Keeley and her husband took a honeymoon to Walt Disney World October 18-24 from Minnesota. They stayed at Caribbean Beach Resort, utilized Genie+ (on the day it launched!) and attended Boo Bash.
The Basics
Keeley and her husband flew from Minnesota for their Disney World Honeymoon on October 18. They stayed in a king room in Aruba at Caribbean Beach Resort, very close to the Riviera.
Their trip included all 4 theme parks, utilizing Magical Express and Disney transportation, and attending Boo Bash.
They left for their trip just a few short days after their wedding, so they balanced enjoying Walt Disney World and also finding time to relax. This was their 3rd Disney World trip together.
Arrival Day (October 18)
Keeley and her husband flew to Orlando (MCO) from Minnesota.
Their flight got in early and walked immediately to Magical Express. There was no wait so they got to Caribbean Beach Resort early. Their room was not ready when they arrived at 1:45 p.m. so they mobile ordered food while they waited.
They received a notification that their room was ready just before 3 p.m. and went to get settled. They’d booked a king room and requested Aruba. The location was very close to the skyliner and the Riviera.
Their room was a bit of a walk to the pool but they loved the location for transportation. For a standard room, it was a perfect location.
That night they had a 6 p.m. reservation at Sebastian’s Bistro. It was a lovely, relaxing dinner after a very busy week with their wedding! They really loved the vegetable curry and coconut bread pudding. They were really pleased with the amount of food they got for the price.
After dinner they went back to their room and went to bed early.
Epcot (October 19)
Disney’s Genie+ launched today! They were worried about making sure they understood how it worked. They woke up at 6:30 a.m. to update their app, went through the tutorials, and got ready to book their lightning lanes.
They used both their phones to attempt to get the virtual queue for Remy’s Rataouille Adventure and they were able to do that. Keeley also got a Lightning Lane for Soarin’ for later in the day.
They took the Skyliner over to Epcot and arrived around 9 a.m. and were held until 9:40 a.m. even though Early Access was at 9:30 a.m.
While they were waiting to get in they heard that Frozen Ever After was down, so they headed toward Test Track. But when they headed toward Test Track, they heard it was down as well. So they ended up going straight to Spaceship Earth.
Their first Lightning Lane was for Soarin’. They arrived and were in and out at Soarin’ in 20 minutes. As soon as they scanned in at Soarin’ they wanted to get another Lighting Lane for Test Track but it wouldn’t let them. So they got a Lightning Lane for Living with the Land and went there immediately after Soarin’.
After Living with the Land they still couldn’t book Test Track so they walked over to some booths for a snack. They took a little break and waited to book a Test Track Lightning Lane for later in the day.
After their break, they realized that the boarding groups for Remy’s was getting closer to theirs, so they started wandering around the World Showcase.
Their boarding group (48) was called around 12:45 p.m. The line was still relatively long so they waited a bit but they were on and off in about an hour. Keeley said the experience was delightful.
They enjoyed snacking around the World Showcase before their Test Track Lightning Lane. They only waited about 5 minutes, so that was a great use of the lightning lane!
Into the evening, they were getting very tired. They opted to head back to their room around 7 p.m. The skyliner made their trip back to their room very quick!
Hollywood Studios (October 20)
Their biggest priority was to get on Rise of the Resistance. They woke up just before 7 a.m. to get Genie+ and purchase the Individual Lightning Lane for Rise. Their time was 9 a.m!
They also got a Lightning Lane for Slinky Dog Dash.
They took the skyliner over to Hollywood Studios and rope dropped Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway. This was a new ride for them and they loved it. Keeley said she loved the way the ride was designed.
After Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway, they went to Twilight Zone Tower of Terror and Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster. There wasn’t much of a wait for either of them!
They walked over to Galaxy’s Edge and entered for the first time! They went straight to Rise of the Resistance just after 9 a.m. They loved the theming of the land and thought Rise was amazing!
They were grateful that they paid for the Individual Lightning Lane because the wait was 150 minutes and they walked right on!
After Rise, they got Ronto Wraps for breakfast and explored Galaxy’s Edge. They left Galaxy’s Edge and walked around Sunset Blvd.
At 12 p.m. they went back to Galaxy’s Edge and her husband had an appointment to build a Light Saber at Savi’s workshop. It was her husband’s favorite part of the whole trip!
They left Savi’s and went immediately to their Slinky Dog Dash Lightning Lane. They got to ride in the front row!
As soon as they checked into their Slinky Dog Lightning Lane, they got a Lightning Lane for Millennium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run for later that evening.
Then they went back to Galaxy’s Edge for an appointment at Droid Depot to build a droid. After building her droid, they shipped their light saber and droid home from Galaxy’s Edge. It ended up being cheaper to mail them than to pay to bring them on the plane.
It was time for lunch so they mobile ordered from ABC Commissary. They took a longer lunch and enjoyed some rest.
After lunch they went to Star Tours and walked on. It was very hot and sunny when they got off so they got some ice cream and sat in the shade.
They waited about 20 minutes for Alien Swirling Saucers and then got a snack from Woody’s Lunchbox.
It was about 6:30 p.m. and time for their Smuggler’s Run Lightning Lane! The posted standby wait time was 30 minutes but they only waited about 5 minutes. They were both gunners and were very competitive!
They grabbed a Lightning Lane for Toy Story Mania! after Smuggler’s Run and headed there next. They had a great time and her husband got on the top score board!
They got their next Lightning Lane for Rock ‘n’ Rollercoaster. It was about 7:20 p.m. and on their way over to Rock ‘n’ Rollercoaster they saw that Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway didn’t have a line!
They waited in line for 11 minutes and were on the ride after the pre-show in 18 minutes! They were so happy that they got to do this ride again.
Then they went to their Lightning Lane for Rock ‘n’ Rollercoaster. The standby wait time was 25 minutes and they walked straight into the preshow with their Lightning Lane.
They really wanted to see Galaxy’s Edge at night, so they walked over there to wander around. They were about to leave the park and they saw that Rise of the Resistance had a 30 minute standby. They only waited 25 minutes!
After riding Rise they walked over to the Skyliner and took that back to their hotel. They were able to watch the Epcot fireworks on their ride!
Magic Kingdom (October 21)
They opted to take the Riviera’s bus to Magic Kingdom. They got Genie+ for this day and made their first Lightning Lane for Jungle Cruise.
They arrived at the Riviera bus stop at 7:45 a.m. and were through security and into Magic Kingdom by 8:21 a.m.
They went straight to Peter Pan’s Flight because and waited about 10 minutes. After Peter Pan they went to Haunted Mansion – one of Keeley’s favorite rides. That was a walk-on and a great way to start the day.
It was then time for their Lightning Lane for Jungle Cruise. The posted wait time was 40 minutes but they didn’t wait at all.
While they were in line they made their next Lightning Lane selection for Pirates of the Caribbean.
After the Jungle Cruise they went over to the Castle and took some photos before it was time for their Pirates Lightning Lane. The posted wait time was 40 minutes and they waited 3 minutes.
After they scanned in for Pirates, they got a 12:15 p.m. Lightning Lane for Splash Mountain. From Pirates, they were ready for a snack. They mobile ordered Casey’s Corner and shopped around Main Street.
Splash Mountain was down when it was time for their Lightning Lane. At first Genie+ pushed their lightning lane to an hour later. They asked a cast member about it but then they received a notification from the app that their Lightning Lane was converted to an anytime experience.
Once that happened, they booked another lightning lane for Splash Mountain for 2:45 p.m.
They had a reservation at Skipper Canteen for lunch and really enjoyed it. They especially loved the Brazilian cheese bread and the chocolate banana cake.
After lunch they used their anytime experience lightning lane for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at 1:30 p.m. The posted wait time was 35 minutes but they waited 5.
They decided to use their Splash Mountain Lightning Lane next and the wait time was 55 minutes and they waited 5.
After that they opted to just use Lightning Lane after Lightning Lane! They got one for Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin. The posted wait time was 40 minutes but they waited 10 minutes. It did go down while they were waiting and Keeley’s laser didn’t work, so she was very sad to not win!
Next they got lightning lanes for Dumbo the Flying Elephant and Mad Tea Party and rode them with minimal waits thanks to Lightning Lane!
They took a break at Pinocchio Village Haus and split a flat bread.
After that they got a lightning lane for it’s a small world. The posted wait time was 45 minutes but with Lightning Lane it was a walk-on.
They grabbed a snack at Columbia Harbour House before a Lightning Lane at The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. The posted wait time was 25 minutes but they only waited 7 minutes at 6:25 p.m.
After Winnie the Pooh they were done with rides so they got a Dole Whip and got a spot for Enchantment in the Hub area. They got their spot just after 7 p.m. but people had been camped out for a while already!
They were big Happily Ever After fans so they enjoyed it but they missed the story of Happily Ever After. The projections on the castle were beautiful but Keeley said she missed the story of the experience.
After the fireworks they went to the PeopleMover and did some shopping on their way out for the day.
Boo Bash (October 22)
Keeley and her husband slept in, read in the hammocks at the hotel, and enjoyed some relaxation. They hung out at the resort, explored the Riviera, and then got ready for Boo Bash!
Keeley was the Haunted Mansion wallpaper and her husband was a Pizza Planet delivery guy. They were cute and very practical costumes. They loved seeing everyone’s costumes at the party.
They took the Riviera bus to the Magic Kingdom at 6:20 p.m. and arrived at Magic Kingdom and had to wait for about 10 minutes before they could enter.
They split a burger at Cosmic Ray Starlight Cafe in order to eat something a bit more substantial before the party began. They walked on Space Mountain with a posted wait time of 20 minutes with no wait at all.
They were able to watch the fireworks from the PeopleMover and then rode Dumbo while they were on that side of the park. They did all of this before the official party began.
When Boo Bash started, they rode Pirates of the Caribbean, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad twice, and Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. They were thankful to be able to ride Mine Train because the wait times were very high the day before. They also rode Haunted Mansion again and Astro Orbiter, which was so fun at night.
They did see the Villians and Mickey & Friends Cavalcades and did some trick or treating toward the end of the evening.
They enjoyed the lower wait times, but they are huge fans of Halloween and were disappointed that there weren’t as many party activities during this event. It was less of a Halloween party and more of an after hours event.
Keeley also mentioned that 3 hours goes by so quickly.
They got in line for the Riviera’s bus at 12:05 a.m. and didn’t get back to their room until after 1 a.m. It was difficult to have to wait that long so late in the night.
Animal Kingdom (October 23)
They planned to sleep in a bit and didn’t get on the bus to Animal Kingdom until 9:50 a.m. arriving at 10:15 a.m. They opted to not pay for Genie+ today because their favorite rides (Expedition Everest and Flight of Passage) are both Individual Lightning Lanes.
They started their day at Dinosaur with no wait at all. After Dinosaur they went to Expedition Everest. The wait time was posted at 20 minutes but they only waited 15 minutes. While they were in line for Expedition Everest, they mobile ordered Satu’li Canteen for lunch.
They love Satu’li Canteen and had a great lunch before heading to Kilimanjaro Safaris. They knew they’d have a bit of a wait. The wait time was 40 minutes when they got in line and waited exactly 40 minutes.
The safari was definitely worth the wait because they had a wonderful driver and got to see a lot of animals.
After the safari they got a snack in Harambe Market and then waited 17 minutes for Expedition Everest. They were then ready to get out of the sun so they watched Festival of the Lion King.
They’d been watching the wait times of Flight of Passage and knew that they’d need to wait at some point. They jumped in line after Festival of the Lion King when the posted wait time was 50 minutes and waited 45 minutes.
Because they love Satu’li Canteen, they did that for dinner and ended their night on Expedition Everest again!
Departure Day (October 24)
Keeley and her husband spent their final morning packing up their room and dropped their bags with Bell Services before heading to Disney Springs.
They arrived at Disney Springs around 11:15 a.m. and immediately went to Gideon’s Bakehouse and got on the virtual queue. The estimated wait time was almost 4 hours. Their flight wasn’t until 8 p.m. so they knew they could wait.
In the meantime, they got Blaze Fast-Fire’d Pizza for lunch and wandered around, doing some shopping. They really enjoyed their pizza.
They were finally called back to Gideon’s and loved everything about the experience. The cookies were delicious. They purchased 6 of them and ate one immediately and brought the other 5 home. Keeley highly recommends Gideon’s.
After Gideon’s it was looking like rain so they opted to get back on the bus and head to the hotel. They got their luggage and had about 90 minutes before their Magical Express bus.
They split some dinner and waited until Magical Express arrived. They had some traffic on the way there and were grateful that Magical Express was so early. The airport wasn’t very busy at all but their flight was delayed slightly because of bad weather.
Key Takeaways
- Ship droids or light sabers home from Galaxy’s Edge! It will save you from carrying them around and it might be cheaper if you have to pay to bring them on the plane home!
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