Who's Afraid of the Big Bad...Spring Break Crowds?

Hello Everyone and welcome aboard Jess's Walt Disney World Trip Report.


Well here I am again in cold, windy Pittsburgh when just a few weeks ago I was in….well cold, windy Florida. But a cold day in Disney is better than a warm day at home, right? That’s what I told myself as I bundled up for a chilly 4 day trip to Disney in March. And it’s Spring Break? Oh well – a crowded day in Disney is better than a…lonely day at home? Not quite sure how to end that but to sum it up…yes ANY day in Disney is better than ANY other day at home.


This trip was GIRLS ONLY. Why? Because boys have cooties, duh. But seriously with my Dad going away on a golf trip (currently on it) my mom felt better about vacationing without him and my fiancé is getting though his last rotations before he graduates in June (Yay!!) and my sister’s husband couldn’t get off work. Oh yes it’s Ladies Night…and day…and yeah so this trip is just us ladies.

For those of you who don’t know me (which you should…I’m a hoot)
I'm Jess.



I'm a big fan of food, villains and EPCOT.

There's my seester, Nikki and my dearest darling Momsie




The plan was – Pop Century for 4 nights – parks for 3 days – park openings/closings – get all 4 parks accomplished in 3 days during Spring Break crowds. OK GO.


March 24, 2013.

Our flight was scheduled to leave at 6:00pm. As we’re walking out the door to church – I see our flight was delayed to take off at 7. No big deal. About 4 seconds later I re-check and now it’s delayed to 7:45. Gah. There go my plans of hitting up AoA for a little when we check into Pop.

We head to the airport early anyway because they have a great restaurant there (Not the Pittsburgh one – the Latrobe one…about 15 minutes from my house) so we had some drinks and appetizers. At the end of the meal – we see our flight is delayed again to 8:15. FRICK DOUBLE FRICK. That’s ok – that’s why Steve Jobs invented iPads, iPhones and iPods to keep us busy. FINALLY the flight gets there and we are ready to board.

Who says we aren’t excited to go to Disney after a few hours in an airport?


Then we sit on the plane for another hour while they de-ice our wings. Joy. After the bumpiest flight of my LIFE…we landed in MCO around 11pm. Well shucks now we have to go to baggage to claim our bags like some kind of COMMONERS? Ugh – first world problems.
Anywho…off to DME to take us to POP.

We got to Pop around 11:45. 60’s section room 4349 – wonderful building location.





(Sorry for the blurry pictures - I was a bit frustrated with being so late and these were walking pictures. Not that there is any excuse for the pictures to come - I'm a point and shoot on the move kind of gal)

Very light unpacking and getting to sleep. DHS opens at 7 people – get to bed!

 

[tiaragirl]

THAT GARLIC BREAD LOOKS UNREAL.

I stole you Mama Melrose surprise reservation idea and now I want that garlic cheese bread in EPCOT. Eating around Disney a la Jess!

 

[PartOfYourWorld]

What! that is blasphemy you only rode it twice being the lover of SSE you are!

I have to agree it is tough to get a picture of her. That ride is just amazing in general! lol.

MORE FOOOOOOOOOD. Did you try that Dole Whip with rum?? Or am I jumping ahead here? lol

 

[plaz10]

THAT GARLIC BREAD LOOKS UNREAL.

I stole you Mama Melrose surprise reservation idea and now I want that garlic cheese bread in EPCOT. Eating around Disney a la Jess!

Dear I don't know if your tiny frame can support the amount of food consumed in eating around Disney with Jess. Hahaha. It's kind of gross how much I eat in Disney compared to a regular day.

Surprise ADRs is a trick I stole from @HollyBelle and it's always awesome! The garlic bread was soooo good - and they ask to heat it for you...the answer is YES.

What! that is blasphemy you only rode it twice being the lover of SSE you are!

I have to agree it is tough to get a picture of her. That ride is just amazing in general! lol.

MORE FOOOOOOOOOD. Did you try that Dole Whip with rum?? Or am I jumping ahead here? lol

OK....I wanted to ride is 34534 times. We know this. But it had a bit of a line during most of the day. Once the line was low - we had to get to Magic Kingdom for Wishes. Plus - it bums me out a little to ride it without Bill. Waaah. But it's still the best ride in all of Disney.

So much food so little time. I actually didn't try the dole whip with rum - I read they don't even put a whole shot of rum in it. But a regular dole whip MAY OR MAY NOT make an appearance later on....

 

[plaz10]

ok...Tuesday March 26th continued...(I swear I'll finish this day today!)

Alright 2 countries left in snacking around the world. I was ready to get back to future world, Mom was cold and disgustingly full and Nikki was all pumped because she had signed up for an Agent P mission in UK. Ugh. Alright let's do thisssss.









Alright we need a snack. A small one. Tiny. Very small portions.



Yep. Generic shortbread cookies you can find almost anywhere in Disney. BUT it's shortbread so it's British so it counts!! Just let me have this...it was the smallest snack we could find.

Finishing up the Agent P mission - it was a pretty good mission. Better than China...not as good as Germany (in my opinion)





OK TO CANADA. ONE MORE STOP!



Guess who we were playing that evening in hockey? (The answer is Canadiens NOT Maple Leafs but the Canadiens had substantially less merchandise than other Canadian hockey teams - I personally enjoy Vancouver's colors the best of all.)

And our final snack???



Maple Candy Lollipop



BOOM. Snacking around the world = COMPLETE. Highlights of the food tour were....
-Crab Tostada at F&G booth in Mexico
-Troll Horn at Kringla Bakery in Norway
-Chicken/Cucumber Salad at F&G booth in Morocco
-Lemon (Citron) Tart at Les Halles Bakery in France

Good food. Good times. Very VERY full bellies. Now it's time to get back to Future World! Via the yellow brick road....






(mom kinda missed the whole "if you get close enough it will look like we are legit flying away and not in the backdrop for a picture" thing)



And ladies and gentlemen...it is time.

 

[plaz10]

Favorite store. Love to stop in and shop - but we've got bigger things to do.



BIG GIANT GEOSPHERE THINGS TO DO. The wait time said 20 minutes but it took more like 10.






"Do you know how many pictures I have of this mural?"

What can I say about Spaceship Earth that I haven't said before?
For me - it's the best ride in all of Disney. It's crazy sentimental on one hand - but it's also just an amazing attraction in the most stunning of icons. Yes I cried - it should not be a surprise at this point.

At this point - our fastpasses for Test Track were ready to be used!




Sweet ride, yo. We put all our points in the efficiency basket - we dominated that category and came in last in every other one. Haha.

Then it was time to say goodbye to EPCOT. With a heavy heart...we rode SSE one last time.

We had little time to spare so we quickly walked by the fountain in front where Bill proposed (where I threw a penny in for a wish like always) and we headed up to the monorail platform.

We got into MK about 10 minutes before Wishes was set to start. People were pouring out. This would be a good sign of things to come!





I cried again. It's a really good fireworks show. Haha. As soon as it was over - we headed to Adventureland. Walked on Jungle Cruise - there was 1 other family in our boat.We had an awesome skipper who's name was....Kristen? Maybe? I really don't remember. But she was really good. Favorite line - "Theres the things that killed Mufasa..."

Onto Pirates. Walk on. Again - only 1 family in our boat.



Over to Frontierland - Splash Mountain 5 minute wait. Cold weather + after Wishes time = Walkin on Splash.





We had our own log. It was awesome.





I was loving it. Mom was hating it. Nikki was tolerating it. Had Bill been with me - we would have ridden at least 3 more times.

We went over to Haunted Mansion and rode it once - walk on if you didn't go through grave yard.

 

[plaz10]

Then onto my mom's favorite ride - It's a Small World.


Love these new bathrooms.





We were all hitting a wall (ok they were - I could have danced all night...)

We decided to get Buzz Lightyear out of the way so tomorrow we'd only have Space Mtn in Tomorrowland and other stuff that never has a big line.



I got my highest score ever. Which is embarrassing for 2 reasons. #1 - I know where the big targets are and #2 we were stopped for like 5 minutes. And this is still my highest score ever...





Time to go.



We grabbed a cookie and a chocolate dipped pineapple spear to go and headed back to POP via COACH BUS (whoop whoop)

In bed around 2am.

 

[sam_disney]

Snacking around the World is cheaper and less physically costing than Drinking Around the World. But we did throw in some adult beverages in our snacks ventures!

EPCOT is just the best. I don't know what it is but the feeling of Future World is the best. We actually stopped to go to the bathrooms behind FountainView and they played in Innoventions loop IN the bathroom. I was like...I may only use this bathroom from now on!

OMG! I have thought exactly the same! Its the best music lol!

Love the pictures of the bakery in france, so excited to try this new one out! That garlic bread looked awesome!!!

shortbread in the uk? We have so many things, but of course the fish and chips should have been it lol! or any of our chocolate! lol

Really enjoying your report! x

 

[Alexis]

Hitting up the margaritas and deserts! I like that!
Hope you all had a blast!
Thanks for posting

 

[WishIWasAtWDW]

I shouldn't have read this before lunch! I have always wanted to eat around the World but we never make it. We always get too full and give up so I am very impressed by your dedication! You have given me hope that we can accomplish this task on our next visit.

I am such a sap for Wishes, too! Oh, and I love your Splash Mountain picture. So cute.

 

[PartOfYourWorld]

OK....I wanted to ride is 34534 times. We know this. But it had a bit of a line during most of the day. Once the line was low - we had to get to Magic Kingdom for Wishes. Plus - it bums me out a little to ride it without Bill. Waaah. But it's still the best ride in all of Disney.

So much food so little time. I actually didn't try the dole whip with rum - I read they don't even put a whole shot of rum in it. But a regular dole whip MAY OR MAY NOT make an appearance later on....

Understandable. At least you got to ride it!

Regular dole whips are better than nothing any day!

 

[diddy_mouse]

Loved the pic in the Canada gift shop. I'm a Maple Leafs fan so I appreciate the thumbs down to the Habs.

Splash Mtn at night is so much fun, but not sure how it is when the weather is chilly. Bonus points for getting a log to yourselves!

 

[mousefreak]

Your obsession with Spaceship Earth cracks me up. Love it!!!

 

[Todd L]

What time is it? SNACK TIME. This is a recurring theme…

Nik/Mom headed to find a soft pretzel and I was headed to Sweet Spells for some food pics/villain pics and a grab a DHS staple…



















Yummy stuff in the making...



Greatest. Villain. EVER.

This is my...I'm really bad at taking mirror shots but i'll try for @HollyBelle

Well......Now Im Hungry !!!

 

[tiaragirl]

Om nom.

So many snacks. And those maple candies are all the rage in Canada. Actually. You pay and arm and a leg for them. Also, the other day at the market, I had frozen maple syrup on a stick.. SO MUCH MAPLE.

Love that you include your tears in the TR. Makes me feel much better. I cry all the time, also at Disney but in real life too.. so I feel ya.

Still want the garlic break.

What are the best cupcakes in all of Disney. Hook me up.

 

[plaz10]

OMG! I have thought exactly the same! Its the best music lol!

Love the pictures of the bakery in france, so excited to try this new one out! That garlic bread looked awesome!!!

shortbread in the uk? We have so many things, but of course the fish and chips should have been it lol! or any of our chocolate! lol

Really enjoying your report! x

I'm sorry - I know our UK snack was lacking. Next time we'll start in Canada so UK will be an early stop we'll have belly space to dedicate to UK. Every trip I put the fish & chips on my eat list - and then by ways of snacking I just don't have room. I vow to start my next snacking around the world in Canada!!

Hitting up the margaritas and deserts! I like that!
Hope you all had a blast!
Thanks for posting

Thank YOU for reading! Margaritas and dessert...what else does one need? Haha! It was an absolute blast! Shame we only had 3.5 days in Disney but we definitely made the most out of them!

I shouldn't have read this before lunch! I have always wanted to eat around the World but we never make it. We always get too full and give up so I am very impressed by your dedication! You have given me hope that we can accomplish this task on our next visit.

I am such a sap for Wishes, too! Oh, and I love your Splash Mountain picture. So cute.

Tips for eating around the world - go with hungry people and split everything. That way you're not eating 2 full desserts in Norway...just a few bites of each. And Disney calories don't count so that also helps...helps my sanity.

Understandable. At least you got to ride it!

Regular dole whips are better than nothing any day!

ANDDDDD now I'm craving a Dole Whip. Ugh. Why is September so far away?

Loved the pic in the Canada gift shop. I'm a Maple Leafs fan so I appreciate the thumbs down to the Habs.

Splash Mtn at night is so much fun, but not sure how it is when the weather is chilly. Bonus points for getting a log to yourselves!

Splash Mountain is just one of the best rides. We never got the water cannons at the beginning so we didn't get soaked. Just the regular splash of the big drop - nothing too bad we couldn't wipe off and continue. The wind on Test Track at night was much colder!! Thanks for reading!

 

[plaz10]

Your obsession with Spaceship Earth cracks me up. Love it!!!

It's seriously my favorite thing in all of Disney. I'm not 100% sure how I feel about the projections on SSE - it's very cool but it's like - she's perfect she doesn't need to be cheapened by Disney images! Haha. I feel that way when I see photos of people "lifting" SSE like Atlas or something - don't cheapen her...she's perfect as is! Hahaha. Yeah obsessed is the right word....Thanks for reading!!

Well......Now Im Hungry !!!

Me too. This breakfast shake is not cutting it compared to a cupcake or cinnamon roll. Thanks for reading!

Om nom.

So many snacks. And those maple candies are all the rage in Canada. Actually. You pay and arm and a leg for them. Also, the other day at the market, I had frozen maple syrup on a stick.. SO MUCH MAPLE.

Love that you include your tears in the TR. Makes me feel much better. I cry all the time, also at Disney but in real life too.. so I feel ya.

Still want the garlic break.

What are the best cupcakes in all of Disney. Hook me up.

Canada's snack choices are lacking. Can you do something about that, Kenz? Hahaha. Frozen maple syrup on a stick sounds AMAZING.

As far as my personality - I'm not a crying type person. I don't come off that way. But I am SUCH a crier. I cry probably once a day watching TV. Or listening to a certain song. I'm very sappy but you wouldn't know it talking to me..because I'm just so funny and charming all the other times lol.

Cupcakes. Starring Rolls red velvet cream cheese is my favorite. You really can't go wrong with anything from Starring Rolls. Pizza Planet usually has 2 cupcakes (cappuccino and a seasonal)Other notables: Oreo Cupcake from POP's food court (Bills sister's favorite), Oreo Bon Bon from Boardwalk (just re-opened so probably have more good cupcakes), I've never had but hear good things about Contempo Cafe's cupcakes and I've also heard good things about cupcakes at Captain Cooks.

Really you just wanna stay clear of the basic cupcakes you see in bright colored icing in generic snack shops. In Sweet Spells, Main St Confectionery, even the ones in the caramel kitchen in Germany - they're just granulated sugar icing on dry cupcake. Mass produced and usually not good. Specialty cupcakes are the way to go.

 

[plaz10]

Wednesday - March 27th - Last full day in the parks

Alarm at 5:20 am - on the bus headed to MK at 6:30am! We arrived at MK shortly after 7 and headed straight to Fantasyland.





The only rides we HAD to ride today were Winnie the Pooh, Peter Pan's Flight and Space Mountain. They were the only bigger rides that would accumulate long lines later that we had yet to do. So our first stop...



Enjoyable as always. But so NOT worth a crazy 90 minute wait. The ride itself is barely 2 minutes long! (Oh hello forum member here to tell me exactly how long Peter Pan's flight is...good to see you.)

We debated going straight to Space Mountain but then we remembered how low Under The Sea's lines were so early....and all really loved it....and it was new. So we decided for another ride with Ariel (this would be our 3rd) - well they were riding for Ariel....I was riding for...



Finally got a good picture. Oh Ursula your giant awesomeness is always appreciated.


Bonjour!

Now it was time for SPACE MOUNTAIN. The line was a 10 minute long line - but one side was not working. So they weren't letting anyone else in and everyone had to go on one track. That made it take 20 minutes. Still not too bad. So we rode it (sans Mom - she doesn't do jerky coasters) and when we came out...guess what we did?



DUH?! Space Mountain down means it's lights are on.









I love seeing Space Mountain with the lights on - it's like watching a dog walk on his hind legs.



Time for breakfast. Since Main St Bakery was closed we went to Tomorrowland Terrace.

We got the waffles and fruit


And the ham/cheese croissant


Both were quite delicious! And just enough to fill our bellies without being STUFFED. It was also during this time that the other 2 surprise ADR beans were spilled. Mom was talking about how much she enjoyed sit down places and we said "Good because we have reservations for breakfast at Kona Cafe tomorrow morning!" She was so excited. And I said "Since we're talking surprise reservations I guess Nik should know I made reservations for T-Rex for lunch today!" She was SOOO pumped. As a fam we enjoy the atmosphere of Rainforest Cafe. So when I told her about T-Rex (some odd years ago) she thought it sounded awesome. So I booked it and then told her Spring break crowds - no ADRs. Love it

 

[plaz10]

I have short hand here but according to the pictures it seems we went to Pooh next...followed by PhilharMagic

















The Tangled bathroom area is extremely well done. And as a huge Tangled fan - I see myself peeing in there quite often.

Lines were getting a bit long for our taste (30-60 minutes) so we (read: they) decided to do Hall of Presidents. And I agreed because I could use a nap. "Wake me up when they introduce them."






I'll keep my thoughts on the current president to myself. But the AAs in here are pretty amazing.

We decided it was time to leave MK and head to DtD as it was getting close to the times in previous MK days that it had closed due to capacity. So we grabbed some popcorn and headed towards Frontierland to catch the train to the front of the park. (And I really do enjoy riding the train)











Some point during the ride - mom had mentioned how she lost her sunglasses at EPCOT the previous day and wanted to go to lost and found. So we decided to take monorail to TTC then walk to Poly and then catch a bus to downtown Disney. I've done this before and it SUCKED because it took forever to get a DtD bus at the Poly. But it was for Momsie so off we went.


GAH Iron Man monorail I keep missing you!


Crowd of stupid uninformed guests heading into a very crowded park.

 

[PolynesianPrincess]

I want to ride the Iron Man monorail next month!!! EEEEKKKKK! I love me some Tony Stark!! YUMMMM!!!

I love seeing Space with the lights on, too. It's such a dinky little coaster! It's scary though and sometimes I think rather morbid thoughts while we're riding it yet I still continue to go on it... hehe.

 

[disneyfan1995]

Awesome picture of Ursula. I love it!