For my dad (a.k.a. Stove)'s 70th birthday, we surprised him with a trip to Walt Disney World! My WDW portion of the trip report will be relatively brief, since we had another surprise coming, but I do want to take some time to share our land-based Disney fun.

Since Aaron and I had the farthest to travel, we took a redeye flight from LAX to MCO. I've taken the LAX > MCO redeye many times (it's my preferred flight because I arrive in the morning and get a full day at Disney), but this was Aaron's first time joining me. While I can sleep anywhere (truly - I have a sleep disorder), and the adrenaline of being at Walt Disney World is enough to power me through the day, it turns out that Aaron is not as well-suited for redeye flights. He didn't get much sleep on the plane and was definitely dragging that morning.

After arriving at MCO, we went to The Club at MCO, a lounge that we accessed using Priority Pass through our Capital One Venture X cards.

Today was truly Rachel's Disney Bachelorette day! Three of Rachel's friends joined us for a fun day at Walt Disney World before our cruise.

We started the day at Hollywood Studios. Rachel has been to a couple of Disney Bachelorettes, and they've always spent the day at Epcot, so she really wanted to show her friends another park. Rachel also really wanted to prioritize rides that morning, so I purchased Genie+ for everyone in an attempt to maximize our time.

Our second pre-cruise parks day started with another rope drop morning! Our plan had been to catch the bus to Hollywood Studios (which opened at 8:00, so buses started at 7:15), then take the Skyliner to Epcot. This would put us at the International Gateway entrance to Epcot, and in prime position to rope drop Remy's Ratatouille Adventure.

I think we missed the first Hollywood Studios bus, and the real-time monitor kept delaying the arrival of the next Hollywood Studios bus. The Epcot bus came, and Landon suggested that we go ahead and take that bus since it would take us straight to Epcot, and the Skyliner would add additional time to our transportation. Yeah, that seemed logical.

So we hopped on the bus to Epcot and were dropped off at the main entrance. We were allowed to tap in, and they let us walk up to where you would enter for Nemo & Friends... and that's where they held the rope. There was no rope, actually, just a few Cast Members to keep people from going farther. We were very near the front of the rope drop.... but we were a long way from the France Pavilion.

They let us go at 8:30, and people started running. We did not run, but speed-walked with Stove leading the group while walking backwards, per usual. We all split up due to the crowd.

This morning, we had park reservations for Animal Kingdom. Buses start running 45 minutes prior to park opening. Since Animal Kingdom opened at 7:30 for resort guests, bus service started at 6:45. It was right on time! I mentioned before that Coronado Springs Bus Stop 2 at Casitas is actually the first on the pick-up loop. We then circled the resort to Ranchos, Cabanas, and then Gran Destino Tower.

On the way to the park, I purchased Genie+ for everyone and booked Expedition Everest at 11:15 AM.

They started letting resort guests into the park before 7:00, but held us at Discovery Island.

We started our third day in Orlando bright and early at Epcot's park opening.



As soon as we entered the park, we joined the crowd headed straight for Soarin'. It was the mad rush of the day, and we did a speed-walk pass around a Japanese tour group when they briefly stopped to collect themselves.

I love Walt Disney World and will squeeze in a vacation whenever I can.  My boyfriend, Max, worked his last co-op rotation over the summer and hadn't been on a vacation since our Disney Fantasy Western Caribbean Cruise.  He finished work on Friday, August 15 and returned to school on Wednesday, August 20.  Four days?  Just enough time for a short trip to Disney!



Max, however, had other ideas.  He had been trying to convince me to take a trip to Universal Studios' Islands of Adventure for years.  "It's better.  The rides are better.  It's so much better than Disney."  Better than Disney?  I think not.  But I had visited Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure a few times when I was younger, most recently in 2007, and remembered having a good time.  So perhaps it was time we returned...

So we looked into making this a completely Universal vacation.... but the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and Frozen Summer Fun were enough to convince Max that we should fit in some Disney time.  Initially, we planned two days at Universal and two days at Disney, but after pricing tickets, it was a better deal to take advantage of the "more you play, the less you pay" deal and purchase a one-day pass to Islands of Adventure and three-day park hopper passes to Walt Disney World (multi-day tickets cost less per day the more days you add).  And being a Disney World annual passholder, my wallet was very happy to be spending more time at the World.

Our traveling party included Max's family friend, Natalie, and her sister, Rachel, who flew all the way from Houston, Texas to join us on our 8-hour car ride to Orlando!

We stayed at the Hilton in Downtown Disney.  Natalie and Max's mother both have a lot of Hilton HHonor points and so generously used them on this trip.  I was excited to stay at this hotel because it's in a great location and has the added benefit of Disney Extra Magic Hours (on scheduled days, a specific park will open one hour early or two hours later).  The Hilton Downtown Disney is the only off-property hotel that offers Extra Magic Hours to its guests.

You're invited to join us on our hot, Hot, HOT Orlando adventure... but fortunately with the added comfort of your air-conditioning! Go ahead and bookmark this page, as it will serve as an index for the Trip Report. The links below will become active as each post is published!

[Day 1] Magic Kingdom - Mad rush to the Mine Train and visit to First Aid
[Day 2] A Visit to the Dark Side... aka Universal's Islands of Adventure
[Day 3] Epcot + DHS - Breakfast with Donald and Drinking Around World Showcase
[Day 4] DHS - Attempting the Kitchen Sink and finding the Greatest Souvenir EVER

Also, be sure to check out my review of our lunch at Cinderella's Royal Table.

Thanks for following along!  Have you ever ventured to the "Dark Side"?  Let me know why and how you liked it in the comments below!

Breakfast - Crystal Palace

We love Disney breakfasts. When I booked some initial dining reservations and shared them with my family, asking for their input, the first response was a unanimous - "NO BREAKFAST!?!?" So I went back and booked two - Grand Floridian Cafe (which we dined at on Day 1) and Crystal Palace.

Crystal Palace is a family favorite. We dined there for the first time in 2002 and have been going back ever since. And I believe this is the only restaurant on Disney property that we've dined at for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

What keeps us coming back? Perhaps it's the convenient Magic Kingdom location, or maybe the bright and airy atmosphere. It might be because we all quite adore Pooh and friends (Rachel and I grew up watching the 30-minute Winnie the Pooh VHS tapes religiously). But if I had to pinpoint a single reason, I'll go ahead and specify Pooh's Puffed French Toast.

Rachel had been giving me a lot of grief for booking a reservation at a Moroccan restaurant on the 4th of July.  So to make up for it, I planned the rest of the day to be distinctly patriotic.



Yesterday when we were shopping in Magic Kingdom, Rachel snuck away to Guest Relations to pick up a bunch of celebration buttons for Dad because we realized that he would be turning 60 this month.

December 31, 2013 - Hollywood Studios + Epcot

We went to Disney's Hollywood Studios around 10AM. I had made all of our FP+ reservations for that morning and afternoon. As soon as we arrived, we immediately rode the Tower of Terror (my favorite), and we also had FP+ for Toy Story Mania and Rockin' Rollercoaster. You can no longer do this. I was lucky enough to be grandfathered in because I booked far enough in advance, but now you can only make a FP+ for either Toy Story Mania or Rockin' Rollercoaster, but not both in the same day. Kind of a setback.

We ate lunch at Pizza Planet. It's been a while since we've done that!

Our 2013 holiday started with an Eastern Caribbean Cruise on the Royal Princess.



We planned to visit Walt Disney World for New Year's Eve because we purchased annual passes when we visited in October. However, hotel prices for that time of the year are steep - more than we wanted to pay. So we started looking into other alternatives. We had narrowed it down to the Swan or Dolphin resort which would be convenient, and we know that they are nice because we have stayed there before.... or the Bonnet Creek resort area because I've heard great things about Bonnet Creek, and I've always wondered about it. After much debating, we realized that this was our opportunity to try it out. With our annual passes, we got free parking at the parks, so transportation was not an issue. We also already had Magic Bands, and I had already made FP+ reservations on My Disney Experience (as annual passholders who stayed at a Disney Resort during Magic Band testing, we could make FP+ reservations up to 60 days out on our My Disney Experience account). It was the perfect time to see if an off-site resort could work for us, so we booked the Waldorf Astoria at Bonnet Creek.

Our last day was a gloomy one. There was no sun in the sky. I was bummed because had I known it was going to be overcast, I would've taken more Beach Club photos the day before when the sky was beautiful. I was also really sad that we had to leave! It's so hard to go back after having a wonderful vacation!!!

We woke up early and went to EMH at Epcot. We went straight to Soarin' to ride, then ate breakfast at Sunshine Terrace and used FPs for Soarin' afterwards.

EPCOT

After resting, we headed to Epcot. Our first stop was Test Track to use our FP+. This was the first time we've done the new Test Track (which was changed from its old GM test track theme in late Fall 2012). It was still a 20-30 minute wait with FP+.

My first complaint is that when they have you stand on the numbers outside of the car design room, they want two to three people to stand on a single number. This really confuses people, and everyone seemed to want to stand on different numbers. The CM then had to explain over and over that two/three people needed to stand on the SAME number. Which is impossible because the dots are small and they are close together. They really should put three number 5s on the ground or whatever so that everyone gets their own individual "dot" to stand on.

Rachel and I designed a car together, and my mom and dad did a car together. Rachel and I just clicked stuff, but my dad was trying really hard to make a good car.

 Here's ours:



I think we should've gotten some extra design points because the kids behind us thought it was awesome.

We took the boat to Epcot and went in through the back.

We were shocked by the crowds. Epcot was PACKED.... with DRUNKS!!!

There were some people in cocktail dresses stumbling around... they must've come from bluezoo.





Idk how long it took us to navigate our way through the crowds and get to the American Pavilion. Lines there for food weren't that bad, but the table situation was terrible. There were tons of empty tables.... with no chairs!!! Finally, we spotted a family getting up and managed to grab that table. Ugg, the crowds were insane.

Okay, so after we ate our hotdogs in America, we decided to navigate our way back through the crowd and out of Epcot. It was much easier to leave than it was to get in.

We took the resort boat to DHS. We still had RnRC and ToT FPs to use.

So, our RnRC FPs were good to use, so we headed over there. They were no longer testing queueless waiting, and they had actually extended the queue area to accommodate bigger holiday crowds.


Dad enjoys the thrill of trying to sneak a photo of the ride photos before they disappear. Nice work, Dad.

So, it was 10:00. Our ToT FPs weren't good until 10:30. We were tired and didn't know what to do to kill half an hour (I realized later that we should've gone to Osborne Lights, but at the time, I was about to pass out. So we decided to leave DHS, head back to the Dolphin, then go back to our resort.



Dad paid the valet fee. And the valet guy ran away before my dad could tip him, so that saved us some money. I didn't feel quite so terrible... even though the whole parking situation was a bit of an inconvenience, as well as an extra expense. Eventually, I might get over this embarassment. Not now, though.



We got back to the resort, and my Dad wanted to know where we could watch the fireworks over the lagoon from. So, he asked a young CM working the Concierge desk what options there were. Now, this guy was probably in CP... probably new on this job... he had obviously never gotten this question before. ("Fireworks? Disney has fireworks???") He suggested that we stand out in the parking lot. Actually, we probably could've seen the fireworks from there, but that wasn't the answer we were expecting.

So we get back to the room, and Dad is wondering if we should head over to the GF or Poly to watch the New Year's fireworks. I was tired and really just needed to go to bed. Rachel told Dad that she didn't really care to see any fireworks if he'd let her ring in the New Year in an adult way. And he went for it. So Dad went to buy Rachel a New Year's Eve gift, and I took a shower and went to bed.

Happy New Year!

Rachel was CRANKY. She needed food. So, we headed over to Yakatori House to get sushi. This place was covered in Asian tourists. I thought it was funny that the Asians could eat this food back home, but they were eating it at WDW.





Rachel was still cranky. She was sleep-deprived. Still heartbroken after having to part from her British lad. We took her to the United Kingdom to cheer her up...







Yeah, that didn't help so much.

Our Test Track FPs weren't good til 3:30, and it was 3:00 and we were ready to leave. Dad handed our FPs to this lady with three boys as we were walking out. We try to look for deserving people, and she looked quite lost. She was very appreciative.

After getting back to Tampa after our 9-day Eastern Caribbean Cruise aboard RCI's Grandeur (Grandma) of the Seas (wanna see pics? Victoria Shingleton's Photos - Christmas in the Caribbean | Facebook Victoria Shingleton's Photos - Christmas Cruising Part II | Facebook), we headed to Walt Disney World to celebrate New Year's.

The problem is, while on the cruise, I started getting sick, and by the last day, I had completely lost my voice. So, I was headed to my favorite place on Earth... feeling quite terrible, actually.

Now, Rachel and I also stayed up late partying the night before. I suggested we go to bed, but Rachel refused (she found herself a British lad and had grown quite attached). Being the older sister, I felt like I needed to keep an eye on her, so I stayed out with her. We got maybe three hours of sleep.

But, we wouldn't let illness and lack of sleep get in the way of our magical vacation. So we stopped by Walgreens and picked up some medications (which I took double dosage of) and continued to the world.





It was around 11:30, and we decided to head to Epcot since we knew it would be crowded, and Epcot is very large and tends to handle crowds well.



It was very crowded. Dad ran to get FPs for Soarin. He was almost to the front of the line when.... all fastpasses distributed. Drat.

So, he went to Test Track to get FPs. I suggested that we try the Kim Possible World Showcase attraction. Turns out we needed our tickets to sign up, so Mom, Rachel, and I chilled in Innovations until Dad met us.

We were to report to the Kimmunicator station in Italy at 12:25. We started to take a boat, but we realized that we were in the wrong boat line, and the boat we needed was leaving. Drat.





















So, we walked. And we beat the boat. How about that?

It took us awhile to find the tent. We didn't know exactly what we were looking for. Finally we asked someone.







We got our Kimmunicators. Our mission sent us to Germany. We teased my dad about this because he does alot of business in Germany, and whenever we meet any foreigner (mainly European, but anyone from another country, really), he tells them about how he's been to Germany.

The first location was the little train village. With the Kimmunicator, I was able to make the church ding and light up. There were quite a few guests watching the village, and when they saw the church light up, they all pointed. "The bells are ringing." I did it again. And again. And again. They couldn't figure out why the church bell kept ringing. This was fun. I don't think they ever figured it out. It looked like I was texting. This is awesome.





The rest of our mission included making a cuckoo clock chime... er... yodel, making a train in the toy store drive by, and making t
corny. I could do without all of the dialogue and just go around making things go off. Oh, well... it's Disney, I guess it needs a plot.

After we checked out of BLT, we drove to Epcot.

We accidentally took the long way. Drove by Fort Wilderness and Port Orleans. It was cool, though, because I'd actually never been by either resort.







Dad went to go FP Soarin' and Mom, Rachel, and I hung out in Innoventions. I learned how velcro was made and how it got its name. It's a blend (AP lit word right there) of the words 'velour' and 'crochet.' The man who invented velcro got the idea when his dog came inside from the woods over thanksgiving and had those little prickly things (cockleburrs?) stuck in his fur.

After Dad came back, Rachel wanted to...

any guesses?

Drink Coke.

So we went to Club Cool and she drank Cokes. I really don't understand her obsession over this attraction. I guess she likes free stuff.



After that, we headed over to Test Track and stood in line for thirty minutes. We were behind a fun family who had been on Test Track multiple times that week because their son was just tall enough to ride and loved it. The mom asked our opinion on which Mission:Space they should take him on. We suggested they go on green first because it provided the same thrill without the difficulty breathing... send the dad on orange first and see how he thought their son would do.



The showroom after Test Track was a disappointment. The best vehicle they had was the 2010 Camaro (love this car!) that they kept locked with a not-so-friendly CM there to tell people about it. Only she wouldn't answer any of our questions. Then these guys came up and she talked away to them. Hmph.





No Hummers. No convertibles. Just a bunch of hybrid vehicles. None very attractive. Nothing I'd drive. I suppose this is the showroom after the "economy crisis."

After Test Track, it was time for our Soarin' FPs. Great timing. Soarin' was amazing, as always. This attraction makes me happy. I like the smell of oranges. Rachel says it's her favorite WDW scent.

After Soarin, it was about time to be on our way, but we decided to check out the new version of Spaceship Earth (we had yet to be on it). It was pretty cool. I was a little disappointed with the last room, though. I thought they would go a little bit further. The create your future part was cool, though. Mainly because Rachel looked especially silly in her picture, so it was funny for her head to keep popping up. I don't think she knew her picture was being taken.

When we got out, Mom and Dad's pictures were on the big world map. Rachel wanted to find our pictures around the room, but Mom and Dad went on. We'll have to check this area out some more later.

Rachel had been wanting a frozen banana all weekend (she also wanted a pineapple dole whip, but that didn't happen), so Dad and I went to get us ice cream while Rachel went to get some celebration buttons. She wanted a few birthday buttons for friends. She must've sweet-talked the CM over there because she came back with a bag full of buttons... just married, anniversary, magical gatherings... he gave her every button!

After that, we had to go home.

It was a very fun trip. We all had a blast. It was cool having no real plan except to do what we wanted to do.... and EAT! Ah, this was a good food trip. We'll have to do this again, sometime!