One day in Orlando

I have never been to Disney World until this year. Josie Reshetar and I went in March as part of our spring break trip. We purposely went to visit our Semester at Sea friend, Clare Stevenson.

Clare spent her spring semester of college as one of Disney’s interns. I have had two other close  friends do the Disney College Program as well (Katea Feagley and Courtney Kamm).

Josie and I woke up at 3:30 a.m. on Tuesday, March 13 to pick up our rental car for the day at the Miami International Airport from Enterprise Rent-A-Car by 5 a.m.

This was my first time renting a car on my own. I was super excited! Since I am not 25, I did pay an extra fee, but it was totally worth it. I love new challenges and experiences, and this was for sure one I would never forget. Josie and I each paid $45 for the whole day. Josie found coupon codes we were able to apply to our purchase. We split gas the whole trip too. This helped to make things cheaper for the both of us.

After signing a bunch of papers, Josie and I got into our silver economy Nissan Sentra for the day. I forgot to put on my headlights. Yes, I drove without them for about 15 miles. An officer passed me. I wish he would have pulled me over to kindly remind me to put them on. Oh well, I learned from my mistake of not being able to see the road!!

Anyways, we arrived to Disney World before noon after the three and a half hour drive, scrambling for change to pay for the multiple tolls and countless breaks for gas and snacks on the way. Another lesson learned, always keep spare change in the car for unexpected tolls.

Clare was so kind to save a pass for us. With that being said, Josie and I only had to purchase one ticket and split the cost. We each paid $63.37 for the WHOLE day!  It was a fantastic deal. We were so thankful. We love you, Clare!! It was so refreshing to see Clare! We met her at her apartment. She dropped us off at the park to spend the day while she worked. Josie and I explored the Magic Kingdom Park.

We didn’t know wit was suggested to get our FastPass+ organized before arriving. FastPass+ is free with your ticket purchase and allows you to reserve access to attractions and entertainment up to 30 days prior of your ticket date. Not doing this until the day of,  limited us on the amount of and which rides we had the opportunity to ride. If I ever go back to Disney World, the first thing I am doing is registering for my FastPass+!

Since it was the second full week of March, Disney World was very busy. I, of course, couldn’t compare it to a previous experience, but Clare verified that is was packed.

We rode the following rides:

Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress
Dumbo the Flying Elephant
Mickey’s PhilharMagic
It’s A Small World

You be the judge, did we really do Disney World in one day???

Later that evening, we had dinner at Frontera Cocina in Disney Springs. And, guess who showed up? Another SASser, Marcella Hakun! Marcella attends the University of Tampa. She drove up and surprised us. It was great to spend another meal with familiar faces. It brought back memories of being on the MV World Odyssey.

Before it got too late, Josie and I said our “See You Laters.” We had to return the car by 11 p.m. We made it just in time. It is cheaper to have the same pick-up and drop-off location when renting a vehicle. We found this to be extremely helpful. 

Oh, and of course, we bought Mickey ears!

Enjoy the photos :)
Xoxo

​Love always,
Carina