Trip Report Turning 30 - A two week birthday celebration!

Hi, everybody! Well, here we are. Two weeks after returning from the World and I’ve had a serious case of the Disney blues. Probably more so than after any other Disney trip we've been on. So, it took me a bit to gather the strength to start a trip report. But, I'm ready to tell you all about our amazing two week trip!

If you didn't read my pre-trip report, let me introduce you to the cast:
From left to right: My mom, My sister Katie, and myself (Crystal)
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When: January 10-24
Where: 2 nights at DoubleTree Hilton by Universal; 12 nights at Disney's Boardwalk Villas
Celebrating: My 30th birthday!

So, here we go; let’s just dive right in! (This is my first trip report by the way. Hope you enjoy it :))


Day One - Saturday, Jan. 10 - Arrival Day and Universal Studios!

Saturday morning started off pretty smoothly for Katie and me, considering we only got about two hours of sleep. We were packed. Luggage was by the door. We woke up on time and were ready to go by 4:30 am, which was ahead of schedule! Go us! My dad would be so proud.....

And then, I decided I wanted to double check the weight of my bag. I had been very proud of myself for fitting two weeks worth of clothing and necessities in my suitcase. With room to spare. The mistake I made, however, was thinking the required weight was 50 lbs. But that's for international flights, not domestic. and I remembered that little tidbit at the last minute. I weighed my bag and it was 55 lbs! So, I scrambled upstairs for another suitcase and threw half of my previously, neatly packed stuff into the 2nd suitcase. And at this point, it was closer to 5am, which was still on schedule, but I was now a little frazzled and frustrated that I would have to pay for another bag. But, on the plus side, I'd have room to bring souvenirs back and not have to ship them!

So, we said bye to our fur babies (my dad and uncle would be taking turns taking care of them while we were gone),headed to my parents' house to meet my mom, transferred our luggage to my dad's truck, and were on our way! I made sure to add my extra checked bag online on the way to the airport, and listened to my dad make fun of me for being such a girl with so much stuff :rolleyes:

I don't really have any airport pics. Things went very smoothly. We got through security check, had some breakfast, and then next thing we knew, we were boarding our flight!

Bye Houston!
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Disneygrl

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
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Little did I know, this would be my last chance to get a picture of the Walt and Mickey statue. Wish I had gotten a close up :( Next time it would be covered with construction walls. :oops:

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We're going on an adventure!
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First up, Jungle Cruise! Not our favorite, but it still has that nostalgic factor, so we enjoy it. I can't remember our skipper's name, but she was pretty funny.
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Up next...
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Surprisingly, everything was working properly. Also, I have to say, this is the first time I noticed the mermaids swimming in the water. Someone told me they were added a couple years ago. Guess I need to be a little more observant.
 

Disneygrl

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Now, here is where Katie and I felt extremely triumphant. You all know Katie doesn't like big thrill rides, but she enjoys Disney roller coasters. My mom, however, doesn't like roller coasters at all. She's never been on any of them at Disney except for RnRC, and she HATED that. So, Katie and I were kind of determined to make it happen this time because she didn't have the excuse to stay back with a little one. So we just made our way to our next destination and kept quiet...

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And guess what, she didn't put up a fuss! She just asked, "Will it make me sick?" I told her it was a pretty tame ride and on we went. Look at those happy CM's ^.

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So, not only did we get mom on a roller coaster, she had soooo much fun. So much fun that we went 2 more times :joyfull:

Roller Coaster Selfie! It's the wildest ride in the wilderness!

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I also took video of one of our rides to send my friend. He was there for part of my trip November 2012, and we probably rode BTMRR ten times in one day.

From there, we headed to the HM.

I think I took this pic to show how few people were on this side of the park that morning. It was dead! Meanwhile, the wait for SDMT was over an hour.
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mrdrift

Well-Known Member
What a wonderful start to the day. I myself have not been to the park since all the construction has started and was a little shocked by your pictures. They keep saying that all the construction is for the greater good. It's good to hear that you were able to get your mom on BTM and she really enjoyed it. I only wish I can be in the park with the crowd being so little. Following along.
 

Disneygrl

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
What a wonderful start to the day. I myself have not been to the park since all the construction has started and was a little shocked by your pictures. They keep saying that all the construction is for the greater good. It's good to hear that you were able to get your mom on BTM and she really enjoyed it. I only wish I can be in the park with the crowd being so little. Following along.
There were definitely a few times on this trip when I vowed I wouldn't go back until all construction was complete! lol. I tried not to let it get to me, but that view down mainstreet was just heartbreaking. I can only imagine how DL is right now with the castle completely covered.

The crowds definitely got bigger as the week went on, but these moments were so great.
 

Disneygrl

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
So, to recap, we had been on Jungle Cruise, PoTC, BTMRR (3X's), and HM. And it was only a little after 10am! We were having a great day so far.

I try not to drink sodas, but I have a bit of a caffeine problem, so I needed coffee. We were also kind of hungry. So, we decided it was time for some Starbucks.

On the way...

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Beautiful, blue skies!
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This was my favorite spot to take castle pics. No crane in the background!

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And moving on..
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We each got a coffee from Starbucks and my mom and I split a breakfast sandwich. We were just sitting down to eat, when we heard Dream Along With Mickey begin. I opted not to watch it, because I wasn't a fan of the construction walls being all up in the way, but Katie found herself a spot to watch while we finished our breakfast.

Here are some pics she took of the show with her phone..
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Now that I had re-fueled, we headed for Tomorrowland.
 

Disneygrl

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Next stop.. Monster's Inc. Laugh Floor!
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The show was cute, but I wasn't really impressed with whoever was doing the voices for the characters. I just think they need a little more practice.

It was now time for our SDMT fp, so we headed that way.
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Is it just me, or does it seem like Disney underestimated how long the lines would be for this ride? It just doesn't seem like there's not enough stand-by space.
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We loved the ride. We sang along with the dwarfs, and we enjoyed the close up of Snow White dancing with them in the cottage. I do agree with others, though; I don't think I would ever stand in a stand-by line for such a short ride.
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mrdrift

Well-Known Member
I have to say that all of your pictures are really vibrant and detailed. Some year my pictures will turn out as good as yours.The SDMT ride pictures are really cute, I can't wait to try this ride. Following along.
 

Disneygrl

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I have to say that all of your pictures are really vibrant and detailed. Some year my pictures will turn out as good as yours.The SDMT ride pictures are really cute, I can't wait to try this ride. Following along.
Thank you so much!
 

Disneygrl

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Ok, I'm back. After a very busy weekend, I'm ready to tell you more about Day 3!

Magic Kingdom continued....

We still had some time to kill before our Enchanted Tales with Belle FP, so we decided to visit Ariel under the sea. The Little Mermaid is the first Disney movie I remember seeing as a kid. I watched it so much that I broke our VHS tape and my mom refused to buy me a new one for awhile, ha! She partly attributes Katie's red hair to the fact that I made her watch it allll the time when she was pregnant with her :p
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Look at the little Merida in the pic above! She was ADORABLE.

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I was never really that interested in light fixtures until I started reading TR's on here.

Now for some very blurry ride pics...
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Disneygrl

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
More blurry ride pics
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"Poor unfortunate souls"
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And we're back on land! Can't resist a picture with King Triton!
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After our pic was taken, I had to set a few guys straight who kept insisting that King Triton and Poseidon were one and the same. It was an educational experience for them ;)

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ScarletBegonias

Well-Known Member
Loving this report so far! I am a HUGE Harry Potter fan and I'm pretty darn excited to go see it all! The pictures make me even more excited! Your pictures are so crisp and pretty!!
 

mrdrift

Well-Known Member
Once again some really great pictures. My daughter just loves the Little Mermaid ride and can't get enough of it. Following along.
 

Disneygrl

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Just wanted to check in and let you know that I will update more on the trip report next week. It has been a CRAAAAZY month!

My sister has started reading the trip report, and she keeps reminding me that I need to update it. I PROMISE I will continue next week :)

Also, can you believe that we've scheduled another trip for October of this year?? It just happened to work out, so Katie, a friend of ours and I will spend 5 nights in Disney, October 20-25! I feel so much better now that I have another trip to plan with an official date!

Have a great weekend everyone!
 

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