"I LIVE Here! I Know What I'm Doing!" A Family Reunion for a Very Disney Christmas (COMPLETE)

PlutosRHM55

Currently: No HHN Depression
Joined
Sep 14, 2010
"Hello, hello, hello!"
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Welcome to a SURPRISE trip report from yours truly! Granted I'm sure most of you are thinking "yours truly" is the fierce Mama RuPaul in the GIF above. I'm here to tell you, unfortunately it's not. But I got you the next best thing...

ME!!!
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Hello there! For those who mistook me for Mama Ru (frankly, I'm flattered), my name's actually Timmy.
I'm a 21 year old [
I was 20 at the time of this trip] mess of sass, song, social awkwardness and pixie dust. I love love love LOOOOVVEEE Disney (oh, what a surprise! *sarcasm*) just like... well, all of you probably. In the parks, you can find me dancing with princesses, chasing princes (and a certain lost boy), trying to join a swinging wake, crying over anything with Festival in the title, taking the most well-thought out ride photos or drinking Le Fou's Brew... LOTS of Le Fou's Brew. This vacation was my FOURTH at the World (If you want to check out my prior trips to Disney, all the links are in my signature). Outside of the parks, I'm a Business major with a minor in Theater that can be found trying to be the next Bob Fosse, acting like an intellectual about things like RuPaul's Drag Race or Britney Spears, hiding in packed movie theaters (it's a gift) and defying gender norms. For here though, in this TR, I will be your honest and lovable guide for this spectacular journey into this little little adventure.

A little little adventure that fits into one tiny corner of a big BIG adventure called the
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Disney College Program :rainbow:.


Yes, at the time of this report, I had been living the dream as a Disney Cast Member. Where did I work and what was my role you ask? Well, I'm glad you asked! I worked in the...

:tinker:MAGIC KINGDOM!:tinker:

My role was CUSTODIAL.

Yeah, doesn't sound that glamorous but I LOVED it. I was around guests constantly, keeping the place sparkly clean, drawing water Mickeys & Minnies and making all the magic. I would do it all again in a heartbeat!

(If you would like to hear more about my program, my Instagram is @thatdisneykween and all posts I've made on there related to my program are under the hashtags #TimmysDCPFall2k16 (the live from Disney posts) and #MemoriesofTimmysDCP (post-program posts).)

Here is moi at my Service Celebration with the best bosses EVAH *peep those beautiful Christmas nails*:



My program began at the beginning of August and unfortunately I was only a few weeks away from the end of my program at the time of this trip, but it's never too late for pixie dust as is evident by this many months late trip report.

Getting back on track, this trip report, again, only covers a very very itty-bitty portion of my DCP adventure and that was...

:santa: MY FAMILY COMING TO VISIT DURING CHRISTMAS! :santa:

During the entirety of my program, I never really had any friends or family come to visit. Disney, as you know, is mucho expensive. Even as a Cast Member with my plethora of discounts and deals, Disney ate up my paycheck quicker than anything, but it's much more difficult for poor college students or those who have to take a flight to get to Orlando in a timely fashion. However, my family HAD to come visit! I do go to school out-of-state, but I still would come home for breaks, however for the College Program, you're pretty confined to Disney and Orlando by your work schedule (no vacations!). Instead of sitting at the Thanksgiving this table eating Turkey with my extended family, I was eating the Holiday Turkey from Earl of Sandwich, going to see Moana then heading off to work. It was hard and I longed to see someone from home all the time. Lucky for me, my family missed me just as much and after dangling the prospect of discounted hotel rates, free park tickets, etc. etc. (they compensate you well for working the holidays that Disney does), I had a trip booked for my family and a bit of a staycation for me!

Before I go into the details of that, I should introduce you to the other stars of this report: :flower1: THE FAM! :flower1:


From left-to-right: My baby sister (the youngest), Alyssa; My mom, Sandi; me, of course; and my other sister (the middle child), Siobhan (pronounced Shi-vahn)

My dad, if you've read my prior reports, is not a fan of Disney... or Orlando... or Florida... or any place where winter doesn't mean snow so he did not join us. He was however my chauffeur to-and-from Orlando so I did get visits from him. I was really excited to see these because the last time our family had been in Disney together was April 2010. Yeah, nearly SEVEN YEARS. I was about to graduate middle school on our first family trip and my CP (when this current trip happened) aligned with my Junior year of college. INSANE.

Here's a comparison collage I made on my Instagram for perspective:



Yeah, I know. First you got the GLO UPS then you have the fact DAK now operated AT NIGHT. 7 years in Disney time is literally a millennium! There was so much newness to be experienced!

Again, getting sidetracked, here are the actual introductions:

First, the baby of the Fam, Alyssa!



Alyssa is my partner-in-crime. We are probably the most similar of the bunch, despite an almost 6 year age gap between us. We are both HUGE musical theater nerds and wannabe YouTubers. We have naturally snarky demeanors. We are also super high maintenance and want attention on us at all times (She loved having a birthday button (her birthday is actually in October)). It can cause friction at times, but we love each other nevertheless. We both share a love of princesses and the best Disney movie ever made: Princess and the Frog! Fight us on it, we will win. Alyssa was only 8 during our prior family trip and as a result, she didn't do too much so she tried to make up best she could this trip. Her favorite new findings were Carousel of Progress, DINOSAUR, Butterbeer and Gaston.

Next, the center of the pack, Siobhan!



Siobhan and I are the definition of bickering siblings. We're always arguing about something and we're equally stubborn. We're also closer in age than Alyssa and myself so that factors into that, especially with our birthdays being only a day apart (Alyssa and herself however are the closest in age). However, we're also each other's best confidantes and both know how to have a really good time. Not nearly as big a theater buff as Alyssa and I, but she's getting there. Our thing is Beyoncé and Chance The Rapper. Her real thing is exercising and being a health nut (everything I could care less about lol). She also recently graduated high school so big congrats to her! She's probably the least biggest Disney fan second to my dad and has a slight disdain for how comfortable I am being a total toddler in the parks (mostly due to my affinity for character meet-and-greets). All that aside, she is a major Gerald (from Finding Dory) stan (stalker & fan) and is a major thrill junkie, which she got her major fill of this trip. Her favorite new findings were Carousel of Progress, The Incredible Hulk coaster and having a DSLR in the parks.

Lastly, the real mutha, my Mom!



In all honesty, my mom is my best friend. I'm a momma's boy through and through and my mom and I have a very special bond. My sarcastic nature doesn't gel much with her more sensitive, loving one, but she's my biggest cheerleader and the best travel companion. She is down for ANYTHING. My dad jokes that if there was a rock throwing competition at some ideal sports venue, she'd still go just to say she went. She's at a point in life where she's just glad to be alive and living each moment to the fullest. She was the first person I told I was accepted to the Disney College Program and while she was happy for me, she didn't want to be away from me for long so made it her mission to figure out this trip. If it weren't for her, I would've had one very lonely Christmas. She isn't a HUGE Disney freak like me, but she fits the bill with her attitude. Her favorite new findings were the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, all the Christmas decorations in the parks, Carousel of Progress and Photopass.

All of us had a lot of fun, experienced magic on top of magic as well as many new experiences. There were ups and downs, but we took them in stride and made the best of everything.

The exact dates of the trip were December 24th through the 28th and I reserved a nicely discounted room at Disney's Pop Century Resort (a new resort for all of us). We had no dining plan and just paid OOP. Due to my work schedule and the need for me to be there to use my complimentary tickets, only three days were spent in an amusement park and two in the Disney parks. The third day had to be set aside for the only other reason for this trip, aside from seeing me, to visit Universal Orlando and The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. My mom raised my sisters and I on Harry Potter. She's read all the books and seen all the movies, multiple times (as have I). When she heard about the new park at Universal based on the Universe, she had to go. She also had hoped to bring my sisters and I (although I'd already been) to Universal since she loved it when she went there during her younger adult years. The two non-park days were primarily spent partly with me working or at my apartment and my family at Disney Springs. Unfortunately, one park did have to be cut out of the plans completely due to block-out dates so Hollywood Studios will NOT be featured unfortunately. No introducing my family to all the Star Wars additions, Jingle Bell Jingle Bam or getting to ride Tower and RnRC for the first time with all of them. I'd also already said goodbye to that park since I was so cut off during the week of Christmas. :sad1: Again, it did not ruin anything and it was the right choice in hindsight due to how Studios was and is undergoing so many changes (although it's my second favorite park).

I have to warn readers that I didn't plan on writing a trip report. Normally when I make plans for a trip, I plan for a report an during the trip, I have notes taken, all the important pictures taken, etc. but on top of being super busy the week of Christmas, I just had no intention of reporting this or any major coverage so extra measures were not taken. However, the PDD has been real. I miss my second home beyond anything and what better way to cope than write about one of the highlights of my six months working for my favorite company. In short, bare with me on this report, some chapters might be sparse of actual photos from the trip, supplemented by GIFs and photos taken during other occasions so they might not fit in with the season or be familiar to anyone who's read my other trips. Also, there might not be as much preciseness to my re-telling of the events or more frequent blanks, I promise though that all the good stuff you want to hear about is intact. I do know Christmas and 2016 is far behind us, but this'll be worth it I assure you.

I guess it's time to snuggle right up with a warm cocoa, blankets and a comfy jacket (Florida does get cold, ya know?) in our one horse open sleigh as we travel back to this past December for a wild ride with Timmy & Co. taking on the busiest week of the year at Walt Disney World!

:yay: Giddy up, giddy up, giddy up, let's go! :yay:

 
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Table of Contents

Introductions

Day 1 - December 24th, 2016 ~Christmas Eve~
A Beginning 6 Years in the Making

Day 2 - December 25th, 2016 ~Christmas!~
An Unforgettably Magical Christmas Morning
Princesses vs. Thrillseekers: A Third World War Part I Part II
Gaston Kissed Her Hand Among Other Things
Once Upon A Christmastime At Christmas Featuring The Fam Part I Part II
All We Need is A Little Bit of Pixie Dust
A Very Mike Wazowski Christmas Part I Part II
A Split Closing Tale: A Cast Member and His Guest Family


Day 3 - December 26th, 2016
Universal First Timers #DiagonAlleyShooketh
The One In Which A Dragon Nearly Kills My Mom
Wands, Webs And Wild Dinosaurs
The Grinch Hates Hugs: A Thesis on Problematic Faves
You're A Wizard, Timmy. A Disney Trivia Wizard.


Day 4 - December 27th, 2016
All Will Be Well At Animal Kingdom, Right?
The Schuyler Sisters 2: Return to Everest
This Little Monster Makes His DAK Fond Farewell
One Last Epcot Christmas Starring J.B.
That Time I Snuck Into Extra Magic Hours


*BONUS TR*: One Last Hooray For Hollywood! - 12/21/16
Timmy's Farewell to Studios
A Morning Red Carpet Walk To The Hollywood Tower Hotel
The Rebel Spy Wannabe aka The Lord of Muppet Land
I Present... The Most #ICONIC Meet & Greet Of All Time!
Italians, Frozen and Asians... Am I in World Showcase?
Give Me That Christmas Soul-to-Soul... Bird-to-Bird... Acappella... Sounds Good to Me!
Timmy The Conqueror (of All Nighttime Spectaculars!)
Wookie Sobbing and Hooray for Hollywood-ing One Last Time


Day 5 - December 28th, 2016
Why Y'all Sleeping On Earl of Sandwich?

Final Wrap-Up
How Can One Possibly Tie A Pretty Little Bow On An Adventure Like This?

NEW Pre-Trip Report

Bring It On, West Coast! East Coast Prepares For An LA & Disneyland Encounter

 
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When I heard you were doing a TR for your Christmas-venture:

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When I READ THAT INTRODUCTION:

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Lordy, this is AMAZING already. As usual, a grand entrance from you presented with style, grace, and above all, SASS. :tink:

How did I never meet Alyssa? We're the SAME person and omg you two are literal twins????

Your family is tres cute and so were the intros.

*DIS voice* Heeeeeeeee-eeeeeeere! Fahhh-loooow-ing!!!!!!
 
When I heard you were doing a TR for your Christmas-venture:

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When I READ THAT INTRODUCTION:

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Lordy, this is AMAZING already. As usual, a grand entrance from you presented with style, grace, and above all, SASS. :tink:

:welcome:

I don't like to disappoint. Glad to know I didn't.

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How did I never meet Alyssa? We're the SAME person and omg you two are literal twins????

Probably because we were both dying that week and I was smart enough to avoid the mosh pit that is the IASW & PPF walkway on Christmas day. Maybe one day I'll bring her back... when she can pay to go as well lol

Your family is tres cute and so were the intros.

*DIS voice* Heeeeeeeee-eeeeeeere! Fahhh-loooow-ing!!!!!!

Awww, thank you. We try. :flower3:

Glad to have my fellow Disney Queen on board. :love2:
 


A Beginning 6 Years in the Making
December 24th, 2016
**Christmas Eve**


'TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS



...and I was at work.

Yup, that's where this tale begins. At work.

But at work at the most magical place on Earth,

THE MAGIC KINGDOM!
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Now, normally, I usually go to play in the Kingdom before work buuuuuuuut...

I was blocked out.

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Yes, us Cast Members do get free admission to the parks... most of the time. The week of Christmas (usually beginning on December 23rd) all the way through New Year's Eve is one such exception and for good reason. NYE is an exceptionally special date in that the only park accessible to cast members is DAK. Yup, true story. This also was the same for all my complimentary passes, which made Magic Kingdom difficult since MK and DHS were the two getting blocked out for the entire week. My mom however made the decision she wanted to be in MK on Christmas day so she bought tickets especially for that day, but I'm getting ahead of myself.

Today, I was at work. Before work, my roommates and I did an early Christmas gift exchange since I wasn't going to be around on Christmas day. Of course, they all got me Tsum Tsums. One got me the Moana set, which I had been eyeing forever. The other one got me C3P0 and Luke Skywalker. I got for each of them, a special individual gift (that I can't remember... I know I got a 2017 drawstring bag for one of them) along with a little 2016 photo holder to commemorate the year of our program. After that and a quick meal, I was off to work.

Work was a struggle. Not only was the park crazy busy as predicted, but I also was so ready to leave because
MY FAMILY WAS HERE! I wouldn't stop talking about it my entire shift. Half the time it was complaining because I was texting my mom and my sisters all day, answering questions, asking them, etc. even though I had made sure to send them texts with all the info they needed for check-in and such. It was hard because I'm not allowed to take my phone out on-stage and so I'd get pulled for my break with a million texts asking why I didn't respond.

Ugh, group chats.

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Anyways, luckily I had made my leaders aware of my family coming so they pulled some strings for me and instead of having my usual closing shifts that usually result in me getting to my apartment at 2am, I was getting out at 9:15pm. No lines for the bus, no overpacked busses and I wouldn't get to my family when they were ready to pass out.

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Anyways, y'all don't want to hear about the Cast Member struggle, back to my family and their arrival day!

Arrival day went pretty swimmingly for my Fam. Yeah, the onslaught of questions was annoying, but it mostly was about when I was going to finally reunite. Also, part of the text conversation was the fact I came to work, packed for tomorrow, and totally forgot to bring toiletries. This was particularly annoying and frustrating since I showed up to work with two overpacked bags AND THEY WERE CHECKING BAGS ON MY WAY IN.

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I'm a high key control freak and I also have social anxiety so I hate holding up lines for people, even if I have no shame about how extra I can be. Thank goodness, it only took like an extra minute and I was headed into work.
I'm not going to go into detail about how getting into work at Magic Kingdom works, but it's complicated and requires a lot of extra travel time other than the bus from the College Program apartment complexes. In short, the bag check thing, while necessary, it just made me have to work double time (and put a target on me because bringing two bags to work is really really REALLY weird) so that I'd be able to clock in on time, but I made it work. A common theme to my program.

Slightly off-topic again, sorry.

BUT I WENT THROUGH ALL THAT STRESS COMING TO REALIZE I DIDN'T HAVE SOME ESSENTIALS. Luckily, my mom is a gem and got me squared away. Bless her. I swear I don't know how I function without her sometimes.

ANYWAYS (for the trillionth time)
They somehow got to Pop with no issues. My mom texted me to let me know that their Magic Bands were there when they arrived and that her and Siobhan were doing the Hustle at Pop waiting for the bus to Disney Springs. Alyssa was embarrassed. Apparently, they also had time to take photos with the decade monuments out front:




Our room was in the 50s section of the resort and my mom was born in the 60s if you're wondering why those two were chosen.

They asked me about where to eat. I suggested Earl of Sandwich, my fave.

Come to find out, they went to House of Blues.



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I swear, why do I even bother? Reminder to remind me when you ask for a place to eat, what kind of place you want to eat. Ugh. I actually got a text from my sister saying "We wanted a sit-down place." Over it.

My shift went on as usual. The texts continued, updating me on what they did. Then I got a text saying,
"We saw some Christmas ears at World of Disney. We're thinking about getting some."



...




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A little back story here. I had bought my mom and my sisters some Christmas presents. One of the presents were the Green Christmas Minnie ears with the red bow as something for them to wear on Christmas day.

THEN I GET A TEXT TELLING ME THEY WERE GOING TO BUY THEM. I TOTALLY FREAKED. Luckily, I responded in enough time that they didn't buy them. I also told them I had a discount so that further deterred any purchases.

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Fast forward through many more texts asking when I'm going to meet up with them and where. The original plan was that I'd meet them in Disney Springs, but I didn't want to hold them up there so eventually I decided I'd just meet them at Pop. Fast forward past that decision and to the end of my shift. After clocking out, I BOOKED it out of there, got changed, grabbed what I needed for tomorrow and started my long complicated journey to Pop. Unfortunately, due to block-out dates, I wasn't allowed in MK so I had to take the CP bus that went by the TTC, getting off there, taking the monorail to MK, getting off at MK and getting on the bus to Pop.

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It was quite the journey. I was still getting texts asking about when I'd get there and such. One of the most obnoxious points was when a girl getting on the CP bus couldn't find her housing ID (which you need in order to take the bus back to the housing complex). It was so frustrating, but other than that, I had no problems and got to Pop around 11pm.

I was texting Siobhan and she met me in the lobby. She snapchatted our reunion as I ran in to give her a hug. She then brought me back to our room which was on the 3rd floor of the 50s section, room 3435. This was behind Tramp, which I luckily had a picture of him from the beginning of my program:


Hi @Newsies and roomies!

We took the elevator right on up to our room. It was a wonderful reunion! Lots of hugs and such and we immediately went into our usual Christmas morning gift exchange because we were getting up so early to go to spend the day at Magic Kingdom. I ended up getting an Olaf ornament and...

A DSLR CAMERA!

I had been asking for one FOREVER. I take a lot of character photos in the parks (follow @amagnoliainmay on instagram if you want to see those) so I was really excited to get some use out of a nicer camera, especially since Daily Ops for all the MVMCP shows was happening at Magic Kingdom. I gave my mom and my sisters their ears along with the Christmas shoe ornaments Disney sells. I got the Fairy Godmother one for my mom, the Mushu one for Siobhan and the Tiana one for Alyssa. They seemed to really like them and were really excited to wear the ears tomorrow.

We stayed up a little bit after, just talking and catching up (a lot happens when you're not around for a couple months). I also brought some stuff in my bags for my mom to take home to lighten the load I would bring home when I moved out of my apartment in a few weeks so I transferred that to the empty carry-on they had. After all that, I plugged in everything I needed to charge and turned in. We had a VERY early day, rope-dropping Magic Kingdom on Christmas Day!!!

Continued Here

 
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TRULY can relate to the struggle from getting to MK from DCP Housing............. quite the journey. Quite the struggle.

YIKES on BIKES if they had gotten the ears you bought them already

Omg I'm literally the dumbest person alive... when you pulled up the pic of Tramp I was like "oh hey that girl has the same Marie backpack as I have!" and then I read the caption and I was like... :tilt:. That day was QUITE an era.

Is it BAD that I'm getting homesick for WDW just reading about you guys talking back at the resort? Honestly spending time with my family at the resort (bc lol i don't talk to them in the parks) is something I love about vacations and idk it reminds me of the night my family came to pick me up and we had dinner at the Kona and we had our bungalow and UGH take me back :(

Literally can't wait to hear about how rope dropping MK on Christmas Day went for you guys
 


This should be fun - following along!

:welcome: Glad you could join in!

TRULY can relate to the struggle from getting to MK from DCP Housing............. quite the journey. Quite the struggle.

Throwback to you, Kemuel and I trying to find the nearest tunnel entrance when it downpoured the night the Halloween CTM premiered :upsidedow

YIKES on BIKES if they had gotten the ears you bought them already

The one moment during my program I had a panic attack *sarcasm*

Omg I'm literally the dumbest person alive... when you pulled up the pic of Tramp I was like "oh hey that girl has the same Marie backpack as I have!" and then I read the caption and I was like... :tilt:. That day was QUITE an era.

Oh, hon.:flower3: So happy to still have most of that day on film (REMEMBER THE MINI SNAIL?!)

Is it BAD that I'm getting homesick for WDW just reading about you guys talking back at the resort? Honestly spending time with my family at the resort (bc lol i don't talk to them in the parks) is something I love about vacations and idk it reminds me of the night my family came to pick me up and we had dinner at the Kona and we had our bungalow and UGH take me back :(

I get homesick about anything and everything WDW so you're good but omg those really are the best times. I prefer being in the parks on my own, but settling down, talking about the day... FOREVER LIT for that.

Literally can't wait to hear about how rope dropping MK on Christmas Day went for you guys

Wait until you find out one of the first surprise guests was... :listen:
 
Hi there! Joining in :)

I'm sure working while your family had already arrived was tough! So nice that you were able to get out of work early to be reunited with them!

Can't wait to hear how Christmas day goes :)
 
Hi there! Joining in :)

I'm sure working while your family had already arrived was tough! So nice that you were able to get out of work early to be reunited with them!

Can't wait to hear how Christmas day goes :)

Hello! :welcome:

It was, but we made it work and had a wonderful vacation overall. It was much needed at that point in my program.

I'm here!

Can't wait to hear about Christmas day! Congrats on your DSLR!

:welcome:

Thank you! It was so nice having the DSLR. :-) I'll be posting an update very soon.

 
An Unforgettably Magical Christmas Morning
December 25th, 2016
**Christmas Day**

Apparently sleeping routines also become consistent over the years because I barely slept a wink on this day. Normally, when I'm home, I'm ALWAYS up before the crack of dawn on Christmas morning, sneaking peeks at Christmas presents. Yes, I'm 21 years old (again, 20 at the time of this trip), a grown adult, and I still get excited about Christmas morning and will act in the same manner I did at five years old.

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But the magic of Christmas and excitement will never lose its luster for me. Even if it meant I was about to spend an unthinkable 12+ hours in the Magic Kingdom that included guiding my family through a day in the Kingdom then leaving to go to work, all the while still making sure their day was planned out well. It was going to be one stressful, action-packed, people-filled but still magical and for sure, unforgettable Christmas.

I got up early to get a jump on preparing myself for the day. I had the usual morning routine on top of configuring myself for a LOOONG day and doing it within the confines of having to share one bathroom, one shower, etc. etc. with my family (something we regularly didn't do). Waking up at like 4am might've been overkill on time necessary to do this, but my anxiety always would tell me otherwise and for some reason I listen to my anxiety. Go figure.


Eventually the whole family had woken up and we were soon heading out to catch the motor coach to MK. Magic Kingdom opened at 8am with EMH at 7am. They were really pulling out all the stops to make Christmas day as un-crazy as it would not be. At the time I had forgotten about EMH (I worked primarily nights so morning hours never stick in my brain), which will be important later.

Anyways, we were on our way out. The sun was just peaking over the horizon, which we could see beautifully across our lake view that I had also managed to work out for them. Unfortunately, we were on a mission today and that was to make it onto a Magic Kingdom bus by at least 8am. However, we ended up being a bit too far ahead of schedule, although we weren't the only ones heading out to the bus. We thought we'd take our time once we were in Classic Hall and decided to get some pics with the tree, which had a chair out in front of it where I'm guessing Santa and maybe some other characters were meeting throughout the week. We'd be in the parks while they were so why not just take it upon ourselves and use it for our own photoshoot?

Here were the results:









We are a quirky bunch, that's for sure.

And yes, I did give them a hard time for not packing anything Christmassy unlike me who had been stocking up on Christmas wear for over a month now (on top of having been to three MVMCPs). At least the ears looked nice and came in handy, although those style ears are the most uncomfortable things ever, which was a common complaint throughout the day.

After the photoshoot, we headed out to the bus where a bit of a line had already begun to form at the Magic Kingdom bus stop. Luckily I saw this coming, which is why we were out there well before park opening. Disney knew a storm was going to hit so after the usual waiting, we were sent the double length motor-coach, which I had yet to get on before. I'd seen them all the time, but never had the pleasure of riding one so it was a pretty cool experience, especially since if we had rode a different bus, it would've been super full.

When we got to the Magic Kingdom, we headed straight to Guest Services. Siobhan was having issues with her MagicBand and I noticed something funky going on with it on MDE that morning while trying to reserve some FPs so I suggested we go get it checked. This ended up being a huge ordeal that added on more time until we would actually get into the park, but necessary. I didn't want to have any issues when we scanned in or when we had FastPasses to use. While waiting I took to reserving FPs and I ended up snagging one for Rapunzel and Tiana because that was a MUST. I would wait to talk with the Fam about the other two.

Soon enough, we had all our MagicBands fixed up and we were on our way into the Magic Kingdom. It was a little after 9am at this point, but that was fine, while it looked crazier than usual for a morning, it wasn't crazy packed in the park yet. Our first order of business however was to go visit my roommate, Kemuel. He was working with Mary Poppins that day and he really wanted to meet my family. Over the summer prior to my program, my roomies and I talked a lot online over Google Hangout and such, some of which included my sisters. When I told them they were coming and Kemuel was going to be working most of the day on Christmas, he told me to make sure to come visit (granted it was always a thing for me to go bug him while working). Being the expert character meeter, I knew Mary Poppins' stops meeting rather early so making her a first order of business would be perfect. Her next set time was happening rather soon so I tried to usher my family on through Main Street to the hub grass where she meets, all the while letting them enjoy the perfection that is a Main Street Christmas.

We got to the hub grass before Mary was out when all of the sudden,
THE HOLLY JOLLY TROLLEY SHOW WAS HAPPENING.

The Trolley Show is one of my favorite things ever and the Christmas version is hands down the best version so of course, I had to stop and watch. I wanted to take some photos too, but my camera was not set-up so here I was trying to do a juggling act putting the camera together that didn't work out because once it was all put together...
I dropped it.

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Well, I gave up trying to get a picture at that point and just enjoy the show. My family seemed to enjoy it, but they were nowhere near as hyped for it as I was. We ended up leaving before it ended to get in line to meet Mary Poppins. We made it over just as a line began to form. Kemuel was walking up and down the line. I waved and he immediately came over to say hi. We all got hugs (and a side glare from me because he usually never hugs me). We talked for a little bit while the line wasn't too bad and he wasn't getting asked to take photos. He was by himself, which was strange for such a busy day, even if Mary is self-sufficient and can take care of herself, Kemuel still had to run around taking photos and managing what would eventually be a ridiculous line. I asked him about it and he told us that there were lots of people calling out for Entertainment, including the other attendant that was supposed to be with him so he was on his own. But he seemed in good spirits, maybe my family helped with that or the fact his shift would be ending when it started to get crazy.

Well, eventually it was our turn to meet Mary. I don't remember much about this meet. I think she asked about if we were enjoying our holiday and my mom told her everyone was there to visit me. She also commented on all our Christmas headwear. I chimed in with my usual direct-to-character's movie reference, which Mary kinda brushed aside. Kemuel took our photos while this happened:






Please ignore my awkward hand placement.

It was an ok meet-and-greet by my standards, but a really nice start to our day getting to see our first character with minimal wait along with getting to see Kemuel. We said goodbye to Mary, which I believe might've included a hug for my mom, and we thanked Kemuel for pictures then bid him goodbye. I probably wasn't going to see him for another long span of days because of when my shift ended tonight along with being with my family.

I then geared my family towards the Castle to head towards Fantasyland to ride SDMT before it hit that 3 hour mark wait. In 2010, New Fantasyland wasn't even announced. Toontown was still opened so there was so much they had to see over there. However, as we headed towards the Castle, we couldn't NOT get some Castle photos.

First, the classic jumping photo for my sissies!


Look how gorgeous that sunrise was on the Castle.

Then, we grabbed a Photopass photographer and got a more classic photo. Too bad it was Christmas day or this would've been the PERFECT Christmas card picture:





After our Castle photos, which put my new DSLR to good use, we went back on towards Fantasyland!





Our destination was the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. Due to my family having planned and booked this trip so last minute, there were no FPs available for 7DMT by the time we got around to it so making a beeline for it was the only choice. We got there and the wait was already at 50 minutes. I'm one to never take wait times at face value since they can go up or down since the card had been scanned or the card disappeared. I looked and the line looked a lot longer than what I'm familiar with as a 50 minute wait. I was ready to leave when one of my fellow Custodial cast members, Bryan, came up to us. I worked with him on a few occasions in Fantasyland and he had this dry, sarcastic personality that I really gelled with. He came up asking if we needed help and I told him, it was all good, but my mom stepped in and said yes. He asked what's the problem and I explained to him that I was positive. He pestered me on it as my mom and sisters kept on getting on me. I was getting frustrated, mostly because I didn't want Bryan to waste his time with me, knowing there were other guests who needed a lot more help than myself. This is kinda where the TR title comes in because I know I said something along the lines of “living here” and “know what I’m talking about.” Finally, most likely fed up with me, he brought us up to the FP line and got us in there, no problem.

Yeah, I totally had the most unnecessary know-it-all moment ever that only a FP could shut me up about. I was THAT person. Again, go me. I thanked Bryan profusely after I felt so bad for my behavior.

Buuuuuuuut... FIRST MAGICAL MOMENT OF THE TRIP! WE GOT ON 7DMT WITH A SHORTENED WAIT WITHOUT A FP. I've yet to ever to do that my entire program. Obviously my family was ecstatic, gave me a hard time later, but was so happy to ride a new attraction off the bat with minimal wait.


Obviously I blinked for this photo. Tragic.

Now the consensus? They were all pretty meh about it. They thought it was fun, but glad I was really trying to avoid a ridiculous wait time. They said they couldn't do it again with a long wait. They did love later how there was a ride video, but I'm getting ahead of myself on that.

After 7DMT, the Fam was ready to really starting hitting up some rides, hoping that our luck had not run out in just that moment. They wanted to see where I worked and they also were interested in riding Space Mountain again so Tomorrowland was the destination.

To explain my job a bit better, Custodial is a very unique role in the Disney company. When you get your location, you usually stay in that location until the end of your program, unless it goes under refurb or they are asking you to be deployed elsewhere where they need more people, which sometimes requires extra training. Custodial is different in that you are initially given a park (if not a resort, which I can't speak on), in that park, you have a home land where you will be most of the time and be thus trained on exclusively. Once you start working, you can be put anywhere in the park. For example, my home land was Tomorrowland, but I was put in Fantasyland on multiple occasions. Generally Tomorrowland and Fantasyland people bounce between those two lands, as do Frontierland and Adventureland/Liberty Square cast members. Main Street is on its own since it covers not just Main Street and the Hub, but the entrance to the park down to the boat docks and bus stops. These areas are respectively known as East, West and South. However, these aren't that restrictive as I could've also been deployed to any of those other three areas. For the most part, I was in Tomorrowland and knew pretty much everyone there.

We were bee-lining towards Space Mountain, but I wanted to see if anyone I knew was out and about. Mornings are generally not a CP time so very few of my friends were here yet. However, I saw a FTer friend of mine, Mike, was out doing water art! Mike is the KING of water art and I believe he was doing a Mickey & Minnie real quick with heart and all this day. After he finished, I went up and said hi and the Fam. My mom complimented him on his work, but immediately Mike, being literally one of the nicest people I've ever met, talked about how I was the best at it. I take compliments weirdly and just kinda giggled. We spent a few minutes with Mike, just talking. He gave Alyssa some stickers then said goodbye. I said I'd see him later and we headed to Space Mountain.

As predicted, Space's wait was not bad and we got on in no time. We did have time to think up a ride pose for Siobhan, Alyssa and I (since we would be in the same ride photo). Again, we're all theater kids and LOVE Hamilton and since there are three of us, we heavily identify with the Schuyler sisters.

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I'm Angelica btw

So of course, we had to do the WERK pose on the ride. Unfortunately, the ride isn't set up in a triangle (that'd be one rough Space Mountain) so Siobhan, who called the front, said she would do two hands, Alyssa would do one hand and I'd do the other. I'd tell them when the photo was coming.

And voila!



Obviously, many months of riding Space Mountain daily, I had no clue where the camera was. Whatever, I still looked mega fierce. Like I was hiding from the paparazzi (another ride photo pose I have done before).

My sisters enjoyed the ride just as much as they did years ago as did my mom, a very sensitive rider at her age.



Peep that hand photobomb above my mom. The star of the photo for sure.


Again, we were still pretty amped after this and we still had a full day of Magic Kingdom fun to go!

Where to go next?


Continued Here
 
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I'm just joining in! It's so neat to hear about bits of your CP experience, all lumped in with what sounds like an awesome family trip. Can't wait to hear more!
 
Hey I'm older than that and still get excited about Christmas ;)

Love those pics of you guys at Pop, so fabulous!

Cute family photo with Mary! And I love the ones in front of the castle too!

That's awesome that you were able to get on 7DMT with a shortened wait! Yay for CM friends!

Haha that Space ride photo is awesome!
 
KAAAAAY, I'm HERE.

When I hear about the line forming for Magic Kingdom and the double-length coaches...

tenor.gif


you are LITERALLY a trooper for playing in Magic and then WORKING in Magic on Christmas day. I salute you.

All of your family pics from this morning are so beautiful, like what even are you guys :sad:

I'm so happy that your family got to go on 7DMT and Space!! The WERK photo is hands down the best photo I've ever seen.

I neeeeeeeeeed moooooooore :worship::worship::worship:
 
Okay so I'm not the only seasoned DISer who can't ever figure out which side the camera is on :rolleyes1 just kidding!

love choreographed on ride pics!
 
I'm just joining in! It's so neat to hear about bits of your CP experience, all lumped in with what sounds like an awesome family trip. Can't wait to hear more!

:welcome:

I'm glad you enjoy that extra-ness, because it does come up a lot. It WAS an awesome family trip.:)

Hey I'm older than that and still get excited about Christmas ;)

YAS I'M NOT ALONE :teeth:

Love those pics of you guys at Pop, so fabulous!

Cute family photo with Mary! And I love the ones in front of the castle too!

Thank you! It was a lot of fun taking them. :o

That's awesome that you were able to get on 7DMT with a shortened wait! Yay for CM friends!

YAS, love CM friends! Even tho I felt I was taking advantage. :p

Haha that Space ride photo is awesome!

Lol thank you, we try. :upsidedow

KAAAAAY, I'm HERE.

'BOUT TIME

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(jk ily)

When I hear about the line forming for Magic Kingdom and the double-length coaches...

tenor.gif

Gurl, the anxiety attack I was covering up in that moment. I was not prepared.

you are LITERALLY a trooper for playing in Magic and then WORKING in Magic on Christmas day. I salute you.

Oh why thank you :D It nearly destroyed me tho as you'll find out.

All of your family pics from this morning are so beautiful, like what even are you guys :sad:

We are ******FLAWLESS.

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(thanks hon :love2:)

I'm so happy that your family got to go on 7DMT and Space!! The WERK photo is hands down the best photo I've ever seen.

That photo makes me regret we never really had a thrill rides day in the parks. :sad1:

I neeeeeeeeeed moooooooore :worship::worship::worship:

It's coming. IT'S COMING.

Okay so I'm not the only seasoned DISer who can't ever figure out which side the camera is on :rolleyes1 just kidding!

love choreographed on ride pics!

Lol, bless. I think part of it was that it was the side of Space I usually don't ride on. :D Thank you! All my ride pics are choreographed... mostly so there's more to come.

Enjoying this already, can't wait to read more

:welcome:

Glad you're enjoying it! :D
 
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