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Trip Report The Redemption Tour

Good morning, everyone! It’s time for me to share another trip report 🥳

I was in Disney from 11/16-11/23 and had the best time!

A quick little refresher, my name is Jillian, I am married and have two girls, Sage is almost 15 and Aria is 10. My husband has tolerated many family Disney trips throughout the years but after our last family trip in March 2023, he decided he didn’t need to go anymore 👎🏼

Disney is my one true love so this was not an option for me. I knew I wouldn’t be able to take my kids alone, they have much different interests and just don’t get along that well. So I decided to take them separately.

Sage and I went last August. Overall the trip was good but Sage did not handle the heat & humidity well at all. She was overall very grouchy and whiny. We did attend the Halloween party while we were there and some of you may remember it was an absolute disaster. It down poured, thundered & lightning the entire night. So much was closed and cancelled and we were so disappointed. That was Sage’s first party experience and only my second.

My plan for 2025 was to take Aria in November so we could do the Christmas party. Unfortunately about a week before we were set to leave, we had to make a drastic decision. Aria has been having some very extreme behavior and mental health struggles lately. She’s been to many doctors, she’s been tested, she has a diagnosis but despite all our efforts, things have just been really really difficult. I did apply for DAS for her but was denied. So at the last minute, we just decided it was not a good time for her and I to travel alone together. I promised her I would take her at some point in the future when our situation had improved. My husband suggested I go alone (which I would have loved) but I ultimately decided to take Sage with me. First of all, I knew it would be easier on my husband to not be a personal Uber driver to two kids on his own. But also, I truly felt like Sage deserved another trip. She has grown up and matured quite a bit in the last year, she has a small part time job and she’s doing really well in school. I wanted her to know her actions were seen and being rewarded. And I also wanted Aria to realize that special things are a privilege and not a right.

So long story short, it was time for mom and Sage- The Redemption Tour 😎

Here’s a picture of us from our last trip in August 2024 ⬇️

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DisneyDreamer08

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Finally at about 8:35, the parade gets to us. I didn’t watch any videos ahead of time so I could experience it somewhat spoiler free.

I really really enjoyed it. I loved that Asha was included! My only small complaint is the dead space between floats. I wish there were more dancers or characters walking between the floats. I really liked how Tinkerbell was fluttering around interacting with the crowd. I wish there was more of that. And I wish instead of one giant princess float, there were a few smaller individual floats. Rapunzel and Flynn definitely should have had their own float with lanterns. Overall though, I’m very glad that a nighttime parade has finally returned to Magic Kingdom.

Lots of pics!
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DisneyDreamer08

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I would have been fine leaving after this but of course, Sage wanted to see the fireworks. Because of the delay in the parade, I knew we wouldn’t have time to make to the hub or Main Street so I suggested we go behind the castle. I’ve seen videos where characters sometimes roam around back there during fireworks. And just looks like a unique view.
Unfortunately, the noise from them being directly overhead was too much for Sage. Even with her noise cancelling ear plugs. So we had to leave. But on the plus side, we beat the crowd to the buses 😂
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And that’s the end of our super long day 🥱 This day was classic Sage- she wanted to do EVERYTHING. Girl has serious FOMO 😂
 

DisneyDreamer08

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
You did pack a lot into your day.

I’ve found that if you want to watch fireworks in fantasyland a good spot is near the teacups. It’s not quite as loud and there’s hardly any people there.

The amount of VIP tour groups was crazy. I hardly saw any in the summer, but that week there were so many
That’s great to know, thanks! I’ll have to remember that for next time. Sage is very sound sensitive but usually the earplugs help.

Yeah the amount of VIP groups was insane. It became a game for us to point them out whenever we saw them.
 

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