Trip Report C'mon Pop Pop!

We got back recently from another quick trip to the world and I thought I would share our adventures with you all!

Back story is my husband Gary who usually has to be dragged to Disney had been saying for a few weeks, "we need to get a Disney trip together."
My response was, where's Gary and what did you do with him?!

Gary hasn't been feeling too well and our daughter Aleisha decided to bring herself and our oldest grandbaby, Una to where we live, near Pittsburgh to visit. The youngest granddaughter was in the process of sleep training and they didn't want to throw the time change into the mix. I told Aleisha she could explain to Lana when she asks as a teen why she wasn't on the trip!!
Seth our son who lives in Orlando now (see recent TR about his Orlando move if interested), was going to fly up to see all of the family.
I got a crazy idea and asked these 2 what they would think about doing a run to Disney while Aleisha and Una were on the east coast. They live in Sacramento.

They thought it was a great idea and in one weeks time we pulled together a mini trip in the middle of the big one. Seth ended up staying in Orlando to meet us there and to be our chauffeur.

Aleisha and Una flew to Pittsburgh on Wed. the 6th and then we all flew to Orlando on Sat. the 9th. to meet up with Seth. Seth's partner Jake met up with us the next day as he is a CP CM and had to work on the first day. We then flew home Tues. the 12th.

Who all partied:
Gary, Me Cindy, Seth, Jake, Aleisha and Una.

While I have sympathy it annoys me when people complain about the heat in Florida. You kind of know this going in.
BUT, it was freakin hot as the surface of the sun! Who knew a human body could actually melt, Olaf style?!
I say that to explain the red melted look we all have in the pic, at 10 am! This was actually our last day at MK.

Anyway, to continue with the particulars, we stayed for 2 nights club level at the Contemporary and then 1 night at Baylake. We have DVC but I could only get one night using points. Club level was insanely wonderful but I did feel a little ill at the price tag.

Follow along if you want to read about Una dragging Gary all around Disney. C'mon Pop Pop!!

 

[MickeyCB]

DAY 3-EPCOT CONT'S

After listening to the drummers the kids had a Guardians VQ call but decided to go see if some princesses were available as they felt they would still be able to use it if they were a little late.

This was an absolutely wonderful encounter. Una was so excited!
Another C'mon Pop Pop! moment!

Boss lady.

And you really need to give these women credit, I have no idea what this was all about but Una had a great time!

Showing off her brand new Target shoes that she threw a full on toddler temper in the store as they were being bought because she didn't want to try them on!

And then the moment she had been waiting for "all of her life"!!

Well, that was a smashing success!
Aleisha told me just the other day that Una constantly asks to see herself with the various princesses on her phone. I'm trying to come up with some child proof device to put all of these pics on (there were probably 50 taken between the ABSOLUTELY HORRIBLE PHOTO BOXES, and what we all took on our phones.
I detest these photo boxes. They miss cute moments and take ones that are useless. The other problem is because they face the characters directly, if you try to take pics with your own phone they are all at an angle because you can't step in front of the boxes. End of photo rant.

Kidding, one more rant comment. The pic with Una and Elsa facing back was a favorite of all of us but the one that the box took didn't end up on photopass. Seth said I should call and when I did the CM was able to find them but had to get permission to release it. I guess because they faced backwards? I don't know.

Coming up, we get to see Epcot's newest "attraction" via CM preview days!

 

[MickeyCB]

DAY 3-EPCOT CONT'S

After our visit with the princesses, there was a backdrop as you exit that adds in a nice magical touch to the photo.

The kids then rode Frozen and Gary and I waited for them in the nice AC exit area.

After that we headed over to see Journey of Water. It was so nice of Jake to be able to get us in.

Some people are complaining about how you can see other areas of the park from in the attraction, I didn't mind it. I think it has bigger issues, one of which might be why it's here and not in a different area of WDW that would make more sense.

Mom look!!

I'm not too shy usually giving my opinion. Because this hasn't been seen by a lot of people yet I'll hold off. If anyone has seen it, what are your thoughts?

After this we exited and headed towards The Seas where the big kids were going to peel off and go to Guardians to hopefully be able to use their VQ and Gary, Una and I needed to cool down.

 

[MickeyCB]

DAY 3-EPCOT CONT'S

It can be a little hard to get Una to let loose of her mom. "Can I go wiff you Mama?" Spoken in a sad voice.
But the promise of her 3rd Olaf pop on the 3rd day and to go see the fish did it.
One of my favorite photos of the trip. Cheers Pop Pop!

Again, it was face meltingly hot! We found the only 3 feet of shade in existence under the monorail beam.
Hydration was encouraged.

After our snack we made our way inside where it was fairly congested but we found an area surprisingly empty.
I'm waiting for the shark grandma!

This was pretty cool to see.

This was not.
An entire family of people decided a viewing area in the aquarium would be a good place to have a full on
picnic lunch. The teen was the only one that realized I had turned my phone around to capture the moment for them.

We went over to the smaller tanks and I couldn't help myself. I made a small video of Una saying, "I found you Nemo!"

By that time the big kids had ridden Guardians but had a significant wait which was ok because they had arrived late.

We all went on a much gentler ride.
Gary at this point couldn't transfer safely to the moving walkway, so they have you go through the line, and peel off and basically you end up under the stairs back in the aquarium. He then transferred into a regular wheelchair that is pushed to an area where there is a special ride vehicle that without much delay to the track allows the entire wheelchair on with an additional passenger. They have the other people in the party get into adjacent clam shells. It was quite slick.

After that we exited the park using the monorail to get back to the Contemporary.
This reminded me of @riverside's J reading the airplane instructions!

I got her one of the park pamphlets and she loved them. Good girl, takes after her grandmother with her love of Disney paper!

It was about 3pm when we were leaving. The big kid and the little kid were in need of some serious down time. I was hopeful (silly woman) that we would have a room available when we got back.

 

[MickeyCB]

DAY 3-A NEW RESORT, MAYBE...

We got to the TTC, did the switch to the resort rail and landed back at the Contemporary.
With no notice of a room yet we went back up to the Club Level, luckily our bands still permitted access to the elevator.
When we got up there the kids headed to the lounge while I asked the concierge, a very nice young lady, if she could help with trying to get a room.
While we had a snack she made some calls with no luck but told us to feel free to hang out.

Gary was getting so uncomfortable some parents had their kids vacate the chairs they were on so Gary could sit in one. He got really cold and we were wrapping a hoodie around him when a guest said they can go get him a blanket. A staff person overheard that and got him a blanket. Very sweet people, guests and staff.

Gary was getting tired and Una was starting to lose her mind when we finally got the room notification at 4:20 pm. I'm pretty sure the concierge breathed a sigh of relief when we all exited.

What I didn't share with all of you till now is we had a 5:15 Chef Mickey dinner reservation. When I made that reservation I thought oh it'll be perfect!
So we went straight to the room, which you guessed it, was the absolute last room on the other side of BLT.
We got Gary situated on the couch and I called for our bags and they said they couldn't find them. Some of Gary's meds were in those bags.
Then I called the front desk and she basically said too bad for you when I explained we needed to get back over to the Contemporary, they won't deliver your bags to your room if you aren't there. Say what?! I'm getting a little steamy now.
I called down to bell services at BLT and he said that was baloney they can do a no person there drop off.
At this point Gary refused to come to dinner so I left tip money with him, hoping he was awake when they finally showed up.

I didn't really care too much about the room or view as we would be there for less than a day, but did get a few pics.
Living/dining area as you enter. There is a washer/dryer to your right and a full bathroom to the left.

Main bedroom/bathroom.

Second bedroom/bathroom.

An already sleeping Gary and an Una who still hasn't napped. Whatcha doin girlfriend?!

Oh just reading to Pop Pop. Notice the upside-downness of the pamphlet!

There was actually a very nice view off of the balcony.

We left Gary resting and hustled over to Chef Mickey's.
Bad and good of all of this?
The afternoon was a cluster. The restaurant was 2 minutes away!

 

[MickeyCB]

DAY 3-CHEF MICKEY'S!!!

This dinner generated the absolute most hilarious moment of the trip!
We were shockingly on time and did the mobile check in thing and were called within minutes to be seated.
We were thankfully seated in a booth/chairs table where we trapped Una on the bench between Aleisha and I.
I am a person who believes kids should behave in restaurants but broke my own rules here.
It's loud, colorful, full of movement, and did I mention the manic no napped 2 year old?
She was bouncing better than Tigger.

We took turns getting food trying to corral Una and while Aleisha was gone the first character to come by was Minnie.
Una was showing off her Moana shirt and in awe of Minnie!

Next up was Goofy, she scrambled off of the bench to get to him!

Next up was Mickey and she had a full on conversation with him! These characters are quite patient.

And then did a nose dive for Pluto!

Showing off her Moana shirt to yet another character!

It was at this time at dinner that we had the story of the trip. Una loves Dondald as she was calling him all week. But Donald kept bypassing our table to go to others, to do the dance thing, etc.
Finally Miss Una had had enough. He was several tables away and she is standing on the bench between me and Aleisha.
She shouts, DONALD!
She shouts again, DONALD!
Finally the third time she shouts, DONALD DUCK!!!!
He whirls around and points to himself, like "moi?"
We collectively all almost roll off of our chairs laughing!
The sweet duck comes over and gives her the thrill of a lifetime.

And shows off her Moana shirt one more time!

Jake and Seth love Donald and he stopped for a pic with them.

The character experiences were wonderful and I'm so glad in our short trip we were able to see so many.

Aleisha left to take the unnapped kid back to the room while we finished up dessert and paid the bill.
Later she showed us a video of Una walking down the hall to our room and she was so tired she was literally staggering like a drunk, it was hilarious!

When I was asking for the check the manager came over. Julian I think, I did a cast complement for both he and our waitress but have lost their names as I type this. I had told our waitress when we sat down that my husband was not feeling well and unable to attend so there would only be 4 adults and the manager came over and gave me a take out dish and said he wanted me to take him a meal. I actually started tearing up. Both because of the kindness and knowing Gary would only eat a few bites of dessert anyway. So I did take him a few of the desserts.

Speaking of desserts, the only pic I can find of our food was my dessert plate as it was such a hectic affair, and as it was all partially eaten, I'll save you from seeing the image.

After dinner we took our time and walked back to the room. The big kids were thinking about taking the monorail back to Epcot as it was an extended evening hours for resort guests.

 

[MickeyCB]

I ran out of photo space in the post above.
A couple of pics from the restaurant and on our way out.

 

[sheriffwoody]

I also HATE the dang photo boxes. Not only are they not getting the moments photographers would get, the quality seems to be pretty crappy most of the time. I don't understand why they can't get the lighting down better. I'm a lowly wedding photographer and I could do a better job lighting for these photos You'd think the billion dollar company could figure it out.

Also super interesting hearing how they loaded y'all on the omnimover! I've always wondered how that worked.

 

[MickeyCB]

I also HATE the dang photo boxes. Not only are they not getting the moments photographers would get, the quality seems to be pretty crappy most of the time. I don't understand why they can't get the lighting down better. I'm a lowly wedding photographer and I could do a better job lighting for these photos You'd think the billion dollar company could figure it out.

Also super interesting hearing how they loaded y'all on the omnimover! I've always wondered how that worked.

It's interesting, if you look at the princess photos I posted here, some were off of my phone and others from the photopass. I am in no way a photography expert but I can't tell the difference in them.

And yes it was slick how they get you on. You do have to be able to transfer to a regular wheelchair. It was the same mechanism for the Undersea ride.

 

[MickeyCB]

DAY 3-SOME BABYSITTING AND SOME EPCOT

After we got back to the room Aleisha, Seth and Jake decided they would run over to Epcot for a little fun at Food and Wine. I was fine with babysitting Una who had crashed and Gary wanted to go to sleep.
We realized then that Una's stroller had been forgotten at Chef Mickey's. Aleisha forgot about it, and we didn't realize it was still there as we were leaving the restaurant. They decided they would just go over to get on the monorail and take it with them to Epcot vs trying to bring it all the way back to the room.

I asked if they could try to get back sometime around 10pm as I would like to go to sleep with another long day tomorrow. No problem they said. I helped Gary get ready for bed and they took off for Epcot. I threw a load of laundry in before sitting down to relax.

I was sitting watching the Monday night football game and I looked up and realized what an awesome view I had from the couch.

As I was sitting and watching TV it started to rain, hard! It was hard enough that the TV went out for a good while.
At around the same time Aleisha sent me some pics of her and the guys having a great time and I couldn't understand the difference in weather. I told her I have no idea why, but it's pouring here.

Looks fun!
Then a few minutes later she sent me a txt that they apologized but they didn't think they were going to be back by 10.
She sent a video of them looking outside the doors of the Mexico pavilion. Apparently they went in when there was just a little rain and they would "wait it out."

I haven't figured out how to post a video but here are a few screen shots from the video.

And this isn't a photo error, this is lightening going through!

They decided to try to make a run for the front of the park where they had left the stroller "undercover!"

She said she had parked the stroller under Space Ship Earth but it still ended up completely soaked due to winds, etc.
As they exited they found out the monorail wasn't working and were directed to busses. She said some passenger was giving the driver a hard time for some reason, but eventually they were brought back to the Contemporary.
When they got back they were literally soaked to the skin, with ponchos on.

They all threw their clothes into the dryer and as I headed to bed, they started to pack up as tomorrow is our last day.

 

[erstwo]

Love your view from the couch!

 

[MickeyCB]

DAY 4-MK AND HOME

We got up and moving at a reasonable time but of course it took longer than desired to pack everything up and move it all to Seth's car. He would be driving us back to the airport later in the day.

We walked over to the MK and stopped for a few photopass pics on Main Street.
Again, surface of the sun hot, so a lot of squinting and red faces.
Jake was the official balloon holder for the day!

And this one that I posted at the start of this report.

And Una trying to use her magic on the castle! (Her idea to wear the hot costume.)

We didn't have time to do a whole lot but we did stop for the traditional "photo on the wall" that I have done for the kids since Aleisha was 3 1/2!
We try to reproduce the pose each did at 3 1/2.

This one wasn't easy to reproduce-Una's first trip was when she was 10 months old.
She was sleeping in the baby sling Aleisha carried!
So we settled for this variation.

And her first big girl wall photo!

We thought a good ride for Una would be Ariel. It was pretty much a walk on.

While the walkway is wide enough there were dark areas and one of the kids would walk in front of Gary to guide him around the bends in the dark as it was a little difficult for him to see.

When we got to the load area it was the same as Nemo. Gary switched to a push wheelchair and he rode with Aleisha and Una, with Seth and I behind him. Poor Jake ended up riding behind us by himself. (Not sure he really minded!)
You can see how on the back of the car they're in that door drops down and rolls somehow and keeps moving.

We have a few more minutes left before we have to say goodbye, what shall we do?

 

[Back!Elbow!Shoulders!]

When we got to the load area it was the same as Nemo. Gary switched to a push wheelchair and he rode with Aleisha and Una, with Seth and I behind him. Poor Jake ended up riding behind us by himself. (Not sure he really minded!)
You can see how on the back of the car they're in that door drops down and rolls somehow and keeps moving.
View attachment 749502

I’m so glad that they have modified ride vehicles like this. It’s awesome that Gary could both experience the ride and share that experience with Una.

 

[littleroo]

I’m so glad that they have modified ride vehicles like this. It’s awesome that Gary could both experience the ride and share that experience with Una.

Well said!!! I completely agree!!

 

[MickeyCB]

I’m so glad that they have modified ride vehicles like this. It’s awesome that Gary could both experience the ride and share that experience with Una.

Well said!!! I completely agree!

It is a wonderful accommodation and awesome that they could ride with him.

 

[MickeyCB]

DAY 4-IT'S TIME TO SAY GOODBYE

After we exited the mermaid we went to the left and thought how nice it would be to ride the train to the front of the park as it's been closed for so long. But when we got down there we were told the scooter could not go on the train and I do think we could have assisted Gary to a bench but then we would have had to circle the park which if we had enough time would have been great. But as we did not we started to head out.

On the way there was a refreshment cart that we got, you guessed it, Una's 4th and final Olaf bar!
2 fisted snacking!

As we entered the Hub area the parade was going on and Aleisha peeled off with Una to catch a little of it while Gary and I continued out of the park. We had about 20 minutes or so to get back to the Contemporary to drop off the scooter.
She took a few pics of the parade.

I saw this as we were walking out and fell in love but the line was long so I sent a pic to the kids hoping they were still there.
Later Seth asked why I sent them that and I explained if they were still there if they could grab it for me but they had already exited the park. But, they surprised me by telling me that Jake was going to go back in and get it for me as he had time to kill before he had to be at Epcot for an appointment to get fitted in his new uniform. They are, or have already by now, changed styles for the CM's.

We met the scooter guy on time and Seth went and got the car and we all piled in to head for the airport. Jake headed back over in the hot sun to get my spoiled self the popcorn bucket!

We got to the airport and said our goodbyes to Seth.

Gary and I went through the TSA Preck in about 5 minutes, it took Aleisha with Una almost an hour in the regular line!!!
(She has finally made arrangements to get Preck.)

All settled in for takeoff!

We took off on time and got into Pittsburgh without any difficulties. We did have a lot of luggage and stuff to collect.
I think this is a funny pic. My daughter is a tough do it all kind of gal! Gotta get those fairy wings home somehow!
And yes, Una is on that cart somewhere!

I'll do a little wrap up of our trip in the next post and it will include an update on Gary. It's ok not to read it. That's why I'm not putting it in this post. Thanks to all of you who have followed along on our adventures.

 

[erstwo]

Before the update - want to say - this has been a joy to read. I know it probably would have been easier, in some ways, to stay home. But hopefully these pictures and memories make it worth every challenge you faced while traveling.

You have the most beautiful family and you can tell how much you love each other. Thanks for sharing with us.

 

[Tuvalu]

Absolutely agree with @erstwo. Thanks for sharing, my friend.

 

[Zipadeelady]

To what erstwo and tuvalu said.

 

[Bullseye1967]

Thank you for such a great TR! I knew it would be a fun one!

 

[Wicked Sisters]

I agree with everything everyone has already said. You are a wonderful family and you have made such special memories on this vacation. Thank you so much for sharing it with us.