"There's a Man Pointing...And We Missed the Nighttime Parade!" A Feb. '17 TR *Completed 3/8*

[the2ndstar2theright]

"I will find my way; I can go the distance!
I'll be there someday, if I can be strong.
I know every mile will be worth my while.
I would go most anywhere to feel like I belong..."
​

Welcome, welcome, welcome, to the ramblings of yet another Disney fanatic! I'm just kidding (sort of), but, seriously, welcome to my TR! This trip was quite the whirlwind to say the very least, and I am so excited that you've come to read along as I relive this magical adventure!

And now, everyone please move all the way forward and fill in all the available space, because it's time to present...

"There's a Man Pointing...And We Missed the Nighttime Parade!"
​

Chapter Links
Introductions
Day 0
Day 1, Part 1
Day 1, Part 2
Day 2, Part 1
Day 2, Part 2
Day 2, Part 3
Day 2, Part 4
Day 2, Part 5
Day 3, Part 1
Day 3, Part 2
Day 3, Part 3
Day 3, Part 4
Day 3, Part 5
Day 3, Part 6
Day 3, Part 7
Day 3, Part 8
Day 4​

 

[the2ndstar2theright]

Introductions

First things first: who are we? I am so glad you asked! ​

Me, Lindsey


Hi there! That's me. I'm 18 and have been obsessed with all things Disney since I was a toddler. My first trip to WDW was in 2003, and this trip rounded out my total number to a big 10! Some of my favorites. . .
Favorite Character: Tinker Bell
Favorite Princess: Belle or Aurora
Favorite Park: Magic Kingdom
Favorite Ride: BTMRR
Favorite Show/Attraction: Fantasmic!
Favorite Movie: Lion King
Favorite Table Service: Be Our Guest
Favorite Counter Service: Wolf Gang Puck Express
Favorite Disney Snack: Mickey ice cream sandwich


My mom, Amy (2Monkeys here on the DIS)



I know, I know...we don't look anything alike! My mom is the original Disney-planner in the family, but she has trained me well! She went to WDW a few times as a kid, but her love for Disney has grown right along with mine. This trip made her total number a whopping 15! Some of her favorites. . .
Favorite Character: Sorcerer Mickey
Favorite Princess: Belle
Favorite Park: Magic Kingdom
Favorite Ride: BTMRR
Favorite Show/Attraction: Mickey's Philharmagic
Favorite Movie: Aladdin
Favorite Table Service: Kona Cafe
Favorite Counter Service: Wolf Gang Puck Express
Favorite Disney Snack: Auntie Gravity's coffee float

So, that's us! This trip was our third girls-only trip (yes, we left my dad and brother at home). Now, on with the show!
​

 

[Sarahh1027]

Yay for more Trip Reports!!!

 

[the2ndstar2theright]

Day 0
"Are we insane? ABSOLUTELY!"
​

Now for a little bit of background on this trip. My cousin and I have been planning to spend our graduation trip together in WDW for several years now. Any free time I had was consumed with planning that "graduation extravaganza", if you will. (You can follow along with that PTR [URL="http://www.disboards.com/threads/and-at-last-i-see-walt-disney-world-a-may-june-2017-ptr-update-2-6.3570237/"]HERE[/URL]). Then, in the midst of a stressful few weeks, Mom jokingly suggests "We should just go to Disney."

...Wait, what? This idea took hold in my Disney-obsessed brain, and I couldn't let it go. So I started looking at tickets and hotels in the Disney area for the weekend of my 18th birthday (LESS THAN ONE WEEK AWAY!) I showed Mom what I had found, I talked to my dad, etc., etc. Long story short, this "bat-crap crazy adventure" as my mom likes to call it, was born!

And now on to the actual "Day 0", a.k.a. The Day Before Disney Day!

Of course, Mom and I had to go to work and school the day before we left. Ew. But it was all worth it, because WE'RE GOING TO DISNEY WORLD! The major concern was "the plague" that seemed to be going through all of the schools in our area. Strep, flu, and the stomach bug seemed to be everywhere, and we were just praying that neither of us got sick before/during our trip.



I got home that afternoon and started making sure I had everything together. While I was packing, I alternated between listening to Disney music and watching Glee.



In the middle of my packing, I had to go pick my brother up from track practice. We got back to the house, and the packing continued. No lie, I tried on every outfit I was considering packing LOL.

I sent this to my best friend at some point during my packing-spree.



At this point, Mom and I still had not decided if we were going to upgrade our tickets for this summer to APs or just buy two-day passes for this weekend.

I painted my toenails purple and got ready to go to dance. I was in a really good mood throughout all my classes that night...I guess knowing that you're leaving for Disney the next day will do that? I got home around 10pm (yes, that is completely normal), ate something, showered, and crawled into bed, making sure to set my alarm. TOMORROW'S DISNEY DAY!!

 

[the2ndstar2theright]

Yay for more Trip Reports!!!

 

[Raeven]

Following along!

 

[the2ndstar2theright]

Following along!

Yay! Welcome, welcome!

 

[Britbrie]

I'm joining in!

 

[the2ndstar2theright]

Day 1: Thursday February 9, 2017
"I Am on My Way!"
​

At 6:40am CT, I awoke to this beauty:


AHHHH!!

I bolted out of bed and started getting ready. While Mom took my brother to school, I finished any last minute packing I had, double checking that I had everything on my packing list. When Mom got back, we made sandwiches for us to have for lunch and packed them in our cooler. While we were finishing up the packing, one of our fur babies decided that she was coming with us.



Smh. It's a good thing she's cute.

We loaded up the car and were soon ready to hit the road!


We were pulling out of our driveway at 8:40am CT, which was just ten minutes later than we had planned. Not too shabby!

As we drove, we continued The Great Ticket Debate: do we upgrade to APs or just buy 2-day tickets? The world may never know . . .JK, obviously we do make a decision at some point. Around 10:45, we stopped to get gas and use the restroom. But, when we went into the gas station, there was someone in the bathroom already (it was a single). No biggie, right? So we stand and wait for a couple of minutes. And then we realize that the water has been running the entire time we'd been standing there. . . And the water continued to run for several more minutes. . . Mom leans over to me and says "Is someone taking a shower in there?"

After a couple more minutes, we decided to move on and stop somewhere else. It wasn't long before we found another gas station to stop at. We went inside, and thankfully, the bathroom was one of the big one with multiple stalls. All of the locks said "vacant", so imagine my surprise when I could see feet in the stall next to me! Then, while I was washing my hands and waiting for Mom, TWO DIFFERENT PEOPLE walked in on the lady who had forgotten to lock her stall. Bless.

Soon, we were back on the road. We eventually did decide to just buy 2-day tickets through MDE. I bought the tickets on the app while we were driving, and we were very quickly able to book FP+. We talked through the different fast pass options, and SHOCKED when a 7DMT time popped up.

SCORE!!

We snatched that baby up and made the rest of our selections. I'll be honest though, I didn't write down what we got for when. Oops! We had about 3 hours left in our 9-hour drive when I turned on my Disney Spotify playlist (that is over six hours long). This, of course, made those last few hours go by much faster than the first six.

It was around 6:30pm DT (Disney Time) when we reached our hotel!

We were staying at the Hilton Double Tree that was literally right next to MCO. It was a little farther out than we normally would have liked, but we weren't complaining. Thanks to Mom's Hilton Honors points, we only paid $50 for all three nights! Who could pass that up?

We quickly unpacked and started looking at the GPS to figure out how to get to Disney Springs. When Mom pulled it up on her phone, it said it would take us 6 hours and 11 minutes to get to DS.

WHAT!?!?

Well, after a few minutes, we realized that Mom had her GPS set to "Walk" not "Drive." Bless.

Once all the settings were correct, the GPS said it would take us 25 minutes to get to DS. Much better.

*Up Next*: a night in Disney Springs!

 

[the2ndstar2theright]

I'm joining in!

 

[tinkerbell1991]

Following x

 

[missangelalexis]

Joining in! Sounds like it was a smooth drive to Disney. Can't wait to read more!

 

[the2ndstar2theright]

Following x

Joining in! Sounds like it was a smooth drive to Disney. Can't wait to read more!

Thankfully, it was. It's been almost five years since we've driven to Disney, so we weren't sure how it was going to go. It really wasn't too bad, though!

 

[the2ndstar2theright]

Day 1: February 9, 2017
"Is This Really Disney Springs?"
​

We arrived at DS around 7:25pm. Now, keep in mind that it's been YEARS since we've driven to WDW or driven anywhere on Disney property. So the parking at DS was just a little confusing for us. But, we eventually figured it out, and we found a spot in the Orange Garage.

As we walked from the parking garage over to the Marketplace side of things, we couldn't help but notice how different everything looked! It had been just a little over a year since we'd been in DS, but the amount of changes that had been made were insane!

We had to look at a map once or twice, but we did finally reach our destination:


This has been mine and Mom's favorite CS for as long as I can remember. So it was obvious that this is where we would eat on our one night in DS. We decided to get the BBQ chicken pizza and the chicken Caesar salad and share both of them.





As usual, everything was delicious! We got a box for the rest of the pizza before heading off to wander through some stores. We walked through Mickey's Pantry first, and I had to restrain myself from buying a (or several) coffee mugs. They're just so cute! That is definitely on my souvenir list for this summer.

As we left the store and continued our wandering, there were cheerleaders everywhere! We had realized in the midst of our whirlwind planning that high school cheerleading nationals were February 11 and 12, so we knew we were likely to see some teams. But my goodness! I guess I just didn't realize how many competitive high school cheerleading squads there were!

We walked through World of Disney next. I was honestly quite proud of myself for not buying anything (though this wouldn't last). We decided to head back to the hotel at this point, so that we would be well-rested for our first park day tomorrow. We stopped at Sprinkles along the way to get a dessert to-go.

I got a red velvet cupcake, and Mom got a peanut butter pretzel chip cookie (pictures to come). We also got a bottle of milk to share.

We made our way back to the car and out of the parking garage. We did get a little lost on the way back, because we didn't realize that there was more than one airport in the area. But we made it back, and it was all fine. It was around 10:25pm when we got back to our room. We quickly showered and ate our desserts.

My cupcake


Mom's cookie



Please excuse the crappy iPhone pictures. Both of our desserts were really yummy! I finished my cupcake, but Mom only ate half of her cookie.

We were in bed around 11:30pm, but the atrium right outside our room was still hopping with noise and activity. Mom turned on the TV to try and drown it out. It didn't bother me much, though, and I was soon out like a light.

 

[krysenchips]

Following along! So far a fun start to your trip!
Weird about the restroom at the first gas station though... maybe someone just left the sink running???

 

[the2ndstar2theright]

Following along! So far a fun start to your trip!
Weird about the restroom at the first gas station though... maybe someone just left the sink running???

I had that thought too, but the door was locked when we tried the handle...who knows?

 

[the2ndstar2theright]

Day 2: February 10, 2017
"Bob's Barricades"
​

Since we knew we would have a really long day tomorrow, we had decided to sleep in a little today. Our alarm went off at 9am, but it took us a little bit to get up and moving. We both had instant coffee (the Starbucks kind that you just add hot water to) for breakfast, and Mom finished her cookie from last night.

As we got ready, we discovered that the power outlet in our bathroom didn't work. Thankfully, there was a mirror and outlet by the beds and TV that we were able to use to finish getting ready. I got our Magic Bands out and made sure Mom knew which color band was for what (pre-booked FPs or day-of). Because I'm the one who keeps track of it all, Mom said she was going to call me the "Magic Band Coordinator". She's hilarious, I know.

On our way out, we stopped by the desk to get an extra room key and report the outlet outage. Everyone was very friendly, and soon we were out the door! It was about 10:50am when we left the hotel, which was a little later than we had hoped for, but not too bad. Today was our more laid back day, anyway, so we weren't worried.

We had to stop and get gas on our way, but before long we spotted this beautiful thing:



AHHHHHH!!! *Sigh* It makes me so happy to even see a picture of it. As we continued our drive, we had to drive through some of the road construction. When there's construction, there's usually those bright orange cones. No biggie. Except that Mom started giggling when she saw these particular cones:


For whatever reason, she found these "Bob's Barricades" stickers to be hilarious. Bless. I was laughing right along with her when we saw people whose GPS had clearly not been informed of the construction. There were several cars who didn't turn when they should have and ended up drive right over the patches of concrete and through Bob's cones to get back on the road!

We arrived at DHS around 11:40am, and parked in the Music section on Row 49. We had planned to walk, but a tram pulled up right about then, so we hopped on.



It didn't take us long to go through bag check and the touch stiles. As soon as we were inside the park, I had an idiotic smile on my face. It pretty much didn't go away for the rest of the weekend.

We had planned to stop at Guest Services to get my birthday button, but the line over there was crazy! Thankfully, there was a CM standing near the entrance with celebration buttons in his apron pockets. Birthday button in hand, we were on our way!

We stopped and had a PP photographer take our picture with Mom's phone (we didn't get Memory Maker for this weekend).



We continued on our way toward Muppet Courtyard. We stopped at the FP+ kiosks over there to get some day-of FPs. The only thing I have written down is that we got a TSMM for 3:40pm.

We had decided the night before that we wanted to eat at Pizzerizzo for lunch. Normally we don't love DHS food, so this was a pleasant surprise! I got cheese, and Mom got pepperoni.





Everything was really good! I am definitely putting it on my places-to-eat list for this summer!

After we finished eating, we stopped for quick bathroom break before heading toward Sunset Boulevard. We had a beast to see!

 

[2Monkeys]

You forgot to mention our mishap on the way to Disney Springs. Because we usually stay onsite and are not used to navigating the roads around Orlando (they are like spaghetti, really), we very, very ACCIDENTALLY passed a toll booth on 528 without paying! I was a nervous wreck! All of the signs said there was a $100 fine for not paying a toll - that would totally blow our weekend budget!

Back at the hotel that night, I googled 'accidentally running toll booth' and discovered that we could send the toll payment via mail within 10 days and avoid the fine. Whew! THE MINUTE we got home, I wrote a check for $2.25 and mailed to the toll road people with all of our information. Crisis averted!

 

[amberdc1987]

Here for the trip! Can't wait to read more.

You forgot to mention our mishap on the way to Disney Springs. Because we usually stay onsite and are not used to navigating the roads around Orlando (they are like spaghetti, really), we very, very ACCIDENTALLY passed a toll booth on 528 without paying! I was a nervous wreck! All of the signs said there was a $100 fine for not paying a toll - that would totally blow our weekend budget!

Back at the hotel that night, I googled 'accidentally running toll booth' and discovered that we could send the toll payment via mail within 10 days and avoid the fine. Whew! THE MINUTE we got home, I wrote a check for $2.25 and mailed to the toll road people with all of our information. Crisis averted!

Wow! That sounds like something I would do. I never knew you could do that. That's good to know.

 

[2Monkeys]

Wow! That sounds like something I would do. I never knew you could do that. That's good to know.

It made me laugh when I read something like "if you realize you are in the wrong lane, do not stop or back up." Never even crossed my mind! I am quite sure it happens fairly often bc the place we missed it only had one lane where you could pay, and it was like an exit with a concrete median!