Here is my TR for my week long trip to WDW in October 2018! For my poorly kept up PTR go here (https://disboards.com/threads/eat-d...ber-2018-updated-10-25-w-final-plans.3684147/). And for my confession, I started typing this TR a week after our trip and only made it through titles and the description of our first park day before life and stuff distracted me and got in the way. Completely forgot I had even started a TR until looking through some files the other day and saw one named WDW TR and being like…..
So here I am over 3 months later trying to piece together my memories because I’m stubborn and I really wanted to complete a trip report for this trip because I felt like we did so many awesome things that I want to share with all my fellow Disney enthusiasts! (Plus I put a lot of work into my first bounds and I think they need to be appreciated in all their park glory….LOL) I am also counting it as okay because we did so much that was "fall time" related in the parks and most people are probably planning their trips for that time now for this year, so maybe it will help someone for this year still.
Let’s start off again with (brief) introductions:
Me: My name is Alison. I’m 30 years old and love all things Disney. I work full time in the textile industry as a R&D Project Manager while also attending online college part time trying to obtain my Master’s degree. This trip made my 5th time visiting WDW.
Favorite Character: Eeyore
Favorite Ride: Toy Story Midway Mania
Favorite Park: Magic Kingdom
Favorite Movie: UP
DH: His name is Jason and he is a CAD Engineer. This trip was his 2nd visit to WDW. His first trip was in 2013 with me.
Favorite Character: Ralph from Wreck It Ralph
Favorite Ride: Star Tours
Favorite Park: Hollywood Studios
Favorite Movie: Wreck It Ralph
*Travel Dates: October 26th-November 2nd
*Hotel: Best Western Buena Vista in the Disney Springs Area
Our flight out on this day wasn’t until 6:55PM, so my husband worked a half day at work. I on the other hand had the whole day off, but that was because I also had to take my first test of the semester that morning…BOO! So, I got up and double-checked our bags before loading them into my car and then heading out to take my test.
My test lasted an hour and once I was done I headed to the bank to get out some last minute money and also to Sam’s for a couple more last minute Disney gift cards. On my way out of Sam’s the guy who checks the receipts was like “someone is going to Disney” and I said “yep going to head to the airport right now!”
Once Jason arrived home we did final checks before setting off to Raleigh. We like to fly to Orlando out of Raleigh because of Southwest’s direct flights. After the hour and a half (ish) drive we arrived in Raleigh early afternoon and had to make a pit stop for some lunch at our favorite Raleigh restaurant—Jasmin’s! This place brings back fond memories for me as a NC State grad who frequented this establishment numerous times during my undergrad years. Thankfully my husband like the food just as much as I do, so it’s almost always a stop for us to eat when in Raleigh.
After our late lunch we were ready to head to the airport! RDU had just started a new pilot program on their website that allowed you to book your parking in advance for a reduced rate. Guaranteed parking in the close deck WHILE saving money?? Count me in. (Plus, I liked that I could pay in advance when I had money instead of worrying about making sure to keep enough saved to pay for ridiculous parking charges after returning from vacation). So, we drove up to the lane with my printout barcode for the parking and of course it had started raining. Let me tell you it is a real pain in the butt to try to scan a paper barcode in the pouring down rain. Finally, I got it to take and we were off to find a parking space. We ended up parking almost at the top, but at least still on the edge under cover. Remember how I mentioned rain….well it had also gotten super cold as we were getting into the afternoon and rain clouds were blocking out an semblance of the sun. So, we get out in the cold to drag out luggage out of the car and make the walk to the terminals. Thankfully checking our bag and then getting through security went pretty smooth and before we knew it we were at our gate (super early)! I think we ended up with about 3ish hours to kill. I called my mom who was working a full day before meeting us at the airport to let her know we were there and she thought it was hilarious that we were there that early. What—I was ready for vacation!! Haha.
The next hour or so consisted of me reviewing some homework and checking Facebook and Disboard forums (okay it was mostly Facebook & the Disboards ).
Meanwhile my husband probably looked very suspicious by walking back and forth between the two PokemonGo gyms that were at our terminal. Eventually my mom arrived and was gracious enough to inform us that our flight had been delayed.
The next hour then consited of me obsessively checking the progress of the flight we were waiting on and the status of our delay. Our delay ended up being pushed out so much that they had to change around gates so that meant we got to play my favorite airport game—The Gate Shuffle. Where everyone has to gather all their bags, grumble down to another gate, and the points don’t matter!
This is how I feel whenever I carry bags anytime.....airport or otherwise.
Our plane finally arrived and we were leaving Raleigh almost a full hour after our original departure time (I don’t remember the specific time---this is what happens when you wait 3 months to start a TR and block out all the negative memories from the trip). Since our original departure time wasn’t until almost 7PM anyways, this delay put us getting into MCO close to 10:30PM (at least the flight is only about 1 ½ hours). We hadn’t really planned transportation to the hotel as we thought we’d be arriving at a more decent hour, but hubby and I had been stockpiling Uber gift cards like squirrels hoarding nuts for the winter so we just pulled up the app and got a car in no time. When we arrived to the hotel we were STARVING and tried to place an order at the hotel which had a mini Pizza Hut place. So, this place closes at 11PM and it was RIGHT at 11 when we got down there so we asked the guy if they could still make something knowing it was close to closing time but he was super enthusiastic and was like “Of course” and took our order only for his manager to come out and yell at him about the kitchen being closed. So instead of glorious hot pizza and pasta we grumpily stared at the measly “Grab and Go” section that they had. Hubby found a sandwich and various snacks he was happy with but I didn’t see anything appealing and was super frustrated so I just told him to get his and let’s go upstairs. Well turns out I should have at least grabbed something, anything, because the guy told us that his manager told him what we picked out was all on the house. Good for hubby, bad for me. So back upstairs we go, DH with his free stockpile of food and me with a bottle of water and a grumbly tummy. Whatever, we were in Orlando and the next day was the start of our Disney vacation, so I focused on organizing and hanging up all my Disneybound outfits and went to sleep.
This day saw us getting up bright and early to head to the Hard Rock Café at Universal Citywalk. I am a HRC pin collector so a visit here was a must and to us this day made the most sense. I was determined that whenever we go we go in the morning as the Orlando Hard Rock now serves BREAKFAST!
Look at that glorious French toast
Obligatory photo in front of the Hard Rock
After our yummy breakfast at HRC we went down to get a taxi to Animal Kingdom (our first park of the trip!!) I tried to keep a basic itinerary of the times and order that we did things in as I know quite a few people are interested in the “4 Parks 1 Day Challenge.” During my research my biggest frustration was that none of the blogs/reviews really included a time stamp so I honestly wasn’t sure if our short time frame would actually allow us to complete the challenge or not. I’m glad to say though that it was plenty of time! The great thing about the challenge though since its not “official” is that you can make up your own rules for completion.
Here were our basic rules: -Ride 1 ride (could be any ride, we went with whatever had the shortest wait or what we could/already had FP+ for) -Meet 1 character -Eat a snack -Photo in front of the park icon
AND here was our basic time line for the day of how we completed the challenge:
10:30 AM—Arrive at Animal Kingdom 10:45 AM—Pictures in front of the Tree of Life 10:50 AM—Get in line to meet Launchpad McQuack 11:10 AM—Meet Launchpad McQuack 11:15 AM—Ride Triceratops Spin 11:20 AM—Place mobile order for Cheeseburger Pods at Satuli Canteen 11:45 AM—Explore Pandora and pick up order 12 PM—Start to head out of park to buses 12:20 PM—Bus to MK 12:45 PM—Arrive to MK 12:55 PM—Photo in front of Cinderella’s Castle 1:15 PM—FP+ for Buzz 1:25 PM—Get in line for Stitch 1:50 PM—Meet Stitch 2 PM—Mobile Order Dole Whip 2:10 PM—Pick up Dole Whip & Ride train to Fantasyland stop 2:35 PM—FP+ for Rapunzel & Tiana 2:50 PM—Start to head out of park to buses 3:35 PM—Bus to HS 4 PM—Arrive to HS 4:35 PM—Photo in front of Chinese Theatre 4:45 PM—FP+ for Star Tours 5 PM—Eat at Backlot Express (including a Kylo Ren cupcake for my snack item) 5:45 PM—Get in line for BB-8 6:05 PM—Meet BB-8 6:10 PM—Get in line for Kylo Ren 6:20 PM—Meet Kylo Ren 6:25 PM—Start to head out of park to the boat 6:45 PM—Boat to Epcot 7:15 PM—Arrive to Epcot (walk to the front to meet up with my mom) 7:40 PM—Picture in front of Spaceship Earth 8 PM—Ride the Seas with Nemo 8:15 PM—Dinner at Coral Reef 8:55 PM—Peanut Butter and Jelly Cupcake from Sunshine Seasons 9:15 PM—Get in line for Baymax 9:30 PM—Meet Baymax 9:45 PM—Head out of the park to buses & back to hotel
Total Step Count: 23,574
I feel like we maybe cheated a little on the rides since none of them were really "headliners" but whatever that wasn't in my rules! Haha.
Overall I honestly had a lot of fun doing this challenge and as someone who has been to the parks before I thought it was something new to do since I wasn't an overwhelmed first timer who would possibly feel like I missed out by doing this whirlwind day. And besides just was just our first full park day so I had 5 1/2 more days to go to do some deeper exploring!
Because I love some pictures here are the snacks we had: AK: Cheeseburger Steamed Pod
Here is the description from the Disney site for anyone who is curious: Steamed Cheeseburger Pod stuffed with Ground Beef, Ketchup, Mustard, Pickle and Cheddar Cheese
Opinion: The chips were the best thing on the plate....I went in really expected to like these, but maybe I haven't had enough steamed buns in my life to appreciate them? I thought the filling was lacking so it tasted like I was eating thick chalky dough. Even DH didn't care for them and he usually never finds fault in any type of food.
MK: Pineapple Dole Whip Float
I don't think I need to put the description for this one....I probably didn't even really need the photo (I just wanted to show off my BB-8 outfit really)
Opinion: Pretty sure there is nothing better than a dole whip.
HS: Kylo Ren Cupcake (plus the BB-8 souvenir cup which I obviously needed)
Here is the description for this one from the website: topped with Chocolate Peanut Butter Buttercream Icing (I like how they don't even mention the type of cake?)
Opinion: So rich, so peanut-buttery, so delicious. Seriously if you are a fan of chocolate and peanut butter you need to get this cupcake next time you go.
Epcot: Peanut Butter and Jelly Cupcake Ya'll I think I might have a peanut butter addiction problem. Opinion: While this was actually pretty good I think I was so full and it was so late that I didn't really appreciate it fully. If I'm going for a cupcake with some peanut butter aspect I think I would go for the Kylo Ren cupcake instead.
As a side note, if you have read my PTR you would have seen this already, but part of my motivation on going on this trip was the fact that it marked 20 years since my 1st trip to WDW. My parent's took me when I was 10 years old in 1998. In October of 2017 I lost my dad to cancer and this trip made one of the first "family" trips I had been on since his passing. When I ordered this cupcake I knew that it comes with various flowers on the top and didn't think anything of this until I ordered and the lady went to the fridge and then brought out this cupcake. To say I got emotional over a cupcake may sound a little silly but I have very fond memories as a kid of planting snapdragons with my parents. My dad and I often went to a local farmer's market where I would beg to buy some snapdragons to plant and for a slice of hoop cheese. In that moment at the end of our first day of this trip this cupcake showed me that he was definitely there with us.
Next post I'll continue with more info on our 4 Parks 1 Day challenge including photos of our character meet and greets!
So you've seen the delicious snacks we consumed on our 4 Parks 1 Day challenge. This post I want to share a few more photos from this day that were my favorite of things we did.
Meeting characters is one of my favorite things to do at Disney. Pretty certain I could be perfectly content just going around and meeting characters for whole trip. Anyways, here are some of my favorite meets from our day.
Our first character meet of the day (and the trip!) was Launchpad McQuack at Animal Kingdom! He was really great and he liked our comic book that we brought as our item to get signatures on. I'll post photos of our comic books at the very end of my TR (delayed gratification and all...lol). As a side note, many characters enjoyed our comic books, so it worked out great for a lot of the meets, especially with the face characters.
Our time at Hollywood Studios ended up being a great one for character meetings. First on our way in the park we ran across Characterpalooza where we got to meet Snow White and Aladdin as Prince Ali. I've never met Prince Ali before so I was super happy to run across this encounter (AND side note later in the trip we would run across him again but this time with Genie!). Both of these characters were very engaging and talkative. Not going to lie I'm the type of person who prefers the "fur" characters to face characters. I think there are two reasons for this:
1- Face characters make the meet a little "too real" for me
2- Face characters tend to talk to much for my liking. Being an introvert I'm not overly talkative anyways and it gets overwhelming when I work on a question to ask for the conversation but instead the character just starts in on whatever they want to talk about instead.
I really ended up liking both of these because of the poses being the same as the characters. I think it makes the photos a little more "fun."
Our next character meet was the ones we had planned to do for the challenge inside Hollywood Studios which of course was Star Wars Launch Bay. I'm a little weird when it comes to Star Wars. I'm of the age where I actually grew up on the prequels and can remember watching Phantom Menace over and over. So while most people hate on the prequels, I have a fond place for them in my heart. I actually have watched the original trilogy only a handful of times and those are the ones that I don't really care for. When the Force Awakens released I LOVED it. Like with other SW movies though I found myself drawn to certain characters and not really caring for others. I do not discriminate between the dark and light sides either when it comes to this. My favorite characters from TFA are BB-8 and Kylo Ren.
Photopass photographer: "Why don't you give BB8 a hug?" Me: "Didn't know that was a allowed, but don't mind if I do...."
I honestly had NO CLUE what Kylo was saying here. I'm sure it was the typical something along the lines of joining the First Order. Obviously I couldn't do that though--I'm BB-8! So I just smiled at him instead....
This next character photo will be the last I share from this day (although we did meet a few other characters), but it is one of my FAVORITE photos of the whole trip. At Epcot we decided to meet Baymax as our character for the day. Hubby and I both really share a love of Big Hero 6 and especially Baymax. This picture of DH meeting Baymax to me shows how magical Disney is in allowing everyone to feel like a joyful kid. Baymax hugs are THE BEST, so how can you not be this happy when meeting him?
Just to help you understand why my husband looking this jolly makes me so happy I give you this selfie from earlier in our day when riding Triceratops Spin.... This is his "usual picture face"....LOL
There you have it-- the end of our first day and of our 4 Parks 1 Day challenge. As I said in my last post, this really was quite a fun whirlwind day. To celebrate I give you the collage I made of us in front of the icons that I shared on Facebook with my friends and family. If anyone has any further questions about what we did on this day or the "4 Parks 1 Day Challenge" I'd be glad to answer them.
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We like to fly to Orlando out of Raleigh because of Southwest’s direct flights. After the hour and a half (ish) drive we arrived in Raleigh early afternoon and had to make a pit stop for some lunch at our favorite Raleigh restaurant—Jasmin’s! This place brings back fond memories for me as a NC State grad who frequented this establishment numerous times during my undergrad years. Thankfully my husband like the food just as much as I do, so it’s almost always a stop for us to eat when in Raleigh.
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