Trip Report *COMPLETED*So much World so little time!

Forgive me if I forgot anyone..
@21stamps @Zipitidoda @Tuvalu @amjt660 @Jess G @PacNWTigger @Direwolf27 @blgauger @Ciara @KordovaJD @Doc Disney @mattchu758 @prfctlyximprct @Figment Forever @epcotlover888 @lostpro9het

Alright gang here we gooo!

Departure Day -Feb 1, 2017

I set my alarm for 7:15 am, and when I got up Brook was already coming out of the shower. My FIL was picking us up at 8:45 that morning for our 10:30 am flight. The plan was to arrive at PHL at 9 am. He picked us up a few minutes early and off we went! No line at security! Brook walked right on thru the metal detector, but I was stopped. The TSA agent said they were picking up metal on my thighs. Ummm...maybe lard, but I wasn't smuggling any metal. She asked me if I wanted a private room and that she was going to have to pat me down. I told her there was no need for a private room. She did her search and off we went! I stopped to buy my traditional Cosmo magazine and then we went off to find some breakfast. Brook decided she wanted McDonald's so we strolled over that way. Found 2 good seats over looking a runway. We ate, watched the planes take off and talked about our upcoming plans! After eating we walked over to our gate, but as usual it was packed so we sat at an empty one. We like being the last ones to board, so we're not sitting there for 20-30 mins. While waiting to board I got this guy...

We hadn't even left PA and our room was ready!! Awesome!!! We were happy with the location, we just really didn't want buildings 1 or 7(furthest from lobby and food court). The flight was nice, I read and Brook slept and listened to music. We landed early and made our way down to the ME. The bus wasn't crowded at all and off we went! We got to FQ and Brook made a beeline to find Elsie. I waited at the front desk to ask about upgrading to AP's. I thought it could only be done at the parks or DS, but we upgraded right there!! SO EXCITING!! The merchandise discount was so nice!! Brook came over and said she didn't see her and asked me if I could ask a CM if she was around. The lady we asked said she had moved over to POR! Sad, but no big deal. I knew I'd be in for a few boat rides lol. Our first of which would happen after lunch.We were hungry, but didn't want to eat too much as we had an ADR at Chef Mickey's . We dropped our bags in our room which was perfect as far as location goes! Literally a 20 second walk to the food court!

Brook ordered kids chicken fingers and I can't remember what I got. I'm thinking it was soup. From there we strolled down to the dock to visit POR. Guess we strolled a little too slowly because we missed the boat by seconds. By the time we got to POR we were told that Elsie's shift had ended 15 mins earlier. Rats! We missed her! From there we took a bus to the MK and hopped the monorail over to CM's for dinner.
I was able to move it up to 5pm as opposed to 7pm I believe. We decided to hit up the MK afterwards since we had the AP's now and didn't want to get there that late. We arrived 15 mins early and checked in. Decided against a picture, watched the parade of characters and just relaxed. Our buzzer went off first! We were the first ones in and first ones to attack the buffet. We enjoyed the food and desserts, the characters not so much. I had originally booked this meal when I thought Kevin and Mia would be joining us. It was just awkward lol. We are super fast eaters so we left before they could make their rounds again. I explained to the waiter we were supposed to have a child with us so we were more interested in the food.

She'd kill me if she knew I posted this pic of her with no makeup! After stuffing our traps, Brook did some shopping. She wanted a new pin lanyard and a few other items. When she was done we took the monorail over to the GF so she could stop in Basin, her fave store on prop. That birthday and Christmas money was apparently burning a hole in her pocket. She decided on 5 bath bombs and then we headed over to the MK. We were tired by that point and didn't do much but take in the sights. We had such a nice day, fun, relaxing and always exciting!

 

[blreinsel]

I'm soooooo going to take advantage of the AP discount on the Late Night event at some point. It looks awesome!

 

[Courtney6682]

So back to the meaning of the title I was going to use, ''The trip of not's''. The cancelling of 1900 PF would be the first of MANY reservations we cancelled. There were also sooo many rides we didn't get to do. I think it was based on 2 problems. Over scheduling and the terrible feeling of losing out on Kevin and Mia's dining credits for the first 3 days. I think I went in with the wrong thinking to begin with. This was our longest trip ever. 8 nights, 9 days. I really packed it in with the college tour and DAH on the same days. Then the next day which is coming up was jammed packed for Brook's bday. The following day was crazy too when Kevin flew in. Then the day after that was Super Bowl Sunday which you all know I tried to plan like a nut. I'll explain more in each post tho

 

[Courtney6682]

I'm soooooo going to take advantage of the AP discount on the Late Night event at some point. It looks awesome!

Yes you have toooo!! I wouldn't think twice about doing it again!

 

[fractal]

Day 2-Feb 2nd...cont...

We arrived back on property around 4:45 pm. Here is where the title starts to come into play. I was originally going to title this report, 'The trip of not's'' but I didn't want to make it seem like it was a negative report. We had 6:45 pm dinner reservations at 1900 Park Fare, BUTTTTTT....we had more pressing matters to attend to with this...View attachment 192895

I waited to purchase tickets AFTER upgrading to an AP because the discount was amazing! Only $89 per person as opposed to $119 pp! A saving of $60, yes please!! The event was 8-11 pm, but we were able to enter at 7pm. There was a special line for After Hours attendees, where we were given lanyards to wear. It was 7:30, by the time we got in, so we headed to Frontierland. My version of the moving park bench @Tuvalu , Big Thunder had a 10 min wait time posted so we decided to hit that while we waited for 8 pm to roll around. I knew it just had a re-furb and it seemed to me that the seats were bigger! I remember one rider always being squeezed to death at certain points and we did not experience that at all! Very nice! I will admit I do enjoy riding in the back of this ride, I guess it's growing on me By the time we got off it was a little past 8. We hit up Splash Mtn which at this point was a walk on. We easily could have ridden 20 times if we wanted to, but it was chilly so moved on. Next up was the HM. After that it was time for a snack. All you can eat snacks were included in admission. Choices were, popcorn, mickey bars and 20 oz drinks! Brook got and ice cream, I chose a popcorn and we both got waters. I wanted to every ride, but Brook quickly vetoed that. So, IASW was skipped. We were NOT however going to skip Peter Pan! I just love this ride, but feel bad about ''wasting'' a FP when there with the whole family, and I would certainly never wait 75 mins for it. After our ride over London we hit up 7D twice. From there it was onto Pooh and the Teacups which we rode alone!
View attachment 192909
We could have ridden again, but my daughter who has a driver's license and her own car insisted on the freakin Speedway! I hate this ride lol...its' so jerky! We rode separately in my attempt to take a nice relaxing ride, but I wasn't paying attention at one point and really hurt my thumb on the steering wheel when it jerked away from me! By this time it was 9:30 and we were ready for dinner. I remembered Friar's Nook and how I always wanted to try the pot roast mac and cheese. I got that and Brook ordered the BBQ chicken mac. We didn't care for either one and tossed them after a few bites.

We made our way over to Tomorrowland and it was so neat being there totally ALONE!! I took this at 945 pm.

View attachment 192938

Wow! you had the place to yourself.

 

[Courtney6682]

Day 3..Feb 3rd...Brooklyn's 17th b-day!

Wow! My absolute favorite day of the year, well of my life actually! My daughter's birthday! A little back story first. I got pregnant with her when I was 16, and had her at 17. From the second I knew she existed I vowed to devote my life to her. I knew I was too young to do a lot of things like vote or drink legally(for the record I wasn't out boozing anyway), but I knew I could love her and care for her the way she deserved. She didn't ask to be born to a single teenage mom, and I promised to never let know what hand she was dealt. That's why this birthday hit me so hard. I was a mother at her age! I look at her and can't imagine being a grandmother at 34!! Enough of that, let's celebrate!

I let her sleep in while I got ready. I jumped on her and smothered her with kisses and handed her her presents. I got her an Alex and Ani of the castle and some pins she had her eye on her awhile. Also, the DAH was an extra present for her. She also asked for a Disney hoodie, but I wanted her to pick it out so I didn't buy that in advance. Her other present was still a surprise to her, the horseback riding I had planned for 230 that afternoon. After opening present and getting showered and dressed we headed to our ADR at Epcot, Garden Grill. As usual we were late, and didn't get to the restaurant til 20 past our time. I was worried if we'd be let in, and thankfully we were.

 

[Zara Bowlby]

Day 2- Feb 2nd-Cont..

Buzz is a fave of ours so we rode that next twice in a row. It's rare for Brooklyn NOT to be a galactic hero and that night was no different. I was happy that I got 600,000 something!! The only time I ever maxed out was last Spring when the ride got stuck a few times

View attachment 192957
She looks so young here! In reality she was just 2 hours from turning 17!

After saving the universe we traveled thru Space. Again, we could have ridden 10 times in a row if we wanted but I'm old and was getting really tired. We decided to end the night on 7D which we also rode back to back. I was itching to get empty castle pics so we stopped there on our way out.

View attachment 192958 View attachment 192959
All in all it was great and I would do it again if given the chance. The place was DEADDDD...there were many times we couldn't even see another person! We ended up taking our time and weren't commando's but we could have easily ridden 50 rides instead of the 12 we did. We also didn't stay until 11 pm, we left around 10:45. Buses were not at their usual stops service was being shared with close resorts. FQ was sharing with SS and I believe we were dropped off first.

We climbed into bed exhausted. Brook was asleep before I could say happy birthday at midnight.

Next up...day 3. Brooklyn's 17th bday adventures!

You guys look so alike!

 

[Courtney6682]

You guys look so alike!

Why thank you! I like to think no one else was involved
My daughter and I don't see it tho!

 

[21stamps]

Day 3..Feb 3rd...Brooklyn's 17th b-day!

Wow! My absolute favorite day of the year, well of my life actually! My daughter's birthday! A little back story first. I got pregnant with her when I was 16, and had her at 17. From the second I knew she existed I vowed to devote my life to her. I knew I was too young to do a lot of things like vote or drink legally(for the record I wasn't out boozing anyway), but I knew I could love her and care for her the way she deserved. She didn't ask to be born to a single teenage mom, and I promised to never let know what hand she was dealt. That's why this birthday hit me so hard. I was a mother at her age! I look at her and can't imagine being a grandmother at 34!! Enough of that, let's celebrate!

I let her sleep in while I got ready. I jumped on her and smothered her with kisses and handed her her presents. I got her an Alex and Ani of the castle and some pins she had her eye on her awhile. Also, the DAH was an extra present for her. She also asked for a Disney hoodie, but I wanted her to pick it out so I didn't buy that in advance. Her other present was still a surprise to her, the horseback riding I had planned for 230 that afternoon. After opening present and getting showered and dressed we headed to our ADR at Epcot, Garden Grill. As usual we were late, and didn't get to the restaurant til 20 past our time. I was worried if we'd be let in, and thankfully we were.

View attachment 193000 View attachment 193001

I ❤ U. ...And I don't even know you.lol.

This looks like a wonderful birthday!! I promise that I will look for those pins sometime today.

 

[Courtney6682]

I ❤ U. ...And I don't even know you.lol.

This looks like a wonderful birthday!! I promise that I will look for those pins sometime today.

Well good! Cuz I love you more!! Thanks again for the pins...she's gonna love them! I'm leaving work now, so the rest of her bday will have to wait til tomorrow. I like posting from a desktop soooo much more than my phone or laptop!

 

[Doc Disney]

The TSA agent said they were picking up metal on my thighs. Ummm...maybe lard, but I wasn't smuggling any metal. She asked me if I wanted a private room and that she was going to have to pat me down. I told her there was no need for a private room. She did her search and off we went!

Ahaha this happens to me nearly every time for some reason. I always ask my parents if they are sure I don't have medal in my body One time I had a skort on and they didn't know what to do with it

I waited at the front desk to ask about upgrading to AP's.

Did they give you the actual AP card there too?!

 

[amjt660]

With the park that empty the extra cost almost seems worth it.

I have to ask though - does there come a point when I park is so empty that it just feels weird?

Is it like when you go out to a restaurant and you are the only people in it.
Or a movie theatre
Part of going out to a movie is the gasp of the crowd at a scary part or roaring laughter at a funny part.
I don't need the theatre to be packed but when there is just you and your party it seems odd.

not sure if this makes sense at all - just thought I would throw it out there

Max

 

[Courtney6682]

Ahaha this happens to me nearly every time for some reason. I always ask my parents if they are sure I don't have medal in my body One time I had a skort on and they didn't know what to do with it



Did they give you the actual AP card there too?!

Yikes! Lol. Once Brook was flying to Arizona alone, so they let me walk her thru security and wait at the gate with her. All I was wearing was a bra and hoodie, she asked if I could take it off and I was like ...""uhhh I mean if I have to"lol...she didn't make me tho

They did give us our cards right there. The only thing we didn't get were the little sliders for our bands. We did receive our magnets last week tho!

 

[Courtney6682]

With the park that empty the extra cost almost seems worth it.

I have to ask though - does there come a point when I park is so empty that it just feels weird?

Is it like when you go out to a restaurant and you are the only people in it.
Or a movie theatre
Part of going out to a movie is the gasp of the crowd at a scary part or roaring laughter at a funny part.
I don't need the theatre to be packed but when there is just you and your party it seems odd.

not sure if this makes sense at all - just thought I would throw it out there

Max

There were times when it was a little creepy. We were literally the only people at the dance party as you can see in that picture. Just us and the DJ LOL! That was kind of odd, music and strobe lights with no one around. Reminded me of the walking dead!

I do think the cost was worth it, of course we were only A party of 2, so I can see how bigger families wouldn't be able to swing it.

 

[Courtney6682]

Day 3 Feb 3rd..Brooklyn's 17th b-day cont...

So I left off at arriving at GG. Let me back up a few mins. @21stamps you'll appreciate this next part. I'm a very punctual person, I can't stand being late or when others are late. Idk what got into me at Disney, but we were late for EVERYTHING!

After presents we made our way to the bus stop. We waited, and waited, all the while watching the Epcot wait time GO UP! We waited almost 30 mins for an Epcot bus, so by the time we got on our ADR time was 5 mins away. I originally reserved an 8:50 am time slot, but realized we could get empty SSE pics with an earlier breakfast time! As you all know SSE is my fave Disney icon. I think it's soooo beautiful, especially at night! I would die a happy girl if I cold just live in the WS. Anyway...I kept trying to snag an earlier GG time slot, and was finally able to a few days before our trip, except it was only 10 mins earlier. Great, big deal! I took it anyway, so 8:40 was our new time. We get to the AP line, which Brook insisted on using even tho it was LONGER than some of the other lines LOL. I don't think people pay any attention to that little sign. So we finally get in and we are way late now. Brook stops to take some SSE pics. To which I say, '' Let's go! You've seen it 500 times and have 9 million pictures, we're late! We can see it later! We move on, and huff and puff over to the Land. She is now walking behind me. '' Brook! Knees to chest, what are you doing?!'' We make it there and all is fine. Did we ever make it back to ride SSE? Nope. Did I get ONE picture of SSE in 9 days? Nope. I was too busy racing around and barking orders to take a freakin' picture! Of my favorite spot in WDW!

And thus begins the trip of ''not's.''

 

[21stamps]

Day 3 Feb 3rd..Brooklyn's 17th b-day cont...

So I left off at arriving at GG. Let me back up a few mins. @21stamps you'll appreciate this next part. I'm a very punctual person, I can't stand being late or when others are late. Idk what got into me at Disney, but we were late for EVERYTHING!

After presents we made our way to the bus stop. We waited, and waited, all the while watching the Epcot wait time GO UP! We waited almost 30 mins for an Epcot bus, so by the time we got on our ADR time was 5 mins away. I originally reserved an 8:50 am time slot, but realized we could get empty SSE pics with an earlier breakfast time! As you all know SSE is my fave Disney icon. I think it's soooo beautiful, especially at night! I would die a happy girl if I cold just live in the WS. Anyway...I kept trying to snag an earlier GG time slot, and was finally able to a few days before our trip, except it was only 10 mins earlier. Great, big deal! I took it anyway, so 8:40 was our new time. We get to the AP line, which Brook insisted on using even tho it was LONGER than some of the other lines LOL. I don't think people pay any attention to that little sign. So we finally get in and we are way late now. Brook stops to take some SSE pics. To which I say, '' Let's go! You've seen it 500 times and have 9 million pictures, we're late! We can see it later! We move on, and huff and puff over to the Land. She is now walking behind me. '' Brook! Knees to chest, what are you doing?!'' We make it there and all is fine. Did we ever make it back to ride SSE? Nope. Did I get ONE picture of SSE in 9 days? Nope. I was too busy racing around and barking orders to take a freakin' picture! Of my favorite spot in WDW!

And thus begins the trip of ''not's.''

Omg. Oh no!!! What does Disney do to us???

 

[Courtney6682]

Omg. Oh no!!! What does Disney do to us???

Ughhhh!!! IDK!! We really need to follow the kids leads sometimes...looking back I feel like an a-hole! It was HER birthday and I'm over here yelling and speed walking

 

[21stamps]

Ughhhh!!! IDK!! We really need to follow the kids leads sometimes...looking back I feel like an a-hole! It was HER birthday and I'm over here yelling and speed walking

Ok so, as you know, I can 100% relate to this. That said, I'm sure she understood, and you guys have probably looked back on it and laughed. You're a great mom!!! Disney just brings the crazy out of us sometimes.

 

[Courtney6682]

Ok so, as you know, I can 100% relate to this. That said, I'm sure she understood, and you guys have probably looked back on it and laughed. You're a great mom!!! Disney just brings the crazy out of us sometimes.

Thank you and ditto pal! I just had an epiphany! I think the problem is that we are veterans. Noobs don't know what they can possibly miss out on. We do. We know what we like to ride, see, eat, and experience. Therefore we have to jam it all in to have the ''perfect'' trip. Mine and Brook's motto when we are there is ...'' We didn't come here to sleep, swim or sit in the room.'' Obv that needs to change for next time.

 

[Courtney6682]

Day 3 cont..

Breakfast was nice. She chose GG because of the sticky bun bake. I managed to sneak a mouthful of it while she was jamming all of in her gullet. I liked the eggs, but they got cold really quickly. The sausage looked under done to me, which seemed to be a theme there, but that's for later on in the week. So we didn't touch that. We did enjoy the fruit salad. The characters came around a few times and it was still awk for us LOL. Our server brought her a card and cupcake and sang to her which was cute.

Now it was time to race around and try to fit some rides in. Our Frozen FP started at 1:25, but we had to be at Ft Wilderness by 2pm for Brook's bday surprise. Our first FP time had already passed, but we walked over to Figment anyway which was a walk on. We looked around the gift shop for a few mins but Brook didn't see anything she wanted. I asked her if she wanted to stop in Club Cool.She said no! Did we ever make it back? Nope. From there we stopped to look at all the pin traders which is one of her fave things to do. She is OBSESSED with pins. Every holiday I get the ones she currently has her eye on. She made a trade she was very happy with and we were off to our MS FP. When we exited we still had about 30 mins until our FEA FP, so you would think I stopped for the avocado marg I tell everyone on this forum to try but I didn't. We trucked on thru to Norway. One guess if ever made it back to La Cava? Nope!

Kevin is obsessed with the show Vikings on the History channel, so I was hoping to find an extra birthday present for him there. Did I? Of course not! I raced around, saw nothing that I thought was worth what they were asking and ran out. Forgetting about my new AP discount, which I would have gladly used. 10 mins before our FEA I knew I had to get on that ride. We should have been on our way to Ft Wilderness by this time. Walked up and there was no visible line! Told the girl we were early and thankfully she let us thru! The ride was cute and I'm glad we got to experience, but I've never seen Frozen, so can't say if they did a good job or not. We were both happy to be seated in the front row. Our pics from it are sick, so I won't be sharing. I look like a beached whale. Ok, jump off the boat and race to the exit. I order an Uber as we're walking and he beats us to the taxi stop! We arrive at Ft Wilderness and walk around like fools trying to find the place. We can see the ranch, but there were fences everywhere. We make it to check-in and somehow they Brook listed as 18 instead of 17. We have to fill out new papers. We get our instructions and locker key and go wait by the designated spot. No phones allowed, so no pics. Brook got a horse named Riley and I got Vegas which was very fitting. He was a wild one! From the time I got one the freakin' thing I was terrified!! The last time I was on a horse was at an elementary birthday party in the 90's. I hated every second of the tour. It was uncomfortable, scary and boring! The Disney site said '' guided tour'' so I assumed( I guess that was the problem) that meant the guides would be talking to us and pointing things out. Nope. We saw 4 or 5 raggedy deer and walked in silence. The trail was just a mud path thru some un-cleared woods, so when my horse took off into the bushed I got a face full of branches. Brook was dying!! But I was all scratched up and bleeding LOL! I was so happy when it was time to leave! She enjoyed it, so that's all that matters

We Uber'd back to FQ where it was nap time! I woke up about 20 mins before our ADR at LTT. I frantically try and wake Brook. She won't budge! 2 hours later she finally wakes up and is sad we missed her bday dinner. I had already cancelled it, and was now looking for something to grab for us because we were wasting table service credits left and right! Ah-ha! LTT has an opening around 8:30ish. I take that and off we got to the MK.

We arrived and sat down to play checkers. We played for maybe 2 minutes before we were called to our table. We were starving so everything was delish! She always loves it here, I can take it or leave it. Our server offered to sing to her and apologized that no one else was around to join in, so Brook declined. Did I remember to ask if I could try the Ooey Gooey Toffee cake? Nope, of course not! As we were leaving a man approached us and asked if we would like some rider switch tickets he had left over. I told him today was my daughter's birthday and that we would very much appreciate them. We thanked him and left. Brook hit up her fave store in the MK to look for pins. I forget what it's called, trading post maybe? She didn't have any luck there so we moved onto Tomorrowland. I wanted to ride Pirates so of course we didn't. Not that night or any other time! But I'm sure that's not surprising! We took a spin on the People Mover and then decided to call it a night.

Up next...Day 4 my husband arrives!

 

[Tuvalu]

Ooey Gooey Cake is only served at lunch. So you didn't purposefully miss out on it.