A little last minute trip! Fast Pass + wasn't so bad!

[buzznwoodysmom]

My boys and I, along with my mom, decided to do a little trip to Orlando while DH was away at his annual military training. The kids wanted to go back to Universal, so being the good mother that I am we booked a trip to Universal instead of my beloved Disney. Since we would be there for my birthday I did get them to compromise, and we ended up changing it to 3 nights in Disney, 4 nights in Universal.

We spent our 3 nights in Disney at Caribbean Beach Resort. It's our favorite moderate and did not disappoint. We had Ohana's for our usual first night dinner. A favorite of ours and always a wonderful meal followed by our traditional spin around the monorail. That seriously never gets old!!!


We also spent some time checking out Disney Springs. I actually think it is an improvement. It had basically become a glorified Disney shopping area. Honestly there wasn't anything unique I had found there that couldn't be found in the resorts or parks in years. At least now it's a real shopping/dining destination while in WDW. We had lunch one day at The Boathouse and it was one of the better meals of our trip. Service was top notch. We will be back!

I decided that I wanted to spend my birthday in Magic Kingdom. I did something I said I would never do. We went to Shades of Green to pick up our Universal military tickets and while there we bought one day tickets to MK....during one of the most expensive time periods no less. Back at the room we linked our tickets and made FP+ for MK just a day before visiting the park. I basically just booked what was available, but we were able to book more FP as the day went on in the park. I don't remember all the details, but here is a little rundown of what we accomplished one day in MK without prior FP+ selections.

We arrived just after opening, 9:15ish. Stayed in the park until around 1ish when we left due to the extreme heat and humidity. We came back to the park around 7, and stayed till closing at 12. In that time we were able to get the following FP's: Philharmagic, Haunted Mansion, Pirates, Space Mountain, Buzz Lightyear. We were also able to ride the following attractions without FP: Small World, Peter Pan, Mine Train (did this at the very end of the night and still had time to run to Buzz and TTA for a few last rides before park closing), Buzz for a second ride, TTA, Carousel of Progress, Stitich, Monsters Inc. We had lunch at Pecos Bills and dinner at Casey's Corner. We also had several snacks throughout the day. The kids got starbucks, I got a dole whip float, they had mickey ice cream bars at some point, we got ice cream in tomorrowland (free I might add-because it was my birthday ), and we got popcorn and drinks during the fireworks. We also watched the castle projection show (no clue what the name of this is these days) and Wishes. Did we do everything in the park? Hardly! But we did have a great time. I had a fantastic birthday! And we did much more than I ever imagined we could do without planning ahead.

It was actually very nice to have a somewhat laid back 3 days in Disney. We spent a lot of time at the pool. My 16 year old and I enjoyed spending the evenings on the hammocks on the beach at CBR. Not every day I get quality time with him. We had dinner at Grand Floridian Café one night, always a great meal. We visited Wilderness Lodge. Can't visit Disney without stopping by to see the lodge! All in all a very nice way to spend my birthday with some of my favorite people in my favorite place.

I'll try to post a trip report for the Universal part of our trip. But I'll also post another little Disney report about our extra night in Disney we ended up with. We had booked Kona Café for breakfast on the morning that we left Universal to head home. We ended up arriving early and took a spin on the monorail at which point we all decided we just weren't ready to leave. Even my kids, who claim they love Universal way more than Disney these days, said the following to me: "I was ready to go home when we left Universal, but now I want to stay one more night in Disney".

Just wanted to add that Ohana's was the only meal we booked ahead. All other Table Service meals were booked the day before, or day of. In the case of Grand Floridian Café, we booked it while on the monorail. When we arrived for our reservation it hadn't even loaded into the system yet. It popped up as the CM was taking my info. We were very lucky to be able to get all the places we wanted last minute.

[VWL Mom]

Sounds like you had a wonderful birthday! Sometimes it's the last minute things that work out the best because you go in with no expectations, it appears to have worked for you.

[Mackflava99]

Great report, its great to see the kids act like that, I hope mine do the same in August. I cant belive you did all that in one day, plus got to relax and swim too.

[faline]

Happy birthday!! Sounds like it was a terrific one!! Yes, I have often find if you ride what's available you can often have a full and wonderful day and sometimes you get also get some of those e ticket rides in the mix! Thanks for the report. I could feel the happiness in your writing!!

[deedee73]

Wow did you ever get a lot done with basically no prior planning or set FPs. When exactly was your Disney stay? You give me hope yhat you can still do Disney with some spontaneity!

[MississippiDisneyFreak]

Sounds like a great time

[buzznwoodysmom]

Wow did you ever get a lot done with basically no prior planning or set FPs. When exactly was your Disney stay? You give me hope yhat you can still do Disney with some spontaneity!

We were in Disney from Saturday, June 10 - Tuesday, June 14. Did MK on Monday, June 13. We were also able to book a night at Contemporary, with military discount, on Saturday, June 18. We called from the Poly after our Kona breakfast and were able to drive right over and check in for an extra, bonus night! I think I was most surprised by that!

[deedee73]

To do all that was awesome especially with the fact it was during the beginning of the summer peak. The addition of an extra night - I van see how during this time of the year is surprising but we have extended the trip by 1 day at the POLY bc my gram didn't want to leave either & they made it happen didn't even have to move rooms. Hope the night at the Contemporary was magical for you all.

[buzznwoodysmom]

To do all that was awesome especially with the fact it was during the beginning of the summer peak. The addition of an extra night - I van see how during this time of the year is surprising but we have extended the trip by 1 day at the POLY bc my gram didn't want to leave either & they made it happen didn't even have to move rooms. Hope the night at the Contemporary was magical for you all.

We always end up adding extra nights too. What I was shocked with was the fact that in was able to get the military discount, at contemporary. In the past when pricing rooms with military discount, contemporary never seemed to be available. We have had luck at other resorts, just never at contemporary.

[princessgirls]

Great awesome day!!! Perfect!!!!

Thanks for the report Denise and Happy Birthday!!!!
Julie