Just for ONE day?!? A April 2024 TR-Update 6/6-Complete!!

[PAsFab5]

Hi there and welcome to my first attempt at a trip report!! The title of my report IS true-we did a one day trip from Pennsylvania to Disney! I saw so many people on TikTok doing this and it looked SO fun, so we decided to give it a try!!

Our cast of characters for this trip:

Me-Wife, mom to 3 humans and to multiple pets and a big Disney fan!!

I visited Disney parks many times as an infant/toddler (as an only child)… then took a huge break (was no longer an only child!!) and went back once as a teen.

Our first family trip was 8 years ago and I have been a Disney adult ever since! Outside of my love of Disney I love spending time with our family, which is ever growing and I am enjoying every moment of this season of life! DH and I volunteer together in dog rescue and at church. We only have one child left at home but we definitely stay busy!

DD-almost 16, youngest of our 3 kids and leading a very busy life. Her first trip was at age 7 and she caught the Disney bug on that trip. We have been back at least once a year since (except for 2020…) but usually we take multiple trips a year.

She homeschools, works at a local restaurant, works at the church and has weekly babysitting jobs…she loves Disney, art, reptiles and spending time with friends and family. She also has a boyfriend who joined us on this trip!

DDBF (Daughters boyfriend…is this the right abbreviation? It will have to do for this report!!) They met last summer and have a great friendship and really enjoy spending time together and with our family as well, which is great. He has never been to Disney so this was so exciting for DD and I to take a first timer!!!

I am sure you have questions-WHY did you do this?! HOW did it go??! WOULD you do it again???

All these answers will be in my report!!! So buckle up and let’s get into this fun filled day!!!

 

[PAsFab5]

Planning the Magic-How the one day trip came to life!!!

*Disclaimer: I apologize in advance for the lack of photos…this was a VERY fast paced day and I did not take photos like I normally do!!!

On with the show!!!!

As I mentioned previously I had watched countless TikTok videos of people in PA/NJ/NY doing one day Disney trips-early flight down and super late flight home. Everyone said they would do it again and it was a blast.

When I first mentioned it to DD she was like-no.



After she mulled it over a bit she started saying things like-Well we would not have any luggage so that would be easy! And-Dad would not have to do too much with my lizards if we were only gone for the day…The final question was-Can DDBF come along?

Right then I knew we were going on this adventure!



I started looking at flights and was able to purchase $46 per person round trip flights on Spirit-departing at 6:20am and return flight leaving MCO at 9:50pm. I thought this was an amazing price and great times for our day trip.

I told the kids they could choose the park and there was about a month of back and forth about where we would go. DDBF said he didn’t care and trusted whatever DD chose.


DD favorite park is HS but with Rockin Roller Coaster down (this is her favorite ride) she eliminated HS very quickly. She thought about Epcot, especially due to Flower and Garden happening…also considered AK because it may have been her last opportunity to ride Dinosaur…but in the end she choose MK since it was DDBFs first time at Disney.

It was a great choice!!

I bought one day MK tickets on the app and we were ready to go!

We woke up at 3am to leave by 345am. DDBF mother was kind enough to drop him off in the wee hours of the morning and I was so thankful to her for that!

We all had everything ready to go the night before and there was very little to get ready that morning.


DH and I have a tradition that when I travel without him I make him a roast, that he loves, in the crock pot. We now affectionately call it a “Disney roast”, so even though I was only going to be gone one day I started a Disney roast for him, just to keep tradition going!!

Our dogs were all sorts of confused at our 3am wake-up. They first refused to get up, then once they did they started hiding under furniture…it was absolute chaos!! They were however excited to get served breakfast early, so big win for them. Dry brown kibble 3 hours earlier than normal.

Here’s a picture of our youngest dog on a different day…cause you know-you can never see enough dog pictures

We made it to BWI in about 50 minutes, parked in hourly parking and breezed through security.

I had a backpack and DDBF had a backpack. DD just had her Fanny pack.

We got to our gate and the kids had enough time to grab breakfast. My body was not hungry yet but I did drink some water to start my Florida hydration process!!


*Side note-over the winter DD lost her very expensive water bottle during travel. For this trip I bought bottles for all of us at the dollar tree and they worked great for the airport/plane and I didn’t have to worry about losing or dropping them. Highly recommend, it’s one less thing to worry about!!*

We boarded early and started our 1 hour 54 minute flight. We all slept most of the time, which was great!

*I did not purchase seats for this flight and we were seated all together. I know it’s a risk but we have never been seated apart from one another on Spirit*

Great flight and we landed 30 minutes early!!! A great start to a magical day!!



Up next…Where do we get the Uber?!?!

 

[SEAGULL59]

We fly out of BWI as well! Excited for your quick trip!

 

[happily single]

Love this! My son and I did this in December, 2019. I call it our "epic trip". We were able to do MK and EP, DS and a few hotels! And I even rented a car!

 

[PAsFab5]

We fly out of BWI as well! Excited for your quick trip!

Thanks for joining!!! We used to dread flying out of BWI but our last 3 experiences have been amazing!!!

 

[PAsFab5]

Love this! My son and I did this in December, 2019. I call it our "epic trip". We were able to do MK and EP, DS and a few hotels! And I even rented a car!

Wow!!! Good for you guys that’s amazing!!

 

[mi*vida*loca]

Oh can’t wait to read along! I’m in NJ, about 20 minutes from PHL, and have thought about doing this! A coworker did this recently. She loved it.

 

[Mermaidtails1323]

Fun! I did a similar trip once to NYC on a Jetblue fare sale ($20 roundtrip for a 24 hour flight)! Jam-packed, exhausting, and TOTALLY worth it!

 

[PAsFab5]

Oh can’t wait to read along! I’m in NJ, about 20 minutes from PHL, and have thought about doing this! A coworker did this recently. She loved it.

You would have a great time!!!!!

 

[PAsFab5]

Fun! I did a similar trip once to NYC on a Jetblue fare sale ($20 roundtrip for a 24 hour flight)! Jam-packed, exhausting, and TOTALLY worth it!

Yesssss this is exactly how we felt!!!!

 

[DLo]

Following along. Looking forward to reading more

 

[PAsFab5]

Following along. Looking forward to reading more

Excited to have you here!

 

[PAsFab5]

The Start Of The Most Magical Day!

Our plane unboarded very quickly and we were in the airport before 9am.

MCO is so incredibly chaotic. After all these years I do feel more confident navigating it, but I still find it confusing.


We had never caught a Uber from MCO and finding the “2nd floor” was a challenge. We took several escalator rides and an elevator ride and many trips outside…and we picked up 2 friends (strangers) who were on our flight and also doing a day trip so we were all in this together (they were already wearing their ears so they had to be AMAZING people…right?!?)

We briefly discussed sharing a Uber but we were an odd number of people and splitting payment…too much.

On about our 6th trip outside a set of doors…where I swore we just were I finally asked a man-are you waiting for a Uber and he said- Yes! I said are you sure this is the right place and he said-I have no idea but we will know in less than a minute!

Thankfully his Uber came so I ordered ours and he was there in less than a minute.


Super nice guy who loves to travel and loves Disney-just like us! We had a lot to talk about!

I thought DD was going to open the car door and hitch hike the rest of the way when he said “Hollywood Studios is only for Star Wars Fans”…she tolerates 0 disrespect for her favorite park.

DD highlighted all the great non-Star Wars attractions and shows in HS and I do believe she convinced him to visit again soon!

Clearly it’s not enough that we give Disney all our money, but now we convince others too as well!



Our driver was so nice and slowed down for DDBF to take pictures of the Walt Disney World sign since it was his first time!

Uber cost with tip was $38.

As soon as we got out of the Uber I headed towards the Jofreys stand and got an iced coffee-it was delicious and the perfect pick me up! Shakey Jamaican is like jet fuel to me!

DD and I decided to ride the ferry boat so DDBF could get all the views of the castle. It was a beautiful day and a beautiful ride!

DDBF was like…this is a lot of people-right? DD and I just looked at one another and said…no this is pretty normal.

It’s fun to go with a first timer and experience everything with them-to include that he was shocked at the amount of people on transportation and in the parks. When you go often you lose sight of certain things!

We exited the boat and headed in!

I put my backpack in a locker which was easy and convenient…until it wasn’t…but that was many hours later so we will worry about that then!!

We were all starving but it was only 10am-weird time between breakfast and lunch.

The kids took some pictures around the castle and I played photographer!

Mobile ordered a chicken strip meal for DD and a chicken sandwhich meal for DDBF from Cosmic Rays and we headed over there.

We did a bathroom/handwash stop and I grabbed the food-by the time I got back out with the food they had a table secured.

I went over and grabbed a cream cheese stuffed pretzel and some Monster Energy drinks from the Launching Pad.

We enjoyed our food/beverage and made our first DAS for the day-Space Mountain!

*Side note DD currently qualifies for DAS. Not sure if she will under the new DAS. Her disability is physical and although surgery has improved her day to day quality of life, theme parks are unkind to her body. Whatever happens with DAS for DD in the future, we will figure it out. No reason to stress about it now*

Up next: Was Space Mountain a good pick for a first timers first ride??!!

 

[footballmouse]

I did this back in January, however my 1 day quick trip turned into 3 days due to flight cancellations and delays (Frontier). I would love to try it again some day but I think I would fly down the evening before. A little nervous to attempt the all-in-1-day trip again. Your trip on the other hand has started off a lot better!

 

[PAsFab5]

I did this back in January, however my 1 day quick trip turned into 3 days due to flight cancellations and delays (Frontier). I would love to try it again some day but I think I would fly down the evening before. A little nervous to attempt the all-in-1-day trip again. Your trip on the other hand has started off a lot better!

Frontier is the absolute worst!!! I don’t want to say I will never fly with them again…but quite honestly I would only fly them in an absolute emergency!!! I think you would be fine for a quick trip on a different airline!

 

[CML's mom]

Love this! Can’t wait to hear more!

 

[VAtink]

Joining in! What a fun start, can't wait to read more!

 

[PAsFab5]

Joining in! What a fun start, can't wait to read more!

So happy to have you!

 

[PAsFab5]

Joining in! What a fun start, can't wait to read more!

Thanks for joining!!!!

 

[PAsFab5]

And after we eat…we travel into space!!!

Food and caffeine enjoyed we moved to our first attraction of the day-Space Mountain!

Now, my body is just not appreciative of the…intensity…of space mountain any longer but I continue to ride it for nostalgia purposes.


It’s the only ride I remember getting on at Disney as a 6 year old. I am sure I rode rides all day but I remember my mom, my grandmother and I getting in the rocket and the pure thrill and shock of the coaster in complete darkness. I know every ride on it may be my last because my body just doesn’t do well anymore on the coaster, so I cherish every ride I take on it.

It was purely a coincidence that DDBFs first ride at a Disney park was also Space Mountain, I didn’t plan that-I swear!


He was not expecting total darkness or the intensity and I can still hear his laughs and screams. DD and I laughed so hard the entire time because his excitement and joy was contagious.

Ahhhhhh, Disney.


After traveling to space we went to another galaxy far, far away to visit Buzz lightyear. Space Ranger Spin was a walk on and DD won! I rode alone for this ride, which was fine, but also another reminder that DD is my last child at home and my years of always having a kid or kids with me are coming to a end.

We shopped a little and then headed towards Adventureland!

One of the (many) things I miss about my boys being kids/teens is that when they were kids they would always split any type of food with me. Never asked questions, just ate it. Even if they didn’t like it-they were bottomless pits and they ate it

DD has a…limited selection of food that she enjoys and is NOT open to new foods at this time…


However, DDBF will try any and all foods, which is great for someone like me who loves to snack and try different things!

First stop for me was the eggroll cart, I got one cheeseburger and one pepperoni. DD had gotten soft serve from Sunshine Tree Terrace and was already sitting and enjoying that when I arrived with my egg rolls.


DDBF and I split the egg rolls and both agreed the cheeseburger was our favorite! I could tell DD needed to sit, so DDBF and I headed over to Aloha Isle. I got the Pineapple Upside Down cake with pineapple dole whip and he got a cup of dole whip.

We both liked what we got but the the Pineapple Crisp Sundae at Animal Kingdom blows away the Pineapple Upside Down Cake at Aloha Isle.

I could tell DD was not quite up to a ride yet so her and DDBF went on the Swiss Family tree house.

She was feeling better when she returned and we headed to my #2 most favorite ride in MK and DD’s #1…any guesses?!?