Trip Report Fairytales Do Come True...

Well friends, we've returned from a magical, rainy, pixie dust filled trip that will NEVER be topped in my book. :) I have so much to share with you that I simply couldn't wait any longer! The first post is a little word-heavy, but I promise the rest of the report will have LOTS of pictures!

Here's my PTR if you'd like to read it!
http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/prince-charmings-1st-trip-june-2017.922944/

Here we go! :joyfull:

Tuesday, 6/6

We had a 4pm flight out of Pittsburgh so fortunately didn't have to rush around much the morning that we left. We did some last minute packing and cleaning before loading everything up and heading to drop Tink off at my parents' house. She spent the first 4 days there and the last 4 days with Dylan's mom (and her wiener dog boyfriend :angelic:).

It's never easy leaving this sweet little baby. :( She knew something was up! Fortunately she was a good girl all week and had lots of fun with her grandmas! ;)
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Disney here we come!!!!! :joyfull:
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We were on the road a few minutes after 1pm and it didn't take long for me to take over Dylan's Pandora with the Disney station. :p We arrived at 3pm and parking was a nightmare! We were starting to really cut it close and I was stressing. We went to check our bags and were informed that our flight was delayed until 7:30pm due to weather. It was extremely frustrating to be delayed, but it was a blessing in disguise because we were so short on time. So much for having time to do something on arrival day. :(

We went to TGI Friday's for some snacks. Dylan had pretzels and I had French Onion Soup. I was dreaming about BOG soup. :hungry: It was fine, nothing spectacular! But it filled our tummies and held us over until we got to Orlando.
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After our long delay, we finally boarded our flight and took off right on time at 7:30pm.

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Let me just preface the next part of my report by saying we literally had the BEST flight crew ever! They were so much fun!

The flight attendants went through the typical safety speech but when they were done, one came back over the intercom and said, "I've been asked what to do if you have more than one child. Which one should you put the mask on first? You put it on the one who has the most earning potential OR the one who's going to change your diapers in the years to come. Because that's coming." :hilarious::hilarious::hilarious:

When we started our descent into Orlando, the same flight attendant came back on and sang our landing directions to the tune of "She'll Be Coming Around the Mountain." Then, another flight attendant came on and sang a farewell song to the tune of "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah." I wish I would have recorded them so I could remember the words. They were HILARIOUS! I love Southwest. :)

We finally landed at 9:30pm and headed to ME. Dylan stopped for some McDonalds in the food court on the way, lol. My mom bought me a Belle MagicBand for Christmas and I had called the day before to get it activated because it wasn't letting me do it myself. Well, it still wasn't working when I scanned it at the ME counter. :cautious: Fortunately, I had thrown my band for this trip in my carry on so scanned it for the time being.

Being that we landed close to 10pm, I wasn't sure about whether or not ME would get our luggage for us. The CM at the counter said we were fine and they would get it. It made me a little nervous, but we took her word for it.
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We boarded a boring Mears bus at 10:10 and pulled out a few minutes later. The welcome video was broken so we watched Brave instead. :(
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We arrived home at 10:45pm! :joyfull: This is the best I could do, lol.
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We went to the front desk to get my MagicBand fixed which only took a few minutes. I also never received my "room ready" text so had to figure out where we were staying. We were in the Hoops Hotel section! I took these pictures later in the week since it was dark when we arrived. :)
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I had requested a first floor room, thinking it would be nice to not have to walk up and down steps or ride the elevator. It ended up being pretty noisy with all the people walking by. We're both heavy sleepers and even more so because we were always exhausted at the end of the day, so it wasn't a huge deal. But I just thought it was worth mentioning for those of you who are light sleepers or have little ones!

We stopped in the food court for a snack and our mugs, as we were on the dining plan. We ate our snacks in our room and then hopped into bed!

I woke up at 3:30am and we still didn't have our luggage. There was a message on the phone that was left at 1am saying our luggage was there.. to call when we needed it and they would bring it to the room. I went back to sleep and called when we got up at 6:30am. I was on hold for 15 minutes and when they answered, was told luggage services didn't open until 7am. :cautious: Then why did you leave me a message saying to call when I wanted it delivered? Our luggage arrived a few minutes after 7am so it ended up being fine.

Next up, Magic Kingdom!!!! :joyfull:

7,183 steps
5.74 miles
 
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blreinsel

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Ugh... I go on vacation (a non-Disney vacation :() for a week and I fall so far behind on these message boards. I'm trying to catch up!! I may have already said it, but Congratulations on your Disney Engagement!!! :D

I'm still so far behind on everybody else's reports, so don't feel bad! Lol Thank you so much! The feelings are still just as happy and exciting as the day it happened! :joyfull:

In PA? Great, then I can come!!! :) I can do a trip report!!!

Lol! I'll assign all of my WDW Magic friends to the same table so dinner conversation can consist of Disney and only Disney. :p
 

blreinsel

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Saturday, 6/10 cont.

The show started shortly after we were led to our "VIP seats" and I was excited to watch without heads blocking my view. ;)
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Right after the opening number, one of the performers approached us to shake my hand and welcome us to the show. Then, he said that he needed a volunteer before pulling Dylan up off of his seat and leading him away. :hilarious:
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I was enjoying this a lot more than he was. :hilarious:
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For your enjoyment.... :rolleyes::p He's such a good sport. :inlove:



The rest of the show went off without a hitch and we couldn't have had better seats!
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Dylan was impressed with the tumble monkeys, but I mean... who doesn't love some tumble monkey shenanigans. :joyfull:
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He thought this part was awesome. Meanwhile, I'm just cringing at the thought of touching fire. :cautious::rolleyes:
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I'm completely memorized by this scene... and I always seem to get something in my eye. Must be something Disney pumps into the theatre at that exact moment. ;):rolleyes:
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This show is just phenomenal. A true testament to Disney's caliber of entertainment. :)
 

blreinsel

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Saturday, 6/10 cont.

I'm a little out of order here, but these were taken on our way to Asia as well. :)
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We had a FP+ for one of my favorites! :joyfull:
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Dylan liked it, too! He said that it started out pretty slow and he figured it wouldn't be that great of a ride. But it of course picked up the pace and proved him wrong. :p
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We continued on our way after dancing with the Yeti to hit another fun AK show. :)
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I actually didn't love this as much as I did the last time I saw it.. I'm not sure why. :( Don't get me wrong, it's still a cute show. But it just didn't give me the warm fuzzies like it has in the past.
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My FP+ strategizing was a little off and had us trekking back to where we came from for our third reservation. Oh well. :rolleyes:
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I see you Rivers of Light. :cool:
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blreinsel

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Saturday, 6/10 cont.

We walked the rest of the way back to Africa to hop on a two week long safari with Katie! :) She was extremely informative and seemed to genuinely love her job. She made the trip so much more enjoyable with her enthusiasm!
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Really not looking forward to seeing relatives of these guys on a regular basis once we move. :cautious:
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Time for my favorite part of the safari. :)
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There were lots of animals out and they were ACTIVE! :D
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Hello you little beauties. :inlove:
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They had no interest in moving out of our way... And I wasn't even mad. :p I love the giraffes!


I've recently developed an elephant obsession. Is there anything cuter than a baby elephant? :inlove: The adults are pretty cool, too. :rolleyes:
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blreinsel

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Saturday, 6/10 cont.

Some more safari pictures for your enjoyment. :)
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Mr. Lazy was actually up and moving for once! :cat:
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The ladies had other ideas. :)
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We returned from our journey and Dylan asked if we could walk the Gorilla Falls Trails. I happily obliged, as I've never seen them before. :) I made us a FP+ for Dinosaur as we walked.
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This guy was swimming circles and was pretty entertaining. :)
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Tink always sits up like this when she wants something.. We originally taught her how to do it as a trick but she immediately realized how adorable we think it is and uses it to her advantage now. :hilarious::inlove: We were really missing her, so of course I had to take a picture!
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Remember how I said that there's nothing cuter than a baby elephant? Baby gorillas run a close second. :inlove:
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Same.
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The CM said that technically they were supposed to be inside in bed by this point, but they've recently found ways to sneak around and stay out later than curfew. Everybody thinks they're inside but they're actually hiding on the other side of the enclosure. :hilarious:
 

blreinsel

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Saturday, 6/10 cont.

I'm glad we took the time to visit the animals on the trails and got to experience something else new together. :) We finished up and started walking toward our Dinosaur FP+.
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I know this area gets a lot of negative feedback, but I personally like it. Dylan thought it was neat, too. :)
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The refurb seems to have done this ride some good, but I'm honestly surprised they haven't done a complete overhaul and improved the animatronics and effects more than what they have. Dylan said that it was probably really innovative when it was first built, but it's starting to show it's age now, especially in comparison to rides like Flight of Passage.

After our tango with the dinos, we made our way to the front of the park so we could catch a bus to our dinner ADR! :)

See you later AK!
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amjt660

Premium Member
It looks like Dylan has two "go to" looks for the photos
One is the laid back - its cool look (the last pic in front of the tree of life) and the other is "all out smile" like at the Lion King show.

You, my dear, go with the "beaming from ear to ear because I am engaged" smile everytime!!

You guys look so happy together.

Max
 

DonnaOnTheRocks

Well-Known Member
Yay glad you're here! :) I'm so behind on everybody else's reports because I've been so focused on writing my own (and this other minor detail called moving to FL :rolleyes:).

The proposal was perfectly planned.. he did such a good job with the whole thing! :inlove: Dylan would have been the same way. His nerves are so apparent to me now, though at the time I didn't think anything of it, LOL! I'm also glad that he chose to do it first thing in the morning because the humidity hadn't turned me into a complete melted hot mess yet. :hilarious:
That melted hot mess was me after our engagement lol:hilarious::hilarious: It was so humid that the ring didn't fit when he proposed! He was SO upset, but we went to dinner right after where I had a glass of water and it slipped right on :D. So happy you got your dream proposal! Dylan did a great job!!
 

JeffR73

Well-Known Member
Wednesday, 6/7

After our luggage was delivered, we got around and ready for our first park day at Magic Kingdom! I remember being SO excited to finally get to share my happy place with Dylan and hoping that he would love it at least enough to want to come back. :p

We left the room at 8am and headed to the bus stop. There was a huge line for Magic Kingdom, but fortunately 3 buses pulled up and we made it to MK by 8:30am! We breezed through security in a matter of minutes and were soon scanning our bands to enter the park! Dylan stopped at the bathroom before we headed inside to FINALLY see my castle. :inlove: We made our way down Main Street and found a spot right by the statue to watch the new welcome show.

Oh how I've missed you!!! :joyfull::inlove:
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We talked for a few minutes about our plan of attack for the morning while we waited for the show to start. Soon, Mickey and friends made their appearance on the stage and all I could do was :D:D:D
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The new show is cute, but it doesn't even come close to the magic I felt while watching the old show. :( I really think this was a major downgrade.
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After the show, we waited a few minutes for the crowds to disperse. I certainly wasn't going to complain about the extra few minutes to stare at the castle. :inlove:

We walked a little ways back down Main Street and got in line for pictures. We waited for the few families in front of us and then it was our turn! I chatted with the photographer and then walked (backwards) to stand beside Dylan, all while still talking. I reached to put my arm around him and when I turned to see where he was, I found him down on one knee holding the most beautiful ring I could have ever asked for, grinning ear to ear. :inlove::inlove::inlove: I know this sounds cheesy, but in that moment, all I could see was him (through my tears, of course :rolleyes:). People were cheering and clapping all around us and I'm just standing there speechless and crying. :p
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I was a little bummed that the photographer didn't start taking pictures until Dylan had started standing back up (I have one of him half kneeling but it's awkward, lol). :( But it was the most perfect proposal that I ever could have asked for and I'll always have the memories in my mind! :inlove: I still can't find the words to describe how I feel. He has truly made all of my dreams come true and I just can't believe that I get to spend the rest of my life with him! :inlove:

**Funny story- the photographer had an accent.. we aren't sure what country he was from. But as Dylan was on one knee, all we could hear was him in the background screaming, "She say yes!? SHE SAY YES!!!!!!!" :hilarious::hilarious::hilarious: We say it to each other all the time now and crack up every time. That fun memory makes up for him not taking pictures of Dylan proposing. :p

People all around us were yelling congratulations and shaking Dylan's hand, making the moment that much more special. It was so perfect. I can't even describe it. I never imagined that my dream proposal would actually become a reality. I am so lucky. :inlove:

In hindsight, the signs that he was going to propose were there. He was very quiet, acting nervous, asking A LOT of questions... lol. He later told me that he had gone to the bathroom after we went through security so he could put the ring back in his pocket since he had moved it to his bag before going through the metal detectors. However, I NEVER saw it coming. I had convinced myself that he wasn't going to do it on our trip. I assumed he would wait until after we moved and were in the park on some random day trip. It turns out that he had asked my dad permission awhile ago and had been consulting with my mom to make sure everything went smoothly. He even showed my best friend a picture of my ring on TWO occasions when I was in the same room.. And I still had no idea. :p

It was perfect. Completely and utterly perfect. :inlove:

Sorry, was away for a little bit and I come back to this!?!? How wonderful is that? A proposal at Walt Disney World!!! Very happy for you! Congratulations! I wish you two the best in the future! God Bless!
 
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fractal

Well-Known Member
Saturday, 6/10 cont.

Some more safari pictures for your enjoyment. :)
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Mr. Lazy was actually up and moving for once! :cat:
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The ladies had other ideas. :)
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We returned from our journey and Dylan asked if we could walk the Gorilla Falls Trails. I happily obliged, as I've never seen them before. :) I made us a FP+ for Dinosaur as we walked.
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This guy was swimming circles and was pretty entertaining. :)
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Tink always sits up like this when she wants something.. We originally taught her how to do it as a trick but she immediately realized how adorable we think it is and uses it to her advantage now. :hilarious::inlove: We were really missing her, so of course I had to take a picture!
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Remember how I said that there's nothing cuter than a baby elephant? Baby gorillas run a close second. :inlove:
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Same.
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The CM said that technically they were supposed to be inside in bed by this point, but they've recently found ways to sneak around and stay out later than curfew. Everybody thinks they're inside but they're actually hiding on the other side of the enclosure. :hilarious:

Nice pics!

I wouldn't want to be the one to tell a gorilla they have to go in for a nap.
 

blreinsel

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
It looks like Dylan has two "go to" looks for the photos
One is the laid back - its cool look (the last pic in front of the tree of life) and the other is "all out smile" like at the Lion King show.

You, my dear, go with the "beaming from ear to ear because I am engaged" smile everytime!!

You guys look so happy together.

Max

LOL! You are too sweet. :joyfull: He makes me beam from ear to ear everyday! :inlove:

That melted hot mess was me after our engagement lol:hilarious::hilarious: It was so humid that the ring didn't fit when he proposed! He was SO upset, but we went to dinner right after where I had a glass of water and it slipped right on :D. So happy you got your dream proposal! Dylan did a great job!!

Oh my gosh! Dylan would have went nuts if he couldn't get the ring on my finger. :eek::hilarious: He was all worked up because it's big on me and we'll have to get it sized. We went and tried rings on last year and apparently the lady didn't size me correctly. :cautious: Thankfully yours went on after you cooled down! :p

Sorry, was away for a little bit and I come back to this!?!? How wonderful is that? A proposal at Walt Disney World!!! Very happy for you! Congratulations! I wish you two the best in the future! God Bless!

Awwww thank you! :happy: It was the proposal of my dreams!

Nice pics!

I wouldn't want to be the one to tell a gorilla they have to go in for a nap.

Thank you! :) I'm with you on that one... that mean mug says he means business. :p
 
Congrats on the engagement to the both of you! I was born in Pittsburgh quite of few decades ago and we moved to Florida (St. Pete) right after I finished second grade. I now live in Tampa with my brother who was born on my 16th birthday. How exciting that you will be moving so close to WDW. You will have to experience the parks during the Christmas season, as the decorations are fantastic.
 

prfctlyximprct

Well-Known Member
I'm still so far behind on everybody else's reports, so don't feel bad! Lol Thank you so much! The feelings are still just as happy and exciting as the day it happened! :joyfull:



Lol! I'll assign all of my WDW Magic friends to the same table so dinner conversation can consist of Disney and only Disney. :p


Hey I'm in PA! And my weddings in PA.. can we crash each other's?!! Please :p
 

blreinsel

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Yay! Congratulations on the engagement and the job. I'll be teaching 1st grade at Central Avenue too!
Brooke

Are you kidding me!? HOW AWESOME!!!! :joyfull: What in the world are the chances!? Are you going to the two orientation days at the end of July? It'd be awesome to have somebody who I "know" to hangout with. ;)

Oh, and thank you for the congratulations. :p Congrats to you on the job as well! I'm so excited to be colleagues! :D

Congrats on the engagement to the both of you! I was born in Pittsburgh quite of few decades ago and we moved to Florida (St. Pete) right after I finished second grade. I now live in Tampa with my brother who was born on my 16th birthday. How exciting that you will be moving so close to WDW. You will have to experience the parks during the Christmas season, as the decorations are fantastic.

It's so exciting! I cannot wait to experience WDW at Christmas time! It's been on my bucket list for so long and I'll finally be able to make it happen! :) I'm excited for Halloween and Food & Wine, too!

Last time we were at AK we missed all the animal trails ans safari as we had no time. Your photos have made me determined to spend more time in AK next year.
We went at night in February for a few hours and I loved the park at night time especially expedition Everest.

I never gave AK the attention that it deserved. I totally credit my ability to slow down and enjoy it more this time to everybody here! I appreciated it so much more this trip and I'm now an AK lover. :inlove: The nighttime atmosphere really played a big role in that, too!

Hey I'm in PA! And my weddings in PA.. can we crash each other's?!! Please :p

Girl you know you're welcome to crash my party anytime (channeling my inner Luke Bryan there- he's my real soulmate :p). I've always wanted to be a wedding crasher! ;)
 

wishes2013

Well-Known Member
Are you kidding me!? HOW AWESOME!!!! :joyfull: What in the world are the chances!? Are you going to the two orientation days at the end of July? It'd be awesome to have somebody who I "know" to hangout with. ;)

Oh, and thank you for the congratulations. :p Congrats to you on the job as well! I'm so excited to be colleagues! :D

Unfortunately, I won't be at those orientation days. I'm moving down on the 4th, but I'll be out of town during those orientation days. I went down for the PD with Dave Burgess a few weeks ago though, and everyone was super friendly and welcoming!
 

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