Trip Report **COMPLETED** The Winter Slump Cure

Hey everyone
We just got back from a very last minute trip to Walt Disney World so I decided to write a trip report because I took enough photos

Who?
Just my Mom and I (Mary and Megan)

When?
A very quick trip - January 23-26, 2020

Why?
A few weeks ago my Mom and I were staring out the window at a restaurant and it was so grey and depressing. All I could think about was sunshine so I convinced my Mom to go down to Florida for a weekend to get some sun Our winter so far has not been bad in terms of snow (yet...hopefully not at all) but the lack of sun every single day can get old (the winter slump).

Where?
Not many options when booking very last minute, but we ended up at the Yacht Club again which was great!

January 23, 2020
My Mom and I both had to work so we had an 8 pm flight. I was very lucky that I got out a little early because there was a major accident on the way home and it took me almost an hour with some weird back roads to get home. Thankfully the airport from where we live is the other direction on the thruway (but not thankfully for my Dad who had to drive back home in it after dropping us off). Anyway - we got to the airport around 6 pm and checked our luggage. There was a guy next to us who was about to pay $75 because his luggage was too heavy. The Southwest employees offered him a duffel bag for $25 which he could check for free. I thought that was nice!
Anyway - thanks to TSA precheck we made it through security in about a minute. The airport was literally dead. They actually had to start running the belt again because they shut it down
We stopped for some dinner at the Anchor Bar
We shared the appetizer sampler - wings, boneless wings, mozzarellas sticks, and fries

Then we headed to the gate

We actually boarded our plane on time which never happens when we have an evening flight.
We were seated in row 2!

New Grumpy Magic Bands

Next up: more travel day

 

[Deborah Proctor]

Day 2 continued
My first order of business was to check essentially all the shops that could possibly have the Space Mt Minnie Mouse ears (there were none ). I'm so bummed that they sold out - I really wanted some!
After all that shopping and not buying anything we decided to wait in line for Dumbo. I think we waited 15 minutes so lots of time for photos.
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Next up: more MK

I love your reviews! I actually bought a Space Mtn Minnie Magic Band and don't like it. If you are interested, you can message me. dlp62569@comcast.net. If this is not allowed, please let me know. I've never posted on this Board before!

 

[Dave B]

I love your reports, can't wait to hear the rest, don't you have a YouTube channel?

 

[Doc Disney]

LOL
, I have to laugh at your Buzz pictures. Did you know that your Mom has that exact same look on all the trip report pictures on Buzz?????
Also, you must know the secrets to Buzz to get that high of a score. I did it once, but don't know how

HAHA yes I do know she makes the same face. She is always concentrating so hard! I have figured out most of the targets but it also depends on if the gun is working or not

I feel bad for all my friends up north this time of year!
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Sunny and 72 degrees with no humidity. It’s a hard life down here in February

Lucky

 

[Doc Disney]

Short trips to get out of the grey are just necessary sometimes! I do love how my hometown of Seattle came in 2nd on the Depressing Winters list. I don't feel depressed there in the Winter, but so many people I know there have Seasonal Affective (sp?) Disorder. It is pretty grey for a VERY long time up there (think, Nov-March).



When we arrive late, we do the same thing. Or go down to the desk after a super-long day in the parks just to ask something/pay off the balance without a giant line. Of course, one year we did this and one time, my hubby's credit card had some random issue and Disney may have accidentally charged it twice (I don't remember, it was 2014), but we were at the desk more than an hour while we called the bank. I think it was after 2 am when we got to bed!



My justifications can be "Stretch" like this, too; but hey, they work!!



I LOVE Cosmic Rays!! I love dipping my fries in plastic cheese and staring at the Castle--especially when the icicle lights are up!



That takes practice!




It looks like it may be sprinkling/raining because your table is all wet.....the drink and the cake sound AMAZING! I hope you get to HS on time! Yes, I know you have two hours but: crowds and slooooooowww gondolas!

My justifications for trips are always a stretch. My Dad always laughs because my Mom and I will always say "so here's the thing" and he knows we planned a trip and need a ride to the airport We always invite him but he doesn't usually go!
Yes plastic cheese, castle and fries...its a perfect combo!
It was pouring for a few minutes before we got to the Festival that day

 

[Doc Disney]

I love your reviews! I actually bought a Space Mtn Minnie Magic Band and don't like it. If you are interested, you can message me. dlp62569@comcast.net. If this is not allowed, please let me know. I've never posted on this Board before!

Thank you ! Thats so sweet of you but my sister got me a Space Mt one
Welcome to posting on the boards !!

I love your reports, can't wait to hear the rest, don't you have a YouTube channel?

Yes I do ! It's youtube.com/dodisney

 

[Doc Disney]

Day 2 continued
We made it to Hollywood Studios and headed right to Galaxy's Edge!
We also headed right to Rise. I am not putting the que photos in the spoiler alert this trip report because there is a fun story involved

We knew we were in for a bit of a wait because the line was outside. The last time we were in line we started a few rooms into the que.

A light for you ....

At some point we stopped moving completely. There was really no announcement, but you could tell something was off. Maybe like 10 minutes into us not moving someone said the ride was temporarily down.
So...we all sat down and waited.

Then....some CMs came by with snacks. SNACKS!!!! It was hilarious. I was like ahh --- how long are we going to be stuck for?
We got chips, but they were also handing out popcorn and bananas.

My guess is that it is easier to hand out snacks than fast passes for a return. While we were in line I realized that we were in the second to last boarding group of the day (they only went up to 142).

Next up: Rise continued

 

[Doc Disney]

Day 2 continued
We also got water

We Facetimed my sister Jill while we were waiting and she was in hysterics !
I took some poor quality photos while we waited.

In the end we only waited 30 minutes and we were pretty close to the start of the ride.
I did not take a ton of photos this time around, but I will still put them in a spoiler.

Spoiler: Preshow

Pre show area:

Since you go outside it really felt like a whole different experience at night!

Next up: more Rise

 

[Doc Disney]

Day 2 continued

Spoiler: More Rise

Some more pre-show/start of the ride:

We loved the attraction again! There were a lot more details that we did not see the last time we were on it! This time, too, the Cast Members inside must have had to delay because they spent a lot of time with us and they were SO in character. It was amazing !

Next up: more HS

 

[Doc Disney]

Day 2 continued
Galaxy's Edge is beautiful at night time! We wandered around a little just taking it all in!

We still had some time before our dinner plans so headed to Toy Story Land and decided to wait for Alien Swirling Saucers.

Next up: more HS

 

[Doc Disney]

Day 2 continued
We got in line just in time because it got super crowded, but we only waited 10 minutes

After this we headed over to our dinner at ... Mama Melrose's! We were originally supposed to have dinner in Epcot but thankfully canceled this. Since we were stuck in Rise we would have missed it anyway! Our reservation at Mama's was for 7:45 and we were starving....so naturally we waited 15 minutes to be seated

Bread to start

I felt bad for our waitress because the table next to use was really tough. They had a lot of questions, requests, complaints
Anyway...my Mom ordered the spaghetti and one meatball. She asked for one meatball since she only eats one and they gave her a hard time about it. The waitress was like "You will have to still pay the same price" and my Mom was like thats fine I just don't want to waste food.

And I of course had the strip steak with the Mac and cheese

YUM! Everything was great! We usually don't eat this late, but it was nice to relax after a very fun filled day!
The park closed at 8 so we were looking forward to a nice quiet stroll out.

And we did have a quiet walk out ....UNTIL we ran into the Fantasmic mass exodus
Anyway - we decided to walk home to walk off some of the calories!

Then it was off to bed!

Next up: Day 3

 

[Swissmiss]

I totally get your mom’s take on not wasting food - I often do the same and get the same sort of answer. I’m surprised that restaurants staff don’t feel guilty about the quantity of uneaten food. It’s one thing if you are at a restaurant where you live and can take it home, but when you are on vacation that isn‘t always practical. I am pleased to see more and more buffets with warnings that you will be charged for taking more food than you can eat.

 

[Matt and Kelly]

We were also stuck in the line when Rise broke down. I think we waited from start to finish about 2 hours. They weren’t letting people out of the line once you were inside. We were over a hour late for our dinner reservation

 

[slipperalwaysfits]

We also got water

I love how they do the products tailored to a specific land!

We loved the attraction again! There were a lot more details that we did not see the last time we were on it! This time, too, the Cast Members inside must have had to delay because they spent a lot of time with us and they were SO in character. It was amazing !

There are so many details on rides that are easy to miss when you're so excited to ride the first or second time. That's why it's always fun to go back, enjoy the ride experience and really take in what you are seeing! Sorry about the wait, but glad the CMs were so helpful and friendly. YAY SNACKS!!!

...UNTIL we ran into the Fantasmic mass exodus

See, I would complain about this, too but half the time, I'm part of that mass exodus problem...

 

[sheriffwoody]

Mmmm that frangipane cake I forgot how good that was!!

 

[Doc Disney]

I totally get your mom’s take on not wasting food - I often do the same and get the same sort of answer. I’m surprised that restaurants staff don’t feel guilty about the quantity of uneaten food. It’s one thing if you are at a restaurant where you live and can take it home, but when you are on vacation that isn‘t always practical. I am pleased to see more and more buffets with warnings that you will be charged for taking more food than you can eat.

We always feel so bad about wasting food - thats why we usually share! You would think the would feel bad too

We were also stuck in the line when Rise broke down. I think we waited from start to finish about 2 hours. They weren’t letting people out of the line once you were inside. We were over a hour late for our dinner reservation

I am not sure if we would have been able to leave because thankfully we were not in there that long. Thats a very long time!

 

[Doc Disney]

I love how they do the products tailored to a specific land!



There are so many details on rides that are easy to miss when you're so excited to ride the first or second time. That's why it's always fun to go back, enjoy the ride experience and really take in what you are seeing! Sorry about the wait, but glad the CMs were so helpful and friendly. YAY SNACKS!!!


See, I would complain about this, too but half the time, I'm part of that mass exodus problem...

Thankfully we were walking home otherwise I would have been more upset about the exodus . I think its cool how they tailor the products too!

Mmmm that frangipane cake I forgot how good that was!!

SOOO good. You will have to get some!

 

[Doc Disney]

January 25, 2020 Day 3
We were originally planning on getting up early to get a Rise Boarding Pass, but since we we got on it the night before we were happy to sleep in a little. So...we got up at 7:30, got ready then headed to The Market for some breakfast.
My Mom had a chocolate twist again so I did not take another picture.
I had a chocolate chip muffin

We originally had FPs at Hollywood Studios, but I was able to change them to Epcot instead.
We strolled over to Epcot after breakfast and we made it in time for RD.

They had us all the way up in Canada instead of at the bridge so that was nice.

We planned on Rope Dropping Test Track, but I forgot it was closed for refurb so we figured we might as well do Frozen.

You can not see me, but you can see my Mom

We waited about 5 minutes, but when we got off the line was well over an hour
Anyway, after this we headed over towards Spaceship Earth. We walked by Minnie on the way with a very short wait so why not say hi?

Cute little Festival of the Arts sign

Then we walked and walked and walked around walls to get to Spaceship Earth

If you can't tell from our hair it was super windy this day.

Next up: more Epcot

 

[Doc Disney]

Day 3 continued
Some very random Spaceship Earth photos...

Then we headed over towards the Land and the cute Festival of the Arts butterfly wall.

Then we headed to our first FP - Living with the Land!

Next up: more Epcot

 

[PacNWTigger]

Well Megan, I beat you by 1 rank in the dreariest winter city in the US.

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6. Grand Rapids, Michigan

Grand Rapids owes its high placement on this list to the proximity of Lake Michigan, which lies about 30 miles to the west. Lake-effect clouds keep the Furniture City gray during the winter, contributing to its measly 29% sunshine rate from November to February. That’s the second-lowest rate of any city in our study, tied with Portland, Oregon.

7. Buffalo, New York

The gloomiest winters on the East Coast are in Buffalo. Like Grand Rapids, Buffalo suffers from lake-effect cloud cover and lake-effect snow off of a Great Lake—in this case, Lake Erie. Occasionally winds off of Lake Erie can dump several feet of snow on Buffalo over the course of just days, as happened most recently in November 2014.

Now I'm sad...my city is #3 on the list. Technically I live right between #2 & #3, so maybe I'm at #2.5?

 

[slipperalwaysfits]

We waited about 5 minutes, but when we got off the line was well over an hou

Timing is everything! For that Minnie Magic, too! If your mom's hair is blowing, it's definitely windy!