Trip Report Tales From the Two Goofs Vault

Greetings again my friends. During my large amount of available free time, I have been working to digitally backup some of our old photos, as well as track down and backup any digital files as well. So far I have come across 3 Disney trips that I haven’t shared on these boards before. One from March 2019, one from September 2016, and another from June 2015. I will be doing these TRs from newest to oldest. Please note that I have no notes on our activities, so the pictures will likely not be in perfect order. I will try and provide commentary on things I do remember. So let’s get started!

Trip 1.

When: March 8-11, 2019

Who: Myself and A as always, plus our closest friends C and M.
CEB0ECA0-23DE-4218-85D4-43C6422C5055.jpeg


Where: POFQ for just one night, and Coronado Springs(more on why we did a split stay on such a short trip later).

Why: A top secret mission to photograph and celebrate C and M’s engagement.

A little background on how this trip happened.

C is one of A’s oldest and closest friends, he is the closest thing she has to a brother, and she does refer to him as her brother. He had been dating M for about a year at this point, and we all knew she was perfect for him. He’d decided to pop the question on their spring break trip to Disney. For months he had been asking A and I to come down with them to take pictures of the big event, and to celebrate with them(or console him if she said no!). It didn’t look like we would both be able to make the trip though. I finally agreed to at least get A a plane ticket and she was going to go alone for just the weekend and return.

Well as fate would have it, right at the 60 day mark I was finally able to secure the 4 days off needed to take the trip. Unfortunately there was extremely limited availability at the resorts. The only resort with full availability for the weekend was grand Floridian, which was at a non discount rate. We finally found 2 nights at Coronado, and one night at French quarter. We also purchased APs because we had already planned on being at WDW for several day’s in the summer, so it ended up being less to get the AP rather than buying separate tickets for each trip. I was also able to get the AP spring discount applied to our reservations.

With all of that business out of the way, we were able to make FP reservations right at 60 days! C wanted it to be a surprise for M that we were going to be there. We went along with this plan, but boy was it hard not to spill the beans at our super bowl party that year!

Day 0/Night1:

While I was able to get Friday-Monday off, A had no such luck, and had to work a half day Friday. This meant taking a later flight than normal. We had a 7:15 flight out of Dallas Love Field. Our plan was to be at the airport around 5:30. 5:30 on a Friday driving through downtown Dallas, what could possibly go wrong?! Fortunately while traffic was pretty heavy, and my phone told me to take the wrong exit one time, we still made it to the airport on time.

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Already a little tired before takeoff!

Our flight down went smoothly and a few hours later we landed in Orlando. Because of the time change, by the time we got down to DME it was approaching 11 pm. We were both more than ready to get to our room and get a few hours of sleep. Our bus only had a few parties on it. We stopped at riverside first, then French Quarter. Our room had been ready since lunch time of that day, so we went straight to our room. It was well after midnight when we made it to our room.

Apparently we knew that @Nunu would like some room photos at the time!😜
EF6BB993-7819-4C63-AE3F-6455B3D05674.jpeg

Another boring redesigned room.

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The beads were a nice touch!

We finally got showered and in bed just before 1 am.
 

Loco_driver

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Congratulations!! I wish you all the best!!
Thank you!
Woo hoo!!! :happy: Happy for you!! Congratulations.
Thanks my friend!


Woohoo! Congrats on your new job!!

Many thanks!
Congratulations!!! My soninlaw works for the State, and he has alot of time off, very flexible, and their benefits are fantastic. Glad you got this job, especially at this time.
Thank you! The benefits package was a pretty big selling point for sure!
 

Loco_driver

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Long, wordy post below!

So I’ll go into a little detail on how/why I have changed careers. My old job was as a locomotive engineer for a major US Railway (I was a LOCO(motive) driver @MickeyCB!).

There were many great things about this job, namely an incredible salary and very good health benefits. There were some major cons though. I worked on call 24/7/365 pretty much all the time unless I was lucky enough to be granted time off, which was never guaranteed unless it was my scheduled “big” vacation. I was basically tethered to my phone at all times, waiting on the call to go to work at any moment. I made a good living financially, but I constantly missed holidays, birthdays, family gatherings, etc. Which was a major bummer

The biggest issue with the job was the uncertainty. Uncertainty of when I was going to work, and worst of all uncertainty on weather or not I would have enough seniority to keep working at my home terminal. After six years, I was still constantly on thin ice at my home terminal. Our biggest product here is coal provided for a large power plant. I think we all know that coal-fired power plants are not long for this world(and I’m all for that!). Anyways, once the power plant inevitably shuts down, there’s no way I’ll ever be able to work this job near my home and family. The writing was on the wall that I’d either have to find new employment in the not too distant future, or make a major move to another location.

Enter COVID-19.


Obviously with the economic slow down due to the pandemic, I was laid off from my job. Thankfully with the added money from the CARES act, I was able to get by just fine on unemployment. This turned out to be a blessing in disguise. I was getting full nights’ rest, and eating right and on a consistent schedule. I was able to spend more time with A and do fun little outdoor excursions on weekends. I was able to see my nieces and nephews, and visit with my parents often. This all made me realize I had been far too busy the last 6 plus years just trying to chase money and sacrificing my health and well-being for a giant company that could care less what happened to me.


I got a call back in may from a friend and former coworker about an opening with TXDOT. He had started working there just before the pandemic took off, and was really enjoying it. I decided to give it a shot. As the months went by, I just assumed that I’d been passed over for the job. I finally got a call from the area manager requesting a job interview. We did our interview using zoom, which was a little awkward but the manager was really great and did her best to make it as “normal” as possible. The next day my friend called me and said his boss had been super impressed with me during the interview, and he was optimistic that she would select me for the job. Thankfully he was correct, and she called that afternoon to make an offer!


A and I are both super excited about this new chapter in our lives. As supportive as she’s always been, I know me being constantly gone for work was hard on her! The job doesn’t pay as much obviously, but I’ve always been pretty savvy with money. I have unloaded tons of debts using assets that I’d been saving for a rainy day, and it has paid off tremendously(by the way if you’re a homeowner, do yourself a favor and look at refi rates right now)! This new job comes with 12 vacation days and 12 personal days each year, a whole month nearly! That plus the killer retirement and free health insurance was an excellent selling point. I will be working Monday-Friday, something I haven’t done in a decade or more! I’m really looking forward to not having to constantly check my phone!

So with that long story out of the way, it looks like I may need a new user name on the boards! I’m thinking of just LOCO, as in crazy, something @Nunu feared I was before we met!
 
Last edited:

KellBelle

Well-Known Member
Long, wordy post below!

So I’ll go into a little detail on how/why I have changed careers. My old job was as a locomotive engineer for a major US Railway (I was a LOCO(motive) driver @MickeyCB!).

There were many great things about this job, namely an incredible salary and very good health benefits. There were some major cons though. I worked on call 24/7/365 pretty much all the time unless I was lucky enough to be granted time off, which was never guaranteed unless it was my scheduled “big” vacation. I was basically tethered to my phone at all times, waiting on the call to go to work at any moment. I made a good living financially, but I constantly missed holidays, birthdays, family gatherings, etc. Which was a major bummer

The biggest issue with the job was the uncertainty. Uncertainty of when I was going to work, and worst of all uncertainty on weather or not I would have enough seniority to keep working at my home terminal. After six years, I was still constantly on thin ice at my home terminal. Our biggest product here is coal provided for a large power plant. I think we all know that coal-fired power plants are not long for this world(and I’m all for that!). Anyways, once the power plant inevitably shuts down, there’s no way I’ll ever be able to work this job near my home and family. The writing was on the wall that I’d either have to find new employment in the not too distant future, or make a major move to another location.

Enter COVID-19.


Obviously with the economic slow down due to the pandemic, I was laid off from my job. Thankfully with the added money from the CARES act, I was able to get by just fine on unemployment. This turned out to be a blessing in disguise. I was getting full nights rest, eating right and on a consistent schedule. I was able to spend more time with A and do fun little outdoor excursions on weekends. I was able to see my nieces and nephews, and visit with my parents often. This all made me realize I had been far too busy the last 6 plus years just trying to chase money and sacrificing my health and well-being for a giant company that could care less what happened to me.


I got a call back in may from a friend and former coworker about an opening with TXDOT. He had started working there just before the pandemic took off, and was really enjoying it. I decided to give it a shot. As the months went by, I just assumed that I’d been passed over for the job. I finally got a call from the area manager requesting a job interview. We did our interview using zoom, which was a little awkward but the manager was really great and did her best to make it as “normal” as possible. The next day my friend called me and said his boss had been super impressed with me during the interview, and he was optimistic that she would select me for the job. Thankfully he was correct, and she called that afternoon to make an offer!


A and I are both super excited about this new chapter in our lives. As supportive as she’s always been, I know me being constantly gone for work was hard on her! The job doesn’t pay as much obviously, but I’ve always been pretty savvy with money. I have unloaded tons of debts using assets that I’d been saving for a rainy day, and it has paid off tremendously(by the way if you’re a homeowner, do yourself a favor and look at refi rates right now)! This new job comes with 12 vacation days and 12 personal days each year, a whole month nearly! That plus the killer retirement and free health insurance was an excellent selling point. I will be working Monday-Friday, something I haven’t done in a decade or more! I’m really looking forward to not having to constantly check my phone!

So with that long story out of the way, it looks like a may need a new user name on the boards! I’m thinking of just LOCO, as in crazy, something @Nunu feared I was before we met!


Your new opportunity sounds awesome! A few years back I also took a job that offered a little less pay, but A LOT more vacation time. My husband is retired military, so we do not take health insurance from our employers. There is something to be said about quality of life over money. I personally think you will be so happy with your choice!

A good friend of mine is a dispatcher for a major US railroad and man, that is one demanding job. Just based on what I know from him, the railroad takes a lot of dedication and sacrifice.

Oh, LOL I always though your name to imply a crazy driver lol, I never thought of loco as in train... duh!

Best of luck and congratulations to you!
 

Loco_driver

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Your new opportunity sounds awesome! A few years back I also took a job that offered a little less pay, but A LOT more vacation time. My husband is retired military, so we do not take health insurance from our employers. There is something to be said about quality of life over money. I personally think you will be so happy with your choice!

A good friend of mine is a dispatcher for a major US railroad and man, that is one demanding job. Just based on what I know from him, the railroad takes a lot of dedication and sacrifice.

Oh, LOL I always though your name to imply a crazy driver lol, I never thought of loco as in train... duh!

Best of luck and congratulations to you!
Thanks! I think it’ll be a really nice change for us. The railroad paid well, but they want you to dedicate your entire life to them and only them. Dispatchers are in a similar situation, especially when they’re new and have to work as an extra. I had a good friend who transferred to dispatch and he says it’s very stressful while working, but easier to predict when you’ll get called. I actually really loved the actual work of being an engineer and moving freight. But the demands of the company(which get more outrageous every year) made it not worth it.

How funny, because I always thought it was loco as in train (and I was right 😉)
To be fair, I intended for it to be a little of both. Also if you look right at the middle of the name it kinda makes a face!
 

Songbird76

Well-Known Member
Life update.

I hope you all are continuing to stay safe and healthy. I know many of us have been going through lots of changes both from the pandemic, and from just regular life changes. I’ve been sitting on some news for a while now that I can finally share. No we’re not having a baby. I got a new job! I start a new job next week with the state dept of transportation as a materials inspector in the engineering department! Short term this means we sadly won’t be taking our trips to WDW in September or December as originally planned. The good news is that I’ll have much more time off for future trips! Most likely starting sometime next spring! The job also offers much better work/life balance, something I’ve been missing for years with my old job.

Congratulations on the new job!! That's fantastic news! And more time off for trips is always good!
 

Loco_driver

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Ahhh I get it now!!
Congratulations on your new job! So exciting!
Congratulations on the new job!
Congratulations on the new job!! That's fantastic news! And more time off for trips is always good!
Congratulations @Loco_driver ! That's fantastic news!
Thank you all so much! It’s been a crazy first week! I’m the first person hired here since Covid started, and were just kind of winging it on my training/onboarding, but there’s a great group of people here. It’s also been interesting to get an inside look at how the state prepares for a hurricane. My department isn’t directly involved in the process, but we still sit in on the briefings. Please keep the people of East Texas and west Louisiana in your thoughts and prayers. We’re all in for a long next few days as this major hurricane approaches. Our area won’t see the worst as we’re further north, but Laura is still expected to be a category one hurricane when she reaches us, and will likely cause a major flooding event and leave quite a bit of damage.
 

MickeyCB

Well-Known Member
Please keep the people of East Texas and west Louisiana in your thoughts and prayers. We’re all in for a long next few days as this major hurricane approaches. Our area won’t see the worst as we’re further north, but Laura is still expected to be a category one hurricane when she reaches us, and will likely cause a major flooding event and leave quite a bit of damage.
Hoping everyone stays safe!
 

pkkurz

Well-Known Member
Thank you all so much! It’s been a crazy first week! I’m the first person hired here since Covid started, and were just kind of winging it on my training/onboarding, but there’s a great group of people here. It’s also been interesting to get an inside look at how the state prepares for a hurricane. My department isn’t directly involved in the process, but we still sit in on the briefings. Please keep the people of East Texas and west Louisiana in your thoughts and prayers. We’re all in for a long next few days as this major hurricane approaches. Our area won’t see the worst as we’re further north, but Laura is still expected to be a category one hurricane when she reaches us, and will likely cause a major flooding event and leave quite a bit of damage.
Prayers, Be safe!
 

Songbird76

Well-Known Member
Thank you all so much! It’s been a crazy first week! I’m the first person hired here since Covid started, and were just kind of winging it on my training/onboarding, but there’s a great group of people here. It’s also been interesting to get an inside look at how the state prepares for a hurricane. My department isn’t directly involved in the process, but we still sit in on the briefings. Please keep the people of East Texas and west Louisiana in your thoughts and prayers. We’re all in for a long next few days as this major hurricane approaches. Our area won’t see the worst as we’re further north, but Laura is still expected to be a category one hurricane when she reaches us, and will likely cause a major flooding event and leave quite a bit of damage.
They said on the news here that Laura is a Cat 4 already and has reached land. I hope everyone there is safe!! It sounds like it's going to be a nasty one!!
 

Loco_driver

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Hoping everyone stays safe!
Stay safe!
Prayers, Be safe!
They said on the news here that Laura is a Cat 4 already and has reached land. I hope everyone there is safe!! It sounds like it's going to be a nasty one!!
You were the first person I thought of when they said Laura was heading to Texas. Be safe!
Thanks everyone. We were spared most of it as it shifted a little to the east. Hoping everyone in Louisiana is ok. My family and friends from Louisiana have all checked in and are safe, which is great news.
 

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