An Early College Spring Break Trip! - March 2024 TR (COMPLETED)

[madeline07]

Day 4 - Hollywood Studios (Part 1)
Hiii everyone! Sorry I’ve been missing, but I’m back now to write about day 4, Hollywood Studios! Hollywood Studios is actually my favorite park. I love love love Star Wars and so did my mom, so I have a lot of nice memories of us at Hollywood Studios together (especially in Galaxy’s Edge).

My day started bright and early at 7am, when I woke up to book Lightning Lane reservations for Rise of the Resistance (my absolute favorite ride in Disney World). I booked them for all four of us (me, my friend, my dad, and my cousin) on this trip, and after that I went back to sleep because 7am is wayyy too early for me. We ended up waking around 10am and we were leaving our resort by 11am to head to the park. If you couldn’t tell, we’re all pretty late risers and weren’t super set on rope dropping any of the parks (clearly).

Our first priority once getting through the gates was food, and I have to eat a Ronto Wrap whenever I’m at Disney World. We headed straight back to Galaxy’s Edge and placed a mobile order for our food. My dad and I both got Ronto Wraps ($13.29 each) and my friend got the vegetarian Zuchii Wrap ($12.29), which she’s had before and really likes. I’m sure it’s delicious, but I just can’t let go of my tried and true Ronto Wrap. By noon we were sitting at a table in Ronto Roasters with our food. We got pretty lucky in terms of seating, but meal times at Ronto Roasters can be pretty hectic, so be prepared to wait around and scout out a table/seat. The Ronto Wrap was delicious as always, and after we took a few minutes to walk around the shopping area. I also stopped by Kat Saka’s Kettle to get some of their outpost popcorn mix ($6.49). This is their sweet and salty mix, and I believe the two flavors are lemon pound cake and chili-lime.

After a couple of photos in front of the Millenium Falcon and a stroll through Toy Story Land, we walked through Walt Disney Presents, the museum gallery-type exhibit. It was interesting, but my favorite part was the final room, which was dedicated to the Percy Jackson Disney+ series. I was a big Percy Jackson kid and the show was such a nice wave of nostalgia, it was so cool seeing some of the props and outfits from the show. Around this point, our Rise of the Resistance boarding group was called. This was an issue all day, it kept going down so at a certain point, they made our return time valid for any point throughout the rest of the day. This was super convenient, because we weren’t tethered to a specific return time.

After leaving the exhibit, we decided to hop in line for Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway, which was listed at around an hour wait, I believe. We probably made it through in ~40 minutes. After a nice (cool) ride on Runaway Railway, we got in line for Rise of the Resistance and made it to the line right after passing through the Stormtrooper room… and then we waited there for around 20 minutes before we were informed that the ride went down again So we exited through a back room and decided to ride Toy Story Midway Mania, which is a must-ride for us. Luckily we had four people, so our riders were even, and we probably waited around 50 minutes for this. The wait times were not ideal today, in hindsight we definitely should have invested in Genie Plus for Hollywood Studios. After Midway, my friend and I decided to take a stroll down Sunset Boulevard.

I love Rock n’ Roller Coaster, which was down during our visit, and neither my friend nor I were dying to go on Tower of Terror. So we got a snack (Mickey brownie for me, strawberry lemonade popsicle for my friend) and sat to people watch for a minute. I got a little antsy, so I decided to take a look in the Star Wars store on Hollywood Boulevard, where I purchased a pair of Boba Fett ears. I used to have a tradition of buying a new pair of Mickey ears each trip, and then I stopped wearing them (and buying them). But I really loved these, and I honestly didn’t buy many souvenirs this trip (not as many as normal) so I felt I deserved them.

 

[madeline07]

Day 4 - Hollywood Studios (Part 2)
After Sunset Boulevard, my friend and I walked back to Galaxy’s Edge so I could get a thermal detonator-shaped Sprite to complete my (totally unnecessary) collection of thermal detonator-shaped soda bottles. Then we decided to meet my dad and cousin and hop in line for Slinky Dog Dash… at a roughly 100-minute wait, if I remember correctly. This was around the midpoint of what the wait time had been all day, but we had nothing else we were dying to do so oh well. This wait was a little demoralizing honestly, but the coaster was as fun as ever, so all was well.

After Slinky, we decided we just couldn’t stay away from Midway Mania so we hopped in line again and improved our scores from our first ride!! We were all a little hungry after Midway Mania, and around 6pm there was (surprisingly) no wait to place a mobile order at Woody’s Lunchbox. We placed an order and relaxed a bit while we ate our food. I don’t remember what everybody got, but my dad and I split the BBQ Brisket Melt ($13.29) with potato barrels, which is my favorite item here and was delicious as always.

After this dinner/snack, Rise of the Resistance was up and we decided to hop back in line, crossing our fingers that it would stay running this time. Luckily it did, and it was a blast. I always love going on it with new people so I can see their reactions to the drop, because nobody is ever expecting it. It was around 7pm when we got off, and my dad, cousin, and friend were all pretty tired and ready to leave. I was not, but I thought I might take the Skyliner to the Riviera to walk around and grab something to eat. They left for the buses, and once I got on the Skyliner I changed my mind and decided to head right back to Studios. So I quickly made my way back and reentered the park, heading straight to Galaxy’s Edge to browse the shops some more. I bought one of those little Mandalorian dolls to add to my collection (I already have Rey, Ahsoka Tano, and Boba Fett). Then I got some blue milk.

My plan as of right now was to grab some dinner, then watch Fantasmic! because I haven’t seen it since before Covid. I headed back to Sunset Boulevard and decided on the buffalo chicken bowl from Fairfax Fare ($14.49). It was good, pretty much exactly what you’d expect. After I ate, it started to rain and they announced that Fantasmic may be delayed. There was still an hour or so until the original start time, and I didn’t really feel like waiting and then fighting the crowds to leave the park. I hopped on a bus to the resort and was back by 9pm.

My friend was craving Chipotle and I was craving a soda, so once back in the room she placed an order and I got chips and guac. We headed down towards the lobby to get a Coke from Roaring Fork and wait to pick up the Chipotle. We watched a few episodes of One Day and then went to bed!
Thank you for reading! Tomorrow is our last full day at Magic Kingdom, which I’ll hopefully be able to write about soon. See you soon!

 

[jrmint427]

we got in line for Rise of the Resistance and made it to the line right after passing through the Stormtrooper room… and then we waited there for around 20 minutes before we were informed that the ride went down again So we exited through a back room

I'm enjoying your report! Since the ride went down, did they offer you a LL for when you returned later?

 

[madeline07]

I'm enjoying your report! Since the ride went down, did they offer you a LL for when you returned later?

Yes! Once it went down, they just made our LL return time any time for the rest of the day.

 

[madeline07]

Day 5 – Magic Kingdom (Part 1)

Good morning! Today is our fifth and final day at Disney and we are at Magic Kingdom! My morning started bright and early, when I woke up around 7am to reserve a boarding pass for Tron. I got us group 38, and we were all super excited for this coaster because it was our first time at Disney since it opened.
After sleeping for a few more minutes, I decided to get out of bed and head down towards Roaring Fork with my laptop to grab some breakfast and start the TR. It was a quick (and beautiful) 3 minute walk from our room to the lobby/restaurant. I got sides of sausage and home fries and some fruit, then went to sit down outside. Side note: I’m not sure if it’s specific to Roaring Fork but I’m assuming it’s the same across property, I love the breakfast sausage they use at Disney so I’d highly recommend it! After sitting for around 45 minutes to an hour, I headed back to the room and we got ready for the day.

We were planning on taking the boat to Magic Kingdom, which I was excited for since it’s the only unique mode of transport offered at Wilderness Lodge. We were on the boat by 10:30am and walking up to the MK gates by 10:45! Once we were in the park we had a bit of time, so my friend and I decided to get a LL for Space Mountain before it was time for us to head to Tron. We ended up in two separate photos and I felt terrible because I think we broke up a family of 4, but they wouldn't have been able to fit in one vehicle anyways so it's alright. After Space Mountain, we walked straight to Tron and hopped in line. Once we got in line, it took around 45 minutes to get on. We all loved it! I was glad my cousin was able to ride this one since he sat the last couple of rides out, and he enjoyed it. After Tron I snagged a LL for Haunted Mansion, and we headed over.

I was almost hesitant to get in the LL line for HM rather than the regular queue, as the LL line stretched wayyy farther back than the regular one. However, we got in LL and it shortened as we reached the pre-show doors much earlier than the regular queue. After a nice leisurely ride through the Haunted Mansion, we decided we were pretty hungry and headed to Pecos Bill for some lunch. I got the beef nachos, and they were exactly what you’d expect. However, I believe Magic Kingdom is the park with the worst food, so Pecos Bill is on the better end of MK quick service, IMO. At Pecos Bill I scheduled a LL for Pirates of the Caribbean, so we went straight there once we were done eating.

After Pirates, we split up from my dad and cousin for a bit, because my friend and I wanted to hit some Fantasyland attractions and my dad wanted to see the Hall of Presidents. We watched Philharmagic, which is one of my favorite MK attractions. I just love the music, love that they added Coco a few years back, I love all of it. Then, we hopped in line for our Small World LL and were in our boat within 7-ish minutes. It was very relaxing and only slightly scary, and then we were off meeting back up with my dad and cousin. What MK lacks in quick and table service quality, they make up for with snacks. We headed to Aloha Isle for dole whip, a must-eat for me, and I got the regular pineapple dole whip as always. I know people rave about the pineapple vanilla swirl, but I’m just not a vanilla person, so I always stick to the pineapple.

 

[madeline07]

Day 5 – Magic Kingdom (Part 2)

After eating our dole whip, we crossed in front of the castle (stopping for some pictures) to Tomorrowland. We hopped in the 10 minute queue for the Peoplemover, one of my favorite MK attractions (yes, I’m aware that I call every other attraction my favorite). My dad and I both love shooting games, so we hopped in line for Space Ranger Spin immediately after, even though the line was a bit longer. It didn’t take more than 30 minutes, though, which is pretty good in my eyes. I’m genuinely terrible at this one, something about the lasers just throws me off my game, so my score of 95,800 was pretty good for me.

After Buzz, we decided to take a midday break, since we had Extra Magic Hours until midnight that night. We headed to the dock to board the boat back to Wilderness Lodge, and made it back to the resort around 5pm. We relaxed in the resort for around 2 hours, and then we were back on the boat to MK by 7pm. While we were in the hotel room, I missed the 6pm mark to join a second boarding group for Tron. However, at around 6:20pm I remembered and checked the app to see if boarding groups were sold out, and they were not! I wasn’t sure if the return time would be before the park closed or not, but it was nice to have them either way.

At MK, we were past security and the gates by 7:20, and we decided to just find a spot to watch Happily Ever After. We headed towards the castle, and found a spot slightly to the right of the castle to stand and wait. It wasn’t super packed this night, luckily, and there were definitely plenty of people around, but we weren’t too packed in. Happily Ever After never fails to make me cry, but it was a beautiful show as always.

After the fireworks, we decided to hop in line for Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, because we don’t get a chance to ride it every time and we were willing to wait in the ~65 minute line. The line definitely felt long, especially to my dad and cousin who were pretty tired, but I was very glad that we rode it. It had been a couple of years and I forgot how fun it was! No wonder it’s the most popular coaster in the park. Had some good drops, especially compared to Space Mountain and Big Thunder, and I love the swinging carts.
After getting off of Mine Train, it was around 9:30 and my dad and cousin were ready to call it a night. I wanted to wait, because I didn’t think it’d be long until our Tron boarding group was called. We said bye to them and headed to Peter Pan’s Flight, as I was able to score us a LL earlier in the day for a late return time. Plus, this is an absolute MUST ride for my friend, her whole family loves Peter Pan. We enjoyed the ride, and then I snagged us a LL to Big Thunder Mountain. We were racing to get on before the park (and therefore, our LL window) closed. We made it there in time, and by the time we got off it was around 10.

We still had a bit of time before our Tron group was called, so we headed to Casey’s corner to grab some dinner, because it’s one of the places open for Extra Magic Hours. I got corn dog nuggets, and we sat at an umbrella-d table outside with a great view of the castle. While we were there eating, our boarding group was called so we booked it to Tron. The queue for Tron was much shorter this time, probably around 15-20 minutes, and it was a great ride at night as well. After getting off, my friend and I were pretty much done for the night. We leisurely headed to the front of the park, enjoying the beautiful, lit-up Main Street, and said goodbye to Magic Kingdom. The boat ride back to the resort was stunning, and we were back by around 12:15am.

I’ll be back with one more short post, a recap of our time at Disney Springs before flying back to Maryland. Until then, thank you for tuning in!

 

[madeline07]

Day 6 – Disney Springs/Flight Home

Hi everyone! Just to preface this very short post, I don’t have much to say at all, the main reason I’m writing this is to highlight Chef Art Smith’s Homecomin’ at Disney Springs. I’ll get to that in a minute!
This morning, we woke up and packed our bags to drop them off while we went to Springs. Leaving bags at the bell desk has always been very quick and painless at every Disney resort I’ve been to. As soon as we dropped the bags, we hopped in line for the Springs bus at Wilderness Lodge, and were there by noon. This day was very laid back, we just walked around and browsed some stores. I am a big Lego fan, so at the Lego store I picked up a Star Wars set and a Miles Morales figurine keychain.
We had a lunch reservation at Chef Art Smith’s Homecomin’. For those who are unfamiliar, it’s a lot of Southern comfort food, fried chicken, etc. We’ve been going here for years and we love it very much. I got sweet tea and fried chicken with donuts. I’ve ordered this before, but this was my first time ordering the dish since they started using Everglazed donuts! They were delicious, and I'm already looking forward to eating here again. After this delicious meal, we wandered through Disney Style, and the M&Ms store, and my friend and I got green smoothies at the smoothie truck (located near all the other food trucks).

After this stroll it was about time to head back to the resort, so we hopped in line for the bus to Wilderness Lodge. Here, we picked our bags up from the bell desk and called an Uber to the airport, where we had a very uneventful flight home.
Thank you so much for reading this trip report. I truly had a great time and I’m already looking forward to planning my next one! Until next time

 

[RSHale]

Day 6 – Disney Springs/Flight Home

Hi everyone! Just to preface this very short post, I don’t have much to say at all, the main reason I’m writing this is to highlight Chef Art Smith’s Homecomin’ at Disney Springs. I’ll get to that in a minute!
This morning, we woke up and packed our bags to drop them off while we went to Springs. Leaving bags at the bell desk has always been very quick and painless at every Disney resort I’ve been to. As soon as we dropped the bags, we hopped in line for the Springs bus at Wilderness Lodge, and were there by noon. This day was very laid back, we just walked around and browsed some stores. I am a big Lego fan, so at the Lego store I picked up a Star Wars set and a Miles Morales figurine keychain.
We had a lunch reservation at Chef Art Smith’s Homecomin’. For those who are unfamiliar, it’s a lot of Southern comfort food, fried chicken, etc. We’ve been going here for years and we love it very much. I got sweet tea and fried chicken with donuts. I’ve ordered this before, but this was my first time ordering the dish since they started using Everglazed donuts! They were delicious, and I'm already looking forward to eating here again. After this delicious meal, we wandered through Disney Style, and the M&Ms store, and my friend and I got green smoothies at the smoothie truck (located near all the other food trucks).
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After this stroll it was about time to head back to the resort, so we hopped in line for the bus to Wilderness Lodge. Here, we picked our bags up from the bell desk and called an Uber to the airport, where we had a very uneventful flight home.
Thank you so much for reading this trip report. I truly had a great time and I’m already looking forward to planning my next one! Until next time

Thanks for sharing. It's a few weeks until my next trip in September, and it was fun to spend some time this afternoon reading about yours.

How was the Outpost Popcorn Mix? I usually don't buy popcorn at WDW, but that looks interesting.

 

[madeline07]

Thanks for sharing. It's a few weeks until my next trip in September, and it was fun to spend some time this afternoon reading about yours.

How was the Outpost Popcorn Mix? I usually don't buy popcorn at WDW, but that looks interesting.

Hi, I hope you have so much fun in September! As someone who also doesn't love to buy popcorn at WDW, I really enjoy the Outpost Popcorn. The flavors aren't just unique for Disney, they're pretty unique in general! I'd definitely recommend trying it, even if it's just a one-time thing!

 

[RSHale]

Hi, I hope you have so much fun in September! As someone who also doesn't love to buy popcorn at WDW, I really enjoy the Outpost Popcorn. The flavors aren't just unique for Disney, they're pretty unique in general! I'd definitely recommend trying it, even if it's just a one-time thing!

Thanks. I hope to see what I think of the Outpost Popcorn while I'm there. Your trip report also reminded me of a few other things I haven't tried yet. I want to get the cheeseburger pods at Satu'li Canteen, and I've never had a Ronto Wrap. I'm not so sure about the slaw though, so I will probably go for the breakfast version.