Trip Report Meet the Floridians

Hello humans!

Most of you know me by now, but for those of you who haven't followed my past TR's (particularly my most recent), I'll do some brief introductions. Feel free to check out my past reports (in my signature) if you'd like!

Who: I'm Brittany! I'm 25 and completely Disney obsessed. My better half is Dylan, also 25 and not quite as Disney obsessed. Prior to meeting me, he had never been to WDW! It was obviously top priority to remedy that.

This is our baby, Tink. She also loves Disney.

We got engaged in Magic Kingdom in June.. my dream come true! Though our wedding won't take place in Disney, it will be Disney themed.

While we were enjoying our time in the World, I accepted a 1st grade teaching position in Osceola County, Florida. Fast forward a month, and we packed up a U-Haul to relocate from Pennsylvania to the Sunshine State!

We currently live 20 minutes from Disney property, and one of our first purchases should come as no surprise. This report will be a collection of our adventures as annual passholders, and I'll update it with a Table of Contents as we go. Now, without further ado...

To all who come to this happy place, welcome!

 

[blreinsel]

Interesting story about the elephants!!

This looks like such a fun day!! But I must say I'm getting tired just reading about your busy day!! So cool though!!

I thought so, too! Elephants are one of my favorite animals, so I found her story especially intriguing!

We were exhausted, but it was a fun-filled day!

 

[blreinsel]

Monday, September 4

Disney on Labor Day.. Am I crazy? Only a little. Dylan was working so what else was I supposed to do?

Saw this little cutie working as I rode in on the tram. He was running around in the grass, but was quick to report back to his master's(?) side when called. I love all the dogs.

They were doing maintenance checks on the monorail, so everybody had to take the ferry. I don't mind the ferry as far as time is concerned, but I do mind the ferry as far as heat is concerned.

Once inside, I immediately went to Casey's to grab some lunch. Corn dog nuggets have been on my list of foods to try for awhile, and today was the day! They did not disappoint. I was searching for a garbage can to put my food down on, but I was fortunate enough to find a table to sit at inside.

After lunch, I had a FP+ for Space Mountain. However, as I approached I could see that it was down. Wildcard FP+ for me! I decided to ride the People Mover and let my food digest. I was excited when we got inside and the lights were on!

I'm not sure if this made me feel better or worse about the possibility of being decapitated on Space.

After my ride, I grabbed a frozen drink to cool down and started making my way toward Adventureland. I sent this picture to Dylan to let him know I was missing him.. he loves these things!

 

[blreinsel]

Monday, September 4, cont.

I ran into Festival of Fantasy as I arrived in the hub, so I leaned against the fence to watch and enjoy my drink.

A shoulder sitter who fortunately moved over after a few minutes.

Donald has recently become one of my favorites.. he's so stinkin' cute. Speaking of which, I'm wearing my Donald LuLaRoe leggings as I type this.

Spotted by Minnie.

This is the best I could manage of the main mouse.. He wouldn't turn my way!

I finished my drink and continued my walk to Adventureland. I had a date with some pirates!

 

[blreinsel]

Monday, September 4, cont.

Ready for some adventure!

After Pirates, I wanted to use my wildcard FP+ on Big Thunder. Just as I walked into Frontierland, it started raining. I didn't want to chance getting in line and then them shutting it down for weather, so I turned back around and decided to save it for later.

I thought that my Haunted Mansion FP+ was for 3:25pm, so I found some cover nearby to stand under while I waited the few minutes for my window to open. After a quick MDE check, I realized that it didn't actually open until 3:50pm. I didn't feel like waiting around in the rain and lines were long for most everything else, so I changed it to a 3:25pm FP+ for Little Mermaid. The window was open immediately, so I made my way over!

It's been way too long since I've eaten here.

I scanned my band and was soon journeying under the sea!

When I exited, it was raining pretty steadily. Space was running again, so I decided to use my wildcard FP+ for what it originally had been intended for! There was a somewhat large line at the FP+ entrance, mostly of people who didn't have a FP+. When it was my turn, I scanned my band and Mickey turned blue. I was now one of those people that I complain about.

I told the CM that something was wrong, so she had me scan my band again. She said, "your next FP is for Little Mermaid at 3:25pm." I informed her that I had just come from using it. She asked if I had ridden before my window had opened... NO LADY. At this point, I was extremely irritated. I cannot stand being treated like a first time guest. I realize that she doesn't know I'm a passholder, but it still drives me insane to be talked down to. I told her that I had a wildcard from when the ride had been down earlier and her response was, "Oh well I don't know what to tell you."

Okay. Thanks. For whatever reason, it took my wildcard FP+ when I rode Little Mermaid rather than the actual LM one. A very annoying glitch in the system.

On that note, I left for the day. I stopped by the golf course to see Dylan while he had his dinner break and to voice my frustrations before heading home.

 

[coachwnh]

Glad all is well. Good to have you back posting.

 

[djpoore94]

I told the CM that something was wrong, so she had me scan my band again. She said, "your next FP is for Little Mermaid at 3:25pm." I informed her that I had just come from using it. She asked if I had ridden before my window had opened... NO LADY. At this point, I was extremely irritated. I cannot stand being treated like a first time guest. I realize that she doesn't know I'm a passholder, but it still drives me insane to be talked down to. I told her that I had a wildcard from when the ride had been down earlier and her response was, "Oh well I don't know what to tell you."

Okay. Thanks. For whatever reason, it took my wildcard FP+ when I rode Little Mermaid rather than the actual LM one. A very annoying glitch in the system.

I wonder if the glitch was caused when you changed to the Little Mermaid from Haunted Mansion? We've never had an issue with the wild cards, but we've never made a change to an existing FP+ before using our wild card either.

 

[blreinsel]

I wonder if the glitch was caused when you changed to the Little Mermaid from Haunted Mansion? We've never had an issue with the wild cards, but we've never made a change to an existing FP+ before using our wild card either.

Yeah that's exactly what happened. Not a big deal in this case, but it could be a big deal for somebody who can't visit as often as I can or lost an important FP+ because of it. My biggest issue with the whole thing was the way the CM treated me.

 

[djpoore94]

Yeah that's exactly what happened. Not a big deal in this case, but it could be a big deal for somebody who can't visit as often as I can or lost an important FP+ because of it. My biggest issue with the whole thing was the way the CM treated me.

I totally agree about the CM, very unDisney-like! I am glad you posted about it though, now I know if we have a wild card FP+ don't make changes to an existing one until after we use the wild card!

 

[gdisneyfans]

It has been a whirlwind, that's for sure! We were very fortunate to come home to power. Some of my friends are still without it. There are schools in our district that are still without power as well.. we're off until at least Monday as of now.

Glad to hear you have power. My sister is in the Fort Myers area and she's still without

Those of you who have planned trips for other people know exactly what I mean.

YES! I had planned our 2015 trip to include my dad - I was so excited to take him because it had been a long time for him that he'd been there. I was thinking he would be all excited for this, and all excited for that...but in the end, it seemed like he was bored and would rather have been anywhere else I was disappointed in the end, but oh well, nothing I could do!

But by the looks of your pictures it seemed like you were all having a good time

 

[blreinsel]

Glad to hear you have power. My sister is in the Fort Myers area and she's still without

YES! I had planned our 2015 trip to include my dad - I was so excited to take him because it had been a long time for him that he'd been there. I was thinking he would be all excited for this, and all excited for that...but in the end, it seemed like he was bored and would rather have been anywhere else I was disappointed in the end, but oh well, nothing I could do!

But by the looks of your pictures it seemed like you were all having a good time

Some of the girls I teach with are still without it as well. I can't imagine.

That's exactly how I felt! But oh well.. can't force people to be happy! My mom just texted me today and told me that her and my dad are coming down in a few weeks so there's a possibility of going with her. She's much more of a Disney fanatic and gets equally as excited to be there are I do. More my speed.

 

[sheriffwoody]

Donald has recently become one of my favorites.. he's so stinkin' cute. Speaking of which, I'm wearing my Donald LuLaRoe leggings as I type this.

I'm so jealous!! I kind of want to get a pair of Donald ones even though I never wear leggings...I'd make an exception. I do like my other LulaRoe leggings. They're so stinking soft!

 

[blreinsel]

I'm so jealous!! I kind of want to get a pair of Donald ones even though I never wear leggings...I'd make an exception. I do like my other LulaRoe leggings. They're so stinking soft!

They're seriously addicting! I justify buying more by saying the kids love seeing all of my different Disney ones.. as if that's really the reason.

 

[blreinsel]

Wednesday, September 13

We arrived home from our Irma evacuation the night before and after a long week without Disney, our plans for today were obvious. The original plan was to hit our favorites at AK and then go to MK for the evening. However, I wanted to hit Epcot for some F&W as our dinner... and then Dylan noticed the low wait times at HS, so our plan ended up changing quite a bit.

We did start off at AK as planned! The wait for FOP was only 55 minutes when we arrived. That's the lowest we've seen it and the wait always ends up being about 10-15 minutes shorter than what's posted anyway.

Some Irma damage. This was pretty common around the park today. AK was the only park that I actually noticed any damage in, which makes sense considering the amount of trees in comparison to the amount at other parks.

We kept up our tradition of grabbing drinks from Pongu Pongu and hopped in line!

He was proud of the new shirt that I bought him and wanted to be sure it made its debut in the TR, though it seems that I still cut it off a bit lol.

We unfortunately had some really annoying people in line behind us. They had no concept of personal space.. mom or her two kids (probably 10 and 12). At one point the girl was literally standing IN BETWEEN Dylan and I like she was part of our group. Every time I moved, I would bump into one of them. Or I wouldn't move at all and they would bump into me. I'm not one that gets upset about an accidental bump, but they were literally standing on top of me for the ENTIRE wait. The mom kept sighing, thus blowing her nasty breath all over my face. I honestly don't know how I managed to keep my mouth shut. I was SO irritated. I'm a teacher.. I'm accustomed to little people being in my personal space. But this was overkill, and all 3 of them were old enough to know better. End rant.

Okay another small rant. Why must people ruin the beauty of queues by doing stupid things like this? What joy do you get out of throwing your change into the sets? This is just as annoying as the hair bands on Everest (which unfortunately did NOT get blown away by Irma). Okay.. now I'm done for real.

While we waited to be sent to our link chambers, I listened to a family making plans to ride Splash Mountain this evening. I didn't have the heart to tell them that it wouldn't be happening. I mention this because it really does amaze me that people don't know things like this before they start their trip. I guess not everybody compulsively plans like we do.

A quick, blurry picture of the ride vehicles before we boarded.

As I said, the posted wait time was 55 minutes. We waited 41 minutes before being led into the link chamber, and were boarding our banshees at 47 minutes. I think a shorter wait time actually made the ride MORE enjoyable than it already is.

 

[PineapplePrincess]

Finally caught up....school starting really puts a damper on my TR reading! So glad you and Dylan are home safely and that there was minimal damage. I also have Donald Duck Lularoe leggings...do yours have a red background?

 

[blreinsel]

Finally caught up....school starting really puts a damper on my TR reading! So glad you and Dylan are home safely and that there was minimal damage. I also have Donald Duck Lularoe leggings...do yours have a red background?

I hear ya! Work always seems to get in the way, doesn't it? My leggings have a light blue background!

 

[prfctlyximprct]

Think I'm up to date! My friend is currently in the world and keeps sending me pics of tree damage from Irma... hurts my little soul! Glad you love Pandora so much, it's making me excited to visit! I was always leery about those "creepy blue aliens" lol.. will have to give pongu pongu a try!! Still so jealous of your life, laughed when I saw your purple castle shirt that says home! I have one just like it but Disney isn't quite my home as much as yours!!! Keep living the life

 

[becca_]

So happy to be caught up again!! I'm so glad you guys & Tink were safe from Irma! I love seeing all of your adventures.... which I am totally NOT still jealous of

 

[blreinsel]

Think I'm up to date! My friend is currently in the world and keeps sending me pics of tree damage from Irma... hurts my little soul! Glad you love Pandora so much, it's making me excited to visit! I was always leery about those "creepy blue aliens" lol.. will have to give pongu pongu a try!! Still so jealous of your life, laughed when I saw your purple castle shirt that says home! I have one just like it but Disney isn't quite my home as much as yours!!! Keep living the life

It's crazy how much damage there was but in the grand scheme of things, Disney got super lucky! It could have been SO much worse. The Disney gods are alive and well. I can't wait for you to see Pandora.. your love for AK will multiply!

Lol! That shirt is so much more appropriate now.. It's a rough life.

So happy to be caught up again!! I'm so glad you guys & Tink were safe from Irma! I love seeing all of your adventures.... which I am totally NOT still jealous of

We're so lucky! I'm sure it's partly from all of the pixie dust that my friends here sent our way. It's crazy how quickly I've grown accustomed to being able to visit whenever I want. I can't imagine ever living further away because I simply wouldn't survive! Lol

 

[blreinsel]

Wednesday, September 13 cont.

Next up we decided to take a ride on the safari.. I think it was posted at 10 minutes but was basically a walk on. We passed these hats on the way so I figured I'd take a picture to remind @wdisney9000 to pack his for November.

We hopped in line and were fortunate enough to have this view while we waited.

Can't see well enough? Here's a better one.

There's an okapi in this picture, but I took the next two in an attempt to show some of the Irma damage. It kind of blends in, but it was much more apparent in real life.

Black rhino was out to play

You can see the Irma damage better here. Our guide said that the hippos (and other animals) were loving all of the fallen trees. There was a hippo hiding under this one.

There weren't many giraffes out today, but we did see this beauty having a snack.

 

[blreinsel]

Wednesday, September 13 cont.

The elephants were extremely active today! We got to watch one playing with a branch that it found on a fallen tree. It's moments like these that really make you wish that the guides were able to stop the vehicles for longer periods of time. This little sweetheart had me wishing for the same thing. She was drinking and playing in the water as we drove by.

The elephants are my favorite animal on the safari, so I was loving all of the activity.

This poor baby was so hot that she was panting. No sign of the big guy.

A mama warthog and her babies! Seriously the best safari I've been on in awhile.

The white rhinos were also out to play. They were super close to the road so we had a great view!

After an exhilarating journey, we started making our way toward Asia.

I've never ridden Kali River Rapids before and thought today would be a great day to check that off the bucket list since it was so hot! Unfortunately, it was down. It ended up being down all day because of Irma damage and debris that hadn't been dealt with yet. Next time!