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
Love those grand marnier slushes! Yum!!

Me too! :hungry:

Hold on. A Graduate Degree, an engagement, a Disney extravaganza, and a new job?!? You are on top of the world! So excited for you. Seems like you had a great trip so far. Love your food pics and also LOVE you calculating your miles and steps. It's fascinating how much one walks while there.

Lol! 2017 has definitely been my year so far. :) It's crazy to see how much our feet and bodies can endure over the course of a week at Disney! Once we move I'm fully committing to the Disney workout plan. :p

Aw I'm so bummed about your Garden Grill experience. Our food was so good last time we were there and the characters spent a ton of time with us :(

I know!!! :( It was so awesome last year so I'm not sure what the deal was this time. I won't totally write it off based on one subpar dinner, but I think we'll visit some other restaurants before making it a priority to eat there again.

The picture of Dylan and you on the way out it very good! No toddler feet in sight;)

:hilarious: I was happy to see our feet return to normal size!

Sorry about Garden Grill! Hopefully it was just an off night. The new Spaceship Earth photo is MUCH better. :joyfull:
I hope so too! I love it there! :( I was MUCH happier with our nighttime Spaceship Earth picture. :hilarious:

OK for possibly the fourth time....

Congrats on the graduation, engagement, the new job......

Wait
Been there, done that....

Max

Sorry to make you feel like a broken record. :p

Hope you find the time to look at some of the countries if you are in WS again! It is awesome! For years, we did what you did, just rushed by the countries so we could make it around the WS and go on.
Now, we take the time and have found favorites. Morroco is absolutely beautiful with the blue tiles and fountains. Hope you get to see it. We love Germany, UK, and Japan, oh can't forget Mexico too. The grounds at Canada are beautiful. We found a very nice spot to just sit and enjoy the flowers and formal garden behind the UK building. It is quiet, peaceful, and shaded. What a great place to rest a bit. Mary Poppins also has her M&G there too, which is fun to watch. We are "older" now and take the time to just look. But when we were your age, we always hurried through the world because we thought there was nothing of interest to see. I do hope you can experience this one day too.

I've been to Epcot enough times over the years that I've been able to explore at least most of the countries in more depth than this trip, though not all at once. I'm looking forward to being able to visit more often once we move and taking the time to soak it all in. There are so many great snacks and drinks tucked away in those countries and I really want to try them! ;) But you are soooo right.. there are tons of beautiful places to relax in the WS that most park-goers (often including myself) overlook!

There's bacon in the stuffing? That is not good news for me :(

It was meh :hungover: I took one bite and scooted it off to the side of my plate. It was probably replaced with more mac and cheese. :rolleyes:

Enjoyed the report so far-Congrats on all the good news.

Thank you! Glad to have you aboard! :)
 

blreinsel

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Friday, 6/9

Today is the day that @amjt660 has been waiting for! Rest/GOLF day! :p The alarm went off bright and early and I immediately questioned my decision to tag along with Dylan while he golfed. I am NOT a morning person unless my morning involves a Disney park... I was hating golf at that moment. ;)

BUT being the wonderful fiancé ( :inlove: ) that I am, I drug myself out of bed and got ready to go. We left the room at 7:15am and got a taxi to the Magnolia course at the Grand Floridian. If you're golfing at one of Disney's courses, you get free transportation from your resort. You just go to the transportation counter out front and they call for you.

We arrived at the course and were given a golf cart before being directed to the clubhouse to pay for his round. He bought a Donald ball marker while inside... I think Operation Convert Dylan Into a Disney Lover is working. :p His tee time wasn't until 8:33am, but he wanted to hit on the driving range and practice putting prior to his round.

He was paired up with a father-daughter duo from Mexico. They were extremely friendly and we enjoyed talking with them throughout the round! Another FYI... if you aren't golfing but want to ride in the cart like I did, it's $15 for you to do so.
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My man in action. :inlove:


We saw a TON of wildlife throughout the course of his round, including this guy. :eek: YIKES.
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Kind of hard to see, but there's a woodpecker sitting right where the two branches crisscross. He's black and white. :)
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Another gator. o_O
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Along with the gators, woodpecker, and various types of birds, we also saw squirrels, deer, and turkeys! The deer and turkeys in particular were not afraid of people, especially in comparison to how skittish they are in PA. Dylan walked right alongside them like it was totally normal. He got a really neat, up close picture of some turkeys on his phone. It was crazy!
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At least it was a beautiful day and FINALLY no rain! :joyfull:
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blreinsel

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Friday, 6/9 cont.

Some more shots of the course. :)
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And THIS, my friends, is why I came along. :rolleyes::inlove:
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The pace of the round was extremely slow and they didn't finish up until around 1:30pm. When we came off the course, a CM named Keith was waiting with cold towels to help everybody cool off. They were infused with aloe or something (?) so I didn't have to ride around with a sweaty (stinky :p) golfer all afternoon.

I sat and talked to Keith for a few minutes while they finished up and he was very friendly! We talked about our upcoming move and where I'd be working. He asked if the father-daughter pair was with us and I said that Dylan was just playing the round with them and they were visiting from Mexico. Somehow it came up that it was the daughter's birthday and he got on Google Translate to see how to tell her "happy birthday" in Spanish. Where else in the world is an employee going to do that? Only at Disney.
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The CM asked Dylan if he was golfing any other days and he said that he would be playing the Palm course tomorrow. He said that they could keep his clubs and transfer them to the course for him so he didn't have to worry about dragging them around himself. Another awesome amenity for you golfers! :)

He asked if he could do anything else for us and I asked about transportation to Disney Springs. He gave us a waiver and told us to take it to the clubhouse where they would call us a (free) cab! They told us that the cab would take us to Saratoga Springs and then we'd need to take the boat over to Disney Springs.
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Why couldn't we have driven this cart around all morning? :rolleyes:
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A kind golfer walking by offered to take the picture so we could both be in it. :)
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The cab driver picked us up shortly after and drove us to Saratoga Springs. He asked us which building we needed dropped off at and I informed him that we were only taking the boat to Disney Springs. A few minutes later, he was dropping us off at Disney Springs. :joyfull:
 

sheriffwoody

Well-Known Member
I think you need to recalculate your daily mileage count. There are typically 2,000 - 3,000 steps in a mile so your tally of 20,019 steps works out to about 10 miles. ;)
I typically get anywhere between 15-30K on a Disney day! My husband's watch always counts more for some reason...maybe his stride is shorter. But it's definitely feasible! 30K is on a crazy long, open-close kind of day.
 

Longers

Well-Known Member
Now I'm in trouble with Chris! He was looking over my shoulder he spotted golf pictures and all of a sudden was interested and then made the comment
"At least he got some pictures of him playing golf!" - he gets confused of the names of my WDW Magic friends! (That's why he didn't use Dylan's) name. He knows a few but not all. I'm still reasoning him - lol.

Clearly his forgotten about the stacks of photos I took the first time he went golf - now I let him go and I try to do something myself. (WDW meet ups)

But you can always get brownie points letting them play golf...... loving your work!
 

prfctlyximprct

Well-Known Member
Oh my goodness that Mickey Mouse golf cart is the cutest thing I've ever seen! I might have to take up golfing....

It takes me 50 shots to make it in a mini golf hole, so hopefully everyone on the course can learn patience...

Your Mickey and Minnie interactions were so cute! I love that you had conversations with them. I'm sitting here cracking up at Mickey pointing at your ummm pin :p

I have yet to try Garden Grill! Man, I need another trip.. does your new place have a guest room ;)

Enjoying this so much :)
 

blreinsel

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I typically get anywhere between 15-30K on a Disney day! My husband's watch always counts more for some reason...maybe his stride is shorter. But it's definitely feasible! 30K is on a crazy long, open-close kind of day.

I just used a cheap pedometer that I got from some sponsored event we had to celebrate the end of the school year so I don't know how reliable it is... Whether it's spot on or not we did A LOT of walking! Lol

Well seeing I've been married 27 years. No golfing tag along for me although I did like the Mickey golf cart lol.

Haha! I doubt I'll ever go with him again.. I find it incredibly boring. The Mickey decor on the course was the only thing that got me out of bed. ;)

Now I'm in trouble with Chris! He was looking over my shoulder he spotted golf pictures and all of a sudden was interested and then made the comment
"At least he got some pictures of him playing golf!" - he gets confused of the names of my WDW Magic friends! (That's why he didn't use Dylan's) name. He knows a few but not all. I'm still reasoning him - lol.

Clearly his forgotten about the stacks of photos I took the first time he went golf - now I let him go and I try to do something myself. (WDW meet ups)

But you can always get brownie points letting them play golf...... loving your work!

Lol! Dylan can't keep track of my WDW Magic friends either... I've taken to just calling you guys "one of my Disney friends." :hilarious:

Dylan will likely be golfing alone on future trips.. I would so much rather be shopping or meeting characters (without his complaints). :p

Oh my goodness that Mickey Mouse golf cart is the cutest thing I've ever seen! I might have to take up golfing....

It takes me 50 shots to make it in a mini golf hole, so hopefully everyone on the course can learn patience...

Your Mickey and Minnie interactions were so cute! I love that you had conversations with them. I'm sitting here cracking up at Mickey pointing at your ummm pin :p

I have yet to try Garden Grill! Man, I need another trip.. does your new place have a guest room ;)

Enjoying this so much :)

Right!? I was more excited about that cart than anything else that morning. :p People often ask if I'm going to take up golf since Dylan is so into it, to which I always response NOPE. He says it's for the best because that's his alone time without me nagging him about anything. :hilarious:

I loved our Mickey and Minnie interactions! They were so much fun. :) Mickey is a male after all. ;)

No guest room but we do have a pretty comfy pullout couch.... :p
 

blreinsel

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Excellent series of posts
The course looks amazing
I will golf at Disney at some point
Possibly with Dylan since you two are moving close
Tell Dylan his swing looks good
Hopefully he shot well

Max

I knew you'd enjoy these ones. ;) He preferred the Magnolia course over the Palm... I think he'd be up for playing it again! ;) If I remember correctly, he was either +1 or +2. Not too shabby for a new, difficult course!

I'm loving all your pictures!
So excited to hear you are moving to FL. How exciting!!!

Thank you! I can't wait for our move! It's coming up quick! :)
 

newhorizons1

Well-Known Member
Congratulations on your engagement! That’s so special! I think it’s really sweet that he asked your dad for permission too. Beautiful ring!

I scanned my band at Space Mountain too thinking that it would bring my photo up. Glad to see I’m not the only one! Haha!

Congratulations on the job offer! Wow, what an amazing trip for you!
 

blreinsel

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I do exactly the same thing with my husband!!

It's just easier that way. :p

Congratulations on your engagement! That’s so special! I think it’s really sweet that he asked your dad for permission too. Beautiful ring!

I scanned my band at Space Mountain too thinking that it would bring my photo up. Glad to see I’m not the only one! Haha!

Congratulations on the job offer! Wow, what an amazing trip for you!

Thank you so much! :) I still can't get over it- the engagement OR the job offer! It was an absolutely amazing week!

Lol! It would make sense that you picture pop up after scanning your band.. I never gave it any thought until Dylan did it. :p
 

mlegerto

Well-Known Member
Sorry that I've been absent the last few days....life has gotten in the way :mad:! But I'm back and caught up now!

Time to celebrate with a Disney beverage.. Tell Joe you have a business trip in mid-July. :rolleyes:

Hmm...OR you can tell both Dylan and Joe that you need to take a work trip in December and come celebrate Christmas in the World with me and we can have a celebratory drink or two to the both of you....just saying ;)

I just love MK at night. :inlove:

Meeeee too! Is there anything better?


Sorry that you didn't have a great Garden Grill experience. I've been hearing a lot more mixed reviews lately than I ever have. I hope it's just a "slump" and that it turns around quickly. Still not impressed that they don't offer the sweet potato fries anymore! We have plans to go for breakfast in December (haven't done breakfast before) so I'm hoping we have a good experience!

Do you just have a pedometer or do you have a fitbit? If you have a fitbit, we should add one another so we can have a bit of "healthy competition"!

Can't wait to hear more about your amazing trip - it's just getting better and better!
 

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