Unca’ Donald
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Nov 15, 2018
Hello, and welcome to my February 1-8, 2020 Walt Disney World trip report. As usual, this was a trip for my girlfriend (Michelle) and I (Jonathan) and we stayed at Disney's Port Orleans French Quarter.
This was nearly a solo trip for me. We had gone to WDW in May and June of last year, but Michelle's time in the parks was fairly limited on those trips. During the May trip, she got sick early in the week. On most of the days of that trip, she slept in and met me at the parks close to noon. We went in June because her work sent her to a credit union conference at the Dolphin. So most of her time that week was spent in the conference and she only had a couple of park days. After we returned home from that trip, she told me she wanted to go back in October since she didn't have a lot of park time, and barely went on any rides, during those 2 trips.
I had been looking at February for our next trip. The International Festival of the Arts was the only Epcot festival we'd never been to, and it was supposed to be a good month over all for low crowds. Michelle didn't want to go in February, though. We live in Maine and she was concerned about the potential for a snow storm on one of our travel days.
Eventually, I agreed to go in October because of Extra Extra Magic Hours. The thought of being able to go to 3 of the parks very early in the morning, and hitting some of the big rides with very little wait, was too good to pass up. We ended up going the week of Halloween and you can read all about that trip with a click of the link below:
10/26-11/2 2019 Trip Report
But my heart was still set on February and the Festival of the Arts, and I was strongly considering going on my own. Then, one day, Michelle found out that Tim Rogerson was at last year's festival. Michelle got addicted to jigsaw puzzles last year and she's done some puzzles of his Disney artwork. She didn't know if he'd be at this year's festival, but the thought of him possibly being there, and getting the chance to meet him, changed her mind about not wanting to go in February.
I chose the first week of February because the Super Bowl was on the 2nd day of the month. I'd heard mixed opinions about what the crowds are actually like the night of the game, but I figured Magic Kingdom must be at least a little less crowded than a typical Sunday night there. I had listened to a podcast over the summer and one of the hosts talked about how he went to MK the night of the SB a couple of years ago, and he said that he walked right up to the hub shortly before Happily Ever After started and that there was a lot of empty space there. I was hoping for a similar experience on this trip.
February 1, 2020 - Arrival Day
Our procedure for our trips has been consistent the last 4 times we've gone. My dad picks us up at our condo in Westbrook, ME on a Saturday morning and drops us off at Concord Coach Lines in Portland. We take a bus to Boston Logan International Airport and fly to Orlando. The following Saturday, we get home by doing that in reverse.
We weren't the only ones anxious for our trip. Louis was more than ready to spend some time at POFQ.
We went to bed around 11:00 the previous night. I fell asleep quickly, but I woke up a little after 2:00 and couldn't fall back to sleep. Michelle got up at 4:30 and a half hour later I went to Dunkin' to get some breakfast. I placed a mobile order for a cold brew and a breakfast sandwich. The store is only a 3 minute drive from home, so my order was already at the pick up counter when I arrived.
I ate quickly when I got back home and then finished getting ready. My dad showed up at 6:00 and we left for the bus station at 6:30, arriving there around 6:45. The bus left at 7:30. It was a chilly morning, around 35 degrees. Earlier in the week, the forecast was showing light snow in the morning, but it changed to no snow a day or 2 before our trip. It was an uneventful bus ride that lasted a little under 2 hours.
Our JetBlue flight was scheduled to depart at 11:35 and arrive in Orlando at 3:02. We boarded the plane at 11:10 and it was off the runway at 11:42. I spent most of the flight playing games on my phone. Disney Magic Kingdoms and Disney Emoji Blitz are always my go-tos on our trips. Since our previous trip, Topps launched a digital card trading app called Disney Collect! so that gave me something else to do to help pass the time.
The plane touched down at 2:54 and we went to get our luggage. We got our first look at the Galaxy's Edge wrapped APM.
This sign at the luggage carousels got me excited for the Festival of the Arts.
When we arrived at the Disney Magical Express check-in, the lines were much shorter than they were when we arrived in October, which gave me hope that it would be a low crowd week. We were checked in at 3:56 and on our bus 10 minutes later. We were sharing a bus with OKW, SSR and POR. On our previous 2 trips, POFQ was the 3rd stop after OKW and SSR, but this time we were dropped off first, arriving at 4:45.
We always check in at the front desk when we arrive so that we can opt out of Mousekeeping and request a 3rd floor room. We've never had to wait more than a couple of minutes, but this time the line was out to the lobby, near the fountain. After feeling good about the short DME lines at the airport, I was starting to wonder if it was going to end up being more crowded than what I was expecting for the week.
We got a room on the 3rd floor of Building 3, which is one of the buildings to the right after exiting the back of the lobby. This was our first time staying in that building. We usually end up in buildings 5 or 6 which are on the left side. We entered our room at 5:10 and Louis made himself right at home.
We were heading to Disney Springs for the night. It was 61 degrees and cloudy out. I decided to stick with the cargo pants and t-shirt I was wearing instead of changing into shorts. We were out the door at 5:44 and walked to the boat dock. There were a dozen or so people waiting for the boat. Most of them were wearing pants and long sleeve shirts, some of them sweaters. It was a little windy out which made it feel colder than the actual temperature. Our boat cast off at 6:02.
I thought the colors in the sky looked really nice during the boat ride to Disney Springs, but it was nothing compared to what we would see after we exited the boat at the Marketplace dock at 6:17.
I probably could have spent the next 20 minutes taking pictures from different vantage points, and just admiring the colors, but I was pretty hungry. I had eaten some macadamia nuts and a couple of small dark chocolate squares at the airport in Boston, but that was all I had eaten since we left home. We made a quick stop at Pin Traders but neither of us saw anything we were interested in buying.
Whenever we go to Disney Springs, we split up to eat. Michelle can't eat foods that are seasoned or acidic and she has to get poultry or fish prepared plain. She always goes to Earl of Sandwich. I was going to Wolfgang Puck Express to get the Bacon-wrapped Meatloaf Sandwich. I had planned to go there back in October, but I ended up going to D-Luxe Burger instead to get the seasonal Octoberfest Burger.
There was a little bit of a line when I arrived at WPE at 6:35 and I waited 10 minutes to order. I sat down at a table and my sandwich arrived at 6:51. We had intended to get a table outside so we could eat together, since both places were so close, but my food was on a ceramic plate, so I figured I should probably eat there. It was probably a little too chilly to sit outside and eat anyway.
The sandwich was really good. It was topped with provolone, crispy onion strings, horseradish cream and port wine sauce. The house-made chips were also very good. After I ate, I walked over to EoS and I saw Michelle at a table though the window. I sat down with her while she finished her sandwich and then we went to Marketplace Co-Op. Wonder-Ground Gallery had a Hades print I really liked. Unfortunately, they didn't have a postcard of it.
We went to World of Disney next. Back in October, I saw a fedora at DHS I considered getting. WoD had it and I decided to get it. I went to a check out line but it was really long. I went to another check out but that line was also very long. I didn't feel like waiting, so I decided to put the hat back. The store was very crowded and I couldn't find Michelle. I sent her a text and, after waiting a few minutes for a reply, I decided to go to the Lego store until I heard back from her.
I still hadn't heard from her after looking around the Lego store for a few minutes, so I decided to go to Sprinkles to see what they had for cupcakes. The line at Sprinkles was out the door, so I decided to pass on that. I heard back from Michelle and I went back to the Lego store to meet her there. She ended up buying the BrickHeadz Donald Duck and Goofy sets. She wanted to get the Lucky Cat one also, but they were sold out.
Michelle wanted to go to UNIQLO to look around and then she was going to head back to the hotel. She headed for the bus stop and I went to Raglan Road to order the Bush-Tail Nitro which was Bushmills Irish Whiskey, local Foxtail cold brew coffee and brown sugar syrup. There was no room at the bar, so I ordered it and took it outside. It was pretty good, but I felt they went a little overboard with the ice.
After that, I went to Wolfgang Puck Bar & Grill to see if they had the Cinnful Sundae I saw on DFB a few days before our trip. I took a seat at the bar and asked the server if they had it. He told me he wasn't sure and had to go check a dessert menu. He came back and said "The Cinn is in." I said "Let's do it."
It had a sticky bun, candied pecans, cream cheese frosting, and cinnamon gelato. I love cinnamon buns and I thought this was awesome. I'm not sure which I liked more, this one or the Nutty Buddy Sundae I got there back in October. They were both great and I hope they might have another crazy new sundae whenever I get back to Disney Springs.
It was after 9:30 when I got to the bus stop. I noticed a bus pull up for SSR right after I got there, and I saw another bus for SSR before a POFQ bus finally showed up. It was a Pluto bus and it was the first time I had been on any of the character buses. I got back to the hotel and went right to bed at 10:30, Day 1 in the books.
This was nearly a solo trip for me. We had gone to WDW in May and June of last year, but Michelle's time in the parks was fairly limited on those trips. During the May trip, she got sick early in the week. On most of the days of that trip, she slept in and met me at the parks close to noon. We went in June because her work sent her to a credit union conference at the Dolphin. So most of her time that week was spent in the conference and she only had a couple of park days. After we returned home from that trip, she told me she wanted to go back in October since she didn't have a lot of park time, and barely went on any rides, during those 2 trips.
I had been looking at February for our next trip. The International Festival of the Arts was the only Epcot festival we'd never been to, and it was supposed to be a good month over all for low crowds. Michelle didn't want to go in February, though. We live in Maine and she was concerned about the potential for a snow storm on one of our travel days.
Eventually, I agreed to go in October because of Extra Extra Magic Hours. The thought of being able to go to 3 of the parks very early in the morning, and hitting some of the big rides with very little wait, was too good to pass up. We ended up going the week of Halloween and you can read all about that trip with a click of the link below:
10/26-11/2 2019 Trip Report
But my heart was still set on February and the Festival of the Arts, and I was strongly considering going on my own. Then, one day, Michelle found out that Tim Rogerson was at last year's festival. Michelle got addicted to jigsaw puzzles last year and she's done some puzzles of his Disney artwork. She didn't know if he'd be at this year's festival, but the thought of him possibly being there, and getting the chance to meet him, changed her mind about not wanting to go in February.
I chose the first week of February because the Super Bowl was on the 2nd day of the month. I'd heard mixed opinions about what the crowds are actually like the night of the game, but I figured Magic Kingdom must be at least a little less crowded than a typical Sunday night there. I had listened to a podcast over the summer and one of the hosts talked about how he went to MK the night of the SB a couple of years ago, and he said that he walked right up to the hub shortly before Happily Ever After started and that there was a lot of empty space there. I was hoping for a similar experience on this trip.
February 1, 2020 - Arrival Day
Our procedure for our trips has been consistent the last 4 times we've gone. My dad picks us up at our condo in Westbrook, ME on a Saturday morning and drops us off at Concord Coach Lines in Portland. We take a bus to Boston Logan International Airport and fly to Orlando. The following Saturday, we get home by doing that in reverse.
We weren't the only ones anxious for our trip. Louis was more than ready to spend some time at POFQ.
We went to bed around 11:00 the previous night. I fell asleep quickly, but I woke up a little after 2:00 and couldn't fall back to sleep. Michelle got up at 4:30 and a half hour later I went to Dunkin' to get some breakfast. I placed a mobile order for a cold brew and a breakfast sandwich. The store is only a 3 minute drive from home, so my order was already at the pick up counter when I arrived.
I ate quickly when I got back home and then finished getting ready. My dad showed up at 6:00 and we left for the bus station at 6:30, arriving there around 6:45. The bus left at 7:30. It was a chilly morning, around 35 degrees. Earlier in the week, the forecast was showing light snow in the morning, but it changed to no snow a day or 2 before our trip. It was an uneventful bus ride that lasted a little under 2 hours.
Our JetBlue flight was scheduled to depart at 11:35 and arrive in Orlando at 3:02. We boarded the plane at 11:10 and it was off the runway at 11:42. I spent most of the flight playing games on my phone. Disney Magic Kingdoms and Disney Emoji Blitz are always my go-tos on our trips. Since our previous trip, Topps launched a digital card trading app called Disney Collect! so that gave me something else to do to help pass the time.
The plane touched down at 2:54 and we went to get our luggage. We got our first look at the Galaxy's Edge wrapped APM.
This sign at the luggage carousels got me excited for the Festival of the Arts.
When we arrived at the Disney Magical Express check-in, the lines were much shorter than they were when we arrived in October, which gave me hope that it would be a low crowd week. We were checked in at 3:56 and on our bus 10 minutes later. We were sharing a bus with OKW, SSR and POR. On our previous 2 trips, POFQ was the 3rd stop after OKW and SSR, but this time we were dropped off first, arriving at 4:45.
We always check in at the front desk when we arrive so that we can opt out of Mousekeeping and request a 3rd floor room. We've never had to wait more than a couple of minutes, but this time the line was out to the lobby, near the fountain. After feeling good about the short DME lines at the airport, I was starting to wonder if it was going to end up being more crowded than what I was expecting for the week.
We got a room on the 3rd floor of Building 3, which is one of the buildings to the right after exiting the back of the lobby. This was our first time staying in that building. We usually end up in buildings 5 or 6 which are on the left side. We entered our room at 5:10 and Louis made himself right at home.
We were heading to Disney Springs for the night. It was 61 degrees and cloudy out. I decided to stick with the cargo pants and t-shirt I was wearing instead of changing into shorts. We were out the door at 5:44 and walked to the boat dock. There were a dozen or so people waiting for the boat. Most of them were wearing pants and long sleeve shirts, some of them sweaters. It was a little windy out which made it feel colder than the actual temperature. Our boat cast off at 6:02.
I thought the colors in the sky looked really nice during the boat ride to Disney Springs, but it was nothing compared to what we would see after we exited the boat at the Marketplace dock at 6:17.
I probably could have spent the next 20 minutes taking pictures from different vantage points, and just admiring the colors, but I was pretty hungry. I had eaten some macadamia nuts and a couple of small dark chocolate squares at the airport in Boston, but that was all I had eaten since we left home. We made a quick stop at Pin Traders but neither of us saw anything we were interested in buying.
Whenever we go to Disney Springs, we split up to eat. Michelle can't eat foods that are seasoned or acidic and she has to get poultry or fish prepared plain. She always goes to Earl of Sandwich. I was going to Wolfgang Puck Express to get the Bacon-wrapped Meatloaf Sandwich. I had planned to go there back in October, but I ended up going to D-Luxe Burger instead to get the seasonal Octoberfest Burger.
There was a little bit of a line when I arrived at WPE at 6:35 and I waited 10 minutes to order. I sat down at a table and my sandwich arrived at 6:51. We had intended to get a table outside so we could eat together, since both places were so close, but my food was on a ceramic plate, so I figured I should probably eat there. It was probably a little too chilly to sit outside and eat anyway.
The sandwich was really good. It was topped with provolone, crispy onion strings, horseradish cream and port wine sauce. The house-made chips were also very good. After I ate, I walked over to EoS and I saw Michelle at a table though the window. I sat down with her while she finished her sandwich and then we went to Marketplace Co-Op. Wonder-Ground Gallery had a Hades print I really liked. Unfortunately, they didn't have a postcard of it.
We went to World of Disney next. Back in October, I saw a fedora at DHS I considered getting. WoD had it and I decided to get it. I went to a check out line but it was really long. I went to another check out but that line was also very long. I didn't feel like waiting, so I decided to put the hat back. The store was very crowded and I couldn't find Michelle. I sent her a text and, after waiting a few minutes for a reply, I decided to go to the Lego store until I heard back from her.
I still hadn't heard from her after looking around the Lego store for a few minutes, so I decided to go to Sprinkles to see what they had for cupcakes. The line at Sprinkles was out the door, so I decided to pass on that. I heard back from Michelle and I went back to the Lego store to meet her there. She ended up buying the BrickHeadz Donald Duck and Goofy sets. She wanted to get the Lucky Cat one also, but they were sold out.
Michelle wanted to go to UNIQLO to look around and then she was going to head back to the hotel. She headed for the bus stop and I went to Raglan Road to order the Bush-Tail Nitro which was Bushmills Irish Whiskey, local Foxtail cold brew coffee and brown sugar syrup. There was no room at the bar, so I ordered it and took it outside. It was pretty good, but I felt they went a little overboard with the ice.
After that, I went to Wolfgang Puck Bar & Grill to see if they had the Cinnful Sundae I saw on DFB a few days before our trip. I took a seat at the bar and asked the server if they had it. He told me he wasn't sure and had to go check a dessert menu. He came back and said "The Cinn is in." I said "Let's do it."
It had a sticky bun, candied pecans, cream cheese frosting, and cinnamon gelato. I love cinnamon buns and I thought this was awesome. I'm not sure which I liked more, this one or the Nutty Buddy Sundae I got there back in October. They were both great and I hope they might have another crazy new sundae whenever I get back to Disney Springs.
It was after 9:30 when I got to the bus stop. I noticed a bus pull up for SSR right after I got there, and I saw another bus for SSR before a POFQ bus finally showed up. It was a Pluto bus and it was the first time I had been on any of the character buses. I got back to the hotel and went right to bed at 10:30, Day 1 in the books.
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