The Redemption Reunion Tour - Mar 2025 TR - NEW!

[SimplyGoofy]

The Redemption Reunion Tour
Spring Break Girls’ Trip

March 14-21, 2025

Our family enjoyed our first trip to Disney World in May 2024. It was the first time my girls visited a Disney park and my first time back to Disney World in eight years. (!)

Although we had tons of fun and did many things, there were several things we missed. Hearing that It’s Tough to Be a Bug, Dinosaur, and especially Muppets Courtyard (check out my avatar, folks!) were going away made me ache to return to the World before they disappeared.

A flurry of discussions later, my girls and I were booked for a spring break trip – hooray for our redemption trip! I was especially excited about the time frame as we practically melted last May (I don’t know how you folks visit Orlando in July or August!). As a bonus, we’d be there during the first few weeks of the Flower and Garden Festival (although it’s the only festival I’ve been to, it’s also my favorite – it’s so beautiful!).

My sister came along as our second adult as my husband was unable to join us due to work obligations. Anika was SUPER pumped to return to Disney World for the first time in ten years - I turned her into a Disney park fan in the mid 2010’s when she was my main travel companion during three trips together.

With Anika joining us, it was a reunion tour of the sister trips! In fact, it was a double sister’s trip since my girls were along for the ride.

Here we are in our iconic castle picture:

This is my daughter L (age 2), me, my daughter M (age 6), and Anika.

We’re so thrilled you’re here!

Up Next: Introductions and Trip Overview

 

[SimplyGoofy]

Table of Contents

Introductions and Trip Overview

Day 1 - Friday, March 14
Up and At 'Em!

 

[SimplyGoofy]

Introductions and Trip Overview

First up are the adults – me (Jenny) and my sister (Anika):

All about Jenny…

I’m lucky to be a stay-at-home mom to my two lovely girls. Along with Disney, I love cooking, watching YouTube, and reading (oh so many!) books.

Favorite Park: Magic Kingdom (but I love the vibe in Animal Kingdom)

Favorite Attractions: Tower of Terror, Cosmic Rewind, Soarin’, Haunted Mansion, and Carousel of Progress

Favorite Character: Goofy

Favorite Snacks: Disney popcorn, Cream Cheese Pretzel, Peanut Butter Cookie Pie, Kristoff Kaffe


All about Anika…

This was her first visit back to Disney World in ten years – her last visit was our two-week mega trip to celebrate her high school graduation in 2015. She’s all grown up, married, and works in a law office. She was super excited to be back in the Disney bubble!

Favorite Park: Magic Kingdom (with Epcot a close second)

Favorite Attractions: Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and Prince Charming’s Carousel (both at night), Cosmic Rewind, Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure, Flight of Passage, and Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway (RIP Great Movie Ride – which was her favorite)

Favorite Character: Anika doesn’t do characters.

Favorite Snacks: Peanut Butter Cookie Pie, Jack-Jack Cookie, Cream Cheese Pretzel, Cheshire Cat Tail, Bread Service from Sanaa


Our group was rounded out by my two daughters – L (age 2) and M (age 6):

All about M…

M caught the Disney bug on our first trip and was SUPER excited to return. Her favorites include cats, her sister, and watching movies.

Favorite Park: Animal Kingdom

Favorite Attractions: Slinky Dog Dash, Cosmic Rewind, Flight of Passage, Star Tours, Peoplemover

Favorite Character: Marie (if only you could meet her!) and Rapunzel

Favorite Snack: Lunch Box Tart, Cheshire Cat Tail, Disney popcorn


All about L…

L was more excited this time, likely due to being a year older. She was much more interested in attractions and much less scared of the characters.

Favorite Park: Probably Magic Kingdom (her favorite rides were there)

Favorite Attractions: Barnstormer, Peoplemover, Dumbo

Favorite Characters: Minnie Mouse, Donald and Daisy Duck

Favorite Snack: Disney Popcorn


Trip Details…

Dates: Originally March 14-19, 2025… which turned into March 14-21 during our trip. (Yay, foreshadowing! )

Resort: Art of Animation Resort in a Lion King Suite

Tickets: We had six-day base tickets as part of our Disney package.

Meals: We scaled back our character-palooza of our 2024 trip (we did 10 character meals on that trip!), but still pre-booked one ADR per day. We did a few walk-ups and same-day ADRs, some of which were our favorite meals of the trip!

Travel: We flew directly to Sanford Orlando Airport (the flight included no frills, but the direct flight was great!) and then had to rebook our return flight after some travel drama (back to that foreshadowing!).

Airport Transportation and Rentals: We used Cast and Crew Transportation for the second time to get from the airport to the resort and back. We also rented an additional stroller from them. I thought they were great the first time, but they are now my favorite vendor EVER after our travel kerfuffle. They’re awesome and I recommend them 200%!

Lightning Lanes: 100% yes. I like to do as much as possible and do not have the patience to wait in long lines. We purchased LLMP for each park day as well as LLSP for most attractions.

Extras: Just like our scaled-back dining, I booked fewer extra experiences than last time. I booked the Fireworks Dessert Party (it’s pricey but I LOVE the reserved viewing location!) and my parents purchased me a ticket for Magic Kingdom After-Hours (which I did solo while Auntie Anika stayed with the girls at the resort).

If you want more details about our plans, check out my pre-trip report.

Up Next: Travel Day

 

[SimplyGoofy]

Up and At ‘Em!
Day 1 – Friday, March 14

Our first day started bright and early… err, I guess, dark and early, at three o’clock in the morning.

Only vacation can get me to wake up that insane hour. A Disney vacation is an extra bonus!

Unfortunately, I hadn’t slept very well the night before. I went to bed fairly early but tossed and turned until after 11:00. I blame excitement (yay, Disney World!) and nerves (despite being well organized, I random worries would pop into my head).

I got showered and dressed and then got the girls up and dressed.

For the first time (ever!) I was packed and ready to go an entire day in advance. Other than a few last-minute things (charging cords, switching out my wallet, L’s nightlight sound machine, etc.), everything was in our suitcases or carry-on bags by Wednesday afternoon. I was so proud! All the suitcases and bags were lined up next to the door and ready to go.

G packed the suitcases and bags in the car while I buckled the kids in their car seats.

Anika arrived as we were filling the car and added her own suitcase. We were on our way to the airport just ten minutes after four o’clock. Not bad!

I’d created a fun Disney playlist for our short drive to the airport. It was easier to feel excited (and awake!) while listening to “Try Everything,” “When Can I See You Again,” and “Dig a Little Deeper.” Anika, and most importantly, M, approved of my song selections.

Twenty minutes later we arrived at the airport and said goodbye to my husband. It was nice of him to wake up early and drive us so we could avoid parking on the first day of spring break.

We made our way into the airport and checked our three suitcases. I’d purchased priority boarding which gave us the priority lane for bags as well, but the line wasn’t too bad at 4:30 in the morning. We encountered a bit of a line at security, but thanks to TSA Pre-Check we were through security in less than 20 minutes. There was a MUCH longer regular security line – hooray for Pre-Check!

One pre-trip stumbling block with Pre-Check was adding the KTN for Anika. I’d had Pre-Check for years so the kids and I were set, but I encouraged Anika to apply for Pre-Check as well so we could go through the shorter security line in Orlando. It took a while to get her number and then I had a heck of a time adding it to her Allegiant ticket. I called Allegiant and added the number… which never appeared on her travel profile for the trip. Thanks to YouTube I figured out how to add it myself about a week before our trip. One point for me, zero points for the Allegiant employee.

Even though I saw the number listed in her profile, I sighed in relief when I saw “TSA Pre-Check” stamped on her boarding pass. Whew.

We grabbed breakfast sandwiches for the adults and filled our water bottles before walking to the gate. I brought mini muffins for M and Pop Tart bites for L from home (not the best choice nutrition-wise, but a top choice for likely consumption) which they enjoyed once we were on the plane.

We were lined up to board at 5:20 thanks to our priority boarding status. We headed to our plane shortly thereafter:

Everything was extra on our “budget” airline, from the boarding to the bags to the seats. I’d purchased most of the extras (including early boarding and pre-selected seats) to make the flight 1000% more enjoyable with kids.

Despite the early hour, we had two happy girls excited to go to Disney World!

We pushed away from the gate ten minutes before our scheduled departure time and were soon in the air and on our way! Huzzah!

We ate breakfast and then I broke out play sand for the girls. Pixie Dusted Mom recommended a six-pack of play sand from the party section of Target – it was fantastic and kept the girls entertained for a long time. Once the sand lost its luster, the tablets came out and the girls watched downloaded movies and played games.

Anika and I were able to discuss park plans and must-try food from the Flower and Garden booths.

Before we knew it, we were descending into Orlando. It was so nice to have the direct flight! We even arrived 15 minutes early – hooray! I got the girls and their carry-ons off the plane while Anika waited for our gate-checked stroller.

Anika didn’t have to wait long for the stroller and the rest of us stopped for the bathroom. We made our way to baggage claim and had no trouble grabbing our three bags. I chose to check our suitcases as there was a whopping $4 difference between checking a bag and paying for a carry-on suitcase (thanks, budget airline!) – please take my additional $12 so the luggage is all yours!

We were on our way with our bags less than 30 minutes after we landed – I don’t think that’s possible at MCO!

We heard from Edwin, our Cast and Crew driver, while waiting for our bags. At Sanford Orlando Airport you walk out the doors by baggage claim and meet your driver outside. He found us easily, packed up the car, and we were on our way to Disney World!

While driving from Sanford Airport to Disney World, we passed over what Edwin called “Alligator Lake” (I’m not sure if it’s the real name, or a name created by Orlando residents?), which contains more than 13,000 alligators!

Yikes!

Anika commented that there must not be many recreational lily pads on that lake. I sure wouldn’t want to float on anything anywhere near that lake!

Our drive to our Disney resort took about an hour, but the time passed quickly. Thanks to our early day, both girls were out cold within 15 minutes. That allowed us to chat about lunch plans and I moved stuff between bags. I used our “park bag” backpack as my personal item as I could bring our diaper bag as an extra “free” bag since we had a toddler. I swapped items from the diaper bag into the backpack and we were all set!

M woke up in time to see this beautiful sight:

YAY! Hi, Mickey and Minnie! It was great to be back in Disney World.

Just a few minutes later, we saw another beautiful sight:

I was SUPER excited to stay at Art of Animation. I’d stayed at Pop Century several times and walked around AoA but had never stayed there. I thought it was a fun, visually appealing choice for two young kids and I thought the Skyliner would be awesome. I also liked that our suite would give us two bathrooms and separate bedrooms, which would also be great for Anika.

Edwin unloaded our bags and I paid him for our trip. I also got an additional single stroller (a Baby Jogger City Mini GT), which was waiting for us in the SUV.

If you’re looking for a car service, I HIGHLY recommend Cast and Crew Transportation. I heard about them on these boards and booked them again after our great experience in 2024. They’re quick to respond to booking requests (for this trip I had a response within 12 hours of my request!) and you enjoy a clean car and good communication from your driver. They also offer (very nice!) car seats and single and double rental strollers at reasonable rates.

I know a car service may not be necessary for everyone (and is a bit more expensive), but if you need dependable car seats and/or a rental stroller, Cast and Crew is excellent. Even my husband thought they were great – a rental car would’ve been cheaper for this trip, but he thought it was silly to deal with the hassle when we wouldn’t need the car for the parks. I was thrilled to book them again!

We said goodbye to Edwin and headed into the beautiful Art of Animation lobby:

I checked with the front desk about the status of our room – I’d done online check in but didn’t have a room number yet. Our assigned room wasn’t ready yet, but I asked if our assigned room matched my requests (I’d requested Building 6, higher floor, and a view of the lake). I’m guessing our original room did not meet those requests, as the CM confirmed my requests, clicked a few keys, and then told me she’d locked a room that matched those requests*. Thank you, wonderful CM!

*I know requests are not guaranteed, but this day showed me it never hurts to ask! You’ll see how awesome this CM was once you see our assigned room – I should’ve written down her name to give her a cast compliment!

Since our room was not ready, I took the girls to the bathroom to change them out of pants and into shorts for the Orlando weather. Anika did the same. I also outfitted both strollers with our park gear, such as hooks for our water bottles, stroller fans, and identification flags.

Here we are, ready to go!

Once we and the strollers were ready, I took our bags to bell services to hold them until we returned from the park. This whole process of talking with the front desk, changing clothes, and finalizing our bags took almost an hour – I swear this process used to be faster before kids.

We planned to grab lunch and then head to Epcot. I decided to go to Primo Piatto as it was along our route on the Skyliner – I’d heard such great things about that spot! We headed back through the lobby and across the resort for the Skyliner. Hi, Crush!

We had a very short wait at the AoA skyliner station and were quickly on our way. Both girls LOVED riding on the Skyliner. We managed to get on without too much struggle (we were pros navigating the strollers onto the Skyliner by the end of the trip!), but it was easier with the single strollers than needing to collapse and consolidate a double stroller.

I placed a mobile order at Primo Piatto while we traveled. It wasn’t long before we were walking past these beautiful murals:

Hello, Riviera!

Anika agreed that this resort is beautiful! I took almost no pictures except for two of the mural and our lunch location, but take my word for it.

We navigated the resort and found Primo Piatto. We purchased three refillable mugs, found a nice table, and it didn’t take long to get our food:

I ordered chicken tenders and French fries for M and filled her pink mug with lemonade:

I ordered the Turkey Sandwich Kid’s Pack for L, which included turkey and cheddar on wheat bread sandwich fingers with apple chips and grape tomatoes. I also ordered a croissant, which she tends to enjoy.

As I figured, L downed the croissant and then picked at portions of the sandwich (mostly the turkey and cheese) while M ate the tomatoes. M loved her chicken tenders and both girls enjoyed the fries.

Anika and I split the (semi-famous?) Grilled Chicken Sandwich, which has tomato spread, spinach and artichoke spread, and mozzarella on toasted Focaccia. We chose parmesan herb fries as our side:

Oh. My. Goodness. This sandwich and fries were AWESOME. I mean, look at the inside of this sandwich:

Primo Piatto deserves all the hype it receives. We LOVED our lunch and would return here anytime! It’s definitely an upscale quick-service experience.

Bellies full, it was time to head to our first park of the trip! Epcot, here we come!

Up Next: Epcot Fun