Trip Report Livin' La Vida Local

All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.

For those of you that have been following my adventures for awhile now, welcome back! 😊 For those of you that are just joining my adventures, I'll do some quick introductions before we jump on in!

I'm Brittany and this is my prince, Dylan. ❤️ We are from Pennsylvania and got engaged at MK a little over a year ago. We took a page from Walt's book shortly thereafter and chased our dreams, leading us to central Florida. I teach 1st grade and Dylan works at the Magnolia/Palm (Disney) golf courses located across from the Poly and Grand Floridian. After living in FL for a full year now, we are 100% certain that we won't be moving back to PA. We are Floridians through and through and can't imagine living our crazy life together anywhere else. ☺️
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You'll see lots of faces in my report (including some of yours!), but this is the one you'll see most often. 😉 This is my very best Disney friend, Brooke (@wishes2013)! We met through this site and were brought together when we realized that we would both be teaching 1st grade at the same school. I'm not exaggerating when I say that you can either find us at school or Disney... we're together more often than we're not. 😋
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You can find the ongoing trip report that chronicles our first year living in FL and being passholders here. 😊 This report will serve as more of a "highlight reel," rather than detailing every moment of every trip we take to the parks. But fear not, there will still be lots of report to read! If you're looking for your Disney fix or a way to chase those Disney blues away, you can most certainly find it here. 🤗

To all who come to this happy place, welcome!
 
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blreinsel

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Happy Halloween from the Poly! We got lots of candy, too. 😉 We decided that next year we’re starting earlier and doing a Halloween monorail extravaganza!
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#betterthancandy
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#alsobetterthancandy
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FAMILY. GOALS. However, my kids would be part of the theme as well. Chip, Lumiere, Cogsworth... can you imagine? 😍 I sent this to Dylan and he did not say no. 😏
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We ended the night with freaking PUMPKIN SPICE MARSHMALLOW SMORES. 😱🎃 They were amazing. Every time I think Disney can’t do better.
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The only thing missing was some Haunted Mansion love. We added that to our itinerary for next year. 😉
 

blreinsel

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
A few other pictures from our quick MK visit on 11/2 that I forgot to post!
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This is one of our all time favorite pictures together... 😂 “When someone says they don’t like Disney.”
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In reality, that man ran into me with his giant backpack and then ran me over with his obnoxious double wide stroller. Not sure which is more annoying. 🤷🏻‍♀️

On the monorail back to the TTC, this guy and his daughter shoved themselves into our car. When I say there was no room for them... there was seriously no room for them. We were literally pressed up against the doors. 🤨 I didn’t even have enough room to hold my arm out far enough to show you just how close they were to us.
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blreinsel

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
November 3

I’m not even ashamed to say that my HS visits now completely revolve around Ben’s schedule. We sat in the front row, right in front of where he stands for the majority of the show. Why else does one go to the Frozen show?

He put on quite the show for us... I was even featured on his Instagram story later in the day. 🤩
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Lisa is just as amazing and I LIVE for the shows where I catch them performing together.
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We rode a few things over the course of the day and grabbed lunch at Woody’s Lunchbox. I had the grilled cheese and soup.. it was good but didn’t seem any different than a typical sandwich to me. Also.. the seating is terrible. Aka there is none.
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What’s a day at Disney without ice cream, am I right @Longers? 😋
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Longers

Well-Known Member
November 3

I’m not even ashamed to say that my HS visits now completely revolve around Ben’s schedule. We sat in the front row, right in front of where he stands for the majority of the show. Why else does one go to the Frozen show?

He put on quite the show for us... I was even featured on his Instagram story later in the day. 🤩
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Lisa is just as amazing and I LIVE for the shows where I catch them performing together.
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We rode a few things over the course of the day and grabbed lunch at Woody’s Lunchbox. I had the grilled cheese and soup.. it was good but didn’t seem any different than a typical sandwich to me. Also.. the seating is terrible. Aka there is none.
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What’s a day at Disney without ice cream, am I right @Longers? 😋
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You are so right and I am here right now working my way through as much as I can eat before I can go home. I think I’ve put on a stone in weight already...... was only talking about you today too! (In a good way in that you live this dream every day)
 

Tiggertoo56

Well-Known Member
November 3

I’m not even ashamed to say that my HS visits now completely revolve around Ben’s schedule. We sat in the front row, right in front of where he stands for the majority of the show. Why else does one go to the Frozen show?

He put on quite the show for us... I was even featured on his Instagram story later in the day. 🤩
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Lisa is just as amazing and I LIVE for the shows where I catch them performing together.
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We rode a few things over the course of the day and grabbed lunch at Woody’s Lunchbox. I had the grilled cheese and soup.. it was good but didn’t seem any different than a typical sandwich to me. Also.. the seating is terrible. Aka there is none.
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What’s a day at Disney without ice cream, am I right @Longers? 😋
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We went to see FEA on 1st November and it was Beris by pure chance. He and Lisa are so good!
 

blreinsel

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
November 9

We found out this year that Dylan gets an incredible CM rate for MVMCP tickets on select dates. So though the beginning November is a little early, we couldn’t pass it up! We had a beautiful evening with perfect weather. The party was sold out, but it wasn’t noticeably busy at all.

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We arrived before the party actually started, so we had a Space Mountain FP to use. We stopped for a picture at the new wall on our way!
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We arrived back on Main Street just in time for the castle lighting. I had never actually seen it before and it was amazing!
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We headed back down Main Street to grab a party map and went through our first treat stop.
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There were some other photo spots with props but the lines were pretty long so we decided to only stop for this one.
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We walked back to Storybook Circus so I could look at the party merchandise and choose a character to meet. Dylan doesn’t like meeting characters so I have to be pretty selective. 😉 I bought a pin and chose Santa Goofy! We waited maybe about 30 minutes for him, most of which were before the party officially started. Once he came out, the line moved pretty quickly.

We talked about how great he looked with a beard and whether he should keep it or not. We decided that Mickey wouldn’t allow it because he doesn’t like facial hair. 😋
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Next up was hot chocolate and cookies! All of the cookies were prepackaged this year, which I loved. It seems financially smarter on Disney’s part, and it worked out great for us because we brought a ton of them home. We never would have been able to eat them all that night.
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We sat on a bench and enjoyed our treats for a few minutes. We were fortunate enough to get to witness our first temper tantrum of the night before heading to our next destination. 😉
 

blreinsel

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
November 9, cont.

We walked onto Pirates and then grabbed some more treats.
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We headed back to Main Street and stopped for some pictures in front of the tree.
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We crossed the street and walked right into a room to see Mickey. 😍
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He refused to allow Dylan to leave without a picture lol.
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We had a really great meet with him! We talked about he and Minnie’s sweet dance on his birthday celebration special the weekend before and agreed that Dylan could learn a lesson from him. 😉 He pointed out a picture of Minnie that hangs on the wall and said that he stares at it all day long. ❤️ Before we left, he told me to come back to party with him on his birthday and I promised that I would 🤗

We shopped on Main Street for a bit before claiming a spot for the castle show.

All. The. Heart. Eyes. 😍
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The castle looks so pretty with the wreaths!
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blreinsel

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
November 9, cont.

One more because I just love this show so much. 😍
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We backed up a bit and got a better view for Holiday Wishes. I liked it a lot more this year, but HEA still has my heart. 😉
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You know how every website suggests seeing the second parade at parties for a “less crowded view?” Yeah, don’t. Because now EVERYBODY waits for the second parade and it’s insanity. When we passed by during the first parade, there were tons of open spots that we could have watched from. We struggled to find a good view for the second one an hour before it even started. We eventually settled on an okay spot and then we waited. Dylan went to Starbucks because we were running low on fuel.
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The parade finally started and all was well. 🎅🏻 I absolutely despise snow but when it snows on Main Street my heart is so happy. 🥰
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Dylan and I laughed at the CM in charge of cleaning up after the horses. What exactly is your title when you tell somebody that you work at Disney? 🤔😂
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blreinsel

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
November 9, cont.

This float is just absolutely stunning. Pictures do not do it justice. Also.. Belle in her Christmas dress. 😍
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Hey Beast heyyyy.
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I am not okay when the toy soldiers march by. I am OBSESSED. ❤️❤️
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I also squeal with absolute joy at the reindeer. They are SO CUTE.
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What else can I say about this parade? It’s such a happy, fun filled show and I will never get tired of seeing it. I wish it replaced Festival of Fantasy for more than just the week before Christmas.. my blockout dates fall at the same time. 😭

Anyway, we made our way back toward the castle and headed off for one last ride.
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We waited less than 10 minutes for Big Thunder and when we exited, the park was officially closed. We started making our way back toward Main Street and I realized we hadn’t gotten a picture with the castle earlier. Mickey’s Merriest was going on and the lights weren’t on, so we walked through the Emporium until they came back on.

There we go. 😌
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We slowly walked the rest of the way down Main Street and Dylan teased me about not wanting to leave, even though it was after midnight. It had been a rough week at school and the party was what got me through it. I’m grateful that he realized that (really before I even did) and was willing to let me soak in every last second of the party magic without any complaints. 🥰
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Will I ever not go to MVMCP? Doubtful. I am absolutely obsessed with it and for me, it is completely worth the money. There is nothing more magical than Christmas at Disney.

🎅🏻🎄❄️
 

blreinsel

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
November 11

Somehow the end of F&W was upon us and I still had a lot of things left on my list. 😳 Let's check some off!

I’ll be honest.. I don’t remember what this was or where it was from. It wasn’t that great so I don’t care enough to look it up lol.
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This is the rigatoni from Italy. It was pretty good and the portion was big. There were pieces of bacon in it which was odd, but it was tasty.
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Warm chocolate pudding from Ireland (I think). SO GOOD. I loved this last year too.
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We rode Figment and LWtL before meeting up with Dylan and hopping on the monorail to MK.
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We ended up seeing a Christmas special taping which was pretty cool. It was Andrea something or another... he’s an opera singer. Brooke was familiar with him and I thought he was really good, though I had never heard of him. It was just really neat to see/hear the “behind the scenes” stuff that goes on at the tapings.
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We did Carousel of Progress and ate at Columbia Harbor House before heading out. We decided against staying for fireworks, we ended up watching them on the ferry back to the TTC, which was a really cool view!

We finally made it onto the monorail back to Epcot and Dylan was done for the day. 😋
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Tiggertoo56

Well-Known Member
November 11

Somehow the end of F&W was upon us and I still had a lot of things left on my list. 😳 Let's check some off!

I’ll be honest.. I don’t remember what this was or where it was from. It wasn’t that great so I don’t care enough to look it up lol.
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This is the rigatoni from Italy. It was pretty good and the portion was big. There were pieces of bacon in it which was odd, but it was tasty.
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Warm chocolate pudding from Ireland (I think). SO GOOD. I loved this last year too.
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We rode Figment and LWtL before meeting up with Dylan and hopping on the monorail to MK.
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We ended up seeing a Christmas special taping which was pretty cool. It was Andrea something or another... he’s an opera singer. Brooke was familiar with him and I thought he was really good, though I had never heard of him. It was just really neat to see/hear the “behind the scenes” stuff that goes on at the tapings.
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We did Carousel of Progress and ate at Columbia Harbor House before heading out. We decided against staying for fireworks, we ended up watching them on the ferry back to the TTC, which was a really cool view!

We finally made it onto the monorail back to Epcot and Dylan was done for the day. 😋
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I was at MK ON the same day too and watched some of the Christmas taping (Andrea Boccelli) and we are at Columbia Harbour House too!! Unfortunately wasn't looking out for WDWers.😐
 

blreinsel

Well-Known Member
Original Poster

blreinsel

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Monday, November 12

We were off of school for the day in celebration of our veterans, so Brooke and I decided on #magickingdommonday 😋

Good morning from this festive bunch!
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We took a spin on the Peoplemover.
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We had FP for Pirates and Jingle Cruise.
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We stopped for a few pictures and had to dodge a quick rain shower by visiting our friendly neighborhood monsters.

#localprincess
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Naturally, we needed to #shareourears
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I noticed last weekend that Disney has now placed photopass photographers at the share your ears wall as well as the purple wall. I’ve been saying that they should do this for awhile now, given the popularity of the purple wall, so hopefully it stays!
 

blreinsel

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Monday, November 12 cont.

We hadn’t gotten to try everything on our lists from F&W, so we hopped on the monorail to check a few more things off since it was the last day of the festival.

We started with dessert from the chocolate studio (and shared so we could try more 😋). I don’t remember what the one was, but the other is the nitro cake. They were both really good!
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Next, we tried two different types of braised beef. One was from France but I don’t remember which country the other came from. Wherever it came from, we liked it better. 😉
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Nextx was the sangria from Morocco, which we did not share. 🙃
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I finished up with the Bao bun from Japan. It was really good! It makes me think of the short that played before Incredibles 2. 😂
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And with that, we bid F&W goodbye for another year and made our way back to our cars at the TTC.
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