It's Not a Doughnut, But It Will Do! UPDATE 1/24/15!!!!!!!!

[jash08]

Ladies and gentleman, boys and girls, welcome to another fun filled family vacation. It is a 10 day journey filled with laughs, screams, ponchos, tour groups, and a few tears. If you haven't read my first trip report, you can find the link in my signature. I will warn you, if you don't like goofiness and sarcastic remarks, this is not the trip report for you. If that sounds exciting to you, please keep reading. I also feel compelled to tell you now, I am pretty shameless when it comes to my Disney obsession. Since you are members of the Dis, I don't really have to explain that, but admitting you have an addiction is the first step. So sit back and enjoy the ride!


Introductions

By way of introduction, I will tell you a bit about us. My family is a family of two. We are some of those crazy people that have no children and still go to Disney every year. Will we have children? Who knows, but I can tell you we both turn into children at WDW.

My name is Ashley. I am in my 30's and I am the Director of Operations for an ambulance billing company. I know what you are thinking. The answer is yes, I am insane. I actually love my job. I have a great staff and some wonderful clients. I actually enjoy arguing with insurance companies! I am kind of an all around nerd. I love Disney (duh!), but I also love to read and listen to music. I love to play music as well. Bandos represent! We live in a small city in Western Kentucky currently. I was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana. So I started out life with an awesome will to have a good time. Laissez les bon temps roulez!

My husband's name is Jeremy. He is in his 40's and his job is to make me happy and take me to Disney. His other job is to be a Casino dealer. He deals several games such as blackjack, roulette, mini bac, three card poker, and craps. He has Peter Pan syndrome. I mean come on, he plays games for a living people! He is a nerd, like myself. He likes to read and listen to music (he is tone deaf though so no instrument playing or singing-at least not well). He loves Star Wars and Star Trek and several other sci fi shows, especially Dr. Who. He was actually born in Kentucky but spent his childhood in Texas. And we met in Illinois. I know, I know, we sound pretty glamorous. But we are pretty low key!

Here we are:





That was the first picture taken in WDW for the trip. Can you tell we are happy? And guess what? That picture was taken around noon and we had been up since 1:00 am (and I worked 10 hours the day before)! All I can say is Disney has some powerful magic. And yes, those are sweatshirts we are wearing and that blue hanging out from under mine is a scarf.

So here are the details of the trip:

We went to WDW January 30th-February 8th and stayed at the Pop. We had park hopper tickets and made good use of them. We also had the magic bands and the fast pass + system with the memory maker package. We also had the quick service dining package.

That is all for now. I hope you all come back and stay with me!

Up Next: What time is our flight and just how cold is it outside????

 

[courtneybelle]

FIRST!!!!

So happy you started this TR! Can't wait to hear all about it!

 

[heaven2dc]

I'm in and I'm second!! Looks chilly there - hope it warmed up for the rest of the trip!

 

[aacvacation]

'His job is to make me happy and take me to Disney'

Ok I'm sold, subscribing!

 

[teekathepony]

I'm in!

 

[CarlaLovesDisney]

"Admitting you have an addiction is the first step" I love it!

 

[hockeyprincess25]

Sounds like my marriage...his job is to make me happy...

 

[MEK]

Thanks for the heads up Ashley. I'm in!

 

[jash08]

FIRST!!!!

So happy you started this TR! Can't wait to hear all about it!

Welcome Courtney! So glad you are first!

I'm in and I'm second!! Looks chilly there - hope it warmed up for the rest of the trip!

Welcome! Glad you are here!

'His job is to make me happy and take me to Disney'

Ok I'm sold, subscribing!

Welcome! Glad you liked my intro!

I'm in!

Hiya Wendy! Welcome back!

"Admitting you have an addiction is the first step" I love it!

Welcome! I am a proud Disney addict!

Sounds like my marriage...his job is to make me happy...

Welcome! I figured it was a pretty good trade off. He gets me and I get to be happy!

Thanks for the heads up Ashley. I'm in!

Hi Mary Ellen! Welcome.

 

[jash08]

Hello everyone! Sorry it has been a few, but it was a holiday weekend and work has been CRAZY! But I have had some salad and pasta for dinner and I am now relaxed! I hope you all have had a good couple of weeks. But I know, enough pleasantries, get on with the story!!!!!


What Did You Just Say?!?!?!


This should start with departure day, but we are actually going to go back in time first. All the way to the day before. Jeremy was off of work (his regular scheduled day off) so he was running around doing last minute chores. Things like doing one more check of the luggage, checking in for our flight and printing the boarding passes, getting money, etc. I work Monday through Friday (since I work in an office), so I was working. I was also getting ready to be out of the office for 7 days. This pretty much meant I would be working 10 hours to make sure there wasn't anything left undone (sort of). Jeremy and I decided that he would take me to work that day and pick me up from work so we could go out for dinner (I sure as heck wasn't cooking). I walked out off work at 5:30 and stuck my fist in the air- Breakfast Club style. We went to IHOP and had some breakfast food and went home to go to bed.

Yes, we are young people, BUT our flight took off at 6:30 am AND the airport is 2 and a half hours away. Add in time to park and take a shuttle and get through security and you have a very early day. We had to get up at 1:00 am so we could be on the road for 2:00 am. So this pretty much meant we went to bed about 8:00 pm. I couldn't sleep well, surprise, as I was excited and wanted to make sure we didn't over sleep. The alarm went off and I hopped out of bed and stumbled to the shower. When I was almost done, I yelled for Jeremy to come in so we could swap. Tag team showers! Don't worry, we are professionals!

We are now clean and the last few items are packed. We turn everything off, pack the car, smile because where we are going is warmer, and race to the car because it was cold. Remember, it is January in Kentucky. It was about 28 degrees outside and we were in jeans and sweatshirts. No winter jackets for us! We started backing out of the driveway and I yelled "stop!" I forgot my hairbrush. I ran back in and grabbed it and off we went to the gas station. Jeremy remembered while pumping gas he forgot his sun glasses. So back to the house we went. Third time is a charm! We finally got on the road about 2:15 am and had a smooth drive to Nashville. Well, almost. After forgetting two items, we got about 10 miles down the interstate and Jeremy couldn't remember if he packed our medications. So, we pull over and check. They were there, but doesn't hurt to double check. From here on out it was smooth.

We quickly found a parking spot at the airport and hop out the car. Holy Cow!!!!!! What is the temperature? It is freezing!!!!! We huddle into the bus stop and hope the shuttle comes quickly. Luckily it does and soon we are in the terminal. So what was the temperature? 7 degrees. Yep 7 DEGREES! When I saw that, I sucked in my breath. Jeremy asked what was wrong. I told him the temp. His response? "What did you just say?!?!?! With only the hoodies you saw in our intro picture. We were glad to be inside the terminal. We checked out bags and made it through security. We were flying Southwest, so we headed to concourse C. We stopped at Starbucks and got some coffee and bagels. After we ate, we headed to our gate and only waited about 20 minutes until thy started loading the plane. After we are loaded, the captain advises we have to be deiced. Our plane took off about 5 minutes behind schedule and it was smooth sailing from there. Here is a really bad picture of us from the plane.





Oh well, at least you can see we are happy! We landed a short time later in Orlando to grey skies and a drizzle.








We made it to Magical Express and loaded up quickly. Soon we were off. There were several families on board so we went to the back. No good view of the sign, but I did enjoy the new video. Art of Animation was the first stop. We made it to the Pop about 10:45 am. Our check in cast member was a very nice lady. She was apologetic our room wasn't ready. We told her that was no big deal, we wanted to head to a park anyway. We decided to go to the restroom, drop our bags off, and then grab some lunch and head out. We were slowly walking to the lobby restrooms checking out the shadowboxes when we got the text our room was ready! Ok then! We were in room 1422. Since our room was ready, we headed there to use the bathroom, change our shoes, and drop off the carry-ons. Over to the food court we went. We both got chicken nuggets and fries, bottled water, and rice treat on a stick. We ate quickly (we were going to my favorite park) and threw the rice treats in my backpack for later. Out to the bus stop we headed and the bus was waiting on us! Where are we going? Check back next time.


Up Next: How This Trip Report Got Its Name

 

[jash08]

Hey Guys!!!!!!!! I just uploaded all of my pictures so there will be a new update tomorrow (not just mobile and photopass pics)!!!!

Thanks for sticking with me!

 

[MEK]

Whether or not to travel with the big winter coat is always a dilemma, isn't it? Well, at least for me. I ended up dragging my winter coat to Florida in February, but I was glad I had it for the return trip when my car was all snowed in.

Yay for arriving and a ready room!

 

[jash08]

Whether or not to travel with the big winter coat is always a dilemma, isn't it? Well, at least for me. I ended up dragging my winter coat to Florida in February, but I was glad I had it for the return trip when my car was all snowed in.

Yay for arriving and a ready room!

We could have used them in Nashville, that is for sure! The funny part about the room is that Jeremy had looked at me and said, "wouldn't it be funny if we got the text now?" about 1 minute before we did.

 

[jash08]

Hello strangers!!!!! I am sorry for the lapse. I hope you all come back and read the report. I want to take a minute to tell my husband happy birthday! Here is to another great year!!!!!




So when I left off, we had just checked in, gotten a text 5 minutes later advising our room was ready, and grabbed a bite to eat. We were heading to my favorite park, Epcot! We got out to the bus stop and a bus was waiting for us. We hopped right on and off we went. This is my favorite bus ride. As you know from my previous trip report, I love Figment. I have a Figment on my desk at work. So I love when you pull into the parking lot and it starts to play One Little Spark. Two tiny wings, eyes big and yellow, horn of a steer, what a loveable fellow, from head to tail, he's royal purple pigment, and there, Viola!, you've got a Figment! ***side note*** Marvel just started a short Figment and Dream Finder comic book. The first issue just came out, and it was pretty good! Nerd rant over!

We walk up to bag check and walk up to the guards. The man checking my bag was fairly young. He dug through my bag and pulled out one of the rice crispy treat and said, "It's not a doughnut, but it will do!" I just started giggling and told him I would share gladly. Cast members were already making our trip magical! We walked in and I was giddy. I looked to the right and Pluto was out with no line! I grabbed Jeremy's hand and took off. There was a very nice middle aged gentleman as there character handler. He directed us where to go. As he did, I said thank you (raised in the south people! even if you are telling me what to do, I say thank you). His eyes brightened up and asked if we were American (he was from Germany). When I said yes, he smiles a huge smile and says, "Oh thank goodness! Last week I had nothing but tour groups and I had no idea what they were saying and they had no idea what I was saying!" For those keeping count, that is two amazing CM interactions within 5 minutes. This is going to be a good trip! Pluto was super friendly and took several minutes with us. We normally don't get that as we have no children, but it was great. Here are some pics.









After saying goodbye to Pluto and our friend, we headed to Spaceship Earth of course! We were right there with no lines. We had a wonderful trip through history with Dame Judy Dench and watched our faces zoom in to middle America. So now we had to go see my man. We headed over to Figment and Jeremy got a quick picture of the Buzz in the cases.





Our favorite thing to do on this ride (other than sing along with every word ) is to look around and see who doesn't know to cover their noses in the scent lab. The reactions are priceless. That's how you know a skunk is not a rose. Moving on...

We decided to go ride living with the land. And guess what? There was not only no line, but literally no one there! We got a boat all to ourselves. Here is proof.





No dancing? Darn...





Hey there little fella!





So after the thrill ride, we needed a cool down so we went to look for Nemo. We found him at the end of a five mile hike and short trip through the EAC. We decided we had done enough of Epcot for the day and needed a little of the Magic Kingdom. We of course stopped on the way out and got a few parting shots.











Lots of kissing shots. Wear an anniversary button and everyone is big on the PDA. Just warning you!


Come back soon to see what we get up to in the Magic Kingdom.


Up Next: Only a 5 minute wait?!?!?!?! I am so in!!!!

 

[courtneybelle]

Rice Krispy Treats are one of my favorite Disney snacks so I loved the title story

Pluto!!! Adorable pic!

That's awesome that you guys got so many attractions in on your first day!

 

[Rosco1]

Loving your report!

 

[jash08]

Rice Krispy Treats are one of my favorite Disney snacks so I loved the title story

Pluto!!! Adorable pic!

That's awesome that you guys got so many attractions in on your first day!

I just bent in half and stared crying I was laughing so hard. The security guard started to giggle, so I laughed harder. I was a little slap happy.

We love Pluto! We had some great photo pass pictures this time.

We had a great time on our first day.

Loving your report!

I am so glad! I have a lot more to share.

 

[jash08]

Hello friends! First off, let me wish all of my American readers Happy Independence Day! I hope you all have a good holiday weekend and spend time with your families. Also make sure to thank a veteran. Remember, freedom isn't free.


Our second big announcement is below in my signature...


WE ARE GOING BACK TO DISNEY AND STAYING AT POFQ!!!!


I am super excited. Now Disney just needs to release the packages for next year so I can book it.



So when we last left off, we were heading to the Magic Kingdom for a little fun. We walked out to the monorail and were quickly whisked to the TTC by monorail pink. We soon saw this:





We got to the park right as the parade was ending. We entered through the right side of the train station and just soaked it in for a minute. We are home! I swear Disney World is the only place I can truly relax. First park is full of excitement because we are finally here and second park is just pure, unadulterated joy. I am pretty sure I had a few tears in my eyes. The beautiful sunlight, the rich color palate, the aroma of popcorn, the music that is familiar and yet distinctly its own every time. These are the sensations of true happiness. After I waxed philosophical for a few moments we decided to start moving. Jeremy looked over to the right and noticed Mickey only had a 5 minute wait so off we went. While standing in line, I suddenly remembered that Mickey talks now! Oh man, I was bouncing up and down! This was going to be amazing. Jeremy snapped this quick picture while we were in line.







We finally made it! We go into the greeting area and Mickey starts talking. How amazing is that?!?!?! He asks us if we had been to the big scary house where the ghosts lived. He told us how scared he was. We all posed together and leaned back with our thumbs out like hitchhiking ghosts. It made the below great picture:































Or it would have if Memory Maker hadn't lost our picture. We got home and no Mickey picture. They looked several times and couldn't find it. And we didn't have them take one with our camera. Well, now we know better. At least we still have the memory and that is now on my must do list.

After meeting Mickey, we decided it was snack time. Out came the rice crispy treat. We walked down Main Street and obtained full sugar rush status. We did stop for this picture:





No matter how many times I rotate and save it in Photobucket, it still shows sideways. Just tilt your head.

As you can see, it was rainy and dreary out. It was also pretty cool out. I am sure the drizzle made it feel colder. We decided to head over to Tomorrowland and look around. We didn't feel like waiting in the lines. We wandered over to New Fantasyland and went into Gaston's. Jeremy got some hot chocolate and I got some hot tea. That really helped warm us up. While sitting there enjoying our drinks, we decided it was time to head back to the resort. We were fading fast. We walked back to Main Street and walked through the Emporium to stay dry and look at merchandise. But of course we could not leave without pictures.










After the five mile trek to the Pop bus stop, we only had a short wait. Unfortunately an older gentlemen got sick on the bus. I felt so sorry for him. Being sick is bad enough, but in front of a bunch of strangers just makes it even more miserable. We decided to head to the room to drop our backpacks off and then go grab some grub. I used hand sanitizer up to my elbows (no vomiting for me!) and we were off.

We wandered round the food court for several minutes and both decided on the pepperoni pizza and Caesar salad. We also got apple slices with caramel dip for breakfast the next morning. The pizza was really good, but if I had known how big it was, we would have split it. Half of mine came back with us for the fridge.






Yeah, that is ONE order. I thought it came with just one section. But alas, it comes with two. After eating, we waddled back to the room. After being up for so long and traveling and being rained on, all I wanted to do was take a nice hot shower and get in bed. Good plan, right? Well it was a good plan. Jeremy goes in to start the shower. We were in a handicapped room (not a wheel in shower) so it had the hand held shower head. As soon as the water came on, water started spraying EVERY WHERE. We called maintenance and these two lovely women came quickly and investigated the situation. They had the part and were able to fix it in about 30 minutes. They were lovely and we told the front desk how wonderful they were the next day. I finally got my shower and collapsed in bed. I don't think I moved all night.


Up Next: Sure, that sounds legit.

 

[MEK]

Despite it being such a dreary day you both look so happy to be in your Happy Place! You did a wonderful job describing how awesome it is to be back home in a Disney park.

Boo to the loss of your picture. I lost several pictures from my October trip and one of them was a big family group shot. Fortunately I had it on my own camera.


Ugh to the poor man getting sick on the bus. That stinks.

The pizza looks yummy!

 

[courtneybelle]

YAYAYAYAY!!! French Quarter is on my list after I had such a wonderful stay at POR. Plus those beignets are to die for!

Oh man, such a bummer they lost your pic! I can imagine it though since I've seen Mickey do that pose before.

OH HEY I'LL BE AT THAT VERY FOOD COURT TOMORROW!!! I won't be DISing much while I'm there but I will catch up when I get home