!

Yayyy, following along

Welcome aboard!!

cant wait to follow along! very interested in hearing all about your stay during Irma

Thanks so much for reading! Don't worry girl, I'll give all the deets

So excited for this!!!

YAY you're here! So excited to write about it!

I'm here!!! And loving your TR so far!!! Thanks for sharing it with us!!!

Aww, thank YOU for reading !!

Following along. When I saw the picture of the tree that fell into AKL I was hoping it wasn't one of your rooms. Dang that Irma.

Hi!! OMG, I didn't even hear about a tree falling into AKL Yes, Irma made things difficult but we made the most of it!

Ooh, I'm in!

Yay! and glad to have you!!

Reading avidly!

Thank you!!

Yayy you're back!! Can't wait to read all about your trip!!

Hey girl!! Thanks for tagging along, first update will be up shortly!

 

[westcoastfldisneygirl]

Hi there! Just read your other report and loved it! This trips looks like so much fun as well. Can't wait to read along!

 

[Mollydolly334]

Day 0: “We Don’t Need No Holiday, It’s Time To Celebrate! Cuz I Need A Break, I Need A Vacation!!”



Hi friends! Thank you so much for all of your kind words and for following along





In my last TR, I titled all of my posts with Disney song lyrics. To keep things fresh, I still decided to title my posts with song lyrics, but not Disney ones! The catch is, I’m going to try and theme the song lyrics to our moods/context of what I’m writing about. Let’s see how this works out and how dedicated I am to this!


I’m so excited to write this bad boy and tell you guys all about our trip!



But, first, I have to tell you about the day before we left…


I know, I know. It’s not TECHNICALLY a Disney day, but I always love to write about the day before we leave. In my opinion, this is one of, if not THE most, exciting part of a vacation! There’s so much excitement and anticipation that comes with this day. You have the whole trip ahead of you, and you basically feel unstoppable!


Well, this was still true on this day, but something was definitely dampening my mood a bit…





Oh yeah. No big deal. The biggest hurricane to hit the U.S since Katrina, heading straight for Orlando.


To say that I was freaking out was an understatement. This was the third time in a row that a huge storm was looming over our Disney trip! We had a sort of “family meeting” the night before, and we had all agreed that the trip was still on. As long as we could get to Orlando with no issues, we would ride out the storm in Disney and make the most of the situation!


But, I had been monitoring the Hurricane Irma thread on the Disboards all week, and hearing about everyone cancelling their trips was making me seriously nervous. Were we crazy?


Actually, don’t answer that question.


Anywho, Day 0 (September 5th), started out bright and early for me at 5:45 AM. I made sure to wake up exactly 24 hours in advance to check us into our flights through Southwest! I managed to book us into groups B9-B15, so I was pretty proud!


We all had a relaxing Labor Day weekend beforehand and got most of our packing done. So, all 6 of us (except Mom) decided to work the day before the trip. I knew that I needed to work, otherwise I’d be driving myself crazy all day being so excited! I almost was just considering staying up because I was so amped, but I didn’t have to be at work until 9 so I went back to sleep.


Once I got up for real, I set up our Magic Bands and luggage tags all cute





Then, I went off to work for the day! For those who don’t know, I have been a Behavioral Treatment Technician for about a year now. Basically, I travel to my family’s homes or to our main clinic and provide ABA therapy to children with Autism. I love it, and I can’t imagine doing anything else!


In May, I was actually promoted to an internship where I am training to become a BT Therapist until mid-October. Once I get a caseload, I will be in charge of a few children’s programming, treatment plans, etc. It is a more administrative role that is higher on the “totem pole,” and I am so excited for what is in store!


I saw two kiddos today; one in the morning, and one in the afternoon from 9:00-4:30. After that, I drove to the clinic to work on some assignments for my internship, then I was finally free!!!


I may or may not have done a little dance in my car.





To celebrate, I got myself a Strawberry Acai Refresher from Starbucks and drove to the nail salon by my house for a manicure!


I had some time before my 6:45 appointment, so I read the DIS in the salon’s parking lot. BAD IDEA!!!! All I could see was post upon post about Irma, and basically stating that anyone traveling to Florida during the storm was stupid and reckless. Not cool, peeps!


As I was reading the mass chaos, I got a text from my Mom. I was half-expecting it to say, “Maybe we should re-think the trip,” but instead, all I got was this:








From then on, I made a vow to myself to force quit out of the Irma forum, because it was causing me nothing but anxiety. I took a deep breath, and finally allowed myself to be truly excited! I mean, hey, I was going to Disney TOMORROW!!


My manicure went great, aside from the fact that my nail tech was sick and coughing all over the place. She still did an amazing job, but all I was thinking was *PLEASEDONTGETMESICKFORDISNEYOKTHANKSBYE*


I chose a super bright and fun pink, perfect for Florida!





My mom and I had also gotten pedicures together a few days prior, and we both went with the same color: a bright coral! If pictures of feet gross you out, you can quickly scroll past this photo.






When I got back, only my mom was home and she was watching “Intervention.” Maybe it’s the psych brain in us, but we LOVE that show!! Luckily, this episode had a happy ending and the guy they focused on got the help he needed. Shortly after, my dad got home from work and we ordered pizza from Papa John’s!


Haley and Ryan were driving up from Chicago, and their ETA was about 10:30. Since our flight left so early in the morning, everyone just slept over at my place the night before since we live only about 20 minutes from the airport! I picked up Tom from his apartment at about 9:30, and I’m pretty sure I looked like this:





I turned on Disney music for the way back, and we both got SO excited! Soon after we got home, Haley and Ryan arrived and we all got our luggage situated and talked. Haley and Ryan went to bed early, but Tom and I had some important business to attend to...





Ok, does/did anyone else watch this show?? It came out way back in 2008 but all of the seasons are on Hulu! It’s basically a more x-rated version of The Bachelor with Bret Michaels from Poison as it’s bachelor. It is one of Tom and I’s guilty pleasures! When Tom was living with us, we watched the entire Season 1 in 5 days We got through Season 2 a bit slower, but all we had left was the finale and we needed to watch it before we left! Much to our delight, Bret Michaels picked Ambre, our favorite of the season!





Sadly, they broke up about 2 months later and Rock of Love Season 3 commenced shortly after


At midnight, I heard my phone chime, and totally geeked out when I saw THIS on my screen!!





I had grand plans of going to bed early and being well-rested for our 6:00 AM flight, but of course this didn’t happen. Tom and I ended up going to bed around 12:30, with our alarms set for 3:35 AM!! Let the memories begin!



Coming Soon- Day 1: Part 1- “I’m Leaving On A Jet Plane, Don’t Know When I’ll Be Back Again!”


​

 

[thumper*]

I love using this gif for excitement. I see my directions weren't to bad.
Looking forward to hearing all about this grand trip.

 

[chs27]

Y'all were delirious with three hours sleep! Hope you were able to sleep on the plane.

 

[missangelalexis]

The day before vacation is always full of that nervous excitement! And I am sure more so for you since you had the hurricane on your mind!

Love the color you picked out for your manicure

Haha Oh I definitely watched Rock of Love back in the day!

 

[MrsPMcD]

“Oh, one more thing. Um, when I yell "Action!", don't forget the thunderous applause for your tour guide. Places, everybody! And ... Action!”

*Thunderous applause* Subscribing and looking forward to reading all about your trip! So glad that Irma didn't ruin it, sounds like it was lots of fun.

 

[kaymil]

In my opinion, this is one of, if not THE most, exciting part of a vacation! There’s so much excitement and anticipation that comes with this day. You have the whole trip ahead of you, and you basically feel unstoppable!

I'm totally with you! Even the week before is so exciting for me because I like to start packing and shopping early

 

[disneyAndi14]

Sounds like a great day leading up to the trip! How fun to treat yourself to a mani-pedi!

 

[Fia]

Im here. Loved your last report and cant wait to hear all about your new adventure!

 

[Raeven]

But, I had been monitoring the Hurricane Irma thread on the Disboards all week, and hearing about everyone cancelling their trips was making me seriously nervous. Were we crazy?

That thread was really awful. Although I did agree with canceling mine everyone's situation was different. For instance yours started earlier than ours would have so to me that still makes sense to go. With ours I wasn't sure if our flight would go out, and then we would be in the hotel room most the Disney portion of the vacation so I canceled.

It is a more administrative role that is higher on the “totem pole,” and I am so excited for what is in store!

Congrats!

I may or may not have done a little dance in my car.

I do the same thing on Disney days when I get out of work!

Strawberry Acai Refresher from Starbuck

My vacation drink of choice too yum.

so I read the DIS in the salon’s parking lot. BAD IDEA!!!! All I could see was post upon post about Irma, and basically stating that anyone traveling to Florida during the storm was stupid and reckless. Not cool, peeps!

I followed along for most of that thread, and people got really mean and judgmental in there. It was no longer helpful at a certain point when people were just arguing and calling each other dumb for the decisions they made or for caring about their Disney trip (on a Disney forum) when worse things could happen. Plus people seemed like they were trying to scare other people and telling them it would be rude to the locals to go anywhere near FL afterwards

Ok, does/did anyone else watch this show??

YES! I loved that show when it was on, and this year they aired the first 2 seasons around V-day on VH1, and we watched them all!

Sadly, they broke up about 2 months later and Rock of Love Season 3 commenced shortly after

Is the third season on Hulu? (We have Hulu but I didn't think it was). They didn't air it with the other 2 which was disappointing.

Tom and I ended up going to bed around 12:30, with our alarms set for 3:35 AM!! Let the memories begin!

Isn't that how it always happens? We did that for our most recent trip too

 

[Neverland_Girl]

Haley and Ryan were driving up from Chicago, and their ETA was about 10:30. Since our flight left so early in the morning, everyone just slept over at my place the night before since we live only about 20 minutes from the airport! I picked up Tom from his apartment at about 9:30, and I’m pretty sure I looked like this:

I died at this gif

Ok, does/did anyone else watch this show?? It came out way back in 2008 but all of the seasons are on Hulu! It’s basically a more x-rated version of The Bachelor with Bret Michaels from Poison as it’s bachelor. It is one of Tom and I’s guilty pleasures! When Tom was living with us, we watched the entire Season 1 in 5 days We got through Season 2 a bit slower, but all we had left was the finale and we needed to watch it before we left! Much to our delight, Bret Michaels picked Ambre, our favorite of the season!





Sadly, they broke up about 2 months later and Rock of Love Season 3 commenced shortly after

Yass! And flavor of love! So trashy but so good

I would have been so stressed out by Irma but so glad you guys decided to keep your plans!

 

[Catvondita]

I loved Rock of Love! My favorite was Kristy Joe