Trip Report Rise of the Popcorn Bucket

Hello everyone & a warm welcome to you!! As always, lots of fun was had on this trip with the star of the show(besides J, of course) being none other than E's nemesis, the popcorn bucket!! I'm super excited to share our adventures with you!!

WHO: I think you know us but.....myself-Patti, R(I think I've converted him to a full blown Disney fan even though he claims he likes coming for the restaurants), my sister E & my super fun, partner in crime(in more ways than one on this trip) J!!

WHEN: Friday, January 17th - Monday, January 20th(gotta go around those darn school schedules when you have family in the education field)

WHERE(I hope you're sitting down for this one!): Art of Animation

There was no room at the inn at Riverside so we decided to stay here b/c we thought J would really like the Cars suite. In the end we created a monster b/c he has now decided that AoA is his favorite!!

PREAMBLE
We last left off with JSR smuggling the popcorn buckets out of his house for me. BTW--J was in on this too & I was very proud of him for keeping it a secret for so long!!

They were heading to WDW with me!! Also, you may be wondering why there are two. You see, E's hatred for the popcorn bucket didn't just start on our trip in November. A few years ago she, JSR & J were on a Disney cruise & JSR bought the Santa Mickey bucket that you see there. She couldn't stand it back then on the cruise & her feelings really haven't changed. If anything, they've gotten worse!!

We had a 3:50 flight b/c someone(the guy in education) had a half day of school & didn't want to miss work. We met at E's at 12:30 & JSR drove us to the airport. I had went to work that morning & before I left I bought a case of water & put 12 in my suitcase. My boss was busy making fun of me for not buying it in Disney. I told him I had the space in my suitcase & these bottles were for the room. Why spend $3.50 per bottle when I could spend $4.99 for a case of Aquafina?? BTW--it was well worth it. We only had 2 bottles left at the end of the trip!!

Check out J's cute suitcase!!

He's ready to go!! J said that he wanted me to sit next to him in the car. On the way to the airport he told me that he wanted to sit next to me on the plane & the ME. I asked E why he wanted to be my BFF. She said she didn't know but earlier that day out of the blue he told her, "I really like Aunt Patti". I think he saw jelly beans in his future!!

We checked our bags in at curbside & the Southwest agent started humming The March of the First Order when he saw J's suitcase. It was cute. He also profoundly thanked us for the tips b/c he said that it had been a slow day.

J was excited to get on the "monorail". Even though R was still in his work clothes he was somewhat in Disney mode with the Star Wars tie he was wearing!!

We went to TGI Friday's for lunch. We got some kind of combo platter & shared everything. The potstickers & breadsticks were especially good!! That wine wasn't bad either!!

Meanwhile, J was enjoying the cheese sticks!!

 

[fractal]

@riverside My condolences to you and your family. Appears to me she left behind a wonderful and loving family.

Finally caught up on your report. I love this photo of you and J in the bus. The smiles say it all!

While J & I headed to the back--as usual!!
View attachment 451238

Looking forward to the rest!

 

[sheriffwoody]

So sorry about your grandmother, but definitely glad it happened before the pandemic hit hard and you were able to get the grandkids all together!

I've enjoyed catching up on your report the last few days. It's brought me lots of Disney joy when I really need it! Thanks for working hard to get everyone the supplies they need during all this! I hope you get a nice, relaxing vacation when this is over.

 

[Minnesota disney fan]

I know I'm late, but I offer my heart felt condolences to you and your family.
BTW, you are certainly fortunate to have such a large family full of children
I only have 2 grown kids/ 6 grandkids and one great grandchild

 

[riverside]

So very sorry to hear about your grandmother's passing. I'm glad you were able to have a service before all of this started. Prayers for your dad to stay strong with Easter approaching as it must be difficult for him being sheltered in. Does he live alone? Thanks for the explanation of why the groceries are so depleted on certain items. I could tell people were hoarding things like TP, tissues, frozen vegetables and chicken breast! I've been trying to get an online order for a couple weeks now and it's virtually impossible because of such high demand! I live in New Jersey and we (along with New York) are at the center of this thing which is getting hit the hardest so everyone is fearful to venture out from their neighborhood. I'm sure it must be so stressful everyday for you working in this environment. Glad that your husband is able to continue working at his office! Stay well and look forward to your next update!

Thanks for the explanation - makes quite a bit of sense. If I were a manufacture, whose work force is probably diminished at that, I too would focus on my best selling or highest cost margin products too. Got my order delivered today and they threw in 4 chocolate bunnies. Hadn’t really thought about getting any for C, as she is 14 after all, but I’ll the bunnies Saturday night (heck, she’s been sleeping in to 10 or 11, so I could still do it Easter morning )

As I type this I am listening to the nightly neighborhood entertainment. Since just before our confinement 3 weeks ago, we’ve been clapping at 9 pm in support of the health workers. In the past few days someone has taken to playing one song for what I assume is meant for balcony dance parties, but I can’t be sure because it comes for a street or so over - my building is the only one on my street with balconies. The whole thing lasts less than 10 minutes and then the neighborhood becomes quiet again. It’s kind of wild how disciplined it all is

Yes--I'm glad she passed before the world went nuts. Easter wasn't as bad as I thought it would be(of course, what do I know I worked). Our church live streamed mass on Facebook so we watched the vigil mass Saturday night. It was very different sitting there watching mass drinking a glass of wine but it was comforting to see what we're used to--the church, music & clergy.

I'm shocked it takes so long to get a delivery order!! Around here there is a ton of curbside pickup & delivery & I haven't heard of any issues with it. We don't offer that where I work though. We're not a huge store so I don't have enough people to be able to offer that.

Nice that they threw in the bunnies!!

R is getting quite nervous about his job. All schools in the state are closed for the rest of this school year. He's a principal in a private, Catholic school. Most of them struggle a bit to begin with to keep things going & they rely heavily on fundraisers. Not only can they not have fundraisers but with so many losing their jobs his concern is that a lot of kids won't come back next school year b/c they won't be able to afford the tuition. I heard something on the radio the other day that they expect that a lot of the Catholic schools won't be able to withstand this & unfortunately I think they're probably correct.

Welcome back. I’m so sorry to hear about your loss. My condolences to you and your family. Thank you for working tirelessly to help get food on people’s table.

Thank you & you're welcome--thank you for saying that. But, you know, this "working tirelessly" is getting old--it's getting in the way of my TR!!

My parents were able to score me 6 double rolls when they went during senior hours one day... so I have 10 rolls right now... good for a couple weeks anyway.... I keep hoping that eventually the TP obsession will stop and the stores will be stocked again. On the corner we walk past a neighbors apartment.. where I keep seeing TP thru their door window that they have stacked up... I keep wanted to tell them they might want to move their stash out of view or someone might get desperate and break in! (me) LOL

So sorry about your Grandma, but I agree you all were very lucky to be able to celebrate her life before all this craziness ensued!

Thank you--I just dropped off something to my aunt yesterday(my dad's sister) & we agreed that she passed at the right time--a few days later & there wouldn't have been a funeral. My aunt said she would have been rolling in her grave!!--she's right!!

As for the tp issue--it's getting better Yesterday we got in 7 cases out of the 50 or so that I ordered.
Here's what is left on the shelf as of this morning:

Paper towels & napkins are a little better

Regardless--I can always grab tp for you first thing when it comes off the truck!!

I'm so sorry that's happening. And thank you for working so hard to get the shelves filled. My grocery store has been pretty good about stocking most things, but they did tell me they aren't getting their full orders in and like the bread, the bakeries can't keep up with all the different kinds, so they are making only maybe 3 different kinds, but a lot more of it, so the entire bread section is stocked, but only with a very limited selection. I could try to order specific things, but they can't tell me when it will come in. I've been lucky with flour. I have enough now, but like I said, that's been hard to get since December, so it's not completely corona related.

I'm trying to only go once every 3 days, but the "leprechauns" keep eating everything so I have to go every day. The other day I went and I bought enough for 3 days worth of meals and I had 3.5 jugs of milk (no gallon jugs here...they are a liter and a half) I figured that should be plenty for the rest of that day and 2 more days and I'd get more today. I open the fridge yesterday and there's 1/2 and jug of milk. So I ended up having to go yesterday instead of today. So now we're ordering dinner in so I don't have to go to the grocery store AGAIN. So far the Husband....er, I mean the laprechauns have devoured all the chips that my DD and I will eat....they didn't eat the ones everyone else likes, only the ones WE like. So DD and I are out of luck for snacks until I go to the store again. I'd say maybe that's the case with your repeat customers, but if they are mostly older people, that's probably not it. But some of us are TRYING to refrain from shopping. The problem in my house is that when I stock up on things, everyone sees there's plenty of it, so they eat more of it than they normally would. So I think buying 3 bags of chips will last us a couple of weeks, when in reality it will last us about 3 days because my husband will sit and eat a whole bag because it's there.

Thank you!! We're definitely not getting our full orders in. Yesterday showed a bit of improvement. We got 800 cases out of the 2000 I ordered. But even after getting in the 800 our order for tomorrow is still 2100.

Every 3 days--that's pretty good. We have customers that show up every 3 hours--I kid you not. It's irritating. I actually had a customer say to me the other day, "Boy, you're wiped out of a lot of things." I asked her what she was looking for & her response, "I don't need anything. I just came in to look around." Then there were the not one, but two customers on Saturday afternoon who were both disappointed that we were out of hams. They both come in at least twice a day & both commented on how they should have bought it the day before. I know this is going to sound mean but I had to laugh to myself--served them right. Our daily repeaters are the ones who treat it as a social hour

Hello. So sorry for the loss of your grandmother. It's hard anytime, but even more so when you aren't supposed to visit others to give them a hug and wish them well. I'm glad you were able to have the family all together (wow. I'm from a really small family, so seeing your family is really fun with all the cousins, etc.). We had a loss recently, but were only allowed to have a maximum of 10 at the funeral, and everyone else had to watch via video. It's not the same. Glad you have good memories and happy you were comfortable to share them. Thanks for that and for the (as always) fun TR.

Thank you. I'm sorry for your loss. That's such a shame. Who would have thought the day would come where you couldn't go to a funeral? Here you're currently not allowed in cemeteries. My brother runs one & says it's annoying b/c it's more crowed than ever. He was burying someone last week & the family of like 30 showed up & he told them they couldn't be there. They threatened to call the media on him. He was totally in the right but didn't want to argue so he said that he'd give them a few minutes but he couldn't bury the person until they left. Within 10 minutes they were gone & he did his thing. Thanks--I'm really hoping to get a few posts in here soon!!

@riverside My condolences to you and your family. Appears to me she left behind a wonderful and loving family.

Finally caught up on your report. I love this photo of you and J in the bus. The smiles say it all!

Thank you very much!!
I like that pic a lot myself!! Thanks!!
I caught your update in your TR but didn't get a chance to comment. I'm glad you're all doing better. How's your mom doing? Also, I was curious about Alex. Does she immediately have to go to her next assignment or how does that work?

So sorry about your grandmother, but definitely glad it happened before the pandemic hit hard and you were able to get the grandkids all together!

I've enjoyed catching up on your report the last few days. It's brought me lots of Disney joy when I really need it! Thanks for working hard to get everyone the supplies they need during all this! I hope you get a nice, relaxing vacation when this is over.

Thank you!!

Aww--thanks so much. I could use some Disney joy myself--I have a trip in 27 days but I think we all know where that's going--nowhere fast, unfortunately. Thank you--it's been a crazy time in the grocery business--something I'll never forget, that's for sure!!

I know I'm late, but I offer my heart felt condolences to you and your family.
BTW, you are certainly fortunate to have such a large family full of children
I only have 2 grown kids/ 6 grandkids and one great grandchild

Thank you so much!!
Not late at all--I'm the one struggling to do this!!
Big families are fun. 6 grandkids--that is still quite a bit!!

 

[riverside]

Before I have to do yet another recap I'm going to try to get a few more posts in sooner than later.....

SUNDAY, JANUARY 19TH

We made our way to our first FP. Crowds were still pretty low.

The walls around Splash don't bother me since I don't ride it.

We took our time & enjoyed the stroll.

We stopped in Liberty Square to refill the popcorn bucket & it hadn't been 20 minutes since the last fill(thanks to Mr. Bird Feeder).

I thought this bucket was adorable but probably doesn't hold much--plus it would be awkward to carry.

Some people just never learn....

See the little hand by the railing? Of course, J had to join him in the fun again

E pointed out some more Christmas buckets & made fun of me some more......

 

[riverside]

SUNDAY, JANUARY 19TH

@tonystark our first FP was for HM!!

I really like this pic. I just wish I wouldn't have got the awning/canopy thing in it.

I was hoping for a PP to be out & about but that was a negative. I really wanted a pic in front since I was wearing a HM shirt. I ended up attempting to take one on my own....."attempting" being the operative word.

Also, it was super sunny. Mr. Bird Feeder was the only one wise enough to have his sunglasses on.

J wanted to ride with me again!! Thank goodness...you'll see why in the next picture. I'm actually kind of embarrassed to post it....

No commentary needed. I think it speaks for itself

I guess I probably should have just said that their ride photo didn't show up but it's part of the trip so.....sorry if this is TMI.

We browsed Memento Mori but came out empty handed. Sorry, I just don't get this.

I thought this mug was cute.

This is just plain adorable!! I didn't look at the price but my guess is Precious Moments + Disney = $$$$$$$

 

[riverside]

SUNDAY, JANUARY 19TH

We decided on an early lunch for 2 reasons--1, lower crowds & 2, we had an early dinner reservation. R wanted to eat at Casey's. He really likes it there. E & I were glad b/c we missed it when we were there in November b/c JSR doesn't like hot dogs.

I usually get a hot dog or the corn dog nuggets. That day I went with the hot dog.

Our order was ready in no time at all.

I got the side of cheese for my fries since I don't eat ketchup.

That is E & J's tray. She got the footlong for them to share.

Onions & mustard--that's all I eat on mine.

We were able to find a table inside which was nice.

It was a great lunch & we all enjoyed!!

After lunch E took J to the bathroom. While we were waiting R commented on the uniforms at Casey's & how much he likes them. He said he would like to work there just to be able to wear the uniform

Meanwhile, I was taking notice of these trees. I had never really paid attention to them before.

I thought they were pretty interesting!!

 

[lindawdw]

Those HM pictures were so funny!!! Glad you got your hot dog fix on since you missed out in November! I'm big on early lunches at WDW to beat the crowds.

 

[Minnesota disney fan]

I can't resist the HM store! I bought the HM sunglasses last time, and I love them!!!! Before that, it was the key chain with the old fashioned key! I loved the photo of the Haunted Mansion - it was perfect! Great Job

 

[Tuvalu]

The trees are crepe myrtles which had been pruned.

 

[Matt and Kelly]

OMG that haunted mansion picture

 

[PacNWTigger]

OMG that haunted mansion picture

Reminds me of this meme I saw the other day...LOL!!

 

[riverside]

Those HM pictures were so funny!!! Glad you got your hot dog fix on since you missed out in November! I'm big on early lunches at WDW to beat the crowds

I do enjoy Casey's--esp. the fries!! I prefer to eat early myself!! I'm so thankful J wanted to ride with me so I didn't have to put up with R!!

I can't resist the HM store! I bought the HM sunglasses last time, and I love them!!!! Before that, it was the key chain with the old fashioned key! I loved the photo of the Haunted Mansion - it was perfect! Great Job

I love looking at the merchandise in there. Stinky R deserves all the credit for the photo!!

The trees are crepe myrtles which had been pruned.

I appreciate your insight!! We don't have trees like that around here so I was absolutely clueless as to what they were!!

OMG that haunted mansion picture

I don't want to tell R about everyone's reaction to the picture--unfortunately, he would be very proud of himself!!

Reminds me of this meme I saw the other day...LOL!

That's a good one!!

 

[riverside]

SUNDAY, JANUARY 19TH

After lunch we asked J if he would be willing to ride one of his least favorites. His response, "I'll think about it". We told him not too think too hard b/c we were almost there. Much to our surprise he gave in & said he would ride but he did put some ground rules in place. Pretty much he said that I had to hold him in line & esp. when it was time to go down "the hill".

But, alas it wasn't meant to be--the ride was down

We headed to this favorite next!!

Wait times were getting a bit high at this point.

Most of us enjoyed our happy cruise.

This is one of my favorite scenes since I'm part Irish.

J was enjoying it & we were pointing out to each other what our favorite parts are.

This was hysterical--I actually got some of this on video. I had mentioned earlier on that R wasn't feeling good. Well, by this day he got way worse. He was actually falling asleep on the ride but bouncing his head along to the music at the same time. E & I were cracking up!!

I was so excited--my name came up!!

 

[riverside]

SUNDAY, JANUARY 19TH

Next up was a FP for Peter Pan. This one isn't a "must do" for us every trip but for some reason J wanted us to get a FP for this trip. At this point he was saying that he was tired.

He looks like he's sleeping standing up!!

I wonder once Disney reopens how many parents are going to be smacking their kids hands when they touch the poles/chains?

J wanted to ride with me again!!

After our flight we split up. E & J went to get Starbucks. R & I went to Aloha Isle to get a float to share. Now that I think about it that probably wasn't the wisest move since he was sick.

I love these!!

Wait times were growing & Pirates was still down.

I checked again a few minutes later & found my favorite was now down also

 

[Songbird76]

I just showed my husband your Dolewhip Float picture and he looked at it very longingly. Pretty sure he's drooling now.

 

[riverside]

SUNDAY, JANUARY 19TH

R & I headed over to meet E & J so we could ride Dumbo.

We walked around in here for a bit. I think it smells better in here than The Confectionery.

J was all about riding with me again!!

Poor E.....

After Dumbo we stopped to refill the popcorn bucket. I just had to ask b/c I was so curious. Since they don't have a chip in it like the resort mugs I wondered how they could determine your "length of stay". The CM told me that they can't & no matter what popcorn bucket you give them they have to refill it. Anybody have an oldie but goodie out there they want to try it with when the parks reopen?

BTW--I almost shed a tear looking at this picture. You should see what a mess my nails are right now!!

I don't have it written in my notes but for some reason we trekked over to Adventureland again. Maybe to see if Pirates was open yet?

 

[riverside]

I just showed my husband your Dolewhip Float picture and he looked at it very longingly. Pretty sure he's drooling now.

I'm right there with him!! That is definitely a favorite of mine!!

 

[Songbird76]

I'm right there with him!! That is definitely a favorite of mine!!

He's the only one of us who likes pineapple, but he fell in love with the dolewhip floats on our last trip. He was getting like 3 a day, and then on our last day, we didn't have any snack credits left, but you can use a QS credit for 3 snacks, so he just got 3 dolewhip floats and downed them all.

 

[riverside]

SUNDAY, JANUARY 19TH

Remember my friend & her husband that were on the same flight down as us? We had plans to meet them for the parade. They were kind enough to get there early & save us spots. Let me say they were excellent!! I'm not one to get there early & camp out but boy it definitely gives it a different perspective when you do!!

E wanted to shop the stores on Main Street so J came with R & I to watch the parade. Of course you know we had to sneak in The Confectionery so J could get some jelly beans!!

We met up with my friends & we were having fun chatting away. All of a sudden we hear another familiar voice. It was E. She had bought J this hat & was excited to give it to him so she brought it over so he could wear it. I don't know who was more nervous, J or myself. I knew I would be in big trouble for giving him jelly beans so close to dinner. J was, as slyly as he could, trying to slide them under his legs so his mom wouldn't see them. After she talked a bit she said she was going to continue shopping. J's exact words when she walked away, and I quote," Oh my gosh. I freaked out when I saw her!!" I told him I did too!!

This was him looking at his mom while trying to hide the jelly beans.

My friend A & I. I love her ears!!

This was our view for the parade. It was great!!

J started to feel a bit comfortable that his mom wasn't coming back so he pulled the jelly beans back out!!

A PP photographer was coming by so A asked if she could take our picture. I thought it turned out really nice!!

BTW--you can partially see the lady in the scooter in the upper right corner. Here, in talking with her we found out she lived right down the street from a school here that R used to be the principal at!! Small world!!

Not to add more gloom & doom to this TR but if you could say a prayer for my friend, A it would be much appreciated. A week or so after this trip she started having abdominal pains. Long story short she had surgery on Monday(ovarian cancer which had spread to a lymph node & her diaphragm). The doctor is confident that they got it all out but she'll be doing chemo just to be sure. She's still in the hospital(poor girl, no one can see her) & should be out in a few days & is doing well all things considered. Extra prayers can never hurt though!! 3 months ago we were having the time of our lives--how things have changed--in so many ways.