Oh god there's the yeti! Siblings do WDW - THE TRIP REPORT! *NEW/FINISHED 3/10/15!*

[stindall]

Hello! I'm finally starting our trip report! In case you didn't follow along on our PTR here's who we are!



The characters:
In this TR you'll find Sam and Aaryn, siblings separated by 8 years but we've always been best friends. Last year I (Sam)
went solo to the World and really wanted nothing more than my brother there with me.


That’s me Sam, on the left!

When I'm not planning trips to the world I manage 1 of 5 cupcake storefronts in Indianapolis.
I love my husband, television, cheese, dogs, and traveling. My favourite Disney Character is Stitch,
My favourite ride at WDW is Expedition Everest, and my favourite Disney snack is the butterfinger cupcake from Starring Rolls.

The other character in this trip report is Aaryn, on the right.

When he isn't planning trips to Disney with his sister he's attending high school and involved in all things music.
He loves playing any musical instrument he can get his hands on, chinese food, and rain.
His favourite Disney character is Ariel, his favourite ride is Haunted Mansion, and his favourite Disney snack is cheese sauce from Cosmic Rays!

The time:
We were there September 7-14th! An entire week of fun!

The place/the reason:
We stayed at Pop Century, a family favourite! 2013 was a tough year for us and 2014 hasn't exactly been kind either.
This trip was a much needed vacation for us both. Our last trip together was in 2009 and it actually turned our horribly so this is also making up for that.

​

 

[stindall]

September 7th 2014:
Are we there yet?!
Checking in and digging in!
A magically wet evening
The Kiss on top of a wonderful Sundae.

September 8th 2014:
Wait who snuck into our photo?
Just one more cup full!
In the Biiiig Blue Wooorrlldd!
Nope I'm not tired...are you?

September 9th 2014:
The best QS meal on property?
Be Prepared!...to go...Under the Sea!
I wanna stay here all night long!
It's really Not So Scary!
Grim Grinning Ghosts
We met our match!

September 10th 2014:
It's too hot to build a snowman today!
You've just crossed over into . . . The Twilight Zone.
A wild Sven appears!
Thank you for being a friend.

September 11th 2014:
A late start to a filling day
I'm not hungry but...
The last ride rush.

September 12th 2014:
After all Miss this is France!
And the rain rain rain came down down down.
The Sun will come out...in 10 minutes!
Just when our feet were dry!
Shopping, snacks, and so many people!

September 13th 2014:
Last day blues part 1, part 2
Way back in time part 1, part 2
Do we have enough pins?

September 14th 2014:
A change in plans.
Hustling along
The End ​

​

 

[DisneyFreak06]

I'm here, I'm here!

 

[MonsterWDWmom]

I'm here can't wait to see how the trip went!

 

[stindall]

I woke up around 9:00am, earlier than planned. I text my brother to see if he was up (opening his bedroom door is noisy!) and he was. We knew we had to eat breakfast though we weren't terribly hungry. We split a bagel and then finished packing up. We were out the door by 10 and at the airport around 10:15. We went to the concourse around 10:30 after a quick check in. I had to leave Mark with a quick hug and kiss because I was already crying!


We were tired!

After we got through security we walked to our gate which was at the end of concourse B. We saw a Starbucks kiosk and grabbed a Pumpkin Spice Latte and had a seat. We just chatted for a while, sent a video via Glide to our mom and took a quick potty break. We started boarding around 12:30. Aaryn started to get really nervous. He's been on a plane before but not for about 5 years and he's only been on one a few times before then. I'm seasoned in the ways of flying.

When we boarded I asked him if he wanted window or aisle, he said aisle. After we got situated in our seats a woman asked if we could switch her and her husband, she wanted to be closer to her family. We had no issue with that so we did. Bonus: her seats were closer to the front! Aaryn ended up getting in first to the window but he was fine!





I had loaded some music on my phone and brought a headphone splitter, but the splitter wasn't working too well so we gave up on that fairly quickly. We had the snack and beverage. I read the in flight magazine. We looked over Skymall together as well.


I loved these, so silly. Was there ever a time people actually bought stuff from here?



When we arrived we made a bathroom break and I called Mark to let him know we arrived. We made our way to the fake monorail to get to Magical Express!


Getting closer!





We only waited about 10 minutes for a bus and we got an actual ME bus! I'm not sure I've ever sat on anything but the cruise or Mears busses! I liked the new video but I liked the old video more. It does make the time pass quicker though.







At this point it looked like rain...and that is where I'll leave off for now!​

 

[DisneyFreak06]

Yay! You've arrived! I love when it's a short wait for the DME. And the best seat in that fake monorail is that one! I love sitting there. Us "seasoned" flyers know where to go!

 

[MonsterWDWmom]

Yay! For the first day!!

It seems like it is a good start

 

[MissMaryQC]

Here from the PTR! Can't wait!

 

[stindall]

Sure enough it started raining about 10 minutes into our drive! Big ol' fat drops of rain! I also wanted to note that the front seats were marked as reserved but no one sat there. I wonder why that is? He had four stops total but we were second. Art of Animation, then Pop, then Animal Kingdom Lodge, and lastly kidani village. Our driver was Eli Lopez (I remember he made a George Lopez joke) and he was very fun! When we got inside we went to the online check in desk only to be approached by someone with an ipad. she asked to see my ID and it was buried in my bag so she had me go to the counter instead.


I can smell the lobby right now!

We didn't really get the requests I had put in. I asked for top floor 50's near transportation and we got 80's, ground floor, near the parking lot so it was kind of near the busses. It was a bit of a trek to the room. (later we found a shortcut) but we had fun on the way taking some photos.


I remember when this was a splash pad!








We had trouble scanning our bands the first day or so. They were still formed to the box so they sat funny on our wrists.







We were starving by now so we went to the food court to grab dinner. We both had pizza and dessert and got our mugs. The pizza was actually pretty good! Of course I grabbed a tye dye cheesecake, the first of many. I got a red mug and he got a green, they were the only colours out at the time. Of course 5 minutes later after we had paid they put out blue.



We ended up sitting on the left (if you're facing out from the cash registers) in the corner. All the tables were gone, just booths left and we thought it was strange. Later in the week, we noticed they had roped it off and had torn everything up!

We forgot about the mugs so we ended up going back to the room to put them away, then quickly headed for the bus. We waited about 10 minutes
for one and ended up having to stand.

On the way we realized it wasn't going to stop raining and I had put the ponchos in my checked suitcase.


​

​

 

[DisneyFreak06]

Ohh! I so love Pop Century! It was my first Disney hotel, and I've been 3 times. It's just so, so, so DISNEY!

The first seats on my DME bus were reserved too when we went. I seriously don't get that!

 

[stindall]

We debated on whether or not we wanted to buy ponchos. Ultimately we decided against it. We figured we would/could be inside or covered and we weren't going to be there very long so we'd suck it up. Plus it wasn't cold or anything.

We took a picture out front then headed inside!


This actually might be one of my favourites we took. I may edit it and print it! (I thought about editing all of these in Photoshop before starting this TR but I didn't have time. Sorry guys!)







I had wanted to get a few MM photos but I guess the rain scares PP photographers away so we didn't. Instead we headed for POTC...but it was down. So we decided on Jungle Cruise instead. The line was 20 minutes which was much longer than I've waited for it in ages! We got Benajmin as our driver and he was so funny. Sure the jokes were the ones everyone told but his delivery was great. I always get bummed when people don't participate in the speil.







After that we decided to try for POTC again and it was open! After the ride we looked through the shop a bit. I think that was because the rain picked up slightly and we wanted to wait just a bit. Who doesn't love looking at all the pirate gear though? After the shopping Aaryn decided he wanted to do Haunted Mansion so we went over there.


I actually don't remember taking this one!








You can start to see just how wet we were getting.



It's a Small World was next and after, we decided we needed a snack so we went to Gaston's tavern. We got a chocolate croissant and Lefous's brew (sans special mug) and had a nice seat in the room off to the left. Aaryn really enjoyed the brew! It was so cold though, we ended up grabbing spoons. I wish I had taken more photos of the room but there were a lot of people in it as well. There were darts all over in random places pointing to a drunken dart game. It was really fun to find all of them!









We had fast passes for Peter Pan so we went there next and Aaryn was dying to do Little Mermaid next. He hadn't been on it yet...


Our favourite part. We laughed at this guy every time!


Poor Ariel was stuck with her neck twisted!



He LOVED it! He's really into The Little Mermaid though (which I didn't know?) so shock surprise hah. Tomorrowland was next because I for sure wanted to do Space Mountain before we left, we headed straight for it! After that we did TTA then buzz. I won because I read some cheats! I filled him in on them after, I felt bad I beat him! (I hit the Volcano and the back of the robot arm) After Buzz aaryn needed to potty so he did that and I tried to video chat with Mark. He didn't answer.






Getting a bit tired.



That's where I'll leave off for now. I've got just one more update for this day!
​

 

[stindall]

Here from the PTR! Can't wait!

Welcome!

Ohh! I so love Pop Century! It was my first Disney hotel, and I've been 3 times. It's just so, so, so DISNEY!

The first seats on my DME bus were reserved too when we went. I seriously don't get that!

I can't help but love Pop, we've never had a bad experience and we aren't resort people so it's perfect.

That's so strange! I got a front seat last year. Maybe they don't like people trying to get that gate shot?

Yay! For the first day!!

It seems like it is a good start

It was indeed! Probably a good sign right?

 

[DisneyFreak06]

I can't help but love Pop, we've never had a bad experience and we aren't resort people so it's perfect.

That's so strange! I got a front seat last year. Maybe they don't like people trying to get that gate shot?

I don't get it at all, because I've sat there a few times. I can't see it being to stop people from getting the gate shot. I wonder if it's in case someone with a mobility issue needs it?

 

[DisneyFreak06]

Looks like a fun day, despite the rain! You got a lot done. The TTC was down on my trip, so it was nice to see you got to enjoy it!

 

[stindall]

I had snagged us a fast pass for Mine Train so we went there next. The both of us were so so so excited! We had thought about getting in line earlier but wanted to make sure we did a few other things first, instead of waiting in the long line. (lemme tell you now the line is so long partly because of the interactive queue. Which is cool but frustrating when all you wanna do is ride!)

We both L-O-V-E-D it!!! It's way too short but so much fun! It's probably our favourite ride now. After that we went to Enchanted Tails with Belle because the wait was super short and we hadn't done it either. It was pretty awkward. We had a group that didn't really want to participate. We tried but not our hardest. (later on we said we wanted to do it again to get a part but we didn't end up getting to it) The fx were so cool though! Aaryn was very impressed with the mirror trick. I'd seen videos but seeing it in person, I was still baffled!








This guy was a good sport. He was a fun Philippe!


This little boy was A. adorable and B. so timid! He said "roar" in the smallest, weakest possible voice (after doing it loudly in practice) and it was SO CUTE!

After that we headed to Big Thunder Mountain. Aaryn really wanted to do it at night. We ended up riding it three times! The first we caught a burst of fireworks from Magic Memories and You (I think) and the last time we caught Wishes! Like a lot of it! We also got the last ride of the night and it was just incredibly fun!


Semi-crappy photos I apologize. These were taken on a lift hill. I frantically pulled out my phone for some shots!




It looks like we're going to be abducted by aliens!

When we got off we walked a bit and stopped to watch Wishes near the Tom Saywer rafts. Again, poor photos I apologize. I always tell myself I don't need to take photos but I end up doing it anyway. (I'm glad I did actually, I almost wish I had taken more)





We took walked back towards the castle and took a few photos. We sent a few videos to our Mom and to Mark. I stopped to write some notes and to let some people get out before we fully left.








The "I'm so tired and damp" look.

We stopped for a PP photographer as they were finally out.While waiting we saw the Kiss goodnight! It was on my list of things to see but I didn't think we actually would! It was very cool! I was too in Awe to take any photos or video of it. It was the perfect end to a really great day. I'm going to admit that how well the day went made me nervous the rest of the trip might be a bust. After the 2009 trip I can't help but worry!



We decided enough people hadn't left yet so we stopped in the Emporium to shop a bit. We ended up buying magnets, a Space Mountain glass for Mark, and a Genie pin (the last one!). I'll try and take some photos of all of our merchandise later. We headed for the bus after this. It didn't actually take too long. We ended up volunteering to stand up just so we could get back sooner.


I wish I had bought these hats. I didn't see many people with them and Aaryn kept saying he was going to buy a Jack Skellington one but he never did. I wish I had bought it for him too I guess.

When we got back we looked through our photos, had a snack and drink and relaxed. we realized we didn't get any cell service at all! (We have tmobile) The wifi came in ok though so at least we had that. We also realized we didn't get Must Do Disney on our TV! Major bummer!

There's day 1 for ya! I hope to get part of day 2 up this evening. I had an employee quit so I'm working extra!
​

 

[stindall]

And of course I mean enchanted tales*! I wrote my notes on my iPhone and I guess it didn't like the spelling I tried to use!

 

[stindall]

holy triple post batman, sorry guys!

 

[stindall]

holy triple post batman, sorry guys!

 

[kaelalala]

I'm here finally following along!!

I love Pop so much. I'm getting nostalgic thinking about it hahaha that food court pizza is my LIFE I don't care what anyone says

omg, rain was the story of our life on this trip! I swear mother nature couldn't make up her mind! we took our ponchos daily and used them pretty much every day too

oh my god Ariel with her neck twisted up is the most disturbing thing I've ever seen probably hahahaha

oh my gosh, the mirror effect in Enchanted Tales is seriously the coolest thing ever. I've been told straight up how it works and I STILL am baffled every time I go. I just don't understand hahaha

sounds like you had a great first day! can't wait to see what else you get up to ^_^

 

[DisneyFreak06]

I love your wishes shots from the rides and the bridge. Very pretty.

I think you are so smart to wait until after park closure to leave. Cute hats! You know, I don't think I've seen the kiss goodnight! I so need another trip!

And Enchanted Tales with Belle I only did through FP, so I need to go back again and see the whole queue because I missed out.