Three Generations of Disney Princesses: An April 2018 Girls Trip

Tink0812

Mouseketeer
Joined
May 3, 2011
Hello everyone and welcome to another exciting trip report! This girls trip was a little over a year in the making and I am so very excited to share it all with you! So without further delay, let’s get started with introductions….


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First, there’s me, Amber. This was my 16th trip to the world and to say I’m obsessed is an understatement. My favorite character is Tinkerbell. My favorite resort is Wilderness Lodge although Old Key West comes in a close second. My favorite restaurant is Le Cellier. I don’t really have a favorite ride because I pretty much like them all but my favorite park is Animal Kingdom. My favorite part in all of Disney is Illuminations but that was challenged on this trip. Stay tuned to find out!



Next we have my DD, Natalia. She is two years old and this is her 2nd trip to the world. She took her first trip when she was 15 months old. She has changed so much since then but you can tell that she remembered being there last year. Her favorite character is Minnie Mouse. Her favorite ride is The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. Her favorite restaurant prior to the trip was the Plaza but Tony’s Town Square may have beat that out this trip. She seems to favor Magic Kingdom but I don’t blame her since there is so much for her to do there. She has only stayed in Old Key West and All-Star Music so it’s hard for her to pick a favorite right now since they are so different.



Finally, we have my mom also known as Ga Ga to DD. This was somewhere in the neighborhood of her 26th-28th trip. She has kind of lost count over the years. She is planning to return around Christmas-time with my dad this year. She is an annual pass member (very helpful in the discount arena). Her favorite character is Winnie the Pooh. Like me, her favorite resort is Wilderness Lodge. Her favorite Disney restaurant is Tony’s Town Square. I think she would have a very hard time claiming a favorite ride as well because she likes most of them. I do think Animal Kingdom is also her favorite park right now.



This trip first came about prior to our large family trip in 2017. We were trying to plan vacations for 2018 and my dad had brought up the idea of the men in the family going on a men-only trip to tour some major league baseball stadiums and go golfing. He wanted to make sure my mom had a good vacation as well so he brought up the idea of a girls-only trip with my mom, my daughter, and I. He pretty much gave us free reign to plan the trip but definitely mentioned the fact that my mom’s annual pass didn’t expire until May 8th. Of course, it was a no-brainer that we planned a Disney trip. Initially we had just planned to take a long weekend trip but due to the flight prices, we ended up making it a Tuesday-Saturday trip. Since planning the trip, my life has turned upside down and I am currently going through a rough divorce. This trip has been my diamond in the rough and I have been looking forward to it for so long!

When: Tuesday April 17th-Saturday April 21st

Where: All-Star Music

How: Flying from Indianapolis to Orlando then Magical Express from there

My mom had her annual pass and I had a three-day park hopper ticket. We decided to forgo the dining plan at this time because it was such a short trip and we weren’t doing many expensive meals. It was also easier because in some places Natalia could just eat off of my plate and in others I chose to let her have her own meal.



Stay tuned for further details……

- A two-year old’s first time on the plane

- Managing with only carry-on luggage

- Late night shopping

- Fastpasses galore

- Our first dessert party

- Food, food, and more food

- Tons of pictures

- Lots of fun



P. S. Sorry for the extra large picture! Every time I upload a picture from my photobucket it doesn't show up so my only choice right now is to directly copy and paste the pictures. Suggestions to fix this are welcome!
 
Photobucket no longer allows you to share photos from your library :( If you need a Photobucket alternative -- I recommend Shutterfly!
 


I am following along! Can't wait to hear how the all girls trip went! I hope one day my girls will let me do this with them!
 


Following along! I’m very interested in how your baby girl did on the plane. We are hoping to take our younger daughter (now one year old) before she turns three.

I’m sorry you’re going through a rough divorce.
 
Following! I would love to take a trip with my Mom as she loves Disney, but I usually only travel there in August & that's wwaayyy too hot for her.
 
Tuesday April 17th

“I’m only a morning person on the day I go to Disney” is 100% true. My alarm went off at 6 am and I easily hopped out of bed. I typically get up around 4 am for work so technically I was sleeping in a little, but I was also super excited because by the end of the day I would be in my favorite place. Since my divorce, Natalia spends time with her dad from Saturday night through Tuesday morning, so we would have to wait for her to get dropped off before we could leave. We are currently staying at my parents’ house while trying to find a place of our own, so this made leaving a little bit easier because we would all be in the same place. Our plan was for my mom and I to get up, get ready, and load up the car before Natalia was dropped off between 7 and 7:15 am. Thankfully she was dropped off on time! Once she arrived we brought her inside, so she could potty and change clothes (yes, we are in the middle of potty training right now). After we were all ready to go we took a quick group picture in our matching t-shirts.

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Second star to the right and straight on till Disney!

Side note about our outfits: It was 20 degrees and snowing when we left so we were a bit chilly until we landed in Florida. Thankfully it was nice and warm there!



Then we hit the road Indianapolis bound, after a quick stop at McDonald’s to pick up drinks for the road. The drive to Indy was uneventful. It takes about 2.5 hours to get there and we do encounter a time change once we reach the Indiana state line. They are one hour ahead of us (same time zone as Florida). We made such great time that we had time to spare so we stopped in Plainfield, IN at an outlet mall and did a little pre-vacation shopping. From there we went and had a quick fast food lunch.

Plainfield is only about five minutes away from Indianapolis, so we had a super quick drive after our pit stop. We had made reservations to leave our car at Fast Park. Fast Park is a wonderful parking area outside of the airport that only charges $7.27/day. Your car will be left in a secured parking lot, in a covered parking space. The best part is that once you enter the gate you are given a parking spot to park in and a shuttle will pick you up at your parking spot to take you and all of your gear to the airport. Super easy and super cheap.

Once we made it to the airport we checked in for our flight and received our boarding passes. Then came the most dreaded part of the trip….airport security:eek:. You see, our trip wasn’t very long so we had only brought carry on suitcases. But with three carry on suitcases, three purses or “personal items”, a stroller, a CARES harness, and a two-year old, walking through the airport was a disaster and security was very intimidating. Luckily one of the TSA officers took pity on us and pulled us out of the line so she could help us get everything through. It was super quick and easy! One of the many reasons that we choose to fly out of Indy instead of St. Louis or Chicago which are about the same distance from our house. The only bad part was that Natalia didn’t want to get back into her stroller after we had made it through. A terrible-two style tantrum ensued, and she ended up walking next to us. Just take a moment and picture two women walking through an airport with three rolling suitcases, three purses, and a stroller while trying not to lose a toddler. I’m sure it was a sight!


We made our way to our gate and found a spot by the window to camp out, so Natalia could watch the planes. We used our suitcases to make a little fence, so she could run around a little and not escape the area. Here’s a few pictures of Natalia hanging out at the airport….
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Those mini puzzles and crayons/paper occupied her for quite a bit!


Our flight was scheduled to leave at 3:25pm and we left on time! We were able to board after the first boarding group with family boarding which made finding a seat and setting up Natalia’s CARES harness a little bit easier. Natalia did very well with her first flight! She even raised her hands and yelled “weeeeeee” when we took off. She entertained herself by reading the instructional booklets in the back seat pocket, coloring, and working on her puzzles. Of course she had to go to the bathroom while we were in the air even though we had purposefully made a potty break ten minutes before boarding. I hate airplane bathrooms but I developed a new level of hate for them on this trip. It is just very difficult to maneuver in there with a toddler. The only time she got upset on the flight was when we flushed the toilet because it was so loud and scared her. Before we knew it we were landing in Orlando at 5:40pm. After we de-planed we made the trek to the Magical Express. We only waited about 20 minutes before we were on the bus. Natalia loved the bus and really loved the video they were playing.
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We stopped at All-Star Sports first and let a few people off then we were next at All-Star Music. We had already received our room ready text once we got off the plane so we bypassed the lobby and headed straight towards our room. Our room was in Rock Inn, number 4406. We had requested a first floor room which we were granted but we were a bit further from the main building than we would have liked.


We were exhausted and starving at this point so we just threw our luggage in our room and headed right back out. I’m a bad Diser and didn’t take any room pictures (I know, punish me now). We had the place a mess by the time I realized that I didn’t take any. It looked exactly the same as I remembered it from many many years ago when I stayed there as a young child. It was the perfect size for the three of us!

After we dropped off our luggage, we went back to the bus stop and hopped a bus to Disney Springs. Once arriving, we decided that we had to eat before we did any shopping. Surprisingly Natalia wasn’t throwing a fit yet but we were expecting her to get hungry pretty quickly. We had previously decided on eating at Blaze. My mom had eaten there before but it was new for both Natalia and I. Pizza is one of Natalia’s favorite foods. I ordered Natalia a plain cheese pizza and my mom and I both had the Red Vine pizza. Absolutely delicious! I also really liked the lemonade. I would eat here again in a heartbeat! Here’s a few pics of our dinner:
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In case you can't tell, Natalia gave it her stamp of approval by attacking that pizza!

Bellies full we headed off to do some shopping! Our favorite store on the newer side of Disney Springs is Uniqlo so we went there first. It was okay but we didn’t really find anything that we wanted. Then we hit up a new store called The Disney Corner. It is basically a children’s store with clothes, toys, and souvenirs. We bought several things here. It was getting late at this point so we decided to go to World of Disney then head back to the resort. We were greatly disappointed in World of Disney. I totally forgot that they were under construction and over half of the store was out of commission. Of the part that was operating, there wasn’t much merchandise and it was super crowded. We did find a couple things to buy there though, including some ears for Natalia and I.
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After our disappointing tour of World of Disney we got on a bus and went back to the resort. We made a quick pit stop at the front desk to ask for bed rails for my bed so that I wouldn’t have to worry about Natalia rolling off in the middle of the night. We also made a quick stop by the gift shop to pick up milk for Natalia and drinks for my mom and I. 20 minutes later housekeeping arrived at the door with them! Sleep came easy that night as it had been a long day of traveling.



Up next: Magic Kingdom day!!!!

Just a little side story, as we were laying in bed that night catching up on social media we were saddened by the news of the Southwest flight that had been grounded due to a blown jet that caused the death of one of the passengers. We flew Southwest that day, just a few hours after the incident. Little did we know that we were sitting in the exact seats that were impacted by the shattered window. Natalia was in the seat where the lady had been fatally injured. So very scary to think that it could have been us experiencing such a tragedy instead of having fun at Walt Disney World! We went to bed thinking and praying for the passengers on that flight and for the family and loved ones of the fatally wounded passenger. Needless to say, we would be choosing different seats for the ride home.
 
Following, but Tigger's ally has a princess in this one. Actually three pirate: My wifey, my daughter and my grandtinker! First time my wife has been to Disney without me. I stayed home and totally redid our master bedroom and bathroom in four days as a surprise for the wifey when she got hom. It worked. I will just share one photo as it has a not so hidden Mickey in the form of our shower curtain. Yep, the OP's mom and dad are over 50 and have Mickey to greet them every morning! Also, will be working with my daughter on getting the pictures fixed in this thread. Can't stand not seeing the Grandtinker hugging Mickey and Doc Mcstuffins.

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I'm so glad you, Natalia, and Ga Ga landed safely in Florida! Thank you for such a detailed report of your experience flying Southwest with Indianapolis, it's always helpful to hear about experiences with different airlines and airports!..... Also, I'm just a weirdo who thinks all the travel details are really fun to read about :rotfl:

I love Blaze! I totally relate to Natalia attacking that cheese pizza... my favorite pizza in all of Florida!

Sounds like WoD was really frustrating, sorry you had such a disappointing experience there!

Can't wait to read about Magic Kingdom!
 
Joining in! Your little Tink is adorable!! :tink:

Can't wait to hear all about the girl's only trip!! :dance3:
 
Wednesday April 18th

The alarm went off bright and early at 7 am. It was a rough night. Natalia went down easily but woke up two hours later screaming bloody murder. We aren’t really sure what her problem was….all we came up with was that she must have woken up and not realized where she was at and it scared her. She finally fell back asleep around 1 am in my mom’s bed (the one without the bed rails). We were awoken at 4 am by her falling out of the bed. She took a pillow with her and thankfully landed on that. She thought it was funny and busted out laughing. Then she was hyped up and it took awhile to get her to fall back asleep. Such a weird night as she usually sleeps very well.
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I took the first shower followed by my mom. I got Natalia ready while mom was the shower. We had matching shirts for this day! They said “In my favorite place with my favorite people” and had the castle on them. We left our room at 7:45am as planned and went straight to the food court for breakfast. The food court was so crowded. We stood along the wall and waited for a table to open up. Then I sent mom to get her food while I got Natalia all settled and ready to eat. 20 minutes later she was back with her food and I took off to get mine and Natalia’s. We didn’t have anything fancy. I had Mickey waffles and bacon with an apple juice to drink. Natalia refused to eat any of my Mickey waffles, so she had a banana, applesauce, and milk. My mom had an omelet of some kind I believe. There was an overwhelming amount of people in the food court on this morning.
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After our breakfast we hopped on a bus to Magic Kingdom which just happened to be there when we reached the bus stop. We made it to MK right at the 9 am rope drop. The line for the photopass picture in front of the castle was extra long so we went around that and decided to get it later. While everyone was running for the big rides, we leisurely walked to It’s A Small World and got right on. Someone really loves It’s A Small World.

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After our tour through a very colorful world we trekked to Dumbo for our 9:30-10:30 am fastpass. Natalia rode with me first then she rode with my mom. Having the fastpass worked out great on this one because Natalia got to go twice. The wait was still about ten minutes with the fastpass though.
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After Dumbo we decided that we needed to make a bathroom stop but someone found the water play area on the way to the bathroom.....
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After she was successfully soaking wet and we drug her away kicking and screaming we made a bathroom stop before walking right onto Under the Seas with Little Mermaid. This one is always a hit with Natalia! From there we went to our 10:45-11:45 am fastpass for Peter Pan’s Flight. We didn’t get to ride this one on our last trip so I made two fast-passes for it on this trip. Natalia really liked this one as well and kept saying “wow” through the whole thing. I wish this ride was a little longer! After our journey to Neverland it was time for our fast pass for The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh which is Natalia’s favorite ride. When we got off she kept saying “need more”. A mini-tantrum took place so we did what any Princess would like, we bought her a pooh bear stuffed animal in the shop after the ride. Yeah, we spoil her, like a lot. And a little bribery never hurt haha! When in Disney….

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Once the tantrum had ended we decided to grab a snack on the way out of the park so that we could get back to the resort and take a little nap. We happened upon the Mickey's Royal Friendship Faire show and found a very good viewing spot. Natalia has watched this show numerous times with her grandpa on his laptop and she really liked seeing it live. She got into the dancing and singing! She was also shouting the characters names out each time she saw them. I love watching her get so into Disney!
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We couldn’t agree on a good snack in the park so we decided to just grab something at the food court when we got back to the resort. We did stop for a photpass picture in front of the castle on our way out but my mom and I don’t like the way we look in it. The only one we liked was the closeup they did of Natalia.

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We discovered that the food court had alcoholic milkshakes so my mom got the Backstage Pass (Chocolate milkshake with Knob Creek Bourbon topped with candied bacon) and I got the Jam Session ( Strawberry milkshake Frangelico topped with whipped cream and sprinkles). Don’t worry, we got Natalia some real food. I got her macaroni and cheese and some grapes and applesauce. After we ingested our goodies we took a nice nap! It was much needed after the heat (87 degrees on this day) which we were not accustomed to at home yet. Feeling refreshed we hopped a bus back to Magic Kingdom around 4 pm. Natalia is a Disney bus pro now!
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We did a little shopping on Main Street before checking into our 5:50pm ADR at Tony’s Town Square. I made my favorite purchase of the trip, my Mickey and Minnie Dooney and Bourke. When we had arrived at Disney my mom had given me a card for my early birthday and mother’s day gift, in it there was a $250 Disney gift card and a note from my dad and her saying that they wanted me to get a Dooney while we were there for my present! I have such great parents! Here it is:

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My mom had eaten at Tony’s before but it was new for Natalia and I. We both absolutely loved it! Next to pizza, spaghetti is Natalia’s next favorite food so I ordered the spaghetti and meatballs to share with her. My mom had the Ravioli. For an appetizer we had the delicious bread of course (it’s complimentary) and the Caprese (tomatoes and fresh mozzarella with balsamic glaze). Everything was absolutely wonderful! Let’s stop here for now or this post will be extremely long and I may reach my image capacity!

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Stay tuned for our first ever dessert party!!!
 
e were awoken at 4 am by her falling out of the bed. She took a pillow with her and thankfully landed on that. She thought it was funny and busted out laughing. Then she was hyped up and it took awhile to get her to fall back asleep. Such a weird night as she usually sleeps very well.
Man! That was a rough night. Glad that she somehow managed to fall on a pillow! Impressive.

we leisurely walked to It’s A Small World and got right on. Someone really loves It’s A Small World.

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My youngest LOVED It's a small World at that age. She called it the dolly ride. They still like it and we always make sure we go on it at least once.

My mom had eaten at Tony’s before but it was new for Natalia and I.
We ate at Tony's once. We enjoyed it!

Love the purse! I am hoping my DH gets me the Orange Bird Purse that just came out for my birthday/mother/s day. Fingerscrossed!
 
Day 2, Part 2: Magic Kingdom Day continued

After our scrumptious dinner we had some time to spare so we looked in a few more stores, bought a few more things then headed over to Tomorrowland to do Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin. The wait was posted at 25 minutes but we only waited about 15. For some reason, Natalia really enjoys this ride. I would post our photopass ride picture; however, we ended up with the picture of some strangers and not ours. Sad day! Once we arrived back on Earth we headed over to Tomorrowland Terrace to check in for our 7:45 pm dessert party Ressie. None of us have done a dessert party before so we were very excited! Here is a small sampling of the offerings:

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They had so much to choose from that it was overwhelming! We did go back for a little more after this!

Natalia really enjoyed it too!
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After we finished our delicious desserts we took a bathroom break then headed out to the Plaza garden to pick a spot out for Happily Ever After. Happily Ever After was a first for us too! Wishes actually ended right in the middle of our last trip. We had the perfect spot! Here was our view before the show….
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We took some selfies to pass the time and before we knew it, the show was starting!
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The park was extra crowded on that night so we were glad to have reserved space. They started the show five minutes early (I’m not sure why) and it was breathtaking. I had watched it several times on YouTube but it was 100x better in person. The dessert party was worth it too! We knew we wanted to watch HEA but we didn’t want to stake out a spot hours in advance with a two year old so this was the perfect way to get a spot without having to worry. Loved it! When we had came back to MK for our dinner ressie there were already people staking claim to their spot (four hours in advance, crazy). Contrary to what a lot of people post on here, the desserts were fantastic too. It’s not something that we would do on every trip due to the cost but we will definitely do it again sometime. Here are just a few of the many pics I took of HEA:

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At the conclusion of the show we slowly made our way to the park exit and onto a bus. We made it back to the resort, stopped by the gift shop for some milk, and headed to our room. Natalia had fallen asleep on the bus but woke up in the gift shop. Once we got back to the room we gave her a bath and went to bed. We all slept very well that night…..
 

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