ShellieMay, Slinky Dog, and the SCRUNCHIEST Thanksgiving Ever! - A Nov 18 TR *FINISHED! 4/28*

[missangelalexis]

What an absolutely amazing moment with Bea Star! I loved reading about it!!

Nice that you could meet up with family at DHS- love the group photo in TSL!

Yay for an unexpected meet with Snow & Dopey!

 

[Newsies]

That story about your fantastic CM encounter was just beautiful to read about. Great advice too! What a fantastic way to end your last day at MK


I LOVE this! I'm very jealous you were able to get a picture of Snow White and Dopey together!


This looks delicious!

I also really enjoy the Wave. It is a very underrated restaurant on property. I have done their breakfast and lunch while there, but this picture makes me want to try dinner in the near future!

Thank you so much-- it has become such a cherished memory!

I had been dying to meet the two of them together, they had the best chemistry as a M&G!

It was so good!

We have the opposite situation-- we've only done dinner at The Wave, but we're excited to try breakfast there this summer! Dinner is great, but it's nowhere near as accredited as breakfast!

I love reading that story of your little stroll with Miss Bea. Loved it when you posted it on Insta and loved it texting with you because I was emo about it and had to tell you. What a truly magical way to end your trip. Like I'm jealous.

How fun to meet up with your extended family and get all those cute group shots together then ride Slinky Dog! Precious.

Awww, y'all look so adorable with Dopey and Snow! FantMeet for the win!

The Wave looks and sounds so delicious. Too bad Grace wasn't feeling well enough to enjoy this one, but I'm glad y'all had a good experience in her absence.

Omg I remember texting you about this on the car ride home!! And we threw shade at OTHER less-important citizens... love that for us. I love and miss you.

'Twas a tres adorable moment for the fam!

We STAN FantMeet in this house.

Wave is great, but like you said, we were missing 1/4 of our party for our last dinner on property. It's okay, though, because she ended up fine and was sound asleep when we got home.

Absolutely adored that story with Bea! What a lovely way to round out your trip.

Awww I'm so sad that your TR is coming to an end! It's been so fun to read about your trip!

Thank you so much! It has become such a beloved memory already!

All good things must come to an end But the end of a story is just the beginning of the next one!! Thank you for following along-- I love reading your TRs!!

What an absolutely amazing moment with Bea Star! I loved reading about it!!

Nice that you could meet up with family at DHS- love the group photo in TSL!

Yay for an unexpected meet with Snow & Dopey!

It was such a precious moment!

We've been dying to meet up as a family for so long! My dad's side of the family was the one that really got us all "hooked" on Disney, so we've been trying to coordinate a vacation for a few years. They were in town for a wedding, so they made a pit stop at the parks for a few days while we were there!

Yay!! We LOVE unexpected pixie dust!

 

[cinderaimee]

What a special moment with Bea!

 

[Cloe Colton]

I just love those special CM interactions! Its truly what makes Disney special! I can't even imagine being a CM and being able to make magic for guests all the time! (I would probably get fired for spreading TOO much pixie dust! )

 

[dolewhipdreams]

I stopped at both Cap'n Cooks and Kona Island for a really nutricious breakfast: iced coffee and a rice krispie treat

Honestly at Disney that's actually pretty good.

so I took the opportunity to get pictures taken on Main St.

CUTE. And I love the ears.

I had to get the scoop on how her Thanksgiving day dinner went

Oh wow I didn't know until right now how desperately I want to eat Thanksgiving dinner cooked by Tiana.

First I met Cindy, who had some type of secret to share with me.

Your secret-sharing face is everything.

This CM honestly helped me survive my college program, and I was thrilled to see he was promoted to a coordinator for the area-- I think he should be a manager. He let me go through the ride, and then I came back out and gave him another big bear hug before leaving him. It was genuinely one of the best moments from the trip

So sweet!

She asked me if I found my ears on "Fairy Godmother Etsy."

Wow but like yeah if any Disney character had an Etsy, Fairy Godmother would be it.

So she walks me into Uptown Jewelers and for about two minutes, we're just slowly walking through the store, and she's quietly pointing out all of her favorite decorations. It was one of the most tender moments I've ever experienced in a Disney Park in my entire life. I'm wiping tiny tears away as we amble through the store and I snap this picture of her favorite garland

Ohhhh so wonderful!

"That's a great attitude to have! I know you'll find the right person because you have so much love to give. Know how I know that? Because you wear your heart on your sleeve, I could tell because you were gettin' all misty-eyed when I asked you what you were thoughtful for. But here's my advice to you-- don't just look for the right person. Be the right person. Let's say you're courtin' someone and they like to go... water skiing! Give it a shot! You might like it, and you might like them even better!"

I genuinely could not have made that dialogue up if I wanted to. It was just such an unexpected and sweet moment, I loved it so much. Then she got the CM who was working that shadow portrait stand to take our picture on my camera:

IT GETS BETTER! That is outstanding advice. What a cool moment.

Everyone LOVED it! It's dad's new favorite ride. Grace was laughing the entire time. It's definitely a new fan favorite!

So glad!

she decided she wasn't feeling well, so she went back to the resort to lay down

Aw poor Grace

Glad your Wave dinner went well! We might have to try it out sometime.

 

[Newsies]

What a special moment with Bea!

It was such a great experience!

I just love those special CM interactions! Its truly what makes Disney special! I can't even imagine being a CM and being able to make magic for guests all the time! (I would probably get fired for spreading TOO much pixie dust! )

CM interactions can completely turn your park day around! Fun fact: my manager had to tell me to stop handing out so much candy during my first night working MNSSHP.

Honestly at Disney that's actually pretty good.


CUTE. And I love the ears.


Oh wow I didn't know until right now how desperately I want to eat Thanksgiving dinner cooked by Tiana.


Your secret-sharing face is everything.


So sweet!


Wow but like yeah if any Disney character had an Etsy, Fairy Godmother would be it.


Ohhhh so wonderful!


IT GETS BETTER! That is outstanding advice. What a cool moment.

So glad!

Aw poor Grace

Glad your Wave dinner went well! We might have to try it out sometime.

You right!

THANK YOU! I got them from Lebownitte!

Same here, I need those pumpkin beignets!

This is the face I reserve EXCLUSIVELY for Disney characters who are spilling the TEA for me!

It was such a nice moment, I missed him so much!

You're not wrong, I would absolutely be dropping money on a Fairy Godmother Etsy shop!

The whole interaction was such an amazing experience for me-- I will absolutely treasure it for years to come!

Everyone loved it!!!

I felt bad that she was sick, but thankfully, she was better in the morning, so it was nothing serious!

I always recommend The Wave! It's a really great meal, and perfect for a quieter meal after a Magic Kingdom day!

 

[Orreed]

It was wonderful reading your trip report!!I binged read it all today. I'm so happy you and your adorable family had a fantastic time at Animal Kingdom, it's my favorite park. Really enjoyed reading about your time in Toy Story land and how you got to experience it all! It's always been a dream of mine to stay at the Poly, and this report let me vicariously live through it lol. I might end up doing the August 20th Halloween party too, hooray for Spooky Season!

 

[Newsies]

It was wonderful reading your trip report!!I binged read it all today. I'm so happy you and your adorable family had a fantastic time at Animal Kingdom, it's my favorite park. Really enjoyed reading about your time in Toy Story land and how you got to experience it all! It's always been a dream of mine to stay at the Poly, and this report let me vicariously live through it lol. I might end up doing the August 20th Halloween party too, hooray for Spooky Season!

SO good to hear from you!!! Thank you for your kind comment!!!

We loved our day at Animal Kingdom, and we're so glad we were able to do everything we wanted to do in TSL despite the crowds! Hope I can see you this fall during a spooky Halloween Party!!!

 

[Newsies]

Day 6 and 7: Travel
Our Uneventful Journey Home
​

All good things must come to an end... including our amazing week at Walt Disney World Resort.

Dad was pushing us out of bed at 7:00 in the morning, as usual on our check-out days. We all got dressed and called bell services, then after one last wistful look out over the lake, we left our suite and made our way over to the Grand Ceremonial Hall.

While dad was getting the truck, we filled our refillable mugs with coffee one last time and grabbed some snack credit breakfasts from the pastry case. I got a bagel that I would soon find out was as hard as a rock

We were soon in the truck headed back up north. After a quick stop to fill up the tank at Speedway, we were once again outside of our beloved Disney bubble until August

Driving out of the parks this year hit different. It's always sad leaving, but this year, it was really sad for some reason! Probably because this was our first November vacation, and we were driving from 70 degree weather to a cold front up in NJ/NYC.

The first day of driving was actually not bad... you know, despite the fact that every time I checked the outside temperature, it would get a degree cooler. We made it out of Florida with no traffic, and we stopped for lunch about an hour into Georgia. We decided that we would stop at Hardees. We all really liked Hardees. I got an All Star meal with two sliders, fries, a drink, and a cookie.

We were driving for another good 10 hours before arrived at our stop for the evening. Mom booked our room at the Holiday Inn at Rocky Mount for the evening, and we got there probably around 9 in the evening. This was a new hotel for us, so I was a little nervous, but it ended up being a really great stop for an evening-- the people were very friendly, the room was clean, and we were able to get room service! I got buffalo chicken wings.

The next morning, we got up around 8-ish and hit the road again. We stopped to get coffee, and I wish I could remember the name of the place we stopped off at, or at least taken pictures! It was a little gas station-esque mart with a Dunkin' kiosk, and it was such a classic "I-95-cheesy-road-trip-stop." Does that make any sense? This place was huge, and there was like, these taxidermied beavers and bobcats all over the place. We got a lot of snacks and some coffee before hitting the road again.

We hit a little bit of traffic in the Baltimore area, but it wasn't bad. Soon we were at the Maryland House and decided to get a hot dog at Nathans. Big mistake, the place was packed and we hated our lives for 30 minutes. But then we packed our car back up and continued our drive north.

We ended up getting really lucky-- about half an hour after we crossed the Delaware bridge, there was an accident and the bridge was basically shut down for the evening!

But we were in NJ soon, and by 5:00, we were unloading the car at our house. We ordered pizza for dinner, and then I sat down and started drafting the first post of this TR-- bringing us to where we are today.

Thus, the trip had concluded! I'll write the conclusion post for this TR soon.

(Click here for the conclusion)​

 

[missangelalexis]

Sounds like a smooth trip home! It's definitely hard coming back home from Disney during the colder months!

 

[dolewhipdreams]

I got a bagel that I would soon find out was as hard as a rock

Ugh that's the worst.

Probably because this was our first November vacation, and we were driving from 70 degree weather to a cold front up in NJ/NYC

Nope THAT's the worst.

This place was huge, and there was like, these taxidermied beavers and bobcats all over the place

That is definitely not the worst

 

[PlutosRHM55]

Going from a warm cozy Florida (or warmer climate state) back to the northeast is the absolute worst. This is why I'm going and not coming back lol But I'm glad your drive back wasn't as bad as you expected. It's nice when trips home don't add to the already Post Disney Depression. Looking forward to this wrap-up!

 

[Newsies]

Sounds like a smooth trip home! It's definitely hard coming back home from Disney during the colder months!

You said it!

Ugh that's the worst.


Nope THAT's the worst.


That is definitely not the worst

... But then it got better, because I got to look at taxidermied animals at 9:00 in the morning while I waited for my iced latte!

Going from a warm cozy Florida (or warmer climate state) back to the northeast is the absolute worst. This is why I'm going and not coming back lol But I'm glad your drive back wasn't as bad as you expected. It's nice when trips home don't add to the already Post Disney Depression. Looking forward to this wrap-up!

It had just dawned on me that I would be freezing in less than 12 hours when we left WDW that morning, but watching the temperature climb on our drive down was something I had been looking forward to for months. #kaitlynlogic. I guess I didn't notice it when our CP ended because I was so ready to be back in NJ? But yeah, the drive itself was not bad. I can't wait to post my conclusion!

 

[Newsies]

Conclusion​

Here we are at the end of my 5th Trip Report here on the DISboards!

In summary, here are just a few of our favorite memories…

• Celebrating Mickey’s 90th Birthday Party at Magic Kingdom! What a great, great note to start this trip on! We jumped right into the magic by activating our Annual Passes and spending a day at the Magic Kingdom. We went on a few rides and met the Big Cheese himself, then finished the day at Disney Springs for one of our favorite meals of the trip-- Chef Art Smith’s Homecomin’! There was a lot of action packed into one day, and it set the tone for the rest of our week.
• Visiting Toy Story Land for the first time! I don’t think I will ever, ever, ever forget what it was like to rope drop Slinky Dog Dash and step foot into TSL for the first time. New Fantasyland was just before my time as a Disney Parks stan, and Pandora is awesome but it's not really my "thing," so this is the first time a new addition to the Disney Parks has really wowed me. All of the intricate details and amazing attractions, coupled with a storyline that immerses me in my long-standing favorite Pixar franchise in the sweetest way possible, made for an unforgettable first look at my new favorite "land."
• Our day at Animal Kingdom! Our DAK-venture was one of those days where it really helped to have such low expectations. After a jam-packed solo morning, we really had fun as a family on this day, even when we were waiting in an hour-long line for the Safari (which ended up being the longest line we waited in that day!) We also broke the curse and finally made it to our Yak & Yeti reservation!!! If I had to choose a highlight from this day, I would say it was the moment my dad saw Dug and Russell and just ran to get in line.
• Thanksgiving Dinner at the California Grill! This was a really special meal. We had never gone to California Grill before, but I knew I wanted a dinner for Thanksgiving that was more upscale than what we're used to. Despite my headache, this remained a highlight of the trip. This whole trip was about celebrating Thanksgiving at WDW, so a good Thanksgiving dinner was quintessential.

Besides CG and TSL, Our favorite "new" experiences from this trip were...

• Chef Art Smith's Homecomin'! This was our best meal, and we will definitely be back.
• Visiting the DVC Member Lounge!
• Yak & Yeti lunch!

The new experiences we're excited to try this upcoming August are...

• Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party! Granted, MNSSHP is not new to me. But the rest of the family has never been! This is going to be a great experience as a family for sure.
• Staying at the Grand Floridian DVC Villas!
• Storybook Dining with Snow White!
• Moonlight Magic! (Fingers crossed!!!)

Speaking of August... I can't just leave this report hanging! Come follow me along on my August 2019 PTR: Our Grandest Trip Ever... Literally! - August 2019 PTR

Finishing a Trip Report never gets old to me. I’m in a Playwriting class this semester, and this week, we had this discussion about the process of writing and how all writers hate writing. My professor said something I really adore-- “I hate writing, but I love having written.” Even though Trip Reports are my favorite type of personal writing, the process of writing a Trip Report is still pretty rough sometimes. But having a personal product that you start, see through to the end, and wrap up in a nice little bow (like this!) always leaves me feeling great. If you've never done one, I encourage you to do so!

With that being said, this Trip Report is now officially concluded. See you in August for Report #6!

THE END

​

 

[FantasiaMagic]

Kaitlyn, I really enjoyed reading this TR! I can't wait to hear all about your trip in August!!!

 

[PlutosRHM55]

"I hate writing, but I love having written." As someone who has been writing trip reports, fanfics, etc. since I was like 11, I agree with this. It really feels so so good to have finally have something complete. Like you really did it and I'm so glad I got to see this one through with you. Always a fun ride to hear about my CP bestie's Disney adventures since our CP lol

I never even knew New Fantasyland was before your time. I guess because our first trips were around the same time (I went in 2010 then again in 2011) and then the next time I was back was in 2014 like you and that was my first time seeing New Fantasyland, which really was so wow since I followed along with the whole process (and still have bitterness about things that they left out). I'm glad you got to have that feeling with Toy Story Land.

Also, it bears repeating, so so SOOOO happy you got to have that full day at DAK! Now, you kinda understand why I'd die for Joe Rohde's park.

I'm so excited to keep on reading about your next adventures and hopefully see you in August EEEEPPPPPPPPP

 

[the2ndstar2theright]

As usual, I love love LOVED your TR! I'm so excited to hear all about your trip in August!!

 

[missangelalexis]

Thank you so much for sharing!! Loved hearing about this trip

 

[cinderaimee]

Loved your TR so much! Thank you so much for taking the time to write it so enthusiastically! Hopping over to check out your August PTR - it looks like our dates overlap a little!

 

[Newsies]

Kaitlyn, I really enjoyed reading this TR! I can't wait to hear all about your trip in August!!!

Thank you so much!! I really appreciate it

"I hate writing, but I love having written." As someone who has been writing trip reports, fanfics, etc. since I was like 11, I agree with this. It really feels so so good to have finally have something complete. Like you really did it and I'm so glad I got to see this one through with you. Always a fun ride to hear about my CP's Disney adventures since our CP lol

I never even knew New Fantasyland was before your time. I guess because our first trips were around the same time (I went in 2010 then again in 2011) and then the next time I was back was in 2014 like you and that was my first time seeing New Fantasyland, which really was so wow since I followed along with the whole process (and still have bitterness about things that they left out). I'm glad you got to have that feeling with Toy Story Land.

Also, it bears repeating, so so SOOOO happy you got to have that full day at DAK! Now, you kinda understand why I'd die for Joe Rohde's park.

I'm so excited to keep on reading about your next adventures and hopefully see you in August EEEEPPPPPPPPP

Yesssss you know what I'm talking about!! It feels awesome to have a complete writing piece!!! You especially have such detailed TRs, you just have this naturally ambitious attitude towards your writing that I wish I could pick up. TRs are a labor of love, but looking back on them feels so great!

So I started getting into the Disney FB groups and DISboards around the time Frozen was released in theaters, maybe a little before. That's how I mark the start of my true (and ongoing) Disney Park standom era. I know I was around for FoF's debut because I saw that first parade streamed live on FB, but New Fantasyland opened up in 2012, an entire year that I attribute strictly to Big Time Rush and Broadway as personality traits. *Closes herstory book.* In any case, I love Toy Story Land and you both.

We had SO much fun at DAK that day! I def. needed the perspective.

UMMMMMMM HELLO I REALLY NEED TO SEE YOU THIS AUGUST!!!!! I can't wait

As usual, I love love LOVED your TR! I'm so excited to hear all about your trip in August!!

You are the sweetest!!!! Thank you so much for everything, you're the best!!!!

Thank you so much for sharing!! Loved hearing about this trip

Thank you so much for following along!! I love sharing and I love your support

Loved your TR so much! Thank you so much for taking the time to write it so enthusiastically! Hopping over to check out your August PTR - it looks like our dates overlap a little!

Thank you so, so much for your kind words! You are the absolute kindest! See you in August!!!