Disney World Trip Report – 2013
CAST:
Stephanie – 42
Mackenzie – 15
Camryn – 11
Grandparents – Gria & Poppy
Bubby – 5 (Nephew)
DATES:
January 23rd to 27th
TRANSPORTATION:
PHL to MCO and Magical Express
HOTEL:
POP Century Resort
This trip popped up much faster than we expected. I was thinking of visiting in November or December to see the Christmas displays later in 2013, but my Mom wanted to book a trip with us.
We went over many, many dates before we finally found something that worked for all of us and our schedules.
With the girls’ school schedules, dance recitals, music recitals, marching band season and final exams, and State Testing, I was surprised at how difficult it was to book a trip.
My Mom is a book-keeper and she needed to be available to the office during certain dates during the year.
Since Disney was offering the Free Dining Plan in January and February, we decided to visit in January.
It just so happened we had other relatives going over the same dates as us, so we planned on seeing them in WDW.
We contacted Mary, our TA and she booked our trips for us.
DAY OF DEPARTURE:
Wednesday, January 23rd
Our flight wasn’t until 4:10pm, booked with SouthWest Airlines. So, I sent the girls to school and picked them up by 1pm to be at the airport by 2pm.
We used Park, Ride, Fly and I took my Van so everyone could fit and we could drive together.
The airport was not very busy at all. We checked our luggage and then had lunch.
The day we left, the temperature was around 17 degrees outside! I could not wait for Florida weather!
The flight was smooth and we made good time. Arriving in Orlando, FL around 6:20pm.
We decided to take our luggage because we were concerned that M.E. would not be able to drop off our bags to our rooms later at night and we wanted all of our p.j.’s and toiletries handy.
SouthWest took us on the A side of the airport and we had to travel to the B side to find Magical Express.
That was a hike especially because we were all tired and the suitcases were heavy with all of our carry-on bags. (NOW thinking of it, I wish we rented a cart duh!)
Check-in with Magical Express was a breeze and hardly anyone was there to board the busses.
Our bus was full, however. So, we found our seats, but were not able to sit together.
We were the 2nd stop and the bus ride didn’t seem too long. We were just really tired and couldn’t wait to settle in and get some sleep.
Check-in at Pop was busier than expected. We waited in line for about hour because the people at the counter were arguing with the CM’s about check-in and not getting what they wanted.
When we were called to the check-in counter, my Mother and I took no longer than 10 minutes for both of us to check-in.
Mary got us exactly what we requested. We had our connecting rooms located in the 60’s Building.
We quickly found our room and were very pleased with the cleanliness and the room looked newly refurbished.
By now, it was about 8:30pm and we were starving! So, we headed down to the Food Court. It-was-packed! Teens everywhere!
The girls and I got our food and went to a cashier. There was a man in front of us cashing in at least 50 gift cards. I could not believe his stack of cards. Needless to say, a lot of people were groaning and moaning and I could tell the CM was aggravated by his request.
We left that line and found another available cashier.
The food was really good. We had stacked sandwiches and they were huge! The side was sweet potato chips and they were very tasty.
With the Free Dining Plan, we had to choose a dessert. Chocolate brownies. Mmmmm
Finally, we were back in our room around 10pm and unpacked, showered, settled in and crashed.