Trip Report The One Where Elsa Followed Us To WDW

If I don't start this now... I never will!

When: December 3-11, 2024
Why: Our annual trip with our little family. We usually go late January/early February, but wanted a Christmas trip!
Where: Art of Animation Lion King family suite
Who: Me (Annie), my husband Ian, and my 2-year-old Nora (she turns 3 on NYE!)

I took SO SO many photos, I hope you are all ready LOL

Without further ado..

Our trip week kicked off with a rough start. On Sunday, we took Nora to see Moana 2. She did so well and LOVED it.

We got home and I proceeded to have the most violent food poisoning of my life for the next 30ish hours. SO AWFUL. I kept crying thinking it wouldn't be over in time for our trip. Somehow, I was okay on Tuesday morning when we got up to get ready to go to the airport but it was touch and go for a while there!!

Our flight was at noon out of Boston, so my dad picked us up around 8 to head from Maine to Boston.

We traveled in matching sweatshirts

We got into the city and through security pretty easily.

We checked two bags that weighed in at EXACTLY 50 pounds each. I guess this is the last trip we can get away with no suitcase for Nora!

Speaking of Nora, she was a huge fan of the escalators and moving walkways in the airport.

Once we found our gate and ensured it existed, we went to the play area to let her blow off some steam.

After running around like a chicken with her head cut off, it was time for some donuts from Dunkin.

We had more than enough time as things had been running very smoothly. We headed back to let Nora do some more playing before boarding.

We do not board early because I do not need MORE time with a toddler in a confined space lol

Ian got the carseat loaded up and soon we were taking off.

We do not do screens at home apart from family movies together, so the seatback TV kept Nora entertained the entire flight. I personally wished she would've napped, but she was an angel, and I was grateful lol

3 hours later we made it to MCO around 4 PM!

Nora was excited about the "monorail"

to be continued!

 

[Tuvalu]

Tuva twin has those Elton John sunglasses!

 

[meggo819]

The suitcase is such great prop for pictures! So cute!

 

[MickeyPretzelEnthusiast]

Tuva twin has those Elton John sunglasses!

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[MickeyPretzelEnthusiast]

We determined that we had JUST enough time to meet Olaf before the show and Nora was adamant that she wanted to meet him.

Until the time came to actually meet him lol

She did okay with us all together!

Then started to warm up!

And this is why I hate the no human photo boxes because we went to walk out and she turned around, ran back, and gave him a hug no photo though

We had to race to the theater but made it just in time!

Nora loves Elsa so this was a big hit!

After the show, we headed back for our next LL on A.S.S.

It had gotten quite a bit busier since morning.

Selfie with Buzz because Nora claims she wants to be Buzz Lightyear for Halloween next year lol

She loved it as usual with lots of "arms up!!" moments

 

[MickeyPretzelEnthusiast]

It was finally time for the moment I'd been waiting for - our LL for Slinky Dog Dash!

I had no idea how Nora would do but I really wasn't too worried.

She asked to ride with mama and I happily obliged with Ian right behind us.

Look at that big smile! She was sooooo excited.

How did she do? ....

She loved it SO much. Oh my gosh, I don't think I will ever forget her little giggles the entire time. She wanted to ride again IMMEDIATELY and Ian and I honestly would've done up to a 45 minute wait to experience it with her again, but it was up to 90 minutes lol

We had one more must do before our afternoon break.

First, Ian changed shirts as it was finally warm enough and I had bought him this as a gift and he didn't want it to go to waste!

Our last stop was BaTB. We love this show

 

[MickeyPretzelEnthusiast]

Nora loves Belle, so this was yet another hit.

She was singing and dancing along to the music.

Finally, it was time to head out for a break. We could have squeezed in more, but we didn't want to push it.

"CHIP!!!!"

The Skyliner was a breeze, literally, and we were back at AoA in no time.

Nora played on the little Nemo playground for a bit while I submitted a mobile order for her lunch.

She powered through her chicken with dreams of pool time before her nap.

Raise your hand if you are ready to swim!

 

[MickeyPretzelEnthusiast]

My little fishy loved this part of the day.

Nora was tempted to join in on the games today, but opted to watch from a distance instead.

She ended her pool time lounging with some Pringles and water.

Life is good!

Ian took her back for a nap while I got some time to read my book in the sun.

I was texting Ian during this time about evening plans and he convinced me to do some solo time at MK after our dinner. After finding some LL options, I was getting excited about it!

Nora napped for a couple hours before we headed back to HS.

So so pretty at night.

 

[MickeyPretzelEnthusiast]

We had a LL for MMRR because why not?!

After our ride with no fights with other guests (LOL), we headed to our reservation at Sci Fi!

We waited probably 10 minutes after our reservation but were seated in a great spot.

We loved the milkshakes.

Amazing low light food photo, right?! The burger was good, nothing special but did the job.

Nora was transfixed the whole time and made the experience well worth it!

After dinner, we were instructed to head directly out of the park since Jollywood Nights had officially started.

At the exit, Ian and Nora went to the Skyliner while I went to grab an Uber to the Contemporary!

 

[MickeyPretzelEnthusiast]

My Uber driver had a wild story about how he was one of the last remaining original families on Disney property and had been working in some capacity for Disney basically his entire life. He was very nice but eccentric lol

When he dropped me off at the Contemporary, he even offered to take my picture with the tree!

We said our goodbyes, and I headed to MK.

HEA was just wrapping up as I walked along the pathway.

It was a hot mess trying to push the opposite way of the crowds, but I was on a mission.

It was way past my boarding time for Tiana's, but I had a LL for BTMRR anyway so couldn't hurt to ask.

They had zero issues with it, even 8 hours later. Here we go!!

I LOVED all the little details.

 

[MickeyPretzelEnthusiast]

I was in the second row and very nervous about how wet I would get.

the answer?

Drenched. but it was SO FUN and worth it!

I headed off to my LL next. I love BTMRR at night.

After scanning in, I was able to grab a LL for Tiana's so headed there right after my wildest ride in the wilderness.

Just as fun, and wet, the second time around.

After my second ride, I headed to my next LL on Pirates!

I was having so much fun but was really losing steam. I opted for one more LL before calling it a night.

 

[MickeyPretzelEnthusiast]

Where to?

Space Mountain! I was trying to do some rides that we can't do with Nora just yet.

It feels like I'm awkwardly interrupting a private moment here lol

I couldn't resist a final People Mover ride to close out my evening.

A perfect way to end the night IMO.

i grabbed some treats on my way out and was able to get a bus back to AoA pretty quickly.

It was SUCH a fun day and I was BEAT. I fell asleep SO fast after giving Ian a rundown of my evening.

 

[cgersic]

The photos of Nora on Slinky seriously made me tear up and she's not even my kid! Soooo sweet! Loving the solo time at MK!

 

[Tiki Traveler]

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Always fun to have a “dress up” event at Disney! Hard to squeeze in but very enjoyable. Love both your dresses!

 

[MickeyPretzelEnthusiast]

So...

I have a motivator to finish this TR in a timely manner.

Have you all ever seen videos (Tik Toks) where they will take a super cheap morning flight from a place like Boston, fly into MCO, spend the day at MK, and take a late-night flight home that same evening?

Well, I'm doing that LOL

It was my Christmas present from Ian!

On March 5th, my mom will be joining me on a wild 24 hour Disney adventure. Flying out of Boston at 6 AM on Frontier (round trip flight was $80), Uber to MK, Uber to MCO, 945 PM flight home!

Our last Disney adventure together (after a childhood of yearly trips) was in 2017 when she joined me for a work trip.

I'm excited and nervous but MOSTLY excited! 36 days!

 

[Tiggertoo56]

So...

I have a motivator to finish this TR in a timely manner.

Have you all ever seen videos (Tik Toks) where they will take a super cheap morning flight from a place like Boston, fly into MCO, spend the day at MK, and take a late-night flight home that same evening?

Well, I'm doing that LOL

It was my Christmas present from Ian!

On March 5th, my mom will be joining me on a wild 24 hour Disney adventure. Flying out of Boston at 6 AM on Frontier (round trip flight was $80), Uber to MK, Uber to MCO, 945 PM flight home!

Our last Disney adventure together (after a childhood of yearly trips) was in 2017 when she joined me for a work trip.

View attachment 840400

I'm excited and nervous but MOSTLY excited! 36 days!

Wow! What a gift

 

[RememberWhen]

That’s so awesome!! LOVE it!

 

[MickeyPretzelEnthusiast]

Epcot day!

We started off with the treats I snagged from MK the night before as our well rounded breakfast.

Nora chose who got each treat.

Miss attitude always...

We headed for the Skyliner just as the sun was rising, it was a bit chilly but not awful.

We were lined up ready for it to start running!

We had a pretty uneventful ride over to Epcot.

Our plan for RD was Remy! Though we have made a number of trips since its opening, it was still a ride we had been unable to do. Once we were in, we queued up right away.

We waited about 30 minutes, playing the I Spy game over and over lol

And then we were off!

We were inside and loading up in no time.

 

[MickeyPretzelEnthusiast]

We avoided all spoilers for YEARS, so everything was a fun surprise. We loved it! As did Nora.

After our ride, we decided to take a leisurely stroll around World Showcase. We do not love evening vibes at Epcot, so the quiet of the morning was just what we needed.

Yes, I took a million photos of the ornaments lol

America tree!

 

[MickeyPretzelEnthusiast]

Nora insisted we stop and watch the trains for awhile.

Ian: Take a picture of us!!
Nora: *immediately hides behind sunshade*

We considered getting in line for Frozen, but the line was a bit long when we had a LL booked for later on anyway. We moved onward.

To another boat ride!

Nora LOVES Donald, so this is always a big hit.

 

[MickeyPretzelEnthusiast]

Quick family selfie!

The Epcot tree wasn't one of my favorites, but pretty nonetheless.

Clue to where we are headed next..

That was easy!

Apologies to our passenger lol

I feel like Nora thought this was weird. And it is lol but she liked it!

We were a bit peckish from our breakfast of pure sugar, so we had a quick snack after Figment.

Us? Having yet another Mickey pretzel? GROUNDBREAKING.

Up next was our LL was LWTL. I wished we could've gotten an evening time, but we were still happy to ride during the day.