Miami, Key West, and Disney…Oh My! The January 2024 Girls Trip – Day 8 -Disney World
After our park days were cut short due to Cara’s flight schedule change a couple of days ago, we decided to do only one park day for this trip. Since neither Sara nor Cara had been to Disney World before, and they both had must-dos located in all the parks, we decided to do one long day of park hopping. We had talked about trying to hit all four parks but decided to cut out Animal Kingdom to save some time, as it had the least amount of things they wanted to see. Also, the Magic Kingdom, Epcot, and Hollywood Studios are connected by the Monorail, Friendship Boats, or Walking Paths, so hopping between them is pretty simple. Since they are all located a little closer together, it would take less time than bussing or Ubering to Animal Kingdom.
January 17, 2024—We were up early to make it to the Magic Kingdom in time for opening. We were at the bus stop by 7:30 and were walking down Main Street USA shortly after 8 am.
Each morning, Disney Resort guests (and guests of a few select non-Disney resorts) are allowed into the park 30 minutes before the general public. At all the other parks, the non-resort guests are held outside the park entrance until the official entry time. At the Magic Kingdom, everyone is let into the park, where you can browse the shops, take pictures, or get coffee. Then, the resort guests can enter Fantasyland or Tomorrowland for an extra 30 minutes before the official opening time.
Once we got into the park, we stopped on Main Street for the obligatory Castle Pictures.
I snagged boarding group 1 for TRON in the virtual queue this morning, so we headed to Tomorrowland. We rode Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin, and just as we exited, our boarding group was called, so we headed over to TRON. TRON Lightcycle Run does not use a traditional standby line. To ride it, you have to either purchase at spot an individual lightning lane spot or try to get a free boarding pass in the virtual queue at 7 am on my Disney Experience App. If you are successful, it will give you a boarding group number and an estimated return time. Once your boarding group is called, you have an hour to return to the ride entrance and get into the line to ride. If you are unsuccessful in getting one at 7 am, you can try again at 1 pm as long as you have entered the Magic Kingdom before that time. If you are lucky enough to get assigned to the first ten groups, then you will be in the first call-back group, which means there should be no line, and you will be able to walk on the ride with minimal wait. Sara and Cara enjoyed the ride and giggled the whole time and for some time after.
Next, we walked through the rest of Fantasyland, checked out the Tangled Bathrooms, and headed over to ride Haunted Mansion, one of Sara’s must-dos. After riding Haunted Mansion, we decided we should head to Epcot, so we walked through Frontierland and Adventureland on our way out of the park.
We arrived at Epcot a little after 11 a.m. and headed to Morroco to eat a light lunch at Spice Road Table.
After lunch, we checked out the rest of the Morocco Pavilion and then made our way around the World Showcase, stopping in Japan, American Adventure, Italy, Germany, China, and Norway.
When we got to Mexico, we needed a break from the chilly weather outside, so we decided to try for a table at La Cava del Tequila Bar. We were in luck and got seated right away. Cara and I ordered a Mexican Beer while Sara had a Margarita. We also ordered Chips, Salsa, and Cheese Dip to share.
After warming up, we continued around the World Showcase, stopping in Canada and The United Kingdom to enjoy beers from the Rose and Crown Pub.
Finally, we visited France and then stopped for pictures with Mickey before taking the boat to Hollywood Studios, our final park of the day.
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We arrived at Hollywood Studios around 5 p.m. The first stop for Sara and me was The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. Once we got off the ride, we met up with Cara to check out all the fun details on Sunset Boulevard and browse through the shops. This is my favorite section of the park. It is themed after Hollywood in the 1930s and ’40s, and I absolutely love the vibe of it. I could honestly sit here, soak up the atmosphere, listen to the fantastic background music, and people-watch all day. In fact, I have been known to come to this park to do that on some of my individual trips.
Our next stop was Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway. Sara and Cara really liked it, especially the style of animation used inside. I think it’s a cute ride, but I’m still bitter it replaced, in my opinion, one of the best rides: The Great Movie Ride. So I’m a little biased and will probably never appreciate it as much as someone who doesn’t have the nostalgia for the original.
Then we went to Toy Story Land to check it out and ride Toy Story Midway Mania before heading to Baseline Tap House for some appetizers and beer.
Next, we headed over to check out Galaxy’s Edge. We walked around, enjoying all the amazing Star Wars theming before riding the Millennium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run. If you are a big Star Wars fan, then you will love this section of the park. However, you don’t have to be a Star Wars fan to appreciate Galaxy’s Edge. The attention to detail is amazing, and in my opinion, the best time to visit is after dark, when it is all lit up. One of my favorite things to do is try to get a reservation at Oga’s Cantina at the end of the night. By the time you leave the bar, the park is closed, and there is no one else around except the few people leaving with you, which makes for some pretty awesome pictures.
We had reservations at Oga’s Cantina for our final night stop. I originally had reservations for the end of the night, but since we were tired, I decided to see if we could check in early, and luckily, they could accommodate us. Oga’s Cantina is a fun little bar themed after a Mos Eisley Space Port. It is similar to Trader Sam’s as the space is limited, and you will most likely share a table with another party unless you get seated at the bar. The only difference between the two is Oga’s has a walk-up list that you can join if there are open seats, which I have used multiple times when I decided to come at the spur of the moment and didn’t have a reservation. We were seated in a booth (with another family) next to the stage where droid DJ R-3X, a former Starspeeder 3000 pilot, was spinning some tunes. This place is always a good time, and I try to come here at least once every couple of trips. Most of the time, it is when I am on a solo trip, so I usually get seated at the bar and have some pretty amazing people that way.
At this point, we were all tired, and Cara had a super early flight tomorrow morning, so we hopped on a boat back to the resort and decided to call it a night. We walked 10 miles and just under 30,000 steps, and while we only hit the surface of what each park has to offer, we managed to cross off almost everything on their must-do lists, so I’d say it was an excellent day.
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