PRE-TRIP REPORT - APRIL 2024
I’ve got a WDW trip coming up with my family and I wanted to do a trip report, but then I realized I hadn’t written a trip report in maybe 10-15 years, when I wrote one on a DisBoards - a long, long long time ago. But here, we are, and now that I’ve started this WDW website and I’ve got a trip coming up very soon, I thought there's no better time to get this pre-trip report out into the world before I get on a plane.
To get things started my travel party will be myself, my 4 yo son (this will be his first trip to Disney World, so I’m super excited about that - even more so than him), and my parents who are both 70+ years and each of them also have a handful of trips under their belts. It was actually my mom who started my love of all things Walt Disney World, by taking me on my first trip when I was just 4 years old myself.
We will be arriving at WDW at the end of April and staying for 7 nights at Art of Animation - theme of family suite unknown and to be assigned on the day we check in (the price difference is so significant when booking this way). We will have 5 day park hopper tickets, we don’t generally visit parks on arrival or departure dates and one rest day is usually plenty good for us. We will also be on the QS Dining Plan - which has worked wonders for us in the past and even though the price has significantly increased since we last used in 2017, we wanted to give it a try again. We love the ease of not having to worry about every penny spent for food and beverage - we get that all-inclusive feel, a little bit and we like that. Plus trying to beat the plan is always a fun challenge that we’re up for. Unfortunately my mom has just found out that she needed to make some changes to her diet and eating regimen, so it’ll be a bit different for her and working her choices into the concept of beating the dining plan - but I’m still up for the challenge. Ok - so, 3 adults, 1 x 4 year old - Art of Animation - 5 day Park Hoppers, QS Dining Plan. What else - we will have a memory maker - this is actually my parents first time ever having a memory maker available to them and will only be my second time having it, so I’m looking forward to hopefully having even a couple of really special shots that will make the cost seem worthwhile.
And before we get into your anticipated day to day schedule, we’re actually going to be coming to WDW from Port Canaveral, we’ll be on a six day Eastern Caribbean Cruise with Royal Caribbean the week before so our flights into Orlando were booked via Royal’s Air 2 Sea Program - we got an amazing deal via Delta Flights that are actually code-sharing with WestJet, so I was really happy about that, because flight prices are astronomical these days - even for a measly 3 hr flight. OK, so let's get into the day to day of the WDW portion of our trip.
Day 1 - Our arrival day, we’re supposed to be leaving Port Canaveral via private car with a booster seat with a company called Donovon’s Limo. These smaller companies make me a bit nervous, especially since I’ve already paid a deposit and the balance is due next week, 2 weeks before we need the ride, so I will definitely share how this experience goes. The company has great reviews, so that’s why I booked with them in the first place. Fingers crossed. So, pickup should be around 10:30-11:00. It’s about an hour drive and we’re making an approximate 20 min grocery stop on the way at Publix - so, let’s estimate we should arrive at AoA before 1pm - and fingers crossed our room will be ready before we pull up to the resort. I mentioned I, or we haven’t been to WDW since 2017 - during vacation time in 2018 we had a friend's wedding and then 2019 the world fell apart and I had a baby and a pandemic and a new baby was scary times. We didn’t start traveling again until 2022, when we felt safe - and this is the first time we’re back to WDW - so that’s why we have a big lull in Disney trips.
On arrival date - I like to get all situated in our room, I like to unpack and get everything placed in the bathroom and the kitchenette, I basically like to move in. That makes me feel at home, depending on arrival time, if we can, we do it - if not, we do it later. What I would like to do is walk around the resort and show my son the buildings and giant statues and walk over to POP and show him what’s over there - he will love the giant Rubix cube and Mr. potato head and the Play-doh - timeless things that even he loves. We haven’t ever been on the Skyliner, so I would like to ride that - see what it's all about, how the transferring works at the Caribbean Beach Hub and maybe visit the Riviera. So maybe we’; hopefully if time permits - time to swim, time to unpack - time to tour the resorts and look around, ride the Skyliner and go directly from Riviera to Disney Springs - which is where we plan to spend the early evening into the night - but not stay out too late. At Disney Springs the plan so far is Characters in Flight - which we’ve never done, but my son seems excited to give it a try since he has a slight interest in hot air balloons. Dinner at Polite Pig which from the research we’ve done is that this is possibly the best use of a Quick Service dining credit on all of the property and I would love to try some of the unique ice cream flavors at Salt N Straw and there are some shops I would love to check out like TrenD, Disney Style, UniQlo, the Star Wars shops and we’ll be back another day, so we don’t have to over do it this day at Disney Springs.
Day 2 - The plan is Rope Drop 8:30 at Epcot, so we would take the Skyliner to the International Gateway first thing in the morning. We are planning to have Genie+, for multiple parks as we want to hop to MK later that day - irregardless if parks are estimated to be super busy or not, because we have never previously had to navigate the parks with Genie+ I’m anxious to start using it, because I’ve done quite a bit of research. The first lightning lane of the day for us I would be Test Track, considering they just announced the closing date, I’m expecting the lines for this to get longer than usual as demand will really drum up before the closure for the ride re-do. The idea for the Genie that day is more for later stacking for MK in the late afternoon like after 5 to close. So, let’s hope I’m able to get a grip on using Genie+ and it becomes second nature. I am also planning to have an ILL for Guardians. So, for the day - the plan is Remy, Frozen Ever After, Mission Space, Guardians, Test Track, Soarin - and then back to World Showcase for some Flower & Garden Festival Eats and Drinks starting in Canada, UK, France, Morocco and then grabbing lunch to go from Regal Eagle in the American Pavilion. Depending on time, back to the resort for a refresh and a short rest and then to Magic Kingdom. It’s hard for me to foresee how the Genie+ selections are going to go - but really hoping for at least Jungle, Pirates, Big Thunder and Haunted Mansion - so we can kind of knock some big ticket guys out of the way, but we do have 2 other visits planned for MK for the week, so no pressure. Also, planning to see Happily Ever After - weather and my son’s tiredness pending - but that’s what strollers are for, right? Also considering a Minnie Van home for this evening, so we shall see how that all pans out. We’ve never been to Disney World with a stroller or a small child, so navigating kids and strollers and the bus is new to me, and seems a bit overwhelming.
Day 3 - This day is planning to be a reverse of yesterday - starting in MK and ending in EPCOT. Planning for Rope Drop in the morning starting with the standby Line for Seven Dwarfs, followed by Peter Pan. Also planning on Genie+ this day for multiple parks - even though most likely will only need MK, but for the same price, might as well have EPCOT just in case. Hoping the first lightning lane of the will be Space Ranger Spin - (but this depends on which attractions we were able to pull off the previous evening), so all those would take top priority. Also planning on an ILL for Tron - using Rider Swap, because my son isn’t tall enough for this one, nor do I think he would want to ride it anyway. Also planned for this morning would be Dumbo, Teacups, Carousel, Tomorrowland Speedway, Railroad, maybe some character meet and greets during the morning, Festival of Fantasy would be nice to catch - but 3pm is maybe too late for us and then back to the resort for a refresh and some relaxation time - time pending. Was also considering stopping at the Poly for lunch at Captain Cook’s before heading back to AoA. Of course, everything is pending on time. S. I also love me some Corn Dog Nuggets from Casey’s Corner - although, not the greatest use of a QS credit - but that’s ok. We’re cool with that. So for the evening - I would like to visit Mexico and do Gran Fiesta and maybe grab some snacks around World Showcase from Flower and Garden booths again and if there is something my son really enjoyed I maybe would have tried for a LL earlier that day for Soarin or Test Track. I would also really like to experience Journey of Water, Journey Into Imagination, Under the Seas with Nemo & Friends and Spaceship Earth - hopefully all in good enough time to catch a good spot to watch Luminous before getting back on the Skyliner and calling it a night.
Day 4 - This will be our first visit to HS for this trip and never having experienced either Galaxy’s Edge or Toy Story land I am so excited! We will have single park Genie+ this day and the first lightning lane I’m hoping to score is for Slinky Dog - although I’m really up in the air about this - I hear people who book right away don’t get it until way later in the day, and I’m thinking we could just make this our initial rope drop attraction. So I’m on the fence with that. Priorities or wants for the day include - ILL for Rise, Smugglers Run, Toy Story Midway Mania, Alien Swirling Saucers, Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway,the Frozen Sing along, Muppets 3D, Star Tours and the Lightning McQueen thing, because we’ve never seen it, and my son may enjoy it. As much as I’d like to do Tower, my son (who is tall enough) I think this would just scare the crap out of him. Same with Space Mountain, which is why I didn’t mention it on either MK day we’ve discussed thus far and unfortunately Rock N Roller Coaster will still be down for refurb, so that will be a no go as well. We have a 12:30 ressie for Oga’s this day The plan is to return to HS in the evening for Fantasmic and be in line approximately ½ hour before showtime. , although I’ve also booked Boma for 5:30 - because it was a toss up between here and Tusker House, so we have them both - Tusker House later in the week. Boma will most likely end up being canceled, just due to logistics of having to get to AK Lodge. Also debating building a droid for today, I keep saying this is for my son, but really the build would be of more interest to me than him.
Day 5 - REST DAY! No plans really except for a 1 day early birthday dinner for me at Storybook Dining in the evening and a booking for the Lego Store at Disney Springs for Lego Minifigure. My son is a huge lego fan, so I think he will really love visiting the store and getting his own figures made as a keepsake. It’ll be a nice souvenir for him. Hopefully today, just some swimming and maybe some hopping along the Skyliner to visit the different resorts - check out Caribbean Beach, sit in a hammock, something else my son has been wanting to try, if we don’t get a chance to try one on our Caribbean Cruise and visit Riviera because it looks amazing and I would love to stop in at Dahlia Lounge for a drink and see that Peter Pan mural they have in the walkway - looks stunning. Maybe we can even take the Skyliner to the Boardwalk and visit some of the resorts there - we’ll see how the day goes. This is a no pressure kinds day and in the evening, after dinner I would love to head back to Disney Springs for any last minute things we would have wanted or wanted to try for eats or drinks - Gideon’s would be nice, but I am not waiting in line for cookies no matter how good people say they are as this is possibly the last time we’ll get back there for this trip.
Very much looking forward to Storybook Dining - not so much the transportation of having to get to and from Wilderness Lodge, but at least the experience will be lovely. The restaurant itself looks amazing, the menu looks absolutely delicious and I am so looking forward to meeting these characters - specifically Dopey & Grumpy.
Day 6 - My Birthday - and what will be maybe our first visit to Animal Kingdom for this trip. Plan is to hit Navi River at Rope Drop, followed by Kilimanjaro (if park open yet) and planning on ILL for Flight of Passage, there isn’t a ton that we have planned for this park - A Bug's Life, Lion King Show, Triceratop Spin (if my son wants), The Boneyard, Finding Nemo Musical Show, I’m undecided about Dinosaur for him, it's such a dark, jostling ride - I feel like it will be scary for him, but he may love it. I won’t know if I don’t try, right? If it's really hot today, I may try to take him on Kali River Rapids right before we leave the park. We have a 1pm at Tusker too, but this is dependent on if we did or did not do Boma two days prior - since the food offerings are so similar - I would prefer this one though, solely for the character meet and interactions. There’s really no big plan for the evening, so I’m not even sure we would purchase genie for the day - the idea was to return to a park if due to inclement weather on any other evening we weren’t able to see the nighttime spectacular. So this afternoon is kind of up in the air for now - which is by no means a bad thing - we’ve got options.
Day 7 - Our last full park day - I would like to rope drop the park where we had the least amount of success with the big or the most important attractions for us - like if we haven’t done Jungle Cruise, maybe we start at MK, or if we really liked Remy maybe we start at Epcot or if Slinky Dog Dash or Runaway Railway is where its at, we start at Hollywood - maybe this day we hit all 4 parks and we do Genie for sure, ensuring we end at a park where we need to still see the nighttime spectacular if we haven’t already - and if we have - I always think its a delight to have MK fireworks end a trip - so happily ever after it would be. I really like last day shopping on Main Street as well.
Day 7 - Our last day, but no park day - our Mears transportation will be arriving around 3:30ish for pickup back to MCO and we have a Topolino’s Breakfast booked for that morning that I am super excited about. I love “fancy” breakfast, and this character breakfast seems like it's going to be so cute. Before heading to breakfast I think we would keep just a backpack with us and drop everything else to bell services to hold onto. Maybe keep some swimsuits out or maybe head down for some last minute shopping before saying goodbye. The saddest time.
Looking forward to seeing how close to this plan we’re able to stick and how I cope with flexibility. Remember, this will be my first trip with a child and a stroller - two things I need to get used to. And there are a lot of firsts for us this trip - Skyliner, AoA, genie+, ILL, Flower & Garden, Storybook Dining, Galaxy’s Edge, Toy Story Land, M&MRRailway, Guardians, Tron, Topolinos - no magical express, no magicbands at check in - but even with all those firsts coming up, I feel like I’m going home and that is a great feeling.
Thanks for reading and remember to follow us on Instagram and/or threads @ mousekathings Thanks & have a magical day or night friends - until next time - bye bye!
-Written April 2024