Stove's Birthday Trip | WDW [Day 2] Magic Kingdom & Monorail Bar Crawl

On our second day at Walt Disney World, we had park reservations at Magic Kingdom. Judy had requested breakfast at Crystal Palace.

We took the bus from the Boardwalk to Magic Kingdom. I was on the bus when it turned 7 AM, and unfortunately I was not able to get a virtual queue boarding group for Tiana's Bayou Adventure. The rest of the family didn't seem to care, but I was frustrated because I was assisting with the construction of the attraction at Disneyland, and the team kept asking me if I was going to ride it when I went to Florida. Oh well, I could try again at 1PM.

I was shocked to see that it was already Halloween on Main Street. It was the beginning of August!! I guess the first Halloween party was taking place later in the week.

Stove's Birthday Trip | WDW [Day 1] Animal Kingdom & Space 220

For my dad (a.k.a. Stove)'s 70th birthday, we surprised him with a trip to Walt Disney World! My WDW portion of the trip report will be relatively brief, since we had another surprise coming, but I do want to take some time to share our land-based Disney fun.

Since Aaron and I had the farthest to travel, we took a redeye flight from LAX to MCO. I've taken the LAX > MCO redeye many times (it's my preferred flight because I arrive in the morning and get a full day at Disney), but this was Aaron's first time joining me. While I can sleep anywhere (truly - I have a sleep disorder), and the adrenaline of being at Walt Disney World is enough to power me through the day, it turns out that Aaron is not as well-suited for redeye flights. He didn't get much sleep on the plane and was definitely dragging that morning.

After arriving at MCO, we went to The Club at MCO, a lounge that we accessed using Priority Pass through our Capital One Venture X cards.

It's not a super fancy lounge, but they have shower rooms which are handy to get ready in after a redeye flight. Unfortunately, one of their two shower rooms was unavailable, so Aaron and I had to take turns. We also attempted to order breakfast, but our order never arrived, and we got tired of waiting. They also have self-serve items like cereal and oatmeal.

Surprising our Dad with a Cruise on the Disney Wish!

2024 was a very momentous year for the Shinglebells! Rachel's Bachelorette Cruise was in February, she and Landon got married and went on their honeymoon in June, and our dad (a.k.a. Stove) turned 70 in July. We really wanted to do something big for our Dad's milestone birthday, but in the midst of bachelorette planning and wedding planning, we didn't have a lot of time to pull a trip together.

It was my mom (a.k.a. Judy)'s idea to surprise him with a trip. She didn't have a lot of requirements, just that the entire family should be there so it would make sense to do it over a weekend. Rachel, Judy, and I went through several different destination ideas until we finally landed on..... Disney. SURPRISE!

Listen, I totally see the irony of surprising my Dad by taking him somewhere that we go frequently. However, it was the only destination that we all agreed on, and with limited time to plan, it was helpful to choose a place we're already very knowledgeable about.

How to Plan a Bachelorette Cruise

I love cruising and am excited to go on a cruise for any occasion, so it's to no one's surprise that I planned a Bachelorette Cruise for my sister, Rachel. I think a cruise is a wonderful destination for a Bachelorette/Bachelor trip because there are so many options for weekend cruise getaways that are affordable and inclusive of meals and activities. Since most costs of a cruise (fare, gratuity, drinks, and activities) can be paid upfront, it takes a lot of the guesswork out of tallying up the total at the end of the trip. With a wide variety of cruise lines, cruise ships, and itineraries available, a cruise can really fit any Bachelorette vibe.

This article can be a helpful guide whether you're planning a Bachelorette Cruise or a Bachelor Cruise.... but for the sake of simplicity, I will call it a "Bachelorette." If you're planning a Bachelor Cruise, just substitute "Bachelorette" for "Bachelor," and "girls" for "guys"... or whatever language you prefer.

Rachel's Bachelorette Cruise | Allure of the Seas [Day 4] Debarkation

Debarkation is a little different when staying Star Class because they truly want you to have an amazing experience until the very end.

The night before, Tao told us to have our luggage out in the hall by 7AM that morning so they could carry them down for us (when staying in a standard room, luggage needs to be in the hallway by the specified time the night before). I set an alarm to get the bags out in the hall and awoke to pitch black darkness. I could not get a light switch to turn on any lights, so we stumbled around in the dark to get our bags in the hall. I somehow missed the luggage tags on the piano, so we didn't put tags on our bags (fortunately, we all still had our arrival bag tags on our suitcases which identified them as Star Class).

After that, we went back to bed. We woke up later to a PA announcement that the ship had lost power, and they would be restoring it shortly so that we hopefully would not be delayed in our debarkation. So that's why the lights didn't work....

What also didn't work were the long power-operated blackout curtains, so we propped them open with the furniture to get some light in the room.

Room service is not available on the morning of debarkation, so Tao told us to go to breakfast at Coastal Kitchen, the dining room exclusive to Suite Guests and Pinnacle Crown & Anchor Club Members. It had been my intention to avoid Coastal Kitchen because Sara was technically not booked in the suite, but since Tao told us to dine there for breakfast, and it was the very last morning of the cruise, I didn't think that it would be an issue.

Rachel's Bachelorette Cruise | Allure of the Seas [Day 3] Perfect Day CocoCay

On our third and final day on Allure of the Seas, we woke up at Perfect Day CocoCay, Royal Caribbean's private island! This was my view from the bed upstairs -

Okay, so maybe it was more like this..... still!

Rachel's Bachelorette Cruise | Allure of the Seas [Day 2] In-Suite Brunch & Sparkle Night

On our second day of Allure of the Seas, we docked in Nassau, Bahamas. When Rachel and I were in the initial planning stages of her Bachelorette Cruise, we looked into a few options for chartering a boat in Nassau. However, we decided that since this was only a 3-night cruise, our time/money would probably be better spent staying on the ship and enjoying the Royal Loft Suite.

We planned for a slow morning with brunch in the suite.

Rachel's Bachelorette Cruise | Allure of the Seas [Day 1] Welcome to STAR CLASS!

It's embarkation day!!! We spent another night at Disney's Yacht Club Resort. Rachel, Meredith, and Kayla went for a morning run around the Boardwalk while Megan and I hung back to get ready. We were also joined by Sara who flew in on a redeye from LA (the same Delta redeye that I had flown a few days earlier). The runners got breakfast from Boardwalk Deli while they were out, so when they returned, I went to get breakfast with the non-runners. We ordered our food from Boardwalk Deli to go, and unfortunately, didn't notice until we were back in the hotel room that we were shorted one breakfast sandwich. I tried to get a refund via messaging guest relations on the app, but they said I would need to call billing.... and I decided it wasn't worth my effort in that moment to get $12 refunded.

We were also on the hunt for an ATM machine because we wanted more cash for tips. There are Chase ATMs in the lobby of both the Beach Club and the Boardwalk.

Before the trip, I printed out bag tags for everyone and slipped into reusable clear luggage tag holders so we could quickly tag our bags. Sara was booked in an inside cabin, so instead of tagging her bags to go to that room, I made sure to make her a bag tag for the suite.

We were running a little late that morning - to be expected with six girls all getting ready in one room. I was a little nervous because I hadn't heard from our limo driver from Backstage Limo. However, once we were out the door, he was waiting for us under the Porte Cochere.

Meredith in the background falling out of the limo with the popcorn bucket is everything -

Our driver's name was Charles, and he was very nice and accommodating. He helped us get hooked up to the sound system and also took our photo. We really lucked out that it was not at all crowded at the Yacht Club Porte Cochere that morning.

Our first stop was to MCO to pick up Kristi who was the last of the group to arrive.

Rachel's Bachelorette Trip | Disney [Day 3] Hollywood Studios & Epcot

Today was truly Rachel's Disney Bachelorette day! Three of Rachel's friends joined us for a fun day at Walt Disney World before our cruise.

We started the day at Hollywood Studios. Rachel has been to a couple of Disney Bachelorettes, and they've always spent the day at Epcot, so she really wanted to show her friends another park. Rachel also really wanted to prioritize rides that morning, so I purchased Genie+ for everyone in an attempt to maximize our time.

Rachel's Bachelorette Trip | Disney [Day 2] Magic Kingdom

Good morning from the Contemporary Resort! I woke up to my bed shaking.... earthquake?! No, it was the building shaking as the monorail passed through. Rachel couldn't feel it, so I think my shakey senses must be heightened from LA earthquakes.

Rachel suggested that we get up early and rope drop Magic Kingdom for resort guest early entry at 7AM, then come back to the Contemporary before check-out.