The Disney Hobo Life! An April 2017 TR (Finished 08/05)

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So, summer's here and in a month I go to Disneyland!!!!! My hope is that I'll be done with this before I leave but considering my track record now that it's summer, I'm not going to hold myself to that lol. I also just started week 1 of 4 teaching camp. And I just got back from Ossippee. And I have to go down to Fairfield for a wedding Friday after camp. lol, so yeah, I'm just gonna go with the flow.

But Ossippee was GORGEOUS! We hiked up to Diana's Baths, went swimming in the lake, and just enjoyed being there (I went with two friends from college and we stayed with another friend and her family). And I hope everyone had a safe 4th! I went to my parents' house for most of the day, then spent the evening with my friends at the lake playing badminton and watching fireworks.

And today I sent my lens in to get replaced (you'll hear a little more about that in this chapter) so I've got my fingers and toes crossed it'll be fixed and back to me before the 8th. Most people who had this issue said they got their refurb back in about 2 weeks or a little more, so here's hoping!

Chapter Five: Top of the World!


I was up by 6 the next morning. Shock. I waited until everyone was up again then made myself an English muffin with peanut butter on it. E had to go meet her students for her second day of their workshop. T left as well - he had to run to the grocery store to pick up some more snacks and such for the kids. Originally J and I were going to watch L but she was so fussy. She wanted to stay with E but E couldn’t take her with her. T managed to calm her down a little so we took A and he took L.


We got him something to eat, then he and I drew a little bit while J took her shower and got ready for the day. Once she was ready we headed out of the room and headed down to the savannah to see if there was anything to see. The animals had just gone in for breakfast, but there were a couple ornery zebra out way on the savannah so A was excited to see them (even if he really wanted to see the giraffes).

We got a text from T saying he was almost back so we headed back to the room and met him there. We repacked the backpack with the new snacks and some extra diapers then headed to the car. It was faster to just take a car and drive over to the parks than to wait for the bus at that time of morning and we definitely made the best decision, making it quickly to Epcot.


While going through security, T noticed that the officer on duty was from Worcester, which was something we barely ever see people with it on their badge so T showed it to A and the officer gave A a sticker.

We made it to Epcot about an hour and a half before E met us so we decided to head over to the Living Seas. The wait was 20 minutes, but it’s inside and cool and L was able to fall asleep while we were waiting for the ride. A loves Nemo, so we played a fun game of Finding Nemo.

Once we were off L was still asleep so we brought A to see the manatees and dolphins and such but A decided he wanted a snack, so we headed out and sat down on the ground in a dead end area near the Living Seas and took a break.

At least we had a good view while we were sitting!

A had his juice squeeze-y, a second, and half of L’s. Boy was hungry!

It was also HOT! Like, surface of the sun hot - it was the hottest day we had that day and I don’t know if it was exhaustion, actual heat, the fact that Epcot is a concrete jungle, or a mixture of all three, but the five of us were ready for a break.


Except we were close to the time we were meeting E. We had to meet E in the Imagination Pavilion area so we decided an air conditioned break was exactly what we deserved.


We headed into the Imagination pavilion and up to the DVC lounge. T checked us in and we brought A upstairs while he called E to let her know that was where we were.

Around this time I started to have major issues with my lens. All through the trip my lens wouldn't calibrate to light correctly or it wouldn't focus and I would have to turn it on and turn it back off. Now, though, it was flickering to black and I'd have to hit the power button multiple times before it worked.

Considering this foreshadowing.

Anyway.

Guys I’ve never had so much Vitamin Water before in one sitting.


I was super dehydrated apparently. We knew L was too so we made her a super watered-down version of what I was drinking and after a little bit of time in the AC and drinking, she began to feel a lot better.

A was having the time of his life and had decided to make himself a pillow tower.


He also was very excited when the snack cart came around and he got some gummy bears, though he didn’t really eat them.


E called and said she was downstairs so T went to get her. We all hung out in the lounge a little longer after she got there, then decided it was time to mosey down and visit Figment.

(Side note, the second I saw this shirt on Instagram I had to have it. I have the pin too - it is pinned into a Leicester City Foxes drawing a kid did for me. As a Disney fan and a 7th grade English teacher I felt that it was ridiculous of me NOT to own it.)


We didn’t realize that we would have such a visit with Figment!


Everything started off as usual - we got through all the way to Figment’s house.

And then CRASH!


We jolted to a stop under Figment’s kitchen table. The music automatically shut off and the lights went on. A CM walked by to go through the door next to us and pointed out a couple of Hidden Mickeys to us as she passed.


We just spent the time taking pictures and keeping the kids entertained. There’s a lot that goes on in that room so they were super okay with just sitting there.

After about five or so minutes the music queued back up and the animatronics and everything started up. But we didn’t move.


We jerked a little forward about halfway through the wall moving. There was definitely a sensor issue because the music/animatronics and track were just not synching. We stopped again after about a minute, but finally we got to the end of the ride!


After that it was lunch time, so we headed into World Showcase.

 

[KathyM2]

It was also HOT! Like, surface of the sun hot - it was the hottest day we had that day and I don’t know if it was exhaustion, actual heat, the fact that Epcot is a concrete jungle, or a mixture of all three, but the five of us were ready for a break.

Yikes. Good thing you had somewhere cool to go hang out and get some water into you. I am so scared of the heat for our upcoming trip in August...I just don't know how we will manage it.

 

[xlsm]

Some of these might be out of order, I realized i was more behind than I thought and had to go back and rearrange!

We had a fun ride but once we got to the end the ride stopped abruptly for a few minutes. But we were literally done - we were at the cottage. So E spent the time trying to imitate the animatronic of the hag. Until the hag started cackling and turned around and E was flabbergasted. “Did that animatronic just sass me?” she yelled.

Aww! I love this whole matching situation! (and wow, I've never noticed how intense FG's blue eyeshadow is, yikes!)

BUT! I'm on vacation!!!

Hooraaayyy!! Finally!! My kids would revolt if their year went that late. Me too, honestly! I'm checked out after Christmas break, lol!

cute, cute, CUTE!!

I can’t say no to a dessert that’s also a challenge.

And this is why I like you!!

(Side note, the second I saw this shirt on Instagram I had to have it. I have the pin too - it is pinned into a Leicester City Foxes drawing a kid did for me. As a Disney fan and a 7th grade English teacher I felt that it was ridiculous of me NOT to own it.)

I know I commented on this on Instagram, but I LOOOOOOVE the Disney/Outsiders combo. We are planning to go see the Outsiders house on Thursday in Tulsa!

We jerked a little forward about halfway through the wall moving. There was definitely a sensor issue because the music/animatronics and track were just not synching. We stopped again after about a minute, but finally we got to the end of the ride!

That is crazy! I'd like to see that ride with the lights on I think!

 

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Some of these might be out of order, I realized i was more behind than I thought and had to go back and rearrange!








Aww! I love this whole matching situation! (and wow, I've never noticed how intense FG's blue eyeshadow is, yikes!)



Hooraaayyy!! Finally!! My kids would revolt if their year went that late. Me too, honestly! I'm checked out after Christmas break, lol!



cute, cute, CUTE!!



And this is why I like you!!



I know I commented on this on Instagram, but I LOOOOOOVE the Disney/Outsiders combo. We are planning to go see the Outsiders house on Thursday in Tulsa!



That is crazy! I'd like to see that ride with the lights on I think!

Yeah, I noticed FG's eyeshadow this trip way more than I ever had. I wonder if they changed the look recently? Or if I'm just hyper-focused on the blue!

My kids were basically revolting when it took this long to get to vacation . It was a LONG haul.

I'm jealous - I want to head out to Tulsa to see the house. I showed my kids the CBS This Morning interview they did with Rob Lowe and SE Hinton back in April once we finished the book and they were all super excited to know the house still existed and the streets surrounding it were named for the book!

 

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Part Two


We headed over to World Showcase and headed over to the UK pavilion to get lunch at Rose and Crown.

A was super not in the mood for lunch, so it was kind of a difficult lunch. It was definitely nap time by the time we finished. A lot of it had to do with the heat I think - everyone was pretty tired just because it was so hot.


Anyway, we were sat right away right near the door. I didn’t take note of our waiter’s name but he was quick and helpful. He brought our drinks over right away and took our orders.


I ended up getting the shepherd’s pie:

Which was very good. I wanted to get dessert too, but was way too full to actually HAVE dessert - I’m sure we all know what that’s like! A didn’t eat his pasta at all, so we got a to-go container for him to have it later on.


We left lunch and headed around the world. It was honestly the fastest trip around the world ever - we stopped in Morocco for the bathrooms then walked all the way around to Norway. We were about halfway there when E pointed out we should have just gone the other way but at that point there was no turning back.


The kiddos fell asleep while we were walking so J and I took the bag and stroller while T took A. They had FPs for Frozen, so we sat at Kringla and waited for them.


Anyone who knows me knows I can’t be at Kringla and not get myself a little something.


So, clearly I had to get myself lefse.

For anyone who isn't familiar with my TRs or the weird snacks of my childhood, lefse is a thin rectangle of potato bread that's cooked on a griddle. This is tynnlefse, which has butter, sugar, and cinnamon on it then rolled up. My grandmother would make this for me (and her own variation using the leftover bits of pie dough) when I was a kid.

I enjoyed my usual Epcot snack while we waited for E and T to get out. We had FPs together for Soarin’. Originally I was going to go by myself and meet them in Futureworld but J changed her FP a few days earlier to line up with mine. About three minutes before they got out we realized that when we booked our own FPs they were overlapping, not at the same time. There was about five minutes to spare before my FP window would expire!


Thankfully, E and T came back at that point and told us to run. So we booked it! I have NEVER walked that fast through Epcot in my entire life - I was power walking, but super close to a jog the entire way and guys, I’m not an active person. I mean I do dance and stuff, but I’m not built to be a runner.


We made it to the Land pavilion just after my grace period should have ended and I was a bit bummed because I wanted to see the new Soarin’ and it’s one of my favorite rides. But a little bit of Disney magic and bam! I was let in!


Thanks, Disney magic!


You know those moments where you’re fine DOING the thing, but the second you stop your body goes into overdrive about it? That’s what happened with the whole running close to a mile thing finally caught up with me. I went from completely fine to being DRENCHED in sweat and feeling a little queasy from going from extreme heat to extreme AC. But by the time we got on the ride I was fine!


We LOVED the new Soarin’. I still love Soarin’ over California but it was nice that there was a change. And I really enjoyed the smells.


We figured that T and E had headed back to the car by that point. They had told us that was their plan, so they could get the kids down for a nap and we’d catch the bus back to the room so they didn’t have to wait for us. We texted to see if the kids were asleep yet, because our plan was to look at Mouse Gears, check on Spaceship Earth’s line, then head back to get changed for the evening, but it turned out they had been walking towards the exit when they found the Cars play area deserted and decided to take a break there.

We met them over there and sat on the grass for a few minutes while A played with a family who were also from MA. They had been playing for a while before we got there, but they ended up leaving a few minutes after we got there to use a FP. it was great, because T and E had to get back to the hotel anyway.

J and I left before T and E did so that A wouldn’t accidentally follow us. We looked at a couple things in Mouse Gears, then headed out. We found that Muppet Labs was doing their thing right out front so we watched that for a few minutes!

After that we walked around to the entrance of Spaceship Earth and it was empty - basically a walk on! So we got in line and were quickly being swept through the ages, thanking the Phoenicians as we went.

After that we really had to head back. We had plans! So we with one last fond farewell to the topiaries we got on our bus and headed out.

 

[chunkymonkey]

I'm all caught up! Sorry I haven't posted for a while, trying to play catch up!
Your morning at Epcot looks wonderful. You're lucky you have access to the DVC lounge. I figure they should do that for every park, then I'd maybe convince DH to buy into DVC, haha. I love the shepard's pie at Rose n Crown, I haven't had it in a while and now I really want one!!
Thank you for the explanation of the Lefse! I've always wondered what it would taste like. Question, is it usually served warm or cold?
Awesome pictures! I caught some of the muppets mobile during our last trip but I haven't seen it before so I thought it was new, but apparently it is not. You learn something new about WDW every time you visit!

 

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I'm all caught up! Sorry I haven't posted for a while, trying to play catch up!
Your morning at Epcot looks wonderful. You're lucky you have access to the DVC lounge. I figure they should do that for every park, then I'd maybe convince DH to buy into DVC, haha. I love the shepard's pie at Rose n Crown, I haven't had it in a while and now I really want one!!
Thank you for the explanation of the Lefse! I've always wondered what it would taste like. Question, is it usually served warm or cold?
Awesome pictures! I caught some of the muppets mobile during our last trip but I haven't seen it before so I thought it was new, but apparently it is not. You learn something new about WDW every time you visit!

No worries

I have been lucky enough to do two DVC-exclusive things the past two times I was down in Disney. I wish I could do DVC but I'd probably have to do a whole family buy in and I don't think my parents are willing to get DVC literally the year after they bought a house lol. I usually like cottage pie more (beef vs. lamb) but I love how they do shepherd's pie in Disney!

You eat lefse cold, usually. My grandmother used to put the butter on while it was warm to melt it a little (because I love melted butter and warmed desserts more than cold usually), but that's not very traditional. Glad the explanation helped a little! It was a super common treat while I was growing up, because my mother's parents still lived in the part of town all the Swedish immigrants lived in, but I know not a lot of people actually know what it is outside of the neighborhood.

Muppet Mobile Lab is so cool! I knew it had come out in like 2007 but I never saw it, I'm glad I randomly got to see it this time around!

 

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Part Three


So, we headed back to the hotel. I noticed these fun Easter egg-style coconuts and had to grab a picture of them before we headed upstairs.

On Saturday, while I was waiting in the empty airport waiting for my plane (incidentally, watch the Daddy’s Home 2 trailer, and marvel at the fact that my airport actually looks big in the shots they filmed there) I had gotten a text message from E saying that her in-laws were willing to babysit one night so we could have an “adult” night. Our original plan was to go to Disney Springs - specifically Jock Lindsay’s - and have dinner, then head back to Magic Kingdom for Wishes, but the more we thought about it, the more we realized we wouldn’t have time.


We still hadn’t made up our mind on what to do by the time her in-laws got there. We left them with an extra MagicBand (T’s AP band, since he got one with the reservation too) so they could take the kids to dinner or swimming or see the animals and get back into the room, got changed, and headed out.


We decided we didn’t want to rely on trying to drive/park or the buses between DS and MK so we headed straight to Magic Kingdom. We zipped through the AP line and were walking right down the middle of Main Street USA within five minutes!

It was around this time, walking in, that my lens failed. I turned on my camera and got an error message that would not go away. I found out later that it is a known issue for the J1 lens, so I sent it in to get fixed. I'm hoping it'll be back before I go to Disneyland in August because if not I may need to beg to borrow the 10-30 mm lens from my mother's (white, not red like mine) J3.

We had to stop and take a girls’ picture in front of the castle first, since we wanted to send it to our friend who had asked for one. We also stopped to take a picture of E and T without kids.

We headed over to Adventureland and had to make a stop at Sunshine Tree Terrace for some citrus swirl. It was the perfect pre-dinner treat while we sat and figured out what we wanted to do.

After our snack, we got into the line for Pirates. It snaked way out into the queue area outside, in a way I hadn’t seen since the last time I had gone in July, but it moved fairly quickly. I have a feeling it had been stopped for a few minutes, but we weren’t really worried. We talked and people watched and enjoyed that we didn’t need to worry about our pace.


After our trip through the Caribbean, we decided it’d be best to head towards the front of the park - we were only enjoying the park kidless for an hour but we had plans!


One of those plans was to actually look through the Emporium. A is pretty good with gift shops - they’re down all the time so he has no real problem with not getting something if he wants it, because he knows it’ll be there when they come back again since T and E come down at least 3 times a year to visit family. I found a pair of Liz’s sunglasses (that she had broken and needed to have replaced) and picked them up for her just in case I didn’t find them again. A former student of E’s had also texted her so we waited in there for a few minutes so she could say hi.


Packages purchased (E and T bought some stuff for A for his birthday because it was the next week), we headed out of the parks and headed toward the monorail. We were going to walk, but we were lazy and wanted a nice monorail ride. We went to the Contemporary, then over to Bay Lake Tower and checked in to Top of the World. There weren’t many people when we got there as they had just opened, so while we had originally chosen a high top near the windows we decided to snag a couch so we would have more room to put our drinks.

T got a whiskey drink that I can no longer remember while J, E, and I treated ourselves to the Seven Seas Lagoon.

I had seen it in one of @chunkymonkey’s TRs and knew I wanted it. I’m not even sure that photos can REALLY show the massive size of this thing but it is gigantic. There was more than enough for all three of us! There’s peach rings on the straws, Swedish fish, boba pearls, Skyy vodka, Parrot Bay, lime juice, pineapple juice, soda water and agave. It was basically a giant Blue Hawaii.


It was good.


We were super okay with our choice. And, split between the 3 of us, the cost per person was cheaper than any of the other drinks on the menu. It was $22, so split between us it was, what? $7 and change?


We also had a lot of fun looking at the differences in size between our drink and T’s.


We all decided to get flatbreads for dinner, and T and E each got a plate of pretzel bread.

We also got a second drink. We all switched to Monoral Yellow which was our original choice until I told them about the Seven Seas Lagoon.


Our meal and drinks were finished with enough time for each of us to use the restroom and head out to watch Wishes. E wanted to do something special for our last time seeing WIshes and I really think she did a great job taking us up there. Last April when I went to Top of the World it was rainy and gross, and we really went in to escape the heavy rain. This time it was a gorgeous night.

I filmed the entire thing on my phone, since Liz’s one request to me was the film it for her. I also took some pictures on my phone while I was filming it.

After Wishes we headed into the line of people who were all headed down the elevator to the lobby or their rooms. We headed to the lobby and called for a cab.


And waited.


And waited.


And waited some more.


It took nearly 45 minutes to get a cab. According to the front desk (who called for us) the Mears system was down. I think something must have happened system-wide because we tried Uber too and we had the same issue - 45 minutes before anyone could even get into the area.


The woman at the DVC desk was super apologetic, especially when she found out we needed to get back to the kiddos. She kept calling Mears for ETAs and was about to get us a private shuttle back to Animal Kingdom Lodge when the cab finally showed up.


We were back at the hotel later than we wanted to, but T’s parents had turned a basketball game on quietly and were watching it while the kids slept. They left while we changed and passed out, not at all ready for the next day to be our last!

 

[KathyM2]

Looks like you got some great adult dining and drinking in :0 The drinks look amazing!

The woman at the DVC desk was super apologetic, especially when she found out we needed to get back to the kiddos. She kept calling Mears for ETAs and was about to get us a private shuttle back to Animal Kingdom Lodge when the cab finally showed up.

Well at least they were trying to be helpful. Brutal that it happened when you were trying to get back...but at least it ended up not being a huge deal. I totally get how that feels though.

 

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Looks like you got some great adult dining and drinking in :0 The drinks look amazing!



Well at least they were trying to be helpful. Brutal that it happened when you were trying to get back...but at least it ended up not being a huge deal. I totally get how that feels though.

We were super worried mostly because T's parents had a 30-45 minute drive ahead of them and had to work the next morning so we didn't want to get home at midnight. The ironic part that I forgot to mention was that we had chosen to take a cab instead of walking to the bus because we thought the bus would take too long. Womp. lol.

And the food and drinks were all very good! It was a great adults only night!

 

[coloredimage]

So I have 3 updates before I'm finished with this TR and 2 weeks before I go to Disneyland. Will I make it? I mean, hopefully! I had lost my TR notebook but I managed to find it after an hour of digging around in my living room (because, honestly, I think I exploded because 4 weeks of camp has made me kind of lose it lol).

Chapter Six: One Day More!​

Part One


I got up at 6. Shocker there, right? Lol, it was pretty much my MO for this trip but this time I wasn’t awoken by a child!


It was check out day, and I had been trying to figure out what I wanted to do. I was supposed to go back with E and T to his parents’ house, and they were going to drive me back to the airport the next morning, but when we got back to the hotel after watching Wishes his mother suggested going to the zoo and I didn’t want to be the reason they couldn’t do that. Before I went to bed I told E I’d figure something out.


So I got dressed, checked out what time Guest Services opened, packed everything, and headed down to GS right after it opened at 7.


Except it didn’t open at 7. There was a sign saying it did, and a couple was standing in front of me in a kind-of-not-really line. It was probably 7:10 by this point. A rather grumpy CM came over and told them that the desk didn’t open until 7:30 and they’d have to come back. Annoyed but not deterred, I came up with a Plan B (well, I guess this was like Plan C at this point) and headed back to the room.


Everyone was up and moving by the time I came back, so I helped clean up a little and we headed back downstairs to Boma. We were seated quickly right next to a window, where A quickly made “friends” with the ducks on the other side of the window.


I went up with J for the first round of food after we ordered our round of POG juice.

I got eggs with goat cheese, a plantain, biscuit and gravy, waffle, African spiced hash, French toast bread pudding, bacon, strawberries, and a croissant with nutella.


Yeah, it was super healthy, I swear.


We ate and enjoyed each other’s company. It was the last time we would all be together on vacation - we were originally planning on going to Animal Kingdom with J after we checked out of our room. She was meeting her mother and grandmother there. However, we realized that it was a Magic Kingdom EMH day, and the day we had gotten so much done in the morning at MK had also been an MK day, so we decided to head there instead while J went to Animal Kingdom to meet her family.


When our waitress came back to refill our drinks we asked about Zebra Domes - they weren’t out for breakfast (because, y’know, generally normal people don’t eat dessert for breakfast) - and she said that while they weren’t part of the meal they were available on special request, so we asked for a couple for us to share and she was off!


It was 8 by this time so I headed upstairs. I didn’t want to deal with Ms. Grump at Guest Services again so I went into the gift shop, grabbed a gift card, and put money onto it. THIS CM was one of the sweetest women ever, and I was glad to talk to her.


Short disclaimer: I’ve officially switched banks, so hopefully no more of this “I bought a gift card because I don’t trust my card” nonsense.


I sat down in the lobby in a chair so as to not bother people, and using the card got myself a room for the night. There was a line at Guest Services so I headed back down to breakfast and got there right as our Zebra Domes were brought out.


Remember how we asked for a couple?

Yeah, we got 6 (one had been devoured before I took the picture). Which was great since we were stuffed and the kids couldn’t eat them. (Spoiler alert: we ate them all and hated ourselves a little but y’know, one of the rules of Disney is never let a Zebra Dome go to waste.) A couldn’t eat them - we asked the waitress just to see if the Amaretto had completely burned off and she said he was probably too little just to be safe (fair,) so T tried to make something similar for A based on things he could find on the buffet.


A’s response? “Daddy, that’s icky.”


E’s response? “If this was a cooking show you would have failed the Technical Challenge.”


I wish I had taken a picture of the monstrosity. It was...well, it was a Krispie Kreme donut hole with yogurt and nutella on it. It just did not look appetizing. People around us probably thought we were crazy but we were laughing hysterically at it.


The REAL Zebra Domes were delicious though!


We paid and headed upstairs to finish getting ready to check out. I used the hotel phone to call Magical Express so I could take it the next morning while E spent a half an hour with floral trying to get some answers about swapping out for the (more expensive) gift bag they had paid for. After a couple of hang ups she was told to stop at Floral on the way out of the park that afternoon. T called for someone to come help us get the bags downstairs and J and I got the kids ready to go. J had her bag transferred to her mother’s hotel while we put our stuff in storage for the morning.


Once we said bye to J we headed to the MK bus that was waiting for us.

In MK we decided to head to Adventureland and do things that we didn’t get to do with the kids before. So we started with Jungle Cruise after getting a quick Photopass picture:

We were the very last people on a boat! It was a 5 minute wait, so we literally walked on. It was about a week after The Rock had skippered so I was keeping an eye out for a tall, muscular skipper but it wasn’t meant to be!


After that E really wanted to see how much L and A loved the carousel because she was so bummed she hadn’t been able to ride with us their first time, so we got onto the carousel and had a great time.

Happily dizzy on my favorite ride to take pretty pictures of, we headed to Storybook Circus. E was still looking for a present for a friend and she had seen something she liked in the Big Top so we went over there to look around.


It was also early afternoon, and while we weren’t hungry we were definitely ready to have a snack. We got a frozen drink to share and each got a cake pop.

We sat outside and ate and drank, just enjoying the weather. The wait time for the meet and greets were under 20 minutes and A hadn’t gotten to meet them yet so we got into the line.

Goofy and Donald’s line was shorter so we went to them first!

Then we went through the Daisy and Minnie side.

Wanna know what we learned? L LOVES the ducks! A girl after my own heart! It was to the point that she hugged a stuffed Daisy I showed her so tightly! So for her birthday I bought her, amongst other things, a Daisy stuffed animal. She went around the rest of her birthday with Daisy as her pillow and the stuffed Cogsworth Liz gave her in her hands. We were mighty pleased with ourselves, as I’m sure you all understand.


Anyway, we were getting towards the time where we would have to head back to the hotel, get our bags, and head out so T and E could be back at his parents’ house for dinner, so we grabbed a FastPass for Buzz and got into line for the Teacups.

L was very interested in the teacups, and even tried to spin it once! A had fun in his teacup with T and was very excited when we got off.


We stopped to use the restroom and then got in the super long FP line for Buzz. Like, it wrapped around the building like it was a regular standby line. We realized once we got in the building that the reason was because the standby line was closed.


E L and I went on together because A wanted to go with T. We would stop and start and slow down a lot while we were in there and it was closed by the time we got off. We got stopped in the last room before your lasers turn off and well, this was the score I managed to get:

Seriously the best score I’ve ever gotten! It needs to break on me more often lol.

We were kind of hungry and T and E needed to hit the road so we headed out of the park at that point.

 

[xlsm]

I'm jealous - I want to head out to Tulsa to see the house. I showed my kids the CBS This Morning interview they did with Rob Lowe and SE Hinton back in April once we finished the book and they were all super excited to know the house still existed and the streets surrounding it were named for the book!

I tried to upload the picture of the house directly to the dis but it said the file is too large It was really cool to see, but in a pretty ghetto-y area...definitely the greaser side of the tracks, lol!

I ended up getting the shepherd’s pie:

this looks good! I thought Rose and Crown was so cute inside.

We made it to the Land pavilion just after my grace period should have ended and I was a bit bummed because I wanted to see the new Soarin’ and it’s one of my favorite rides. But a little bit of Disney magic and bam! I was let in!

I worry about missing my times all the...time. (what other word do I use here?? LOL!) Hooray for Disney magic. I was never all that into Soarin' before this most recent trip, now I'm all about it.

You know those moments where you’re fine DOING the thing, but the second you stop your body goes into overdrive about it?

Yes!

I had this on my schedule, even had all the times noted, and still managed to miss it.

I noticed these fun Easter egg-style coconuts

These are cute! I want Moana back in the parks!

walking right down the middle of Main Street USA

This is a great picture of you!

Haha! That is a major drink!! This picture is so fun!

It was $22, so split between us it was, what? $7 and change?

that is so reasonable for a Disney drink, holy cow! that's a really good deal for a group.

Chapter Six: One Day More!

and now I'm singing Les Mis...

I went up with J for the first round of food after we ordered our round of POG juice.

I still can't believe I forgot my POG juice here. What was I even thinking??

(bread pudding. Bread pudding is what I was thinking. I was single minded here, lol!)

When our waitress came back to refill our drinks we asked about Zebra Domes - they weren’t out for breakfast (because, y’know, generally normal people don’t eat dessert for breakfast) - and she said that while they weren’t part of the meal they were available on special request, so we asked for a couple for us to share and she was off!

I don't want to say how many packages of zebra domes I bought from The Mara...

It was about a week after The Rock had skippered so I was keeping an eye out for a tall, muscular skipper but it wasn’t meant to be!

I get so mad that I miss out on all the celebrities. I kept eyeballing Pirates looking for Johnny Depp. It's only fair he come to WDW too, not just DL. And I think the Rock needs more than one day of Skipper practice!

L LOVES the ducks! A girl after my own heart! It was to the point that she hugged a stuffed Daisy I showed her so tightly! So for her birthday I bought her, amongst other things, a Daisy stuffed animal. She went around the rest of her birthday with Daisy as her pillow and the stuffed Cogsworth Liz gave her in her hands. We were mighty pleased with ourselves, as I’m sure you all understand.

Aww!! You guys are teaching her well!!

this was the score I managed to get:

Holy crap! I'm terrible at Buzz but I LOOOVE it!

 

[coloredimage]

I tried to upload the picture of the house directly to the dis but it said the file is too large It was really cool to see, but in a pretty ghetto-y area...definitely the greaser side of the tracks, lol!



this looks good! I thought Rose and Crown was so cute inside.



I worry about missing my times all the...time. (what other word do I use here?? LOL!) Hooray for Disney magic. I was never all that into Soarin' before this most recent trip, now I'm all about it.



Yes!



I had this on my schedule, even had all the times noted, and still managed to miss it.



These are cute! I want Moana back in the parks!







This is a great picture of you!



Haha! That is a major drink!! This picture is so fun!



that is so reasonable for a Disney drink, holy cow! that's a really good deal for a group.



and now I'm singing Les Mis...



I still can't believe I forgot my POG juice here. What was I even thinking??

(bread pudding. Bread pudding is what I was thinking. I was single minded here, lol!)



I don't want to say how many packages of zebra domes I bought from The Mara...



I get so mad that I miss out on all the celebrities. I kept eyeballing Pirates looking for Johnny Depp. It's only fair he come to WDW too, not just DL. And I think the Rock needs more than one day of Skipper practice!



Aww!! You guys are teaching her well!!



Holy crap! I'm terrible at Buzz but I LOOOVE it!

I'm glad I finally got to eat inside at Rose & Crown! It's nice inside, and fairly accurate to what I remember from Leicester.

Lol, no idea what other word you can use there other than time. I usually am checking over and over and over again, but I completely forgot that my time and J's were different, and of course MDE showed me both because we were traveling together. Womp. I'm glad I got the pixie dust though!

MOANA IS APPARENTLY STILL IN DISNEYLAND! This is information I found out literally yesterday and I've now been plotting how to find her. And by find I mean get in her line and wait forever.

Also, you're welcome (you're welcome~!) for getting Les Mis in your head. My PTR is a Young Frankenstein lyric. So really, I'm just gonna keep on making as many obnoxious musical references forever lol.

SO NOW I MISSED DAVID TENANT IN DISNEYLAND AND THE ROCK IN DISNEY WORLD! Ugh. So mad!

 

[coloredimage]

Guys! I've talked about dealing with a difficult situation at work a little bit here and definitely in my PTR for October. Basically everyone without professional status lost their position with no guarantee that they could come back in the fall. I've been freaking out about it because everyone but a handful of us hadn't hear anything and it's getting to August and my principal couldn't guarantee me a position. Long story short I'm transferring to the other middle school in district! I'm really, really sad to be leaving my students and coworkers but I'm just so relieved to not lose my job.

Also it means that my July 2018 trip is 100% a-go now!!

Also TOMORROW I'M AT THE SINGLE DIGIT DANCE FOR DISNEYLAND!

Part Two


When we got back to Animal Kingdom Lodge we got our bags. Our original plan had been for me to have my bag transferred to my new hotel and I’d just head back out to the buses and go back out to the parks, then head back to check into the hotel at my leisure. We were told that this would be fine in the morning.


But when we got back they were no longer transferring bags for the day.


So, Plan B (C? D? I’ve lost track), but first: food. We were hungry so before we headed out we went to the Mara and grabbed food.


I have no photographic evidence of this, but believe me, it happened. I got chicken tenders and fries with gatorade. It was super healthy. I was on a role with the healthy foods. It just keeps going this well from here.


After we ate I was trying to think of a way to get to my new hotel and E told me they’d just drive me over since it was on their way out. I thanked them and we packed up the car and drove to my hotel.


Literally it was right there. I probably could have walked. If there were sidewalks.


Where was I staying?

All Star Sports! I’ve never stayed here before, the only All Star I haven’t stayed in. It was the cheapest place to stay for the night but it was the first day of marathon weekend and a cheerleading competition so the check in line moved super slow. The CM at the check in desk was super helpful and great though and obviously took his job seriously so I didn’t mind waiting and people watching.


I was given a room in the “Hoops Hotel” section, on the third floor. I walked over and was super happy to see my room. And I’ve gotta be honest, I was super excited to see a real bed after sleeping on a pull out couch for a week.

I was going to freshen up and head out right away for a park, but the second I sat down on the bed I realized that it was definitely calling my name. I decided to take an hour and just relax, then headed back out.

Before I got to the buses I stopped in the hotel store. They had another pair of sunglasses like the ones I had bought for Liz so I bought a pair for myself. I usually wear sunglasses with a prescription but I decided to go along for the evening without my prescription since I knew where I was going and besides I knew I’d use them for beach days and swimming, etc.


I was originally going to go back to Epcot and just do more in the park but I decided as I was getting to the buses that I would regret not spending some more time in Magic Kingdom if I didn’t head there.


Of course I regret not spending more time in Epcot, but I’m gonna make up for that in October and we have a pretty epic day planned for Epcot next July, so at least we have that going for us?


I made a FP for Thunder once I got to the park then decided I was going to meander around, take pictures, and only get on rides I could get FPs for or could walk onto right away and once I was done I would head back to the hotel.


I decided to start my “me” time by taking pictures up and down Main Street.

I stopped at Starbucks to get a drink and headed over to the hub grass to just relax and people watch while I had my drink.

From there I headed to Tomorrowland, since I still had a bit of time to kill before my fast pass. I decided to go on Carousel of Progress since a show was just starting.

Purple Wall selfie!

Once it was over I was getting kind of hungry and there just happened to be a popcorn stand next to me. It was an obvious and clearly necessary choice for a snack!

I headed to Frontierland as I enjoyed my popcorn. It’s probably the slowest I’ve ever gone through Magic Kingdom but it was perfect!

 

[coloredimage]

Part Three

Once I got through the FP line I made a new one for Pirates. Then it was time for the Wildest Ride In the Wilderness. I filmed my entire adventure but I haven’t uploaded it yet.

I meandered for a bit...

I still had some time before my Pirate FP so I decided to go to Gaston’s to get a LeFou’s Brew before figuring out my next move.

Apparently my next move was “sitting in the line forever” because it was the day they had released the rose cup that had been causing such a ruckus in Disneyland for the last month.


I decided to brave the line because I wanted my LeFou’s Brew and I also knew that Liz, former Be Our Guest CM and real-life Belle enthusiast, would love the cup. So I bought one for her and got myself my Brew.

By this point it was basically time for me to head back to Adventureland so I walked with a purpose back to Adventureland.

I got stuck in the middle of a family. It wasn’t as bad as my Disneyland experience with Pirates, but they would yell about everything and it was in surround sound for me. Once I got off I decided I was too tired to really stay around riding rides and I knew I needed to shower and repack my suitcase since I had literally thrown everything into it that morning to move hotels so I started out of the park.


I DID, however, stop at the Emporium. I had a sweatshirt in mind for me to buy! I ended getting a sweatshirt, the Merida Alex and Ani bracelet, and the Wishes Tervis. All told it was $135. Between my AP and the gift cards I had left over I got the price down to $22 cash!


Super pleased with myself, I headed over to Uptown Jewelers. I bought a Cinderella necklace and a Beauty and the Beast bracelet for two friends from home, then headed out.


I may or may not have gotten lost going to the bus. I thought I knew where I was going so I didn’t double check the board and walked all the way to the end of the line of buses. I did get to stop and watch a little of the Electrical Water Pageant!

When I got to the bus, I had to wait about ten minutes until one came. And when one came? It was a coach bus?


It was a weird drive back to the hotel but we got there safe. I was going to stop for something to eat but once I got off the bus I was too happy thinking about my bed for the night and showering that I walked back to my room instead.

I was back in my room by 10 pm. After turning on the tv for some sound, I actually ran a bath and relaxed for a little bit before showering. I separated out my souvenirs - things I bought for myself:

And things I bought for other people:

Then decided to just go to sleep and deal with it in the morning because I knew I didn’t need to leave until late morning the next day.

 

[KathyM2]

What a fun day!! You got a bit of everything...some friend time and some alone time...some rides and relaxation...

Also, I love that you just booked a room on the spot lol. So much of Disney is so planned so far in advance to be ridiculous...and you just booked a room on the spot...how awesome is that!!!

 

[coloredimage]

What a fun day!! You got a bit of everything...some friend time and some alone time...some rides and relaxation...

Also, I love that you just booked a room on the spot lol. So much of Disney is so planned so far in advance to be ridiculous...and you just booked a room on the spot...how awesome is that!!!

Yes, it was so great! And I was so glad I could just book a room and go to it. It was such a nice feeling. E and T told me they've done it before so I was glad it was so easy.

 

[coloredimage]

I figured I should probably finish this since I only have my travel home day left, and I leave for Disneyland on Tuesday so I wanted to not have to worry about anything. (I'll post a link to my DL TR once I start it when I get back if anyone's interested.)

Chapter the Last: Going Home!​

So the next morning, my last Disney morning!!!, I woke up at 7:45. I had set my alarm for 8 so that’s pretty good timing for me. Also I was so thankful to be sleeping on a real bed, even if it was the kind of hard ones they have in an All Star. My back was super appreciative.


I got up and got dressed and packed up the last of my stuff, anything that I had needed the night before or that morning. Once I was packed I checked my door but there was no Magical Express information on it.


I may have panicked a little. I realize I had only called for ME the morning before but my brain was playing every single scenario where something went wrong. I checked my room and headed out by 8:30. I was starving but my first order of business was to go to concierge to fix this.


The woman at the concierge desk was way more helpful than the one at AKL. I explained what had happened to her and she input my information and printed out a new form for me. It was all super quick, maybe 5-8 minutes because there were a couple of people ahead of me in line.


Still starving, I headed NOT to food, but to airline check-in. There was a kerfuffle there, with a woman in line ahead of me who had missed her time to check her bag and was trying to make them take it, while they were trying to explain to her that they couldn’t because it wouldn’t get to the airport in time. One of the women working at the desk took me so I didn’t have to wait, which was great.


Side-note. I know my city has a ridiculous, hard to pronounce name, but I have never heard anyone on the struggle bus more than the TSA agents in Florida. For a company that legitimately has to work with the airport, the only person who got it right was the announcer for JetBlue. The ‘r’s aren’t used. The ‘c’ is there to trick you. It’s old school English.


Once my bag was checked I was finally able to go get some food. I grabbed biscuits and gravy and some chocolate milk, which I figured was a great idea since I wouldn’t really eat until I got home anyway.

If I had been thinking this through I would have gotten up earlier and gone to Disney Springs or something, but as it was there were two hours until my ME and I didn’t want to leave if I wouldn’t get back in time, so I sat in the section where they have the bleachers and read for two hours.


Once the ME came at 10:35 we had the chattiest driver. He was from Taunton, an area south of Boston. He and the guy sitting behind him had a very interesting conversation the entire drive that I totally didn’t eavesdrop on at all.


I got through security no problem at the airport, though I did stop and look in the NASA shop, the Universal shop, and the Earport just to see if there was anything interesting. Nothing struck my fancy though. I thankfully did not have any issues with the Fakeorail not working (knowing my luck I’m legitimately shocked by that) and found my gate quickly. I set myself up and charged my iPad while I was sitting there, until they announced a gate change for our flight. Annoyed but not overly shocked (it’s happened to me the last four or five times I’ve flown out of MCO) I went over to the new gate. Our flight was “delayed” by about ten minutes but we still got on fairly quickly.


I did not have a row to myself this time. Womp.


I got back home quickly and my bag was the first off, so I got to spend fifteen minutes waiting for my ride because it was raining so hard.


The end!

 

[KathyM2]

Just trying to get caught up....what a great trip and you got some amazing pictures!! Too bad you didn't get to do much on departure day, but sometimes it's nice to just chill too in the atmosphere there!!

 

[cheryllarsen]

Great read. Thanks so much for posting!