Trip Report The Big Fat Liars Thanksgiving Report!

Happy (belated) New Year to all! We've been back for two months and I am FINALLY getting started on this TR. December was an absolutely crazy (in a good way!) month for me professionally and after a short Christmas/New Years break January was nuts too! I am back to having some free evenings (instead of getting home from the Bronx after 1:00am night after night during tech week...) so I've been uploading my photos to a third party site so they're easy to post here.

Speaking of photos, I've decided to do a different kind of TR this time. Instead of writing huge paragraphs with pictures in between, I'm going to be mostly posting photos with captions as necessary. I took SOOOOO many photos this time (looking through them two months later I'm really not sure why I felt the need to document some of these things. And before you ask, I didn't even drink that much on this trip so it's not that!) so that's what I want to focus on.

Here is the PTR: The "we're big fat liars who couldn't stay away for even six months" pre-trip report

And finally, here is a huge block of tags. I tried to put them in alphabetical order so I didn't tag anyone twice so I'm sorry if I meant to tag you and the computer ate the tag! You're still welcome to follow of course! As usual, if you don't want to read I'm not offended and please feel free to ignore.

@21stamps @ajrwdwgirl @Beastly74 @betty rose @BuddyThomas @C.FERNIE @Ciara @Courtney6682 @dclfan @DimpledDevil18 @disneypearl @DisneyShe @Doc Disney @docdebbi @DonnaOnTheRocks @epcotisbest @figmentfan423 @FlaggNL @fractal @Gabe1 @geebee721 @jrogue @LisaBelle @littleroo @lostpro9het @maelstrom98 @mcstensrud @Mickey2422 @Mindy16 @minnie2000 @MinnieM123 @prfctlyximprct @samantha788 @ScarletBegonias @sheriffwoody @TheMouseFan @Tiggerish @Tom @Tony the Tigger @Tuvalu @wdisney9000 @WDWDarling @WDW74
 
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bee

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Day 1: Wednesday, November 23

We started the day with an early wakeup and an early Uber ride to the airport. Security only took 16 minutes (the shortest wait we've EVER had at Newark) and we tried a new-to-us restaurant in the SWA area of the terminal.

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Coffee came first, of course.

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I had a breakfast burrito.

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M had a breakfast quesadilla.

They both tasted way better than they look!

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Soon we were taking off!

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I see you, Lady Liberty!



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This is NOT just orange juice.

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And this is NOT just coffee.

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Hi, wing!

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Almost there!!
 
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bee

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I'm in!! Can't wait to see all your pictures. That sounds like a fun way to do a report.

Yes! I'm definitely in!! Thanks for tagging me!

Following along. I'm looking forward to hearing about your adventure!

Thanks for tagging me! I'm glad to be aboard!

Following! I'm taking a Thanksgiving trip this year, and look forward to reading about yours :)

Following! Excited for more :D:D

Thanks for the tag! Definitely following along :happy:.

Yay! Thanks for the tag lady!

So excited to hear about the rest of your trip!!

Woohoo! Thank you all for following! I'm glad to have you along!
 

bee

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Day 1, cont.

We did indeed land half an hour early, but we weren't running to the DME at this point in the trip. Instead, we took our time heading to the car rental area. We asked an Alamo employee if we could start the rental early and he said it would be no problem. We asked another on the way JUST IN CASE (we were over an hour early, after all) and this guy said we would be charged for the extra time. We weren't in the mood to take chances and we weren't in a rush to get anywhere so we waited until closer to the reservation time to pick up...

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LOLJK we did NOT rent a Corvette! We actually ended up with a normal midsize car. I don't even remember what it was and I didn't take a photo I guess! Something like a Corolla or Camry.

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When we lived in Miami it was our tradition to stop at the Jimmy John's in Port St. Lucie on the way up to Orlando. We found one on the way from MCO to our hotel and each had a Veggie.

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The Orlando Eye???

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Passing Disney Springs on the way to our hotel

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Balloon!

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We're going to Disney NOW???

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Just kidding, we just drove through property on the way.

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Yes, you will!!

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Here we are at the SpringHill Suites by Marriott at Flamingo Crossing!

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Our room was already ready before 1:00!

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Living room area

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I'm not sure I agree with their definition of a "suite."

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Bed

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Also the bed!

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Bathroom

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Also bathroom. Hey it's me (sort of)!

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And our gorgeous view of...nothing!

We really liked the room even though it was a stretch to call it a "suite." It was plenty of space for the two of us but if we were traveling with family or friends and had booked it specifically to have separate spaces I would have been upset. The hotel was very new and clean, the staff members were friendly, and the nearest entrance to WDW property was suuuuuper close. If I were staying offsite I would certainly consider staying there again.
 

bee

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Day 1, cont.

I should mention that we wanted to book a certain ADR for this afternoon but we didn't book it in advance because it was a prepaid event and we didn't want to risk missing it due to travel delays, etc. So while we were waiting to pick up the car at the airport I successfully booked it for later that day. You'll know from the PTR that we also had a dinner reservation at Il Mulino. Since both events would involve alcohol, and so we didn't have to bother with parking/validating at the Swan, we decided to take an Uber from SpringHill to our next destination.

Before we left we took showers and changed into less grubby clothes so we'd look decent at our dining experiences! Then we headed downstairs...

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We explored the common areas a bit more on the way out to meet the Uber driver.

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#OrlandoStrong

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That...is a Frozen car...

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Back already!

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Construction!

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One of our dream resorts!

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Almost there...

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I took lots of tree photos on this trip...

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...and sometimes I even managed to get the entire tree in the photo!
 

bee

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Day 1, cont.

We continued exploring...

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So many birds...

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...including some rather active ones!

It was around this time that I noticed how nice it felt outside. Not hot, not cold, not humid. Just nice.

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M was texting with some of her coworkers back in New York and they were suuuuper jealous that we were warm. :p

It was also around this time (near the AKL pool) when we heard a guest YELLING at their (?) child (?): "David, bring the camera with you! Bring it with you! David, bring the camera!" We'll never know if David actually brought the camera.
 

MinnieM123

Premium Member
Oh goody--you're back!! :happy: I like your pictures. Have to agree about the "suite" definition--not so much! :p It looked a bit larger than a standard guest room, but that was not a suite . . . LOL. ;) Another thought I had as I looked at the room photos--I realize the trend is minimalist and that's o.k., depending upon how it's done. Personally, I wasn't excited about all the white/off white and not much else for color in the "suite". Just my opinion only.

Very impressed with your giraffe gif -- that's advanced level right there! :D
 

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