If you follow my personal Instagram (@victoria.shing), you probably already know that something momentous happened this year - Rachel and Landon got married!

Our second pre-cruise parks day started with another rope drop morning! Our plan had been to catch the bus to Hollywood Studios (which opened at 8:00, so buses started at 7:15), then take the Skyliner to Epcot. This would put us at the International Gateway entrance to Epcot, and in prime position to rope drop Remy's Ratatouille Adventure.

I think we missed the first Hollywood Studios bus, and the real-time monitor kept delaying the arrival of the next Hollywood Studios bus. The Epcot bus came, and Landon suggested that we go ahead and take that bus since it would take us straight to Epcot, and the Skyliner would add additional time to our transportation. Yeah, that seemed logical.

So we hopped on the bus to Epcot and were dropped off at the main entrance. We were allowed to tap in, and they let us walk up to where you would enter for Nemo & Friends... and that's where they held the rope. There was no rope, actually, just a few Cast Members to keep people from going farther. We were very near the front of the rope drop.... but we were a long way from the France Pavilion.

They let us go at 8:30, and people started running. We did not run, but speed-walked with Stove leading the group while walking backwards, per usual. We all split up due to the crowd.

This morning, we had park reservations for Animal Kingdom. Buses start running 45 minutes prior to park opening. Since Animal Kingdom opened at 7:30 for resort guests, bus service started at 6:45. It was right on time! I mentioned before that Coronado Springs Bus Stop 2 at Casitas is actually the first on the pick-up loop. We then circled the resort to Ranchos, Cabanas, and then Gran Destino Tower.

On the way to the park, I purchased Genie+ for everyone and booked Expedition Everest at 11:15 AM.

They started letting resort guests into the park before 7:00, but held us at Discovery Island.

With our Celebrity Summit cruise over, it was time for the next part of our holiday vacation.... we're going to Walt Disney World!

Aaron's parents were flying back to Albuquerque that morning, and their flight left around the same time as ours, so we shared an Uber to the airport. On the way over, I realized that American Airlines (their airline) and Delta (our airline) were on different ends of the airport, so I modified the ride to add a second stop.

On the way to the airport, I realized that we had been upgraded to First Class! I had booked Comfort+ for this flight because it's a very short flight from Miami to Orlando. Since I booked higher fare class tickets, that meant we got bumped to First Class when they oversold Basic Economy and/or Main.

I also checked at the gate to see if we could board with First Class or if we needed to wait for Comfort+ (because our boarding group hadn't updated either), and the gate agent said to board with First Class.

It was the final day of our Orlando trip, and we started it by sleeping in.

Which allowed me to take a photo of the view from our room at the Hilton in Downtown Disney in daylight without the morning dew on the window!

We started our third day in Orlando bright and early at Epcot's park opening.



As soon as we entered the park, we joined the crowd headed straight for Soarin'. It was the mad rush of the day, and we did a speed-walk pass around a Japanese tour group when they briefly stopped to collect themselves.

When securing FastPass+ reservations 30 days out, I was a little shocked that I was unable to secure a FP+ for the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train.  I tried for it at midnight for everyday of our trip and was unable to get the FP+.  What I found especially odd is that I made a FP+ reservation for the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train for July 3rd at a little less than 30 days out with no problem (though it was a very late and undesirable FP+ return time).  But for this obscure week in August, I was unable to get the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train for any time on any day.

The Seven Dwarfs Mine Train was at the top of Max's list of attractions in Magic Kingdom, so I knew that the only way to ride it without waiting for over an hour was to rush there first thing in the morning.

I suppose we arrived early enough that they weren't running the monorail.  Instead, they had ferry and bus transportation from the Transportation and Ticket Center to the park.

There is still construction on the over-water bungalows at the Polynesian which are part of the latest addition the Disney Vacation Club.  They block the view of the Grand Floridian from the Transportation and Ticket Center, and I don't like it!  You can view more photos of the over-water bungalows and read more about my dislike of the obstructive DVC addition in my Independence Day Trip Report.



We arrived to Magic Kingdom right in time for the park opening show... but not soon enough to go ahead into the park before the show.

I love Walt Disney World and will squeeze in a vacation whenever I can.  My boyfriend, Max, worked his last co-op rotation over the summer and hadn't been on a vacation since our Disney Fantasy Western Caribbean Cruise.  He finished work on Friday, August 15 and returned to school on Wednesday, August 20.  Four days?  Just enough time for a short trip to Disney!



Max, however, had other ideas.  He had been trying to convince me to take a trip to Universal Studios' Islands of Adventure for years.  "It's better.  The rides are better.  It's so much better than Disney."  Better than Disney?  I think not.  But I had visited Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure a few times when I was younger, most recently in 2007, and remembered having a good time.  So perhaps it was time we returned...

So we looked into making this a completely Universal vacation.... but the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and Frozen Summer Fun were enough to convince Max that we should fit in some Disney time.  Initially, we planned two days at Universal and two days at Disney, but after pricing tickets, it was a better deal to take advantage of the "more you play, the less you pay" deal and purchase a one-day pass to Islands of Adventure and three-day park hopper passes to Walt Disney World (multi-day tickets cost less per day the more days you add).  And being a Disney World annual passholder, my wallet was very happy to be spending more time at the World.

Our traveling party included Max's family friend, Natalie, and her sister, Rachel, who flew all the way from Houston, Texas to join us on our 8-hour car ride to Orlando!

We stayed at the Hilton in Downtown Disney.  Natalie and Max's mother both have a lot of Hilton HHonor points and so generously used them on this trip.  I was excited to stay at this hotel because it's in a great location and has the added benefit of Disney Extra Magic Hours (on scheduled days, a specific park will open one hour early or two hours later).  The Hilton Downtown Disney is the only off-property hotel that offers Extra Magic Hours to its guests.

You're invited to join us on our hot, Hot, HOT Orlando adventure... but fortunately with the added comfort of your air-conditioning! Go ahead and bookmark this page, as it will serve as an index for the Trip Report. The links below will become active as each post is published!

[Day 1] Magic Kingdom - Mad rush to the Mine Train and visit to First Aid
[Day 2] A Visit to the Dark Side... aka Universal's Islands of Adventure
[Day 3] Epcot + DHS - Breakfast with Donald and Drinking Around World Showcase
[Day 4] DHS - Attempting the Kitchen Sink and finding the Greatest Souvenir EVER

Also, be sure to check out my review of our lunch at Cinderella's Royal Table.

Thanks for following along!  Have you ever ventured to the "Dark Side"?  Let me know why and how you liked it in the comments below!

Believe it or not - although I grew up a Disney kid, I did not grow up a Disney princess.  Sure, I remember loving the movie Cinderella (particularly for the little sewing mice), but in all of my childhood, I never donned a Disney Princess dress.... not even for Halloween

But I had always dreamed of dining in the castle.  So, I got my first taste of Disney Princesses at Cinderella's Royal Table back in 2009.  It was a last-minute 4:30 PM dinner reservation that my Dad scored and surprised us with the day of.  At the time, dinner was the meal that did not involve Disney princess greetings, besides Cinderella at the entrance, but only Cinderella's mice.  Besides our table next to the window with a view over Magic Kingdom, I remembered dining at Cinderella's Royal Table to be rather underwhelming.  It was something that I decided I would not do again until I had my own children or was visiting with someone who was a princess-fanatic.

When visiting Walt Disney World, naturally, I always get cast into the role of tour guide which is something that I enjoy doing.  My goal is to make sure that whoever I'm traveling with has an awesome time and falls in love with Disney.  But when Max told me that his friend, Natalie, had mentioned dining in Cinderella's Castle to him, I was a bit taken aback.  My first thought was that this is a very difficult reservation to get less than 180 days out - what if I can't make this happen?  I'm going to look like a terrible Disney tour guide!

After a few days of persistently searching Disney's Advanced Dining Reservations, a 12:05 PM lunch reservation for Cinderella's Royal Table miraculously opened up.  It was actually on the day that we had intended to go to Universal's Islands of Adventure, but when an available reservation opens for Cinderella's Royal Table, one takes it and reschedules everything else.  Note that Cinderella's Royal Table is a prepaid reservation.  Unless using the Disney Dining Plan, in order to make the reservation you must not only give a credit card number, but pay for 100% of the meal upfront (cancellations can be made up to 48 hours in advance).

Even after I had secured the reservation, I had a few worries.... what if the experience was too girly and uncomfortable for Max?  What if it was too childish and we looked out of place as a table of four adults and no kids?  What if the food sucked (I had read plenty of bad reviews online)?  But my success with securing a Cinderella's Royal Table reservation at 30 days out overrode all of my bad dining experience fears.



We arrived at Cinderella's Royal Table about 20 minutes early, which is what Disney suggests.  I rarely follow that suggestion and typically arrive right on time or perhaps a few minutes late, but since I had already paid for our meal, I wanted to make sure that we did not miss it.  When I went to check in, I was told that they weren't checking anyone in, yet, and that we should wait against the wall until they began.

Bonnet Creek is a beautiful property, surrounded on three sides by the Walt Disney World Resort.  The entrance is right next to Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort, and the location is arguably the best of any off-property resort.  The Waldorf Astoria is a Four Diamond-rated hotel located next door to the Hilton at Bonnet Creek with which it shares complimentary bus transportation to the Walt Disney World theme parks.  The opportunity to stay in a luxury resort in such a convenient location at a fraction of the cost to stay at an equivalent Disney resort sold us on giving an off-property resort a try!

We stayed in a Deluxe Double Queen room, which is one of the most basic offered at the Waldorf Astoria.  With two queen beds, this room sleeps up to four guests.  Though one of the smallest guest rooms at the Waldorf... at 448 square feet, the room is HUGE for a standard room!  And for comparison, the largest standard room at a Disney Resort is 440 square feet at the Grand Floridian Resort & Spa.



Our room at the Waldorf Astoria was plush, outfitted with textured carpet, Egyptian cotton bedding, and marble tile in the bathrooms.

I was a bit sad to check out of the resort that morning. We really enjoyed our stay at the Grand Floridian.

Breakfast - Crystal Palace

We love Disney breakfasts. When I booked some initial dining reservations and shared them with my family, asking for their input, the first response was a unanimous - "NO BREAKFAST!?!?" So I went back and booked two - Grand Floridian Cafe (which we dined at on Day 1) and Crystal Palace.

Crystal Palace is a family favorite. We dined there for the first time in 2002 and have been going back ever since. And I believe this is the only restaurant on Disney property that we've dined at for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

What keeps us coming back? Perhaps it's the convenient Magic Kingdom location, or maybe the bright and airy atmosphere. It might be because we all quite adore Pooh and friends (Rachel and I grew up watching the 30-minute Winnie the Pooh VHS tapes religiously). But if I had to pinpoint a single reason, I'll go ahead and specify Pooh's Puffed French Toast.

Frozen Summer Fun

July 5th was the debut of Frozen Summer Fun at Hollywood Studios.  I had planned our morning at Hollywood Studios long before I knew that Anna and Elsa would be arriving.  And as someone who truly enjoyed the movie Frozen, I thought it to be more of a great surprise and good fortune rather than a setback.



The park was filled with media crews, awaiting Anna and Elsa so that they could report the latest information to Disney blogs. But I did not take advantage of this opportunity. I mean, it's three weeks later, and I'm just now posting about Frozen Summer Fun.

Rachel had been giving me a lot of grief for booking a reservation at a Moroccan restaurant on the 4th of July.  So to make up for it, I planned the rest of the day to be distinctly patriotic.



Yesterday when we were shopping in Magic Kingdom, Rachel snuck away to Guest Relations to pick up a bunch of celebration buttons for Dad because we realized that he would be turning 60 this month.

We drove 8 hours through the night to get to Disney World.  And by "we", I actually mean my parents (primarily my father) because I drove a total of zero hours.  Indeed, while they were fueling themselves on caffeinated beverages to make it to Orlando, I was sleeping soundly in the backseat.  Thank you, Mom and Dad!

The last time we drove through the night to the Grand Floridian, we arrived to a vacant porte cochere where we sat confused until Dad went inside and got us a bellhop.  This time, at 7:30 AM, we weren't alone.  In fact, there were so many people there that the self-parking lot was reportedly full.  Dad tried it anyway (and was lucky enough to find one empty spot) while I checked us in.

I was especially relieved to hear that our room was ready since I, a veteran of through-the-night driving, made a newbie mistake of not packing a change of clothes with my getting-ready bag.  We were located in Boca Chica on the fourth floor in a dormer room.



For more photos, check out my review of our Grand Floridian Garden View Dormer Room.

Breakfast - Grand Floridian Cafe

I had made us a breakfast reservation at the Grand Floridian Cafe at the resort because after driving through the night, a welcome breakfast is a necessity.  We had never eaten at the Grand Floridian Cafe before, and I was excited to try it.

Being incredibly patriotic people, spending the Fourth of July at Walt Disney World (who also happen to be annual passholders) was an easy decision for us.



In fact, it was decided in less than 24 hours via group text.


This was actually our third time spending the Fourth of July at the Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, as we had stayed there previously over Independence Day in 2008 and 2011.  Before discovering the Beach Club, the Grand Floridian was without a doubt our favorite Disney Resort.  So it was good to return to our first favorite (and it still has a fighting chance for my all-time favorite).

I took it easy on the dining reservations, booking just one meal on all but one day.  We dined for the first time at a few restaurants - Grand Floridian Cafe and Marrakesh, and also revisited a few favorites - Crystal Palace, Beaches N' Cream, and Garden Grill.  I was able to photograph patriotic fireworks at Magic Kingdom on July 3 and Epcot on July 4.  We were also there for the debut of Frozen Summer at Disney's Hollywood Studios!

You're invited to join us on our Fourth of July adventure at Walt Disney World!  [I'm trying something new!] Go ahead and bookmark this page, as it will serve as an index for the Trip Report.  The links below will become active as each post is published!

Day 1 - Fighting the pre-Fourth of July crowds at Magic Kingdom!
Day 2 - Celebrating (the United States of A) MERICA at Epcot
Day 3 - Conquering Hollywood Studios overrun with tour groups, as well as our first (mini) Kitchen Sink
Day 4 - Hitting Three Parks and Two Character Meals in One Day
Day 5 - Getting Frozen at Hollywood Studios

Thanks for following along - comments and questions are encouraged!  Leave me some comment love!

Disney introduced the FastPass system in 1999 as a way for guests to "reserve" their spot in line.  Rather than waiting in an hour-long line, you could get a paper ticket with a return window printed on it.  You were then free to wait in line for other attractions, eat lunch, watch a parade, or even leave the park until your return window arrived and you were then able to enter the shorter FastPass queue for the attraction.

May 17, 2014 - Day at Magic Kingdom

We hadn't planned a day at Walt Disney World when we planned our cruise.  While it would have been great fun to take off a week and a half and do a land and sea vacation, we really didn't have the time.  We were, however, getting off the ship on a Saturday which gave us a free weekend, so the thought of going to Disney World after the cruise had certainly crossed all of our minds.

I think it was the second or third day of the cruise when Rachel said that this felt very Disney, but she didn't feel like she was quite there, yet.  She needed to go to Disney World.  So she proposed that after we leave the ship, we drive to Disney World and visit a park, then leave around 9 PM and drive through the night back home to South Carolina (Rachel and Max needed to be back on Sunday because Rachel was attending work training, and Max had to move to Columbia for his summer co-op rotation).

Rachel, Mom, Dad, and I are Disney Annual Passholders.  Since activating them in October for our birthday/Food & Wine festival celebration, we also visited Disney World for New Year's.  In October, we were among the first groups of people to test Disney Magic Bands, so we've had a good bit of experience using My Disney Experience and FastPass+.  Max, however, has not been to Disney World since they have eliminated paper FastPasses and switched to FastPass+.  While we already had Magic Bands and park tickets, Max was going to have to buy his one-day pass when we arrived.  I was a little nervous about how it was going to work with my family using Magic Bands and Max having a one-day, one-park pass.

Our park of choice was the Magic Kingdom which is perhaps the worst to purchase tickets at because you have to do so at the Transportation and Ticket Center, and there are so many other people there to purchase and pick up their park tickets.  I waited in a ridiculously long line with Max for half an hour so that he could buy his one day, one park pass.  There really should be an express line for one day, one park passes because they take no time to sell.  You should be able to purchase them out of a kiosk or something, even.

Rather than paper FastPasses, Disney World now allows guests to make three FastPass reservations in advance (click here to learn more about FastPass+). As soon as Max got his ticket (which was around 11:30 AM), I scanned it into my My Disney Experience app using the "Link a Ticket or Pass" scanner feature.  I had already created a profile for Max, so after the ticket scanned, I was able to match it to his profile.  On the monorail from the Transportation and Ticket Center to Magic Kingdom, I got us FastPass+ reservations for Space Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain, and Pirates of the Caribbean (because Splash Mountain was unavailable at the time). I was surprised at how easy it was to add FP+ reservations the day-of, immediately after purchasing a ticket.

So my advice for those purchasing tickets at the park or the day of use:

1. Download the free "My Disney Experience" app in advance.
2. Go ahead and log into the app and create an account.
3. Make a profile for yourself and everyone in your traveling party.
4. As soon as you get your tickets, have the MDE app open and be ready to scan in the ticket QR code and link each ticket to the profile of each family member.