"Elsa REALLY Needs to Calm Down."-A January 2014 TR!

[nyislandersprincess]

Good evening, boys and girls! Welcome to my first ever trip report here on the DIS! I've been lurking for quite a while and reading through other trip reports. They've all been so much fun, and I'm a writer myself, so I figured why not give it a go?

This report will be chronicling the trip I took this past January. We stayed for four nights and five days at the fabulous All Star Music resort! Of course, our trip was not without its little bumps along the way, but I'll get to that as I chronicle our adventures

But before I really get this trip report rolling, I should probably introduce you to the main characters in this little story!​

​

CARI

I am a 20 year old (though 19 at the time of this trip) Disney fanatic. Like it's honestly a problem. If I could only choose one place in the world to ever vacation again, it would be Disney World. This was my seventh trip in total, so I was the "expert" on our trip! At my age, I can't say I have much worldly experience, but I DO have a lot of Disney World experience I consider myself to be a princess (seriously, I do) so my big draw are the Disney princesses! A little bit of background "Disney" info on me:

Favorite Park: Magic Kingdom and EPCOT (don't make me choose!)

Favorite Resort: Grand Floridian

Favorite Rides: Big Thunder Mountain, Rockin Roller Coaster, Soarin, Test Track

Favorite Characters: Belle, Elsa, and Minnie Mouse

SARAH

My travelling buddy! Sarah is 20 (one year older than me) and, before this trip, had only been to Disney World once before in her life. And it was when she was very little! Needless to say, there was a lot I needed to do with this one. Fortunately for me, she is very easy going and goes with the flow, so she put all of her trust into me 100%! She is really the first person I've met whose enthusiasm for Disney matches mine, so we are really a perfect fit! Like me, she is a princess fanatic, and pretty much wanted just one thing out of this adventure: to meet Rapunzel! And her favorites:

Favorite Park: Magic Kingdom

Favorite Resort: Undecided on this one, she needs more trips

Favorite Rides: She claims she can't pick one, which doesn't really surprise me! If anything, hers are the same as mine

Favorite Characters: Cinderella and Rapunzel

So, is everyone ready to join in on our little journey? I sure hope so! Buckle up tight, it's going to be a fun ride!​

 

[nyislandersprincess]

We're Just Getting...Stopped?​

This trip was actually planned on the short end of things. You see, Sarah and I are both in college. During this past year, she was a junior, and I a sophomore. We met the year before going through sorority recruitment, and we just so happened to become sisters after joining the same sorority! During the course of this past year, we had joked about going to Disney together. We even came up with little fake itineraries, and I looked up all of the FP+ options!

And then, in early December, things got real when I logged onto my laptop one night and actually booked us a trip to Disney World over winter break.

Our school offers up a very long winter break. Like...an almost asinine winter break. Five weeks off, in fact. So what do you do with one of those five weeks? Go to Disney World! Me, having gone so many times before, took charge of all of the planning. I arranged our FP+ reservations (despite having never used FP+ before...I catch on pretty quick), our ADRs, scheduled our days in each park, everything. I had it down to every last detail, and it was going to be perfect! We were scheduled to leave at around 7:30 AM on Monday, January 6th. Sarah slept over my house the night before. We both knew we'd have to be up at 4:30, which I was dreading (I am not a morning person) but at the same time, exhilarated for. I just couldn't wait to get to Disney!

So imagine my surprise when, the next morning, I woke up at 5:45.

I was so tired that I'd been grateful for the extra sleep...for the first few minutes, anyway. Then, the gears in my brain started to work. Oh my God. We woke up too late! We were going to miss the flight! But before I could even wake Sarah up, my dad walked into my room. I couldn't see him through the darkness, but I sure could hear his voice:

"The flight was cancelled. The trip is off."

Um...excuse me?

As most of you probably know (and had experienced) this winter was a living, breathing nightmare. We'd had storm after storm, with snow and ice everywhere. But it hadn't snowed at all that week! I thought we were in the clear! So why would our flight be cancelled?

It turned out that because of all the snow, which had caused so many cancellations prior to our departure date, Southwest was backed up and tired from having to reschedule so many flights. So, they chose select flights on that day out of our airport to cancel, and of course, ours had been one.

Cancelled literally a whopping three hours before the scheduled departure time.

Needless to say, Sarah was devastated. She'd been looking forward to this trip since before we'd booked it, and on the very morning we were supposed to be arriving at the most magical place on Earth, we get stuck in cold, dreary New York.

But I was not about to take that. Oh no! I had scheduled a trip for Disney, and I was going to get there! Southwest didn't have any other flights available for that day, but at that point, I didn't care about Southwest. They'd messed me up once before, and they certainly weren't going to do it again! With the help of my parents, the rest of the morning was spent scouring flights. Eventually, we were able to score one with JetBlue for the next Monday. It was a bit pricier, and out of a different airport (one that was a bit more stressful than the first!) but hey, there are sacrifices I'm willing to make when it comes to making my best friend's dreams come true! So the flight was all secured!

Now, the problem was all of our reservations.

Fortunately, the All Star Music resort was still available for the next week, and we were able to get a room. But next came the issue of all my pre-scheduled FP+ reservations and ADRs. I mean, I had ADRs for some pretty great restaurants! 1900 Park Fare...LE CELLIER. Yeah, I was having a mental breakdown at this point.

And by some miracle, Disney had ADRs available for every restaurant I had previously picked available for the next week! Some of the times were a tiny bit different, but who cared? They were ADRs for the same restaurants! Suddenly, things didn't seem so bad! And I got all of our FP+s back, too!

Oh yes, the magic was going to happen! Just...one week later than planned ​

 

[Belle_princess]

Oooo! Great start!! I'm in for the ride!!

 

[Stacybaeasm]

What a horrible way to get a Disney trip started. I can't wait to hear that it improved.

 

[geckodani]

Oh man! I can't even imagine how ucky/stressful/WTH?!?!? that must have been to have your flight cancelled 3 hours before! That's bananas! And not in the dancing way!

I'm so glad you were able to schedule for the following week!!!

 

[nyislandersprincess]

Oooo! Great start!! I'm in for the ride!!

Thanks! Great to have you on board!

What a horrible way to get a Disney trip started. I can't wait to hear that it improved.

Yeah, it definitely wasn't ideal, aha. At the same time, I was like "of COURSE this would happen to us!" It does get better, despite a few other bumps along the way

Oh man! I can't even imagine how ucky/stressful/WTH?!?!? that must have been to have your flight cancelled 3 hours before! That's bananas! And not in the dancing way!

I'm so glad you were able to schedule for the following week!!!

We always asked my dad when we were younger "why don't we go away during winter break? Why do we always go in the spring?" And he always said because of the snow and the fear that flights would be cancelled. And my little girl self's argument was always, "Dad, it never snows when we're supposed to go!"

Of course, I learned my lesson this time! Dad's always right...well, sometimes, at least

 

[nyislandersprincess]

Please Tell Me Which City Disney World Is In!

So, instead of arriving in Orlando on January 6th, we arrived on January 13th. Exactly one week later. But this time, the flight was NOT cancelled, and everything went smoothly! Even the trip through JFK, which I was dreading (NYC airports are the most insane things to me. Like ten times more insane than any other airport I've ever been to!) was not so bad. Except for this ONE tiny slip up Sarah had.

So, when security is asking you the basic questions (i.e. what's your name, age, where are you going) this is what ends up going down:

Security Woman: What's your name?

Sarah: Sarah.

Security Woman: How old are you?

Sarah: 20.

Security Woman: Where are you going?

Sarah: Ft. Lauderdale.



I was literally drilling holes into the back of her head with my eyes. I save our vacation, and she's gonna get us detained in the airport! I leaned in her ear and whispered "it's Orlando, lunatic!"

Luckily, we did NOT get detained in the airport! In fact, the security woman just looked at me and jokingly said, "don't go with her."

Needless to say, it has been almost six months since then, and I have not let Sarah live it down since. Seriously, who thinks DISNEY WORLD is in Ft. Lauderdale?? I still ask her what in the world possessed her to answer with Ft. Lauderdale.

Well, after getting through security and successfully to our gate (woohoo!) we sit for a little bit and wait. And wait. And wait some more. Soon enough, our time to board comes up, and we're still sitting at the gate!

I know what you're all probably thinking, and if I'm a mind reader (which I'd like to think I am!) you are correct: our flight was delayed. You can't make this stuff up! But after what we went through last week, I can handle a little delay. Still better than another cancellation!

So, after a bit of a delay, followed by a good, smooth flight...

WE FINALLY MADE IT TO ORLANDO!

And promptly made dorks of ourselves as we entered the magical Orlando International Airport monorail (which I did fangirl about to Sarah...I've got a serious thing for that monorail.)

We then arrived at Disney's Magical Express (which I happened to find easier than my PARENTS ever have...proud of myself for that ) and boarded our bus to the All Star Music resort! Where we took the time for another lousy selfie.​

And before we knew it, we were on our way!

Now, I had been gushing to Sarah about how amazing the Magical Express video is. How cute it is, and how excited it gets you for Disney!

Well, of course it gets changed to a new video that is not nearly as good as the old one.

I mean, I know it was way out of date, especially with the addition of FP+ and everything, but why'd it have to be so boring?! I loved the old one for all of its characters and how magical it all looked! This one was like watching a vacation DVD. So that was sad

But whatever! WE WERE ON OUR WAY TO DISNEY WORLD! And soon, we'd be at our hotel!

I wonder which building we'd be put in...?​

 

[nyislandersprincess]

Let the Magic Begin...On Broadway!

When we finally pulled up to the All Star Music resort, I was practically jumping out of my seat! We were OFFICIALLY there! I'm also a total sucker for Disney resorts, and this was one I'd never stayed at! So I was excited to explore it for the first time.

We got off the bus and went inside, up to the front desk where we checked in. The CM informed us our room wasn't ready yet, however, and that I'd be sent a text once it was. That's pretty cool! But now we had time to kill off, since we couldn't exactly go to the parks with our carry on bags. So, where are two girls to go first in the resort?

The gift shop, of course!

Sarah picked up her first souvenir for the trip: a princess autograph book! She also picked up a snow globe as a gift for her younger sister. I, however, was going to wait. I always like buying my souvenirs in the parks! So, once we were done with the gift shop, we decided to walk around and explore the hotel!

Now, originally, I wanted to stay at All Star Sports, being the sports fanatic that I am. At the time of our trip, however, the food court was under construction, and I didn't really feel like taking a bus just to get a little something to eat. So, we settled on All Star Music. I knew my sister would love the pictures, because she's a classic music nerd! As drum major of our high school marching band and second clarinet in the advanced concert band, she lives for anything that has music notes on it. Or, of course, her favorite Disney princess...

She was a big fan of Ariel playing the guitar

After what felt like an eternity, I finally got the text informing us that our room was ready! We followed the numbers on the buildings until we finally reached the section of the resort where we'd be living for the next five days. And, very fittingly, we were placed in...

BROADWAY!

We both had a good laugh over this. Being from NY, we've obviously both been to the real Broadway quite a few times. Even though we were eager to get to the room and put our things down, we still wanted to check out our section of the resort!

We both got a big kick out of the painted street and the signs with the actual NY street names on them. Also, at night, the box office window would light up, and you could see the silhouette of Goofy messing with tickets inside! I wish I had gotten a picture of it And of course, we especially loved all of the giant posters of Disney shows from Broadway! My personal favorite, of course:

I miss this show so much! I got to see it as my 13th birthday present before it closed. To this day, it's still my favorite Broadway show

After finally getting into our room, putting our things down, and getting changed into slightly more Florida-friendly clothing, we headed out for our first park of the trip:

EPCOT!​

 

[Foxnhound]

Hi Cari! I've been lurking awhile too, reading trip reports, and I finally decided to register. This is my first post. Woot!

I'm looking forward to reading more about your trip. It's too bad that your first flight got cancelled but I'm amazed you were able to rebook everything for a week later.

My DH and I are shooting for a late-January 2016 trip. First time for both of us! We thought Jan would be good for low crowds and cooler weather. Interested to know what the weather was like for your trip, although I know it can be variable.

 

[geckodani]

Derp. Ft. Lauderdale?

I'm glad you finally arrived, and safely to boot!

 

[Ellsbells]

I'm in. I've been a lurker for along time with a few posts here or there but I'm trying to inject myself into the disboards a bit more. I mean hey we all have one thing in common right?
Also I LOVE All Stars Music...I mean its the only Disney resort I have stayed at but still...
Going back in Feb with my bestfriend and she's left all the planning to me as the last time she went was years ago and she sits there in a daze when I start spouting out words such as ADR's and FP....
Hope she knows what she's in for
I love both your tops. Gah wish we had a Hot Topic here.
Looking forward to reading the tr and I'm glad you finally got there

 

[JAMIESMITH]

We're planning a January trip so I want to find all about that time of year

 

[nyislandersprincess]

Hi Cari! I've been lurking awhile too, reading trip reports, and I finally decided to register. This is my first post. Woot!

I'm looking forward to reading more about your trip. It's too bad that your first flight got cancelled but I'm amazed you were able to rebook everything for a week later.

My DH and I are shooting for a late-January 2016 trip. First time for both of us! We thought Jan would be good for low crowds and cooler weather. Interested to know what the weather was like for your trip, although I know it can be variable.

Hi! Welcome!

That sounds so exciting! I'll DEFINITELY be getting into the weather later on, aha. That was one of our bumps. It started off very nice, but by the end of the week, we were freezing our butts off! However, this whole thing was during that fabulous polar vortex, so I'm pretty sure that's why it was so bad. Bring layers, for sure! And the crowds were definitely manageable I can handle a little cold if the lines are short!

Derp. Ft. Lauderdale?

I'm glad you finally arrived, and safely to boot!

I seriously still to this day ask her why It turns out her dad has a timeshare in Ft. Lauderdale, so that's why she said it. But still, I was like "EVERYONE knows Disney isn't there!" I will never let her live it down.

I'm in. I've been a lurker for along time with a few posts here or there but I'm trying to inject myself into the disboards a bit more. I mean hey we all have one thing in common right?
Also I LOVE All Stars Music...I mean its the only Disney resort I have stayed at but still...
Going back in Feb with my bestfriend and she's left all the planning to me as the last time she went was years ago and she sits there in a daze when I start spouting out words such as ADR's and FP....
Hope she knows what she's in for
I love both your tops. Gah wish we had a Hot Topic here.
Looking forward to reading the tr and I'm glad you finally got there

Welcome! I really did like the All Star Music resort! I'd never stayed at a value resort before this trip, mainly because the room would definitely be way too small for my family, who I typically travel with. For just me and her, however, we didn't need a whole lot of space, and it was really just for sleeping and showering. We were out most of the time! It was still very cute.

You and your best friend are going to have so much fun! I was really anxious about this whole thing (it was the first time aside from camps and my first semester of college that I was away from my parents and travelling completely without them or any other adult) but it turned out amazing! We already have plans to go to a Halloween party once we both graduate

We're planning a January trip so I want to find all about that time of year

I think it's a good time to go. Yes, some of our days were fairly cold, but I really do blame it on the polar vortex. Because we ran into one of our friends at the airport (she was leaving as we were arriving!) and she had told us that the week before, it had been THIRTY DEGREES one day! The coldest we dealt with was our last day. It started off somewhere in the 40s, but gradually warmed up as the day went on. Like I said before, just bring layers!

But the crowds were pretty low, it wasn't too crowded. There was no parade when we went (which I was bummed about!) but even without it, no problems really with lines and all of that. The longest we waited the whole trip was for a certain group of characters I'll get to later on Otherwise, it was great! I'd definitely go in January again.

 

[nyislandersprincess]

Around the World in Six Hours!​

After we were finally able to put everything down in our room and get changed into more weather appropriate clothing, we hopped on a bus to our first park of the trip: EPCOT!

We had a FP+ for Soarin', so I wanted to make sure we got there on time. We did, and waited less than ten minutes! So far so good on the FP+. Right after the ride, however, we were both starving. We hadn't really eaten anything all day, so we were desperate to get some dinner. When I'm in EPCOT, however, I don't really like eating in Futureworld. I like eating in World Showcase! So I convinced Sarah to take a bit of a walk in order to get there. Luckily for me, she's pretty easy going. And, after a little bit of a walk, we were finally there!

Now, you're going to learn throughout this TR that Sarah and I are actually fairly picky eaters. And considering this was a travel day, we were feeling even less adventurous. So, where are two tired, hungry, and picky girls going to eat dinner in World Showcase?

AMERICA!​

I got chicken nuggets and French fries (my favorite food!) with lemonade and fruit, while Sarah got a cheeseburger with fries, water, and an apple pie. It was a good first Disney meal and really hit the spot! Also, because we ate dinner so early (it was around 4:30 when we ate) the restaurant was totally quiet and empty. It was nice after such a long day!

While we were eating, I was texting another one of our sorority sisters who just so happened to be in Disney at the same time as us! Her family are DVC members, so their trip ended up coinciding with ours. She wasn't doing anything, and agreed to meet us in World Showcase. While we waited for her, we decided to walk around for a bit! This included our first photo op in one of my favorite spots: the fountain in Italy!​

Italy is definitely one of my favorite pavilions. I've taken Italian for nine years (and just finished my last class this past semester!) so I can actually have conversation with the CMs there in their language. I' always find that to be so much fun!

Sarah and I are BIG Frozen fans, and one of our biggest dreams for this trip was to meet Anna and Elsa. I had read ahead of time about their disastrous waits, however, and they certainly did not disappoint! I didn't really feel like waiting in such a long line on our first night, so we kept moving. When we did, however, we found something else that was really cool! Err...pun not really intended there.

The making of Frozen exhibit! I think this used to be an exhibit on Vikings, right? Either way, no one seemed to realize this was here (they were all busy waiting on A&E's line or spying on them through the Puffin's Roost...heh) so Sarah and I had the attraction all to ourselves! It's full of photos and costumes, along with information about Norway and how it inspired various aspects of Frozen. They even play the instrumental versions of the Frozen songs! One of my favorites was the photos comparing the real church in Norway that was used as inspiration for Elsa's coronation scene. It was so beautiful!

While we were in the exhibit, I got a text from my friend saying she had just gotten off the boat and was walking into World Showcase. I told her to meet us in Mexico, since I wanted to go on the boat ride. She met us there, and we all boarded a boat together!​

Once we got off the ride, since it was getting later, we decided to get a good spot for IllumiNations. It's my favorite fireworks show, and Sarah's first for the trip, so I wanted to make sure we had a good view for it! We got a spot by the water somewhere near France, I believe, and sat down to wait. We met a nice older couple there who we chatted with for a while about the bad weather back in NY (they were from Arizona, but originally lived in NY, so they could relate.) They were great fireworks neighbors! The wait was probably close to an hour, but it didn't feel so bad since we got to talk to one another and I had time to call my family (I will admit it, I'm a little bit attached...) And then, the fireworks began!​

I'm such a sap. IllumiNations makes me cry EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. I've seen it at least once on every single trip, and every single trip, it makes me cry. This time was no exception. I'm pretty sure it's the part where each country lights up one by one and then shines the spotlights in the middle that gets me. Either way, we were in Disney, watching IllumiNations, and I was crying. It was beautiful!

After IllumiNations, we parted ways with our friend so we could all head back to our resorts. After all, Sarah and I both had to shower and rest up for our next Disney adventure!​

 

[FrozenOne16]

I absolutely LOVE your trip title! I am enjoying reading so far! We were actually in Disney the week that you were originally supposed to be there! I am glad that you still got to go!!!!
​

 

[nyislandersprincess]

I absolutely LOVE your trip title! I am enjoying reading so far! We were actually in Disney the week that you were originally supposed to be there! I am glad that you still got to go!!!!
​

Aha, thank you! Yes, the title comes into play later on in the report Part of me was glad we missed that week, because of the polar vortex and it apparently being 30 degrees one day I mean, we didn't get much luckier, but still

 

[Ellsbells]

Ah caught up. Can't wait to hear the rest!
Shall be seeking out that little spot in Norway.

 

[Foxnhound]

Enjoyed your update!

Your food is all the same color. Tee Hee! Me and DH are picky eaters as well. He is WAY more picky than I am. We don't like fancy food so eating mostly Quick service food is probably the way we are going to go. I'll see if I can drag him to a few restaurants though.

How awesome that you could speak Italian to the CMs. I would love to be able to speak another language....but I'm too lazy to put forth the effort. hahaha

I haven't seen Frozen but I want to. In fact....I haven't seen a Disney movie in a loooooong time. *hangs head in shame* I have some catching up to do!

That was nice that you could meet your friend in Epcot. It really is a small world.

Do you really have to camp out a fireworks spot an hour before the show? Remember, I'm a DisneyWorld newbie.

 

[MagentaMulan]

I'm following a bunch of January TRs because i'm planning a trip for Jan 2015. -

---From NY as well!

 

[scholastica]

Just joining in, but I am enjoying it very much! I love your picture of All Star Music!