Girls Weekend at Walt Disney World: A Trip Report

There’s nothing better than a trip to Walt Disney World, especially when it starts to get chilly back home! This past Veteran’s Day Weekend, my best friend of 16 years and I met for a quick Disney getaway, and we had an absolute blast! I’m bringing you my trip report from the weekend to help warm you up wherever you are!

Since my family lives in Central Florida, I’m lucky enough to visit the area almost monthly, but this trip was extra special! My best friend and I planned to take a girls weekend at Walt Disney World over Veteran’s Day Weekend, since we both had some extra time off from work. Jess flew in from New Hampshire, and I came from New York City. We both managed nonstop, on time flights, and landed within 30 minutes of each other! Since we left straight from work, we decided to take it easy for the evening, and start fresh the next morning.

Since my friend, Jess, usually doesn’t make it down to Florida enough to justify an Annual Pass purchase, we tried to maximize our Disney time at the best price. We knew that we were traveling during the last week of the Epcot Food and Wine Festival, a holiday weekend, and during the Christmas season, so we anticipated some pretty heavy crowds. We wanted to see and do everything, and we figured we might have the best luck beating crowds by purchasing a Friday ticket to Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party (which was totally worth the splurge!).

Since the party tickets didn’t allow us admission to the Magic Kingdom until 4:00 p.m., we started our morning at Disney Springs. We did some shopping, checked out the new eateries, and picked up some souvenirs for our significant others and friends. Jess hadn’t experienced the new Disney Springs yet, so it was a real treat! From there, my (awesome) mom prepared us an early Thanksgiving feast, complete with pumpkin pie, to keep us energized throughout the party!

We headed to Magic Kingdom at 4:00 p.m. sharp to make sure we were able to squeeze in as much park time as possible, and stayed until the party concluded at midnight! We enjoyed boatloads of cookies and hot cocoa, and were able to see Queen Elsa light the castle with her magic powers. We also enjoyed Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmastime Parade and Holiday Wishes. Between the special holiday events, we managed to ride everything we set out to do, including Space Mountain, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Peter Pan’s Flight, Jingle Cruise, and more! It was a perfect (and exhausting) night!

Jess purchased a two-day Park Hopper pass, so Saturday and Sunday were all about maximizing our park time! We somehow managed to pry ourselves out of bed in time for rope drop at Epcot. We zipped over to Soarin’ and took a ride around the world, then motored back to Frozen Ever After. We took a leisurely stroll over to Nemo and Friends, then headed back to World Showcase to enjoy the final weekend of Food and Wine! I had to get my favorite, the fresh carrot cake with cream cheese frosting! We enjoyed a delicious lunch at the Yorkshire County Fish Shop. It was my first time trying the famous fish and chips; I can’t get over how delicious they were. The fish was soft and flaky, and the batter was crispy and crunchy. The came straight out of the fryer, and were definitely worth the wait!

The crowds were starting to grow like crazy at Food and Wine, so we took a walk over to Disney’s Hollywood Studios. We enjoyed our walk from Epcot through the Yacht and Beach Club Resorts, and took a quick detour over to the Boardwalk Bakery. Upon arrival at Hollywood Studios, we watched the Beauty and the Beast musical, rode Rock n’ Roller Coaster, and took in some “streetmosphere.” Once we were sufficiently tired, we headed back toward Epcot, took in a few more attractions, and headed home for some dinner and relaxation. We were running on very little sleep, so we called it an early night!

Since it was our last day, we tried to pack in some more action! We woke up early (this time feeling a bit more energized!) and headed to the Magic Kingdom. We did a few attractions, Jess picked up some candy apples for family members, and we headed to Beast’s castle for lunch.

This was my first trip to Be Our Guest, and I had an absolute blast. The restaurant is incredibly ornate; every detail is gorgeous! We dined in the ballroom, but went and explored the West Wing, where the rose was located. The restaurant was decorated for Christmas, complete with a Christmas tree! Jess and I both had the roast beef sandwich; I chose green beans for a side, while Jess had the fries. We tried the Master’s Cupcake, and the grey stuff was totally delicious!

From lunch, we set out for park number 4, Disney’s Animal Kingdom. We saw Festival of the Lion King, rode Kilamanjaro Safaris, grabbed some frozen lemonade, and split some candied pecans. We took in the sights before saying goodbye to Disney and heading to the airport! It was a perfect weekend; we’re already planning our next trip!