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.
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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!😜
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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.
 

MickeyCB

Well-Known Member
I grabbed the cans & ran out into the parking lot to see if I could find her b/c I was going to let her have it. She was already gone which was probably a good thing b/c I felt like hitting her in the head with the cans. Who do people think they are??
I can just see it now in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
"Normally calm grocery boss lady whacks customer over the head with a can of boiled peanuts". Oh wait, wrong trip report!
Sorry @DisneyGigi and @Loco_driver!
 

Loco_driver

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
We had to take advantage of the picture perfect weather yesterday. The mountain was shockingly empty. We saw no bears, but there were plenty of signs that they were around. I also failed once more to find the Sasquatch that reportedly has been spotted on this mountain recently (I’m beginning to suspect it doesn’t exist). This will likely be our last trip up the mountain until fall. The summer heat and bugs will be arriving any day now.
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Our faithful pooch always clears the trail of vermin for us
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“Earthquake Ridge” sounds intense, but it really isn’t too bad. Doing the trail on a mountain bike would be extremely difficult though!
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Gotta make sure and drink plenty of water. We were on the dry side of the mountain in the morning.
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Possible sasquatch sighting!
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An old reservoir once used for the original lodge that sat on top of the mountain.
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These hills are ancient. Once thought to be higher than the rockies, billions of years of erosion have left them at a mere 2700 feet.
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Another successful day of social distancing. We literally passed no people on the trails today. I guess everyone was going to get a haircut? Beauty salons were allowed to reopen on Friday.



Also happy Mother’s Day to all the moms out there, I hope you all have a great day!
 
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Swissmiss

Premium Member
I am always so impressed that you keep your dog on a leash. Sooooo many people here don’t (even though it is a law) and sometimes as a runner it is dangerous/annoying. I am not afraid of dogs in the least, but unless they are watched and well trained, there have been numerous times when I’ve needed to veer at the last second because the dog starts sniffing something on the ground and just keeps going forward into my path (happened this morning). On an empty path this is not a big problem, but when I am down by the lake and there are kids, bicycles, scooters, other runners (you get the picture). And this morning you could really tell that people have decided that, since some businesses opened up 2 weeks ago and everything else plus schools will open tomorrow that they won’t stay home any longer. I had 6-7 weeks of amazing running with no one around and no traffic to wait for and now it’s “business as usual”.
 

Loco_driver

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I am always so impressed that you keep your dog on a leash. Sooooo many people here don’t (even though it is a law) and sometimes as a runner it is dangerous/annoying. I am not afraid of dogs in the least, but unless they are watched and well trained, there have been numerous times when I’ve needed to veer at the last second because the dog starts sniffing something on the ground and just keeps going forward into my path (happened this morning). On an empty path this is not a big problem, but when I am down by the lake and there are kids, bicycles, scooters, other runners (you get the picture). And this morning you could really tell that people have decided that, since some businesses opened up 2 weeks ago and everything else plus schools will open tomorrow that they won’t stay home any longer. I had 6-7 weeks of amazing running with no one around and no traffic to wait for and now it’s “business as usual”.
It is required on most trails in the Ouachita National Forest that dogs be kept on a leash. We would do so anyways, as we’re scared she will run off chasing something and get lost. Those mountains are extremely rugged and isolated. It’s not unusual for hikers (and dogs)to get lost for several days in certain parts. Pickle is also super friendly around other dogs and children, and will try desperately to get to them. Keeping her on a leash helps prevent unwanted interactions with other people or dogs who may perceive her friendliness as aggressiveness.
 

MinnieM123

Premium Member
It is required on most trails in the Ouachita National Forest that dogs be kept on a leash. We would do so anyways, as we’re scared she will run off chasing something and get lost. Those mountains are extremely rugged and isolated. It’s not unusual for hikers (and dogs)to get lost for several days in certain parts. Pickle is also super friendly around other dogs and children, and will try desperately to get to them. Keeping her on a leash helps prevent unwanted interactions with other people or dogs who may perceive her friendliness as aggressiveness.

Your dog is so cute!!! :joyfull:

Those are some nice trails by the way. My dog is always on a leash. It's just courtesy for those people you pass by.
 

Loco_driver

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
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Loco_driver

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Back to the vault we go.

Monday March 11.

The final day of our whirlwind trip. We woke up early. We were exhausted, but there’s no time to be tired when you’re in the world! We dropped our luggage off at bell services and ordered a Minnie van to MK. Despite our best efforts, we were really dragging Alien Swirling Saucers that morning. I’m sure the celebrations from the night before had NOTHING to do with it. 😉

It was another gorgeous day. We stopped for some pictures with Roy and Minnie.
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The good ol’ days. Just look at all those people!

Our first FP was for Space mountain. C and M hadn’t made it to the park yet, so we headed over to Tomorrowland to wait on them. Crowds were already starting to get pretty heavy just an hour into the day. They told us to go ahead and do SM without them; they were stuck in line at the turnstiles.
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This was the end of the FP line. It wasn’t as bad as it looks, there was just one party holding up the line. Once they were gone it moved quickly. A and I got sat in different cars, so we ended up with two photos.
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A was still half asleep.

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My phone was trying to escape!

C and M had made into the park and were in about to get on SM, so we waited for them at the exit. Our next FP window for Big Thunder was open, so we headed that way. We stopped for a few pics along the way.
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We did BTMRR and had a FP for haunted Mansion, but it was down. We decided to do Pirates instead.
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Someone on our boat was quite stinky. The two in front of us were too excited to care. I suspect one of them was the guilty party.

We stopped for lunch at Pecos Bills. I made us some FPs for buzz after lunch.
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I’m sure I was once again soundly defeated. Judging by A’s face, it may have at least been close this time!


We were running a little short on time by now. I don’t have many picture from that afternoon, but I remember doing teacups, Pooh, and mermaid in pretty rapid succession. I will finish this trip up in the next post.
 

Loco_driver

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Monday March 11, 2019.

Pretty soon it was time for A and I to head back to the hotel for the TE. We made our way to the front of the park, stopping for some castle pictures.
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It was great to spend the day with our dear friends at one of our favorite places. We said our goodbyes and headed for the bus stop.

We made it to CSR and went to retrieve our bags. Chalmer, the man who helped us immensely a few nights prior was working and assisted us again. I was glad that he was working at the time because I had forgotten to tip him the night he helped us. I thanked him once again, and he wished us safe travels. The tragical arrived right on time to take us to MCO. Things went smoothly at the airport, and we took off on time.
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Even though we knew wed be back soon, it was still sad to leave!

That wraps it up for that trip! It was short but great. This was our first quick trip, and we were pleased with how much we were able to get done in just a few days. We were also obviously glad to be the for our friends’ big moment as well. I will probably start on our September 2016 trip later today.



 

Loco_driver

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Trip #2

When:
September 10-18, 2016

Where: A few nights off property while visiting Universal. 5 nights at Wilderness Lodge

Who: A much younger, more handsome Loco_driver, and my wife A.
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Pickle the Jack Russell would not be making the trip.

Why: It was our birthdays! A and I have birthdays a week apart, so we decided to celebrate at our favorite place!

It’s been quite a while since this trip so details are a little fuzzy(or nonexistent), but I’ll do my best to remember details of the trip.

Arrival Day:

We drove down this trip. We actually left the evening of Friday the 9th and drove to Mobile, AL for the night before finishing the trip the next day. I have no travel photos, since much of it was at night or early in the morning, and there wasn’t much interesting to see anyways. We arrived at our hotel near the newly minted Disney Springs in the early afternoon. We unloaded and headed to the springs to check it out.

I was confused by the layout of Disney Springs, but I always enjoy the lego displays
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We got free cupcakes at sprinkles for our birthdays.
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They were good, but didn’t really live up to the hype. No big deal since they were free though!

Crowds were pretty crazy with it being a Saturday night. We decided to go to the bus stop and get on the first resort bus that showed up. We would have dinner at whatever resort we ended up at. Coronado Springs was the winner!

We had some nachos from the Pepper Market.
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We strolled the grounds of CSR after dinner before heading back to the springs and eventually our hotel.

Coming up: A few days at Universal
 
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Loco_driver

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Forgot about this guy from Disney Springs!
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An old holdout from downtown Disney.

Sunday September 11, 2016

This was A’s birthday. Since she’s a big Harry Potter fan we of course spent it at Universal!

We were staying at a hotel in the crossroads area. I think it was a comfort suites, but I don’t think it goes by that name anymore.
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The view was none too spectacular, but it was less than 90 bucks a night so its hard to complain. It was still nice to have a balcony for A to have her coffee on.

I ended up getting a great deal through my works discount program. We had two day tickets with park to park and express pass unlimited for the price of a standard one day ticket. Our first stop was Hogwarts of course.
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Forbidden journey had just been added to the list of express pass attractions. We spent a good part of the morning repeating it. This was my favorite attraction in Orlando until rise of the resistance opened!


We took the Hogwarts Express over to Diagon Alley for lunch.
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Lunch at the Leaky Cauldron
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We both had fish and chips. They were satisfactory.

A had butterbeer.
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I had fishy green ale.
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It was different.
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We ran into some of the simpsons
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Ah yes so young and fit! Also where’s Homer?

Doc Brown
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Doc Brown was really hilarious! Back to the future was my absolute favorite movie growing up. I was devastated when they replaced the attraction with the Simpsons.
 
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