You may have read previously that my husband surprised me by telling me that I can go on the anniversary trip I wanted with a friend, as he is unable to leave town during that time. As you might be able to relate, I don’t just love Walt Disney World I long for it as though I am obsessed. This year especially, I wanted to be at the Magic Kingdom on October 1 and when my hubby said he definitely could not go I just tried to put it out of my head. Enter my soul sister and equally Disney-crazed friend, Susan, and my dream was coming true.
You have to understand that I have a wonderful Disney life with my husband and three kids. Our annual trips to Walt Disney World mean the world to me, and we have traveled twice with Susan and her family as well. But I am a real family girl. The only time I have traveled away from my family was once for work and a few times with my mom and two sisters. This will be the first time in my life I have traveled with a friend – just a girls getaway. So, I want to encourage you Disney lovers out there – if your family can’t or won’t go with you to Walt Disney World, don’t give up your dream; grab a good friend and make a plan! Studies show that relationships outside the family circle are crucial to keeping balance and perspective. I am very grateful to have a husband that is supportive of me, my friendship with Susan, and my deep desire to be at ‘the World’ at that time. I am also very grateful to have a friend who understands me so well, and who loves Walt Disney World so much herself, that she offered to take the trip with me.
As you might have guessed, Susan and I have already begun planning part of our trip. After all, the hours are posted for September so we already know what parks we will likely be going to during the days we are there. I am really looking forward to the simple things I enjoy when I am at Walt Disney World. I thought I would share thoughts on these simple things with you all today. So, aside from spending some quality time with my BFF what am I looking forward to this trip?
- Being back at the Port Orleans Riverside Resort: I love this resort. The rooms are comfortable; the grounds are beautiful; and it feels like a welcome home. I will be very happy to see it again. I also like how familiar I am with the resort. I know my way around and that eases some of the anxiety I feel about being away from my family. Plus, I have many happy memories of time spent with them there.
- Waking up at Walt Disney World:I can’t wait to have that feeling again. The feeling when I get ready to go to sleep that tomorrow I will wake up at Walt Disney World. It is so exciting it is sometimes hard to go to sleep. Hearing Mickey in my wake-up call is the BEST way to wake up each morning.
- Having coffee with a friend: To me, one of life’s greatest pleasures is having coffee and spending time talking with a friend. It will be only ten times better doing it at that magical place. It will be a wonderful walk through the beautiful landscape on the way to fill our refillable mugs with coffee at the Riverside Mill Food Court, and it will be great to sit outside and enjoy starting our morning with some girl-time bonding.
- Stepping onto Main Street USA: There is nothing I ever look forward to more than stepping onto Main Street USA. If you have been to Walt Disney World you must know this feeling. There is nothing I can do but just stand still and soak it in. What a wonderful, magical place to be.
- Touring at the Food and Wine Festival in Epcot: This will be the first time I will experience this. It begins on September 30, just in time for us to squeeze this in before the end of our trip. From all I have heard it is quite an experience and we love the idea of trying something new and fun.
- Going to see Bob at the having a drink or two at the River Roost Lounge: Who does not love Bob? He is such a warm and friendly man and an exceptional entertainer. We are looking forward to seeing him again.
- Meeting friends we are already online friends with: We are lucky enough to be traveling to ‘the World’ during the same time as some of our online Disney friends. We have spoken to them about Disney, and I in fact write for one of them on the other site I write for, Chip and Company. We have formed lasting friendships but we have never met in person. That is going to be lots of fun! As I always say, there is no friend like a Disney friend.
- Tower of Terror – duh!: To talk about all the things I am looking forward to without mentioning my favorite ride of all time would be sacrilegious. I am without a doubt looking forward to this wild ride more than I can say. When I am on TOT, I am definitely a kid again!
- Having an ice cream cone in front of Cinderella Castle: Ice cream is our favorite Disney snack and it tastes even better when we are enjoying it in front of the castle. One of our favorite times of the day is when we are having a Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream and enjoying the view of the castle at dusk!
- Taking a boat ride to Downtown Disney: We truly enjoy the boat ride from the Port Orleans to Downtown Disney. It is one of our favorite things to do. Susan is a Tigger freak and I am a Mickey freak so we will probably even find some souvenirs to buy. Plus, being without our families means super guilt bonus for them! 🙂 Good thing that boat holds a lot of weight!
- Seeing the Magic Kingdom all decked out with Halloween decorations: This is another welcome first for us. We have seen the parks superbly decorated for Christmastime and we just love it. Seeing all of the Halloween decorations will no doubt be a new favorite.
- Wearing our specially made trip shirts: We have a good friend who makes t-shirts for us at insanely reasonable prices. We plan to have some made with fun slogans and wear them at the parks.
These two princesses have a plan for a magical girlfriend getaway. I hope you will make a plan for yourself soon. The magic of Disney is infectious; it is too wonderful not to be enjoyed. If you have ever gone to WDW with a friend, write a comment on any ideas we should not miss – we would sincerely appreciate it. And if you happen to be visiting at the end of September and you see two crazy ladies who are more excited to be on a ride than all the nearby kids, come up and say hello — we would love to meet you!
Brenda is a native Texan born and raised on the Gulf Coast. She visited Disney World twice as a teenager and always dreamed of growing her family Disney. She took her first-timer husband and their three children to Disney World in 2000 and they now spend every Thanksgiving there. Brenda writes with a comedic twist on various Disney topics. She will be sharing tips she has learned during her travels and also hopes to enlighten people on little-known freebies that Disney has to offer. She wishes she could have met Walt Disney and considers herself to be a student of Walt. In parallel to his dream it is her wish that everyone would take at least one trip to Disney World in order to share in its magic with their families.
I totally agree that traveling with a good friend can be an amazing experience. My BFF is also a Disney freak like me (we both basically grew up at Disneyland). Last summer after she and her family had returned from WDW, she mentioned she was trying to find a way to sneak a little more Disney into her year. I had also been scheming to get myself back to Disneyland. We both love Christmas but hadn’t been to Disneyland during December. So we made a plan and went for a girls’ weekend. It was SO much fun!! Although we’ve been friends for 12 years, I think it strengthened our friendship. Since both our families had done Disney that year, we felt little guilt about leaving our husbands and combined 8 kids at home.
I think the only caution would be to discuss expectations before you plan a trip. If one person wants a sleep-in, relaxing, spa-like getaway with fine food and the other wants commando touring on the cheap, you’ll both end up unhappy.
Vikki, good for you that you and your friend planned this trip! Sounds like you had an amazing time! I think your advice about discussing expectations beforehand is important: no one wants to plan a trip like this and end up not being friends at the end. 🙂 Thanks so much for stopping by!
Thank you so much, Vikki!!! I love your attitude and you are so right. Thankfully, Susan and I have traveled along with our families together before so we know we are up early, ready to go and no one there is more excited than us!! No sleeping in or spas — we can do that at home rather than on a trip for those few days! You are so awesome. Thank you so much