Pre-Trip Report: Virginia’s Annual Trip…But Make It Bigger (February 2024)

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VIRGINIA: Welcome to Where I Long To Be, a Magical Trip Report Podcast.

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VIRGINIA: My name is Virginia, and I am your host.

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VIRGINIA: Today, you'll hear my conversation with my son, Alex, about our plans for our annual February trip to Walt Disney World.

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VIRGINIA: While we go every year at this time, this particular trip has been a long time in the making, since we were expecting the excitement of bringing my sister, her fiance, and their three children with us to experience Disney for the first time.

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VIRGINIA: So, I can't wait to share it with you all.

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VIRGINIA: If you have a trip coming up and would like to be a trip report guest, please reach out.

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VIRGINIA: The link is in the show notes, and I'm currently looking for people with trips in June and beyond.

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VIRGINIA: The sooner you reach out, the more likely it is you'd be able to be a guest.

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VIRGINIA: Okay, enough chitter chatter.

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VIRGINIA: Let's get to the pre-trip plans for my February trip.

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VIRGINIA: Listeners, I am so excited to welcome back a self-proclaimed fan favorite, my son, Alex.

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ALEX: Hi.

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VIRGINIA: Hello.

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ALEX: Hello.

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VIRGINIA: Thank you so much for being here.

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VIRGINIA: And for people who maybe did not get a chance to listen to my birthday trip episodes from September, can you just tell the listeners a little bit about who you are and maybe what you love about Disney?

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VIRGINIA: They obviously know you've been going for a long time and all that sort of thing.

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VIRGINIA: But what do you love about Disney?

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VIRGINIA: Are you grateful to be being raised a Disney kid?

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ALEX: Hello.

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ALEX: My name is Alex with an X.

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ALEX: And I've been going to Disney.

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VIRGINIA: Alex with what?

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ALEX: CES at the end.

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ALEX: We're gonna happen, okay?

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ALEX: I've been going to Disney.

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VIRGINIA: Hold on.

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VIRGINIA: I should note that Alex has a little bit of like a stuffy nose right now.

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VIRGINIA: So he might sound a little bit different than he did last time.

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VIRGINIA: All right, go ahead.

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ALEX: Sorry.

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ALEX: Surprise, surprise.

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ALEX: I recall the second time I'm on this.

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ALEX: It's like condition.

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ALEX: Anyways, I have been going to Disney for a long time.

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ALEX: Let's say maybe eight years and be raised a Disney child in a Disney household with a Disney mother.

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ALEX: It's awesome, man.

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ALEX: We are lucky enough to go as much as we do.

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ALEX: And I have actually, for some reason, I have extra popped up for this trip.

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ALEX: I have been watching Disney nonstop, like the old stuff, okay?

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ALEX: None of that weird new Disney stuff the kids watch nowadays.

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ALEX: No, I'm going old school.

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VIRGINIA: It's true.

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VIRGINIA: He did start on Cinderella yesterday, and we finished it up tonight.

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VIRGINIA: And then he scooted right into Snow White next, and he's just like really...

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ALEX: No, I watched Peter Pan before all that though.

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VIRGINIA: Oh yeah, you did Peter Pan yesterday too.

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VIRGINIA: The classics, yeah.

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VIRGINIA: All right.

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VIRGINIA: Well, let's talk a little bit about the smaller details of the trip.

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VIRGINIA: So can you share with everyone what the dates of our trip are, and who is going to be on this trip with us?

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ALEX: So we are going to be going from Saturday the 17th to Saturday the 24th.

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ALEX: And we are going with my aunt, Jordan, or aunt Jojo, as I would call her, and my soon to be aunt, Jordan's fiance, Audrey, Audrey's son, Oliver, who is three years old, and my cousins, Maddox, who is seven, and Presley, who is three, who I love all of them so very much.

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VIRGINIA: Yeah, so this is really exciting for us because, first of all, we have not ever been to Disney with children as small as Presley and Oliver are.

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VIRGINIA: So we'll have two three-year-olds with us, which is new.

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VIRGINIA: Maddox being seven, he's still very young, and that's gonna be exciting.

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VIRGINIA: He looks up to Alex like nothing else.

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VIRGINIA: I mean, it is...

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ALEX: He praises me, praises me.

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VIRGINIA: Worships you maybe is what you mean.

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ALEX: He worships me, yes, he worships me.

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ALEX: I'm like, he quite literally looks up to me too.

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VIRGINIA: That's true, that's true.

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VIRGINIA: It's so funny because as you two have gotten older, it's now even more apparent the age difference between you.

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VIRGINIA: Whereas when you were younger, you both seemed young, but now that you're 13 and he's seven, he only comes up to like your waist.

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VIRGINIA: And granted, you are tall, but it's just really cute.

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VIRGINIA: We love all of these kids and we're so excited to have Audrey and Oliver joining the family and using this trip as an opportunity to get to know them much better.

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VIRGINIA: So really wanted to just talk for a minute about how this trip sort of came to be.

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VIRGINIA: So I've wanted to take my sister to Disney for years because if you've listened to my backstory at all, the first time I went to Disney was in high school and it was a school trip.

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VIRGINIA: It was not a family trip.

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VIRGINIA: My sister was not on that trip.

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VIRGINIA: So she's never been before.

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VIRGINIA: And we were actually supposed to go, I think it was in February, 2020.

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VIRGINIA: And the timing just wasn't right in terms of her family being ready for the trip.

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VIRGINIA: And so she asked if we could postpone it for a year.

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VIRGINIA: And I was like, yes, that's fine.

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VIRGINIA: We postponed it for a year.

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VIRGINIA: And then it turned out that Presley, Jordan's three-year-old, was immunocompromised due to some health issues.

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VIRGINIA: And so we needed to postpone again for his health and safety.

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VIRGINIA: So this has been years in the making.

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VIRGINIA: And I am just so excited because I'm pretty sure Audrey's never been before either.

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VIRGINIA: So I think this is five first timers we will have with us.

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VIRGINIA: So Alex is right on board with me, ready to just show the magic to this family and hopefully make them love it like we do.

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ALEX: And hope to show them that they are the magic.

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VIRGINIA: Yes.

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VIRGINIA: All right, Alex, do you wanna share where we will be staying on this trip and maybe how we are all getting to Orlando?

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ALEX: So we are gonna be staying in a two bedroom villa in Copper Creek at our home, proud home, Wilderness Lodge.

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ALEX: Ah, Wilderness Lodge.

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VIRGINIA: I know, it's our favorite, right?

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ALEX: Yeah, it really, it's always like, brings you joy when you walk in there.

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VIRGINIA: Oh my God.

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ALEX: I mean, for our family personally.

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VIRGINIA: When you walk through those doors and you smell the lobby for the first time.

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VIRGINIA: I hope your nose clears up so you can smell that smell.

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ALEX: Yeah, I hope so.

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ALEX: I'm praying for it.

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ALEX: Anyways, we are going to be flying to Orlando, two trips.

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ALEX: We've driven to Disney.

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VIRGINIA: It's a long drive from New York City.

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ALEX: Oh yeah, very long.

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ALEX: But I love road trips.

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ALEX: I love doing those road trips.

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ALEX: I just love traveling to Disney in general.

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ALEX: So we are going to be flying from New York City, out of Newark and Jordan's family is going to be flying out of Durham in North Carolina.

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ALEX: And I am super excited because we are going to be getting up extra, extra, extra early for that good, like nostalgic, getting ready for Disney kind of feeling at like 3 a.m.

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ALEX: which is my favorite part.

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ALEX: I know it's your least favorite part, but it's my favorite part, personally.

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VIRGINIA: It's not my least favorite part.

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VIRGINIA: I will, and I've mentioned this before.

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ALEX: But you're always cranky when you wake up.

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VIRGINIA: There are some things you can keep to yourself.

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VIRGINIA: No, I'm kidding.

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VIRGINIA: No, I was just gonna say, I've mentioned on the show before, Alex's love for airports and traveling, and specifically his love for traveling at the crack of dawn.

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VIRGINIA: And luckily that matches up with me because he wants to fly at the crack of dawn because he loves getting up while it's still dark out.

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VIRGINIA: He loves when we fly out of Newark, that's, you know, we have to drive across Manhattan to get there.

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VIRGINIA: And so he loves driving through an empty Manhattan to get to the airport.

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VIRGINIA: He loves watching the sunrise.

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VIRGINIA: And then I love flying out as early as possible so that I can milk as much magic out of the day as I possibly can, because I wanna get there as early as possible.

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VIRGINIA: So it works.

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VIRGINIA: What he means by cranky, because I'm not cranky, like, oh, you know, whatever.

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VIRGINIA: I'm very anxious before we travel and it's not anxiety over flying.

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VIRGINIA: It's not anxiety over being away from home.

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VIRGINIA: It is just like something within me that I cannot settle down until we are in our seats on the plane and until the plane takes off.

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VIRGINIA: Up until then, I'm just like, come on, let's go, let's go, let's go.

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VIRGINIA: And, you know, just have my stomach and knots.

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VIRGINIA: Like I'm gonna forget something.

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VIRGINIA: And I know that I'm not gonna forget anything important.

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VIRGINIA: Anything I forget would probably be something smaller that I would totally be willing to purchase again while I'm down there.

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VIRGINIA: So it's not that big a deal, but for whatever reason, I'm just like, I have that anxiety.

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VIRGINIA: So it's surrounded around packing and getting out the door and getting on the plane on time.

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VIRGINIA: And I know everybody has recurring nightmares about different things, frequently, oh, I realize I have an exam, I didn't remember or those sorts of dreams.

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VIRGINIA: One of the anxiety dreams I have is I'm at home and realize that I'm supposed to be on a flight and it leaves in like less than an hour and I'm still at home and I haven't packed yet.

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VIRGINIA: And I start furiously throwing things into a suitcase.

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VIRGINIA: So I don't know, once I get on the plane and we take off, I will be totally fine.

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ALEX: Yeah, but until then, that's like my comfort zone.

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ALEX: I can't go like 12 months without going to an airport early in the morning.

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ALEX: Because like, in my opinion, I'm sorry for those who feel offended by this, but one of the most magical things on the trip for me is being in the airport early in the morning and getting ready for Disney.

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ALEX: Because that's when you're most excited.

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ALEX: Because you're like, oh my God, we're gonna be there.

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ALEX: And then once you're halfway through the trip, you're like, not much time left.

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VIRGINIA: I have to go to real life.

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VIRGINIA: Yeah.

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ALEX: But then in the beginning, you got, oh my God, we're gonna be at Disney.

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ALEX: It's gonna be so exciting.

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VIRGINIA: Yeah.

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ALEX: That's a...

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VIRGINIA: Yeah, it's the anticipation.

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VIRGINIA: And all of us Disney fans always say, the best cure for the Disney blues when you're sad about leaving a trip is to always have another trip in the process of planning.

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VIRGINIA: So, you know, we'll see what we come up with next, but let's get into the details of this trip.

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VIRGINIA: So a couple of things to note before we get into our day by day plans is, you know, of course, our family, our family of three, so that's me, Alex and my husband, Charles.

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VIRGINIA: We all have annual passes and their family has six day park hoppers.

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VIRGINIA: Also for this trip, Audrey qualifies for the Disability Access Service for DAS.

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VIRGINIA: So she was able to make two pre-selections per park day.

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VIRGINIA: So none of us in our family have ever used DAS before, so this is gonna be new for us, right, Alex?

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VIRGINIA: And so, you know, going into it, I had read that for the DAS service, it could only be the person who qualifies for it and like up to five other people.

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VIRGINIA: So I was a little concerned that we all weren't going to be able to be together for this and that it was gonna like split up our group or something.

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VIRGINIA: So I actually reached out to my friend Maria, who has been on a couple of episodes, one within the past couple of weeks, because I know that she has used the DAS in the past.

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VIRGINIA: And so she assured me that she thought it would be okay and that I should just, you know, have her ask about it after she learned if she had qualified or not.

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VIRGINIA: Because at that point, we weren't sure if she'd qualify.

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VIRGINIA: I reached out to also to Dana, who has been on a couple of previous episodes because I know that she mentioned in her trip report that her family had used DAS and she's a travel agent.

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VIRGINIA: So I was like, are they gonna let a party of eight people be together for DAS selections?

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VIRGINIA: And she was like, you know, only the person who qualifies will be able to ask the question about that.

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VIRGINIA: But in her experience, none of her clients had ever had an issue with it.

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VIRGINIA: And so sure enough, Audrey went through the process, was qualified to use the service and asked about it after she had learned she had qualified and they were fine with all eight of us being on it because we're all staying in the same room together or in the same villa together.

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VIRGINIA: So we have two pre-selections per park day.

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VIRGINIA: When she was going through that interview process, I did tell her not to worry about what she picked because she's never been before.

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VIRGINIA: I didn't want her to stress about what she was picking for us and trying to be strategic about it or what times of day she was picking.

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VIRGINIA: I was like, just pick from whatever's available.

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VIRGINIA: We will work around whatever you pick.

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VIRGINIA: And if it's something that doesn't work with what's going on during the day, it's okay if you miss one, it doesn't matter.

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VIRGINIA: And then when we get there, we can make them one at a time.

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VIRGINIA: Now, we may still buy Genie Plus on some days.

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VIRGINIA: We'll see.

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VIRGINIA: We just don't know what the crowds will be like.

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VIRGINIA: It's a holiday week, so they might be pretty heavy.

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VIRGINIA: So we may end up purchasing some Genie Plus access.

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VIRGINIA: We will definitely be purchasing some individual lightning lanes, for things like Guardians of the Galaxy, Flight of Passage, that sort of thing.

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VIRGINIA: And we will be definitely trying for virtual queues for anything that requires a virtual queue.

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VIRGINIA: And then last thing I wanted to note is that we do have plans to order Amazon fresh for our room, mostly breakfast and snack items, since we're gonna eat most lunches and dinners in the parks or around the resorts.

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VIRGINIA: So we're going to be getting all that together and we're doing two separate orders, one for their family and one for ours.

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VIRGINIA: And we have some things we're sharing and like we're gonna combine it up, but it just seemed easier to just like, you guys throw what you want into a cart, we'll put what went into a cart.

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VIRGINIA: And then, you know, we can always do more orders once we're there.

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VIRGINIA: All right, Alex.

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ALEX: Yes.

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VIRGINIA: Are you ready to go through our day by day plans?

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VIRGINIA: I don't know.

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ALEX: Yes.

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VIRGINIA: All right.

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VIRGINIA: So I'm gonna start us off and then we'll toss it back and forth.

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VIRGINIA: All right.

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VIRGINIA: So Saturday, February 17th, which is in two days time, or as I should pause for a moment to say.

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VIRGINIA: No, I'm gonna say it because I think it's really funny.

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VIRGINIA: In leading up to this trip, every time I have done a countdown of how many days we have left, Alex has calculated it in business days.

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VIRGINIA: So like when we're like 14 days away, he'd be like, so you're saying 10 business days.

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VIRGINIA: And I've decided that that's brilliant because it makes your countdown seem shorter.

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ALEX: Yeah, but I have business to take care of, you know?

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VIRGINIA: You have lots of business.

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VIRGINIA: You are an eighth grader and of course, you're involved in lots of extracurricular things.

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VIRGINIA: So yeah, you got business to take care of.

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VIRGINIA: I get it.

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VIRGINIA: Okay.

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VIRGINIA: Lots of business.

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VIRGINIA: All right, so Saturday, February 17th, we are arriving at MCO, which is the Orlando International Airport.

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VIRGINIA: We are probably arriving in Terminal B since we're flying United around 9 a.m.

00:16:18.700 --> 00:16:25.160
VIRGINIA: And about an hour and a half later, maybe a little bit less, they are arriving on JetBlue and Terminal C.

00:16:25.340 --> 00:16:31.980
VIRGINIA: So my plan, because they are all new to this, and I don't think any of them have ever even been to Orlando at all.

00:16:32.800 --> 00:16:40.760
VIRGINIA: So we will take our luggage from Baggage Claim and make our way over to Terminal C to meet them at their baggage claim.

00:16:40.760 --> 00:16:49.760
VIRGINIA: I just thought it would be much easier for us to come to them since we're gonna have time to do that anyway, and then be there waiting to greet them at baggage claim.

00:16:49.780 --> 00:16:59.480
VIRGINIA: And I don't know about you, Alex, but I'm envisioning in my head the three kids running across before the baggage claim to come and meet us.

00:17:00.180 --> 00:17:01.860
ALEX: I definitely can see that.

00:17:03.580 --> 00:17:11.760
ALEX: I can picture them running around and around the thing, and then we're gonna have to tell them, hey, why are you running around like that?

00:17:11.780 --> 00:17:13.020
ALEX: You gotta calm down, okay?

00:17:13.640 --> 00:17:14.240
ALEX: We got this.

00:17:14.260 --> 00:17:15.340
VIRGINIA: You need to calm down.

00:17:15.700 --> 00:17:17.560
ALEX: You're being too loud.

00:17:19.020 --> 00:17:38.320
VIRGINIA: And I will take this moment to say that because Maddox looks up to Alex so much, and because Jordan and Audrey will have their hands full with two, three-year-olds, we fully anticipate that Maddox will sort of be our realm and that Alex will help take care of Maddox and that Charles and I will be on Maddox's duty as well.

00:17:38.640 --> 00:17:43.620
VIRGINIA: That way Jordan and Audrey can really focus on Presley and Oliver.

00:17:43.640 --> 00:17:45.480
ALEX: Baby sitter Alex.

00:17:45.860 --> 00:17:46.360
VIRGINIA: Yes.

00:17:46.560 --> 00:17:47.280
ALEX: In the house.

00:17:47.740 --> 00:17:53.140
VIRGINIA: So then we are all going to get on a Mears Connect bus from Terminal C to go to Wilderness Lodge.

00:17:53.160 --> 00:17:59.780
VIRGINIA: It seemed like the easiest thing to do since the thought of having to get multiple car seats did not work out.

00:18:00.260 --> 00:18:02.100
VIRGINIA: Alex loves taking the bus.

00:18:02.260 --> 00:18:04.940
VIRGINIA: I'm, you want to say why do you like it so much?

00:18:06.620 --> 00:18:07.380
ALEX: Cartoons.

00:18:08.180 --> 00:18:09.580
ALEX: One word is cartoons.

00:18:10.580 --> 00:18:12.420
ALEX: Actually, I take that back.

00:18:12.440 --> 00:18:13.320
ALEX: It's also the drive.

00:18:13.760 --> 00:18:17.960
ALEX: So personally, I also love that part of the trip.

00:18:17.980 --> 00:18:19.960
ALEX: Even though it's at the airport, it should be better.

00:18:19.980 --> 00:18:22.200
ALEX: If it were an airport, it would be better.

00:18:24.700 --> 00:18:27.420
ALEX: But I love getting on that bus to go to Disney.

00:18:27.780 --> 00:18:35.460
ALEX: When it comes to Ubers, I'm like, I mean, I'm so excited, but I wish I could really feel the magic a bit earlier.

00:18:35.480 --> 00:19:00.780
ALEX: And I love going on that bus and just sitting down in their comfy chairs and just watching the little old cartoons they have up on that screen and then taking pauses in between that to look out the window and just act like I'm in some movie where I'm like, this is my new life and stuff like that.

00:19:00.800 --> 00:19:09.820
ALEX: Main characters going like, well, this is it, starting from scratch and stuff like that, getting pumped up.

00:19:10.040 --> 00:19:13.420
VIRGINIA: This fits right within your theme of you love anticipation.

00:19:16.260 --> 00:19:19.940
VIRGINIA: That tracks, as the kids say.

00:19:20.400 --> 00:19:26.200
VIRGINIA: After we get to Wilderness Lodge, we're going to drop our things at Bell Services because our room will probably not be ready yet.

00:19:26.440 --> 00:19:32.520
VIRGINIA: I'm thinking we'll get some lunch if the weather is okay, probably at Geyser Point, but if it's not, maybe at Roaring Fork.

00:19:33.420 --> 00:19:40.880
VIRGINIA: We do have a stroller rental being dropped off at 2.30 for the three-year-old, so we have ordered a double stroller for the two of them.

00:19:41.640 --> 00:19:48.960
VIRGINIA: Then my plan is that we need to do the Mickey Mouse scavenger hunt, which Alex and I have done before.

00:19:48.980 --> 00:19:56.360
VIRGINIA: It's a super fun, free activity around the resort, and I figured it would serve two purposes.

00:19:56.380 --> 00:19:59.800
VIRGINIA: Number one, it would give us an activity to do that the kids could get into.

00:20:00.500 --> 00:20:08.300
VIRGINIA: Number two, it would allow Jordan and Audrey to learn the lay of the land for the resort, so they'll know where everything is.

00:20:08.840 --> 00:20:12.660
VIRGINIA: Then the kids will get a certificate at the end, so it'll be super cute.

00:20:12.680 --> 00:20:14.800
VIRGINIA: Then we're going to get settled in our room.

00:20:15.180 --> 00:20:17.120
VIRGINIA: Depending on the weather, maybe we'll swim.

00:20:17.140 --> 00:20:18.080
VIRGINIA: I don't know.

00:20:18.100 --> 00:20:22.580
VIRGINIA: The weather, it's supposed to be rainy on Saturday and Sunday, so we'll see.

00:20:22.600 --> 00:20:23.500
ALEX: It's always rainy.

00:20:23.820 --> 00:20:24.180
VIRGINIA: What?

00:20:24.360 --> 00:20:25.160
VIRGINIA: It's always raining?

00:20:25.900 --> 00:20:27.940
ALEX: Yeah, it's always pretty rainy down there.

00:20:29.200 --> 00:20:32.820
ALEX: There was one time we went on a trip where it started raining so much.

00:20:34.080 --> 00:20:40.720
ALEX: We were at Hollywood Studios, and it was after lunchtime, and we were chilling like villains on the streets.

00:20:41.560 --> 00:20:45.460
ALEX: Then boom, pouring rain everywhere, and it started flooding.

00:20:45.680 --> 00:20:52.520
ALEX: It was so bad that we had to go inside somewhere, like a store or something, and we were with my mom's friend.

00:20:55.460 --> 00:20:58.520
ALEX: We're in the store staying away from the evil rain.

00:20:58.600 --> 00:21:07.580
VIRGINIA: Okay, we should pause and say that mom's friend is Nanci, who listeners will know because she was on the December trip report.

00:21:07.640 --> 00:21:15.840
VIRGINIA: So Alex calls her my mom's friend, even though Nanci desperately wants to be called Auntie Nanci or something like that.

00:21:15.960 --> 00:21:19.480
ALEX: I call her that sometimes on special occasions.

00:21:19.480 --> 00:21:20.600
VIRGINIA: It's a joke between them.

00:21:21.480 --> 00:21:26.280
ALEX: But Nanci, if you're listening to this, it's nothing personal.

00:21:26.860 --> 00:21:28.860
ALEX: It's an ongoing joke, okay?

00:21:28.880 --> 00:21:29.700
VIRGINIA: Who knows that?

00:21:29.720 --> 00:21:30.900
VIRGINIA: She knows that.

00:21:31.180 --> 00:21:40.720
ALEX: As long as you know that you really are Auntie Nanci, really deep inside my heart, then that's good enough.

00:21:41.460 --> 00:21:43.180
VIRGINIA: I should be very happy to hear that.

00:21:43.200 --> 00:21:44.600
VIRGINIA: Thank you.

00:21:46.440 --> 00:21:52.280
VIRGINIA: And then for dinner that night, we do have a reservation at Whispering Canyon at about five o'clock.

00:21:53.080 --> 00:22:01.300
VIRGINIA: And that is the restaurant that you love, Alex, that we've been to, where we will run for catch up and do all those things.

00:22:01.320 --> 00:22:02.000
VIRGINIA: I figured the kids-

00:22:02.020 --> 00:22:04.740
ALEX: Shall I share my story about green beans?

00:22:05.400 --> 00:22:08.780
VIRGINIA: Okay, but make it quick, because we got other stuff to get into for this trip.

00:22:08.800 --> 00:22:18.560
ALEX: So at Whispering Canyon, we were eating and our waitress was like, Hey, why aren't you eating your green beans to me?

00:22:18.580 --> 00:22:22.460
ALEX: And I was like, I was not in the mood for eating green beans that day.

00:22:22.820 --> 00:22:27.540
ALEX: I like green beans, but I just wasn't in the mood to eat them for some reason.

00:22:27.560 --> 00:22:29.260
ALEX: But I still loved the restaurant.

00:22:29.280 --> 00:22:29.840
ALEX: It was really fun.

00:22:30.180 --> 00:22:33.120
ALEX: But she came over and she was like, Hey, why aren't you eating your green beans?

00:22:33.500 --> 00:22:37.200
ALEX: And I was like, Oh, I just don't really want the green beans.

00:22:37.800 --> 00:22:40.660
ALEX: And then for some reason, I said, Oh yeah, I don't like them.

00:22:41.460 --> 00:22:50.820
ALEX: And then basically she took my fork and then she started like saying, then she started trying to feed me like an airplane, right?

00:22:51.180 --> 00:22:52.800
ALEX: And then I was avoiding it.

00:22:52.880 --> 00:22:56.660
ALEX: I was dodging it like I had a spider sense or something.

00:22:57.280 --> 00:23:00.740
ALEX: And, you know, dodging it left and right and all that.

00:23:01.060 --> 00:23:05.720
ALEX: And then she started like, then she grabbed the part of it and she mixed the food together.

00:23:06.360 --> 00:23:10.700
ALEX: And like my senses told me that the green bean was in there.

00:23:10.720 --> 00:23:12.520
ALEX: So I avoided that as well.

00:23:13.760 --> 00:23:19.780
ALEX: So like it became this whole thing where I was the kid in the restaurant who wouldn't eat his green beans.

00:23:20.120 --> 00:23:24.400
ALEX: And then everybody was starting to chat, eat your greens, eat your greens or something like that.

00:23:24.420 --> 00:23:27.140
ALEX: They're like, eat the green beans and I couldn't do it.

00:23:27.940 --> 00:23:28.740
ALEX: I couldn't do it.

00:23:29.600 --> 00:23:31.380
ALEX: My senses were tingling.

00:23:31.380 --> 00:23:32.720
ALEX: I knew it was in the food.

00:23:32.820 --> 00:23:33.620
ALEX: I couldn't do it.

00:23:34.440 --> 00:23:35.840
ALEX: But you know, the food was good.

00:23:35.920 --> 00:23:36.620
ALEX: I finished it.

00:23:36.640 --> 00:23:37.620
ALEX: Yeah, it was awesome.

00:23:37.640 --> 00:23:42.000
VIRGINIA: I think that Maddox and Presley and Oliver will find it to be fun.

00:23:42.020 --> 00:23:43.220
VIRGINIA: And it's right there in the lobby.

00:23:43.240 --> 00:23:45.840
VIRGINIA: So it seems like a really easy dinner choice for us.

00:23:45.860 --> 00:23:48.440
VIRGINIA: And then these children are younger.

00:23:48.680 --> 00:23:50.200
VIRGINIA: So they go to bed early.

00:23:50.820 --> 00:23:59.280
VIRGINIA: So what we have planned to do, because I think they go to bed at like sometime between 7, 7.30, something pretty early.

00:23:59.700 --> 00:24:00.820
VIRGINIA: Alex is giving me a look.

00:24:00.840 --> 00:24:03.200
VIRGINIA: They're the younger two or three years old.

00:24:03.220 --> 00:24:04.240
VIRGINIA: They go to bed very early.

00:24:04.260 --> 00:24:05.600
ALEX: That's super early though.

00:24:05.620 --> 00:24:05.960
VIRGINIA: I know.

00:24:06.020 --> 00:24:13.540
VIRGINIA: So I feel like the excitement of the travel day and all of that, it could be hard for them to wind down.

00:24:13.780 --> 00:24:31.920
VIRGINIA: And so what I've decided just win win for their family and ours is that Charles and Alex and I will go off to do something in the parks at that point, just go nighttime over to Magic Kingdom or to Epcot, maybe to enjoy Festival of the Arts.

00:24:32.380 --> 00:24:38.880
VIRGINIA: But we will head out to allow them to calm down and get settled in for the night.

00:24:38.960 --> 00:24:46.300
VIRGINIA: And then hopefully by the time we get back, the kids will be asleep and we will crawl into bed and I'll get ready for the next day.

00:24:46.640 --> 00:24:48.880
VIRGINIA: So Alex, your turn.

00:24:49.080 --> 00:24:49.940
VIRGINIA: What are we doing next?

00:24:50.200 --> 00:24:54.160
ALEX: Tag me and Goach on Sunday, February 18th.

00:24:54.440 --> 00:25:09.700
ALEX: We're going to be going to Magic Kingdom and we have some DAS preselections for Tomorrowland Speedway and Buzz Lightyear, Space Ranger Spin, which me and my mother here have a very long history about.

00:25:10.900 --> 00:25:12.080
ALEX: Shall I share it, mother?

00:25:12.220 --> 00:25:14.260
VIRGINIA: No, I've shared it on multiple episodes.

00:25:14.260 --> 00:25:23.580
VIRGINIA: I will just say, I've mentioned multiple times that our technique is that the three of us each get our own vehicle because we don't like the spinning.

00:25:23.600 --> 00:25:24.240
ALEX: The family knows.

00:25:24.260 --> 00:25:27.380
VIRGINIA: But I will tell you that Maddox is on this trip.

00:25:27.400 --> 00:25:28.760
VIRGINIA: There's no way you're riding by yourself.

00:25:28.780 --> 00:25:30.060
VIRGINIA: That kid's going to want to ride with you.

00:25:30.220 --> 00:25:33.260
VIRGINIA: So, but I'm not riding with dad.

00:25:33.360 --> 00:25:35.340
VIRGINIA: I'm taking my own car still.

00:25:35.360 --> 00:25:41.340
ALEX: Yeah, but like last time I raged because it wasn't shooting right and I got really upset.

00:25:41.540 --> 00:25:44.000
ALEX: Yeah, and I was like, why does this happen to me?

00:25:44.020 --> 00:25:46.760
ALEX: And it happened, believe it or not, it happened twice.

00:25:47.200 --> 00:25:53.900
ALEX: And I wasn't that happy at the end of the day because I was like, I can't believe I lost it to my mom, too.

00:25:54.480 --> 00:25:56.220
VIRGINIA: Well, there's always next time, right?

00:25:56.740 --> 00:25:57.120
VIRGINIA: Okay.

00:25:57.140 --> 00:25:57.420
ALEX: Yeah.

00:25:57.560 --> 00:26:10.020
ALEX: So, and yeah, also, whether if it comes down to it, if it's just you, me and dad in Magic Kingdom, I'm riding with you.

00:26:12.480 --> 00:26:12.980
VIRGINIA: I don't care.

00:26:13.620 --> 00:26:15.120
VIRGINIA: I'm going to be like, I don't know that kid.

00:26:17.280 --> 00:26:19.900
ALEX: Who's this random kid coming up to be calling me mom?

00:26:20.400 --> 00:26:20.840
ALEX: You know?

00:26:22.560 --> 00:26:23.020
ALEX: All right.

00:26:23.480 --> 00:26:33.920
VIRGINIA: So, Monday, February the 19th, we are going to Epcot for the day and I have a reservation for us at Garden Grill for Breakfast, which is our family's favorite breakfast.

00:26:34.560 --> 00:26:38.680
VIRGINIA: I will have to tell you, I had to make two reservations because we're a party of eight.

00:26:38.740 --> 00:26:44.280
VIRGINIA: So we have an 8.35 and an 8.45 because I could only make two reservations for parties of four.

00:26:44.800 --> 00:26:49.320
VIRGINIA: And so my hope is that we will get two tables right next to each other to accommodate that.

00:26:49.980 --> 00:27:03.340
VIRGINIA: And the DAS pre-selections for that day are Nemo and Friends and Mission Space, which is funny because the DAS selection for Mission Space says eight people and there's no way that Oliver and Presley are tall enough to write it.

00:27:03.400 --> 00:27:11.260
VIRGINIA: I don't think they're going to want to write it, but I was looking at somebody the other day and they reminded me that there's like a play area at the exit to Mission Space.

00:27:11.300 --> 00:27:16.000
VIRGINIA: So we will definitely let them play in the play area while anybody who wants to write it writes it.

00:27:16.700 --> 00:27:17.140
VIRGINIA: All right.

00:27:17.140 --> 00:27:20.020
ALEX: After all these years, we're going back on Mission Space.

00:27:21.420 --> 00:27:22.940
ALEX: I made you guys go on Orange.

00:27:23.500 --> 00:27:24.840
ALEX: It did not end well.

00:27:25.340 --> 00:27:28.720
ALEX: However, it ended well for me because I saw nothing.

00:27:29.600 --> 00:27:35.000
ALEX: You just got to imagine that you're not spinning around and around.

00:27:35.020 --> 00:27:44.380
ALEX: Imagine that you're going forward, okay, because it's more of like strategizing rather than, you know, knowing that.

00:27:44.400 --> 00:27:45.280
VIRGINIA: I don't think so.

00:27:45.340 --> 00:27:55.780
VIRGINIA: I think you were a kid who has grown up in a world where video games look hyper realistic and where you have your virtual reality or whatever you have.

00:27:57.020 --> 00:27:59.700
VIRGINIA: And I didn't grow up like that.

00:27:59.720 --> 00:28:02.940
VIRGINIA: So when I watch things like that, sometimes it makes me feel a little queasy.

00:28:02.960 --> 00:28:06.080
VIRGINIA: And I'm fine on every other ride, mission space I don't love.

00:28:06.100 --> 00:28:06.860
VIRGINIA: I can do green.

00:28:07.040 --> 00:28:07.920
VIRGINIA: I don't love it, though.

00:28:08.420 --> 00:28:13.740
VIRGINIA: So I'll do it if I have to, but I'm not, you know, not excited to do it or anything.

00:28:14.260 --> 00:28:14.700
VIRGINIA: All right.

00:28:14.880 --> 00:28:17.040
VIRGINIA: So what is next after that?

00:28:17.320 --> 00:28:20.280
ALEX: So this is Tuesday, February 20th.

00:28:21.040 --> 00:28:26.380
ALEX: We're going to Hollywood Studios, which is one, I think, maybe my favorite part.

00:28:26.840 --> 00:28:33.320
ALEX: But I'm still deciding between that and Epcot or maybe even Magic Kingdom and also Animal Kingdom.

00:28:33.740 --> 00:28:37.220
ALEX: But I guess we'll never know out of all the four parks.

00:28:37.900 --> 00:28:46.540
ALEX: So once we get in, we are going to have an early lunch at Sci-Fi Dine-In at 1040 a.m.

00:28:47.140 --> 00:28:48.580
ALEX: Maybe cancel.

00:28:48.720 --> 00:28:50.240
ALEX: We are not sure yet.

00:28:50.260 --> 00:28:50.520
VIRGINIA: Yeah.

00:28:50.540 --> 00:28:57.800
VIRGINIA: And I'll say the reason that I think we might cancel is because 1040 is too early for lunch, in my opinion.

00:28:58.020 --> 00:28:58.460
VIRGINIA: Yeah.

00:28:58.480 --> 00:28:59.540
VIRGINIA: The only time I could get.

00:28:59.560 --> 00:29:01.320
VIRGINIA: So I'm going to see if I can modify it.

00:29:01.460 --> 00:29:11.660
VIRGINIA: If I can't modify it, I'm going to take the temperature of the group and see like what we're feeling and then make a choice because there's plenty of quick service places to eat in Hollywood Studios, so.

00:29:11.980 --> 00:29:19.420
ALEX: After that, we have some DAS pre-selections for Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular and Star Tours.

00:29:20.220 --> 00:29:29.360
ALEX: And after that, we are going to have, we have a cocktail cocktail hour reservation at Ogas at 520 p.m.

00:29:29.480 --> 00:29:32.840
ALEX: Yeah, we may cancel or maybe only some will go.

00:29:33.160 --> 00:29:33.940
ALEX: Yeah.

00:29:35.020 --> 00:29:36.260
ALEX: I feel like some of the group.

00:29:36.740 --> 00:29:39.660
VIRGINIA: I'm not sure the three year olds would be into going to Ogas.

00:29:39.780 --> 00:29:40.700
VIRGINIA: So I think.

00:29:40.720 --> 00:29:42.040
ALEX: Yeah, I don't think they would.

00:29:42.060 --> 00:29:57.520
VIRGINIA: We're gonna, we're gonna, again, take the temperature of the group and see if anybody wants to go and then anybody like I'm totally willing to take kids and go do something else because you know, I've been to Ogas multiple times, but I don't know if Jordan and Audrey will want to experience that.

00:29:57.540 --> 00:30:00.740
VIRGINIA: So we have the reservation just in case for like a drink and a snack or whatever.

00:30:02.500 --> 00:30:10.200
VIRGINIA: Then Wednesday, February 21st, we are going to Animal Kingdom and our DAS preselections for that day are Festival of the Lion King and Safari.

00:30:10.440 --> 00:30:13.740
ALEX: Yeah, that's pretty much all for Wednesday, February 21st.

00:30:14.200 --> 00:30:17.580
ALEX: But now we are at Thursday, February 22nd.

00:30:18.400 --> 00:30:24.760
ALEX: Right now we're books for Magic Kingdom, but really, we'll let the family decide which park they want to go back to.

00:30:25.260 --> 00:30:32.380
ALEX: We have a breakfast at Chef Mickey's at 8.35, also, we might cancel that.

00:30:32.620 --> 00:30:38.360
VIRGINIA: Yeah, I have another another Chef Mickey's reservation for the day that we leave.

00:30:38.380 --> 00:30:40.000
VIRGINIA: So we may cancel this one.

00:30:40.020 --> 00:30:44.020
VIRGINIA: I just I'm waiting to to cancel it, but I'm probably going to cancel this one.

00:30:44.580 --> 00:30:53.900
ALEX: And after that, we have some DAS preselections for Magic Carpets and Barnstormer, which should be pretty fun for the little ones.

00:30:54.940 --> 00:30:59.340
ALEX: And yeah, then the day ends another magical day in the kingdom.

00:31:00.020 --> 00:31:07.740
VIRGINIA: Then yeah, so that day, I because we the three of us have annual passes, I had to make park reservations for each of the days.

00:31:07.920 --> 00:31:15.460
VIRGINIA: And then because Audrey has the DAS pass, she needed to know which park to make the reservations in for those DAS preselections.

00:31:15.480 --> 00:31:29.160
VIRGINIA: But really, I'm thinking about Thursday as a day when we could see whatever is thinking and we could go to Magic Kingdom, but we could also like if they really loved one of the other parks and they want to go back there instead, we could do that.

00:31:29.180 --> 00:31:31.580
VIRGINIA: We're going to keep Thursday flexible.

00:31:31.720 --> 00:31:36.340
VIRGINIA: Friday, February 23rd is Magic Kingdom because that is the last park day.

00:31:36.420 --> 00:31:40.740
VIRGINIA: And I really love going to Magic Kingdom on the first part day and the last part day.

00:31:40.760 --> 00:31:44.240
VIRGINIA: And then I like hopping there, you know, at different other times.

00:31:44.360 --> 00:31:47.080
VIRGINIA: So that we get lots of Magic Kingdom time in.

00:31:49.380 --> 00:31:55.820
VIRGINIA: So that day, we are going to have breakfast at Ohana at 830.

00:31:55.840 --> 00:32:01.880
VIRGINIA: Now, this is a breakfast that I have not been booking because I'm not a huge Stitch fan.

00:32:02.680 --> 00:32:09.360
VIRGINIA: I think I've made that very clear on previous episodes, but I thought the kids will like it.

00:32:09.380 --> 00:32:16.440
VIRGINIA: And when I mentioned it to Jordan and Audrey, they seemed to be excited about Stitch and thought that the kids would too.

00:32:16.600 --> 00:32:18.020
VIRGINIA: So great.

00:32:18.040 --> 00:32:19.500
VIRGINIA: I'm sure the food will be good.

00:32:19.560 --> 00:32:21.440
VIRGINIA: So I'm happy to go and do that.

00:32:21.440 --> 00:32:25.260
VIRGINIA: Then we have some DAS preselections for It's a Small World and for Monsters Inc.

00:32:25.280 --> 00:32:25.840
VIRGINIA: Laugh Floor.

00:32:26.680 --> 00:32:39.680
VIRGINIA: And then we also have a lunch reservation at Skipper Canteen at 1115, which I may cancel because I think if we're eating breakfast at Ohana at 830, the likelihood of us being ready for lunch by 1115 is not good.

00:32:40.160 --> 00:32:45.340
VIRGINIA: So I will probably cancel that or modify it to like a dinner or something like that.

00:32:45.360 --> 00:32:46.700
VIRGINIA: So we will see about that.

00:32:48.120 --> 00:32:49.520
VIRGINIA: And the last day, Alex.

00:32:49.920 --> 00:32:54.620
ALEX: Now, this day is going to be the saddest day of our lives.

00:32:55.460 --> 00:32:56.820
ALEX: I mean, of our trip.

00:32:56.880 --> 00:32:57.780
ALEX: I'm sorry.

00:32:58.680 --> 00:32:59.580
ALEX: Same thing, you know.

00:33:01.140 --> 00:33:04.420
ALEX: Anyways, we have no park day that day.

00:33:04.440 --> 00:33:09.100
ALEX: We have a breakfast at Chef Mickey's at 950 a.m.

00:33:09.120 --> 00:33:09.600
ALEX: of course.

00:33:10.440 --> 00:33:16.300
ALEX: We might go to Dizzy Springs to, you know, go shop, maybe get some Joffreys and stuff.

00:33:17.460 --> 00:33:22.360
ALEX: Maybe, maybe some Gideon's suggestion.

00:33:23.080 --> 00:33:27.780
ALEX: And we might, and this is probably going to be my favorite part of Dizzy Springs.

00:33:27.800 --> 00:33:35.460
ALEX: We might have a Lego appointment to go make a Lego character, you know, for the kids, maybe.

00:33:35.480 --> 00:33:37.820
ALEX: And for me, again, Mom.

00:33:40.420 --> 00:33:46.040
ALEX: And then at 430, we have a stroller rental pickup back at Wilderness Lodge.

00:33:46.760 --> 00:33:51.600
ALEX: And then our flights back to New York will leave around 7 p.m.

00:33:52.240 --> 00:33:53.680
ALEX: And we will be in tears.

00:33:54.140 --> 00:33:54.620
ALEX: Thank you.

00:33:55.880 --> 00:33:58.660
VIRGINIA: Yeah, I think I made a Lego reservation.

00:33:58.680 --> 00:33:59.860
VIRGINIA: I cannot remember.

00:34:00.200 --> 00:34:03.840
VIRGINIA: And I have to see whether, like, did I really do that?

00:34:03.960 --> 00:34:05.300
VIRGINIA: It's been so long ago.

00:34:05.380 --> 00:34:07.480
VIRGINIA: And if I did, how many people can fit in on it?

00:34:07.560 --> 00:34:09.160
VIRGINIA: Because Alex has already made...

00:34:09.240 --> 00:34:11.800
VIRGINIA: Alex, Charles and I have already made Lego minifigures.

00:34:11.820 --> 00:34:13.380
VIRGINIA: I know Alex would love to do another one.

00:34:13.400 --> 00:34:15.440
VIRGINIA: I'm sure I don't need to do another one.

00:34:15.460 --> 00:34:16.800
VIRGINIA: Charles doesn't need to do another one.

00:34:16.820 --> 00:34:19.780
VIRGINIA: But I'm sure the other kids would enjoy doing that.

00:34:19.800 --> 00:34:21.680
VIRGINIA: So I'm going to see what I did with that.

00:34:21.700 --> 00:34:22.420
VIRGINIA: I got to look that up.

00:34:23.140 --> 00:34:27.820
VIRGINIA: A couple of things that we don't know yet, now that we've made it through all of our day-by-day plans.

00:34:28.160 --> 00:34:31.440
VIRGINIA: Number one is the adventure level of the kids.

00:34:31.480 --> 00:34:32.980
VIRGINIA: Are they going to be up for anything?

00:34:33.020 --> 00:34:34.840
VIRGINIA: Are they going to be scared of certain rides?

00:34:36.460 --> 00:34:38.340
ALEX: Maddox will probably go all in for me.

00:34:38.460 --> 00:34:43.820
VIRGINIA: I feel like Maddox is probably going to be very adventurous and be willing to do anything that you want to do.

00:34:44.080 --> 00:34:46.040
VIRGINIA: If you can convince him, it's going to be fine.

00:34:46.240 --> 00:34:51.320
ALEX: I mean, he might hate me for some stuff because I go on some pretty wild rides.

00:34:51.400 --> 00:34:53.740
ALEX: I'm kind of a daredevil when you say so myself.

00:34:54.240 --> 00:34:55.620
ALEX: Wildest ride in wilderness.

00:34:55.640 --> 00:34:56.920
ALEX: He might hate me for a few rides.

00:34:57.040 --> 00:35:01.000
ALEX: Maybe Tower of Terror because I never liked it when I was five.

00:35:02.300 --> 00:35:03.120
ALEX: He's seven, though.

00:35:03.260 --> 00:35:04.180
ALEX: I don't know, it might change.

00:35:04.360 --> 00:35:07.840
ALEX: But I love it now, which means he might go on it with me.

00:35:07.860 --> 00:35:11.680
ALEX: I mean, just like 85% chance.

00:35:11.700 --> 00:35:18.160
VIRGINIA: So what we're going to have to do is kind of pay attention and just kind of see how things go.

00:35:18.260 --> 00:35:25.660
VIRGINIA: And I think that will help lead us to the different decisions we make along this journey by, you know, seeing how they handle other things.

00:35:26.560 --> 00:35:30.220
VIRGINIA: You know, you want people to try things new and be, you know, as adventurous as they can be.

00:35:30.240 --> 00:35:33.940
VIRGINIA: But I also don't want to push somebody too far where they then don't want to do anything.

00:35:34.660 --> 00:35:38.460
VIRGINIA: We are not sure whether the kids will take naps every day.

00:35:38.820 --> 00:35:43.440
VIRGINIA: The younger kids take naps pretty frequently at their daycare.

00:35:43.460 --> 00:35:49.080
VIRGINIA: I think Maddox will have quiet time sometimes when Presley is having a nap.

00:35:49.120 --> 00:35:53.160
VIRGINIA: So I think that we're going to just see how that plays out.

00:35:53.520 --> 00:35:59.940
VIRGINIA: And they may possibly fall asleep in the stroller at nap time, or maybe they'll go back to the resort for a break.

00:35:59.960 --> 00:36:00.620
VIRGINIA: We're not sure.

00:36:00.640 --> 00:36:02.740
VIRGINIA: So that's something we'll play by ear.

00:36:03.600 --> 00:36:11.740
VIRGINIA: And then we as our family don't know exactly what we're going to do every night because the kids do go to bed early.

00:36:11.840 --> 00:36:25.580
VIRGINIA: So there will be opportunities for the three of us to either pop back over into a park or to go get over to Polynesian and do something over there.

00:36:26.800 --> 00:36:45.680
VIRGINIA: We can just kind of play it by ear because within the two bedroom villa, Jordan, Audrey, Presley and Oliver, the two three year olds, will be in the room that has the two queen beds and then Alex will be on the pullout couch with Maddox and then Charles and I will be in the bedroom with the king size bed.

00:36:46.120 --> 00:36:55.780
VIRGINIA: So after the kids go to bed, there will be a child sleeping in the living room that will kind of turn the living room into like an off-limits space for kind of hanging out.

00:36:55.800 --> 00:37:00.420
VIRGINIA: So we'll either need to be hanging out in the master bedroom or we'll be off doing other things.

00:37:00.440 --> 00:37:05.360
VIRGINIA: And I anticipate that at least Alex and I will probably be off doing other things.

00:37:05.480 --> 00:37:07.780
VIRGINIA: I can imagine Charles chilling.

00:37:08.380 --> 00:37:11.940
ALEX: Oh yeah, I'm seeking off into the lobby, you know.

00:37:11.940 --> 00:37:13.260
ALEX: Or the arcade.

00:37:13.280 --> 00:37:15.080
VIRGINIA: I need to remember to pack your arcade card.

00:37:15.100 --> 00:37:16.880
ALEX: Of course, yeah.

00:37:17.320 --> 00:37:23.480
VIRGINIA: Okay, so last but not least, I wanted to kind of go through some things that we want to make sure we remember to do.

00:37:23.480 --> 00:37:32.200
VIRGINIA: So the things that I wrote down are, I want to make sure to get them all first visit buttons, which I think we should do the minute we get to Wilderness Lodge.

00:37:33.060 --> 00:37:36.140
VIRGINIA: I think the kids will enjoy pen trading.

00:37:36.160 --> 00:37:38.300
VIRGINIA: Now, our family has never pen traded.

00:37:38.320 --> 00:37:39.480
VIRGINIA: We are not pen traders.

00:37:39.880 --> 00:37:42.700
VIRGINIA: The pens that I purchase are pens that I want and I keep.

00:37:42.720 --> 00:37:47.020
VIRGINIA: I don't have a ton of them, but the ones that I buy I really like and I don't want to trade.

00:37:47.500 --> 00:37:50.620
VIRGINIA: But I anticipate the kids would kind of enjoy pen trading.

00:37:50.640 --> 00:37:55.240
VIRGINIA: So for the past couple of years, I've been collecting pens for them.

00:37:56.040 --> 00:38:00.440
VIRGINIA: And so they're going to have a full lanyard full of pens, and I have enough for all three of them.

00:38:00.880 --> 00:38:13.920
VIRGINIA: So what I've done is I've gotten three lanyards, and when I was there in December, I called Jordan and Audrey on FaceTime, and I made them help, you know, choose which ones they thought the kids would like.

00:38:14.000 --> 00:38:21.540
VIRGINIA: So they've got lanyards, and then my plan is to just, like, bring out all these pens in round robin style.

00:38:21.560 --> 00:38:28.800
VIRGINIA: Each person, you know, take one, take one, until they're all gone, and then they each will have a full lanyard of pens, and we'll see if they like pen trading.

00:38:29.500 --> 00:38:32.000
VIRGINIA: And if they don't want to trade their pens, that's fine.

00:38:32.040 --> 00:38:37.280
VIRGINIA: It's just a gift from me, and I'm excited to see if they like them or not.

00:38:38.120 --> 00:38:53.880
VIRGINIA: And then I really want to get Jordan over to Nomad Lounge to try the churros, because Jordan has celiac, so she needs to have gluten-free foods, and the churros are gluten-free, so I'm super excited for her to try those.

00:38:54.240 --> 00:39:02.540
VIRGINIA: Alex, I know you're going to be annoyed with me when we're there, but I am going to want to get in front of as many PhotoPass photographers as possible, because...

00:39:02.920 --> 00:39:03.300
ALEX: No.

00:39:05.960 --> 00:39:06.660
ALEX: Oh, God.

00:39:06.800 --> 00:39:07.860
VIRGINIA: This could...

00:39:08.140 --> 00:39:08.920
VIRGINIA: I mean, who knows?

00:39:08.940 --> 00:39:15.160
VIRGINIA: Like, I hope that they will come down again at some point, but this could be the only time where all eight of us are there together.

00:39:16.000 --> 00:39:30.140
VIRGINIA: And so I really want to, like, capture every memory that we can, and so every chance we get, we're going to be taking PhotoPass photos, because, you know, we've got that added on to our annual pass, so I can download them all at the end.

00:39:30.240 --> 00:39:35.940
ALEX: I thought it seemed like a lot even before we were taking them, but this is going to be a lot, a lot.

00:39:35.940 --> 00:39:36.320
VIRGINIA: I just...

00:39:37.540 --> 00:39:38.500
VIRGINIA: I don't want to hear complaining.

00:39:38.520 --> 00:39:39.760
VIRGINIA: I need your support, okay?

00:39:39.780 --> 00:39:47.560
VIRGINIA: Because if you try to rebel against it, then Maddox will try to rebel against it, and then the younger boys will try to rebel against it.

00:39:47.720 --> 00:39:49.380
ALEX: I want to start an army.

00:39:50.100 --> 00:39:54.640
VIRGINIA: It just takes a moment, and it will make all of the parents very happy.

00:39:55.160 --> 00:39:59.180
ALEX: But what if I don't look happy in the photo?

00:39:59.360 --> 00:40:02.160
VIRGINIA: Alex, would you like to go back to Disney ever again?

00:40:02.180 --> 00:40:03.660
ALEX: Yes, yes, yes.

00:40:03.880 --> 00:40:05.220
VIRGINIA: Okay, so take the photo.

00:40:08.960 --> 00:40:09.360
VIRGINIA: All right.

00:40:09.420 --> 00:40:16.320
VIRGINIA: And then I wrote down, I want to make sure that we get as many rides and attractions done as we can.

00:40:16.480 --> 00:40:23.900
VIRGINIA: But I also want to make sure that we're staying in the moment and we're not rushing and that we're just like really enjoying things that we do get to.

00:40:23.920 --> 00:40:25.760
VIRGINIA: Because there's no way we'll get to everything.

00:40:25.880 --> 00:40:27.020
VIRGINIA: I recognize that.

00:40:27.580 --> 00:40:32.600
VIRGINIA: It's just harder when you're taking people that are going for the first time and you think of all the things you're like really excited to show them.

00:40:32.620 --> 00:40:34.920
VIRGINIA: So we're going to pace ourselves, right?

00:40:35.540 --> 00:40:45.500
VIRGINIA: And, you know, just try to make sure that we're all kind of taking every moment in as we're living it instead of letting it pass us by.

00:40:45.520 --> 00:40:47.460
VIRGINIA: I want their family to want to come back.

00:40:49.560 --> 00:40:55.060
VIRGINIA: I just, I think, I've always thought, like, I think my sister will like Disney.

00:40:55.620 --> 00:41:00.380
VIRGINIA: Maybe not to the level I do, but I think she will really love what it has to offer.

00:41:03.140 --> 00:41:03.940
VIRGINIA: Right, right.

00:41:04.460 --> 00:41:23.480
VIRGINIA: And I think that going and having people showing you around who know what they're doing and can make sure that you're getting where you need to be and all of that kind of stuff that can be intimidating for a first time guest, it's going to make their trip a lot easier and hopefully will make them enjoy it more and allow them to just experience the magic.

00:41:23.640 --> 00:41:35.740
VIRGINIA: And then the last thing that I have on my list that I want to make sure we remember to do is I really would like to make sure that they see Happily Ever After, even though it's past the little kid's bedtime, because it's just such an amazing show.

00:41:35.760 --> 00:41:40.160
VIRGINIA: So they have to stay up late at least one night to go see Happily Ever After.

00:41:40.180 --> 00:41:42.320
ALEX: Yeah, I'm so happy they brought it back.

00:41:42.780 --> 00:41:44.080
ALEX: That was a good decision.

00:41:44.100 --> 00:41:45.640
ALEX: That was a very good decision.

00:41:45.660 --> 00:41:46.220
VIRGINIA: Yes, it was.

00:41:47.140 --> 00:41:47.560
VIRGINIA: All right.

00:41:47.620 --> 00:41:50.700
VIRGINIA: Well, that is basically all for our plans.

00:41:50.720 --> 00:41:58.220
VIRGINIA: Do you have anything else you want to say, Alex, about what you're looking forward to or anything like that before we close?

00:41:58.600 --> 00:42:04.380
ALEX: Please watch this episode because it appears last time that I was on an episode.

00:42:04.660 --> 00:42:09.520
ALEX: It wasn't the most popular episode and that just hurt my soul.

00:42:09.540 --> 00:42:17.740
ALEX: Now, it has been my mission to be the fan favorite and I'm not seeing that.

00:42:18.360 --> 00:42:20.620
ALEX: And I am just, I'm hurt.

00:42:22.380 --> 00:42:24.840
ALEX: So please follow, follow my mom.

00:42:26.200 --> 00:42:27.780
VIRGINIA: I personally did okay.

00:42:27.940 --> 00:42:30.600
VIRGINIA: I mean, wasn't it in my year?

00:42:30.620 --> 00:42:31.480
ALEX: Could have been better.

00:42:33.000 --> 00:42:34.780
VIRGINIA: Was it not in my year in review?

00:42:35.540 --> 00:42:36.280
ALEX: I think it was.

00:42:36.600 --> 00:42:38.540
ALEX: But please follow my mom.

00:42:38.560 --> 00:42:41.420
ALEX: I love her and I hope you all love her too.

00:42:42.260 --> 00:42:44.900
ALEX: And, you know, make this episode the best.

00:42:45.500 --> 00:42:45.880
VIRGINIA: Yeah.

00:42:45.900 --> 00:42:52.480
VIRGINIA: My birthday weekend getaway episode was number five in most total downloads.

00:42:52.760 --> 00:42:54.460
ALEX: Well, that's the way.

00:42:54.460 --> 00:42:56.440
ALEX: Actually, how many episodes have you done?

00:42:56.760 --> 00:42:57.760
VIRGINIA: I have no idea.

00:42:58.180 --> 00:43:01.440
ALEX: Well, I'll take it, actually, as long as I'm in top five.

00:43:01.500 --> 00:43:12.920
VIRGINIA: And Alex, on the post trip report for my birthday weekend episode, it was number two for number of downloads within the first 30 days of publication.

00:43:13.140 --> 00:43:14.860
VIRGINIA: So what was number one?

00:43:15.620 --> 00:43:17.700
VIRGINIA: John's Run Disney Wine and Dine Weekend.

00:43:19.100 --> 00:43:22.440
ALEX: I don't know who you are, Jon, but we have beef now.

00:43:23.600 --> 00:43:24.520
ALEX: You understand me?

00:43:25.740 --> 00:43:27.560
ALEX: I'm coming for your first place trophy.

00:43:28.180 --> 00:43:29.160
VIRGINIA: He's a nice guy.

00:43:29.180 --> 00:43:30.180
VIRGINIA: You leave Jon out of this.

00:43:31.220 --> 00:43:31.700
ALEX: No.

00:43:33.940 --> 00:43:34.740
ALEX: He's fine.

00:43:36.800 --> 00:43:37.320
VIRGINIA: All right.

00:43:38.320 --> 00:43:42.320
VIRGINIA: Anything else you'd like to say about excitement for the trip?

00:43:42.800 --> 00:43:48.420
VIRGINIA: Because then you got to head to bed because you got one more day of school.

00:43:48.920 --> 00:43:49.700
ALEX: Business, of course.

00:43:50.540 --> 00:43:52.100
ALEX: I am pumped up for this trip.

00:43:52.380 --> 00:43:57.460
ALEX: And like I said, please give my mom support.

00:43:57.520 --> 00:43:58.960
ALEX: Give Where I Long To Be support.

00:43:59.320 --> 00:44:02.320
ALEX: And yeah, I can't wait to raise my own little army.

00:44:02.340 --> 00:44:03.660
ALEX: Thank you.

00:44:04.940 --> 00:44:05.420
VIRGINIA: All right.

00:44:05.460 --> 00:44:09.940
VIRGINIA: Well, Alex, thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule.

00:44:10.080 --> 00:44:21.820
VIRGINIA: And when I say that, of course, I sound like I'm being sarcastic, but he actually had two different rehearsals today, one for a school show he's doing and one for another, you know, higher level show he's doing.

00:44:22.200 --> 00:44:26.740
VIRGINIA: So he came home, had dinner, and then it was like, all right, we got to record.

00:44:27.920 --> 00:44:28.400
ALEX: Yeah.

00:44:28.660 --> 00:44:37.600
VIRGINIA: I'm really happy to have you on the show anytime, but especially in advance of this trip, because you and I have been just looking forward to it for so long.

00:44:38.340 --> 00:44:38.760
ALEX: Yeah.

00:44:38.800 --> 00:44:40.460
ALEX: The business is real, you know?

00:44:40.920 --> 00:44:42.020
ALEX: Business is real.

00:44:42.040 --> 00:44:44.400
ALEX: I wasn't kidding when I said business, Dave.

00:44:44.420 --> 00:44:45.180
ALEX: I got business.

00:44:47.700 --> 00:44:48.160
VIRGINIA: All right.

00:44:48.160 --> 00:44:55.700
VIRGINIA: So with that, we will leave you here, and we will all find out how the trip went in the post-trip episode.

00:44:55.720 --> 00:44:57.240
VIRGINIA: So get on over there and listen to it.

00:44:57.660 --> 00:44:59.960
ALEX: And thank you for listening to this episode.

00:45:00.160 --> 00:45:01.720
ALEX: And I love you, Mom.

00:45:01.960 --> 00:45:02.740
VIRGINIA: Oh, sweet.

00:45:03.000 --> 00:45:04.120
VIRGINIA: Thank you all so much.

00:45:04.140 --> 00:45:10.220
VIRGINIA: If you enjoyed this episode, if you've enjoyed past episodes and you haven't rated or reviewed the podcast, please take a moment to do that.

00:45:10.240 --> 00:45:12.780
VIRGINIA: I would really appreciate it because it does help other people.

00:45:12.800 --> 00:45:13.320
ALEX: Five stars.

00:45:13.440 --> 00:45:14.740
VIRGINIA: Other people to find the show.

00:45:14.740 --> 00:45:20.080
VIRGINIA: And if you leave a review, I will read that on a future episode.

00:45:20.100 --> 00:45:24.920
VIRGINIA: So please do that if you can and interact with my Instagram account.

00:45:24.980 --> 00:45:25.740
VIRGINIA: All of it helps.

00:45:25.860 --> 00:45:27.540
VIRGINIA: So thank you very much.

00:45:28.660 --> 00:45:29.840
ALEX: Thank you.

00:45:30.260 --> 00:45:30.720
VIRGINIA: Goodbye.

00:45:32.560 --> 00:45:35.500
VIRGINIA: Thank you, Alex, for being a part of the show again.

00:45:36.000 --> 00:45:36.720
VIRGINIA: You're my favorite.

00:45:37.000 --> 00:45:39.480
VIRGINIA: And as we always like to say, I love you.

00:45:39.780 --> 00:45:41.280
VIRGINIA: Always have, always will.

00:45:41.880 --> 00:45:44.300
VIRGINIA: Thank you listeners for continuing to support the show.

00:45:44.720 --> 00:45:46.020
VIRGINIA: Don't forget to share it with friends.

00:45:46.040 --> 00:45:49.460
VIRGINIA: And as always, keep daydreaming about where you long to be.