November 2012 TR- A Thanksgiving to remember

November 2012 TR- A Thanksgiving to remember
Hello All! My name is Farrell, and welcome to my Thanksgiving 2012! I know its May 2013, but hey I needed to relive it. I’m from outside of Philly, and a student. My mom was “done” planning vacations, so I took on the job and decided we needed to go to Disney with her best friend and her family’s annual thanksgiving trip! They are DVC members and stay at the Boardwalk every year for Thanksgiving. So after we planned our trip with them, we found out another family friend was going down at the same time as well. Then, we found out a really old family friend from VA was going down too! We went down with them on our first trip in 0ct 2003, so I was so pumped to go again! Then, my sister finds out her friend was going, and I find another friend of mine is going to be there. It was a very busy trip with all these people.

My sisters Leah (14) and Brynn(11) and Mom and Dad were there too.

I left my local private airport at around 9:45 AM and landed in Orlando’s smaller airport (about 15 minutes off property) around 11 AM.

My buddy Rex all ready!

Flying in our pilot flew over EPCOT. I cried.

We got in our rental car and were on our way by 11:30!

I’m HOME!

Around 12, we rolled up to the security gate at the Boardwalk. I stayed at the Boardwalk my first trip ever when I was in 2nd grade (Oct 2003). I was so anxious to get out of the car. While my dad was unpacking the car and my mom and sisters were checking in, I was running around the lobby like a five year old. I was in and out of the gift shop, in and out of the hotel, and back and forth to my mom.

Our room was ready though! I was running. Too bad the lady at the front desk gave my mom bad directions(rather my mom didn’t understand) so we got lost(ish). We had to go down a hall go out the doors and go down the stairs. So we go down the first stairs we see and out the door. With a bunch of luggage. We end up on the Boardwalk. I was not happy because I wanted to be at DHS (our first park for the trip) now. Finally we found our good ol' room.


The only room on the hallway that wasn’t updated to the new RFID technology, which was disappointing.


After we set our luggage down, we went out the Boardwalk area to eat. We went to the Bakery and got our cups, because we did the DDP for this trip. We also got a pizza, and then I went to the Screendoor to check out the Merch. We also saw a wedding, and Minnie and Mickey were even at it, all dressed up!



After alittle hanging out, it was off to the parks! Clouds were overhead, but that did not stop us. We took a friendship boat over to Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

When we got to DHS, the huge xmas tree greeted us.

 

[farrellbarrel]

Our first order of business was to meet someone! (That was mine atleast). So off to the Animation Building. Our first characters were Frozone and Mr. Incredible.

Next, We saw my buddy Ralph. He was adorable.

Then, we got on our first ride of the trip, The Great Movie Ride! I never rode this in my memory, so I was excited for my first trip into the movies! I enjoyed watching the old films in the queue, and our tourguide was good!

It was starting to downpour and we were right in front of One Man's Dream, so we decided to take a look around!


I started "presenting" this model to my family, explaining all of the new pieces because it was in soft opening when I was there. Tons of people stopped and listened, which was kind of weird...

 

[farrellbarrel]

Next we ate at Hollywood and Vine, which was just ok...The food was not the best I ever ate, and they stuck us in the very far corner of the place, which was FREEZING and dark. It was cold back home, so I did not bring any cold weather clothes, we were in Florida for pete's sake, not Philly! Next, we enjoyed Fantasmic! for the first time, which I LOVED!

Waiting in line and watching TOT was so cool.




My first pin of the trip, an ellie badge!
After Fantasmic!, we ran to the Friendship dock and got the first boat there back to the boardwalk. It was straight to bed, we had a full park(s) day the next day!

 

[farrellbarrel]

On Sunday, November 18th, we started our day at the beautiful Animal Kingdom. We got there just as the park opened, and went straight to Mount Everest to meet our friends from VA!

I love Christmas time! The trees are so big and unique!

I love this ride. In 2009 my dad and I rode in so many times during an evening EMH that the employees knew us so well. Well, my dad and I went with our family friend while my mom and sisters got fastpasses for the Safari. After we got off, they met with us and it was just our time to ride.


After the ride we met back up with our friends and walked around some more. We grabbed lunch at Yak and Yeti QS counter. I bought these ears

After lunch, we had to meet friends from home at the MK so we said our goodbyes and promised for a visit in Dec at Xmas!

 

[farrellbarrel]

After a quick stop at the room, we took a bus to the Magic Kingdom. I honestly ran through the park to get to FLE to see if it was open for "rehearsal". I needed to see something I followed for so long. My sister Leah was sprinting after me. I would stop suddenly to admire this beauty:

I cried alittle.

And saw these new beautiful "gates". I saw the "dress rehearsal is open sign" and ran in. My mom texted our friends and found out that they were exactly where I was running to! The Little Mermaid ride had a decently short line so I took all the kids on it.





Had to take a selfie with the Ariel out front for my friend Courtney, its a huge joke between us.
After the Little Mermaid ride, we went to meet her. Her meet and greet was beautifully done, and some of the hidden mickey's are so cool! After we met her, my family went to the Haunted Mansion while I got us fastpasses for Space Mountain! After I got them, I wandered a bit.

 

[farrellbarrel]

After I refound my group, they went on the carousel, BTMRR and Winnie the Pooh while I was determined to find a Rapunzel Pin. I love pins, and I LOVE Tangled.

Found it!
Once everyone was done with their rides, it was around 6 and dark, so we headed towards our ADR at the Plaza. We checked in, and since we're such large group (10 people, 4 parents 6 children under 17) we had to wait a bit. But we had a great view of the castle and watched the Dream Light show.




The napkin, it makes me happy to see a napkin that says Disney parks, is that weird?

My sister's meal. I had some sort of vegetable sandwich, I forget the name. It was tasty. The Plaza does need a facelift though.

When we were done, we had to decide what to do next! So, we decided to go visit the princesses up front!

Cinderella, Aurora and Rapunzel were all there. It was fun. Our friends then decided to leave us, it was around 9 and their kids are smaller. We said goodbye. I wanted to meet Mickey because it was his birthday, but my family wanted to ride rides. So we did. People were mostly lined up for parades/shows/fireworks, so the lines were shorter. On top of that it was EMH from 12-3 AM. I was super excited.

 

[farrellbarrel]

We decided to go to the Storybook section of FLE to see Dumbo and the characters. Minnie and friends had NO wait whatsoever so we jumped in line. First we met Minnie and Daisy.

Then Donald and Goofy. Next we rode Dumbo.

Then the teacups



Its a small world after all!

and we saved the galaxy before going back.

 

[farrellbarrel]

On Monday, we went to EPCOT. We walked through the international gateway entrance because of our hotel. We found our friends from the MK, and the kids wanted to do Agent P's game. We started at Mexico and worked our way til we found a kiosk. The game was down so we went to Mexico, rode the ride, and then repeated for the other countries up til Norway. At Norway, we found the game was back up so the kids got 2 cell phones and did the game in Norway. So we followed them. The kids were getting hungry, so we stopped at the American QS place to get some food.

like we didnt get enough of these

This wasnt as good as people said it was. Maybe because it was just sitting for so long.
After Lunch, we finished world showcase and found our other friends (the DVC members from home). We all went to see figment, then the family from MK separated from us.

 

[farrellbarrel]

We walked around, stalked test track which wasnt opening or soft opening, then took a quick trip over California.

After that, we went to Via Napoli in Epcot for our dinner. So yummy!!
I had just spaghetti and meatballs

And we had these donut type things?

After dinner we separated again and watch Illuminations. One of my favorites.

 

[farrellbarrel]

The next day, we got up early for DHS! My friend Courtney and her sister Kassidy were up, so they came with us while their parents slept.

We grabbed this breakfast platter from the Yacht Club (I ate one every single morning). And were off!
My dad took all our keycards to get out FP for TSMM while we decided what to do. We got suprise FP when we walked in from Lights Motors Action! so we decided to see the 11 AM show. We decided to take a look at the backlot. It was ok...



We met up with my friends parents and went to see the stunt show! It was pretty good, but cold.
After that we chilled waiting for our lunch rezzies and FP time to come up. We went to TSMM, while my friends dad went to get us RRC FP, and her mom went to the 50s prime time cafe. We all met back at 50's.

 

[farrellbarrel]

After a delicious and funny lunch, we went wandering again. We stopped by and said hello to the Muppets, then saw Phineas and Ferb with my sisters.

Then, we went and saw the lights. These are so cool and beautiful and you need to go see them!

After hanging around for 2 light sequences, we went to go get our ride on RRC. We had about 10 minutes left, so we were running. When we were running through Pixar Place, a green army man was out, and started running with us!!! He left his line and just ran with us. My mom's best friend started freaking out, because she loves them. So he waved us over for a picture.

One of the coolest Disney experiences ever.
We made it to RRC.

Checking out the pins

After the ride, we took a friendship boat and went back to our room, because we were going to be VIPs at Universal Studios the next day!

 

[farrellbarrel]

I am very blessed and lucky. Since we were going to be in the Orlando area, and my father, mother and I love Harry Potter, my family wanted to go see the Wizarding World (Who wouldn't?!) at Universal. My father has some great connections through his work, so we got chairman's comp tickets, and the golden pass. The golden pass is just how it sounds, a golden colored piece of paper with the party "leaders" name (My Father) and the terms/conditions with a red stamp for the date. Basically, the pass got us to the front of the line, for any ride. We would get escorted through stairways, back doors and exits. It was pretty cool. So first stop, was Despicable Me the ride for my littlest sister, Brynn. The line was CRAZY long, I'm talking two+ hours (and it was only 9:30). So we went to the front of the line, and we were directed to the front of the outdoor queue, just before the doors to go in. My mom thought we were going to start a riot. We walked straight in.


The ride was cute.
Next, my father and I were escorted to the front of Rip-it rollercoaster. The lady there was very sweet, and must have been used to dealing with the pass, because she said she would remember us if we wanted to ride again. Way too intense for my dad, and I wasn't going alone with that pass. We worked our way around, and my sisters and I waited 45 minutes outside of Disaster for my parents, which was just not fun. Finally we went to this awesome Irish Pub and our waitress was from near my mom's hometown, so they talked about super storm sandy. I was uncrankified and we started towards MIB. We went to the front and showed the pass, and the lady had no idea what it was. She looked at us like we were crazy, and made us go in the regular line for the lockers while she radioed some to "confirm" us. When we returned, her manager was there and she apologized a lot. My family had NO idea how big of a deal this pass was. They quickly escorted us through the back and got us into the first car they saw. It made me feel very official because MIB is all about secret agents . Next, we moved onto Simpsons. We got some of the same treatment, but the lady who directed us knew what our pass was, and I found Simpsons to be fun and enjoyable. After Simpsons we left, and went over to IOA for harry potter!!! It was probably around 4.

 

[farrellbarrel]

When we got to IOA, we went straight to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. We walked in and it was amazing. The train, the atmosphere. I cannot even. It was great. My family went straight to ollivander's went to the guy in front of the door and he told us to wait there for 5 minutes. We did, the door opened, and he said go in. We cut everyone off. My mom was like OHMYGOD THEY WILL HURT US WE WILL BE BEATEN!!! They let another two families in, and they started the show. The magic was amazing.

My dad and I rode Dragon Duelers next without my mom and sisters. We could not find them, so my dad gave me money to buy butterbeer!!! It was one of my favorite drink I ever had.


We got both types, and I finished them. So so good. Next we went up to the castle, but the ride was down. We wandered some more until it was back online. At that point someone tried to offer their "fast pass" type paper to us, but we had to explain our situation. That we were friends of the company's and had our own VIP pass. They were surprised and taken aback. Really funny.

 

[farrellbarrel]

I have to take a second to apologize everyone, I am doing this TR from memory, So it is a little difficult. Plus, it is my first one. I will improve for my next trip, May 2014!!!

 

[farrellbarrel]

After HP, we rode Spiderman, met a girl from back home, and left. We decided to get QS meals from the old Boardwalk Bakery. I forget what I got for my main course, but my dessert was a mini pumpkin pie!!!!

So cute and yummy!!
My sister Leah and I started to go around the hotel exploring. We went into all the shops twice and into the lobby to see the gingerbread creations.



After that we went back to the room and tried to sleep. At around 2 AM, the entire Illuminations set went off all at once. It was crazy cool, and loud. Next: Thanksgiving day to remember !

 

[Zman-ks]

Awesome pics!

 

[farrellbarrel]

Awesome pics!

Thank you!