Post-Trip Report: Morgan’s Sun-Filled Triple Split Stay (May 2026)

[00:00:11] Welcome to Where I Long To Be, a Magical Trip Report Podcast. My name is Virginia and I am your host. It is time to let season six come to a close. It's gone on a little longer than I had intended because of schedule changes and work commitments and sickness and all those sorts of things. Now, what does a season really mean on a show that's episodes are self-contained? It's usually just a good way for me to build in a break for myself, to be honest.

[00:00:40] I sometimes find it hard to step away unless I do a season break because of how many interviews I do and just the rhythm of keeping the show running. It can be hard to say, okay, I need some time off. So after today, there will be two weeks of episodes and then I will take a break the week of July 13th because of my vacation. So I'm going to attempt to have an episode out on July 6th, which at that point I will already be on my trip, but I'm going to pre-schedule it.

[00:01:08] And then July 13th is actually my return day. And so there's no way I'm going to have an episode ready for that day. So after that, I am hopeful that I will have the time and energy to kick it right back into high gear. And with that, let's go ahead and kick this episode into high gear. Today's Trip Report guest is Morgan. As a reminder for anyone who did not listen to the pre-trip report episode, Morgan was traveling with her family from Alabama to Walt Disney World.

[00:01:37] This included her husband, Paul, her son, who is called Cinco because he is Paul V and is seven, and daughter Lexi, who is two. They planned a triple splits day with two nights at All-Star Sports, five nights at the Beach Club, and two nights at the Polynesian. They are all annual pass holders, so they had a lot of flexibility with how many of those days they could go into parks, park hop, and all of those sorts of things.

[00:02:04] That should catch you up. So without further delay, please welcome back Morgan. Welcome back, Morgan. Hi, it's good to be back. Well, not happy to be back, but good to be back talking to you. We were just talking about how hot it is today, and you have had a day, and the only thing that can make you feel better is going back to Disney, and I am in full support of that. Yes, yes. I'm already telling my husband I'm ready to go back right now.

[00:02:30] Yeah, sometimes it will do you good to just talk about it, and you can go there in your mind. And hopefully, by the end of our conversation today, you will be in a happier space before you go off to dreamland tonight. Yes, yes. All right. So this was a splits day, All-Star Sports and Beach Club. Overall, how did you feel about this trip? It was so good. Both me and my husband said we think it was our favorite trip.

[00:02:57] Our other one, our other favorite trip was in 2022 when we stayed at Beach Club, and we always say that that's our, like, comparable trip, the best one ever. And I think that this one either, like, compared very, very closely or beat it because it was just a really good trip. Do you think that the fact that it had Beach Club in common made a difference for you? Yes, probably, probably. Okay. Do you feel the most at home at Beach Club?

[00:03:21] I think we do just because we really, I mean, I love that hotel, and I like, we love to be able to walk to Epcot, and we walk to Hollywood Studios. So I just think it's just so convenient. It feels so homey to us. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I will totally walk to Hollywood Studios from there, too. I remember I was there with my son Alex for some trip within the past year, and he was like, no, let's take the Skyliner, and he forgot you have to transfer. And I was like, see, it's faster to just walk.

[00:03:51] It is. It's not that bad of a walk, either. It's pretty, it's like pretty, and I mean, we don't mind it because that's just, we have a double stroller, and you have to fold that up on the Skyliner every time you get on. So I'm like, that's just, you know, two less times we have to fold that up, and we can just have our stroller ready. Okay, yeah, I didn't think about the fact that with a double, you have to fold it because if you have a single, you can just roll right in, right? Right. What about a double that's a tandem? Do you know?

[00:04:18] You probably could, I think it's just ours was wide. I'm sure if you were like front and back, you could, you probably wouldn't have to, but we haven't had that before, so. Yeah, okay. All right, well, let's dive into all of these details. So on Friday, May the 15th, you did a seven and a half hour drive and planned to get in around 1 a.m. Yes. Did you do that?

[00:04:40] Well, we actually left earlier than planned, so I don't know if I told you this or not, but the reason we let Cinco go to school that day is because they were celebrating summer birthday parties. And so we were like, well, we don't really want him to miss that because he has a summer birthday. And so we took him and I just asked the teacher, I was like, hey, can you let me know when they're done? And when y'all have done this, done the parties? And she said, yeah, for sure.

[00:05:04] So I dropped him off at school and we came back home and packed the house or cleaned the house and packed all of our stuff. And really, as soon as I got done cleaning the house and zipping the last suitcase, she texted me that they were done at like 11 o'clock. So I was like, oh, great. So I went to get him. I checked him out at like 1130 and we were on the road by 1230. Okay. Yeah, that's much earlier than because you were planning by three. Yeah. Yeah. So we were really happy. Okay.

[00:05:33] And the drive, we usually, you know, we drive every time and we usually leave super early in the morning, like two o'clock, three o'clock in the morning. And so we weren't used to leaving at this time, but we actually really liked it. It actually worked out really good because we just kept Lexi awake. She didn't take her nap that day. So she actually slept pretty good, like for a lot of the trip, like half the trip. And we arrived, I said we were pulling into All-Star Sports at 935. So yeah, that does not sound too bad at all.

[00:06:02] I am surprised that you did all of your packing and cleaning the same day that you left. It was a team effort. So I was like, I told my husband, I was like, if we clean this house together, I mean, we will get done super fast. And I mean, I had packed a little bit the night before and already had all of our laundry done. And I mean, we've gone so much lately. I know exactly what I'm packing. Right. So it doesn't really take as long. So yeah, we were super efficient. And on the drive down there, we usually stop like three or four times and we only stopped twice.

[00:06:32] So we were like shocked that we only stopped two times. Okay. Well done. All right. And you checked into All-Star Sports. Yes. So was your room ready? So I usually, you know, I was expecting to get a text at like three, but I guess because we were so far away, I hadn't gotten a text. So I got a text at about six that our room was ready. So I knew that was going to be ready. And then we were like 15 minutes away from property.

[00:06:58] And I was like, let's put in a mobile order for the food court. And I knew we kind of wanted to put our stuff up first. So I put it for 1020 to 1035. And so we had gotten to All-Star Sports and it was, we always drive and we never have an issue parking. And it was, we could not find a parking spot near our room because we ended up being in the football section right beside the food court.

[00:07:23] I mean, we were literally steps from the food court and the main building, but there was no parking at all. So we had to park up by the main building, like closer to the front. And we got all of our stuff in and we didn't unpack or anything. We just set the luggage in the room and went to the food court and it was packed. Well, they were having an event. The Florida Special Olympics was happening at ESPN Wide World of Sports.

[00:07:46] So I figured that was why the parking lot was so packed because if it was the Florida Special Olympics and they were staying there, they probably drove. You know, most of those people probably drove. So, I mean, it was packed, but still we, I didn't actually get our food until like 1050. So we had to wait a little bit for the food. Yeah, but it was fun. I mean, the food was fun. It was, you know, chicken fingers and hamburgers and the kids ran their energy out for a minute. And then we went back up to the room. I think we're in the bed by like 1130.

[00:08:16] Did the kids get to sleep fairly easily considering the time it was? They did. Yeah, but surprisingly, yes. We had gotten a pack and play and they brought that while we were getting our food at the food court. And I mean, they went to sleep pretty well. Good. All right. So Saturday, May the 16th, you were planning on using Blizzard Beach for a couple of hours. Yes, yes. Because we bought a ticket to Blizzard Beach. Yes. Yes. I remember now we talked about was this included, was it not?

[00:08:46] And it was last minute. And now it's going to be included again. But I don't think for your dates it was anyway. So no, it was like the week after we left. They started that back, but it was fun. Yeah, we got up. We ended up waking up at 730 this morning. I got the kids ready. Like we had our bathing suits and I got my swim bag packed and we went to the food court for breakfast. I wasn't that hungry just and I knew we were going to be really hot. So I didn't really care to eat much. But my kids, you know, we got some Mickey waffles and a banana.

[00:09:16] But I have every time we have been to Disney, every single time we I've always just charged to my room every time. And I've never, ever, ever had an issue. And that was like our 10th trip. Well, we went to check out at the food court and it was like it says you don't have charging privileges. And I was like, I had no other form of payment because I was planning to use that the whole time. But the sweet cast member after like the fifth time it declined. She was like, well, it's OK. Just go on. I mean, I mean, I only had a kid's Mickey waffle and banana. And I was like, thank you so much. So the kids ate.

[00:09:45] And I was like, I'm going to the front desk to like try to figure this out. And I went up there and they I mean, you know, all Disney staff, all cast members are nuts. But she wasn't overly helpful. She was like, it says it's working. It says it's fine. And I was like, it's not fine. I just tried to use it. But she said, no, it says it's fine. I mean, I'll reset it. And I said, OK. And she said, well, it should it should work now. And I was like, OK, fine. So I went up there and then we had to get our stroller from Kingdom Strollers.

[00:10:12] So I went out to the front by Bell Services and met them. And they were right on time. They're always great. So I picked that up and we just threw that in the trunk of the car and drove to Blizzard Beach. And I wrote down that there were four cars in the parking lot. We got there at, let's see, 910. It didn't open until 10 a.m. So there was four cars in the parking lot, including us, actually. With a lot of time to kill.

[00:10:41] But I was like, I heard that the spot at the Tikes Peak filled up quickly. So I wanted a spot. So we just went up to the front and stood. And there were three other families up there waiting. Thankfully, we were early enough to get a spot in the shade. It was still hot, but we were at least standing in the shade. And then they actually, we scanned in at 935. So they let us scan in early. And we walked to the Tikes Peak area. But then they held us there. They wouldn't let us go past and get a seat.

[00:11:11] And so they held us there until 10 o'clock. But, I mean, there were like a lot of families over there trying to get into that area. But we ended up getting a really good spot like under a, it's not a cabana, but like a very large wooden shaded thing and seat. So we had a good spot in the shade and like four chairs. So I was glad we got there early. And then time went by fast. So it wasn't that big a deal. Yeah. All right. So did you spend all of your time in that Tikes area, given the age of your kids? We spent a lot of time there. I had the kids there.

[00:11:40] My son, so there is a height requirement. It's 48 inches. You have to be less than 48 inches, I think. Oh, okay. And that's also the height requirement for Tron. So I said, if he's allowed to play here, he can't, he's not going to be able to ride Tron. So he was under that height limit. So I was thankful he got to play there with us. But then he also, you know, couldn't ride Tron. But I was like, okay, whatever, we'll deal with that later. So we played there for like 15 minutes and Paul went to do Summit Plummet. He wanted to do that. That's the big one, right? Yes, the drop one.

[00:12:09] He really wanted to do that. I thought he would be gone for like 45 minutes waiting. I mean, he, I turned around and he was back. I mean, he had walked all the way across the park to do it and was back. He said, I was the only one in line. I was like, oh, good. I sort of wanted to do it because I am a thrill seeker when it comes to coasters. But when we were there for the first time, Alex and I, I think it was Labor Day weekend. I just could not bring myself to do it. I was like, that is too steep for me. Yeah, I'm not interested in that either.

[00:12:38] And that's why I told him, I was like, you go, because that was really the only thing he said he wanted to do. They were like, go ahead and get that done before, if it gets busy, like go do it from work. It's too busy. So he did that. And we probably spent another 30 minutes at Tikes Peak and did all that. And then we went to the kids, the training camp, the kids training camp. My son did that. And then we went to the wave pool. And then we were really hungry because at that point, me and my husband had not eaten that day. So we were like starving.

[00:13:07] So we went to the Lottala. Lottala. That's a lot. That's a lot. Yes. That, yes, that, that, that. He didn't want to wait in line. The line was pretty long. And so I said, let's go back and you play with the kids at Tikes Peak and I'll mobile order and then go pick it up. And I'm glad we did that. And I mobile ordered. So I didn't know that my watch, my magic band still wasn't working. No. So I mobile ordered and picked it up. And we got, you know, the kids got cheeseburgers. And my husband got the Buffalo Ranch tenders. And I got the turkey sandwich. And it was all good.

[00:13:36] It was fun. And then after that, we went to the racing slides and me and my son did the toboggan racers. So just the straight down ones. It was posted a 15 minute wait, but there was nobody in line. I mean, there was no line. And then my husband and him did the other ones a few times and there were still no line. Like the longest wait was just them walking up the stairs. And then I was like, well, I'll go get, he wanted, my husband wanted the souvenir cup. And he was like, just grab us a beer. We'll have one more. We'll have a beer and then let them play here for a little bit.

[00:14:06] And then we'll leave. So I went to go get a beer. I ordered it and she had it poured. And I went to charge my band. It would not charge. And of course, I didn't have any other forms of payment. So she looked at me and I was like, okay. And she just poured it out. And I said, okay. Wait, she poured it out instead of just giving to you? She had it full. And I said, I don't, they told me at the front desk that they fixed it. I don't know why this is not charging. She's like, oh, okay. And she just poured it out right in front of me. And I was like, okay. Wow.

[00:14:36] I mean, no, I didn't want it for free. But I was like, okay. You just wasted it anyway. All right. Question, Morgan. For the future, have you put another form of payment into your phone wallet or whatever? Yes. Well, I had my credit card linked to my phone, but I didn't have my phone with me. I would have had to go all the way back to my phone. And I didn't, like, because we were at the water park. So I didn't have my phone with me. I didn't have my Apple Watch on or anything. I only had that. Okay.

[00:15:05] But yes, I do carry that form of payment. I just did not have it on me. Yeah. Yeah. For Apple Watch wearers, your Apple Watch, as long as you have, like, one of the relatively new versions of it is waterproof and it is safe to wear it out there. So that is an option. It took me a long time to really wrap my head around the fact that it was safe to go in water with it. Yeah. I don't. I still can't. I still can't. I'm like, I just don't. I've been in so many swimming pools with mine now and it's totally.

[00:15:33] And sometimes I even forget to do the thing where you twist the crown to, like, get the excess water out and it's still fine. So, yeah. Whatever they've done with this technology, it's much better now. What time did you end up heading out of the water park to go back and take a break? Let's see. We left at 1.30. So we left at 1.30. We got a lot in and that was just a few hours we were there. And, yeah, we left at 1.30. Lexi, she was asleep.

[00:16:00] We put her in the car and we were not even out of that parking lot and she was just gone. And, you know, like, Blizzard Beach is not that far from All-Star Sports. Like a five-minute, two-second drive. I mean. Yeah. So we got back and we decided to just rest because we were supposed to go to Disney Springs that night. And so we went in and we all took a nap from, like, 1.45 to 3. And then we decided to take showers and just freshen up.

[00:16:27] And we went and called the bus to Disney Springs at 4.30. The bus was packed. There were so many people going at 4.30. And it took forever to get there. Really? Yes. It was the traffic light to turn in. I think we sat, like, we didn't actually pull into Disney Springs until, like, 4.45. I wonder if it was because it was a Saturday. I don't know. It was that light. Like, everything was fun until that traffic light. And then it was like it took us forever to turn in.

[00:16:54] And we just sat there and my toddler was not having it. And I was like, no, no, no. And, you know, my husband is, he's like, I'm holding the stroller. I'm like, I'll hold the stroller and you hold this crazy toddler. Like, let's switch. Switch immediately. But, you know, it was fun. We ended up, like I said, we got there like 4.45. And then. Just in time for your boathouse reservation. I'm sorry. We left All Star Sports at 4.30 and we didn't get there until like 5.00, 5.15. Okay. So late for your boathouse reservation.

[00:17:24] Yes. But I had done, I kind of wanted to push that back. So that day I had put it into stakeout to find me a later time. And it did. So we didn't actually, it pushed it back to 6.30. Thankfully. Yes. So stakeout for listeners who are not familiar is another one of those services that you can sign up for to get notifications if a reservation that you're hoping to get pops up. So I've definitely used that one. I've used, what are some of the other ones? It's like. Mousewatcher. Mousewatcher.

[00:17:54] The, the, the thing that people have been using with lightning lanes lately, the weight magic. Oh yeah. Includes it as well. And some have free versions where you can look for a couple without having to pay. And some are like, you know, there's a paid service, but you get more bang for your buck. And spoiler alert, like it stakeout. I don't use the paid version. We do the free one where it just searches for one at a time. And it seriously got a modification to everything I asked it to look for. And so I was super happy with it.

[00:18:23] Especially since you're not paying for the service, it's just free. And you can only look for one at a time. It modified a lot of this stuff for me. Um, cause I was not happy with a couple of things by just like 30 ish, 45 minutes. And I wanted to push it back or push it up a little bit. So it did really good with that. So nice. Yeah. We ended up, we, when we got to Disney Springs, we went to world of Disney. We had gotten a beer at that. We always get the stroll. I don't know the full name of it, but it's like the stroll and it's made specifically for Disney Springs and it's so good.

[00:18:53] We love that beer. And so we had gotten one to share. And then we were just kind of walking through world of Disney and the Christmas store and, um, the art store and the co-op until it was kind of time to start making our way over to Boathouse. Okay. How was your meal at Boathouse? It's so good. It's, you know, it's one of my favorites. It's, it's a must do every trip for me. I love it. And we don't even get a whole meal. We share their specialty oysters and then we share their lobster bisque and we get like,

[00:19:23] my husband gets an old fashioned and I got a glass of white wine and my kids get cheeseburgers and we just eat their bread in lobster bisque and oysters. And we just have a great time. And we sat outside this time. It was hot, but under the patio, you know, it's pretty nice because you're not in the sun and they have the fan. So we just got to see the water and it was just a great time. It was relaxing. Yeah. Yes. We love it. Yeah. Nice. I have a note here that I made sure to write down that you were planning to go to Summer House to get some cookies. So did you do it? And we did. Yes, we did.

[00:19:51] And I will say they, I don't know if they ordered the wrong thing. They weren't bad, but they just weren't what I was expecting. They weren't, they weren't, we got the peanut butter one and the salted chocolate chip and they just weren't what I was expecting. Like I said, they were really good. I guess like super moist and I don't know. I think I had hyped it up so much in my head that I thought it was going to be life changing and they were really good. Life changing cookie.

[00:20:20] But I do, I do. I think I like the Gideon's ones just a little bit better. I think it depends on which flavor you order. Because my favorite one is the banana and those are extra moist because they have real banana in them and to the point where they're kind of greasy. So maybe I should have gotten that. In a bag like overnight and you're like, oh, I'm just going to eat the rest of this tomorrow. Your bag is greasy by the next day. See, and we had done that. We had left them in the bag and we have them for like the next day or two and the bag was

[00:20:49] never greasy and they just kind of got more dry and more dry. And it's definitely not flavor then. I kind of panicked because I couldn't remember. I was like, what did she tell me? What did she say to get? Which flavor did she say to get? And there were so many people in there. It was kind of chaotic. I was like, let me just get this. You just panicked. Yes, the stroller wouldn't fit in there. So I knew Lexi was like getting tired out there. I could see them kind of having a fit and I was just in a hurry. So I will definitely, we'll definitely try it again. And I definitely still am not waiting an hour for Gideon's cookies.

[00:21:18] I like them, but I'm not waiting that long. Right. Yeah. I probably only did that the very first time I ever went. Yeah, we did that the second time and we haven't done it again because I was like, they're good, but I know. Yeah. All right. Did that round out your evening? Yes. We left at about 830. I have that we left Disney Springs and we were back at like nine and we like freshened up and we all went to sleep at 930. Perfect. All right. Sunday, May the 17th.

[00:21:46] This is when you were transferring over to Beach Club. But first I have that you were starting out with a breakfast at the Riviera's Primo Piatto. Well, we didn't start out there. So what we ended up doing, we checked out of All-Star Sports and you know, I told you I wasn't sure if we could all take my car over there or if we would have to do like Disney transportation. I had, I forgot what I was doing, but I had checked out of the room. I think I had talked to the front desk.

[00:22:14] And by the time I had gotten back to our car, my husband had it loaded down. There was no room for, I don't know how he fit that stroller in there, but he did. My son in his seat had stuff stacked on top of him. And yes, but we made it. We all, we all made it. And we got to Beach Club at 930 and I went, I went and wanted to go check in at the front. Like I had done the online check in, but I always go check in at the front desk again, like a double check in.

[00:22:41] And this sweet, sweet lady named Robin from, she was from Kissimmee, Florida. She was so sweet and so patient with us. And I had told her about our issue with the magic bands at All-Star Sports. And I said, we're going to be here for another week. Like we, this is what we always say. We always charge stuff to the room. Can you please fix this? And she's like, yes, I see here what the problem is. And it took her like 20 minutes, but she fixed it and it worked the rest of the trip. And then she had asked, she was like, what room requests do you have?

[00:23:09] And I really wasn't even going to put anything in just because I kind of wanted the room to be ready sooner. And I told her, you know, the Beach Club has those Juliet balconies that are not the full balconies. I said, well, we kind of want a full balcony. And she said, okay, do you want a king bed or two queens? And I told her and she took all those down. And then she called housekeeping directly and like told them, hey, I have this family here. This is what they're looking for. Please prioritize them. And it was just amazing. I mean, she was great. Fantastic.

[00:23:38] That makes up for a little of the trouble that you went through. Yeah. Yes. Yes, for sure. She was just super sweet. I did put in a cast compliment for her too because she was very, very kind. So after we did that and we had left all of our luggage in the car and we were just going to, you know, just kill time until it was time to check in. Like our room was ready. So we took the Skyliner to the Riviera. My kids do love the Skyliner and we love it too. So we did that and we did go to Primo Piazza.

[00:24:04] We got there and we went straight downstairs because I said, well, let's just order breakfast and then I'll go upstairs and get a coffee. The line was so long. Um, so then we decided just to do a mobile order. And so we put the mobile order in and then we all walked upstairs to the coffee shop. That was slammed. It was packed. It was packed. And we had waited for a little bit. And I told my husband, I was like, take them downstairs to that outside area beside Primo Piazza. I was like, let them go run just for a little bit.

[00:24:33] And so he did. And I have like, it took me, I was in line for 40 minutes for coffee. Yes. And I mean, 40 minutes from the time I got in line to probably the time I got my coffee. It was slammed. I mean, they were very kind, but they were, I really wasn't expecting it to be that long. When it's called, what is it called? Le Petit Cafe. Like the small cafe. Like it's small. And there's like maybe three people working at the most. Yes.

[00:24:58] So I can understand, but I'm just trying to envision how many people must have been packed into there and like spilling out in a line for it to have taken you that long. We were way out in the lobby for sure. Wow. Wow. And I had, he went, he took the kids down the stairs and I had that big double stroller and I was just, you know, you constantly feel like you're in somebody's way. I'm like, sorry, sorry, sorry. Yeah. But I did eventually get the coffee. It was really good. I mean, I probably would wait that long again.

[00:25:27] I would do it again because it was really good. But our mobile order for Primo Piazza was also taking that long. I mean, I had done it and it wasn't, it didn't tell me that they were, that it was ready until I had gotten my coffee. Okay. So it was just very busy there. I wonder what, I mean, it's a Sunday. A lot of people do check in on a Sunday and also check out on a Sunday, but May the 17th, I'm trying to think. I don't know. It was very busy, but my husband who just, he hates waiting like that.

[00:25:55] I mean, he doesn't, he, he does not do that. He was like, I will a hundred percent go back for that breakfast. I mean, he's already talking about on our future trips that that's a must do is going there because he got the blueberry lemon ricotta pancakes. He was, he loved those. And I loved my breakfast too. I would go back. I would wait 40 minutes to an hour again for that because it was so good. I got the breakfast platter, which come, it came with the polenta. It was so good. I mean, it was just so fresh.

[00:26:23] Like it was just a really good breakfast and we sat outside and ate and yeah, our kids were wild, but I mean, it was great, you know? And then like, it just worked out so well that we had thrown our stuff away. We were walking back to the Skyliner and right as we were about to get on the Skyliner, I got a text that our room was ready. So, I mean, it was just worked out really great. I was like, well, you know, it's fine that we took this long year because now it's perfect. We're going to go back and our room's going to be ready. Mm-hmm. So, how was your room location? It was really good. It was really good.

[00:26:49] So, we had, I think we were on the fourth floor. I can't remember. I didn't write that exact room number down, but the balcony was huge. It was huge. And it looked over. So, we had paid for a standard view, but we could see Stormalong Bay and the water. And I mean, granted, if you look down, we were right over like the roof of the floor below us, so that's why it's still probably a standard view.

[00:27:16] Because you had to look out to see everything, but we were really happy with it, especially the size of the balcony because we were able to put like a lot of wet clothes and stuff out there in my pool bag. We were happy with it. Good. And you had planned to do some pool time in Stormalong Bay on this first day. So, how was that? Well, so we got up to the room and then we had, Paul went to the car to get our luggage and he pulled the car around and dropped our luggage with Bell Services because that's where all of our swimsuits and stuff were.

[00:27:45] And we had to wait for Bell Services to bring that up. And they brought it up at like 1245. So, then after that, we all got our bathing suits on and went down to the pool. And I had also ordered groceries from Walmart Plus and they delivered them about 140. So, I went to pick the groceries up while he stayed at the pool with the kids. And I had really under, I took the double stroller to get the groceries and I had underestimated how much I had gotten because we were going to be there.

[00:28:13] And you know, we were also going to go to the Polynesian for two nights after. So, we were still going to be there for a whole nother week. So, I had gotten like fruit trays, a huge case of water. I had gotten like a case of beer for my husband to drink. So, he wasn't spending so much money. Like a smaller case of beer for myself and just snacks and Gatorades and things like that. And I pulled, I got up to the guy and he said, are you getting a cart? I said, no, I'm going to put it in this stroller. And he was like, okay.

[00:28:42] He didn't speak a lot of English. So, he loaded that thing down. I'm sure we were way over the weight limit for that stroller. It was bad. I have a picture of it I need to send you. It was really bad. And I was walking through the Beach Club lobby and I got some looks. And people were like, that is one way to use a stroller, ma'am. You were thinking smarter, not harder. So, it was all fun. I unloaded all the groceries in the room and I went back down to the pool. And we stayed until like 3, 15, 3, 30. Lexi was so tired. She, we were in the shade.

[00:29:12] We got a really good spot. And so, she was sitting in my lap and she just fell asleep for like an hour at the pool. So, I was just relaxing, you know, enjoying the vibes. And she took a good nap. So, we were happy for that. And then we went back up to her room and kind of freshened up a little bit. And we walked to the boardwalk because I really wanted to try that mozzarella stick from Blue Ribbon Corn Dogs. It was good. There wasn't a long wait for that. But I will tell you, it was hot. The boardwalk was so hot. It was hot.

[00:29:40] And yet, you still wanted a hot mozzarella stick. Yes. Yeah. I wish we would have gotten that at night. But, I mean, it was so hot outside. Thankfully, we ate it in the shade. But me and my husband were like, this is really, really hot. And it was good. And I would definitely get it again. But it was so hot. Yeah. So, we ate that. Sometimes, though, you're afraid you're going to, you're like, this is on my list. And I'm afraid I will forget to come back to it. And I would have because we didn't go to the boardwalk again on our trip like I wanted to. So, I'm glad we did it then.

[00:30:10] I'm glad I tasted it. But I think I might put that on the list for a cold weather trip and not a hot weather trip. Sure. All right. But we, then we walked to Epcot. We scanned in at five. And then we are a start in Mexico family. Like, that's our, you know, tried and true belief system. But we were like, we knew they had a lightning lane in Guardians. And we knew we wanted to walk around the World Showcase. We were like, let's just go the wrong way. And we did. And we felt weird the whole time. But we did start.

[00:30:38] We started in France and went the opposite way. And we stopped in the American Pavilion because I really like, they have a bourbon beer there. That's so good. And we shared that. And then my husband likes that strawberry ale they had for Flower and Garden in Norway. So we shared that. And then they scanned into their lightning lane like right at 605 for Guardians. And I took Lexi to the Encanto sing-along show. Oh, fun. And yeah, she kind of just danced around. And like, she really kind of wanted to just hold me the whole time.

[00:31:08] And we also went and got the annual pass order popcorn bucket too while we were there. Because I knew I wanted to get that. So me and her did that. And then the boys met us when they got off. And I wanted to do Spaceship Earth. And it was a walk-on. It was posted five minutes. Of course, we just walked right on. I don't know about you, but that ride always breaks down on me every time I get on. I mean, I wouldn't call it breaking down. But I would say it stops. It stops. And they must be helping people get on that need a little bit more assistance. But it didn't do it this time. So we were all shocked. Oh, really?

[00:31:39] Yes. It stopped. As soon as we got off, it stopped for probably 15 minutes, they said. Oh, my word. But it did not stop the whole time. We were so shocked because I was just expecting it. Mm-hmm. So that was good. I like it when it stops when you're laying back on the way back down. Yeah. That's when it usually stops. I usually will say to Alex, like, I'm going to close my eyes now. Five minutes now. Yes. And then, I mean, it was great. I love that ride. And my son likes that ride. We all like that ride. So we did that.

[00:32:07] And then it was very dark outside. Like, it looked like it was going to rain. Mm-hmm. And the wind was blowing super hard. Like, it was so hot that day. But the wind at that night was just picking up. And I was like, I don't know if these fireworks are going to get canceled. It looks like it's going to storm. It never did. But I was kind of cold. My husband was not. He told me I was being dramatic. But I was like, I kind of wish I had a jacket at dinner. Because the wind was blowing so hard. I mean, he said he was comfortable, though. I was a little confused. Because we had the rose and crown dining package.

[00:32:35] I didn't really understand what time we should check in for that. Mm-hmm. Because I knew the fireworks started at 9. It said to check in an hour before. But we had gotten there at 745. And we were like the last ones to check in. So I was like, obviously, we should have gotten here before that. And I thought we were being early. We still got a good seat. We had a really good seat right at where the water starts. Like the deck right there. We were right there. Nobody was in front of us. We had a good seat.

[00:33:01] And this included an appetizer, an entree, a dessert, and unlimited alcoholic beverages. Correct? Yes. But it was beer and wine were the alcoholic beverages. So it wasn't like any hard liquor. And it was specific beer and wine. Okay. And the appetizers were certain appetizers. It was only you could pick from the scotch egg or salad. My husband got the egg. I got the salad. His egg was so good.

[00:33:29] My salad was not my favorite. I did not eat it. I didn't like the dressing on that. It was kind of weird. And the kids, they said salad. And she said, but you can replace it for fruit salad. Because if he doesn't want that. And I was like, well, he's not going to eat a salad. Can you bring the fruit? And they still brought the salad. And I was like, is this the fruit salad? She said, yes, it is. It's like, there's no fruit on here. And she said, oh, yeah, you're right. Oh, my word. Okay. But, I mean, she ended up bringing it.

[00:33:59] It was no big deal. And then our entree, I mean, you could pick from like cottage pie, fish and chips, and something else. But we both got cottage pie. And my son got the fish and chips. And then it was good. It was really, really, it was so warm. It's not something I would choose to eat after it had been a hot day. Like I know I told you it had been kind of windy, but still wasn't like chilly enough to have that. I mean, it was very hot. Like burn your mouth hot. So I think that would have been better if it was really cold outside.

[00:34:27] So you're adding things to your cold trip list. Exactly. Yes. And my kid, Cinco, he liked his fish and chips. I mean, he's never ordered that before ever. So I was kind of shocked he did that. He ate a little bit, not much. And then we had the dessert sticky toffee pudding, which was good. And he got a caterpillar cake and he liked that. I mean, it was good. And then the fireworks started at noon and it was a great view. I mean, we hadn't, I have never seen luminous before. It was good. I wouldn't say it's my favorite.

[00:34:54] I wouldn't say that I would stay to watch it again to get stuck in a crowd. Like if we weren't saying it, if you're not saying that those. Yeah. If I wasn't staying at the beach club or boardwalk where you could just walk back, I wouldn't stay for it. Yeah. It was good though. I mean, I did, you know, I tear up at everything. So I did tear up, but it's still not something. I was a big, not harmonious, but what was the one before that? Reflections. Oh, Reflections. Yes.

[00:35:21] I was a big Reflections girl back when that was going on. I missed that one. And I did like harmonious too. But yeah, this one wasn't my favorite. It was good though. Yeah. It's fine. It's something. It's something. But yeah. Yeah. It's never going to be happily ever after or. Right. Or phantasmic. Right. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. It wishes it were those things. Yeah. All right. So that brings us to Monday, May the 18th.

[00:35:47] And you said you were going to try to rope drop, but that you admitted you're not good at rope dropping. So how did you do this day? You'll see. We're not good. So we woke up at 6.30 and then we got to Animal Kingdom at 8, right at 8 a.m, which is when it opened. So we missed the 7.30 rope drop, which is fun. Like I said, we weren't, we had our lightning lanes. We know what we like at Animal Kingdom. It was fun. We weren't going to rope drop a rod probably anyway. So it was fun. Yeah.

[00:36:18] And then we had our lightning lanes booked and Everest was our first one, but we had gotten there right at 8. Apparently it was down during early entry. Okay. And so our lightning lane turned into an anytime experience pass. And I did not know that. So we had scanned in and had ridden that and we were done, both of us, me and Paul had rode by 8.20. And then I was like, why is Standby Skipper not booking like Epcot for tonight?

[00:36:45] Because I had wanted it to do Frozen, Remy and Test Track for that night. And then even I went on there and I couldn't book anything. I was like, what is happening? So I went to a blue umbrella and they said, Everest was down this morning. If that was your first lightning lane, you have to scan into your second one before you Which doesn't seem fair. No, I was like, I didn't even know it was difficult. Because you scanned into the first one, right? Exactly. You used your anytime. And so that should count in my opinion. It did not. Which I was, we were like, okay. Yeah.

[00:37:13] Because our next lightning lane wasn't until like 9.30. Mm-hmm. Yeah. So I was like, okay, we're going to have to wait another hour before I can even start to book anything or before Standby Skipper can book anything. Which I was like, you know what? It's fine. Like Standby Skipper booked this stuff during spring break and during New Year's week. So I was like, it'll be fine. It'll find something. So we went to, we decided to walk to the Zootopia show and we did that. We waited like 10 minutes just because as soon as we had walked up, another show had started.

[00:37:43] So we had to wait for that one to be over. And then we got to go for ours. And then after that, we went to Pandora to do the Navi River Journey at 9.30. Mm-hmm. Okay. And then after we did Navi River Journey and scan into that, it had automatically booked us like a Frozen and a Test Track, like at the same time, because I had two availabilities for that night. And I had booked that. So it was good. Okay. So at the time that Standby Skipper started doing its thing, it knew you deserved two. Yes, it did. And it booked two, right? Okay.

[00:38:11] Like as soon as I scanned into Navi River Journey, it booked two. Okay. All right. Well, that's good to know for people for the future. But that just, it does not make sense to me. No, I was like, okay, well, you know, I'm not going to argue, but okay. And then after we did Navi River Journey, we went to, we liked the Dawa Bar. You know, that's one of our favorite places. And usually there's a line and there was no line. And I was like, okay, I don't feel like it's very crowded today because there was no line there.

[00:38:37] So we had walked up and we had gotten a beer to share because we had a safari lot in lane at like 1030. And I was like, I don't want to have a whole beer to ourselves because, you know, don't want to have to go potty on the ride. Yeah. You never know when a giraffe is going to stop in front of your truck. Yeah, exactly. So I was like, let's just share. And we had, you know, looked at the shops and stuff. And then we scanned in right at 1030 for our lining lane. There were so many animals out.

[00:39:03] We are used to riding this ride as soon as the park opens, but, and never this late. And it was hot. It was really hot. So I was kind of shocked to see this many, but we saw a lot. It was good and didn't have anything blocking our path. We weren't delayed. Our driver was not the best driver we ever had. She just did not seem like she really wanted to be there. I don't, I didn't catch her name obviously, but there were people standing up. I mean, and usually the last one we went on on spring break, that driver, she was like

[00:39:32] yelling at people constantly to sit down, sit down, sit down. Like there was a lady hanging off the side to take pictures and she was not saying anything to her. I was like, oh my goodness. So that was a little annoying. She was not telling anybody to sit down. She really wasn't. I don't know if she was new or just had a bad morning, but not the best. I remember it. Yeah. Did you see the, this was, I saw it on TikTok, the guy who jumped off of Safari to go to the bathroom? Yes. That's what I was saying.

[00:40:01] We wanted to make sure we didn't have to go potty. My God. Like. What is wrong with people? I don't know. I mean, you're in an enclosure where there are animals. Like. Well, also you have little kids around you that are not your kids. Right. Right. I just. Yeah. The whole thing was, was baffling to me. And. Yeah. I, I mean, I feel bad for that man's children. Me too. That's what we were. I kind of hope that he had some kind of consequence for doing that.

[00:40:32] I'm sure he did. Yeah. But she was, you know, just not the best Safari driver we ever had, but it was fun because we've done it a lot. But, but I would kind of hate for that to be somebody's first Safari experience. And there was like no explanation, but like, like I said, for us, it was fun. Just because we've done it so many times. Yeah. But then after we did that, my husband really wanted to just try the new ice cream sandwich at Terra Treats. And we got there right when they opened and there was like no line, which I was kind of shocked. So we got that and we loved it. He loved it so much.

[00:41:02] Him. I'm. I like ice cream, but I'm, that's not my go-to, but him and my son are like huge Mickey bar and ice cream. So they loved it. They were tearing that up. So that was good for them. Shareable. And then, yes, I think it was, it was really rich. I definitely don't think that he could have had a whole one by himself. Okay. But it was really good. Really good. Definitely recommend. And then while we were in line for that, I put a mobile order in for cheeseburger pods at Satuli for 11, because we love those.

[00:41:30] And I think we had grabbed another beer to share at the Dawa bar before we headed over there. So we grabbed that and then went to get the cheeseburger pods, shared those. Me and my son shared one thing and my husband had his, and we just loved those so much. And there was just no line again at the Dawa bar and not that many people at Satuli at lunchtime. So we were kind of shocked that we got a spot in the shade to sit because we're used to it being slammed. So, okay, after we had our cheeseburger pods, we headed back to the beach club around 12,

[00:42:00] which is kind of what we were, you know, wanting to do. And then we changed into our swimsuits. We went to the pool from like 1245 to four. We were there for a while. We had good spots. I was always worried every day about, you know, finding a spot in the shade at the pool, but we really never had an issue. Um, I think it was the time we chose to come back. I think if we would have come back 30 minutes later, it would have been harder to find something because I know people that were coming in after us never found anything.

[00:42:28] So we went to the pool and then we left at like four to get ready to go back to Epcot. And we went and scanned into Remy's at 530 because Standby Skipper had booked us Remy's for 530. So we did that. Love that. And then we had a frozen at 630 and scanned into that. We had also gotten some empanadas and a margarita in Mexico. That's my husband's favorite thing is the empanadas there. He gets them every single time. Yes, he gets them every single time. It's his must do.

[00:42:57] Usually multiple times. And we get a margarita. And you get all of that from the quick service that's right there? Not the quick. It's not the quick service. It's the one across. Or the margarita to choza. Yes. Yes. That's where we get it. We've never actually done a quick service. We get the choza one. Yeah. Okay. I don't think I realized that they had empanadas there. They have tacos. And maybe it's because I'm always so distracted by the street corn that's available. Yes. They have food. And we've always gone over there. Mm-hmm. Okay.

[00:43:26] So we did that. And then they had a guardian's on in lane at 7. And while they did that, I took Lexi to that playground that's right outside of Creation Shop. And she literally just ran for probably 30 minutes, like in a circle for 30 minutes. And she made a friend. Mm-hmm. And they just ran together in a circle. Just looped and looped and looped. And I was like, okay, she's going to crash after this. And she did. So she did that.

[00:43:51] And then we went to Connections and got the hot honey sandwich, hot honey chicken sandwich. And it was good. And my son got a cheeseburger. And then we had a lightning lane for Test Track at 730. So we did the rider swap for that. Did Standby Skipper get that for you? Yes. Standby Skipper got all of our Epcot lightning lanes except Guardians, obviously. Okay. All right. And then we left. That was extended evening hours, but we were done. I mean, my kids were done. They were exhausted. So we left at 9.

[00:44:21] And it was fun. It was, I was like, there's nothing. We've done all the rides we wanted to do. So we were, we were good. Okay. All right. Tuesday, May the 19th. This was a Hollywood Studios day. And it was also the AP preview for Soarin' Across America. So you were thinking maybe you might get to come back and do that as well. I really wanted to, but it just did not work out. We, no, we, we were at Hollywood Studios most. Well, not most of the day.

[00:44:49] We got up at like seven and we were at Hollywood Studios by 840, which was still early entry. So early entry started at 830. So we scanned it at 840. And then my husband did Tower of Terror while I went to the Joffrey's and I got like a coffee and the kids a donut and they shared that. And as soon as he got off, we kind of just walked to Frozen and scanned down at 910 for the 930 show. And then this is where a standby skipper kind of didn't let me down this trip.

[00:45:19] Just wasn't like it used to be. So I booked a lot of the Lightning Lanes this time, whereas I'm used to them constantly booking things. So as soon as we scanned into that, I booked an Alien Swirling Saucers for 10. I don't know what it was looking for. I was like, I just really don't want to wait. Like I see this, I'm going to take it. So we did this Frozen show and then we walked straight to Alien Swirling Saucers. And then we went to our Toy Story Mania Lightning Lane.

[00:45:46] The wait time was only 30 minutes, which usually I see it higher than that. We only waited like seven. And then we had fun on that. It was so hot. I mean, it was so hot in Toy Story Land. It was just, I mean, awful. Yeah. Still not enough shade there. Yes. No, no shade. I mean, I don't think there's, I don't see where they actually added many, many spots, but. No. So my, we were actually excited because Lexi was tall enough to ride Alien Swirling Saucers

[00:46:14] because that one does have a high requirement and she barely made it. So she loved it. So we were, we were happy about that. And then the boys had their Lightning Lane for Rise and they, I knew it wasn't crowded because the posted time was only 40 minutes and I'm used to it being so much longer. They only waited like 10. But while they were doing that, Lexi and I went to Baseline Tap House because we loved Baseline Tap House and she was asleep. So I just wheeled her right into a shaded table.

[00:46:41] And well, first I walked up and ordered food and I got us a cheese plate and I had got myself a beer because I didn't know how long the boys would be. And I sat and I had that and we were in the shade and then Paul and Cinco joined us and he had gotten a beer and a pretzel and we all shared that or shared the pretzel. And then we walked back to Beach Club at like 12 o'clock. And I know she'll say it was really hot. It was hot. Yeah. Well, the perfect time for a pool break. Yes. Yes.

[00:47:08] And then Lexi, she was just very fussy and did not get her nap out. So I said, let me just stay with her in the room and let her take a nap. So we stayed in the room until probably three and she took a nap, a good nap. Cause I knew we might be out late that night and we had dinner reservations. So we stayed in the room till like three with her taking a nap. And then we went to the pool for just an hour. And then we came back up and got ready for dinner at Rosa Mexicana and we loved it. I think this was like one of our favorites. Like I have to go back. I know you said you have one there.

[00:47:38] Yeah. We've never been to one, but we loved it. We got the pomegranate margaritas and chicken enchiladas and guacamole. And it was so good. We loved it. Yeah. The guacamole is top tier. Yes. It was so good. But that pomegranate margarita, I still dream about that. It was so good. Yeah. And then after we finished eating, we walked back to Hollywood Studios and Standby Skipper did book us a lot in lane for Mickey and Minnie's at 730 that day. So we did that. And then we did Alien Swirling Saucers again.

[00:48:07] Well, my husband and Lexi did. Cinco and I had a lot in lane for Slinky Dog and it was just starting to get dark outside. But Slinky Dog was only a 25 minute wait at that point. I mean, it was crazy. It was just so crowded. There was like nobody in Toy Story Land. So we did Slinky Dog and it was so much better at dusk slash night. I mean, it was just really great. He loved it. He said he always wants to ride it at night again. Yeah.

[00:48:35] It's the best time to ride it when those lights start to come on. Yeah. And then he rode it with my husband and then we walked through Galaxy's Edge just because my husband liked Star Wars and he wanted to see it at night. And then we didn't do anything. We just walked through there and then walked back to the hotel. Have you done any of the PhotoPass photos in Galaxy's Edge at night? No, we have not. Okay. You should try that because they, some of the photographers have props that you can use.

[00:49:03] So they'll give you a lightsaber to hold that's lit up and they have you do some kind of cool poses and stuff. So it's one of my favorite evening places to get PhotoPass done. We do. We should try that. Yeah. All right. So that brings us to Wednesday, May the 20th. And this was a Magic Kingdom day. And I noted it was rope drop-ish. Yeah, we did not. We got there at 9. We got there at 9.10, which was fun. Like I said, it was fun.

[00:49:33] When we got there, we walked straight to Magic Carpets of Aladdin and we got on that and it was a walk-on because we were, we had a Pirates at 9.30. So we're just kind of waiting for that. And we walked onto the Aladdin ride and loved that. And then we did Pirates at 9.30. And then we had a Seven Dwarves lightning lane and we were doing Rider swap for that. So me and Cinco did that. And Lexi and Paul went to go get a cinnamon roll or get in line for a cinnamon roll at Gaston's. The line was so long and they weren't very efficient.

[00:50:00] So they were in line for quite a while because we had gotten in line for Seven Dwarves, ridden Seven Dwarves and walked over to him and he was still in line. Oh my gosh. So he finally ordered and we got it and we ate that. And then he and Cinco went to do Seven Dwarves. And then I took Lexi to do Small World because they have no interest in that at all. And I thought she would like it. The posted time was 10 minutes, but we waited like 20. It was kind of a miserable wait because she was just flopping all over the place. And I was like, this was a mistake.

[00:50:30] This was a mistake because, you know, you wait 20 minutes and the ride is like 20-ish minutes. So the boys were awake, like had gotten done with Seven Dwarves, found our stroller and were just waiting outside for it. It was fun. Did she end up enjoying it? Yeah, she liked it. She sat down the whole time, so I was happy. I didn't have to worry about her standing up. And so we did that and then we all did Little Mermaid and then we had a lightning lane for Buzz Lightyear and we loved the new updates. It was so good. We liked it a lot.

[00:51:00] How did you do? Well, I lost. I mean, I had Lexi. She was like in my lap and she had, there's a picture I need to send you. Like she's like holding it and she got like, I think she got like 100 points because she just kept hitting the button, but she wasn't pointing it at anything. It was really cute. My husband won. He always wins. But it was fun. We really liked it. It was really good. Nice. And then we walked to get this cheeseburger spring rolls at Adventureland because we love those.

[00:51:29] And then we got the Isle Lava You float because that's our favorite too. So we got those too and then we left at like 1230. Mm-hmm. Okay. And we all went to the pool at that point. Like we went from like one to four. We were there for a while. I haven't asked yet how Cinco did in the pool. Like was he doing the water slide? Like what was he really enjoying there? No, he was just swimming. No, he was just swimming. I mean, he kept saying he was looking for treasure. He was just swimming. Mm-hmm. Just keep swimming. Just keep swimming. Yes.

[00:51:59] That's what he did constantly. I don't think he got out to take a break hardly. He did go to the slide a few times, but I mean, you know, I'm not comfortable sending him over there by his help. So because you have to walk out of the pool area. You have to walk across a big sidewalk. Right. With like people that aren't guests, like, you know, anybody can just be walking right there. Right. So we, he did it a few times, but just not constantly like he did. He would at another pool. He just swam. He loved it. Okay.

[00:52:25] This night you had dinner reservations at 7 p.m. So what time did you wrap up the pool? You said four o'clock? So I actually stakeout modified this to 5.15 because I kind of wanted to get to Magic Kingdom a little bit earlier. Okay. So they changed it to 5.15. My plan was to get a minivan, like to leave at like 4.30. I could not get one to pull up at 4.30. And like, like I told you, the parks weren't busy. Nothing seemed crowded, but I could not get a minivan to pull up to save my life.

[00:52:55] So as I was trying to get one, the bus for Magic Kingdom pulled up. So I was like, let's just get on the bus. And we took the bus and just walked from Magic Kingdom to Contemporary. Okay. How was dinner at Steakhouse 71? It was great. I love it. It's one of my favorites too. They, like I told you before, I love their espresso martini. I love it. It's like the best one on property, in my opinion. So I got that. My husband got the twisted fig. And then I like their bacon and egg appetizer.

[00:53:22] And then I got the filet and he got the stack burger. He loves that. It was really good. I keep hearing people talking about all the different espresso martinis across property. So you're saying this one is the best. I feel like I have to have an espresso martini on my must-do list for my July trip. I like this one. And I also like the one at Enchanted Rose. They're like, they go neck and neck for me. I think it just depends on what mood I'm in. Okay. All right.

[00:53:48] Yeah, I'm going to try to get some opinions on different espresso martinis because I do want to add it to my list of something I should do just because it keeps coming up. Like everyone, it feels like everywhere they go, they're like, and the espresso martini is amazing. But I also just want it to be somewhere that's convenient that I'm planning on going or that I will, you know, be convenient for me to stop in anyway. So we'll see. Yeah. Yeah. I loved it there. I mean, like I said, it's one of my favorites. So we finished up and then we walked back to Magic Kingdom.

[00:54:17] And we had a lightning lane for Peter Pan at seven. Standby Skipper did book us that. So we went and rode that. And then Cinco and Lexi and Paul did the teacups. I don't do that. I don't like to spin like that. And then me and Cinco did the Barnstormer. And then we had a lightning lane for Dumbo. And then Paul did Tron. Cinco was not tall enough, so he did not get to do it. I don't think he would actually do it anyway. Oh no?

[00:54:46] So Paul, no. He was kind of getting a little scaredy cat. So it's fine. He wasn't tall enough anyway. It was his elf. So Paul did Tron. While he did Tron, we got on the people mover because they were like not wanting to sit still in the stroller like she was just not having it. So we did the people mover and she loved it. And Starlight was happening so we could see Starlight and hear the music. So it was really pretty. I loved it. Then Paul was like, let's just go. Everybody's tired. And, you know, we had our lightning lane for Big Thunder. That was super late.

[00:55:15] And I was like, I really want to see the new Big Thunder. And so we asked Cinco, we were like, do you want to go back to the room and go to sleep or do you want to go ride this? Fully expecting him to say to go back. He was like, no, I want to go ride. So we did, we hooked it across the park, did the rider swap. Me and him rode it and loved it. And then Paul and him rode it while the fireworks were going off. But we were trying to get out of there before the fireworks went off. So as soon as they got off, he was like, we got to go. We had got to get out of here because we had already decided we were not staying for extended evening hours because the kids were so tired.

[00:55:45] And so we start, we were high stepping it just, I mean, almost in a run, but not really. But we were just going crazy and we got to right where Casey's Corner started, right where you get to Casey's Corner and the fireworks stopped. So I was like, we're too late. It's too late. And they did not like- It's too late. It's every man for himself. Yeah. They didn't take us through the back. They made us go through Casey's, or no, through Casey's Corner and the gift shop all the way through the Emporium to get out.

[00:56:13] And so we are bobbing and weaving and we were, we were doing good. And apparently we're doing so good. I heard the guy behind me say, follow those people. They know what they're doing. Ah, that's, that's a good compliment. Yes. That's what I told my husband. I was like, that's a, that's a good compliment. So we, it ended up working out. We got to the bus stop and there was only like one person in front of us and then the bus pulled right up. So I was like, see all this worrying for nothing. But the bus was packed. I mean, by the time it got there, I mean, it was packed. So it was fun. It all worked out. All right.

[00:56:44] So Thursday, May the 21st, you rented a cabana at Beach Club. How, how did you like it? Was it worth it? Yes. We both said it was a hundred percent worth it. I think we both said this was like our favorite day. We didn't set an alarm and we just kind of woke up at about 830 and we walked down and got some breakfast at the quick service. We checked into the cabana right at 10, which is when we could. Mm-hmm. You have an attendant that kind of takes care of everything for you, any requests you had.

[00:57:12] And I had asked her, I was like, can I get a pack and play down here at the cabana? She's like, hmm, I've never had anybody request that, but let me ask. And so she, she asked around, she's like, okay, I'll have one over here in just a little bit. Because I was like, if I'm paying all this money, I want to stay here the whole day. And if Lexi needs to take a nap, I would like to have her a spot. And they brought one, housekeeping brought it down, set it up in the cabana. You know, there were stands in there. So it was really good to have her a spot to lay down to take a nap when, you know, we

[00:57:41] weren't ready like to go up. So we would just lay out, we laid out on the chairs while she took a nap and there was a TV in there. So we had like Bluey on and her movies on. And it was, it was amazing. A hundred percent worth it. Okay. And you can't do that at every single resort. Not every resort has that option. So it's nice to take advantage of that when you can. Yeah. And they're really hard to book. Like I got on like right at 60 days out and I booked it for like our last full day. And it was like the last one they had.

[00:58:10] People were, I think some people were getting them last minute when people canceled. But like I said, it was truly like, it was worth it. I would, I would definitely do it again. So dinner that night or perhaps just ice cream were supposed to be happening at Beaches and Cream. Did you end up doing that? Or did you skip out and go to Epcot? No, we went to Beaches and Cream and I begged my husband. Like, I was like, I just, I'm not in the mood for this. It always takes a long time. But he said, no, I really want to go. I really want to go. I was like, okay, whatever.

[00:58:38] So we, it was a, we checked in at 7.50 and then we didn't get called until like 8.15. And it just takes so long. I mean, the food, you know, the server is great. It's not her fault. It's just the kitchen takes so long to get your food and then to get your ice cream. I mean, we weren't done until like 9.45, almost 10 o'clock for just like sandwiches and ice cream. And he was like, you know what? You're right. We shouldn't have done this. And I was like, it's okay. Like, I know you like it. It's fine.

[00:59:07] We were way too tired to go to Epcot. I mean, honestly, I think we should have just went to the quick service and went to bed. The sun had drained us. I mean, my son was so sunburned. I had reapplied him like three times, but he was still like his face where he gets up and wipes his eyes in the water. He was just fried. Poor thing. But it was still a good day nonetheless. It was a good day. Yes. All right. Friday, May the 22nd. This is where you moved over to the Polynesian.

[00:59:35] And you were supposed to start your day off with a breakfast reservation at Ohana. Yes, we did. We were up at like 830 and we had packed up everything and we checked out at about 930 and drove to the Polynesian. I went in and checked in at the front desk again. And then our reservation wasn't until like 1035. I checked in early at 1015. It was really packed. I mean, it was really, really busy. Our table wasn't ready until 1045. And there was just like a lot of construction. You know, they're doing construction over there right now.

[01:00:05] It was a lot. There was a lot of construction everywhere over there. But, you know, breakfast was good. I feel like it's always good. The characters I felt were a little more rushed this time than they usually were. But it was good. Okay. And this was a pool day again. But this time at the Polynesian. So how was that doing a second big pool day in a row? I don't think I would do it again. We liked it. We had walked down to the lava pool and just changed into our flum suits in the bathroom. And we had looked up. There was a table in the shade.

[01:00:33] So we had like just a huge table with chairs in the shade. And we were there. We were just going to stay there until our room was ready. But it took longer than I thought it was going to just because Beach Club room was ready so early. Our room there wasn't ready until like three, which was fine. It was still earlier than four, you know. But it was good. It was just a lot of sun in those two days. A lot of sun and a lot of water. And our kids were just tired. So we went back to the room when it was ready and kind of, you know, settled in.

[01:01:03] And we just laid there and watched a movie and rested. And then we walked to Captain Cook's for dinner. Again, there was just construction everywhere. Where Lexi, this was, she did really great the whole trip. But this night she was just overtired. She was really tired and just kind of having a fit. So we went and walked to the room and put them to bed early. And she was just, I was giving her a bath. She was falling asleep in the bath. She was just really tired. I know. So we put her to bed.

[01:01:32] And then me and Paul stayed up and we did watch fireworks from our balcony. We had a first floor room. So, I mean, there were some trees, but we could still see them. And it was, it was really nice. Mm-hmm. Nice. All right. So Saturday, May the 23rd, this is your last full day. And it was more time at the Poly, including a reservation at Wailulu. So walk me through your final day. Okay. We originally were like, oh, we'll do another pool day. Well, we had woke up. We were like, I cannot do another whole day at the pool. You can't do it. I would have a terrible problem to have.

[01:02:01] So we got up. We did not, we didn't set an alarm. We just woke up at nine o'clock. I mean, they, my Lexi had slept for like 13 and a half hours. She was so tired. We got up at nine and then we were like, you know what? We love Epcot. Let's go to Epcot. You know, it's not that hard to get to from here. So we walked to the TTC and got on the monorail and went to Epcot at like 10, 15. We had no lightning lanes. We had no plan. We just got there. We decided to do Nemo and we did the journey of water. And then we were like, let's make, we'll make one lap around world showcase and we'll go back.

[01:02:31] And so we started in Mexico and we got another margarita and one more empanada. And we got, you know, just a couple of drinks around the world and we headed back to the Polynesian around two. So we weren't there long. We just, it was more relaxing than anything. It was really, really hot, but it was nice to just not be running from one lot and lane to the other. Yeah, it's nice to go in and just be able to kind of go where the wind takes you. Yeah, for sure.

[01:02:56] And then we got back and we decided to do the tower pool since the lava pool was so crowded. We went to the tower pool and it wasn't really crowded and there was just a lot of spots in the shade. And we, we really enjoyed that one. It was just a lot more, it was a little more relaxing, I guess, because it wasn't so crowded. And it has some Moana theming, right? Yeah, they have a little splash pad and Lexi loved that. And it's like a zero entry and she liked that. And, you know, you can see the castle. So it's so pretty.

[01:03:24] I mean, I, I thought it was great. We really liked that one. So we stayed until like five, five 30. Mm-hmm. And then it was kind of like the clouds were rolling in. It was getting a little dark. I thought it might rain. It did not until that night, but we had to turn the stroller in to Kingdom Strollers at six. So we met them, turned that in and then kind of got ready for dinner at Walualu. Steak out had pushed it back to 645. So we're really happy with that time. And we love Walualu so much.

[01:03:52] I think I said, I keep saying it might be our favorite, but we love it. Like my husband loves that burger. We got the tuna nachos and the burger, and then we decided to get the chocolate cake. Oh, it was so good. It was so good. We were so happy with that. Good. Yeah. I had those tuna nachos in there. Really good. Yeah. And the burger. I mean, just everything was so good, but it was getting really dark outside. I mean, very, very dark. So we made it to our room. And as soon as we got to our room, the bottom fell out and it storms.

[01:04:21] It was storming like crazy. We had planned to watch the fireworks again after the kids went to bed. We had packed up the room and not everything, but packed up mostly everything. And it was just pouring down rain and thundering. My husband was watching the hockey game. And I kind of was like, well, I'm going to fall asleep. I'm going to take a nap. And then I'll watch the fireworks next time. But they were delayed into like 1045 because of the weather. We had woken up at like 1045 to them finally going off. Wow. Well, I mean, that was still a very good last day.

[01:04:51] It was. And that brings us, unfortunately, to your departure day, which was Sunday, May the 24th. Yes. And there's nothing really to say about this day. I mean, it was raining. My husband took a load to the car. He walked a load to the car. He said it was pouring down rain. But by the time we were ready to take the next load and the kids had stopped, it was very humid. And I think we left at like five o'clock in the morning. And we were home by like 12. So it wasn't a bad drive. I think we didn't stop much. But, you know, you know, I hate to leave. But it was tough. We had it.

[01:05:21] It was a good long trip. I mean, it sounds like you had an amazing trip and that everybody got to do lots of the things that they enjoy doing. Mm hmm. Yes. It does sound a little bit exhausting because of the heat and all of the time out in the sun. But at least you had the day off the following day for Memorial Day, right? Yes. And it wasn't too bad. I mean, it was really hot. But the way we did it, we weren't running from morning, like, till we woke up till we went to sleep.

[01:05:51] You know, we, I mean, we did relax at the pool. I mean, the kids did sleep in the stroller a little bit. And as far as us as parents, we didn't feel like we were run ragged the whole time. But I am glad we had Memorial Day to kind of recover. Yeah. Yeah. Well, when is your next trip going to be? We were supposed to go in July. We had like a quick one booked, like just a really quick trip right after the 4th of July. But my husband was like, it's too hot. He said, I was this hot in May. I'm not doing it in July. So we canceled that.

[01:06:19] And I actually on, we were sitting at the tower pool and I texted my travel agent. You know, I didn't use a travel agent for, I don't usually use one for Disney World anymore because I feel like I've pretty much got that nailed down. But I was like, I could go on a, I could go on a cruise. So I texted her and we've got right now on the books, a trip on the treasure next May. So that's on the books. And then my husband and I are supposed to run the marathon in January. So we will be there for a week in January. Okay. With or without the kids?

[01:06:48] With my father-in-law who has never been and he's, he's going to come with us. And we are really excited to take him. Have you ever done a marathon before? No, we've never done a marathon. Have you ever run a race before? No. I mean, I, we run, we run a lot just at the gym to work out. Like I've run a 5k, but not an actual race, but we do run quite a bit, but we've never actually done a marathon. Okay. I just wanted to do the 10k or the half.

[01:07:14] He signed us up and said, if we're going all the way down there to do a race, we're doing the marathon. And I was like, okay, well. Okay. Okay. Yeah. When are you going to start training? We're doing it now, but we're doing the Jeff Galloway method and I'm doing that program and my program doesn't actually officially start until the last week of June, but I have been running every day for like a year. Like I said, I have my stamina. I can do a few miles, but I just not. The, we did do a long run a few weeks ago and we did like 10 miles.

[01:07:43] So I've not done longer than that. So I do have to build that up. Okay. Well, that's really exciting. Congratulations on taking on the challenge. Thank you. So I hope everything goes well with that. It's, it's too bad you canceled your right after the 4th of July trip because we would have been able to say hi in person. I know. I know. I didn't want to, I really wanted to go, but he was like, I'm too hot. I'm way too hot. Yeah. Yeah. Well, thank you so much for taking the time out of your busy schedule with your kids and

[01:08:12] everything you have going on to sit down and talk to me. I had so much fun getting to know you and I hope that you will be back at some point. I hope so too. I've had so much fun. Thank you so much. Have a magical rest of your week. Thank you. Thank you so much to Morgan for joining me on the show and thank you all for listening today. If you like what you heard, please rate or review the podcast on the app you are listening on now. You can also leave reviews directly on my website, which is wherelongtobepodcast.com.

[01:08:42] Also, as a reminder, I am now taking questions, hot takes, tips, anything you want to send me through my voice message inbox, which you can find also on my website, wherelongtobepodcast.com. Just click the Send Virginia a voice message button that is on the bottom right hand of your screen and it will get to me. By leaving a message, you might hear yourself on a future show. Thank you so much to all of you for being here with me today.

[01:09:08] It's been a pleasure and I cannot wait to do it all again next week when you will finally hear the trip report from my May flower and garden trip. Until then, keep daydreaming about where you long to be.