Trip Report Dissertation? More Like... Disney Vacation. COMPLETED

My advisor: You should really take this time during Christmas break to plan your dissertation as your proposal will be due when we get back for the spring semester.

Me: Cool, so... I'm going to go to Disney.

Remember in May when I was like " I don't know when I'll next be at Disney, grad school wahhhhh"? Well, I'm still like grad school wahhhhh (I have 4 exams next week and am totally taking a study break to write this right now, everyone, a master's in human anatomy is NOT easy LOLLLLLLL). But I'm coming home to Florida on Christmas Eve (true suffering Christmas Eve!! Think of me on a 8 hour flight, 5 hour layover, and 3 hour flight home as you all are making cookies for Santa Claus etc etc) and my Grandma was like "Soooooooo... Disney?"

In fact, she texted me that right as I was coming out of an embryology lecture, and so I replied "TRICK QUESTION????" and she replied "No..." And lo, reader, I should have bought an annual pass last year even though I'm in Scotland for school because I would have saved money as I just bought a Florida Resident 3 day pass yesterday that cost like $265 including tax and I don't have an income from a job anymore so I cringed while checking out but... I have requested Christmas money to cover the costs so we'll survive... And my grandma is taking care of the hotel - but won't tell me where we're staying LOL. She said off property about a week ago but I keep being like But Where? and she never answers....

Here's a Scotland break

So, January 6th-9th I'll be at WDW! My grandma idly wondered "I wonder how many times we could ride Haunted Mansion in one day..." So... the plan is, a regular MK day on the 6th, Epcot on the 7th, and our experimental MK day on the 8th. I love Star Wars as much as the next person but don't want to deal with the crowds there and also... don't really care about Animal Kingdom at the moment. I think I'd get more of my money's worth at Magic Kingdom since it's my favorite park, and this needs to keep me going through spring semester and dissertation data gathering and writing... I think we could get at LEAST 10 rides of Haunted in...

Our FP plans right now are very not set as I did it this morning half awake and are liable to change. So, for the 6th I've got Space and Big Thunder -- SPLASH IS UNDER REFURBISHMENT, I think??? So my heart is broken. And the 7th is LWTL (LOL) and Soarin', and I haven't done a third. I've done literally nothing for the 7th because.... I don't even know what we're really doing.

So, stick around for the ride if you want, because this trip is going to be... most likely? Wild. I have to survive my finals first LOL.

 

[PacNWTigger]

Just got back from Disney this afternoon, but I fear I've come down with something so I will probably not start this TR for a few days, because I don't want to be sick when I head back to Scotland on Monday... I've succumbed to the Disney germs, I fear...

If it makes you feel any better I'm still trying to get rid of the germs from Scotland that came home with me around Christmas.

I hope you were able to enjoy your trip w/out germs though.

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

Just got back from Disney this afternoon, but I fear I've come down with something so I will probably not start this TR for a few days, because I don't want to be sick when I head back to Scotland on Monday... I've succumbed to the Disney germs, I fear...

I hope you had a good time and I can't wait to see your report. I hope you feel better soon, but 'tis the season I have a bug too. You at least got it at Disney.

 

[tonystark]

After a rough landing at Edinburgh (I was eyeing the barf bag, a first for me, as the plane literally swayed right and left all the way until we were on the ground LOL... thanks crosswinds!) I am gonna start this trip report to keep myself awake for the next hour before I let myself go to bed. Still fighting this cold from Disney!

IT BEGINS... Monday, January 6th.
My family has an extreme habit of running late. I think due to the embarrassment of being late EVERYWHERE, I've developed a complex, because I am always freakishly early to things. My grandma texted me the night before and said she'd be by to pick me up at 8:30. She had done the early check in and had us at Riverside for 11AM, so that would give us ample time to drive up there. 8:30 came and went, 8:45... Got a text saying she was stopping for gas and would be there in 15. We left my house around 9 AM and set off, my mother's curse ringing in my ears -- "Don't you dare catch the flu at Disney right before you go back!" Had she not said that, reader, I assure you, I would have escaped in fine health... Alas...

While on the road, my grandma suggested the unthinkable... Last May we rode like 42 rides and did around 81,000 steps. This was a record, a record that my grandma said we HAD to beat. Everyone thinks that it's me making my grandma do this wild stuff, but it is actually the other way around. So, according to my grandma, we would have to ride at least 43 rides and do more than 81,000 steps. I agreed, excited for the challenge, but this excitement would soon turn to weariness, on my end, but not hers!

Getting to Riverside was interesting because we passed every exit I was used to taking on I4 to get to Disney and it almost felt like we were headed into Orlando proper (insert shuddering), but we pulled off on this quiet little exit and made our way into the Disney bubble, with me practically buzzing as the road signs turned from green to purple. It's the little things that make you really feel like you are somewhere else entirely than central Florida, imo.

SHOCK HORROR. YES, reader, you are seeing things correctly. January 6th and the Christmas wreaths were still up! Part of me was miffed, part of me was pleased. I love Disney at Christmas, but that's the thing... It was no longer Christmas, so I didn't really feel any of the ~Christmas magic~ radiating off of these decorations.

WOW. Riverside has gorgeous grounds!

Don't know why I have such a fascination with these hitches, I took a picture of one last time I was at Magic Kingdom.

We wandered into the lobby of Riverside, I think to see if they had a room ready for us as we had received a YOUR ROOM IS NOT QUITE READY text, but you never know...

Nice lobby, loved those hidden Mickey's up there!!!
I went to the bathroom while my grandma was handling the whole waiting in line thing, and by the time I returned, she and the hotel manager had plotted something most devious. He had asked her if we were celebrating anything particularly special, and my grandma said "Hmm, well... We would've come for her birthday, but she'll be away at school for it, so..." I returned and was offered...

Well... I GUESS. My grandma got a real kick out of every CM wishing me a happy birthday, which happened every ten minutes, basically. Oh, Disney magic. We were also given the gift of a room being ready, so we got back into the car to head over to Alligator Bayou, room number... Somewhere later in this report once I find the picture. First floor, though!

And now... the room...

You'll notice my grandma's dumped not one, but two jackets on the bed. That's because it was a little cold! Weather during the day for our trip was in the 60s, at night and early morning it got to low 50s and I even think dipped into the 40s. I wore shorts because I was visiting FLORIDA, dang it, and surely I had grown accustom to chilly weather (spoiler alert, I was cold for most of this trip LOL).
NEXT UP: a little bit more of the room, and then Magic Kingdom!

 

[MegRuss626]

My family has an extreme habit of running late. I think due to the embarrassment of being late EVERYWHERE, I've developed a complex, because I am always freakishly early to things.

I’m the exact opposite. My mother insisted on being early for everything and it drove me nuts. Therefore, I’m a getting ready procrastinator and am usually late for things!

 

[riverside]

You can’t imagine how much I’m smiling right now!!❤❤❤❤

 

[tonystark]

I’m the exact opposite. My mother insisted on being early for everything and it drove me nuts. Therefore, I’m a getting ready procrastinator and am usually late for things!

I would show up to work 10 minutes early and then just sit there checking email even though my boss didn't care if I was late... But my brain cared... Thanks childhood!

You can’t imagine how much I’m smiling right now!!❤❤❤❤

Aww! I really enjoyed Riverside, and it felt so huge - so now I understand how you're able to go on those long walks early in the morning!

 

[tonystark]

As promised, more room things. There were only two things I was disappointed with in the room.
#1.

The shower... A single shower-head and an old tub. Not to mention a collection of someone's long black hair on the wall, thankfully not pictured here. My younger sister does the same thing, which grosses me out, but maybe I just don't shed to the same extent as she does... Either way, is it that hard to disassemble your wall hair display and throw it in the trash?

Mickey toilet paper display... I shall use this toilet paper to remove the hair.

No aloe vera gel this time, which was provided last May. It's because Bob knew I was coming so he snuck in and stole some amenities. Ours is an interesting dynamic of hero versus villain indeed...
He also managed to spill some soap on the floor and nearly took out my grandma, it looked like gel that Mousekeeping might've used to re-up the toiletries. Since grandma opted out of housekeeping this go round, it was my turn. Below is my solution...

Safe-D begins with ME!!!!
Disappointment #2 follows below.

I was looking for a dresser - because usually on the dresser, or even the nightstand, there's a pad of paper and a pen... I have weird exam habits and one of those is having a particular pen or pencil to use... This semester I used a Walt Disney World Resorts pen from my last stay, but ran out of ink at the very end of the essay... It served me well, but I was looking for its replacement. Alas, no pad of paper, and no pen.

Cute little picture above the pulldown bed, though. So there's that.

Room toured, it was time to make our way to MK as I had a FP for Space that was 1:10-2:10 I believe, and I still needed to activate my ticket at Will Call. To the bus we went.

A pretty lengthy wait for a bus to MK, a little under twenty minutes, but it got up to twenty minutes as time went by. Thankfully, Riverside is a pretty short ride to MK compared to other resorts I've stayed at. We passed Golden Oak on the way, and while the concept is nice... If I had that much money, I'd just get myself a house somewhere close enough to Disney, probably as nice for less money, and then buy myself an annual pass. I like Disney, but would I want to LIVE there? Don't think so.

I took this picture because... It was a nice day out, also, where is everyone?

Seriously, middle of the day, where is everyone? Why aren't they making this journey to MK? Also, I've wiped my mind of the MK entrance, so this thing is new, right? Not ready to be used, it seems. Or is this the temporary security set up from earlier in the year and the below picture is the new one? I simply don't know what is going on... but security was quick.

There's everyone... Wish TSA could be as friendly as Disney security workers, but I guess I can't have everything.

 

[riverside]

Not to mention a collection of someone's long black hair on the wall,

Alas, no pad of paper, and no pen.

The last few times I've stayed there the pen & paper were MIA. Sadly, I guess they're a thing of the past

 

[Tuvalu]

Security pic #1 is former temporary screening area.

Security pic #2 is new permanent screening area.

 

[tonystark]

The last few times I've stayed there the pen & paper were MIA. Sadly, I guess they're a thing of the past

Noooooooooo... Darn it. Well at least I know it wasn't a one off thing.

Security pic #1 is former temporary screening area.
Security pic #2 is new permanent screening area.

 

[tonystark]

This trip I engaged my brain and instead of going to the massive line at Guest Services, I went to the little Will Call ticket booth thing and waited in a much shorter line. While there, an older woman looked at my sweatshirt (Hatbox ghost Haunted Mansion you know the drill) and said... "Was it very haunted? What was the name of the mansion?"

After a brief description of the ride and its location given by yours truly, I was mercifully saved from this interaction by both windows being available, so I was able to activate my ticket very quickly and scamper off. Grandma, meanwhile, was having a gripping phone call with the bank, or something, that continued up until we got to Space Mountain.

Through the ticket gate, a quick picture of the train parked exactly where I left it in May. We were off.

I would describe this image as showing Magic Kingdom at a relatively manageable day. There's pockets of space between everyone, basically. Today was probably our busiest day, as not every county in Florida goes back to school on Monday, but by Wednesday, things were very quiet (before the marathon weekend, of course).

Why did I take this picture? I don't know... To commemorate these ugly fin things before they hopefully are removed for good at some point? Perhaps.

Time for ride #1. Still scared of it to this day, but I manage to be brave and force myself to go on it...

The anxiety was building... But we got on pretty fast, I would say maybe a 15 minute wait at max. I remembered where the camera was finally.

See? But look at my little clenched fists... true fear.

Not the same as the moving walkway ... but, silver lining, we had a step-count goal to surpass as well, and this long walking exit only added to that. After riding, I was pretty starving as I'm a habitual breakfast-skipper and had eaten perhaps 3 peanut butter pretzels on the drive up. It was time for lunch. But where?

Not Cosmic Ray's Starlight Cafe, unfortunately, but I took a picture as we walked by... No, we were going elsewhere for lunch...

 

[tonystark]

A trip through Fantasyland should tell you where we're headed for lunch. That's right, I didn't learn my lesson the last time I ate at Pinocchio Village Haus or Pinocchio's Village Haus or perhaps even Pinocchio's Village House.

Can I tempt you to this chicken parmesan sandwich served with French fries for $10.49 plus tax? No? Fine, I was just asking... While it wasn't an entirely satisfying meal I suppose I should have expected it, and it got along quite happily with the three peanut butter pretzels just chillin' in my stomach. By this point, our FP window had opened, because I had backed everything back-to-back for this trip.

Nope, not there... Not yet, anyways. Though, being entirely honest, I didn't ride Haunted Mansion as much as I would've liked this trip.

Nope, ride #2 was destined to be Pirates of the Caribbean.

Hello creepy little notification while going through the FP line of Pirates. Stop blowing up my phone, Bob...

Personally, I always root for the guy with the little red scarf, closest to us.

While climbing aboard, it was impossible not to notice this water bottle on the other side of the dock. I shall grant benefit of the doubt and pretend like maybe someone had just put it there moments before I got there, but it had likely been there all morning...

After Pirates, we were within our window for FP/ride 3, but got held up by Festival of Fantasyyyyyyyy. Maleficent did in fact blow fire out of her mouth but I did not capture it on my phone. You can notice in the background the temporary fence work they've put up around Splash while it's under refurb. I've heard that it sorely needed it.

Ride #3, the wildest ride in the wilderness! Got to do this one more than usual for a trip, but that's due to multiple MK days methinks.

Look at that lovely blue sky! Best weather for a Disney trip in recent memory. With all of our prebooked FP's out of the way, I placed our lives in the hands of the FP gods, and henceforth went where they directed... It was time for a serious game of fastpass roulette.

 

[tonystark]

Do you think they need help putting the water back? I know of a half-full water bottle I could bring to them...

Here we are for ride #4. Dare I say IASW is growing on me?

Omg... this time... the hippo was flirting with me

After IASW, I wanted some water before we went to our next FP which I grabbed while walking through the line for IASW. That's what happened for most of this trip, me refreshing the options and being like "WOW GRANDMA THIS IS SO FUN I AM HAVING SO MUCH FUN ON MY PHONE LOOKING FOR FASTPASSES " because my grandma would be like "Okay Andrea get us our next one!!" Whenever we got in line... She's very goal oriented. Anyways, I got a nice little notification, and our FP for Pooh turned in to...

I shan't complain.

Especially when I can use it for ride #5

You could not pay me any amount of money to put my bare little foot on the ground anywhere in Magic Kingdom, even while in line for my favorite ride. Even if I had a blister. I would just lean on whoever I was with to keep my balance, but I would not risk the filth!!

We got stopped here for a little while. My phone case is the HM wallpaper, but one day I want the real deal... I'd have to have a house to live in, of course to put the wall paper up, and another real-life adult job after this master's degree but... maybe one day

A picture of myself taken for the 'Gram that I'll spare you from, it was time to wander on.

For ride #6!

 

[MickeyCB]

Little late, but caught up and enjoying your trip report very much!

 

[tonystark]

If only they could wave so fast that it got me off of this ride... Badum tiss... This ride is good for one thing... Two things - Ursula animatronic. Fastpass hunting.

Ducking out of Fantasyland for a bit to get myself a little treat. You already know what it is. Or do you???
Not going to lie, I was tempted by the following: "I Lava You Float: Orange Dole Whip with Fanta, Strawberry and Red Passion Fruit Syrup topped with Popping Candy... $6.99" (I was turned off by the addition of pop rocks) and "FOMOsa: Sparkling apple cider served with Dole Whip, Orange Soft-Serve... $5.99." I WAS (I swear) going to go with ol' reliable when I noticed something...

A Citrus Swirl Float and a Citrus Swirl cup cost the exact same - $5.99. I feel like you get more ice cream with this AND you get a drink. It was excellent, and I'm definitely getting it next time. Also, yep, I am the type of person to eat ice cream during the cold. All weather, in fact. We nipped over to the Plaza Ice Cream Parlor so my grandma could get her bori- delicious no-sugar added kids cup of butter pecan where I found joy in the following sighting.

That's a Mickey Balloon way up there. Oh, how I laughed. Yes, I'm terrible, I know. A childless millennial laughing at some child's balloon ascending into the unknown... But it was funny.

Ride #7! We did get on Pooh, despite it going down earlier. I love this ride, not going to lie. I also love the gift shop.

This blanket, while a nice design, is quite thin.

HA. What?????!

The land that time (me) forgot... I have been to Storybook Circus to ride a ride perhaps two times since it was last Toontown. Barnstormer was my first rollercoaster! Wasn't it everyone's?

Ride #8. Waste of time during the day, enchanting at night. The lights and the water... Excellent. The next ride... Where we're going, we don't need Fastpasses...

 

[tonystark]

Little late, but caught up and enjoying your trip report very much!

Thank you

 

[tonystark]

That's right, ride #9 brought me into the presence of none other than...

The Peoplemover Cone...

Apparently everyone knew about these scrims but me... Made getting the next picture really difficult

It was the best I could do between scrims

I always take this picture and I'm always happy to have it. Also, wow, look at the line of hopefuls wanting to get on before the fireworks started...
After taking the mode of transportation that never stops, we made our way over to a FP I was surprised was available, given the late hour (MK was to close at 8 pm, boo after hours pay 2 play event!!!)

While we passed, I took this bad picture of the back of the new sign because I don't like the sign and I wanted to remind myself of that to tell you all my opinion, which I'm sure you've been dying to hear.

You have to admit, this crooked castle picture is better than the blurry picture of the backside of the Tomorrowland sign...

Yes, Jungle Cruise was to be ride #10! We had a really fantastic skipper, and I'm angry that I didn't make a note of his name anywhere! Everyone on the boat was into it, which was a nice change. By the time we got off, HEA was soon to begin, and there was only one place for us to go.

The Wildest Ride in the Wildness, indeed. Ride #11.

Why is every Disney property prettier at night??? Remember how I said MK was closing at 8pm? Well, grandma and I thought we could book it over to ride number 12 to close out the night. And I mean book it. We didn't run/jog like we did with Finding Nemo the Musical last trip (yes, we have our priorities, lol) but I'm not kidding when I say I took the below picture at 8:01pm.

In the left of this picture are CMs turning away guests without wristbands for the After Hours event... That's right, HM was not going to be ride #12, it would have to wait until tomorrow. With no rides available to us at this point, and wanting to beat the mad rush before HEA finished, we began to make our way out of MK.

 

[tonystark]

The only picture I took of the Christmas tree, and it's blurry ughhhh. But there you can see the mass of people gathered to watch HEA. Sorry, but I'm a Wishes stan :/ ... I'm outta here.

Our wait for a bus wasn't too bad, we just missed one pulling away but we waited less than 10 minutes for the next one. Seeing as we hadn't had dinner at MK, we decided to just grab it at the food court at Riverside. Also, it was COLD outside for someone in shorts!

With that in mind, I got a hot drink cup with my dinner of a really doughy slice of pepperoni pizza and a sad cup of wilted salad that was pulled from a fridge unit. I think I paid like $12 for this or something. I had planned on going for the hot chocolate machines, but they were broken on either side, with a bowl of Nestle instant powder set out. It just doesn't taste as good as the stuff that comes with the machine, but also I worked at a place in high school that had the hot chocolate/cappuccino machines in question (exact same) and have seen the inside of them... A... healthier experience is more likely had with just hot water and a packet mix...

Is my photography compelling you to stay at Riverside yet? LOL I tried, okay, I was on the move!

Aha, I knew I took a picture of the room number!
Anyways, Day 1 was officially in the books. How many steps did we do Day 1, you ask? 17,536. Not bad, I suppose, but nowhere near good enough if we were to meet our goal. With only 11 rides done, we would need to kick it into high gear in our remaining two days...

 

[tonystark]

January 7th...
Fated to be an Epcot day, the day I was to see all of the walls I had been warned about. Really, no warning is good enough. It's wild. But we're not there yet!

If you really squint, you can see the steam rising off of one of the quiet pools near to our room. Today I was wise and wore jeans. I would not be wise the following day, but today I was.

Every picture tells a story...

There, that's rather lovely. That's because I actually stopped moving to take this picture.

Grandma's child breakfast. Because she is #healthconscious, she doesn't eat much of the potatoes or the waffle, so I scavenged those. The following day, she just asked for the breakfast without those components. My breakfast would be had at Epcot today, and I eagerly awaited it. The waffle was merely to tide me over and also not to waste food.

Epcot wasn't opening til 9 and we had woken up so early that we had to wait outside of Fulton's for it to open before we could take a look. I found these leggings, and while tempting, I knew I would never wear them out in public in a million years, so I passed. I reserve my Disney Trashtm to t-shirts and sweatshirts, usually. Speaking of!

This sweatshirt was even more tempting, but it was too thin to justify. Gets a bit cold here in Scotland, and while I'm all for layers, I want my layers to actually contribute to keeping me warm... Goodbye sweater...

These are so cute
I didn't buy anything, I remained STRONG.

Meanwhile, DHS had been open for an hour or so at this point and Toy Story Land was Struggling capital S this morning.
We hopped onto a bus to Wallcot.

The very first thing I saw after getting off the bus was walls. Oh boy, thought I... Oh boy...

Through security, which I must say is much faster than it was before (a nice change, though... being much faster than it was before is not really that much of an accomplishment considering how slow Wallcot's security was). I looked to SSE and saw... well... you know what I saw (begins with W... ends with... alls). It's a shame because on the whole, Epcot is my favorite park, but not in this condition. I had to go, though, because SSE...

 

[riverside]

You could not pay me any amount of money to put my bare little foot on the ground anywhere in Magic Kingdom, even while in line for my favorite ride. Even if I had a blister. I would just lean on whoever I was with to keep my balance, but I would not risk the filth!!

With that in mind, I got a hot drink cup with my dinner of a really doughy slice of pepperoni pizza and a sad cup of wilted salad that was pulled from a fridge unit.

I was really disappointed with the food at The Riverside Mill this past weekend. They did away with the "make your own" salads & pastas awhile ago which was a bummer. Just recently they got rid of the flatbreads(which were really good) & all they have is that lousy pizza now. It's definitely gone downhill.