So here is my first ever Trip Report!!!! Just a recap from my Pre-trip report, I'm Kandi, i'm 27 and i'm travelling with my Dad, Mum, Sister (Alysia, 22) and brother (Dom, 18 but 17 on the trip). We are meeting up with my boyfriend Dan who works at WDW and my cousin and her boyfriend will be joining us later on in the trip.
Dan and Me
The Family
14th August 2012 – Travel Day This was the day I’d been waiting for – We were going to Disney!!!!! After not much sleep due to excitement we got up at 5am and finished the last little bit of packing we had to do and waited for the taxi to turn up. We waited and waited until finally my dad phoned the guy who was scheduled to pick us up. It turned out that he had forgotten to transfer our information into the booking book and therefore forgot about us. My mum at this point was freaking out and yelling at my dad for not phoning earlier but it turns out he was only 30 minutes late so it wasn’t that bad but it felt like an eternity. The taxi arrived and our bags were piled into the back. We were off!!!! We left at 8am and got to the airport around 8.30, I think the taxi driver was speeding but that’s not my problem. There was no line to check in so that was dealt with quickly and we headed to security where my dad got frisked and we had to wait for him. Once through security we went to the V-room which is a special lounge for virgin holidays which had unlimited food and drink. I got a diet coke and sausage and scrambled egg on toast with a chocolate shortbread, Mum had a bacon butty and tea, Alysia, Dad and Dom had a full English breakfast. We decided to give mum and dad their surprise now and presented them with a card with $60 in it and a note saying that they had an anniversary meal booked at Tonys. They were so shocked and happy and totally surprised.
It was now time to get on our plane which was called Beauty Queen and we were told the flight would take 8 hour and 45 minutes (which it did). I watched the Avengers and Game of Thrones and played games on the entertainment system on the plane.
I wasn’t impressed with the food because they ran out of Bangers and Mash and I ended up with the vegetarian option of vegetable pasta that didn’t taste good. Alysia, Dad and Dom had leeky chicken and my Mum got the last Bangers and Mash because she couldn’t eat the other two meals.
A couple of hours after the meal ice creams were handed out and then about an hour after that we were served afternoon tea which consisted of cheese and onion sandwiches and a cupcake. We landed at 3pm Florida time and went through immigration quickly and went to collect the car hire where we were upgraded to a SUV. As we were leaving the airport we got stuck in a giant thunderstorm which slowed the traffic to a standstill.
We got to POFQ at 5:30 and checked in. We were given rooms 5235 and 5236. My room was ready but my Mum and Dad’s room was very dirty, the beds were not made and my Mum found a tampon in the bathroom. We phoned housekeeping and they were very surprised that there was a guest in the room. I left them sorting out the room and went to meet Dan. I hadn’t seen him since April and finally it was time to be reunited!!! He gave me a massive hug when he saw me in the hotel lobby and i think I squealed loud enough for several guests to turn around and stare. We went to DTD and walked around the shops and caught up. My stomach started growling and I realised I hadn’t eaten much food that day so I suggested that we go to the Earl of Sandwich so we could get some dinner. We both had the All American and chocolate pudding (no pics, I was too excited to be back with Dan). We then met up with my friend Amanda from my ICP and hung out for a while. I started to get really tired so Dan took me back to the hotel and I was in bed by 10pm.
Thanks to jetlag I was wide awake at 5am and waited for the others to get up. Alysia and Dom joined me for breakfast in the food court. I had an everything bagel, Alysia had a chocolate croissant and Dom had a cupcake. Mum and Dad went to Riverside to speak to the rep and get a phone card so my Mum could phone my Nanna.
We set off to Epcot around 10:30 and must have just missed a bus because we waited a long time.
When we got to Epcot and got through the bag check we made a beeline for Spaceship Earth to carry on the tradition that SE is our first ride of the trip. I sat with Alysia, Mum and Dad were together and Dom was on his own. We managed the entire ride without stopping once. I think that’s a record for us!!!!
After a trip to see our future we headed over to Soarin’ to get fastpasses and then went on Living With the Land. I love this ride and always look out for hidden Mickeys and at the giant fruit and vegetables.
We headed over to the nut card near the imagination pavilion to see Alysia’s and my friend Hayley who we knew from back home. We chatted for a while and she said it was her last day at work and she was due to head back to England soon. We didn’t want her to get in trouble so we decided to go on the Nemo ride and get out of the hot sun for a bit. It was nice and cool in the pavilion and we managed to lose Alysia for 10 minutes because she had walked off to look at something and no one noticed. My Mum started panicking even though Alysia is 22 and sent me to look for her. By the time I got back to where Mum was I was the ‘lost’ one and she was about to send Dom to look for me. I’m sure this is why she had three kids, so she can send one to find another one after losing them!!
Once we were all back together we went on Journey into your Imagination where we saw another friend from home and Figment blasted us with skunk smell. Dom started complaining that he was hungry and my stomach agreed so we headed back to the Land pavilion and ate at Sunshine Seasons. Alysia, Dom and I had chicken with cheesy mash, I had a Carrot Cake Cupcake for dessert
Alysia had a whoopie pie
Dom had a chocolate cake
Mum had a park chop with a crème brulee and Dad had Mongolian Beef and chocolate cake .
Alysia wasn’t keen on the herbs on her chicken and said her whoopie pie was good but there was too much filling and it made it too sweet. Dad said his beef was fatty.
After lunch I met up with Dan and we all headed to World Showcase. We started at Canada and made our way through the UK, Italy and Morocco.
Dan and Dom talked all the way round and I couldn’t get a word in edgeways. At least I know that they get on! When we got to Japan, Dan and I said goodbye to my family as they wanted to go to Soarin’ to use their fastpasses. Dan and I went to the American Adventure and the Voices of Liberty and then watched the show. There was a screaming child in the theatre and a lot of people shushed them really angrily but the parent didn’t take the child out until a CM went over and asked them to leave.
We walked around the rest of World Showcase stopping in Italy, Germany, China and Mexico. We went in the Mexican pavilion and went on the boat ride. After Mexico we decided to leave and head to the Polynesian and have dinner at Captain Cooks. I got a pork burger and a Dole whip and Dan got Nachos and a Dole whip.
Both meals were really good but we couldn’t finish them. We walked around the Boutiki and went to the beach to watch Wishes which made me cry. Dan then took me back to the hotel and said bye for the night. The rest of the family had gone to Walmart and had gone to the Earl of Sandwich for dinner. I was in bed by 11pm.
I woke up a bit later and got myself ready and then waited for the others to get up. We had breakfast in the food court. I got oatmeal (which was really good), Alysia got scrambled egg on toast, Dom had a breakfast platter and Mum and Dad both got bagels. I kept forgetting to take pictures of the breakfast food until it was almost all gone and then there was no point. My Mum always said I would forget my head if it wasn’t screwed on and I’m starting to think that she’s right!
Once we had all eaten and taken our mugs back to our room we caught the bus to the Magic Kingdom. We ended up getting there around 10:30, my family are really slow in the mornings and my Mum would often start reading a book even when I’ve told her its best to get to the parks early but never mind, we made it there eventually. Alysia wanted to get some cards for the Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom game so we jumped in the small line and got our cards. I think its clever how they have done this and the portals aren’t really that obvious around the park. We actually struggled to find some of them.
We walked (slowly) towards Tomorrowland and got fastpasses for Buzz’s Space Ranger Spin. While the family were getting the fastpasses I got in line to see Chip and Dale. I would rather meet the characters than go on the rides really. To me Disney is all about the characters. My friends ask me if I understand that they are people just dressed up but I can’t see it, to me it really is Mickey Mouse or Cinderella. Anyways Alysia joined me in the line after running off to buy an autograph book and we got to meet the chipmunks. This is where the title of the trip report comes in – I was wearing Stitch ears and didn’t realise that you couldn’t buy them in WDW and everyone was telling me that they loved the ears and it started with Chip and Dale!
After meeting the chipmunks it was time to use our Buzz fastpasses. I sat with Dom and Alysia sat with Mum. Dad didn’t go on because a week before the trip he sneezed really hard and slipped a disk and it was playing up today. I beat Dom, who complained his gun was ‘broken’ and Mum beat us all! We met up with Dad and went on the Peoplemover and the Carousel of Progress.
It was coming up to Mum and Dad’s reservation time at Tony’s so we walked back up Main Street, got fastpasses to see the Princesses which came with a fastpass for Dumbo and left them to enjoy their meal. Dom, Alysia and I went to Pecos Bills for lunch. Dom got a pulled pork burger and yoghurt, Alysia had an Angus burger and yoghurt and I got an Angus burger but chose a carrot cake for my dessert instead.
Dom decided to leave after lunch and go to Hollywood Studios so Alysia and I got seats to watch the parade. Dan was doing a PAC shift so I got to see him controlling the crowd on the parade route. For some reason the parade felt shorter than normal but Alysia said it wasn’t.
After the parade we bumped into Mum and Dad who were coming to find us and had watched the parade from near Tony’s. We headed to Dumbo to use our surprise fastpasses but as we were about to load a thunderstorm closed down the ride. We waited around for 45 minutes but had to leave because we would miss our princess fastpasses and the CMs said they didn’t know when they could open again. About 5 minutes after we left the line Dumbo started up again but we had to hurry for our other fastpasses. When we got to Main Street we got a fastpass for Mickey and got another one for Dumbo!!! We could ride it after all.
We got in line and within 5 minutes we were chatting to Belle, Cinderella and Rapuzel. Belle asked us about the books we were reading and the types of books that we read, Cinderella asked where our princes were and Rapuzel told us to have a great adventure every day. The princess’s took their time to talk to us even though it was two women in their twenties and not little kids.
We then got in line to see Mickey. When we met him I told him I was running the marathon and he got really excited and kept giving me kisses. He asked Alysia if she was running and she said no and then he wanted to know why. She was stumped and tried to explain she doesn’t like running but Mickey didn’t think it was good enough. She told him she would be there to cheer me on and he gave her a thumbs up.
After meeting the big cheese we finally got to ride Dumbo. This was the first time I had ever rode it. As it had rained our elephant had a big puddle of water where you put your feet so we had to ride with our feet in the air so they didn’t get wet. We headed to Haunted Mansion when we finished flying with Dumbo. It was a walk on. Once on the ride someone was taking really bright flash photography, we stopped for around 10 minutes and this person kept taking photos of the same thing, over and over again. It was blinding me, all I could see was bright flashes and it totally ruined the ride for me. When I was getting off the ride I mentioned it to a CM and she put us straight back on and we were able to enjoy the ride without being blinded. Unfortunately this was not the last time where flash photography blinded me on a ride on this trip.
Our bellies started grumbling and we ran over to the Columbia Harbor House. Mum and I got the fried shrimp basket and apple crisps, Dad got chicken nuggets with an apple crisp and Alysia go the Salmon with cous cous and broccoli with a yoghurt. I couldn’t finish my dinner and only ate the apple middle out of my apple crisp. In past years I used to finish my food and then start on someone else’s but I’ve been trying to lose weight since Christmas and my stomach had shrunk so I ended up leaving a lot of food.
With full tummys we headed back to the bus and were tucked up in bed by 11pm.
Alysia and I decided to get up before everyone else and go to Hollywood Studios to meet some characters. We left the hotel room at 9am but Alysia realised in her excitement to get to the park earlier than normal that she had forgotten to brush her teeth and ran back to the room. She emerged 10 minutes later and we jumped on the bus. We got to the park around 9:30 and got talking to a photopass CM. He was amazed that Alysia had finished law school and when he realised i was an ex ICP because I pointed with two fingers, its a hard habit to break!!! We talked for a while about the Grand Floridian.
Everywhere I went today people said they loved my ears and asked where they were from. One woman even followed me around before plucking up the courage to ask me. We went to Starring Rolls for breakfast. I got a cherry turnover and Alysia got a Brownie. Both were really good and make us very sticky!!!
After breakfast we headed back to the hat and got in line to see Minnie. Minnie didn’t really seem that bothered to see us and spend virtually no time with us at all.
As we were saying bye to Minnie I spied my favourite duck in the whole world – Donald. I dragged Alysia over to his line and made it just before it was closed. Donald wasn’t alone either, Daisy was with him!!! I told Donald he was my favourite and he went crazy hugging me and not letting go and Daisy showed me her bracelets that Donald had given her.
The characters were heading in so went into the sweet shop to look around and enjoy the amazing smell. I really wanted the Kermit candy apple that they had but I really don’t like apples that way.
We left the sweet shop and my character senses were tingling. I spotted Stitch and dragged Alysia over to meet him (she gets dragged around a lot with me). He was great and made us both laugh with his silly antics.
Alysia was fed up of hanging around the hat so we walked towards the Backlot Tour where she realised Sully was out and wanted to meet him so we jumped in the line and got in just before the line closed again – talk about lucky!!
At this point Mum and Dad had text me saying they were on their way and to meet at the hat at 11. We walked back past the Toy Story ride to check fastpass times and so i could take some pictures.
We met up with the rest of the family and I marched them back to Toy Story Midway Mania to grab fastpasses. It was at this point Dom decided he had enough of hanging out with his family and announced he was doing his own thing and left us. We went on the Backlot Tour and only had a 10 minute wait. The Pearl Harbor pre show part had great participants who were really into their roles for a change. While on the tour we saw costumer from the Muppets and POTC. I got wet on the Catastrophe Canyon part.
After the Backlot Tour we went to the Animation Building to cool down and get out of the hot sun which was great as we got to meet more characters. We met Winnie the Pooh and Mr and Mrs Incredible. Mrs Incredible made us pose like her for the photos. Mr Incredible noticed my ears and called me an alien and asked if I was naughty like Stitch. I said no but my Dad said that I was naughty when I was younger.
As we were leaving the Animation Building it started to rain really heavily and we were hungry so we speed walked over to the ABC Commissary as it was the nearest place. We managed to grab a table straight away. I got the fish basket with a Strawberry Parfait, Mum got a chicken burger with a chocolate mousse. Alysia and Dad both got the chicken curry and one of each of the desserts. I didn’t get pictures because the camera was in a zip lock bag and didn’t want to mess around with getting it out. Just as we were finished eating Dom showed up with some lunch and sat at our table. I’m sure that boy has a homing device as he can find us anywhere (or maybe we are predictable). We finished eating and split up again, Mum, Dad, Alysia and I went to see Buzz and Woody. We were one of the first in the line and got to spend ages just playing with them and having fun. Buzz wanted to wear my ears and I put them on his head and he acted like he was Stitch. Woody messed around with mine and Alysia’s sunglasses and put them on everyone else. It was one of the best character interactions that we have ever had.
We said goodbye to Woody and Buzz and checked the wait time for the Great Movie Ride. All morning it had been at 60 minutes but now there was only a 15 minute wait. We got the cowboy scene, it was the first time my family had seen it and they loved it – so much that every time we went on it again Alysia would ask for it.
It was now 4:30 so we went back to the Animation building. Mickey had no line so we headed to see the main man.
Mum wanted to meet Winnie the Pooh and he had no line either so the CM let her walk straight up to him. She loves Pooh bear.
We then just hung around as I had read that more characters tend to come out at 4:50. I was starting to give up hope when suddenly the doors opened and out walks Jafar, Mary Poppins and 2 penguins, Minnie, Pluto, Captain Hook, Mr Smee and the Queen from Snow White!!!! I think i may have screamed, I love the Villians!!!
We went straight to Jafar and he refused to sign or pose until we said please and thank you and when he was done you were dismissed with a wave of his hand – talk about staying in character. We talked to Mary Poppins and the penguins and she asked if I had a tidy bedroom and explained that I didn’t because I had to share.
We then ran into the Oscar room to find the Queen with no wait at all. I don’t think people realised she was there. She asked about my ears and I explained that I couldn’t afford a crown and had to make do with ears. She said it was a good choice.
We headed back to the main room and met Mr Smee and Captain Hook. Smee was stealing my ears and gave them to Hook. Hook wouldn’t give them back and I told him I would send the crocodile after him because he was being naughty. Well he didn’t like that!!! He said i was mean and kept giving me the I’m Watching You gesture. Later on when I was in another line he kept doing it to remind me that he had his eye on me.
The characters then swapped out and Rafiki took Hooks and Smees place. We met him and then went to meet Pocahontas who said Meeko had eaten too many berries and had a tummy ache. We also met Geppetto.
We then used our fastpasses for TSMM. I got the highest score in the car.
Dad decided he wanted to go back to Epcot so we got the boat from Hollywood Studios. The boat was quite full but people wouldn’t move up on the seats so other people could sit down and kept their bags on the seats. We got to Epcot and went to the bakery in France to get some dinner. I got a cheese and ham tartine and got a Napoleon for dessert. Alysia got the same sandwich and a strawberry tart. Mum and Dad both got a cheese and ham baguette and got a cream puff and a napoleon to share.
It was starting to rain so we made our way towards China as Alysia wanted to look in the shop. Dad got a beer from the American pavilion and then rain started to get heavier. Dad and I decided to go back to the hotel and Mum and Alysia stayed in China. We were back at the resort by 9 and I watched Pirates of the Caribbean 3 before bed.
