Parkside Breaks

Soarin’ Across America & What We Learned Taking 20 People To Walt Disney World

• Sarah Graves - Disney Travel Tips & Reviews

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Ever wondered how to group travel to Disney and still have fun? We break down the real-world playbook from a weekend with a large group- 9 adults twelve kids, and zero meltdowns we couldn’t fix with snacks, shade, and smart timing.

We start with park news—our take on Soarin’ Across America and what we hope Disney highlights for the 250th anniversary—then jump into Banana Ball’s 2026 stop at ESPN Wide World of Sports and how to tackle the ticket lottery. The core of the episode is our group strategy: morning anchors at Magic Kingdom (PeopleMover, Carousel of Progress, and a Tron Lightning Lane), a smart lunch staging spot near Cheshire Café and Cosmic Ray’s, and a split model that lets big kids chase thrills while littles stack short wins. 

Logistics can make or break a trip, so we get specific about transportation and timing. If you’re exiting Epcot’s back gate, be ready for Skyliner crunch and plan alternatives—front bus loop, your own car, or rideshare. We also share why party nights can mean lighter Magic Kingdom mornings, how to pick meetups that actually work, and the stroller truth no one wants to hear: bring one, even for bigger kids, to carry water, snacks, and tired legs. 

If you’re the planner in your circle or joining friends who know Disney well, you’ll leave with a clear template for expectations, safety, meals, and rides that keeps the magic high and the stress low. Love what you heard? Subscribe, share with your Disney crew, and leave a review telling us your best group-trip tip.

Thank you for listening to this week's episode! Please follow us on instagram @parksidebreaks and leave us a rating and review.

SPEAKER_04:

Hey everyone, and thanks so much for listening to this week's episode of Parkside Breaks. This week, Elizabeth and I break down what it's like to do group travel to Walt Disney World. And I'm not just saying like your very own large family party of, you know, six or something. We're talking 20 people. This is almost field trip style. We break down what are the must-dos, what do you need to do beforehand, and what are some things you just need to kind of like let go of. Elizabeth just got back from a group trip to Walt Disney World where they stayed at the cabins at Fort Wilderness. And we just break down what are some of those tips and tricks, what are the things you need to keep in mind, and how to have a great experience with your group. We hope you enjoy this week's episode.

SPEAKER_01:

Hey friends. Hello. Welcome back. I'm Elizabeth. I'm Sarah. And welcome to this week's episode of Parkside Breaks.

SPEAKER_04:

I know.

SPEAKER_01:

Um we have some really fun Disney things to talk about today, but we're gonna start with our favorite Soren. Soren is celebrating America.

SPEAKER_04:

I know. Yeah, so let's go in. Um, first, how are you, Elizabeth?

SPEAKER_01:

Girl, it is 72 degrees outside right now. I know. And it feels so good.

SPEAKER_04:

Yes.

SPEAKER_01:

Did you know that Halloween day is supposed to be like high of 75?

SPEAKER_04:

No way.

SPEAKER_01:

I was looking at Halloween pictures from when I was a kid, when I was Tinkerbell, never forget. And I had a turtleneck on. I think that was the last time it was cold in Jacksonville, Florida. Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_04:

For Halloween. I believe that because I think that we are constantly sweating every I am constantly sweating.

SPEAKER_01:

It was 72 degrees outside and I'm sweating, but I'm just not like hot. Sure. I'm just sweating.

SPEAKER_04:

Yeah. Last year I think it was rained. We were nervous it was gonna rain and maybe it was. I do remember that or something. I do remember that. Right. But yeah, that's exciting. I really hope it keeps because I feel like a lot of times you just don't know. Yeah. You don't really know what the weather is gonna actually look like.

SPEAKER_01:

But we're used to that down here in Florida. All you people traveling in just know that it is what it is.

SPEAKER_04:

I know. It really is.

SPEAKER_01:

It's been pretty.

SPEAKER_04:

Yes.

SPEAKER_01:

How are you?

SPEAKER_04:

Good, good. I have a cardigan on.

SPEAKER_01:

So I was like, I get to put a cardigan on today. You look very fall today.

SPEAKER_04:

Oh, thank you.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, you look very false. I love that for you. I love that.

SPEAKER_04:

Um, okay, let's dive into a couple of Disney things that um were recent news kind of stuff. Yes. Um, we don't always do this, but when it comes to the parks, I think that it's important. Um one, you know what we're gonna talk about, and two, I wanna ask you, I I do want to talk about this other thing that was recent news um and see if you have an opinion about it.

SPEAKER_01:

I can't wait because I have no idea what it is.

SPEAKER_04:

Well, first let's talk about Soren.

SPEAKER_01:

Okay, I'm so excited.

SPEAKER_04:

Soren.

SPEAKER_01:

I love I love America. I would say that 10 out of 10, I am probably America's biggest patriot. I love the history of America. I actually just love the history of the world. I'm just a nerd. Actually, let me rephrase that. I'm a nerd, but I'm very excited that they are going to go from sea to shining sea on us.

SPEAKER_04:

Yes. Okay, let's read. I'm gonna read this from the Disney Parks blog. It says buckle up and get ready to take off, or get ready for a takeoff. Uh, the fan favorite attraction, Soren, will be receiving an all-new airborne adventure across the U.S. That's right. You'll soon be Soarin across America at Disneyland Resort and well, Disney World Resort debuting summer 2026.

SPEAKER_01:

I'm so excited. And this is to celebrate the 250th anniversary of our beloved country.

SPEAKER_04:

Country. What do you think that okay? So and there are a couple of pictures. We posted it yesterday.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, I know. That's by the way, that's how I knew about it because you posted about it.

SPEAKER_04:

I mean, I posted it and but there were also pictures that these were from the parks blog, the Disney Parks blog, of them getting footage, like actual footage.

SPEAKER_01:

Do you want to talk about that?

SPEAKER_04:

Yes, I want to know.

SPEAKER_01:

Because never forget when I thought that this was like Planet Earth, when I thought that Soren was recorded like Planet Earth, where they just like camped out for years to get the footage of the whale jumping up. That's what I thought too. And then my wonderful husband told me it was CGI.

SPEAKER_04:

Is that true? We need somebody to tell us.

SPEAKER_01:

Can somebody fact check that? Whoever can fact check that you're gonna win a Disney lollipop.

SPEAKER_04:

Yes.

SPEAKER_01:

I mean, I mean, you have the these pictures look like they are that is a that is a helicopter with a camera in front of it. Yes. This is what Scott will tell you.

SPEAKER_02:

Elizabeth, it is obviously recorded real, but then they CGI it or they like put more into it.

SPEAKER_01:

Like the elephant didn't just happen to blow the dirt up when the helicopter was driving around. But I'm like, prove me wrong. How do you know?

SPEAKER_04:

No, that makes sense. I get that. Gosh, I hate when Scott's right.

SPEAKER_01:

I hate it when Scott is right. I actually loathe nothing more than when Scott is right. It's the worst. It's the worst, especially about Disney. Stay over there. Stay over there.

SPEAKER_04:

You are not invited into this.

unknown:

Okay.

SPEAKER_04:

What do we think is going to be Okay?

SPEAKER_01:

So I feel like they're gonna start at the point of entry, Ellis Island, aka the Statue of Liberty. Yeah. I think that you are going to start in New York, and I think that it's gonna go through the skyline of New York. So originally I told Sarah that I hoped that they went back into time, and Sarah brought up a really great point that if we did like, I don't know, the American Revolutionary War, it may not be kid friendly. But not Family friendly adventure. What if they went through the industrial era and like all of that and they showed like old steel mills and stuff? Anyway, I'm a nerd.

SPEAKER_04:

But I think I do think that that I think that that could be something. I think you have something there. Yes. Do they want to call me? Talk about it? They should have consulted you, honestly.

SPEAKER_01:

They could have done like they they could have. So I think that they're gonna do that. I think that they'll do like uh Maine in the fall. Okay, you know, like go up and then do Maine in the fall, and then maybe come down the coast and do like some parts of the coast. I don't really know what's happening on the coast. Yeah, not a lot. Maybe they'll hit up a navy base. Yes, have some blue angels flying.

SPEAKER_04:

Oh, that would be perfect.

SPEAKER_01:

Um, I feel like they really are probably gonna avoid large cities like Miami and Atlanta because that would just be a traffic jam. That's all they're gonna show. Um, I feel like then they will go. I feel like maybe they'll go down and then come back up and maybe hit like roll roll. Why can't I say that?

SPEAKER_03:

Roll.

SPEAKER_01:

Roll.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

Like the mountain, like your blue-collar towns and Virginia, I mean West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, like hit some of that. Hit the Blue Ridge Mountains. Yes, like get that parkway going. Yeah. I think that Disney also does a really good job of showing the American person. So I think that that's why I said they'll show like the blue-collar towns of you know, some of these mine mine towns where just showing everybody, right? If they're in New York, then they show those people. So you know, the those people, the business people.

SPEAKER_04:

Yes.

SPEAKER_01:

People that work on the street, people that work on that wall street. So then they'll go up into the town. And then maybe do like um Chicago, the Great Lakes. Yeah. And then now you're in the the the mid the midland, the mid-area. What's that called?

SPEAKER_04:

Is it the Midwest? I guess it's not really the Midwest.

SPEAKER_01:

But like hit up that. Yes. As Jason Aldean would say, the flyover states.

SPEAKER_04:

Ah.

SPEAKER_01:

Hit some of that farmland. Okay. Go down, hit Texas up, and then come back up again. I feel like that's a good one. Definitely a cowboy. If everyone can see my fingers, I'm going north, south, south to north, north to south. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04:

She's got like a string going along.

SPEAKER_01:

I'm definitely doing this. Going east to west. Oh, yes, yes, north, south, east, and west.

SPEAKER_05:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

And or what if they followed the first continental train that went from one side of the country to the next.

SPEAKER_04:

Wow, this we are going deep now.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, I know.

SPEAKER_04:

You're you are really coming out. I'm enjoying this. This is great.

SPEAKER_02:

This is I'm a nerd. Um, but like what if they did that and they hit that up?

SPEAKER_04:

You know? That is a great idea.

SPEAKER_01:

I also think that not Disney, if you're listening, I think it would be really cool if they could do the Lewis and Clark expedition on Soren. And if we could follow Lewis and Clark from the Louisiana area onward, I think that would be fun.

SPEAKER_04:

Yes. For me. You'd really like just the history. Yeah. Give us the history of America the last 250 years.

SPEAKER_01:

You know, when I die, I have told the Lord that I want a I want to sit in a theater and I want to watch every form of history from beginning. I want to watch it in a movie. I want to see it all happening in front of me. That's what I've asked for. Will it happen? Maybe. I don't know. And you have eternity to watch. I will report back. Yes. I'll be either there. I have eternity to watch. Exactly. Yes. Um, but anyway, so then it would do the, you know, the flyover states, if you will, and then it would go up and then you'd be in Montana. And so then you'd come down and you'd see the Grand Canyon, and then you'd, you know, end up on California's coast and do all of that.

SPEAKER_04:

I'm seeing all this. Right? All of this.

SPEAKER_01:

Do you I think they'll end in Alaska with the Alaskan cruise? And that's you know how normally they I know. You know how normally they end and they're you're in Epcot?

SPEAKER_04:

Yes.

SPEAKER_01:

What if you end and you're in Glacier Bay and the cruise is there?

SPEAKER_04:

Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_01:

And then if you sign up today, you get 10% off.

SPEAKER_02:

So good, right? Why are they not doing the market for Disney?

SPEAKER_04:

They are missing out.

SPEAKER_02:

I think that they are missing out. I think that if they hired me, they could bring those price tickets down. Yes. More people would come.

SPEAKER_04:

I know. Or maybe less. Oh gosh.

SPEAKER_01:

I don't know. So that is what I think. Um, I hope that they do not bring the Muppets into this. I just need you to know. I hope that they do not.

SPEAKER_05:

Why?

SPEAKER_01:

I just I don't know. I feel like you feel nervous. They're gonna bring them up. Well, they took Muppet Land out, which I I did love Muppet 3D Live, and they moved it over to Rock and Roller Coaster, which makes sense. Now they have the rights to that. Missed opportunity to do goofy, the goofy movie.

SPEAKER_04:

Oh we've talked about this, haven't we?

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, we have just anyway. Okay, but I feel like we're they always want to like throw in a Muppet.

SPEAKER_04:

Yeah, they do.

SPEAKER_01:

They love the Muppets, and I do too, but not enough. Don't take away from this 250-year celebration for me.

SPEAKER_04:

I know. Can we make something not like intellectual property? Just make it original.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, I'll give you this property. Yeah. Disney, you don't even have to pay me for this idea.

SPEAKER_04:

So you would like some credit for it.

SPEAKER_01:

No, I don't need that. You know what I need? I need them to be nicer when people ask for help in the park.

SPEAKER_05:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

But I also need the people in the park to be nicer.

SPEAKER_05:

Yes.

SPEAKER_01:

So yeah. But that is what are other news, what are the other new things that are happening?

SPEAKER_04:

Okay. The other thing that's happening, I need to find it on here. It's not, I don't think it's on the parks blog. Um oh well, I know what you are excited for. Banana ball.

SPEAKER_02:

Oh my gosh!

SPEAKER_04:

How many times have you entered that lottery?

SPEAKER_01:

I first of all, I so, so I still don't know why they took the Braves spring training away from there. Do you know why? Why did that happen? I am the wrong time. And the Braves were mad. Because why would you not want to be in it in Orlando at Disney World?

SPEAKER_03:

I didn't even know that that oh gosh. I didn't even know that they were down there.

SPEAKER_01:

That was where spring training was.

SPEAKER_03:

Okay.

SPEAKER_01:

So I don't know if just like because of our day and age and people love to follow and maybe there wasn't enough space. I don't know.

SPEAKER_04:

They just wanted to change the scenery, maybe.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, I don't know why. Why they can just stay in the cabins and live their best life while they run to baseball every day. Um, but I'm excited, but I'm excited to see what this looks like. Are they gonna host games? Yes. Are because the stadium does not hold a lot. Are they gonna host games? Are they gonna travel more? Um, I that's what I want to see. You mean the bananas? The coconuts, thank you. The coconuts. Thank you for getting the team name right.

unknown:

Thank you.

SPEAKER_04:

I am so confused. And the coconut.

SPEAKER_01:

So the banana ball, so the banana ball is a league.

SPEAKER_04:

Okay.

SPEAKER_01:

So think the major leagues.

SPEAKER_05:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

Okay, so now we're in Banana Ball League.

SPEAKER_05:

Okay.

SPEAKER_01:

And there are teams within it. There are the Savannah Bananas, the party animals, the Texas tailgators, okay, the firefighters. And no, ladies, it is not the firefighters that you're thinking. It is just a bunch of college-age kids playing baseball. Right. And I and now the coconuts.

SPEAKER_04:

Now the coconuts. And those are in Orlando.

SPEAKER_01:

Those are in Orlando. Okay. Specifically Kissimmee, Florida.

SPEAKER_04:

Wow.

SPEAKER_01:

Okay, but they're gonna play at so they'll play, so they travel to different places. For example, the party animal animals played the Savannah Bananas in Clemson University. Okay. At Clemson University. Okay. They also will play at like Finway Park.

SPEAKER_05:

Okay.

SPEAKER_01:

But it'll be two of the teams playing against each other. So my question is all of them have a home city, right? Savannah Bananas, obviously are Savannah. Are is there gonna be a home game in Disney?

SPEAKER_04:

Interesting. I mean that that's where they're kicking it off, right? They're kicking off. Well, according to the Disney Parks blog. Okay.

SPEAKER_01:

I'm just kidding.

SPEAKER_04:

I mean, it could be, but this says, okay, slip on those dancing shoes, grab your glove, and get ready to suit up in your most appealing, appealing, I get it.

SPEAKER_01:

Oh, I get it.

SPEAKER_04:

Banana. Uh Banana Ball is coming to Walt Disney World in 2026.

SPEAKER_01:

Um, six months away. No. How are you what month is it?

SPEAKER_04:

Well, it says um Okay, the Banana Ball City Selection Show revealed the dates and locations for the next season. For those fans looking to catch the great show. No, the greatest show in sports um on the 2026 tour. The big news for Disney fans on May 29th and 30th, Banana Ball is coming to ESPN, um, wide world of sports complex at Disney World.

SPEAKER_01:

Say that three times fast.

SPEAKER_04:

I always have to say it. I literally say it every time. I I have to say it slowly because I can't say it quickly. Um putting fans uh first and directly into the center of the action. Uh for some reason I thought they were kicking off the season.

SPEAKER_01:

Maybe they are, but did you not see the thing about the coconuts? So you had no idea what I was talking about.

SPEAKER_04:

I had no idea.

SPEAKER_01:

I just thought that'd do what Emily taught us if you're on Instagram Google.

SPEAKER_04:

Yes. Okay. It says, what banana ball teams are playing at Walt Disney World? And it says um the Savannah Bananas traveled across the country for many of their high-profile matchups, competing against the firefighters, the party animals, and the Texas Tailgators.

SPEAKER_01:

How good was I? I got all of those right.

SPEAKER_04:

Next season, with the addition of two teams. Yes. It says Walt Disney World will welcome the slugging Loco Beach Coconuts in a dynamic battle against the always entertaining party animals.

SPEAKER_01:

Hold on. Okay. Okay, so I read that they were coming out that they were affiliated with Disney. Okay. Y'all hang tight for a hot minute. For example, they are scheduled to play against the the clowns at Vi Star Ballpark in Jacksonville, Florida. Yeah. July 2026. Okay. Okay, so maybe they don't have like a maybe it's just like representing the Florida area area. Okay. And they're playing in. But that's where they play. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04:

Okay.

SPEAKER_01:

And they're debuting in Disney, which is probably why I thought that.

SPEAKER_04:

Okay.

SPEAKER_01:

As everybody knows, I just kind of make things up as they go along.

SPEAKER_04:

Well, I want people to know this because I do not care for baseball. I have three girls. We really tried to get the youngest one into T-ball.

SPEAKER_01:

Also, I feel like everybody should know it was the cutest.

SPEAKER_04:

It was the cutest. Um coach Branick, he really tried and um failed.

SPEAKER_01:

And that was his favorite. Yeah. Chambers was his favorite.

SPEAKER_04:

It she really wanted to want it, but she didn't. She just didn't.

SPEAKER_01:

She didn't have played on my team.

SPEAKER_04:

She would have probably thrived.

SPEAKER_01:

She would have thrived. You talk about logo coconut.

SPEAKER_04:

Yeah. Well, so I am not a person who loves baseball. My family does not love baseball. We love, we are more MBA people. Um and banana ball is something we are excited about. We are we have heard, yes, we have heard how entertaining it is, how exciting it is from lots of people. So even if you feel like I don't really care about baseball, like what who even cares at all? Listen, this is a fun thing, especially if it's going to be at Disney. Yeah. This is going to be a good time. So if you are planning uh to be at Walt Disney World sometime next um, you know, during those dates, it looks like May 29th and 30th.

SPEAKER_01:

Aka Memorial Day weekend, is what that sounds like.

SPEAKER_04:

You should enter the lottery. Okay. Enter the lottery to get tickets. Um, the lottery does close on November 1st. So you've got a couple of weeks.

SPEAKER_01:

Um and when you win the lottery, you don't win tickets. You win the ability to buy tickets.

SPEAKER_04:

That's right. That's right. It's kind of like Taylor Swift.

SPEAKER_01:

It's kind of like Taylor Swift.

SPEAKER_04:

Which I'm not like it's kind of like a fast pass. Yes. Oh, excuse me. Um, so the lottery is not free tickets, it is the ability to buy tickets.

SPEAKER_01:

So um I also feel like since you're an NBA fan, if you are listening to this and you do happen to live under a rock like Sarah did and have not a lot of knowledge of banana ball, if you know what the Harlem Globetrotters are. Yes. It is the Harlem Globetrotters of baseball. Yes.

SPEAKER_04:

So entertaining for all.

SPEAKER_01:

And the kids love it. Yeah. And it is ridiculous. They dress up funny. There's a guy on stilts. You actually question a lot like, why are you able to do that?

SPEAKER_04:

Right. Why are you able to hit the ball and then run in strips? It it is everything I want baseball to be. Uh more entertaining. Okay.

SPEAKER_01:

And you're lively.

SPEAKER_04:

Sydney and I, when we went to DC, we went to a nationals game. That was the first um baseball game I have I've been and been to in a while. I mean, I would go to you know, I grew up in Tampa. Yeah. So we would go to um Rays games sometimes, but during that time it wasn't really the Rays are not great, never were great. They they weren't. And I I I mean, I don't I like I said, I don't follow baseball side. I don't know. I have no idea if they're good now.

SPEAKER_01:

So you know they've changed their logo nine times.

SPEAKER_04:

Yeah. Well they um in 2000, circa 2000, basically, when I was going to, you know, I think tra the Yankees trained there. The Yankees had their spring training. Maybe, maybe that's really what I watched. Yeah. And I didn't actually go to a race game. That's why, yeah. I think I watched the Yankees Spring Training Camp and I didn't actually go to a race game. Anyway, um, you know, that is my experience with baseball. But everyone, when I went to DC and we went to a baseball game, today's baseball game is a lot more entertaining for people just like all around who are not huge baseball fans. So I do appreciate that.

SPEAKER_01:

They're not as long with the pitch clock, so it's a little bit, it's less lounging around. Yeah. And the food is much better now.

SPEAKER_04:

The food is much better. When we were at the Nationals game, I was like, oh, this is everybody can get on board with this. Everybody in the whole DC group, whether they liked baseball or not, had a great time. It was a highlight. Um, but if you so all that to say, banana ball, even more in at Disney World.

SPEAKER_01:

Yes.

SPEAKER_04:

I mean, that's gonna be a good time.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah. So I did look up their schedule and I think that we can link this. I'll send it to you, Sarah.

SPEAKER_05:

Okay.

SPEAKER_01:

But they um have a lot of, oh no, I just went away. I'll I promise I'll send it back. But they have a lot of games in a lot of different cities, and it may not be the loco coconuts and it may not be the Savienna Banenas, but they're all of the same caliber. Got it. Harlem Globe Trotter styles.

SPEAKER_04:

Yes, okay. Well, go, we will put this uh in a link because I do want to uh I want to post more about this banana ball stuff because I here's what I love when Disney does things like this Disney is not just about the parks in Orlando. There are a lot of things to do that are really fun, which you're gonna get to talk about some today. Um it's not all about it's not all about just going to the to the parks, even though that's a big highlight. Um, this is a fun thing that you know you can add into your Disney World vote uh vacation. So go to bananaball.com and you can look at the ticket lottery and join it. Uh I think that you need to have like an email and a person, like you can't do it multiple times. Yeah, it's like one email address um for each one. So go ahead and check that out. That's banana ball.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, and I just sent you the schedule on Instagram.

SPEAKER_04:

Oh, yes, okay. So I will share that.

SPEAKER_01:

But yeah, the the wide world of the wide world of sports, you hear that? That was good. You did it. So good. Don't ask me to do that again. Um, in fact, we were talking to Reed about that on our trip this past weekend, and we were saying he was just asking y'all about it, and we did not drive over there through it. But um, it is a neat, it is a neat little complex. If you and if you have kids that play in competitive sports, look at different tournaments or training sessions, they really do everything except for probably football. Well, they do flag football down there, okay, but not at all.

SPEAKER_04:

I know there's a lot of soccer tournaments, yes, a lot of soccer tournaments down there. Oh my gosh, cheer that is a Disney park and a cheerleading competition. That was my life in high school. Stay away. Stay away, yes. It's like Maryland Weekend. Yes, unless you are a cheerleader, that is yeah, man, that is what you're looking forward to.

SPEAKER_01:

And actually, all school year. If you are traveling and are wanting to stay at one of the value resorts, maybe double check and make sure there's not a cheer weekend.

SPEAKER_04:

Double check. Unless, listen, that is an entertaining time too. One time my girls and I, we stayed at one of the maybe we went to the All-Stars or something. They were really little and it was just me with them. And those cheerleaders were practicing.

SPEAKER_01:

I was about to say, did they eat your girls up too?

SPEAKER_04:

Yeah, and they were practicing stunts. And so that was you get out there and do something. I mean, I was like, Do you need me to spot you? Were you like?

SPEAKER_01:

I still got it.

SPEAKER_04:

Uh let me let me help you a little bit. No, it was that was really fun. But I can imagine, yeah. I mean, we were there totally leisurely, you know, staying at all-stars and then going to like one park.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04:

If you were there for your legit vacation, staying there during cheer weekend, that would be tough.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04:

That would, yeah, immediately no.

SPEAKER_01:

It's like a youth group. It's like a giant youth group trip. Yes, is all you need to think about it. Yes. Think of it as.

SPEAKER_04:

Um, okay.

SPEAKER_01:

Speaking of group trips.

SPEAKER_04:

Group trips, yes. That's what I really wanted to talk about today with Elizabeth because she just got back from a really fun um trip this weekend for her fall break. And I think group trips are not talked about enough.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04:

We talk about kind of multi-generational family trips, and those are different from what you just did. Um, this kind of trip I think is so fun. This is something we've done before. Um, but this is the first time you did this with the this group of people. This group of people, people who are, you know, know Disney well, some people who don't. So let's talk a little bit about group trips, what it looks like, how stressful it really is. Go ahead.

SPEAKER_01:

So there were a total of 22 of us. Um, and it was basically a school field trip. And um I think that so we found a we all wanted to stay in the cabins because it was fall and because hello, I picked the place. Yeah. Um, but we all agreed that every we wanted the kids to be able to run around, which you obviously cannot have in a hotel. Um, and so we booked it through a travel agent and she was able to get us all next to each other, which was amazing. Um, and we were, if you are in the cabins, I will do a quick shout-out to this, request the 2300 loop if you are going with a group of kids, because there's a none of the other loops do this, but in the middle of this loop, there is a giant field.

SPEAKER_05:

Okay.

SPEAKER_01:

And so our kids literally played wiffle ball 90% of the time. Um, they played tag, they played football, they played, you know, obviously they rode their bikes, but that you are not able to do in the other loops because the other loops are heavily wooded. Um so So tell say again, the 2300 loop. 2300 loop.

SPEAKER_05:

Okay.

SPEAKER_01:

Um Reed could tell you the name of it. I could not, the 2300 loop. Um, so that, so that was that. But um two myself and another one of the the moms on the trip were very familiar with Disney and the other three families, not so much. And so I think that when you're planning for a group, you need to figure out everybody's like think for yourself everybody's personality. We had one dad and one sixth grade son who were definitely not keen on the idea of going to Magic Kingdom. So we they love golf. So I was like, let's get you a tea time. And so they did a tea, they played golf while we went to the park and that or went to the park as a family or as the big group. And that was great because I do think the majority of the kids were younger. So I do think that that would have been hard for a sixth grade, a 12-year-old boy, you know. Um, and so they have an older one though, too, right? They have no, he did not go. He did not come. He did not come.

SPEAKER_04:

Okay.

SPEAKER_01:

So they the boys played, those two dads played golf. We give everybody else the opportunity. If you want to play golf, here's the tea time. And they were the only two who wanted to play.

SPEAKER_05:

Okay.

SPEAKER_01:

So we went in to the Magic Kingdom and we all rode together the People Mover and the Carousel of Progress. And then we kind of said, everybody's somewhat on their own. There were lightning lanes available for Tron. And so the people who wanted to help ride Tron, they all rode it together while one of the other moms took the little kids and they did um uh The Little Mermaid and all the little rides.

SPEAKER_04:

Was there one person who managed everybody's like if you wanted to go do this, you can come with us and I can make the reservation?

SPEAKER_01:

So there was we kind of had the first three rides, like we had the first three rides set.

SPEAKER_05:

Okay.

SPEAKER_01:

And we knew that that was gonna get us till probably 11 o'clock, 11:30. Um, so we knew that it was gonna be we were gonna go in through Tomorrowland because there's no other way to enter the Magic Kingdom. Actually, everybody should enter the other way and at Tomorrowland. That way, when I go, nobody's in Tomorrowland. Sarah just looked at me very intently. She was like, what are those sick?

SPEAKER_04:

Wait, is this a new trick that I don't know?

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, you no, you should go to Tomorrowland. Everybody else should go through Adventureland.

SPEAKER_04:

I think that that's a lot of people. They that is the suggestion is to go Adventureland now because it gets so busy in Tomorrowland. So yeah, let's shift the traffic that way so that we can I'll report back when I get over there.

SPEAKER_01:

Um, so we knew it was gonna be that side first, and we knew it was gonna get us through lunch. And then as everybody knows, once lunchtime hits, everybody's like the the initial, like, oh my gosh, we're here, and everyone's like excitement, it doesn't wear off, but it's it's not as like, you know, we got in and all of the the fourth grade boys were like, we've gotta get to Tron. Yeah. And we were like, remember, our time is at this time, so we're gonna ride these two rides first. And the people mover and the carousel of progress allowed everybody to do the ride. So we all did that together. Did uh did we say how many people you were working with? 22. 22. 22. So everybody got their fast pass squared away in the morning. Excuse me, lightning lane.

SPEAKER_04:

Lightning lane.

SPEAKER_01:

And we knew, like I said, we knew that while the bigs did Tron, the Littles were gonna do something else. And so we just kind of shared Disney apps and shared everybody's. So, like you, I could take your kids, you could take my kids, whatever.

SPEAKER_04:

We took the tickets, you know. So there is some some things you have to do on the front end. You're gonna need to connect on My Disney experience. Yes. You're you need to do all of that so that you can see everyone and everyone can everyone can see everyone's and is connected. Yes. So that you can add a person. If you're gonna go pick up a lightning lane and you wanna find it for a group of six, you can pick up, you know, one of your kids, one of someone else's kids, you know, and you can you can do all that. But that requires work on the front end that you need to do.

SPEAKER_01:

And you need to do that before you get into the you need to do that before you leave your house. Yeah, this is this is not a Disney app that is like before you start packing your bags. You need to do that.

SPEAKER_04:

That's all you're pre-planning.

SPEAKER_01:

Now I will say, and you know this, and if she ever heard this, she would laugh out loud because she knows it's true. My sweet Courtney is my she is my ancient older sister, and I have to hold her hand through everything. So Courtney did not have to worry about a thing. I was like, she that Courtney did not download my Disney experience. There's no nine did not work.

SPEAKER_04:

I get it. I get it.

SPEAKER_01:

It did not, but that's okay.

SPEAKER_04:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

So I knew going into it as the Disney expert that I had her under my wing. Um, and for the most part, everybody else, if they had quite everybody else was responsible for their own thing, but we kind of said that time, this is what we're doing.

SPEAKER_05:

Okay.

SPEAKER_01:

So while they were on, so while bigs were on Tron, while Littles were doing teacups and Little Mermaid and all of those little things, I had the baby and I was at Cosmic Rays with all, and I ordered, I think I ordered seven adult chicken finger meals and just had a smorgasbord of I need to, I need you to know how good I was at this. And the baby is your dream. This is your dream. I it was first of all, it was at it was a it was not an Elizabeth approved stroller. It was an upgraded umbrella stroller, and you know how I feel about that.

SPEAKER_04:

Okay. How did you I yeah, I want to hear about this.

SPEAKER_01:

So it was actually fine. It was not the it had the big sturdy wheels. Oh, then it's fine. Yes. So I went, I ordered a head, I went in and I did it before the rush came in. I filled up all the water bottles that I had while I was waiting for the food because there is a water fountain in there, like the water bottle filler. And I asked for to-go boxes and a bag. And a bag. They gave me to-go boxes. I put everything in the to-go boxes. They did not have a bag, so I stacked it on the umbrella. The backpack was hanging off of the umbrella arms, umbrella stroller arms, and then I stacked it up. I carried, I had two coats. I carried them and I controlled the stroller with my pinkies. Didn't know how strong my pinkies were, but let me tell you, girl, they are strong. Wow. I went down that ramp. Yes, I did. I went down that ramp, did not spill one thing. I somebody, I had somebody open the door for me because I was not doing that by myself. That's where I drew the line. I cannot do this. So I had help. This is the one thing. And then I set up camp right outside because it was so nice. Right outside of like the Cheshire, Cheshire cat.

SPEAKER_05:

Yes.

SPEAKER_01:

So the bathroom was right there. Every so it was fine. So everybody then came over, and what we said to the parents were food is here for you to eat. If you want to, if your kid wants to do something while we're around here, go do it. You're on your own. Yep. Everybody's on their own. So we stayed there for probably two hours.

SPEAKER_05:

Okay.

SPEAKER_01:

And some people did Mine Train, some people did Winnie the Pooh, some people did Barnstormer, some people did all three. We kind of stayed there for two hours. Were you kind of parked there for that two hours?

SPEAKER_04:

Or did you kind of like switch off?

SPEAKER_01:

Everybody everybody kind of did. Like I went on, I went on uh Snow White Mine Train. I did not do the tea update. I did not do the teacups. I know everybody was concerned. Well, let me just tell you immediately now. Um, Scott Branick stayed put the whole time.

SPEAKER_04:

Okay.

SPEAKER_01:

He was like, I'm good.

SPEAKER_04:

I'm good. I'm gonna stay here. He got his trouble price.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, he was good.

SPEAKER_04:

I knew I knew I knew he would get the trouble price.

SPEAKER_01:

Um and also at the Cheshire Cat, there was iced coffee. So some of the it was just it was a very nice spot that I didn't know was a good location until I had it.

SPEAKER_05:

Right.

SPEAKER_01:

So um, and like I said, the bathroom was right there. Winnie the Pooh would pop in and out, so the kids loved to see that. Um, and so when we were done with that, we decided that, and then in that we were talk, we were talking about our next move, which was Splash Mountain, aka Tiana's Bayou bash.

SPEAKER_05:

Yep. Um still not right. It's fine.

SPEAKER_01:

It's not, what is it?

SPEAKER_04:

Tiana's Bayou Adventure.

SPEAKER_01:

Okay, it's a bash. It's okay. Missed opportunity.

SPEAKER_04:

You know, it is.

SPEAKER_01:

I like that. I like that more. What is that? An alliteration?

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

Is that what that is?

SPEAKER_02:

I'm so proud of myself. I know.

SPEAKER_01:

Past history in English.

SPEAKER_04:

Um here's what I let's pause before you go to Tiana's. What's really important to remember when you are traveling with a big party is you are not going to be fast-paced moving throughout the park with group of 20 unless you have two VIP tour guides with you. Because that's how many you would have to have with a group of 20?

SPEAKER_01:

You'd actually with 22, you'd have to have three.

SPEAKER_04:

Yeah. You you'd have to have two or three with that big of a group. And yes, you can get through the parks very quickly with something like that. Um, but not everybody wants to move that quickly. You were able to allow kind of like, okay, everybody, we're gonna be here when you want a break, everybody go do the things that are in this general area, but you have to be prepared when you have that big of a group, you need to prioritize everyone eating and drinking and going to the bathroom, those kinds of things, having that rather than rushing everybody around.

SPEAKER_01:

And anticipating. Like I knew at 12 o'clock the three-year-olds were gonna be losing their mind.

SPEAKER_04:

Right.

SPEAKER_01:

So it was very important.

SPEAKER_04:

How many kids total?

SPEAKER_01:

Oh gosh, okay, hold on. Five plus three, plus two, ten, plus two. Twelve. That doesn't sound right. Did I not do that math right? Yep, that is right, yeah. That's right.

SPEAKER_04:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

Because the other one was playing golf.

SPEAKER_04:

Okay.

SPEAKER_01:

Twelve kids. Twelve kids.

SPEAKER_04:

That's a lot, and they're little.

SPEAKER_01:

And they are little. Like there was a seven-month-old, a three-year-old, a five-year-old, a five-year-old, or four-year-old, a three, four, and five-year-old, and then it bumped up to an eight-year-old, three nine-year-olds, two ten-year-olds, and then an eleven-year-old. So it kind of bumped around in there. Um basically preschool, kindergarten, third grade, fourth grade, fifth, sixth grade. Okay. I should also note that there was a not so scary party happening. We were on a Friday. Yes. Okay. So it made this whole idea of allowing the kids to kind of do their own thing. But or made it easier. Why is that significant? So um the park, Magic Kingdom is not as busy on a party night because it's a separate ticket. Yep. Um, so keep that in mind if you're going during a holiday season and they're doing after parties. Go. If you don't have tickets to go to the magic, if you're not going to not so scary or merry Christmas or whatever the heck it's called, plan that to be your Magic Kingdom Day if there is a park. If you're going to a park that day. Right. If you don't care about the fireworks. If you don't care about the fireworks, which is 98% of our listeners.

SPEAKER_04:

I know. I'm the only one who really cares.

SPEAKER_01:

I did send Sarah a picture of the fireworks as we were driving out there.

SPEAKER_04:

I did feel loved. Yeah. I felt seen.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04:

But that is important. You need to see what is your priority, a lighter park or being able to be at the Magic Kingdom in the evening. Yeah. Because it will close and you can't be there in the evening when they have a Halloween party or a Christmas party. It's like six o'clock.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah. Yeah. We didn't even stay that late. And I think that's another thing. I um so we moved from Tomorrowland, Fantasyland, and we did not go back behind where Peter Pan is.

SPEAKER_05:

Okay.

SPEAKER_01:

Which is, you know, I always travel that way. We went in front of the castle.

SPEAKER_05:

Okay.

SPEAKER_01:

And went over to Splash Mountain that way. Thunder Mountain was closed. So that allowed for us to not have to worry about that.

SPEAKER_05:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

Um, everybody had a fast pass for we were able to all get a fast pass for Splash Mountain. And everybody but uh one of one of the adults stayed back with the baby.

SPEAKER_05:

Okay.

SPEAKER_01:

And everybody else rode the ride, including the littles. They all rode the ride. Um so, and then we went from there to pirates.

SPEAKER_05:

Okay.

SPEAKER_01:

After pirates, we said, I'm going back to the campground. And another family was like, We're also going back to the campground. Everyone else stayed.

SPEAKER_04:

Okay. And around what time is this?

SPEAKER_01:

That was probably 2 15.

SPEAKER_05:

Okay.

SPEAKER_01:

Um, I now the other three families, they do not, I mean, they're Florida residents, but they do not Disney as often. Right. So they were like, we're gonna just go while we can.

SPEAKER_04:

We're gonna stay here and do more stuff. Yes. Got it.

SPEAKER_01:

And um, I think that they all rode two or three more rides. They also broke up, they all did one thing together and then they broke up and did separate things. Um, and then they all came back probably 415, 430.

SPEAKER_05:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

Um, and then from there we did we had a babysitter, we had two babysitters come, and then we left for Epcot. The adults, the adults around five, and we lost an adult in that mix. Like she left to go home. And so, um, or we left lost a family in that. They left after they left the Magic Kingdom. And at Epcot, we did Guardians, and then we just did the World Showcase. Actually, I take it back. We did Guardians and Test Track, and then we did the World Showcase, and that was it. That was all that we did. Um, and we parked, we parked behind we actually ended up parking at the beach club, so we exited through that area. Um anyway, all of that to say if you're traveling in a big group, you have if if if this is your only, if this is your only time you've ever been to Disney, or your only time y'all are all going to Disney, I I honestly would I feel like I would avoid saying we're all gonna go together. I think that you can all say we'll meet up here for lunch.

SPEAKER_05:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

But it just gets too chaotic if it's your one and only time to go to Disney.

SPEAKER_05:

Yes.

SPEAKER_01:

Now, if you're there and you travel often or you're with a group that travels often, I think that you can do what we did and just fine. But you have to be totally content with the fact, and we talked to all of us talked to our kids beforehand. Um, I will also say we did this, and Sarah knows that I'm a psychopath, and that's okay. I feel like all of y'all know I'm a psychopath too. But I, before we left the campground, we did a buddy check. Yeah, everybody was assigned a buddy.

SPEAKER_05:

Yep.

SPEAKER_01:

And because we pretty much stayed together except for when we were sitting. But like, as you know, walking through Tomorrowland, you are it is a field trip.

SPEAKER_04:

It is a field trip.

SPEAKER_01:

It's a field trip.

SPEAKER_04:

I'm surprised I'm shocked you didn't have a flag.

SPEAKER_01:

I we did all have those old navy matching shirts. Yes. It was so cute.

SPEAKER_04:

Yes.

SPEAKER_01:

And then anytime we saw somebody with them on, we were like, Are you in our party? Yeah. They did not think it was funny, I thought it was hilarious.

SPEAKER_04:

What you mean by psychopath? Because I know some people are sensitive to using that language. I'm sorry. But it's because you are just very hyper-vigilant when you are having the responsibility of that many children, even if it's Disney, you just want to make sure everyone's not going to be able to do it.

SPEAKER_01:

It can get real, it can go, it can get it can get dicey so fast. Yes. And it's not that something can happen to the kids.

SPEAKER_05:

Right.

SPEAKER_01:

It's that if if so-and-so stops to look at the duck and no one sees that so-and-so stopped to look at the duck, that can happen like that. Right.

SPEAKER_04:

And um And it's not so much even I tell my kids, if you were to get lost, you know, like they know to look for a cast member, which is usually going to be at um, I say, look at the closest attraction or look at the closest restaurant and walk to it. Don't go too far. Just there's going to be an attraction or restaurant within steps. And you go straight to the cast member. You don't wait in line. You don't, you just go straight to the cast member and say, I am lost and I need to find my parents. Yeah. Um, you don't ask another mom, you don't do any of that stuff. You go straight to a cast member. Um, it's not so much that we think that if they start to look for the ducks, we're gonna lose them, we'll never find them. But if that happens, that can really ruin your trip. Yeah. If you lose a kid for 10 minutes at Disney World, no one wants that. Okay. It it the vibe is done. Well, and then there's- You feel very nervous after that, and it's just it's hard to move on from there.

SPEAKER_01:

And I also think that knowing the the moms that were in the group, knowing that there was only one other mom who is very familiar with Disney, and the other three moms were familiar vaguely with Disney, I think that it just allowed for, and as you know, with a group of of that many kids, it can just become a free-for-all very fast.

SPEAKER_05:

Yes.

SPEAKER_01:

So we would get like when we walked from Tomorrowland to the people mover, we dropped the strollers and we yelled buddy check, and everybody got together.

SPEAKER_05:

Yep.

SPEAKER_01:

It actually worked with the babysitters. They took the bus down to the um to the front and they did dinner down there. And when they were pulling them on the playground, all they yelled was buddy check, and the kids all got together, and then that's how we saw who you know did the headcount or whatever. Um, but I like finding someone like that, and the joke from one of the dads the next day when they went to the park. So the next day, Saturday, everybody was on their own. Um, two of the families went to they went to, I think they went to two separate parks. My daughter went with one of the families. My son and my husband and I, we did Disney Springs. Another one of the families left. And um, but one of the dads was like, I felt like it was not as organized and my kids were losing their mind.

SPEAKER_02:

I was like, Yeah, because I wasn't yelling buddy check.

SPEAKER_04:

Right, right. Um this is what I think is good, a good takeaway with the group situation is because I've got I've gotten these questions before. Like I go to Disney kind of, you know, a couple times a year, so I know um the parks and everything, but my um my brother and sister-in-law and their kids, they've never been and they want to come with us because we know how to do it, right? Um, same thing with my sister and her family that live out west. You know, they don't ever go, and when they go, they only will come with us. There are plenty of people who have asked me, like, how should I do that? Should I um manage everybody's, you know, my Disney experience and their rides and just say, this is what we're doing, or should I be okay to um say, oh, we can come together, but let's make our own plans. And I always say, it just depends on how big the group is, right? You had five families with you. Yeah, that's too big to manage everybody's expectations and say, like, this is what we're gonna do. Um, it's not necessary. And everybody knew beforehand, though, you're kind of on your own. You know, there's some things we're gonna do together and some things we're not. If you're like my sister, she's not interested in doing anything apart from what I have planned. She's like, whatever emo, that's what aunt is in Korean. She tells her kids whatever emo's plan, that's what we're doing. And they are fine. And I make sure I'm I'm I know how old they are, I know what they want to do, and I fit that in. But they are along for the ride. So you have to know your other person. If you have one other family going with you, and if you think they might have some opinions about it, you cannot try to manage their whole experience unless they are willing to be managed. If they don't want to be, you've got to do what kind of you were doing, but you guys did it because it was such a big group. But if you had another situation, it's like you've got to say, okay, let's do a couple rides together and then we're gonna split up from here.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah. And I also think, like you said, it is important to know and to communicate the boundaries ahead of time. Like it is what it is. Um, and I I also think I also think that your point about the being here for the ride, like I said, the one family that is, she's like an older sister to me, she is here for the ride. Yeah. And so I just was like, you're gonna be here at this time and you're gonna have this on.

SPEAKER_05:

Yep.

SPEAKER_01:

And and it will be fine. Um and so, and I also think that it is important to remember that it's their trip too.

SPEAKER_05:

Yes.

SPEAKER_01:

Like that's what I told my kids. It's not this is not about you. Right. If they ride a ride that they want to ride and you don't want to ride it, you don't have to ride it, but it's their trip too.

SPEAKER_05:

Right.

SPEAKER_01:

Um, so and I that just really it was very nice how we were all able to kind of coexist together in that. Thursday. So we got there Thursday, we cooked out, we grilled out, um, which was nice. Um, and this was at the cabins. At the cabins.

SPEAKER_04:

There are charcoal grills. And so you can bring.

SPEAKER_01:

I brought we brought the charcoal, brought my headlamp, cooked 22 burgers.

SPEAKER_04:

Amazing.

SPEAKER_01:

It was awesome. I did have a praying mantis laying on my neck, and I was outside, and I was like, dear lord, do not drop this tray. Do not do not drop this tray of burgers. I did not drop the tray of burgers, but I went inside and I was like, y'all, there was a praying mantis, and it literally crawled around my neck.

SPEAKER_04:

Absolutely not.

SPEAKER_01:

Like men in black style.

SPEAKER_04:

Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_01:

And I dropped all of the burgers right then and there. It was, but they made it inside. Yeah. Everything was fine.

SPEAKER_04:

On the table. So you guys grilled out on Thursday night. Girl out Thursday night. There was great weather. All of your cabins were next to each other. There was a big field for everybody to all the kids to kind of play in.

SPEAKER_01:

We did not take it. So we did, so of course, like, so Friday night after Epcot, which we'll talk about in a minute. After Epcot, we came back. We all sat on the porch and played cards, but we talked about like next year if we did this again next year. We said we'd take the adult Epcot element out. We'd probably still do an adult dinner, but we missed being able to do like the campfire song.

SPEAKER_05:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

Um, now we did have a situation that kind of prevented that from happening with one of the kids. So that was fine, but we did kind of miss that element with the kids.

SPEAKER_05:

Right.

SPEAKER_01:

I do want to talk about this Disney transportation with groups. Okay. So we drove everywhere we went. We paid for parking where we could because we were like, it is, and this was an us thing. This was we, I literally have an Excel sheet of every single expense, and we just Venma requested out.

SPEAKER_05:

Okay.

SPEAKER_01:

Um I the Skyliner from Epcot. So they I did not realize this. On the back side of Disney, the only way to exit Epcot is if you're staying on a boardwalk property, if you parked there or the Skyliner, there are no longer buses running from the resorts to Ticket Transportation Center, any of that. So you cannot go to the boardwalk and get on a bus to take you somewhere else.

SPEAKER_05:

Okay.

SPEAKER_01:

Which was what I did when I was a kid. We would leave out that door, we would take the freedom boat over, we'd get on the bus, and we'd go to like Magic Kingdom or another resort, and then we'd get on another. No, you're only going on the buses in the front. So the line for the Skyliner was, you know, double wrapped. And then it went all the way past the first building of the beach club.

SPEAKER_04:

Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_01:

The lady holding the sign. There's a picture of me with the lady holding the sign, and she said she had not seen it that busy since the 4th of July. Wow. So I think that, and we were out before the firework show. We were out as the firework show was going on, I think.

SPEAKER_04:

Which is still shocking. Yes. It should be long after the fireworks show.

SPEAKER_01:

Yes.

SPEAKER_04:

That's usually when it gets really long and everybody understands like you're either gonna stay for this and then want to get on the skyliner right away and stand in line, or you need to just hang out at Epcot for a little bit until that dies down.

SPEAKER_01:

Right. And everything closes. Like we went to there's um in Italy, there's a wine cellar room. The food is not was not great, but the scenery was really great. Like we loved that. So we sat there, we got a bottle of wine, and we kind of munched. But um, so when we left that, it was 9 15.

SPEAKER_05:

Okay.

SPEAKER_01:

So everything, the park was open, but all the booths were closed.

SPEAKER_05:

Okay.

SPEAKER_01:

Um, but yeah, so it was that was, I think that you need to be if you're traveling in a large group, I recommend that at least one person knows about Disney and is able to plan these things. Yeah. And is able to say, like, okay, we're not taking the skyliner if we're gonna leave at 9:15 at night, because that, I mean, I'm telling you, those people didn't leave for another hour and a half.

SPEAKER_05:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

Um, we're not doing that. We will take the bus, Uber if you need to Uber, do a ride share, do whatever you need to do. But just keep in mind that if if the kids were there and that had been our form of transportation, that would have been an absolute nightmare.

SPEAKER_04:

Yeah. That's when Uber really does. Yeah. Now that Uber is able to come on property and you can do that, you don't have to take a minivan. Minivan is managed by Lyft. If you want to lift, it's only going to be a minivan and it's going to be a flat rate. Um, and if you want to have that experience, that's great. We did that when we did um my birthday trip, and that I'm and that was a fun experience. But Uber is a fraction of the price, and that's when you have to just everybody get on their app and separately, each family has to yeah, because that's what's that is disappointing about the Skyliner, those kinds of things, they they just get really, really backed up.

SPEAKER_01:

I okay, I do think that I need to restate. So the buses will run from the front of the park. Yes, they will not run from the back of Epcot. What I'm like when I was talking about that.

SPEAKER_04:

From those resorts. Yes. When the parks are closing down, they're not gonna run from those resorts to the parks. Correct.

SPEAKER_01:

So if you're wanting to get out of Epcot, you You gotta you if I were you, I'd leave from the front. Do not plan on leaving through the back. Right. Unless you're gonna brave the skyliner. Yeah. Which I'm like, I hate I'm sorry. I'm really sorry. I don't know about the boat. The freedom boat was not running. So uh, but yeah, I would do your I would do your research on that and then kind of make make your decision before you go. You know what I mean? Yeah. But it's good. Um, it was good, it was great. I do think that it was the people, I mean, you and I have talked about this, right? We have gone with Ashley and taken all of our kids and had a great time. We've gone with just couples, yes, and we've had a great time. Um I feel like when you leave a trip and everybody is still so happy and can't wait, then you know you did it right.

SPEAKER_05:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

Um, so I just think that I think that you said it. Like kind of be real with yourself. Who are you? This who are you in this trip? And um set the expectations for your kids too. Um, and then just make sure everybody has food. Everybody needs to be hydrated and fed. All the whole time. The whole time. The whole time. And this is not the time to say that my kids can walk. Get a stroller. Please just get a stroller.

SPEAKER_04:

I listen, if you are two parents and you have one kid and you don't want to manage a stroller, um, that's okay.

SPEAKER_01:

If you're trying to take turns, but even with the water bottles, like we had everybody had a water bottle. We had one stroller just for water bottles.

SPEAKER_04:

Yeah. I think whenever people ask, oh, my kid is four. My my kids are four and six, or my kids are six and eight, or my kids are eight and ten.

SPEAKER_01:

Re Brainick definitely sat in that stroller.

SPEAKER_04:

In all of those scenarios, I'm bringing a stroller. You know, obviously younger than four, we're bringing strollers, but um, my youngest is ten now, your youngest is ten now. Um, we don't bring a stroller anymore. It's the saddest thing. It's the saddest thing. Whenever I whenever I go with just the girls, they all have to bring their own backpacks to carry their snack and their water bottle now because I'm not carrying four drinks and everything. So everybody has to kind of carry. And I that's some of that is them learning too, right? Uh my 14-year-old now, I'm pretty sure that I could bring her with a friend who also knows Disney. And um, I've talked about this, I think that Emily and I talked about this before. Like, if we went and she and Nell and their other friend, if they wanted to go walk around by themselves, 100% they could, they they could do it because they know the parks now, but they also need to know how to manage their stuff. So now I'm like, you gotta practice doing that. You gotta carry your own stuff, you've got to manage your money, you gotta do all that when you're here because you're with me right now, but you're gonna go and want to go walk around with your friends on another trip, and you need to know how to manage all of this, and not you know, expect that I'm gonna have all of this for you all the time. Um, so there is some learning in that, but the people that want to drag their little ones and not in a stroller.

SPEAKER_01:

Like we looked after the Magic Kingdom, and I think that we were at the six-mile mark. Six miles on a four-year-old, it's a lot, it's a lot, it's a lot, and so or even on a six-year-old, just just keep that in mind that if you want your kids to enjoy their time, you have to be able to give them a break.

SPEAKER_04:

Yes.

SPEAKER_01:

I mean, I need the break, yeah. And sometimes that means making them sit in that stroller while you go from point A to point B. Yeah. So I um I do think that the last takeaway is, and this will be my selling point all day long, y'all. You cannot go wrong with the cabins.

SPEAKER_04:

The cabins, you have I've said this, I might have said this on the last episode. The cabins are so quiet. You finally get a break from the parks. Yeah, you don't hear a thing. Yeah, you don't hear your little tiny house.

SPEAKER_01:

Yep. You're in that house, it is very well insulated. The only thing I wish is that the air would be cooler. 10 out of 10 recommend bringing a box fan, like a little fan. But um, I especially with large groups, I'm telling you, those kids like I they literally I sent a video to Sarah. They were just roaming like it was 1955. Yeah, and they had the best time.

SPEAKER_04:

How were all the blow ups and oh my gosh, so much fun?

SPEAKER_01:

It was so good. We talked to this one family, they had four sites. This is their 11th year doing it. Wow, and it was really cool. I'll send you some of those pictures to post, but it was so great, and it was um, it was it is becoming a place. It's awesome. Disney has become or Fort Wilderness is becoming a place, and I'm like sad for it. Because it's getting too clearly everybody's coming because I've talked about it. Yeah, but um, but I it is still just and then you had my husband driving around because we had the last day we did not have the golf cart, and I was like, Oh, we'll just drive the truck around. And he, you know, my wonderful husband who's so patient, the most patient, 10 out of 10. Scott is patient literally truly, he has a gym and patient everywhere except for at Disney. At Disney, his ability to be patient is gone.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, so we're driving around, he's like, Why is everyone going so slow? I'm like, Can't you run on the windows and just like live a little? He's like, This golf cart didn't turn on their blinker. I'm like, it is a golf cart, bruh.

SPEAKER_04:

Some people feel the magic when they're at Disney and some people just don't.

SPEAKER_01:

Sometimes I think that Scott feels the magic when he's everywhere else. And then he gets in the campground and the magic just the villain comes out.

SPEAKER_04:

Yeah. You did take him to the four seasons.

SPEAKER_01:

I he does. He did as we pass it, he was like, We could have had dinner there tonight. I'm like, you can still go.

SPEAKER_04:

Yes, I'll stay here and grill.

SPEAKER_01:

You can still go.

SPEAKER_04:

All right. Well, I loved that discussion. That was our uh discussion on group travel, uh, going to Disney. Highly recommend cabins. Um at any time, honestly. Any cabins, Fort Wilderness at any time, but especially with the group travel, uh a great option. Um and be flexible. Yeah, pack your patients' pants. Yeah.

unknown:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04:

All right, guys. All right, well that's it for this week's episode. We'll see you next time. Love you, bye. Bye.