Graduation Celebration: HOT days, fun times, and plenty of food

I have only been home for 20 hours, and I am already missing the most magical place on earth, ESPECIALLY the weather. When I left Florida it was 95, and now I'm stuck with a high of 67. What's with mother nature? Anyway, I had an awesome 10 days at WDW, and I am excited to share my vacation with the wdwmagic family!

If any of you haven't read my pre-trip report, you can read it at this link: http://forums.wdwmagic.com/showthread.php?t=750730

WARNING: There may be some grammar mistakes in this report. I am a very fast typer, and I sometimes skip words or make spelling mistakes. I'm only human. Also, I am no Tom Bricker (WDWFigment), which means my photos aren't fantastic, but I try.

After 5 months of planning, June 11th was finally here. I was supposed to wake up at 4:30 am, but I hit the snooze which caused me to sleep in till 5:30. After getting all of our stuff together, we hit the road. Goodbye boring/cold Illinois! Hello warm/tropical Florida!

Here is a fantastic (sarcasm) photo of me and my disney girls. Don't I just look so alive? At least I'm representing my team.


IMG_0251 by jessicamanning19, on Flickr

Here is our crazy amount of luggage, but hey were women! We need a lot of stuff!


IMG_0253 by jessicamanning19, on Flickr
At 6 am, we hit the road. Because everyone in our group has their license, we were all able to take turns driving. And guess who drove first? The one who has the least experience driving! My 16 year old sister, Jodi. I will admit, she is a pretty decent driver, but she scares me sometimes. With that said, my mom watched her very closely. She drove about 5 hours. Then, my mom took over until the middle of Tennessee.

AHHHHHHHH

IMG_0255 by jessicamanning19, on Flickr

Goofing off in the car:

IMG_0958 by jessicamanning19, on Flickr

Rock on!

IMG_0260 by jessicamanning19, on Flickr

I'm so glad Katie was excited for the car ride. Good thing she doesn't know about this website, or she probably would kill me.

DSC_0447 by jessicamanning19, on Flickr

YAY for Kentucky!

DSC_0462 by jessicamanning19, on Flickr

Hello Nashville! Sadly, I fell asleep, and was not able to take a picture of "Welcome to Tennessee!".

DSC_0469 by jessicamanning19, on Flickr

After driving through Kentucky and a little bit of Tennessee, my mom needed to rest her back, so I took over. I have a fear of driving in the mountains, and I was a tad freaked out about driving through them. Even though there not that bad, the mountains still freak me out. My mom talked me through, and I successfully drove through them. Phew! That was a relief.

Hello Atlanta! Katie took the picture because I was driving. Yes, I missed the Georgia welcome sign, but I was driving.

IMG_0267 by jessicamanning19, on Flickr

After Atlanta, I got tired, so my mom took over. We made it to the border of Georgia at about 11:00. We decided to stay in a hotel for the night. We made our exit in Valdosta, GA. Finding a hotel was a NIGHTMARE. Every hotel was booked because Lady Antebellum was in town for a concert. WOW, we would choose to stay in a town with every hotel booked. It was insane! We were so desperate we even tried staying in this crack motel...


IMG_0959 by jessicamanning19, on Flickr

HA! You gotta love the name. Unfortunately, they were booked, but the guy offered that we could stay downstairs... Oh my gosh. I don't even want to know what goes on downstairs. So we got the heck away from that place. Luckily, the sleep inn had one room left. It was a "suite" with a whirlpool. Woohoo! How fancy! You should have seen this place. It was no suite. Jodi and Katie were forced to sleep on the pull out couch, but they survived.

Stay tuned!!!!
 
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Disneygal1

Disneygal1

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
After only sleeping for several hours we got up and headed to breakfast. I'm a big fan of the waffle house. It's so stuck in the 80's and is very cheesy, but I love it. Luckily there was one right next to the hotel.


DSC_0474 by jessicamanning19, on Flickr


IMG_0961 by jessicamanning19, on Flickr


IMG_0964 by jessicamanning19, on Flickr


IMG_0966 by jessicamanning19, on Flickr

As you can tell I was very excited to have orange juice. I have no idea why. Anyway, the food was pretty good. I thought my waffle was awesome. So did the rest of the girls.

After the waffle house, we hit the road, again. It wasn't long before we got to the Florida border.

YAYY!!!!!!! I love that sign.

DSC_0479 by jessicamanning19, on Flickr

And what would be a vacation without stopping at the Florida Welcome Center?! I feel as though the welcome center is some type of flagstone representing that our long expedition is almost over, and we are very close to Disney.


DSC_0485 by jessicamanning19, on Flickr


DSC_0488 by jessicamanning19, on Flickr

Gotta love the iPhone Disney countdown app!


IMG_0960 by jessicamanning19, on Flickr

We got back on the road again, and got stuck in traffic on Florida's turnpike. There was a horrible accident. Sadly, we saw it, and it was fatal. It kind of took off the excited Disney buzz. About 20 minutes later, we saw these signs:


DSC_0491 by jessicamanning19, on Flickr


DSC_0492 by jessicamanning19, on Flickr

We regained our disney excitement. Ahh we're almost there!!!!!!!!!!!

more to come.......
 
dixiegirl

dixiegirl

Well-Known Member
More, More More!!!!!:ROFLOL:So far so good ! And I love the perfect mix of pics and report! (gotta tell you may have to "borrow " your Jolly Inn hotel pic to show the hubby, Its our last name so its quite comical!

But keep up the great report!
 
foreverbelle

foreverbelle

Well-Known Member
The Jolly Inn cracked me up! What a way to start the morning reading this. Great thus far!!

We usually fly, but lately have driven quite often, I love getting to the Welcome Center in FL and agree that it always seems like some kind of milestone. Its like wahoo you have arrived.

Can't wait to read more!!
 
catnrob

catnrob

Active Member
I love your TR so far! The excitement on your faces tell soo much! It's impossible for me not to share your excitement. Glad you had fun - sorry you are home though.:(
 
Disneygal1

Disneygal1

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
dixiegirl said:
More, More More!!!!!:ROFLOL:So far so good ! And I love the perfect mix of pics and report! (gotta tell you may have to "borrow " your Jolly Inn hotel pic to show the hubby, Its our last name so its quite comical!

But keep up the great report!
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Go ahead! What a coincidence! :)

foreverbelle said:
The Jolly Inn cracked me up! What a way to start the morning reading this. Great thus far!!

We usually fly, but lately have driven quite often, I love getting to the Welcome Center in FL and agree that it always seems like some kind of milestone. Its like wahoo you have arrived.

Can't wait to read more!!
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I'm glad you're enjoying it! I love the Florida Welcome Center, especially the free orange juice.

catnrob said:
I love your TR so far! The excitement on your faces tell soo much! It's impossible for me not to share your excitement. Glad you had fun - sorry you are home though.:(
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We were so excited. It's amazing how 10 days can go by so fast.

WDWmazprty said:
Great report! I liked when you showed the Nashville skyline, thats my current home! :D

Keep the pics coming! :wave:
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That's awesome! I love Nashville.
 
Disneygal1

Disneygal1

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Welcome home!!!

12:45: We made it! I love that sign. It automatically puts me in a good mood.


DSC_0498 by jessicamanning19, on Flickr

Off to Pop Century! I have never stayed at pop before, but my friends have. They seemed to like it. I was excited to see how our stay there would turn out. It took my mom a while to find the resort. I didn't realize how far out in the boondocks pop is! Wow! It's so far. I'm used to staying at Fort Wilderness, and as most of y'all know, it's pretty close to the magic kingdom. Luckily, we drove, so we didn't have to worry about waiting for buses and such to get the parks. Alright, enough with my complaining. Here are some pics!

Don't you just love our antenna topper?

DSC_0504 by jessicamanning19, on Flickr


DSC_0506 by jessicamanning19, on Flickr


DSC_0507 by jessicamanning19, on Flickr


DSC_0508 by jessicamanning19, on Flickr


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DSC_0512 by jessicamanning19, on Flickr


DSC_0515 by jessicamanning19, on Flickr


DSC_0514 by jessicamanning19, on Flickr

While we checked in we tried being sneaky and getting more of a premium room, which is next to the pool. Yeah, that didn't work. Pop was pretty much booked solid. We got out room in the 80's building, which may seem far from the lobby and everything, but it's not. Our hotel room was 7308. I had the number tattooed in my brain the entire vacation. We also had a very nice bell hop take our bags to our room. I kind of felt bad because we had so much luggage and our room was far, but we tipped him well.


DSC_0577_2 by jessicamanning19, on Flickr

Hotel room pictures to come!
 
Disneygal1

Disneygal1

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
We put our key card in the slot and opened the door. Then bam! Right there was the bed. It was put right in front of the door! Geez I have never seen anything like this, but then again, I rarely stay in the hotels. We usually camp in our rv. But I mean really? In front of the door? Is this normal for all Disney resorts, or is this just a value resort thing? Anyway, here are some photos of the room.

I have no idea what they are doing in this picture.

DSC_0520 by jessicamanning19, on Flickr

The TV

DSC_0521 by jessicamanning19, on Flickr

The sink

DSC_0522 by jessicamanning19, on Flickr

The bathroom

DSC_0523 by jessicamanning19, on Flickr

Katie loves Ariel

DSC_0524 by jessicamanning19, on Flickr

Our cute little creation from the maid.

DSC_0519 by jessicamanning19, on Flickr

The pool. Woo hoo! How exciting! A square pool. I know it's suppose to be a computer, but really? Why not something different?

DSC_0534 by jessicamanning19, on Flickr

After getting unpacked and whatnot, we got ready for dinner. If any of you have read my pre-trip report, you know how I had been trying to get an ADR for Chef Mickey's for the first night. I kept trying and trying, but there was no luck. While we were driving down to disney, I finally got reservations! I made the reservations the day of. Someone probably canceled theirs, but I got really lucky. Also another heads up for you all who are reading, we were on the dining plan. I got really lucky. My aunt received a pin code for free dining for the summer. I was able to use hers. So MANY thanks to my aunt. We also upgraded the dining plan from quick service to the table service plan. It ended up costing us $15 a person per day which is half (I think). So we got a reallyyyyyyyyy good deal.

We were so excited to go to Chef Mickey's. We haven't eaten there in several years. So we were curious on how it would be.

Someone's ready to go...

DSC_0531 by jessicamanning19, on Flickr

We drove to the Contemporary and checked into Chef Mickey's. We actually got there before it opened (which was about 4:45). Some little girl got chosen to "cut" the rope, and open the restaurant. It was very cute.

Us waiting

DSC_0559 by jessicamanning19, on Flickr

Our photo!

chef mickeys2 by jessicamanning19, on Flickr

Up next: food and hotel hopping!
 
Disneygal1

Disneygal1

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Chef Mickey's was pretty decent as usual. It wasn't anything spectacular but it was fun seeing the characters and waving the napkins.


DSC_0573 by jessicamanning19, on Flickr

Haha they look so happy

DSC_0579 by jessicamanning19, on Flickr

Everything on the plate was pretty good. The only food I didn't like was the rice, it had no taste.

DSC_0566 by jessicamanning19, on Flickr


DSC_0576 by jessicamanning19, on Flickr
Yum! I loved the dessert(s).

I also got a cupcake from our waiter for my graduation. It was delicious.

DSC_0585 by jessicamanning19, on Flickr

After dinner, we hopped on the monorail and visited the resorts.

"Please stand clear of the doors. Por favor manténganse alejado de las puertas."

DSC_0587 by jessicamanning19, on Flickr


DSC_0588 by jessicamanning19, on Flickr

I noticed these guys in the Polynesian's gift shop.

DSC_0608 by jessicamanning19, on Flickr


DSC_0609 by jessicamanning19, on Flickr
 
Disneygal1

Disneygal1

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Sarabell

Sarabell

Well-Known Member
looks like this is gonna be a fun trip report! I love your pics! is anything better than a girls trip? I can´t think of better company than my mom and my sister to take a trip to WDW. The 3 of us are going in september and I´m sure we´ll have so much fun together!

I´ll be waiting for more posts:wave:
 
meganw1985

meganw1985

Active Member
Hello fellow Illinoisian! :wave: You drove right through my hometown on your way through!

I am loving your trip report! We stayed at Pop once, and were also in the 80s section. It was pretty far removed from everything and the rooms were TOO tiny. But the theming was great and we loved the food court! Like all the pictures of the drive down (as it looks the same as when we drive down :lol: )so it brings me back to how I feel on our treks to Disney. I am one of those crazy people who *like* to drive, as it builds the anticipation! Plus you are extra excited when you finally get there!

If you hadn't been able to get Chef Mickey's reservations, where were you guys planning on going?

Waiting for more report!!!
 
sweetpee_1993

sweetpee_1993

Well-Known Member
Such a fun start! Loving it! Our first 4 family trips to WDW were all at Pop so it's a special little place for us. For location alone I love the 80s. We also had better luck with the laundry facilities there.

Can't wait for more!!!
 
PeoplemoverTTA

PeoplemoverTTA

Well-Known Member
Loving your TR! Only 53 days until my own girls' trip (me, sister, mom, cousin, aunt and grandma - all 6 of us in two rooms at POFQ). I'm living vicariously through your TR to tide me over until my trip :lol:
 
Disneygal1

Disneygal1

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Sarabell said:
looks like this is gonna be a fun trip report! I love your pics! is anything better than a girls trip? I can´t think of better company than my mom and my sister to take a trip to WDW. The 3 of us are going in september and I´m sure we´ll have so much fun together!

I´ll be waiting for more posts:wave:
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I love girls trips! I am looking forward to reading your trip report!

meganw1985 said:
Hello fellow Illinoisian! :wave: You drove right through my hometown on your way through!

I am loving your trip report! We stayed at Pop once, and were also in the 80s section. It was pretty far removed from everything and the rooms were TOO tiny. But the theming was great and we loved the food court! Like all the pictures of the drive down (as it looks the same as when we drive down :lol: )so it brings me back to how I feel on our treks to Disney. I am one of those crazy people who *like* to drive, as it builds the anticipation! Plus you are extra excited when you finally get there!

If you hadn't been able to get Chef Mickey's reservations, where were you guys planning on going?

Waiting for more report!!!
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Hello there! I always love to see fellow Illinoisans on here. I totally agree with you on the rooms being very small at pop, too small for that matter. Especially when we were paying 120-140 a night (it's not that bad), but I can't complain, a moderate resort would be much more expensive. I too love to drive down! The only thing I hate is driving back! I love the anticipation of driving down there, but all of that is lost when we drive back haha.

To the Chef Mickey question, our only plan was to eat there. The Disney representative on the phone told me that we would most likely be able to walk in. I have done this before in the past. I also think your chances increase if you try getting in once dinner opens. For example, I believe Chef Mickey's dinner opens at 5. Not that many people were there at five even though the restaurant was supposedly "booked". I think Disney has some type of system down where they can allow walk-ins.

sweetpee_1993 said:
Such a fun start! Loving it! Our first 4 family trips to WDW were all at Pop so it's a special little place for us. For location alone I love the 80s. We also had better luck with the laundry facilities there.

Can't wait for more!!!
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Thank you! I definitely believe that Pop Century is perfect for kids. We did our laundry there once, and a dryer and washer were out of service, but we dealt with it.

PeoplemoverTTA said:
Loving your TR! Only 53 days until my own girls' trip (me, sister, mom, cousin, aunt and grandma - all 6 of us in two rooms at POFQ). I'm living vicariously through your TR to tide me over until my trip :lol:
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Thanks! It's exciting to read other's TRs. Luckily, you won't have to deal with the crazy crowds like we did!
 

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