The ABCs of An EPIC Girls' Trip! May, 2019-Q is for: Quietly Sending this Trip Report off Into an Internet Sunset (8/25)

Steppesister said:
Jackie!!!! It was such an awesome pleasure meeting you. I adored our time together, but most especially at Ale and Compass where I could get to know you on a more personal level. :) Congrats again!
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Thank you!!! :) I loved that evening, as well (despite our boat cancellation!). It was so relaxing! I'm excited to read about your adventures after the EPICness was over. Intrigued (and also sad!) to hear about the phone, too....
 
missjackiemcg said:
Thank you!!! :) I loved that evening, as well (despite our boat cancellation!). It was so relaxing! I'm excited to read about your adventures after the EPICness was over. Intrigued (and also sad!) to hear about the phone, too....
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Lots to share... got some new photos to replace the ones I lost... now to unpack and get myself un-discombubulated!
 
I’m here, Liesa!! Loved meeting you so much, can’t wait to read along and hope our paths will cross again very soon :hug:
 


Wow, you went on a reply marathon!! I am really looking forward to reading all about your girls trip! I am finding more DIS time at the moment as my husband away, so hopefully will be around more!

I saw that you mentioned that the next meet is planned for fall 21. I am sure it’s going to be extremely busy on October 1st that year!! We are planning to be there for that day.
 


Mollydolly334 said:
I’m here, Liesa!! Loved meeting you so much, can’t wait to read along and hope our paths will cross again very soon :hug:
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I am sure they will Molly... I would like that very much. :) And :welcome:, it's good to relive these memories with you since you were an EPIC part of it all!
 
Flossbolna said:
Wow, you went on a reply marathon!! I am really looking forward to reading all about your girls trip! I am finding more DIS time at the moment as my husband away, so hopefully will be around more!
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I did!! I was super behind (and STILL am on EVERYONE else's threads!) but am slowly catching up. Work is super slow right now (NOT in a good way!) but at least it will give me a little more time here as well.

Flossbolna said:
I saw that you mentioned that the next meet is planned for fall 21. I am sure it’s going to be extremely busy on October 1st that year!! We are planning to be there for that day.
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That is the unofficial rumor. I'd sure love to be there! And yes, I'm certain it will be... how much more the EPICness!
 
Wow, I'm only 20 pages late! I have to say, I always wondered why your reports were so EPICly popular and after having had the pleasure of meeting you in real life I now know why! :hug: We loved chatting with you at dinner and beyond. I look forward to catching up!!
 
V is for: VERY Excited for my VERY Early Departure!
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Vacation begins when one saunters out the door from the last shift of work. It's an unwritten rule and truth. If you don't believe me, this is what vacation face looks like:

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For those of you just joining in, or for those who've forgotten because you've been skimming, I was originally slated to leave on Thursday, May 3rd. When I found out about some incredible magic that was to be granted to our happy little group, I contracted a quite curable case of FOMO. Drastic measures had to be taken as an antidote- the only cure known is to add days to the trip. It's what sensible traveler's to Disney do anyway. So I did.

The only hitch was that Kelly, @buzzrelly , and I had a couple of days of white-knuckle hotel searching. Apparently, Disney Properties do INDEED sell out, or at least appear to and while we found a couple of do-able options, in the end, @jedijill opened up her bag of pixie dust and practically covered us from head to toe with 2 nights in her Kidani room with a Savanah view. Hello!

With a far better option than crashing on a Disney lawn somewhere, it was time to put the finishing touches on packing. Most of you do know that I start to pack for my Disney trips weeks in advance, and by Monday, I was down to putting in the last few items like... you know... underwear. (If you have read my past TRs, you'll get that rather obscure reference.) And while underwear ARE important, it became odiferously clear that deodorant is equally important in 90 degree Florida heat. I brought the EPIC stink to the Meet; I mean someone had to show up with that contribution, no? On the bright side, it was just where I left it on the bathroom counter when I got home.

I was off around 4:00 on Tuesday which gave me plenty of time to spend a little time with my son who was taking me to the shuttle drop off point around 2:10 AM that night.

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It was the first time I took an airport shuttle and I'll never go back to parking at the airport or finding a sceevy motel to camp in before my early morning flights. We ended up going out for dinner and I LOVED starting my vacay mode just relaxing over a prickly pear marg and some pork belly tacos. Let the Chunky begin...

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In order to get a very few precious hours of non-sleep, I began trying around 8:00. But as with most of my pre-travel "sleep" it was futile and I was up at 1:00 AM getting all gussied up for people I'd never see again. As for meeting @buzzrelly , I already knew I'd be a hot mess anyway because it takes approximately 14 seconds in the Florida weather to look like crap. Oh well, Kelly, I tried!

The shuttle was precisely on time, and I loaded up my bags and we were on our way. I checked into my flight and sent off my bag with no problems. My bag was well under 50 pounds and I breezed to my gate with more than an hour to spare. I'm one of those weirdos who would rather sit for over an hour with a cup of coffee and my phone, than run to a gate. Because A) running happens very little anymore (unless there is a Disney bus waiting at my depot and I see it from the park exit), and B) I've missed or almost missed too many flights in my irresponsible past. When you saunter you end up with enough time on your hands feet to add a little silly:

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Remember that coffee? It does 2 things. It wakes me up and tastes delicious. But more importantly, it absolutely ensures that I will be the most annoying seatmate EVER to the unfortunate souls who chose to take the middle and aisle next to me.

Fools.

"I'm sorry, I really hope this will be the only time I will have to get up to use the restroom, but no guarantees." <said knowing full well that I will be up at least 3 more times>

"No problem!"

Well, at least I wasn't a screaming baby. No judging from this quarter. I've been that parent a few (dozen) times.

I've grown accustomed to taking the exit row seats when I travel now as they make sure I get first dibs on getting out if I need to. Fellow passengers be damned. They also have extra leg room and my rather largish carry-on fits under the seat in front of me so I don't have to wrestle it into an overhead bin. If there's room for it at all up there once I get on. I ended up with this view:

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And yes, I did end up peeing 4 times on that 5.5 hour flight and each time my drunk seat mates had to fold up their laptops, stow their tray tables, balance their gin and tonics (they had 3 each), and let me out. I'm not sure what's worse, exit row passengers who've had 3 stiff drinks, or one who isn't there most of the time.

Finally landing, I remembered my carry-on, hat, and jacket, and made my way to the nearest bathroom (shush you), then down to baggage claim area by way of the fake-o-rail.

JACv.gif


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...only to find out that I went to the wrong side- Southwest flights are on Side A which is approximately as far as the trek from the Oasis to Expedition Everest on a hot Florida day. :rolleyes2 Swearing all the way back to Side A, I wasted about 15 minutes of precious Disney time. Then again, I also wasted time admiring this mosaic which caught my eye, so I guess I should shut up and move on.

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As a side note: Remember Boys and Girls, if you add extra days onto the front end of a trip with very little notice you don't get any shiny yellow tags. Why yes, Disney luggage services ARE all they are cracked up to be. Also, I did talk to ME a day or so before I left and they did tell me I could have used the tags for Coronado... just to scratch off "Coronado" and write in "XXX Resort" in sharpie. I wish I'd had that conversation with them BEFORE I'd thrown them away.

As I was waiting for my bag, I received a 2nd shot of pixie dust. My phone lit up with a text from @docsoliday1 saying he was in the area and was offering to pick me up and take me to Kidani! That would MORE than make up for lost time and save me 45 minutes, and quite possibly more. I gratefully accepted this unexpected gift and earlier than planned DISMeet as originally I didn't think I'd see Doc until our O'hana dinner a couple of days later. Bag safely in hand, I met him on the curb and WAS HEADED TO DISNEY! We happily chatted like old friends all the way to Kidani Village. Finally, I was "home" again.

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I quickly dumped my bags at Bell Services, donned my Magic Band, grabbed my camera and off we went. Doc had offered to drive me to EPCOT (who'd say no to that?!) and soon I was feeling the magic all over again. Okay, right after bag check I was feeling the magic all over again. :rolleyes:

 
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The fun is about to begin!! :lovestruc

How incredibly kind of Doc to come collect you at the airport! My limited experience has show him to be such a thoughtful and generous friend!
 
I always take the aisle seat now just so I don't have to climb over people!

Yay you have arrived!!!

Jill in CO
 
pepperandchips said:
Wow, I'm only 20 pages late! I have to say, I always wondered why your reports were so EPICly popular and after having had the pleasure of meeting you in real life I now know why! :hug: We loved chatting with you at dinner and beyond. I look forward to catching up!!
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Hey Lady! What fun you are here! :) I have so many reports I need to find and join. Today was unpacking, photo organizing, meeting my new roommate, and shopping. OY! Coming home is HARD!

You've only missed a bit of pre-trip drama; the REAL fun is only beginning! I super enjoyed dinner with you as well and getting to know you just a little bit. I loved how we laughed and made some fantastic memories!

I hope this will be a TR worth reading. It was certainly a mixed bag this time around with both really EPIC and really hard.
 
jedijill said:
I always take the aisle seat now just so I don't have to climb over people!

Yay you have arrived!!!

Jill in CO
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I would have in a flash, but the aisle seats DO have about 2 less inches in the space under the seat in front of you, and my bag was just barely too big. I hopped over to the window and it went in fine. Tight, but fine.
 
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