Trip Report College Graduation Celebration: Inappropriate stories, crazy cast members, taking selfies, and FOOD

When you're post vacation depression finally settles in, what must a crazed WDW fan do? Make a trip report, of course! As I type this trip report in 60 degree weather in the boring Chicago suburbs, I hope to bring magic to your home, in addition to some many, many laughs. Enjoy!

Reason: Cassie (my best friend since the 2nd grade) and I's (Jessica) college graduation! After a four grueling years of schooling, we figured we earned a much needed all girls trip to WDW.

Here's a photo of the cast with some brief information about us to make you a little more familiar with us.

From left to right:

Jessica (me, 22): I received my B.A. in elementary education at the University of St. Francis with additional endorsements in special education and middle school social science and language arts. I hope to be obtaining a teaching job at the primary level for the upcoming school year!

Jodi (my sister, 20): Jodi is a hair stylist, and is also attending junior college to eventually obtain a degree in business or communications. Jodi is actually applying for the Disney College Program in August.

Rachel (Jodi's best friend, 20): Rachel also has her cosmetology license. While going to the same college as Jodi (they are in some of the same classes), Rachel works a ton as a waitress.

Cassie (my best friend, 22): Cassie has a B.S. in Psychology from University of Illinois. Cassie will be attending grad school in the fall at Midwestern University to earn her masters in occupational therapy. Cassie did the Disney College Program last year and graduated from it. She has lots of inside knowledge!

I have made trip reports before, so feel free to check them out:

http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/...hot-days-fun-times-and-plenty-of-food.762909/

http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/...-years-at-the-happiest-place-on-earth.878566/

Now, onto the report!

 

[ksr99]

Fun trip report! Cm's can be an interesting breed....

 

[brb1006]

Fun trip report! Cm's can be an interesting breed....

That's another thing I really appreciate at the Disney Parks that you don't usually get at other theme parks and resorts. The Cast Members are one of the nicest and do the kindest things to certain people.

Such as the 9/11 story at Walt Disney World resort the CMs would allow characters to stay around with children. Since alot of visitors we're terrified the resort would be next to get attacked.

 

[ksr99]

I always liked dealing with the special needs kids when I worked at Kilimanjaro safaris!

 

[Disneygal1]

That bucket of ice cream just looks amazing! And I'm totally with you on the no toppings! Ahh, now I'm dying to go to Typhoon Lagoon. May 2016 can't come fast enough!

By the way, love the pattern of your Lilly dress, it's so bright and pretty!

It's as goof as it looks! I'm so glad I'm not the only one! Isn't Typhoon amazing?! Just think, it's less than a year away!

We'll see about the meal, but I am sure it will be quite an experience And we absolutely will have a TR after our return home, just as our prior trip to WDW and some trips to DLP

And wow what a bucket of Ice cream! Gotta have myself one when we return to WDW

Well, I can't wait to read it! And the ice cream is a must!

How was I unaware of that ice cream bucket!!!!!!!!!! But unlike you, I would not have shared.

Haha, see, that was my initial plan. Unfortunately, it is way too huge, and I honestly don't think I would have been able to finish it (and I'm not a light eater!).

Loving your reports! Best wishes on the job search!

Thank you!!

So weird about the ice cream! That would have irritated me too!

Yep, some CMs area bit on the whack side!

Congratulations on Graduating. Love reading your trip report and looking at the great pictures that you took. Hope to back in Disney soon. Glad you girls had a great time.

Thank you! We most definitely did!

Enjoying reading about your trip. Making me excited for our trip in September! Your costume idea has given me ideas for the not so scary party. Thanks and hope you find a job that you enjoy.

Thank you, and I am very jealous of you! I wish I could go to the scary party. That's on my list of things to do in WDW. Thanks for reading!

 

[Disneygal1]

I'm so glad GF has a Basin in it. Now I have 2 places to shop for bath bombs. We never, ever go to Disney without at least 1 trip to Basin's. Usually because we've used the bombs during our trip (so nice in the jacuzzi tubs in the DVC resorts) and need more.

Ahh, me too! Basin is ah-mazing. I kind of like it better than the downtown disney one side its so quaint.

Fun trip report! Cm's can be an interesting breed....

Thank you! And can't they?! Some are awesome and some I think just shouldn't be working there...

 

[Disneygal1]

That's another thing I really appreciate at the Disney Parks that you don't usually get at other theme parks and resorts. The Cast Members are one of the nicest and do the kindest things to certain people.

Such as the 9/11 story at Walt Disney World resort the CMs would allow characters to stay around with children. Since alot of visitors we're terrified the resort would be next to get attacked.

I never heard that story! Thanks for sharing it!

 

[Disneygal1]

Day 3: So We Decided to Kind of Do Nothing: Final Part

Next to my obsession for ice cream, I also have an obsession with Pina Coladas. So Cassie and I asked for Pina Coladas in pineapples. Jodi got a virgin version.

Not too long after our drinks arrived, our food arrived. One word: YUM.

Oh, and that chicken!!

Cassie is obsessed with their bread pudding and would love to have it as her wedding cake. It was pretty good.

My review: The last time I ate at Ohana, it was terrible. I don't know if it was the experience or the fact I was young and did not like "exotic" food, but it just wasn't good. This time, it was great. There were a couple thing that I wasn't a huge fan of, the steak and shrimp come to mind, but I was thoroughly impressed. The chicken and noodles were amazing. The only disappointing part of the meal was the bread, which we found to be pretty dry and almost stale. I asked Cassie if this was normal since she goes to Ohana often and she told me it wasn't, so I assumed that this was just a rare occurrence. Overall, I would definitely visit Ohana again, not only because of the food but because of the atmosphere.

After dinner, we decided to do some hotel hopping on the monorail. Actually, we only went to the Contemporary. Jodi was in search for an Alex & Ani bracelet, but she had no luck finding it. Speaking of Alex & Ani, Jodi became a bit obsessed with buying these bracelets. Jodi and Cassie are now both collectors of the bracelets.

There was a really long line to get back on the monorail, so we waited quite a while to get on one. As we were waiting, we were standing by some obnoxious guy who definitely thought the people around him were his peanut gallery. Well, lo and behold, he tried to get our attention and really caught us off guard with the question, “Were you at the Polynesian? Because it looks like you girls got layed!” He was referring to our leis that we were wearing from Ohana, but my mouth about dropped open. Cassie said my facial reaction was hilarious. I mean, this guy was with his kids, was middle aged, and it was just plain weird. His wife giggled and replied, “You’re so gross.” He kept making obscene comments, but we just pretended he didn’t exist, haha.

Bye, Poly!

Once we got back to our room, we decided we wanted more pillows for our beds since it seemed like we barely had any bedding. When Jodi called, house keeping made her check if we had the proper amount of bedding, sheet-blanket-sheet. I was so tired that I vaguely remember Rachel yelling "sheet blanket sheet" to check her bedding. It was kid of hilarious. Jodi stated that we wanted more blankets and towels because we needed them! Well, when house keeping got to our room, the woman practically threw the stuff at Jodi and and said, “Here, that’s all we have!” She then went running off and had only given us a fraction of what we asked for. It was OBSURD. I was beginning to hate customer service at All Stars…

Next up: Day 4 at Epcot!

 

[Disneygal1]

Day 4: Going to Epcot Renders Your Park Hopper Useless

The next morning, we woke up and ate a quick breakfast at All Star. I'm not a real rule follower in Disney, so don't freak out on me, but I insisted we should park at the Yacht & Beach club to check out the scenery walk, walk the boardwalk, and enter Epcot from its back entrance. I absolutely love getting to Epcot this way since I despise the parking lots. I guess the trams are cool, but that's about it.

As we walked around, I was trying to scheme a future plan of sneaking into this pool. Years ago, we would pool hop and this pool was hands down my favorite.

Yeah, I could basically be in this area for days. It's just so beautiful.

 

[Disneygal1]

Day 4: Going to Epcot Renders Your Park Hopper Useless: Part 2

We did not stop in any shops since we wanted to get to Epcot as soon as possible.

Because Epcot is so vast and there is so much to see, we decided to devote an entire day to the park.

I found my love for France during this trip. I don't think I ever realized how detailed it is until this trip! Oh, and look how the girls aren't waiting for me... Tisk, tisk.

 

[Disney Shib]

Awesome trip report so far! Love girls Disney trips!

 

[briannarebelo]

Your photos of the the Yacht and Beach Club and the boardwalk look amazing! I've never taken the rear entrance into Epcot! I've heard it's nice, though. Maybe next time!

 

[Disneygal1]

Awesome trip report so far! Love girls Disney trips!

Thank you! Aren't they great?!

Your photos of the the Yacht and Beach Club and the boardwalk look amazing! I've never taken the rear entrance into Epcot! I've heard it's nice, though. Maybe next time!

Thanks! Yes, the rear entrance is Epcot's hidden secret. It's very nice!

 

[Disneygal1]

Day 4: Going to Epcot Renders Your Park Hopper Useless: Part 3

Ahh, hello, Paris.

Naturally, we stopped in the shops.

Umm, isn't this the cutest apron??

We also had to stop in the ice cream shop and just drool over the gelato/ice cream/I don't know what you call french ice cream. Aren't the mickey scoops just the best?! This place has its own twitter account, and I always drool over their food pictures.

We saw Princess Aurora during a French adventures.

If you knew me, you would know that I have a very weird sense of humor. For some reason I thought it would be hilarious to take pictures of myself with my newly purchased Hidden Mickeys Book- looking like a dedicated Disney tourist.

During my quirkiness, I thought it would be fabulous to mock the stereotypical 20 something travelers that always Instagram their journeys. Disclaimer: I have nothing against 20 something travelers but there are some annoying ones...

As a result of this Instagram post, we became obsessed with taking pictures of me visiting 11 countries in one day. Perhaps, we thought this was way too funny, but we had a lot of laughs! *More Instagram posts coming soon*

 

[Disneygal1]

Day 4: Going to Epcot Renders Your Park Hopper Useless: Part 4

We also saw Belle!

I need to eat here one day...

Our next stop was Morocco.

Someone getting henna.

All of these characters!!

RIP, SELFIE STICKS BEING ALLOWED AT WDW

 

[LisaBelle]

Really enjoying your report. Love the apron you saw in France. I really want to try the ice cream in France. My sister and I are headed there in February and I can't wait!!!

 

[Disneygal1]

Day 4: Going to Epcot Renders Your Park Hopper Useless: Part 5

For some reason, we abandoned the countries and took the boat to future world. We, of course, made an obligatory stop at Club Cool (again).

Ahh, yes, the reason for leaving the countries so abruptly! We had (luckily obtained) my magic plus reservations, and boy do I have a bone to pick with my magic plus. Due to being old fashioned, we didn't make any fastpass reservations. This resulted in our desired rides to always be sold out even DAYS before going. I began to realize why my experience with the my magic plus was so different from my previous experience, my magic plus isn't just open solely to resort members, and everyone uses it now! While this is great and all, I have to admit, we missed out on going on a lot of rides. My lesson learned was that you simply have to book EVERYTHING in advance. While I think this is sad since this method ruins the spotanity of a vacation, making fastpass reservations are vital to get your monies worth out of Disney.

After Soarin', which was Rachel's FIRST time, we just had to grab a Starbucks.

They were in an intense conversation.

When I was ordering, the very kind Barista congratulated me on my graduation (I was wearing my pin). He then asked my name. Once my drink was done, I received this lovely message on my drink:

We hopped in a bunch of shops. At Mouse Gears, Rachel and I ended up purchasing a drawstring backpack because we could stand carrying our purses around.

Once we got out of the shop, we noticed that Test Track was closed. As we approached the queue, we saw people lining up in hopes the ride would open soon, so we decided to join too!

As we were waiting, I was getting real hungry and went to the best pretzel kiosk (by Ellen's Energy) go buy a pretzel. I call this pretzel kiosk the best because they have the classic pretzels instead of the not-so-great Mickey ones. Once I got to the stand, the person in front of me got the last two pretzels! My hungry self was so angry that I was about to scream. The CM told me it would be a while, so I went back to the line to hangout.

About 15 minutes later, I tried again and FINALLY got my pretzel. Unfortunate update: The pretzel kiosk next to Ellen's ride is no longer the best since they have Mickey pretzels

We were continually teased with the Test Track cards being tested outside.

After waiting in line for 45 minutes, we decided we were waisting precious time and left the line. Turns out, the ride didn't open for a couple hours.

 

[Disneygal1]

Really enjoying your report. Love the apron you saw in France. I really want to try the ice cream in France. My sister and I are headed there in February and I can't wait!!!

Aww, thank you! Isn't that apron great? I just love this subtle Mickeys. You must try the ice cream! It's suppose to be really good, and I wish I did try it. How exciting about your vacation!! I'm so jealous of the time of year you are visiting. I'm sure the crowds are real low!

 

[LisaBelle]

Aww, thank you! Isn't that apron great? I just love this subtle Mickeys. You must try the ice cream! It's suppose to be really good, and I wish I did try it. How exciting about your vacation!! I'm so jealous of the time of year you are visiting. I'm sure the crowds are real low!

I am excited about going in February, too. We are running in the Princess 5K during Princess Half Marathon weekend so the crowds won't be as low as they might otherwise be in February, but I am hoping crowds will be lower than they are in the summer. I am a teacher and we can usually only go during the summer, so this will be my first experience with non summer crowds.

 

[Disneygal1]

Day 4: Going to Epcot Renders Your Park Hopper Useless: Part 6

After waiting for nothing, we decided to take a group photo

We then went back to the countries.

RIP Maelstrom

Love me some Cuckoo clocks.

I always have to stop in here and gawk at the masks.

I love this accidental-cool picture.

Back in Morocco...

 

[Disneygal1]

I am excited about going in February, too. We are running in the Princess 5K during Princess Half Marathon weekend so the crowds won't be as low as they might otherwise be in February, but I am hoping crowds will be lower than they are in the summer. I am a teacher and we can usually only go during the summer, so this will be my first experience with non summer crowds.

Oh, fun! And don't I know about those teacher schedules! Haha. Yes, the crowds will be much nicer than summer for sure.