Mommy Solo Disney Night: Annual Passholder VIP Night at MK

One of my goals for 2019 is to visit Disney World at least one time a month for the year. I know it’s a silly goal. It’s not something life-changing but I just enjoy fun goals! Kinda like our goal to watch all the Oscar Nominated movies…it’s just a fun challenge! 

When Zach and I planned out our Disney trips for the year we didn’t schedule anything for February. We knew we had the ski trip and one of our goals for the year is to not overwhelm ourselves. So I tried to figure out a time for me to sneak down to Disney so I could keep my goal going – what’s the point of having a goal if you can’t even meet it by the second month of the year, right?

As a Disney Annual Passholder I get e-mails from Disney and sometimes they come with special offers or events. Typically these events fill up QUICK and you have to jump on them right when they go live. 

I happened to be online when an email came through about a Passholder VIP night at Magic Kingdom. I’ve never been to a passholder event and Magic Kingdom is my most comfortable park and the event happened to be in Feb so I jumped on it! 

During this event regular guests for the day had to leave the park at 9 pm and the special event was from 10 pm until midnight – which meant the park was only open for annual passholders who ALSO signed up via email! 

Thankfully it all ended up working out fine with Zach’s schedule for me to go to the event, even on a Tuesday night. He came home at lunch time for work, I drove down, attended event, then drove back first thing the next morning so he could go work after lunch! 

Pumped. For. Disney!

I made a Mickey themed sandwich for Tessie for lunch!

We are really trying to read and watch as much Harry Potter as we possibly can before we head to Universal Studios in March! We finished Year 1 on our ski trip so I decided to listen to Year 2 on the way down to Orlando and on the way back from Orlando so I could at least get a good way through it then I’d read the rest in the actual book when home. 

I know people love audio books but my mind just wanders so much AND I’m just a super fast reader so I can read books way faster than the reader can read them in the audio versions. I def am an old school girl when it comes to book reading – I like actual physical books that I read myself 😉

For Christmas my dad and step-mom gave me a gift card to Disney and I wanted to use it to buy a Spirit Jersey. I don’t own one and felt like it was the perfect thing to spend a gift card on since they are more pricey than I’d ever really feel comfortable spending money on for myself!

I decided to stop at Disney Springs prior to checking into my hotel so I could do a little shopping and have the freedom to take my time trying on the spirit jerseys rather than feeling rushed like I normally would with kids in tow!

I was pretty skeptical about the World of Disney redesign in Disney Springs. I was partial to the characters on the ceiling. While I still miss them, the new design is AWESOME. So fresh and cute and FUN!

First Christmas gift I’ve bought this year (which is a BIG DEAL for me). I know the kids will all LOVE this set! 

I think I also found the first item I’m adding to my personal Christmas wishlist! I love that BOTH the Mickey pretzel AND Mickey waffle are featured!

While I don’t own a traditional Spirit Jersey I do have a mesh type one I got from the Disney outlet awhile back and it’s red and black so I knew I did NOT want a red or black one this time. I grabbed several designs in a variety of sizes. I wasn’t sure what size I’d want to wear. The XS was a tighter fit that was more flattering but the Small had that bit of baggy to it that I think the look is meant to have. The medium was do-able but the large was MASSIVE on me. Typically I’m a small/medium so I’d recommend sizing down if you ever buy one!

I had a tough time deciding which one to get. Yall know I’m SO indecisive. Like cannot make up my mind. Which really works out nicely as a blogger/instagrammer because I have an awesome online community of friends to help me make decisions haha. 

I sent Zach a text with all the ones I was deciding between and posted them in my IG stories. The rose gold got the most votes! And I LOVE that color too. But when I went to grab it in a small they didn’t have one. I hadn’t heard back from Zach so I decided just to put them all back and check at Magic Kingdom that night for the small in the rose gold. 

When I got up to the counter to buy the play food for the kids I asked the cast member about her recommendation regarding the spirit jerseys and she gave me some awesome insight!

She said that the rose gold one fades super, super bad and that any of them with the glitter lettering just don’t hold up well at all when washed. She said, by far, her favorite one she owns (and she owns them all haha) is the blue one! She said after many washes it still looks brand new and the lettering stays nice and white too. 

I’m SUPER practical when it comes to stuff. So I decided to follow her advice and went back and got the blue one. I was proud of my semi-independent decision making. Then a text from Zach came through and he said “I like all of them, except the blue one.”

Omg yall. I sent him a pic of me in line HOLDING THE BLUE ONE. 

When I got up to the counter I asked the new cast member her thoughts and she agreed with everything the other one had said – so I bought the blue anyway! I do want to add the worn black looking one to my wishlist too though because I think it’s super, super cute and would be very easy to match with for the parks! 

While at Disney Springs the rain started coming down. I headed out and headed to the hotel. Yall know we own a house at Disney (you can see the rental info about it here) and I would have naturally stayed there for the night but it was booked! Which is a good thing 😉 

I also didn’t mind spending money on a hotel room on property for the night. Traveling solo and having a late night event at the park made me a little nervous. Being in the safety net of the Disney bubble and not dealing with parking in the parking lot at the park made my mind a little more at ease. 

I ended up booking at All Star Music Resort for the night. Of course my room was THE furthest from check-in and from the bus pick up area. I found parking and was thankful that Disney allows you to checkin online rather than having to go to the desk! It made it a breeze just to go straight to my room!

 

I don’t have a whole lot of kind words to say about All Star Music. I know I’m a bit biased since we do own a home so close to Disney but I just can’t fathom spending that kind of money to stay in this Disney resort, especially with kids. With the discount we offer a night in our 6 bedroom house is cheaper than a night in All Star Music. And our house is only 3 miles from the park which is less travel time than it took me riding the bus from the resort to the parks too!

I did this video of a quick room tour overview of the room. I was in a stadard room and it was FINE for one night. But NO WAY could I do it for more than that with children! I can’t fathom how people stay there for a week and think it’s worthwhile. For the price you pay, it’s just a rip off yall. 

I’m not going to lie…I struggled to leave the room. It was REALLY raining and I knew at that point that a lot of the elements I was excited for at the event would either be canceled or be less awesome due to the weather. But I’m a goal setter guys and I didn’t want to go all the way there and NOT meet my goal of getting into the parks in Feb! So I pushed myself to get ready and head out.  

My original plan was to book a Minnie Van. I’ve yet to have that experience and thought it’d be neat to get to ride in one and the perfect time to do it since I’d be alone and felt like it’d be the safest/quickest/most comfortable option. I also had a discount for Lyft so I thought it’d help too with the cost. 

Yall. I couldn’t BELIEVE the price of the Minnie Van. Almost $40 for ONE TRIP from the resort ON PROPERTY to Magic Kingdom. No. Way. I didn’t want to walk alone across the resort. I didn’t want to be wet and cold and have to wait for the bus and deal with that long of a ride but I wasn’t ABOUT to drop $40 for a 10 min car ride. NOPE. 

My room was literally located as far from the bus stop as I could possibly be! I was a little nervous about walking alone in the dark and rain. I just get spooked easily! But I put on my big girl panties and headed out. And on the way I ran into a mother and daugther who were going to the event that night too so I chatted them up as we walked. Benefit of being an extreme extrovert, I just find some strangers and I’m set 😉 

I have ridden the resort busses ONCE in all of my history with Disney and it wasn’t a very great experience. My expectations were low for the bus system and I will say they were accurately met. Ha! It was FINE but it is just a SLOW way to travel to and from the resorts. Nothing went wrong, it just took awhile for the bus to come and then took awhile to get to MK.

From the time I left my room until the time I got off the bus at Magic Kingdom it was 40 minutes. It takes us 10-20 minutes from our rental house door to the parking lot of the parks. So double the time and I was on Disney property! So crazy! 

I did like that the buses drop you off at the ticketing booths…so there is no need to ride the monorail or ferry. It was a nice perk that night when I was leaving the parks not to have that extra added step!

I arrived at Magic Kingdom at 8:30ish. I had fastpasses set up for myself for that evening but didn’t get there in time to do any of them and I knew with the rain that I wouldn’t really want to be rushing around the park and knew it’d also be very, very minimal crowds with that weather. 

I’m thankful I wore flip flops that night. Even though my feet were freezing and wet the whole time…wet feet are better than soaking wet socks and shoes in my opinion! 

When I walked in I headed straight for Celebration Minnie and Mickey. I haven’t gotten to meet them yet and that was my #1 thing I wanted to be sure to do that night! The park hadn’t closed yet for the evening and the event hadn’t yet started but it was still only a 10 min wait to meet them…which tells you it was DEAD crowd-wise!

I love all the special birthday details!

We had special handouts for the evening that listed all the event details and plans! I had heard there would be special characters during the event but knew that the rain would cancel out those plans which honestly had me BUMMED. I wasn’t there for the rides. I was there for the special experiences! 

Mickey and Minnie look SO CUTE yall and they were just precious! I told them I was sorry I missed their big 90th birthday but that I couldn’t wait to be there for their 100th. Mickey didn’t like that and started to pretend to walk with a cain. It was so cute and funny!

When I sent Zach the pics he said “You know you’re short when mice are taller tahn you are” baha!

All the Mickey birthday stuff is so cute!

Something I really want to do (I mean I just keep adding ideas for my wishlist in this post ha!) is to make a denim jacket with Disney patches all over it. I looked to see if they had a 90th birthday celebration patch but they don’t. I haven’t started collecting any patches yet but I think it’d be such a cute item to own and wear at the parks!

As I started to walk down Main Street I was in AWE of The Kiss Goodnight! It’s such a special moment at MK and I love to soak it in! Everyone elses kiss goodnight was my kiss hello this visit!

Whoop Whoop VIP baby!

Something I love at Disney is the photopass spots. I never pass a photographer who doesn’t have a line. I will ALWAYS stop for a picture. I mean it’s FREE. With my annual pass I get all the photos taken at the parks automatically on my account so why not, right? Especially when, as a mom, I’m ALWAYS behind the camera. It’s great to have a chance to be in front of it for a change!

I loved that even in the rain the photo pass photographers were still out and about and I took full advantage of it! 

I hadn’t eaten dinner and was STARVING so I went straight for my go-to – a Mickey pretzel. Only to discover that the Launching Pad was already closed for the night. I decided to hop on Buzz and then head over to Pecos Bills for dinner! 

I got naochos and they were PERFECT. Warmed me right up and I sat in Peco’s Bills for a solid 40 minutes. I know that’s crazy to be just sitting while at Disney but yall it was COLD and SO WET. Now that we visit Disney so often we have become a bit more picky about when we visit the parks. If it’s hardcore raining? We don’t go. 

As I sat at the restaurant I heavily debated just going ahead and leaving. I met the adorable Mickey and Minnie, I completely my goal of visiting Disney in Feb, I got some cute photopass pics, and I could get back to the room well before my normal bedtime and have a full night of sleep. 

But. It was only 9:50 when I sat down to eat. The event technically started at 10. The hardcore Disney lover in me just couldn’t leave the event without giving it a full chance. I needed to at least do a few things. Ride some stuff without any lines. See if the photopass special spots were active. Ask around to see if any special characters happened to be out and about in a special, dry  location. 

I willed myself out of the warm comfortable seat and headed back into the rain! Truly when I picked out my outfit for the night I thought I’d be hot in the sweatshirt but I should have brought a jacket!

I’m excited to try the new Hei Hei cone but that was not the night for it!

I decided to walk over to Pirate’s as it is one of my favorites, I debated between riding that or Haunted Mansion because the night just had a SPOOKY vibe to it and I thought either ride would be fitting. I assumed of the two Haunted would be more likely to have a line and I was closer to Pirates after dinner so I went there instead. 

First row all by myself! The drop felt a little spookier solo!!!

Still fully committed to a pirate face 😉 

After Pirates I only had about an hour and fifteen minutes left before the event came to an end. Two hours flies by pretty fast! I knew the photo pass spots would be the most crowded areas and I did want to make sure to get all those rare photos taken so I headed over to the Rapunzel lanterns first. 

I’ve had this picture taken once and the shadowing can be really funky so the rain actually helped in this situation as the little area we were in (the Peter Pan meet and greet) was so perfect!

I then went over and got in line for another special picture for the night…Dumbo! Who else is super pumped for the new movie? I had a nice time in each line talking to other guests. Ironically every line I was in I was positioned with someone who was there by themselves. It was interesting to hear their reasons for solo travel and it was comforting to know that others love Disney as much as I do and enjoy it so much alone! 

I heard there were a few special passholder props on Main Street so I headed that way to finish out my night!

While in line waiting for the castle pics I got to see a couple get engaged!!! So adorable and I was SO glad the rain had cleared a little bit for their moment. I told the girl that she was wise to get engaged to a Disney Guy those of us who became Disney people later in life have to work on our husbands to get them there 😉 They were so cute in their themed outfits too! Such a special moment!

Loving the passholder status!

Goodbye Castle! 

On my way out I went through Emporium just to see if anything caught my eye since I was leaving and could easily carry a bag with me! Kye and I are going back to MK just he and I soon and we plan to play Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom for the first time! I’m so glad I saw this stuff in Emporium as my now plan is for us to check in, get our free cards, then head there and buy addional cards to extend our playtime!

I was SO EXCITED to see that they have the coffee scoop back in stock!!! Two or three YEARS ago Zach “gave” me the coffee scoop for Christmas but they were out of stock. We keep checking for them and I’m so pumped to finally own it!!! I love little Disney touches that aren’t super obvious and aren’t kept on display. 

Loved that I got a new magic band for staying on property (and randomly I’ve been wanting a gray one haha) and loved having the VIP status of the bracelet for the event too!

Goodnight / Good morning MK!

This was my first time using my new Loungefly bookbag and I was so impressed with it. I wish it was a tad bigger but I managed to fit everything (and the side pocket was perfect for my wet umbrella). The leather was also perfect with all the rain! It was lightweight, easy to carry and I’m so glad I picked this pattern as I LOVE IT!

The walk from the park to the busses was a breeze which was a big perk of riding the bus – no fighting the monorail incline ha! I didn’t have as long of a wait for the bus leaving the park as I did arriving to it, I’m sure that’s due to the event ending at midnight. 

Back at the resort! I was a tad scared walking from the bus to my room as it just wasn’t a busy time of day (hello midnight) and it felt eerie with the weather and lack of people. But I was proud of myself for finding the room without getting lost. I’m used to Zach handling directions for me 😉 

Still not too bad on sleep for the night!

I had to hit the road pretty quick the next morning to get back and I SLEPT AWFUL. Another big negative of the All Star Music Resort – the walls are PAPER thin. So I heard toilets flushing all night and could hear people getting up and starting their early morning day. I literally saw every single hour. I also think I was mentally worried about my alarm not going off and not getting home in time for Zach’s work appointment so I kept waking up thinking I was late. I literally jolted out of bed at 4 am wide awake!

For sure a MEGA Disney hangover kinda day!!!

First time seeing the resort in the day time! I also think it’s important to add that I didn’t notice any elevators. I didn’t mind the stairs for myself but if we had all the kids and tons of stuff the stairs would have been ROUGH. I just can’t recommend All Star Music yall. You know I love me some Disney and usually Disney gets it RIGHT but in this case the resort needs to have a complete and total overall to make it worthwhile. 

The drive home wasn’t too bad and I made it back in plenty of time for Zach to get to work! I am so thankful he was able to arrange things for me to make the trip! I felt guilty that it wasn’t the most epic time ever but tried to make sure he knew I still appreciated the opportunity! Can’t control the weather and the rain just won out this time. 

I’m still super thankful I met my goal of visiting the parks once a month – Jan and Feb both have a big check! Whoop whoop! And I enjoyed the break. The car ride alone was refreshing. With a teething toddler and the daily demands of motherhood, it was nice to just get some time away. 

Even with the rain and the bummer room and all the less than stellar elements of the event…I still walked out of the park smiling. I think having a less than ideal night and still having my heart feel so full just really shows my love for Disney runs deep and that it is my place to feel refreshed! 

Are you planning a Disney vacation?

• Be sure to check out our rental home – SO MUCH BETTER than staying at the low budget Disney resorts and CHEAPER, BIGGER and CLOSER to the actual parks! You can see more here and see about the discount we offer to blog readers!
• Touring Plans is hands-down my favorite tool for planning ALL of my Disney trips. With their site, you can see predicted crowd levels and plan your day to avoid waiting in lines. You can learn more here!
• When planning a Disney trip is can be SO overwhelming! Thankfully a friend of mine created an awesome 28 page printable Disney planning guide! You can see more about it and purchase it here.