I’m not going to trust that psychopath! April 15-24th, trip report. I’m back and TR link 9/17*

[disneyAndi14]

I’m not going to trust that psychopath!

Trip 4/15-4/24/23

Hello Everyone,

My name is Caroline. I love Disney, the Dis boards, Dis meets and traveling.

I am a busy RN in northern Minnesota. I live close to Lake Superior and love this area about 30% of the time. We have brutal winters and this one has been long, snow filled, and cold

I love to travel to Florida! The weather is totally different than Minnesota and this is a big plus especially in the winter.

I have been to WDW at least 30 times now and I have been an annual passholder since 2016.

WDW is my happy place! I love the Disney bubble and I have been staying onsite at WDW since 2010.

Minnie Mouse is my favorite character! Here I am with her!


I have written many trip reports and most are in my signature!

I usually travel with my daughter Andi! We have done many trips together since 2010. She is now a 23 year old adult!

Adult responsibility has decreased the amount of times she can travel with me now! We last traveled to WDW in April 2022. Here we are last year!


This trip is with my sister Donna. Here she is with Minnie Mouse,



She also traveled with me last September and we had a great time! She loved our last trip and it wasn’t hard to convince her to come with me again!

Donna is a retired hair salon owner. She was a hair stylist for many years and is now retired! She lets me plan everything and comes along for all the fun! She likes WDW but isn’t a super fan like myself! This trip would be her 6th trip to the world and all 6 have been with me. Andi has been with on 3 of the six and my parents on 1 of the trips way back in 1989!

Trip stats:

3 resorts! Pop Century, Wilderness Lodge, and Portofino Bay at Universal Studios. We spent 1 night at Pop, 7 nights at WL, and 1 night at PB.

I have an AP for WDW and USO, Donna had a 7 day park hopper ticket for WDW and a 2 day park to park ticket for USO.

We used Genie+ and fancy ride selection many times! This adds up and the prices keep going up each trip. (Not cool Disney)

We had a combination of TS, QS, and lounge meals.

My favorite ride is Dinosaur

Donna’s favorite is HM

Here we are together after a ride on HM


Overall we are ride chickens, however, we did a few intense rides, not many but a few!

Please sit back and enjoy our adventures! We had a wonderful trip. Stay tuned for travel day and part of day 1!

 

[disneyAndi14]

Original trip plans: Flight on 4/16/23 at 5:20am from Duluth.

I worked on Friday and really did not have anything packed yet. I had bought a few toiletries and new sunscreen, otherwise I had been rather lax about getting ready for the trip.

My plan was to do everything Saturday morning.

I woke up early Saturday and got everything packed and ready before 10am. I was on a roll! I was proud of my great packing skills, lol the only thing left was to put my electric toothbrush in the suitcase right before we leave.

My sister arrived Saturday around noon. The plan was to just hang out, have dinner, and get to bed at a decent hour for the early morning flight. Well, I was watching the weather and an ice warning for early am popped up now on my weather app. I started to get worried. Snow is usually not a problem for the flights in our area, however ice can halt the flights! I told Donna maybe we should leave this evening.

I went on my Delta app and there was a flight leaving from Duluth at 5:40pm and the connecting flight to Orlando left Minneapolis at 7:45pm. I was able to change everything on my app without any fees, yay! It was already 3pm when I made the changes.

I went on the Disney website and was able to book a Pop Century room for tonight. It was a little more than I would prefer to spend but being last minute I took it! All Stars did not have anything for tonight.

It is a good thing we live close to the airport and I packed so efficiently this morning! My husband was able to bring us to the airport and he was happy he could sleep in tomorrow morning. We left around 4pm which is plenty of time at our little airport. We got to the airport around 4:30pm. We check in, get through security, and sitting at our gate all by 5pm. Our flight left right on time and we were in Minneapolis by 6:30pm. The flight is very short! 30 minutes from wheels up to wheels down.

We had a long walk from our arrival gate to the departure area! Minneapolis is a big airport! Thank goodness we had enough time and did not feel pressured to run! We did not have seats for the connecting flight so I had to go up to the Delta desk to request seats. I asked if any comfort plus seats were still available, and the very nice Delta employee said yes. I took out my Delta American Express card and he said no charge tonight! Wow pixie dust already!
We should have grabbed a sandwich or something before getting on the plane! We had a couple donuts and candy with us but nothing of substance!

We boarded and our comfort plus row just had us in it, another yay! I’m so happy we decided to fly out this evening.

Our flight left on time, however, storms around the whole flight so very little service! At least in comfort plus, we got a bag of chips and a large cranberry and vodka drink before the flight attendant had to sit for most of the flight. Our drink was strong, put me at ease with the turbulence. The pilot did a wonderful job avoiding some really bad turbulence. I could tell he was going up and down at times to lessen the bumps.

I watched Dirty Dancing and Donna watched Megan, a creepy doll horror movie She said it wasn’t very good.

We arrived in Orlando at 11:30pm. I was very happy to be here and glad we changed the flight. We picked up our luggage and ordered a Lyft. The airport was packed at this hour and the ride share area also jammed! So much for the end of spring break crowds!

The Lyft arrived quickly and we were off to the Pop! The vehicle had an awful air fresher that made us cough! We were happy to get out of there. The driver was nice just overkill with the air freshener.

I had received the room ready text awhile back. We went straight to our room in the 60’s section. Ground floor room 5170, right across from the pool. We loved the weather at 1am and extremely happy to be snow, ice, and sleet free for the first time in months!!

It was very quiet at this time of night. Our room was actually a handicap accessible room. The beds were very low and there was a walk in shower with a fold up bench in it.

It was fine for one night. We got ready for bed fairly quickly and ear plugs in, fell asleep

We slept pretty good. Up around 8am, mobile ordered 2 kids waffle meals with bacon, tater tots, and a small water, it was delicious! We were starving, since we hadn’t eaten much of anything the night before. I saw people with medals for the run event weekend. It was a race day today.

We had a laid back morning, walked around the resort and enjoyed the beautiful weather. We packed up and called bell service to pick up our luggage and deliver it to Wilderness Lodge.

We decided to go to DS this morning. I wanted to get some Gideon cookies and a peanut butter cold brew! We arrived in DS around 11:30. We went directly to Gideon’s Bakehouse. I asked the CM in the line what the wait was and she said there was a 2 hour 40 minute virtual queue. Wow, that was a bummer, however, the lady said some people just canceled and we could jump in the line right now! Yay more pixie dust!! We only waited about 15 minutes. We bought 2 coffee cake cookies, 1 pistachio toffee and 1 chocolate chip. We decided to try a piece of the red velvet cake and 2 peanut butter cold brews. Donna loved the inside of Gideon’s Bakehouse! It was her first visit.


We went and sat behind Sprinkles and enjoyed some of the cake and the cold brew. Loved both! The cake was delicious and the weather was sunny and warm, such a beautiful place!


We went to Uniqlo and looked around. It was very busy in there and in DS. I did buy a cute t-shirt. We decided to head over to WL now. We didn’t spend much time at DS. I thought we would get back there but we never did.

We felt like bus royalty because a WL bus was waiting for us!

I love when that happens especially at DS! We have had some long waits at the DS bus area.

I ordered some groceries from Instacart on the bus. We ordered cold brew coffee, creamer, yogurt, bananas, strawberries, chips, dip, and a case of water. It was scheduled to arrive in about 1-2 hours. This was perfect since it could be left with bell service if need be.

Our room was ready a few minutes after we walked in the resort.

It wasn’t at all what I requested. I was a little bummed out because I loved our room last April. I did go to the front desk and asked about my request. The CM was very nice and could see my requests on the reservation. There wasn’t a room in the area I requested available until tomorrow. She said we could move tomorrow and I would get a phone call in the am to confirm this.

We went to check out our room. It is 1032 on the first floor facing the cabins with the pond view outside of our deck. We were very close to the ice machine and the QS Roaring Fork. Our room was nice and we liked the location so decided to stay put. I will put more pictures of the room in the next post.

We both bought a refillable mug with the 100 years of wonder logo. Loved all the 100 year stuff. Purple my favorite color.

Stay tuned for part 2 of Day 1. MK and such nostalgia on our first day and a wonderful dismeet!!!

 

[DLo]

Yeah another TR ! Following along . Looking forward to reading more .

 

[PIXIE FREAK]

Love the excitement that you have after all the visits! So great to see the pixie dust still at work.

 

[Sajchinook2015]

Original trip plans: Flight on 4/16/23 at 5:20am from Duluth.

I worked on Friday and really did not have anything packed yet. I had bought a few toiletries and new sunscreen, otherwise I had been rather lax about getting ready for the trip.

My plan was to do everything Saturday morning.

I woke up early Saturday and got everything packed and ready before 10am. I was on a roll! I was proud of my great packing skills, lol the only thing left was to put my electric toothbrush in the suitcase right before we leave.

My sister arrived Saturday around noon. The plan was to just hang out, have dinner, and get to bed at a decent hour for the early morning flight. Well, I was watching the weather and an ice warning for early am popped up now on my weather app. I started to get worried. Snow is usually not a problem for the flights in our area, however ice can halt the flights! I told Donna maybe we should leave this evening.

I went on my Delta app and there was a flight leaving from Duluth at 5:40pm and the connecting flight to Orlando left Minneapolis at 7:45pm. I was able to change everything on my app without any fees, yay! It was already 3pm when I made the changes.

I went on the Disney website and was able to book a Pop Century room for tonight. It was a little more than I would prefer to spend but being last minute I took it! All Stars did not have anything for tonight.

It is a good thing we live close to the airport and I packed so efficiently this morning! My husband was able to bring us to the airport and he was happy he could sleep in tomorrow morning. We left around 4pm which is plenty of time at our little airport. We got to the airport around 4:30pm. We check in, get through security, and sitting at our gate all by 5pm. Our flight left right on time and we were in Minneapolis by 6:30pm. The flight is very short! 30 minutes from wheels up to wheels down.

We had a long walk from our arrival gate to the departure area! Minneapolis is a big airport! Thank goodness we had enough time and did not feel pressured to run! We did not have seats for the connecting flight so I had to go up to the Delta desk to request seats. I asked if any comfort plus seats were still available, and the very nice Delta employee said yes. I took out my Delta American Express card and he said no charge tonight! Wow pixie dust already!
We should have grabbed a sandwich or something before getting on the plane! We had a couple donuts and candy with us but nothing of substance!

We boarded and our comfort plus row just had us in it, another yay! I’m so happy we decided to fly out this evening.

Our flight left on time, however, storms around the whole flight so very little service! At least in comfort plus, we got a bag of chips and a large cranberry and vodka drink before the flight attendant had to sit for most of the flight. Our drink was strong, put me at ease with the turbulence. The pilot did a wonderful job avoiding some really bad turbulence. I could tell he was going up and down at times to lessen the bumps.

I watched Dirty Dancing and Donna watched Megan, a creepy doll horror movie She said it wasn’t very good.

We arrived in Orlando at 11:30pm. I was very happy to be here and glad we changed the flight. We picked up our luggage and ordered a Lyft. The airport was packed at this hour and the ride share area also jammed! So much for the end of spring break crowds!

The Lyft arrived quickly and we were off to the Pop! The vehicle had an awful air fresher that made us cough! We were happy to get out of there. The driver was nice just overkill with the air freshener.

I had received the room ready text awhile back. We went straight to our room in the 60’s section. Ground floor room 5170, right across from the pool. We loved the weather at 1am and extremely happy to be snow, ice, and sleet free for the first time in months!!

It was very quiet at this time of night. Our room was actually a handicap accessible room. The beds were very low and there was a walk in shower with a fold up bench in it.

It was fine for one night. We got ready for bed fairly quickly and ear plugs in, fell asleep
View attachment 757322
We slept pretty good. Up around 8am, mobile ordered 2 kids waffle meals with bacon, tater tots, and a small water, it was delicious! We were starving, since we hadn’t eaten much of anything the night before. I saw people with medals for the run event weekend. It was a race day today.
View attachment 757325
We had a laid back morning, walked around the resort and enjoyed the beautiful weather. We packed up and called bell service to pick up our luggage and deliver it to Wilderness Lodge.

We decided to go to DS this morning. I wanted to get some Gideon cookies and a peanut butter cold brew! We arrived in DS around 11:30. We went directly to Gideon’s Bakehouse. I asked the CM in the line what the wait was and she said there was a 2 hour 40 minute virtual queue. Wow, that was a bummer, however, the lady said some people just canceled and we could jump in the line right now! Yay more pixie dust!! We only waited about 15 minutes. We bought 2 coffee cake cookies, 1 pistachio toffee and 1 chocolate chip. We decided to try a piece of the red velvet cake and 2 peanut butter cold brews. Donna loved the inside of Gideon’s Bakehouse! It was her first visit.
View attachment 757330
View attachment 757328
We went and sat behind Sprinkles and enjoyed some of the cake and the cold brew. Loved both! The cake was delicious and the weather was sunny and warm, such a beautiful place!
View attachment 757326
View attachment 757323
We went to Uniqlo and looked around. It was very busy in there and in DS. I did buy a cute t-shirt. We decided to head over to WL now. We didn’t spend much time at DS. I thought we would get back there but we never did.

We felt like bus royalty because a WL bus was waiting for us!

I love when that happens especially at DS! We have had some long waits at the DS bus area.

I ordered some groceries from Instacart on the bus. We ordered cold brew coffee, creamer, yogurt, bananas, strawberries, chips, dip, and a case of water. It was scheduled to arrive in about 1-2 hours. This was perfect since it could be left with bell service if need be.

Our room was ready a few minutes after we walked in the resort.
View attachment 757329
It wasn’t at all what I requested. I was a little bummed out because I loved our room last April. I did go to the front desk and asked about my request. The CM was very nice and could see my requests on the reservation. There wasn’t a room in the area I requested available until tomorrow. She said we could move tomorrow and I would get a phone call in the am to confirm this.

We went to check out our room. It is 1032 on the first floor facing the cabins with the pond view outside of our deck. We were very close to the ice machine and the QS Roaring Fork. Our room was nice and we liked the location so decided to stay put. I will put more pictures of the room in the next post.
View attachment 757327View attachment 757331
We both bought a refillable mug with the 100 years of wonder logo. Loved all the 100 year stuff. Purple my favorite color.
View attachment 757324
Stay tuned for part 2 of Day 1. MK and such nostalgia on our first day and a wonderful dismeet!!!

So glad you made it out of Minnesota. Our trip was wonderful. We flew home on Friday. Since we have $80 in delta vouchers to be used by 2024.
We are already planning our return. LOL! Looking forward to your trip report.

 

[ThreeBoyMama]

Glad you were able to escape this never ending winter (I’m in Wisconsin ) and get to WDW early!

 

[PAsFab5]

Following!

 

[rdkeim]

Following!

 

[Stacybaeasm]

Ahh...the joys of flying out of Minnesota in the winter. I have learned to a)watch the weather ALL the time, b)be packed and ready to go 2 days in advance and c)if you hear weather might be coming, wait for the airline to say "free to switch", make the switch, and get the heck out!

 

[SEAGULL59]

Following!!

 

[IDSkinner]

Following

 

[DVCjj]

Following.

 

[moonshadow]

Following!

 

[Sajchinook2015]

Following

 

[pkondz]

Here!
Back to read later

 

[MamaMouse0920]

Fellow MN gal over here Agree about this winter dragging on, ugh!

Can't wait to read more

 

[suse66]

Woohoo! Can't wait to read all about it!

 

[vamassey1]

Here, but I need to get caught up.

 

[Mich123]

Great start! I’m all for starting early! We have similar problems in upstate NY.

 

[amazingact21]

I'm here!

I was so surprised when you pointed out the location of your WL room! Did the traffic at the elevators bother you? I worried it would get noisy during certain times of the day.