Girls’ Getaway Weekend: Arrival Day!

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles

      In all my Disney adventures, I’ve only flown to Orlando once before… and that was when I was 9! After the driving fiasco during our last trip to Florida, I was definitely excited to be flying. My friend picked me up around noon and we were on our way.  Our flight was uneventful, other than getting to see an aerial view of our resort, Pop Century!

      Since I hadn’t flown for our Disney vacations, I also hadn’t ridden the Magical Express before.  After getting lost in the airport (I seriously have a talent for getting lost), and waiting for luggage for a good half an hour before remembering the Magical Express Cast Members pick it up for you, we made our way down to the bus staging area.  Once we checked in using our MagicBands, we were directed to a row for Pop Century and Art of Animation. Guests are split up based on location to help keep bus rides as short as possible.  We waited for about 10 minutes before we were directed to our bus. The Cast Member helped load our luggage and off we went. On the bus, there were informational clips as well as fun short films and Disney trivia. In less than 45 minutes, we had arrived at our hotel.

     My friend and I got checked in and met up with our roommate for the weekend. Our room was in the 1950’s section of the resort – oversized bowling pins, sock-hop dancers, and 4-story Lady and the Tramp statues decorated the courtyard. We were on the top floor which afforded stunning views of Hourglass Lake and Art of Animation.

…And Buses… And Boats

Before I begin this portion of our evening, I should note that this was my first trip solely relying on Disney transportation.

     We got unpacked and started our journey to Disney’s Boardwalk to meet up with some of the other Girls’ Weekend ladies and enjoy an evening at Jelly Rolls Dueling Piano Bar.  I knew that Disney buses do not go from resort to resort so we hopped on a bus to Epcot.  What I learned that evening was there are no buses that go from Epcot to the Boardwalk, because there’s a second Epcot exit that goes straight to the Boardwalk… meaning we had to get to a different park. We road a bus to Hollywood Studios and caught a boat to the Boardwalk. All in all, it took about 2 hours to get from Pop Century to the Boardwalk.  Moral of the story, double check your transportation route before hopping on.  Or ask your travel agent who learned things the hard way… for her clients… totally on purpose. At least it was a lovely boat ride.

    We got to Jelly Rolls, paid the cover, and found the rest of our party.  All three of us ordered alcoholic root beer floats (absolutely amazing) before realizing that the bar did not serve food, only popcorn.  We had planned to grab some food on our way, but in all the craziness we hadn’t eaten.  When we realized the popcorn wasn’t going to be enough, especially if we were going to be having alcohol, we decided to visit the Boardwalk Pizza Window.  The three of us split a large pizza at one of the wrought iron tables next to the restaurant. The warm breeze and the view made for a pretty spectacular setting for our late-night snack.  We made it back to Jelly Rolls about the time everyone was ready to leave so we decided to head to bed to be well rested for our first day in the park.

 … And Taxis

      It took all of about 30 seconds for us to decide we wanted a taxi to take us directly back to Pop Century. After the long journey to the Boardwalk, we just wanted a short ride back to our room.  The taxi ended up costing us about $7, well worth it in the moment. We couldn’t wait to head to Epcot in the morning.

Never Grow Up!
Miranda

Read All About Girls’ Getaway Weekend: Arrival Day — Epcot — Animal Kingdom — Magic Kingdom — Hollywood Studios