Post-Trip Report: Catt’s Annual Family Summer Vacation (June 2024)

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VIRGINIA: It's another episode of Where I Long To Be, a magical trip report podcast, and I, as always, am your host, Virginia.

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VIRGINIA: It's a great way to help support the podcast and to ensure that the newest episode is waiting for you when you're ready to listen.

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VIRGINIA: At this point, I am nearly fully booked for 2024 trip report guests.

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VIRGINIA: If you or someone you know is traveling in late December or the first half of 2025, now is the time to reach out.

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VIRGINIA: So use the link in the show notes to have the best chance of being scheduled for an interview.

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VIRGINIA: If you are a travel agent, please consider suggesting submitting to any of your travel clients who might enjoy the experience.

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VIRGINIA: Speaking of travel agents, if you are looking for help planning your next vacation, today's guest, Catt, who you may know from Instagram as Catt in the Kingdom, is a travel planner who specializes in Disney.

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VIRGINIA: Don't let the planning stress you out when you could have the assistance of a dedicated professional to help you for no additional cost.

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VIRGINIA: As you'll hear from Catt's trip report, she is well-versed in all things Disney and would love to help you and your family make the most of your next visit.

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VIRGINIA: That's enough preamble.

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VIRGINIA: I am delighted to welcome back today's guest, Catt.

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VIRGINIA: And we are back with Catt from Catt and the Kingdom.

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VIRGINIA: Welcome back.

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VIRGINIA: I am so excited to talk through this trip with you because this was your very first time staying at the Polynesian.

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CATT: Yes, it was.

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VIRGINIA: My first question is you were keeping it sort of a secret from your husband as to where you were staying because he was not really asking and went long enough without asking that you were like, let's see how long we can go.

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VIRGINIA: So when did you reveal it to him and what was his reaction?

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CATT: I revealed it or I guess it revealed itself as we were pulling in to the parking lot.

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CATT: And his reaction was pretty good.

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CATT: I mean, it was like, you know, you get into the bubble and then all of a sudden it's like, okay, so where are we turning off?

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CATT: You know, which one of these exits are we getting off of?

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CATT: And then, you know, of course, as it goes, it gets more and more obvious because you eventually have to branch off to like actually go to the Magic Kingdom area.

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CATT: And it's very specific because you either go through the big giant gates that say Magic Kingdom or you go like around that back road that takes you into the resort area.

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CATT: And so, okay, now he's like, the wheels are turning and he's like, oh my goodness.

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CATT: And he was like, okay, maybe it's Bay Lake again.

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CATT: She really, really loved it, which I did.

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CATT: And then he was like, okay, I doubt it's the Grand Falurian.

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CATT: And then he was like, would it be Wilderness Lodge?

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CATT: She doesn't really like that, but maybe she just wanted to be fair and stay there and, you know, which eventually we will.

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CATT: And I mean, it was hilarious.

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CATT: He was just like, the more and more signs we pass, he's like, okay, where's this going?

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CATT: What are we doing here?

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VIRGINIA: Okay, and the funnier thing to me about this is that the Polynesian is your home resort.

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CATT: Yep, it took us, let's see, we've stayed at five, I think we've stayed at five other resorts before we've actually stayed at the Polynesian, which is, that's DVC for you.

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VIRGINIA: I guess, I mean, I guess it depends on how far out you're trying to book it.

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VIRGINIA: When we joined DVC, I was very, I mean, we were planning for a whole year later, so we had plenty of time to plan, but I was like, I wanna stay at my home resort for the first time.

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CATT: Yeah, I was kind of like that.

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CATT: And then, I think the time that we were trying to go or, we weren't 100% sure where we wanted to use our first points, and then by the time, I think our first booking window came about, because we didn't become members until October, so 11 months from there was kind of, and we were trying to do something either spring or summer anyway, so we were kind of like, oh, well, we're already behind.

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CATT: I mean, we couldn't get something, but let's just see what's available and see what we got.

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CATT: And we ended up, I wanna say I booked summer first, and then I think I booked a quick spring break.

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CATT: We had decided to go for a couple days of our spring break, and then I added that on just because it happened to be available.

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CATT: So yeah, it was kind of weird how it came about.

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CATT: Like I had a very specific thing that caught my eye to do summer, and then it kind of blew up from there.

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CATT: And then I was just working with the points that I had left, because we ended up with like an almost double point add-on the first year.

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CATT: And so I was using, I was trying to go big.

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CATT: And then we added on that cheap spring break.

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CATT: So that kind of, and by that point, we had already used a lot of them.

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CATT: And I was like, okay, we will go.

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CATT: It will happen.

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CATT: We're just, we're kind of having fun right now.

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VIRGINIA: Well, let's talk about your drive and getting down to the Polynesian.

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VIRGINIA: So your trip was Sunday, June 2nd through Friday, June 7th.

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VIRGINIA: So what time did you end up hitting the road?

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VIRGINIA: Because you like to leave early.

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CATT: We left, I think right at like right at four.

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CATT: Like we were up pretty much packed up and moving out when I think like the clock hit four and we were considered on the road.

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VIRGINIA: No traffic, I imagine.

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CATT: Actually, no.

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CATT: If any, like very small little spurts, but even hitting that particular spot on I-4 was not so bad.

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CATT: It was very like, I guess a lot of it had moved on and we were able to kind of scoot through before it like started backing back up again, which is like kind of in between that SeaWorld-ish area to like where they're developing the new like Flamingo Crossing area, getting into the bubble.

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VIRGINIA: Right.

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VIRGINIA: So what time did you end up arriving?

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CATT: Let's see, we got there at about, I think it was like 12, 30.

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VIRGINIA: And you made your Bucky's stop.

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VIRGINIA: So anything to report from Bucky's?

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CATT: I got my usual, I got the apple hand pie and you know, just I kept it light.

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CATT: For some reason I wasn't like overly, I guess I was just so like the anxiety was starting to go up about like we're about to get there and okay, how do we pull this off?

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CATT: You know, luckily I had the GPS set up so like he couldn't hear when it was going and all it's doing is giving turn by turn directions.

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CATT: But I'm like, okay, when we get there, we're gonna have to do this and I'm gonna have to make sure I'm following this thing because he doesn't know.

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CATT: So he's not gonna be looking for signs.

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CATT: But yeah, no, Bucky's was good.

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CATT: It was a quick Bucky's run, which is rare because sometimes they're very busy, but this was a nice calm experience.

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VIRGINIA: Yeah, I feel like I've either talked to or paid attention to people's posts lately that when they've been stopping up Bucky's, there have been a lot of sightings of Bucky, the character that you can have your photo taken with.

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VIRGINIA: And I don't know how rare that is.

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VIRGINIA: I hadn't really heard much about that before, but then lately I feel like I keep seeing people's photos with Bucky.

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CATT: Yeah, I don't think we've seen him, but we do hit it at weird times.

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CATT: I mean, there have been a couple of instances like this time where I guess it was like 10-ish, 1030.

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CATT: But sometimes where they're like so early that I'm like, yeah, we probably wouldn't.

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CATT: I mean, it's pretty much empty.

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CATT: But yeah, even in like, I guess the busy-ish early morning or mid-morning rush or whatever, I haven't seen it, but of course I'm probably not looking or paying any attention.

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VIRGINIA: I don't think I would be looking or paying attention for it either.

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VIRGINIA: I'd be totally focused on getting to Disney.

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CATT: It seems to be becoming a bigger thing where I feel like I didn't recognize that many Buc-E's and now all of a sudden there's a lot more in a lot more strategic places than there used to be.

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VIRGINIA: Yeah, I had never heard of it.

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VIRGINIA: And then I was going to visit a friend who lived in Austin and I asked a coworker who was originally from Texas, what should I see while I'm there?

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VIRGINIA: And it was one of the first things he said.

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VIRGINIA: He was like, you gotta go to Buc-E's.

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VIRGINIA: And I was like, where's Buc-E's?

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VIRGINIA: And he explained that it was basically the world's largest gas station.

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VIRGINIA: And I was like, okay, weird suggestion.

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VIRGINIA: But he was like, no, no, no, you don't get it.

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VIRGINIA: They've got like everything there.

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VIRGINIA: And he talked about like all the different trail mixes and all of the snacks and just like over the top offerings they had.

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VIRGINIA: And so I went and I was like, wow, this is crazy.

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VIRGINIA: And then suddenly now you're right.

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VIRGINIA: It seems like a thing.

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VIRGINIA: It's like they're popping up in more and more places.

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VIRGINIA: And so more and more people are talking about Bucky's.

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CATT: Yeah, absolutely.

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CATT: Yeah, it's definitely a must stop for us.

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CATT: It didn't used to be, but you know, it was kind of same thing.

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CATT: We just heard about it and we're like, can it really be that good?

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CATT: Or, you know, but I mean, it's worth it for us, especially to get like some good filling snacks and you know, get a good quick bathroom trip, which sometimes that can be scary on the road.

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CATT: You never really know what you're gonna get.

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VIRGINIA: And I hate that.

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VIRGINIA: Yeah, exactly.

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VIRGINIA: Especially with kids, like, I mean, you want a nice bathroom break experience on the road anytime, but when you have kids, especially, it's like, there's nothing worse than going into a not nice bathroom with kids that wanna touch everything.

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CATT: Yeah, absolutely.

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VIRGINIA: All right, so you arrived, hubby was surprised, elated, excited to be staying at the Polynesian.

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VIRGINIA: What was your first thing that you did?

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VIRGINIA: Because this arrival day was a resort day and you had some idea of some things you might wanna do, pool, resort activities, maybe Trader Sam's, maybe not.

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VIRGINIA: What ended up actually happening?

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CATT: So we got there and we were debating whether or not to even try to check in.

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CATT: We were very early and check in is at four.

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CATT: So really it was more like stretch our legs.

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CATT: We walked around the lobby, we did some window shopping because that's probably one of my favorite gift shops on property because I don't know why.

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CATT: I just, I love all the things in there.

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CATT: I love all the Polynesian specific merch.

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CATT: And I just like the way it's organized too.

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CATT: I don't know, it's just very calming, very uniquely Polynesian.

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CATT: So we did some of that and then we kind of like did like a quick, I guess kind of loop around the outside, just like that back outside area kind of by the pool and where kind of the backside of Captain Cook's is just kind of did like a little circle just to kind of explore.

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CATT: Now with like fresh eyes of like, hey, we're staying here.

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CATT: Let's know where everything is, which was nice.

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CATT: And then we were like, well, we might as well try to just check in or at least let them know we actually are physically here and just see if that changes anything, which it did not, which is fine.

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CATT: It's kind of hit or miss whether or not, like we checked in on the app and all that and then did it again in person, which if they can get you, that's great.

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CATT: And if not, it's kind of like, that's why they have a check in note for.

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CATT: So we just kind of, I don't know, we just kind of noodled around, I guess you would call it.

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CATT: We circled back around because when we came in, there was like this large group, like party.

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CATT: I don't know if they were staying there, if they were coming in for like dinner in front of us.

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CATT: So the cast member that was doing the lays was very much overwhelmed with that.

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CATT: And so we just kind of were like, we're not gonna stand here and be those people.

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CATT: So we'll just, we're going around.

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CATT: So we went around again so that way we could get our, yeah, get our like, hey, you're staying here, congratulations, lays, because that's a very uniquely Polynesian thing.

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CATT: But actually when we were coming back around, because we kind of walked around the backside and came up like underneath the monorail track and through the entrance, the character van was parked there.

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CATT: And yeah, there were some friends that were out in like the thing that you call it when you pull the cars up.

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CATT: I forget what that's called.

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CATT: You know, standing out in the little right outside the lobby.

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VIRGINIA: The port-au-cochet.

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CATT: Yes.

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CATT: And so yeah, so we met Donald and got to sing him happy birthday because it was almost his birthday.

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VIRGINIA: Nice.

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CATT: He actually insisted that we sing to him.

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CATT: So we had to, and then we met Pluto and Goofy.

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VIRGINIA: Like how did he let you know that he wanted you to sing to him?

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VIRGINIA: Was his attendant the one who told you or was he able to convey that to you in signs?

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CATT: Oh, he was able to convey it.

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CATT: I mentioned, I said, hey buddy, your birthday's coming up.

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CATT: And he, you know, like he giggled and then he put his hands up and started conducting.

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CATT: Like that's right it is.

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CATT: So go ahead whenever you're ready.

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CATT: And so we wasted no time like, oh, okay.

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CATT: And we had like a cute like little group too.

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CATT: Like everybody kind of started joining in and singing him happy birthday while he conducted everybody, you know.

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CATT: And I was like, you get it, Donald, you get it.

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VIRGINIA: Cute.

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CATT: Yes, it was very fun.

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CATT: And my kids are very hit or miss with characters.

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CATT: Like they're learning, they're growing.

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CATT: It's getting better each time, which I think is the best way with kids.

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CATT: I think they're always gonna be what's going on at first.

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CATT: And I think just the more exposure and the more, like you kind of assist and like say some things and just show them, hey, it's okay, I'm close, it's fine.

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CATT: They get better.

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CATT: And this time they were great.

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CATT: Like it took like a couple minutes for them to like thaw out and then all of a sudden it was like hugs and high fives and all kinds of stuff.

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CATT: So, which was really, that was a nice mama moment for me because I was like, are they gonna be terrified their whole lives?

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CATT: Because some people are.

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CATT: It took me an uncomfortable amount of time to be comfortable as well.

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CATT: So I get it.

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CATT: I get the instinct, but I was like, I hope that's not the case with them.

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CATT: I would hate for them to miss out on some of their favorite characters from being just terrified to be around them.

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CATT: So it made my mom heart very warm to watch all the hugs and all the cute interactions and got so many pictures.

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VIRGINIA: Aw, that's nice.

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VIRGINIA: So it'll just be much easier for you.

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CATT: That is the hope.

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VIRGINIA: What was up next?

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CATT: Well, we were still very early and still hadn't gotten a text.

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CATT: So we decided to take the kids on the monorail and just kind of do a loop.

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CATT: I'm just gonna see what happens.

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CATT: Mostly just, you know, we were starting to get tired.

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CATT: It was starting to get very hot, you know, and my kids are still at that age where everything is simple and pretty much anything to them that is moving and is at Disney is a ride.

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CATT: So to them, the monorail is a ride.

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CATT: It's just, it's a free ride.

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CATT: So they were completely content.

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CATT: And we, I think we did like two full loops.

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CATT: We didn't get off.

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CATT: We just kind of enjoyed.

00:14:28.068 --> 00:14:29.608
CATT: And I mean, it's the middle of the day.

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CATT: So we're talking about at this point, it's like 1.30, two o'clock.

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CATT: So, I mean, there's no one on it really, unless there's a couple people trying to hop back on from the Magic Kingdom stop, but I mean, yeah, it was nice.

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CATT: We got to sit the whole time and kind of went around and then we got hungry.

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CATT: So kind of on our last, I guess, section around back to the Polynesian, we started looking at mobile ordering from Captain Cook's and went ahead and got that knocked out.

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CATT: And then we ate there, waiting for our room to be ready.

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VIRGINIA: This was your first time eating at Captain Cook's.

00:14:58.488 --> 00:15:02.568
VIRGINIA: So I want to know first impressions and what did you all get?

00:15:02.968 --> 00:15:07.608
CATT: Oh, my goodness, Captain Cook's might be one of my favorite quick services.

00:15:08.028 --> 00:15:10.768
CATT: I think that's probably the place I think now I've eaten at the most.

00:15:10.788 --> 00:15:12.548
CATT: And that was just one very short week.

00:15:12.808 --> 00:15:15.968
CATT: I went right for those nachos, like just head first.

00:15:16.308 --> 00:15:17.328
CATT: I said, that's what I'm getting.

00:15:17.488 --> 00:15:18.568
CATT: That's what's happening.

00:15:18.588 --> 00:15:19.068
CATT: I'm getting them.

00:15:19.088 --> 00:15:26.228
CATT: That's, you know, we went ahead and did our resort mug, too, because I feel like if you're going to get one, you should always, always get one on your check-in day.

00:15:26.248 --> 00:15:30.188
CATT: Because if you're going to make any use out of it, you don't want to decide you wanted one on day three.

00:15:30.208 --> 00:15:32.228
CATT: And now you're having to use it a bunch.

00:15:33.448 --> 00:15:38.468
CATT: And we have found that, no, we do not need it every time, like even if we're staying at Pop for like a weekend.

00:15:38.908 --> 00:15:43.568
CATT: But if we're going to stay at least four nights, it's worth it to go ahead and get it.

00:15:43.848 --> 00:15:47.268
CATT: And then it's kind of like whatever we were feeling at that time.

00:15:47.268 --> 00:15:49.648
CATT: Like sometimes we'll get like a Sprite for my seven-year-old.

00:15:50.188 --> 00:16:00.248
CATT: Sometimes it's a root beer for me or a Coke or, you know, if we wash it out really good, I mean, you get coffee or like tea if needed, but usually I just make my own coffee in rooms.

00:16:00.268 --> 00:16:02.668
CATT: So it's just kind of whatever.

00:16:02.688 --> 00:16:06.068
CATT: But yeah, so we kind of went ahead and snagged that because we knew if we didn't get it now, we'd forget.

00:16:06.088 --> 00:16:07.748
CATT: And then we'd be like, oh, we've got to use this already.

00:16:08.668 --> 00:16:17.628
CATT: And then got like some little kiddo snacks for our kids, kind of start filling them up, getting them ready for when we could get into the room and get to the pool.

00:16:17.848 --> 00:16:21.688
VIRGINIA: So did you share the nachos or did your husband get something different?

00:16:22.928 --> 00:16:25.768
CATT: I want to say, because I remember him finishing my nachos.

00:16:25.828 --> 00:16:29.468
CATT: I don't think he, I think he was kind of starting to feel that driving all day fatigue.

00:16:29.488 --> 00:16:35.348
CATT: So he kind of, he nibbled off of the kids' plates knowing that they weren't going to eat all of the food.

00:16:35.368 --> 00:16:37.588
CATT: I think we got them like chicken tenders to split and some fries.

00:16:37.648 --> 00:16:45.988
CATT: So he kind of like cleaned up and then he ate like the last like quarter or almost half of my nachos, whatever I wasn't able to finish.

00:16:46.628 --> 00:16:50.208
CATT: Because it's a big old portion of those nachos, which I also appreciate.

00:16:50.248 --> 00:16:55.768
VIRGINIA: I warn people, don't get that and think it's going to be like an appetizer for you or something.

00:16:55.788 --> 00:16:56.968
VIRGINIA: Like it's a full on meal.

00:16:57.188 --> 00:16:57.788
CATT: Oh goodness.

00:16:57.848 --> 00:16:58.928
CATT: Oh yeah, absolutely.

00:16:58.948 --> 00:17:01.528
CATT: With the amount of chips and then everything that's piled on top.

00:17:01.548 --> 00:17:03.648
CATT: Yeah, it's definitely counts as a meal.

00:17:03.668 --> 00:17:05.088
CATT: You don't need a side or anything with that.

00:17:05.108 --> 00:17:10.088
VIRGINIA: All right, what time did your room end up being ready?

00:17:10.208 --> 00:17:13.408
CATT: So our room ended up being ready right at around 4.30.

00:17:13.728 --> 00:17:15.248
VIRGINIA: And where was your room located?

00:17:15.728 --> 00:17:18.788
CATT: We were on the first floor of the Tokalau building.

00:17:19.108 --> 00:17:22.088
VIRGINIA: Did you put in a request for a specific building?

00:17:22.468 --> 00:17:24.388
CATT: Yeah, I put in a request for Tokalau.

00:17:24.708 --> 00:17:30.148
CATT: I was preferring a third floor, something with a balcony, but honestly, it didn't matter.

00:17:30.168 --> 00:17:32.348
CATT: I was just looking for a decent location.

00:17:32.528 --> 00:17:41.028
VIRGINIA: I've stayed at the Polynesian once, and we were in Tokalau, and I had specifically requested it because I wanted to be close to that second pool.

00:17:41.248 --> 00:17:45.548
VIRGINIA: I really don't think there's a bad room in that particular building.

00:17:45.568 --> 00:17:53.688
VIRGINIA: Some of the, I can't remember what the other building names are, but there's one that's much closer to the TTC than anything that you're gonna do in the Polynesian.

00:17:53.928 --> 00:18:04.448
VIRGINIA: And I felt like Tokalau was the best option in terms of being close to a pool and being closer to the main building.

00:18:04.588 --> 00:18:05.708
CATT: Yeah, I agree.

00:18:05.728 --> 00:18:08.528
CATT: That was kind of what I had gathered like kind of in my research.

00:18:09.188 --> 00:18:13.608
CATT: And yeah, those other buildings, they're like right by like that secondary parking lot.

00:18:14.628 --> 00:18:19.868
CATT: And then there is one, like if you take the walking path, that you can actually walk to the TTC.

00:18:20.028 --> 00:18:24.348
CATT: It pretty much goes almost all the way up to that, which I'm like, yeah, that's okay.

00:18:24.368 --> 00:18:30.568
CATT: But like, you know, in those rare instances where that is the specific thing you're needing, it's really, it is kind of out of the way.

00:18:30.588 --> 00:18:34.268
CATT: It felt a little more out of the way where Tokalau still kind of felt central.

00:18:34.288 --> 00:18:39.148
CATT: It wasn't that fancy building that actually is in the center next to the ceremonial house.

00:18:39.168 --> 00:18:42.228
CATT: I want to say that's Hawaii, but that one might be the one that's farther towards the beach.

00:18:42.268 --> 00:18:45.828
CATT: But it's not one of those, but it's just enough.

00:18:45.868 --> 00:18:51.148
CATT: And yeah, it's right there at the Oasis Pool, which was amazing.

00:18:51.348 --> 00:18:55.188
CATT: And having a first-floor room, you just walk out one door and you're right there.

00:18:55.348 --> 00:18:58.708
CATT: And then you go under one archway and you're at the ceremonial house.

00:18:58.868 --> 00:19:06.948
CATT: I mean, it was very, I mean, I feel like that resort in general, I think it does a good job where it looks more sprawling than it is, but it's actually not.

00:19:06.968 --> 00:19:07.808
CATT: It's very contained.

00:19:08.108 --> 00:19:15.028
CATT: Unlike a Saratoga, you're in grandstand, you are not near the lobby and good luck.

00:19:18.408 --> 00:19:34.628
VIRGINIA: Yeah, and with a resort like the Polynesian, where you have to go outside to get to the ceremonial house, you need it to be not too far away in the event that it's doing one of the Florida, you know, raining cats and dogs type situation.

00:19:34.648 --> 00:19:37.728
CATT: Oh yeah, since boiler alert, there was a moment of that.

00:19:37.968 --> 00:19:42.028
VIRGINIA: Oh gosh, was that well into the trip or was it this first day?

00:19:42.048 --> 00:19:43.228
CATT: Oh, it was last day.

00:19:43.428 --> 00:19:46.108
VIRGINIA: Okay, I think I was there for that last day.

00:19:46.268 --> 00:19:47.108
VIRGINIA: No, I was not.

00:19:47.568 --> 00:19:48.228
VIRGINIA: Yes, I was.

00:19:48.428 --> 00:19:49.288
VIRGINIA: Yes, I was.

00:19:49.408 --> 00:19:49.888
VIRGINIA: I was there.

00:19:50.068 --> 00:19:50.888
CATT: Yeah, yes.

00:19:51.528 --> 00:19:54.408
VIRGINIA: Yeah, because we were messaging and then we couldn't.

00:19:54.428 --> 00:19:56.168
CATT: Then you probably know exactly what I'm talking about.

00:19:57.408 --> 00:19:58.368
VIRGINIA: Yep, I do.

00:19:59.588 --> 00:20:05.008
VIRGINIA: All right, so you took your walk, you did your monorail, you got your Captain Cooks.

00:20:05.268 --> 00:20:08.088
VIRGINIA: What was the next thing after you got settled in your room?

00:20:08.528 --> 00:20:25.768
CATT: So we kind of spread everything out, tried to make sure all the chargers got plugged in so that we wouldn't forget, unpacked the random stuff that you throw in a bag that's bothering you while you're in the car, that has half-eaten things in a box you were eating snacks out of in a trash bag or something.

00:20:25.928 --> 00:20:27.448
CATT: You know, that random stuff you throw in there.

00:20:27.468 --> 00:20:28.348
CATT: So you take care of that.

00:20:29.268 --> 00:20:31.368
CATT: Everybody kind of cooled off.

00:20:31.608 --> 00:20:34.968
CATT: And then, yeah, pretty much we were ready to try to hit the pool.

00:20:35.328 --> 00:20:39.808
CATT: So then it was changing everybody and sunscreening everybody up.

00:20:40.108 --> 00:20:44.288
CATT: And I want to say we went to the Oasis Pool.

00:20:44.668 --> 00:20:53.348
CATT: We had stopped by the big pool, the lava pool, and they had closed the main pool for a little bit.

00:20:53.488 --> 00:21:01.868
CATT: So we just kind of like got the lay of the land for the kind of the future resort days and checked out the little kids, the kids area, the splash pad there.

00:21:02.068 --> 00:21:07.428
CATT: So we spent, I think, a couple minutes there and then we're like, well, you know, it's kind of late and we're not gonna spend a bunch of time here.

00:21:07.448 --> 00:21:10.648
CATT: And especially if the main pool is closed, it just makes the kids area bigger.

00:21:10.668 --> 00:21:12.028
CATT: But I was like, now we kind of know what we're looking at.

00:21:12.548 --> 00:21:19.388
CATT: So we hopped over to the Oasis Pool, which considering the lava pool being closed was still relatively empty.

00:21:19.688 --> 00:21:22.888
CATT: Really, I mean, really was a quiet pool.

00:21:22.928 --> 00:21:24.048
VIRGINIA: That's a nice pool.

00:21:24.148 --> 00:21:25.088
VIRGINIA: I really like it.

00:21:25.128 --> 00:21:27.908
VIRGINIA: It just feels very peaceful over there.

00:21:28.048 --> 00:21:31.148
CATT: Yeah, it definitely, it has almost like a completely different vibe.

00:21:31.168 --> 00:21:36.788
CATT: Like there's like three different buildings that like kind of box it in and like are looking over it.

00:21:37.188 --> 00:21:41.648
CATT: And they've got the really pretty like yellow, like flowery trees.

00:21:42.088 --> 00:21:44.028
CATT: Yeah, I liked that one a lot.

00:21:44.048 --> 00:21:50.568
CATT: It was very nice to just kind of like lay and sit in it, cause I was like that zero entry.

00:21:50.588 --> 00:21:53.968
CATT: And my kids had a blast either way.

00:21:54.268 --> 00:22:02.068
CATT: And so it was really nice to kind of spend like an hour and a half-ish, kind of just cooling off and starting it out.

00:22:02.188 --> 00:22:03.068
CATT: So yeah, not too bad.

00:22:03.088 --> 00:22:06.848
VIRGINIA: All right, so this was your first time staying at the Polynesian.

00:22:06.868 --> 00:22:18.908
VIRGINIA: So I know that you've seen the rooms before, of course, but how did you feel about the DVC studios at Polynesian and actually being a guest staying in one of those rooms?

00:22:19.248 --> 00:22:25.068
CATT: So this is definitely something that I, this summer I told myself I would try to put together.

00:22:25.088 --> 00:22:40.828
CATT: It is like kind of a ranking of the room types that I've stayed in, because one thing I probably never expected, like getting into the DVC is just how different all these rooms feel and how every resort kind of treats layout and like use of space.

00:22:41.448 --> 00:22:52.988
CATT: So I've been kind of like every time I stay in place, I kind of compare it to either the last place I stayed or like the place I felt did a better use and of all utilizing all the space if it's a studio.

00:22:53.608 --> 00:22:57.928
CATT: The Polynesian ones were definitely different.

00:22:57.928 --> 00:22:59.488
CATT: Like the split bathroom was nice.

00:23:00.568 --> 00:23:01.928
CATT: My husband didn't love it.

00:23:02.128 --> 00:23:03.848
CATT: He didn't understand, he didn't see the point.

00:23:04.008 --> 00:23:09.348
CATT: And I was like, well, I mean, it's really for like somebody needs to get ready and somebody else needs to go to the bathroom.

00:23:09.408 --> 00:23:12.588
CATT: And like that's a tricky situation.

00:23:12.608 --> 00:23:16.048
CATT: And most of them in like most of the other studios, like Old Key West, it's all one bathroom.

00:23:16.068 --> 00:23:16.948
CATT: So you're not getting that.

00:23:17.868 --> 00:23:20.048
CATT: Like I think Bay Lake, it's all one room.

00:23:20.108 --> 00:23:27.808
CATT: Like not a lot of them do any kind of split unless you do like a one bedroom where you happen to have like, sometimes they'll do that.

00:23:28.228 --> 00:23:33.548
CATT: Like at Saratoga, the one bedrooms, they do like the shower, sink room, and then they have the extra room.

00:23:33.928 --> 00:23:37.008
CATT: That's just like the toilet sometimes or toilet shower.

00:23:37.508 --> 00:23:38.408
CATT: This one was weird.

00:23:38.548 --> 00:23:43.888
CATT: The split bathroom was fine, but it was a little weird, but the shower was nice, the like rainfall shower.

00:23:44.148 --> 00:23:53.628
CATT: And then the one, I guess, odd thing or like complaint is the storage situation is like nonexistent.

00:23:54.328 --> 00:23:57.588
CATT: So like trying to unpack, you basically can't.

00:23:57.648 --> 00:24:06.088
CATT: Like we pretty much lived out of the suitcase because where there would normally be like a chest of drawers or like a set of drawers, so like there wasn't one.

00:24:06.108 --> 00:24:09.888
CATT: It was the pull down, the fifth sleeper, which is fine.

00:24:09.908 --> 00:24:10.548
CATT: I love those.

00:24:10.608 --> 00:24:13.688
CATT: Those are great, especially if you have two kids who cannot sleep together.

00:24:13.788 --> 00:24:23.608
CATT: But then instead of having like any other type of like nightstand situation or like little thing of drawers or anything, there just really wasn't one.

00:24:23.628 --> 00:24:27.508
CATT: It was just the closet where you could hang things, but that's it.

00:24:28.288 --> 00:24:35.168
CATT: So for someone who wants to like take out everybody's like stuff individually or like put them in a little drawer, it's like you can't really do that or unpack.

00:24:35.428 --> 00:24:41.968
CATT: There's drawers in the bathroom or like, there were some that had drawers and there was the other one that had just like the little open shelves.

00:24:42.228 --> 00:24:49.308
CATT: So that was great for like the toiletries, but pretty much other than that, I think each nightstand had a drawer, but it was literally just like one singular box drawer.

00:24:49.368 --> 00:24:53.748
CATT: So I mean, you're not gonna shove like all of your clothes or pajamas or pants and stuff in there either.

00:24:53.768 --> 00:25:00.788
CATT: So that was like the one kind of bummer that I was like, okay, yeah, they didn't really have anything for this.

00:25:00.968 --> 00:25:07.728
VIRGINIA: Yeah, that's true of a lot of the resorts that have that fifth sleeper is that what you're giving up is the storage space.

00:25:08.148 --> 00:25:23.608
VIRGINIA: Now, I can't remember from my stay at the studios in the Polynesian, it is the one bed, cause it has the bed and then the pullout sofa, but is the bed raised where you can put your luggage under it or did it have drawers under the bed?

00:25:23.648 --> 00:25:33.208
VIRGINIA: Cause in my memory, I'm like, I feel like there was like one drawer on each side, but then still enough room for a suitcase at the end of the bed, but I don't know.

00:25:33.948 --> 00:25:35.108
CATT: That's a good question.

00:25:35.128 --> 00:25:37.868
CATT: I don't think, yeah, I don't think it did.

00:25:37.888 --> 00:25:42.288
CATT: At least not one that I noticed, cause I remember I had to fish something out of under the bed.

00:25:42.488 --> 00:25:44.968
CATT: It was a sock or a shoe of one child.

00:25:45.908 --> 00:25:50.548
CATT: So I don't, yeah, I don't think there was any kind of drawer, at least not that particular room had it.

00:25:50.628 --> 00:25:58.008
CATT: And I don't know like kind of where they're at and what beds and stuff they had switched out or not, or where they were at refurb schedule wise.

00:25:58.328 --> 00:26:03.808
CATT: I mean, it definitely felt upgraded-ish that it had the pull down instead of like having any kind of sleeper sofa.

00:26:03.828 --> 00:26:14.228
CATT: I don't know if they've ever had that situation, but I know like resorts like Bay Lake and Animal Kingdom still have those old pullout couches that lean in weird ways.

00:26:14.408 --> 00:26:18.308
CATT: So I don't know if they've ever done like a full thing on all the beds.

00:26:18.328 --> 00:26:20.488
CATT: And of course, maybe with the tower, they were like, why bother?

00:26:20.608 --> 00:26:21.508
CATT: Or if it's just coming.

00:26:21.548 --> 00:26:21.868
CATT: But.

00:26:22.268 --> 00:26:26.948
VIRGINIA: I just pulled up some photos on the internet and I think there is a drawer back there.

00:26:26.968 --> 00:26:31.528
VIRGINIA: Now they have done some renovations, I think, since I stayed there.

00:26:31.548 --> 00:26:40.628
VIRGINIA: So maybe it's a little different, but it was like one drawer on either side of the bed closest to the headboard.

00:26:41.108 --> 00:26:42.088
CATT: Okay, interesting.

00:26:42.208 --> 00:26:50.308
CATT: I want to say that I didn't see that because we have one of the suitcases like under the nightstand, kind of in between the two, like the pull down bed and the regular bed.

00:26:50.328 --> 00:26:54.868
CATT: And I want to say that I would have seen it, I definitely would have tried to utilize it if I did.

00:26:55.328 --> 00:26:59.068
VIRGINIA: Right, it wasn't very big, so you weren't missing out on much.

00:26:59.288 --> 00:26:59.688
VIRGINIA: Right.

00:26:59.708 --> 00:27:05.048
CATT: So if it was there, maybe I just didn't notice it because it just didn't look like anything.

00:27:05.048 --> 00:27:05.988
VIRGINIA: It was small.

00:27:07.508 --> 00:27:09.308
VIRGINIA: I'm somebody who likes to unpack.

00:27:09.328 --> 00:27:12.028
VIRGINIA: Like that lets me feel like I'm on vacation.

00:27:12.088 --> 00:27:17.348
VIRGINIA: As I get there, I put my things where they go, and then I can enjoy my vacation.

00:27:17.468 --> 00:27:23.988
VIRGINIA: And when I don't have that, what I normally end up doing is putting my suitcase under the bed if it's able to do that.

00:27:24.448 --> 00:27:30.188
VIRGINIA: And then I basically make my suitcase into a drawer, essentially, that I can just pull out.

00:27:30.348 --> 00:27:31.588
VIRGINIA: But it's not ideal.

00:27:31.768 --> 00:27:34.508
CATT: Yeah, yeah, that's kind of how I am too.

00:27:34.548 --> 00:27:35.668
CATT: Especially if I'm staying long.

00:27:35.688 --> 00:27:36.928
CATT: I mean, if it's a weekend, I don't care.

00:27:36.948 --> 00:27:38.128
CATT: I can live out of the suitcase.

00:27:38.888 --> 00:27:48.068
CATT: But longer than that, it's just like everything has just jumbled up and you're just starting to like pull things out of a tangled mess at like day two and nothing's organized anymore.

00:27:49.128 --> 00:27:51.408
VIRGINIA: Did you utilize the fifth sleeper?

00:27:51.768 --> 00:27:52.628
CATT: Oh yes, yes.

00:27:52.628 --> 00:28:07.948
CATT: That is where our seven-year-old made camp because as much as like, if they're tired enough, they may be able to sleep on the same bed, but it's not ideal because they both move so much that they're just bound to be in other ones away or kick each other or end up, you know, whatever.

00:28:08.228 --> 00:28:12.408
CATT: So if we can get one of them to use that smaller bed, we try to do that.

00:28:12.428 --> 00:28:23.708
CATT: And it ended up working out perfectly because my feral four-year-old can just do his thing and sleep in whatever crazy way he comes up with and not worry about who he's bothering.

00:28:23.728 --> 00:28:30.088
CATT: And it also kind of, I think, kept him separated enough where he felt like, okay, that's his bed to go to sleep in.

00:28:30.468 --> 00:28:32.668
CATT: That's his space and to not bother others.

00:28:32.988 --> 00:28:40.208
VIRGINIA: Did you do anything else this arrival day besides everything you've already shared with pool and exploring, et cetera?

00:28:40.368 --> 00:28:41.688
CATT: Nope, that's pretty much it.

00:28:41.708 --> 00:28:50.488
CATT: We crashed, I want to say probably at a decent time, but probably earlier than most, just to be able to enjoy Park Day the next day.

00:28:50.508 --> 00:29:13.968
VIRGINIA: Okay, well, Monday, June 3rd was an Epcot day and you had mentioned that it had the extended hours for Deluxe Resort guests that day and that you were hoping that maybe the kids would be able to hang and they could be with you for the extended hours, but if not, that you or your husband might take advantage of those later hours by yourselves.

00:29:14.848 --> 00:29:17.528
VIRGINIA: So how did your day pan out?

00:29:17.988 --> 00:29:20.128
CATT: Our day was actually pretty great.

00:29:20.928 --> 00:29:23.968
CATT: We kind of did a modified early entry.

00:29:24.988 --> 00:29:29.388
CATT: I think we came for about half of it, just enough to kind of queue up for something.

00:29:29.408 --> 00:29:40.648
CATT: We ended up doing a Soarin first because we knew coming from the front, there's pretty much no logical point in trying to go anywhere into the World Showcase.

00:29:40.868 --> 00:29:48.168
CATT: You're already going to be behind and with two kids, telling them, all right, we're here, wait a long time, it's just not going to work.

00:29:48.968 --> 00:29:50.728
CATT: So we just decided, nah.

00:29:51.768 --> 00:29:55.228
CATT: So we went ahead and hit Soarin, which I think was pretty much a walk on.

00:29:55.248 --> 00:30:02.048
CATT: Like we walked in and pretty much got queued up and we were just waiting, I think, for the first official ride to go.

00:30:02.608 --> 00:30:07.428
CATT: And it was my son's first 40 inches ride.

00:30:07.508 --> 00:30:10.908
CATT: So he is now officially part of the 40 inch club, which is a big, yeah.

00:30:11.608 --> 00:30:14.388
CATT: It's a big deal, moving out of those baby rides.

00:30:15.328 --> 00:30:18.588
VIRGINIA: Oh, so this was his first time riding it.

00:30:19.128 --> 00:30:20.848
VIRGINIA: How did he like Soarin?

00:30:21.088 --> 00:30:22.168
CATT: I mean, he loved it.

00:30:22.588 --> 00:30:30.968
CATT: I think he was a little apprehensive at first, not understanding anything about this apparatus that he was being strapped into or what was gonna happen.

00:30:31.348 --> 00:30:38.908
CATT: Luckily his sister has ridden it and she kind of, you know, she gave her two cents about like things he could look at.

00:30:38.928 --> 00:30:46.288
CATT: So we told him that there were animals, that he would see animals like polar bears and elephants and that will get his attention real quick.

00:30:47.508 --> 00:30:49.568
CATT: But then once it went, he was totally fine.

00:30:49.828 --> 00:30:56.468
CATT: I mean, he was like fascinated by everything that was happening and talked about it for a good while afterwards.

00:30:58.248 --> 00:31:00.908
VIRGINIA: Did you have good seats for his very first ride ever?

00:31:00.988 --> 00:31:01.928
CATT: They were okay.

00:31:02.368 --> 00:31:07.808
CATT: I wanna say we were like, I don't know, it was like A2 or A1, something like that.

00:31:07.828 --> 00:31:08.508
CATT: It was all right.

00:31:08.528 --> 00:31:10.708
CATT: It wasn't B1, but it passed.

00:31:12.068 --> 00:31:12.508
CATT: It worked.

00:31:13.628 --> 00:31:14.208
VIRGINIA: Close enough.

00:31:14.608 --> 00:31:20.808
VIRGINIA: All right, I didn't ask, but you had thought about doing Genie Plus for this day.

00:31:20.888 --> 00:31:22.348
VIRGINIA: Did you end up getting Genie Plus?

00:31:22.528 --> 00:31:23.288
CATT: We did not.

00:31:23.588 --> 00:31:27.168
CATT: We just decided, you know what, we're gonna roll the dice and we're just gonna see what happens.

00:31:27.548 --> 00:31:30.108
VIRGINIA: At the end of the day, do you feel like you needed it?

00:31:30.348 --> 00:31:31.948
CATT: No, nope, not at all.

00:31:32.188 --> 00:31:33.128
VIRGINIA: Okay, perfect.

00:31:33.228 --> 00:31:34.248
VIRGINIA: What was after Soarin?

00:31:35.348 --> 00:31:39.508
CATT: After Soarin, we had our Guardians virtual queue call time.

00:31:40.168 --> 00:31:40.928
CATT: So we hit that.

00:31:40.948 --> 00:31:46.108
CATT: I went in with all the hope in the world that I would get my last song and I could move on with my life.

00:31:46.128 --> 00:31:47.028
VIRGINIA: What was your last song?

00:31:47.908 --> 00:31:50.548
CATT: So the last song that I need is I Ran.

00:31:50.568 --> 00:31:51.868
CATT: I did not get that.

00:31:52.708 --> 00:31:55.428
CATT: I got One Way or Another, which is fine.

00:31:55.488 --> 00:31:56.208
CATT: I like that song.

00:31:56.388 --> 00:31:58.808
VIRGINIA: Yeah, you're just trying to complete your set.

00:31:59.088 --> 00:32:00.448
VIRGINIA: I get it, I get it.

00:32:00.868 --> 00:32:01.208
CATT: Yeah.

00:32:02.108 --> 00:32:02.348
CATT: Yep.

00:32:02.368 --> 00:32:02.388
CATT: Yep.

00:32:02.928 --> 00:32:04.268
VIRGINIA: All the more reason to keep going back.

00:32:04.828 --> 00:32:08.868
CATT: That is, yeah, that's actually the excuse to be like, look, I gotta go until I get my Guardian song.

00:32:08.888 --> 00:32:10.288
CATT: You know, we can't stop now.

00:32:10.308 --> 00:32:11.828
CATT: I have almost all of them.

00:32:11.848 --> 00:32:13.008
CATT: Now I'm starting to get it.

00:32:13.028 --> 00:32:15.028
CATT: I gotta collect the set.

00:32:16.208 --> 00:32:21.268
VIRGINIA: So did you consider at any point purchasing a Lightning Lane to give it one more try?

00:32:21.688 --> 00:32:24.388
CATT: No, no, it's still like, I don't know.

00:32:24.408 --> 00:32:34.868
CATT: I'm very, I think with Jeannie+, I have a better mentality about it that sometimes it's a necessary evil and it can help even sometimes we just wanna be lazy.

00:32:34.888 --> 00:32:47.888
CATT: Like I just don't feel like standing in lines and I would rather just stack a bunch of things or if you legitimately have a lot of things you would like to do, but the individual or the soon to be single pass, I still just don't.

00:32:48.008 --> 00:32:51.388
CATT: That doesn't, it doesn't sit right with me needing to buy and it's a lot.

00:32:51.408 --> 00:32:55.368
CATT: It's pretty much almost sometimes the cost of Jeannie+, just for one ride.

00:32:55.388 --> 00:33:00.228
CATT: And there's just not that many that would fit like being worth it for that.

00:33:00.248 --> 00:33:05.688
CATT: So yeah, I'm like, I'm kind of in the camp of I, if I, I shouldn't, I don't want to have to pay for a ride.

00:33:05.768 --> 00:33:08.268
CATT: And it's very rare that we, I think we've ever done that.

00:33:08.288 --> 00:33:09.408
CATT: I think we've only ever done it once.

00:33:10.428 --> 00:33:15.808
CATT: And it was cause we had a weird situation where like neither virtual queue was going to work, but we were taking people who had not gone.

00:33:16.168 --> 00:33:19.528
CATT: So we were willing to pay that one, one time to make sure that they got on.

00:33:19.648 --> 00:33:20.628
VIRGINIA: Yeah, makes sense.

00:33:21.208 --> 00:33:23.928
VIRGINIA: Did Harrison ride Guardians?

00:33:23.948 --> 00:33:26.128
VIRGINIA: Is he is 40 inches tall enough to ride it?

00:33:26.308 --> 00:33:28.488
CATT: No, I think it has to be 42.

00:33:28.948 --> 00:33:30.868
CATT: And I think he was just right at 40 with Soren.

00:33:30.888 --> 00:33:35.068
CATT: We found that out after the fact after coming home that he was indeed right at 40 inches.

00:33:35.448 --> 00:33:37.028
CATT: But Guardians, I think is 42.

00:33:37.048 --> 00:33:41.348
CATT: And even if he was or somehow had met the thing, we were hesitant.

00:33:41.388 --> 00:33:44.088
CATT: We were like, oh, I think that's too much all at once.

00:33:44.148 --> 00:33:44.508
VIRGINIA: Yeah.

00:33:46.448 --> 00:33:50.848
CATT: So we did the writer swap and neither kid rode it.

00:33:51.288 --> 00:33:54.008
CATT: My daughter has ridden it three or four times, but she is done.

00:33:57.188 --> 00:34:00.708
CATT: She is retired early from that for now.

00:34:02.048 --> 00:34:05.428
VIRGINIA: So during the writer swap, what were the kids doing?

00:34:05.708 --> 00:34:07.648
VIRGINIA: Playing on the playground there?

00:34:07.808 --> 00:34:09.588
VIRGINIA: What was their activity of choice?

00:34:09.788 --> 00:34:11.068
CATT: So I went first.

00:34:11.308 --> 00:34:15.288
CATT: And so dad took them to that playground right outside of a creation shop.

00:34:15.968 --> 00:34:16.808
CATT: And they had a blast.

00:34:17.188 --> 00:34:22.708
CATT: And then when it was dad's turn, we found an area of shade to sit down.

00:34:23.228 --> 00:34:28.728
CATT: And we did a quick refresh of the sunscreen and got some snacks.

00:34:28.948 --> 00:34:31.308
CATT: We packed a couple of snacks in our bag.

00:34:31.748 --> 00:34:34.228
CATT: So we let them eat a little bit, drink a little bit of water.

00:34:34.448 --> 00:34:35.708
CATT: So it ended up being perfect.

00:34:36.188 --> 00:34:36.328
VIRGINIA: OK.

00:34:36.348 --> 00:34:37.348
VIRGINIA: All right.

00:34:37.368 --> 00:34:38.168
VIRGINIA: Where did you head next?

00:34:38.688 --> 00:34:42.848
CATT: So next, we headed towards the land side.

00:34:43.348 --> 00:34:44.748
CATT: Head up living with the land.

00:34:45.848 --> 00:34:47.748
CATT: We did Moana Journey of Water.

00:34:48.128 --> 00:34:51.128
CATT: We did Nemo because my son really, really wanted to do that.

00:34:51.148 --> 00:34:52.888
CATT: It's like the one ride he remembers.

00:34:53.208 --> 00:35:03.048
CATT: Despite many people saying that your kid's not going to remember going if he's only two or three, he remembers that ride more than anything in that area around it more than anything.

00:35:03.568 --> 00:35:05.408
CATT: So for a long time, it was like, when are we doing Nemo?

00:35:05.448 --> 00:35:06.688
CATT: When are we going on the Nemo ride?

00:35:06.708 --> 00:35:07.728
CATT: When are we going to go see Nemo?

00:35:07.748 --> 00:35:10.988
CATT: So we hit all three of those relatively quickly.

00:35:11.068 --> 00:35:14.768
CATT: And then we did Spaceship Earth on the way out to do our midday break.

00:35:15.028 --> 00:35:15.488
VIRGINIA: OK.

00:35:15.788 --> 00:35:22.288
VIRGINIA: Your midday break, did you go all the way back to the Polynesian for that break, or did you do something else with that time?

00:35:22.388 --> 00:35:22.708
CATT: Yes.

00:35:22.728 --> 00:35:24.068
CATT: We went all the way back to the Polynesian.

00:35:24.088 --> 00:35:28.868
CATT: We went back to the room, cooled off, got some more snacks.

00:35:28.888 --> 00:35:39.608
CATT: I think this was the one day out of the two I successfully got the four-year-old to take a little bit of a nap, which is very rare and was very helpful.

00:35:40.028 --> 00:35:43.648
VIRGINIA: Have you hung out ever in the DVC lounge?

00:35:43.848 --> 00:35:45.228
CATT: No, we have not.

00:35:45.248 --> 00:35:50.248
CATT: We need a real DVC friend to get us in, because we are not.

00:35:50.608 --> 00:35:52.508
VIRGINIA: Oh, because of buying at resale?

00:35:54.548 --> 00:35:55.608
VIRGINIA: Okay, got it.

00:35:56.148 --> 00:35:59.708
VIRGINIA: Well, I was just going to suggest it as a place to cool down.

00:35:59.828 --> 00:36:06.808
VIRGINIA: It's honestly, it's nice to have a place like that to sit and cool down, but it's nothing out of this world.

00:36:07.148 --> 00:36:13.368
VIRGINIA: All right, so after your break, what time was it when you headed back to the park, if you did head back to the park?

00:36:13.468 --> 00:36:14.548
CATT: Yes, yeah, we did.

00:36:14.568 --> 00:36:17.668
CATT: We took a longer break this time just because it was our Epcot day.

00:36:17.688 --> 00:36:18.888
CATT: We knew we could afford it.

00:36:19.108 --> 00:36:20.748
CATT: We headed back around six.

00:36:21.168 --> 00:36:25.308
CATT: We met up with some friends who were locals that we don't get to see that often.

00:36:25.328 --> 00:36:34.368
CATT: So we spent some time chatting with them in the America Pavilion, probably till about, I want to say it was closer to 7.30, pushing almost eight o'clock.

00:36:35.408 --> 00:36:39.688
CATT: With that, let the kids hang out, play, eat some snacks.

00:36:40.428 --> 00:36:45.628
CATT: We got them a really sweet lemonade drink from one of the kiosks that was nearby.

00:36:45.908 --> 00:36:49.748
CATT: So since it was, I think, about eight, we were in the last real hour of park time.

00:36:50.528 --> 00:36:55.168
CATT: So we headed towards the back to the front side of the park for some rides.

00:36:55.428 --> 00:37:04.408
CATT: And then I want to say, all said and done, we poked through the Japan Pavilion, because that's one of our favorite places to window shop and mess around.

00:37:05.468 --> 00:37:10.028
CATT: Dad needed some chopsticks, you know, we just want to see what other kinds of things.

00:37:10.048 --> 00:37:13.048
CATT: And there was another gift that we were getting for one of our cousins.

00:37:13.308 --> 00:37:14.168
CATT: So it took a little bit.

00:37:14.368 --> 00:37:18.268
CATT: And then by the time we kind of hit the front of the park, it was about park close.

00:37:18.968 --> 00:37:25.068
CATT: So we jumped on figment, because that is not open for, if you're doing deluxe extended hours, it's not open.

00:37:25.288 --> 00:37:25.748
VIRGINIA: Oh, okay.

00:37:25.888 --> 00:37:29.008
CATT: I actually did not know that going in, but I should have assumed it, but I didn't.

00:37:29.108 --> 00:37:32.128
CATT: But I'm glad that we just had the instinct of like, the kids want to ride this.

00:37:32.928 --> 00:37:34.668
CATT: I will survive and be fine.

00:37:34.768 --> 00:37:35.468
CATT: So we jumped on that.

00:37:35.488 --> 00:37:38.748
CATT: I think we were literally like one of the last little groups that went through.

00:37:38.768 --> 00:37:41.048
VIRGINIA: I would not have known that either.

00:37:41.248 --> 00:37:46.248
VIRGINIA: And like, it's not one I would be aiming for myself for extended hours.

00:37:46.708 --> 00:37:50.248
VIRGINIA: So, but it just never would have occurred to me that it would have been closed.

00:37:50.268 --> 00:37:52.448
VIRGINIA: But I guess it probably doesn't get a lot.

00:37:52.468 --> 00:37:56.448
VIRGINIA: It would not get a lot of traffic word open for extended hours anyway.

00:37:57.048 --> 00:38:01.368
CATT: Yeah, that's kind of, I guess, like, yeah, in my mind, I was like, oh, yeah, I guess that makes sense.

00:38:01.388 --> 00:38:05.328
CATT: But, okay, you know, I mean, because I mean, they have some of the other ones like Nemo and stuff open.

00:38:05.348 --> 00:38:12.168
CATT: But I guess considering what is available, yeah, it's probably like the one they can start closing and cleaning down early, which is fine.

00:38:12.188 --> 00:38:20.968
CATT: But yeah, so it worked out perfectly because we were off of that, I think right at like Luminous had just started because like the first couple of fireworks were going off as we were leaving.

00:38:20.988 --> 00:38:23.868
CATT: So that was kind of like nice to see them from that angle.

00:38:24.108 --> 00:38:34.168
CATT: And then we headed straight for Nemo, which was our first technical extended hours ride, so they scan your magic band, check your hotel status before they allow you in.

00:38:34.188 --> 00:38:36.108
CATT: So that was, you know, obviously a walk on.

00:38:36.448 --> 00:38:40.108
CATT: I think at that point, like we kind of, oh, no, I remember what it was.

00:38:40.128 --> 00:38:47.228
CATT: We got off of Figment and we had a rare opportunity to do a souvenir that we had never done that my husband has always wanted to do.

00:38:47.368 --> 00:38:56.428
CATT: When you're leaving Figment and you get past both of the sides where they would do meet and greets with characters, there's a kiosk that sells photos and they will put you in posters for like movies.

00:38:57.048 --> 00:38:57.508
VIRGINIA: Oh, yeah.

00:38:57.528 --> 00:38:57.768
VIRGINIA: Yeah.

00:38:57.928 --> 00:38:58.468
VIRGINIA: I've seen it.

00:38:58.488 --> 00:38:59.148
VIRGINIA: I've never done it.

00:38:59.228 --> 00:38:59.528
CATT: Yeah.

00:38:59.568 --> 00:39:00.108
CATT: Us either.

00:39:00.148 --> 00:39:01.808
CATT: My husband has always been fascinated with it.

00:39:01.828 --> 00:39:05.228
CATT: He would always pick a random movie and be like, that could be us, but you won't do it.

00:39:05.668 --> 00:39:09.348
CATT: And so with the kids, we decided to do one.

00:39:09.408 --> 00:39:14.668
CATT: And when I was looking at all the options, I noticed they had an inside out one that you could do with up to five people.

00:39:14.728 --> 00:39:15.528
CATT: So we did that one.

00:39:16.228 --> 00:39:19.268
VIRGINIA: Which characters did you each get imposed onto?

00:39:19.448 --> 00:39:21.448
CATT: My daughter was Joy.

00:39:21.468 --> 00:39:22.768
CATT: I was disgust.

00:39:23.128 --> 00:39:24.088
CATT: My husband was anger.

00:39:25.268 --> 00:39:26.348
CATT: And my son was fear.

00:39:26.528 --> 00:39:30.108
CATT: And then they just filled in like real sadness in her bubble.

00:39:30.368 --> 00:39:34.068
CATT: Oh, it was adorable.

00:39:34.348 --> 00:39:38.268
VIRGINIA: Was he happy with the results after all that time wanting to do it?

00:39:38.448 --> 00:39:38.908
CATT: Oh, yes.

00:39:38.928 --> 00:39:39.248
CATT: Yes.

00:39:39.248 --> 00:39:41.628
CATT: He was very pleased with that decision.

00:39:43.968 --> 00:39:44.308
VIRGINIA: Great.

00:39:44.328 --> 00:39:48.048
VIRGINIA: Where did you head after your big photo session?

00:39:48.148 --> 00:39:49.888
CATT: So after that, we went to Spaceship Earth.

00:39:50.648 --> 00:39:53.828
CATT: That is probably one of my daughter's favorite rides.

00:39:54.008 --> 00:39:56.768
VIRGINIA: Yeah, you mentioned she really loves building her future.

00:39:56.988 --> 00:39:57.288
CATT: Yep.

00:39:57.608 --> 00:39:59.288
CATT: Pretty much for that reason only.

00:39:59.368 --> 00:40:06.508
CATT: She just like the first half of the ride where they're trying to teach her about the history of communication and the Phoenicians and the Greeks does not care.

00:40:06.628 --> 00:40:11.808
CATT: That is just she's like this is just stuff on the way to the real ride to her, even though.

00:40:11.828 --> 00:40:12.648
CATT: Okay.

00:40:13.488 --> 00:40:17.048
CATT: Yeah, the whole thing is her building that future, which is fine.

00:40:17.068 --> 00:40:18.948
CATT: And I don't I don't mind doing Spaceship Earth at all.

00:40:19.008 --> 00:40:20.888
CATT: I love looking around at different things.

00:40:20.968 --> 00:40:26.188
CATT: I have this thing about a lot of Disney rides where the more I ride things, the more I try to find something.

00:40:26.208 --> 00:40:33.428
CATT: I have never looked at or look at a different side, especially if there's stuff on both sides and try to find a detail or something I've never done.

00:40:33.448 --> 00:40:38.008
CATT: And then this particular time I had heard, but I had never tried this.

00:40:38.288 --> 00:40:44.528
CATT: When you at the very beginning, when they have you select a language, it doesn't just mean for at the end.

00:40:44.548 --> 00:40:50.828
CATT: The entire, the entire ride narration is in the language that you choose.

00:40:51.708 --> 00:40:52.428
VIRGINIA: Wait a second.

00:40:52.608 --> 00:40:55.708
VIRGINIA: So you get someone other than Dame Judi Dench.

00:40:56.008 --> 00:41:00.128
CATT: I'm guessing so, even though honestly, it eerily sounded like her.

00:41:00.168 --> 00:41:02.688
CATT: I picked German because I speak a little bit of German.

00:41:03.128 --> 00:41:08.988
CATT: And I always love putting myself in situations where I have to like pull the words that I know and then build the context.

00:41:09.468 --> 00:41:12.088
VIRGINIA: Can you say thank the Phoenicians in German?

00:41:12.308 --> 00:41:14.448
CATT: Well, if Phoenicians doesn't change, it probably doesn't.

00:41:14.648 --> 00:41:16.328
CATT: It would just be Duncan Phoenicians.

00:41:16.548 --> 00:41:17.528
VIRGINIA: That's what I was thinking.

00:41:20.328 --> 00:41:24.708
CATT: I did it on purpose because I had suspected it was a thing and I wanted to test it.

00:41:25.288 --> 00:41:37.188
CATT: My husband got it accidentally because when he wrote of my four year old, the four year old watched me do it first and he smacked his hand on the screen before my husband had even sat down.

00:41:37.688 --> 00:41:39.508
CATT: And he put it, I think, in like Mandarin.

00:41:39.988 --> 00:41:43.708
CATT: So my husband was stuck with that.

00:41:43.848 --> 00:41:44.928
VIRGINIA: That's hilarious.

00:41:45.008 --> 00:41:46.188
VIRGINIA: That's a new way to write it.

00:41:46.328 --> 00:41:51.628
VIRGINIA: I am definitely going to suggest that as something we should try next time I write it with Alex.

00:41:51.888 --> 00:41:52.408
CATT: Absolutely.

00:41:52.428 --> 00:41:53.248
CATT: Learn a new language.

00:41:53.268 --> 00:41:54.408
CATT: Pick something you think you know.

00:41:54.708 --> 00:41:56.888
CATT: Honestly, it does bring something else to the table.

00:41:56.888 --> 00:42:00.328
CATT: It really does make the experience a little bit different, especially if you've written it so much.

00:42:00.488 --> 00:42:01.308
CATT: And it doesn't matter.

00:42:01.648 --> 00:42:03.928
CATT: Obviously, don't do that for the first time if you don't speak the language.

00:42:05.728 --> 00:42:07.048
CATT: But if you can, have some fun with it.

00:42:07.148 --> 00:42:07.628
CATT: It's great.

00:42:10.248 --> 00:42:10.728
VIRGINIA: Love it.

00:42:11.608 --> 00:42:12.148
VIRGINIA: All right.

00:42:12.388 --> 00:42:13.628
VIRGINIA: Where did you go next?

00:42:14.288 --> 00:42:16.048
CATT: After that, we were pretty done.

00:42:16.068 --> 00:42:19.928
CATT: We had done a lot of things and a couple things we had already done twice.

00:42:20.028 --> 00:42:27.528
CATT: But when we exited Spaceship Earth, my kiddos love the little games and stuff that are outside in the project tomorrow.

00:42:28.168 --> 00:42:29.948
CATT: So I think we did all of them.

00:42:30.328 --> 00:42:32.008
CATT: And they kind of just tried a little bit everything.

00:42:32.288 --> 00:42:37.988
CATT: It's one of those things, especially for kids like us adults, it's so easy for us to be like, okay, all right, we're going to hit our next ride.

00:42:38.008 --> 00:42:40.168
CATT: And for them, they're like, well, we see all this stuff.

00:42:40.188 --> 00:42:41.748
CATT: Is this stuff like real?

00:42:41.808 --> 00:42:42.908
CATT: Are you supposed to touch it?

00:42:43.348 --> 00:42:44.888
CATT: And, you know, so we were like, you know what?

00:42:44.908 --> 00:42:45.408
CATT: You want to do it?

00:42:45.428 --> 00:42:45.848
CATT: Go for it.

00:42:46.068 --> 00:42:46.548
CATT: Go for it.

00:42:46.788 --> 00:42:48.708
CATT: You know, and they had a blast.

00:42:48.828 --> 00:42:54.688
CATT: And honestly, it was probably the best way I could spend extended hours because they don't care about anything else.

00:42:55.208 --> 00:42:59.128
CATT: We weren't going back to World Showcase to still wait for Remy and Frozen.

00:42:59.948 --> 00:43:09.368
CATT: And of course, the one thing that like we thought we might want to do, but we weren't like committed because we honestly just are not huge fans.

00:43:09.888 --> 00:43:17.308
CATT: We were like, if the if everything aligns and we could ride test track one more time, we're not going to wait a long time.

00:43:18.168 --> 00:43:21.588
CATT: But if we if we did do it, we would do it in extended.

00:43:21.728 --> 00:43:28.328
CATT: And hopefully it would have at least a lower weight test track closed right before extended hours started and never reopened.

00:43:28.908 --> 00:43:32.828
CATT: So we kind of kept we kind of kept checking intermittently just to see if it would come back up.

00:43:32.848 --> 00:43:35.188
CATT: But I was like, I guarantee you it's two hours of extended.

00:43:35.308 --> 00:43:37.828
CATT: If it went down right before it, they're not opening it back up.

00:43:37.848 --> 00:43:38.628
CATT: They're not going to bother.

00:43:39.008 --> 00:43:39.348
VIRGINIA: Yeah.

00:43:39.688 --> 00:43:40.988
CATT: And I was like, and it's fine.

00:43:41.048 --> 00:43:43.768
CATT: I mean, test track, you can go out the same way that you've been.

00:43:43.848 --> 00:43:44.268
CATT: See you.

00:43:44.468 --> 00:43:45.528
CATT: I just adios.

00:43:46.348 --> 00:43:46.668
VIRGINIA: Yep.

00:43:46.828 --> 00:43:48.288
VIRGINIA: You'll see her after her facelift.

00:43:48.448 --> 00:43:49.028
CATT: Exactly.

00:43:49.328 --> 00:43:54.008
VIRGINIA: Tuesday, June 4th was a resort day for you.

00:43:54.348 --> 00:44:00.708
VIRGINIA: So what did you end up getting into in the morning before your big lunch reservation at Steakhouse 71?

00:44:01.188 --> 00:44:02.048
CATT: Not a whole lot.

00:44:02.348 --> 00:44:06.228
CATT: We slept in, I mean, as much as you can with two small kids.

00:44:06.248 --> 00:44:08.468
CATT: But I mean, like we were, we had a very lazy morning.

00:44:08.488 --> 00:44:13.168
CATT: Like a lot of us didn't get up to like 738 ish, some past that.

00:44:13.208 --> 00:44:20.628
CATT: You know, we watched the Mickey cartoons on the cartoon channel and did, you know, some little small breakfast snacks that we had packed.

00:44:20.908 --> 00:44:21.768
CATT: Nothing really crazy.

00:44:21.788 --> 00:44:28.428
CATT: We didn't really want to get into too much having the reservation and needing to like get dressed and all that kind of stuff.

00:44:28.448 --> 00:44:30.888
CATT: So we kind of kept it simple until then.

00:44:30.908 --> 00:44:34.808
CATT: And then decided just after that, then we would have our nice, quiet, relaxing pool day.

00:44:34.928 --> 00:44:35.368
VIRGINIA: All right.

00:44:35.388 --> 00:44:40.448
VIRGINIA: So lunch at Steakhouse 71, you were gunning for that burger.

00:44:40.628 --> 00:44:41.128
VIRGINIA: How was it?

00:44:41.268 --> 00:44:42.388
CATT: It was amazing.

00:44:42.628 --> 00:44:47.268
CATT: I don't know what they do to that burger, but it is truly the best thing that they have.

00:44:47.708 --> 00:44:49.548
VIRGINIA: Is your husband as big a fan of the burger?

00:44:49.908 --> 00:44:51.288
CATT: Oh, gosh, yeah.

00:44:51.368 --> 00:44:53.488
CATT: Yeah, that is pretty much our only order.

00:44:53.568 --> 00:44:54.748
CATT: That's the only thing we will get.

00:44:55.368 --> 00:44:57.428
CATT: There's other things on the menu, but we'll never know.

00:44:57.448 --> 00:45:00.968
VIRGINIA: That's funny.

00:45:01.228 --> 00:45:02.128
VIRGINIA: So what about the kids?

00:45:02.148 --> 00:45:03.148
VIRGINIA: Are they burger kids?

00:45:03.508 --> 00:45:06.248
CATT: No, no, they're not really even real food kids.

00:45:06.588 --> 00:45:09.088
CATT: We got them chicken nuggets.

00:45:09.108 --> 00:45:09.428
VIRGINIA: That's true.

00:45:09.448 --> 00:45:11.008
VIRGINIA: We're going to say they're not even real kids.

00:45:13.588 --> 00:45:18.048
CATT: They don't really even eat.

00:45:18.068 --> 00:45:19.528
CATT: No, we did a kids meal.

00:45:20.148 --> 00:45:26.828
CATT: We did chicken nuggets, which isn't on their official menu, but they will offer it when they see you have kids, if nothing else jumps out at you.

00:45:27.628 --> 00:45:28.508
CATT: So we did that.

00:45:28.668 --> 00:45:33.068
CATT: And then as their side, they do an ice cream sundae, which is really cute.

00:45:33.728 --> 00:45:39.208
CATT: They give them a little bowl of ice cream, and then they give them this little platter that has three slots in it.

00:45:39.248 --> 00:45:46.988
CATT: And they do chocolate syrup, some cute little Mickey sprinkles, and then like a thing of whipped cream for them to like throw on themselves.

00:45:47.268 --> 00:45:53.708
CATT: So it's kind of like a make-your-own little hot fudge sundae, and that keeps them busy and focused while we actually eat.

00:45:54.088 --> 00:45:55.708
VIRGINIA: Where did you head after lunch?

00:45:56.468 --> 00:46:06.688
CATT: After lunch, we did some window shopping around the two gift shops that are in between the Contemporary on that fourth floor, because I love both of those two.

00:46:06.708 --> 00:46:08.208
CATT: Usually I find some really good stuff.

00:46:08.388 --> 00:46:10.508
VIRGINIA: I love the BBG, I think it is.

00:46:11.828 --> 00:46:13.388
VIRGINIA: I think that's Buena Vista Gifts.

00:46:13.408 --> 00:46:14.688
VIRGINIA: I was like, what does that stand for?

00:46:14.708 --> 00:46:16.948
VIRGINIA: But then I'm like, yeah, it's Buena Vista Gifts.

00:46:17.168 --> 00:46:19.068
VIRGINIA: I don't know why I love that little store so much.

00:46:19.268 --> 00:46:23.928
VIRGINIA: A lot of the Disney stores sell the same things and then they'll have some resort specific merch.

00:46:23.988 --> 00:46:27.948
VIRGINIA: But then there are some that just stand out to you as being like better stores.

00:46:27.968 --> 00:46:29.068
VIRGINIA: And that's one of them for me.

00:46:29.228 --> 00:46:29.968
CATT: Yeah, I agree.

00:46:30.528 --> 00:46:33.148
CATT: It's kind of the same thing I have with like the Polynesian store.

00:46:33.228 --> 00:46:38.328
CATT: I don't know, like when I go in there, if I am looking for something, I usually can find it.

00:46:39.148 --> 00:46:43.188
CATT: But it just, I don't know, it just feels like bigger and a little more open.

00:46:43.208 --> 00:46:46.488
CATT: It's not as stressful as trying to shop in a park.

00:46:46.988 --> 00:46:48.808
CATT: And it's gonna have most of the same stuff anyway.

00:46:48.828 --> 00:46:51.028
CATT: And I like looking at resort specific stuff too.

00:46:51.108 --> 00:46:57.428
CATT: I am very much about, like I'm good at repping a brand, especially if it's like a resort, a resort I really love.

00:46:58.748 --> 00:47:02.288
CATT: And that's sometimes dangerous because like, yeah, I'll just buy it, I'll just get it all.

00:47:03.268 --> 00:47:07.588
CATT: Like the first time we stayed at Old Key West, they had like a whole outfit.

00:47:07.608 --> 00:47:10.328
CATT: They had like a shirt and a jacket and sweatpants.

00:47:10.608 --> 00:47:14.268
CATT: And it was like, I could get all of this, but I was like, don't.

00:47:14.528 --> 00:47:16.448
CATT: So yeah, I love that store.

00:47:16.468 --> 00:47:19.768
CATT: So I always hit that anytime we're anywhere near the contemporary now.

00:47:20.808 --> 00:47:21.788
CATT: But yeah, that was pretty much it.

00:47:21.808 --> 00:47:26.948
CATT: And then we just monorailed the full circle back to the Polynesians so we could get ready for the pool.

00:47:27.088 --> 00:47:29.768
VIRGINIA: And you went to the lava pool this afternoon, is that right?

00:47:29.848 --> 00:47:30.568
CATT: Yes, yep.

00:47:30.608 --> 00:47:34.608
CATT: We hit up the lava pool, went pretty much straight for that kids area.

00:47:34.708 --> 00:47:35.788
CATT: That's where they wanted to go.

00:47:35.808 --> 00:47:37.168
CATT: And we were letting them drive that boat.

00:47:37.428 --> 00:47:38.328
CATT: So we did.

00:47:38.668 --> 00:47:40.288
CATT: And we were there for a long time.

00:47:40.788 --> 00:47:44.028
VIRGINIA: So I know that you have spent some time at Storm Along Bay.

00:47:44.808 --> 00:47:55.608
VIRGINIA: So now that you've hung out at the lava pool, we talked about it a little bit in your pre-trip, but what is your thought on the comparison between the two as far as like premier pools goes?

00:47:55.888 --> 00:48:01.068
CATT: So I think, and I don't remember, we may have talked about this on the other one too.

00:48:01.368 --> 00:48:20.788
CATT: The Storm Along Bay is massive and awesome, but when it comes to really small kids, if they don't want to spend all their time in the sand pool, that little one that has all the sand, they don't really have a good kid area, like a splash pad of like that.

00:48:20.888 --> 00:48:28.028
CATT: They have the small kids pool where you can go up to the big slide, like the pirate ship slide, and it just happens to be that same area.

00:48:28.048 --> 00:48:30.128
CATT: But I mean, it's just one small pool.

00:48:30.428 --> 00:48:30.988
CATT: That's it.

00:48:31.548 --> 00:48:35.108
CATT: There's no like any kind of other effects or really anything else going on with it.

00:48:35.828 --> 00:48:47.388
CATT: And so I feel like with the Polynesian, if you have small kids that can do like smaller water slides, because they have two, they have like the little teeny baby slide, but they also have like a kind of a medium side slide.

00:48:47.448 --> 00:48:50.468
CATT: I think that one's a little bit better if you've got younger kids.

00:48:50.968 --> 00:48:52.808
CATT: I think it's just more for them to do.

00:48:52.868 --> 00:48:54.528
CATT: And I mean, ours did not get bored.

00:48:54.548 --> 00:48:57.248
CATT: They were constantly running around doing all the slides.

00:48:57.268 --> 00:49:00.128
CATT: My son did not leave that medium size slide.

00:49:00.148 --> 00:49:02.008
CATT: That was his entire life.

00:49:02.028 --> 00:49:06.588
CATT: It was going around and around and around on that slide as much as possible.

00:49:06.848 --> 00:49:12.828
VIRGINIA: I think I don't think, I know I prefer the Polynesian lava pool to Storm Along Bay.

00:49:12.908 --> 00:49:13.328
VIRGINIA: I just do.

00:49:13.348 --> 00:49:14.128
VIRGINIA: I think it's a better pool.

00:49:14.248 --> 00:49:16.428
VIRGINIA: Might be an unpopular opinion with some.

00:49:17.708 --> 00:49:18.128
VIRGINIA: All right.

00:49:18.548 --> 00:49:20.348
VIRGINIA: What did you do after your pool time?

00:49:20.488 --> 00:49:20.888
CATT: Let's see.

00:49:20.908 --> 00:49:22.208
CATT: We mobile ordered some more dinner.

00:49:22.548 --> 00:49:28.508
CATT: And, you know, after having the burger and all that kind of being full, like we just kind of split a couple of things.

00:49:28.528 --> 00:49:37.208
CATT: I think we got the nachos again, but we intentionally split them this time and then got like a side of fries just to kind of have a little bit like a different kind of carb.

00:49:39.488 --> 00:49:51.548
CATT: And then, you know, laid low until around fireworks time, about I want to say an hour and a half, like pretty much when the sun was still going down, we did like a little lap around where like the beach area is.

00:49:51.908 --> 00:49:59.828
CATT: And then there's like a loop where you where you can go along where the bungalows are, where you can just feel as poor as humanly possible.

00:50:00.668 --> 00:50:03.368
CATT: And then there's like a there's like a hill.

00:50:06.228 --> 00:50:08.668
CATT: You just get to like peep them and cry.

00:50:08.748 --> 00:50:12.708
CATT: And then so we just like a little loop just to kind of see that side.

00:50:13.468 --> 00:50:18.688
CATT: And and then there's a whole nother like entrance to the Tokalau building that's right there.

00:50:19.588 --> 00:50:26.548
CATT: So kind of near where the beach would start and where like the bungalows end before you would keep going and end up in another place that's right near the TTC.

00:50:26.828 --> 00:50:36.088
CATT: And then me and my daughter kind of got ready and like packed a little bag, got some snacks and we have like a little picnic blanket.

00:50:36.828 --> 00:50:39.528
CATT: And we went back out to the beach to watch Happily Ever After.

00:50:40.568 --> 00:50:42.428
VIRGINIA: Well, that sounds like a wonderful day.

00:50:42.428 --> 00:50:47.768
VIRGINIA: And to wrap it up with some some fireworks is like the perfect bow on your day.

00:50:48.508 --> 00:50:57.148
VIRGINIA: Wednesday, June 5th was your second park day of this trip, and it was this time Magic Kingdom with extended hours.

00:50:57.748 --> 00:51:03.668
VIRGINIA: So you told me in our pre trip that you anticipated that you might rope drop the people mover.

00:51:03.828 --> 00:51:04.468
VIRGINIA: So did you?

00:51:05.068 --> 00:51:06.368
CATT: We actually did not.

00:51:07.248 --> 00:51:07.728
CATT: We did.

00:51:07.748 --> 00:51:08.628
CATT: We did do it early.

00:51:08.648 --> 00:51:10.768
CATT: We went to Little Mermaid.

00:51:12.688 --> 00:51:13.148
VIRGINIA: All right.

00:51:13.168 --> 00:51:18.628
VIRGINIA: Still, some people might think, oh, that's an interesting ride to rope drop.

00:51:18.728 --> 00:51:24.028
VIRGINIA: But when you have younger kids, people don't forget she has young children.

00:51:25.448 --> 00:51:26.068
CATT: Absolutely.

00:51:26.248 --> 00:51:29.848
CATT: We had to learn that lesson one of the like second or third times that we brought them.

00:51:29.868 --> 00:51:33.408
CATT: And you're like, you know, at the end of the day, we get to go as adults and it's great.

00:51:33.428 --> 00:51:36.988
CATT: And we can, you know, high tail it to Space Mountain or wherever we want to go.

00:51:37.088 --> 00:51:38.208
CATT: And that's totally fine.

00:51:38.228 --> 00:51:42.668
CATT: And we're willing to be there an hour in advance before they open the gates and all that kind of stuff.

00:51:42.888 --> 00:51:44.428
CATT: But like with kids, they don't want to do that.

00:51:44.448 --> 00:51:45.168
CATT: They're not going to do that.

00:51:45.188 --> 00:51:47.428
CATT: And they're going to be miserable before you even step foot in the park.

00:51:47.468 --> 00:51:48.468
CATT: And then, right.

00:51:48.508 --> 00:51:49.608
CATT: What's what's the point?

00:51:50.028 --> 00:51:52.448
CATT: I think we honestly didn't even get into the park.

00:51:52.848 --> 00:51:55.368
CATT: I think anywhere close to rope drop.

00:51:55.528 --> 00:51:57.728
CATT: I think we were a little bit after the fact.

00:51:57.948 --> 00:52:00.308
CATT: And it was just because, you know, we were starting to get tired.

00:52:00.328 --> 00:52:04.908
CATT: We had a nice relaxing day the day before and we weren't in the mood to hustle, honestly.

00:52:05.748 --> 00:52:08.228
CATT: So we just kind of decided, you know, that's it's totally fine.

00:52:08.248 --> 00:52:13.328
CATT: We're going to I didn't even get a Tron group because I knew we weren't going to be there that early.

00:52:13.368 --> 00:52:17.348
CATT: And I am cursed with getting an early boarding group and I didn't want that.

00:52:19.948 --> 00:52:20.768
CATT: So I just didn't.

00:52:21.668 --> 00:52:24.348
VIRGINIA: So did you try for the one o'clock drop?

00:52:24.548 --> 00:52:26.108
CATT: Yeah, we I did.

00:52:26.128 --> 00:52:31.128
CATT: And I think I got one and I just kind of had it just in case we decided to do it.

00:52:31.148 --> 00:52:33.908
CATT: But we weren't like 100 percent sure we were kind of like, I mean, we've done it before.

00:52:34.068 --> 00:52:36.288
CATT: And with the kids, I mean, it's fine.

00:52:36.308 --> 00:52:37.148
CATT: It's just like Guardians.

00:52:37.168 --> 00:52:38.168
CATT: We can do Rider Swap.

00:52:38.568 --> 00:52:42.908
CATT: But with this one, I don't know, it kind of kind of just stinks having to go alone.

00:52:42.928 --> 00:52:48.408
CATT: It's kind of more fun when you can like be next to the person you're going with and I'm going to deal with all that.

00:52:48.428 --> 00:52:51.268
CATT: So we were like, if we do it, that's great.

00:52:51.288 --> 00:52:52.288
CATT: And if not, it's fine.

00:52:53.128 --> 00:53:01.948
VIRGINIA: So I know that one of the goals for your Magic Kingdom Day was that Harrison wanted to ride Big Thunder Mountain for the first time.

00:53:02.448 --> 00:53:05.068
VIRGINIA: Did he work up the courage after he saw it?

00:53:05.428 --> 00:53:05.808
CATT: No.

00:53:05.848 --> 00:53:07.708
CATT: Well, I don't know if he would have.

00:53:08.048 --> 00:53:09.708
CATT: He probably would have been fine.

00:53:09.948 --> 00:53:22.668
CATT: The wait times because of Tiana's still doing the I think they were still in cast reviews and the cast reviews were kind of going wonky because it was breaking down.

00:53:22.688 --> 00:53:24.828
CATT: Yeah, it was going down a lot.

00:53:24.848 --> 00:53:29.768
CATT: So a lot of cast members were like forced to wait because like they all, you know, it was so particular.

00:53:30.168 --> 00:53:37.568
CATT: So that whole area of the park was just operating weird and it was the busiest side consistently all day.

00:53:37.608 --> 00:53:49.868
CATT: Like we spent a lot more time I think than we ever have in Tomorrowland and Fantasyland with no waits or little waits where like Adventureland and Frontierland were just slammed.

00:53:49.888 --> 00:53:53.328
CATT: So Big Thunder was I think a little bit heavier that day than it was.

00:53:53.448 --> 00:54:00.608
CATT: If we really tried and we wanted to catch it lower, we probably could have, but we just decided, you know, we'll just stay out of that area.

00:54:00.688 --> 00:54:03.528
CATT: It's going through some things and we didn't end up.

00:54:03.808 --> 00:54:08.108
CATT: Yeah, we didn't even end up going to Adventureland until like closer to the extended hours.

00:54:08.208 --> 00:54:09.768
CATT: So and we were fine with that.

00:54:09.768 --> 00:54:10.768
CATT: It was.

00:54:11.308 --> 00:54:11.628
CATT: Yeah.

00:54:11.868 --> 00:54:12.368
VIRGINIA: All right.

00:54:12.928 --> 00:54:15.788
VIRGINIA: So what did you get into next?

00:54:16.088 --> 00:54:21.268
CATT: So we did a new experience for us, for our kids.

00:54:21.608 --> 00:54:23.488
CATT: We took them to have their faces painted.

00:54:23.968 --> 00:54:26.868
VIRGINIA: Oh, what a brave and bold choice, Catt.

00:54:27.088 --> 00:54:27.608
VIRGINIA: All right.

00:54:30.248 --> 00:54:37.668
VIRGINIA: I'm only imagining like how messy this must be in the Florida heat to have face paint on.

00:54:37.928 --> 00:54:39.748
VIRGINIA: So are there regrets?

00:54:40.168 --> 00:54:41.048
CATT: Absolutely none.

00:54:41.548 --> 00:54:42.008
VIRGINIA: Okay.

00:54:44.188 --> 00:54:50.048
CATT: It was it was 100% worth it because one, my daughter was the happiest she's ever been.

00:54:50.188 --> 00:54:52.128
CATT: And I think the prettiest ever.

00:54:52.928 --> 00:54:57.848
CATT: She did like a not Elsa Snow Queen motif.

00:54:59.048 --> 00:55:01.688
CATT: And my son, I love him so much.

00:55:02.228 --> 00:55:09.908
CATT: He picked the snake that wraps around your forehead across your nose and down your cheek.

00:55:10.908 --> 00:55:17.508
CATT: And even the people who are doing the face painting was like, you know, it takes a certain kind of person to pick the snake.

00:55:17.748 --> 00:55:19.048
CATT: And I said, yeah, here he is.

00:55:19.348 --> 00:55:20.528
CATT: His name's Harrison.

00:55:20.548 --> 00:55:21.268
CATT: He's four years old.

00:55:21.288 --> 00:55:22.008
CATT: Enjoy.

00:55:23.308 --> 00:55:24.668
CATT: Did he touch it immediately?

00:55:24.848 --> 00:55:25.268
CATT: Yes.

00:55:25.568 --> 00:55:27.348
VIRGINIA: Did it get on any of the clothing?

00:55:27.748 --> 00:55:28.288
CATT: Clothing?

00:55:28.288 --> 00:55:29.228
CATT: No, not really.

00:55:29.248 --> 00:55:30.828
CATT: No, he touched it a lot.

00:55:31.188 --> 00:55:32.208
CATT: He smeared it a lot.

00:55:32.328 --> 00:55:36.168
CATT: I would hold his hand and he would out of nowhere smack his face against my arm.

00:55:36.188 --> 00:55:37.948
CATT: So I looked like I had bruises.

00:55:38.188 --> 00:55:40.668
CATT: It was just like the black face paint that kept coming off.

00:55:40.948 --> 00:55:42.568
CATT: And yeah.

00:55:43.408 --> 00:55:45.108
CATT: But no, didn't get enough clothing.

00:55:45.128 --> 00:55:46.368
CATT: Honestly, didn't get anywhere else.

00:55:46.908 --> 00:55:53.988
CATT: And the lovely thing about kind of that situation, they were like, if you have the receipt and it like, it gets messed up, you can always come back before we close.

00:55:53.988 --> 00:55:57.908
CATT: Or, you know, if you need to come back, prove that you bought it today and that they'll touch it up.

00:55:58.728 --> 00:55:59.388
VIRGINIA: So I'm sorry.

00:55:59.588 --> 00:56:01.048
VIRGINIA: Prove you got it today.

00:56:01.428 --> 00:56:05.548
VIRGINIA: Like, does anyone come back a day later with face paint on?

00:56:05.568 --> 00:56:07.168
CATT: Like, look, we haven't showered.

00:56:07.668 --> 00:56:11.008
VIRGINIA: I have been sleeping in this and I want it touched up.

00:56:12.928 --> 00:56:16.608
CATT: I've been laying completely flat and have not moved at all.

00:56:19.928 --> 00:56:20.448
CATT: Yeah.

00:56:20.508 --> 00:56:21.128
CATT: Or I don't know.

00:56:21.148 --> 00:56:24.048
CATT: I mean, hey, I did this to myself.

00:56:24.208 --> 00:56:25.808
CATT: And can you make it look better?

00:56:25.828 --> 00:56:26.928
VIRGINIA: That's true.

00:56:26.948 --> 00:56:28.828
VIRGINIA: I didn't even think of that as an option.

00:56:28.848 --> 00:56:30.688
VIRGINIA: Somebody painting their own face.

00:56:30.968 --> 00:56:34.908
VIRGINIA: I, of course, go to, I'm not going to move for 24 hours.

00:56:35.168 --> 00:56:36.308
VIRGINIA: And then I'm going to come back.

00:56:37.228 --> 00:56:44.108
VIRGINIA: Well, were were they both happy with their pics and were they still wearing them when it was time to go to bed?

00:56:44.108 --> 00:56:47.508
VIRGINIA: Was there drama with the washing off process?

00:56:47.928 --> 00:56:48.988
CATT: No, no drama.

00:56:49.108 --> 00:56:52.228
CATT: We were very upfront about them about like, hey, you're not going to sleep in this.

00:56:52.288 --> 00:56:56.128
CATT: And when it's time to take it off, we're going to have to take it off.

00:56:56.148 --> 00:56:59.588
CATT: And at that point, like after a really long day, they were completely fine with it.

00:56:59.608 --> 00:57:01.208
CATT: They were like, yes, please, please take it off.

00:57:01.488 --> 00:57:04.368
CATT: And my daughter was very particular about it because she didn't want to ruin it.

00:57:04.748 --> 00:57:08.028
CATT: So it was one of those things where she's never wanted to touch her face more.

00:57:08.068 --> 00:57:10.888
CATT: And now she's had to spend a whole day where she felt like she couldn't.

00:57:11.848 --> 00:57:14.348
CATT: She's like, I need to just be able to itch my face.

00:57:14.368 --> 00:57:15.628
CATT: So she was happy.

00:57:15.648 --> 00:57:17.288
CATT: She was like, yes, please, please remove it.

00:57:17.668 --> 00:57:26.768
VIRGINIA: Was there anything of note that happened between getting the faces painted and going back to the Polynesian to wash the faces off?

00:57:26.808 --> 00:57:28.688
CATT: So we did kind of an odd thing.

00:57:28.828 --> 00:57:33.808
CATT: We got there late, and we did Little Mermaid, and we did Do People Move Her, and we got their faces painted.

00:57:34.068 --> 00:57:37.308
CATT: Oh, and we got coffee, because Joffrey's, if we're in Tomorrowland, has to happen.

00:57:37.868 --> 00:57:39.148
VIRGINIA: Yes.

00:57:39.848 --> 00:57:40.628
CATT: We were going to try to paint.

00:57:40.648 --> 00:57:43.908
VIRGINIA: I'm remembering now that you are obsessed with Joffrey's and like to stock up.

00:57:44.948 --> 00:57:46.208
VIRGINIA: Yes.

00:57:47.148 --> 00:57:56.588
CATT: So we got that, and we got to, I don't know, we just kind of had like probably the laziest morning possible in a park that I feel like you shouldn't be lazy in, but honestly, it's rewarding if you are.

00:57:56.908 --> 00:58:17.128
CATT: We were going to try to grab some sort of breakfast snack, but because it was a little bit later, you were either left with some places not serving breakfast anymore or like standbys like Gaston's starting to get a little bit more like crowded for other things, and it was just like, at some point it wasn't worth it to us to have to wait for something.

00:58:17.788 --> 00:58:32.028
CATT: So we actually went back to the resort after only doing those couple things to get like a white lunch at the resort and just kind of like eat in peace, you know, not have to fight somebody for a seat or melt while you're eating it, which was actually pretty nice.

00:58:32.208 --> 00:58:38.048
CATT: So kind of gave the kids that break that they would have normally gotten anyway in about two hours.

00:58:38.268 --> 00:58:39.628
CATT: You know, we got a little bit of fuel.

00:58:40.048 --> 00:58:43.048
CATT: We kind of reorganized a couple things in our bag.

00:58:43.188 --> 00:58:46.308
CATT: And then we headed back and hit kind of the bulk of the rides.

00:58:46.808 --> 00:58:56.988
VIRGINIA: Were the crowds in the areas outside of Adventureland and Frontierland holding off because of the focus on Tiana's at that point in the day?

00:58:57.228 --> 00:58:57.968
CATT: Kind of.

00:58:58.048 --> 00:59:01.948
CATT: It was still like a little more elevated than it normally would be.

00:59:01.968 --> 00:59:04.208
CATT: I think it just that whole area was just so congested.

00:59:04.228 --> 00:59:06.628
CATT: I think what was happening was the ride kept going down.

00:59:06.648 --> 00:59:12.288
CATT: So the cast members that were promised to go still were still waiting and the ones that were still kind of all queued up.

00:59:12.908 --> 00:59:14.888
CATT: So I think they like just kept getting backed up.

00:59:14.908 --> 00:59:18.128
CATT: But like, of course, if that's your only day to ride it, nobody was leaving.

00:59:18.148 --> 00:59:21.068
CATT: And a lot of people would bring friends or family would, you know, come down for it.

00:59:21.088 --> 00:59:24.388
CATT: So I think like they were hesitant to leave or go too far.

00:59:24.388 --> 00:59:25.308
CATT: And then it came back up.

00:59:25.328 --> 00:59:26.668
CATT: And then it was, you know, their turn.

00:59:26.748 --> 00:59:28.708
CATT: And it was just so finicky.

00:59:29.008 --> 00:59:33.748
CATT: So I think just a lot of people maintained the area and just did a couple of things nearby.

00:59:33.768 --> 00:59:38.128
CATT: And I think that just kept the weights being all crazy because, yeah, it was it was weird.

00:59:38.248 --> 00:59:43.088
CATT: Like, I think if anyone was tracking data for those days, Magic Kingdom had a weird day.

00:59:43.348 --> 00:59:43.628
VIRGINIA: Yeah.

00:59:43.648 --> 00:59:45.148
VIRGINIA: All right.

00:59:45.168 --> 00:59:49.908
VIRGINIA: Well, what else did you do in Magic Kingdom before heading back to do the face washing?

00:59:50.268 --> 00:59:51.068
CATT: So we came back.

00:59:51.268 --> 00:59:53.268
CATT: We did People Mover again.

00:59:53.388 --> 00:59:54.908
CATT: We did The Carousel.

00:59:55.108 --> 00:59:58.908
CATT: Then we did a new experience to us, Enchanted Tales with Belle.

00:59:59.348 --> 01:00:00.648
VIRGINIA: Oh, how did you like that?

01:00:00.668 --> 01:00:02.268
VIRGINIA: Because I really enjoy it.

01:00:02.688 --> 01:00:03.988
CATT: I thought it was amazing.

01:00:04.088 --> 01:00:09.368
CATT: Like, it was a really adorable experience and a lot longer than I thought it would be.

01:00:09.388 --> 01:00:11.008
CATT: Not a bad way or anything.

01:00:11.288 --> 01:00:13.948
VIRGINIA: Did both kids participate in the story?

01:00:14.168 --> 01:00:16.008
CATT: Yes, both kids did.

01:00:16.348 --> 01:00:17.708
CATT: And the husband did.

01:00:19.388 --> 01:00:20.888
VIRGINIA: Who did husband play?

01:00:21.388 --> 01:00:23.708
CATT: He was one of the knights, the suits of armor.

01:00:23.728 --> 01:00:24.488
VIRGINIA: Uh-huh.

01:00:24.628 --> 01:00:25.008
VIRGINIA: OK.

01:00:25.728 --> 01:00:26.588
VIRGINIA: And what about the kids?

01:00:27.608 --> 01:00:33.088
CATT: And then my son was a little salt shaker, which he called Sprinkles.

01:00:33.808 --> 01:00:34.228
VIRGINIA: OK.

01:00:36.708 --> 01:00:39.528
CATT: And my daughter was a little dinner plate, like a little dish.

01:00:40.788 --> 01:00:44.028
VIRGINIA: Was there any jealousy from you of not being in the show?

01:00:44.288 --> 01:00:45.668
CATT: Me, a giant introvert?

01:00:45.828 --> 01:00:46.728
CATT: Absolutely not.

01:00:46.828 --> 01:00:48.948
CATT: I told them, go live their dreams.

01:00:49.688 --> 01:00:50.068
VIRGINIA: Uh-huh.

01:00:50.088 --> 01:00:51.448
VIRGINIA: You're like, I'll be the photographer.

01:00:51.468 --> 01:00:51.848
VIRGINIA: Thank you.

01:00:51.888 --> 01:00:52.448
CATT: Exactly.

01:00:52.648 --> 01:00:52.908
VIRGINIA: Yep.

01:00:53.248 --> 01:00:56.608
CATT: I got to take all the pictures and the video and all the kind of stuff.

01:00:56.628 --> 01:00:57.808
CATT: Yeah, it was so cool.

01:00:58.328 --> 01:00:58.688
VIRGINIA: Good.

01:00:58.728 --> 01:00:59.108
VIRGINIA: Yeah.

01:00:59.108 --> 01:01:02.308
VIRGINIA: And what about that mirror effect that they do?

01:01:02.788 --> 01:01:03.828
VIRGINIA: It's so cool.

01:01:04.008 --> 01:01:10.208
VIRGINIA: Even though I have heard how they do it, I still, like every time, I'm just like, that's the coolest.

01:01:10.368 --> 01:01:10.708
CATT: I know.

01:01:11.028 --> 01:01:14.488
CATT: I mean, I was staring straight at it.

01:01:14.508 --> 01:01:17.148
CATT: And I was like, I can't figure this out.

01:01:17.168 --> 01:01:18.928
CATT: Like, I don't, I just don't see it.

01:01:19.308 --> 01:01:21.208
CATT: But yeah, that was so cool.

01:01:21.228 --> 01:01:25.708
CATT: And just like the build up and everything, like the cast members are just so fantastic.

01:01:25.728 --> 01:01:27.708
CATT: And all the kids are like so excited to do stuff.

01:01:28.088 --> 01:01:28.408
VIRGINIA: Yeah.

01:01:28.548 --> 01:01:36.448
CATT: And yeah, I thought that was, that's a fantastic time to spend, especially like in a good hot part of the day anyway.

01:01:36.488 --> 01:01:37.868
CATT: Like, that's a good use of time.

01:01:38.128 --> 01:01:38.528
VIRGINIA: Right.

01:01:38.548 --> 01:01:38.808
VIRGINIA: Yeah.

01:01:38.828 --> 01:01:45.568
VIRGINIA: I think my impression is that it gets skipped a lot because I think some people maybe don't understand what it is.

01:01:45.928 --> 01:01:48.028
VIRGINIA: Or they're like, oh, it's just storytelling.

01:01:48.048 --> 01:01:49.608
VIRGINIA: Why would I go do that?

01:01:50.008 --> 01:01:51.848
VIRGINIA: But no, it's an experience.

01:01:51.868 --> 01:02:04.688
VIRGINIA: So especially if you have never done it before, or if you have younger kids, I say don't write off that experience as something to hit up when you're in the Magic Kingdom.

01:02:04.828 --> 01:02:05.708
CATT: Yeah, I agree.

01:02:05.728 --> 01:02:11.388
CATT: And especially if you have kids who like Belle, she's kind of a hard one to meet anywhere.

01:02:12.668 --> 01:02:16.528
CATT: You know, you can sometimes get her Epcot, but she's going to be like Provincial Belle.

01:02:16.608 --> 01:02:17.928
CATT: It's not going to be ballgown Belle.

01:02:17.948 --> 01:02:21.128
CATT: You know, she's not at Be Our Guest, despite that being logical.

01:02:21.668 --> 01:02:24.788
CATT: And she's not in the Royal Hall where you can meet.

01:02:24.808 --> 01:02:27.368
CATT: She's not usually one of those rotating princesses.

01:02:27.388 --> 01:02:29.408
CATT: So, I mean, this is kind of your shot.

01:02:29.428 --> 01:02:37.368
CATT: And it's honestly, I feel like a good way to do it because you kind of get a fun experience and a little bit of participation, but then you also do get that guaranteed photo.

01:02:37.448 --> 01:02:39.388
CATT: So it's kind of like everything in the world.

01:02:39.648 --> 01:02:39.988
VIRGINIA: Yep.

01:02:40.668 --> 01:02:41.008
VIRGINIA: Yep.

01:02:41.328 --> 01:02:52.228
VIRGINIA: And if you have kids who like drama, and by drama, I mean, you know, being on the stage, not like drama, then it's a great experience for them.

01:02:53.948 --> 01:02:56.728
VIRGINIA: What was after Enchanted Tales with Belle?

01:02:56.888 --> 01:03:04.408
CATT: Well, we hit up the carousel again because that one was like pretty much walk-on almost all day, and the kids wanted to ride it again.

01:03:04.728 --> 01:03:05.608
CATT: They were big fans.

01:03:06.188 --> 01:03:08.268
CATT: And like I said, they were driving.

01:03:08.468 --> 01:03:13.928
CATT: We did try to kind of circle around the part just to kind of see what was going on around the other side.

01:03:14.968 --> 01:03:18.748
CATT: And there was just nothing that was like super low that we could get into, you know, starting it hot.

01:03:18.868 --> 01:03:28.968
CATT: And then we checked and my daughter said that she wanted to meet Mirabelle because I had mentioned like way earlier that day that she meets and I had kind of pointed where that happens and she had kind of got a glimpse of her.

01:03:28.988 --> 01:03:32.768
CATT: And I just randomly like towards the end of the day, she was like, yeah, I think I want to meet her.

01:03:32.928 --> 01:03:34.368
CATT: And I'm like, oh goodness.

01:03:34.388 --> 01:03:38.948
CATT: So I had to check and be like, this is like the last time that they're meeting.

01:03:39.668 --> 01:03:42.368
CATT: So we went back to the other side to wait.

01:03:43.048 --> 01:03:45.528
CATT: So we met Mirabelle and that was fun.

01:03:45.648 --> 01:03:56.848
VIRGINIA: Have they changed the inside where she like, she meets in that little like garden kind of dead end area that Tinkerbell used to be in, right?

01:03:56.948 --> 01:04:00.188
CATT: Yes, and then Merida was there, I think in between that.

01:04:00.728 --> 01:04:07.748
VIRGINIA: Okay, does it look the same or have they changed the environment at all to match with Mirabelle?

01:04:08.548 --> 01:04:10.428
CATT: Oh yeah, no, it's completely changed.

01:04:10.488 --> 01:04:17.888
CATT: It basically, like the doors are like painted to look like the casita, like it's very, yeah, yeah.

01:04:18.068 --> 01:04:25.108
CATT: And then they've got like the magical family tree hanging and then they've got like banners of like different things.

01:04:25.128 --> 01:04:26.868
CATT: Like it's very beautifully decorated.

01:04:26.888 --> 01:04:31.668
CATT: Like it looks like almost like Mirabelle's bedroom mixed with like the rest of the home.

01:04:31.688 --> 01:04:33.188
CATT: Yeah, it's adorable.

01:04:33.888 --> 01:04:34.888
VIRGINIA: Okay, all right.

01:04:34.948 --> 01:04:39.908
VIRGINIA: Yeah, I don't generally go to that particular character spot no matter who's there.

01:04:40.208 --> 01:04:42.288
VIRGINIA: I just kind of pass it by.

01:04:42.428 --> 01:04:47.028
VIRGINIA: But, you know, I always see, partly because there's always a lot of people there.

01:04:47.208 --> 01:04:51.348
VIRGINIA: There's always a lot of, a lot of people waiting to meet those characters, so.

01:04:52.068 --> 01:04:53.168
CATT: Yeah, it was very nice.

01:04:53.368 --> 01:04:55.628
VIRGINIA: And what time of day was this?

01:04:55.628 --> 01:04:59.488
VIRGINIA: If this was the last meeting, I'm guessing around 6 o'clock maybe.

01:04:59.508 --> 01:05:00.688
CATT: Yeah, I'm trying to think.

01:05:00.708 --> 01:05:05.548
CATT: I want to say it was an odd time that I felt like it was the last to be meeting.

01:05:07.168 --> 01:05:16.268
CATT: Maybe it was because I'm thinking of like the start time of when like the last meet and greets for the day was, which I want to say was like 4 or 15 or something like that.

01:05:16.268 --> 01:05:18.488
CATT: But then I'm like, I'm not 100% sure.

01:05:18.508 --> 01:05:20.368
CATT: I want to say it was around like maybe five.

01:05:20.608 --> 01:05:24.028
CATT: Like it was getting close to that time frame.

01:05:24.168 --> 01:05:26.268
CATT: So maybe like 430.

01:05:26.668 --> 01:05:30.408
CATT: Was like the last, like they'll just take the last of the line and cut it off at maybe 445.

01:05:31.508 --> 01:05:33.168
CATT: So starting to get late in the day.

01:05:34.448 --> 01:05:40.988
VIRGINIA: At this point, did you have any sense of whether the kids were going to be able to hang for the extended hours?

01:05:41.228 --> 01:05:43.448
CATT: Yeah, they were doing pretty good.

01:05:43.528 --> 01:05:45.688
CATT: There were still a couple of things they wanted to do.

01:05:46.268 --> 01:05:49.848
CATT: They were relatively like in good spirits.

01:05:50.148 --> 01:05:51.248
CATT: We were getting a little hot.

01:05:51.308 --> 01:05:54.728
CATT: So we did take a break at Cosmic Rays for a little bit.

01:05:54.868 --> 01:05:58.788
CATT: You know, we all drank like a drink and just kind of hung out for a little bit.

01:05:58.828 --> 01:06:00.208
CATT: But yeah, no, I mean, they were doing fine.

01:06:00.228 --> 01:06:04.188
CATT: And we basically just decided that we would just keep going until we ran out of things to do.

01:06:04.408 --> 01:06:06.788
CATT: And if that ended up being into the extended hours, great.

01:06:06.808 --> 01:06:08.728
CATT: And if not, then it's fine.

01:06:08.928 --> 01:06:10.648
VIRGINIA: All right, what was after that?

01:06:10.748 --> 01:06:13.428
CATT: So after that, we did It's A Small World.

01:06:13.948 --> 01:06:17.808
CATT: And then we decided to take them on Carousel of Progress.

01:06:17.968 --> 01:06:22.988
VIRGINIA: Okay, so your third carousel ride of the day, but a different carousel, okay?

01:06:23.468 --> 01:06:24.688
CATT: Yep, just different carousel.

01:06:25.028 --> 01:06:26.088
CATT: Both kids loved it.

01:06:26.248 --> 01:06:27.348
VIRGINIA: Had they been on it before?

01:06:27.848 --> 01:06:29.248
CATT: No, neither one of them had.

01:06:29.748 --> 01:06:30.288
VIRGINIA: Really?

01:06:31.268 --> 01:06:36.848
VIRGINIA: Well, I'm glad they enjoyed it, because that's 20 minutes where you can't leave if you're not enjoying it.

01:06:37.588 --> 01:06:41.488
CATT: Exactly, and that was definitely the anxiety the second those doors shut.

01:06:41.508 --> 01:06:43.608
CATT: I was like, let's hope neither one of them has a meltdown.

01:06:43.628 --> 01:06:47.128
CATT: I was pretty confident that my 7-year-old would be fine, but 4-year-olds, you never know.

01:06:47.748 --> 01:06:49.628
CATT: But no, they were completely enthralled.

01:06:49.728 --> 01:06:52.488
CATT: They were fine the whole time and loved it.

01:06:52.508 --> 01:06:54.608
CATT: They were singing the song the whole rest of the day.

01:06:54.628 --> 01:06:55.588
CATT: It was great.

01:06:56.608 --> 01:07:01.928
CATT: And then we tried another new thing that we had never done before for a lot of reasons.

01:07:02.048 --> 01:07:04.868
CATT: But again, we let them drive, literally.

01:07:04.988 --> 01:07:05.608
CATT: And here we are.

01:07:07.228 --> 01:07:09.028
CATT: Oh gosh, Speedway?

01:07:09.408 --> 01:07:10.648
CATT: Yeah, we did the Speedway.

01:07:13.108 --> 01:07:17.168
CATT: That was a thing that I went on.

01:07:17.348 --> 01:07:18.148
CATT: It happened.

01:07:18.168 --> 01:07:20.188
CATT: At least I can't say I've never done it.

01:07:20.248 --> 01:07:24.008
VIRGINIA: So did you each take a kid and let them do the driving?

01:07:24.188 --> 01:07:25.268
CATT: We each took a kid.

01:07:25.288 --> 01:07:27.988
CATT: I don't think Harrison was of the right height.

01:07:28.008 --> 01:07:29.428
CATT: I don't think he was allowed to drive.

01:07:30.108 --> 01:07:32.368
CATT: But he was just kind of there for the ride.

01:07:32.388 --> 01:07:34.608
VIRGINIA: He could still do the steering wheel, I think.

01:07:35.008 --> 01:07:36.188
CATT: Yeah, I don't know how much of the drive.

01:07:36.208 --> 01:07:39.488
CATT: He may have done the steering, but I don't think he can work the pedals or anything.

01:07:40.488 --> 01:07:42.648
CATT: So I think it was like a team.

01:07:42.668 --> 01:07:45.248
CATT: Yeah, I think he let him do the little wheel.

01:07:45.508 --> 01:07:49.488
VIRGINIA: I mean, honestly, if he hadn't touched the steering wheel, you still would have made it back to the start.

01:07:49.508 --> 01:07:51.188
VIRGINIA: It just would have been a very bumpy ride.

01:07:51.748 --> 01:07:52.628
CATT: Yeah, sure.

01:07:53.068 --> 01:08:05.368
VIRGINIA: I mean, it was probably a very bumpy ride anyway, I'm guessing, because I know how it is when my now 14-year-old, because Alex just had a birthday the other day, drives it, and it's not smooth.

01:08:05.688 --> 01:08:11.008
VIRGINIA: I mean, I can't even drive it smooth, and I have a license, like a real license, not a Tomorrowland Speedway license.

01:08:14.168 --> 01:08:14.808
CATT: Oh, goodness.

01:08:14.828 --> 01:08:15.128
CATT: Yeah.

01:08:15.768 --> 01:08:17.728
CATT: But yeah, my seven-year-old drove.

01:08:17.748 --> 01:08:20.068
CATT: Like, I put her in the driver's seat and I said, all right, go ahead.

01:08:20.308 --> 01:08:22.668
CATT: And I was like, you gotta hit the pedal and you gotta turn the wheel.

01:08:22.688 --> 01:08:23.028
CATT: Go ahead.

01:08:23.588 --> 01:08:25.748
CATT: And like, she was good, like from the start.

01:08:25.948 --> 01:08:31.308
CATT: And then it was like, immediately panicked and just and was like, okay, you do it.

01:08:31.328 --> 01:08:32.348
CATT: I'm like, well, now I can't.

01:08:32.368 --> 01:08:32.988
CATT: I'm over here.

01:08:34.068 --> 01:08:41.108
CATT: So I'd like reach over to take it and like reach my foot around her to do the thing, which was fine.

01:08:41.148 --> 01:08:45.568
CATT: And then I was trying to figure it out because like, you know, like you said, it's not it's not like driving a car.

01:08:45.588 --> 01:08:47.168
CATT: It's just it just does not work the same way.

01:08:47.188 --> 01:08:50.508
CATT: And what you think is happening or should happen when you do something, it doesn't.

01:08:50.908 --> 01:08:54.728
CATT: So yeah, it's very bumpy and we turn it's just it's like all over the place.

01:08:54.768 --> 01:08:56.528
CATT: So anyway, we survived.

01:08:57.488 --> 01:08:58.068
CATT: It was fine.

01:08:58.568 --> 01:09:01.748
CATT: Now she knows we were we're good.

01:09:01.768 --> 01:09:02.508
VIRGINIA: Now she knows.

01:09:02.508 --> 01:09:03.228
VIRGINIA: Now she knows.

01:09:06.428 --> 01:09:07.468
VIRGINIA: What was up next?

01:09:08.208 --> 01:09:20.588
CATT: So then we kind of tried to figure out like what we hadn't done and what we could do, I guess, at that point, we headed over to Barnstormer because that's a good little kiddie coaster.

01:09:20.768 --> 01:09:23.528
CATT: My son and I think only had done it once, but it was a long time ago.

01:09:23.548 --> 01:09:27.048
CATT: So we're kind of like, yeah, let's see if anything's changed here.

01:09:27.068 --> 01:09:27.868
CATT: And my daughter loves it.

01:09:28.288 --> 01:09:29.068
CATT: So we rode that.

01:09:29.308 --> 01:09:34.568
CATT: And then we we kind of got off and the ride was still like there was no wait.

01:09:35.048 --> 01:09:36.828
CATT: And they were like, can we do that again?

01:09:36.848 --> 01:09:37.568
CATT: Will we be able to do that again?

01:09:37.588 --> 01:09:38.368
CATT: Are we going to come back and do it?

01:09:38.388 --> 01:09:39.228
CATT: And we're like, you know what?

01:09:39.348 --> 01:09:42.128
CATT: Probably not going to come back and do it, but we'll go ahead and do it again.

01:09:42.148 --> 01:09:44.068
CATT: So we just came around and did it again.

01:09:44.548 --> 01:09:46.828
CATT: And then we headed to the other side of the park.

01:09:46.848 --> 01:09:47.808
VIRGINIA: Wait, all four of you rode it?

01:09:48.148 --> 01:09:48.428
CATT: Yeah.

01:09:48.608 --> 01:09:52.968
VIRGINIA: Okay, because you mentioned in your pre-trip that Harrison was traumatized before it.

01:09:53.028 --> 01:09:55.808
CATT: Yeah, that's why I was like, he hadn't been on it since that first time.

01:09:55.828 --> 01:09:57.888
CATT: And he was like, he did not seem like he was having it.

01:09:58.448 --> 01:10:00.248
CATT: But yeah, we rode it.

01:10:00.348 --> 01:10:01.188
CATT: He was totally fine.

01:10:01.268 --> 01:10:03.968
CATT: And then when we mentioned riding again, he was like, yeah, I want to ride that again.

01:10:03.988 --> 01:10:04.388
CATT: Yeah, let's go.

01:10:05.528 --> 01:10:06.408
CATT: So, okay.

01:10:06.548 --> 01:10:07.028
VIRGINIA: Growth.

01:10:07.148 --> 01:10:08.248
VIRGINIA: That's what we call growth.

01:10:08.828 --> 01:10:09.208
CATT: Exactly.

01:10:10.068 --> 01:10:17.988
CATT: So we headed to the other side of the park, which was nice, because it was kind of like right at the tail end of sunset, even though it was kind of like a cloudy day.

01:10:19.168 --> 01:10:22.408
CATT: So I got to see the area, like Tiana's area now.

01:10:22.468 --> 01:10:31.068
CATT: And then they had like the lights starting to come on and it wasn't as crowded because I guess they either figured it out and people got to ride it or they just sent everybody home.

01:10:31.088 --> 01:10:31.628
CATT: I don't really know.

01:10:31.668 --> 01:10:33.268
CATT: I hope it wasn't the second, but it probably was.

01:10:33.728 --> 01:10:40.308
CATT: So I took some like, you know, like nice little shots of Tiana kind of in the lights and all that kind of stuff.

01:10:40.908 --> 01:10:43.888
CATT: We did Pirates because that's a must do for me.

01:10:44.308 --> 01:10:53.068
CATT: After Pirates, we were kind of regrouping a little bit and then kind of hunkered down in Pecos Fills, refilled some water, ate some nachos.

01:10:53.468 --> 01:10:56.608
CATT: And right at that moment, Happily Ever After was starting.

01:10:56.628 --> 01:11:04.688
CATT: So we kind of just heard it from there, which is fine because we don't really do fireworks inside the parks.

01:11:04.828 --> 01:11:06.348
CATT: It's way too loud for my daughter.

01:11:06.468 --> 01:11:07.888
CATT: She gets overwhelmed.

01:11:08.148 --> 01:11:10.508
CATT: And then we washed the kids' faces off.

01:11:10.528 --> 01:11:13.768
CATT: We just went ahead and decided to do that there, just kind of rinse them off.

01:11:14.688 --> 01:11:20.028
CATT: And then, yeah, so that's the only thing we didn't have to do when we got home, depending on when we were going to.

01:11:21.068 --> 01:11:26.768
CATT: So we ate, kind of sat for a little bit, and then we went to do Magic Carpets of Aladdin.

01:11:26.928 --> 01:11:31.588
VIRGINIA: Much better to do in the evening than in the middle of the high heat of the day, I will say.

01:11:31.788 --> 01:11:35.888
CATT: Absolutely it is because that is such a hot area, and it's just no shade at all.

01:11:36.168 --> 01:11:38.608
CATT: And yeah, yeah, so that was perfect.

01:11:38.708 --> 01:11:40.248
CATT: You know, it's kind of cool at night.

01:11:40.268 --> 01:11:43.708
CATT: It's still not a very good ride, but it's fine.

01:11:43.728 --> 01:11:45.328
CATT: Like my daughter loves it, and it's fine.

01:11:45.608 --> 01:11:51.208
CATT: So then we bounced back over into Fantasyland now that Happily After had ended.

01:11:51.548 --> 01:11:56.708
CATT: We did Winnie the Pooh, which had like, I don't know, maybe a 15, 20 minute wait, nothing too bad.

01:11:56.848 --> 01:11:59.308
VIRGINIA: I feel like that's another underrated ride.

01:11:59.368 --> 01:12:02.808
VIRGINIA: And by underrated, I mean among like adult park goers.

01:12:02.968 --> 01:12:05.088
VIRGINIA: I always see a line with kids.

01:12:05.528 --> 01:12:10.228
VIRGINIA: But if you're an adult and you skip Winnie the Pooh, don't skip it next time you go.

01:12:10.288 --> 01:12:11.068
VIRGINIA: Give it a try.

01:12:11.568 --> 01:12:13.688
VIRGINIA: It's like a fever dream in some parts.

01:12:13.828 --> 01:12:14.328
VIRGINIA: It's fun.

01:12:14.988 --> 01:12:16.128
CATT: Yes, exactly.

01:12:16.168 --> 01:12:21.188
CATT: I would just definitely say, for sure, 15 minutes or under.

01:12:21.608 --> 01:12:27.028
CATT: Because especially if you're one, you're not bringing kids or you don't have kids.

01:12:27.048 --> 01:12:33.128
CATT: No, it's not an ideal environment if you have to wait for a long time because there's so much interactive stuff, which is great for kids.

01:12:33.348 --> 01:12:36.868
CATT: But if you're an adult who's trying not to be overstimulated, that's going to happen.

01:12:37.688 --> 01:12:39.928
CATT: And it's going to make your experience different.

01:12:41.028 --> 01:12:43.888
VIRGINIA: I don't think it's worth waiting a super long time for.

01:12:43.968 --> 01:12:48.208
VIRGINIA: And so you can always find different points in the day when it's like a low weight anyway.

01:12:48.228 --> 01:12:50.128
VIRGINIA: So it's not anything to stress about.

01:12:50.148 --> 01:12:51.088
VIRGINIA: Just keep an eye on it.

01:12:51.088 --> 01:12:53.548
VIRGINIA: And when you see it's a low weight time, give it a go.

01:12:53.728 --> 01:12:54.668
CATT: Yep, absolutely.

01:12:54.868 --> 01:12:58.208
CATT: Pretty much from there, we're about ready to call it a night.

01:12:58.228 --> 01:12:59.688
CATT: Kids were starting to get tired.

01:12:59.948 --> 01:13:04.108
CATT: So we're we and that ends up with crankiness and all of that.

01:13:04.848 --> 01:13:07.288
CATT: We did make a stop on the way out at the Emporium.

01:13:08.808 --> 01:13:14.088
CATT: My daughter was on a very specific mission for a type of stuffed animal.

01:13:14.828 --> 01:13:21.288
CATT: She didn't know what she wanted, but she wanted those long ones, like the cuddlies, the ones that look like they're asleep.

01:13:21.508 --> 01:13:22.848
CATT: And they're like the big long ones, yeah.

01:13:23.088 --> 01:13:27.628
CATT: So she was determined before we even left that she was getting one, but she didn't know which one she wanted.

01:13:27.648 --> 01:13:30.528
CATT: And she wanted to make sure that she saw them all so that she could.

01:13:31.048 --> 01:13:36.948
CATT: And so pretty much since like day one, any ones that we passed, we'd show them to her and she would rank them.

01:13:37.548 --> 01:13:42.008
CATT: And so like she had like a whole scale of, oh, that's a six out of 10.

01:13:42.368 --> 01:13:47.068
CATT: And then we'd find another one and then she'd have to rank it to the other one and be like, okay, this one's more like a seven.

01:13:47.148 --> 01:13:50.188
CATT: I mean, she would hold it, squeeze it, look it all over.

01:13:50.208 --> 01:13:51.268
VIRGINIA: Take it for a test drive.

01:13:51.388 --> 01:13:53.408
CATT: Yeah, I'm like, okay.

01:13:53.868 --> 01:13:56.728
CATT: It's all because I have one and she keeps trying to steal it.

01:13:57.428 --> 01:14:00.028
CATT: And I told her when we go next, she can buy one.

01:14:00.048 --> 01:14:01.528
CATT: They have all the different characters though.

01:14:01.628 --> 01:14:04.528
CATT: Because the one I have doesn't even, she doesn't even know what it is.

01:14:05.048 --> 01:14:07.568
CATT: I was like, choose your own because this one's mine.

01:14:07.708 --> 01:14:09.308
CATT: And it's not something you care about.

01:14:09.308 --> 01:14:11.508
CATT: So, you know, there's so many other characters.

01:14:11.528 --> 01:14:12.168
CATT: We'll find you one.

01:14:12.188 --> 01:14:13.008
CATT: We'll find the right one.

01:14:13.028 --> 01:14:22.308
CATT: And so we were like, all right, we had looked at a couple of options and we had some in mind that if she didn't find one she liked, we would go back and get that we had found in other places.

01:14:23.348 --> 01:14:27.628
CATT: And so we get to the Emporium and they have a whole bunch, you know, a couple racks of them.

01:14:27.648 --> 01:14:30.568
CATT: She feels a bunch of them and she finally settles on Dumbo.

01:14:30.848 --> 01:14:32.628
CATT: And that was actually a shock.

01:14:32.688 --> 01:14:38.088
CATT: I was like, I didn't think she had attached to that particular character.

01:14:38.108 --> 01:14:42.348
CATT: We didn't even get a chance to ride it because that wait time was also kind of doing weird things that day.

01:14:42.948 --> 01:14:44.028
CATT: But they had ridden it before.

01:14:44.208 --> 01:14:45.388
CATT: But yeah, so that was the one.

01:14:45.408 --> 01:14:47.048
CATT: So yeah, we were able to find it.

01:14:47.148 --> 01:14:49.128
CATT: And so we scooped that up, headed out.

01:14:49.168 --> 01:14:57.588
CATT: And then instead of trying to do a fairy or the monorail, we actually tried one of the resort launches where they just do the boats for the first time.

01:14:57.648 --> 01:14:59.168
CATT: And that was lovely.

01:14:59.188 --> 01:15:00.408
VIRGINIA: Yeah.

01:15:01.028 --> 01:15:01.988
VIRGINIA: Yeah, I like it.

01:15:02.008 --> 01:15:03.128
VIRGINIA: It's a nice way to travel.

01:15:03.248 --> 01:15:04.128
CATT: Yeah, that's the way.

01:15:04.148 --> 01:15:08.268
CATT: Because I mean, yeah, the other ways are fine, too, like having the ferry and then walking over.

01:15:08.468 --> 01:15:11.948
CATT: Well, if you're at the Polynesian, obviously you're at contemporary, you just walk.

01:15:12.348 --> 01:15:16.128
CATT: But yeah, if you're at the Grand or the Polynesian, resort launches are fantastic.

01:15:16.308 --> 01:15:16.748
VIRGINIA: Mm-hmm.

01:15:16.928 --> 01:15:17.608
VIRGINIA: Totally agree.

01:15:18.608 --> 01:15:19.028
VIRGINIA: All right.

01:15:19.088 --> 01:15:23.308
VIRGINIA: Thursday, June 6th was another resort day for you.

01:15:24.228 --> 01:15:27.928
VIRGINIA: And I know that you had wanted to try Trader Sam's on this trip.

01:15:27.948 --> 01:15:29.168
VIRGINIA: Did you get to it this day?

01:15:29.488 --> 01:15:30.888
CATT: No, we did not.

01:15:31.648 --> 01:15:40.268
CATT: The method to secure a spot and then have to deal with the whenever they call you kind of thing wasn't really going to work with our kids.

01:15:40.908 --> 01:15:45.048
CATT: And while I think they would have been fine, there's nothing about the experience.

01:15:45.088 --> 01:15:53.688
CATT: It was one of those where I'm like, you know, if we really, really, really wanted to, we could always like plan to come over at a certain time, get on the list and do some like monorail type stuff.

01:15:53.708 --> 01:15:59.808
CATT: And then just like come back when we're called, like when we just don't have a park day or, you know, we're having a really lazy Magic Kingdom day.

01:16:00.228 --> 01:16:02.028
CATT: It's not something that has to happen right now.

01:16:02.048 --> 01:16:04.388
CATT: It would have been nice, but it doesn't have to happen right now.

01:16:04.408 --> 01:16:06.288
CATT: So we were, we made peace with it.

01:16:07.108 --> 01:16:09.528
VIRGINIA: So what was your final resort day like?

01:16:09.608 --> 01:16:13.948
CATT: So final resort day, we woke up, we got Captain Cook's for breakfast.

01:16:14.448 --> 01:16:16.288
CATT: I got the breakfast flatbread.

01:16:16.468 --> 01:16:18.228
CATT: We did the Tonga toast.

01:16:18.248 --> 01:16:19.028
CATT: So we kind of like split.

01:16:19.048 --> 01:16:21.128
CATT: We did like half and half because I wanted both.

01:16:21.348 --> 01:16:21.928
VIRGINIA: Yeah.

01:16:21.948 --> 01:16:23.508
CATT: Kids got the Mickey waffles.

01:16:23.628 --> 01:16:23.928
CATT: Yeah.

01:16:24.148 --> 01:16:25.368
VIRGINIA: Tonga toast is a lot.

01:16:25.528 --> 01:16:25.888
CATT: Yes.

01:16:26.228 --> 01:16:26.528
CATT: Yeah.

01:16:26.548 --> 01:16:28.908
CATT: And that flatbread was pretty, pretty big too.

01:16:28.928 --> 01:16:30.168
CATT: So I was like, yeah, this is perfect.

01:16:30.168 --> 01:16:31.388
CATT: Cause then I can get a little bit of everything.

01:16:31.488 --> 01:16:34.568
CATT: And the Tonga toast is so sweet and the flatbread is all savory.

01:16:34.828 --> 01:16:36.908
CATT: So it was kind of like the perfect way to balance that out.

01:16:37.488 --> 01:16:37.828
VIRGINIA: Yeah.

01:16:38.008 --> 01:16:39.828
CATT: Kids, you know, kids did Mickey waffles.

01:16:39.888 --> 01:16:42.448
CATT: We had, you know, a nice little, another lazy morning.

01:16:42.748 --> 01:16:46.248
CATT: We did end up going to Disney Springs very quickly.

01:16:46.568 --> 01:16:47.348
VIRGINIA: For Joffrey's?

01:16:47.528 --> 01:16:47.888
CATT: Yes.

01:16:48.068 --> 01:16:48.388
CATT: Yeah.

01:16:48.448 --> 01:16:50.468
CATT: I picked up a couple of bags.

01:16:50.628 --> 01:16:50.948
CATT: Yes.

01:16:51.448 --> 01:16:51.928
CATT: I had to go.

01:16:51.948 --> 01:16:53.148
VIRGINIA: You're very predictable, Catt.

01:16:55.708 --> 01:16:57.588
CATT: I was like, I knew I was like, we go home.

01:16:57.588 --> 01:16:58.088
CATT: I'm out.

01:16:58.108 --> 01:16:59.148
CATT: Like I've gotten none of it.

01:16:59.188 --> 01:17:01.188
CATT: And I just, that's not going to work.

01:17:01.208 --> 01:17:03.608
CATT: So yeah, I had to do that anyway.

01:17:04.568 --> 01:17:05.908
CATT: So I picked up a couple of bags.

01:17:06.088 --> 01:17:12.668
CATT: I got a tea and we got a big old donut for the kids because they cannot see them and not be like, why can't I have that?

01:17:13.988 --> 01:17:16.848
CATT: We did a quick run in the Lego store.

01:17:18.048 --> 01:17:27.448
CATT: And then we did kind of a quick up and down of World of Disney and let the kiddos pick kind of their thing.

01:17:27.468 --> 01:17:32.968
CATT: Like they had money that they had been given through a birthday or Christmas or whatever that we always have on hand.

01:17:34.008 --> 01:17:36.728
CATT: So they were picking their kind of like treats, their gifts.

01:17:37.368 --> 01:17:42.668
CATT: So we did that and then it got absolutely insane hot, very, very quickly.

01:17:42.948 --> 01:17:44.228
CATT: And so we were, that was it.

01:17:44.688 --> 01:17:45.768
CATT: That was really all we wanted to do.

01:17:45.768 --> 01:17:53.888
CATT: I mean, there was a little part of us that would have liked to do Gideon's, but not enough for the month that we were like, you know, there's just nothing we need absolutely right now.

01:17:55.788 --> 01:18:03.968
CATT: So we headed back and got ready for the pool and did that pretty much until the bottom dropped out and that storm started rolling in.

01:18:04.688 --> 01:18:07.808
CATT: They called lightning in the area and kicked us out.

01:18:07.908 --> 01:18:11.968
CATT: And we spent the evening, we mobile ordered more food.

01:18:11.988 --> 01:18:13.068
CATT: That's when I got the meatballs.

01:18:13.888 --> 01:18:15.008
CATT: I finally tried those.

01:18:15.408 --> 01:18:17.868
CATT: And then, yeah, pretty much we just watched making cartoons.

01:18:17.888 --> 01:18:20.228
CATT: We packed up, watched the storm come in.

01:18:20.708 --> 01:18:26.108
CATT: We had a little family movie like all in the bed and we watched Big Hero 6.

01:18:26.128 --> 01:18:27.308
CATT: It was coming on the Disney Channel.

01:18:27.328 --> 01:18:33.608
CATT: So we watched that together and then kind of watched the storm kind of roll through and watch more people trying to go in between the buildings.

01:18:33.628 --> 01:18:37.488
CATT: And I'm like, ah, the downside of having all the buildings separate.

01:18:38.608 --> 01:18:39.488
CATT: There's no cover.

01:18:39.508 --> 01:18:42.488
CATT: And then it would stop and then people would be fine.

01:18:42.508 --> 01:18:43.128
CATT: They'd be walking.

01:18:43.148 --> 01:18:45.748
CATT: And then it would just start in full force again.

01:18:45.768 --> 01:18:46.848
CATT: And I'm like, oh, no.

01:18:49.708 --> 01:18:52.848
CATT: So, yeah, that was that was an entertaining little Florida afternoon.

01:18:52.868 --> 01:18:56.728
CATT: And then it really made me feel like I was a kid again back in Florida.

01:18:56.768 --> 01:18:59.148
CATT: And I was like, oh, and yeah.

01:18:59.168 --> 01:19:07.068
CATT: And then we ended the night with Mickey cartoons and we got some Mickey bars from quick service and, you know, had to get to bed.

01:19:07.108 --> 01:19:09.408
CATT: So we could head on out bright and early next morning.

01:19:09.668 --> 01:19:10.068
VIRGINIA: All right.

01:19:10.088 --> 01:19:13.308
VIRGINIA: So we've made it to your departure day.

01:19:13.728 --> 01:19:18.868
VIRGINIA: And I have to say there has been a surprising lack of Dole Whip mentioned.

01:19:19.128 --> 01:19:20.968
CATT: Oh, well, yeah, that that happened.

01:19:20.988 --> 01:19:23.368
CATT: Yeah, I did not mention that we got that the day we arrived.

01:19:23.388 --> 01:19:24.828
CATT: We got it on one of the resort days.

01:19:24.848 --> 01:19:25.248
CATT: Yeah.

01:19:25.268 --> 01:19:26.908
CATT: And then got it again later.

01:19:26.928 --> 01:19:28.248
CATT: Yeah, it did happen.

01:19:28.408 --> 01:19:30.768
CATT: It just yeah.

01:19:30.788 --> 01:19:38.128
VIRGINIA: OK, because you were you were worried about your sense of self-control, having such easy access to Dole Whip at the Poly.

01:19:39.868 --> 01:19:42.628
VIRGINIA: How many times would you say you ate Dole Whip on the strip?

01:19:43.528 --> 01:19:44.408
CATT: I want to say three.

01:19:44.708 --> 01:19:45.268
VIRGINIA: Not bad.

01:19:45.588 --> 01:19:47.648
VIRGINIA: You could have done better, but not bad.

01:19:48.668 --> 01:19:48.888
CATT: Yeah.

01:19:49.688 --> 01:19:56.768
CATT: I think just between everything else and all the meals and everything, it was just one of those were like, yeah, like we could have totally.

01:19:57.008 --> 01:20:01.428
CATT: And then we would we would do something else or be like, yeah, like, you know, walking over there, whatever.

01:20:01.868 --> 01:20:02.328
VIRGINIA: All right.

01:20:02.348 --> 01:20:07.928
VIRGINIA: Well, for your departure day, Friday, June 7th, did everything go smoothly with the drive home?

01:20:08.128 --> 01:20:09.368
CATT: Oh, yeah, it was perfect.

01:20:09.488 --> 01:20:13.948
CATT: We left pretty much about, I think, the same time that we left to come down.

01:20:14.528 --> 01:20:20.968
CATT: And I mean, traffic was smooth, you know, got our buckies, got our coffees, you know, did did everything.

01:20:20.988 --> 01:20:25.388
CATT: And yeah, we got home at a reasonable time, I think right at about 1245.

01:20:26.388 --> 01:20:32.568
CATT: And yeah, was able to come in, unpack, throw pretty much everything into the laundry and relax for the rest of the evening.

01:20:32.728 --> 01:20:33.188
VIRGINIA: Nice.

01:20:34.008 --> 01:20:34.488
VIRGINIA: All right.

01:20:34.728 --> 01:20:40.548
VIRGINIA: So as a family of four, do you have your next trip already on the books?

01:20:41.488 --> 01:20:43.148
VIRGINIA: Or is that still up in the air?

01:20:43.168 --> 01:20:45.328
VIRGINIA: Because I know that sometimes you'll go down by yourself.

01:20:45.428 --> 01:20:47.988
CATT: Yeah, we haven't planned our next family of four yet.

01:20:48.728 --> 01:20:52.068
CATT: We're still deciding on a couple things for next year.

01:20:52.088 --> 01:20:54.948
CATT: We are planning something in December.

01:20:55.028 --> 01:21:05.508
CATT: We just haven't officially put anything down or picked where and what because some events were just announced for halfway to the holidays.

01:21:05.528 --> 01:21:09.828
CATT: So we're toying with some options for that.

01:21:10.468 --> 01:21:12.268
CATT: So we'll have to see what happens.

01:21:13.468 --> 01:21:18.648
VIRGINIA: Well, I'm sure you'll figure it out sooner rather than later because you always have something in the works.

01:21:18.848 --> 01:21:19.508
CATT: This is true.

01:21:21.448 --> 01:21:28.188
VIRGINIA: Thank you again to Catt for coming on the show as a repeat guest and for continuing to spread joy through her Instagram page.

01:21:28.548 --> 01:21:30.708
VIRGINIA: If you aren't following her, please do that now.

01:21:31.108 --> 01:21:33.268
VIRGINIA: Once again, she is Catt in the Kingdom.

01:21:33.688 --> 01:21:35.148
VIRGINIA: Thank you all so much for listening.

01:21:35.748 --> 01:21:39.548
VIRGINIA: And until next time, keep daydreaming about where you long to be.