Characters vs. Pin Traders: It's Heated War! A Pixie-Dusted Nerdventure (COMPLETE)

PlutosRHM55

Currently: No HHN Depression
Joined
Sep 14, 2010
Hear ye! Hear ye! Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, welcome to the Magic Kingdom!
You are warmly invited to join Mickey Mouse and his Fantasyland friends for a magical celebration in the streets.
Dreams will come true, hearts will soar and you will become a part of the magic.
For the time has come to take your places and prepare to welcome the wondrous and wonderful...




:stitch: :hmghost: Characters vs. Pin Traders: It's Heated War! A Pixie-Dusted Nerdventure :hmghost: :stitch:

Festival of Fantasy WHAT?! Uh, no. No, this is my trip report. Festival of Fantasy is performed at the Magic Kingdom at 3pm every day so if you were hoping to see that wellllll... you've come to the wrong place. I mean, there are some (Edit: LOTS) Festival of Fantasy PHOTOS like the one above, but they don't come until later. Still I do highly encourage you to stick around until then for the telling of an incredible trip many years in the making. Pixie dust was falling like snow and we managed to fall in love with Disney again in an entirely new way, which was no easy feat considering how Florida in the summer can be. Still, my travel partner/best friend and I were very sad to leave.

Let's not talk about the departure day just yet! Much too sad. We still have six days and five nights to go. Before I even get into that I think some introductions are in order!

:tinker:

I present to you the dynamic duo (and Goofy) of this magical adventure...




First, there is me, a self-proclaimed DisNerd and the Prince & Princess of this Trip Report. I can also be your alligator wrestler and swimming instructor if you're not careful so please keep all hands, arms, feet and legs inside the trip report. Please. But really, I'm just your loveable trip report writer, guiding you through the dangerous waters of my return to WDW. A picture if you will...



Oh, you're still here? YAY! Okay, so hi, my name's Timmy (Prince or Princess negligible) and I have a seriously awesome addiction to Disney. *everyone excitedly responds with "HI TIMMY!!!" and throws pixie dust into the air* This was my third trip to the Most Magical Place on Earth and most certainly not my last. I love most everything about Disney from the movies to the parks, from the attractions to the food, from the character meet and greets to those little details Disney is so famous for honing in on. Yeah, I was not kidding in the least about loving EVERYTHING about Disney. Here are some of my favorites to narrow it down a little more for you:

MOVIE: Princess and the Frog (closely followed by The Lion King)
PARK: Magic Kingdom (Epcot is still a close second)
ATTRACTION: The Haunted Mansion (Space Mountain, Expedition Everest and Tower of Terror are close seconds, VERY close)
CHARACTER: Olaf and Pluto
PRINCESS: Tiana
TABLE SERVICE: Be Our Guest, Garden Grill, Sanaa and Via Napoli
QUICK SERVICE: Earl of Sandwich
SNACK: Le Fou's Brew (YES, it counts!)
RESORT: Art of Animation and Animal Kingdom Lodge
SONG: Too many to type
QUOTE: "Winter's a good time to stay in and cuddle, but put me in summer and I'll be a... HAPPY SNOWMAN!"

As you can tell, I don't get the chance to go to Disney an awful lot so there are a few layers hiding underneath the insane DisNerd. To begin with, I am eighteen years old and recently graduated from high school ( :woohoo: ), the driving force behind this trip! I am a very artsy kid and have been heavily involved with theater over the past seven years and plan to continue to do so. I also enjoy reading, writing, photography and film a lot. I am very much undecided about my college major, but I'm very interested in psychology and economics. I hope to do the Disney College Program, most likely in my Sophomore or Junior year. Currently, I work as a lifeguard at a small lake, which is kind of the job you get when you were on a swim team from preschool to the end of high school, but I still love it! Above all, I'm the biggest Disney fan in the nearest locale.

:tinker:

Alright, enough about me! Let's move this spotlight over to the other half of this two man job...




I officially present to you: My partner-in-crime, co-conspirator, Mickey to my Pluto and the eventual bane of my existence (what did you expect on a buddy trip) : Nate! Nate has been one of my closest friends since fifth grade. Unfortunately, every year since I met him his parents always talked about moving away from where I currently live. This actually came to fruition the summer after my Freshman year of high school (you might remember him from the trip I took with my school's band and chorus that year). Ever since then we'd only get to see each other a few times a year, but still remained very close friends to where he became the only one to join me on this adventure. While Nate is not nearly as big a Disney fan as myself, he does enjoy the parks and movies, but really shows off his Disney Side through pin trading. He is OBSESSED and was particularly avid about it on this trip, which became a bit of a nuisance, but I'll save those stories for later. He is an awesome kid and we are still great friends, that's all you need to know. Here are his Disney favorites:

MOVIE: Lilo & Stitch and Wall-E
PARK: Epcot (although I think Magic Kingdom really grew on him this trip)
ATTRACTION: Tower of Terror, Rock 'n' Roller Coaster, Space Mountain and Stitch's Great Escape
CHARACTER: Stitch
PRINCESS: Maybe Anna... (he's not that crazy about the princesses)
TABLE SERVICE: Via Napoli (or 'Ohana)
QUICK SERVICE: Earl of Sandwich
SNACK: Dole Whip
RESORT: The Polynesian and Contemporary
SONG: I don't know.
QUOTE: I'd rather not ask, but maybe "Oh look, I've been impaled."

Aside from Disney, Nate is the definition of a nerd (even more than myself, hence "Nerdventure"). He is the same age as me, recently graduated ( :woohoo: ) and heading off to college in the fall for acoustic engineering. Nate loves video games and tampers with all types of technology since I've known him. He was involved with something called Science Olympiad in which his team were so successful, they headed to national competitions. He's super outgoing and will strike up a conversation with anyone, which you'll notice happens a lot throughout this trip. This was his fourth trip to Disney World, but I still led the way for the most part. He was a great little trooper (I am almost a full head taller), especially with my personality type and touring style. Although, we had our moments, Nate was the perfect companion on this very magical journey!

:tinker:

Time for the actual trip deets!

We were in Disney World from June 23rd to June 28th. We stayed in the Little Mermaid section of Disney's newest resort, Art of Animation! We had Magic Bands with Five Day Park Hoppers and the standard Disney Dining Plan attached. We also spent one day at Universal Orlando (one day dual park tickets (we visited both Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios)), which will still be documented on this report nonetheless (it was only one day, chill). This was scheduled to be on Wednesday (third day of the trip). Aside from that, our plans were pretty much open. I planned a trip fully once before, but spontaneity seemed to fare a lot better in the end so I thought I'd give the ole' let-nature-take-its-course planning style a whirl again. You'll have to wait and see if this actually turned out to be a smart choice.

As I've done with past TRs, I am not revealing the origins of the TR title, that's all for you to figure out as the report moves along (although I might have revealed too much already ;) ). You may check out my past reports here and here.

2300+ photos almost organized and uploaded; damaged limbs just about mended; a dash of pixie dust and...

Without further ado...


:mickeyjum Away we goooo! :mickeyjum

 
TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introductions

PRE-TRIP DAY - JUNE 22nd

Only the Day Before and It's Already Begun

ARRIVAL DAY - JUNE 23rd

Rise and Shine, Sleeping Beauties! Today's the Day!
Sitting in the back of a Mears Bus... A MEARS BUS!
"I am here. Life is perfect." What to do? What to do? Part I Part II Part III
"I DOWNED that thing." Heigh Ho! Out The Doors We Go! Part I Part II
Welcome Home to Art of Animation!
I've Seen Everything, Now That I've Seen An Elephant Fly! Part I Part II
Brer Rabbit and the Hunt for Sven... Actually That's Nala
Bon Appetit! Enter Master of the Castle and Cue Heart Attack
I'm Sassy, Goofy Trips, Donald's Impatient and We're All Too Focused
Let's Celebrate the Magic and Wish Upon Stars!
Get Soaked on Pirates? I Kind of Like The Little Squirts Myself
A Very Happy Haunt Gets His Kiss Goodnight

DAY TWO - JUNE 24th

NO SLEEPING IN DISNEY! Wait, what?
No DISMeet Yet Nor Glorious Three Hour Finale
The Drawing Class Unleashes the Nerd Within Part I Part II
Breaking Dishes and Christina Aguilera Impersonations?! Geez Louise! Part I Part II
ALL THE MAGIC: Cowboys and Chipmunk Approval! Part I Part II
When Lumiere and Cogsworth Try To Guess My Soul Brother and FAIL Part I Part II
The Romantic Struggles of Timmy and Yacht Club (and Beach Club) Part I Part II
Pin Trading Around the World or Nah? Part I Part II
"That's Rancid!" Beverly and Other Mishaps
The Memoirs of a Lifeguard Starring Earth, Water and Mickey Part I Part II
You Are Not The First to Pass This Way, But This Shall Be Your Last Time... Adios Maelstrom
In Which We Infiltrate Fantasyland and Thus Require Nourishment Part I Part II Part III
The FINALLY Final Chapter of Mine Train Woes and Grim Grinning Ghosts Part I Part II

DAY THREE - JUNE 25th

Once Upon A Spontaneous Solo Adventure Part I Part II
I Did The Wilderness Explorer Call With Russell! Among Other Things Part I Part II
Scoop Meets His Match: A Climax in the War on Pins Part I Part II
A Great Big Beautiful But Unproductive Way to Kill Time Part I Part II
A Wondrous, Dazzling, Brilliantly Told Odyssey Part I Part II Part III Part IV Part V
A Frumpy Princess With Some Le Brew's!
'Ohana Means Family Part I Part II Part III Part IV
"So Elsa, I hear you have a problem with balloons?" The Cutest Meet and Greet Ever! Part I Part II

A Mine and A Mansion, What More Do You Need?
Laugh Floor at 1am LOL


DAY FOUR - JUNE 26th

The Long Awaited Reunion And Fabled First Row Part I
Part II
I Like A World Showcase Part I Part II
Delizioso! Molta Buona! Via Napoli!
The Tragic Ballad of Test Track
...And Belle and I Found Adventure in the Great Wide Somewhere
Nerds, Imma Let You Leave EPCOT, But Schoolbread Needs To Be Eaten First!
The Nervous Taurus' Dramatic Return to the Hollywood Tower Hotel Part I Part II
When Along Came Zeus, Hurling His Thunderbolt At The Most Inopportune Time
A Pop Half Century Detour To A Magic-Less Evening


DAY FIVE - JUNE 27th

Remember No Sleeping in Disney Especially When You're Going To Universal
Hanging on the Cliff at the Edge of Islands of Adventure
Bye Muggles! I'M GOING TO HOGWARTS! Part I Part II
That Awkward Moment When Your Butterbeer Upsets A God
My Spidey Senses Are Tingling!
Popeye Gave Us A Major Soakin' And It Was All Over From There Part I Part II Part III
OMG I GOT TO FLY WITH E.T.!
The Legitimacy of Minion Mayhem Part I Part II
From A Universal to Magical Interlude
An Empirical Essay On The Disney Shopaholic Downtown Disney Stupor Part I Part II


DEPARTURE DAY - JUNE 28th

One Last Magical Morning Under The Sea
Some Alone Time With Walt, Mickey & Cindy's Castle Part I Part II
Oh Tia, Tia, Tia, This Has Been LONG Overdue! Part I Part II

"I'll Always Be Young At Heart, Alice."
I'll Just Blame Stitch
You Kiss The Magic Kingdom Goodbye, The Magic Kingdom Kisses Right Back Part I Part II
It May Be Five Seconds or Five Years, But It's Always "See Ya Real Soon!"


REAL LIFE UPDATES/MISCELLANEOUS

October - Halloween - November So Far
Normal College Things Like Seizing The Day, Meeting Princesses and Surviving The Apocalypse

Christmas Update
The Christmas Haul & Bonus Christmas Haul and More

PARTING THOUGHTS

Wrap-Up Part I: I Just Really Miss College
Wrap-Up Part II: A Trip Like This Deserves A Top 5 List... Multiple Top 5 Lists!
Wrap-Up Final Part: A Magical Prelude to a Magical Year Part I Part II


One Chapter Closes, Another One Opens << NEW TR LINK <<
 
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This looks like it will be a fun trip to follow:thumbsup2 I am also a Disney Fanatic who has had the opportunity to visit The World 3 times in the past...but I am always thinking ahead to the next trip.
 


This looks like it will be a fun trip to follow:thumbsup2 I am also a Disney Fanatic who has had the opportunity to visit The World 3 times in the past...but I am always thinking ahead to the next trip.

:welcome:

It was a very fun trip and I hope you'll enjoy following along. YAY for third timers! :teeth:

Subbing in! I look forward to hearing about your trip :)

:welcome:

Glad you could join in! I hope you enjoy following along!

Subscribed! So excited to hear all about it!

:welcome:

YAY! I'm excited to tell you all about it! :thumbsup2

Subscribed! I'm loving your enthusiasm and I can't wait to read more!

:welcome:

Glad you could join in! I'm happy you like the enthusiasm because there is going to be LOTS of it in this report. :goodvibes
 


OBVIOUSLY I'm here. Because duh. Why would I not be?
Anyway, I'm SUPER excited for this journey I'm going to vicariously live through. Can't wait for the first update!
Oh, and once again, your writing style is fab. :goodvibes
 
Only The Day Before And It's Already Begun

Hello my lovely readers!

I can't believe I only posted hours ago and I already have quite a few readers. And not just any readers, but NEW readers. :hyper: It really is the best feeling in the world to have so many new readers now, especially for someone on their third trip report following two pre-trip reports. A big warm welcome to you all reading one of my reports for the first time (and a quiet whisper to myself: YAY!) and now, let's get this party started!

party:

Again, thank you all for being here! I promise to be a very efficient trip reporter for your guys. This was a truly remarkable trip and you seem like a great bunch so you deserve a well-written, well-told and well-updated report and I will do my best to give that to you. Unfortunately in my haste to get this started, I neglected to realize that I am leaving to head up to a close friend's lake house for the Fourth of July. I won't be back for a few days, which means I won't get into the thick of this trip as I originally intended, but I will try to get as far as I can before I pack into the car and head off to a house where I will have no computer access for a few days. To start off with, a quick peek into the day before...




Yup, that's it. Only a peek. No more. Goodnight, I'll see you in four days!









...










JUST KIDDING!

I wouldn't just leave you hanging there. But that's about how my day started. I kinda held off on packing for far too long, which is really bad considering how much of an over packer I've become. It also was a major issue when I couldn't find my trusty suitcase I've used for years, only to find out my mom got rid of it after my sister brought it on her sixth grade camping trip, completely wrecked it and possibly acquired some bed bugs in it. Yeah, I'm glad at that that my mom got rid of it, but it was my go-to suitcase for my whole high school career and most of my middle school years so it was a bit rough knowing that it was gone. RIP good ole' trusty, you will be missed. Luckily my dad had one just like it so I was able to use that. His did feel much smaller I will say though, but it fit everything in it and survived the whole trip and that's what was important. :thumbsup2

Anyways, my day actually didn't start with me packing... Well, it did, but not for Disney... For work. I was working a quick morning shift the day before I left for the most magical place on Earth and I offered to take on an extra two hours because a girl was scheduled to work alone so I had to get up a little earlier than planned. I also had to wake up my travel partner Nate, who had just arrived the day before after a VERY long car ride, but I didn't want to leave him at home for so many hours with me, his gracious host, not there. No way was I going to do that to him so I brought him to work with me instead. Good thing I work at a lake or he would've had a pretty boring day.

Fast forward to when I arrived at work, earlier than I should've been (we open the lake at 10am and I was there about five minutes before that so OBVIOUSLY I would be the only guard there (there are always two guards on duty)) and without knowing the combination to open the gate. I texted the girl I had offered to work with just as she was driving in. She had some trouble opening the gate so I got out of my car to help. This would be an evil precedent to our gate opening problems for the rest of the summer, but that's a story for another TR on another board from another website. Where am I again? Yeah, moving on...

So I soon discovered as another guard pulled in behind me that my boss had actually assigned someone else to work with the girl and not told me. I still had to work as the designated "membership checker" for that day at 12, but it was a bit of a bummer having woken up early to get those extra hours then find out I wasn't scheduled for it. I also had to pass by an accident that I drove past on the route I take to get to work. Yeah, very fun morning... NOT.

When we got home, a little over an hour to do whatever, I did a little more packing as well as bought our Universal tickets. I originally planned to buy them while we were down in Disney since we hadn't done a lot of pre-planning for that aspect of my trip and if worse came to worse and it didn't happen, I'd have the extra money. I wasn't really thinking about that today and my friend convinced me to buy our tickets today, a pivotal moment in a trip that was yet to happen. I also tried to transfer some of my music that I had to delete when I updated my iPhone awhile back (which is way overdue another update), but it took too much time and I had to unplug it in a rush to get to work on time which screwed it up. *sigh* It's a good thing I am due for an update in December because my iPhone is just about gone now.

I headed back to work, no issues, no car accidents, no surprises. Work was pretty easy. Our lake had just officially opened so there wasn't a ton of people and the temperature hadn't jumped to summer level heights yet so it was overall an easy day. My friend did leave a book my dad gave him to read on the beach (he slept instead if you were wondering), but the guards that came in after me picked it up and left in the shed so it's back all safe and sound. Yeah, my co-workers are pretty chill. :goodvibes

My shift ended at 4pm and after saying goodbye to all the other guards, all of whom wished Nate and I safe travels, I departed for home to get ready for my other best friend's Jocelyn's (also a part of my previous TR) graduation party! The party started at 2pm and I was going to be late, but that was no biggie although I was getting texts from her the last few hours I was working (no surprise there), she knew I wasn't going to be there on time. When Nate and I got home, we both took a quick shower and freshened up a bit. We left, stopped at Shaw's to pick up a few things for the party then I took over the driving and drove all the way to Jocelyn's house.

The party was still pretty hopping when we got there and I knew basically every person at the party, which is always a plus. Jocelyn's parents always order a bounce house for their parties so that was really fun. Her mom also set up an ice cream sundae bar and her dad put out some speakers to play music over. Later on in the night, we did some "line dances" like the Cha Cha Slide and the Cotton Eyed Joe. We also watched a slideshow of photos over the years that Jocelyn's mom put together. My mom was tearing up big time and I have to admit, it was bittersweet to watch especially since I was in a lot of the ones from when Jocelyn was very young. I cannot believe in just two short months we won't be able to have Dunks runs everyday or I can come by her house every weekend. The bittersweet aspect of college life was getting real at that party!

Everyone was coming up and asking me about Disney. They all seemed really happy and excited for me, which was odd considering how many of them cannot listen talk to me about Disney for so long. I guess knowing how important it is to me and the fact that I was leaving tomorrow forced them to put it aside and lemme have my fun. At some points, they acted like I was leaving forever. One of my friends, Victoria, who was originally supposed to come on this trip, but pulled out, actually hugged me when I was leaving and wouldn't let go. It was a bit much, but you see what I mean.

Overall, it was a very fun night. A great way to send Jocelyn off on her way to bigger and better things and Nate and I on a long awaited trip. We did have to leave a bit early. The night was only young and still lots of fun trip prep to do so away we went!

First, some photos from a very fun night:



We are all five.




Trampoline selfie FAIL

Before we got home, Nate and I texted our friend Rishi to come over to watch Frozen. Long ago when Nate and I were coming into the home stretch of the days leading up to this trip, he still had not seen Frozen so our plan for the night before was to watch it. By a fortunate instance, Nate did end up seeing it (his little brother is obsessed), but Rishi, who I neglected to ask to join us on this trip (I am currently converting the kid into a major Disney fan), still had not. Keeping with tradition for many DISers and Disney fans alike, we had selected to watch Frozen tonight as our Disney movie to prep us for our return to the land of magic the following morning and invited Rishi to finish off our night proper.

Once we got home and Rishi had arrived, I popped in the movie. My mom brought us some snacks (she is a queen hostess) and the movie began and we were all like this:



Sorry about the quality. Selfies with the nice camera are coming soon, I promise.

And I couldn't help but take some photos of the flawless Elsa:





Isn't she too gorgeous for words? I honestly have not had this big a crush on an animated character since probably Aurora in Sleeping Beauty and I was probably only three or four then.

*ahem*

Needless to say, there was going to be some major Queen Elsa swooning going on in Disney in a few days. Yay for FastPass+!

And the consensus on the film from Rishi? He LOVED it! Even with Nate's inappropriate interjections, Rishi liked Frozen A LOT. After he saw it for the first time at my house, he watched it three more times, bought the soundtrack on CD and on iTunes. Then, we bought him... Well, actually that's something I'll talk about later, but Rishi did request of us to get him some Frozen merch while we were in Disney. You'll have to wait and see if we managed to do that.

It was a little past midnight when we finished so Rishi had to go (he's 18 like Nate and I, but it's still not good to be out too too late). We bid him farewell (aka BYE!) and he wished us safe travels and to have fun in Disney, both of which were pretty big no-brainers.

After Rishi left, Nate and I still had some stuff to do. I left one last update on my Trip Report then packed up some last little essentials and made sure everything was within the restrictions set by Southwest, the highly trusted airline of choice. All bags fit the bill and were ready to go on my family room floor. The day was starting to wear on night and he was ready for bed. I was much too excited about Disney to sleep, but our busy day was starting to tug on my eyelids too. I set an alarm, got into some pajamas that I'd only wear for an hour (it was about two in the morning and we planned to leave by 4am for our 6:20am flight, which meant waking up at 3am) and was headed for bed.

Before I did "hit the sack" (it was barely even a cat nap), I had to make sure this lovely snapchat was on my story (regrettably so)...



Scroll as quickly as possible if you wish to live!

...and taking one last look at my supply of needs for the next six days...



My head made its home on my favorite pillow and the realization that I was leaving for Disney THAT DAY hit me like a pixie dust bullet to the chest. The excitement was on full throttle. No sooner then I was out the door and on the plane, but that's another story for another update.

Stick around folks, the fun's only barely begun...

Continued Here
 
OBVIOUSLY I'm here. Because duh. Why would I not be?
Anyway, I'm SUPER excited for this journey I'm going to vicariously live through. Can't wait for the first update!
Oh, and once again, your writing style is fab. :goodvibes

YAY! You're here!

:welcome:

So happy you've decided to join in, Alex! And thank you, let's hope that remains the same through every update. :upsidedow
 
Sounds like a fun travel day! I feel your pain on the gate issues-I've been working at my current office since early June and I still cannot, to this day, get my keycard to work. So I stand outside awkwardly until someone lets me in. Fun times :cool2:

Anyway, have fun over the fourth and can't wait for the next update!
 
Great update! It's awesome you were so busy the day before your trip, I'm sure it made the time go by faster. I'm thinking I need to watch Frozen the night before my next trip...and coincidentally that night is tomorrow!! I promise I'll catch up when I return from the World!
 
Sounds like a fun travel day! I feel your pain on the gate issues-I've been working at my current office since early June and I still cannot, to this day, get my keycard to work. So I stand outside awkwardly until someone lets me in. Fun times :cool2:

Anyway, have fun over the fourth and can't wait for the next update!

It was a very fun day. Our travel day was actually the next day, but it was a nice lead up. :)

Oh I wish it was like that. I work at a lake so we have an actual gate that someone totally bent so now after we unlock it, we need a bulldozer to open up because it's stuck on the gravel. :sad2:

Thank you! Hope you have a wonderful Fourth of July too! :cheer2:

Great update! It's awesome you were so busy the day before your trip, I'm sure it made the time go by faster. I'm thinking I need to watch Frozen the night before my next trip...and coincidentally that night is tomorrow!! I promise I'll catch up when I return from the World!

Thank you! And yes, it most definitely did. The week was a bit rough, but those last few days flew by, I almost forgot I actually was leaving for Disney I was so preoccupied with stuff lol YES, you most definitely should!

Have a magical and safe trip! :tink:
 
Timmy! I'm definitely joining in, but it might take me a minute to get everything read. I'll be back with a legit comment later, just didn't want to forget to subscribe! :laughing:
 
Timmy! I'm definitely joining in, but it might take me a minute to get everything read. I'll be back with a legit comment later, just didn't want to forget to subscribe! :laughing:

Aww, that's fine, Marissa.

:welcome:

Glad you decided to read along and I'll be very excited to read your "legit" comment! :goodvibes
 
This sounds like it'll be fun! It's especially exciting because it was such a long time between trips for you. The excitement had PLENTY of time to build!

Aw, grad parties. Such fun. Soooo hooray for Disney!!!
 

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