Trip Report *COMPLETED* Sister Trip: 24 hours and then some

So I'm new here but love reading trip reports and figured that I should definitely add my own to this forum. I have a trip with a group of my best friends scheduled for October and that’s way too far away. So when the 24 hour DisneySide event was announced, my sister (Katie) decided that would be a good time to visit me in Florida and I happily agreed.

Here's us at last year's Monstrous Summer 24 hours-- we only did the second half that time, getting to MK around 7pm, but decided to go for the full event this year. And since we were basically out all day sweating and whatnot, it wasn’t pretty. So I figured I’d add this photo where we actually look cute.

Our adventure started when Katie picked me up at work around 3:30 on Thursday. We stopped to get some snacks then started the drive to Orlando. We made a dinner stop at 100 Montaditos, which is a bit out of the way but absolutely necessary. 100 Montaditos is a Spanish chain that I would go to all the time when I was studying abroad in Madrid. Hint: go to Cien on a Wednesday! All 100 montaditos (little sandwiches with delicious bread and awesome fillings) only cost $1.

so good!

Next we drove the rest of the way to WDW and checked in at All-Star Sports, Homerun Hotel Section.

After settling in, we drove over to Downtown Disney. We walked around the shops for a bit and I went to Guest Relations to get my seasonal pass and buy a Tables in Wonderland card. My sister got a brownie sundae at Ghirardelli that tasted a little off (we didn't end up finishing it). It was getting a little late and we had to wake up oh-so-early so I dragged Katie away from looking at pins and back to the hotel we went to get ready for our extreme Disney day!

 

[Maggie Mae]

loving this TR, but... am I the only one that thinks Snow White sorta looks like a younger Demi Lovato??

 

[abzoo]

We went to Tomorrowland and rode the Peoplemover then Carousel of Progress. I was afraid CoP would make me sleepy but thankfully it didn’t. Katie totally judged me for singing a bit too enthusiastically but it’s definitely my favorite song in any attraction. I really like this peoplemover pic

Afterwards, Katie’s phone was dying so we headed towards the Rapunzel rest area and found an open charger and some stumps to sit on much more easily than I expected. We chatted with a family who was sitting there about the event last year and then decided to move on to Adventureland, since we had not been there yet. We got stuck by the MSEP on our way and then that song got stuck in our heads.

In Adventureland we waited about 5 minutes to get on Jungle Cruise, always a great choice for nighttime, even more so when people are sleep-deprived and slap-happy. Katie is such a fan of puns and our CM guide was excellent. Next was Pirates-- it was a walk-on but then we got stuck in a boat pile-up that delayed us getting off the ride for a few minutes.

We went back to Tomorrowland before Space Mountain closed for the night. The ride was down so we hopped on the peoplemover again because we love riding through when the lights are on in space.

 

[abzoo]

loving this TR, but... am I the only one that thinks Snow White sorta looks like a younger Demi Lovato??

I can kind of see the resemblance!

 

[pumpkin7]

Loving your report!

 

[farrellbarrel]

So we get in line to enter MK and guess what… my MagicBand is missing! ugh. setback. We were really liking the MagicBands up to that point (and I still think they’re great). Scanning the bands upon entering a park or using a FP+ and seeing the Mickey head light up green is much more exciting than paper fastpasses and much more convenient. That is, until they fall off of your arm. So we got in the line for Guest Relations as Wishes was starting (and were there until Wishes ended-- we could hear everything but saw nothing). The CM at guest relations deactivated my blue band and gave me a new boring gray one and then we got right in to MK.

BUT check out what I did with that boring gray MagicBand.

View attachment 55392

Tangled-inspired and done with nail polish!

OH MY GOODNESS I AM IN LOVE! That is beautiful.

 

[prfctlyximprct]

Loving your report!! And that up shirt!! I need!!!

 

[abzoo]

After that, we went on Buzz Lightyear and then we saw a line starting to gather outside Space and got in line even though we weren’t sure anything would come of it. But in a couple minutes, we were in. It was only a few minutes before Space was supposed to close for the night anyway so we asked if they were going to keep it open longer than 4 AM and got a “maybe” from the CM we talked to. So after we got off the ride, we got back in line at like 4:07 and when we were about to board we noticed that they did in fact shut down the line and we were the second to last rocket to ride before it closed. They had left one light on after whatever maintenance they were doing so we could see more than pitch blackness while we rode.

Katie was pretty much over everything at that point and was wanting to go back to the hotel but we carried on. We went over to Fantasyland to check the wait times for the special villain meet & greets but the lines were still very long. So I convinced her that we should get in line to go on the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train again. The wait said 75 minutes but it was maybe 45 min.

When we were done it was about 5:30 and my sister wasn’t into the idea of walking anywhere to hit any of the rides that were still open so we went towards the Hub, stopping by an almost non-existent line for Captain Hook.

We sat through the end of the DJ’s set and then made down Main Street for the farewell from Mickey and friends. And that concluded our 24 hours-- we took the monorail to a tram to our car and crashed when we got back to All-Star Sports.

So that's it for our 24 hour day... Still more to come from the trip report though!

 

[dancingtodisney]

Wow what a jam packed day!!! Looking forward to the rest

 

[prfctlyximprct]

What a long day! You really made the most of it!! I try to sleep as little as possible when I'm in disney! There's so much to do! Loving your report

 

[abzoo]

Day 2!

I also wanted to add my Fitbit steps for the full 24 hours: 40,184... or about 21 miles. Wooo! That was the first time I’ve ever worn any pedometer in Disney World and I’m glad I had a count about exactly how much walking we did. I’m not sure how we were able to do that much on such a hot day! My sister had a couple thousand more steps than I did since her legs are a bit shorter. Despite the exhausting day, I only slept about 4 hours again and woke up ready for a new day. I left my sister to sleep and told her to call me when she woke up (which ended up being after 2pm). I took the bus to Magic Kingdom and got there around 11.

It was a pretty relaxing day going at my own pace. It was on this day of solo time at MK that I decided I like Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom-- it really is a great and entertaining thing to do when you’re by yourself. So I played that for a while in between stopping to catch performances like the trolley show and watching the Dapper Dans.

I rode Haunted Mansion and Space Mountain with FP+. HM was one ride that we skipped the day before since my sister has decided it’s a pointless ride that’s not worth her time. (Hmmmmm… ). The ride was stalled while I was in the graveyard scene, thankfully not for long because it can get a little creepy when you’re on your own stuck in a stationary doom buggy. Haha. I had another FP+ for Peter Pan but the ride was down and my MDE was credited with a floating fastpass that I didn’t end up using. Lunch was a quick cup of chili at Columbia Harbor House, where I sat upstairs and had the loveliest view.

 

[mrdrift]

Love the pictures from this great TR. So glad that you were able to explore on your own while your sister was sleeping in. This way you can see things that you might not have if both of you were there. Have a magical time and I will be following.

 

[dancingtodisney]

Oh Magic Kingdom on your own, I actually think I'd quite like to explore on my own at some stage

 

[abzoo]

One of the main reasons I wanted to head back to MK that Saturday was to see Festival of Fantasy for the first time. I had a nice spot to sit in Frontierland with some shade over me while I watched and took lots of pictures.

Next, I talked to my sister who was awake and ready to get going so we came up with a plan to meet at Downtown Disney to see a movie. Katie wanted to see one in the dine-in theater since she had yet to eat so she saw that there was a 4:25 showing. I made my way out of the park but I got stopped by the end of FofF as it came down Main Street. I was starting to get a little nervous about being late to meet my sister and eventually this was something that was the subject of a series of angry sister phone fights between us.

The way I decided to get there was a bus to Port Orleans French Quarter and then boat to DtD. Luckily I got on the boat right away and it would have been a totally nice, breezy, peaceful ride except for the fact that I had a few phone arguments with my sister about me running late. However, it turned out that the 4:25 show was for the normal theater, not the fork and screen so we came up with the much better option of seeing a different movie (X-Men) at 5… I got to DtD at 4:25 anyway. Whatever! Sitting in the theater and ordering our food was nice and relaxing.

 

[abzoo]

Loving your report!! And that up shirt!! I need!!!

Thanks! I ordered it from Society6-- they have lots of Disney designs

Love the pictures from this great TR. So glad that you were able to explore on your own while your sister was sleeping in. This way you can see things that you might not have if both of you were there. Have a magical time and I will be following.

Indeed! Seriously better than sitting around or trying to wake up my sister. Exploring on my own was much more fun!

Oh Magic Kingdom on your own, I actually think I'd quite like to explore on my own at some stage

I would definitely recommend it, especially if you have a travel companion who tends to complain a lot! Going for a few hours by myself was the perfect amount of time.

 

[LisaBelle]

I'm enjoying your report. I'd love to be there for one of the 24 hour events.

 

[FlaggNL]

Thanks for the share! Love the parade pics! And like LisaBelle said.. I'd love to be there for a 24 hour event some day

 

[abzoo]

By the time our movie was over, it was getting a little late so we had to get to our dinner reservations without going back to the hotel to change. Oh well, it wasn’t like there was really a dress code. We went for the 8:30 seating of the Hoop Dee Doo Revue! I booked this time so I could get money back for having a TiW card but 8:30 was a pretty good time for us anyway. When we got to Fort Wilderness, the parking lot was totally packed I had to drive around a bit to find the spot furthest away from the internal shuttles. I was a little unsure about what bus we were supposed to get on and how long it would take but they all go to Pioneer Hall with lots of stops along the way. It was very interesting to see the campsites!

I went to the ticket window to get our tickets and the discount and the second show still hadn’t gotten out at 8:30. We got in line and were too late to get another not-so-cute photo taken of us that we would have had no intention of purchasing. Our seats were Category 3 in the balcony but we really liked where we were seated. We got good service up there too-- my mason jar of sangria never was less than half full! And we liked the view of everything.


This was our first time at Hoop Dee Doo and I’m glad I booked it. It was very entertaining and fun-- just the sort of cheesy humor that we really do enjoy. We liked the food a lot. For some reason Katie didn’t really like the strawberry shortcake but I thought it was my favorite out of everything. After dinner, we got on a different Fort Wilderness internal bus back to the parking lot and then drove back to All-Star Sports to get some sleep.

 

[abzoo]

Day 3- The End

Since we had 11 AM breakfast reservations at Kona and because sleep is apparently a foreign concept to my brain when I’m at Disney World, I went to the Magic Kingdom by myself yet again Sunday morning. The park didn’t open until 9 so I started my morning by loading all of my stuff into the car and taking a few pictures before I went to catch the shuttle. My sister would finish clearing out the room before our check-out time. It was another very short wait and a pleasant bus ride to the park.

Go Cards!

I got to MK around 8:30 and there was a bit of a crowd-- the whole section past the turnstiles was filled in. The welcome show started at 8:40 and then off we went! I headed towards the Mine Train first but the line was already long and I thought I heard a CM say that it wasn’t opening at 9 (not sure if that was true or not) so Tomorrowland was my next stop.

I rode Space Mountain, then Astro Orbiters, then Space again with a FP+. After that, I checked my MDE app to change my next FP and the Mine Train was available! I thought it was a mistake but I selected the earliest time slot I could and then moved on. Turns out that Sunday was the very first day fastpasses were made available for the soft opening-- so glad I checked the app and found one! To kill time, I picked up new Sorcerers cards and went into any air conditioned place I saw since it was already disgustingly hot.

Then I went to go use my FP+ 3 minutes before my window technically opened and I was in! I ended up in the middle of a family of 5, sitting next to a little boy who seemed nervous about riding the coaster for the first time. His mom was glad that he had someone to sit by since she and dad were with 2 younger children. I talked to them about how smooth the ride was and told them that they would enjoy it (which they did).

I left MK at 10:30 and got on the monorail to the Polynesian. I talked to my sister and she said she was on her way to meet me for our Kona breakfast but there was a bit more sister drama just like yesterday. It turned out that Apple Maps had taken her to a different destination and we had yet another bout of fighting over the phone. I wasn’t sure when she would actually make it so I cancelled our breakfast and was pretty much just pacing around the building, not really enjoying the Poly due to the frustration. Oh well. When she finally made it, we talked about grabbing some food from Captain Cook’s but neither of us was actually hungry. So we left.

Here’s a picture of the mostly closed-off, soon-defunct water feature…

Katie wanted to go to Downtown Disney again to pick out a few souvenirs for friends so that’s where we headed. To avoid any crankiness about having to walk in the gross heat from a far-away parking spot, I let my sister out and went to find parking. It took a while but luckily I parked pretty close. We walked through most of the Marketplace stores and started getting hungry. We weren’t sure we could easily find anywhere to sit at any of the crowded quick service places so we went to the Chevy’s close to DtD and shared a chimichanga meal. And that’s the end of the trip… on our drive back I napped while Katie drove. It started storming-- there were some points on our hot hot day(s) in the park when we would have been happy for that rain but oh well. Towards the end of the drive, there was tons of lightning, which was cool. The next day was Memorial Day so I at least had an extra day off to recuperate.


THE END.

Despite any sister drama, we had a great little trip. It was my first time as a passholder and I really do like being able to make quick trips to the parks and not feel like I need to get my money's worth by staying all day-- which isn't to say that i don't enjoy spending full days at Disney (24 HOUR DAYS, in fact). I'd definitely do another 24 hour event at WDW but I'm definitely considering doing the one at Disneyland instead next year.

I have an 8-day trip coming up in October with 4 of my best friends… 123 days away!!! I'll write a trip report for that one too! We’re staying in a Finding Nemo suite at Art of Animation. Regardless, 123 days still seems too far. Can’t wait to show WDW to 2 newbies plus 2 others who’ve been multiple times. Really though, only one of the besties (Val, who lives in California) has bought a plane ticket so far but even if other plans fall through, we’ll have a blast. Actually, I’ve pretty much made up my mind to go visit Val in late August so we can celebrate my birthday with one day at Disneyland and other Cali fun!


Thanks for reading!

 

[Disney Shib]

Awesome trip report!

 

[mrdrift]

Great trip report and some really good pictures. You did a awesome job on this report and will be watching for the upcoming report.