The I'm-Sick-of-Snow Getaway! Day 1

[WDWFRK]

The I’m-Sick-of-Snow Getaway Trip Report
When: March 11-13
Who: Me, DH, DM, DF
Where: Beach Club Villas
(Be sure to check out my pre-trip report for some background details!)

Day 1 Tuesday 3/11--
After spending a couple of days in St. Petersburg with DM and DF, we were finally on our way to WDW! We left St. Pete at 6:30a so as to be able to make it to DHS by the 9a opening.

We arrived at the BCV at 8a and to our surprise, our room was ready. Oh, it’s a wheelchair-accessible room—no wonder my mom was able to get a room here so last-minute! We tried to change it, but there was nothing else available. After dropping off our luggage and grabbing some breakfast from The Beach Club Marketplace at the hotel, we set off for DHS by foot and made it there by opening.

DH and I made a beeline for RnRC which was showing a 5-minute wait, but on approaching the giant line that extended all the way out onto Sunset Blvd, we knew that couldn’t be right. I’ve never had great luck with the single rider line here, but we decided that without a Fastpass, this was our best shot at a short wait time so we joined that line instead. We were on the ride in less than 15 minutes and because of some line mismanagement by the CMs, a large chunk of the single rider line was put on the same car. DH and I rode together, and I’ve decided that RnRC is THE way to kick off your Disney trip!

DM and DF met up with us and then we went on to GMR, TSM, ST, Muppets, Indiana Jones, had lunch at the Backlot Express, DH and DF rode ToT while my mom and I sat and people watched.

We decided to catch the boat back to BCV and after settling into our room a bit more, DH and I went down to Stormalong Bay for some time in the sun, knowing that this might be the only day we could do so according to the forecast. It took us awhile to find some open chairs. This has been a pet peeve of mine on recent trips—A) people who take up 4 or 5 chairs when they spend the majority of their time in the pool, not on the chairs or B) people who “save” chairs for people who don’t use them for hours. Please have some courtesy for others!

After freshening up a bit, we all walked over to Epcot and promptly bought three yummy adult beverages from the outdoor cart in France. We drank and people watched while waiting for the next American Adventure show. We were also lucky enough to catch a performance of the Voices of Liberty. I’m such a baby as I always tear up at some point in their performance—they just sing so beautifully! Anyway, I was glad to see a fairly large crowd here today as it’s one of my favorites.

After AA, we walked around World Showcase (which was really busy!), went on the Mexico ride and then caught the monorail over to MK.
It was dinner time, so we headed to our absolute favorite fast food spot-Columbia Harbour House. It was a ZOO in there! We had to wait in line for quite a while, and I was worried that we wouldn’t be able to find seats, but my trusty CHH and its upstairs seating did not let me down! There was plenty of space upstairs and we all enjoyed our meal.

The rest of the night is a little bit fuzzy (no, not because of the earlier adult beverages!), but I know we rode/saw TTA, Mickey’s Philharmagic, HM, PoTC, BTMRR, Enchanted Tales with Belle, Buzz, and ITSM. DH and I even had our own private boat on Pirates! It’s been a long time since I waited in the standby line at BTMRR but thanks to Fastpass+/no park hopping, we had no choice. We only waited about 15-20 minutes (even though the posted wait was 35), and it was kind of fun to see the changes that have been made to the queuing area.

My parents left before we did and our goal was to make it to the 1a closing, but we only made it to about midnight. We caught a bus back to the BCV and fell into bed, knowing that another early morning awaited us!

Up next Day 2…

[faline]

Busy day but you certainly accomplished quite a lot!!

[vizsla]

Thanks for the report.

[MississippiDisneyFreak]

That's a busy 1st day. Thanks for the report

[KylesMom]

What a wonderful first day at Disney - and I agree, RnRC would be the way to start the trip!

I bet just being in the general vicinity of a pool and sunshine after this horrific winter was a lovely experience - sure to keep you in a great mood to head to Epcot and then MK. We love CHH's upstairs too. I couldn't even tell you why - maybe just all the memories that have been made there over the years

Thanks for sharing - glad you had such a fabulous day!

[yjgirl32]

Sounds like a great day. Thanks for sharing.

[emerzmom]

I think RnR would be a great way to start out your WDW trip!!! Such a fun ride!
Thanks for sharing.

Julie

[Disneywarrior]

You sure did fit a lot into your days! Thanks for reporting

[hauntedmansiongirl]

Wow- I'm very impressed with all you packed into one day! It's our style too!!!