Triple Mother Daughter Bonding in Disney!! Mardi Gras 2013 WDW Trip

[DisneyDarling1]

"I Can Show You The World!"
The mother daughter trip of a lifetime!
February 9-16 2013

*WARNING* This trip report includes intense friendship, unexpected romantic surprises, and birthday wishes coming true. Reader discretion is advised
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So here I am, writing my very first trip report! I am pretty excited and hopefully you are excited to read it! I do have to warn you, it took me quite a bit of time to sit down write this report (I won't admit how long) but I'm ready to recall the most amazing trip to Disney I have ever experienced!

It all started in history class with my newly made best friend Marissa. This girl is basically me, just a bit sportier. We both have an undying love for Disney, as well as scuba dive for fun. A match made in heaven! She had shown me some videos on YouTube of three good friends who visited Walt Disney World together. They took their trip Frump Style (I'm sure you all know who I'm talking about We immediately decided to plan a trip of our own. Marissa was in class with Jenny, the third member of our gang. Jenny had saved up a lot of money the year before and couldn't imagine a better way to spend her money then Disney with her friends. We originally wanted to go by ourselves, but being 17 (one person about to turn 18) we sort of needed our moms. So then it began; the mother daughter trip of the century! So let us start with our amazing cast of characters...

Introducing!

Courtney (me)

As you know, my name is Courtney. I am currently in college in Mississippi and plan on hopefully attending the Disney College Program next Spring. I have always loved Disney, but one year everything intensified. I suddenly became obsessed with all things Disney. I have a nice library of disney books and take great pride in my knowledge of Disney Parks facts.

My mother is Robyn

She's quirky, fun, and loves the haunted mansion. She is a wonderful mother and I was so happy to be able to go to our favorite place together.

Marissa and Denise​

A I said before, Marissa is just like me. I could not have had as much fun on this trip if I would not have gone with her. And as you will see further along in the report, she is so much fun! she loves Cinderella, soccer, and the Tower of Terror.

Her mother is Denise. Denise an outgoing mommy with tons of personality. She is not the biggest fan of rides, but enjoys spending time with her family in Disney. She was a wonderful addition to our gang.

Jenny and Sherry​

Jenny is also one of my best friends. She is on the quiet side sometimes, but don't let that fool you. She has a fantastic personality. Once you get her giggling sometimes she doesn't stop, and she made our trip so much fun! This trip brought me so close to her, and she was so much fun to be with in the parks. I miss her already!

Her mother, Sherry, was the super mom of the trip. Being a mother of four girls, she was always prepared. She had a bag filled with random necessary things from band aids to mints. She came to the rescue many a time. She also made us pillow cases for the trip!

Phew!! Thats all of us

The Pre-Planning​

So it all started almost a year before we left. Every person paid for themselves. I worked all year at Sonic as a carhop raising money for our trip, and that made me appreciate everything all the more. Jenny's mom had her AAA Travel Planner book the trip for us. We picked the suites at Disney's Art of Animation resort. We originally wanted to stay in the Finding Nemo suite ("mine,mine,mine!"). The travel agent called us a couple months before our trip however, and we saved $200 per person by switching to the Cars suite, so naturally, we switched.

We decided to drive in order to save money. We are all from southeast Louisiana, so the 9 hour drive didn't seem so bad. I enjoy road trips (that are Disney bound at least). Our road trip proved to be a lot of fun (stay tuned!). We had two meetings over the summer to discuss our plans, and the trip was officially a go.

Marissa's birthday is February 11, so we were able to celebrate her birthday while on the trip. Also Jenny's birthday is February 20, so we celebrated hers as well! My birthday is May 14, so I was a bit left out. I had my very own surprise waiting for me however!

Travel Day! February 9​

The day had arrived. FINALLY. I remember waking up at 5, with the sun still sleeping, and looking in the mirror. My minnie mouse sweatshirt was a lovely reminder of what magic was still to come. I brought all my bags to the front door waiting for MArissa to come pick my mom and I up. I saw her headlights come into the yard and ran to open the door. I opened the door, stared at her with wide eyes for about 3 seconds, then we both screamed "We're going to Disney World!!!". We hugged, and rushed to pack up our things. Thanks to the kindness of my boyfriend and his family, we borrowed their cartop luggage holder, a.k.a. the canoe. Three people could comfortably sit in said canoe and paddle upstream. Thank goodness it was large because with six women in a car, we needed the space!
My mom and I waved goodbye to my dad and whisked off to Jenny's house. We picked her and her mother up, took that lovely picture above, and off to Disney!!

The car ride was a riot. We stopped at Chik Fil A in the morning to get chicken minis, then at Moe's to get burritos for lunch.Marissa and I sat in the very back seat and the others rotated.

We had our pillows and my DVD players so it wasn't too bad of a ride. At one point I believe I fell off the seat while sleeping...

It's all a blur. But after not too long, we saw the pearly gates of heaven on earth... Walt Disney World! Not long after that we were at The Art of Animation Resort.

Arrival​

We checked into our hotel, Cars building 2, third floor.
Room Description: We had six adults in the one suite, and it was very doable. When you walk into the room there is a main living space. There is a table on you left (in our room) when you walk in that folds down into a bed. This was my favorite part of the whole room. There was a mural of mater sleeping and a light behind the bed. On the right across from this bed was the bathroom. There was a sink and large lighted mirror small area, and a toilet and shower room area. Each had a door. The living room area had a couch that folded out into a bed, a T.V. , and small kitchen area. The couch was so cute; it looked like the seats of an old car. There was a door on the left that led to a large master bedroom. The bed and bathroom were very big. The shower was a walk-in, and above the sink read "carwash". The theme was so cute, and even though it wasn't the room we originally wanted, we loved it!

We did not stay long at the resort before rushing to our reservations at The Rainforest Cafe in Downtown Disney.

Marissa's aunt had brought Marissa's cousin Samantha to WDW for the weekend and didn't tell Samantha that Marissa would be there too. We successfully surprised her at the restaurant and ate our first meal in WDW!

After the meal we went shopping around. We stopped at the pin store and bought some pins for our collection. Marissa found the limited edition Mardi Gras Pin. Then she wanted to get a custom rice krispie treat at Goofy's, so we went there next (just saying, it sat in the mini fridge the whole trip; she was "saving" it).

After a night at Downtown Disney we went back to the resort. While the mothers got settled in the room, us girls explored carsland. There are life-size replicas of all the cars from the movie(s). There were fun lights everywhere, too.

We took our mugs and walked over to the main building to fill them up. We were in the last building of the resort, and the walk was not bad at all. We got to walk through Carsland as well as through the Nemo area and pool. I stayed in the Caribbean beach resort previously and the walk from Jamaica to the main building was a tough one. The first tour group was encountered here. We later found out that the week we chose to go was not only Mardi Gras, but also a cheer camp, dance camp, quinceanera group trip, and the convention of tour groups. We were not happy.

We went back to the room, unpacked, and had sweet dreams of the wonderful week to come...

We made some YouTube Videos of our trip, and HERE is the one for travel day!! Check it out

 

[emilyindisney]

Count me in!

Ugh, your pictures make me miss Art so bad! I love the Cars section too! Everything is the perfect amount of lifesize!

 

[DisneyDarling1]

Day 1 - February 10, 2013!​

And So The Magic Begins...​

After our first night in the lovely Art of Animation Resort, we woke up ready for adventure! We hopped on the magical express from the resort and left for Epcot. We planned to spend the day at Epcot then end the day at Magic Kingdom. We made it to Epcot for park opening. As soon as we got there I automatically became EXTREMELY excited. I purchased zipper pouch for the end of my lanyard so that I could hold my Key to the World card with me at all times. I then became the official fastpass holder as well

We only had to wait a little bit before they let us in, then we were off. There is nothing like starting a day in Disney World by skipping through a fresh cloud of bubbles. The smiling faces of the cast members waving at us just made it all that much better.

Jenny, Marissa, and I rushed off to test track to get fastpasses for later. None of us had seen the new test track, so we were looking forward to experiencing that. We then made our way to the other side of future world to meet the moms at The Land. Our first ride of the trip was Soarin'. I like this ride alot, and it was a nice relaxing way to start our trip.

After flying over California, we decided to take a drive though cyberspace, so off to the new Test Track. There we met up with Marissa's cousin Samantha (who we surprised the night before at Rainforest Cafe).

Ride Review: New Test Track Update. It was relatively new that is when we went. If you asked the whole group what they thought about the ride, they were not the biggest fans. I, however, loved the renovations. The ride was becoming a little dated, but it was still a classic. Car testing technologies are changing, so I thought it was a great idea to update this ride. Plus the ride is in Future World right next to Mission Space, it needed to be up-to-date. The ride itself was not different, just the environment surrounding the ride. The 65 mph end is still there. The look is very Tron-like, without actually being Tron themed. It is darker with lots of neon lights, which made it more exhilerating for me. I give the re-opening a thumbs up . There are also some fun photo opportunities after the ride.

Marissa and Samantha got hit by the car...

After we rode Test Track, we went to the Fountain of Nations for some mother daughter pictures.

After our photoshoot, we made our way to Club Cool. Now, I like to call myself a Disney Buff. I have been going to Disney World my whole life, but I have never been to club cool. I have been inside Club Cool, but for some reason I never noticed the multitude of soda tasting stations. This trip we went to Club Cool so that I could try the infamous Beverly. I loved just about all of the sodas; Thailand's Fanta Melon Frosty was my favorite soda. And my least favorite, surprise surprise, The Beverly. It tasted like cough medicine...straight up cough medicine.

After tasting a world of flavors, we went to Mission Space. Then we went to lunch at Sunshine Seasons in The Land. This is one of my favorite quick service restaurants in Walt Disney World. I got the Mongolian Beef, key lime pie, and ice tea!

After our delicious lunch, we went to the Nemo ride for a quick search for Nemo...

After the ride, we made our way towards World Showcase, starting with Canada. I have never been a big on meeting characters. I will meet one or two a trip maybe, but I'm all about the rides. My friend Marissa however, is character crazy, so we met ALOT of characters this trip. First we met Alice and Mary Poppins in United Kingdom, then Goofy in between France and U.K.

Then we walked around World Showcase, through Japan..

stopping in Norway to ride Maelstrom. After escaping the trolls, we walked back to Future World to exit the park. Before we leave, we take some lovely pictures in front of the Epcot ball.

Marissa and her brother have a spot on the Legacy stones in the front of Epcot, so we found her picture then went off to ride the monorail. We had reservations for Kona at the Polynesian resort that night. It was one of my favorite meals of the whole trip! I had never been before, but rumors of the amazing Hawaiian bread made me very excited, and very rightly. The meal was fantastic. I highly recommend it. I had the terriyaki style new york strip with coconut elixer to drink, and for desert I had chocolate fondue.

Now I amnot used to the Disney Dining plan and its portions. My dad has a time share, so a lot of my trips to Disney are off property and dining plan-less. The meal here was so amazing that I ate most of it, and I was full by the time my fondue arrived. But how could I skip such an amazing course?? Of course I ate the fondue, but what resulted was the conception of what I can only call... the food baby. This is when your stomach is so full, that when you take a breath, you can feel you lungs hitting the top of your stomach. Mrs. Sherry let me know that that is the same feeling you get when you are pregnant hence, the food baby. I was highly uncomfortable for the rest of the night. Jenny and MArissa enjoyed their food baby-less meals. My mom told me they have something called "self- control"... who needs that anyways in Disney...

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Then we hopped on the monorail and made our way towards The Magic Kingdom.

Unfortunately, my mom was feeling sick so she went back to the hotel. Our first stop in Magic Kingdom is the princess meet and greet inside the Town Square Theatre. The Rapunzel we met there was by far the most amazing princess meeting I have ever had. There is a reason her name is RaPUNzel. She was so funny, and kept cracking jokes with us. When Marissa hugged her, she got caught in Rapunzels hair. Rapunzel then said "Oh no! We seem to have gotten Tangled" We could not stop laughing. We also asked her why she wouldn't be attending dinner at Cinderella's Royal Table, to which she said "It would be a hairy situation." She could not have been any better. Aurora and Cinderella were pretty cute too.

After our glorious encounter with the royal beauties, we made our way to the Haunted Mansion to pay our respects to the 999 happy haunts that live there (I would gladly make it 1000). I love the haunted mansion. I also love our next ride, which was Thunder Mountain. It made it that much better that we were riding it at night too. Thunder Mountain is actually faster at night than the beginning of the day. Also you get to see the Wildest Party in the Wilderness!

We made our way back to Main Street so that Marissa's cousin Samantha could get a candy apple before saying her goodbyes. We watched Wishes for a little bit, and then made our way to Tommorowland. First we rode Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger spin, where I maxed out my score (impressive...I know. But I was never able to recreate it unfortunately).

Then we tried to ride Space Mountain, but the wait was 65 minutes, so we opted for the People Mover instead. We got a bit distracted on the way and stopped to dance with stitch and everyone at the Dance Party. After all that excersize we needed a nice ride on the Peoplemover.

Of course, while riding though the space mountain part of the track, we came to a stop. After sitting for about 10 minutes, we were lead off the Peoplemover. Only one though was in my mind as we sat waiting to be released from our car and lead off the ride... fastpasses. As the castmember approaches, I could see her reaching her hand out to give us tickets. Lo and behold, they were free fastpasses, to be used whenever we please. They were like shining beacons of hope. Guess who would be riding Space Mountain that night after all?!

I take great pride in knowing where all of the cameras are on the rides...

After two rides around deep space, we decided it was time to head home due to the park closing (otherwise we'd be there all night). We took some more pictures before riding our bus back to AoA.

The ride back to AoA from MK was long, but it was not bad! We all were exhausted from such an amazing first day, we were just happy to be sitting down. Once back in the we all got ready fro bed. There was another magical day waiting just at the end of one more sleep

And HERE is the YouTube video for this lovely day! Check it out!

 

[emilyindisney]

I don't know how I missed them until the peoplemover but I love your backpacks! Did you make them yourselves of buy them? Very cute!

Your matching ears looks really cute in all your pictures!

Sounds like a great day!

 

[wiigirl]

Following along!

 

[DisneyDarling1]

I painted them for the three of us Each of us made something we all could use on the trip. Jenny and her mom sewed us all a pillowcase, marissa got us bobble water bottles (I highly recommend these) and I painted us backpacks!

Jenny's backpack is Belle's dress, Marissa wanted Cinderella, and mine is Ariel

The bobble water bottles were a great thing to have! It filters the water as you drink it, so we always had fresh filtered water. I kept filling mine up at water fountains instead of buying water bottles! Saved tons of money

We all used the pillowcases Jenny's mom made for us on our pillows for the car ride

 

[emilyindisney]

I painted them for the three of us Each of us made something we all could use on the trip. Jenny and her mom sewed us all a pillowcase, marissa got us bobble water bottles (I highly recommend these) and I painted us backpacks!

Jenny's backpack is Belle's dress, Marissa wanted Cinderella, and mine is Ariel

The bobble water bottles were a great thing to have! It filters the water as you drink it, so we always had fresh filtered water. I kept filling mine up at water fountains instead of buying water bottles! Saved tons of money

We all used the pillowcases Jenny's mom made for us on our pillows for the car ride

What a fantastic idea to swap like that! I went back and looked and the LM pillowcase in your first update is awesome!

 

[DisneyDarling1]

Day 2- February 11, 2013! Part 1

The Magic Continues...

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Sorry for the delay ya'll! I got very distracted when I started back college, and then I got a job, but I'm here to finish this trip report! So here it is, day 2

So this I can honestly say was the day my friend Marissa was looking forward to the most. It's her birthday! We had a very fun day planned. Our day began with a visit to landscape of flavors for some breakfast. That is the quick service cafeteria in the Art of Animation resort. It was delicious, and we quickly boarded a bus for Animal Kingdom. We wanted to make EMH that morning, but we had slept in due to the bust day before. We went straight to Everest for fastpasses, then we went ahead and rode it. Then we went to ride Dinosaur. I love this ride, but Marissa is not a fan. I scares her somehow!

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After Dinosaur we go back to Expedition Everest to use our fastpasses. The park was pretty crowded that day so we hopped over to HS. Ahhhh the perks of park hopper passes! When we were on the bus, our driver sang "The Wheels on the Bus" with us. i love it when the bus drivers do little things like that

We finally arrived in HS, and we ran straight to Rockin' Rollercoaster for fastpasses. The nest stop was the ToT. Only Jenny, Marissa, Robyn(mommy), and I rode ToT because the other two moms were not fans of this ride. Jenny had never been on it before so she was nervous, but she loved the ride!

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This ride was very interesting because we got to meet T.J.!! He is one of the original castmembers of the ToT. There are only 3 that are still working there, but he is the most recognizable because he was featured in one of the ToT ads. I was surprised I recognized him, but I'm so glad I asked him. He was so awesome!

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Next we made our way to Toy Story Mania, but of course, the line was 190 minutes long, so we decided to go to Star Tours. First, we stopped by the gift shop near Toy Story Mania (the one with the battleship game as the ceiling) so that I could buy a buzz lightyear jacket for my boyfriend. On our way to Star Tours we also stopped for a cliche pose on the singin in the rain spot. Jenny's came out great huh??

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The star Tours wait was 30 minutes (easy) so we waited to ride it. I love this ride, and I think it's a great example of a ride update gone right. It made the ride more fun, different every time, and still kept the classic Star Wars feel. While in line Marissa flirted with the castmember before we entered our tour vehicle. You can imagine who the rebel spy ended up being We stopped to get some snacks. I got a mickey pretzel and Marissa got a Mickey premium

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After we got our delicious snacks, we relaxed with everyone. We then went to use our fastpasses at RRC, then we made our way to the last park of the day: Magic Kingdom!

 

[DisneyDarling1]

A Birthday Dream Come True​

So after our day at HS, we were on our way to the Magic Kingdom on the bus! When we first got to the park we stopped to take pictures in front of the sign at the entrance. After that we took pictures in front of Cinderella Castle as well (we love pictures). When we walked by the theatre, we noticed there were fastpasses to meet the Princesses available. We had to take the opportunity! Yes, we know we already met the princesses, but that day was different. That day the princesses were all with their Princes!! So we snatched those fastpasses, then we went to meet Mickey and Minnie.

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We then tied to go and meet Tiana and Naveen, but they had already left. When we were standing there however, we saw the podium for the Sorcerer's of the Magic Kingdom interactive game. We thought why not! We all got a starter pack of cards, and we did the frontierland portion of the game. It was pretty fun! Not something I recommend to people who don't have park hopper passes. The game is a very fun thing to do if you have been in Disney for a while and want something new to do with your time. You get a new pack of cards per day, too. So if you have park hopper, go to the podium everyday, and you will have a very nice set by the end of your trip!

When we finished that round of Sorcerer's, we went to New Fantasyland to check out the newly opened renovation before our reservations. It was not finished yet, but the Ariel ride, Storytime with Belle, and the restaurants were open. I had been following the progress and was so excited to finally see it in person.
New Fantasyland Review: Now I have not been very good at posting about this trip, and I have since been to New Fantasyland three times. My first impression of New Fantasyland was not the best. After seeing the concept art for the area, I was not excited about the outcome. The art made the areas seem more separated. You can stand in the provincial town from Beauty and the Beast and see Prince Eric's castle in the next section. They are very close. Having since seen the finished product (and having ridden the new Mine Train ride!!!) I have to say I love the expansion. I will have to write more about it later, but it really is a great addition.


After visiting New Fantasyland, we went to our ADR at a new restaurant for us all: CINDERELLA'S ROYAL TABLE. We were so excited!!

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We walked in through a door underneath the castle. We went straight to another waiting room where we took a picture with Cinderella herself! Then we walked up a stone spiral staircase to the restaurant. We got a fantastic seat right by the window. One thing I love about Cinderella castle is that you get three courses. You get an appetizer, entree, and dessert, unlike at Le Cellier where you don't get an appetizer. I got the cheese sampler, beef, and the desert trio.

After we ate desserts, Marissa was brought her birthday cake. It was a beautiful chocolate Cinderella heel filled with mousse on top of a cake. It was beautiful! Then it was time to meet the princesses and make a wish! We met Snow White, Aurora, Ariel and finally Jasmine. The all had a nice introduction, it was really awesome. The they passed out wands to all the kids (even us big ones ) We used our magic wishing wands to make a wish . The lights lowered and sparkles filled the room. It was a truly magical experience<3 I am definately going back, maybe even for breakfast!

After we were done eating, we made our way downstairs. We took plenty of pictures of the castle and the mosaic.

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Then we made our way to tomorrowland to grab some fastpasses for Space Mountain. After that we went back to the TST to use out fastpasses to see the princesses and princes! We first met Flynn Ryder and Rapunzel. We were a bit delirious for some reason, which made it all better. Flynn Ryder asked me to cast a spell on him with my magic wand (which I would not let go of). The spell didn't work, but Flynn did teach us to do the smolder! I also asked what was in the satchel (do it next time you meet him). Then we met Aurora and Phillip. Phillip was a bit feminine, which was a tad weird, and he told us to use our wands for good not evil. Then we met Cinderella and Prince Charming who were adorable! Prince Charming was in fact very charming.

We left the theatre as Wishes was going on, so we watched the show then made our way to Thunder Mountain. Our friend Christina was in the park with her boyfriend and family, so we wanted to meet them there. We rode BTMR together and it was awesome! We also rode Pirates with them as well, then they went their separate way.

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After PoC, Jenny wasn't feeling well so she went back to the room with Mrs. Sherry. Marissa and I and our moms went to ride the Haunted Mansion (so awesome) then we walked to Space mountain through fantasyland. We saw Bert and Mary by the carousel and HAD to take pictures. Mary was lovely; it's always a pleasure meeting her! Bert was pretty cool too! Marissa's mom isn't a fan of roller coasters, so she went to ride the Peoplemover while we rode SM. After that ride we decided to call it a night. IT had been one amazing day in Disney World

Here is this days video, You have to see it

 

[KYfriedPanda]

Enjoying the report so far, and the videos are great! Would you be able to tell me what singer is doing "A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes" in your Part 2 video? Thanks!

 

[patches07]

Enjoying the report so far