Trip Report Just enough

Hello again WDWMagic friends!
It has been a long, hard year since Covid began and for our family we were lucky enough to stay home and stay safe together for the majority of it. I would be lying if I said it hadn’t been rough on us regardless. My kids said goodbye to their school, friends, and teachers one afternoon last March, and never saw any of them again. I have done my best to keep them safe, happy and educated since then. In September I had to explain that a Disney trip we had been planning for years had to be cancelled, and that was not easy.
After the holidays I started to feel like we all needed a break and some Disney magic. I planned a trip for March but didn’t get my hopes up. I watched the days on the calendar tick by and when we were just a few weeks out I realized this might actually be happening and I should probably pack!
I was still not ready to be sure we could actually go until we got on the airplane. Thought that someone would spike a fever or new restrictions would be put into place kept me on my toes, so we kept the entire trip and complete and total secret from the kids. After the heartache of explaining a cancelled Disney trip, this was the only way I could handle it.
The night before the trip, my husband, R, put daughter O (now almost 7) and son Z (now 5) to bed while I packed for the trip. The kids woke up the next morning none the wiser. We had a good breakfast and then went off to a “doctors appointment”. There were about ten times I thought our cover was blown, when we got to the airport they said “Hey isn’t this the airport?” and not wanting to lie but not ready to reveal yet I said “It does look like the airport”. When we parked I got out new Minnie and Mickey backpacks for them loaded with things to keep them busy on the airplane. We finally revealed where we were headed and it took a few moments to sink in. Once they understood what was happening, we were met with squeals of delight.

It was a whirlwind getting our luggage, checking in and getting through security. When we finally found a socially distanced seat at the gate and had a few minutes of downtime, the important questions began. Where are we staying, and how long? What parks are we going to? They were very happy with the answers and we soon boarded our flight to the magic.

 

[ELeigh]

I need the name of your breakfast location.

I had to look it up because I didn’t remember: Marritt Island Pancake House. A hike from the parks but very close to Port Canaveral

 

[ELeigh]

Day 4 Part 1
After a restful evening with no children, I was up early and ready to go. I can’t sleep in at Disney! I placed a mobile order for coffee for myself and breakfast for R and was at Everything POP right around 7. Magic Kingdom was supposed to open at nine and there was already a massive line for the bus. I was happy in our decision to drive.
A short while later, we arrived here and were only several cars back from the start of the line:

We got confirmation from my mom(G) that they were a few rows over with my sister and my nephew.
At promptly 8am the cars started rolling in. The next part was not my favorite-we made it out of the 2 cars with 4 adults and 3 children. We made the mad dash to the monorail and then hit a roadblock. The monorail was down for at least 10 minutes and they were bussing people over instead. We hopped out of line, made our way onto on a bus and saw the monorail take off at the exact same time.
Either way we made it into the park and on and off our first attraction within 30 minutes of official park open. My sister is an AP so we should have had ride photons from Space Mountain, but she received a message that she couldn’t download the photos because someone wasn’t wearing a mask (we all were and it even shows that in the proofs).
The kids had picked what rides were most important for them to ride with G since this was our one day with her in the parks, Buzz was at the top of Zs list, so our next stop was easy.

R beat me to no ones surprise, he found out about some of the high point targets since our last trip so I lost my only edge. In a suprise twist, O beat self proclaimed “Video Game Guy” Z. He was a bit of a sore loser but got over it when we headed for Os attraction pick.

G is not a Disney fan, honestly the biggest curmudgeon about our frequent trips. But she will do anything for her grandkids-even wear a Minnie Mouse shirt! I wanted to buy her Minnie ears and make her wear them but didn’t think it was worth the 30$ price tag.

I stuck with team girl on the teacups while Z and R were on team boy. My sister and nephew were there too somewhere in a teacup together. We got off the teacups and R was starting to hit a wall of hunger, I mobile ordered some lunch for him from Pinocchio’s and he went off to grab that while the rest of us took a trip under the sea.
My phone battery was low at this point and I was saving it for mobile orders, so there are limited pictures for this part of the day. I can’t confirm or deny if anyone else wavered, but I waved.
Small world and Splash mountain were the last 2 attractions on our wish list. After a bathroom break in the Tangled restrooms we headed to the Small world line that was a posted 45 minute wait. Up until this point all of the wait times had actually been exaggerated by about half. Not so for Small World, it took the full 45 minutes. R asked the attendant at the original entrance if he could join in with us when we passed so he made it on the ride with minimal wait.
The rest of us were very over it after that so I decided to mobile order from Pecos Bills and Aloha Isle.
Everything looked great but there was just one problem-even though Pecos Bills was roped off and only those with mobile orders being let in, the seating was very limited with the Covid restrictions and we had a giant tray of food and no where to sit. My arms were about to give out and I plopped it down on a table that was “closed for our safety”. A cast member was quick to let us know we couldn’t sit there, but wasn’t able to give us any clue where we could sit. Luckily another family who was finishing up their meal did what he could not and offered us their table-and saved my sanity.
We shared tacos and nachos along with 4 dole whip floats and everyone was content.
After our experiences with the small world ride, a posted hour and thirty minute wait meant no Splash mountain for Z on this day. He was a little sad but the promise of shopping for a toy on the way out made the news easier.
Before each child got their pick of a toy from the big shop on Main Street, we had had one last thing to ask of them, “Say Cheese”:

Only a short while after this, Disney lifted the mask restrictions for photos, but this is the best we could do given the rules at the time.

 

[ELeigh]

Day 4 Part 2
I just finished up the craziest school year ever as a teacher so back to the TR.

After we left MK on day 4 of our trip, I dropped off R and the kids at POP to take a nap and I hit the skyliner.
I was officially in search of a Joffrey’s coffee, but might have gotten side tracked. I entered a breezy and sunny world showcase and headed for France. It was the perfect afternoon to sip a grand marnier slush, and I decided to grab a snack to go with it.

Traditional poutine from the refreshment port hit the spot. I relaxed a while and then had to make a one more stop on my way back out.

The seasonal cold brew from Joffreys was an Irish cream and it was delicious. My skyliner ride back was very bumpy with the breeze and I decided I would be glad not to ride again this trip.

I came back to the kids raring and ready to go. We decided to try something we’ve never done before.

Fantasia Gardens mini golf was a big hit. They have been begging to go mini golfing again but we don’t have one close so it will have to wait until our summer vacation.
We kept score but the kids insisted we were all on the same team. The team celebrated afterwards with one of our Florida favorites-Mellow Mushroom pizza. I’m not sure how far this chain spreads but there aren’t locations anywhere near us and it is a favorite of Rs from when he lived in Florida. This location was about 15 minutes from pop century. We enjoyed a great meal and headed back to settle in for the night.

 

[Tuvalu]

Day 4 Part 2
I just finished up the craziest school year ever as a teacher so back to the TR.

After we left MK on day 4 of our trip, I dropped off R and the kids at POP to take a nap and I hit the skyliner.
I was officially in search of a Joffrey’s coffee, but might have gotten side tracked. I entered a breezy and sunny world showcase and headed for France. It was the perfect afternoon to sip a grand marnier slush, and I decided to grab a snack to go with it. View attachment 565096
Traditional poutine from the refreshment port hit the spot. I relaxed a while and then had to make a one more stop on my way back out.
View attachment 565098The seasonal cold brew from Joffreys was an Irish cream and it was delicious. My skyliner ride back was very bumpy with the breeze and I decided I would be glad not to ride again this trip.
View attachment 565094
I came back to the kids raring and ready to go. We decided to try something we’ve never done before. View attachment 565095
Fantasia Gardens mini golf was a big hit. They have been begging to go mini golfing again but we don’t have one close so it will have to wait until our summer vacation.
We kept score but the kids insisted we were all on the same team. The team celebrated afterwards with one of our Florida favorites-Mellow Mushroom pizza. I’m not sure how far this chain spreads but there aren’t locations anywhere near us and it is a favorite of Rs from when he lived in Florida. This location was about 15 minutes from pop century. We enjoyed a great meal and headed back to settle in for the night.

We had Mellow Mushroom pizza on Friday night before Em and I left for WDW on Saturday. There are many locations in the Atlanta area.
Have you tried the garlic Parmesan pretzels?

 

[ELeigh]

Have you tried the garlic Parmesan pretzels?

Yes! We got them on this trip They were amazing as always

 

[ELeigh]

Day 5
I am not sure how we managed this, but we took zero pictures the next 2 days of our trip.
On day 5 we had a park pass for Epcot making it our second Epcot park pass of the trip, not something I meant to do but when I was rearranging things I wasn’t able to get MK or HS for this day. We made the most of it by driving over and rope dropping Test Track-it was all of our first time and the kids loved it even with Covid restrictions. We then moved on to Soarin which the kids had only done in Disneyland before but they liked this version just as much.
We made walk up reservations for Lunch at Spice Road Table and although some of our previous favorites were cut from the menu in favor of the new Tapas style, everything was amazing! We ordered calimari, the spice road sampler, naan with dipping sauces and pomegranate-chili crispy cauliflower. The cauliflower was the standout and I am still dreaming of that amazing sweet/savory crunchy combo. We will be back for sure. I wanted to try an alcoholic beverage but decided against it since I would be driving shortly after this meal.
My first ever driving adventure in Florida consisted of....getting a Covid test. At the time our state had a rule that you needed negative test results within 72 hours of return to avoid quarantine. If you think about it that policy made no sense as you could have contracted Covid anytime after that period but I followed the protocol. I had the kids come with me so that they could safely return to dance class after the trip.
While the process of being tested went very smoothly, I’m so glad this is a thing of the past like many of the Covid protocols. The kids were good sports about getting swabbed so I rewarded them with milkshakes from D-Luxe burger soon afterwards.
We swung by Disney springs to pick up a joffreys coffee for my reward then picked up a mobile order of burgers, fries, chicken tenders and of course milkshakes. They chose S’mores and cookies and cream for their milkshakes. They might have been encouraged to share, the s’mores one didn’t make it back to POP.
R had been napping while we were gone so we woke him up for dinner and we all enjoyed the fries with the garlic ranch (which I’ve successfully reproduced and home much to the dismay of my waistline). I had been dreaming of the Southern burger and it did not disappoint, although next trip I’ve convinced R that we need to eat there so we can get the experience of everything fresh and hot.
After dinner we took our time getting ready because we didn’t want to rush our next move. We had decided to hit Magic Kingdom around closing time to avoid crowds.
We parked and boarded the monorail without issues this time and entered the park with about and hour and a half before close. Our main goal was to ride Splash because Z had requested “one last ride” before it transforms to “Tiana’s mountain”. Unfortunately for us, Splash was down. He settled for BTMRR. They enjoyed their first ride on this coast’s “Wildest Ride in the Wilderness”. After that I told this kids to trust me and that I had a plan. They didn’t know where we were headed until we entered the line for Haunted Mansion. Last WDW trip O was terrified of this reuse but since then has been obsessed with singing along to “Grim Grinning Ghosts” when we bust out the parks songs for long car rides. Z was really excited to point out details he had learned from watching ride videos on youtube.
Next stop was a bit controversial for a few minutes. We entered one of the more crowded indoor places we visited this trip to a holding room with more than it’s fair share of screaming toddlers and burnt out parents. It was worth the wait when the kids got a chance to see the “Donald Duck Movie” aka Mickeys Philharmagic. We had missed this on our last trip after Z had specifically asked for it so I wanted to make sure we fit it in.
After Donald got himself stuck in a wall, we made our way to our final destination of the evening. I wanted to hit it at just the right time where most of the crowds were leaving but the last call riders weren’t ready to jump on line yet. Riding SDMT at night was the perfect way to end our park day and checked the box of finishing Os request list for the trip. Both kids felt they had one more ride in them and were eyeing Pooh on the way out but we ended the night with the promise of “Next time”. Both kids were sound asleep by the time we pulled into the 80s parking at POP but luckily woke up just enough to get back to the room and ready for bed before passing out again.

 

[ELeigh]

Day 6/7
We had a park pass for Hollywood studios on day 6 of this trip, but the thought of getting everyone up and out for park open was less than pleasant after a long night at MK.
I set an alarm to get up in time to try for a boarding group and decided that the outcome would dictate our day. When I failed to secure a boarding group I went back to sleep.
When I woke up again, R and I discussed our options. I offered up five different plans I had worked out and all of them sounded like settling for less than I had hoped for. R talked some sense into me and reminded me that we already had our next trip booked and that the park tickets I had slated for today could be used then instead.
Our last minute relax day was everything we needed it to be. We started with a Mickey waffle breakfast from everything POP. R took the kids for a dip in the Hippy Dippy pool while I watched from the edge because it was definitely not warm enough to be swimming. We had lunch off property at On the Border and saw Raya and the Last Dragon in the theatre at Disney Springs. R had suggested earlier in the day that we try to see if my mom would be able to meet for dinner and we were able to make that happen by driving out her way. Unfortunately she has chosen to move to the middle of nowhere and there isn’t much in between Orlando and her new house an hour away. We ended up at a pretty gross sports bar but the kids were thrilled to get some extra time with grandma.
The next morning we had one last surprise in store for the kids before heading home.

Z was ready give the place a thumbs up before he even got food.

No one was disappointed.

I had a breakfast hash bowl that was really good. I also got my coffee and my adult beverage for the day all in one. R got the steak option but it was half gone before I thought to snap a picture so I guess it was good.

We said see you later to Mickey and headed out. We made a stop to Disney springs for some last minute sweets to take home and some gifts for our cat sitters and then it was off to the airport.

The kids have a thumbs up on the trip as a whole.

We had another smooth travel day, a record first for us.
Since many of the dining options were still closed and we are off sight quite a bit, I was also left with a significant amount left on my gift cards. I was thinking of just saving them for dining on our next trip but R encouraged me to use them for a major upgrade....

When we arrived home I truly felt that this trip was “just enough” to hold us over for a hopefully more normal visit in the future with less masks and more characters, fireworks and *fingers double crossed* fast passes.

 

[SandiSmiles]

Day 6/7
We had a park pass for Hollywood studios on day 6 of this trip, but the thought of getting everyone up and out for park open was less than pleasant after a long night at MK.
I set an alarm to get up in time to try for a boarding group and decided that the outcome would dictate our day. When I failed to secure a boarding group I went back to sleep.
When I woke up again, R and I discussed our options. I offered up five different plans I had worked out and all of them sounded like settling for less than I had hoped for. R talked some sense into me and reminded me that we already had our next trip booked and that the park tickets I had slated for today could be used then instead.
Our last minute relax day was everything we needed it to be. We started with a Mickey waffle breakfast from everything POP. R took the kids for a dip in the Hippy Dippy pool while I watched from the edge because it was definitely not warm enough to be swimming. We had lunch off property at On the Border and saw Raya and the Last Dragon in the theatre at Disney Springs. R had suggested earlier in the day that we try to see if my mom would be able to meet for dinner and we were able to make that happen by driving out her way. Unfortunately she has chosen to move to the middle of nowhere and there isn’t much in between Orlando and her new house an hour away. We ended up at a pretty gross sports bar but the kids were thrilled to get some extra time with grandma.
The next morning we had one last surprise in store for the kids before heading home. View attachment 568074Z was ready give the place a thumbs up before he even got food.View attachment 568073
No one was disappointed.View attachment 568072View attachment 568075I had a breakfast hash bowl that was really good. I also got my coffee and my adult beverage for the day all in one. R got the steak option but it was half gone before I thought to snap a picture so I guess it was good.
View attachment 568071We said see you later to Mickey and headed out. We made a stop to Disney springs for some last minute sweets to take home and some gifts for our cat sitters and then it was off to the airport.
View attachment 568070 View attachment 568067The kids have a thumbs up on the trip as a whole. View attachment 568068View attachment 568068We had another smooth travel day, a record first for us.
Since many of the dining options were still closed and we are off sight quite a bit, I was also left with a significant amount left on my gift cards. I was thinking of just saving them for dining on our next trip but R encouraged me to use them for a major upgrade....
View attachment 568224When we arrived home I truly felt that this trip was “just enough” to hold us over for a hopefully more normal visit in the future with less masks and more characters, fireworks and *fingers double crossed* fast passes.

The picture of Z & Mickey looking out of the plane window is so sweet! I really enjoyed your trip report. And Congrats on your upcoming Poly stay!

 

[fractal]

Enjoyed the report - great move on upgrading to Poly!

 

[ELeigh]

The picture of Z & Mickey looking out of the plane window is so sweet! I really enjoyed your trip report. And Congrats on your upcoming Poly stay!

Thank you and yes it was such a sweet little moment I’m glad I got a picture

Enjoyed the report - great move on upgrading to Poly!

Thanks for following, I can’t wait to stay at the Poly

 

[sheriffwoody]

Just finished the report. Really enjoyed it! I love that you took advantage of having a car and ventured off-site, especially to see grandma. I'm sure that was so special for her! Looking forward to the next one with that sweet upgrade

 

[ELeigh]

Just finished the report. Really enjoyed it! I love that you took advantage of having a car and ventured off-site, especially to see grandma. I'm sure that was so special for her! Looking forward to the next one with that sweet upgrade

Thanks for following! Renting a car was such a game changer we will probably do it from now on

 

[MickeyCB]

Thanks for sharing your trip, it was fun to follow along!

 

[amjt660]

Glad to hear you had a good trip

Max

 

[ELeigh]

Thanks for sharing your trip, it was fun to follow along!

Thanks for following!

Glad to hear you had a good trip

Max

Thanks! This was a good one-hoping the next one is even better