Trip Report Fears, Firsts, and Learning to go with the Flow- COMPLETE

Hello, everyone!

As many of you know (and for those that don't), earlier this month, I surprised my niece with a week long trip to Walt Disney World! This plan had been about 8 months in the making, and man, did it feel great to finally let her in on it. I'd be lying if I said that I hadn't come dangerously close to spilling the beans a few times, but I'm SO glad that I didn't; being able to see the sheer joy and shock that swept across that girl's face was worth more than anything in the world!

As a brief recap:
Who: Myself (D) and my niece (S)
Where: Originally scheduled: AKL; Actual resort: keep reading to find out!
When: July 8th to July 14th
Why: My niece's 12th birthday plus just because she deserved it

Travel Day:
With pup all squared away to be spoiled, my niece and I got everything ready the night before; laid out our clothes, placed bags at the door, etc., and set alarms for 4:00 AM, 4:15 AM, and 4:30 AM, which would give us plenty of time to reach the airport for our 7AM flight...except that they never went off...🤦‍♀️ I just so happened to roll over at 5:03 only to give myself a mini heart attack. After bursting into my guest room and sufficiently scaring the %^$# out of my niece, we somehow managed to be downstairs and in the Uber by 5:30! While the street traffic Gods were on our side, we, of course, came to a complete standstill once we turned onto the ramp for our terminal; getting to the doors just in time for the agent to tell us that bag checking for our flight had finished, and that we would not be able to board.


Inside Out Joy GIF by Disney Pixar
(literally me in front of the curbside bag check person)

*To divert for a second, my niece is, without question, the greatest kid I know. Like myself(my hands we shaking like leaves at this point), she suffers from anxiety, and there was no convincing me that I hadn't "ruined everything" by over sleeping. My wonderful, thoughtful, and amazing niece, who always thinks of those around her, gives me the biggest hug, and says "Auntie, we're here and we'll figure it out!"
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There's no doubt in my mind that she was panicking as well, but she put her feelings aside to make me feel better. Have I mentioned how much I love this kid?🥰*

Shoutout to Delta Airlines, because after a few deep breaths, they happily rebooked us on the next flight out (about two hours later) free of charge. Someone out there was really looking out for us, because once we breezed through TSA (pro tip- if you're traveling with a child under 13, and you have TSA pre-check, they automatically do as well), we got to our gate, only to discover that there was both a Starbucks and Dunkin' Donuts directly across from our gate, and neither had a long line
Little Women Dancing GIF by TV One
!
By the time we got our breakfast and walked the length of our area (I don't know what it's called where all of the gates are lined up) to finish calm down, it was time for boarding! While we were technically on stand-by, and waiting for them to call you up to gate for a seat assignment is worse than waiting for college acceptance letters, the lovely gate agents quickly got us two neighboring seats with no one in the middle!

Continuing the trend of having a guardian angel, the flight attendant must've seen the stress on my face, because throughout the course of the flight, he proceeded to bring me two of these; stating that he could tell I needed them🤣:
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By noon, the Uber was pulling up to baggage claim, and we were on our way! Like some people advised, I put a note into the Uber request for the driver not to mention Disney since it was a surprise. He adorably responded with concern that she might figure it out when we go to the sign. Yes, kind sir, that was the plan. Thankfully, S was nose-deep in her phone for most of the car ride, and I pretended to be answering work emails; as we approached the sign, the adorable driver "stealthily" cleared his throat to let me know. It was then that I asked S to look out of the window to check which exit we were getting off of.


You guys...this kid did the most hilarious double take I've ever seen, and then screamed "WHAT?! WAIT...WHAT?! ARE YOU SERIOUS? LET'S GOOOOOOO!!!!" all while she, myself, AND the Uber driver fought back happy tears!

Our original Disney home was set to be Animal Kingdom Lodge, and as much as I LOVE it there, I made a last minute switch (one that would work out to our advantage many times this trip; gotta love that Monorail access) to what it is truly my favorite resort. As it turns out, an old family friend works for Disney, heard about the trip, and just before leaving my sister in law's baby shower, gave me the option of upgrading to the Polynesian at no additional cost. Once I managed to get over the utter shock of what she'd just said, I fervently said YES and thanked her profusely! My last trip to WDW was seven years ago, when I took another of the tiny humans in my family, so to pull up in front of the Poly again, mixed with the pleasure of seeing S take it all in filled me with an array of happy emotions and memories that I won't ever forget🥹.

No room ready text just yet, so we dropped our bags off, and did some exploring. Frankly, I don't care how many times I've been here, this place never fails to take my breath away. Especially after having gone to Aulani earlier this year, I have to say that Poly really captures the vibes perfectly!
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Once the adrenaline had officially worn off from the day's hectic events, we headed to Captain Cook's for lunch (I am the absolute worst at remembering to take pics of my food, so I apologize for the lack thereof). While my order was blasphemous for a place like Captain (I'm not officially in Disney until I've had chicken tenders and fries. Yes, I know, you can get them literally everywhere, but it was always what my Nana and I split as our first lunch at Disney, so it is a tradition that I will continue for the rest of my life), S, on the other hand, after looking at me like I was nuts, got the Aloha Pork Sandwich; "crazy good" as she referred to it. As luck would have it, our room was ready right after lunch, but we weren't done exploring this oasis (and the Dole Whip at Pineapple Lanai was calling our names😂). After indulging our eyes and stomachs, we headed to the room to get settled in for the week. I gave her the rest of her birthday gift, which was a beach bag filled with a new water bottle, Moana ears (when I tell you that this kid is the spitting image of Moana, I'm not even joking), a MagicBand+, and her half of the somewhat matching shirts that we wore to Magic Kingdom(the black one is my half).

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Since we were arriving late, I pushed back our dinner reservation at Maya Grill while we were still in the airport, and thank goodness I did, because it would be another few hours before we were hungry again. Once we finished relaxing in the room, we decided to take a Lyft over to Coronado and walk around the property until dinner. This was my first time being back since the tower was finished, and I have to say, it looks great. Somehow, I always forget how beautiful the views are from this place until I'm actually there, and it is now the next resort on S's list of places to stay. After our stroll, we headed to the restaurant, and wow, did they not disappoint! I consider myself a bit of a Mexican food "snob", as I grew up eating very authentic Mexican, and am now located geographically close to the country itself; making crossing the border for a great meal quite easy. From start to finish, Maya Grill was a thumbs up for both S and myself. There was live music being performed at the perfect volume, with an excellent mix of Disney and cultural classics. There was a nice variety of cocktails to choose from, and I went with the Prickly Pear margarita; so good. The guacamole was fresh and flavorful, the salsa roja was amazing, and my chicken enchiladas were very good. S had the fish tacos and just about licked her plate. For dessert, she had the Mexican Chocolate Lava cake, and I the Tres Leche, and both were amazing. I know this place is off the radar for a lot of people, but I'd suggest giving it a try.

S insisted that we walk around CSR a little more, because, as I would come to learn on this trip, selfies at different times of the day are very important,


Sad Pop Tv GIF by Schitt's Creek


but after about 30ish minutes, I called an end to the photo shoot, and was ordering the ride home😂. It had been a LONG day, and we (meaning I) had to be up extra early to make my first ever attempt at snagging a popular attraction Lightning Lane at 7 AM.
 

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Tiggerish

Resident Redhead
Premium Member
S asked me to pass along that she has now also inducted someone into the Beverly club. About two weeks ago, a friend of hers went to WDW with their family, and asked S for some tips, recommendations, etc. After providing good ones, she told her friend to make sure to stop by Club Cool and try the samples, especially Beverly; she raved about it. The next day, her friend called her completely grossed out; S tried so hard to act like she couldn't possibly understand the problem, but ultimately couldn't keep it together. After laughing it off with her friend, S then immediately FaceTime'd me, beaming with pride (and then we proceeded to laugh for about three minutes straight).
Hahaha, good for S!! 😂
 

Minnie1986

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I have so enjoyed your report! I took my niece for the first time at 8 and since we have gone back at 13, 18 and 22! She has become an amazing Disney adult! I hope S does too!
Thank you so much; it really means a lot to me that people are enjoying reading the TR. You can rest assured that S is now officially a Disney girl! I went to visit for my youngest niece's birthday, and S showed me her list for trip number 2.
 

Minnie1986

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Final Day-

Despite not having any plans for the day, I couldn't help but wake up around 6:00 again. With S still sound asleep, I left to take one more early morning stroll around the resort; it's funny how being at Disney on your last day can bring you senses of peace and sadness simultaneously. As happy as I was to be able to see my puppy (she's actually 10, but will always be a puppy to me), I definitely was going to miss these views. Once I got back, S was still asleep, so I decided to start organizing our purchases, and putting them into their respective suitcases. When I was done, S woke up, and we came up with a game plan for the day; with a 7:30 pm flight, and MCO being the headache inducing section of The Twilight Zone that it is, I figured we should get to the airport between 5 and 5:30 (more on just how delightful an experience that all turned out to be later🙄). With just under 12 hours to kill, relaxation would be the name of the game; after we finished packing, we made our way to Kona Cafe for some goodbye breakfast (Breakfast platter and Liliko'i Mimosa for me/Tonga Toast and Moana Smoothie for S). Whomever came up with the idea of putting macadamia nuts in a pancake deserves a medal and a holiday, because WOW, was it good.

Lewis Hamilton Hot Ones GIF by First We Feast

After dragging ourselves away from the table, we relaxed by the Lava pool for about an hour. S is a true summer baby, and has to be coerced out of any body of water she can dip her feet into; today being no exception. I'm still convinced that the only reason I was able to get her out was the promise of a trip to Disney Springs for more shopping. Thankfully, I'd requested a late check out a few days before leaving, so we were able to head back to the room for quick showers, and bid a final farewell to our home away from home. The bell person kindly took our things to the luggage space for us, and we hopped on a bus to do a bit more damage (I was thisclose to naming this trip report, "RIP, MY AMEX,"). Maybe it's because I hadn't been since 2017, but Springs looked quite a bit different; more built up maybe? After seeing the line for Gideon's, we proceeded straight to World of Disney.

At the beginning of the trip, I advised S to make a note of the things that she really wanted to get. If she still wanted it by the end of the day/trip, get it then, so as to not blow through her money. A Toy Story themed Loungefly had been catching her eye throughout the trip, so when she saw it at WoD, I told her to go for it. After snagging the bag, and one more sweatshirt, she helped me select some items for the newest addition to the family. At the beginning of our trip, my brother and SIL welcomed a healthy baby boy!! After much deliberation, we went with a stuffie and a onesie for my very first nephew!

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*The left foot says "My 1st Mickey," and I had his first name stitched onto the right*

After checking out the Lego store, Art of Disney, Disney Days of Christmas, and a quick show(and a couple candy apples) at the Candy Cauldron, we made our way to our last reservation of the trip, City Works. The night before, I let S chose where she wanted to eat at Disney Springs, and she wanted something with a wide variety, little to no pretense, and stuff that would travel well through the airport; gotta say, she made a good pick. We went with the Duck Nachos (SO good), the Bacon Cheeseburger, Fish and Chips to eat there, and an order of Nashville Hot popcorn chicken, pork belly burnt end tacos and fries to eat on the plane (turned out being one of the smartest decisions we'd made all week). Once we collected our culinary haul, we made one more stop to complete my final Disney tradition; dessert at Ghiradelli before heading to the airport.

While standing in line, we both got a text from my sister about our flight being delayed. S and I both looked at each other confused, because while it had been raining off and on, it couldn't be enough to delay a flight...right? WRONG! Not ten seconds later did I receive a text from Delta that the flight was now pushed to 8:30. S checked the weather, and that screen looked beyond ominous...just as the sky opened up and a borderline monsoon started🤦‍♀️. Hard to be upset while your at Disney and eating a sundae, S and I sat and decided to enjoy the extra hour we'd been given. Before we left Ghiradelli, I'd gotten two more Delta texts, now moving our flight from 8:30 to 9:14 pm. Still wanting to hedge our bets, we begrudgingly made our way back to the resort (thank goodness S convinced me to put two ponchos in my bag); only to be greeted with yet another postponement text; now leaving us at 9:45. Once our devices were charged and selfies taken, we called a Lyft to MCO (or what I like to call the new version of the "Tragical Express"). Anyone wanna guess if our flight got delayed again?
After dropping off our bags and drying ourselves off, we looked up and saw the most annoying queue of all; TSA.

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Since we were here and still had more than two hours before departure, S asked to make a stop at the Disney shop. At WoD, she was trying to decide between a necklace and a bracelet, but ended up not getting either. She regretted it, and wanted to see if the airport shop might have at least one of them. Thankfully, they had both, but she ended up only getting herself the Tinkerbell necklace. Little does she know, I scooped up the Mickey bracelet for her when she wasn't looking😈
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The rest of our seemingly never ending journey home was long and arduous. Despite us having pre-check, TSA had everyone file through one line until the very end(a process that made absolutely no sense, and only served to infuriate A LOT of people). For anyone keeping score, our flight had been delayed a grand total of six times, and leaving 3.5 hours late, at just after 11pm. Thank goodness we had the food from City Works, because by the time we got settled in our seats, we were both exhausted and HANGRY. Not the most magical way to leave Orlando, but after eating and taking a few much needed deep breaths, we spent the whole flight looking at pictures, and talking about just how great the last week had been.

Thank you all so very much for reading my first (hopefully of many) trip report, and allowing me to relive all of these wonderful memories with you. I can't wait to catch up on all of your adventures, and to countdown until my next one in April 2025!


Happy I Love You GIF by Warner Bros. Deutschland
 
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Minnie1986

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
The heart was for all the words prior to "TSA"...

And for Jason Momoa. 😎

Sorry for your airport experience.

Enjoyed the report, will look forward to the next one (a solo trip IIRC)!
Thank you so much for reading; and yes, Jason Momoa is always worth a heart eyes emoji! Yes, April will be my very first solo trip, and I'm very excited. And
 

cgersic

Well-Known Member
Wow, what a journey!! And what a great report that kept all of us right there with you. It's so much fun for me to see (and hear) about a first timer to Disney World, and I'm glad to hear your niece is already a convert. Have the BEST time on your solo trip (I do most of mine solo) and I truly look forward to the next report!
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