A Spontaneous September Trip- Updated 10/19

[ExpeditionEmily]

Hello humans!
Welcome along for my first ever trip report. I have no idea what I'm doing, but I'm doing my best
Who am I?


I'm Emily, an almost 25-year old who spends my days teaching middle schoolers. I've done two Disney College Programs- Fall 2016 at the Contempo Cafe and Fall 2019/Spring 2020 at Tony's Town Square. I worked the first ever Cruella's Halloween Hideaway and was there the day everything shut down in March 2020. I haven't been to Disney since then, but after surviving virtual and hybrid learning last year, I think I earned this one. Joining me on this trip is my boyfriend, Tyler.


Tyler also spends his days teaching middle schoolers, which works out perfectly for all travel/vacation schedules. He hasn't been to Disney since he was a kid and I can't wait to watch him experience all the new things. He loves dinosaurs and Star Wars, so we're planning on lots of time in Hollywood Studios and Dinoland USA!

Here's how this trip came to be: the first weekend after returning to school, I woke up around 6am. Somehow I ended up on My disney experience app playing around with options. I found some good availability, decent airline prices, and we luckily have a 4-day labor day weekend! Along with my complimentary tickets from the spring 2020 DCP, I couldn't pass up on the deal. Tyler woke up about an hour later to me frantically buying airline tickets and setting everything up, and was a good mix of confused and excited, so here we go!

When: We'll fly out September 3rd after work and return September 7th
Where: Pop Century, standard room
Why: We survived a year of teaching middle school in a global pandemic!

The plans so far:
Friday- we'll be coming in late that night on the magical express after a long day of work. Ideally hoping to get to Pop before the food court closes so we can get a Mickey bar!
Saturday- Hollywood Studios park pass, 8:30am reservation for building a droid, park hopping in the afternoon
Sunday- Animal Kingdom park pass, park hopping in the afternoon
Monday- Magic Kingdom park pass, park hopping in the afternoon, 8:10pm dinner at Yachtsman Steakhouse
Tuesday- 9:25am breakfast at Trattoria al Forno, Magical Express takes us back to the airport at 11:35

Planning has been relatively smooth so far! Our returning flight did change the other day, but it ended up not changing times too much and updating the ME reservation with Disney was very easy.
We're 6 days from departure and the packing/prepping has commenced! Thanks for hanging with me for the start of my first trip report

​

 

[Heather07438]

Have a great trip!

 

[sheilafri]

Hope you have a fun vacation. Sounds like you deserve it.

 

[pwdebbie]

Last minute trips can be the best!

 

[rdkeim]

Following - sounds like a good plan!

 

[Newsies]

YAY YAY YAY!!!! So excited that you're posting and writing for the boards!!!! Your plans for this trip look solid, I can't wait to read this report!!!

 

[CruellaNY]

I love doing last minute trips, enjoy!!

 

[footballmouse]

 

[ExpeditionEmily]

Travel Day:

Our travel day ended up being fairly smooth and stress free! Schools got closed here on Thursday due to some flooding in the area, so we had the day to pack and prepare for the trip. On Friday, I woke up around 4:30am and finished the packing before heading to work. Tyler and I met back up at home by 3:30pm and headed to my parents house around the corner, where I left my car for the weekend. My dad drove us to the airport and despite hitting a tiny bit of traffic, we made it there and breezed through security/bag check by 5:30pm! After getting everything squared away, we were more than ready for dinner. We ended up going with Obrycki's. I had never heard of it, but it was a seated restaurant with a bar, which was all we were looking for. I ordered a Bud Light, Ty got a Yuengling, and we both went with the cheeseburgers and fries for dinner.



The burgers were just okay. For the price, the portions could have been a little bigger, but that's just how it goes with airport dining. We were hungry and tired, so we weren't being picky. After our dinner, we headed to the gate where Tyler did a bit of work waiting to board the flight. We boarded and luckily found seats in the front row!


This sweet guy willingly sat in the middle seat both the flight to Orlando and the flight home. We had an uneventful 2-hour flight down and I put The Peanuts Movie on my iPad for us. I immediately fell asleep, but I think Tyler liked the movie. We waited to grab our bags and then headed to the Magical Express! We didn't have to wait long before it departed and headed straight to Pop Century. At the airport, I had received our room ready text. I requested the 70's section, and we ended up the 90's section 4th floor. I was super bummed out and mentioned wanting to see if they had any other options. When we got to Pop, there was a small line to speak to a front desk CM. I told Tyler we could just go check out the room and see how bad it was. Ty convinced me to stick it out and wait in the line, and I'm so glad I listened to him. The very kind front desk cast member initially said the only other choices were in the 80's section. I was getting ready to accept when she said "Let me make a call." She ended up upgrading us to the 2nd floor of the 60's section in a preferred room! It was incredibly nice of her and I'm very thankful for her magic. We headed straight to our room and crashed, preparing for the next morning of trying for a Rise of Resistance boarding pass.
​

 

[Bama Mom]

Following along. You definitely earned this trip. If anyone deserves a vacation its all the teachers (and education staff) and front line workers! Can't wait to read all about the quick trip.

 

[flyingw/tink]

Following along! Teachers in the age of Covid deserve a little pixie dust more than anyone!

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Following along!

We waited to grab our bags and then headed to the Magical Express!

I am going to miss Magical Express!

requested the 70's section, and we ended up the 90's section 4th floor. I was super bummed out and mentioned wanting to see if they had any other options. When we got to Pop, there was a small line to speak to a front desk CM.

I stopped requesting sections for this reason. I had made a few requests and never got them. And it just made me sad at the beginning of the trip!

She ended up upgrading us to the 2nd floor of the 60's section in a preferred room! It was incredibly nice of her and I'm very thankful for her magic.

YEAH!!!! So glad it worked out for you! I know that most CM try there best to make magic wherever they can.

Can't wait to hear all about the trip!

 

[snikki]

Great upgrade to start the trip! Can’t wait to hear about the rest of your trip.

 

[ExpeditionEmily]

Day 1: Hollywood Studios

I woke up bright and early on Hollywood Studios morning in the quest for a Rise of Resistance boarding pass! We also had an 8:30am reservation for the Droid Depot. I spent the morning getting ready while meticulously watching the clock, and the moment it hit 7am, I grabbed the Rise boarding pass. We got Group 34, which I take as a total win for my first time.

I woke up Tyler, finished getting ready, and we hopped the bus to Studios around 7:30am. We had a quick detour at Guest Services to pick up our comp tickets from my program, and then waited for the park to open. We were both feeling antsy, because they did not let us in early and the gates hadn't opened at 8:15 yet when our Droid Depot res was for 8:30. Finally, they opened up at 8:30 and we high tailed it over to the Droid Depot. We had 0 wait and I instantly got started on the build. Tyler took about 1 million photos of me building our BB unit, but I'll cut it down to just one.


This was honestly such a fun experience and I'm really glad we did it! We paid to have it sent home so we wouldn't worry about breaking it, and the shipping cost $13. It arrived home within a week in great condition. Next trip, we're considering doing this again so Tyler can build an R2 unit.
After building our Droid son, it was about 9am and the park was just beginning to get busy. We walked over to Toy Story Mania with a posted 10-minute wait. We waited about 10 minutes. Tyler had 0 idea what he was doing, and I ended up winning for the first time probably ever.



After destroying Tyler at this game, we both decided we were hungry. We headed over to Woody's Lunchbox and grabbed some breakfast. We decided to share a Breakfast Bowl and the Halloween Lunchbox Tart.


I honestly smiled just looking at this. We both LOVED the breakfast bowl, which surprised me because Tyler usually won't eat eggs. The gravy was especially good. The Lunchbox Tart was also good, but really I bought it because it was cute. Oops. It tasted like a big sugar cookie and it was decent, I think Tyler liked it more than I did.
We inhaled this pretty quickly, and then decided to head over to Smuggler's Run. The wait time was posted at 30 minutes, and we waited about that if not shorter. I really was hoping to get Pilot for Tyler's first time. When I realized we were going to end up with Engineer (the WORST in my opinion), I asked the CM if we could wait a few more minutes to be pilots. She let us step to the side and get pilot for the next group! While we waited, the CM's were chatting with us in theme. The guy asked Tyler "What planet are you from?" and Tyler nervously responded "Umm....Maryland?" This resulted in the guy kind of teasing him about it and asking about Star Wars planets. Tyler walked away confused and said "I don't know what's happening"
We had a pretty smooth flight as Pilots, and then headed over to MuppetVision 3D to kill a little time before our boardin group.



MuppetVision 3D is something I will ALWAYS be down for. It's just cute and makes me happy. After we watched the show, it was time for our boarding pass! We headed over to Rise of the Resistance. We waited a few minutes for it, but WOW. It was both of our first time riding, and the ride is just so beautiful. Now that they're doing away with virtual que, I don't know how long I'd be willing to wait for it, but it is absolutely worth the experience at least once. When we got off the ride, we were both feeling a little tired and hot. We decided to do what any reasonable adult would do: find some AC and get a drink! We headed over to Backlot Express for some lunch.

For lunch, we decided to share again. We got the chicken tenders and fries, a Rum Island Breeze, and the Wookie Cookie. I totally love Disney chicken tenders and fries, especially Disney barbecue sauce. Our conversation went as follows:
Me- "Disney barbecue is the BEST"
Tyler- "Yeah, but I don't really like barbecue"
*tries sauce*
Tyler- "That is good"
*proceeds to eat at least half*
I'm telling you, I stand by my opinion that Disney barbecue is supreme. The Rum Island Breeze was also very refreshing and smooth. Tyler LOVED it, and we probably could have consumed way more if we weren't so hot and dehydrated. The Wookie Cookie was also a huge hit. I think Tyler still considers it as the best dessert of the trip. Warning: this cookie is HUGE. We shared and still ended up tossing out part of it, it was that much.

After lunch, we felt energized and ready to just crank out some more rides. The lines were picking up a lot by this point, so we just rolled with it and found what we could. First up was Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway with a posted wait of 40 minutes. I have a special place in my heart for this ride ever since doing my cast member preview of it. We were on and off the ride in about 40 minutes exactly, and we both really loved it. Next up, we went over to Rock n Rollercoaster. The wait time was about 50 minutes. I REALLY wanted to ride, but we were cutting it close on time since we wanted to spend the evening in Epcot. We ended up doing single riders, where we waited more like 20-30 minutes. We got lined up and were set to ride in the same run, but a few rows apart. We were chatting and giving each other the thumbs up, when the odd numbered family we were with noticed what was happening. Tyler and I were both slated to ride with adults, and one of the guys offered to switch so Ty and I could sit together! Usually I'm the type to be like "Oh no, no are you sure?" but the ride was boarding so I just said "Yep, thank you!!" and off we went.
Tyler probably liked that ride the least at Hollywood Studios. He's had a few concussions in the past, and hadn't been on a roller coaster in awhile. He wasn't a huge fan of it, but he'd do it again. When we got off, Tower of Terror was down to a 20 minute wait, the shortest we'd seen it all day. We waited about 20 minutes and sat in the front row. Tyler enjoyed this one slightly more than Rockin, but it was probably a close competition. At this point, we were about ready to head to Epcot. Tyler thought he might want a helmet from Galaxy's Edge. We went back and browsed a little, but he decided against it. We did find Star Tours as a walk-on while making our way out the park, so we went over to that. We had a nice little journey to the Wookie planet, and then prepared to leave Studios. Around 3:30, we started making our way to the Skyliner to head to Epcot for a few hours!​

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

spent the morning getting ready while meticulously watching the clock, and the moment it hit 7am, I grabbed the Rise boarding pass. We got Group 34, which I take as a total win for my first time.

Yeah! I am always so glad to hear that someone got a boarding group. I am VERY interested to see how long the lines get with stand by only!

This was honestly such a fun experience and I'm really glad we did it! We paid to have it sent home so we wouldn't worry about breaking it, and the shipping cost $13. It arrived home within a week in great condition. Next trip, we're considering doing this again so Tyler can build an R2 unit.

That is good to know that you can send it home. And $13 isn't bad.

. We both LOVED the breakfast bowl, which surprised me because Tyler usually won't eat eggs. The gravy was especially good.

That breakfast bowl is one of my favorite things!!!!

ers and fries, a Rum Island Breeze, and the Wookie Cookie. I totally love Disney chicken tenders and fries, especially Disney barbecue sauce. Our conversation went as follows:
Me- "Disney barbecue is the BEST"
Tyler- "Yeah, but I don't really like barbecue"
*tries sauce*
Tyler- "That is good"
*proceeds to eat at least half*

Ha! I hope you learned to ask for extra barbecue sauce going forward!

 

[CruellaNY]

We both LOVED the breakfast bowl, which surprised me because Tyler usually won't eat eggs.

interesting! We haven't eaten anything there although we've thought about it before. DH doesn't like sweet for breakfast and he isn't often a fan of eggs but I think I'd like the breakfast bowl.

Tyler walked away confused and said "I don't know what's happening"

LOL! As a non Star Wars fan that would be me! I also never have ANY idea what I'm doing on Smugglers and finally after riding ROTR the 4th time figured out we were taken captive.
I think

Good day in HS! Other than the 50 for RnRC those wait times weren't bad at all.

 

[dvc at last !]

I am enjoying your TR!

 

[erinch]

Loving your TR!

 

[Raeven]

Following along!

 

[ExpeditionEmily]

Day 1, Part 2: Epcot
We made it over to Epcot via the Skyliner around 4pm. Our plan for this afternoon was just some drinking and snacking. The first stop we made was the France food and wine booth! I'm a big fan of the Escargot Croissant.

It was just as good as I remembered it! Tyler's response was "ew", so we hopped over to Les Halles bakery in search of something more mild. And WOW, did we find the perfect snack for my picky eater! We each got a Mimosa- I've been hooked on them from the bakery since my second college program. Tyler got an entire baguette for around $3-4 dollars. And proceeded to sit down, sipping a mimosa and eating a loaf of bread. Life is good.


Our next stop on the circuit lead us to Japan. I waited in the line while Tyler peeked in the shops. From the Food and Wine booth, we both ordered a Lemon Drop and I got the Spicy Hako Sushi.


We both thought these drinks were disgusting. I don't know if it was the gummy lemon in them or what, but we did not enjoy this. We pounded them back like shots, shuddered, and took it as a loss. The sushi, however, I still think about. It was SO good! Next up on the roundabout was America. We stopped at the bar outside of the pavilion. Tyler ordered the Tennessee lemonade and I ordered the Moonshine Sour.


When we got these, the bartender said that Tyler got the strongest drink in Epcot, and I got the most popular. Tyler really enjoyed his drink, but mine was definitely the winner. It was smooth and great for the summer. After finishing the drinks, we headed to Germany for my FAVORITE Epcot beverage.


The Grapefruit beer in Germany has been my favorite for YEARS. I've tried to find it at home, and have had hit-or-miss experiences. Tyler liked this one too! We enjoyed these while continuing to walk around the shops. Towards the end of the loop, we decided to search for a few more snacks.


We chose the Warm Indian Bread from the India Food and Wine booth. I love the bread from Sanaa and thought this would be similar. I was sadly mistaken. I wasn't a fan, but Tyler enjoyed it. He ended up eating majority of this. After we made it through the showcase, we were both feeling exhausted and the heat started to hit us. We decided to make our way back to the Skyliner and head back to Pop. I couldn't resist making one last stop.


The Canada filet in all it's glory! I really love this steak, and I wanted Tyler to try it since we had plans for Yachtsman this trip. He liked this more than he thought he would, and we ate this quickly. We continued our walk back to the Skyliner and returned to Pop. Shockingly, we were feeling energized again after about an hour of rest, and we headed over to Disney Springs around 7pm for some dinner and shopping! ​