"Pick 'Em Up!" Our First WDW Road Trip PTR-March 2025! Updated 1/14/25

[sunnysideup3]

"Pick 'Em Up!" Our First WDW Road Trip PTR-March 2025!

Hello and Welcome to our PTR! For those who don't exist on 90's movie quotes, the title is an ode to the classic Dumb and Dumber, which I foresee us quoting a lot during our vacation....

This is a trip I'm especially excited about. I tried writing a PTR for a trip my DS and I did in February 2024, but lost momentum and didn't finish it. You can read the meager updates here:

https://www.disboards.com/threads/u...tive-february-2024-ptr.3933952/#post-65230844

But lucky enough the first couple posts of this PTR will be brief recaps of that trip and provide some of the context of this upcoming trip as well!
Links:

Mini-TR Day 1/2: What Would You Say You Do Here?
Mini-TR Day 3: Alrighty Then!
Mini-TR Day 4/5: Can't Rain All The Time...
PTR Day 0: Hasta La Vista, Baby!
PTR Day 1 and 2: Movin' Right Along
PTR Day 3: Alright Ramblers, Let's Get Ramblin'

The Who:

Me: Jillian

40-something Operations Manager in Higher Ed/Part-Time Travel Agent
Mom-ager to 2 kids

DH


Will be 50 just after the trip, works in the aging care community.
Loves Sci-Fi, Legos, D&D


The Boys: 17, 17 and 11


My two children and my eldest DS's best friend since 4th grade, who I call bonus son. It will be his first time in Florida and first time Walt Disney World experience!
DS17: Lacrosse, Swim, involved in his youth group and is a lifeguard
BDS17: football, basketball
DS11: football, lacrosse, shot put and loves sports and stats


We are SO excited to show BDS why we love it so much.


How Did We Get Here?

Long back story: My in-laws have been avid world travelers as long as I have know them (almost 20 years), and swore they would never buy a second house and would travel the world until they couldn't. COVID happened and my BIL/SIL moved to Florida and soon after they vacationed there that winter and bought a house. So, we've been roped into the cycle of "our week" at their Florida house, and ours has been designated as Spring Break week. For anyone that has flown to Florida recently, the cost is INSANE. BONKERS. Got to the point where this year, for the 4 of us to fly, the cheapest cost was $4300. To sit on a plane for a combined 5 hours. The same thing happened with my SIL (who's designated time is "Winter Break") and they drove last year. They said it was long, but not awful. We thought about that for a bit and talked about our time down there as well. Being down in a golf and tennis heavy community where we don't play golf or tennis and like active vacations gets long after 3-4 days.

So we thought some more. DH said one Thursday "well, we drive past Walt Disney World, we kinda have to stop, right?" So I looked into it. Doable for sure!
We told the DS' the plan. They were all in, even the car for 20 hours part.
Then, the ask: We can't leave BDS (how I will refer to bonus child) behind!

They went to the same elementary school, but now attend different high schools so I thought the likelyhood they would have the same spring break would be minimal. But I consulted the website anyway (Can't rely on 16 year old for communication accuracy)....


They lined up! So I talked to his mom at his football game the next night and she gave us the a-okay to proceed! The kids started getting excited. It's hard to get a teenager and pre-teen excited about much (much less together), but the next day was the Saturday of Labor Day and they were both up and watching Disney videos on YouTube and chatting about all the things they wanted BDS to experience. I was still trying to put a $$$ on this, but was SO excited being excited for the kids!

For those of you not at the stage of life, it's the junior year of both DS and BDS. They are both widely involved in varsity sports, planning on attending college, and social lives. We will probably not get to take another trip like this again, especially senior year. So it feels nostalgic and important and all the warm fuzzy things you want it to be, so part of all of that is knowing we are on the cusp of what the future will look like and embracing all the things we love about Walt Disney World as a family.

Stay tuned to see how our planning has come together and share in our excitement as we share our happy place plans with you! (and stay for the mini-TR from my February 2024 trip with DS11!).


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[DLo]

Following along . Looking forward to reading more .

 

[sunnysideup3]

"What Would You Say You Do Here?"

Another great movie quote from Office Space. As promised, I said I would give a brief recap of our February 2024 trip here. This trip came about because my oldest DS was going to a conference in Florida that weekend, and I found cheap flights while searching for his, and youngest DS didn't have school so I figured "why not go have some fun?" My DH was staying home to work and originally take care of our 12 year old beagle Bassett hound, Belle, but she had passed away the Monday after Thanksgiving.

Thursday, February 15th
From what I remember, our flight was uneventful, mostly on time and no problems. We took the Mears Connect shuttle and we're at the age of "too cool to sit with mom":


Soon we were here:

And then at our home for the next 4 nights, Port Orleans-Riverside! Like my signature says, we go WAY BACK with POR and really like this resort. Our room location for this trip was.... not great. It was a hike to the main building but close to a bus stop so we rarely went to the main area unless we were filling mugs or something.

I believe DS swam for a bit, our room was ready and we trekked over. We took some time to chill, recombobulate and head out to Disney Springs. We had dinner at Paddlefish:


And we've moved on from chicken nuggets and plain burgers (although he still ate those) and we did crab french fries and steak here.
After we were done, we shopped a bit before going back to get snacks for the room. DS didn't understand a line for cookies until we got back to the room and he tried Gideon's for the first time. He's a fan. The first thing on his list for this trip was "Go to Disney Springs and get the good cookies":



We watched Mickey cartoons and went to bed for our busy first day at:​

Friday, February 16th
MAGIC KINGDOM!

We were up early and headed out to early hours there, where I don't remember what we did first, but we did get to ride everything we wanted, including Tron (which is not conducive to people with big calves!)

Met some old friends:


We ate lunch at Plaza because this kid loves shakes and a burger, which was perfect for our day.
We caught the parade and I got some great shots!


We stopped to meet magician Mickey on the way out. I believe we went back to the park that night, but we did go back to the resort and rest a bit that afteroon.

That's it for Days 1 and 2 of the TR within a PTR! I'll be back soon with Days 3/4/5 and details about our upcoming trip!

​

 

[Mollydolly334]

Hello from a fellow Milwaukee-area DISer!! Following along!!

 

[sunnysideup3]

Following along . Looking forward to reading more .

Thanks so much for being here!

Hello from a fellow Milwaukee-area DISer!! Following along!!

Loving your TR with your whole family and the MKE connection!

 

[sunnysideup3]

"Alrighty Then!"

Saturday, February 17th
Hollywood Studios

So a very unpopular opinion, but Hollywood Studios is one of my favorite parks. I just love the ambiance and... I don't know. Maybe because I am a huge Twilight Zone (original 60's version) fan and I LOVE everything about Tower of Terror, but this is a must-do park for me.
I have so many good memories here:

Star Wars Weekend (the last one!) for my husband's 40th birthday weekend.


Meeting life-long DISboards friends for Osbourne Lights and night time DHS.


Or these two little baby nuggets...

ANYWAY...

We were up and out the door early and rope dropped Tower of Terror and coffee. Sam is a little old man when it comes to life, so he likes his morning coffee like any adult. He also likes pajama pants hiked up to his sternum and watching sports highlights and stats every morning.

I took this cool TOT picture (it was a rainy/sprinkle day on and off):


And we got to do Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway, and visited Potatoland, which is one of our favorite Mickey Shorts:


I had purchased Rise of the Resistance LL, so we did that and Smuggler's Run, in which we were both Engineers with parents with young kids who let their kids fly the ship. Sam was not amused and has a very expressive face so he did not hide that dismay well...


We also met some friends in Batuu:


This is where I will get real for a second. Even though Sam was 10 at this point and not a young kid anymore, it was around the middle of the day that being the solo parent on a 4 day trip hit me. I was trying to be chill and flexible, but he gets amped up easy and we start to butt heads. Usually everything works out and comes back around, but It was a lot to know you were their sole source of entertainment/need/etc for the whole trip.

I know we did Star Tours twice, and watched the Frozen Sing-a-long and the Indiana Jones Stunt Show. We also did go back to the room for a bit before our dinner reservation here:


All I can say is that we loved it. Sam ate well and loved the kitschy stuff of the restaurant and has declared this a "must do!" for our March 2025 trip.

It's SO CUTE in here.


I believe after dinner we did a couple things...Toy Story Mania? And then headed out. It was a soggy day and we ended up doing chill time back in the room.

Next up.... the skies open up in the worst park for rain.....​

 

[sunnysideup3]

"Can't Rain All the Time..."

Sunday, February 18
Epcot

We were up and out the door early again this morning. I was lucky enough to get both virtual queue and a paid LL for Guardians and Remy (which I had done in March 2022). We went and did Soarin' and Living with the Land and then went over to Test Track single rider line. We did Mission: Space in 2009 and I vowed never again, but Sam wanted to do it, so I waited in the exit area for him while he did that solo. It was weird just letting him go, but he was behind a family that seemed chill, and he said he had a good time and wants to bring the boy on in March.
It was time for our first ride and we LOVED it. We got "Everybody Wants to Rule the World"
Spoiler alert....

We got that song both times and we weren't mad about it....

We were starting to get a bit grumpy about the rain:



We headed into World Showcase and the sky continued to open up. I will say, it never stopped raining this day. We hid out on the balcony of the Norway church after doing Frozen Ever After, and we did eat lunch at the Regal Eagle, and did the Mexico boat ride. But I honestly don't know what else we did for those hours...



We had an earlier dinner at Teppan Edo, and browsed the giftshop before heading around to the front of the park, where despite the 10 hours of rain, Sam insisted on Moana: The Way of Water...


He loved it.
I believe we wrapped up with a ride on Spaceship Earth, where it kept stopping and slowing, so I got some decent pictures.​

Monday, February 19th
Animal Kingdom

This was our departure day, and originally we were slated to leave pretty early, but with the change in flights, we had the opportunity to add on another park day and decided to do Animal Kingdom (which isn't always a must-do for us!).

But first, we were going to Topolino's for breakfast!

'


It was great as always and we waited for a bit for a bus, but we soon were greeted with the Tree of Life!





We did ride Everest and Dinosaur, and saw a lot of random characters:​

And did Rafiki's Planet Watch (he loves trains and petting animals, so a no-brainer!)
We moved on to Kilimanjaro Safari, Sam did the Boneyard for a bit, and we did both walking trails.
Sam wanted to do Flight of Passage, so I bought him a solo LL and waited for him outside the exit. He liked it, but said he didn't need to do it again.
I think right around then we cashed out some extra snack credits on treats for the plane and home and headed out to catch the bus back to Riverside for our shuttle back to the airport.
From what I remember, security was pretty typical for Orlando- busy, but it moved. Sam talks to ANYONE, so struck up a conversation with a guy waiting with us in line. We got some dinner there and I had bid to "upgrade" our seats on Spirit to the bigger ones up front and we'd gotten them, so we were on the plane quickly. We were waiting for everyone to board when I heard a loud voice exclaim "SAM!!!" It was his elementary school principal, who is just the best person- and they were seated behind us!
She snapped a picture of the two of them to send to his old teachers and they chatted for a bit before an uneventful flight back home to Milwaukee.
We took an Uber home (it was late and my DH works early and I wasn't 100% ready for the newly licensed 16 year old to do a 10:30pm airport pickup).

All in all, it was a fun trip and something that was great for just the 2 of us to do.

Up next-- the ACTUAL plans for this coming March!




​

 

[Becky2005]

Just read through everything and looking forward to seeing your plans. Sounds like it was one of those fun but extra tiring trips.

 

[sunnysideup3]

Just read through everything and looking forward to seeing your plans. Sounds like it was one of those fun but extra tiring trips.

Yes! It was a lot packed into a long weekend, but it was fun. Definitely nice to have a partner to deflect some responsibilities to sometimes, especially since he and I don't always see eye to eye

 

[sunnysideup3]

​

"Hasta La Vista, Baby"​

Day 0: The Pre-Trip Stuff

We've finally made it to the PTR portion of this PTR! WOO HOO!!! Our plans are pretty solid and we've done a lot of work in a short period of time. Since this is a road trip, I have been getting some fun things for the car portion, including:

1. Back of the seat organizers. Each kiddo will get one of these to keep their stuff straight. They've been told they'll each get a backpack to keep by them and a carry on size suitcase for packing in the trunk. We will have access to laundry both at Disney and at my in-laws, so they can pack smart.



2. Snackle Boxes. I'll be packing up snacks (with refills, because kids...) so they have access to these at their seats. Everyone will also have a water bottle. I will be making and packing snacks and drinks to keep in the back to help keep costs down during gas and potty breaks.



I'm such a sucker for stuff like this. I'm making a Google form for the kids to fill out so they can get some things I know they'll like in there.

Since we are Wisconsinites, the days we can wear summer/warm weather clothes will probably end with the cold front coming tonight (it has been unseasonable warm here the last couple of days!) and I will be able to set aside some things in totes in our guest room closet (at least for myself and youngest DS). I've bought myself a couple of fun things for this trip. I was trying to limit the pre-trip purchases because I don't really need anything, but here's the two things I allowed myself:


I've been slowly down-sizing my purses for the parks as the kids get older. I've now made it to belt bag size (DH will bring a mini-backpack), and I love this one!



This great t-shirt from Main Street Tourist. Living with the Land is my favorite ( I listen to the audio on D-COT daily!) and I had to have this one.

That was it. I have been getting some new shorts for the kids on sale as stores transition to winter wear and things go to clearance.

Like I said, we've made a lot of progress in planning in the short 7ish weeks since we agreed to do this. Funny thing is, it went from leaving at Friday after school to leaving Friday morning to now we are leaving that Thursday, March 20th. I will be prepping the car that day while wrapping up work stuff. Kids and DH will come home from school and we will scoop up BDS from his house and head out. We have a reservation at a hotel in Indianapolis for that night, so making our way that far on what I consider Day 0.


That is all for now! Happy Fall from Wisconsin!


​

 

[sunnysideup3]

"Movin' Right Along"​

Day 1 and 2: Getting the Show on the Road


Sorry for the MIA. Life got kinda crazy for awhile there. Work is typically quiet-ish this time of year, but there's a big project I've been working on so the quiet down times are now consumed by that. All good things there, though.

DS17 is currently dealing with pneumonia, which has derailed the start of his swim season. He's pretty bummed about that, but he can't walk down the stairs without hacking or getting winded, so swimming 100 yard fly tonight is out of the question. The title of this post is in honor of the Muppets marathon he's been having the past 2 days as he deals with trying to feel better.

Bonus DS was over for Thanksgiving with his mom and the boys are all so excited. Hopefully DS11 isn't going to annoy them to death. That's a discussion I need to have with both my kids before we leave. But... back to the show.

When we first came up with this hair brain idea, we were going to try to leave Friday after the kids were done with school. Then it was Friday morning. Now it's Thursday. I'll work from home that day and get the car loaded up. As soon as DH comes home from work, and the kids come home from school, we will swing over to Bonus DS's house, grab him and head out.

We are going to be hitting Chicago traffic at probably the worst possible time, so there's going to be a delay in getting around there. We have a hotel in Indianapolis for the night and will grab food on the road.

The next morning (Friday), we will depart Indianapolis and drive as far as Valdosta, Georgia (right on the border of Florida). We did this because that's a good long day of driving and the plans for the next day- Saturday- have fluctuated since we initially planned this and now we have what amounts to a fuller day of plans- which will be in the next update!

Here's some updates from our life since my last update:



DS and Bonus DS both turned 17. (BDS is sitting to Eli's left in this shot!)


We got our first little snowfall. It was melted by 5pm that day. I love winter.




Family Trip to the Milwaukee County Zoo...​

 

[sunnysideup3]

"All Right, Ramblers, Let's Get Ramblin'"​

Day 3: We Land at the Mothership

This day, we will leave Valdosta, Georgia after eating breakfast at the hotel and head to Walt Disney World! We were really excited with the 2025 promotion to have a free water park day on the arrival day, since this day had really planned on being a hang around and chill until our room was ready kind of day. So when we get down, we'll head over to Blizzard Beach!




We'll spend the later morning there, get some lunch and wait for our room to be ready. I'm just so glad to have something fun to do this day that isn't costing extra. Plus I'm excited to check out Blizzard Beach. I've done Typhoon Lagoon 3 times, so will be fun to do something different!

Once we get "the text," we will head over to our resort for 3 nights.......

Animal Kingdom Lodge- Kidani!



We are SO excited to check this out off our bucket list.

When I started researching this trip and how to do it on a budget, but knowing our party size, I realized I was going to have to be creative, because 1 standard room was too small, and 2 standard rooms were too pricey. I looked to renting DVC points, and happened to hit a weekend (Labor Day) when they were running a small deal. So I put in for what I thought the best option for our family was, and we got it!

We will be in a 1 bedroom standard villa.​

We will put the 2- 17 year olds in the main room, and see if we can move the sleeper chair into the main bedroom to put our 11 year old on that. Otherwise, they will all sleep out there. We loved having 2 separate spaces (with a door!) but having a balcony space to relax, even if we don't have a savanna view. That was something that for this trip, I didn't want to spend the extra money on. What really drew us to this location was that the 1 bedrooms here have 2 FULL bathrooms. Anyone that's had to get ready with multiple teenagers will know our pain and how this is the biggest asset we could ever have.

So, once we get there, we'll get settled in and hopefully head to our Ohana reservation (My window opens a week from today!)

And then to Disney Springs for the night!

That's a pretty full first day, but we are excited.

In real life, DH won an award at work and we finally got a family picture together!



We celebrated NYE at the local German beer hall and celebrated Munich New Years because our old selves were in bed at 11.



And last week we hosted a "breakfast for dinner" for DH17's swim team, that powered them all through a full week of swim meets.
You would never believe how much food we prepared and were left with empty pans!



That's it for now, next week I will continue on since we'll be able to confirm dining reservations!
​

 

[Nicnicnic.nic]

What a fun read and now I want to buy car organizers as well lol