Trip Report (COMPLETED) Are You Being Serious Right Now? - January Girls Trip

sheriffwoody · Mar 17, 2016

Let's start with the background behind the title of the report. It's text-heavy, but the rest of the report will have lots of pictures, promise

So a couple of days before the trip, I get a call from Florida. I screen it, naturally. Well the voicemail was from someone at Disney, so I immediately called back. It was Lisa (I think) from Coronado Springs calling to confirm our travel dates and party. Thought it was weird, but I just kept answering her questions. Then this exchange happens (not word for word, but here it is in general):

Lisa: "Well, I wanted to give you a little magical news to surprise and delight today."
Me: "Um, ok. Cool?"
Lisa: "If it's ok with you, we'd like to upgrade you and your friends to the Grand Floridian."
Me: "...."

After I defibrillated myself back to life...

Me: "The Grand Floridian? Like, deluxe resort, on the monorail line, completely out of my price range as a middle class American, Grand Floridian?"
Lisa: "Yes, are you surprised?! It will be a standard view room, but hopefully it's still a magical surprise."
Me: "Are you being serious, right now? Is this real? Am I dreaming? You're serious? Is this some kind of mean radio prank? Are you really Lisa? Seriously, are you being serious?"
Lisa: (catching on now that she has indeed delighted me) "Absolutely! And you don't have to do anything, just head down like you planned and instead of going to Coronado, go on to the Grand Floridian."

I'm pretty sure I asked her about 10 more times if she was serious before I finally let her go. At which point I yelled and jumped around my office and annoyed the crap out of my coworkers. I seriously couldn't (and still can't) believe it! I decided to wait before telling M and L, just in case something happened and they took back the upgrade.

I actually called back the next day to confirm that Lisa was indeed serious. She happened to be the one who answered the phone, and she laughed and confirmed it. She also told me that it wouldn't show up on MDE until the morning of check-in because that's when the upgrade would be activated. That was perfect for surprising my friends!

So we headed down on Wednesday after a half-day of work, and after stopping for the night in Gainesville (not my decision, I'd rather drive all the way down in one go) we made it to WDW at about 8am Thursday morning. I told M and L that we were just going to park at the Grand Flo and ride the monorail to MK for the morning. We went through the gate and I of course went the wrong way, as I always do. So we looped back through, and unfortunately the lady the second time said "Oh, I see you're staying at the Grand Floridian!" Sooooo...the cat was out of the bag! And the girls were THRILLED!

We pulled up at the Grand Floridian and I took about 10 wrong turns in the parking lot before finally finding a spot by the convention center. I had gotten the room text around 8, so we went straight there and freaked out thoroughly. We felt like absolute royalty being there! We were in the Sago Cay building on the 3rd floor with an obstructed view of the marina. It was the most magical and amazing start to the vacation that I could have dreamed of. Disney, you have my heart forever and ever! Especially you, Lisa, you beautiful pixie dust unicorn fairy.

I was so excited I couldn't even take a picture with my mouth closed.

Everything in the lobby is so delightful! I love the style and the charm. It feels a bit like a time capsule, but it also modern in all the right ways.

Here was my Instagram post for the morning, bragging about our upgrade (I'm a jerk, I know)

WDWDarling · Mar 17, 2016

Wow!!! That must have been the most awesome phone call ever! What an amazing start to your trip!

sheriffwoody · Mar 17, 2016

Day 1 - Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios

We departed our beautiful room pretty quickly and headed over to the monorail for a short trip to Magic Kingdom. Oh the beauty of the monorail! We got to go to Magic Kingdom SO MUCH MORE because of being on the monorail line. I know we wouldn't have been able to hop over there as often if we'd been at Coronado, so I am so incredibly grateful.

We made it! I can't remember if we caught the opening show, but if not, I know we were pretty close. It was a marvelous day! I had a dress and light cardigan on and was comfortable all day.

The first thing we did was wander around Main Street a bit and gush about how excited we were. As we were hanging around the hub, the Trolley Show dancers were coming out, and I convinced the girls to stop and watch. These charming little shows are my favorite part of being at Walt Disney World.

I had fun taking pictures, but they move so fast my little camera was missing focus on every other one

After I got some shots I liked, I just danced like a weirdo along with the music. I love this part of Magic Kingdom mornings so much!

Just a little disclaimer on this trip report, I've already forgot the order that we did things, so this is mostly a highlights/things-I-took-pictures-of report.

We each picked one ride to hit this morning before heading to Hollywood Studios after lunch. L chose Peter Pan, so we headed there after the Trolley Show because we wanted to ride without a FP+ and see the queue anyway, which was lovely! I don't care for this ride, but I enjoyed going through the queue with the girls.

I chose Haunted Mansion because it will always be my favorite, and we took some pictures together after that ride:

Next up was M's choice, Jungle Cruise. I was thrilled with this choice because I love the Jungle Cruise! It's always a blast.

My favorite part!

Just so excited to be there!

After our punny and treacherous cruise through the jungle, we made our way back toward the hub. We decided to eat a bite before leaving, and I'd been desperately wanting to try some roast beef mac n cheese from Friar's Nook. I headed there while L and M went to Casey's for hot dogs.

I'm salivating just looking at it! I probably won't get this regularly because it's pricey, but dang it was good! I need to make a copy cat recipe at home. I savored my treat, then met the girls outside Casey's where they were finishing up.

We stopped for a picture on Main Street. Our photographer put together this special oddity for us using a stranger...who had just gotten engaged and his fiance was standing right there. It was so incredibly awkward, but they were good sports and we wished them well in their engagement when we were done laughing.

We caught the Dapper Dans as they were beginning their set, so we watched them for a while. L was so happy that I insisted we stopped! She ended up really loving these parts of the trip. I have absolutely no inhibitions at the Magic Kingdom, so I danced and swayed to their songs and a magical time

L saw that Marie was meeting, and we had a little time, so we stopped to get a picture. This interaction was really cute! I don't do character meets when I'm there with my husband, so it was nice to do a few this trip.

I'm so happy that it worked out where we could spend the morning at MK! I love having that experience first when I visit because it sets the tone for the whole trip. Next up, we head to Hollywood!

prfctlyximprct · Mar 17, 2016

WHAT AN AMAZING UPGRADE!!!

sheriffwoody · Mar 18, 2016

We hopped on a bus to Hollywood Studios for the afternoon and evening. When we got there, I think the first thing we did was go to Rock n Roller Coaster to ride single rider. It ended up saving us no time because the ride was down for about 10 minutes right before we were to get on. We just stood there with the lights on until it finally came back up. I assumed someone puked or something, but who knows. Anyway, it was fun as always but that ride makes me so disoriented! I always feel like I'm stumbling down that hallway to get back outside.

My favorite ride photo of the trip :joyfull:

We tried to use our FP+ for Toy Story, but it was down, so I think it was at this point that L decided to go to the Honey I Shrunk the Kids playgound, and M went with her while I checked out the Star Wars Launch Bay. I decided to do the Darth Vader meet and greet, which I discovered was super awkward solo. I had no idea what to do with myself, so I just stood there and didn't even smile for the picture :hilarious:

I'm not going to post that one. Luckily the Disney Visa character meet was Vader, so I got a second chance and did better. He was just so terrifying!

The meet and greet waiting areas were cool. I liked all the memorabilia.

The store at the end was nice too! I loved all the posters and art. I was on a mission to find Rey, and I failed. I still can't really find her anywhere, but my friend and I did manage to both find her in our home town after this trip. We were lucky! The only time I saw an action figure of her at Disney was in a set of like twelve, and they were just ok looking.

Here's what the girls were doing while I was drooling over Star Wars stuff.

I'm going to stop here because the site is being really slow, and I need to get ready for work

Next, more Hollywood!

sheriffwoody · Mar 18, 2016

I don't really remember much about the order of when we did things, but I know I met back up with the girls over near Indiana Jones Stunt Show. They were going to watch it, but it was full, so we just went over to our Frozen Sing-a-long FP a little early. I felt like we waited forever, but we finally got in there, and we had a great seat! My pictures aren't great, but oh well. The show was just ok, but I did enjoy singing along. Seeing all the little kids sing along was really adorable too.

Belting out Let it Go because why not?!!

We hit Star tours, Great Movie Ride and Toy Story in some order.

I loved the new Star Tours scenario that we got. I think it's the one everyone was getting, and we only did it once, so I couldn't see if I would get the same one again.

M just barely beat me, but look at my accuracy! Pew Pew!

M wanted to check out the Launch Bay too, so we headed back that way. We decided to meet Chewy since I'd already met Vader and M preferred the more huggable Chewy anyway. He. Was. Amazing. Favorite meet and greet of the whole trip! He seriously gave the best hugs. When he saw my "Chewie, We're Home" button from Parkbound, he hugged me even more!

Besties

I had to show M and L the Jawas. They are SOOOOOOO cute. I'm bringing something with me to trade next time. M traded a hair tie and he was acting like he was going to shoot it at her :joyfull:

. I think it's better if you trade something a little cooler. At least that's what I've heard. Either way, it's a lot of fun! When he finished with M, he tried to look in L's bag and it was hilarious. Her face :hilarious:

We ended up talking to a really sweet cast member in the store for a while. She clearly loved Star Wars and was equally annoyed by the lack of Rey action figures. I mean Finn is cool, but come on! Rey is a total bad-a, and they gave her the shaft on merchandise. They better make up for that with the next film.

When we left the Launch Bay, I think it was getting later. The only other thing I remember doing was riding Tower of Terror. For some reason I don't have the ride photos from that, but they were so funny. L didn't want to ride, but she ended up just going for it. I think she was terrified, but had fun despite herself. She even agreed to go again! M had insisted we do it at night, and I'm so glad we did. It's a lot more fun at night! After 5 trips, I finally don't mind the drops anymore. It is still scary, but in a good way. If I get a hold of those ride photos, I'll share them.

We did ToT instead of Fantasmic! and by the time we were done with our second ride, Fantasmic! was letting out. We went with the crowds over to Hollywood Blvd, then we headed for the exit. I wish now that we'd stayed for the fireworks, but it was mobbed and we were very tired. L also had some ankle issues that week, so she was needing to rest and get some ice on her ankle. Aaaaand we hadn't eaten anything since 1 or 2pm.

We went straight for the food court at the Grand Floridian when we got back to the resort.

I paid an obscene amount of money for this, and it was just ok. It hit the spot, but it wasn't worth the money. They don't have a good selection at Gasparilla Island Grill if you're ever wondering that.

After what felt like an eternity because of our empty bellies, we got our food. I had a margherita flatbread, which I ate most of. I took a little home to eat for breakfast the following morning. It was very good! I think we all got flatbreads, and it was yummy after such a long day.

We crashed pretty hard that night! I slept well the whole time we were there because the beds were so comfortable. We even had loud neighbors, but it didn't bother us because of all the luxury :joyfull:

Oh yeah, and they did a turn-down service and left chocolates! I looked forward to those chocolates every day after this.

One thing I will definitely remember for next time, bring enough cash to leave a tip every day! I didn't have enough for every day, and I still feel terrible. My husband and I have been staying DVC the last few trips and haven't had to worry about it, so I just dropped the ball this time.

Up next is a typhoon! And we didn't go to a water park...

sheriffwoody · Mar 18, 2016

WDWDarling said:
Wow!!! That must have been the most awesome phone call ever! What an amazing start to your trip!

prfctlyximprct said:
WHAT AN AMAZING UPGRADE!!!

It really was! I'm afraid I'm going to disappointed in Pop this next trip because of the Grand :joyfull:

I'll just have to tell myself it was all a dream. haha. Thanks for following along, y'all!

fractal · Mar 18, 2016

sheriffwoody said:
Let's start with the background behind the title of the report. It's text-heavy, but the rest of the report will have lots of pictures, promise

So a couple of days before the trip, I get a call from Florida. I screen it, naturally. Well the voicemail was from someone at Disney, so I immediately called back. It was Lisa (I think) from Coronado Springs calling to confirm our travel dates and party. Thought it was weird, but I just kept answering her questions. Then this exchange happens (not word for word, but here it is in general):

Lisa: "Well, I wanted to give you a little magical news to surprise and delight today."
Me: "Um, ok. Cool?"
Lisa: "If it's ok with you, we'd like to upgrade you and your friends to the Grand Floridian."
Me: "...."

After I defibrillated myself back to life...

Me: "The Grand Floridian? Like, deluxe resort, on the monorail line, completely out of my price range as a middle class American, Grand Floridian?"
Lisa: "Yes, are you surprised?! It will be a standard view room, but hopefully it's still a magical surprise."
Me: "Are you being serious, right now? Is this real? Am I dreaming? You're serious? Is this some kind of mean radio prank? Are you really Lisa? Seriously, are you being serious?"
Lisa: (catching on now that she has indeed delighted me) "Absolutely! And you don't have to do anything, just head down like you planned and instead of going to Coronado, go on to the Grand Floridian."

I'm pretty sure I asked her about 10 more times if she was serious before I finally let her go. At which point I yelled and jumped around my office and annoyed the crap out of my coworkers. I seriously couldn't (and still can't) believe it! I decided to wait before telling M and L, just in case something happened and they took back the upgrade.

I actually called back the next day to confirm that Lisa was indeed serious. She happened to be the one who answered the phone, and she laughed and confirmed it. She also told me that it wouldn't show up on MDE until the morning of check-in because that's when the upgrade would be activated. That was perfect for surprising my friends!

So we headed down on Wednesday after a half-day of work, and after stopping for the night in Gainesville (not my decision, I'd rather drive all the way down in one go) we made it to WDW at about 8am Thursday morning. I told M and L that we were just going to park at the Grand Flo and ride the monorail to MK for the morning. We went through the gate and I of course went the wrong way, as I always do. So we looped back through, and unfortunately the lady the second time said "Oh, I see you're staying at the Grand Floridian!" Sooooo...the cat was out of the bag! And the girls were THRILLED!

We pulled up at the Grand Floridian and I took about 10 wrong turns in the parking lot before finally finding a spot by the convention center. I had gotten the room text around 8, so we went straight there and freaked out thoroughly. We felt like absolute royalty being there! We were in the Sago Cay building on the 3rd floor with an obstructed view of the marina. It was the most magical and amazing start to the vacation that I could have dreamed of. Disney, you have my heart forever and ever! Especially you, Lisa, you beautiful pixie dust unicorn fairy.

I was so excited I couldn't even take a picture with my mouth closed.

Everything in the lobby is so delightful! I love the style and the charm. It feels a bit like a time capsule, but it also modern in all the right ways.

Here was my Instagram post for the morning, bragging about our upgrade (I'm a jerk, I know)

\\

Just started reading, but that is an awesome surprise!

KLeigh · Mar 18, 2016

Wait.....you can TRADE with the Jawas?! What did your friend receive in exchange for her hair tie?

I'm definitely adding this to my trip in September!

sheriffwoody · Mar 18, 2016

KLeigh said:
Wait.....you can TRADE with the Jawas?! What did your friend receive in exchange for her hair tie?

Yes!!! It's so adorable and fun! She got a pen

I think she definitely got the better end of the deal. haha! I'm planning on bringing a couple of my Parkbound pins that I no longer wear and trading those.

sheriffwoody · Mar 18, 2016

We managed to get up and going almost in time to make park opening for Animal Kingdom on our second day. We decided to ride the monorail over to The Contemporary first so I could show M the Mary Blair mural. She also loves Mary Blair's artwork! We admired it and looked around the shops a little before heading to the bus stop. I enjoyed the rice krispy that I had purchased in the GF gift shop that morning.

It was actually pretty good, but soooo sweet. I could only handle half of it. I ate the rest later in the day.

Our first stop at AK was my favorite, Kilimanjaro Safari! I love doing this first thing because the animals always seem more active. We had a great safari and even saw the lions. Here are some of my favorite pictures:

I was really proud of that one

I was in just the right spot to get the safari vehicle coming through! I'm a photojournalist, so anything that adds to the story gets me excited about a photo. Just plain shots of animals don't get me quite as excited.

After the safari we meandered through the trail and enjoyed looking at all the displays and little details. I love stuff like this...

It had been raining steadily all morning, but it had been pretty light. We wore our ponchos and jackets, and so far they'd kept us dry. Unfortunately when we left the trail, it started picking up. We wandered into the Harambe food area to see what we might want for lunch and the skies just absolutely opened up. The wind was blowing hard and whipping the rain around, and all we could do was squeeze up against the side of the food ordering area. Luckily it was before 11, so no one was there. We got completely drenched during the 20 or 30 minutes that we were there. It just wouldn't let up! Once the food places opened up, we went ahead and got food and stood by the seating area. Even though it was covered, the benches were soaked, so we didn't sit.

I got this huge rib thing, and I regretted it. It was tasty but I didn't even finish half of it. I wish I'd gotten the chicken that M got! It looked tasty. The chickpea salad that came with mine was actually very good though.

A quick photo on our walk over to Asia. A nice gentlemen saw us taking a selfie and offered to get a shot of us. I was grateful! Selfies of three people are difficult.

We stopped at Flights of Wonder because it had stopped raining and the show was about to start. It was nice! I don't love that show, but it's ok. It's a good break, and the birds are pretty. L got chosen to participate, so thats her getting the dollar stolen from her :joyfull:

. Don't worry, the bird gave it back!

We hopped on Everest for our Fast Pass (which we missed earlier because it was down). I sadly covered up M's face in the picture. I don't think she minded, thankfully.

M and I did a meet and greet with Dug and Russell while L ran to the restroom. It was a cute interaction! I told Dug he made me miss my dog at home, so he gave me a kiss. It was adorable :inlove:

As you can see, we didn't do a ton at AK. I hate that we missed Festival of the Lion King, because I think they would have loved it, but the timing just didn't work and the monsoon threw us off a bit. As we headed out of the park, we took a couple of photo pass pictures. We were getting L's money's worth out of her Annual Pass! I just missed the new structure by a few days, so I didn't have Memory Maker with mine.

Can't believe how wavy my hair got with all that rain!

Also, just FYI y'all, I have 2 blue jackets. You'll see them a lot, and you'll think I wear the same thing every day...I alternated :hilarious:

Up next is more MK fun and even some Disney Springs!

sheriffwoody · Mar 18, 2016

I don't remember what time we left AK, but it was early afternoon. We didn't wait long for a bus, and we ended up getting off at the Poly so that we could get Dole Whips. M wanted one, and I really want to try the swirl, so I didn't want to wait until we got to MK (where they don't have swirl). This was my first time getting one here, and I think I'll always do this! The swirl is so yummy, and I loved wandering around the Poly while I enjoyed my treat! We walked out to the beach and enjoyed the scenery for a bit.

Hello, doll.

At this point I wanted to get a drink at the Tambu Lounge, and the girls were ready to get back to the room, so we split up. They took the boat to the room to change, and I ended up not getting a drink because no one seemed to be at the bar. I walked through the gift shop, then hopped on the monorail. I stopped off at the room to change shoes and I ended up making a cup of tea and reading on the balcony for a bit. That's my favorite part about deluxe resorts...the balcony. Give me a porch, a book and a cup or tea or coffee and I am good for life.

I didn't stay in the room long before I started feeling the siren call of the Magic Kingdom. Off I went! I just happened to walk in right as the Festival of Fantasy parade was stepping off. I lucked out and found a spot to stand outside the train station. As I was coming in, M and L were actually on the train to ride around and waved at me. They ended up sitting there for quite a while before the train took off. Maybe the train has to wait for the parade to get all the way through in Frontierland? I'm not sure of the setup there. Anyway, I talked with a nice family from somewhere down south. They were definitely closer than me...maybe Alabama? Their kids were very adorable, and I enjoyed chatting with them. It was their first time there, so I was telling them all my favorite things. I'm sure I was on their nerves, but they were gracious and kept chatting with me

Here are some of my favorite parade shots. I shot all of these with my Fuji X-e2 with a dinky little 18-50mm lens on it. It's a cheapo lens that I really need to get rid of, but I haven't worked up the nerve to buy a nice lens for this camera yet. I just don't use it enough.

Love my Donald!

After the parade, I decided to go to Tomorrowland. The line for Space was only about 30 minutes and the girls were going to ride Pooh, so I figured I may as well. They ended up getting done with Pooh then headed my way before I got on the ride, so they decided to hop in line too. When I got off the ride, I took a joy ride around the Peoplemover then we all got on together when they were done with Space. You got that? Not confusing at all...

Don't mind me...just taking selfies on the Peoplemover like a dork.

After the Peoplemover, we did Carousel of Progress (my fav) and danced with The Incredibles before heading over to Frontierland. They really wanted to do Splash. I wasn't all that keen, so I decided to get my favorite snack and people watch by the Golden Oak Outpost.

That's the girls at the top. I don't think their wait was very long for the ride.

Mmmmm hello babies. These are the BLT waffle fries. So messy and so yummy.

I'm trying to remember what else we did! I know we were there past dark because I have evening pictures of Main Street, but I can't remember everything we did. Maybe this was when we rode Pirates. We also looked around the shops on Main Street a bit. I guess it doesn't matter that I have forgotten like 3 hours worth of activities here...haha.

Such a beautiful place to be!

So let me interject a kind of sad story. Our other friend E was supposed to have arrived around 5 this evening and we were picking her up at the airport (not MCO). Her flight kept getting delayed at by like 9pm, she called and said they'd cancelled it. The only options she had were to just not come or catch a flight the next morning. Thankfully she got on the flight the next morning and Allegiant gave her a voucher to cover a rental car so she could drive instead of us leaving. It worked out fine, but we were all really upset that we lost so much of the time together! She pretty much went from 2 days there to 1. But anyway, back to the story...

Since I didn't have to go pick up E, M and I decided to go shop at Disney Springs while L iced her ankle. I got my second Dave Perillo print (getting my third next week!) and we both got several other souvenirs. I was enjoying my AP discount

We stopped by Jock Lindsey's for a bit and shared some pretzels. I also finally tried the grapefruit beer I wanted last trip, but it wasn't that great. I got something else that I didn't take a picture of, and I can't remember what it was. But it was way better!

After waiting a bit too long for our check, we finally headed back to the buses. The bus took ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND YEARS. I know it feels longer when you're exhausted, but I swear it took us an hour and a half to get a bus and finally get back. It was like every resort but ours was coming by, then they did a driver switch and that tacked on time. Sheesh, I was about to just fall asleep standing up, I was so tired. I wish now that we had just driven ourselves.

We finally made it back and got some much needed rest.

Up next, ALL DAY MK and E finally makes it!

sheriffwoody · Mar 18, 2016

Saturday was the day we planned on spending completely in MK, so we got up in time to make the opening show. It wasn't too early since it only took us 5 minutes to get to the park! I don't think I had to wait on the monorail even once while at the Grand. It was ready to go every time I walked out the door. *Magic*

I also chose today to Disneybound, and I went as Donald Duck, my fav. L went as Piglet and M went as Snow White. Clearly we were not doing a group theme

Crappy picture of the absolutely stunning sunrise that morning. I kind of wish we'd taken the boat to really soak it in.

We made it!

Welcome to the Magic Kingdom! The opening show makes my heart swell so much. I just love it!

We had a breakfast reservation for like 8:40, and the park opened at 8 that day, so we meandered around for a bit. We rode the carousel and looked around Fantasyland. M tried to pull the sword out, but she failed. So sad. At some point we got some photo pass shots on Main Street in our outfits.

Next it was time for breakfast! I decided we'd do this as one of our only ADRs. M is on a tight budget as a teacher, so we tried not to spend much on food. I decided on this splurge for L because she LOVES Winnie the Pooh. I knew she would be just over the moon with breakfast at The Crystal Palace.

Cute little Mickey on the front porch of the Crystal Palace

The only plate I took a picture of. Oops! That fish was gross, but everything else was fine. I got a couple of servings of the waffles! I also drank Irish (or maybe English) Breakfast tea instead of the horrendous coffee that WDW serves.

We loved meeting the characters!

Of course Piglet was excited to see L!

So cute!

Pooh was the most boring, oddly.

Overall, I was very pleased with this meal! The food was adequate, the service was wonderful and the character interactions were so much fun. I definitely recommend it!

Next we ride a few things before meeting up with E back at the room.

sheriffwoody · Mar 18, 2016

After breakfast we had a FP for the Mine Train, which I was excited for M to ride since she was wearing her Snow White outfit! A little girl called her Snow White in line, and M was totally oblivious. It was funny. The little girl knew that it was just an outfit, not the real character, she was just being cute, and we chatted with her and her mother in line a bit. We ran into them a couple more times that morning!

Bangs and rides don't mix :hilarious:

Since we were close, we decided to go ahead and try to meet Donald, which was my main objective! I wish there was somewhere I could meet him without a costume on, but he has one everywhere he meets I think. Oh well! Better costumed than not at all. We met Donald and Goofy and I loved both interactions! Donald especially :inlove:

Love love love! This was one of the highlights of the trip for me.

After the meet, there was a short line for Barnstormer, which I've never done, so we hopped on. I blinked and almost missed it! I didn't realize how short it was, but it was a cute little ride. Not something I'd wait in line for again though, for sure.

Poor girl next to L is so confused.

L stopped to get a picture at Pooh's house in her Piglet outfit.

Next we rode the train from Fantasyland to Frontierland and got on L's favorite, Big Thunder!

I was brave enough to take my phone out and take a selfie! I usually use my camera while it's around my next on rides, but I was feeling wild and used my phone instead.

I remember as we were up next to get a picture in this spot, this dude just popped up from a bench nearby and went and posed with his ice cream bar. He was being so weird! The photographer just went with it, and the guy finally walked off. It was so bizarre. We got our picture quickly and then headed out of the park to meet E! She was finally on the way to the room.

Just a quick note: In all of her travel issues, she said Disney Car Care Center was a huge bright spot. She had trouble all along the way until she got to the point where she dropped the rental car off there and got a ride to the Grand. It just speaks to how well Disney takes care of people compared to other places! We still haven't forgiven Allegiant for canceling her flight, but we're glad she finally got there!

sheriffwoody · Mar 18, 2016

Finally all together! We took a few more photo pass pictures as we meandered around.

M in this one cracks me up! No idea why she was confused by this :joyfull:

E loves Beauty and the Beast, so we made sure to explore that area a bit. She actually found a plate she loved but didn't want to carry around. We weren't able to get it that night before closing, so I'm hoping to find it for her when I'm there next week.

So we met Gaston. Here's where I get to look awkward... will someone teach me how to swoon?! I seriously just can't get it right. Also, when they told us to swoon, I thought they said spoon, and I was like "well that's probably not appropriate!" :hilarious:

I wasn't sad when that meet was over. I clearly don't do well with characters who can talk back!

We walked the back way to Tomorrowland where we did Carousel of Progress, Monster's Inc Laugh Floor and the Peoplemover. They LOVED the Laugh Floor. None of them cared to do it, but I insisted because I think it's one of the best attractions in the park, and they ended up loving it. You'd think with all the times I'd been right, they would start listening to me. Alas...they didn't believe when I told them we should skip Stitch. I know these girls. I knew they wouldn't like it, just like me! They wanted to do it just to see, and halfway through, E looks at me and says "You were right, this is terrible." :joyfull:

As we were walking back to the hub, people were gathering for the parade, so we piled in. The path was almost blocked around the hub and we were toward the back, so we couldn't see well. Even so, it was fun! I'm glad E got to see the parade since the rest of us had already watched it.

We went over toward Adventureland after the parade, and I did something new-to-me, the treehouse. I don't care for it, but I'm glad we tried it out. It was just kind of dull, to be honest. I couldn't stop to look at anything because there were people behind us.

After this, I was meeting up with an alum from the school where I work. I am hoping we'll do an alumni profile on her, so I wanted to get a photo of her for it while I was there. She works in Adventureland, but she ended up meeting us back at the hub after she changed from her work clothes. We chatted with her for a while because L and E know her pretty well from school. We tried to talk over the Move it Shake it thing, which felt like it lasted an eternity.

After a while, we decided to go to the Hall of Presidents, another first for me. I loved this! I can't wait to go again this trip with my husband. I think he'll really enjoy it too.

When we got out of Hall of Presidents, it was dark and our friend headed home. We took off to explore some more of Adventureland! We did the Jungle Cruise again and the Tiki Room (against L's wishes). We also did the Country Bear Jamboree and shopped in Frontierland. I waited by myself for the Main St. Electrical Parade for a bit, but it was taking too long. We all planned to meet up at the Wishes FP spot, so I headed that way. I'll pick up there with the next post.

sheriffwoody · Mar 19, 2016

Confession: I don't love watching Wishes. I just have issues watching shows with other people around. I get distracted and then annoyed because I am distracted. It happens at movie theaters too, so I just deal with it, but I get way more antsy than I should. I tried the FP+ for Wishes just to see how it would be, and it was ok. We were able to stay seated in the turf because no one in front of us stood, but there were people on the path standing, so we still had a sea of heads in front of us. Despite that, it was nice to sit and have room. I took a few pictures, but just tried to enjoy it. I didn't have good equipment for fireworks anyway.

Now Wishes, I could take or leave, but I am OBSESSED with Celebrate the Magic. I seriously love it. I watch it on Youtube sometimes.

After Wishes we walked around a lot. I'm pretty sure we rode Haunted Mansion, and I know we did Pooh.

When it was getting pretty close to closing time, we hopped in line for the Mine Train. E missed it by like a week on her last trip down, so I wanted to make sure she rode it. We waited around 20 minutes I think, and by the time we got off, the park was closing in like 10 minutes. Also, it had started raining while we were in line for Mine Train. Thankfully we didn't have to stand it in for too long in line. It was just a light sprinkle at that point.

We tried to make it to the Beauty and the Beast store, but it was closed. We just wandered around the area a while even though the rain had picked up.

One of my bucket list items for this trip was to stay for the Kiss Goodnight, so we waited for it on the porch of the Crystal Palace.

It made me so happy! I can't even. After the Kiss Goodnight, we took some photo pass pictures on Main Street and shopped a bit, then we went to the room and slept.

It was the most magical day ever! This is the first time I've ever gotten to open and close the Magic Kingdom. We did leave for a short time to go meet E in the room, but we were in the park the majority of the day

I loved it!!!

Next is Epcot!

sheriffwoody · Mar 19, 2016

We got up and going pretty early again. I was really shocked that we were able to get out the door so quickly every day. We're all pretty low maintenance, so that helps! We hopped on the monorail and headed straight to Epcot.

This was my favorite magic shot. We did pretty good pretending!

Had to hop on Spaceship Earth!

After Spaceship Earth, we got some Starbucks and then did the Character Spot meet and greets. Just a tidbit: don't get Starbucks right before doing this! They won't let you in with drinks, so we had to sit down and finish our drinks before our FP window was over. E ended up getting chocolate from her frappe on her :joyfull:

This meet and greet was really smooth and efficient. The characters were adorable, and I'm sure kids love it! It was just ok to me, but I'm glad we have the pictures.

During the morning we rode Nemo and Living with the Land before heading into World Showcase via Club Cool. I got to convince M to try Beverly. She didn't like it at all

My favorite picture from Epcot! I loved the snap dragons.

Got to see the drawbridge up

We made a quick trip around the countries before we had to take E back to the room to catch the Magical Express home. We stopped to meet Mulan, and we also stopped for food. I got a pretzel in Germany and they all ate in the America pavilion. All of their food looked gross. haha

It was a really fun morning! I love having the four of us together. I did miss our other friend, but I'm glad at least most of us were able to be there and spend this special time together. E had to leave for the airport at like 2 I think, so we were back in the room by 1:30. It was so sad to see her go!

Next we have a relaxing afternoon and one final evening in Epcot.

fractal · Mar 19, 2016

great report and some really terrific photos!

sheriffwoody · Mar 19, 2016

fractal said:
great report and some really terrific photos!

Thanks so much! I feel like I mostly just get snapshots on these trips, but I try to get at least a few that look like I put some effort in :joyfull:

Trip Report (COMPLETED) Are You Being Serious Right Now? - January Girls Trip

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