“What’s Going On In Your Brain?” “Right Now, Nothing.” - December 2025 Trip Report! (Updated 12/17!)

[VAtink]

Here for the excitement!

, thanks for following along!

 

[VAtink]

Joining in! Looking forward to hearing about the trip! I love a good Christmas trip!

, thanks for joining in!

 

[VAtink]

Day 1, Part 1: Onward to Disney!​

It was finally here, Disney day!!

This trip actually came up super fast, it felt like the September trip was only a few weeks ago! I know this is going to sound crazy, but I think I like having a bit more time between trips, things just felt so chaotic this fall!

Anyways, I took the afternoon off the Friday before we left to finish packing and get things set up for my cats. It was nice having the extra time to get stuff done, especially since I wanted to get to bed early for my early flight the next day!

So on Friday night I went up to bed at 9 excited to get the trip started! Well, until about 9:01 when I get a text that my flight down to FL was ALREADY delayed. Seriously!?!?

My original flight was supposed to be at 7:30, but was pushed back to 8:10. So not a bad delay, especially compared to my previous few trips!

It took a while to fall asleep that night since I was worried my flight luck was about to strike again!

Even though my flight was delayed, I decided to keep my driver’s original pickup time just in case they changed the flight back, so I still woke up at 5:20.

My driver was right on time this morning at 5:50, and we were at DCA by 6:00. Yes, I will say it again, I LOVE how close I live to the airport, especially for morning flights!

I quickly dropped off my bag then made my way down to security. Security went fast, even though almost everyone in DC has precheck, the line wasn’t long this morning and I was through in like 3 minutes.

As always, my first stop once through security was to go find my gate to verify it did, in fact, exist.

Gate located, I went to a store to get some water, then found a seat to wait for my flight.

I ended up sitting next to this really nice woman from I believe Iowa and we had a fun chat about all things millennial.

Before long they started the boarding for my flight, and I’m happy to say the initial 40 minute delay was all the delay we had!

I’m guessing with the “snowstorm” the prior day (1”-ish of snow) that shut DCA down for a good chunk of the day, the incoming flight was delayed enough the crew for my flight needed to fly a bit later to meet their minimum rest.

Whatever the reason, I’m glad we were on our way just after 8!

We landed in Orlando around 10:20, so a bit later than planned, but still made it there before my mom whose flight ended up being delayed almost an hour because they forgot to de-ice it apparently.

I made my way to the APM and then down to the baggage claim. Soon after I had my bags in hand and went to go wait for my mom and our driver (we gave them my mom’s flight number since her flight was scheduled to land after mine).

A few minutes later I got a text from our driver that she was there, and a moment later I saw who I believed was our driver come stand next to me, so I awkwardly ask her if she’s Nicole, and she was, but also looked SO confused until I explained that I’m one of the people she’s picking up and that she’s tracking my mom’s flight, not mine!

We ended up chatting for a bit while waiting for my mom to arrive, which didn’t take too much longer.

Before long we saw my mom coming down the escalators!! We had a bit of a wait for her checked bag to come out, but not too bad (certainly a shorter wait than at my tiny airport).

Soon we were on our way to our first hotel of the trip, the Beach Club! I ended up getting the room text while on the way over too, which was sooooo nice!

We pulled into the Beach club around 12:15 and made our way inside.

We were immediately met with a massive crowd! It was packed in the lobby this afternoon, the crowd around the gingerbread carousel was 5-6 people deep! Then the line for the treat stand wrapped all around the lobby, it was crazy! We had planned on checking that out that afternoon, but quickly noped it out of there and made our way to the elevators to head up to our room.









We were in room 4579 which had a great location and a gorgeous view for a resort view!

We spent a bit of time once in the room organizing our stuff and getting changed and sunblocked, but not too long since we had a park to get to!

Next up: Dapper Holidays​

 

[2xcited2sleep]

I no longer need to fly into MCO to visit, but if I did, using the Minnie Van really seems like THE way to go! Glad your flight "luck" didn't return with too much vengeance this time!! Ugh on the crowds in the Beach Club lobby. I wonder if the lack of gingerbread house in Grand Floridian (and the previously advertised display at Wilderness Lodge apparently didn't materialize) has pushed more crowds to the handful of resorts that have them -- and BC is fairly accessible via Skyliner/IG. That lobby is busy enough with people waiting for Cape May!! Can't wait for more!!

 

[VAtink]

I no longer need to fly into MCO to visit, but if I did, using the Minnie Van really seems like THE way to go! Glad your flight "luck" didn't return with too much vengeance this time!! Ugh on the crowds in the Beach Club lobby. I wonder if the lack of gingerbread house in Grand Floridian (and the previously advertised display at Wilderness Lodge apparently didn't materialize) has pushed more crowds to the handful of resorts that have them -- and BC is fairly accessible via Skyliner/IG. That lobby is busy enough with people waiting for Cape May!! Can't wait for more!!

Yeah, we really like using the Minnie Van from the airport. Yes, it's more expensive than other services, but it is nice being in "the bubble" right from the airport!

That's a good point on the crowds in the Beach Club lobby, I imagine the lack of gingerbread house at the Grand and WL would make an impact! I will note, the GF lobby felt dead this week, which was actually kinda nice the days we were staying there!

 

[Wood Nymph]

We were in room 4579 which had a great location and a gorgeous view for a resort view!

We've had a few BC rooms overlooking the volleyball court and it is a great location. The only downside is not being able to see the Epcot fireworks.

 

[Stacybaeasm]

I"m glad you only had a minor delay in flying. I'm crossing my fingers right now because I fly to Minnesota on Friday. Well, Charlotte to Denver, Denver to Minnesota. I will never understand how flights are routed. This is why I say all the world needs a stage manager. Excited to hear about the rest of your trip!

 

[docindigo76]

You had me at "Mickey's Very Merry Typhoon"! We were there too! (Left on the 9th for home.) Looking forward to reading more about your trip.

And hello from the other side of the DC suburbs I used to live within walking distance of DCA and could see the planes land and take off from my home--how I miss it! It's still our go-to airport for many trips even though we now live in MD and we visit Gravelly Point regularly.

 

[summerlvr]

Sounds like a great start (minus the flight delay). Looking forward to reading more.

 

[footballmouse]

 

[nascargirl]

Hopping over from your previous trip report. I just came back from a 4 day trip. It was hard to come back since we had a snowstorm in PA on Sunday and my poor husband got stuck shoveling. I reminded him that in 4 weeks we both head back and are staying BWV which will be a first for us.

 

[hardcorestitch]

Yeah, we really like using the Minnie Van from the airport. Yes, it's more expensive than other services, but it is nice being in "the bubble" right from the airport!

That's a good point on the crowds in the Beach Club lobby, I imagine the lack of gingerbread house at the Grand and WL would make an impact! I will note, the GF lobby felt dead this week, which was actually kinda nice the days we were staying there!

Minnie Vans at MCO: your personal Disney’s Magical Express

 

[VAtink]

We've had a few BC rooms overlooking the volleyball court and it is a great location. The only downside is not being able to see the Epcot fireworks.

The location is really nice, I love how easy it is to get to the side entrance right by Epcot! Later in the week when we were at the YC we would always bring up as we passed that side entrance how much we wished we were back in that room so we didn't have to walk any further!

 

[VAtink]

I"m glad you only had a minor delay in flying. I'm crossing my fingers right now because I fly to Minnesota on Friday. Well, Charlotte to Denver, Denver to Minnesota. I will never understand how flights are routed. This is why I say all the world needs a stage manager. Excited to hear about the rest of your trip!

Me too!!! Good luck with your flights, hopefully everything is on time for you!

 

[VAtink]

You had me at "Mickey's Very Merry Typhoon"! We were there too! (Left on the 9th for home.) Looking forward to reading more about your trip.

Oh my goodness, the storm that night was ridiculous! Every time we thought it was finally ending, it would start right back up again! Didn't expect that kind of weather in December. Definitely an interesting night, but we tried to make the most of it.

And hello from the other side of the DC suburbs I used to live within walking distance of DCA and could see the planes land and take off from my home--how I miss it! It's still our go-to airport for many trips even though we now live in MD and we visit Gravelly Point regularly.

Hey there ! It is really nice being so close to DCA, even though the early flights these days do occasionally wake me up. Gravelly Point is such a cool place to watch the planes, I love taking visitors there!

 

[VAtink]

Sounds like a great start (minus the flight delay). Looking forward to reading more.

Thankfully it was a very short delay this time! It was definitely a great start to the trip!

 

[VAtink]

, thanks for joining in!

 

[VAtink]

Hopping over from your previous trip report. I just came back from a 4 day trip. It was hard to come back since we had a snowstorm in PA on Sunday and my poor husband got stuck shoveling. I reminded him that in 4 weeks we both head back and are staying BWV which will be a first for us.

, thanks for joining! Oh dear, coming back to a snowstorm is rough. We had a bit of snow the day after I got back, but I was too busy unpacking and doing stuff around the house to bother with the outside that day. That's awesome you'll be back in four weeks, and the Boardwalk is such a great place to stay, I hope you have an amazing trip!

 

[VAtink]

Minnie Vans at MCO: your personal Disney’s Magical Express

Haha, right? I feel like at this point they cost about as much as your own private bus

 

[VAtink]

Day 1, Part 2: Dapper Holidays​

We last left off getting ready for our afternoon in our room.

Around 12:30 we were ready to head out, and decided to take the side exit that’s right by the IG since our room was down in that area.

Our goal this afternoon was to get some food and to see the Chinese storyteller/lion since that only was on the weekends and this would be the only weekend day we’d be in Epcot.

Once in Epcot, we did our normal stop at the store at the IG to pick up the Olaf scavenger hunt map and load more money on our gift card. I was surprised the CM wouldn’t let us pick up the prize for Olaf right away, usually they have no problem with this, but this time the CM wouldn’t let us. Oh well, guess we had to start hunting for Olaf!

It was about 12:45 when we left the store, so decided to book it over to China to catch the 1:00 storyteller show.

On a normal day that would have been an easy thing to do, but being a Saturday, and Dapper day, the crowds were bonkers. It was wall to wall people around WS. Fortunately we’re fast walkers, and were able to weave between groups and made it to China at 12:58! Perfect timing.

We found a spot to watch and soon after the show started.



This was sooooo cool, I loved this storyteller!

I especially liked that afterwards we could get pictures with the lion.



After the show we discussed what we wanted to do. Originally we had planned to check out a few of the food booths, but the lines for the booths this day were super long, so we started to walk around WS towards the IG hoping to find a booth with a shorter line.

As mentioned previously, it was Dapper Day, and while walking it was fun to check out all the amazing outfits people had on. I was so impressed with the outfits, there were some really amazing ones and I loved how most were holiday inspired!

Eventually we made it to Italy which was the only food booth without a long line. Apparently, word has gotten out about the food there, which I still do not understand. Italian food is soooooo good, how does this booth always get it so wrong?!!?

Anyways, we were hungry so decided to give it another try. We both ended up ordering the montanara, and mom got the tiramisu stout and I got the Italina red sangria.

We lucked out and managed to grab a table just as another group was leaving!





The monanara was good, nothing to write home about, but it wasn’t bad. The drinks on the other hand were amazing! I would get both of those drinks again!

Since Epcot was so busy, we decided to cut our visit short and start making our way out after eating. We were still a bit hungry, so hoped to find a booth on the way out that didn’t have too long of a line. But every booth had super long lines, even the line for Morrocco which is just the same old stuff every festival wrapped out the door and through the pavilion!

We got almost to the IG and never passed a booth with a short line (other than Italy), so decided to just head out, worst case we could get food back at the hotel. We still had a bit of our drinks left though, so went down to the lower area by the water in front of France to finish those and enjoy the beautiful day!



Once back in the room, mom decided to take a nap, but I was hungry so decided to head downstairs to the store to grab something to eat.

Once downstairs I saw the lobby crowds had reduced significantly, so after picking up a salad in the marketplace, I headed back to the lobby to get some pictures of the gingerbread, and stopped at the snack stand to pick up some treats for the room (macarons) and the gingerbread martini.





I then headed upstairs to go rest out on the balcony and enjoy my salad and drink, and of course catch up on trip notes!



Next up: Magnet Madness!​