"I am Women, I am Strong!" A June 2012 Trip Report!

Well we are back from a lovely trip to the world. During this trip we battled heat, Tropical Storm Deb, lots of rain, and the stomach bug, but more on all of those later.
Warning now, This trip report will have TONS of photos. I also documented our trip so at the end I will post a link to the videos (the videos are also very long).
So who are we?
Well I'm Emily, 20, college student, I auditioned for Disney back in March, made it to the end of my audition but was unfortunately cut, But what are you gonna do? All you can do is Keep Moving Forward! This is my 12th trip to the World.

Then there are my sisters Sam, 15 and Haley, 12. Both love Disney. Haley knows everything about Walt Disney himself. No lie.

And then the parentals, Their first trip to Disney was when they had me and we have been going ever since then.

All of us...I was laughing during this picture.
The Departure
Since mom has a fear of flying, we were driving to Florida. We left our home in Massachusetts around 2:30 am on June 16th for a long day of driving ahead. The day was pretty uneventful (Thank goodness!) We got half way through South Carolina and decided to stop for the night. We stayed at the Comfort Inn Suites which was a very nice hotel. The next morning we got up, ate breakfast at the hotel and then we were back on the road by 9am. We made it to Florida around 2pm, got some orange juice, and then continued to drive for another 4 hours until we made it to my grandparents house. The next day we would be going to DHS and checking in at Art of Animation!

 

[WDW_Emily]

We slept in a little bit today. After 3 days of waking up early and going to the parks, we all needed some rest. We made it to breakfast around 9am. I tried the Mickey waffles with fruit and it was delicious! Best Breakfast at AoA I had all week

By 10:15am we were at EPCOT!

Game plan? Make it over to the land, grab Soarin fast passes, then do World Showcase. On the way over, Haley found Club Cool! We have wanted to do this for the past couple trips but just never had the time so before anything we made it over there!

Now we all decided to do the Beverly taste test. My mom chickened out but everyone else tried it and well, here is our reactions:

 

[WDW_Emily]

My family all walked over to The Land together and then elected me to take the tickets and get the fastpasses while they wait outside. Good Think it was just me in there because the land was MOBBED! The escalators broke which might have caused some of the crowd but even the Living with The Land queue was branching out towards sunshine seasons! I worked my way over to Soarin and got fastpasses for later in the day. Went back outside, met the family, and then worked our way over to Canada!
On our way we past by the Highland Games!

Kinda pasted by Canada and went towards the U.K. where we spent quite a bit of time. Sam bought a London Olympics shirts (which she has worn multiple times the past few days) and we met Alice and Mary Poppins! We also all picked up the kidcot duffy bear (Hey who cares that I'm 20, it's still cool to have your name written in different languages).

I also got Alice and Mary to say hi to my friends

 

[LuLaSue]

Absolutely WONDERFUL!! You all look like you have a fabulous time! Love all your pictures.

I am glad you will be auditioning again, you have such presence, great spirit!!

 

[mamamouse]

awe I love it!!!

 

[WDW_Emily]

We made it over to France and met Marie! No line she was lovely!

Haley found a Remy Hat

We didn't stay in France too long because there is WAY too much perfume there and due to mine and my dad's severe allergies, it's not a good combination.
Morocco

It was starting to rain now but today we were prepared! sweatshirts and poncho were brought to the park today! We made our way over to Japan

Props to me for trying to do this in a dress.

While it was raining, we found an umbrella and got some snacks. Dad and sam split a turkey leg, Me and Mom got delicious caramel apples, and Haley got this cute mickey pretzel.

The rain started to light up and we were on our way to Mexico.

After Mexico I was starting to feel sick. I had a really bad headache which I thought was from a lack of sleep or lack of caffeine. I got a diet coke and we went over to ride Ellen's Energy Adventure. Haley really liked it since she was so little the last time we went on, she didn't remember it. I on the other hand fell asleep for a good portion of the ride because of my headache. My father halfway through the ride decided it was a good idea to take off his shoes....It stunk up the whole area . Apologies to anyone who was on that ride with us, we told him to put his shoes back on.

When I got up from my little nap, my headache had gotten much worse & I was FREEZING. I was very close to just going back to the resort and meeting up with the crew again for Illuminations. But I decided to try to take some Tylenol first to see if it helped any. After hunting the pack for some meds, we rode Journey into your Imagination! Which is Haley's favorite ride.

We ran over to the seas with Nemo and Friends when we got off however the ride had broke down . Sam suggested that me her and my dad ride Mission: Space. I agreed as long as we did green mode because I didn't trust myself on intense mode based on how I was feeling.
It ended up working out because Green mode was a 5 minute wait whereas orange was 50 minutes.

 

[WDW_Emily]

I was very close to getting out of line because of my headache but ended up going on anyways and nothing happened.

Our fastpasses for Soarin were almost ready and it was around 4:30pm now so we were getting hungry again. We headed over to The Land and got some dinner at Sunshine Seasons. I had a Turkey Sandwich.

The combo of Tylenol and eating did the trick! I still didn't feel fantastic but my headache was gone! After we finished eating we walked onto Living with the Land. Now I might of been feeling better but my mom wasn't feeling too hot. After riding living with the land, she bought a tea and decided to sit out and wait for us while we rode Soarin'.
Off We went to redeem our fastpasses.

By the time we got off, it was almost 6pm. We still wanted to ride The Seas with Nemo and Friends and Spaceship Earth. We went to the Seas first and the ride had just opened back up! No line! That queue while very decorative, is the most insane queue when there is no line. It just never ends! Finally we boarded our shell and rode the ride. By the end my sisters and I were singing Big Blue World.

Time for Spaceship earth! My mom can't ride this ride because it makes her feel claustrophobic. So we split up with me and my dad together and Sam and Haley together. Haley has never been on since last time we didn't have time and before that characters always won out over rides. She really liked the ending with "your future"

It was around 7:30pm and we were DETERMINED to get a good spot for Illumination. After the difficulties with seeing during MSEP, and the bad CM at the Animal Kingdom parade, we really wanted this to be a good show. Also, in the past, we haven't done the best job at picking out a spot for Illuminations. There was always a tree, or lots of people in front of us, something. Well That was not the case this time! We found a spot right in front of Canada. and we were right at the fence. No trees, Just one poll and it wasn't in direct view! All the people who came and sat around us were all so nice. Everyone was asking eachother if the families next to them had enough room and if the kids could see, etc. It was nice to see after the bad encounters we had had with people earlier in the week.
I have no words for how perfect Illuminations was. I love the Illuminations soundtrack and listen to it daily and there is this one part towards the end that I absolutely love and when it came on, I started to tear up. The combination of a perfect view, great music, and an awesome vacation coming to a close did me in. My sisters just looked at me and laughed. Typical siblings. No Pictures from Illuminations because we seriously were all just enjoying the moment.
As we left, some lovely CMs were all waving goodbye to everyone leaving the park. It was the perfect way to end our 4 days in the parks.

Up Next: What I know most of you have been waiting for....ART OF ANIMATION!

 

[WDW_Emily]

Day 5: Pool and hanging out at AoA!

Today was check out day we woke up late and got breakfast in the cafe. Healthy breakfast huh?

Now there isn't too much to say about today, we went swimming in the Big Blue Pool, ate breakfast and lunch at AoA, got rained on, then left disney property. So Instead of going into detail on everything, I am going to just post LOTS of pictures. Under the pictures I will post a reviews of certain things with an overall review of AoA at the end. Sound good? Lets get started!!

This was our room, 1726:

Overall thoughts on the room: It was perfect for a family of 5 with 3 teenagers! We loved having two bathrooms. The pull outs were comfy. There was enough space for all of our luggage too! We didn't use the fridge too much besides for keeping water cold before a day at the parks. We loved how you got into your room. Not sure if all moderate/deluxe resorts are like this (we have only stayed value) but your room key is needed to enter your building which we all thought was a great safety feature. The halls are decorative and all looked very clean (granted we checked in on opening day of the Cars section so they should be). Everyone who stayed at the resort was families. No big groups, no cheerleaders. Which meant that the resort was a lot quieter than we were used to which was great.

More pictures to come, It's tax free weekend in MA gotta hit the shops for dorm stuff
View from our room:

 

[alissafalco]

great photos!! Thanks for sharing!

 

[WDW_Emily]

After we checked out we hung out by the pool. We went went to the Big Blue Pool today but earlier in the week we went to the Cone pool. The Cone pool was great because it was quiet, and the cone cabanas were awesome! The Big Blue pool was also amazing. First of all it the size is great, never anyone too close to you. Salt water pool was a plus. Tons of lounge chairs and table seats. The only con we had was while we loved the underwater speakers, it is a different song playing underwater that it is above. Still cool though.

Like my new phone case?

Snacks

 

[PRNCSAurora]

Those are great pictures of the AoA. Do the suites only have one bedroom and the rest of beds are in the common area? I'm trying to convince my family to stay here for our next trip.

 

[WDW_Emily]

Those are great pictures of the AoA. Do the suites only have one bedroom and the rest of beds are in the common area? I'm trying to convince my family to stay here for our next trip.

2 bathrooms, a bed, and two full size pull outs that are in the common area. One bathroom is with the common room and the other one is connected to the bedroom. There is also a door between the bedroom and the common area which was nice. We loved it here! We would love to stay in the Lion King section next time we go and see the completed resort!

 

[WDW_Emily]

Although we loved both pools, we noticed that the gate to them was never locked. Guest left it open and CM didn't seem to mind. Not a huge deal but if you are going to have a gate, it should be used imo.

It started to rain around 3pm so we went inside and took pictures of the lobby and ate some lunch. My dad started to feel HORRIBLE. He's stomach hurt but he wasn't hungry and he was nauseous. We didn't think too much of it. My dad had cancer in his intestines about 5 years ago and since then he sometimes can't stomach food. He got some medicine at the gift shop and that made him feel a little better, still no food though.

Lobby Pictures:

 

[WDW_Emily]

 

[ctosh]

I have those earrings.. 2 pair actually.. I got them in `05 and wear them every where

 

[WDW_Emily]

Lunch Time!

Those chips are the best thing ever! Very Tasty!

 

[WDW_Emily]

Considering I started this TR in June, I think it's about time I finish it up!!

The rain was coming down but I wanted to get some last minute shots of the Cars section before we said goodbye to our lovely resort.
NOTE: My parents told my sisters that they don't think they should climb on the structures. My sisters being teenagers responded with "I think it's okay there isn't a sign and the ground is soft around it". Well CMs told them after a few shots that they need to get down because it's not safe. Guess it's a good think they put signs up now for people like my sisters

The gas in Radiator Springs was a lot cheaper than the gas here in Mass!

 

[WDW_Emily]

Goodbye AoA! We will be back again!

Conclusion: We had an awesome time at Disney and AoA although we encountered rude guest/CMs, & rain, we still had a great time with lots of memories made. Overall We loved Art of Animation! our only negative was the food court didn't have many options and some food was poor quality (eggs in the morning were at the top of the poor quality list). However, since then it looks like more options have been added and I think in time it will get better. The busses were always timely, never really waited over 15 minutes for a bus, the longest wait was when we were going to DtD at night time. Crowds were better than we expect too.
Now we originally planned to go to IOA and see Harry Potter. So you must be asking "Where is that part?" Well my friends, the day after we checked out we went to my grandparents house. Turns out, my dad caught the stomach bug, and by morning, it had spread through all of us. No Harry Potter this trip. We left very early the day after that because we tried to beat out Tropical Storm Deb. 5 People with a stomach bug, and driving through a Tropical Storm was not a pretty sight, but we got through it and arrived home feeling better!

Whats up next for us?
Well Glad you asked!
My friend who works at the Disney Store here in Mass and I are planning a trip for March 2013! Her favorite princess is Ariel and Mine is Belle so as you can guess, we are very excited for FLE!

My sisters have also been begging to go for there birthdays which are in November and December. We wont be going in 2012. But we will see about 2013

Want to see more of my family in Disney?? Below is a link to one of the videos from our trip. If you check out my channel, you will see the complete video collection!


And that's all I got folks! For those who have made it to the end, a round of applause for you! Thanks for reading