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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Zipadeelady

Well-Known Member
I was ready to throw down for you! I started my morning routine by hopping on to wdwmagic and checking the trip reports thread and what do I see!? Someone stole your report title!! I wasn't happy. Who the heck is @blreinsel anyway, never seen that name before.....then I look at the picture and put two and two together. I may be slow, but I eventually get there.

Your wedding looked phenomenal. Love the pictures.
 

blreinsel

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
OMG.. now I'm never going to remember your name if we ever meet in person... I'll still say BLauger!

Lol! Don’t worry, I’ll still respond. 😉

Your wedding pics are simply beautiful!! Congratulations to you both!

Thank you! ☺️

Congrats on the wedding and the DisneyMoon! You had some great photographers!

Thank you! Our photographers were INCREDIBLE! They were a joy to work with and are just sooooo talented! 😊

Finally caught up! I didn't realize I had gotten so far behind. Congrats on your wedding!!! The pictures are beautiful and I absolutely love your wedding dress!

Thank you! ❤️ I wish I could wear my dress again.. I felt like such a princess!

I'm a little late but your wedding photos are gorgeous! Congrats and may you have many happy years together!

Thank you! 😊

What a beautiful wedding congratulations to you and Dylan have a great honeymoon.

Thank you! 😊 We are so excited for our honeymoon!

I was ready to throw down for you! I started my morning routine by hopping on to wdwmagic and checking the trip reports thread and what do I see!? Someone stole your report title!! I wasn't happy. Who the heck is @blreinsel anyway, never seen that name before.....then I look at the picture and put two and two together. I may be slow, but I eventually get there.

Your wedding looked phenomenal. Love the pictures.

😂😂😂 this totally made my morning! Magic friends are the best friends.

Thank you! ❤️

I’ve been traveling for the past week and half and just now have had a chance to catch up with your wedding pictures. You looked absolutely beautiful. Congratulations!!! Thanks for sharing 😊

Thank you so much! 😊

Love it!! So cute! And great that you donated it! I always do that, too.

Thank you! I’ve donated a few times in the past but it’s been years.. I can’t usually stand my hair that long! Lol. But I’m glad that lovely wedding mane will make a sweet little one so happy! ❤️
 

blreinsel

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Wednesday, July 3

Last year, Dylan and I were in PA over the 4th, so we missed out. That was not going to be the case this year! We met up with @wishes2013 for an evening at MK!

Dylan was golfing so didn't actually meet up with us until a little later, but Brooke and I were still able to take advantage of our FPs! We started with Peter Pan, followed by Haunted Mansion (where we failed miserably at the ride picture 😂). We wanted a snack before going to claim a spot for fireworks, and initially I planned on a Citrus Swirl. That is, until we arrived and I saw this little beauty on the menu. 😍

Redd's Revenge - a strawberry Dole whip with chocolate pirate hat. Oh my, was this amazingly good!
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We finished our floats and then made our way over to the hub. We were surprised by the lack of people claiming spots.. it was around 7pm and I really anticipated the hub being more or less picked over by that point. We ended up with a perfect spot to the right of the Partners Statue... we sat down on the ground just as the DJ started playing. He was an absolute blast, so we were bummed when he had to go inside the castle due to lightning in the area. 😳

It was about this time that Dylan showed up (with a friend so he didn't have to be Brooke & I's third wheel 😋). He didn't sit with us for long before going to get some snacks. 😂
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Fireworks ended up being delayed about 15 minutes or so, but we got really lucky and only got sprinkled on. Soon the lightning had cleared and the show began! It was incredible!
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We knew that we didn't want to deal with the crowds exiting the park immediately following fireworks, so we headed deeper into the park to let things clear out a bit. The DJs came back out so we were able to enjoy their music as we walked through the park! Our Big Thunder FP had turned into a multiple experiences earlier, so we went to use that now that the ride had reopened. After our wild ride, we grabbed some food from Cosmic Ray's.. Dylan was devastated to learn that they've removed the rotisserie chicken from the menu. I mean... he was legitimately upset. 😂 He went to the bathroom at one point and we joked that he had gone off to find a manager to discuss the menu change.

We figured that things should be a little calmer on the transportation front by that point and started to head out. We were overjoyed that the buses were running to the TTC. We were even more excited when we boarded a brand new bus! It was beautiful, and it had that new car (bus) smell! :joyfull: We arrived at the TTC before too long and headed home for the evening!
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blreinsel

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Thursday, July 4

Our 4th of July celebration had only just begun! :joyfull: @wishes2013 and I had our sights set on meeting some characters in their patriotic gear, so Dylan decided that he would go golfing and then meet up with us later. His loss. ;)

We went straight to the American pavilion (or the Americana pavilion, according to the woman in line behind us) and immediately got in line for Chip and Dale! 😍 It was SO. HOT. I mean I know we're in Florida, but man... we're getting a true FL summer this year folks. 🥵 We were surprised by how long the chipmunks were taking with each party, which I typically appreciate, but I would have settled for quick interactions today. With as popular as these speciality characters are, we really couldn't believe that they weren't just trying to pump as many people through as possible.

We had a great interaction with them, as always! Chip was being a stinker and had poor Dale in tears over not being the strongest and toughest chipmunk. At one point, he turned around, bent over, and shook his butt at Dale. 😂 We talked about how hard they were working even though it was super hot out, and we also discussed the possibility of them finding some shade in the trees nearby. Fortunately, they were heading inside for a break and some acorn pie after we visited with them.. I told Dale that he could have two pieces since Chip had been so mean to him, earning me lots of hugs. ;)
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We bid the boys farewell and went in search of something cool. We both went with The American Dream - frozen Fanta strawberry slush, vanilla ice cream, and frozen Fanta blue raspberry slush. It was SO GOOD! The Fanta slushees are so much better because they aren't overwhelmingly sweet like the others.
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We had a FP for Living With the Land, followed by some food from Liberty Inn. Our last FP was for Frozen, so we went to cash in on that. When we disembarked, we headed for the American Gardens Theater to watch the Voices of Liberty perform. I cannot even begin to explain how incredibly moving this was. There are really no words to describe it. We got the best surprise when these three cuties came marching out onto the stage for the National Anthem. 😍
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Dylan had arrived, so we met him by the fountain and then headed inside to watch The American Adventure (a first for Dylan). We exited just in time to watch the last Voices of Liberty show and ended up on a front row bench with a great view! The show was just as incredible the second time around.
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We only had about 20 minutes before fireworks began, but we had one more thing to check off our bucket list for the day: the berry shortcake from Sunshine Seasons. When I say we hustled to The Land, I mean it. Our legs were burning. 😂 The worst part? They were SOLD OUT when we got there. 😭 We settled for some strawberry shortcake (which was still very good), and headed back outside just as the show began. We stood in the walkway to WS, next to the DVC booth, and actually had a great view. The whole time Illuminations was playing, and even the beginning of the special 4th of July ending, I was thinking, "eh, this is fine but it's no MK." And then... the finale came. I have never seen that many fireworks go off at one time in my life. Again, I cannot even begin the describe it. I'm fairly certain that my mouth was actually hanging open lol. Needless to say, 4th of July Illuminations can indeed hang with MK. 😉
 

blreinsel

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Have a great time!! :)
Congrats on your wedding! The pictures looked great! Wishing all the best to you and Dylan. Hope y’all have a great cruise!
Have a wonderful cruise!
Have a fabulous honeymoon! Relax and enjoy every moment!
Enjoy your honeymoon!!
Congratulations !!
Have a great time!
Many Congratulations!! Your photos are beautiful- the happiness just jumps off the page! Can’t wait to hear about your cruise!

Thank you all for the well wishes! We had an INCREDIBLE week! 😍 TR to come soon!

Long time lurker...finally saying hello!
Congratulations on your wedding! It looked like a magical day!

TWO STOPS AT CASTAWAY!? What a treat! I wish we could spend a week there! I can't wait to hear all about your cruise! 26 days until I sail away!

Welcome and nice to meet you! :) Our wedding day was absolutely magical!

And now it's my turn to be jealous.. enjoy those pre-cruise feelings! :joyfull:
 

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