_Let me preface this whole thing by saying this is my first trip using TP and out of the many, many times I’ve been to WDW this was BY FAR the best experience I’ve ever had. And now, without further adieu, the first installment of my trip report
Let’s start this story from the beginning, shall we? I booked this trip for the 1st week of June back in late January, was up to get my dining plans at 6:45 of the 180 day mark, and was up to get my fastpasses at 6:45 of the 60 day mark. One might say I was a little excited for this trip. Then I found touring plans and paid the $20 for Universal and WDW and it was the greatest purchase I’ve made in a LONG time.
All that aside, the day before we left finally came; May 31st, we were the night of the 31st, morning of the 1st, around 3am was the plan. I work graveyard shift occasionally at my job so I wasn’t too concerned about driving through the night if it meant I could get there quicker! So I went to bed with dreams of meet and greets and churros at around 6pm only to wak up at 1am, meaning we were leaving at 1am, which was fine with me! We loaded everything in the car and were on our way at 1:30 heading for the most magical place on Earth. Now, I’ll spare you all the details of our ride, but just say it was filled with Disney sing a longs and Sydney (my girlfriend who will be referred to as Syd from now on) snoring through the majority of Georgia.
We crossed the Florida state line and almost instantly it became about 10 degrees warmer; I knew I was home. We ended up getting to All Star Movies, yes I booked All Star Movies, pile on the criticism now please, at around 12;30pm. I had requested an early check in of 1:00 but it wasn’t ready, which was fine because I had a certain QS lunch on my mind…
While we waited for our room, we went over to Port Orleans French Quarter and my favorite on site QS: Sassagoula’s Food Factory! I had my beginets (best things I’ve ever put in my mouth) and was already content with my trip. We then looked around the rest of the Quarter and decided it was time to play some mini golf. We headed over to Winter Summerland to use our free vouchers for a round of mini golf. I think this is a great little perk that comes with booking the package because I love me some mini golf! I tried to take it easy on Syd, but in the end, I came out victorious (this would be a repeating pattern throughout the trip).
After mini golf, we went to go explore the Animal Kingdom Lodge to scout out where we wanted to stay for our next trip; because even while you’re on your current trip, you’ve always got to think ahead to the next one! This was my first time visiting AKL and I can see why everyone loves it. It was HUGE and absolutely beautiful! But what caught me the most was the smell. Oh my gracious that smell is something else. Anyway, by this time our room was finally ready…at 4:00. But I wasn’t going to let it bother me, I was at Disney World and my little Mickey shaped heart was content.
The room was in the Mighty Ducks Building, which was fine, but it was the exact opposite of what I requested. Still, wasn’t going to let it bother me, I didn’t anticipate spending a lot of time in the room anyways. Our next stop was Disney Springs for a 6:00 reservation at Planet Hollywood. I’m a huge burger fan and an even bigger Guy Fieri fan so this was a must no matter what the reviews said. We got there a little early but were seated almost immediately, and on the top floor! Our waitress’ name was Ariel (how fitting for our first meal, am I right?) and if you want an exceptional waitress, ask for her. I’m talking the best of the best of the best, super sweet, very informative, like perfect. Now let’s talk food. We were on the Disney Dining Plan meaning we had 6 TS, 6 QS, and 24 snacks. This meal alone was worth it all. I had the Bacon Mac n Cheese burger, Syd had the Original Ringer, and I started my drinking fest with a Space Monkey. Don’t ask me what’s in it, just know if you like chocolate milkshakes and alcohol, then buy it. The burgers were to die for, even the fries were amazing. I honestly don’t know how people don’t like this place! Plus there’s a giant screen to watch concerts/shows while you eat, and the movie props are super cool. This is somewhere I’m going to go back every time I get the chance. Each meal also came with a dessert, however it wasn’t one of the fancy shakes you see on the ads; nonetheless, the shakes we got were, shockingly, amazing as well.
After we ate, we headed back to Movies to get in bed early; we had EMH at 7am at MK and I could not contain myself anymore…
On the next post, I’ll share how we spent our rainy day at MK, watching Happily Ever After live for the first time, my first ever viewing of the rainy day parade and how we conquered EVERY. SINGLE. RIDE. at the Magic Kingdom in 1 day!