Newsies: From Scratch - May And September 2024! - UPDATE 05/17

[SimplyGoofy]

Hooray for your single digit dance (and even closer now!) despite your last few days of craziness before your trip!

Also, hooray for your MNNSHP ticket! I hope Disney is able to work with you to “exchange” for a second party ticket - it would be a nicer experience at both parties if you could take your time enjoying them rather than smush everything in to one night.

 

[Newsies]

Exciting days for you - your trip will be here before you know it! Will be anxiously awaiting your TR!

I'm so excited!!!

Hooray for your single digit dance (and even closer now!) despite your last few days of craziness before your trip!

Also, hooray for your MNNSHP ticket! I hope Disney is able to work with you to “exchange” for a second party ticket - it would be a nicer experience at both parties if you could take your time enjoying them rather than smush everything in to one night.

It has been so crazy! So excited to do the Halloween party. I'll call Disney re: my second party once I'm back from... well, Disney!

 

[Newsies]

The Final Countdown for May
​

Okay, DISboards: we, as a community, simply do not talk enough about how insane those last few days before your Disney vacation feels. Or maybe I'm the insane one and nobody else can relate to this -- I find this is the case more often than not. But there's a not-so-sweet spot in between the single digit dance -- particularly when we get to the 5 day mark -- and the time you leave for Disney that just drives me wild!

I've been simultaneously not thinking about our vacation and only thinking about our vacation for the last 72 hours. Even when I think I'm locked in and focused on getting my work done this week, there's a buzzing noise in the back of my head reminding me that I'm going to be a 27-year-old in Epcot this time next week. It's not like it's preventing me from getting my work done -- I'm actually pleasantly surprised at how productive I've been these past two days! -- but the thoughts are just... there, running in the background. And now I'm home from work, and I have all this downtime to myself, and every time I think about everything I'll be doing this time next week, I overwhelm myself and don't want to think about any of it.

Don't even get me started about my sleep schedule. I can barely sleep, and when I do sleep: I dream exclusively about being at Walt Disney World. My brain is a wreck right now!

I am also steadfast in my belief that these last few days before the trip are the worst days of the year for anyone with as much anxiety as I have. These are the last few days where your planning and preparations really come down to the wire and you start to second guess everything you've done and you're like, "okay, what am I forgetting?", especially in regards to packing. I have a really good track record with not forgetting important things (knock on wood), but it's the truly random things I forget to do before we leave that get to me. I'll be sitting in my car halfway through North Carolina and think "D'oh! Three months ago I swore I was going to get a plain canvas tote for the characters to autograph this time! "

I think I've mitigated as much of that as possible this trip because I'm actively trying to pack as little as possible. There are still a few things I have to pack (all articles of clothing), and I need to charge my camera battery and fuel rods for the car ride, but other than that, I think I'm golden.

This past weekend was, predictably, as busy as you'd expect it to be. Started off bright and early Saturday morning by taking my car to get a little washy-wash, then we went out as a family to pick up something at Harbor Freight (mom needed carabiners for something), dad got his truck washed, we stopped at AAA and Five Below to grab a few last-minute odds and ends. Later that night, we went food shopping for our final round of groceries before the trip, including all the ingredients needed to operate the Newsies Sisters Trail Mix Factory, opening Thursday evening. Sunday was a bit more relaxed, and a very lovely Mother's Day despite all the rain here in NJ. Mom was treated to a lovely breakfast of eggs, bacon, toast, and hash browns, and a lovely-er dinner of prime rib, baked potatoes, and brussel sprouts. And we all sat together and watched TV all day, including American Idol, which we haven't watched in maybe 20 years but wanted to see the Tiana's Bayou Adventure opening day announcement.

By the way-- did anyone watch Idol? Who else was super underwhelmed by Seacrest rushing through the announcement before commercial break? Granted, Disney really botched this one, but given how they hyped it up that day. I thought we would at least get some type of video message from Josh D'Amaro or someone.

Let's put a pin in TBA -- I am very excited for this ride to open and very, VERY excited to ride it on my September trip!

Yesterday was fine, although my left earbud died on me while I was listening to music on my walk and I panic-bought a new set from Amazon. Tomorrow and Thursday are going to be very, very, very, very, long. In fact, today was very long. I can't believe it's only 6:45 in the evening??? Even dad was confused when we were planning out our dinners for the rest of the week and I had to remind him that today was Tuesday, not Wednesday like he thought it was. Here are my priorities for the rest of the week:

Tomorrow:

• One last load of laundry​
• Packing the rest of my suitcase​
• Charging my camera battery​
• Charging my second Fuelrod​

Thursday:

• Finish up work priorities while I'm in office
• Bring suitcase downstairs
• Charge and set-up new earbuds
• Pack Fuelrods and camera
• Open (and close) the Newsies Sisters Trail Mix Factory so we can make our world-famous batch of road trip trail mix!

Friday:

• Survive the morning at work!
• Finish packing overnight bag with my toiletries
• Nail/Eyebrow appointment
• Pack all my chargers
• Go to Disney World!

 

[SimplyGoofy]

Your plans for your last few prep days sound great!

I agree that the last few days before a trip are stressful - there’s always 1,001 things to do. I actually feel more on top of our Disney trip than other recent trips as my excitement got my butt in gear early. I’ve already ordered our new clothes, purchased our park must-haves, and done my Target run(s). As long as I can get packing going a few days in advance I may find myself with nothing left to do the day before we leave!*

I hope you’re able to sleep (that’s the worst!) and get everything wrapped up with as little stress as possible. At least your nail appointment should allow for some R&R!

*If that’s the case, this alone may convince my husband to make more frequent Disney trips. I’m a last-minute packer and he is not - his anxiety will ratchet way down if we’re all set more than 12 hours in advance!

 

[Newsies]

Your plans for your last few prep days sound great!

I agree that the last few days before a trip are stressful - there’s always 1,001 things to do. I actually feel more on top of our Disney trip than other recent trips as my excitement got my butt in gear early. I’ve already ordered our new clothes, purchased our park must-haves, and done my Target run(s). As long as I can get packing going a few days in advance I may find myself with nothing left to do the day before we leave!*

I couldn't agree with you more! I kicked it into high gear today and finished up basically all of my packing -- just need to put away a few of my skincare products once I'm done using them Friday morning. You're completely right: now that I'm all packed, I feel a lot better and almost like there's nothing left for me to do!

I hope you’re able to sleep (that’s the worst!) and get everything wrapped up with as little stress as possible. At least your nail appointment should allow for some R&R!

Thank you! I had yet another productive day at work and finished up basically everything I had prioritized to get done before I left, and I have a fun day at work ahead of me tomorrow (company-wide event, all of my friends will be in the office) which will take my mind off of Disney, but now I need to focus on getting some sleep tonight!

*If that’s the case, this alone may convince my husband to make more frequent Disney trips. I’m a last-minute packer and he is not - his anxiety will ratchet way down if we’re all set more than 12 hours in advance!

YES! Exactly!!!

 

[Newsies]

May 2024: All Systems Go
​

Tomorrow is the big day for the Newsies family!

I finished packing my suitcase and brought it downstairs yesterday, alongside my overnight bag and the garment bag that's protecting a floofy top I'm wearing to my birthday dinner. And I also finished setting up my Travel Journal for this trip!

​

As predicted, I got very little sleep last night and woke up around 4:30 this morning, finding myself unable to fall back asleep, which is very rare for me. Went downstairs close to 5:30, watched some TV with dad and Roxie for a little bit, then had breakfast and got ready for my day.

Long day in the office but exciting day in the office. We had catered lunch and an ice cream truck to celebrate the company special event today, and I finished up loose ends at work that I needed to tie off before we load up the truck tomorrow.

I got home normal time, went on a little walk before the rain returned, and we had pancakes for dinner before Grace and I opened up the Newsies Sisters Trail Mix Factory:

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The mix changes every year based off of what we're in the mood for, but this year, it's pretzel rounds, bugles, chex, goldfish, m&ms, popcorn, and honey-roasted peanuts! All mixed up and packaged in ziplock bags and ready to pack into the car.

Here's the itinerary for me tomorrow:

• 6:00 wake up, quick walk​
• 7:00 protein shake/shower/finish packing the last of my toiletries​
• 9:00 first meeting of the day​
• 11:30-12:00 last meeting of the day (TBD when I actually log off for the day, but it will be sometime between 12:00-2:30 depending on how much work I have left to do)​
• 3:00 nail appointment​
• 6:00 dinner​
• 11:30 we leave for Disney!​

And with all of that being said, I'm off to bed and I'll see you all tomorrow for a quick post before we head off! Still feels so surreal that the big day is upon us and I'll be in "TR Territory" when I wake up!

 

[elsbit]

Woohoo! Travel safe and have fun!!

 

[SimplyGoofy]

HOORAY - it’s your Disney travel day today!!!

Have a great (and fast-moving!) day and have safe travels. And more importantly, have a FABULOUS time at Disney World! I hope your dad gets all the snacks he’s hoping for at the Flower and Garden Festival and the Poly brings back a bit of magic for you. Hopefully we’ll cross paths in less than a week!

 

[kclark9830]

I can't wait to hear all bout your trip! I've followed along on many of your other trips back in "the day" . Hope you have so much magic!

 

[Newsies]

Woohoo! Travel safe and have fun!!

Thank you very, very much! Hope to see you soon!

HOORAY - it’s your Disney travel day today!!!

Have a great (and fast-moving!) day and have safe travels. And more importantly, have a FABULOUS time at Disney World! I hope your dad gets all the snacks he’s hoping for at the Flower and Garden Festival and the Poly brings back a bit of magic for you. Hopefully we’ll cross paths in less than a week!

HOORAY!

Thank you very, very much Jenny -- hope to see you real soon!

I can't wait to hear all bout your trip! I've followed along on many of your other trips back in "the day" . Hope you have so much magic!

Thank you so much, Katie! You are the best -- appreciate the kind words!

 

[Newsies]

What a Fine Evening for a Drive
The Conclusion of our May 2024 PTR
​

Well, here we are: technically, we've concluded my first PTR in five years (though this thread will live on through September).

We've had a pleasant day so far. It's 7:32 PM here in New Jersey and the Newsies family can't sleep, despite all of us trying our hardest to get some shut-eye in before the Big Migration tonight. I'm in my pajamas and I keep yawning, so maybe I'll fall asleep soon -- on the couch, with the Poly candle lit, while I watch the Full House episode where they go to Disney. Mom is awake down here with me. 3 hours from now, we'll be back in the truck and I95 bound. 48 hours from now, we'll be checking in to our dinner reservation at 1900 Park Fare.

Planning this trip has been fun, and updating this PTR has been even more fun, even though it's different now than it was back in 2019 when I did my last PTR. I was thinking about it earlier actually, this is not just my first PTR in 5 years -- this is really the first trip where I feel as excited to visit Walt Disney World as I did before COVID. I was really excited to visit Disneyland for the first time back in 2022, but I've just been lukewarm to the East Coast park in the past few years. At first, it was a mix of post-pandemic "I-don't-want-to-get-COVID-from-Disney-World" jitters (sidenote: looking back at our March 2021 trip is crazy, it feels like a fever dream). But last year just really felt different for me, in spite of everything being back to 100% normal at the Parks. No masks, no social distancing, characters were giving us hugs again -- but I just wasn't into it.

But this morning, I was in the car thinking about how Disney doesn't feel the same anymore, and I realized... it kind of does feel the same this year. I'm excited for a lot of little things this year, the same way I was when I was in high school.

In fact, this little therapy session ends right now, and I'm going to tell you what I'm most excited for this year!

• Sitting down at Kona Cafe for breakfast at the tail end of a 20 hour drive. It still hasn't sunk in that we're at Walt Disney World. I can't stop looking around because everything is so much brighter and louder at Walt Disney World, and despite the fact that I haven't been here in two years, every inch of this resort lobby looks, feels, smells like it did the last time I was here. And that's what makes it home to me.
• Standing around in the Grand Floridian lobby before our 1900 Park Fare reservation, drinking in the ambiance and loving the fact that we have a whole week here.
• Sitting in the boat headed to Magic Kingdom in the morning with the salty air breezing past my face
• Heading to the Emporium and grabbing the monochrome Mickey Mouse shirt that's going viral on TikTok right now
• Waking up on my 27th birthday and heading to my favorite Park.
• Shula's. I can't wait to toast to my birthday here!
• Heading back to the hotel room, being a little crisp from the pool, and taking a shower/quick nap before heading back out to the Park for the rest of the evening.
• Slurping down a Lapu Lapu, and I don't even like rum that much.
• Those random conversations you have with Cast Members that go on for way too long because you're both just having too much fun talking to each other.
• That one character interaction I get every trip have where the character does something so goofy and unexpected I can't help but to burst into laughter.
• Sitting on my pull-down bed late at night with Disney Resort TV on, my whole body hurts because I did 30,000 steps that day, and while I'm waiting to use the shower, I'm enjoying the treat that I picked up at the Confectionary on my way out of Magic Kingdom.

I'm getting really emotional. Maybe I need to go to Disney more often.

I already can't wait to tell you all about this trip. See ya real soon!

End of May 2024 PTR

 

[elsbit]

Your most excited for list was such a sweet sweet post. This cheese ball was a little verklempt. That is why I enjoy this community, posts like this make me feel like I am amongst my people who 'get it." Have a fabulous birthday! And eat some extra Newsie sister snack mix for me. That sounds delish.