Trip Report ***COMPLETED*** We Must Be Crazy! - December 2019 TR

I’d say it’s probably been almost 2 years since you’ve seen a TR from me (sadly). My last trip in March 2018 with my college roommates contained 5 days jam-packed with everything we could possibly do. It was a fantastic trip. If you followed along with that TR, you might’ve remembered that I was in my sophomore year at Penn State then.

Here comes the scary part…I will be graduating from Penn State in one semester!!! I know, time flies. But this trip isn’t about me and my college friends, it’s time to bring this one back to the family.

Back in October, I received a text from my sister Victoria (who's currently a freshman at Ohio State) saying "We should go to Disney together over Christmas break". I seriously couldn't believe her. My sister and I have been talking about doing a sister’s-only trip for a very long time now. The last time we went to Disney World as a family, I was a senior in high school and she was a freshman. I’m now a senior in college and she just finished her first semester at Ohio State. So she’s finally old enough to be able to go on a trip with just me!

This is us...can you guess who's who?!

Of course, we first needed permission from our parents and to my surprise they couldn't be more thrilled to hear that we wanted to go on a trip together.
Unfortunately, with our college schedules being different, Victoria needed to be back at school on January 5th and I didn’t get home from school until December 20th, so doing anything before Christmas wasn’t an option and neither was doing anything after New Year’s. That's how we ended up making the crazy decision to visit WDW from December 28th-January 2nd...thus where the title comes from.

We've done Disney over Christmas once before, back in 2013 for my Sweet 16 trip. After that my dad vowed to never return until we had kids. But with me graduating soon, it seemed like our only option was to do it now so we went ahead and booked our trip. After getting back just a few days ago, I have to tell you...we definitely were crazy for doing this. But it was also the best six days I could've possibly imagined.

So I hope you're all excited to join me for this wild ride of a trip we had!

 

[danitaytay]

Thursday, January 2nd:

My alarm went off bright and early at 6 AM. I was greeted by lots of groans and complaints from Victoria. Sadly, this was our last day and we had a few good hours to spend at Hollywood Studios before having to come back to board the Tragical Express.

The sunrise was absolutely gorgeous this morning! I was so in love with our hotel and our view...I didn't want to leave!

We were ready and out of the room by 7 to drop our bags off at the bellhop. We had apparently just missed the bus so waited about 15 minutes for another one.

We made it to DHS very quickly but were met with an absolutely insane security line. It took 40 minutes to get through security and scan our bands.

Our first up close view of the Skyliner! Victoria was really upset we didn't get to ride it this trip.

Our plan was to first grab a return time for SDD so we headed in the direction of Toy Story Land. We were both so excited to see the movie come to life.

The land was adorable! And we loved the Christmas decorations throughout the land. After grabbing a return time for SDD we decided to do standby for Alien Swirling Saucers. The wait time said 40 minutes but we only waited 15.

It was a very cute ride but we both wished it was a little longer.

We had some time to kill and were a bit peckish so we grabbed a Num Num cookie from Neighborhood Eats. It may have only been 8:15 but it was our last day of vacation so we said why not! The cookie was insanely good. I’m definitely glad we share it though, it was so rich.

After our “breakfast”, we decided to check out Star Wars Land before our first FP. We’ve both never seen Star Wars but were excited to see the area. As a keepsake we also decided to get the droid Coke bottles. It was getting extremely hot outside so this ended up being much needed.

Coming up...lines, lines, and more lines!

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

Thank you all so much! I'm still in disbelief that this is actually happening! I am crossing my fingers I get DAK and placed on either KS or one of the walking trails so I can educate about animals, but I would honestly be excited with anything!

My dates are June 1-January 7 so please if you will be visiting the parks anytime then let me know so we can maybe meet up!

I know someone that will be there during that time, maybe even a couple times.

 

[Darstarr]

I know someone that will be there during that time, maybe even a couple times.

As do I...

 

[danitaytay]

Thursday continued...

Our first FP was for Star Tours at 9:05. I really enjoy this ride but for some reason it always makes me so nauseous.

I love looking for the different Stitch's around HS! Jedi Stitch is the cutest!!

We watched the Citizens of Hollywood until our return time for SDD.

We could not wait! I think we both agreed that it was awesome. Such a fun addition to HS. An outdoor coaster was really needed.

On the way out of TSL, I also grabbed a return time for TSMM. We decided to walk through One Man’s Dream but opted out of the Mike and Sully greet because the wait was at 50 minutes. Everything was absolutely insane in the park!

While walking through One Man's Dream, I ironically saw a picture of the print on my shirt! I of course had to get a picture.

I really wanted to try and be an extra in Indiana Jones so we headed over there next. On the way over we stopped for some photos in front of the lake. We got in line about 20 minutes early but unfortunately there was only standing room.

About 10 minutes into the show a CM grabbed us and found a seat for us which was so nice! I unfortunately didn’t get chosen because I was standing so far back but I still love watching the show.

Our nest stop was TSMM, where I absolutely crushed Victoria. I ended up getting too intense and actually gave myself a bad blister on my finger!

 

[danitaytay]

I'm very sad to report that we are coming towards the end of this trip report. I've had so much fun doing this and I just wanted to thank everyone so much for following along this crazy ride! I've been thinking of documenting my time on the DCP but I'm not quite sure how yet so I'll keep y'all updated

Anyways...back to the TR!
Thursday continued...

I always have to stop for a picture outside SciFi!

At this point we figured we should probably eat something so we walked up and down Hollywood Boulevard searching for somewhere to eat with open tables. We tried three QS restaurants and there were absolutely no tables.

Eventually we ended up at Backlot Express and I placed a mobile order while Victoria grabbed a table. Victoria had ordered a cheeseburger and I order chicken tenders but they accidentally gave us two burgers. We tried to tell them we got an extra but they’re apparently not allowed to take it back so we were just stuck with an extra meal.

After lunch we let our food settle for a little by browsing some of the gift shops before heading for our last FP for ToT at 1:30. After our ride I searched the gift shop for Bellhop Stitch but for some reason he wasn’t there! I was extremely disappointed.

I had grabbed a return time for ToT earlier and we realized our time was running out and we wouldn’t fit anything else in with the ridiculous wait times so we decided to hop right back on the ride. I’d say it was a good last ride for the trip.

Do we look like two girls who almost disappeared forever in a broken service elevator?!

After our last ride Victoria wanted to browse the gift shops a bit because she saw a yellow sweatshirt earlier in the trip that she finally decided she wanted. Of course not a single store in HS had it.
I did see this Forky plush though and was really tempted to bring it home. But I showed some self-restraint for once.

As we were exiting the park I saw a bunch of people taking pictures with the balloons. This had always been something I wanted to do but I didn't know you were allowed! I did feel bad for the CM holding them though because there were a million people trying to take pictures.

Just as we exited the park however there was a small kiosk outside security and they happened to have the sweatshirt. Victoria was very happy.

We headed off towards the bus stop where bus fiasco 3000 occurred. I couldn’t even keep track at this point how many issues we had with the buses.

We had left the park at 3:15 and sat and waited forever. The line for Coronado Springs just kept getting longer. A bus did not show up until 3:45. We were starting to get very worried but we quickly boarded the bus.

Our luck, the bus didn’t leave the stop until 3:55, and we didn’t get back until 4:10. We were really cutting it close to our Tragical Express departure time!

We quickly made our way back into the lobby and grabbed our suitcase from the bellhop before heading outside to where the Tragical Express would pick us up. We were both obviously very sad to be leaving after such an incredible trip but the exhaustion had hit.

Our bus arrived at 4:45 and the minute we sat down on the bus I passed out. I woke up just as we were pulling into MCO.

We made our way across the airport to the Frontier line which was literally wrapped all the way towards security. It was absolutely absurd. There had to be at least 200 people in line and there were only 4 staff members checking people in.

We had already checked in for our flight and had our boarding passes so we sat and waited for 30 minutes to literally just drop our bag off.

On top of that, the security line was ridiculous and we got stuck in the line with a TSA officer who thought it’d be fun to make small talk with each family he checked in for about 5 minutes. People were screaming about missing their flights but he did not care.

We were definitely getting nervous. Thankfully we got through and boarded the fonerail for one last ride. After boarding the plane we were pleasantly surprised to be sitting next to the same exact family we sat next to on the way down!

Not ready to go home!

The entire flight Victoria and I played with the precious little girl and spoke to the mother. It turned out they lived a town over from us and I was going to offer to babysit for them if I didn’t have to go back to school. They were so sweet!

We landed a little earlier than expected at 9:55 and made our way straight to baggage claim. It took a while for our bag to come out but our dad was already waiting outside for us.

It was without a doubt such an incredible trip. Despite the crowds and rude people we encountered along the way, I definitely do not regret making the trip for NYE. I was hesitant at first but it was such an amazing experience. And even more special that I got to experience it with my sister.

Little did I know at the time that I would be returning to my home away from home much sooner than expected. I’ll see ya reel soon, Disney! June 1st here I come!

Coming up...Final Trip Thoughts!

 

[Swissmiss]

Sorry your TR is ending - it’s been fun to read all you got done and to compare in my mind a bit my own trip at the same time. And again - really happy for you about the college program!

 

[danitaytay]

Final Thoughts...

This was a trip I will remember for the rest of my life. At first I was really hesitant about us going for NYE after experiencing Christmas in WDW for my Sweet 16. The crowds were definitely insane, but I don’t have any regrets whatsoever.

The worst day was definitely DHS. The lines were just unbearable. They really need to fix the tier system for FP+.

In terms of the flight, we will not be flying Frontier again. Yes, it was cheap, but the seats were so uncomfortable, the flight crew was unpleasant, and they handled my missing wallet situation so poorly.

I don’t have enough words to describe how much we loved Coronado Springs, specifically Gran Destino Tower. The room was absolutely gorgeous, and the entire hotel was beautiful. Every CM we met that worked there was so friendly, especially the CM who checked us in.

From the bar to the gift shop, every CM made us feel at home. The only complaint I have about the hotel is the busing system. But I think that’s more on Disney transportation. It just seemed like there was always an issue with our resort but not that others. It became very frustrating.

I would stay at Gran Destino Tower again in a heartbeat.

As per usual, Disney food is just Disney food. We didn't have any really great meals, we definitely had some gross ones. As usual, you can't go wrong with snacks in Disney though! It was definitely exciting for me to get to drink around the world for the first time.

I am so excited to get to call WDW my home in a few months from now! I'm very excited to share my adventures with you all and hopefully get the opportunity to meet some of you amazing people!!!

 

[danitaytay]

Sorry your TR is ending - it’s been fun to read all you got done and to compare in my mind a bit my own trip at the same time. And again - really happy for you about the college program!

Thank you so much for following along! Hope to see you down there soon

 

[riverside]

I really enjoyed your TR & I'm super happy that you're going to be working there!! I hope you enjoy it--I'm sure you will!!

 

[amjt660]

Great report - loved reading about your adventures
Thanks for sharing

Max

 

[RoyWalley]

Thanks for sharing your trip with us, enjoyed hearing your experiences. I have a daughter who just started her senior year at Ohio State ,
so Go Bucks to Victoria.
Congratulations on your DCP acceptance, good for you.

 

[maxntina]

Thank you for sharing your amazing trip with us! Congratulations on getting accepted to the college program!!! Can't wait to hear all about it!

 

[fizzieee]

Sad your TR is complete.... loved hearing about you and your sister's adventures, though! Thanks for sharing with us!

 

[Swissmiss]

Thank you so much for following along! Hope to see you down there soon

You'll have better luck running into me at DLP

 

[Darstarr]

Such a fun TR. I loved it! Good luck at school and keep us posted on your DCP position!

 

[*Flynnderella*]

Great report thanks for sharing

 

[danyoung56]

I really enjoyed reading about your trip, and your pics were excellent - thanks!