Trip Report Let's go to Disney! ... in 12 Days! A Trip Report

I'm home. I'm sad. And I'm not ready to be back in the real world. So, I guess I'll write a Trip Report!

Since this is my first adventure in trip reporting, I'll introduce myself a bit. If you read my pre-trip report you might know a little about me and this whirlwind trip. If you didn't here are the basics!

My name is Kaitlyn, I'm 23 years old, and I'm from Massachusetts. Ever since I was little I have been obsessed with all things Disney. My family used to go on Disney vacations quite frequently when I was a kid because my dad would win trips at work and he would always choose to go to Disney because he's a big kid at heart. I made it back to WDW in Jan 2016 with my boyfriend, Cody, for my first trip as an adult and I decided that I needed to go back as often as I could because it's even more amazing than 14 year old me remembered it to be. Cody was not as convinced but I think that I am slowly teaching him to be a Disney nut

Now to the trip.

The Basics
Who: Me (23), Cody (23), and Cody's whole family -- Mom, Dad, and 2 sisters B (25) +A (17)
When: Feb. 23-26
Why: Celebration of A's upcoming High School Graduation and a final family trip before B's wedding in August

Here's a photo of the group of us loving life at Magic Kingdom (and being blinded by the deceivingly bright sun).

L-R: Mom, Dad, A, Cody, Me, B

When I say that this trip was a whirlwind, I mean it. That might even be an understatement.

I received a phone call from Cody's mom about 2 weeks ago telling me that she wanted to go to Disney because A has been begging to go (she doesn't remember any of their previous family trips because she was so young the last time they all went and she really wanted to go on a family vacation before the big changes their family is seeing this year. I was SO excited for multiple reasons: 1) I love Disney 2) I have never been invited on a vacation with Cody's family and it was really nice to be invited. Then she told me the dates of the trip and I realized that I had less then 2 weeks to plan a trip for 6 people, during February vacation week and Princess Marathon weekend. And to complicate matters further, I realized that I had a work commitment on 2/26 that I couldn't miss and would need to leave a day early. I thought that I would need to turn down the invite.

My heart broke a little.

But we made it work! We arranged flights that allowed me to leave the night before the rest of the family and they got some time just the 5 of them. It ended up working out really well.

Up Next: Adventure is out there!

 

[kaitertot5249]

Hopefully my photo issues are at least partially resolved and I can get back to the regularly scheduled (but still quite delayed) programming

STORY TIME: As I mentioned previously, arranging for this date night was a tricky situation. Cody's mom was flying in tonight and I was leaving the following evening before everyone else so she and I would not have any nights in the parks together. This typically wouldn't have been an issue but since the announcement about Wishes coming to an end was made just a few weeks before I was determined to see it one last time. Wishes is (was ) the highlight of every Disney trip that I can remember and I was so devastated to hear that it was going away forever. When I found out that we were going be back before the show officially ended, I was ecstatic. Literally, I cried. But as we were discussing the logistics and daily plans for this trip, it became clear that Cody's mom and I were going to be at odds when it came to one thing: our Magic Kingdom night. She, understandably, did not want to miss out on anything "big" in the days before she arrived (which, mind you, was half of the trip ) and Magic Kingdom is her favorite park so she wanted everyone to experience it together especially since A did not remember her last Disney trip and her mom wanted to see her face when she saw the castle for the first time. Which I TOTALLY get. But when Cody and I initially suggested that we split off from the group and head to MK the night she was set to arrive so I could see Wishes we were not anticipating her to cry. And she did. I was shocked and, to be honest, I didn't know what to do. But seeing Wishes one more time was so important to me so I asked Cody to try and talk to his mom a little without me around. So in the end it worked out but it was stressful and I did feel bad making a big request like this on a trip that they invited me on (and paid for....) but, Wishes. I probably sound like a spoiled brat

Anyways, back to our date night.

After waiting for our boat for about 15 minutes we were finally headed to the Magic Kingdom Taking a smaller resort boat was a first for me and i was probably a little too excited (I think the strong Trader Sam's drinks added to my excitement a little). We were on a full boat and sat next to a woman who was by herself. We chatted with her a bit, she had run the Princess Half Marathon earlier in the day had taken a nap in her hotel before meeting up with her husband and 2 year old son back in the park. She said that she had run the Princess every year since it's inception, even running 4 months after giving birth to her son I can't run ever so I gave her major props.

We arrived and I was so excited. Magic Kingdom at night is the best. I'm so happy that we were able to fit it despite all the drama.

Look at this beauty.

Up next: Will we make it to Wishes?!

 

[blreinsel]

Pictures are good now!

 

[kaitertot5249]

Pictures are good now!

Oh good!

 

[kaitertot5249]

After arriving at Magic Kingdom we had some time to explore before finding a spot for Wishes. Since Wishes was the main purpose of our date night we NEEDED to make it back to Main Street to see my favorite nighttime show before it left the Magic Kingdom for the foreseeable future (I'm holding out hope for a 50th revival show... )

We had about 2 and a half hours before Wishes started so we had some time to wander the Kingdom. I had managed to snag a FP+ for Space Mountain earlier in the day so that's where we headed.

I'm a big fan of Tomorrowland at night, well to be fair I'm a fan of all of the Magic Kingdom at night, so I love just spending time taking in all of the lights and sounds. One of the clearest memories that I have of Disney as a kid is from a trip that I took with my cousins when I was about 9 years old. I remember standing on the bridge between the hub (was it called the hub in 2003?) and Tomorrowland, playing with my Buzz Lightyear light up spinning toy and waiting for Wishes to start. It's memories like these that creep up while I'm at Disney and make me feel like a kid again. I mentioned it to Cody and he said that he also has really vivid memories of Tomorrowland at night. I love how Disney transports you back to being a child, it really is special

Anyways, we made it to Space Mountain and have a great ride photo to prove it.

It doesn't exactly look it, but this is one of Cody's favorite rides.

The FP+ line took longer than we thought it would and we only had about an hour before we wanted to head to Main Street to grab "our spot" (more on that later) for Wishes so we decided that instead of heading over to Haunted Mansion and Liberty Square like we had originally planned, we would take a ride on the PeopleMover before taking a leisurely stroll around Main Street and grabbing our spot for Once Upon a Time and Wishes .

WE LOVE THE PEOPLE MOVER! Probably more than we should. It's literally the perfect ride for anytime of day so we were happy to make this plan diversion. The line was short but the wait was quite long, which we should have taken as a sign of what was to come but we were completely oblivious. It took about 20 minutes for us to board. We took our seats and a young couple with an infant tried to get into our car without even thinking I pointed to the next car and said, "No, you guys can go in that one" Cody still teases me about this but I was NOT about to let strangers keep me from fully enjoying my grand circle tour of Tomorrowland

Finally, we had a car to ourselves and we were ready to go! I just love riding around Tomorrowland and getting a different view of the park and some of the rides. It's just so peaceful! However, tonight's ride would not be so peaceful. The ride was having some issues, it would move for a few minutes and then stop and then move for a few minutes and then stop. At first it seemed normal enough for the PeopleMover but we quickly realized that we were not going to make it all the way around. We made it about a quarter of the way around and we came to a dead stop. We kept hearing the announcements saying that the ride would begin momentarily and nothing would happen. At least we had a view of the castle (but no pictures)! There was a group of teenagers who were not fluent English speakers and they kept standing up and trying to walk around and see what was happening, it was so frustrating! We were stuck for about 25 minutes before we saw any movement. I was panicking about getting a spot to see Wishes since it was nearing 8pm and Once Upon a Time started at 8:30. Finally, some cast Members started walking back and forth telling everyone to stay in their cars until someone came to get them. After what ended up being 45 minutes stuck on the ride, Cody and I were off the PeopleMover, having only had a semi-circle grand tour of Tomorrowland and running to get "our spot" for Wishes. To make up for the time we spent being stuck we were given an anytime, anyride paper FastPass. So that was a nice consolation

We made it with about 5 minutes to spare.

"Our Spot"

There is a story about why this is "our spot" and how we manage to get it every time we watch the fireworks in Magic Kingdom but this post is already pretty long so I'm going to leave this here for now. If anyone is interested in hearing that story let me know and I'll be happy to share in my next post.

 

[Swissmiss]

Enquiring minds would like to know (you might be too young for this reference )

 

[12in12]

I always like a good Disney story.

 

[fractal]

After arriving at Magic Kingdom we had some time to explore before finding a spot for Wishes. Since Wishes was the main purpose of our date night we NEEDED to make it back to Main Street to see my favorite nighttime show before it left the Magic Kingdom for the foreseeable future (I'm holding out hope for a 50th revival show... )

We had about 2 and a half hours before Wishes started so we had some time to wander the Kingdom. I had managed to snag a FP+ for Space Mountain earlier in the day so that's where we headed.

I'm a big fan of Tomorrowland at night, well to be fair I'm a fan of all of the Magic Kingdom at night, so I love just spending time taking in all of the lights and sounds. One of the clearest memories that I have of Disney as a kid is from a trip that I took with my cousins when I was about 9 years old. I remember standing on the bridge between the hub (was it called the hub in 2003?) and Tomorrowland, playing with my Buzz Lightyear light up spinning toy and waiting for Wishes to start. It's memories like these that creep up while I'm at Disney and make me feel like a kid again. I mentioned it to Cody and he said that he also has really vivid memories of Tomorrowland at night. I love how Disney transports you back to being a child, it really is special

Anyways, we made it to Space Mountain and have a great ride photo to prove it.
View attachment 222808

It doesn't exactly look it, but this is one of Cody's favorite rides.

The FP+ line took longer than we thought it would and we only had about an hour before we wanted to head to Main Street to grab "our spot" (more on that later) for Wishes so we decided that instead of heading over to Haunted Mansion and Liberty Square like we had originally planned, we would take a ride on the PeopleMover before taking a leisurely stroll around Main Street and grabbing our spot for Once Upon a Time and Wishes .

WE LOVE THE PEOPLE MOVER! Probably more than we should. It's literally the perfect ride for anytime of day so we were happy to make this plan diversion. The line was short but the wait was quite long, which we should have taken as a sign of what was to come but we were completely oblivious. It took about 20 minutes for us to board. We took our seats and a young couple with an infant tried to get into our car without even thinking I pointed to the next car and said, "No, you guys can go in that one" Cody still teases me about this but I was NOT about to let strangers keep me from fully enjoying my grand circle tour of Tomorrowland

Finally, we had a car to ourselves and we were ready to go! I just love riding around Tomorrowland and getting a different view of the park and some of the rides. It's just so peaceful! However, tonight's ride would not be so peaceful. The ride was having some issues, it would move for a few minutes and then stop and then move for a few minutes and then stop. At first it seemed normal enough for the PeopleMover but we quickly realized that we were not going to make it all the way around. We made it about a quarter of the way around and we came to a dead stop. We kept hearing the announcements saying that the ride would begin momentarily and nothing would happen. At least we had a view of the castle (but no pictures)! There was a group of teenagers who were not fluent English speakers and they kept standing up and trying to walk around and see what was happening, it was so frustrating! We were stuck for about 25 minutes before we saw any movement. I was panicking about getting a spot to see Wishes since it was nearing 8pm and Once Upon a Time started at 8:30. Finally, some cast Members started walking back and forth telling everyone to stay in their cars until someone came to get them. After what ended up being 45 minutes stuck on the ride, Cody and I were off the PeopleMover, having only had a semi-circle grand tour of Tomorrowland and running to get "our spot" for Wishes. To make up for the time we spent being stuck we were given an anytime, anyride paper FastPass. So that was a nice consolation

We made it with about 5 minutes to spare.

"Our Spot"
View attachment 222828

There is a story about why this is "our spot" and how we manage to get it every time we watch the fireworks in Magic Kingdom but this post is already pretty long so I'm going to leave this here for now. If anyone is interested in hearing that story let me know and I'll be happy to share in my next post.

I'm interested!

It's a shame Peoplemover stopped for you.