pigsforpoland
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Jan 15, 2023
Hi there! I’m D, and I’m new to DisBoards. My awesome sister, H, has been here awhile, though, and I decided it’s time to join the fun. I’m sharing a pre-trip report for our first ever adult-sisters-only Disney World vacation, which H is generously taking me on to celebrate my 40th birthday. We’ll be flying to WDW from Boston on February 2 and staying three nights, hoping to have three park days and to hit all four parks.
Some backstory: we grew up going to Disney World once every couple of years, and then we went pretty frequently in high school and college, either for extended family trips, high school choir performances, or a really awesome summer camp that used to happen there through Show Choir Camps of America, which culminated in a performance on the castle stage. Once. In. A. Lifetime. Experience.
As adults we’ve been to Disney a few times - H recently joined DVC so goes fairly frequently. This past fall we did a big trip with myself, my husband J, our three kids, H, her husband N, our mom, and our mom’s best friend/honorary aunt. We were there for a very eventful nine days, two of which included Hurricane Ian, and we did all four parks, with two days each at Magic Kingdom and Epcot. That means six total park days with three strollers and one push wheelchair, plus backpacks and diaper bags and cooler bags for bottles, and a partridge in a pear tree. You can read all the details of that trip by following H’s trip report.
THIS trip is going to be VERY different, in all the best ways. Although we’re only at WDW for three nights, H and I are Planners, so we have a lot lined up, but we’re also going to keep it super flexible and do whatever the heck we want in the moment. H uses DAS, which worked out amazingly well for us this fall (we also had one of our kids on DAS so it wound up covering the whole giant party), so we’ll buy Genie+ and ILLs some days and not others. Again, we were just there in the fall, and despite the hurricane, we managed to hit almost alllllll of the highlights because we had such a long stay, so we don’t feel super pressured to get on absolutely every ride. We want to focus on the handful of things we really love and care about (every square inch of Galaxy’s Edge, Cosmic Rewind, Harmonious, and good food and drinks), and try to get in a few things we didn’t get to do last time like shopping and leisurely wandering. Plus we are sprinkling in a few things neither of us have gotten to do before, so that should be a blast.
As of now, one week before departure, here’s what we have planned:
Thursday, February 2
Our flight is at 3:25pm, so we’ll aim to be at the airport by 1:25pm. I’m going to take a park and ride service into Logan Airport, and H will meet me there. We’re both planning to travel with the bare minimum of luggage, hopefully just one carry on and our park bags/backpacks. After we get through security (should be much easier without six small children in tow), we have big ambitions to hit the Delta lounge with H’s fancy membership; neither of us enjoy flying so a little liquid courage will be helpful. We should arrive around 5:30/6:00pm, and we’ll Uber from MCO to our hotel. That first night we are booked in a lagoon view studio in the DVC section at the Grand Floridian, so we’re going to check in there and get our stuff settled. Then the world is our oyster - maybe a visit to Trader Sam’s (I’ve never been!!), or maybe the DVC Lounge at Bay Lake Tower. We have Citricos reservations at 8:10pm, and depending on how we’re holding up after that we might pop into Enchanted Rose for a nightcap.
Friday, February 3
We have Steakhouse 71 breakfast reservations for 7:30am, and then we’re headed to Magic Kingdom. We initially didn’t think we’d even do MK, because we had two pretty comprehensive days there this fall, but there were a few things we didn’t get to do with the kids in tow (namely shopping!), so we’re going to stop in to the Christmas Shop, possibly Memento Mori, and the Emporium for sure. And we’ll hop on rides as we feel like it! We have an early lunch reservation at the Plaza for 11:05am, but since we have that Steakhouse 71 reservation early and a later lunch reservation at Hollywood Studios, this is really just a “grab a few drinks and an app” kind of stop.
We’re hopping to HS at 2pm. We looooove Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster and wanted to make sure we ride it before it closes for refurb, so we used one DAS advance selection for that at 2:30pm. We then have actual lunch reservations at Hollywood Brown Derby at 2:55pm, as part of the Fantasmic dining package. I’ve never been to Hollywood Brown Derby, and I am VERY interested in martini and margarita flights, so this is super exciting. I am basically obsessed with Star Wars, so we want to spend a good amount of time in Galaxy’s Edge, just poking around. We also have a DAS advance selection for Slinky Dog at 4:30pm - I wimped out on this one last time, so I’m hoping to be braver! We have Oga’s booked for 5:15pm, and we’re hoping to hit Rise of the Resistance and Smuggler’s Run in this stretch of time, too. We also didn’t get over to the Muppets area last time, and I’d love to have a drink in the Pizzerizzo wedding room (why am I so interested in this?!) and maybe a classic cocktail at the Prime Time lounge, or a beer at Baseline Taphouse. This is a lot of cocktails in one day, I better start practicing now… Then we’re headed for the first Fantasmic show at 8pm - we haven’t seen Fantasmic since I think maybe high school, so we are super psyched about this. And I’ve always wanted to see Galaxy’s Edge by night, so maybe we’ll swing back through there, too, if there’s time. HS closes at 9pm that night, and we figure we’ll head back to the hotel.
OH WAIT! I forgot to mention that we are staying in a different hotel EVERY night! So when we leave HS, we’ll be headed for a deluxe studio Copper Creek at Wilderness Lodge. Wilderness Lodge is a bucket list hotel for me - me and H joke that we played with Lincoln Logs with our dad too much as kids, because it is unreasonable for two middle class ladies from suburban Massachusetts to be this into log cabins and lodges. I digress…
When we leave HS we’ll head for Copper Creek, and if we’re up for it we’ll grab a drink at Geyser Point lounge. Then I assume we will fall face down into bed after such a big day.
Saturday, February 4
We have breakfast reservations at Whispering Canyon (where I’ve never been!) at 8:45am, and then we’re going to Animal Kingdom, where we have DAS advance selections for Na’vi River Journey at 10:30am and Kilimanjaro Safaris at 12:30pm. We’re hoping to get on Expedition Everest and Flight of Passage while we’re there, but otherwise we’ll just poke around, shop, and definitely visit Nomad Lounge (where I’ve never been!).
At 2pm we are hopping to Epcot, and we’re in it for the long haul. We have a Space 220 lounge reservation at 3:20pm (where we’ve never been and are super excited about!). But we’re super psyched about Festival of the Arts, so we want to hit the food booths.
Here’s our food booth wish list:
MODERNE
Pan-seared scallops with vanilla-butternut squash puree, brown butter cauliflower puree, and coconut-lime foam (H - I really want to try this but I don’t want any of these lovely vegetables to have gone near any theme park food booth seafood… I trust the mouse, but not THAT much.)
EL ARTISTA HAMBRIENTO
Carne Asada: Chipotle-marinated beef sirloin, sweet potato puree, and crispy-fried onions (me)
THE ARTIST’S TABLE
Lange Estate Pinot Noir (H and hey, why not me, too?)
Symphony in Chocolate Flight: Mozart Chocolate Liqueurs paired with sipping chocolates (H)
Three-meat Meatloaf with “Peas and Carrots”: green pea pudding, carrot ketchup, shaved carrot salad, and snap peas (me)
Duck and Dumplings: Smoked duck breast, ricotta dumplings, petite vegetables, and duck jus (me)
POP EATS
Tomato Soup with Grilled Cheese (H)
Tomato Soup with pimento cheese, bacon, and fried green tomato grilled cheese (me - except I will take off the bacon because I feel like sandwich bacon is always squishier than I want)
Brooklyn Brewery Pulp Art Hazy IPA (H and maybe me - we are New England girls, it’s hard to say no to a juicy, hazy, New England style IPA)
Blue Spectrum: Blanc de Bleu Cuvee Mousseux with boba pearls (H)
PASTORAL PALATE
Red wine-braised beef short rib with parsnip puree, broccolini, baby tomatoes, and aged balsamic (H and me)
THE PAINTED PANDA
Sea butterfly: Butterfly Pea Flower-infused cocktail with smirnoff vodka, light rum, lychee syrup, and magic boba pearls (H and me)
THE CRAFTSMAN’S COURTYARD
Cast Iron-roasted P.E.I. Mussels with sauteed tomatoes, garlic, and fresh herbs (H - I do not support this choice, mussels from a food booth in Orlando heat makes me worried…)
FIGMENT’S INSPIRATION STATION AT THE ODYSSEY
Pop’t Art: sugar cookie with blueberry filling (H)
Rainbow Cake with freeze drive Skittles (H)
3 Daughters Brewing Blood Orange Hard Cider (H)
Rainbow Cider Flight (H)
GOSHIKI JAPAN
Purple Yuzu Sake Lemonade: Sake cocktail infused with butterfly pea flower and yuzu lemonade (H and me)
TANGIERINE CAFE
Carrots Three Ways: chermoula-spiced grilled carrots, pickled carrots, and carrot ginger puree
L’ART DE CUISINE FRANÇAISE
Crème de Brie en Petit Pain: warm creamy brie in a house-made bread bowl (H)
Frozen French Martini: Grey Goose Vodka, chambord liqueur, pineapple, orange, and grape juices with lemon-lime foam (H and me)
Citroc Sunset Citrus Vodka spritz (H and me)
THE DECONSTRUCTED DISH
Deconstructed BLT: Pork belly, soft-poached egg, onion bread pudding, watercress espuma, and tomato jam (D)
Deconstructed French Onion Soup: beef broth ravioli, gruyere cream, onion bread pudding, and onion textures (D)
L’ARTE DI MANGIARE
Mozzarella Fritter: flash-fried breaded fresh mozzarella with artist palette condiments (H)
AMERICAN ADVENTURE
Mocha Funnel Cake: mini funnel cake with cappuccino ice cream topped with chocolate whipped cream and M&M’s chocolate candies (H - I don’t have a big sweet tooth, but maybe she’ll let me share a bite?)
CONNECTIONS EATERY
Dusk til Dawn: Three olives blueberry vodka, lemonade, and orange juice with cotton candy (H)
WORLD DISCOVERY JOFFREY’S
Amber Frost: an artistic blend of frozen lemon ice, a splash of minute maid premium lemonade, blood orange, and orange popping boba balls, plus grey goose vodka (H and me)
CANADA JOFFREY’S
Magenta Frost: an artistic blend of frozen lemon ice, a splash of minute maid premium lemonade, dragon fruit, and dragon fruit popping boba pearls, plus grey goose vodka (H and me - maybe we’ll each get this one and the Amber Frost and split them?)
REFRESHMENT PORT
Blood orange cosmo: Boyd and Blair Potato Vodka with blood orange, cranberry, and lime (H and me)
Don’t worry, we don’t actually think we can eat and drink all of this… we know from experience we’ll forget what booths have what, so we find it helpful to have a wish list. But we have to leave room (and liver capacity) for La Cava, maybe a champagne flight in France, and anything else that strikes our fancy.
We don’t have any DAS advance selections for this afternoon, but we basically want to ride Cosmic Rewind as many times as possible (we loooooooooved this ride in the fall), maybe Soarin’, maybe some shopping - who knows! We are really hoping to stick it out to see Harmonious because we missed it on our last trip and know it’s going away soon. If we can make it, we’ll probably park ourselves near the American pavilion and just take turns ferrying each other food and drinks.
Whew, that’s a big day. When we’re done at Epcot, we’ll be heading to our last hotel, which is the Riviera, where we have a standard view deluxe studio.
Sunday, February 4
We’re going to wake up at the Riviera and hopefully hop on the Skyliner (which we’ve never done!) to head back to HS. We’ll grab a light breakfast on the go, and then we have a bunch of reservations in a row. First up is Slinky Dog as a DAS advance selection at 8:30am. Then we have a little wake up cocktail at Oga’s at 8:55am (this may not be advisable…). Then we have Smuggler’s Run at 10am as a DAS advance selection, and Oga’s one more time at 10:25am. Hopefully we can also do Rise of the Resistance one last time before we zip over to Disney Springs for lunch/brunch at Homecomin’ at 12:45, which we were super psyched to get!
We don’t need to leave for the airport until late afternoon, so we’re going to poke around at Disney Springs - we didn’t get there last time, and we’d like to do some shopping and also hit Jock Lindsay’s if we can (I love Indiana Jones and have never been). Then we’ll swing back to the Riviera to grab our stuff and Uber back to MCO for a 7:25pm flight back to Logan, where H’s husband will pick her up and I’ll either do the park and ride out closer to where I live and Uber home from there or just grab an Uber for the whole trip home, which is around an hour.
And THAT is our plan for this whirlwind trip! I will try to do a post-trip report afterwards, but if you are fans of the Simplifying the Magic podcast, we’ll also be talking through the trip with Megan and Jess in late February/early March.
Some backstory: we grew up going to Disney World once every couple of years, and then we went pretty frequently in high school and college, either for extended family trips, high school choir performances, or a really awesome summer camp that used to happen there through Show Choir Camps of America, which culminated in a performance on the castle stage. Once. In. A. Lifetime. Experience.
As adults we’ve been to Disney a few times - H recently joined DVC so goes fairly frequently. This past fall we did a big trip with myself, my husband J, our three kids, H, her husband N, our mom, and our mom’s best friend/honorary aunt. We were there for a very eventful nine days, two of which included Hurricane Ian, and we did all four parks, with two days each at Magic Kingdom and Epcot. That means six total park days with three strollers and one push wheelchair, plus backpacks and diaper bags and cooler bags for bottles, and a partridge in a pear tree. You can read all the details of that trip by following H’s trip report.
THIS trip is going to be VERY different, in all the best ways. Although we’re only at WDW for three nights, H and I are Planners, so we have a lot lined up, but we’re also going to keep it super flexible and do whatever the heck we want in the moment. H uses DAS, which worked out amazingly well for us this fall (we also had one of our kids on DAS so it wound up covering the whole giant party), so we’ll buy Genie+ and ILLs some days and not others. Again, we were just there in the fall, and despite the hurricane, we managed to hit almost alllllll of the highlights because we had such a long stay, so we don’t feel super pressured to get on absolutely every ride. We want to focus on the handful of things we really love and care about (every square inch of Galaxy’s Edge, Cosmic Rewind, Harmonious, and good food and drinks), and try to get in a few things we didn’t get to do last time like shopping and leisurely wandering. Plus we are sprinkling in a few things neither of us have gotten to do before, so that should be a blast.
As of now, one week before departure, here’s what we have planned:
Thursday, February 2
Our flight is at 3:25pm, so we’ll aim to be at the airport by 1:25pm. I’m going to take a park and ride service into Logan Airport, and H will meet me there. We’re both planning to travel with the bare minimum of luggage, hopefully just one carry on and our park bags/backpacks. After we get through security (should be much easier without six small children in tow), we have big ambitions to hit the Delta lounge with H’s fancy membership; neither of us enjoy flying so a little liquid courage will be helpful. We should arrive around 5:30/6:00pm, and we’ll Uber from MCO to our hotel. That first night we are booked in a lagoon view studio in the DVC section at the Grand Floridian, so we’re going to check in there and get our stuff settled. Then the world is our oyster - maybe a visit to Trader Sam’s (I’ve never been!!), or maybe the DVC Lounge at Bay Lake Tower. We have Citricos reservations at 8:10pm, and depending on how we’re holding up after that we might pop into Enchanted Rose for a nightcap.
Friday, February 3
We have Steakhouse 71 breakfast reservations for 7:30am, and then we’re headed to Magic Kingdom. We initially didn’t think we’d even do MK, because we had two pretty comprehensive days there this fall, but there were a few things we didn’t get to do with the kids in tow (namely shopping!), so we’re going to stop in to the Christmas Shop, possibly Memento Mori, and the Emporium for sure. And we’ll hop on rides as we feel like it! We have an early lunch reservation at the Plaza for 11:05am, but since we have that Steakhouse 71 reservation early and a later lunch reservation at Hollywood Studios, this is really just a “grab a few drinks and an app” kind of stop.
We’re hopping to HS at 2pm. We looooove Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster and wanted to make sure we ride it before it closes for refurb, so we used one DAS advance selection for that at 2:30pm. We then have actual lunch reservations at Hollywood Brown Derby at 2:55pm, as part of the Fantasmic dining package. I’ve never been to Hollywood Brown Derby, and I am VERY interested in martini and margarita flights, so this is super exciting. I am basically obsessed with Star Wars, so we want to spend a good amount of time in Galaxy’s Edge, just poking around. We also have a DAS advance selection for Slinky Dog at 4:30pm - I wimped out on this one last time, so I’m hoping to be braver! We have Oga’s booked for 5:15pm, and we’re hoping to hit Rise of the Resistance and Smuggler’s Run in this stretch of time, too. We also didn’t get over to the Muppets area last time, and I’d love to have a drink in the Pizzerizzo wedding room (why am I so interested in this?!) and maybe a classic cocktail at the Prime Time lounge, or a beer at Baseline Taphouse. This is a lot of cocktails in one day, I better start practicing now… Then we’re headed for the first Fantasmic show at 8pm - we haven’t seen Fantasmic since I think maybe high school, so we are super psyched about this. And I’ve always wanted to see Galaxy’s Edge by night, so maybe we’ll swing back through there, too, if there’s time. HS closes at 9pm that night, and we figure we’ll head back to the hotel.
OH WAIT! I forgot to mention that we are staying in a different hotel EVERY night! So when we leave HS, we’ll be headed for a deluxe studio Copper Creek at Wilderness Lodge. Wilderness Lodge is a bucket list hotel for me - me and H joke that we played with Lincoln Logs with our dad too much as kids, because it is unreasonable for two middle class ladies from suburban Massachusetts to be this into log cabins and lodges. I digress…
When we leave HS we’ll head for Copper Creek, and if we’re up for it we’ll grab a drink at Geyser Point lounge. Then I assume we will fall face down into bed after such a big day.
Saturday, February 4
We have breakfast reservations at Whispering Canyon (where I’ve never been!) at 8:45am, and then we’re going to Animal Kingdom, where we have DAS advance selections for Na’vi River Journey at 10:30am and Kilimanjaro Safaris at 12:30pm. We’re hoping to get on Expedition Everest and Flight of Passage while we’re there, but otherwise we’ll just poke around, shop, and definitely visit Nomad Lounge (where I’ve never been!).
At 2pm we are hopping to Epcot, and we’re in it for the long haul. We have a Space 220 lounge reservation at 3:20pm (where we’ve never been and are super excited about!). But we’re super psyched about Festival of the Arts, so we want to hit the food booths.
Here’s our food booth wish list:
MODERNE
Pan-seared scallops with vanilla-butternut squash puree, brown butter cauliflower puree, and coconut-lime foam (H - I really want to try this but I don’t want any of these lovely vegetables to have gone near any theme park food booth seafood… I trust the mouse, but not THAT much.)
EL ARTISTA HAMBRIENTO
Carne Asada: Chipotle-marinated beef sirloin, sweet potato puree, and crispy-fried onions (me)
THE ARTIST’S TABLE
Lange Estate Pinot Noir (H and hey, why not me, too?)
Symphony in Chocolate Flight: Mozart Chocolate Liqueurs paired with sipping chocolates (H)
Three-meat Meatloaf with “Peas and Carrots”: green pea pudding, carrot ketchup, shaved carrot salad, and snap peas (me)
Duck and Dumplings: Smoked duck breast, ricotta dumplings, petite vegetables, and duck jus (me)
POP EATS
Tomato Soup with Grilled Cheese (H)
Tomato Soup with pimento cheese, bacon, and fried green tomato grilled cheese (me - except I will take off the bacon because I feel like sandwich bacon is always squishier than I want)
Brooklyn Brewery Pulp Art Hazy IPA (H and maybe me - we are New England girls, it’s hard to say no to a juicy, hazy, New England style IPA)
Blue Spectrum: Blanc de Bleu Cuvee Mousseux with boba pearls (H)
PASTORAL PALATE
Red wine-braised beef short rib with parsnip puree, broccolini, baby tomatoes, and aged balsamic (H and me)
THE PAINTED PANDA
Sea butterfly: Butterfly Pea Flower-infused cocktail with smirnoff vodka, light rum, lychee syrup, and magic boba pearls (H and me)
THE CRAFTSMAN’S COURTYARD
Cast Iron-roasted P.E.I. Mussels with sauteed tomatoes, garlic, and fresh herbs (H - I do not support this choice, mussels from a food booth in Orlando heat makes me worried…)
FIGMENT’S INSPIRATION STATION AT THE ODYSSEY
Pop’t Art: sugar cookie with blueberry filling (H)
Rainbow Cake with freeze drive Skittles (H)
3 Daughters Brewing Blood Orange Hard Cider (H)
Rainbow Cider Flight (H)
GOSHIKI JAPAN
Purple Yuzu Sake Lemonade: Sake cocktail infused with butterfly pea flower and yuzu lemonade (H and me)
TANGIERINE CAFE
Carrots Three Ways: chermoula-spiced grilled carrots, pickled carrots, and carrot ginger puree
L’ART DE CUISINE FRANÇAISE
Crème de Brie en Petit Pain: warm creamy brie in a house-made bread bowl (H)
Frozen French Martini: Grey Goose Vodka, chambord liqueur, pineapple, orange, and grape juices with lemon-lime foam (H and me)
Citroc Sunset Citrus Vodka spritz (H and me)
THE DECONSTRUCTED DISH
Deconstructed BLT: Pork belly, soft-poached egg, onion bread pudding, watercress espuma, and tomato jam (D)
Deconstructed French Onion Soup: beef broth ravioli, gruyere cream, onion bread pudding, and onion textures (D)
L’ARTE DI MANGIARE
Mozzarella Fritter: flash-fried breaded fresh mozzarella with artist palette condiments (H)
AMERICAN ADVENTURE
Mocha Funnel Cake: mini funnel cake with cappuccino ice cream topped with chocolate whipped cream and M&M’s chocolate candies (H - I don’t have a big sweet tooth, but maybe she’ll let me share a bite?)
CONNECTIONS EATERY
Dusk til Dawn: Three olives blueberry vodka, lemonade, and orange juice with cotton candy (H)
WORLD DISCOVERY JOFFREY’S
Amber Frost: an artistic blend of frozen lemon ice, a splash of minute maid premium lemonade, blood orange, and orange popping boba balls, plus grey goose vodka (H and me)
CANADA JOFFREY’S
Magenta Frost: an artistic blend of frozen lemon ice, a splash of minute maid premium lemonade, dragon fruit, and dragon fruit popping boba pearls, plus grey goose vodka (H and me - maybe we’ll each get this one and the Amber Frost and split them?)
REFRESHMENT PORT
Blood orange cosmo: Boyd and Blair Potato Vodka with blood orange, cranberry, and lime (H and me)
Don’t worry, we don’t actually think we can eat and drink all of this… we know from experience we’ll forget what booths have what, so we find it helpful to have a wish list. But we have to leave room (and liver capacity) for La Cava, maybe a champagne flight in France, and anything else that strikes our fancy.
We don’t have any DAS advance selections for this afternoon, but we basically want to ride Cosmic Rewind as many times as possible (we loooooooooved this ride in the fall), maybe Soarin’, maybe some shopping - who knows! We are really hoping to stick it out to see Harmonious because we missed it on our last trip and know it’s going away soon. If we can make it, we’ll probably park ourselves near the American pavilion and just take turns ferrying each other food and drinks.
Whew, that’s a big day. When we’re done at Epcot, we’ll be heading to our last hotel, which is the Riviera, where we have a standard view deluxe studio.
Sunday, February 4
We’re going to wake up at the Riviera and hopefully hop on the Skyliner (which we’ve never done!) to head back to HS. We’ll grab a light breakfast on the go, and then we have a bunch of reservations in a row. First up is Slinky Dog as a DAS advance selection at 8:30am. Then we have a little wake up cocktail at Oga’s at 8:55am (this may not be advisable…). Then we have Smuggler’s Run at 10am as a DAS advance selection, and Oga’s one more time at 10:25am. Hopefully we can also do Rise of the Resistance one last time before we zip over to Disney Springs for lunch/brunch at Homecomin’ at 12:45, which we were super psyched to get!
We don’t need to leave for the airport until late afternoon, so we’re going to poke around at Disney Springs - we didn’t get there last time, and we’d like to do some shopping and also hit Jock Lindsay’s if we can (I love Indiana Jones and have never been). Then we’ll swing back to the Riviera to grab our stuff and Uber back to MCO for a 7:25pm flight back to Logan, where H’s husband will pick her up and I’ll either do the park and ride out closer to where I live and Uber home from there or just grab an Uber for the whole trip home, which is around an hour.
And THAT is our plan for this whirlwind trip! I will try to do a post-trip report afterwards, but if you are fans of the Simplifying the Magic podcast, we’ll also be talking through the trip with Megan and Jess in late February/early March.
