Trip Report Get in the Car, We're Going Home! LIVE *COMPLETED*

Surprise!

I could have titled this "That Time We Went to Florida and Didn't Tell Anyone" but I didn't want to plagiarize @Doc Disney.

@Longers, you were right ~ we are sneaking in another trip before April. (I could not leave you in suspense until April, @blgauger!)

@amjt660 told me to get back to WDW soon ~ and I didn't want him to go through TR withdrawal.

And both @LisaBelle and @MegRuss626 asked me to "keep 'em coming!"

So here we go again......

Believe it or not this trip was birthed a mere three weeks ago. I was looking at Em's school calendar and noticed she had a long weekend for President's Day. I jokingly said, "Road Trip!" and before I knew it I was booking a room, making ADRs and choosing FPs.

Em requested we keep our plans secret ~ she's tired of the "You're going AGAIN??!!" comments ~ and the clandestine element made our anticipated adventure that much more exciting.

Well, the cat's out of the bag now. (Speaking of cats, Woody is lovingly caring for Poly and Kona in my absence. And yes, he was "in" on our secret.)

Em and I will attempt a duo LIVE report. You'll discover the trip deets as we go along.

@Tony the Tigger, you totally picked the wrong day to go to MK....you should have stuck with Friday!

@bee, too bad we're not staying at CSR this time....we'd pop by!

Departure:

Told ya I'd see ya real soon!

 

[Tuvalu]

We left the world early. And now we are home.

@lostpro9het, we were door to door in 7.3 hours (one restroom stop, one lunch stop) ~ might be a new record for us.

I'll have a few final thoughts to post in a day or two.

Thanks everyone for joining along and for your funny and kind comments. Em and I appreciate each and every one.

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

Sorry you had to leave, but glad you are home safe. Thanks for the live update!

 

[coachwnh]

Thanks for the live updates! Looking forward to final thoughts.

 

[mcstensrud]

I'm sure Woody and the Kitties are happy your home.

 

[wishes2013]

Wow, just as I finish one report, you're back again! Lucky Em getting a long weekend- the school I am student teaching at now had school today (also- how do you use the tsum tsums in your classroom?)

 

[RememberWhen]

View attachment 190913

We left the world early. And now we are home.

@lostpro9het, we were door to door in 7.3 hours (one restroom stop, one lunch stop) ~ might be a new record for us.

I'll have a few final thoughts to post in a day or two.

Thanks everyone for joining along and for your funny and kind comments. Em and I appreciate each and every one.

So sad. Couldn't you have stayed a bit longer? For all the TR fans?

 

[myhappyplace]

Ahhhhhh another trip when I was there at the same time!! And it was also a sort of last minute (3 weeks) trip. My best friend was staying at the Hilton Buena Vista for work, so I came down Friday, from north GA also, and stayed until Sunday around noon. We were in EPCOT at the same time as you...we were in Mouse Gears when it started to rain, so we left then.

We had so much fun posing with the art frames! My friend Penny pretended to vomit as well on the crossing the Delaware pic too...

I saw the vhs journals at the shop in the Grand Floridian, they had Aladdin too, so cute!

I will be TR'ing last weekend with this coming weekend's trip (yes 2 weekends in a row, driving down and back by myself...yay AP!)

 

[amjt660]

Glad you are home safe and sound
7.3 hours?? - Lead foot??

Looking forward to the final comments and the next one
Remember I am telling you to take me with you (and you pretty much always do what you are told)

Max

 

[dddisney]

That was a great trip report.

 

[BWK05]

Thanks everyone for joining along and for your funny and kind comments. Em and I appreciate each and every one. [/QUOTE]

Thank you both for letting us tag along almost as much fun as being there!!

 

[Longers]

Thanks for letting us join you live - it was a lot of fun - shame your home but you won't have that 360+ day wait like me between trips - you'll be back before you've unpacked and done the washing!

 

[MinnieM123]

As usual, enjoyed your latest TR! But I'm thinking that you'll be back there in a few weeks (that's a long hiatus for you ), so I'll just hang in there until the next happy TR! Thanks for documenting all your experiences; I always learn something new each time you go there.

 

[Scoppin]

We were the last ones to climb aboard the Pop bus and were serenaded the entire 18 minute ride by a screaming, inconsolable 6-month-old. (Em and I did feel bad for his parents!)

We briefly popped into our room for cold drinks and a couple items needed for tonight. Then we jumped into the car and sped off to AK. I always forget how close Pop is to AK ~ less than 10 minutes.

AK still has the old metal detectors. They were making everyone walk through them.View attachment 190302

New Passholder entry:
View attachment 190303

We'd made a 4th FP for the Safari. The FP line was a bit lengthy.
View attachment 190304

View attachment 190306

It was a great expedition. The following less-than-stellar quality pics are mine.

Hippo out of water!
View attachment 190308

Giraffes are back, yay!
View attachment 190310

View attachment 190313

Hello zeeba neighbor!
View attachment 190316

View attachment 190319

The lion sleeps tonight.
View attachment 190322

I saw nothing wrong with your safari pictures.

 

[Scoppin]

After our safari, Em went in search of an adult libation.

View attachment 190325

She opted for an African Margarita.
View attachment 190326

Before she had a chance to finish, it was time to check in for our Rivers of Light Dining Package. Cause everyone in Florida eats dinner at 4:30 pm.

View attachment 190327

Mickey arrived at the same time we did.
View attachment 190328

We were seated in the back room.
View attachment 190329

Was this the same room you were in with Woody?
This was the room the kids and I were in. I can tell by the different angle. We were seated on the table on the left, not the one in the corner. Very tight when you have more than one character in the area.

 

[Scoppin]

Saturday, February 18

Happy to report no wild parties in our building last night. Noise? Yes ~ but it only woke me a couple times and I was able to go back to sleep.

The Pop food court is slammed this morning with teen females ~ either part of dance/cheer groups or South American tours. Very few adults or families. Em and I had to walk around the entire dining area twice to find a table.

And if one more of them hits me in the back with their backpack......

But I wanted Mickey waffles so had to suffer the consequences.

View attachment 190369

When I asked for strawberry waffles, the CM started to pour on strawberry syrup. I asked if I could have fresh strawberries and he retorted: "Those are for the yogurt parfaits. I will give you some today, but don't come back tomorrow expecting them."

Alrighty then. Duly noted.

He stated not to expect them. But didn't say you couldn't request it again.

 

[Scoppin]

Using our first FP here:

View attachment 190396

View attachment 190397

While we may have posed for the picture, the real scary part happened after we finished the drops. Our elevator did not back up and turn sideways as usual. We just sat there. And sat there. Then the auxiliary light went out and we were in TOTAL darkness. And we could hear things powering down.

The young girl next to me whispered to her dad, "Why did the light go out?" I felt sorry for her as she hadn't been too excited to be on they ride in the first place.

Our elevator began to move backwards very slowly...and stopped...moved a bit more....made the turn and the door opened.

Dad and daughter were the first ones off!

A big pile of unattended backpacks (the same variety we had to dodge in the food court) outside ToT. This would give TSA employees a heart attack!
View attachment 190398

That would have been something if it was their first time on the ride.

At least the backpacks are easy to spot. But would the mountain of backpacks be any different than the scattered strollers for the TSA employees? Who knows what are hidden underneath those.

 

[Scoppin]

Methinks Disney purchased generic handles to attach to their leftover inventory of handle-free mugs.

View attachment 190403

If those are the handles, I think I prefer our handle-less ones.

 

[Tuvalu]

All caught up! California Grill and Wishes. Perfection ! Looks like it's been a wonderful trip.

We had a fabulous time. Thanks for tagging along again!

Oh my gosh I was there at the same time as you again! There were a lot of tour groups. I'm back in reality and not happy about it.

Sorry we missed you.....again!

Yay!! I've always wanted to try that Olaf cupcake

Em and I were both surprised at how good it was.

 

[Tuvalu]

Sorry you had to leave, but glad you are home safe. Thanks for the live update!

I'm looking forward to reading about your upcoming adventures.

Thanks for the live updates! Looking forward to final thoughts.

Thanks for reading, Coach!

I'm sure Woody and the Kitties are happy your home.

I'm not sure who was more glad to see me....I'd give the edge to .

So sad. Couldn't you have stayed a bit longer? For all the TR fans?

I could have stayed longer, but my traveling companion had to be an adult!

That was a great trip report.

Thank you!

 

[Tuvalu]

Ahhhhhh another trip when I was there at the same time!! And it was also a sort of last minute (3 weeks) trip. My best friend was staying at the Hilton Buena Vista for work, so I came down Friday, from north GA also, and stayed until Sunday around noon. We were in EPCOT at the same time as you...we were in Mouse Gears when it started to rain, so we left then.

We had so much fun posing with the art frames! My friend Penny pretended to vomit as well on the crossing the Delaware pic too...

I saw the vhs journals at the shop in the Grand Floridian, they had Aladdin too, so cute!

I will be TR'ing last weekend with this coming weekend's trip (yes 2 weekends in a row, driving down and back by myself...yay AP!)

First....we were so close and yet so far from meeting.
Second.....kudos to you for making that long drive solo on back-to-back weekends. Even I don't love Disney enough to do that!