It was was the best of times, It was the worst of times - Trip Report - January 16-21 2024 (Complete)

[Skywatcher1206]

My streak of not sleeping great continued and I woke up at 5:59 am as I had to use the restroom. It took forever to figure out how to turn on the bathroom lights as I later realized that there is a master switch by the door that turns off all lights in the room. It is not the best design but I got it figured out. I then called housekeeping for another blanket as it was freezing with just the super thin one on the bed.

With all of this excitement, I was wide awake by 7:30am. I went to Primo Piatto for breakfast as it is one of my favorites. I love their polenta! I started out the day at Magic Kingdom as the plan was to finish up some lower tier attractions and see the Adventure Friends Calcacade that I had missed the past couple of times.

I had a very good morning.

I rode one of the streetcars down Main Street, saw the Dapper Dans, and then went on to Pirates.





The calvacade was very cute, but also very short.

The rest of the time was spent just wandering around but I did experience the carousel and Enchanted Tales with Belle which was very cute.



After Enchanted Tales with Belle, it was time to hop to Hollywood Studios. This afternoon was spent doing some of those lower tier attractions as Hollywood Studios has been very busy. It seems that if you did not buy Genie + for this park, there is not much to do as all waits are 90+ minutes, especially with Rock N Roller Coaster closed. I did not buy Genie+ today so focused on the shows (saw Indiana Jones and Beauty and the Beast) and rides with shorter waits such as Alien Swirling Saucers and Star Tours.





I did luck out with a 60 minute wait for Rise around 5pm and jumped on that. I figured it is such a long attraction, it makes it worth it. It was really only 22 minutes. Tower of Terror was sitting at 105 minutes at the same time.

After that, I put my name on the waitlist at Brown Derby but it was going to be at least an hour wait. I decided to bail and head to Epcot. I got the mushroom risotto for dinner at a festival booth. It was really good. I knocked out Awesome planet (which is such a good show, I love how they got Phil Dunphee from Modern Family to play the narrator), The Seas, and walked around. It was a nice change of pace from my typical ride heavy day. I found a place for the Luminous show (which was awesome) and I then got a bus back to Riviera and made it just in time to get a kids meal shrimp at Primo Piatto and spent the next hour watching HGTV before going to sleep.

 

[Skywatcher1206]

Friday- I was not going to rope drop but after waking up at 5, and then 6, just got up. Today, the plan was to switch to Beach Club so I dropped my luggage off to transfer from Riviera.

I went to Animal Kingdom and rope dropped Flight of Passage with hundreds of my closest friends. The ride was great as usual.



I was next to a first timer which made it even better as it was clear she had no idea what to expect.

I also rode Dinosaur and Everest with no wait. I just love these early morning hours in the parks.

I got some breakfast at the Yak & Yeti local food cafes (kids pancake and sausage) which was really good and then checked in for my Caring For Giants tour. The tour was AMAZING!

I then walked through the Africa trail and then went over to Nomad Lounge. The wait was 75 minutes so I put my name on the list and then went to the Finding Nemo show. I got called back way before the quoted wait so I sprinted back to the restaurant so I wouldn’t lose my table. Almost knocked down a few people (jk) but made it in time. The food was just okay but the ambiance is what makes it worth it and a must do again.



I would probably get something other than the lobster mac and cheese next time as it was just swimming in melted butter. After lunch, I did some trails and It’s Tough To Be A Bug, and then hopped over to Epcot to finish up my list.

Unfortunately, some of the rides (looking at you Spaceship Earth) were down so I filled my time by wandering around WS, and did Journey of Water. I ended up getting the Skittles cake which was interesting. I then made my way over to the Broadway show. The performers, especially Gavin Lee were amazing! So much talent!

After the show, I made my way over to Hollywood Studios. I used my lightning lanes for Tower of Terror and Toy Story Mania. Most of the big rides in the park were at least an hour and a half with Skinky coming in at 130 minutes. I tried to refresh to get a Slinky time but one never came back.

I was shocked at the crowds as I was expecting much lower crowds and the wait times for the rides seemed worse than early December.

I then got some dinner at Woody’s lunch box which was alright. I got the kids meal grilled cheese and learned later that you can just pick to have it with just one type of cheese. I saw Disney Movie Magic and then made my way over to Fantasmic. It was a great show as usual.

Here is where my day really went off the rails. I had reserved a 1 bedroom room at Beach Club as my waitlist had come through weeks earlier, but when I got there, the room was literally attached to an elevator shaft with the mechanics behind the bedroom wall. That means that you could hear the dings throughout the living room from the elevator door opening and the whirring of the elevator whenever it moved from the bedroom. I called to ask to be moved, but they stated that they did not have any other rooms available, but I knew I was not going to be able to sleep with that noise, so I then asked to be moved to another resort. I was placed in a studio at Boardwalk instead. It was not a fun night after leaving HS. I went to sleep around 1:30am at Boardwalk. I did later get the difference in points back and they were nice and put them in the next use year and not in holding.

As I said, did not have the best luck in hotels this trip.

 

[Skywatcher1206]

Saturday- I had the idea on Friday night while waiting for Fantasmic to start that I would like
to go to Epcot the next morning for early entry to take a walk around the WS to find some of the chalk characters, but there were no park passes available for Epcot on Saturday. I was originally going to try to go to Hollywood studios, tap in there, and then go to Epcot for the walk, but decided that was too much work. I ended up just taking a shower, and speaking with the front desk about returning the points. I got some breakfast at Boardwalk deli (croissant) and ate it in the lobby as it was too cold to eat it outside. I spoke to a DVC sales cast member about my experience the night before and how Disney was going to fare with Epic Universe opening.

I then called an Uber to take me to Portofino Bay. I got there around 10:15am. The room was not ready, so I dropped my stuff at bell services and took the water taxi to Universal. I was just in time for the Bourne stunt show. I had seen it last time I was there, but it had some technical difficulties. The show is amazing when it works correctly. I rode the Mummy, Transformers, Fast and Furious, and saw both Harry Potter shows in Diagon Alley. I had lunch at Minions Cafe. It is such a cute place and the Szechuan rotisserie chicken was really good.

Here are some pics from Universal and IOA from the day.





After lunch, I rode the Hogwarts Express over to IOA. At IOA, rode the Carroussuesel, the Cat in the Hat, and the sky high trolley ride and just enjoyed the atmosphere of Suess land. I then went over to ride one of my favorite rides Spider-Man. I was very surprised about the wait times and how high they were here as well.

I headed out around 7pm to head to dinner at Bubba Gump, one of my favorites and got the salmon and shrimp, but modified it to have the cajun sauce from the New Orleans shrimp. It was delicious and the service from my server Cora was excellent. I went into the Universal store to walk around, and then took the boat back to the resort. I got my luggage from bell services, got some water and a chocolate cupcake, went to my room (which I made sure was far away from an elevator) and watched HGTV. I got to sleep by 11am and ended up sleeping the best on the trip so far.

 

[Skywatcher1206]

Sunday (Last Day) - Sunday- I had set the alarm for 6am so I could drop my stuff off at Bell Services and get to early entry at IOA for Hagrids. When I got out of bed, I noticed a blood stain on the sheets where I slept. I checked myself and did not see any cut or anything. I still have no idea if it came from me or was already on the bed as I did not check as I typically do (PSA- always check your sheets).

I at first had wanted to ride the boat, and I even waited for about 10 minutes, but then decided to walk after they said that the boats cannot leave until Citywalk opens for guests at 7am, plus I could get warm by moving as it was literally FREEZING this morning. I got to security and was about 10 people back from the front gate. The people in front of me were having trouble with their tickets so by the time I got to the ride, the line was back to the classroom area of the queue.



Early entry started at 8am. They did not open up until 8:40am as they had to warm up the tracks to a safe temperature. This morning, it was 38 degrees, but felt like 31 due to wind. Someone asked a team member how long the wait was at right before we got on and said it was180 minutes at that time. I am glad that I just stuck it out as I would not have been able to ride it later due to time.

I then wanted to get some breakfast so I had the kids pancake breakfast from the Three Broomsticks with a hot butterbeer. I tried hot butterbeer this morning due to the temperature outside and it was actually really good. I think I still enjoy the frozen one the most, but for a cold morning, it was perfect.

After breakfast, I walked through the queue for the Forbidden journey but did not ride as I did not feel like getting whipped around just having eaten breakfast.


After that, I walked through the Jurassic Park area and then headed to Kong, where there was a longer wait than I would have expected for Express, but still was not too bad. Due to the temperature. I’m sure, the ride cut off the exterior section of the ride, and went straight into the cave. It was a good ride although I was on the left side so did not have the clearest view of Kong at the end. I then walked over to SpiderMan which is still one of my favorite rides in IOA and gave that another ride. It was a walk-on. I continued on to Velocicoaster, which I had debated not riding due to the temp outside. I am really glad that I did not listen to that voice saying not to ride as it was a great ride in front row.

After Velocicoaster, I caught the tail end of the Harry Potter frog choir, and then hopped on the Hogwarts express back to Universal with the intent of riding Gringotts, Mummy, and having lunch. In the end I had to cut Mummy due to time, but Gringotts was amazing as always.

I think Domhnall Gleason is such a versatile actor. He is in Star Wars Rise of the Resistance and Gringotts.


I had lunch at Minions Cafe again and this time got the kids mac and cheese with minion tots. I then debated taking the boat or walking back to Portofino and walking won out so I could more control over the timing as I was starting to get worried about the time to be picked up by the shuttle. I picked up my luggage from bell services, and then went out to wait for the Superstar shuttle. It was 20 minutes late but I was not in a super hurry. I got to the airport in plenty of time, went through security, charged my phone, got some pretzel nuggets, and then boarded an uneventful flight. The parking shuttle back to my car was packed, and after stopping at Bojangles for a late dinner, I was at home by 8:30.

 

[Skywatcher1206]

Now, for my takeaways:

-I will most likely not go back for a solo trip for as long as I did. I think 3 nights will be my max and then only if there is something I want to see that no one in my family wants to see.

-I will most likely never go back in January again. It does not have the magical Christmas lights and decorations of December, or my beloved F&W festival and HHN in September, and it was just plain cold and crowded.

-I know that FARTS is a lot of people’s favorite festivals, but it just wasn’t my speed, although I did love the Broadway performances. One less member of the crowds for those that love it I guess.

-The crowds were a lot heavier than I was expecting for January. Both early December and September seemed to be much less busy than this time.

-I am not 100% sure that I will be renewing my Disney AP. I was not happy that I was not able to take a walk around Epcot for early entry while staying on site. There should be much more flexibility allowed, especially for those like me who are not local and who are staying on site.

Thank you all for reading my report if you got this far. As I said from the beginning, it was truly a trip of ups and downs. I had a great time despite the downs, and am looking forward to my next trip with my immediate family in May and then taking my parents in December.

 

[Ann-CA]

I will most likely never go back in January again. It does not have the magical Christmas lights and decorations of December, or my beloved F&W festival and HHN in September, and it was just plain cold and crowded.

I went the day after you left. I had been watching the weather and that 30-degree day sounded miserable. My three days were in the high 70s and low 80s to the point I didn’t need a jacket. Guess Florida has crazy January weather.

-The crowds were a lot heavier than I was expecting for January. Both early December and September seemed to be much less busy than this time.

I’m with you. It was more crowded than I had expected. I thought I was choosing a low time. Early December seems most ideal to catch Holiday decorations.

Thanks for sharing your experience and I’m glad it was still enjoyable despite many bumps in the road.

 

[Skywatcher1206]

I went the day after you left. I had been watching the weather and that 30-degree day sounded miserable. My three days were in the high 70s and low 80s to the point


I’m with you. It was more crowded than I had expected. I thought I was choosing a low time. Early December seems most ideal to catch Holiday decorations.

Thanks for sharing your experience and I’m glad it was still enjoyable despite many bumps in the road.

I went the day after you left. I had been watching the weather and that 30-degree day sounded miserable. My three days were in the high 70s and low 80s to the point I didn’t need a jacket. Guess Florida has crazy January weather.


I’m with you. It was more crowded than I had expected. I thought I was choosing a low time. Early December seems most ideal to catch Holiday decorations.

Thanks for sharing your experience and I’m glad it was still enjoyable despite many bumps in the road.

Thanks for reading! Your weather sounds amazing and most likely would have helped some to turn my trip around. The trip was definitely still enjoyable even with everything. It was maybe not my most magical trip, but also not one that has turned me off from going again, maybe just not that time of year.

 

[cheryllarsen]

My kids would have been upset as well. What a fun trip!

 

[cheryllarsen]

Thanks for sharing. I enjoyed reading this post.

 

[Skywatcher1206]

Thanks for sharing. I enjoyed reading this post.

Thanks for reading!

 

[footballmouse]

The crowds were a lot heavier than I was expecting for January.

I went for a solo trip last month and was really surprised with how crowded it was.

 

[Skywatcher1206]

I went for a solo trip last month and was really surprised with how crowded it was.

It was bonkers! Definitely more crowded than I or the crowd calendars were expecting I’m sure. I’m hoping that this is not the new normal with crowds.

 

[PrincessGidget]

I was also there in January. It was so cold but not as cold it was at home, so there is that.
I love solo trips! Love love love them!

I enjoyed your TR

 

[Skywatcher1206]

I was also there in January. It was so cold but not as cold it was at home, so there is that.
I love solo trips! Love love love them!

I enjoyed your TR

Thanks for reading! I really enjoyed writing one for this trip and will make sure I do one for the next trip.

 

[disneyAndi14]

I enjoyed reading along! I just got back and wow the crowds were crazy! We have gone at this time before and usually low crowds!
I 100% agree about the whole AP at Disney, it makes me furious that I have to make reservations when I live in Minnesota and always stay onsite! Such a stupid plan!
We love early September way better, heat and all!
The room with the elevator what a stupid set-up, who wants to get that room! Frustrating for you, ugh!
Thanks for sharing your solo trip!

 

[Skywatcher1206]

I enjoyed reading along! I just got back and wow the crowds were crazy! We have gone at this time before and usually low crowds!
I 100% agree about the whole AP at Disney, it makes me furious that I have to make reservations when I live in Minnesota and always stay onsite! Such a stupid plan!
We love early September way better, heat and all!
The room with the elevator what a stupid set-up, who wants to get that room! Frustrating for you, ugh!
Thanks for sharing your solo trip!

Thanks for reading! I definitely learned a lot from my first solo trip and am excited to do it again someday!

I also prefer September (love me some F&W festival) and generally prefer hot to cold weather.

The room with the elevator was definitely a bummer as Beach Club is my favorite resort. At least now I know what room to not request there. LOL.

 

[suse66]

Thanks for sharing! I really enjoyed reading along.

 

[Skywatcher1206]

Thanks for sharing! I really enjoyed reading along.

Thanks for reading