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!!

 

[lindawdw]

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 truly is incredible how a love of Disney brings about such wonderful online friendships. Love your picture together. It's so nice to see your face again in a picture here being you haven't had any TR's to post for a while.

 

[KellBelle]

How cool!

 

[riverside]

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

All I can say is YAY!!!

Awesome awesome awesome!

So happy for you both!

How cool!

It was so neat!! I'm still smiling from it!!

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.

The "nun" story.......
At the beginning of this TR I had said that while I was at the airport I got a call from my uncle who was upset with his sister. Well, Uncle Sonny passed on Mother's Day. I was his POA/executor & therefore was responsible for cleaning out his apartment etc. Uncle Sonny has these 2 friends who own a religious store near my work. They claim they are "nuns". They absolutely are not. They're very bizarre. Anyhow, Uncle Sonny ended up with quite a collection of religious books & other things from their store. I, being a Catholic girl, felt guilty about tossing so many religious articles & asked the "nuns" if they would like the books back. The one told me she had been wondering when I was going to ask them that & I could drop them off at their store I said no & that I would pack them up but they had to come get them(my uncle lived on the 5th floor--I wasn't doing all that work!!) Well, they darn near cleaned out the whole apartment!! They even wanted to take the refrigerator which belonged to the high rise that he lived in!! A few days later I had 1-800 GOT JUNK there to take out the rest & they were calling wanting to come back for more. Too late!! What makes me mad about the whole thing is that Uncle Sonny's sister overheard one of the "nuns" slip about how they were planning on selling his things at a flea market!! I had a ton of bags that were already packed up(it was all garbage). They even went through them!!

It truly is incredible how a love of Disney brings about such wonderful online friendships. Love your picture together. It's so nice to see your face again in a picture here being you haven't had any TR's to post for a while.

I totally agree. Thank you!! That's so nice of you to say!!
Here's one of J since you haven't seen him in awhile either!!

He & I were playing a mean game of catch the other night. That kid has one heck of an arm!!

 

[lindawdw]

It was so neat!! I'm still smiling from it!!

The "nun" story.......
At the beginning of this TR I had said that while I was at the airport I got a call from my uncle who was upset with his sister. Well, Uncle Sonny passed on Mother's Day. I was his POA/executor & therefore was responsible for cleaning out his apartment etc. Uncle Sonny has these 2 friends who own a religious store near my work. They claim they are "nuns". They absolutely are not. They're very bizarre. Anyhow, Uncle Sonny ended up with quite a collection of religious books & other things from their store. I, being a Catholic girl, felt guilty about tossing so many religious articles & asked the "nuns" if they would like the books back. The one told me she had been wondering when I was going to ask them that & I could drop them off at their store I said no & that I would pack them up but they had to come get them(my uncle lived on the 5th floor--I wasn't doing all that work!!) Well, they darn near cleaned out the whole apartment!! They even wanted to take the refrigerator which belonged to the high rise that he lived in!! A few days later I had 1-800 GOT JUNK there to take out the rest & they were calling wanting to come back for more. Too late!! What makes me mad about the whole thing is that Uncle Sonny's sister overheard one of the "nuns" slip about how they were planning on selling his things at a flea market!! I had a ton of bags that were already packed up(it was all garbage). They even went through them!!

I totally agree. Thank you!! That's so nice of you to say!!
Here's one of J since you haven't seen him in awhile either!!

View attachment 475798
He & I were playing a mean game of catch the other night. That kid has one heck of an arm!!

Is it possible that he grew since your last TR!!! He's such a cute little boy.

 

[Songbird76]

It was so neat!! I'm still smiling from it!!

The "nun" story.......
At the beginning of this TR I had said that while I was at the airport I got a call from my uncle who was upset with his sister. Well, Uncle Sonny passed on Mother's Day. I was his POA/executor & therefore was responsible for cleaning out his apartment etc. Uncle Sonny has these 2 friends who own a religious store near my work. They claim they are "nuns". They absolutely are not. They're very bizarre. Anyhow, Uncle Sonny ended up with quite a collection of religious books & other things from their store. I, being a Catholic girl, felt guilty about tossing so many religious articles & asked the "nuns" if they would like the books back. The one told me she had been wondering when I was going to ask them that & I could drop them off at their store I said no & that I would pack them up but they had to come get them(my uncle lived on the 5th floor--I wasn't doing all that work!!) Well, they darn near cleaned out the whole apartment!! They even wanted to take the refrigerator which belonged to the high rise that he lived in!! A few days later I had 1-800 GOT JUNK there to take out the rest & they were calling wanting to come back for more. Too late!! What makes me mad about the whole thing is that Uncle Sonny's sister overheard one of the "nuns" slip about how they were planning on selling his things at a flea market!! I had a ton of bags that were already packed up(it was all garbage). They even went through them!!

I totally agree. Thank you!! That's so nice of you to say!!
Here's one of J since you haven't seen him in awhile either!!

View attachment 475798
He & I were playing a mean game of catch the other night. That kid has one heck of an arm!!

I don't even know what to say to that....but were you there when they went to pick the stuff up? How did they get in if you weren't there? That's just...wow. They are definitely not nuns!

And I'm so sorry for yet another loss in your family. And then trying to deal with his estate with everything else going on right now...that's really not what you needed! Sending you gentle hugs and pixie dust.

 

[riverside]

Is it possible that he grew since your last TR!!! It's such a cute little boy.

I think he may have!! He's pretty tall.
Here's a good one--
E & J had reservations for Disney for this week. Last week she was able to change it to August. She said the availability was very limited so she booked a 1 bedroom villa at Saratoga Springs. This way R & I would definitely have a room then also. E was telling R that she would play golf with him since there's a course right there. She then asked me if I would mind watching J if they played. I called J over & asked him if his mom & Uncle R played golf while we were there would he be ok with him & I doing something together. His response, "Oh sure. We can go get jelly beans." E asked him what he said & he replied, "I didn't say anything"

I don't even know what to say to that....but were you there when they went to pick the stuff up? How did they get in if you weren't there? That's just...wow. They are definitely not nuns!

And I'm so sorry for yet another loss in your family. And then trying to deal with his estate with everything else going on right now...that's really not what you needed! Sending you gentle hugs and pixie dust.

I was there the first time when they took the books. The second time I was working so I asked the neighbor to let them in & then his sister got there a bit later. Then they lost out the third time!! No, they are not nuns. I think they are running some type of scam. They put these wannabe habits on(they aren't even realistic looking) & try to make people think they're so holy & innocent but meanwhile......

Thank you!! What I really felt bad about was that he didn't see anyone for roughly his last 2 months b/c he was in a nursing home & no one is allowed in. He sounded more & more depressed each time I would talk to him. When the nurse called to tell me he passed she said that not being able to have visitors has not been good for the residents.

 

[Zipadeelady]

I think he may have!! He's pretty tall.
Here's a good one--
E & J had reservations for Disney for this week. Last week she was able to change it to August. She said the availability was very limited so she booked a 1 bedroom villa at Saratoga Springs. This way R & I would definitely have a room then also. E was telling R that she would play golf with him since there's a course right there. She then asked me if I would mind watching J if they played. I called J over & asked him if his mom & Uncle R played golf while we were there would he be ok with him & I doing something together. His response, "Oh sure. We can go get jelly beans." E asked him what he said & he replied, "I didn't say anything"

I was there the first time when they took the books. The second time I was working so I asked the neighbor to let them in & then his sister got there a bit later. Then they lost out the third time!! No, they are not nuns. I think they are running some type of scam. They put these wannabe habits on(they aren't even realistic looking) & try to make people think they're so holy & innocent but meanwhile......

Thank you!! What I really felt bad about was that he didn't see anyone for roughly his last 2 months b/c he was in a nursing home & no one is allowed in. He sounded more & more depressed each time I would talk to him. When the nurse called to tell me he passed she said that not being able to have visitors has not been good for the residents.

Well, I don't know which emoji to use. I think I went through every emotion reading about Uncle Sonny and the "nuns". Sorry to hear he passed. J is too funny. I hope he gets his jelly beans

 

[Darstarr]

Sorry about Uncle Sonny

 

[lindawdw]

I think he may have!! He's pretty tall.
Here's a good one--
E & J had reservations for Disney for this week. Last week she was able to change it to August. She said the availability was very limited so she booked a 1 bedroom villa at Saratoga Springs. This way R & I would definitely have a room then also. E was telling R that she would play golf with him since there's a course right there. She then asked me if I would mind watching J if they played. I called J over & asked him if his mom & Uncle R played golf while we were there would he be ok with him & I doing something together. His response, "Oh sure. We can go get jelly beans." E asked him what he said & he replied, "I didn't say anything"

I was there the first time when they took the books. The second time I was working so I asked the neighbor to let them in & then his sister got there a bit later. Then they lost out the third time!! No, they are not nuns. I think they are running some type of scam. They put these wannabe habits on(they aren't even realistic looking) & try to make people think they're so holy & innocent but meanwhile......

Thank you!! What I really felt bad about was that he didn't see anyone for roughly his last 2 months b/c he was in a nursing home & no one is allowed in. He sounded more & more depressed each time I would talk to him. When the nurse called to tell me he passed she said that not being able to have visitors has not been good for the residents.

J is just so cute. I love how he thinks he's tricking his mom whenever there is jelly beans involved! So sorry about your Uncle. It breaks my heart thinking about all these elderly people in nursing homes who can't have any family members visit with them. Those "nuns" definitely sound like scam artists.

 

[Swissmiss]

Thanks for the picture of a very grown up looking J.

I just have to say: I’m an aunt and I am also a mother. I totally did what you do with J with my nieces and nephews and as a mother I respect the child/aunt/uncle/grandparent privilege to do/feed things to my child that I might not let them do/eat. If I didn’t, then the aunt/uncle/grandparent wouldn’t be special and where is the fun in that?

 

[MickeyCB]

Too late!! What makes me mad about the whole thing is that Uncle Sonny's sister overheard one of the "nuns" slip about how they were planning on selling his things at a flea market!!

Jokes on them because that flea market isn't open due to covid, and may not open this summer. So they've got that stuff and nowhere to go with it! Hah!
But, I'll watch for them if it opens and maybe accidentally not on purpose, bump into their table if I see them!
(I do have to be careful though, putting something like that out there in the universe because I have the worst Karma!)

Here's one of J since you haven't seen him in awhile either!!

He & I were playing a mean game of catch the other night. That kid has one heck of an arm!!

He's so stinkin cute! Go jelly bean kid!

 

[MinnieM123]

Sorry to hear about Uncle Sonny's passing.

As for the nuns, that was quite an interesting situation . . .

 

[BuckyMom]

So sorry for your loss. Such a tough time for all who have elderly in their lives. As to the nuns...well, they'll have some explaining to do at the Gates...

 

[riverside]

Well, I don't know which emoji to use. I think I went through every emotion reading about Uncle Sonny and the "nuns". Sorry to hear he passed. J is too funny. I hope he gets his jelly beans

Thank you. Oh, he's getting jelly beans sooner than later. R was telling me about a big container that he saw recently at Sam's Club so I had him pick one up for me yesterday!! J's going to be one happy boy--his mom, not so much!!

Sorry about Uncle Sonny

Thank you!

J is just so cute. I love how he thinks he's tricking his mom whenever there is jelly beans involved! So sorry about your Uncle. It breaks my heart thinking about all these elderly people in nursing homes who can't have any family members visit with them. Those "nuns" definitely sound like scam artists.

He's pretty funny, that's for sure!! I feel very bad for them also. The "nuns"--scam artists for sure!!

Thanks for the picture of a very grown up looking J.

I just have to say: I’m an aunt and I am also a mother. I totally did what you do with J with my nieces and nephews and as a mother I respect the child/aunt/uncle/grandparent privilege to do/feed things to my child that I might not let them do/eat. If I didn’t, then the aunt/uncle/grandparent wouldn’t be special and where is the fun in that?

I couldn't agree more!!

Jokes on them because that flea market isn't open due to covid, and may not open this summer. So they've got that stuff and nowhere to go with it! Hah!
But, I'll watch for them if it opens and maybe accidentally not on purpose, bump into their table if I see them!
(I do have to be careful though, putting something like that out there in the universe because I have the worst Karma!)

They took so much I can't imagine where they're storing it all!! Oh well!!
I think it would be hysterical if you saw them--trust me you'll know it's them!!

He's so stinkin cute! Go jelly bean kid!

Thanks!!

Sorry to hear about Uncle Sonny's passing.

As for the nuns, that was quite an interesting situation . . .

Thank you!

Interesting is putting it mildly!!

So sorry for your loss. Such a tough time for all who have elderly in their lives. As to the nuns...well, they'll have some explaining to do at the Gates...

Thanks!!

Good point!!

 

[riverside]

Today was an absolutely spectacular day!! I had an awesome visit from my dear friend @MickeyCB & her husband, Gary!! And look who joined their fellow magicians!!

FYI—E has an account here now so she’s part of this magician family!! I’ll let her disclose her info if she’d like!!

Unfortunately J partied too late last night at my nieces(his cousins) 7th birthday party so he was still sleeping & didn’t make the big meetup.

We had so much fun talking & I’m so thankful for another meetup!! And, let me tell you, @MickeyCB is going to be one heck of a grandma!! Look what she got for J!!

She’s as bad as me with those jelly beans—& I love it!!

He had so much fun building his new LEGO set. E sent me a text: “He said it was the best LEGO set he ever got”

We had a great time talking & I was glad that E was able to make it!! And more than anything, @MickeyCB thank you for stopping by & being such a sweet friend!!

 

[Swissmiss]

Welcome E! Your J gets cuter and cuter by the minute!

@MickeyCB Good idea at getting some practice in on being a doting grandma . I your t-shirt.

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

Such a fun meet up! And Welcome to E!

 

[Songbird76]

Welcome, E! Nice to have you here!

Wow, @MickeyCB ! Don't get in trouble now, bringing big bags of Jelly beans!!

@riverside , I have a question for you. I have a friend in California who has an immuno compromised system, and she's having trouble finding lysol. Is that one of those things that is impossible to get? She said her grocery store won't help her at all. They won't set any aside for her or let her know when it's supposed to come in, even though it's life threatening for her. But I was wondering if that's just her area that is not getting lysol in or if it's everywhere. I thought you would know, since you mentioned shortages being a problem in your store. Is that one of the things you can't seem to get in?

 

[meggo819]

Welcome, E! Nice to have you here!

Wow, @MickeyCB ! Don't get in trouble now, bringing big bags of Jelly beans!!

@riverside , I have a question for you. I have a friend in California who has an immuno compromised system, and she's having trouble finding lysol. Is that one of those things that is impossible to get? She said her grocery store won't help her at all. They won't set any aside for her or let her know when it's supposed to come in, even though it's life threatening for her. But I was wondering if that's just her area that is not getting lysol in or if it's everywhere. I thought you would know, since you mentioned shortages being a problem in your store. Is that one of the things you can't seem to get in?

I’m in Texas which is now a hot spot. Lysol wipes were the one thing I was still having trouble finding (we now have plenty of toilet paper and hand sanitizer). I hadn’t even tried to add it to my curbside grocery order for a long time, but this week I randomly tried again and they fulfilled my order for 3 tubs (the limit you can order). I was so excited!

 

[MickeyCB]

Today was an absolutely spectacular day!! I had an awesome visit from my dear friend @MickeyCB & her husband, Gary!! And look who joined their fellow magicians!!
View attachment 479949
FYI—E has an account here now so she’s part of this magician family!! I’ll let her disclose her info if she’d like!!

Unfortunately J partied too late last night at my nieces(his cousins) 7th birthday party so he was still sleeping & didn’t make the big meetup.

We had so much fun talking & I’m so thankful for another meetup!! And, let me tell you, @MickeyCB is going to be one heck of a grandma!! Look what she got for J!!

View attachment 479951
She’s as bad as me with those jelly beans—& I love it!!

View attachment 479950
He had so much fun building his new LEGO set. E sent me a text: “He said it was the best LEGO set he ever got”

We had a great time talking & I was glad that E was able to make it!! And more than anything, @MickeyCB thank you for stopping by & being such a sweet friend!!

We had so much fun hanging out in the parking lot!
I was thinking after we left that if we ever get to sit down and chat we won't know how to behave ourselves!
It was so much fun meeting E, she is very sweet!
And I'm glad J liked the lego set, but I will say he must be genius material because he built that soooo fast!

And if I could I'll tell the "witch" story I forgot to tell you and E as we were gabbing so much.
Gary and I were headed to meet you guys and he asked me about the "witches". I was highly insulted, I said "what are you talking about"???
And he said, "you know the group of you are the witches". And then I realized he genuinely was mixing up his fantasy folks and not being insulting to us! (After being married almost 37 years you never know)!
"Oh you mean the magicians"!
Gotta watch that guy!
Hopefully one of these non-covid days we will actually be able to sit down and chat like normal witches magicians!