Trip Report ANOTHER LIVE TR: Your favorite lesbians are going back...for a day trip??

Greetings fellow Disney-obsessed travelers! Yes, M and I just returned from a 5-night stay at CSR last month, but we are already in the early stages of planning our next trip! This time it's looking like it will work out to be a day trip, but there's a possibility of turning it into a one-night stay.

You may be thinking, "But B, you live in NEW JERSEY! How are you going to take a DAY TRIP to Disney???"

I'm glad you asked. You may recall from our previous reports that M and I both grew up in Florida. She was born and raised there and I lived there for 18 years. M's parents still live in Florida, about a 2.5 hour drive away from the Mouse. As it turns out, our work schedules will almost definitely (*fingers crossed!*) allow us to visit them for Thanksgiving! And what's a weekend trip to Florida without at least a day at WDW??

The Cast

Me (B)
  • Mid-20s
  • Opera/classical singer and voice/piano teacher
  • MDE avatar: Snow White
  • Favorite Disney movie: Mulan
  • Favorite park: Epcot
  • Favorite rides: Test Track, Vegetable Boat Ride (aka Living with the Land), Teacups, RIP Maelstrom
DW (M)
  • Mid-20s
  • Fiction writer and academic administrator
  • MDE avatar: Elsa
  • Favorite Disney movie: Frozen or Mulan
  • Favorite park: Epcot
  • Favorite rides: Vegetable Boat Ride, RIP Maelstrom
The Plans

Wednesday, 11/25
Afternoon/evening (depending on if M gets off early or not. I'm off this day): Take either a bus or a train from New York to Philadelphia. See below to provide help with this if you're willing and able.
Night: Stay at the Wyndham Garden Hotel Phildelphia Airport

Thursday, 11/26
4:00 am: Wake up, throw on clothes, drag ourselves and our luggage down to the complimentary airport shuttle
6:35am: Flight with one stop (with no plane change)
11:10am: Land Jacksonville, get picked up by someone in M's family
Afternoon: Eat Thanksgiving lunch! We always do a late lunch instead of dinner. It's become tradition to have veggie lasagna since M and I are vegetarians and her family is Italian. Yay!
Evening: Sit around in food comas

Friday, 11/27
Morning: Might be a Disney day. We'd leave around 5:00 to make rope drop somewhere.
Night: Maybe we'll stay somewhere cheap offsite (we have APs so parking fees aren't an issue), or maybe we'll head back to M's parents' house

Saturday, 11/28
Morning: Either we'll already be in Orlando/LBV from staying the night before or we'll make this our day trip day.
Night: Drive back to M's parents' house

Sunday, 11/29
3:30 am: Leave the house for JAX
6:00 am: Direct flight to Newark
8:22am: Land and take an Uber home. Probably take a nap. Go back to the real world :(

Here's where I need your help:
  • Any advice on crowd levels and general craziness on the day after Thanksgiving v. the Saturday after? In 2013 we were in both MK and Epcot the day after; MK was miserably crowded and Epcot was nearly empty. We've never been the Saturday after.
  • People who have experience traveling between Philly and NYC: I know this isn't specifically Disney related, but do you prefer NJ Transit, Megabus, Amtrak, or something else to get between the two? Any info on fares (Megabus seems to be the cheapest option), travel time, reliability, comfort, etc., would be appreciated.
About the title: I hope we're not actually your favorite lesbians, or even close. I hope you have many wonderful lesbians friends in real life.
 
Last edited:
Click to expand...
bee

bee

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I just sang in the competition. I was last so now the judges are deliberating. I sang well but who knows what the judges were looking for and what kind of singers they'll pick to advance to the next round. Either way, I get to go to DISNEY WORLD LATER TODAY!!!!!

There was also some drama with forgotten items...more on that later.

I can't wait to have a BEER.
 
bee

bee

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I didn't win anything, BUT I AM GOING TO DISNEY WORLD!!!!!!!!!!!

A nice audience member told me he gave me two stars and if he were a judge I would have won. So sweet. Now I get to wait to hear feedback from the judges.

The dramma from earlier (spelling it the Italian way because OPERA) is that I left my wallet at my in laws house in Jacksonville and didn't realize it until we got to the competition venue. UGH!!!! I have the best wife and best family bc M drove UP to Daytona and her parents drove DOWN to Daytona to meet in the middle and retrieve it for me.
 
Tony the Tigger

Tony the Tigger

Well-Known Member
b33b33 said:
I just sang in the competition. I was last so now the judges are deliberating. I sang well but who knows what the judges were looking for and what kind of singers they'll pick to advance to the next round. Either way, I get to go to DISNEY WORLD LATER TODAY!!!!!

There was also some drama with forgotten items...more on that later.

I can't wait to have a BEER.
Click to expand...

Congrats on your good performance – hope it goes well. Speaking of forgetting things, we left our extra pillows at Pop Century. Would you mind picking them up? J/k
 
bee

bee

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
We had an early night in last night and slept in until after 9. Now we are sharing a pastry in the AoA food court. Next will be a few hours in Epcot and then DHS for FPs.

LOVE the theming here at AoA. The common areas, though bright and colorful, feel more upscale than at Pop. I don't know if the room actually IS bigger or if the layout just makes it seem that way, but it feels just a bit nicer than Pop. I don't know that I would stay here again when the price is so much more than Pop, but I'm glad we got the chance this weekend!
 
bee

bee

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
We haven't had the best bus luck so far on this trip. First the DME, and we just waited about 15-20 minutes for an Epcot bus. I know that's what it's supposed to be but we usually get the 5 minute or less waits. But we are on the bus to Epcot and got seats so no complaints here!!
 
catmom46

catmom46

Well-Known Member
b33b33 said:
We haven't had the best bus luck so far on this trip. First the DME, and we just waited about 15-20 minutes for an Epcot bus. I know that's what it's supposed to be but we usually get the 5 minute or less waits. But we are on the bus to Epcot and got seats so no complaints here!!
Click to expand...

You've definitely been lucky to get 5 min or less waits. I think maybe that happened once or twice on our trip last July.
 
bee

bee

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
image.jpeg
image.jpeg

Quiches florentines and a chai latte with Bailey's. We rode Veg Boat Ride and had our quiches and then took the walkway to HS. Rode Star Tours with FP and now having a latte before our Little Mermaid FP.
 
Tony the Tigger

Tony the Tigger

Well-Known Member
I agree with your assessment of Pop vs. AoA although I just stayed at Pop for the first time last week and only walked over to AoA and went to the food court. The outside theming is way better, food court is a little bigger. I think I read the rooms are the same size. Never understood why the AoA is so much more expensive - very often when I have searched, moderates were cheaper.
 
Tuvalu

Tuvalu

Premium Member
Tony the Tigger said:
Never understood why the AoA is so much more expensive - very often when I have searched, moderates were cheaper.
Click to expand...
Remember that AoA has family suites (sleeps 6 with 2 full bathrooms) with kitchenettes, not exactly comparable to a moderate (and therefore more expensive.)

A standard size room (Little Mermaid section) at AoA is the same size as a Pop room, but costs more since it is newer and the demand is higher.
 
bee

bee

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Catching up on yesterday...

We did the Little Mermaid show at DHS. Sillier than I remember. Then we rode Toy Story for the first time ever. It was fun but I don't really get the hype unless you're a kid who is too small/afraid to ride ToT or RnR.

After TSMM we went back to the room for a bit to rest and change for dinner at Morimoto Asia!!

Disney Springs was a MESS. It's always been crowded whenever visted but never THAT crowded. I'm guessing most of the crowds this weekend are locals doing a long weekend and a lot of locals go to DS. Buuuuuuuut MA was amazing and we'll definitely be back!!

image.jpeg
image.jpeg
image.jpeg
image.jpeg
image.jpeg

From top to bottom: outside sign, sangria (side note: when they say the sangria carafe is for 3-4 people, they mean it!), dumpling basket, veggie and tofu medley, and veggie pad Thai. Yummmmm!
 
bee

bee

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
So I managed to pack my phone in my carry on bag and leave said bag with luggage services today and I was without my phone all day in the park. Not that I needed it but M and I had to make sure we didn't get separated. I also didn't get to take pictures like I wanted to. But that's ok!

We slept in until almost 9 and then headed to Epcot around 10:30 after sharing a veg omelet in the food court. At Epcot we had FPs for Figment, SSE (didn't use), and TT. M got an email that TT was down so we got an extra FP (used for LWTL) but we were still able to ride TT. We had Chianti and cheese and olives at Tutto Gusto and just barely made a bus back to AoA in time to catch DME.

There was an issue with overbooking our DME bus so we had to wait at Pop an extra 10-15 minutes so they could work it out. The ride to the airport was uneventful. Security is always a nightmare at MCO. Seriously, the worst wait times I've ever experienced have been there. Ugh. But now we're sitting in the gate area waiting to board.
 

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

Back
Top Bottom