Trip Report Volunteering by Day, Park Hopping by Night! - January 2018 **COMPLETED**

Hi, forum friends! I have been back home for about a week . Finally got my photos edited, and both @Doc Disney and @prfctlyximprct are ahead of me, so I better get started.

Here's a breakdown of the trip...

Who? Me and my friend L, who was with me on my friends trip two years ago.
Where? All-Star Movies. We spent no time at the resort, so I don't regret this, but...well you'll see.
When? January 19-23
Why? To volunteer at Give Kids the World. We did two shifts in the morning, and headed to the parks early afternoon.

Here we are


Ok, so I'll get us started in the next post. Here we gooooooooo......

 

[fractal]

Left off at BTMR.

We headed to Adventureland next. I had my mind set on a certain snack, and based on my outfit, I bet you can guess what it was.



See that guy in my photo? He's a photopass photographer and he said to me "Can you hold that up and take a picture again? I want to take a really interesting photo for you"



Haha! I think I like mine better, but he was nice and his creativity was fun! If I ever want to convince people I have giant hands, I have photographic evidence.


L enjoying her swirl in my Orange Bird shirt design.


Me enjoying my swirl float in my Citrus Swirl shirt design.

I LOVED the float!! I'd been wanting to try one, and now I'm obsessed. I think I'll definitely be getting that from now on. The juice really adds a lot.

Our next FP was for Peter Pan, but we had some time, so we were meandering.

As we were leaving Adventureland, I spotted someone I recognized from Instagram, Ignite the Magic Clothing. She's hard to miss with her purple hair (which I'm super jealous of...I tried to color my blonde streaks purple and the dye I used didn't take at all.)



They were getting ready to do a photoshoot with some of Stacy and Ricky's designs (@ignitethemagicclothing). That's Mary Grace (@mgrivero) on the left, who modeled for them along with another girl who wasn't there yet. I gave them a couple of pins and a sticker, that's what they're holding up.



We actually talked to them for a while! Probably close to a half hour. They were all so nice and when Disney people get to talking, you just can't stop us! I swear, all the instagram friends I've run into IRL, we just talk and talk...no awkwardness at all. Thankfully L is social, so she had no problem making new friends!




So much fun! I love running into people in the parks.

We said our goodbyes (honestly that was the most awkward part...like we're having a good time, I hate to run, but we gotta fly with Peter!)


SUUUUPER grainy photo, but I took it so I'd remember that we did the ride. It's not one I care to do usually, but L loves it, so I knew she would appreciate getting the FP for it.

It was now time for us to depart MK, but we stopped for a photo or two.




We got the Tinkerbell magic shot, but Tink was on my face instead of in our hands . I remember the photo pass photographer saying "You look like you want to eat it!" when we posed for that shot where you're looking down at your hands surprised and they put Tink in there. L said "Well we're going to dinner, so we're hungry!" He chuckled at us.

We walked through the shops a little before heading to the monorail. We shouldn't have dilly dallied! I forgot the monorail was actually kind of slow, and we had somewhere to be in 20 minutes.

Ok, I'm going to have to stop now and go back to work. Up next, a PLANNED Disney friend meet-up!

Yeah, your pic was much better! Nice camera by the way.

Very cool to run into "cyber" friends!

 

[Songbird76]

I seeeeeee you!
Was the jerk teenager running at you on purpose? I mean, he had to have seen you there...did he just assume you would move so he wouldn't have to adjust his course? It makes no sense!!

 

[LisaBelle]

I’m late but I’m following. Love your Orange Bird bag! Super cute. I love seeing the pictures of your volunteer shifts. I will have to look into volunteering on a future trip. Looking forward to seeing your pics of the meet up!!

 

[Swissmiss]

What a fantastic idea to combine volunteering with vacation. I'm going to look into it and future trip. Thanks for sharing

 

[prfctlyximprct]

I love your bag!!!!!!!!! And the float to match

Your picture was definitely better, but I do like his as well! He caught the nitty gritty behind the scenes. LOL

And now I must go follow more people on instagram

 

[blreinsel]

Of course you would leave off right before the best part. Waiting patiently...

 

[JamieLee18]

To volunteer at Give Kids the World.

What a great idea! I might have to plan a special trip

Salted. Caramel. Stuffed. Pretzel.

 

[sheriffwoody]

I seeeeeee you!
Was the jerk teenager running at you on purpose? I mean, he had to have seen you there...did he just assume you would move so he wouldn't have to adjust his course? It makes no sense!!

He was weaving around people, so he nearly knocked over a bunch of us! He was moving so fast, he was barely clearing people as he went by. It was stupid.

I’m late but I’m following. Love your Orange Bird bag! Super cute. I love seeing the pictures of your volunteer shifts. I will have to look into volunteering on a future trip. Looking forward to seeing your pics of the meet up!!

Thanks for joining in! I hope you get to volunteer...it was great!

What a fantastic idea to combine volunteering with vacation. I'm going to look into it and future trip. Thanks for sharing

You will love it! Thanks for reading.

I love your bag!!!!!!!!! And the float to match

Your picture was definitely better, but I do like his as well! He caught the nitty gritty behind the scenes. LOL

And now I must go follow more people on instagram

Thank you!!! I love that float...mmm I'm craving one now.

Of course you would leave off right before the best part. Waiting patiently...

HA! Sorry...I was super lazy on Saturday and out of town Sunday...promise I'll try to update today or tomorrow!

What a great idea! I might have to plan a special trip

You would love it! I enjoyed having a trip dedicated mostly to volunteering. Made it super special!

 

[sheriffwoody]

Ok, so when we left off, L and I were on the monorail...the very slow monorail. It took us the full 20 minutes to get all the way around, so we arrived right at our reservation time, where @Doc Disney and her mom were already waiting. Oops! I can't remember if @blgauger has posted about this yet, but she somehow thought we were going to Chef Mickey's, so she went there first . Thankfully it didn't take long at all for her to make it over to the Grand for our dinner at 1900 Park Fare.



I had hoped @prfctlyximprct and her friend could join us, but we realized early on in the planning that there wasn't time. They really had a whirlwind of a trip and a long character meal didn't fit in.

But me, Megan and Brittany were all able to make it...yay! I got to see them both back in August, and I was super excited to hang out with them again.

We got checked in and I was immediately fearful that this restaurant choice had been a bad idea. There were kids running around hollering all over the place. That little foyer area was a nuthouse. The dining area looked a little nutty too, so I was worried.

Thankfully the hostess led us to a table in the very back corner. Whew...crisis averted.

Prince Charming was already close, so we met him first (before we got food if I remember right). A very nice lady next to us offered to take the photo for us. We used my camera for this one, but the rest are on Megan's camera, so you'll have to read her trip report to see them I'll drop them in here eventually.




Charming was ok...I didn't know what to say to him. He didn't linger too long thankfully. I was hungry! We all went to the buffet, and I didn't take a picture until my last plate. I was too caught up in the excitement!

I tried a little of almost everything and really enjoyed the meal! The cold salads were my favorite. The only one I didn't like was the kale one. I also really enjoyed the Mongolian beef. I was really impressed with the food to be honest. I didn't expect so much variety!



My last plate...the few things I hadn't tried, including the strawberry soup! We thought it was missing, but thankfully Brittany spotted it toward the end of the meal. I put the gummy bears in on Megan's suggestion, and it was yummy! That was my only dessert, if you can believe it.

So I mentioned the lady next to us. She was there on a solo trip. Her husband gifted her the trip for her birthday, because she wanted to experience Disney without being on her son's schedule. She was so joyful and having such a great time. Her enthusiasm really rubbed off on all of us! She said she's a part time travel planner and an active user of another Disney forum, so she definitely loved Disney as much as all of us. Before she headed out, she took a selfie with us and texted it to me. She was so fun! She later told me that she was starting to feel lonely and meeting us perked her up

We didn't stay too much longer because we had a park to get to! We did stop for a photo with Cindy's glass slipper.




I am so glad we did this character meal! The stepsisters were definitely the highlight. Anastasia was a HOOT. I would probably do this again in the future with kids. I can't see my husband enjoying it though

Up Next: More WDW Magic fun!

 

[LeighM]

I stopped getting alerts on some of the trip reports so I've gotten behind Love seeing pictures of your meet up. Looks like so much fun. I wish I had more real life friends who loved Disney as much as I do. Most don't get it at all.

 

[The Grays]

HI, Love hearing about GKTW. My daughter is a cancer survivor and when she made her wish she wanted a white horse so that was her wish from MAW. We would love to see about volunteering at GKTW. How do you find out how to be a volunteer?

 

[prfctlyximprct]

Looking at your dinner photos makes me so happy yet so sad! I wish I could of joined you but I couldn’t convince my friend to do two characters meals in a day! What kind of world does she want me to live in?!

Maybe we can photoshop me in LOL

Lovely meet up, y’all look so beautiful and HAPPY!!!

 

[susan lees]

Really enjoying your TR

 

[Mander]

I always love your pictures! I actually though of your past reports when I was taking pictures of FoF and the Royal Friendship Fair with my new camera I have no idea how to use.

 

[sheriffwoody]

I stopped getting alerts on some of the trip reports so I've gotten behind Love seeing pictures of your meet up. Looks like so much fun. I wish I had more real life friends who loved Disney as much as I do. Most don't get it at all.

I wish I had more too! L is pretty much the only one. Luckily my husband is more than happy to go with me most of the time

HI, Love hearing about GKTW. My daughter is a cancer survivor and when she made her wish she wanted a white horse so that was her wish from MAW. We would love to see about volunteering at GKTW. How do you find out how to be a volunteer?

I think you and your daughter would love it! So glad to hear she is a survivor They have info on their website about volunteering. It was super easy to sign up!

Looking at your dinner photos makes me so happy yet so sad! I wish I could of joined you but I couldn’t convince my friend to do two characters meals in a day! What kind of world does she want me to live in?!

Maybe we can photoshop me in LOL

Lovely meet up, y’all look so beautiful and HAPPY!!!

Oh she would have loved it!!! Cindy would be the only repeat, PLUS, she would have gotten to meet a prince. But it's ok, y'all had a great time at MK. I am just glad we got to meet up for HEA.

Really enjoying your TR

Thank you!!

I always love your pictures! I actually though of your past reports when I was taking pictures of FoF and the Royal Friendship Fair with my new camera I have no idea how to use.

Aww thanks! Keep practicing, you'll get there. It takes a lot of time

 

[sheriffwoody]

Me, @Doc Disney and @blgauger took the short monorail ride over to MK. I don't think it took long to get over there, but I'm already forgetting details



We just had a little bit of time before HEA, maybe 15 minutes? Me and Megan had been texting with @prfctlyximprct about where to meet. She (of course!) wanted to meet at the Native American on Main Street, so that's where we headed. We got a couple of frantic texts that she and her friend were stuck trying to get there from Tomorrowland, but we thought surely the CMs would let them through somewhere.

Thankfully, they made it just in time!

I'll be honest, I really wanted to put Nicole up on my shoulders so she could have the best seat in the house. Our spot was ok, but it was pretty crowded, and there's so much to look at!

I took a few photos, but tried to keep it to a minimum because I had to lift my camera up to get a decent shot.







I turned around immediately after the show and could tell Nicole's mind was going...she was trying to figure out how she felt about it



If you're reading her trip report, you know she loved HEA, but she didn't feel the heart-tug like with Wishes.

I was glad she at least wasn't disgusted by it.

We stood around and chatted for a few minutes, but soon we parted ways so they could enjoy the rest of their limited time in Magic Kingdom. Thankfully there were still a few hours of park time left! It was SO FUN to finally meet Nicole. I feel like I've known her for years because of these boards!

 

[amjt660]

Great meet up!!

Max

 

[sheriffwoody]

Megan and her mom had FPs for Pirates, and I figured we could walk that way too and ride. We swam upstream for a little bit and almost got run over by several strollers and scooters. So fun! The crowd was pretty heavy all the way until we got to Pirates where we said goodbye to Megan and Mary. We didn't couldn't even say a proper goodbye because there were a billion people! Thankfully, I'm sure we'll meet again. I mean we met up twice within a year already!

So me, L and Brittany got in line for Pirates. I think it was about 30 minutes? @blgauger, does that sound right? It went by fast because we were chatting. The ride was fun as usual! I got silly for the ride photo



I had made FPs for Buzz earlier, so we headed toward Tomorrowland. Since the Peoplemover had a line earlier, we wanted to ride that too. Brittany rode with us, then we parted ways I love hanging out with my WDWMagic friends! So hard to say goodbye...

Me and L got on Buzz next, where I did NOT get galactic hero and I failed at getting my Orange Bird bag up for the photo Fail!



In line for Buzz, I made a FP for Haunted Mansion, but it was going to be a while. We headed over toward Fantasyland because I thought maybe we could catch Philharmagic before our FP. L had never seen that show!!!

We came across this lovely photo-op





Love this side of the castle!

We did Philharmagic and L loved it (except for the water spraying, which actually didn't work in my seat). It is one of my favorite shows!

We also stood in the long line for this photo-op since we had time and my husband never wants to do this with me.





The photographer told us to look at each other, which we thought was awkward...so we made weird faces

It was finally time for Haunted Mansion! I think L just wanted to get in the regular line earlier since it wasn't that long, but I made us wait until the FP because I'm weird.






We stopped in the library and the staircases, that's why I took pictures there.

After HM, it was close to midnight and we were BEAT, so we made our way out.




Got some nighttime castle shots



L thought that one was awkward too

At this point, I didn't have plans to return to MK this trip, so I was a little sad to leave. My plans ended up changing, because I am a Magic Kingdom girl at heart!

I don't remember if we had to wait for the bus... so we must not have. I always remember long waits I have GOT to keep notes next time.

Up next - Day 2 at Give Kids the World!

 

[Dave Z]

WOW, we are just catching up on your trip report, great photos.

 

[prfctlyximprct]

I sure do look like I loved Happily Ever After! Ha!

Our meet up was too short but I have faith the Disney Gods will bring us all together again in one way or another Wdwmagic trip I’m plotting

Loved your orange bird photo bomb on pirates! You must know exactly where that camera is!

AND THOSE LANTERN PICS! I’m so sad I forgot about this photo op this really is such a cool photopass picture! Maybe next trip I’ll remember

Lastly, I’m glad your haunted mansion ride was delayed, your pictures make me feel like I’m there in my doom buggy.