That's the real trouble with the world. Too many people grow up-Walt Disney
- Samantha Rodolico
- Feb 4, 2020
- 6 min read
Thanksgiving road trip to Miami: Part 1
We had been patiently waiting for the Miami/Eagles game for 8 years. When the date was announced, we immediately began looking up flights….and, to your disappointment, were shocked at how expensive they were. It was then we realized that the game was Thanksgiving weekend. Over the next few months we debated back and forth about what to do….weighing out options for the least expensive journey. Then, one day, we had a great idea---lets road trip down and fly back. This would be one of the longest road trips we would be taking, but we knew we could do it.
As we began planning, our road trip to Miami became one of the best weekends yet to day. The first obstacle we had to overcome was what to do about breaking up the trip...I reached out to my aunt and uncle who live in Charleston to see if we could sleep there that Wednesday night. They graciously agreed to let us use their home while they were back up in New Jersey for the holidays. Next was planning out our next stop on Thursday and Friday---in Disney! Our final leg and our last stop would be Fort Lauderdale. To say we fit about ten days’ worth of fun into 5 would be an understatement. So buckle up and get ready to revisit our road trip to Miami.
Day 1: The Busiest travel day of the year
Mark rented a car for our trip down which ended up being a total of $92. The car was very small, but did the trick for the two of us. He picked me up at our school’s noon dismissal in a car filled with snacks and suitcases. We had no idea what to expect as we had never traveled on the most traveled day of the year, but we had a patient mind and warm weather on our minds. Until we hit the D.C/Virginia area, it was not too bad. In that area, they had some E-Zpass express lanes which were a total lifesaver on time. We made two quick stops before hitting South of the Border to walk around and grab some food. I had never been here and Mark hadn’t been since he was young. I guess in both our minds, South of the Border was going to be some really wonderful rest stop with a few attractions and great food options. We were definitely surprised when we came to a rundown rest stop with some shady characters and minimal food choices. I will say that the fried chicken sandwich we both got was out of this world. After ordering our food, we opted to use the restrooms...I went first...and when I came out, Mark insisted we left as he refused to leave me outside by myself. We quickly got out of there and finished our journey to Charleston.
Getting to Charleston was such a tease. This is one time I wish we had just a little more time as I would have loved to explore the area with Mark...but that will be for another time. We ended up arriving at my aunt and uncle's house around 12:30AM...quickly showered and hopped into bed. We set our alarms for 5 AM so we could start our journey to Disney. Timing wise, we did really well waking up the next morning and heading down. We left around 6 AM for a 6 hour drive.
Day 2: 12 hours in the Magic Kingdom
Finally getting to Disney was just as magical as we could have imagined. This was the most stressful planning part of our trip as so many people had so many different opinions on us actually going to the park over Thanksgiving weekend. The best tip I received, from my friend Lauren, was to check the crowd calendar. Our original plan was to do Epcot on Thursday afternoon/night and then split Friday between Hollywood Studios and The Magic Kingdom. When I checked the park calendar, it looked like the Magic Kingdom was less crowded on Thanksgiving than the day after. We pre-booked a few fast passes and hoped for the best. I have to say, the Disney App was super helpful with line times and figuring out where to go and what to do.
Our Day in Disney:
Ride 1: Haunted Mansion
Wait time: About 45 minutes
Rating: 4 out of 5
Tips: While waiting in line, check out the tombstones. There are some cool interactive music displays for kids to play with. We also watched a documentary on Disney Plus about the Haunted Mansion and it is pretty cool that they use Leota Tombs, who was an imagineer, as the face of Madame Leota.
Ride 2: Space Mountain
Wait time: 5 minutes
Rating: 5 out of 5
Tips: FASTPASS!!! This is one of my favorite rides and shouldn’t be missed.
LUNCH: Pinocchio Village Haus
Rating: 3 of 5
What we ate: Chicken Fingers and French Fries-$9.99 each
Ride 3: Peter Pan’s Flight
Wait time: 60 minutes
Rating: 3 out of 5
Tips: Not worth the wait. If you could get a Fast pass, it may be worth it...we did not think that wait was. There were some really neat interactive displays throughout the line. Check out Tinkerbelle making a ruckus through the bedrooms and the shadow puppets on the walls.
Ride 4: Under the Sea-The Journey of the Little Mermaid
Wait time: 15 minutes
Rating: 3 out of 5
Tips: It was our first time on this ride and it was really cute and enjoyable. As a lover of the Little Mermaid, it was nostalgic to take a journey down under!
Ride 5: Pirates of the Caribbean
Wait time: 5 minutes
Rating: 4 out of 5
Tips: We had a fast pass for this ride, but the regular line moves pretty quickly.
Ride 6: Jungle Cruise
Wait time: 45-60 LONGGGGG minutes
Rating: 3 out of 5
Tips: When we originally got in line for the ride, it was supposed to be about 20 minutes. Unfortunately, the Fast Pass line grew very large and it almost tripled our wait time. While the ride is a classic, the people on our tour were honestly annoying and we did not get to enjoy it as much as we would have liked.
Ride 7: Big Thunder Mountain
Wait time: 5 minutes (Fast Pass)
Rating: 5 out of 5
Tips: Great ride that brings thrills and screams. Fast pass definitely recommended
DINNER: Tortuga Tavern
Rating: 3 of 5
What we ate: We each opted for a $12.50 turkey leg. Honestly we should have just gotten one-but it was Thanksgiving and our eyes were bigger than our stomachs. We didn’t finish either one. I don’t know that I will ever have to try a Magic Kingdom famous turkey leg again, but I am glad I tried it.
Ride 8: Buzz Light-year
Wait time: 15 minutes
Rating: 4 out of 5
Tips: Interactive ride that is so much fun! We went around 7:45 and the ride was much shorter than earlier in the day.
SNACK: Cheshire Cafe
Rating: 5 out of 5
What we ate: Cheshire Cat tail $5.49
This little snack was OUT OF THIS WORLD!!! It is a braided pastry with chocolate filling and colorful icing drizzled on top. I wish we ordered more!
Ride 9: The Seven Dwarfs Mine Train
Wait time: 25 minutes
Rating: 5 out of 5
Tips: The entire day this ride line was not less than 2 hours and no available fast passes. I had heard so many great things about this ride, but we did not have the desire to wait for two hours. Around 8:30 PM I noticed the line had dropped to 70 minutes (most likely due to the fireworks starting at 10). We decided to wait and hope to get out before the fireworks began. To our surprise, we only waited about 25 minutes! This ride was a really fun roller coaster that I do not believe would have been worth a 2 hour wait, but definitely about 60-90 minutes.
FIREWORKS
Time: 10 PM-they last about 30 minutes
Rating: 5 out of 5
Tips: As mentioned, we opted to wait in line for the Mine train instead of getting a spot for the fireworks. To our surprise, we actually ended up in a great spot to watch the show. I cannot believe how much improvement this show has made since the last time I had been there (about 9 years ago). The change in animation on the castle was unbelievable. The show honestly brought tears to my eyes. The Magic Kingdom truly is one of the happiest places on earth.
Ride: Splash Mountain
Wait time: 10 minutes
Rating: 5 out of 5
Tips: This is a must when visiting Magic Kingdom. Unfortunately, we waited until right after the fireworks to go so it was cold...but we had a blast! I always love the Country Bear Jamboree and the drop always flips my stomach.
Ride 11: Haunted Mansion
Wait time: 10 minutes
Rating: 4 out of 5
Tips: We ended our day just as we began...on the Haunted Mansion. It was the perfect ending to our day, as the line was no longer extremely long. Ending with a staple ride was the perfect way to conclude our day.
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