Trip Report Girl's Weekend, Disney Style: A Tale of Two Sisters Getting Their Disney On!***COMPLETED***

Hello, new Disney friends and fellow Disney enthusiasts!

About me:
I am a fairly new member and have enjoyed getting my Disney fix by following many wonderful trip reports here when I am missing Disney…which is pretty much ALL THE TIME! Unfortunately for me, I don’t get to make it down as often as I would like, but I have made it down a few times, my first time was a weekend trip in 1991, a day trip to Disneyland in 1992, a full week trip in 1998, and then I took a loooooong hiatus and didn’t get back down there until 2016, which awakened my Disney passion and I got to go back in fall of 2017, and then most recently, beginning of June 2019. Though my husband enjoys DW, he doesn’t want to go as frequently as I do, so luckily for me, I have a sister who loves it, too, so I went with her on my last two trips. For my 2017 trip, I tagged along with her family and it was her first time there and she instantly fell in love with the place! So that brings us to 2019, when it was the dead of a miserably cold winter for both of us since we live in the north, and Florida was calling. We decided to do a sisters getaway weekend, and since I am a teacher, we had to wait until June. It was a long wait, but when the time came, we were more than ready. So let’s do this! This is my first time doing a trip report so I have no clue what I am doing so will be learning along the way, but since I have enjoyed so many trip reports on here, I thought I would give back and give it a try in hopes it can bring a smile to someone's face who needs a little Disney joy. I have lots to share with you and hope you enjoy tagging along with us down memory lane and I will tell you right now…when my sister and I get together and Disney and cameras become combined, it is Ham-It-Up City! You have been warned!

Who: Little Ol’ Me and my fellow Disney Addicted Sister.
That's me in the pink, and my sister in white.
381647


What: Long weekend girl’s trip, Disney style!

When: June 7-June 11, 2019

How: Very bumpy plane ride, crazy weather from sunny and hot 102 heat index to monsoons of cold rain and thunderstorms with swimming through puddles, to very pleasant cloudy and overcast days, lots of buses and boat rides, a couple rope drops, and of course, lots of food, characters, shopping, and rides!

Where: Stayed at Pop Century, and over the course of the weekend, visited many resorts (Art of Animation, Fort Wilderness, Contemporary, Polynesian, Wilderness Lodge), Disney Springs, and did two park days: Hollywood Studios and Epcot one day, and Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom on the other.

It was a lot to pack in for our 3 ½ days, but our Disney adrenaline was pumping and we tackled it all! It may have taken me all week to recover when I got home, but you know…YOLO!

So as Slinky Dog says, “Let’s go!”

Day 1: Friday, June 7, 2019
Travel: Yuck. I won’t bore you will all the gory details, but I had to get up at 4 in the morning, drive to our huge, international airport, navigate parking, stand in a very long security line, made it on the plane in the nick of time, suffered lots of air turbulence…the kind that makes you want to kiss the ground when you land…but I finally made it! Ahhhh…Orlando airport…I love seeing this! So exciting!
381642


I only had to wait a little while for my sister’s flight to land and then we were off to the Magical Express!

Check In to Pop Century. This was my second stay here and let me just say, I LOVE the smell of the lobby there. So after some discussion with my sister on what that smell could possible be (like orange cream but more lemon-y maybe? We will never know), we looked around the lobby and headed to our room. We enjoyed the walk down memory lane…not to age ourselves, but we certainly remembered these:
381643


Magical Occurrence #1:When I stayed at Pop a couple years ago, I was all the way at the back of the resort which added a lot of walking. I did request a closer room this time, but I don’t know if it was because of my request (I never heard anything back from them) or if it was just luck, but we were a lot closer this time, in the 50s building, just a few minutes walk from the lobby and transportation. Our feet certainly appreciated that after miles of walking all day. Also, when I stayed there a couple years ago, I was lucky enough to get one of the newly refurbished rooms so new they were nice, and now they are all done, so was happy my sister would enjoy them, too. Modern, clean, comfortable, and at a good price…what’s not to love! And we love the art above the beds! Fun!

381644


We had a few hours until our dinner reservation so thought we would walk over the bridge walkway between the two resorts to check out Art of Animation in case we would ever want to stay there on a future stay. Now, it can get hot in the Midwest where we are both from and we can suffer extreme temperatures throughout the year, but this year, it has been rainy and cool for pretty much forever so we had not gotten a chance to acclimate to hot weather yet. So we were NOT prepared for the level of hot it happened to be at this particular time in the afternoon as we walked around. We pretty much thought we would burst into flame at any minute.

381652


Just to survive and not look like one of those skeletons who didn’t make it in the desert, we had to dodge inside for some air conditioning here and there. We managed to not spontaneously combust and enjoyed seeing all the character statues around the resort, and made it back to Pop and thanked our lucky stars for the man who invented air conditioning…seriously, he should get his own holiday!

381653


381654


381655


After recovering for a little while, it was time for our first big event of the trip: Hoopty Doo Review! This was both our first time checking out the dinner show and we were super excited! And hungry! Magical Occurance #2: The bus to Magic Kingdom was there and we didn’t have to wait! Yay! So off we went to the MK, got on the ferry to cross the lagoon, and there we were at Fort Wilderness Campgrounds with plenty of time to spare. So we looked around a bit, did a little shopping in the gift shop, my sister did some pin trading, and took some pictures. It was still hot, but overcast at this point so that helped and the sun wasn’t as high in the sky so we were happy about that.

381656


381657
 

JosieBee

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Day 1: Continued
Then it was finally time and Magical Occurance #3: We got seated right in front of the stage! We could hardly believe it!

381658


We had so much fun at this dinner and we highly recommend it. The food was good and the show was so funny. People told me it was funny and they were right! Belly laughs all around! Bravo!

381659


381661


381662


381663



After the show we had enough time to go back across the lagoon to check out the Contemporary and get a drink in the California Grill Lounge and catch the fireworks. Magical Occurance #4: Our boat captain serenaded us all with the Beauty and the Beast Tale As Old As Time Song and his voice was lovely, and it was just so relaxing. Disney Cast Members are truly special.

381664


Once we got up to the top we ordered our drinks and enjoyed the beautiful view. I had a very nice blueberry lemon drop martini.

381665


After our drink, we made it outside to on the viewing platform and enjoyed the view of the fireworks over MK.

381666


381667

A perfect ending to our first day! After the fireworks, we did a little more shopping inside the Contemporary gift shops, walked back to the bus area at MK and back to the Pop we went to get some rest after such a big day! I hope you enjoyed our first day tales, and next up will be our Day 2 of fun, which will feature breakfast at Ohana, Disney Springs, and one of the highlights of our trip…Story Book Dining at Artist Point! Stay tuned!
 

donaldtoo

Well-Known Member
Hello, new Disney friends and fellow Disney enthusiasts!

About me:
I am a fairly new member and have enjoyed getting my Disney fix by following many wonderful trip reports here when I am missing Disney…which is pretty much ALL THE TIME! Unfortunately for me, I don’t get to make it down as often as I would like, but I have made it down a few times, my first time was a weekend trip in 1991, a day trip to Disneyland in 1992, a full week trip in 1998, and then I took a loooooong hiatus and didn’t get back down there until 2016, which awakened my Disney passion and I got to go back in fall of 2017, and then most recently, beginning of June 2019. Though my husband enjoys DW, he doesn’t want to go as frequently as I do, so luckily for me, I have a sister who loves it, too, so I went with her on my last two trips. For my 2017 trip, I tagged along with her family and it was her first time there and she instantly fell in love with the place! So that brings us to 2019, when it was the dead of a miserably cold winter for both of us since we live in the north, and Florida was calling. We decided to do a sisters getaway weekend, and since I am a teacher, we had to wait until June. It was a long wait, but when the time came, we were more than ready. So let’s do this! This is my first time doing a trip report so I have no clue what I am doing so will be learning along the way, but since I have enjoyed so many trip reports on here, I thought I would give back and give it a try in hopes it can bring a smile to someone's face who needs a little Disney joy. I have lots to share with you and hope you enjoy tagging along with us down memory lane and I will tell you right now…when my sister and I get together and Disney and cameras become combined, it is Ham-It-Up City! You have been warned!

Who: Little Ol’ Me and my fellow Disney Addicted Sister.
That's me in the pink, and my sister in white.
View attachment 381647

What: Long weekend girl’s trip, Disney style!

When: June 7-June 11, 2019

How: Very bumpy plane ride, crazy weather from sunny and hot 102 heat index to monsoons of cold rain and thunderstorms with swimming through puddles, to very pleasant cloudy and overcast days, lots of buses and boat rides, a couple rope drops, and of course, lots of food, characters, shopping, and rides!

Where: Stayed at Pop Century, and over the course of the weekend, visited many resorts (Art of Animation, Fort Wilderness, Contemporary, Polynesian, Wilderness Lodge), Disney Springs, and did two park days: Hollywood Studios and Epcot one day, and Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom on the other.

It was a lot to pack in for our 3 ½ days, but our Disney adrenaline was pumping and we tackled it all! It may have taken me all week to recover when I got home, but you know…YOLO!

So as Slinky Dog says, “Let’s go!”

Day 1: Friday, June 7, 2019
Travel: Yuck. I won’t bore you will all the gory details, but I had to get up at 4 in the morning, drive to our huge, international airport, navigate parking, stand in a very long security line, made it on the plane in the nick of time, suffered lots of air turbulence…the kind that makes you want to kiss the ground when you land…but I finally made it! Ahhhh…Orlando airport…I love seeing this! So exciting!
View attachment 381642

I only had to wait a little while for my sister’s flight to land and then we were off to the Magical Express!

Check In to Pop Century. This was my second stay here and let me just say, I LOVE the smell of the lobby there. So after some discussion with my sister on what that smell could possible be (like orange cream but more lemon-y maybe? We will never know), we looked around the lobby and headed to our room. We enjoyed the walk down memory lane…not to age ourselves, but we certainly remembered these:
View attachment 381643

Magical Occurrence #1:When I stayed at Pop a couple years ago, I was all the way at the back of the resort which added a lot of walking. I did request a closer room this time, but I don’t know if it was because of my request (I never heard anything back from them) or if it was just luck, but we were a lot closer this time, in the 50s building, just a few minutes walk from the lobby and transportation. Our feet certainly appreciated that after miles of walking all day. Also, when I stayed there a couple years ago, I was lucky enough to get one of the newly refurbished rooms so new they were nice, and now they are all done, so was happy my sister would enjoy them, too. Modern, clean, comfortable, and at a good price…what’s not to love! And we love the art above the beds! Fun!

View attachment 381644

We had a few hours until our dinner reservation so thought we would walk over the bridge walkway between the two resorts to check out Art of Animation in case we would ever want to stay there on a future stay. Now, it can get hot in the Midwest where we are both from and we can suffer extreme temperatures throughout the year, but this year, it has been rainy and cool for pretty much forever so we had not gotten a chance to acclimate to hot weather yet. So we were NOT prepared for the level of hot it happened to be at this particular time in the afternoon as we walked around. We pretty much thought we would burst into flame at any minute.

View attachment 381652

Just to survive and not look like one of those skeletons who didn’t make it in the desert, we had to dodge inside for some air conditioning here and there. We managed to not spontaneously combust and enjoyed seeing all the character statues around the resort, and made it back to Pop and thanked our lucky stars for the man who invented air conditioning…seriously, he should get his own holiday!

View attachment 381653

View attachment 381654

View attachment 381655

After recovering for a little while, it was time for our first big event of the trip: Hoopty Doo Review! This was both our first time checking out the dinner show and we were super excited! And hungry! Magical Occurance #2: The bus to Magic Kingdom was there and we didn’t have to wait! Yay! So off we went to the MK, got on the ferry to cross the lagoon, and there we were at Fort Wilderness Campgrounds with plenty of time to spare. So we looked around a bit, did a little shopping in the gift shop, my sister did some pin trading, and took some pictures. It was still hot, but overcast at this point so that helped and the sun wasn’t as high in the sky so we were happy about that.

View attachment 381656

View attachment 381657

Just an FYI...!!! ;):)

 
Last edited:

Nunu

Wanderluster
Premium Member
Just an FYI...!!! ;):)

Interesting, thanks! Why am I not surprised, a Floridian! 😄
Bless his heart
 

Nunu

Wanderluster
Premium Member
Day 1: Continued
Then it was finally time and Magical Occurance #3: We got seated right in front of the stage! We could hardly believe it!

View attachment 381658

We had so much fun at this dinner and we highly recommend it. The food was good and the show was so funny. People told me it was funny and they were right! Belly laughs all around! Bravo!

View attachment 381659

View attachment 381661

View attachment 381662

View attachment 381663


After the show we had enough time to go back across the lagoon to check out the Contemporary and get a drink in the California Grill Lounge and catch the fireworks. Magical Occurance #4: Our boat captain serenaded us all with the Beauty and the Beast Tale As Old As Time Song and his voice was lovely, and it was just so relaxing. Disney Cast Members are truly special.

View attachment 381664

Once we got up to the top we ordered our drinks and enjoyed the beautiful view. I had a very nice blueberry lemon drop martini.

View attachment 381665

After our drink, we made it outside to on the viewing platform and enjoyed the view of the fireworks over MK.

View attachment 381666

View attachment 381667
A perfect ending to our first day! After the fireworks, we did a little more shopping inside the Contemporary gift shops, walked back to the bus area at MK and back to the Pop we went to get some rest after such a big day! I hope you enjoyed our first day tales, and next up will be our Day 2 of fun, which will feature breakfast at Ohana, Disney Springs, and one of the highlights of our trip…Story Book Dining at Artist Point! Stay tuned!
What a great start! I love Pop Century, it's my favorite Value resort, specially now with the renovated rooms!
I cannot believe how hot it was 😅, that's getting me a bit worried about my next visit on mid/late August.
Any guesses as to where I'll stay?
Pop!

I've never been to Hoop Dee Doo, but I've read very good reviews about it, it looks like you had a lot of fun and the food looks yummy!

Sisters+California Grill Lounge+drinks+fireworks= one happy day!

How lucky for you to have a sister who loves Disney, mine likes it, but I wish they loved it!

I'm already enjoying your TR, oh! and I love your Minnie Ears, btw! 😉
 

Nunu

Wanderluster
Premium Member
Hahaaa...!!! :hilarious:
You’re welcome!
I actually learned that from an episode of Mysteries at the Museum from 2014
on the Travel Channel...!!! :)
I love that show! Unfortunately, the Travel Channel is not available where I live 😞, so I can only watch it while on vacation 😄
 

JosieBee

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Just an FYI...!!! ;):)

That is awesome! Hats off to him! Thanks for sharing that with me!
 

JosieBee

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Okay! On to Day 2: Saturday, June 8, 2019

Breakfast reservations this morning at Ohana! This was both our first time getting to check out the Polynesian Resort and eat at Ohana so we were super excited! Our reservations weren’t until 9:30 so we got to sleep in a little which is always a plus. Once again, we timed the bus right and it was already there waiting for us! So off we went once again to the MK to hop on the monorail over to the Polynesian. We made good time so had some time to look around and take some photos.

381894


We had hoped to walk the grounds outside but it was raining so we stayed indoors. The reservations were running about 15 minutes behind so we had some time to get in line to get a photo with Pluto who happened to be right outside of Ohana.

381890


After our 9:30 reservation turned into 9:50, we were finally seated and got a nice spot by the window.

381887


We were given the sweet bread and the tropical juice right away. The sweet bread was just okay for me, but my sister really liked it. Next, a fruit plate was brought just in time because we were starving hungry and didn’t want to get hangry! Then things went a bit strange after this point. We saw Mickey, Lilo, and Stitch at the other end of the restaurant visiting guests at their tables, and they also did the Rollercoaster Ride train of people and kids through the restaurant.

381892


However, for the whole time we were eating the characters never made it to our end of the restaurant and for quite awhile, they had disappeared all together. When we first got seated, our end was empty and slowly got filled up, and I am assuming that is how it is designed so the characters could greet a section all at once, which was fine. But while we were sitting there waiting for our food, we noticed the people who got seated after us were getting their food before us. We waited for quite awhile before the hot breakfast arrived at our table. It finally got there and we chowed down!

381893


I had heard that the breakfast food at Ohana wasn’t as good as the dinner food, and I wouldn’t know since I have yet to have dinner there, but I can say that I thought everything was very tasty and we ate our fill. Everyone around us was done and waiting for the characters, but still no characters were around. We finished up our meal and the server came with our bill and we asked her when the characters would be coming since we were there the whole time and none came around. She said we could wait and they would be coming soon, so we waited about another 10 minutes. I’ve done lots of other character meals and they usually come around while you are eating, so this just felt like the timing was way off, and we had been there for about an hour before any characters came around to us. But with all that said, when the characters finally did come around, we enjoyed the interactions with them and I would definitely want to go back and try it again sometime and it was a fun way to start our day.

381895


And I would just like to take the opportunity to give honorable mention to my sister's awesome Dole Whip themed Mickey ears and matching shirt that she made. The shirt says, "Watch me whip, Watch me Hei Hei" LOL! This will also be how I will now forever sing that song when I hear it.

381898


381899


After our time at Ohana, we waited about 15 minutes for the bus to take us to Disney Springs. The weather was still muggy and overcast, but the rain had stopped so that made walking around Disney Springs much more pleasant. We pretty much spent the afternoon shopping in the Marketplace area for souvenirs, and did some silly photos together at the Photopass Studio which is next to the Ghiradelli Ice Cream and Chocolate store. If you have bought Photopass, you can swing into the Photopass Studio and get some magic shots done. They have tons of different backgrounds to choose from. We just let the photographer tell us what to do for poses and then were surprised when we saw them later.

We were surprised with LOTS of different things, such as as Illuminations!

381906


And we were told to make a worried face and discovered we were put in the Haunted Mansion! 🤣

381908


After a few hours of shopping in Disney Springs and less money in our pockets, it was time to head back to the Pop to get ready for our big event…Storybook Dining at Artist Point! I will share all about that next time! It was big and amazing and I may need a couple different posts just to get through it all!​
 

JosieBee

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
What a great start! I love Pop Century, it's my favorite Value resort, specially now with the renovated rooms!
I cannot believe how hot it was 😅, that's getting me a bit worried about my next visit on mid/late August.
Any guesses as to where I'll stay?
Pop!

I've never been to Hoop Dee Doo, but I've read very good reviews about it, it looks like you had a lot of fun and the food looks yummy!

Sisters+California Grill Lounge+drinks+fireworks= one happy day!

How lucky for you to have a sister who loves Disney, mine likes it, but I wish they loved it!

I'm already enjoying your TR, oh! and I love your Minnie Ears, btw! 😉

I love Pop Century, too! When my sister stayed for her first trip a couple of years ago, her family stayed at Caribbean Beach and I always beat her to the parks because the bus situation is much better at the Pop. So when she stayed there this time, she could not believe the difference and really enjoyed it and felt it was a great value. And yes, I AM lucky to have a sister to love it with...we are like a couple of big kids when Disney gets involved! I'm working on my hubby! He likes it but isn't a lover of it...yet! LOL! Oh, and I made my Minnie Ears!!!! I don't sew so it took LOTS of hot glue! I watched some you tube videos and learned how to do them and made two pairs for this trip, the Minnie ones and a Steamboat Willie pair that you will see later in the TR. It was so fun to make them!
 

Nunu

Wanderluster
Premium Member
Okay! On to Day 2: Saturday, June 8, 2019

Breakfast reservations this morning at Ohana! This was both our first time getting to check out the Polynesian Resort and eat at Ohana so we were super excited! Our reservations weren’t until 9:30 so we got to sleep in a little which is always a plus. Once again, we timed the bus right and it was already there waiting for us! So off we went once again to the MK to hop on the monorail over to the Polynesian. We made good time so had some time to look around and take some photos.

View attachment 381894

We had hoped to walk the grounds outside but it was raining so we stayed indoors. The reservations were running about 15 minutes behind so we had some time to get in line to get a photo with Pluto who happened to be right outside of Ohana.

View attachment 381890

After our 9:30 reservation turned into 9:50, we were finally seated and got a nice spot by the window.

View attachment 381887

We were given the sweet bread and the tropical juice right away. The sweet bread was just okay for me, but my sister really liked it. Next, a fruit plate was brought just in time because we were starving hungry and didn’t want to get hangry! Then things went a bit strange after this point. We saw Mickey, Lilo, and Stitch at the other end of the restaurant visiting guests at their tables, and they also did the Rollercoaster Ride train of people and kids through the restaurant.

View attachment 381892

However, for the whole time we were eating the characters never made it to our end of the restaurant and for quite awhile, they had disappeared all together. When we first got seated, our end was empty and slowly got filled up, and I am assuming that is how it is designed so the characters could greet a section all at once, which was fine. But while we were sitting there waiting for our food, we noticed the people who got seated after us were getting their food before us. We waited for quite awhile before the hot breakfast arrived at our table. It finally got there and we chowed down!

View attachment 381893

I had heard that the breakfast food at Ohana wasn’t as good as the dinner food, and I wouldn’t know since I have yet to have dinner there, but I can say that I thought everything was very tasty and we ate our fill. Everyone around us was done and waiting for the characters, but still no characters were around. We finished up our meal and the server came with our bill and we asked her when the characters would be coming since we were there the whole time and none came around. She said we could wait and they would be coming soon, so we waited about another 10 minutes. I’ve done lots of other character meals and they usually come around while you are eating, so this just felt like the timing was way off, and we had been there for about an hour before any characters came around to us. But with all that said, when the characters finally did come around, we enjoyed the interactions with them and I would definitely want to go back and try it again sometime and it was a fun way to start our day.

View attachment 381895

And I would just like to take the opportunity to give honorable mention to my sister's awesome Dole Whip themed Mickey ears and matching shirt that she made. The shirt says, "Watch me whip, Watch me Hei Hei" LOL! This will also be how I will now forever sing that song when I hear it.

View attachment 381898

View attachment 381899

After our time at Ohana, we waited about 15 minutes for the bus to take us to Disney Springs. The weather was still muggy and overcast, but the rain had stopped so that made walking around Disney Springs much more pleasant. We pretty much spent the afternoon shopping in the Marketplace area for souvenirs, and did some silly photos together at the Photopass Studio which is next to the Ghiradelli Ice Cream and Chocolate store. If you have bought Photopass, you can swing into the Photopass Studio and get some magic shots done. They have tons of different backgrounds to choose from. We just let the photographer tell us what to do for poses and then were surprised when we saw them later.

We were surprised with LOTS of different things, such as as Illuminations!

View attachment 381906

And we were told to make a worried face and discovered we were put in the Haunted Mansion! 🤣

View attachment 381908

After a few hours of shopping in Disney Springs and less money in our pockets, it was time to head back to the Pop to get ready for our big event…Storybook Dining at Artist Point! I will share all about that next time! It was big and amazing and I may need a couple different posts just to get through it all!​
I noticed your sister's t-shirt and Dole Whip ears before even reading your commentary, love them! 🍍🍦😍
You both did a great job making your own personalized ears!
Hmmm, you didn't happen to forget those beauties back at Pop by any chance? :geek:

Breakfast at Ohana looks so good! Who knows what happens sometimes with the characters not having an established and timely cycle when greeting people at their tables? I've seen the same thing happen with Pooh and Friends at Crystal Palace. I'm glad you waited though, the pictures are worth it! Also, I haven't seen the backgrounds you got with Photopass at Disney Springs before, very cool!

Can't wait to read all about Storybook Dining! :bookworm:
 

MissViv

Well-Known Member
The only thing that keeps me from making reservations at Pop are no double beds. Is the Murphy Bed comfortable? I am planning a trip in November with my SIL and we need two beds so we have booked the POFQ.

Just wondering about that Murphy Bed????
 

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