From Ahoy To Aloha- Our May 2025 Disney Adventures! Updated 5/20!

[Mollydolly334]

From Ahoy to Aloha- Our May 2025 Disney Adventures!


Ahoy!



And…

Aloha!



Hello DISfriends! Welcome to my new TR. My hubby and I have a fun, Disney-filled month of May this year, and I wanted to review our two completely different trips in one thread!

Our first trip was from April 30- May 4th, 2025, and chronicled our VERY FIRST CRUISE! We spent one night at Disney’s All Star Music Resort before a glorious 3-night Bahamian cruise on the Disney Fantasy.



The second trip has yet to occur, but is scheduled from May 21- May 27, 2025! We will be spending our first two days at Cabana Bay Beach Resort with 2-day park hoppers between Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure!



Then, the last 4 nights will be at the new Island Tower at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort. We are planning to have lots of resort time and two full park days (one at MK and one at Epcot)!



If you’re new to my TRs, here are some introductions!

Me (Molly!)



I’m 30 years old and have been a Disney addict since birth. I work as a manager at an ABA center and supervise/create therapy targets for children on the Autism spectrum. The work is hard, but it is SO rewarding and I love working with children. It brings out the inner child in me! I am a huge sucker for nostalgia- which is a big reason why I love all things Disney! I’ve been to WDW almost 20 times, Disneyland twice, and Aulani twice, but I also love to travel everywhere, no matter the destination! I was SO excited to finally cross DCL off my bucket list, but also VERY nervous about seasickness, since readers of my TRs will know that I historically suffer with GI problems. Besides traveling, my hobbies also include walking, reading, baking, and scented candles/soaps (I spend wayyyyyy too much money at Bath and Body Works). I have also recently developed an addiction to Solitaire (Is that what being in your 30s is all about? )

DH (Jake!)



Jake and I are newly-ish married (September 22, 2023 was the big day), and he is the most gentle, kind, and caring individual. I really hit the husband jackpot! He is my person, and Prince Charming. We love to travel together and mesh very well in regards to pacing and ratio of relaxation vs. excursions while on vacation! Jake works on the opposite end of the age spectrum as an Audiologist here in the Milwaukee area. (This detail will become extremely important during our cruise portion of this TR ). He was over the moon excited about this trip and has been wanting to take a cruise for a long time. Jake loves tropical locations and is more laid-back than I am, so I figured that this was a perfect vacation where he could get his relaxation time in, and I could get my “Disney” quota! Jake and I are birds of a feather and both have a passion for traveling. His other hobbies include all Wisconsin sports (Bucks, Packers, Brewers, Badgers… he is a man obsessed), golf, and eating all of the treats I bake! He is also a sucker for nostalgia like me and has recently gotten into playing vintage video games on our PS2; his faves are Spyro and Crash Bandicoot!

I’m so excited to chronicle our first cruise, as well as our time at Universal Studios and WDW later this month!! I’m going to break this TR into “Land and Sea” portions to make it easier to differentiate between the two trips; first up will be our “Sea” trip obviously, since the “Land” portion hasn’t happened yet.

Coming Up Next: “Sea” Trip- Day 1!



​

 

[Mollydolly334]

“Sea” Trip- Day 1!


Ahoy, everyone!!! Let's get the ball rolling on Trip #1! Today was Wednesday, April 30th, 2025: the day that Jake and I had been waiting 13 LONG DAYS FOR.



Yep, that’s right. Jake and I had booked this trip 13 DAYS before we left.

Long story short, Jake and I were supposed to visit Arizona from May 7-11 with his parents. However, the week before Easter, Jake’s parents had let us know that they would need to postpone our Arizona trip to the fall. Totally understandable, of course! However, Jake still had 2 days of PTO to use up before July, and we were determined to still go somewhere and make the most of our vacation days! The next days were spent in a flurry of indecision. We were so stressed out trying to find a destination, that I finally sat Jake down and said, “I am going to the gym, I’m going to leave it up to you to find and book a trip.”

When I returned one hour later, Jake said, “There’s a Disney Cruise that looks fun, you interested?”



I love how I have slowly converted my husband into a fellow Disney Adult. My plan is working, muahahahaha!!!

Well, I latched onto that idea like a moth to a flame! The one slight issue was that the cruise left a week earlier than our Arizona trip had been planned. But, with some maneuvering of flights and vacation days, we were able to make the switch no problem!

We were able to switch our Arizona flights to Orlando with no extra fees (the beauty of Southwest Airlines). And, despite being first-time cruisers, the booking process was incredibly smooth and user-friendly! Neither of us have passports, but DCL had no issues with us providing our birth certificates and driver’s licenses in place of passports. That being said, I must have checked and re-checked our carry-on’s a million times between Wednesday and Thursday to make sure that we had all of the correct documents. I was so paranoid about being denied boarding!

Also, I touched on this during my last TR, but I was extremely nervous about potential seasickness during the cruise. I scoured the internet for suggestions and tried to do everything “right;” we paid the extra money to book a veranda cabin towards the center of the ship on Deck 9. I started taking 25mg of Bonine on Tuesday evening, and upped my dosage to 50mg per day when the cruise started. I bought Sea Bands, ginger lozenges, Liquid IV… pretty much everything I could think of in order to make myself as prepared as possible. I’m excited to share what worked and what didn’t!

So, with all of the craziness leading up to the trip, it makes sense that we had one of the most stressful travel days that Jake and I have ever experienced.



Wednesday, April 30th started out strong! We both woke up so excited and ready to go, but Jake was dreading the long day ahead of him. He had a bunch of hearing tests scheduled back to back today with no breaks, so if even one went late, he would be behind for the rest of the day! I drove Jake to work at 8:00 AM and wished him a non-stressful day, letting him know that I would be there at 3:30 PM sharp to pick him up! It is usually a 25-minute drive from Jake’s hospital to the Milwaukee airport, we only packed small carry-ons, and our flight didn’t leave until 5:40 PM. So, I assumed that this would give us plenty of time to check in and get settled. Of course, the best laid plans…

After dropping Jake off at work, I stopped at Starbucks to grab an Iced Brown Sugar Shaken Espresso. I was celebrating being on vacation! I just had one last client to see from 9-11:30 AM, then I was officially done. Once work was finished, I grabbed a couple donuts from my favorite donut shop; this has turned into my traditional travel day breakfast! Their donut of the month was “Neapolitan,” so I got that as well as a maple long john for a special little treat. Then, when I got home, I just showered and finished up some last-minute packing and work stuff.



I had managed to pack all of my stuff in a small carry-on size suitcase. I was SO proud since I am a chronic over-packer!

I got a text from Jake saying that he was swamped but still on track, but he wouldn’t have time to eat anything before I picked him up. Poor guy! So, I left the apartment at about 2:30 so I could gas up the car and grab Jake some orange chicken and rice from Panda Express before picking him up from work.

I showed up at 3:30 on the dot, and at 3:40, Jake came barreling out the door, still in his scrubs and looking super overwhelmed. I felt sooo bad and reassured him that we would still have plenty of time to get to the airport. I mean, it’s only a 25 minute drive!

Right?



At first, the GPS showed that we were right on track. However, once we got to the freeway, we hit an absolute standstill. There were multiple exits closed, and a huge accident that was completely blocking multiple lanes and exits. It was an absolute freak situation and we had no control over it, but it turned out to be a NIGHTMARE. Our ETA kept crawling higher and higher, and we were seriously worried that we weren’t going to make our flight. Plus, we had the extra stress of Milwaukee being a small airport with limited flights, and the small importance of having to make a CRUISE SHIP that was LEAVING TOMORROW with a NON-REFUNDABLE PAYMENT.



We were trying to stay calm and not spiral, but needless to say, it was a tense car ride. The traffic eventually started to break up, and we reached the airport at 4:45 PM. So, a 25 minute car ride turned into 65 minutes!!! We sped the car into the parking lot and parked as fast as humanly possible. In the chaos of parking and grabbing our luggage, I snagged my leggings (LuluLemon no less) on a piece of the car door and ripped a hole in the thigh.



A stream of profanities spewed from my mouth, but we had no time to panic! Jake grabbed both suitcases, I grabbed my backpack, and we SPRINTED to security. Poor Jake was REALLY regretting wolfing down his Panda Express in the car 30 minutes prior.

Luckily, time was on our side, and TSA had no line. Huffing and puffing, we thanked our lucky stars that we were able to make this flight. We are usually those people who arrive unnecessarily early to the airport. And in this instance, it definitely paid off!! But, I have to say, it totally threw us off for a couple hours. I don’t think I breathed a sigh of relief until our plane landed in Orlando!



We made it to the gate and boarded just 15 minutes later!! I had gotten us into the A boarding group, so we were able to sit towards the front of the plane.



Finally feeling like we are on vacation!!

Overall, the flight was smooth with barely any turbulence. Jake watched “A Quiet Place: Part 2” and I did some crossword puzzles. We landed in Orlando earlier than scheduled at 9:00 PM! We had gotten our room confirmation at All Star Music before we left Wisconsin, and it felt so good to just hop off the plane and head right to WDW property!



Had to get a pic of this iconic floor!

We got an Uber in record time, and were entering Disney’s All Star Music Resort at 10:00 PM!

When I was researching transportation options, it seemed like the best choice to get a hotel in WDW for the night, then take the Disney shuttle in the morning to Port Canaveral. We were looking for the cheapest room possible, and this fit the bill at $125 for one night! The shuttle over to Port Canaveral the next morning cost $90 ($45 per person), but it was super convenient and easy. Disney took care of our luggage, so we didn’t have to lug it around the ship until our room was ready. It also put us in Boarding Group 6, so we could be among the first to board!

We picked up our luggage tags from Bell Services, then headed straight for Intermission Food Court for some dinner! Jake’s stomach had finally settled down after almost puking up his Panda Express, and I hadn’t had any food besides the two donuts this morning and some animal crackers on the plane. So, we were STARVING! We ordered a pepperoni pizza at the to-go window and took some photos while we waited.





The last (and only) time I had stayed at AsMu was way back in 2017 when I did a long-weekend trip with my best friend Gabi and her cousin Kaley! I was hoping to get Sports or Movies for this night instead, since Music was the only All Star Resort I had stayed at and I wanted to check another resort off my list! But, Music was the only one available, and it was of course perfectly fine for tonight.

Once our pizza was ready, we took it back to the room to eat. We were BEAT!

We were placed in room 4622, which was on the third floor of the “Rock Inn” section.







This was a really nice room! Perfect amount of space for Jake and I, and it was convenient having the little table to eat at. It was clean, the bed was pretty comfortable, and it had some awesome Disney theming!

The resort was SWARMED with cheerleaders making TikToks and running around doing teenager things, but our room was in a quiet corner and we didn’t experience any disruptions.

Jake and I were reaching HANGRY status at this point, so we dug into our pizza and got everything set up for tomorrow morning. This pizza hit the spot- I LOVE Disney pizza!



We had received an email the day prior that said that our bus would be leaving for Port Canaveral at 10:15 AM the next morning, and that we needed to have our suitcases with luggage tags on them and ready by 7:00 AM so they could transfer them over to the ship for us. So, once we ate and settled in, we set our alarms for 6:00 AM and headed straight to bed around midnight!

6 hours of sleep paired with a crazy travel day wasn't ideal, but we were so thankful that we had no more snafus and we were still on track. It would be all worth it when we stepped onto the beautiful Disney Fantasy tomorrow!



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[VAtink]

Joining in!!!! What a stressful travel day, I'm so glad you made your flight! I can't wait to read more about the cruise, we're looking at possibly cruising on the Fantasy next year so I'm curious to see how you guys liked it.

 

[SEAGULL59]

Excited to see how the trip went!

 

[summerlvr]

Wow, what a travel day you had! So glad everything worked out. Looking forward to reading more!

 

[Nicnicnic.nic]

Following

 

[BellaBaby]

We have never been on a Disney cruise, so looking forward to hearing all about it!!

 

[DLo]

Wow , what a stressful start ! Looking forward to reading more .

 

[GGOOFY1]

can't wait to hear about the cruise. We have Royal several times, never Disney!

 

[buzzrelly]

Then, the last 4 nights will be at the new Island Tower at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort. We are planning to have lots of resort time and two full park days (one at MK and one at Epcot)!

Sounds like an amazing trip!

Is that what being in your 30s is all about?

Pretty much, but also trying to figure out what's for dinner every night of your life!

vintage video games on our PS2; his faves are Spyro and Crash Bandicoot!

Wow, Crash Bandicoot is vintage! Haha! I remember my nephews playing that which I guess was about 35 years ago!

So, with all of the craziness leading up to the trip, it makes sense that we had one of the most stressful travel days that Jake and I have ever experienced.

Yikes! That all sounds super stressful! And I'm always stressed before flying anyway, being delayed with that traffic would just send me over the edge!

I don’t think I breathed a sigh of relief until our plane landed in Orlando!

I don't think I've ever seen a NOT smiling Molly

Finally feeling like we are on vacation!!

That's better!

This pizza hit the spot- I LOVE Disney pizza!

That actually looks pretty good...I've never ordered a whole pizza from a food court, is this available at all the resorts?

 

[rdkeim]

Following - sounds like a wonderful trip!

 

[amazingact21]

Following along!
What a terrible travel day. Glad it ended well and you were able to settle in with some Disney pizza at a Disney resort.

 

[missjackiemcg]

Jake loves tropical locations and is more laid-back than I am, so I figured that this was a perfect vacation where he could get his relaxation time in, and I could get my “Disney” quota!

This is how Rob and I ended up doing a Disney Cruise/WDW for our Honeymoon!!! His only request was someplace tropical--and I took some liberties with the rest!! LOL

I feel bad for telling you to get recombobulated after hearing all the details behind the faces in this pic!!!!!!!!! SO glad you made your flight and had smooth sailing the rest of your evening.

Disney pizza does somehow always hit the spot!! And though 6 hours of sleep after such a wild day definitely isn't enough, at least you had sweet dreams of the cruise and relaxation that awaited in the morning!!

So excited to hear more about your first cruise!!!

 

[Gamedog]

Your TR's are always solid - following along!

 

[piglet1979]

Following. What a stressful travel day. Glad you made the flight.

 

[Sarahh1027]

Yay following along!

 

[Woth2982]

OH man I feel your stress! That happened to me once before a cruise. I had an 830pm flight. Someone scheduled a mandatory meeting at 5pm the day I was to leave (naturally). No big deal as long as I hit the road by 6. Traffic. Jam. City! THen I missed my turn for the prepaid parking lot and could not get back. I was running out of time so sucked it up and parked at Logan. BARELY made the flight. ANXIETY! I like to say we were rewarded for my chaos. After the cruise we had a 3 night stay at the Grand and were upgraded to Club Level MK View in the main building! Glad you all made it though with a little time to spare! Cannot wait to hear about the cruise itself! I loved seeing all the photos on Insta!

 

[scrappinginontario]

Ack!!! Rough travel day! Glad you arrived safely and were able to begin relaxing the moment you took to the air! Cannot wait to hear all about your cruise!

 

[ambula603]

I was so paranoid about being denied boarding!

I am glad you missed the Covid cruising era - so many people were denied when they had a positive test, it was gut-wrenching!

Your travel day made me twitch. The relief on your face in the plane photo is REAL!

SO glad you are doing a TR for this, I love the little details!

 

[EllieBride]

Following along. I always enjoy reading your TRs.

Sorry about all of the travel day stress. And the snagged Lululemons make it even worse. I probably would have cried at that point. Anyway, I hope everything was smooth sailing after that.