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

[MamaMouse0920]

DD gets hiccups all the time. When I was pregnant it was ever night as soon as I laid down to go to bed. This continued for years. They finally tapered off as she got older but she stills gets them a lot. When she does get them it is an all day event. They will stop and then come back like an hour later. It is crazy. Maybe I need to try this trick next time.

My boss actually showed it (used it on me) to me!! "Bethany I'll give you $20 if you can hiccup again right now"

...they mysteriously immediately vanished, ha! Hopefully it works for your daughter!!

 

[MamaMouse0920]

Eeeeeek I have gone MIA again, sorry folks! I am DETERMINED to finish this TR before our next trip, which is in **checks watch** 46 days, 15 hours, and 24 minutes.

Hoping to punch out the next installment in a few - hang tight!

 

[MamaMouse0920]

Thursday, August 21st (Day 9)

Our last park day, waaaaah! Our plan for the day was to rope drop Epcot & head to Magic Kingdom for the evening where we intended to FINALLY watch Happily Ever After this trip. The morning routine was typical, and we were on the Skyliner by 7:30am, for an 8:30 EE at Epcot.





We got to Epcot & made it through security/the tapstiles without issue but when we entered the International Gateway we were hit with a strange sight: two separate lines, held at the top of the little hill before the bridge.

It felt like such a strange waste of space, why would they want a huge gap between the two groups of people (obviously the right half intending to head to France/Norway and the left half intending to race to Guardians/Test Track etc.) but it was bizarre that the CM were wanting the line to extend that far down the hill, literally encroaching into the tapstiles eventually.





What happened to filling in all available space?! This was our last day obviously so not sure if it was the new protocol/normal for IG rope drop at Epcot or if the CMs were just being silly?! Anyone there since August 21st 2025 and can let me know??

Anyway, once we scanned our Magic Bands and were allowed in for Early Entry, we were part of the 'left' crew, heading for Test Track! A first for Matt & DS5 (DD7 and I rode once a few trips back before the refurb) so we were excited. As we were walking that way, 2 scooters zoomed past us, with the person in the first one commenting to their partner "Let's see if ____ (I can't remember where they said) is open, and then we can go to Space Mountain". Maybe they meant Spaceship Earth, or Mission Space, but still gave me a good chuckle.

We eventually made it to Test Track where unfortunately the queue was outside (it seems we're held at the outdoor portion of the queue, not allowed inside until official EE park open). We found our place in line but had to keep moving back because party after party after party joined their ONE single person that was holding the line while the rest of the group got coffees or walked at a leisurely pace. Sigh.



Timestamp on the photo above is 8:08, so we told the kids we had about 22 minutes of waiting.



We were happy to be near one of these little bench things but unfortunately we were also directly under the track and as the cars whizzed by (we eventually learned the ride had gone down briefly, so I think they sent some cars out for a couple extra laps to be sure before they let us on) the kids were overwhelmed with how loud it was - and to their credit it WAS pretty loud! Thankfully for them, mama is an over-preparer and I had 2 sets of disposable earplugs in my crossbody bag so I whipped those out and they were good to go.



As I said there was a brief delay so we weren't let in until closer to 8:40am but eventually the line started moving and we made our way through the loooong indoor portion of the queue.



I had told Matt about the GM lounge that GM employees get to use and I joked that we'd knock on the door and say "my grandpa is retired from a career at General Motors.. does that qualify me to get in?" (obviously not serious) and eventually it was our turn to ride.

 

[MamaMouse0920]

It was a fun ride & the kids wanted to go again, but this definitely isn't one of my favorites. I obviously enjoy the lap around the track but that's about the only part that really thrills me, the rest is just kind of meh. We were off the ride by 8:54 and we had a ILL for Guardians (our last ride of the trip, waah!) immediately after so we made the short jaunt over there next where we were battling massive crowds - it seems the park had literally just opened for off-site guests and they were ALL headed toward Guardians! We quickly parked the stroller and scanned in.

Guess what song we finally got... September!! It was a perfect way to end the trip!!!



We were so happy!! And also it seems we timed the crowds just right/they hadn't impacted the ILL lane as we were off the ride by 9:20. Woohoo!

After Guardians Matt & I split up- he went into Connections Cafe for a coffee & I made a quick breakfast stop at the Joffrey's cart to get the kids a massive pink donut which they were thrilled about- mom & dad were more interested in the coffee

I forgot to mention that we had LLMP for Magic Kingdom for this day, and I'm not sure how I remedied that by spending so much time at Epcot.. if I pushed times back or just scanned in late, who knows - but a little before 10am we were heading toward the front of the park to take the monorail over to Magic Kingdom!





It felt bizarre, us leaving the park so early while the masses of people were heading INTO the park & we were the only ones headed out!



By 9:50 we were on the monorail, Matt ecstatic to not need to collapse the stroller/make the kids get out. It was a crowded Main Street we eventually entered around 10:15!



We made a quick bathroom break near the Pirate's bathrooms, and while DD7 and I waited for DS5 & Matt we spotted this little area nearby we'd never examined, so we perused it for a bit.





When Matt & DS5 re-joined us we quickly scanned in for our Pirates LL, and as we wove through the queue guess who we saw!



Mr Sparrow himself! I have a cute video of him coming to that little window and talking to the kids for a brief moment before we made our way on to the ride. How special!



The theme for this ride pic is that the kids were pirates & the parents were terrified

After Pirates we headed for our next LL which was Tiana's! Good thing too, we were already boilingggggg hot!

 

[MamaMouse0920]

After Tiana's we once again split up - Matt grabbing a lunch at Columbia Harbor House and me grabbing food from Pecos Bill & meeting him over there.



I have in my notes that after lunch we did Hall of Presidents but I don't have any pictures so you'll just have to take my word for it I noted that we were out by 12:55pm and that by that time I realized I had a blister on one of my toes that was starting to become angryyyyyyyyyy! It was on the little pad of skin that for me apparently rubs underneath another toe or something, so every single step was like torture and making it bigger and angrier. I had bandaids but I think I maybe was thinking to myself "meh, I'm in the home stretch. It's our last park day. I can survive without a band aid".

We stopped for a popcorn bucket refill and joined the waiting area for Country Bears Jamboree, all of us excited to show DS5 for his first time! I made Matt pose for a picture with his long lost relative:



And at 1:09pm the show was ready to begin!





DS5 semi-enjoyed the show but I think he was distracted by his sudden fear of Max, Buff, and Melvin - I'm not sure why but he was terrified and still talks about them occasionally to this day & it has even resulted in a nightmare at home I don't know what it is about those 3 wall mounted heads but he does NOT care for them at all, ha!

After the show was done and his fear subsided, I guess we decided a different kind of haunting was in order....







We had a LL and it took about 10ish mins to wind through the outdoor (hot) queue - we loved those giant industrial fans!

 

[MamaMouse0920]

After Haunted Mansion, we cut across Main Street to enter Tomorrowland for the first time of the day. We had a LL for Space Mountain but unfortunately, the ride went down just after the 2nd touch point and it made for a loooong wait. Eventually it came back up and it was our turn to ride - all 4 of us (even in separate spaceships/rockets) agreeing on the 2 peace signs for our ride pic, but the little turd seated with me pulled a fast one and went for whatever this number is instead:





Matt & DS5 clearly stuck to the plan!

After Space Mountain as we collected our stroller, we spotted Mr. Incredible in the area but by the time he greeted the other kids nearby it was time for him to leave so poor DS5 was bummed to have missed him. We decided to leave the park for an afternoon swim (any guesses whose request that was?) but unfortunately once again found ourselves battling the parade crowds as we attempted to exit.





Oooooof, non party days are busy! We eventually paused just outside Tony's and let the kids watch the last couple minutes of the parade since we once again didn't prioritize it this trip.





No sunscreen and that sun was BRUTAL so I threw the kids' hats on them and let them stand for only a few moments, not wanting them to burn.



As the parade concluded with Mr. & Mrs. Big Cheese waving us goodbye, we skedaddled to the buses where we hopped on an AoA bus and were back to our room by 3pm. It seems Mousekeeping had fun while making the bed!



In record time we were suited & sunscreened up, heading for their new favorite: the Cars pool.





After only a couple minutes of swimming I made the kids take a late lunch break (our first (shared) lunch was at 11:30am with only popcorn in between then and now (3:30) so we were all pretty hungry). I mobile ordered some sandwiches from the pool bar, which were okay but nothing special.


I have to hop off for now but hope to finish out the rest of this day & our travel day tomorrow!! Fingers crossed

 

[MamaMouse0920]

According to my notes we were only in the pool from about 3:20 to 4:20 and were kicked out thanks to lightning in the area. We returned to the room to wait out the rain, the kids resting & watching cartoons.

At some point the rain had slowed enough so we got dressed & made our way back into Magic Kingdom for the evening, entering the park around 6:45pm.






Poor Matt looks so troubled We had Lightning Lanes however all of the outdoor rides were still down thanks to the lingering lightning and for whatever reason, the crowds weren't dispersing like a longer-term storm typically would.



After moseying for a bit, we eventually decided on some food so I placed a mobile order for something we'd heard (not-so-great-things) about but had never tried so decided to give it a whirl to see if it's truly as bad as everyone says... Pinnocchio Village Haus. I mobile ordered a pepperoni flatbread with fries and went inside to wait for it and the place was insanely packed! I ended up waiting quite a while for this pizza to be ready (and I am in agreement that it's not 'good' but I also wasn't super grossed out by it or anything... so I'm not sure I necessarily agree with all the hate this place gets) but eventually brought it outside where Matt was waiting with the kids, protected under the stroller cover since the rain wasn't letting up. I'm not sure (now, months later) why but if I had to guess perhaps some combination of the rain, crowds, and being tired none of us were really feeling it so we agreed that we would do one more ride (we had an 'anytime' LL from Jungle Cruise being down) and the kids had their hearts set on Space Mountain so (to Matt's chagrin) that's where we headed.

When we were a couple feet away I realized in horror that the ride was down... cue the (exhausted, presumably) tears from DS5 We parked the stroller in the nearby covered stroller parking area to come up with Plan B when it opened back up! We couldn't believe our luck, we would walk right on and could save our anytime LL for another ride, woohoo! So we excitedly joined the standby line...

...only to realize that we were NOT lucky and the ride must have only been down briefly because we were greeted almost immediately upon entering the indoor portion that there was a long line of guests ahead of us. So yeah, that plan backfired.

We asked the kids if they wanted to bail, but they said no so we found our place in line.





We found ways to entertain ourselves while we waited, apparently being goofy was one of them:



When we approached the "how many?" CM, we told them 4 & the CM pulled DS5 aside to be measured. They asked him how old he was, he replied 5, and they said "OK, he needs to be seated in front of mom or dad. Got it. They sent us to seats 1-4 with DD7 in the front seat, DS5 behind her, and me behind him (Matt pulling up the rear in the rocket behind us). We're all seated and ready to go when a CM approaches DD7 (DD6 at the time, you'll remember) and asks how old she is. She says 6, and they made us all get out and shuffle because DD6 needs an adult behind her as well. I guess the first "how many?" CM thought she was older than she is (she is tall after all) and the CM who check your seatbelts decided he'd better ask... so we all clambered out of our rockets and were made to wait for several rockets to go by until they could seat us (which felt awkward and embarrassing and like we were being punished (I know this isn't the case) when the first CM is the one who told us to sit where we were seated.... anyway, I digress. It was strange but now we know! For now at least, we'll have to be 2 & 2, kid + adult in separate rockets. Oh well!





We were off the ride a little after 8pm and it was still storming so a lot of rides were still closed but again for whatever reason, the crowds were not quitting!

And so we stopped for some rainy PhotoPass pictures as we left Tomorrowland as we made our slow exit to the park.

 

[MamaMouse0920]

Super cute in my not so humble opinion!

As we continued our journey closer to the parks exit, we stopped at Casey's Corner for some of our all-time favorites: Corn Dog Nuggies w/ a cup o' plastic cheese. Yum! It was around 8:30pm by this point and we were allll feeling it. We took the nuggies 'to go' and I made a quick pit stop in the Confectionary to use up some remaining snack credits (bought various baked goods to bring home & freeze), and eventually dug into the nuggies while we waited for our bus to arrive.



I didn't make note of what time we made it to bed but I'm sure Matt and I stayed up a bit later than the kids in an attempt to get things organized for the flight home the next day I do remember him and I sharing one of the baked goods we got from Main Street Confectionary & remember that it was delicious! Some sort of peanut butter blondie type treat.

TOTAL STEPS: 21,445 (9.9 miles)

Up next: Friday, August 22nd (Day 10)

 

[wildviper]

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 DS6 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 mid/late 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 mom’s fridge for about a month and I had a heart attack every time I saw it- ha! It felt like Greys Anatomy when Izzie had the 9 million dollar check on their fridge for months. 4 day park hoppers doesn’t quite equal out to 9 million (yet) but it feels pretty close

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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

Hello, we also live in the Twin Cities suburbs. Just completed our 11th WDW vacation 12/13-12/23. I don’t post trip reports but I sure do live to read them. Thank you!