Trip Report *COMPLETED* Life is a Highway - Road Trip 2019

Greetings All!

Now that a portion of our trip is booked, I feel more comfortable setting up a trip report. Not sure about the title - I couldn’t think of anything catchy.

So, here are the particulars:

When: November 2 - 8
Where: Pop Century Preferred Rooms
Who: just about everyone in my family

Mom & Dad - celebrating 57 years of wedded bliss (we will refer to them as Mema & Grandaddy)​

Sister C & her boyfriend M​

Sister’s granddaughters - R (10) & MJ (6)​

Me​

The trip came about as my sister wanted a big family trip that included my parents. Since they don’t fly, it’ll be a road trip - my first since we rode a tour bus in the 80s. In order to help keep the costs down for my sister, we went with Pop Century. My sister was trying to get a moderate, because she said that I don’t do “kiddie hotels.” I told her Pop Century is a great resort and the rooms have been refurbished. Grandaddy said he didn’t care because he wasn’t going to be in the room that long (Mema clarified that he wouldn’t hear the noise anyway )

The FPs & ADRs have fallen on me to select. It’ll be a bit rough on the FPs since my parents don’t do any coasters. We have the DDP, so planning table services will be interesting. ADRs start May 6th. My dad is a diabetic, and usually has a big breakfast, light lunch, & light dinner. So maybe out table services will be more breakfasts. Hoping to get Be our Guest for breakfast.

So far the only hiccup is trying to add my sister’s reservation to my MDE. The site says that she’s already linked. When I tried another way, it did not show the girls on the reservation. Any assistance from you guys and gals will be appreciated.

Only 189 days to go!

 

[LadyBelle]

Some observations:

(1) Orlando is the construction apocalypse. I have never seen such construction. And the way people drive through these lanes.....

(2) Saw 20 (!) Amazon Prime Semi trucks on the highway.

(3) I think I’m firmly in the camp of flying here in the future. See #1 above.

G’night!!

Animal Kindom in the morning.

 

[Swissmiss]

Some observations:

(1) Orlando is the construction apocalypse. I have never seen such construction. And the way people drive through these lanes.....

That can’t be possible, because my city is... one day I counted 7 construction zone as I drove to work. My drive is only 2 miles. Orlando must be the North American construction apocalypse.

 

[LadyBelle]

Popping in here quickly to ask some of the WDW regulars @Tuvalu @Doc Disney @lostpro9het @wdisney9000 (and anyone else) where there are some good places in World Showcases to get chocolate? My mom wants to get some when we’re there tomorrow.
TIA!

 

[lostpro9het]

Popping in here quickly to ask some of the WDW regulars @Tuvalu @Doc Disney @lostpro9het @wdisney9000 (and anyone else) where there are some good places in World Showcases to get chocolate? My mom wants to get some when we’re there tomorrow.
TIA!

The only chocolate we ever get in WS, and its usually every trip, is whatever Cadbury chocolates that The Tea Caddy carries. I know you can get some Cadbury locally but they also carry some unique offerings. Drawback is you are way overpaying for some prepackaged chocolate but my bride loves them so its worth it.

 

[MinnieM123]

The only chocolate we ever get in WS, and its usually every trip, is whatever Cadbury chocolates that The Tea Caddy carries. I know you can get some Cadbury locally but they also carry some unique offerings. Drawback is you are way overpaying for some prepackaged chocolate but my bride loves them so its worth it.

I love quality chocolates, and they're really lacking in the shops. My only guess is because of the heat. Chocolate would probably melt once you got outside in the hot, humid Florida weather.

But I've also thought before that they could bring in some quality chocolates in the hotel gift shops, as people could either keep it in their guest rooms which are cooler, or take with them in a carry-on bag when they travel back to the airport to go home.

 

[LadyBelle]

Hi everyone, remember me?

Life was tremendously hectic since I got back *checks calendar* nearly two months ago. Like that Rhianna song - work, work, work, work & I don’t remember the rest. That, and I’m still navigating the changes from LASIK surgery.

And the trip wasn’t as happy as I hoped. I can sympathize with @Longers and her large family trip.

I should’ve named the TR “Following the Leader.....I quit”

Saturday, November 2nd:

Time to go! The only time I would consciously be awake a 5:00 am.

My sister and her crew arrived near 6:00 and we were on the way.

Not long to go...We prepared to stop for breakfast in a very chilly SC. After a good breakfast at Cracker Barrel, we got back on the road. We made two Pit stops before lunch. Our GA rest stop was nice. I managed to snag a pic of my dad in one of their photo ops:

After lunch in Richmond Hill, GA, we made the final push to FL. I attempted to get the welcome sign:

This should’ve been a sign of things to come....

Still no free OJ samples....

Coming Up: We arrive? We arrive!

 

[LadyBelle]

November 2, Continued

Finally, a comforting sight

Time for the obligatory Welcome Sign

Close enough

For someone who has only flown into Disney, I wasn’t sure exactly where POP was located and we got off at the wrong exit and would up and Hollywood Studios. The very nice CM placed a pink strip under the wiper so that the parking CMs could properly direct us to the exit and back to the resort.

We had gotten out room ready texts so we headed straight to all our rooms. Luckily we ran into a CM who grabbed out bags onto the luggage trolley and directed us to the 60s section.

Some resort pics

This next picture made more sense back in November when @Tuvalu asked @bee about the shower in her resort

No more plastic bags in the trash cans except the one in the bathroom

Weird story about the drawer in my room....that bottom drawer would not close properly. At first I though it was sad, because these rooms were fairly new and someone has already broken the drawer. Well, I heard a crinkly noise when I pushed the drawer back and saw some sort of package had apparently fallen down and gotten stuck. So I grabbed one of the hangers and pulled to bag out to find....

....a woman’s negligee.

So I tossed it away.

Aaaaaanyway, we boarded one of the newly designed buses and had dinner at the Hard Rock in Disney Springs

After dinner, we came back to POP for the night.

Wrap Up:
Departure Time - 05:50 am
Arrival Time - 4:50 pm
Stops - 6 (2 meals, 4 pits)

Next Up - Time to get Wild

 

[riverside]

Sorry your trip didn't go as planned. While I'm always happy to be in Disney there have definitely been some trips that have been disappointing for one reason or another. I'm looking forward to hearing about it though!!

 

[Tuvalu]

Welcome back @LadyBelle!

 

[LadyBelle]

Sunday, November 3:

Normally I can sleep pretty well at Disney, but this trip was the exception. One reason was I had to take eye drops twice a day and I didn’t want to have to take them while in line for a ride.

An early morning view

I do love how quiet the resort is early in the morning. At least we got the extra hour back overnight.

After breakfast, we headed towards Animal Kingdom. Since my sister had bought military tickets, they had to get the, activated at the entrance. I was on a separate ticket so I waited.

And waited.

After that was fixed, the next step was to get the Memory Maker situated. So more waiting. That’s another disappointment because my sister has still not given me a copy of the photos. And I held off on getting my own pics that were tied to my MagicBand.

While we were waiting, some ladies came over and stopped my dad. They were from the same city as us and recognized my dad’s hat which was of our new minor league baseball team. We had a nice chat and talked about the previous season and how we were looking forward to next season. Small world!

We then headed over to our first FP.

Up next - Pandora

 

[LadyBelle]

November 3 Cont’d

We headed to the Nav’i River Cruise/Journey (all of the water, none of the puns ) and I tried to be all photo savvy

I can never take proper pictures in the ride...

Knowing my dad’s eating habits ( he had already complained that morning of Disney not having grits at breakfast ) I was hesitant to suggest Satu’li Canteen. But he was okay with it.

I ordered the children’s cheeseburger pod. I didn’t like it.

I did like that they had signs for large parties. Definitely helpful rather than having to search for two tables nearby.

To make up for the lunch I had a Nightblossom. Loved it.

We then stopped for a family picture. So imagine a family of seven inserted here....


Next up was the Up! Bird show

Up next - Dinner at MK

 

[LadyBelle]

November 3 Continued

Next up was heading to MK for dinner. We got there early and caught the Main Street Philharmonic. They played some classics and some Christmas tunes.

Our reservation was Crystal Palace. My mother loves Eeyore so I wanted to get a picture of them.

Only one we missed was Pooh.

We finished in time to watch Elsa light the castle. A pre-lighting pic

Time for Ice and Snow

Then it was back to POP before we came back tomorrow.

 

[LadyBelle]

Monday,November 4

Back at MK. Again, picture a photo pass with seven people

First up was breakfast at BoG

My half eaten Feast a la Gaston. Best eggs I’ve had

After breakfast, we headed to our first FP Haunted Mansion. I didn’t take many pictures because I had to keep MDE up and be the leader of the group that my sister made me (and ultimately wasn’t too happy about).

That is when my dad discovered he lost his magic band. He lost it somewhere between BoG and HM. So he and my mom went to find a CM or guest services location while the rest of us went on the ride.

Insert Haunted Mansion ride photo of me any my great-niece R


My parents were waiting for us at the ride exit. He had a temporary card and would get a replacement MB once we got back to the resort.

My dad wanted to go to the Hall of Presidents. So my parents and M (oh! I guess I should reintroduce the crew - Me, Mom & Dad, My sister C and her boyfreind M, and my sister’s grandchildren R & MJ) went inside and the rest of us waited outside. She found a PP photographer, so insert pic of the girls here

My sister has this mission that she was trying to hunt down these special popcorn buckets. While waiting for the rest of the crew, we walked over to Frontierland. There I just missed Big Al while wearing my Country Bears shirt from @sheriffwoody - totally gutted that I didn’t see any bears or go to the show while there.

Having no luck at that time, we headed back and met up with the crew. We headed over to Tomorrowland and I picked up a Wonderland Slushie

My dad got a little jealous of mine, so my mom went and got him his own Slushie that he wound up sharing with MJ.

Then he and M went over to race each other at the Tomorrowland Speedway while we hung out in the A/C by Mr. Eclipse

Up Next, lunch and a parade

 

[LadyBelle]

November 4 Continued

Next up was lunch at Columbia Harbor House. We went upstairs to eat as it was quite crowded. We basically stalked a large table until they finished their meal. No pics unfortunately but I had my traditional lobster roll. Everyone else had some form of chicken.

Our next FP was for the Jingle Cruise

The 8th wonder of the world (with a cameo by my sister)

After our cruise, we went into my Dad’s favorite

Once they bid us adios, my sister got word that a Minnie ears popcorn bucket was located at a cart around BTMRR. So she raced over there to purchase it while we hung out around the shooting gallery. Possession obtained, she then told us that the pumpkin balloon popcorn bucket was over by the cart near the castle. So we booked it over there amongst the crowds waiting for the parade.

I wanted to head out to one of the deluxe resorts for a break, so we headed toward the exit. My sister wanted to check with something at City Hall, so we stopped and watched the parade for a bit. Actually it was a pretty good spot to catch the parade (if you ignore the rude person who arrived late and wanted to push her son towards the front of the line).

So, enjoy my version of the Festival of Fantasy Parade!

Up next, our tropical break

 

[LadyBelle]

November 4 Continued

We hopped the resort monorail. My dad loves the monorail (until tomorrow’s mode of transportation) and we got off at the Poly.

Say hello to my sister and MJ on the right.

We went to Aloha Aisle for a Dole Whip. Definitely not as busy as Sunshine Terrace.

After our snack, we rested in the lobby until it was time to go back to MK for dinner.

My friend SJ just happened to be down at the same time as we were with one of her coworkers. She wasn't having too great of a time with her, and my sister was being whiny about something. So we decided that SJ and I would meet up after dinner, my sister would take the girls to TSL and everyone else would head back to the resort at night.

Dinner was The Plaza.

Next up, some “Adult” time

 

[LadyBelle]

With everyone going their separate ways, SJ and I headed towards BTMRR because she hadn’t gotten the chance to ride any rides (her coworker bawked at the chance on most rides). It posted a 35 minute wait so we headed that way.

Say hello to a blurry SJ getting into the car.

After out Wildest Ride in the Wilderness - and it is awesome at night - we rode Pirates and we’re stuck for about 5 minutes just before Jack Sparrow. No on ride photo appeared.

Since SJ had seen Happily Ever After twice already this trip, she offered to take the picture so that I could experience it live and not behind a phone. I thank her for that.

So be prepared for an overload of Happily Ever After!

 

[LadyBelle]

 

[LadyBelle]

All total, SJ took about 300 fireworks photos.

Up Next, We go to Hollywood and Beyond!

 

[Darstarr]

Small world!

...after all

We then stopped for a family picture. So imagine a family of seven inserted here....

Did Callan take that??

Looking forward to the rest

 

[LadyBelle]

November 5

Today was Hollywood Studios Day.

Before breakfast Picture. Was unable to use the pool as the doctor didn’t want me to get into any type of non-shower water

A little before/after picture of the plentiful pillows

Breakfast time!

After breakfast, we went back to our rooms to drop off our resort mugs and pick up our park bags. I came out to see this:

The line had moved swiftly by the time everyone was ready, so we headed that way.

Beautiful day for a fly in the sky.

Our ride is here

Say Hello to R’s head as we make our way into HS.

And the wait begins - to my right

And to my left