I'm Going to Kill This Monkey Bird! - May 2014 TR ~UPDATE 5/29~

[MeaghanK]

Hello and welcome to my first, and hopefully not my last, trip report!

My PTR from this trip can be found here!

I have been lurking on TRs for a long time and right when I found my first one I knew this was something I needed to do for my next trip, which just so happens to be the one I'm writing about right now! A little background on this trip...

I have been itching for a LONG time to take a trip with my friends for Disney, and with graduation coming up, I knew this would be the perfect opportunity! One thing led to another and I ended up being able to plan a 3 day trip with my friends from my high school! It started out being with myself, 3 of my friends who graduated last year, and one of my friends who is graduating with me. Over an unfortunate series of events 2 of those friends weren't able to make it. So it ended up being me and 2 of my friends who are both freshmen in college, as well as dating. Since we are all on college schedules (my high school isn't a typical high school - we run on a college schedule) we were able to go at a time where there was pretty much no one there. We went from May 4-8 and stayed at All Star Sports. Since we are all full time students, we were all on a pretty strict budgets, so there were no fancy restaurants, fancy hotels, or park hopping. However, I did invest in a Memory Maker because I was able to use it for this trip as well as the trip my sister and I are taking for 24 HOUR DAY!! We definitely took advantage of the Memory Maker, so expect a lot of PhotoPass pictures! We had an absolute blast and got everything we wanted done and more! I am so excited to be able to relive the trip by writing about it here!

Okay enough background, lets get to the introductions!

First, there's me, otherwise known as Meaghan. I have been going to Disney at least once a year (usually way more than once - this trip is my third this year - oops) since I was 2 years old!

I was the commander on this trip. My friends trusted me to lead them, and lead them I did. I had a plan and thanks to that plan (and a lot of help from FastPass+) we were able to go on everything with little to no wait. Now, time for some favorites...

Favorite Parks: MK, EPCOT, HS, and AK, in that order.
Favorite Rides: Space, Test Track, Jungle Cruise, and I'm pretty sure Mine Train is on this list even though I haven't technically been on it yet...
Favorite Movies: MARY POPPINS. And Frozen, of course!
Favorite Characters: MARY POPPINS (refer back to previous question) and Minnie Mouse. Elsa and Anna too, although I've only braved that line once!
Favorite Restaurants: Be Our Guest, and La Cantina
Favorite Shows: CTM, Fantasmic, Illuminations, and a new addition to the list, FESTIVAL OF FANTASY!!!

Nest are my friends Denise and Deon.

They have been dating for a couple of years, and this was their first time at Disney together. I was afraid that I was going to be a major third wheel, but it was totally not like that at all. This trip reminded me why we're such good friends and I'm glad to have friends like them Denise has never stayed on property before, so even staying at the All Stars was very exciting for her. The last time Deon went to Disney he went with his baby brother, so there were a lot of fun rides (like Soarin' and Test Track) that he had never been on before! There were a lot of firsts for both them on this trip. I didn't get their favorites so we're all just going to have to be in the dark on that one.

Now that those introductions are settled, I'll give a little recap...

Who: Myself, Denise, and Deon
What: A 3 day Disney trip to EPCOT, AK, and MK
When: May 4-8 2014
Where: All Star Sports
Why: My graduation!! CLASS OF 2014!!

And that's the intro DONE! On to the trip! I hope you guys enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing & living it!

 

[MeaghanK]

The day had finally come - DISNEY DAY!!! I woke up a lot earlier than I expected so I took advantage of that extra time to make some yummy banana bread to bring with me for breakfast!! Then I finished packing and waited for my friends to arrive!

My friends got to my house at 12 pm. We were on the road by 12:15! I drove through McDonalds to get some lunch and then we got on the turnpike.

The drive there was pretty uneventful. However around mile marker 190 the bugs started getting really bad. I was constantly hitting them with my car and it got to the point where it was really hard to see out of my winsheild. Using the fluid to try to clean it didn't work at all. I was really upset that I was going to be driving into disney with my car looking all gross. You can even see them in the pictures driving into Disney

Soon enough, after 3 hours, we drove through the beautful signs! I WAS HOME!! I tried my best to get a picture but since I was driving it was pretty difficult. Dont worry - I had my eyes on the road the whole time, I kept my phone below eye level and snapped as many pictures as I could, hoping at least one would turn out decent!

Since I did online check in beforehand we walked right up to check in. The cast member at the front desk told me I had a balance for the room that I had to pay. I wasnt expecting it; I had just assumed they would charge it to the card I used to book the room online (which I didn't have with me). My debit card wouldn't go through since it was a $300 charge, so my friend Deon used his card and it worked! Thank GOD. I am so glad he was there and I wasn't by myself or I dont know what I would have done!!

We got to our room, which was in the tennis section (even though I requested the surfing or football section - I think the tennis section is the Florida resident section, since it's the only section I ever get), room 4228. Thankfully all of our magic bands worked for the room key! Here are some absolutely terrible pictures of the room.

I got the Mickey bed!

After unpacking a little bit and getting settled, we headed to the busses to go to Downtown Disney to get our tickets. There's no way I was driving - parking there is a MADHOUSE!

A close up of my magic band (I ended up taking the grey part off because I have the tiniest wrists ever)

Up Next: Fun at Downtown Disney!

 

[MeaghanK]

It took a pretty long time for our bus to come, at least 15 minutes. It also seemed to take a long time to get to DD, but then again we also had to pick up people from the other 2 All Stars. Our bus was packed - our bus driver kept telling people "If you can see the floor, I can fit some more!"

After getting to Downtown Disney we went to guest relations to exchange our tickets.

I gave the cast member the voucher I got at the Disney Store. She took my magic band and ID and punched in a few numbers, scanned my band, and within 5 minutes I was all set. She also told me my memory maker was on there, which I was surprised at because I didn't even tell her I needed to activate that too!

Since guest relations is right next to Ghirardelli, we decided to pop in and get a little snack.

We got the free samples first of course (milk chocolate with caramel - not my favorite because I'm not a fan of caramel) and I got a sugar cone with rocky road ice cream. I had to seriously concentrate on this cone because it was overflowing and it was very hot/sunny outside!

Then we went into World of Disney. We weren't in there for long, just browsing for a few minutes. I was so excited to see all of the class of 2014 stuff!! I swear I'm going to buy all of it.


(side note: I really wanted this keychain but didn't buy it on the first day because I thought I would find it in one of the parks... I didn't )

Up Next: Back to the Hotel!

 

[MeaghanK]

We decided to go back to the resort to rest because we were going to have to get up early the next day for EPCOT. So, we got on the bus and headed to the hotel. The bus was there right when we walked up! There was barely anyone in line at the Marketplace station, and no one at the Pleasure Island station. It was a pretty fast ride back, and Sports was the first stop!

This is how I know I'm in Disney: ducks playing tennis.

We got back to our room and took showers and basically just relaxed for a while. Then at 9 we went to the food court to eat dinner!

I got a small salad with some Italian dressing.

You can't see the salad in the picture but it was just a salad with iceberg lettuce, 2 grape tomatoes, a cucumber, a slice of onion, and a few shreds of carrot. It tasted exactly like it sounds: meh. But it filled me up enough to not be starving and I really shouldn't have been eating much at 9 pm anyway.

On the way back to our room we saw a bunny! He was just chilling there and not even phased when we walked by him.

We got back to the room and prepared for the next day. Thats when I realized: I FORGOT MY UNCRUSTABLES AT HOME! Not only would I have to pay for dinner but now lunch too; thats an extra $10+ a day I wasn't expecting. But I would just have to make the best of it; I had packed plenty of snacks. Then we went to bed!

Up Next: The Story of the Monkey Bird

 

[I_Luv_Stitch]

Loving your TR so far

 

[wiigirl]

Following along!

 

[somesong2sing]

Tuning in!!

 

[bellesBFF]

following along! it's great to hear trip reports from people that are close to my age

 

[jediprincess23]

Joining the party!

 

[MeaghanK]

Loving your TR so far

Thank you!! Glad you like it!!

Following along!

Awesome, glad to have you here!! Thanks!!

Tuning in!!

Thanks!! Welcome!!

following along! it's great to hear trip reports from people that are close to my age

Thanks!! I agree!!

Joining the party!

Woohoo!!!!

 

[MeaghanK]

DAY 2 - May 5, 2014

This morning we woke up at about 7 am to leave around 8. You would think after all of that sleep I would be well rested enough to get right up and start getting ready. WRONG. STORY TIME! Here's where the name of this TR comes into play. When we got back from DTD we heard this sound that sounded exactly like a monkey. We soon figured out it was a bird. A bird that would NOT. STOP. SQUAWKING. The whole night this thing was going strong. At first I felt bad for it because I think it was lonely. This thing did NOT sleep for one minute though, I don't know how he did it!! I won't lie, I considered calling the front desk more than once. But the only solution woud be to either change rooms (which I didn't want to go through the hassle of doing) or somehow get rid of the bird (which I wasn't sure was possible) so I decided against it.

After rolling out of bed and giving myself a little pep talk, I was able to get ready relatively quickly. We ended up getting out the door at around 7:45! I grabbed an apple juice and PopTarts for breakfast.

We got to the park around 8:05 because we drove there. We parked in Imagine 59, which was really close!

They let us in at 8:45 and we headed straight for Test Track! First, I had to snap an obligatory pic of this beauty...

We also got some PP pictures...

Even though we ran straight to Test Track first we still ended up waiting about 30 minutes to get on.

Deon had never been on before so this was a first for him, and we had so much fun making our car! It ended up being HUGE.

Here's our ride photo! Even though I know where the ride photo is I STILL ended up looking like poop.

After Test Track we had FastPasses for Mission: Space. Even though we didn't really need the FastPasses because the wait was so short we used them anyway, and went on the green version (because I had never been on before and Denise doesn't do well with spinning).

I have to admit, I was really nervous. I remember when this ride was first put in when I was younger and I had always labeled it as super scary and something I would never go on (especially with the deaths linked to the ride - even though I know now it wasn't so much the ride as it was their heart conditions). Luckily, since we went on the calmer version, I thought it was really fun and something I would definitely go on again!

Then we headed to Figment and I waited as long as I've ever waited for that ride, at least 5-10 minutes. I LOVE Figment (especially now that I know when the big surprise comes at the end, hehe ) and I throughly enjoyed it as usual! We started heading over to Ellen and we stopped to watch the drummers that drum on garbage cans and stuff, coinciding with Flower & Garden. They were so awesome! It was really hot though, so we headed over to Ellen and walked right on!


Possibly the best pictures I've ever taken

Up Next: TONS of Fish!

 

[MeaghanK]

Then it was time for our FastPasses for Nemo, which we also walked right on.

We spent some time after that looking at the fish they had in The Seas. This post is going to be about 2 sentences and 50 million crappy iPhone pictures.

Here's a funny story about this picture of the Lionfish. I'm not sure if my sister and I were the only ones that found this funny, but we thought it was absolutely HYSTERICAL. My friends thought it was funny but not as funny as we did! Anyway, Denise was looking through her pictures and she came across this one of the Lionfish. She didn't realize it then, but look at the guy's face on the other side of the tank!! This never fails to crack me up every time I look at it. I think it's because the guy looks SO unamused.

Now back to your regularly scheduled programming....

The diver was giving a presentation about the dangers of littering!

I love watching the Manatees eat!

Up Next: Melting in World Showcase!

 

[MeaghanK]

We headed over to The Land because it was almost time for our Soarin' FastPasses! We saw the Circle of Life movie and then went on Soarin'. Deon had never been on this one, so this was another great first for him!

With the new FastPass system we were able to get another FastPass right after that for Maelstrom. Then we stopped for some PhotoPass pictures!

While we were waiting for the Maelstrom FP we went to go eat lunch. I was planning on eating at one of the F&G booths but I just wasn't seeing anything that really struck my fancy. Eventually after walking for what felt like FOREVER I just decided to eat in good ol' America. I had the kids mac and cheese with grapes and a cookie!

Let me just tell you, it was SO HOT this day. It was at least 90 degrees and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. By 3:00 we were all MELTING and just wanted to take naps. But we powered through! Denise really loves Japanese stuff so we looked around Mitsukoshi for a while. I took this picture for my sister because she loves pandas!

Then went back to Norway to use our FastPasses and, of course, walked right on. After braving the falls we wandered around World Showcase for a while. We got stuck behind the bridge while they were bringing the Illuminations stuff out. As I said, it was a million degrees outside, and it felt like this whole process was taking FOREVER. Seeing the globe was pretty cool though!

We scoped out the PhotoPass photographers in World Showcase and got some pictures at France!

We even got some photos with Chip!!! Can we all just take a look at how I mastered that surprised face...

As we were walking around I saw Mary Poppins and KNEW I had to meet her RIGHT then. Mary is my favorite character of all time, and USUALLY (a little bit of foreshadowing here) this is the only place I can meet her. We ended up getting in line right as they were closing it off!!

Mary was perfect as usual. I also got my picture next to the Mary topiary!!!

Up Next: We Should've Just Waited in Standby!

 

[bellesBFF]

i'm actually pretty jealous that you got to do disney with friends. it actually looks like so much fun! i'm only going with my mom haha.. mainly cuz i don't have very many friends.

i know you drove down, but did you pack food in your suitcase? if you did how did you fit it in there? i've read using shoe boxes but i feel like they would cave in with the clothes on top..

 

[MeaghanK]

i'm actually pretty jealous that you got to do disney with friends. it actually looks like so much fun! i'm only going with my mom haha.. mainly cuz i don't have very many friends.

i know you drove down, but did you pack food in your suitcase? if you did how did you fit it in there? i've read using shoe boxes but i feel like they would cave in with the clothes on top..

It was super fun!! and aww haha dont sell yourself short!! I would loooove to go on trip just my mom and I!

yeah I did bring food but I brought it in a separate bag! I brought just a shopping bag with the dry stuff and a small cooler with the refrigerated stuff

 

[MeaghanK]

We picked up another FastPass for Spaceship Earth because it was the only thing available that I saw that I would even consider needing one for. Spoiler alert... we didn't. We headed back to Future World and passed by the Monsters U topiaries! I needed my picture by them because I was reppin' Sulley that day!

Since we were all dying of heatstroke we went to Club Cool where Denise and Deon tried some of the sodas (I don't like soda so I sipped on my water). After that we headed to SE to use our FastPass.

As we were about to get on the ride the CM stopped us (the only people in the fastpass line) so people in the regular line could go on before us. It seriously would have been faster if we had just gotten in the regular line! We were all CRACKING up, it was so ironic!

I'm basically the queen of ugly faces so

After SE, there wasn't anything else we really felt like doing, so we hung around in Project Tomorrow for a little bit. Then we decided to go on Test Track one more time even though there wasn't a FastPass available for it. We were in line for no less than 2 minutes before the ride broke down. We decided to stick around because there wasn't really anything else we wanted to do, and after waiting another 20 minutes the ride started back up again. All in all it ended up being about a 45 minute wait, and we got up farther in line because of all of the people who gave up and left The CM didn't put anyone in the 2 slots behind us so Denise and Deon snuck into those spots and we all got to make our own cars!

Mine:

Denise's:

Deon's:

Ride picture:

Up Next: Celebrating Cinco De Mayo the Only Way I Know How!

 

[I_Luv_Stitch]

What a shame WS was so hot, so you couldn't explore it that much!
Loving the monsters university toparies!
All three of your TT car are so cool!

 

[MeaghanK]

What a shame WS was so hot, so you couldn't explore it that much!
Loving the monsters university toparies!
All three of your TT car are so cool!

I agree, I would've loved to walk around a little more but we were all burning!!

The monsters u topiaries are some of my favorites

haha thank you! I was going for the smallest car, Denise was going for the flattest, and Deon was going for the biggest (which I think he achieved pretty well! )

 

[MeaghanK]

Hope everyone is enjoying the TR so far! Unfortunately I won't be able to update for a few days. I've been trying to update at least once a day, and I think I'm going to have to up that to at least twice or three times a day, to be able to finish this TR before I leave for my next trip! Unfortunately, I don't think that's very likely because my next trip is in ONE WEEK (!!!) and.... I'm going on a cruise!!! That means I will be totally unplugged for the next 3 days! I will try to get as many posts as I can done the few days before and after the cruise so when I come back from Disney on the 24th I'll be done or almost done with this TR... then I can start on my 24 HOUR DAY TR!! I CANNOT WAIT. I'm going with my sister and my best friend, we're going to have an absolute blast!! I seriously underestimated the amount of posts this TR would take (rookie mistake) so I might be updating A LOT in the next few days! So for now sit back, relax, and enjoy the many updates that are about to come your way!

 

[I_Luv_Stitch]

haha thank you! I was going for the smallest car, Denise was going for the flattest, and Deon was going for the biggest (which I think he achieved pretty well! )

He definatly achieved that goal, the colours of your car are so cool too!

Ooh looking forward to lots of updates and your 24 hour day TR