Sisterly Shenanigans: One Lil Spark and Big Al's Gal attack WDW!

Welcome, welcome, WELCOME!

This is a very picture heavy trip report documenting our first ever 'Sister's Only' trip to WDW. Hopefully you will enjoy reading this as much as we enjoyed bringing it to you. Please note that this will probably take a day or two to finish and will come in many installations. At any point, you can check out my photo album on my profile page as well!

Now, on to the good stuff...

Featured Players:

Jennifer (One Lil Spark)

Celebrated birthday with trip to WDW.
Enjoys anything EPCOT Center and Carousel of Progress.
Known to randomly burst into song, usually something from EPCOT Center. ​

Elise (Big Al's Gal)

Younger of the two sisters.
Lover of all things Ariel and Big Al.
Life's goal is to star in the Voyage of the Little Mermaid at DHS.​

Our story begins in the mountains of western North Carolina. I woke up bright and early to drive to Dayton, Tn where Elise goes to Bryan College. Once I picked her up, we were off to catch our flight! When we arrived at Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport, I somehow scored THE front row parking spot. Even though we were incredibly excited to be heading to WDW, I had a hard time leaving my car (which I've affectionately named Molly Weasley).

Drama oozed out of our flight in Chatty to Atlanta, but I won't get into that. (Grrr...) Finally holding our boarding pass made it feel all the more official! Elise's green eyes really burst with excitement, don't they?

After figuring out that Delta pretty much hates me, we were off! The view of the ocean of clouds helped calm me down on the cramped, small plane. All together now, Oooo... Ahhh...​

We arrived in Atlanta for our larger, much more comfy flight to Orlando. During the lay over, we decided to play in the concourse. You'll soon see that we don't like to take serious pictures...​

Once we were finally in the air for the final leg of our trip down, I decided to treat myself to a much deserved $7 Bloody Mary.​

FINALLY, we landed, grabbed our luggage and met up with a friend who drove us home... Home on this trip was the All Star Sports!​

More to come... Stay tuned, folks! :wave:​

 

[One Lil Spark]

James, thank you for posting those pictures! Elise HATED the way they did her hair for the first show. It was so precious when the kids stopped her after she won to take pictures with her. What an amazing moment. I even cried!

 

[DznyGrlSD]

:sohappy::sohappy: Excellent TR so far - can't wait for more!!

 

[One Lil Spark]

Saturday 2/28 was my birthday! We woke up veeeery early so we could go to Animal Kingdom. Elise and I had never been on Expedition Everest, so I wanted that to be my first birthday ride. Amazing! Though the Yeti was in B-mode, I was still very scared. I can't even begin to imagine how sick it is to see him in A-mode!

Elise had never been in Dinosaur. This next photo was not staged. This is her ACTUAL reaction to the ride and she had absolutely no idea that her picture would be taken...

In only 45 minutes at Animal Kingdom we were able to ride Everest, Dinosaur and Primeval Whirl. We were Epcot bound by 10am where we were supposed to meet up with Katie (SweetMagic on here). Little did I know that Epcot would hold countless amazing surprises!

Stay tuned for Epcot!

 

[fascion216]

:ROFLOL:LOL awesome facial expressions on dinosaur! also loving your mickey nails! haha, you guys are great censors!!

 

[One Lil Spark]

When we arrived at Epcot, James told me that Katie was waiting for us in Merfcove. I spotted her across the graveyard known as Leave a Legacy, and we made a bee-line for her. This is when I got an insane surprise for my birthday. Here's the pictures Katie took of the surprise. They pretty much speak for themselves...

I thought a random CM was goofing on us while taking the picture. Once I realized they weren't letting go, I turned around and saw Jackie! (FYI: He's brkgnews on here.)

Notice how I am somehow capable of standing on my tippy toes when insanely surprised!

Complete and utter shock...

Jackie flew down just to spend my birthday with me in Epcot. Wow. Thank you Katie for being his transportation and facilitator. You two are amazing.

 

[SweetMagic]

Jackie flew down just to spend my birthday with me in Epcot. Wow. Thank you Katie for being his transportation and facilitator. You two are amazing.

:king:

It was pretty amazing, wasn't it? What a fantastic day! :sohappy:

 

[One Lil Spark]

The next few hours were spent in a big group enjoying the wonders of Epcot. I began my Drinking Around the World, we tried Kim Possible and got Japan (SO much fun!), and had a wonderfully fun time. Here's some random shots from the first part of the day...

Figment decided to step on my head!

My first birthday drink of the day was at Rose & Crown. I told the CM to surprise me and he made me a Liquid Cocaine! I officially fell in love with him...

 

[Pongo]

Great TR!!!! I agree with everyone else, it would be SO fun to spend a day in the parks with you! :lol:

PS: I like Elise's Cruella shirt :lookaroun

 

[One Lil Spark]

All together now... Awww!

My first ever Gran Marnier Orange Slush! Here I am getting that first taste to see if it's as good as everyone says...

Elise documented my Drinking Around the World antics in a World Showcase passport I bought for $10. It came with a cool button and lots of stickers...

Group Beverly tasting! Elise had never experienced the wonder of Beverly...

Taking shots like a champ!

Trying to peek in the Epcot 25th Anniversary Gallery...

WHYYYYY!?

 

[lilclerk]

Elise had never been in Dinosaur. This next photo was not staged. This is her ACTUAL reaction to the ride and she had absolutely no idea that her picture would be taken...

This is my reaction on Dinosaur every time I ride haha. I have never seen the end of it.
Great TR so far! You two are adorable!

 

[DisneyGigi]

Loving the trip report so far! Looks like you had a wonderful Birthday trip, can't wait to read the rest. Love the Hidden Mickey nails by the way!

 

[One Lil Spark]

More randomness from the first half of the day...

I got this mango margarita COMPLETELY free because it was my birthday! So awesome! (Drink #3 if you're counting...)

Elise wanted some, but I wouldn't let her...

Kim Possible sent us to Japan!

(Drinks 4 & 5 happened during Kim Possible...)

#6

(By the way, MANY thanks to Jackie for allowing me to use these pictures of his. We didn't take many photos at all on my birthday because I was too excited to remember...)

 

[One Lil Spark]

:ROFLOL:LOL awesome facial expressions on dinosaur! also loving your mickey nails! haha, you guys are great censors!!

Thanks! I also have Hidden Mickeys on my big toes. It really helped add to the pre-trip magic getting that done.

It was pretty amazing, wasn't it? What a fantastic day! :sohappy:

It was an absolute pleasure to meet you. You are a total doll and one of the few genuinely nice people left in this world. Thank you so much.

Great TR!!!! I agree with everyone else, it would be SO fun to spend a day in the parks with you! :lol:

PS: I like Elise's Cruella shirt :lookaroun

Thanks! She loves her random, trendy Disney shirts.

This is my reaction on Dinosaur every time I ride haha. I have never seen the end of it.
Great TR so far! You two are adorable!

Thank you so much! She was extremely embarrassed when she realized that it took her picture. We couldn't stop laughing at her.

Loving the trip report so far! Looks like you had a wonderful Birthday trip, can't wait to read the rest. Love the Hidden Mickey nails by the way!

Thank you so much! It really was the trip of a lifetime...

____


And now, ON TO THE HIGHLIGHT OF THE TRIP!

 

[MKCP 1985]

wow - you really DID have as much fun as we thought you would! :king:

great photos and great report!

 

[One Lil Spark]

Here's where it gets reaaaaaaally good...

We met up with Marcia (sillyspook13) and Marcus (loweyan) for a quick moment, then all split up before dinner. We had ADR's at 5pm at Les Chefs de France for a group of 10. I decided before we left for WDW that we would bring dressy clothes and change in Epcot. James was my escort for the evening and he left to change into a suit! Jackie and Katie ran off to clean up and change as well.

There was an arranged special guest meeting us for dinner. Now here's where you EPCOT Center fanboys will flip your lids...

Joining us for a delicious meal was none other than RON SCHNEIDER! To those of you who aren't as versed in EPCOT Center history, Ron was Dreamfinder!

Here's a picture outside of Les Chefs with me showing Ron my Imagination retro symbol tattoo on my wrist...

Just sat down for a phenomenal meal...

Ron 'Dreamfinder' Schneider regaled the group of us with stories from EPCOT Center opening, told us all about working with Figment, doing the Dreamfinder voice in Journey into Imagination, how he got into the business, why they chose Billy Barty for the voice of Figment, what he's doing now, and SO much more...

It was incredible. Words cannot express how touched I was to be sitting across the table from someone who helped mold my childhood in such a big, special way.

At one point, Ron did the Dreamfinder voice for me and it brought me to tears! Here's a reaction photo...

James got me an extremely delicious birthday cake and it felt like the entire restaurant was singing to me!

By the way, here's a picture of me as a kid...

 

[EPCOT Explorer]

EPIC!!!

So amazing that you met the DREAMFINDER!:sohappy::sohappy::sohappy:

 

[One Lil Spark]

After dinner, Ron invited the group of us to go see American Adventure with him. Of course, who the heck can turn down experiencing ANYTHING in WDW with Dreamfinder?

When we entered American Adventure, a CM told me there was a special phone call for me. When I picked the phone up, it was Goofy wishing me a Happy Birthday! Here's some reaction shots...

After AA was over, Ron had to leave for the evening. Here we are, saying goodbye...

When Ron left, we split into two groups. One group went to see Illuminations and my group went on a final ride on SSE to discover that they had done major work on the descent overnight!

Here's Elise, James and myself walking to SSE...

I have a video of Ron doing the Dreamfinder voice that I uploaded to my facebook. Perhaps I'll see about posting it on here. Any true Journey into Imagination fan will get chills followed by bursts of giddy giggling at the sound!

 

[GymLeaderPhil]

Wow.

Just wow.

Epic trip.

 

[disneygirl1]

Such an awesome report! You are so very luck to have friends that made your day so special. Glad to see you had a wonderful time!

 

[One Lil Spark]

wow - you really DID have as much fun as we thought you would! :king:

great photos and great report!

Thank you, Doug! It was an absolute blast! Not done yet though...

EPIC!!!

So amazing that you met the DREAMFINDER!:sohappy::sohappy::sohappy:

Chance of a life time... Words cannot express. Wow...

Wow.

Just wow.

Epic trip.

Thank you! I'm still amazed at how great this trip was...

Such an awesome report! You are so very luck to have friends that made your day so special. Glad to see you had a wonderful time!

I feel very blessed. Thank you for reading so far!