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!!

 

[Darstarr]

"Mom, I'm only eating pretzels over here."

I laughed so hard at this. It reminded me of the time we threw a surprise birthday party for my MIL at her favorite Chinese restaraunt. My husband and I , our three kids, my BIL/SIL and their three kids waited in the foyer while the 50 or so guests were in the “party room”.
When my MIL and FIL walked into the restaurant, my niece who must have been 6 or 7 said, “Hi Grandma. No one here but us.”
Busted...

 

[riverside]

Awww it’s over?! Thanks so much for sharing, it was great as always!

Thank you & thanks for reading!! Enjoying yours!!

So ... I was enjoying it and now it is over.

Thanks--I was bummed heading into my final posts knowing it was coming to an end.

Thank you for sharing your trip, so sad to see it come to an end Hopefully we will all be back in the magic soon!

Thanks for reading!! Let's keep our fingers crossed!! I'm enjoying yours!!

Awww sad it is over, but was so fun tagging along!

Thanks!! I'm glad you were here!!

So glad you finished your report.

Thanks for bearing with us to the very end!

(Bonus points if you get the reference! )

Keep your chin up.

It was bittersweet & took awhile but I'm glad I did also.
No bonus points for me--I've been wracking my brain all weekend trying to get the reference Help me out!!

Thank you for another great trip report! I hope you’re all keeping safe!

Thank you for reading!! We are--I hope you are also!!

It's hard to stay mad at that cute little face even if he did use your hard earned game lives. Kids say the darnedest things and it seems there have been quite a few times J almost got caught eating a treat he shouldn't! So sad that this TR in particular is over but I'm praying that we'll have some new ones soon! . I'd love to see some of your old photos from previous trips! Thanks again for writing such an entertaining TR.

He We were lucky not to get caught!! Thanks for reading!! Hopefully this week I'll be able to dig up some old photos!! I'm glad you enjoyed it!!

Just curious, what smelled worse? The baby at the airport or the Haunted Mansion ride?

I really can't answer that since I wasn't the one sitting with R on HM!! I'll have to ask E!!

Thanks so much for sharing the fun of your trip! Thinking of you every time I go to the grocery store. Stay safe and get some rest. I do appreciate all of our front line workers

Thank you!! I really appreciate that!! We're still struggling to get regular grocery(as others are) & now we have the meat issue!! It's getting tiring. Thank you for your appreciation!!

Loved following along and thanks for sharing. It's so much fun to read your trip reports! this fall we'll get to read another?!

I'm so glad you enjoyed it!! Thank you for reading!! At this point it looks like it will be fall for me!!

Thanks for sharing. Hope you and your fam stay safe and healthy!

Hope you can get to “secretly” feeding J treats ASAP.

Thanks for reading!! I wish you the same!!

If this continues I may have to start mailing them to him!!

Ugh I'm SO sad this one is over

Me too.... Thanks for reading. BTW--how's daycare going for LP?

I have a suspicion that J is with jelly beans like I am with sour gummies, I can never have too many!

I was forgetting to comment on your picture of those delicious rolls at Liberty Tree Tavern, I've been longing for those since last December! Seeing them again in your TR brought such good memories! We could all use more happy thoughts these days.

Thank you for sharing and dedicating valuable time to finish this TR. Stay safe. I'll be patiently waiting for the next one!

One thing I will give him is when he's full he will say it & not overeat so that's good!!

They were very good!! And happy thoughts are definitely in order!!

Thank you for following along!! I can't wait to be able to do another one!!

Sad this is over
My Mom and I did this once too it was awful! We almost missed our flight when we went back through security (this was before our TSA pre-check days). I feel like if you are rushing it is very easy to get on the wrong one! I triple check a bunch of times now

Thanks for reading!!

See!! I don't feel so bad now after hearing a handful of us all doing the same thing!! You have it stuck in my mind now about triple checking. I'll be sure to do that & in my mind I'll be thanking you every time!!

I laughed so hard at this. It reminded me of the time we threw a surprise birthday party for my MIL at her favorite Chinese restaraunt. My husband and I , our three kids, my BIL/SIL and their three kids waited in the foyer while the 50 or so guests were in the “party room”.
When my MIL and FIL walked into the restaurant, my niece who must have been 6 or 7 said, “Hi Grandma. No one here but us.”
Busted...

Love it!! Hopefully it was a surprise until that point!!

 

[sheriffwoody]

Me too.... Thanks for reading. BTW--how's daycare going for LP?

Yesterday was her first day back and she did well! I think she really missed her little buddies, plus there's a lot more to entertain her there. I'm sure she was bored with us Looked like the center was still only about half full, so I'm guessing a lot of parents still haven't gone back to work.

 

[krisri18]

I'm finally catching up on trip reports, sad to see this one is over though! Love seeing what kind of fun you and J are up to!

 

[Piglet_the_brave]

I’ve just caught up with the end of you report. Sad it’s over but really enjoyed reading. Hoping you get to enjoy some more Disney adventures with J very soon.

As a mother I may be frowning a bit about the secret jellybeans and liquorice , J is so funny about it though. Do you think your sister kind of knows but lets it slide? Anyway, you’re an awesome aunt.

 

[MegRuss626]

I saw yesterday that YeeHaw Bob has been doing Facebook live performances I guess? Thought of you! Hope all is well (although this chilly Pittsburgh weather isnt! )

 

[Kiwiduck]

MONDAY, JANUARY 20TH

Shortly after take off J asked me if he could play with my phone. I wasn't paying much attention then something caught my eye. How did I manage to get 15 lives? That would be b/c J used half my gems to get them It took me a long time to save up that many gems & getting those 15 lives(esp. with a 4 year old playing the game) surely wasn't worth it. I did correct him & told him he should not have done that without asking but really it was my fault for not paying attention.
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This is the look I got. Hard to be mad at him!!
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The flight home was pretty smooth. I thought I was going to be in trouble though. I had bought a bag of Mickey licorice in the Disney store at the airport. The flight attendants served the pretzels & we were waiting on our drinks. That turned into a disaster b/c the flight attendant said that his paper got wet so he was trying to get everyone's drinks from memory. Yeah, that didn't work out too well.
Anyhow, R was sitting to my left & E was in the aisle seat across from R. I was sneaking J some licorice. What does he pipe up & say to his mom out of the blue? "Mom, I'm only eating pretzels over here." IMO that's basically telling her that he's eating something that he's not supposed to!!
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With that a glass of wine was in order!!
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And he didn't abandon the safety instructions!!
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He wanted me to take a picture of him posing like this. Kids....
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.....sometimes the adults are worse!!
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Well, "Rise of the Popcorn Bucket" has come to it's conclusion. I'm always a bit bummed when I'm finishing up a TR but I'm feeling it much more with this one. The uncertainty of when I'll be back & just life in general has me kind of feeling a little blah... As others are doing I may try to dig up some pictures from some older trips & share them with you all.

As always, I want to thank you, my friends, for reading & all the interactions we've had. I truly appreciate it & enjoy it. I always say that's what makes these TR's so much fun!! I also want to thank you for all your support during this TR. It really meant a lot!! I hope everyone stays safe & we all can get back to our happy place soon!!

I play that game almost obsessively and would be so upset to lose my gems on something as trivial as lives Also, you have so many coins saved up - I can't help myself from buying an emoji the second I get to 30000 coins!

 

[krisri18]

I play that game almost obsessively and would be so upset to lose my gems on something as trivial as lives Also, you have so many coins saved up - I can't help myself from buying an emoji the second I get to 30000 coins!

What game is it?

 

[riverside]

Yesterday was her first day back and she did well! I think she really missed her little buddies, plus there's a lot more to entertain her there. I'm sure she was bored with us Looked like the center was still only about half full, so I'm guessing a lot of parents still haven't gone back to work.

Glad to hear that!! Even little ones get used to their routine & I'm sure this has been hard for them also!

I'm finally catching up on trip reports, sad to see this one is over though! Love seeing what kind of fun you and J are up to!

I'm sad it's over also!! Thanks for reading!!

I’ve just caught up with the end of you report. Sad it’s over but really enjoyed reading. Hoping you get to enjoy some more Disney adventures with J very soon.

As a mother I may be frowning a bit about the secret jellybeans and liquorice , J is so funny about it though. Do you think your sister kind of knows but lets it slide? Anyway, you’re an awesome aunt.

I'm glad you enjoyed it!! I hope so also but when?? At least Disney Springs is opening soon so I guess there's some light at the end of this tunnel!!

In answer to your question about my sister......after getting this text today I know she knows for sure!!

And she told me she doesn't really read my TR's!! I'm so busted!! Good news is she didn't say anything about the candy--yet!!

BTW--to explain that pic at the top of the texts--I'm laughing b/c this was a group text with E, R & myself. It was from when we were at Muddy Rivers that Saturday. She texted R & I while we were sitting at the table to tell us that some guy's breath smelled like crap(he was sitting across from her). R had sent that pic that had a caption that I can't repeat on here!!

I saw yesterday that YeeHaw Bob has been doing Facebook live performances I guess? Thought of you! Hope all is well (although this chilly Pittsburgh weather isnt! )

They're on Sunday nights at 6. I watch them live if I'm not working. Sometimes I'll go back & watch them later if I wasn't around to see it live. This weather is crazy!! I was laughing at R this morning b/c he's golfing!! I told him it looked like a snow globe at that point & he was headed out to the course!! Hope you're doing well also!!

I play that game almost obsessively and would be so upset to lose my gems on something as trivial as lives Also, you have so many coins saved up - I can't help myself from buying an emoji the second I get to 30000 coins!

Right--it's hard to collect that many gems!! I used to do the same but I like to have quite a bit of coins for when I need them for boosts to complete certain challenges. The sunshine boost is the worst. I feel like I never have enough free ones of those & it's 2000 coins every time I want to use one!!

What game is it?

Disney Emoji Blitz. Lot's of fun & very addicting!! A few years ago I had a phone go & I lost everything. I was crushed b/c I had to start from scratch!!

 

[riverside]

Just had to share this with you all!! I'm so darn excited!! I had the most awesome surprise at work this morning!!

I had a great surprise visit from a fellow magician!!

It was @MickeyCB!!

Yes, we just met for the first time & we're not wearing masks or social distancing!!

It was such a wonderful surprise & we had such a nice talk!! I also had the pleasure of meeting her other half!! I just hope I didn't creep him out by knowing too much about him!! It was so nice to actually meet face to face!! But what I think is neater than that is how comfortable I felt. Sorry @MickeyCB I know I am a talker!! But, I felt like I was catching up with a friend instead of meeting for the first time!!

I'm so thankful for the friendships I've made through this site & how our love of Disney brings us together. And this right here is proof of that!! @MickeyCB I'm so happy that you stopped by & I got to meet you & your husband!! I'm going to be smiling for quite awhile about this!!

 

[Swissmiss]

This post made me smile too - and I’m thousands of miles away !

 

[disneypearl]

That’s great! What a nice thing to happen today!

 

[MickeyCB]

Just had to share this with you all!! I'm so darn excited!! I had the most awesome surprise at work this morning!!

I had a great surprise visit from a fellow magician!!

It was @MickeyCB!!
View attachment 474868
Yes, we just met for the first time & we're not wearing masks or social distancing!!

It was such a wonderful surprise & we had such a nice talk!! I also had the pleasure of meeting her other half!! I just hope I didn't creep him out by knowing too much about him!! It was so nice to actually meet face to face!! But what I think is neater than that is how comfortable I felt. Sorry @MickeyCB I know I am a talker!! But, I felt like I was catching up with a friend instead of meeting for the first time!!

I'm so thankful for the friendships I've made through this site & how our love of Disney brings us together. And this right here is proof of that!! @MickeyCB I'm so happy that you stopped by & I got to meet you & your husband!! I'm going to be smiling for quite awhile about this!!

It was super fun meeting you today! And just so all of the magicians here know, if you ever have the opportunity to meet Riverside in person, she is just as sweet as she appears to be in her trip reports!
We dropped in on her during our travels around Pittsburgh today and she was super gracious!
And Riverside if you don't mind I'm going to plug my own last trip report where I'm going to bump it and post our family's good news I got to share with you today! https://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/a-very-late-cd-corona-driven-tr-with-a-twist.964156/

 

[riverside]

This post made me smile too - and I’m thousands of miles away !

That’s great! What a nice thing to happen today!

It really made my day!!

 

[riverside]

It was super fun meeting you today! And just so all of the magicians here know, if you ever have the opportunity to meet Riverside in person, she is just as sweet as she appears to be in her trip reports!
We dropped in on her during our travels around Pittsburgh today and she was super gracious!
And Riverside if you don't mind I'm going to plug my own last trip report where I'm going to bump it and post our family's good news I got to share with you today! https://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/a-very-late-cd-corona-driven-tr-with-a-twist.964156/

Awww--you're too kind!! I just realized(again, after the fact)that we should have walked a few doors up from my work & I could have pointed out the "nuns" to you!!

And again I'm so happy for you & your GREAT news!!

 

[krisri18]

That's fantastic!! I love seeing Magician meets!

 

[Darstarr]

All I can say is YAY!!!

 

[Loco_driver]

Just had to share this with you all!! I'm so darn excited!! I had the most awesome surprise at work this morning!!

I had a great surprise visit from a fellow magician!!

It was @MickeyCB!!
View attachment 474868
Yes, we just met for the first time & we're not wearing masks or social distancing!!

It was such a wonderful surprise & we had such a nice talk!! I also had the pleasure of meeting her other half!! I just hope I didn't creep him out by knowing too much about him!! It was so nice to actually meet face to face!! But what I think is neater than that is how comfortable I felt. Sorry @MickeyCB I know I am a talker!! But, I felt like I was catching up with a friend instead of meeting for the first time!!

I'm so thankful for the friendships I've made through this site & how our love of Disney brings us together. And this right here is proof of that!! @MickeyCB I'm so happy that you stopped by & I got to meet you & your husband!! I'm going to be smiling for quite awhile about this!!

Awesome awesome awesome!

 

[MickeyCB]

Awww--you're too kind!! I just realized(again, after the fact)that we should have walked a few doors up from my work & I could have pointed out the "nuns" to you!!

And again I'm so happy for you & your GREAT news!!

Oh that would have been great! You need to share your "nun' story.
And thanks again, we are very excited! Now fingers crossed all goes well.

 

[slipperalwaysfits]

So happy for you both!