Walt Disney World - 2019 - Prep and Travel Day

Disney Trip Report

May 23 – May 31, 2019

All Star Music Resort

Caleb and Alaina – 34 years old

Adrienne – 32 years old

Hattie – 8 years old

Lydia – 6 years old

We first began talking about going to Disney together in 2014.  The original plan was for us to visit WDW in September of 2015. Unfortunately, unexpected job changes forced us to cancel those plans.  Alaina and family were finally able to take their first trip in March of 2017. Adrienne couldn’t travel during this timeframe due to her Social Worker duties at Dugan. Alaina decided the next trip to WDW would include Adrienne.  So…we started planning this trip in early 2018. Adrienne was yet to fully experience Disney.  Prior to this trip she had only visited the Magic Kingdom three times, one of those times being when she was two.  Alaina wanted her to enjoy the “Disney Bubble” with Hattie and Lydia while they still fully embraced the “magic.” 

Keeping everyone’s schedules in mind, we first thought we would travel in December 2019.  Then it was announced Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge would be opening in Fall 2019, so we decided it would be smart to move the trip up earlier in the year. We then started exploring the possibility of a late July/early August trip.  Crowd levels looked good, but we thought the Florida heat would be a little much during this timeframe. Also, Alaina would be very close to finishing her Masters Degree and the month leading up to travel might be a bit too stressful.  Ultimately, we decided the last week in May would be the best time. The weather isn’t usually unbearable at this point and many schools systems are not out for the summer yet, so crowds would be manageable.

Finding a room to fit five people comfortably would be our next challenge.  After a lot of research, we decided to stay in a Finding Nemo Family Suite at the Art of Animation resort.  As the trip got closer we decided the room wasn’t worth the extra $1000, so we switched to a family suite at the All Star Music resort.  Both rooms were comparable in size, but the AOA room was newer and came at a premium price. We also decided not to buy a meal plan for this trip.  This meant sacrificing a few of the meals we had planned such as Cinderella’s Royal Table, Trattoria Al Forno and Tusker House...but this turned out for the best. We ended up not missing those meals at all.

Just like our last Disney trip, this one was perfectly timed.  Alaina had just finished her first full semester as an advisor for ACONHP. The two and a half months leading up to this trip were filled with back to back student appointments. She was also taking a graduate course.  Caleb was balancing a full time sales position at ACCO and being part time music minister at FBC Red Bay. Easter was late this year, so the last two months before the trip were filled with coordinating Easter music and learning music for our upcoming VBS.  Dugan (Adrienne’s employer) was subject to a state survey visit in the two months before the trip. She was putting in many long days to prepare for this visit.   Alaina and Caleb were also dealing with Hattie’s school performance and were faced with the decision of holding her back in 2^nd grade for another year. Hattie has ADD and has struggled off and on throughout the year.  After much prayer and consideration, we decided to move her on to 3^rd grade.  The decision to promote her and set up a learning plan for the next school year was extremely stressful.  Both Hattie and Lydia were over school by the end of the year. They were arguing a lot and it was obvious they needed a break from reality.   We all needed to escape and this WDW trip couldn’t get here fast enough.

May 22 – Day before Travel

Caleb, Alaina and Adrienne all decided to take off an extra day before the trip.  This was a smart move as there were still many things on the to-do list.  Lydia’s end of school program was the night before, so she was done with school for the year. Hattie had one last day, so she rode the bus to school.  After we got her on the bus, Caleb cut the grass while Alaina and Lydia slept in.  We needed to meet Adrienne in town to pick up her suitcase, so we left about 11AM.  Our first stop was to pick up Caleb’s check at church. From there, we went over to the car wash to make the car look pretty and to vacuum it out.  Adrienne got to town early, so she met us there and handed off her suitcase.  It was lunchtime so we went to Piggly Wiggly to get a deli plate.  Like always, Lydia ate very little but proclaimed she was full.  We took her unfinished plate with us and headed to the bank to cash Caleb’s check.  We had also rolled the spare change in our “Disney Jar” the night before and it was finally time to cash it in. The girls had saved over $50. Their grandparents “paid” them to help with chores over the past few months. After we finished at the bank, we paid our water and gas bill and finally set up bank draft!  We moved on to the electric company and did the same.  We felt so accomplished!  At this point we realized we didn’t get the tarp straps from Adrienne to secure our suitcases on the luggage rack. This caused an extra trip to Alaina’s parents’ house.  It was almost 1PM and we were finally headed back home. 

Now that we had everyone’s luggage, Caleb could start the process of loading the car.  We had purchased a rubber mat to protect the roof of the car. He put it under the luggage storage bag. Everything was strapped down and ready to go, so we moved on to loading the inside of the car.  Alaina had purchased a couple bags of groceries for the ride down and for the week.  We made sure to pack travel blankets and pillows for everyone and activity boxes for the girls to use.  Caleb had also fixed the girls phones where they could watch movies on trip down.  Alaina had purchased a mattress pad for Adrienne’s bed, but space was at a premium, so we had to leave it at home. Other than that, everything else fit perfectly and everyone had enough room to be comfortable for the 11 hour drive.

The bus brought Hattie home about 3:40PM.  Since this was a Wednesday, tonight was the Team Kid fun night at Sky Zone in Florence.  The girls were looking forward to this outing just as much as the Disney trip. They love Sky Zone.  The plan was for Alaina to take the girls to Florence at 5PM. Caleb was going to take a shower and get in bed by 6PM.  We were planning to leave our house the next morning at 3AM!  To make sure the girls didn’t disturb Caleb, Alaina took them to her parents’ house to spend the night with Adrienne after the jump time at Sky Zone was over. Adrienne is like a kid waiting for Christmas morning the night before a trip, so she and the girls could be excited together.  Alaina got back to her house by 9:30PM.  Caleb was sleeping…after all the work he had done today, he had no trouble falling asleep! After watching TV for a while, Alaina finally drifted off to sleep around 11:00PM.

May 23 – Travel Day and Arrival to WDW

The day had finally arrived! Caleb and Alaina got up about 2AM.  They loaded the last minute bags and cooler in the car, made sure all the doors were locked and the appropriate lights were left on.  As they were getting ready to leave, Caleb misplaces the car key.  After searching for about five minutes and retracing steps, it’s found in the back of the car. Caleb had laid it back there when he loaded the cooler.  They were finally headed for Banner/Bounds at 3:10AM.  As we were approaching Hwy 24, we started hearing a weird sound on the top of the car. Caleb stops to check everything and it all looks fine.  The sound becomes louder and louder the longer we are on the road. When they arrived at Alaina’s parents’ house, Caleb figured out what the problem was.  The rubber mat under the luggage was flapping in the wind.  Like all redneck men, he solved the problem with some duct tape. 

Hattie and Lydia were not yet awake. Adrienne said they probably all got about an hour and a half of sleep. Hattie was pretty quick to hop up once we got there. Lydia was another story.  She was her usual sluggish self and had no interest in getting ready to leave.  After a few spanking threats she decides to get moving. We get loaded in the car and are on our way by 3:45AM.  Alaina, Adrienne and the girls sleep off and on the first couple hours of the trip.  We go through Birmingham at day break.  Everyone plays a couple rounds of Road Trip Bingo.  The girls find this fun.  Alaina Bingos first, then Adrienne.  The girls lose interest after a while. 

Our first stop is in Prattville, AL. Caleb fills the car up with gas while Alaina and Adrienne take the girls to Burger King for a restroom visit and breakfast.  Hattie decides she just wants to sit in the car, but she’s forced to get out anyway.  Everyone uses the restroom. As were walking to the counter to order food, Hattie begins to cry.  Caleb has rejoined us at this point.  We order food. Lydia tries her best to talk us into letting her play in the play area.  We all say no several times.  Hattie is still upset and decides she needs to return to the bathroom.  Alaina takes her and she goes again.  We wash our hands and leave again, only to return immediately for round 3.  After this visit, we make it to the car.  We were in the car a total of 2 minutes and Hattie proclaims she needs to go to the restroom again.  Alaina takes her again and finally after this visit she feels like her stomach has settled.  This pit stop lasted much longer than intended, but we are finally on the road again.  Hattie is afraid to eat her breakfast, so she only drinks her water. 

A couple hours later we stop at a rest stop outside of Dothan, AL.  Caleb met a family from Montgomery who were also on their way to WDW.  He chats with them for a couple minutes while the rest of us use the restroom. The next leg of the trip was relatively uneventful.  The drive down was very smooth. We didn’t see a lot of road construction, so we weren’t delayed much due to traffic.  We stopped at a Chick-Fil-A in Lake City, FL for lunch about 1PM and got gas again while we were stopped.  While at Chick-Fil-
A, we let the girls play in the play area to burn some energy. They both enjoyed this. Lydia asked this same question a lot: “Are we almost to the Walt Disney Sign?”  She started asking just before breakfast, so by the afternoon it was getting a little old.  We stopped a couple more times before taking the WDW exit. As we took the Orlando/WDW exit, we saw the aftermath of a terrible car wreck.  Our lanes of traffic were clear, but traffic going the opposite direction was basically at a standstill for miles.  It was so bad, news crews were in helicopters above us shooting footage. We finally passed under that illusive WDW sign about 4:30PM.  As we passed under it, Be Our Guest was playing on the radio.  We couldn’t have timed that better!

It didn’t take long after passing under the sign for us to see our hotel sign.  The All Star Resorts are conveniently located next to the only McDonald’s on Disney property.  We were staying at All Star Music, so our resort was in the middle of the property. All Star Sports was first and All Star Movies was after us.  Alaina had been waiting on the “room ready” text all day.  She had also been waiting for an hour and a half for a grocery delivery notification. We preordered a grocery delivery of bottled water, Gatorade and some cold items from Walmart. The delivery was supposed to take place between 3PM – 4PM.  Since we hadn’t gotten our room ready text, we had to check-in at the front desk.  There were a couple of people in front of us, so we had to wait a few minutes.  The cast member who checked us in was very friendly and helpful.  Alaina had requested a room on the bottom floor in the Calypso building. We weren’t able to get a room on the 1^st floor, but we did get in the Calypso section – so a win!  After we got our room number, we double checked with bell services to see if our groceries might already be there and they weren’t.  Caleb moved the car closer to our building while Alaina and Adrienne took the girls to the room.  The adults quickly unloaded the car and discussed our options for the evening. We were supposed to head to Hollywood Studios. We weren’t sure if that was going to happen.

At this point it is almost 5:30PM.  Our Fast Pass window for Alien Swirling Saucers had opened. Our grocery delivery is still MIA.  Caleb calls to inquire and suddenly the delivery is in route to our hotel. We had a dinner reservation scheduled for 6:40PM at 50’s Prime Time Diner.  It wasn’t likely we’d be able to make the Toy Story ride, so Alaina released those FPs.  She then rescheduled the dinner reservation to the other planned HS day.  We decide to let Bell Services accept our grocery delivery while we make our way to the HS.  This cost us $6, but it was money well spent.  As we are walking to the bus stop, Caleb gets a text from the grocery delivery and they are in the lobby. He goes to accept the order while everyone else gets in line for the bus. Bell Services takes everything to our room and puts our cold items in the fridge.  We waited about 20 minutes for a bus to HS.  We were afraid it would be like this every time at the bus stop, but thankfully this was just a one-time occurrence.

Adrienne and Caleb decided last minute to go to Cape Canaveral to see the Space X launch on this night.  This would mean they would have to leave the park by 8:30PM.  When we arrived at HS, we were able to get through the bag check line relatively quickly.  We all scanned our magic bands to enter and were on our way to Sunset Boulevard.  Since we had purchased the Memory Maker, we stopped a couple times for pictures.  The first stop was in front of the Chinese Theater, the second stop was on Sunset Blvd with Tower of Terror in the background.  The photographers were able to get several really cute shots.  Our Fast Pass window for Rockin Roller Coaster was open, so this was to be our first ride of the trip.  At the ride entrance we noticed another MM photographer, so we waited to get a shot under the RR sign.  Well, the people in front of us would not stop asking the poor guy questions. The lady kept asking questions and would not let the photographer move on.  Finally they moved out of the way.  The photographer apologizes several times and starts up a conversation with Caleb. We were the only people in line at this point, so they talk for a bit. The photographer asks us if we were planning to see Fantasmic tonight. Caleb explains his and Adrienne’s plans but then says Alaina and the girls plan to stay for the show. The photographer says, “let me see if I can score you some FastPasses.” To our surprise, he’s able to get FPs for Alaina and the girls for Fantasmic.  This was our first “magical moment” of the trip.  We thanked him repeatedly and made our way into the FP line for RR.  

We moved through the line pretty quickly.  As we entered the loading room, both girls started to second guess their decision to ride.  They weren’t sure about the fast take off. We all assured them they would love it once we got started. Hattie rode with Alaina. Lydia rode with Adrienne and Caleb rode solo. This was to be how we divided up most of the trip.  Alaina, Adrienne and Hattie all LOVED the ride. Lydia and Caleb were a little on the fence. They enjoyed parts of it, but other parts, not so much.  Our next FP was for Tower of Terror.  We had talked with the girls a lot about this ride. We stressed the fact that everything was fake and nothing they would see was real.  They were both uneasy the whole time we were in line.  It didn’t help that we were in line with some random, awkward British guy who kept trying to make conversation with us.  He kept saying he was scared too…I don’t know why he thought that would be comforting to an 8 and 6 year old.  We finally get loaded into the ride and both girls are nearly in tears, but they power through. Then the ride starts…to say they weren’t a fan was an understatement.  Both girls were crying when the ride was over.  Alaina and Adrienne loved it. Caleb did not.  The picture from the ride said it all…there was no question how everyone enjoyed the ride.  It took several minutes for us to get them calmed down.  It was now time for Adrienne and Caleb to leave for the hotel.  They take a Lyft back to the hotel, then take the car to Cape Canaveral to meet Alaina and Adrienne’s aunt Susan.

Alaina and the girls were ready to use their newly acquired FP for Fantasmic.  Because we literally had to rush from one thing to another, we hadn’t had time to stop and eat supper.  Lydia and Alaina were hungry. Hattie just wanted water. So, after we tapped in we looked for the nearest popcorn stand.  We finally find one and we purchase some cotton candy, a refillable popcorn bucket and 3 waters.  This is what supper on vacation looks like. We finally find seats with about 10 minutes to spare. Because it took so much time to buy snacks, we really had no advantage with the FP.  It didn’t matter though, there really wasn’t a bad seat in the theater.  We all enjoyed the show.  Alaina was glad they stayed because that show totally saved the night for Lydia. She was the most upset with ToT…and that would be a theme for the rest of the trip.  It took several minutes for us to exit the theater.  As we were walking out of the park, we were able to see some of the Star Wars fireworks.  The girls wanted to stay, but Alaina assured them they would get to see them in their entirety later in the trip.  At the bus stop the girls made friends with a little girl close to their age. She had a cell phone and they were taking selfies together as they rode the bus back to the resort.  We were back in our room by 10:30PM.  The girls took a bath, watched a couple of Mickey shorts and had a snack before going to bed.  They were asleep in no time.  It also didn’t take Alaina long to fall asleep.  Caleb and Adrienne made it back to the hotel by midnight.  They were able to get some awesome video and pictures of the launch.  It was a long day, but a good one.

Notes for the day:

The rubber mat we purchased for the top of the car was unnecessary. It was more of a nuisance than a help. We ended up not using it on the trip home.

Traveling to WDW in one day was not bad.  The early start allowed us to miss a lot of traffic and the girls slept a lot.

We should have used a different grocery delivery service. Walmart was terrible.  Our delivery was 2 hours past the window we paid for.  They substituted the quantity of yogurt Alaina ordered, so we got half of what we were expecting. Also, they substituted different Gatorade flavors than we ordered. The flavors we got were ok, but not what we wanted.  The driver could not communicate with Caleb when he met her to pick up our delivery.  The money we “saved” on this delivery was quickly lost because we had to get Bell Services to take everything to our room.  We had planned on taking it ourselves, but we literally had no extra time to spare because the delivery was so late.

We liked the location of our room.  It was very close to the pool, lobby and bus stop.  It would have been nice to be on the first floor, but our room was very quiet.  We did online check-in and arrived an hour and a half past the beginning of check-in.  Our room should have been ready since we didn’t arrive early.  This cost us some valuable park time.

The room itself was nothing fancy, but it was clean and everyone had space to spread out.  We really liked having two bathrooms and the mini kitchen. The décor was dated, but it didn’t look completely worn out. It had been maintained well.

Going to a park on arrival day was not a bad experience.  It was actually nice to walk around after riding in a car all day.  HS was not overly crowded.  We wished we could have arrived at our planned time, but it didn’t ruin our trip to lose that FP for Swirling Saucers.  We were able to eat at 50’s Prime Time later in the trip, so we didn’t miss out there either. 

One regret: Alaina should not have planned ToT for arrival day.  This ride set the tone of the trip for Lydia. She was overly dramatic about almost every ride after this one.  Most of her “anxiousness” was for attention and very annoying.  She ended up loving everything else she rode on the trip, but it was after she had us “reassure” her nothing was like ToT.  We should have done rider swap on this ride…but now we know.

March 28 – Animal Kingdom

In our original plan this day was supposed to be our rest/resort day. We had planned to skip AK for this trip because we wanted two days at MK.  

However, once the discount dropped for our dates of travel we couldn’t resist getting a 5 park day ticket.  When looking over the attractions for AK neither Caleb nor Alaina were overly excited about this park. To us, it was basically an upscale zoo…which is fine if you’re extremely into animals and nature trails. We only had a handful of things we wanted to accomplish so the plan was still for us to have a longer mid-day break. We were up and going by 7:30 and at the bus stop by 8:15ish. Since we planned to ride Kali River Rapids, we all dressed in clothes that would dry quickly and we wore sandals.

Once we arrived at the park we went straight back to the safari. We waited about 10 minutes.  The safari was fun. Because we did it first thing, the animals were pretty active. We were able to see most all of the animals.  When we finished our next step was to ride Expedition Everest. Once we got to the ride we saw the wait time was almost an hour so we decided to skip it.  We backtracked to Kali River Rapids. Thankfully we were dressed with the expectation of getting wet. Caleb and Hattie got out with just a minor splash. Alaina and Lydia weren’t as fortunate.  Alaina got soaked. Thankfully, it was warm enough to dry everyone’s clothes quickly.  After a quick restroom break we headed over to Dinoland.  We had planned to let the girls play in the Boneyard for a few minutes but due to the time we decided to skip this step. We rode the Triceratops Spin before heading over to Flame Tree BBQ for lunch.

Caleb got the rib platter. Alaina got a salad and some loaded BBQ fries. The girls got hotdogs.  Flame Tree only has outdoor seating, so we picked a spot we thought would be free from birds. We were wrong.  At one point Lydia needed to use the restroom, so Alaina and Hattie stayed with the table while Caleb found a bathroom. While they were gone a friendly bird started making its rounds for food scraps.  Hattie thought it would be fun to feed it, so she tossed some of her hotdog bun. This was a true test of bravery for Alaina – who hates birds.  She managed to keep calm long enough for Caleb and Lydia to come back and shoo it away.  Our last step for the morning was the Festival of the Lion King.  We walked down to the theater and grabbed a couple of dole whips to enjoy while we waited. We were some of the first people in line for the stand by entrance.   This wait was probably the most frustrating wait of the whole trip. Although we were first in the standby line, FP riders were seated first…which is fair. However, this made our wait even longer. When we were finally allowed to enter, we got really good seats.  We were in the lion/Simba section about halfway up. This might be a bit controversial, but we were not wowed by this show.  It was enjoyable, but we felt it didn’t live up to the hype everyone gave it. 

After the show it was time to head back to POR.  We took a few photo pass pictures on the way out.  We had to wait 10 minutes or so for the bus.  The girls had taken a brief nap in the stroller, so they were not wanting to take another nap at the resort.  Since this break was a little longer than our other days, Caleb took the girls to the pool for a swim. Alaina napped. The plan for the evening was simply to eat supper at Tusker House and watch Rivers of Light.  We didn’t think it was necessary to bring the stroller back into the park on this night.  Getting on the bus without having to fold up a stroller is a very free feeling.  We had a little time to kill when we arrived back at the park.  We walked over to watch the sea lions for a few minutes while we waited to check in to Tusker House.  A cast member was nearby giving information about the animals. Caleb and the girls really enjoyed listening to her.

We walked over to the check in desk for Tusker House and it was still a little early, so we waited in the market area. This is a really neat area. Lots to see and there seemed to always be some kind of entertainment happening.  When our reservation window finally opened we were able to check-in and go to the waiting area of the restaurant. Hattie was excited to greet the hostess with “Jambo.”  We waited another 10 minutes before the next hostess called our name.  Now, Hattie had been apprehensive about this meal most of the day because she knew there would be “masked” characters. When we walked in she immediately fell apart…even going as far as hiding under the table once we were seated. Caleb talked her in to sitting in her seat, but she still wasn’t happy.  The sweet hostess who seated us noticed Hattie’s anxiety. She came back to our table with a “glowing” Tinkerbell figurine for both girls. They LOVED these things.  Our actual server for the meal wasn’t as friendly as the hostess, nor was she as attentive.  As each character walked by Lydia got excited and asked them for their autograph. Daisy is Lydia’s favorite, so she was super excited about seeing her again. Donald and Goofy made their rounds. Donald even teased Daisy a little while they were near our table. Hattie decided she was fine being behind the camera, so she filmed Lydia and Alaina as they greeted each character. She would wave at them from a far. Tusker House is a buffet meal and it was really good. Caleb got some of the more exotic offerings. Alaina branched out a little bit, but was happy to see some traditional options. The girls didn’t eat much at this meal but that’s probably because of the excitement/dread of seeing the characters.

The final character to stop by our table was Mickey. Of all of the character interactions we had on this trip, this one far surpassed them all.  He not only got Hattie to talk to him but before he left the table she hugged him!!  He told her in sign language that he loved her before he walked away.  Caleb and Alaina were blown away.  We were amazed at how much time he spent trying to make her comfortable. Seeing her become comfortable with him was worth every cent of that meal.  At this point of the meal our server had been by our table less than 3 times. Her inattentiveness was disappointing and the only time we would experience it on the trip.  It was expected for this meal to take a little longer because of the characters, but they had all been to our table…rather quickly too, so we were ready to go. However, we still had to wait for our check. During this wait, one of the managers stopped by our table to make sure Hattie was doing ok. He gave us a voucher for the girls to get a Mickey Ice Cream Bar at some point during the remainder of our trip.  No doubt that sweet hostess mentioned us to him.  I wish we could have given our gratuity to her instead of our server.  We waited a total of 15 or 20 minutes before getting our check. 

We had FP scheduled for Rivers of Light and because of our slower than normal meal, our check-in window was winding down. After exiting the restaurant we asked a cast member the quickest way to get to the ROL entrance. With no stroller to put the girls in, we were at the mercy of their walking speed.  The directions we got weren’t good directions. Alaina had a feeling about this, but trusted the advice anyway. We walked literally to the other side of the park. At the first ROL entrance we were told to keep walking for the FP entrance, so we walked some more.  We stopped a second time and were told the same thing. Finally, after making almost a complete circle we were at the FP entrance…after our check-in time. Thankfully, the cast member at the door allowed us in anyway. Again, we got excellent seats.  We all loved ROL.  Next to Wishes, it was our favorite night time show. 

 The FP entrance is directly in front of the entrance of Expedition Everest.  Alaina had made peace with the fact that we probably wouldn’t get to ride it on this trip due to the long wait time earlier in the day. We decided to walk over to see what the current wait time was.  It was only 10 minutes!  We all made our way to the line…but we were stopped so Lydia could be measured.  She was literally less than an inch too short.  She and Caleb hung out in the gift shop while Hattie and Alaina did the ride.  The ride was really a walk-on. Hattie and Alaina both loved it. We probably could have rode it again, but everyone was tired.  The girls begged to buy stuffed animals in the EE gift shop.  Hattie picked out a snow leopard. Lydia picked out a yeti. They finished off their gift cards, but they were very pleased with their purchases.  We posed for another picture before heading out of the park. We didn’t have to wait long for a bus and were back to the resort by 10:30. At this point we were averaging about 6 miles a day, so again it didn’t take long to fall asleep. 

Notes for the day:

It was confirmed AK isn’t our favorite park. The crowd level was predicted and actually was an 8.  The park didn’t feel overly crowded. We accomplished everything we wanted to do. We just are not in love with the theme. The things we wanted to do were very spread out, so it felt like a lot of walking for little return…we didn’t back track very much. We are still glad we were able to experience this park though. ROL was definitely worth seeing.

 The Festival of the Lion King was disappointing.  Everyone we spoke to about this park said this was a must see…and their favorite show in all of Disney World. We are big Lion King fans, so our expectation was probably set too high. It was enjoyable, but dated. Until it’s revamped, we probably won’t consider this a must see.  If we had a FP and our wait was cut in half, we might have enjoyed it a little more. 

Tusker House is one of the best character meals on property.  The food is good, but the character interaction is superb.  We were very impressed with our hostess and her genuine concern for Hattie’s happiness. This “magical moment” only fed our Disney addiction more.   Our only critique for the entire experience was our server. She wasn’t rude or anything, just not interested in checking on us.  She’s a great example of why I’m glad gratuity is not included on the dining plan. We were able to give the tip we felt she actually earned (we didn’t stiff her, we just didn’t go overboard).  She was the only server we had on the whole trip who didn’t look as though she was enjoying her job and wanting to give service to us.  

Wearing flip flops on this day was very smart for Alaina.  They actually gave her feet a “break.” 

Going without a stroller for the evening was a much needed break for us. However, both of the girls were tired of walking at the end of the night. Caleb ended up carrying Lydia part of the way to the bus stop.  If we hadn’t gone on the wild goose chase to find the FP entrance for ROL, the girls would have made it fine. We did a lot of extra walking that wasn’t planned thanks to those bad directions. 

March 27 – Magic Kingdom

Morning came early for us…but we didn’t have EMH, so we were able to sleep in a little.  It was obvious Lydia would be slow moving from this day forward. She’s not a morning person…and neither is Alaina. We headed out the door with no problems and were on our way to MK by 8:15ish.  Again, having a room near the West Depot was pretty awesome.  We were in the park not long after opening. Our first stop was Tomorrowland.  Astro Orbiter and Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin were our first two attractions. The girls absolutely loved AO. Lydia wasn’t fan of BLSRS…and her ride picture made that very obvious.  We took a quick restroom break then Alaina took the girls to the PeopleMover. Caleb made his way to Space Mountain. The plan was for Caleb and Alaina to swap out since Lydia wasn’t tall enough to ride.  However, SM was down when Caleb got in line, so he joined Alaina and the girls on PM. This is one of our favorite rides in all of DW.  The views are awesome and you get to see a piece of the original EPCOT plans.  SM was still down when we got off the PM, so we decided to go on with our plans. We took the back way to Fantasyland…which should be nicknamed “smokers pathway.”  It was a good shortcut, but you have to endure the smoke.  We got in line for Barnstormer…which ended up being Caleb’s very first rollercoaster experience. We all loved it, but it’s very short.

Next we went over to Dumbo. We had heard about the play area inside the que where children could play while they waited. When the girls saw it, they begged and begged to play. Unfortunately, the play area isn’t open if the ride wait time is less than 20 minutes. We could have played, but we would have lost our place in line.  The girls whined about our decision not to play for the remainder of the wait. Fortunately, the line moved quickly and all was forgiven once we were up in the air flying with Dumbo.  From here we walked over to Under the Sea with Ariel.  We had roughly 40 minutes before our Be Our Guest lunch reservation. The wait time said 20 minutes, but it seemed a little longer…I don’t think it was, but Alaina was paranoid about checking in late for the BOG reservation.  The ride was awesome and we finished with plenty of time to spare.  Eating in the Beast’s castle was one of the things we were most excited about for our trip. We very wisely pre-ordered online. Once we checked in we were able to get through the line much faster.  Since this was our first time visiting, we weren’t 100% sure how seating worked.  We knew we didn’t want to dine in the West Wing, but the ballroom would have been our first choice.  A Cast Member who saw it was obviously our first time lead us back to the back room of the restaurant where the statue of Belle and Beast sits. It was a pretty room, but there was nothing extremely special about it.  Caleb had the Croque Monsieur. Alaina had the French dip sandwich. The girls had grilled cheese sandwiches and turkey noodle soup…which they wouldn’t touch. For dessert we had the Master’s Cupcake (we tried the grey stuff…it was delicious) and a strawberry cream cheese cupcake. Lunch was good, but not incredible. We actually preferred the strawberry cupcake over the grey stuff.

After lunch we posed for a few pictures in front of Beast Castle.  Again, Lydia was obviously not amused…but to be fair we were standing in direct sunlight and she had no sunglasses. We made our way to the front of the park. We caught a little of the dance party happening around the castle, but we didn’t linger. Like most mid-day rides, Lydia fell asleep on the bus ride back to the resort.  We all rested and caught our second wind. We headed back to MK. We had a FastPass for Enchanted Tales with Belle but we arrived a little bit early, so we caught Mickey’s Friendship Faire on the castle stage.  This was a cute show. Caleb was able to get some great pictures. We posed for a few pictures in front of the castle while we were there.

We made our way back to Fantasyland and checked in for our FP.  Hattie was given the role of the puppy/ottoman (I think). Lydia was the guardarobe.  The girls really enjoyed being part of the play. They each got to meet Belle. Lydia was very quick to point out she had Belle on her shirt. It was a very adorable moment. After meeting Belle we made our way over to the 7 Dwarfs Mine Train. It was time for our FP but the ride was temporarily down. The cast member told us it would be back up soon, so we waited probably 10 minutes and we were allowed to go through the line.  We all loved this ride and wished would could have ridden it again. Next we moved on to the carousel, which never disappoints. We decided to take a break for supper at Pinocchio Village Haus. We all had flat breads and they were delicious. Both girls cleaned their plates. After a quick restroom break we made our way to Winnie the Pooh. This was our final FP for the day, so Alaina searched to see if we find another FP.  We were able to get one for Tomorrowland Speedway. While we waited for the FP window to open, we rode the teacups.  We let the girls control our spinning and they had a lot of fun with that.  We still had a few minutes to kill before our FP so we sat down and people watched near TS. We didn’t get many moments to do this on this trip so it was nice to just sit and enjoy the atmosphere…well “enjoy” as much as you can with restless children. 

We walked over to TS and was thankfully able to bypass a very long line.  The girls enjoyed getting to somewhat “drive”, but this ride isn’t anything special. From here we walked over to the Carousel of Progress. This was a ride Caleb and Alaina really wanted to ride, but we weren’t sure if they girls would like it. In fact, we were actually going to skip it if we didn’t have the extra time to ride it. We had finished our touring plan for the day so we had plenty of time to ride.  While we waited, Caleb made friends with a couple behind us. They thought they were waiting in line for an actual carousel. Caleb had to explain what the ride was. When the doors opened we were able to get seats in the middle of the theater. Not only did Caleb and Alaina love the ride, the girls did too! Hattie sang the song for the rest of the evening. We were so glad we didn’t have to skip it.  We checked the wait time for Space Mountain again and it was over an hour.  No ride is worth that kind of wait, so we all made peace with the fact that SM probably wasn’t going to happen on this trip. We took another spin on the PeopleMover. Seeing the castle lit up this time around was absolutely beautiful. 

At this point it was roughly 8PM.  Wishes fireworks was scheduled for 9PM.  Because we wanted to get a good spot in front of the castle, we decided to make our way to the hub area. Alaina sent Caleb for a Frappuccino and some popcorn.  While he was on that mission he stopped for a couple of solo photo opportunities. The longer we stood there the more the crowd started to fill in.  45 minutes later Caleb was back with our snacks. He said he wouldn’t be doing that again…navigating the crowd wasn’t fun.  Wishes was magical. We all loved it.  Once Upon a Time was scheduled for 9:30PM so we decided to stick around.  The crowd cleared out some, so we were able to move closer to the castle. Since OUAT is a projection show, being near the castle was important. We all loved this show as well. After it was over we made our way (slowly) to the front gate. We probably arrived back to the resort by 10:45PM.  After some quick baths we settled in for the night and quickly fell asleep.  I believe this was the point in the trip where Lydia was supposed to get a turn sleeping on the Murphy bed, but since she’s prone to roll in her sleep we opted to keep her in the other queen bed. This worked out for the best.

Notes for the day:     

We probably won’t do Be Our Guest again for lunch.  The restaurant is a must do at least once, but the food is just ok. Nothing was bad, we just expected it to be better.  Also, we should have ordered more than just 2 cupcakes. The girls probably would have eaten one of their own.

We did some backtracking again on this day, but mainly because of the stroller. We didn’t feel like we were walking in circles like we did the day before…this is largely due to the way MK is laid out.  The predicted crowd level was 8 and that’s the level we actually saw.  It was crowded but it never felt too crowded. Definitely manageable with the right touring plan. 

The next time we set up camp for fireworks, we’ll have our snacks in hand.  It was very difficult for Caleb to find us once he was finally able to get the snacks we wanted. 

At this point of the trip Alaina’s feet were bothering her.  Blisters were starting to form.  Switching out athletic shoes and wear thicker socks would have helped this problem, but she didn’t let this stop her. 

March 26 – Hollywood Studios

Our first park day had finally arrived! Everyone was bright eyed and bushy tailed. Today was HS’s Extra Magic Hour morning so the plan was for us to leave the resort shortly after 7AM. Caleb made the trek to get himself and Alaina coffee and the girls some sweet tea in our resort mugs. When he returned it was time to head to the bus stop.  POR has 4 different bus stop locations.  When I put in a room request, I asked for a building basically halfway between a bus stop and the main building.  Our actual room assignment was not in the area I requested. I wasn’t sure I was happy with the change at first, but the location ended up being a good one.  We were about 2 minutes away from the West Depot…which happens to be the first pick up and drop off location for POR. We never waited more than 10 minutes for a bus and it was always nice to be one of the first families to get off when we returned each day. Our only complaint with our room was the fact it was on the 2^nd floor.  Handling a massive double stroller up and down stairs wasn’t fun for Caleb, but he survived.

We caught the bus to HS. The girls made friends basically every bus ride. They were very sociable.  When we were about 5 minutes away from the park, Hattie spilled her resort mug in the floor.  Caleb and Alaina cleaned it up the best they could. The very nice bus driver said she would finish after we got off. This was the last day we took our resort mugs with us to the park…there’s a reason the buses say no food or drink. We arrived at the gate just before park opening.  Everyone scanned their magicbands and selected their finger for fingerprint recognition. We had trouble getting Lydia’s finger to scan almost every time we entered the parks because her fingers were so small.  We were thankful for patient cast members.   

Because this was an EMH morning, the place looked packed. We walked into the park and took a couple pictures in front of the Chinese Theater. Our first stop of the morning was for Alaina to ride Aerosmith’s Rockin Rollercoster. This was the ride she was most excited about riding. We chose to do rider swap so Caleb could ride it later.  The line moved fairly quickly, but there were a lot of people in line.  Alaina LOVED the ride. In total, it took about 45 minutes from the time we walked through the gates to the end of the ride.  The girls were getting restless, so we decided Caleb would come back later to use his rider swap fast pass. Our next ride was Toy Story Midway Mania. The posted wait time was at 50 minutes, I think. We only waited about 25 minutes.  While we were in line, Lydia’s glasses broke.  We didn’t have a way to repair them, so she went without them for the rest of the trip. Hattie refused to wear hers for most of the trip since Lydia didn’t have to wear hers.  After this ride we went over to the Great Movie Ride. This was probably the longest wait we had for the whole trip. I think we waited about 45 minutes total, but it was worth it…especially since the ride is closed now.  The girls loved the Wizard of Oz scene. Our next stop was our fast pass for the Frozen Sing-Along show.  We had some time to kill so the girls got to experience their first Mickey ice cream bar. They made a big mess, but they loved them.  When it was time for us to check in for the fast pass, Alaina realized the wrong time had been added to the touring plan. We had actually missed our fast past. Again, a very nice cast member was understanding and allowed us to enter the fast pass entrance anyway.  We had to wait a few minutes before entering the theater. Once we were allowed in we were able to get seats directly in the middle…perfect seats!  This show was hands down the best show we saw on the trip. The “historians” kept Caleb and Alaina rolling.  The girls sang every word and thoroughly enjoyed the snow at the end.

After Frozen we walked over to the Star Wars Launch Bay.  Hattie was freaked out by the people in costume so she and Alaina went shopping in the nearby gift shop. Because we have a Disney Chase Visa, Caleb and Lydia got a fast past to meet Kylo Ren. Lydia was not a fan.  While Hattie and Alaina were shopping, Hattie found a Doc McStuffins doll that she just had to have.  Alaina said no because Hattie had spent a lot of her souvenir money the night before at DS.  Instead, they bought Nolan a baby Goofy toy and Sam a baby Mickey toy.  We met back up to find something for lunch.  We decided on the ABC Commissary.  We were lucky to find a table outside the restaurant…again there were people everywhere.  Lunch was good. The girls had chicken nuggets and fries. Alaina had a cheese burger. Caleb had the rib combo. Other than Caleb throwing everything away while Alaina took the girls to the bathroom, we had a good experience there. Hattie continued to whine about the Doc McStuffins doll for the remainder of the afternoon.  Alaina offered to watch the girls while Caleb rode Rockin Rollercoaster, but he declined. On the way out of the park Donald and Daisy were doing a meet and greet at the park entrance. Daisy is one of Lydia’s favorite characters. The line was pretty short, so we decided to wait. Hattie had a come apart. She insisted to stay in the stroller. She absolutely had no intention of meeting Daisy and had no shame in admitting it. Caleb, Alaina and Lydia met Daisy while Hattie was faced the other direction in the stroller. This was to be the pattern for every masked character meet and greet.

It was time to head back to the resort for a nap. While Alaina and the girls rested, Caleb explored the resort. We headed back to HS in time to see the 4:30PM showing of the Beauty and the Beast show.  We sat on the bleachers on the outside of the theater. We were pretty far away from the stage.  The show was ok…but it definitely needs an update.  At the very beginning some guy affiliated with the show did a special presentation for a dad and daughter…it was extremely cheesy. We decided this show was a one-time thing for us until it’s updated.  After a quick restroom break we walked back over to the Launch Bay area to buy that stinkin doll for Hattie. She was thrilled. Lydia picked out a Doc McStuffins play set while were there.  With new toys in hand, we walked over to Walt Disney Presents – One Man’s Dream.  This was one of the highlights of the trip for Caleb and Alaina because we enjoy Disney history. The girls loved seeing all the models. Belle’s yellow dress from the new live action Beauty and the Beast was on display here.  Instead of showing the film “One Man’s Dream” they were showing a sneak peak for “Beauty and the Beast.”  There was a wait for the next showing so we didn’t watch it.  It was almost time for our Star Tours fast pass so we headed that way. We watched Muppet Vision while we waited. Alaina and the girls really enjoyed this show. Caleb thought it was really dated…it was, but still enjoyable.  We checked in at Star Tours.  As luck would have it, Lydia was chosen as the Rebel spy! She was not at all amused. In fact, she cried and swore she would never ride that ride again. Hattie on the other than hand loved it.  ST is Caleb’s favorite ride at Disney. 

It was finally time for our anticipated supper at the Sci Fyi Drive In.  We all enjoyed this meal. The girls loved all the movie clips that played while we ate.  The girls had chicken nuggets. Alaina had a pasta dish and Caleb had a burger. We left extremely full.  After supper we checked in for our fast pass at TSMM. The girls again loved this ride.  After we finished, we took a few pictures. We saw some green army men and posed with them.  We waited in line to meet Buzz and Woody for a little while. The girls met another new friend in line.  After wasting about 20 minutes in line, we bailed. We decided we had better find our place for the Star Wars Firework Spectacular.  We were able to find a really good spot.  We really enjoyed the show, but it was a little underwhelming for Caleb.  At this point it’s about 9:30PM and time for us to make our way through the mass of people to exit the park.  The ride home was uneventful.  After baths we all got to bed quickly. It was probably close to 11:00PM. 

Notes for the day:

Doing a park with EMH in the morning was probably not the best decision for our very first park day.  It was a little intimidating walking in with the crowd. Caleb and Alaina both immediately had fears the whole week would be this way. It wasn’t.  When we figured out what we were doing, the rest of the trip went much smoother. The actual crowd level for the day was actually higher than predicted (7 predicted, actual 8). It took us a little bit to get oriented. This was also the only day we did rider swap…which ended up being a waste. We should have chosen a park with normal hours for our first day. I don’t think it would have been as crowded in one of the other parks.  Also, there isn’t a ton to do in HS so the crowds seemed worse than they actually were. We should have pushed this park to another day after we hit our groove. 

Alaina should have allowed Hattie to buy the doll she wanted when she first saw it.  This lead to a half day of whining.  This was the only day we had this issue.

We did a lot of backtracking on this day.  This was mostly due to the fact of having a stroller and not knowing the park layout very well.  Our plan for the next visit eliminates a lot of backtracking. 

Hattie is not into meeting characters. No amount of preparation could change her mind in the moment. She is all about face characters, but masked characters freak her out.  Today’s Daisy interaction was a good indication of Hattie’s behavior for the rest of the week. Lydia loves all characters.  

March 25 – Travel Day and WDW Arrival

We were up and on our way by 7AM.  There was a Dunkin Doughnuts close to our exit, so we decided to get breakfast there.  In the chaos of getting everyone’s food distributed I think we were honked at by a car or two in the parking lot. We decided it was a good time to fill up on gas too since there was a nice travel station nearby.  The rest of our travel was uneventful. Traffic wasn’t bad at all. We stopped regularly for the girls to stretch their legs and use the bathroom. We drove right to our resort without any issues. It was disappointing not to go under the official WDW sign…we were rerouted to another lane due to construction. We got to POR about 3:00PM.  We parked and went inside the hotel lobby.  We had rented a double stroller from Kingdom Strollers for roughly $100 for the week. They had delivered the stroller and it was waiting for us when we arrived.  It was very clean and fairly easy to collapse. It wasn’t as easy to navigate, but I doubt there is a double stroller out there that doesn’t feel like you’re driving a small bus. We hadn’t received a text confirming our room was ready so we decided to explore the resort a little. 

We walked around Magnolia Bend and checked out the pool. POR is a beautiful resort. We went back to the lobby and waited for our room text. I believe we got our resort mugs while we were waiting as well.  When the text finally came, a person from bell services led us by golf cart to our designated parking lot.  After parking we unloaded the car and bell services brought up our luggage. This was a huge timesaver.  Our room was located in Alligator Bayou. We were either in building 35 or 39. It was really close to the West Bus Depot and about a 10 minute walk to the main building.  We had two queen beds and 1 child size Murphy bed.  The bathroom had double sinks.  We over packed for this trip, so by the time we had all the luggage and stroller in the room, the room was full.  

The plan for the evening was to let the girls swim for a little while then we would get ready for our first dining reservation – Boatwright’s…which is the TS restaurant for the resort.  After dinner, we were supposed to go by boat to Disney Springs.  The girls enjoyed playing in the kiddie pool.  Life jackets are available for free and the girls weirdly liked wearing them.  After they played for a while we headed back to the room to change clothes.  We walked back to the main building to Boatwright’s.  We had a 6:30PM reservation. We were seated almost immediately.  Caleb ordered the jambalaya. Alaina ordered Shrimp and Gritts. We had cornbread as an appetizer. Everything was delicious. The girls had cheese pizza and French fries.  Hattie ate most of her dinner there, but Lydia fell asleep almost immediately after we sat down. We took her dinner and our desserts to go.

We were ready to head to DS…but the line for the boat was extremely long. This should have been a warning to us that DS was going to be super crowded on this Saturday night. We opt to take the bus instead. Thank goodness for bus lanes…otherwise we would not have been able get anywhere quickly.  There were people everywhere. We knew coming for Spring Break would mean lots of people…tonight this was the reality. Our goal was to go to the Disney store and the Lego store.  We headed to World of Disney first. The store was crowded, but manageable.  The girls picked out pink princess Mickey Mouse hats and Minnie and Daisy Roadster toys.  We moved on to the Lego Store. It was a madhouse. There were people everywhere and it was hard to look at anything. The girls picked out a small kit each and we got out of there.  After the rush of the Lego store, we all sat down to rest for a minute. Caleb, Alaina and Hattie ate their desserts from Boatwright’s. Lydia ate her supper, then finished her dessert. We people watched and took a couple pictures. Alaina really wanted to look around more, but there were just too many people for that to be enjoyable.  We decided to try and take a boat back to POR since we didn’t get the opportunity on the way.  This resulted to the only argument Caleb and Alaina had until the end of the trip. Alaina knew the way to go but Caleb was leading…which resulted in a lot of extra walking and backtracking. We never did find the boat dock, so we gave in and went to the bus stop. As if we hadn’t rushed around enough for the night, Hattie decided that she needed to use the bathroom not long before our bus arrived. Alaina rushed her to the nearest bathroom and they were able to get back in time to catch the bus. A very nice Cast Member who was helping keep the lines in order told us he would have held the bus until we got back had it arrived while we were gone. We were able to see some fireworks on the way back to the resort. The girls were in awe. They had no idea what all was in store for them for the next week. When we got back to the room we quickly got everyone ready for bed. I think we were all asleep by 10:30PM.  

Notes for the day:  DS on a Saturday night was a bad idea. It was way too crowded for us and not really enjoyable for a 6 and 4 year old. Hindsight, we should have abandoned the DS plan when we saw the line for the boats. The girls would have enjoyed the pool more.  This was really our only complaint for the day.

March 24 – Travel Day

March 24 – Travel Day

Alaina took the full day off to do some last minute errands.  Caleb took a half day.  We were loaded in the car and headed to get Hattie at school by 1:30PM.  We stopped to pick up a late lunch at McDonald’s, then picked up Hattie.  We were southbound by 2:00PM.  We didn’t hit too much traffic until the outskirts of Birmingham.  Wrecks and road construction was causing major traffic delays. We stopped at a gas station for the girls to use the bathroom again (literally about an hour and a half after stopping at our standard Jasper Love’s rest stop) and decided to take an alternate route. 

I think we were on the road for almost 4 hours before the girls fell asleep. We finally arrived at our “halfway” motel in Dothan, AL at about 8:00PM. We ate supper at a Mexican restaurant next door.  Caleb forgot to tell the front desk we needed double beds, so we got a king room.  Truthfully, this probably worked out for the best. Everyone slept well. We stayed at a Motel 6 for about $55.  The room was clean and quiet for the most part.  If we decided to split travel into two days again, we would stay here again.

Walt Disney World - March 24 –April 1, 2017 - Before the trip

We are a Disney family. We have both previously been to Walt Disney World. Prior to this trip, Caleb had gone with this family in the summer of 1996 or 1997 and stayed in the All Star Sports resort. They visited MK, EP and HS. AK was not yet open.  Alaina went with her family on a day trip to MK in the summer of 1989.
Alaina then went to the MK again for one day in May 2005 as part of a graduation trip.  This trip was our first family trip together and Alaina’s first time to say on property. 
We began planning our first Disney vacation in early 2014.  Caleb was Minister of Music and Youth at FBC Belmont. Alaina was Graduation Coordinator at UNA.  The plan was for us to go with Adrienne in late September, early October 2015.  Neither of the girls would be in school and Lydia would gone for “free.”  It would have been a slower time for the graduation desk. Crowds were predicted to be pretty low due to the time of year. However, Caleb resigned from his church position in February 2015. Because of the probability Caleb would not have the necessary amount of vacation days for the trip and the high cost of a Disney vacation, we did the responsible thing and cancelled the trip. This was a bitter pill to swallow, but we all knew it was for the best. As it turned out 4 of the 5 of us got the stomach virus this very week and there was a hurricane that developed which caused a great deal of rain.  Had we gone at this time, it probably would have been less than magical for us all. 
In late summer/early fall of 2016 we decided it was a good time for us to plan another trip.  For the first time since Alaina had been employed at UNA, Spring Break was the same week for both UNA and Franklin County Schools. Additionally, this trip was going to be Caleb and Alaina’s celebration for their 10th wedding anniversary.   Due to the timeframe, Adrienne could not be part of this adventure.
Caleb and Alaina both love to travel and do research on the areas in which they will be visiting. We bought the Disney “Bible” – The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World when we were planning the 2015 trip. We would read the book in our downtime at home. It wasn’t long before we discovered there was a website you could subscribe to called TouringPlans.com. For only $20 we had a wealth of knowledge at our fingertips. This subscription included crowd calendars and park plans…it was life changing! Caleb started watching vlogs on YouTube by people who frequently travel to Disney. He introduced Alaina to The Dis Unplugged and Tim Tracker.  The rest is history. Disney was now an obsession.
In our research, we decided for this trip we would probably need to book a Moderate Resort. The queen size beds were the biggest draw.  We knew the extra cost would be worth it since we would be taking mid-day breaks each day for the girls to nap.   Initially, we booked a room at Port Orleans French Quarter due to the size of the resort.  It’s the smallest on property, so that was really appealing to us.  We weren’t 100% sold on the hotel theme.  We had only planned to visit MK, EP and HS on this trip. AK didn’t really appeal to us and we thought there would be fewer things for the girls to enjoy in that park. We only planned to do 4 park days and 2 of those days were going to be spent at MK. We wanted a day mid trip to relax and enjoy the resort. Once the discounts for our travel dates became available, our plans changed.  POFQ was not included in any discount, so we would have to switch to a different resort to take advantage of any offer available. One of the discounts available would give us a 5th day park ticket for free if we switched to another resort. Because we liked the theming better and the option to boat to Disney Springs, we decided to switch to Port Orleans Riverside.  This simple change put us at the resort we originally wanted, but we couldn’t justify the extra cost at the time. For only $40 more than our original booking we were also getting an extra park day…so AK was put into the schedule…win, win.
We opted to purchase the Disney Dining Plan as part of our package.  While some people say it’s not worth it, we are firm believers in this add on.  A true vacation for Alaina is having everything paid for prior to traveling so she doesn’t have to worry about finances. The DDP provides that opportunity.  We added money to a gift card specifically for dining so all gratuity would be pre-budgeted as well.
To prepare for our trip we started purchasing Disney Gift Cards to cover our spending money while on the trip. We asked family members to buy the girls gift cards instead of toys for their birthdays and Christmas. I believe we had about $500 in gift cards when we left for the trip. We estimated how much we would need for gratuity and designated one card specifically for that.  We divided the remaining amount between the 4 of us to spend on souvenirs.  The girls absolutely loved being able to buy what they wanted…as long as they still had funds left.
It was mentioned at the beginning of this trip report that it was probably a good thing our first trip didn’t work out because of rain and sickness. Well, this trip came along at the perfect time.  Alaina lost her Grandmother unexpectedly on September 1, 2016. Her Granddaddy got the flu in late January 2017 and didn’t bounce back due to heart problems and ultimately being heartbroken. In the weeks leading up to the trip we weren’t sure if we would be able to go because Granddaddy was doing so poorly.  We invested in trip insurance just in case we had to cancel last minute.  The Lord called Granddaddy home on March 20, 2017.  His death, the stress that comes with preparing for travel and the responsibilities at UNA (nursing applications, HESI testing and Acceptance Letters) all were weighing heavily on Alaina.  A week at Disney World was much needed for our family. We needed to escape the real world and be in the Disney bubble to enjoy one another’s company.