Welcome to my pre-DCP Walt Disney World family vacation trip report! My Mom, Dad, sister Kaitlin and I are going to the parks for three days prior to my DCP check-in. This is our first time staying at the Art of Animation Resort. We are staying in the a Cars room. I am going to update after each day and post the full trip report in its entirety after the trip.
Day One - Leaving New Jersey & Magic Kingdom
Saturday, May 25
This morning my Pop-Pop picked up my Mom, Katie, and I to take us to the airport at 4:30 am. We arrived at the airport and went through security with ease. After that we grabbed some breakfast at Dunkin' Donuts and headed to our gate. We had about an hour to wait until they started boarding. I was so tired I slept about an hour on the plane. Immediately when we landed my Mom gave us our Magic Bands and it was time to go on the Magical Express!
About an hour later, we arrived at Art of Animation! We waited to see if we could check-in early, but our room was not ready yet. We waited about 15 minutes before it was ready. Right as they alerted us that our room was ready my Dad called and said he just arrived at the resort. He took my car on the auto train, so I can have my car throughout my program.
We were all in awe over how awesome this resort is. It feels like you are actually in the movie! We got all of our bags into the room and then started getting ready for Magic Kingdom!
From Art of Animation it is about a 30 minute bus ride to Magic Kingdom. As soon as we went past the gates we decided to grab lunch at Pecos Bills. Pecos is one of our many Disney family traditions. They have the best cheeseburgers with an amazing toppings bar.
Our first ride of the day was Pirates of the Caribbean. From there we went to Tomorrowland, because we had a fast pass for Space Mountain. Then we went to Liberty Square to secure our spot for the Festival of Fantasy parade. Once we found a spot my sister and I went to grab Dole Whip Floats for all of us. YUM! They are so delicious and are a perfect snack for a hot park day.
We waited about 45 minutes for the parade, which was well worth it. My family and I had watched the parade on YouTube when it first debuted, but seeing it in person was just amazing. The music, floats, characters, and costumes are all so spectacular and the combination of those things is breathtaking!
After the parade we went on as many rides as possible! We took a break around 5:00 pm to have dinner. We ate outside at Pinnochios Village Haus. We got two orders of chicken fingers and fries to split.
My Dad then went over to see if the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train was still running. We had walked past it early when it was running, but we weren't willing to wait in the huge line. After he saw that it was still running he came back to get Katie and I. But, by the time we got over there they had stopped letting people on the ride. Bummer!!
We went to ride Journey of the Little Mermaid for the first time. We all loved it! After my Dad went over to the Fastpass+ Kiosk near PhilharMagic. While he was doing that Katie went to check to see if the Mine Train was running again. Sure enough they had started running it again! Yey! We grabbed my Mom and Dad and headed for the line.
The Mine Train queue is extremely detailed. There are beautiful colored gems everywhere. They also have interactive games. We went through the queue pretty quick and waited for about ten minutes to get on the ride. It gets even better! My sister and I got the front row! So awesome! The ride itself is amazing. My Mom who is not a big coaster fan also really enjoyed it. The animatronics are beautiful. There is so much visually to experience. I am so happy my family was able to ride it this trip. The officially opening isn't for another four days, so we didn't think we would be able to ride it together. Definitely made our day!
After some more rides we went over to Sleepy Hollows to get another one of our favorite Disney snacks, chocolate chip cookie ice cream sandwiches! The warm chocolate chip cookies with cold and creamy ice cream makes for a delectable dessert. You have an option to choose from vanilla ice cream or a special flavor they have that day. This time we ordered cookies and cream. YUM!
My Dad, Katie, and I then went over the Splash Mountain. We had a fast pass earlier in the day for it, but at the time it wasn't working. From there we went back to grab my Mom to leave. As we were walking down Main Street U.S.A. we noticed that people were waiting for a parade. We were not sure what it was, so we asked a Cast Member who notified us that the Main Street Electrical parade would be starting in 45 minutes. We went closer to the exit and found a perfect spot to watch the parade. As a child I always remember seeing this parade. It brought back a lot of memories seeing it again, although it is different then it was back then.
We decided to wait to watch Celebrate the Magic and some of Wishes. We headed out of the Magic Kingdom and onto the bus back to our resort. We were all exhausted and ready for bed!
Day Two - Hollywood Studios
Sunday, May 26
The second day of our trip we planned to go to Hollywood Studios. This weekend was the second weekend of Star Wars Weekends! We always have a couple of rides that we know we want to ride but other than that we really just wanted to experience Star Wars Weekend.
Our first ride of the day was the Tower of Terror, my sisters favorite ride. The ride sequence was on of the best ones yet! After we started to walk toward Star Tours. On the way there we stopped to watch a small show that the Stormtroppers were doing on the stage in front of the sorcerers hat. We then started walking toward Star Tours again. On the way we saw a lot of the Star Wars characters out ,which was really cool to see! The costumes are so detailed! The line for Star Tours was only 10 minutes! We got lucky with this ride version also. It was definitely one of the better ones!
My Mom, Katie, and I then went to go into the Little Mermaid show. I love this attraction! I remember going on it as a kid, my favorite part was always the bubbles!
We then went into Darth's Mall. It is set up kind of like a convention. It has all Star Wars merchandise and collectables inside. There are also photo opportunities and a character meet and greet area. When we were in there. I bought a Star Wars weekend pin for my Mom for her collection, a Darth Vader shirt for Pete, and a Star Wars Vinylmation set. Katie also bought me a blind Star Wars Vinlymation box.
We then went to secure a spot to watch the 3:00 pm parade, Star Wars Celebrity Motorcade. We couldn't get a spot in the shade and it was so hot, but was totally worth it. The first part of the parade are the classic Disney characters dressed up as the Star Wars characters. The second part is all of the Star Wars characters and some voice actors. This parade is a must see if you are coming for Star Wars Weekend.
After the parade, we headed to Mama Melroses where we had lunch reservations. We did the Fantasmic package where you eat at Hollywood and Vine, Brown Derby, or Mama Melroses and you receive preferred seating tickets for that nights Fantasmic show. At Mama Melroses every person chooses an appetizer, entree, and everyone splits a dessert sampler. My Mom and I got the Mozzarella and Tomato appetizer and my Dad and Katie ordered the Calamari. For entrees my Mom and Katie ordered the chicken parm. My Dad got the chicken cappelini pasta dish and I ordered the pasta all vodka with chicken. Each dish was absolutely delicious!
My Dad, Katie, and I went to ride Toy Story Mania while my Mom left for the resort. After Toy Story Mania we also left to relax at the resort until Fantasmic later that day. When I got back to the room I slept until we left to go back to the park.
When I woke up it was storming, so we were getting nervous thinking Fantasmic might be cancelled. We still headed back to the park and grabbed dinner at Rosie's All American Cafe. The line was so long and it took forever! We split two orders of chicken fingers and french fries. It was close to the time we had to be at Fantasmic so we ate quickly and headed over.
The show went on with a light rain the entire time, so I wasn't able to get any pictures. It was still absolutely amazing! After we headed over to watch Symphony in the Sky, the special fireworks for Star Wars Weekend. They were also so amazing!!!
Before leaving the park we wanted to stop at one of the shops. I bought a Disney Vera Bradley backpack and me and Katie bought matching Alex and Ani Minnie Mouse hat bracelets. We then headed out to go to the bus, but first we stopped for Mickey bars! Yum!
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A Cast Member drew this in the gravel. So cool!
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Day Three - EPCOT
Sunday, May 26
We started the day by taking pictures around the Cars part of the resort.
Then we headed to the bus to go to Epcot! Our first ride was Spaceship Earth and then we went on Living with the Land. After that we headed to go to the World Showcase. We stopped for a Joffreys frozen drink. I got Strawberry and my Mom and Katie got Cappucino. They were so delicious and a great treat for a hot day!
We headed toward Norway to go on the Maelstrom and ended up waiting about 30 minutes! I don't remember ever waiting for this ride. We usually just walk right on, but not this time.
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My Dad mourning the loss of a good friend. haha |
We explored some of the other countries and then headed to Italy for our lunch reservation at Via Napoli. This was my parents first time there and they loved it. Me and my sister went our last trip with my Mom-Mom and Pop-Pop and raved about it so they wanted to go this trip. We ordered a large half pepperoni and half cantaloupe, prosciutto, and arugula pizza. So yummy!
We then made our way over to American Adventure to watch the show, which is one of my Dads favorite attractions. He is a big history buff. We walked around the rest of the World Showcase and then my Dad got us School Bread from Norway. This was our first time having it. We found it to be just okay.
We shopped around a little then went back to the resort.
My vacation with my family was over and it was now time to start my Disney Adventure.