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

The love is so real and evident in this photo!! :lovestruc

I was borderline about to cry. Don't know how I held it together. I miss Chewy so much.

No!! That's so sweet and sad! :sad:

Again, don't know how I held it together.

RIP GMR :sad1:...:sad:

:sad: :sad: :sad:

Hi Timmy! Just wanted to say how much I've enjoyed your TR. My son is also named Timmy and he starts the Disney College Program at the end of January. He too will be in Custodial and is beyond excited!!!!! He was fortunate enough to get the extended program and we are looking forward to visiting him while he is there...We've already booked a trip for March, hoping to catch him for a bit while we are visiting...Any advice or wisdom you could offer would be wonderful!!!!

Hi Jenny! :welcome: Glad to hear you've enjoyed my TR!

Omg, that's amazing! How exciting! And yay for getting into advantage and Custodial! I would've done it for the Fall, but the turnover from school to moving to Florida just felt too quick. If I did Spring I so would've done advantage since it just overflows into the summer.

But that's so awesome you're going to visit, it honestly was so nice when my family came to visit so I'm sure it will be super magical. Too bad you didn't wait, he probably could've snagged a room discount potentially for you.

Any advice or wisdom? Hmmmm, there's a lot. It is six plus months of working for one of the biggest, most prestigious companies out there. I guess I could say that you need to remind yourself it is a job as much as it is an incredible experience so take everything with a grain of salt. It's not going to be magical every single day of those months. Also, to really take advantage of all the perks of being a Disney Parks cast member because there are A LOT and a tad more for being a CP, so really take the time to figure out how to make the most of your time with the company.

Thank you so much for stopping by and saying hey! Best of luck to Timmy on his program! :)
 
But that's so awesome you're going to visit, it honestly was so nice when my family came to visit so I'm sure it will be super magical. Too bad you didn't wait, he probably could've snagged a room discount potentially for you.

You know, I just didn't want to take the chance that there wouldn't be anything available, because we are going down during spring break. That being said, I din't buy any park tickets. I figured if he happens to have time off when we are there, we can always wing a park with his free tix (that he will earn)...We've been to Disney soooooo many times (as you van see from my signature) that I won't be upset at all if we can't do a park. It'll just be nice to be there.

Thank you VERY much for your kind words and advice. i can't wait to show my Timmy what you had to say!!!!!!:P
 
Why Y'all Sleeping On Earl of Sandwich?
December 28th, 2016


Alright, since I really wasn't in this update for long, this will just be one long departure day final update. Bare with me once again please.

We had a bit of an early morning today. It really wasn't since I woke up with everyone else. As soon as we woke up, it was all a rush to get showered and packed to leave. I stayed in bed as long as I could since I was going back to my apartment once I sent them off to wherever they decided to go. The sleep helped a little but I still felt lousy and decided to stay in my dreary pajamas for the rest of the day. It was kind of a sad day because I was headed back to my lovely apartment in Vista Way though while the Fam was leaving me to return to New Hampshire.

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Yeah, a sad day on all accounts. Thankfully, due to me calling out the night before, I could hang around Pop with my family as long as I could. I couldn't go into a park, which I genuinely did not want to, but it was nice to just lounge about with the Fam before I'd head to my apartment and put myself on bedrest & Netflix for the rest of the day.

Back to the situation at hand, we had to check out soon. Once everyone was out of the shower and packed, we headed out. I took one last photo of the Fifties mural they have up on the wall as a goodbye photo. B-bye 50s section, it was rad.



Off to airport pick-up and bag check we went. They all were able to hand off their bags to Magical Express no problem. They decided to keep their carry-ons with them since they were going to spend the day somewhere before coming back to make their ME bus. I unfortunately had my huge backpack to carry around with me, but I wasn't going too far today so it wasn't a big deal. When we got back into Pop, we had to make a quick stop by concierge to ask about room charges. My mom had primarily been using her MagicBand to pay for things, minus yesterday since we mainly used my discount everywhere and she was going to use it again today. There was a bit of a line so my sisters and I lounged a bit, taking in all the retro fabulousness of Pop.


RIP Carrie :sad1:

I'm such a geek for most everything on that poster.

My mom and Siobhan were with concierge for quite a bit when they finally walked away. They told them that they could charge the room right up until the end of the day so they were all set. They even printed out all the charges made for my mom. Still forever in awe of Disney service when done right. (Ok yeah, that wasn't that incredible but you know, let me appreciate my beloved home for a moment.)

We then headed over to Everything POP to get some breakfast. I was pretty ready to leave, but I couldn't pass up a nice hearty breakfast (I only ate cereal for breakfast back at my apartment). I hopped in line for the live Omelet bar. I got a Southwest Omelet, which I never had before. Normally I just tell my dad to experiment with what he's got. I don't do that too much anymore since I'm usually not awake for breakfast. Today I was and got an omelet. Alyssa got some scrambled eggs. I'm not sure what everyone else got. All I know is that my mom was taking photos with her phone of the rest of us on our phones.



You know I'm sick when I never even changed out of the clothes from the day before. I'm more self-conscious when I'm wearing any article of clothing that I wore the previous day, even when I had it on for a reason. In short, I was pretty ready to get back to my own bedroom, even if it meant leaving the Fam.

Once we had finished our breakfast, my mom and sisters refilled their refillable mugs and we headed out front for some final photos.

Siobhan waited for me to take a 90s babies photos since we're the only two true 90s babies. It came out pretty good considering how crummy I looked.



Alyssa tried to sneak in even though she was born in 2001. Our pose was something along the lines here of "Don't even try it, hon."



After, my mom found this golf-cart that was shaped like a car at the exterior. Obviously she needed a pic.


I don't even know.

The humidity was on again and I was ready to go take my all day nap back in my nice cozy apartment. In short, it was goodbye time. We had a wonderful stay/vacation together and in only a couple weeks time, I'd be back home. In true Disney fashion, it really wasn't goodbye but 'see ya real soon!' They told me then that they weren't down with spending another $400+ for a day at DHS so Disney Springs was their choice to pass the time until the Tragical Express arrived. I recommended Earl of Sandwich again, hoping they'd listen this time. It was hugs all around then I headed off to catch the next TranStar (the bus system the DCP uses) bus back to Vista Way. And thus, ended my staycation.

I basically passed out the minute I got back to my apartment. Nobody was home so it was nice and quiet for me to get rest. I woke up later and ran to get some NyQuil from Walgreens, which always manages to help. It did its work that night and I was back at work the next day. #Blessed (except not entirely because it got EVEN CRAZIER in the parks).

On the flip side, my family still had much vacation to enjoy. They went off to Disney Springs where I think they mostly did some browsing and enjoyed some of the street performance offerings. I think they got involved in one of the freestyle rap offs. The only pics I got from my mom were these:











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Why do I even bother?

On the positive, they really enjoyed it. They would not stop raving about it, even when I got home a few weeks later. It was the highlight of all the food they got at Disney. Guess I got to take their suggestion and go to Raglan Road.

Or not.

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They also told me they were there when their Tragical Express arrived and made it home safe and sound. So that ends their vacation, satisfied and back in cold, boring New Hampshire. I sympathized greatly with them (granted they are true NHers (if that's a thing) and LOVE winter).

With that, we also end the true trip reporting section of this report. However, I don't like to make wrap-ups short and sweet, I like big, extravagant, overly extra wrap-ups so stick around, there's one coming your way.

Until then, have a magical day! :tinker:

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Continued Here

 
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I'm sorry you were feeling so crummy! But at least you got a little more time with your fam before heading back to your apt to crash. I'm glad you had a good visit with them! :)
 
Haha-my mom does this too!

My mom has the most fascinating camera roll EVER.

Oh, my sister and I totally should have done that for the 1980s! She just squeaked in at the end of 1989. Oh well!

My mom made it a point to do it for 60s so we all have one with each of our decades. BLESS. Next time you'll have to do it if you're back at Pop.

I'm sorry you were feeling so crummy! But at least you got a little more time with your fam before heading back to your apt to crash. I'm glad you had a good visit with them! :)

I took it as a sign it was a successful few days, which it was, and I got a day off, which was SOOOOO necessary considering the following week. And the trip still ended on a good note. :thumbsup2
 
What a great trip you had, despite a few setbacks. I hope you started feeling better soon. Thanks so much for sharing with us—looking forward to your extravagant wrap up :)
 


What a great trip you had, despite a few setbacks. I hope you started feeling better soon. Thanks so much for sharing with us—looking forward to your extravagant wrap up :)

It really was and I did feel a lot better after a day off and some NyQuil. :thumbsup2

It was my pleasure. Helps with the PDCPD. And we'll, sadly, have that wrap-up v soon :'(
 
How Can One Possibly Tie A Pretty Little Bow On An Adventure Like This?
Final Wrap-Up

It is that time once again. The time where I close another chapter on my Disney adventures.

I've been wracking my brain though as to how I should do this. I mean, I gave you both a peek into basically a week out of a six month program. I so wish I could've given you the whole six months, but obviously that would be an even bigger mess than me trying to remember a significant set "vacation" of sorts. I'm not going to put you through that. I will say this staycation was definitely one of the most special weeks of my program. I hadn't gotten to see anyone much from home and it kinda put a damper on things. I did see one of my close friends the week before and then I FaceTime'd my friends from school on Main Street, but that was about it and that happened within a week of each other. As much as you do make your own little Fam down in Orlando, you still long for that familiarity of home. Also, I really wanted to show someone I was close with what I learned to love about this new home of mine, which I got to do in such a grand way.

Aside from the predicted tiffs with the Christmas week crowds, the impending sickness from overworking, family being family, it was an amazing week! We got essentially everything I had wanted to do with them, not necessarily everything I wanted THEM to do, but that's ok. Their loss hehe I know we'll look back on this crazy week fondly for many many years. Will we ever go back around this time?

Absolutely

NOT.

I mean, I'd probably do it as a working cast member or CP again because Fall was an amazing time to be in Disney and I'd do it over again, but never willingly vacationing. Nuh-uh. I'll stay at home or just wander the resorts. No Magic Kingdom, Epcot, DAK, Studios, nuh-uh-uh. I'll survive without all that, thank you very much.

Speaking of the Fall and the times I wasn't with any home friends or family, it really was an amazing program that I still do wish I had been able to share more of with you. You can see basically everything if you go to my Instagram @thatdisneykween or look at the hashtags: #TimmysDCPFall2k16 or #MemoriesofTimmysDCP Or I also have four albums worth of photos on my Facebook, which you can message me if you want to friend (I consider any fellow Disney lovers a worthy Facebook official friend in my book). But because that's a lot to dig through, I'll list out some highlights and post some pics:

-World Photopass Day
-Many Characterpalooza/Surprise M&Gs
-THREE Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Parties (and working many others)
-Halloween Horror Nights @ Universal Studios
-The 45th Anniversary of the Magic Kingdom (another day where I was at the park opening until close)
-THREE Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Parties (also working many others)
-Last Nights of Main Street Electrical Parade & Celebrate the Magic
-DCP Service Celebration
-Christmas Day Filmings @ Magic Kingdom
-Multiple Housing Events: Thanksgiving, Totally Tangled, Christmas Minnie & Mickey M&G, etc.
-Premiere of Once Upon A Time Projection Show
-DCP Winter Formal
-Short Lived "Jungle Book Alive With Magic"
-Candlelight Processional with Neil Patrick Harris
-Casting, Traditions, Once Upon A Time is Now & Just the Magic of Becoming a Disney Cast Member
-Instagram/DIS Meet-Ups
-Working Every Holiday @ MK (Halloween, Thanksgiving, Black Friday, NYE, etc. etc.)
-Epcot International Food & Wine Festival
-Eat to the Beat Concert Series (Wilson Phillips & Starship)
-Dapper Day @ Epcot
-Premiere of Jingle Bell Jingle BAM
-Conquering My Fear By Riding RnRC and LOVING IT
-Beaches N Cream and the Kitchen Sink with Roomies
-Getting a No-Strings-Attached Card from Nathaniel, The (now-former) Disney Ambassador
-Resort Hopping All The Time
-Late Nights Seeing Movies and Eating My Way Around Disney Springs (Oh and Starbucks!)
-Failed Attempt at Being a Disney Vlogger
-National Coming Out Day @ Magic Kingdom
-Riding Space Mountain With The Lights On & Seven Dwarfs Mine Train On My Last Days
-Many Many Days of Magical Moments Being Made and Received Along With All The Happy Tears


Casting from my Official First Day


Flik had the best reaction to me starting my CP


Me forcing my roomies (Kemuel, front; Joseph, back) to wear the matching Heathers/Princesses shirts I got them as roomie gifts


Totally Tangled Housing Event!


Dapper Day w/ Instagram friends!


My favorite tree on the Christmas Tree trail (w/ Pua and Starbucks!)


Halloween Horror Nights!!!!!


DCP Winter Formal (PC: @Newsies)


With my favorite lost boy (and an Instagram celeb... I'm sure you recognize her.)


With Bert bae *insert heart eye emoji*


Well, look. Isn't it @Newsies?


Thanksgiving Housing Event


Last day of Food & Wine : ' (


Magic Kingdom after my Service Celebration and my current Insta profile pic


Neil Patrick Harris at the Candlelight Processional


Catching Elena in a surprise meet on National Coming Out Day


Cruella helping Figment fly off


Jingle Bell Jingle BAM!


One of my Instagram besties when she came to visit (now a CP Alum herself)


Wearing my Heathers shirt with Ariel on it and a very special mermaid next to me


My official Disney name tag with the MNSSHP decal


My faves at the Friendship Faire


World Photopass Day with Dopey & Snow


Charlestoning for the first time with my fave!


The 45th Anniversary of MK opening ceremonies


Nick & Judy at MVMCP


Frozen Ever After on my last day at Epcot


Saying goodbye to Aurora on my last day at Epcot


I can't even talk about this photo (Saying goodbye to Goofini)


CP Graduation/Service Celebration


Last Night Working @ MK


My last Castle photo (taken during the Kiss Goodnight)

And well, that was that, I guess.

Now, I just have to move on... So what is next for me? What are my plans post-the Fam staycation, DCP & everything that came after? Well, it's back to finishing out school. Unfortunately, I will not be graduating on time, but that's ok, I'm getting it all figured out. Once I graduate, I'm hoping to move back to Florida either as a CP again, a PI (Professional Internship) and then potentially a FTer (Full Timer). I mean, easier said than done, but that's the goal. Until then, maybe I'll get back to Disney, maybe I won't, maybe I'll fulfill my dream of traveling to the international parks or Disneyland (UPDATE: yeah, we know that’s a thing lol click here to go check out that PTR), I don't know, so much time so much to do. All I know is whatever comes my way it will be an awfully big adventure.

Until next time, have a magical day! *blows kiss*
 
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Loved following along. So happy you will get to come experience DLR and the massive gayness of LA/LongBeach/Anaheim.
I moved here to work for DLR and haven't left. It is magical and I am sure you will enjoy moment of Walt's park, even if you are sobbing like a baby walking through then entrance tunnels for the first time. Don't worry, we all do it :sad:.
 
It's so great that you can look fondly back at both your time at DCP and your time with your family!

I loved seeing all your highlight photos- what wonderful moments and memories! Oh my gosh that photo with Goofini is adorable and heartbreaking at the same time!

Enjoyed your TR so much, thanks for sharing!!
 
Loved following along. So happy you will get to come experience DLR and the massive gayness of LA/LongBeach/Anaheim.
I moved here to work for DLR and haven't left. It is magical and I am sure you will enjoy moment of Walt's park, even if you are sobbing like a baby walking through then entrance tunnels for the first time. Don't worry, we all do it :sad:.

I'm so glad you enjoyed it. And omg I'm SOOOO excited for all of that. The day cannot come any sooner. And I know, if I'm sobbing, it's a good thing. :goodvibes1

It's so great that you can look fondly back at both your time at DCP and your time with your family!

I loved seeing all your highlight photos- what wonderful moments and memories! Oh my gosh that photo with Goofini is adorable and heartbreaking at the same time!

Enjoyed your TR so much, thanks for sharing!!

It really was overall an unforgettable and wonderful experience. I cannot wait to go back!

Glad you enjoyed them and that photo honestly still makes me cry every time I looked at it. I full on lost it on poor Goof. :sad:

Glad you enjoyed it and thanks for following along! :)
 
Sad to see this come to an end, but I'm so glad you shared it with us! What a sweet wrap-up you put together for us :)

I mean, I gave you both a peek into basically a week out of a six month program. I so wish I could've given you the whole six months, but obviously that would be an even bigger mess than me trying to remember a significant set "vacation" of sorts.

I wish you could have, too!! But your highlight photos are awesome and gave us a good taste!

We got essentially everything I had wanted to do with them, not necessarily everything I wanted THEM to do, but that's ok. Their loss hehe

Bahah yep. I get this. When you try to plan the perfect WDW experience for family and then they totally go their own way. Uggh. :P

Will we ever go back around this time?

Absolutely

NOT.

Haha fair!! It's wild!! We've done it, and I wouldn't choose this time of year over most, but sometimes you do whatever it takes to get to Disney. Ugh.


Me forcing my roomies (Kemuel, front; Joseph, back) to wear the matching Heathers/Princesses shirts I got them as roomie gifts

Omg Heathers AND princesses!! Best idea!


Nick & Judy at MVMCP

Omg you're all so cute!! I wish I'd gotten to do this meet—I love Judy!! <3

Unfortunately, I will not be graduating on time, but that's ok, I'm getting it all figured out. Once I graduate, I'm hoping to move back to Florida either as a CP again, a PI (Professional Internship) and then potentially a FTer (Full Timer). I mean, easier said than done, but that's the goal. Until then, maybe I'll get back to Disney, maybe I won't, maybe I'll fulfill my dream of traveling to the international parks or Disneyland (UPDATE: yeah, we know that’s a thing lol click here to go check out that PTR), I don't know, so much time so much to do. All I know is whatever comes my way it will be an awfully big adventure.

We all take different paths, no worries. Sometimes you just need a little more time, or things get delayed for whatever reason. I hope all your Disney dreams come true, even if it's a hard path to follow! You absolutely have the spirit and the magic about you to be soo successful in the Disney company and really create wonderful experiences for guests!
 
Sad to see this come to an end, but I'm so glad you shared it with us! What a sweet wrap-up you put together for us :)

Thank you for following along and I'm glad you enjoyed the wrap-up! :teeth:

I wish you could have, too!! But your highlight photos are awesome and gave us a good taste!

If I hadn't originally planned to vlog, I would've but I'm glad the highlight photos were somewhat enough. :thumbsup2

Bahah yep. I get this. When you try to plan the perfect WDW experience for family and then they totally go their own way. Uggh. :P

As I said before, their loss hehe

Haha fair!! It's wild!! We've done it, and I wouldn't choose this time of year over most, but sometimes you do whatever it takes to get to Disney. Ugh.

Very true, but I'd definitely try to avoid it for a future vacation.

Omg Heathers AND princesses!! Best idea!

Thank you! It was really fun getting to wear that our first night. #basicdcptourists :-)

Omg you're all so cute!! I wish I'd gotten to do this meet—I love Judy!! <3

Awww thanks! They are FAVES and so sweet. I got to meet them three times during my program. :goodvibes

We all take different paths, no worries. Sometimes you just need a little more time, or things get delayed for whatever reason. I hope all your Disney dreams come true, even if it's a hard path to follow! You absolutely have the spirit and the magic about you to be soo successful in the Disney company and really create wonderful experiences for guests!

Awww, thank you, that means so much. I know my path is a little different, but I accepted it. It's just some people I'm close with can't seem to unfortunately :/ But I still have a lot to look forward to and hopefully I'll be back working for Disney soon enough!
 
Hi Timmy I'm back from our trip. I thought of you often while there. We had some not ideal CM experiences and when it would happen I would just wish they had your enthusiasm. I can't tell ya how many times we'd wish 1 Merry Christmas and they would just ignore it.
If I'm not mistaken you'll be headed to DLR soon? Enjoy.
 
Hi Timmy I'm back from our trip. I thought of you often while there. We had some not ideal CM experiences and when it would happen I would just wish they had your enthusiasm. I can't tell ya how many times we'd wish 1 Merry Christmas and they would just ignore it.
If I'm not mistaken you'll be headed to DLR soon? Enjoy.

Awww, that's so sweet, I'm flattered. I'm sorry you had some not-so-great CM experiences. Some CMs have their off days and some just aren't great CMs. Just remember though, it is the holidays and these CMs are working rather than being with their families. It's hard. I hope you had a good time otherwise. :teeth:

And yes I am! In less than a month. There's a link to my PTR in my sig if you want to follow along with the last minute planning lol
 
WOW! I THOROUGHLY enjoyed reading your trip report, Timmy! I'm glad you had such a fun time both with the College Program and with your Family's visit near the end of your program. Thanks for sharing! YAY for Disneyland! Can't wait to start reading that!
 
WOW! I THOROUGHLY enjoyed reading your trip report, Timmy! I'm glad you had such a fun time both with the College Program and with your Family's visit near the end of your program. Thanks for sharing! YAY for Disneyland! Can't wait to start reading that!

Oh wow, just noticed this now. Good thing I check old TRs sometime lol Thank you so much! I'm glad you enjoyed it. It really was such a magical little excursion. Hope to see you over on my DLR TR! :mickeyjum
 
OK, so I needed a Christmas Disney fix, and just binged your whole TR here. It was so enjoyable :) Your wrap up pics were so incredible! I loved the one with Dumbo and teared up at you with Goofini, OMG the feels!!!!!! Thanks for sharing this!
 
OK, so I needed a Christmas Disney fix, and just binged your whole TR here. It was so enjoyable :) Your wrap up pics were so incredible! I loved the one with Dumbo and teared up at you with Goofini, OMG the feels!!!!!! Thanks for sharing this!

I was just doing a perusal and I FOUND THIS omg I cannot believe you binged this one. I'm so glad you enjoyed. And yeah I tear up at Goofini too. Thanks for reading and leaving this one a little love! What a magical time this trip and the program surrounding it was :goodvibes1
 

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