The one with the dusty, wrinkly, moldy-oldy 4 day park hopper ticket from 1992! August 2025 Trip Report

[MamaMouse0920]

Welcome foolish mortals..................................... there's no turning back now!

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I'm back again with another trip report, and can't wait to get started! This trip was seriously one of the best we've had, and we are DYING to go back. Matt thinks we'll squeeze in another trip this year, but I'm thinking most realistically we won't be back for another year We shall see!! Regardless, I'm deep in the Disney Blues so lets hop right in so I can re-live the magic!

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First up, introductions. If you haven't read my previous trip reports (Sept 2022; Feb 2023; Sept 2023; Feb 2024; Aug 2024) I'll give you a quick run down of our crazy crew! We live in a suburb of the Twin Cities in lovely Minnesota. Let's start with the oldest, shall we?

This handsome fella turns 43 tomorrow (!!), my sweet husband Matt.

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He is the ultimate 'dad' - the best stroller pusher, broken toy fixer, owie kisser, Skyliner-stinky-fart-dutchoven-maker (does that not just scream 'dad'???) and absolutely dotes on his family. We love him! He works on the administrative side of healthcare (at the VA hospital) and loves serving our nations veterans!

Up next, and considerably younger - me!

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My name is Bethany & I'm still in my 30s I too work on the administrative side of the VA and love my job! I love coffee, crafting, planning/hosting events and spending time with my family! Matt and I both love craft beer (hazy IPAs are our fav!) and exploring new restaurants/breweries around the Twin Cities.

Then we have our two babies (who aren't really babies anymore - starting Kindergarten and 1st Grade next week!) DD6 and DS5.

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DD6 (will be 7 in 2 months!) is my mini (as I'm sure you'll notice as I post pictures throughout the TR) in both looks and personality. She is a perfectionist (we're working on taming that a bit) and gives big 'eldest sister' vibes. She is a mini mama and inserts herself into things whether we like it or not but loves her little brother more than anything! She is crazy smart and we can't wait to see how she soars in first grade!!

DS5 is 100% B O Y and keeps us on our toes! He is a huge mama's boy and a lovey-dovey snuggler. When he's not causing chaos, you can almost always find him near me- snuggled under my armpit or playing with my hair etc. Not sure if this is a boy thing or a 2nd kid thing or just a DS5 thing but I'll take it for as long as I can cause I know the years are short! As I mentioned he starts kindergarten next week so this trip was a bit of a 'send off' for him, similar to how we did for DS7 last year right before she started school. Fair is fair, amiright?!

I guess I went a tad out of order if we're going by age, but not to be forgotten who joined us for a little over half of our trip is my amazing mama, who we'll call Grandma!

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Grandma is in her 50s and needs a knee replacement (she had one done last year and I think is procrastinating getting the other one replaced - though after this trip she may be changing her tune and perhaps will schedule the surgery sooner rather than later) so rented a scooter this trip which had it's pros & cons, as anyone who has traveled with an ECV can attest to I'm sure. She is the one who used the dusty, wrinkly, moldy-oldy ticket from 1992! See my PTR for more info but basically it's just as it sounds, we found an actual physical paper ticket in the back of my grandma (who lives in Florida)'s closet! It was a 5 day park hopper ticket with one day used, so 4 remaining, from 1992.

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Can you believe it?! It sat on my moms fridge for about a month and I had a heart attack every time I saw it- ha!

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I had called Disney right after finding it and they said that they couldn't do anything (i.e. confirm it's validity and/or convert it to todays version of tickets) via phone and that it would need to be done on property. Slightly anxiety inducing, but since my grandma worked for Delta and my mom is on her Buddy List (flies standby for free) she wasn't technically out anything if she flew there and they were like 'nah, we can't accept this' so well worth the gamble - even though we knew without a doubt that it was legit.

Anyway, that's us! I'll get to the fun stuff in the next post

 

[MamaMouse0920]

Tuesday, August 12th (Pre-Travel)

Matt and I both took the day off, so we spent the day as a family getting things ready. We went on a 4 mile walk (Matt and I generally try to prepare for our trips by taking 2-4 mile walks as frequently as we can throughout the months leading up to the trip) even though it's getting slightly embarrassing pushing the giant DD6 in the stroller! I feel like we get a few side eye lookss from people we pass by (I can almost hear them "isn't she a little old/big to be in a stroller?"), of course them not knowing that 1. it's a 4 mile walk, I'm not sure many 6 year olds could tolerate that 2. we try to go at a decent clip so she definitely wouldn't keep up 3. We're doing it to condition not only our legs but also Matt's core. Pushing 100+ pounds of kids in a 40lb stroller isn't exactly a cake walk!

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After our walk Matt mowed the lawn & the kids played outside. Eventually the kids requested a picnic lunch so we set up shop in the front yard while Matt mowed the backyard.





After lunch the kids wanted to play in the little pool we have set up on our front patio, so they changed into their suits and splashed away!







While they were playing in the pool I scurried off for my usual pre-vacay mani/pedi. By the time I returned, the kids and Matt were having a cul-de-sac baseball game, so I admired my nails and watched them play in the distance





Because this is the way life goes (especially right before a vacation, it seems!), DS5 biffed it at some point in the game, going a** over tea kettle and somehow scraped his spine pretty good- causing a bunch of tears and thus ending the game, us heading inside to put an ice pack on it and snuggle on the couch.

Not wanting any leftovers, I made the kids a "snackies" dinner (carrots, hard boiled eggs, salami, string cheese, yogurt + cheerios, peanuts, clementines, pretzels, leftover Doritos from the cabin, peanut butter/Ritz cracker sandwiches, and pistachios - plus a big bowl of popcorn!) and got them all set up for a living room picnic - one of the their ultimate favorite treats!




After Peter Pan was over, we all showered & went to bed around 8:30pm, with my alarm set for 4:15am! Our flight was at 7am so the plan was to leave our house around 4:45am (my mom would be picking us up, the kids car seats already installed in her mini van). Perks of living only 15 mins from the airport!

We were so excited - the trip was finally here!!!

 

[SEAGULL59]

Following!! Hope you all had a great trip. Sounds like it so far!!

 

[Gamedog]

Always enjoy your TR's and looking forward to this one!

 

[footballmouse]

 

[13littledogs]

Always enjoy your trip reports. Love the missing front tooth picture

 

[MamaMouse0920]

Wednesday, August 13th (Day 1: Travel Day)

I actually slept halfway decent til about 2:15am when I woke for whatever reason. Since I was up, I decided to quick double check that our flight hadn't been canceled/delayed (this seems to be a recurring theme the night before traveling!). It hadn't been, but the gate we were assigned did move and was now one of the further away ones (and not near the Dunkin Donuts I had promised the kids, whoops!). For whatever reason I wasn't able to fall back asleep so after a few hours of tossing and turning I eventually gave up and got out of bed at about 3:55am and got ready for the long day ahead. Matt was up about 20 mins after that and we both woke the kids together - expecting some level of grumbling (they had been home all summer with my sister (a teacher) acting as 'nanny' with them so got to sleep in every day!) but instead DD6 flung the covers back and literally jumped out of bed! It took me by surprise, ha! DS5 was a tad slower (he didn't physically jump anyway!) to rise but was equally excited and no grumbling from either of them. Where is this enthusiasm on school (or in his case, daycare) mornings?! They quickly got dressed and went potty/brushed teeth and were excited to take down the final Mickey on our countdown:



As promised, my parents rolled into our driveway at 4:45am and soon enough we were off to the airport!

When our boarding passes had become available I quick scanned them all to be sure the TSA Precheck was on them (Matt has a history of when flying Delta it not showing up on his), and sure enough - no Precheck for Matt. URGH. Why!?!? So we made a mental note to stop at the Agent Assist area after dropping off our bags to get that sorted out. As soon as we pulled into the departures area, we could see the airport was an absolute zoo. Again - WHY?! After getting all our luggage (2 checked bags, 1 carry on, and 2 backpacks) out of my mom's trunk and giving quick hugs & kisses to grandma & grandpa, Matt and I decided to split up - he take a kid inside to get in the line to talk to a Delta agent and me taking a kid to join the insanely long line for the Delta SkyCap. After about 10 minutes I had successfully checked our bags (both well under 50# - actually closer to 40 by some miracle!) and was given paper copies of our boarding passes- this time Matt's said TSA Precheck! So bizarre that it doesn't show up on the app version. Happy to save Matt/us time waiting to talk to an agent I quickly called him and he and DS5 left their spots in line to join us and head to security. Thankfully the TSA precheck line wasn't awful, and we were through security in less than 15 minutes.



We did have a very chatty TSA agent who noted our outfits & asked if we were going to FL or CA (you have our boarding pass sir, you should know LOL) and asked if we planned to visit Epcot. I told him yes and that we would be there tonight actually and he went on a long tirade about how good the Mexico pavilion food is and that we need to get elote and what elote is and that we definitely need to ride Remy's etc. We chatted briefly (I will absolutely take a chatty TSA agent over a crabby one any day!) but I was holding up the line so we said our goodbyes and made our way through security and to the other side. by 5:45 Matt was joining the line at Caribou with DD6 while I took DS5 and went to the nearby bagel place to get some breakfast to share.





We ordered a plain bagel with strawberry cream cheese and unfortunately none of us cared for it (something about the cream cheese, I couldn't put my finger on it) and tossed it after only a few shared bites. I HATE food waste but hate expensive/overpriced food waste even more! With only coffee in tow, we made the long trek to our far-away gate- the kids loving the moving walkway!



We waited at the gate for the next 30 mins or so until it was closer to time to board- me using the time to fill our water bottles and eventually go to the bathroom before the 3 hour flight.



Soon enough we were boarding! We were flying Basic Economy so were in the waaaay back of the plane, row 35 or something similar, and subsequently one of the last to board. Fine by me!





Not quite as iconic as the famous MCO carpet, but still exciting! We took off 5 mins early (yay!) and had a largely uneventful flight. I was paired with DD6 and Matt in the row behind us with DS5. DD6 watched one of her newer favorites, the live action Snow White, and I picked Star Wars: A New Hope (classic!).

 

[MamaMouse0920]

We landed around 10:45am FL time and as soon as getting off airplane mode I checked if our room was ready/had a room # assigned but no such luck.







Now THAT is iconic



Waiting for & then seated on the Fake O Rail!


^a failed attempt at a family selfie on the escalator - Sorry Matt!

Once down in the baggage claim area we all went potty, grabbed our two suitcases (I actually was scanning the carousel for a while until I noticed that our 2 bags were already pulled off and sat on the floor with a bunch of other suitcases from our flight- score for not having to heave heavy suitcases off of a moving carousel! One of the very few perks of being in the way far back of the plane ) and made our way downstairs to Ground Transportation for our Mears bus. We were in our respective line (for Art of Animation, Caribbean Beach, Pop Century and a few other resorts I can't remember off the top of my head) by 11:30, where I let the kids dip into the rest of our plane snacks (a few pre-made PB&J sandwiches and some apple slices) since I knew from last time that it would be a while.



and on the bus driving to Terminal C by 11:50am- finally departing for AoA (which is the first stop- huzzah!) at 12:08. Not too shabby, but I still yearn for the days of not needing car seats and being able to pop in an Uber with minimal waiting



I tried to convince DS5 to take a snooze on the 30ish minute drive but he wasn't having it. Too excited!



No luck for DD6 either, though she does look sleepy in this picture!

 

[MamaMouse0920]

At 12:31 we were driving under the famous sign and by 12:35 we were rolling in to Art of Animation. We were home!




Matt and I had planned that upon our arrival we would once again split - I would go to the front desk and inquire about upgrading to a suite (we wanted to anyway, but with my mom planning to arrive the next day we definitely needed the extra space!) while Matt and the kids went to pick up & activate our mugs.



My front desk CM was very suite and was able to get us an absolutely AMAZING room in the Cars area for an additional $914 overall for the full 9 nights including all taxes/fees etc. We were in building 1, room 1501 (so the building closest to the lobby/pools/buses AND on the first floor!) We were thrilled! I also inquired about getting my mom added as a guest which I thought I had read somewhere it would be an additional $10 a night but either I was mistaken or the CM Miguel from Humble, TX (yes I put in a cast compliment!) gave us some pixie dust and waived the fees. No complaints here, either way!

As we were wrapping up the logistics, Matt and the kids approached us. Miguel handed each kid a Cool Kid Summer bag (a reusable grocery style bag filled with activity books and stickers and pins and crayons) which they were enamored with. Just before walking away I go "Oh and so for my mom, she doesn't have to do anything when she gets here?" and immediately clamped my hand over my mouth - I just spilled the beans?!?!?!??!?! THANKFULLY the kids were so wrapped up with their Cool Kid Summer goodies that they didn't even hear me (and I know this without a doubt because any mention of their grandma and the kids go nuts- I actually think part of my saving grace, in addition to the Cool Kid Summer bag distraction, was the fact that I said 'my mom' instead of 'grandma'). What a relief!! Matt quickly ushered them away while I explained to Miguel that it was a surprise and that I almost bungled the whole thing! Thanking him again and making a note of his name/hometown to enter a cast compliment, I left the front desk to re-join my family on our very short walk to our new home for the next 9 nights!







We very quickly found our room and immediately smelled bleach upon entering the room. At first Matt and I were like woohoo, they for sure cleaned this room! and then were like.... wait a minute.

I don't think standard protocol between guests is to use bleach on a room.... at least I've never smelled it upon entering any other Disney resort room. So then my mind immediately went to "why did they need to use bleach"

Deciding ultimately it's out of my control and that I was going to do a quick wipe down of surfaces anyway, that would have to suffice. Plus, we had a park to get to! A quick room tour:

 

[MamaMouse0920]

A quick note about the Cars rooms. You may recall last year we stayed in Lion King (which is why we picked Cars this year despite both being available- wanted to try something new) so I feel qualified to say this, since we've stayed in both. CARS IS SO MUCH CUTER. Don't get me wrong, Lion King was my all-time favorite movie as a kid and remains in my top 10 to this day, higher than Cars! But the theming is just WAY cuter/understated/less in your face than Lion King. Not just inside the actual rooms, but the area itself too! Now I will grant you that Cars is a lot newer of a movie than Lion King and maybe for that reason has a bit more to work with in terms of aesthetics and overall 'vibes' but still. If you don't have a die hard Lion King fan & are given the choice between Lion King and Cars... go with Cars. Plus, the pool!!!! Anyway - back to the TR.

One thing I forgot to mention in my 'pre-travel' section was that DD6 had a loose tooth. When I say loose, I mean hanging-by-a-stinking-thread loose. She was determined to lose it AT Disney, despite it being ready weeks ago. I was actually slightly fearful that it was going to fall out in her sleep an she'd choke on it (not sure how, those baby teeth are teeny tiny! but still, a fear I had). So after Matt and I quick did our tag-team wipe down of surfaces, we decided it was time to yank that sucker out before it fell out of its own accord and we lost it on Main Street, USA!



It took Matt no time at all and that thing was finally out! She was thrilled! We put it in a kleenex and set it on the bathroom counter, hoping against all hope that Mousekeeping didn't enter our room and throw it away, ha! We then headed toward the lobby to meet our stroller delivery person who was scheduled to arrive at 2pm.

While we waited for him to arrive, look what we saw pull up!!



We kept waiting and hoping and wishing characters would make their way out, but no luck A little after 2pm we were given our stroller and made our way to the buses - we were heading to Animal Kingdom!



If you've been around a while you know I usually like to bookend my trips with Magic Kingdom (so MK is the first and last parks we visit) but this time we decided to try something different- 1) DAK is our most neglected park despite it being one of our absolute favorites- so we were determined to reverse that neglection and show it some love! and 2) we know how many people treat it as a half day park and so we figured that 2pm would actually probably be one of the best times to visit it. We had to wait 10-15 minutes for a bus, but soon enough were on our way!





My first photo of the Tree of Life was taken at 2:38pm, so not terrible for a travel day! 7am flight, landed 10:45 (but not off plane til closer to 11 probably), bags collected & in line for Mears by 11:30, driving away from airport 12:00, in room 1pm, in park 2:38. Not bad for a travel day!

I have to hop off for now but will pick up where I left off (entering DAK) hopefully tomorrow!