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!)

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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.

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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 😍

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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.

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

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

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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.

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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.

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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

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

Nora was excited about the "monorail"

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to be continued!
 

MickeyPretzelEnthusiast

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Tacking on my 24 hour trip to the end of this one in the spirit of laziness LOL

When: March 5, 2025
Why: Christmas present from Ian!
Who: me and my mama!


I specifically booked this "there and back" trip strategically on a Wednesday because that is (WAS) a day Ian worked remotely so could drop/pick Nora up from school with no problem. Until the executive order to return to work happened and messed up all our plans (he's literally an engineer who sits at his desk all day working on spreadsheets BUT I digress.....). Ian ended up having to take the day off entirely just to make this work which was a bummer :(

ANYWAY.

My alarm went off at 1:45 AM and I was a bit tired, but the excitement got me going.


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We were flying Frontier out of Boston to Orlando (a $90 round trip flight!!), so I had to find a personal item small enough to fit their standards.

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This bag did the trick. I actually received it in the mail from DVC the day before!

My mom picked me up at 230 and we had a quiet drive from Maine to Boston. Even though it is SPENDY to park at Logan, we were doing so for less than 24 hours so opted to do for ease and accessibility.

Security was a breeze at 4 AM, despite the fact that they were all still in a morning meeting 😅
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Quick selfie before finding our gate.

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I was so hungry but NOTHING was open. Truly... nothing. Not Hudson News, not Dunkin, nothing. Our flight boarded at 5:15 and a Hudson News finally opened at 5. We quickly grabbed something because I was HUNGRY and didn't just want a snack.

I painfully paid $10 for this mini bagel and mushy fruit 😭
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I got our ticket cards out at this time, something I am not used to because Ian and I always do Magic Bands!

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Boarding was also pretty quick, and I kindly gave my mom the window seat lol

She pulled her book out and had to show me the bookmark she was using. It was one I made her in 1997 🥰
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The flight was pretty uneventful. We ended up with an empty middle seat between us, so despite the tight Frontier quarters we were not as squished as we could've been.

Our flight landed around 930, and we hopped off to change into some FL appropriate clothes. Excuse my dogs barking in the below pic, I took it to brag to Ian that I was in shorts haha
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Let's hit the fonorail and get to MK!

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I specifically ordered a Minnie Van on Lyft so we could be dropped off at the entrance of MK. The quote on the trip showed us that would be our drop off and SAID Minnie Van.

Well.. a regular SUV picked us up. Okay...

The ride was quick though, and we were crossed into friendly territory soon enough.

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MickeyPretzelEnthusiast

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
We made great time! Our Lyft pull into the bus depot to the Minnie Van drop off and was immediately stopped by security who said we were not a Minnie Van. Visually... I agree with him. But I show him my Lyft app and how I requested and paid for a Minnie Van. He basically said too bad you got screwed and wouldn't let me get out of the vehicle.

UGGGHHHH. I did dispute with Lyft but no resolution yet.

Our Lyft driver was nice though and brought us to Contemporary where we pretended to have dining reservations.

Crisis averted, we headed toward MK.

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My mom said she had never walked this pathway, so at least it was a first for her.

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We passed through security with no issue and entered just around 10:30 AM. We made it!!

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We grabbed a locker for our small bags and change of clothes and headed on our way.

A beautiful sight to see after waking up in Maine that very morning.

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We grabbed some Photopass pictures to commemorate.

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Also documented baby bumps first trip!

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Tuvalu

Well-Known Member
I specifically ordered a Minnie Van on Lyft so we could be dropped off at the entrance of MK. The quote on the trip showed us that would be our drop off and SAID Minnie Van.

Well.. a regular SUV picked us up. Okay...

The ride was quick though, and we were crossed into friendly territory soon enough.
When I first read this, I suspected you would face difficulties with your drop off.

While (pre-pandemic) Minnie Van (the character vehicles) offered service to/from a Disney Resort to/from MCO (which was a pricey $150-$250 one way), it no longer does. Minnie Van is a contractor for Lyft.


Only the character vehicles are allowed to drop off at the MK bus depot, which is why your Lyft got turned away. I can only imagine your frustration, and I hope any extra money you paid for a Minnie Van (which tends to be about double the price of a regular Lyft within Disney property) gets refunded to you by Lyft.

Glad you made it through the Contemporary gate (which is typically very strict with ride-share drops) so you and your mom didn’t lose more precious time!

Can’t wait to read more.
 

Minnie1986

Well-Known Member
Up next, we walked right on to Dumbo and decided to all ride together for our last time of the trip!

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We hurried on over to Speedway after that, the line was only about 20 minutes.

I accidently caught a lovely toddler moment lol

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Nora insisted on riding with Dad.

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We had time to do one more ride before BBB, so we decided on Buzz!

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We ended up stuck for awhile on Buzz so had to HAUL it to BBB after we exited.

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We checked in right on the dot for our appointment, and before long we were meeting with our fairy godmother.

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Nora was a little freaked out but transfixed by the magic mirror!

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That photo of Nora and her dad waiting for Tomorrowland Speedway is SO precious!
 

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