56 Hours in Disney, Part 2

Or: If "Non-Stop" was a college student with a break

Zach A.
May 11, 2025

Disclaimer: This post is not sponsored nor endorsed by any person, business, or organization. All views are the author's own.

Last we left off the prior week, I had successfully made it to the Sunshine State and had enjoyed a day at EPCOT. Overall, not a bad way to spend the weekend so far. But now it is time to continue where I left on and go into 56 Hours in Disney, Part 2.

Enjoy!

Day 3: Magic Kingdom

As with the previous day, we saw ourselves get up bright and early for Magic Kingdom. It was a bit more challenging to get to the park, requiring an uneventful bus ride then a monorail transfer. It is always cool to go through the Contemporary Resort. So there is something to be said about that.

Once we got through security and the tedious entrance scanning procedure (I suppose it's to ensure people don't steal the $150 per day passes, we made it.

The first ride which we speed walked to was, wait for it, Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin.

No, we are not huge fans of the ride or Toy Story in general. However, Lightning Lane Multi-Pass, which is too confusing for me to explain in full detail so I'll just link to an article here, allowed for us to select a new ride after getting on one. So Buzz Lightyear was the "sacrifical" ride in lieu for us to get something better. That "better" was Space Mountain at 2:10.

After Buzz Lightyear, we made our way over to the new and improved Tomorrowland section (not the whole area, that would be something if they redid the entirety of the land) where Tron: Lightcycle was situated. Unfortunately, due to Mr. C. being too iconic than usual, he did not want to go on the ride, and I elected to stay behind with him.

Once the ride was completed, we made our way over to Fantasyland, where we had a medium-ish breakfast (our breakfasts at Disney usually consist of a protein bar and a yogurt) at Gaston's Tavern, where I had the Creme Brulee croissant. Which was good, but I do wish that it was heated, since it felt like, at least to me, that it should have been a heated pastry. But I digress.

Breakfast came and went, and we then went over to a classic Disney ride to bide our time before our next Lightning Lane. The classic ride being Pirates of the Caribbean.

For whatever reason, I do think of Pirates as one of my favorite "timeless" rides . Maybe because it's simple and "relaxing", or maybe it's because it's one of those things that everyone did. Regardless: we were in and out within ~25 minutes, which is one of the better times that you can get for the ride.

Once Pirates was completed, we had lunch. (Today was more of a food day, in my opinion at least). Our lunch wasn't anything grand, just some pizza spring rolls, but C. loved them. So 3 orders of the rolls later, and we were happily strolling to the next timeless attraction: Haunted Mansion.

I joke that the scariest part of the ride isn't even the actual ride; but rather the pre-show that shows the unfortunate ending of the ride's narrator. Poor C. had a moment with that. But the rest of the ride is frighteningly entertaining, and puts the AC to good use.

By the time we were done with Haunted Mansion, we were ready for something else. That something else was waffles. I got the "Mickey Waffle with Chocolate-Hazelnut Spread, Bananas, Berries, and Whipped Cream". Which, for a theme park waffle, was actually pretty good. Highly recommend.

However, in case you thought that the waffle wasn't enough. We also got Dole Whips, as no trip to the Magic Kingdom is delicious without one. It was also during this time that I ran into the other icon known as "A." after his maddening adventure with the animatronics in the locale known as the "Enchanted Tiki Room". After a short conversation involving things that I forgot about, we made our way over to one of the live shows at the Castle.

The show was cute, fun, and got the crowd appeased. Which is all one can really ask for in a Walt Disney World show. I don't really know how they keep the savage part in the 2020s but you know, I am not the demographic who yells and screams about that sort of stuff.

After the show came the last ride of the day: Space Mountain. Which I believe is the cause of my sore knee two weeks after the fact, but that's besides the fact. It's desperately in need of an upgrade, but Disney will never admit that. Ever.

By this point, we were all tired out. Especially C., given that he is much younger and thus does not have the stamina to walk the excessive amounts that we usually do while at Disney. So, we went back to the hotel. The family went off to the water park, but I went somewhere else. To Disney Springs!

An Interlude: Disney Springs

So, a fun fact about the Swan Reserve is that it does not get official Disney transportation, which makes it much more annoying to get around. So, to get to Disney Springs, I walked over to Disney's Boardwalk Resort, and then took the shuttle from there. Convinent? Eh… But it was worth it in the end.

I made a mad dash to Gideon's Bakehouse when I got to Disney Springs. If you don't know, Gideon's is renowned for its massive chocolate chip cookies that I consider to be comparable to Levain. I did not know how long the line would be when I got there, since it can be up to 90 minutes, and I was not going to wait in that line. Fortunately, it was "only" 15 minutes, and it was worth it.

But I did not eat my dessert before dinner. No, I had to get something of a meal prior. That honor went to D-Luxe Burger, which I had the last time I was at Disney in 2022. Was it the best?… no. Was it a decent dinner? Sure. It was better than the burgers in the college dining room. Which isn't really saying much. But who's counting?

The cookie was much better.

Me with the Cookie.

After that, because I am not an avid shopper, I immediately left Disney Springs and went back to the Swan Reserve for the night. No further comments about this day can be noted.

Day 4: MCO-DCA

My shuttle to leave Disney for the airport was at 7:30, which wasn't actually until 7:45, but who's counting?

Regardless, I made made it to the terminal, which is the newer (and nicer) one. Security was fine, other than the fact that I forgot to empty out my water bottle and had to go through security again.

I love the Transportation Security Administration. (For legal reasons I am a proud American do not come after me.)

Eventually I did make it onto my plane… only to have it delayed on the tarmac for two-and-a-half hours for technical and FAA hold reasons. To be fair, I have had bad luck flying out of Orlando since 2012, so I wasn't completely unprepared for this to occur. But still, the sad news was that I missed my Communication and Society class. But shout-out to my professor for allowing me to make-up the work and activities with full credit.

After getting off at Reagan National, I trudged over to the Chipotle in Woodley Park for a quick dinner, then back to Tenleytown. Where I had to prep and get ready for the next day's classes.

A win-win!

Looking Back with a Lens

I am glad that I was able to go to Disney to see my family and support my sibling in his grand pursuit of the arts. Plus, it was a good mini-vacation away from DC as everyone's heads started exploding with the finals season looming and the political destruction that is currntly abound.

Would I do that again? Sure. I like Disney World, and would have no problem going back there. After all, they call it the magical place on Earth for a reason.

Author's Note

I am aware that this post was off by a week. In my defense... I was in the midst of finals alongside closing up my dorm for the summer move back to Massachusetts.

I hope to have a more finalized plan for the 5-Year Anniversary by the end of next week. But time will tell on that end. Stay tuned for more.

That's all I have for now. Thanks for reading. See you soon!

56 Hours in Disney, Part 2

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