My Disney Birthday Wish Came True! – June 2025 Trip Report (Updated 9/1!)

[2xcited2sleep]

Oh, wow! What a birthday gift! I'd love if skipping was always an option but I'm sure that's hard to manage. I absolutely hate all the rides that use the "funnel method" where it's just a crush of unorganized humanity to move forward -- Guardians, Haunted Mansion, Runaway Railway.

 

[VAtink]

Oh, wow! What a birthday gift! I'd love if skipping was always an option but I'm sure that's hard to manage. I absolutely hate all the rides that use the "funnel method" where it's just a crush of unorganized humanity to move forward -- Guardians, Haunted Mansion, Runaway Railway.

I can't believe that it actually happened! Those preshows drive me nuts, especially the first one, the second one is at least kinda cool, but I hate how everyone just rushes to the right to get to the door the second the lights come back on. And yeah, I hate that too when we have to funnel. I try to either be the first or last in the room so we're not in the center of the crush!

 

[buzzrelly]

Wow! That's exciting! What a fun birthday wish! I never even knew this was an option but I'm sure it's nice getting through the line so quickly!

 

[Wood Nymph]

Your years of experience with how WDW works has paid off big time. There may have been some people who were disappointed to skip the pre-shows, but I'm sure most people were thrilled.

My mom hates when I spend money on Minnie Vans, but honestly with how she was feeling I was more than happy to spend the money on it.

That was a nice gesture. There isn't any way to sit down in a bus line.

 

[VAtink]

Wow! That's exciting! What a fun birthday wish! I never even knew this was an option but I'm sure it's nice getting through the line so quickly!

Yeah, it was such a surprise, I can't believe we got lucky enough to just make it in time before they started running the preshows again!

 

[VAtink]

Your years of experience with how WDW works has paid off big time. There may have been some people who were disappointed to skip the pre-shows, but I'm sure most people were thrilled.

Haha, yeah, it definitely helped knowing that they tend to inflate the wait times. If it was my first time ever going on the ride, I would have been upset to skip the preshows, but having seen them for what feels like far too many times, skipping them was the best thing ever!

That was a nice gesture. There isn't any way to sit down in a bus line.

Thanks! Yeah, the buses are a concern with my mom since her foot still has issues, so I'm usually pretty worried about making sure she gets a seat. I'm more than happy to spend a bit extra to get the Minnie Van, especially if the bus line looks long!

 

[VAtink]

Day 4, Part 8: Dinner #1 at the Lounge​

We ended up resting in the room for about 20 minutes before heading over to the lounge to see what the hors d’oeuvres were this evening.

This evening, they had a cauliflower salad, a burrata, an antipasto, an Asian salad, kids pasta, and brown sugar glazed salmon.

I picked up some cauliflower salad and some salmon, mom just got the cauliflower salad.

The cauliflower salad was ok, it would have been better if the cauliflower was cooked, it was just too hard for us, but the salmon was amazing!











The salmon was so good I grabbed a second piece to bring back to the room to snack on while we got ready for the evening plans.

We took our time getting ready, we didn’t intend to leave until about 6:45, so had time. It was a nice bit of downtime to shower and get ready, and enjoy my second piece of salmon.

Since it was nice and cold in the room, and my mom doesn’t like the cold, she spent a lot of the time out on the balcony enjoying the view. A few minutes before 6:45 she came inside to notify me that they had just closed the pool due to lightning.

Uh oh. Our plans this evening involved taking the boat, and if the pool was closed for lightning, it was likely the blue flag boat would also be closed.

Since it was almost when we wanted to leave, I decided to look to see if I could get a Minnie Van. Fortunately, I could, and it wasn’t too far out. Phew! I was worried about taking an Uber since I’ve seen reports of the guards not knowing about the event we were going to and not letting people in. Since I didn’t want to get turned away at the gate, I figured a Minnie Van would be the safest option since they just drive right on in.

Next up: Celebration at the Top – Sip, Savor, Sparkle!​

 

[2xcited2sleep]

You continue to make club life sound really appealing! Can't wait to hear about the event!!

 

[Wood Nymph]

Since it was almost when we wanted to leave, I decided to look to see if I could get a Minnie Van. Fortunately, I could, and it wasn’t too far out. Phew! I was worried about taking an Uber since I’ve seen reports of the guards not knowing about the event we were going to and not letting people in. Since I didn’t want to get turned away at the gate, I figured a Minnie Van would be the safest option since they just drive right on in.

Next up: Celebration at the Top – Sip, Savor, Sparkle!

You could have jumped on a park bus and that would have taken you to the Contemporary from Wilderness Lodge. Both AK and DHS buses go to the CR later in the day. I did that when I needed to get to the CR to retrieve my bag that had fallen in Bay Lake.

 

[Stacybaeasm]

What a great birthday surprise!! I would love to skip the preshow now as well. I've seen it enough. Don't need it. Yay!! Can't wait to hear about the rest of the evening!