Trip Report STOP RUINING MY HAPPY PLACE! Feb 2020 TR!

I'M BACK!

I have been a fool y'all. I have sat here and read trip reports that detailed the struggles of traveling/vacationing with family and truly thought that I would never face that issue.

Did I have plenty of drama and issues with my OWN family growing up going to Disney during my childhood? OF COURSE. But it feels so different when it is your own flesh and blood. So.. this TR is going to be an interesting one. But just know.. Ian (my husband) and I looked at each other at the end and said "I can't wait to come back just us".

SO..

When: January 29 - February 4, 2020
Who: ME (Annie), my husband Ian, his twin brother Nate, SIL Kristy, nephew Jaxon, Kristy's parents Dicky and Julie and Kristy's niece Aubrie

Why: This trip was all about Jaxon's first trip to WDW. It was Nate's first trip as well! The rest of us had all been at least once.
Where: If you read my PTR, you know that we were upgraded from AS Sports to AKL! It was a fun surprise and one that everyone was very excited about.


Are you all ready to stick with me even if every day wasn't sunshine and rainbows and magic?

 

[annienevells]

Continued..

I was excited about where my portion of the group was headed

Our FP wait was long.. painfully long. But eventually we made it on and had a fun ride!

I can't make out much of myself in the dark corner, but you sure can see my smile hahah

Kristy, Jaxon and Aubrie enjoyed their time as well

As we were exiting, Kristy was calling Nate to let him know she was feeding the kids supper outside the entrance to Fantasmic. After a quick bio break, the group headed in to the show.

After seeing where everyone was being directed to sit, I broke away and went to get Ian and I snacks

What did I choose?

Number 2 for both of us for the day! Our favorite. I had a strange experience where a girl ahead of me in line, probably not much younger than me, would NOT STOP making Tik Toks of herself singing Disney songs. And folks.. I do not have the voice of an angel by any means BUT NEITHER DID SHE. The lack of self awareness.. yikes

I returned to find my family VERY close up front. I decided there was no sense getting them worried about it, we would just enjoy a nice evening mist together.

show time!

Ian LOVES this show. He was really excited for Jaxon to see it, and I think he was a little disappointed by the result. I think perhaps it was a bit too loud and misty for Jax. But the rest of us enjoyed it!

We pushed our way slowly but surely through the crowds to get to our bus and managed to get home fairly smoothly. I ran to get Ian and I some dinner because we realized that we had not eaten a meal since noon!

Ian opted for nuggets again and I was happy with my flatbread pizza.

Even better was dessert!

After all the effort to get my Apple Watch to Orlando, how did we do?

Not too bad.

We had a LONG day but it was a lot of fun. What would tomorrow bring?!

To be continued..

 

[Matt and Kelly]

That drink looks amazing! I will definitely have to put it on my list!
kelly

 

[annienevells]

Friday, January 31st, 2020

We were happy about the 9AM park opening at AK today, because we were a bit tired. I didn't sleep super late, but it was nice to get some breakfast and take my time in the morning. I roused Ian to start waking up before heading to grab us some breakfast.

I asked for the fruit and whipped cream on the side to avoid soggy waffle, and it worked great! The Mickey waffles really hit the spot.

We met up with the rest of the family around 8 at the bus, and made our way to AK quickly. Our bus situation truly improved since the day one meltdown.

Soon we were seeing this:

It was pretty quiet (and cold by Floridian standards) on this day.

We took some photos before deciding where to head to for official park opening

The family of 3.5!

So where would we be waiting first?

Minnie and Mickey! I cannot say that this has ever been my first AK destination. We had a safari FP for 9:30, and Jaxon was loving the character interactions so this seemed like a good choice. Was it?

Then came the kiddos

WIN! Jaxon loved meeting his two new best friends.

We made our way to Africa next.

Why do I have this photo of Kristy's mom with the kids posing in the background? Well.. she was the prime target of a bird poop attack I told her it was a real live animal experience!!

That's better. And cleaner

Continued in next post...

 

[annienevells]

Friday, January 31st, 2020 continued..

We continued on our way.

My best gal! Throughout this trip (and for the past 8 years) it was always assumed we were the sisters. We certainly act like it. Here is a photo from my wedding in October

I feel like I caught some judgement from my group as I took these pictures along our walk. Even if you aren't a big Disney nerd like me, I'd think they would find it interesting at least? Immersive? Oh well!

Our FP window was open, but we decided to first check out the Maharajah Jungle Trek.

This terrified both Jaxon and Aubrie and I am terrible and I guess not ready to be a mother because I laughed PRETTY hard at their reactions

Hey there!

We had a BLAST watching the gorillas. I think we stayed for probably 15 minutes just enjoying seeing the interactions. We finally forced ourselves away to head to our safari!

To be continued...

 

[annienevells]

Friday, January 31st, 2020 continued..

Time for a safari!

The family around us was driving us INSANE. It was a young mom and dad (dressed VERY conservatively, with their SEVEN young children. To each their own.. but they were simply outnumbered and also just straight up not paying attention at all, playing on their phones. This would only be the beginning for them as they ended up on our vehicle.

On our way! We had great luck with animals, especially the giraffes

Elephants too!

I NEVER see the lions so this was pretty exciting for me.

When I took these pictures I was wondering why Kristy looked so grouchy. I would assume it was related to Jaxon, but he behaved perfectly! When we exited our safari and made our way to find the stroller, she told me that the mom of the 7 children DROPPED HER BABY ON THE GROUND EVERY TIME WE HIT A BUMP OR TURNED A CORNER. I heard the crying and assumed the little one was just tired or hungry but no.. 4-5 HARD falls to the floor of the vehicle. Kristy was honestly more upset than angry. She does NOT get emotional but was nearly in tears from this. Some people..

Onward and upward.

The big kids had an Everest FP, so we decided to split up. When Aubrie found out that their FP was for IABL, she lost it. She said she would not even go NEAR it. Eventually Kristy's mom agreed to take her shopping around the TOL while Kristy did Bug's with Jaxon.

Off we go

The FP line went quickly and soon we were boarding

Not scared of the ride, scared of me dropping my phone

Everyone got a jump of adrenaline from this, and I asked if we could go again single rider. They obliged, and I was very happy about it as seen here:

Continued in next post...

 

[krisri18]

Friday, January 31st, 2020 continued..

Time for a safari!

View attachment 453895

The family around us was driving us INSANE. It was a young mom and dad (dressed VERY conservatively, with their SEVEN young children. To each their own.. but they were simply outnumbered and also just straight up not paying attention at all, playing on their phones. This would only be the beginning for them as they ended up on our vehicle.

On our way! We had great luck with animals, especially the giraffes

View attachment 453896

View attachment 453897

Elephants too!

View attachment 453898

I NEVER see the lions so this was pretty exciting for me.

View attachment 453900

View attachment 453901

When I took these pictures I was wondering why Kristy looked so grouchy. I would assume it was related to Jaxon, but he behaved perfectly! When we exited our safari and made our way to find the stroller, she told me that the mom of the 7 children DROPPED HER BABY ON THE GROUND EVERY TIME WE HIT A BUMP OR TURNED A CORNER. I heard the crying and assumed the little one was just tired or hungry but no.. 4-5 HARD falls to the floor of the vehicle. Kristy was honestly more upset than angry. She does NOT get emotional but was nearly in tears from this. Some people..

Onward and upward.

The big kids had an Everest FP, so we decided to split up. When Aubrie found out that their FP was for IABL, she lost it. She said she would not even go NEAR it. Eventually Kristy's mom agreed to take her shopping around the TOL while Kristy did Bug's with Jaxon.

Off we go

View attachment 453904

View attachment 453905

The FP line went quickly and soon we were boarding

View attachment 453906

Not scared of the ride, scared of me dropping my phone

Everyone got a jump of adrenaline from this, and I asked if we could go again single rider. They obliged, and I was very happy about it as seen here:

View attachment 453907

Continued in next post...

I'm with Aubrie, I'd have lost it if you tried to get me to see It's Tough to be a Bug too! I have seen it once, and that was one-time too many!

 

[annienevells]

Friday, January 31st, 2020 continued..

We made our way to find the rest of our group, but first.. a treat!

I had strongly advised Ian not to do this, as I had just mobile ordered from Flame Tree BBQ, but he said VACATION!!

We found the gals and Jax, and Kristy looked ready for a break. Everyone decided to head back to AKL, while Ian and I made way for our lunch. I also wanted to stay a bit longer, as our plans tonight included coming back to AK for our FoP FP before jetting off just Ian and I to MK for the After Hours event.

Let's eat!!

We LOVE the pulled pork mac and cheese here. We had dreams about it all year LOL

We took a look at wait times, and settled on Dinosaur

What a goober

It was only about a 20 minute wait or so until we were boarding

I pulled an Ian face here, VERY unruffled

We ran into Pluto on our way out, and gave him hugs as we were already missing our pup!

Ian was feeling ready to head back for a rest at AKL, but I requested one more attraction.

More silliness from this guy. I was TRYING to take a photo of the elephant

To be continued...

 

[annienevells]

Friday, January 31st, 2020 continued..

After shrinking to the size of bugs and back, it was time for a rest at AKL. We made it back quickly, and Ian opted for a nap. I decided to swim, but not for long as it was a bit cold and starting to rain

There are others ways to relax. How about a book and a one eared Disney snack?

I read about 3-5 books a week. I managed to finish this one during our break, and before long it was time to head back to AK! We were a little stressed about the rain with our After Hours plans for the evening, but I put on a brave face

Or not so brave face

Our plan was to meet up with the rest of our group at Triceratop Spin, as Jax LOVES dinosaurs. We made our way into the park quickly, and met up with the group to get in a short 10 minute line.

Aubrie requested that I ride with her. So it ended up her and I with her grandparents, and Jax with Kristy and Nate and Ian. Somehow.. the twins ended up squished together

Feeling cozy fellas?

After this I was DESPERATE to get everyone over to the last FoLK showing of the day. Mostly for Ian's sake, as he had never seen it, but I thought they all would really enjoy. Time was not on our side, so I told them we needed to hustle.....


..... and then they all stop for ice cream COME ON PEOPLE!!!

We finally made it as the LAST into the show. PHEW.

Everyone really enjoyed it

Finally it was time for our much awaited FoP FPs. All but Kristy, Jax and Aubrie made way through the line

So.. we are all Magicians. Either frequent park goers or big enough fans to read TRs or blogs. So WE know what is happening when a CM will pull groups of 2 or 3 or WHATEVER. They are doing their jobs. The WASTED middle aged man and his wife behind us did not agree. They started screaming at the young woman (definitely DCP) about how she can't do her job right and he's a DVC member and he wants to talk to her manager blah blah blah...

My group, apart from me, is VERY non confrontational. For example, Ian and Nate both work at the Naval Shipyard in different departments. There was a guy who called Nate by Ian's name for TWO years and Nate never argued.

ME on the other hand.. I very aggressively told this couple to leave the CM the **** alone. Yes.. I do not do it often, but the occasion necessitated my swearing (there were no children in queue).

Once we were at the front of the line I asked the girl if she was okay, if she needed anything. She seemed appreciative of me backing her up and asking, but she was a pretty cool customer. I wrote a Cast Compliment after this detailing her professionalism and calm under pressure.

I hate when things like this happen. I refuse to stand down when someone is being harmed even if it is verbally.

WHEW. We survived that awful encounter and eventually enjoyed, as always, our FoP ride. The newbies to the experience LOVED it which made me happy.

Ian and I dashed away after this, as our After Hours window was open already and we wanted to make it into the park before HEA!

How would we fair? Stay tuned..

 

[Spash007]

Friday, January 31st, 2020 continued..

After shrinking to the size of bugs and back, it was time for a rest at AKL. We made it back quickly, and Ian opted for a nap. I decided to swim, but not for long as it was a bit cold and starting to rain

View attachment 454097

There are others ways to relax. How about a book and a one eared Disney snack?

View attachment 454098

I read about 3-5 books a week. I managed to finish this one during our break, and before long it was time to head back to AK! We were a little stressed about the rain with our After Hours plans for the evening, but I put on a brave face

View attachment 454099

Or not so brave face

Our plan was to meet up with the rest of our group at Triceratop Spin, as Jax LOVES dinosaurs. We made our way into the park quickly, and met up with the group to get in a short 10 minute line.

View attachment 454101

Aubrie requested that I ride with her. So it ended up her and I with her grandparents, and Jax with Kristy and Nate and Ian. Somehow.. the twins ended up squished together

View attachment 454105

Feeling cozy fellas?

View attachment 454106

After this I was DESPERATE to get everyone over to the last FoLK showing of the day. Mostly for Ian's sake, as he had never seen it, but I thought they all would really enjoy. Time was not on our side, so I told them we needed to hustle.....


..... and then they all stop for ice cream COME ON PEOPLE!!!

We finally made it as the LAST into the show. PHEW.

View attachment 454108

View attachment 454109

Everyone really enjoyed it

Finally it was time for our much awaited FoP FPs. All but Kristy, Jax and Aubrie made way through the line

View attachment 454110

So.. we are all Magicians. Either frequent park goers or big enough fans to read TRs or blogs. So WE know what is happening when a CM will pull groups of 2 or 3 or WHATEVER. They are doing their jobs. The WASTED middle aged man and his wife behind us did not agree. They started screaming at the young woman (definitely DCP) about how she can't do her job right and he's a DVC member and he wants to talk to her manager blah blah blah...

My group, apart from me, is VERY non confrontational. For example, Ian and Nate both work at the Naval Shipyard in different departments. There was a guy who called Nate by Ian's name for TWO years and Nate never argued.

ME on the other hand.. I very aggressively told this couple to leave the CM the *** alone. Yes.. I do not do it often, but the occasion necessitated my swearing (there were no children in queue).

Once we were at the front of the line I asked the girl if she was okay, if she needed anything. She seemed appreciative of me backing her up and asking, but she was a pretty cool customer. I wrote a Cast Compliment after this detailing her professionalism and calm under pressure.

I hate when things like this happen. I refuse to stand down when someone is being harmed even if it is verbally.

WHEW. We survived that awful encounter and eventually enjoyed, as always, our FoP ride. The newbies to the experience LOVED it which made me happy.

Ian and I dashed away after this, as our After Hours window was open already and we wanted to make it into the park before HEA!

How would we fair? Stay tuned..

Good for you to defend that CM! I'd like to say I would do the same thing, but I'm also an extremely non-confrontational person (if I do get really agitated I will say something, but I usually end up just blabbering and not really being that effective)

 

[Swissmiss]

Yes, kudos for sticking up for the CM. I’m with you - I’m a pretty relaxed person, but do NOT let me witness someone being rude like that to someone doing their job - particularly if the person doing their job isn’t allowed to defend themself.

 

[Darstarr]

Good for you to defend that CM! I'd like to say I would do the same thing, but I'm also an extremely non-confrontational person (if I do get really agitated I will say something, but I usually end up just blabbering and not really being that effective)

Yes, kudos for sticking up for the CM. I’m with you - I’m a pretty relaxed person, but do NOT let me witness someone being rude like that to someone doing their job - particularly if the person doing their job isn’t allowed to defend themself.

Samesies!!^^^
Good job @akneeconnors !!!

 

[annienevells]

Good for you to defend that CM! I'd like to say I would do the same thing, but I'm also an extremely non-confrontational person (if I do get really agitated I will say something, but I usually end up just blabbering and not really being that effective)

Yes, kudos for sticking up for the CM. I’m with you - I’m a pretty relaxed person, but do NOT let me witness someone being rude like that to someone doing their job - particularly if the person doing their job isn’t allowed to defend themself.

Samesies!!^^^
Good job @akneeconnors !!!

Thank you all! I was trying not to sound humble braggy ( ) about defending her, but it made my skin crawl the way they were treating the CM and I couldn't STAND it

 

[NormC]

Hi neighbor, thanks for sharing your great trip!

 

[k8einwdw]

Once we were at the front of the line I asked the girl if she was okay, if she needed anything. She seemed appreciative of me backing her up and asking, but she was a pretty cool customer. I wrote a Cast Compliment after this detailing her professionalism and calm under pressure.

 

[annienevells]

Friday, January 31st, 2020 continued..

I have no photos from the time we left FoP until we were safely at Space Mountain. Why? We were participating in a mad dash. First we got a Lyft to MK from AK, then had to get the monorail over from the TTC, then get our After Hours wristbands and THEN squeeze through the pre fireworks crowds to get into Tomorrowland.

WE WERE SWEATING OUR BEHINDS OFF

But soon we were looking at each other like: it's go time! After Hours on this night were from 8 PM - 11 PM. I had wanted to start with 7DMT as Ian has never been on, but since Tomorrowland was our only way through the crowds, we started here:

Until.. we were waiting 15 minutes and all of sudden were instructed to completely clear out of the line. OH NO. I felt like time was so wasted. I will admit I was feeling a little flustered and frustrated. I knew that our MK day later in the trip would be Jaxon focused, so I wanted to accomplish ALL THE THINGS with Ian on this night.

After we exited the line, we made way for Mine Train... until Ian sheepishly told me he really really needed the men's room

I took a deep breath, shooed him off, and grabbed my first included treat of the night

Okay. Much better. He returned, I gave him the ice cream I grabbed for him, and we were on our way

I think we only waited about 15 minutes, and with many regular park guests still in line from prior to 8 PM, I did not see that as too bad of a wait.

Smiles back on our faces, we were off to more adventures!

Where were we headed to?

We walked right into the stretching room with a small group and the doors were quickly shut. We were on the move! Ian was extra excited to be riding on this trip after watching the Imagineering Story

(I thought of @Doc Disney when I took this )

@Tuvalu and @Loco_driver ... I can humbly say that we clearly did NOT "nail it" here!

We made our way out and on to our favorite, BTMR!

 

[Loco_driver]

HM is very difficult to “nail”. I still don’t really know where the camera is! Also to save some grief on future trips, we always take a Lyft to contemporary, and walk to MK. It saves the hassle of the monorail or boat. Although you may still sweat your behinds off!

 

[annienevells]

Friday, January 31st, 2020 continued..

But FIRST we needed a snack

This picture was taken for and sent to my dad. He is a HUGE popcorn lover. I think he eats it every day

We had a moment of silence passing Splash Mountain. Splash is easily Ian's favorite. He loves everything about it. He sings the music to me randomly at home. He was pretty seriously bummed about being at WDW during refurbishment, but I knew what would cheer him up

The wildest ride in the wilderness!!

We had an awesome ride (we love riding in the dark), so we said well, while we are here, let's get in another round!!

Round two!

Satisfied that we were able to have a second go around, we made our way for a different kind of adventure. Perhaps of the swashbuckling variety?

Guy in the pink hat... yelling or yawning? LOL

And then there's me

Moving on..

I had finally slowed my brain down to enjoy being in my favorite place with my favorite person. I was a happy gal.

Where were we off to next?

Let's hope for better luck!

To be continued...

 

[Back!Elbow!Shoulders!]

When we exited our safari and made our way to find the stroller, she told me that the mom of the 7 children DROPPED HER BABY ON THE GROUND EVERY TIME WE HIT A BUMP OR TURNED A CORNER. I heard the crying and assumed the little one was just tired or hungry but no.. 4-5 HARD falls to the floor of the vehicle.

How does this lady have 7 babies and I have zero? I promise I would only drop mine like one time max.

 

[annienevells]

View attachment 454375

How does this lady have 7 babies and I have zero? I promise I would only drop mine like one time max.

my EXACT feels at that very moment (all while traveling with a pregnant sister in law who complained about all the things she couldn't do when I would DIE to be in her shoes )

 

[k8einwdw]

View attachment 454375

How does this lady have 7 babies and I have zero? I promise I would only drop mine like one time max.

my EXACT feels at that very moment (all while traveling with a pregnant sister in law who complained about all the things she couldn't do when I would DIE to be in her shoes )