Trip Report A Trip to Trump the Others

Hello everyone! This is my first trip report, or first thread for that matter.... But I'm very excited to share my experiences with you and become a part of the WDW Magic Community:D
So first things first, here's my introduction!
Who? Myself (Hannah), my best friend (Lane), my drum major (Blaklely), a friend (Michael), and our two chaperones, Claire and Richard.
When? April 2-4
Why? A band trip! We actually got to march in EPCOT

Now that that's out of the way, I believe I can officially start my trip report!
 
Click to expand...
Hannah99

Hannah99

Member
Original Poster



April 1, 2015 AKA the Longest Day of my Life
Today started like any other normal day, I had woken up at 5:45 and gotten ready for school. But the atmosphere felt so much different. I would be leaving for Disney World at 8:00 tonight, and it couldn't come any sooner! I had been packed for a week, maybe more, and still managed to trip over my big green suitcase every day when I left my room. April Fools Day is a blur to me now, I wasn't tricked by anything! (Except for the name change of Cinderella's Castle to Elsa's Castle, I really got fired up! Imagine all the looks I got after squealing For joy during a test when I found out it was a gag!)
Anyways, let's flash forward to 6:15 Wednesday evening. I got my nails done to fit the Disney theme while my brother was at karate. (Aren't they cute?)
image.jpg
My next stop was at Subway for dinner, which I would bring with me on the bus. At about 7:30, I arrived at my school ready to go and about to burst at the seams from excitement! ...But our departure time had changed to 9:00. There's not much to do at a school for an hour and a half, but I managed. And soon enough I was aboard Bus 1, leaving sweet home Alabama for the Sunny State!
Our 7 hour bus ride ended up being a 10 1/2 hour bus ride because of SIX REST STOPS. Most of which nobody got out for. On the bright side we arrived at the All-Star Sports Resort at 7:01 AM Thursday morning, with everyone ready to get into the parks! We all received our tickets, divided into our groups for the next couple of days, ate breakfast, then were free to go! Hooray! Next stop... Hollywood Studios
image.jpg

image.jpg
image.jpg
 

Attachments

  • image.jpg
    image.jpg
    84.1 KB · Views: 35
Last edited:
Hannah99

Hannah99

Member
Original Poster
April 2, 2015 The Adventure Begins!
We made it to Hollywood Studios around 9:15, so as soon as my group made it through the gates there was a beeline for the Rockin' Roller Coaster! The wait time was posted at 35 minutes, but oh man was that off!
image.jpg
image.jpg

While we waited, one of our chaperones (Ms. Claire) received a text that one of the boys had left his park ticket and over $300 on the bus that carried out band to Orlando... Which wouldn't be back until the next morning. I believe he did end up buying a new ticket, and later refunded when he found the original ticket, but still. HOW IN THE WORLD DO YOU DO THAT DESPITE ALL OF THE WARNINGS TO REMEMBER YOUR TICKET! I digress... We had boarded the super stretch limo about an hour and a half later, then went next door to ride the Tower of Terror. I think Lane, who has ridden TOT at least 5 times prior to this trip was the most scared, but it was hilarious. She started screaming as soon as the elevator doors shut. Once we got off, she was perfectly fine and was laughing so I guess she was alright.
image.jpg
image.jpg

We then went to the Backlot Express for a quick lunch and to fill up our water bottles before going on Star Tours! Hey there C3-PO
image.jpg

We also knew that the Cinderella Carriage (from the new movie) was around so we went looking for that. We did eventually find it, because of the horribly long line for a picture! So I snapped a quick picture, then we were on our way to The Great Movie Ride! This is normally one of my all-time favorites, but our host was a bit too cheesy and it became nap time for 4/6 of our group. Lane and I stayed awake, maybe because we were so close to the speakers and the front. Nevertheless, it was a nice break for our feet!
IMG_4979.JPG

IMG_4981.JPG


After that, we had finished up at Hollywood Studios for the day and went back to All Star Sports to check in and unpack. Sadly, the travel agents would not give Lane and me our room keys and said that everyone had to be present (we were rooming with two other girls in the band to lower the price), but we did hang out with Blakely and Ms. Claire in their room for a while then checked back for our keys. When we had made our way back, the the other two girls had already gotten their room keys (which was very frustrating to me), but Lane and I did end up getting the bed we wanted. We dumped our "carry-ons" and park bags, then it was another hour wait for luggage to arrive. I did get a couple ofpictures while we waited, but the quality is not great. I apologize.
IMG_5091.JPG

IMG_5205.JPG

That's it for now! I hope to post the second half of our day sometime tomorrow morning!
 
Hannah99

Hannah99

Member
Original Poster
So I lied a little. I'm going to post part 2 now, since I have some free time! Enjoy:D
Our group had finally made it to Magic Kingdom, my favorite park ever, and arrived just in time for our 6:25 FastPass on Haunted Mansion. It was tons of fun, and it was the first time that the Mansion had not broken down while I was on it... Hooray!
image.jpg


image.jpg


We then crossed over into Fantasyland and went on Under The Sea-Journey of the Little Mermaid. Throughout which I was singing, since TLM is my favorite movie! Mr Richard would laugh because he could hear me from the next clam over *insert nervous laugh here*
image.jpg

We stopped at Pinnochio Village Haus for dinner, and I had a kid pepperoni pizza, which was just perfect. However, everyone else in the group, with an adult size meal, complained of their pizzas being too cheesy... I don't know if this is normal or if it our/their wasn't up to quality, but it felt good in our bellies! Next we used our group FP+ for its a small world, and saw the time change on the clock (I love when that happens!)
After our ride on the happiest cruise that ever sailed, Blakely met up with an old friend who works with Disney. We all went on BTMRR (with a group of 8, another boy had joined us after dinner and then went back with his original group the following day). It seemed like a longer wait than normal, but Lane and I did get a picture of our matching bows!
image.jpg


image.jpg

We went to Pirates of the Caribbean, but realizing we didn't have enough Fast Passes, Blakely's friend got an anytime pass for POTC for 8 and an anywhere/anytime FastPass for 8. Who can guess what we used that for?
If you guess Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, then you are correct! That FastPass turned a 60 minute StandBye into a 5 minute FastPass (hooray!):joyfull:
Then we went to Stitch's Great Escape, one of my favorites despite the fact that it scares me every time... Except this time. Maybe all the effects weren't running? This was followed by Monsters Inc Laugh Floor, to make the bad memories go away. Poor Michael was almost in tears before Stitch started! :confused:
image.jpg

Lane ended up on screen (Konnitiwa from Alabama, home of the Eiffel Tower), which was a huge deal since this is her favorite attraction. Also, one of the jokes that she texted in, and two of the jokes that I texted in were used in the show! Pretty successful eh?
We finished up the evening by riding Space Mountain, and if you were counting that's 5 total Fast Passes used in one day (HM, IASW,POTC, SM were pre registered, but we had to get more for POTC, and one for SDMT from a Cast Member), followed by ice cream at the Plaza.
image.jpg

We said our goodbyes to Blakely's friend, and then made the long walk to the busses. We were all so tired on the ride back, I think I may have even fallen asleep while standing on the ride back... Whoops. But, we did make it back to the hotel in time for curfew, which was 1AM and we arrived at 12:40 AM.... I took a quick picture of one of the outdoor statues and somehow managed to stay awake for room checks at 1:30, but after that, I was dead to the world.
image.jpg
 
Hannah99

Hannah99

Member
Original Poster
Thank you all for the wonderful comments! I am super excited for this post because it gives you a little hint about backstage EPCOT. Of course there are no pictures, and I didn't learn anything top secret... But it was still REALLY cool!

April 3 2015 The Day I Was an Honorary Cast Member!
Our whole band had to report to the busses by 8:00 AM, with everything we would need to march and for use later in the parks. However, there are irresponsible people who left shoes (both marching and tennis shoes), cell phones, wallets, etc. in their hotel room. I can't tell you how many band kids I saw after the parade wearing black knee highs and marching shoes once the parade was over...:facepalm:

Anyways, we went into backstage EPCOT which is located off a road called (wait for it) Backstage Drive. Our bags were checked and then we were behind the park! I saw a casual looking Tink, but I bet she was much warmer in sweats than her normal little green dress. While in the bus, I also saw different signs for last year's F&W Festival and the globe used in IllumiNations (there are two in case of emergencies). Our band entered the park from a gate in backstage UK, did you know there is a "shadow" of Peter Pan on one of the London buildings? We took a half lap around the World Showcase, then exited by Journey Into Imagination with Figment. We were treated with special mouse ears, which I can't find a picture of right now, a very nice looking trophy, and a few fun facts about Epcot.

The only ones I can remember at the moment are that the ball/Spaceship Earth weighs 16 million pounds and is actually two balls (an outer layer that we see, and a smooth inner layer).

Our band then changed into normal clothes then entered the park through Italy, and separated into groups. Since it was the Flower and Garden Festival, I tried to get a few pictures of the topiaries, but none turned out... We then made our way up to Mexico and I rode the Gran Fiesta Tour for the first time. It was very cute, at least to me since Donald Duck is one of my favorite characters.

image.jpg

After that we had a quick lunch at Electric Umbrella, then went on to ride Mission SPACE green and Test Track single rider to reduce wait time. Our group went to check out the wait times for Living with the Land and Soarin, but both were over an hour so we decided to head over to The Seas With Nemo and Friends. The line was fairly short, but as soon as it was our turn to board... It shut down. We decided to stick it out, and as soon as we all got comfortable and seated on the floor, it began to work again!

image.jpg

Spaceship Earth was next, and I somehow managed to step in gum (Disney does not sell gum for a reason, if you choose to bring your own please discard of it properly, I'm sure the next trashcan is within thirty steps):grumpy: It was nap time again, for the same four people who fell asleep on the Great Movie Ride. And once again, my picture taken on the ride was severely botched (half my face was gone)!:hilarious:

image.jpg


We then ran over to Ellen's Energy Adventure, but after realizing it was a 45 minute attraction, we decided it wasn't worth it. However, I did get a couple of pictures along the way!
image.jpg


image.jpg


Since we had wrapped up at Epcot, we then boarded the monorail for Magic Kingdom which proved to be a great ride of its own...:rolleyes:
 
Last edited:
LisaBelle

LisaBelle

Well-Known Member
I am really enjoying your TR! I was in the marching band during high school and college. My High school band went to Florida and got to spend a day at MK, but we didn't get to march at or stay at Disney. Your stories about people being irresponsible despite all the reminders of what to bring brought back lots of memories. One boy forgot his UNIFORM when we were on our way to our state competition!!
Love the nails and your matching Minnie bows! Looks like you all had a blast. I am looking forward to reading more.
 
Hannah99

Hannah99

Member
Original Poster
LisaBelle said:
I am really enjoying your TR! I was in the marching band during high school and college. My High school band went to Florida and got to spend a day at MK, but we didn't get to march at or stay at Disney. Your stories about people being irresponsible despite all the reminders of what to bring brought back lots of memories. One boy forgot his UNIFORM when we were on our way to our state competition!!
Love the nails and your matching Minnie bows! Looks like you all had a blast. I am looking forward to reading more.
Click to expand...
That's so funny! We had a girl forget her instrument earlier this season for a parade, and man I'm glad I wasn't her! I'm glad you like the TR so far, I plan to upload more as soon as I get the chance, but right now I've been crazy busy!
 

Register on WDWMAGIC. This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.

Back
Top Bottom