The morning came way too fast, and Vince and I were up by 6am to get ready. Since I am not a small person by any means, and I have ALWAYS someone who sweats instantly, I do not wear makeup at Disney. It would melt off the instant I walked outside! We both were ready and packed by 6:30am and ordered our Lyft.
A few photos of our view in the morning:
Can't you just FEEL the humidity??
We were NOT as lucky as the night before and our Lyft was seriously being held together by tape and had no air conditioning… if we had crashed I don’t think this car would have withstood it…No photos… just take my word for it. We were worried.
We made it to the Swan alive and met up with Daniel and Paul. The desk agent gave Daniel a hard time about having 4 people in the room and said that the reservation was only for 2, but that was definitely not right since I made the reservation the Marriott site and put 4 in. AND when I linked it to our MDE it showed the 4 guests and I linked the 4 of us who were in the room. I wasn’t blown away by the ambiance of the hotel either, compared to most Disney hotels it felt sparse and cold. No couches or seating… no magic.
But our main reason for staying here was the price and the access to the boat to Epcot and DHS!
We checked our bags with bell services and headed out to catch the Animal Kingdom bus, which came quickly! It was an older-style Disney bus, one that I don’t think I had been on since 2009. But it was NOT Disney staff driving.
We were dropped off in the AK parking lot, but to be honest, it was probably a closer walk than some of the Disney bus stops at AK, which can feel like they are miles away! I was also surprised that the Swan & Dolphin weren’t with the Disney busses. I seem to vividly remember they use to be on the bus signs prior to Covid…
We walked in to AK at 7:47am, which I think was pretty good considering all we had to do that morning!
There was basically no one in the parks yet since it was resort guests only so we stopped for some photos before we were complete hot sweaty messes!
We had a LL for Flight of Passage, so we headed straight to Everest, which is ALWAYS my tip now that Pandora is open. You can ride many times without waiting first thing in the morning!
Which is what we did! I was already dying of the heat and my hair was a mess!
We started heading back toward Pandora. At some point we made a quick stop in Africa to pick up a breakfast sandwich that Daniel couldn’t stop talking about. No photos because we were starving, but it was the Sausage, Egg and Cheese biscuit, and it was delish! It was either now or after Pandora. We also filled up our water bottles with ice water from the wonderful cast members.
We made our way through the back entrance to Pandora, headed into the ride and were matched with our avatars!
We were placed on the bottom row, which is not a favorite for me. On one hand, it does feel like you are literally right in the screen, but I like the sensation of feeling like I am flying and the bottom row really doesn’t feel that way to me. Next we headed over and rode Navi River Journey. Vince is a huge Avatar fan and on his last trip he didn’t get to see the animatronic at the end, it was just a screen. Luckily it was up and running this time. All four of us were put into front row of the boat together... and it was a tight squeeze. Especially yucky since were all hot sweaty messes.
I am not an Avatar fan at all, but I do love how cool the land is!
At this point, it was only 8:30am, which is why I LOVE rope-dropping AK! You can get so much done there in a short amount of time. We were still waiting for C&B to arrive, so we headed over to Kali River Rapids and took a quick pit stop at my favorite “hidden” Mickey, as fichwa means hidden in Swahili. This was the first time I had ever saw a photopass photographer in this location, so, of course, we took photos.
These photo cracks me up because I think Paul and I look like siblings in them. Some of Daniel’s family actually thinks I am his sister. His sister and I are actually the same age and do have similar features!
The wait time for Kali was posted at 15 minutes, but of course, it wasn’t and we walked right on. No photos because I didn’t want my phone to get wet and not be able to charge the rest of the day. The ride is definitely too short, but since our raft didn’t line up correctly when we got back to the loading station, we got to ride again! We had a really fun family that rode with us and we all ended up soaked.
This is what I blame my blisters on. I have worn Clark flip-flops to Disney MANY times. In fact, I very rarely wear anything other than flip-flops of some sort. But as I said above, Vince is a power walker, and after the ride he took off, . I tried to keep up in my wet flip-flops and that is where I made a grave mistake, and my epic blister began to form.
Next up: C&B Join Us and we help scar a little girl for life….
I am so sorry for the delay. I had this typed for a while, but after some of the news from the DIS I was a little jaded about posting for a minute. Ultimately I the DIS has been a huge part of my life since 2009 and I want to support them now that changes have been made. I have also met some amazing people through this forum!!! We last left with me trying to chase down Vince, and with that changing the course of the trip for myself!
We headed toward the front of the park to meet up with B&C who had just arrived! We had a pass for the Safari, but we had time to kill before heading back to Africa so we decided to head for one of our favorites, Dinosaur! Both Daniel and I love this ride and I love telling people my little facts. Like, the red, white and yellow pipes in the load area have the chemical ingredients for Ketchup, Mayo and Mustard on them. I don’t know why that cracks me up every time!
The wait time said 15 minutes, but we walked directly into the preshow room. We ended up with a family of 4 behind us with 2 young girls. We were trying our best to encourage them, but the girls were NOT excited about riding this ride. From the moment that the ride began one of the girls began to scream bloody murder through the entire thing, moment the ride stopped the they both began to scream and cry hysterically. I felt awful that we had encouraged them, I had no idea how traumatizing it would be. It was one of my kids’ favorite rides when they were small…. That said, the dad was a hoot. He was laughing non-stop through the entire ride.
We were all feeling the heat, and B&C were hungry so we headed into Resturantasuras. I know this isn’t the best restaurant at AK, but I love chicken nuggets at Disney so I was down! We all shared some chicken nuggets and C got a giant chili cheese dog, which we all could have shared and got full. This was a staple for our family when the kids were younger. You use to be get kid's meals in a sand pail which was cool for the kids.
We headed toward Africa and ran into Kevin from Up. I wish I was wearing my UP ears!
We headed straight to the safari and before we knew it we were on our way! It was a slow safari because we got stopped by multiple animals in the road along the way. We got to see lots of babies including this adorable zebra. We also saw baby rhinos and a baby giraffe.
On our way out of the safari, we found a photopass photographer who was had no line. He ended up doing a photoshoot for us! I won’t share B&C’s personal photos, but they were fantastic! We spent a good 10 minutes with the photographer!
Vince and I took our "Couple of Besties" shot.
After our great photopass experience, we decided that we would head toward Pandora to eat at Satuli then head out of the park. We shopped along the way and Daniel and Vince decided to go back over to Everest to grab a hat Daniel had saw there. They ended up riding Everest again as well.
While we were in Africa, Paul stopped by the fruit stand right outside the safari entrance and picked up the grilled corn on the cob w/ African spices and it was delish!!! We had at 2 people approach us and ask where he got it, that’s how good it looked and tasted. I forgot to get a photo of him eating it, because I was taking a bite too. I cannot wait to grab one this weekend!!
Good thing he is a good sport and he waited with me to grab a Ngumu Jungle Juice at the Dawa Bar and we headed over to Pandora to meet up with everyone at Satuli Canteen.
While Paul was ordering food I grabbed a Lumpia from Pongu Pongu. I LOVE THESE!!!
While we were waiting for our order to be ready inside, it began to RAIN… HARD! If you have ever been inside Pandora when it rains, EVERYONE runs for Satuli to get under the roof. And it became PACKED. They ended up bringing out an extra cast member to stop people from entering the building too early. But people were just pushing past them. It was crazy!
We were finally called in and surprisingly we found a table right as another group was leaving! I somehow don’t have one photo of all the bowls that were shared, but as always everyone loved their food at Satuli. As we were leaving Paul and I noticed a cast member who was crying. She was the person who was "guarding" the dining room so people couldn't save tables. This really made me mad. No matter how upset you are, it isn't ok to take out your anger on cast members. They are doing their job, not making the rules. Yelling at them is just inappropriate and MEAN. As we left I thanked the cast member and told her I hoped her day got better.
As we left Satuli it was sprinkling rain so I pulled out my poncho that I had packed, and wooopsie, it was a child size rain coat, thank goodness I packed my umbrella as well! It was a nice Coleman rain coat that I purchased for my kids at WDW and completely forgot it was childsize. I obviously couldn’t use it, so I thought of just laying it on top of a garbage can and hoping that someone who needed it would grab it, but I was afraid of someone throwing it away. So as we left AK I watched for a family with a single child who wasn’t wearing a poncho. Right outside Tiffans I found the family and ran up to them. They were so nice and appreciative, I couldn’t have picked a nicer family. The mom handed me this as I walked away.
I’m not doing a great job of posting all of one trip before the next, but now that summer is over and I have about a month until my fall programing starts up in full force I have some time to really catch up!
When we left off we were heading out of Animal Kingdom. B&C decicided they would drive and headed over to the MK and would meet up with us later. I could feel that the ball of my left foot was getting warm, but I was powering through. We grabbed a bus to the Poly and within minutes Vince was asleep sitting straight up next to me. The longer he slept the more his head bobbed around. I was keeping a close “mom” eye on him when we took a sharp right turn and he flung forward head first. I pulled out my “mom” instincts and caught his head with my hand. Everyone on the bus was laughing because it didn’t even wake him up.
After Vince’s nap and our ride to the Poly we arrived at 2ish headed straight to Trader Sam’s to put our name in and was told it would be about a 2.5 hour wait which was expected. I love the lobby of the Poly and all the seating and decorations.
We then hopped on the monorail and headed to the Grand Floridian.
Our goal was to check out the Enchanted Rose bar, but of course we didn’t look at the opening time and it didn’t open until 4pm. By the way, we were not the only people with this plan. There were at least 3 groups who we saw checking in at the Poly and heading over.
We took stock of our options and thought that the Outer Rim bar at the Contemporary sounded fun so we headed over there. We grabbed a table overlooking the lake and grabbed our first round of drinks. I had a Blood Orange Margarita, Daniel had a Hendrick’s martini with a twist, Paul had the Pina CoLava and Vince had a raspberry mojito I believe.
I regretted getting the blood orange margarita a little. I always think I like blood orange, but I’m actually not a huge fan of the bitter flavor it can have. I couldn’t try Paul’s drink because I am allergic to coconut, but Daniel and Vince’s drinks were both refreshing.
For our second round I went with the classic Golden Haze Margarita extra salt, Vince had the Magical Star, Paul had the Smoked Turkey and Daniel had another Hendrick’s Martini, minus the twist. Let me tell you, these drinks were STRONG. We were getting close to the 2 hour mark since we had checked in for Trader Sam’s so we decided to head back over to the Poly on the monorail. We checked with the hostess for how close we were to being called and decided to grab some food at Capt. Cook’s.
Vince got the Thai Coconut Meatballs, and I am assuming they were delish because he ate them quickly.
I got the Pan-Asian Vegetables and Noodles and it was very good!!
I believe Daniel and Paul split a bacon cheeseburger but by the time they got their food I was too busy eating to take a photo.
At about 5:15pm we got the text that our table was ready, which was perfect because B&C had just arrived after spending some time in the MK. They set us at one of the small round tables with 2 chairs and the bench seat for all 6 of us. It was more than a little uncomfortable and it wasn’t the best seating arrangement, but we made it work. The manager came over to speak with B because she has a Red Dye 40 allergy and I found out that even straight liquour can sometimes have Red Dye 40 in it! The manager was fantastic and came back to check on us many times. We made sure to leave him a cast compliment on the app. I didn’t mention my coconut allergy because I have been at Trader Sam’s many times and talked about what I can and can’t drink. My allergy is not aniphlactic (yet) and I don't often get a reaction from cross-contamination for drinks. The worst is restaurnts who have coconut shrimp and use the same oil for their other fried foods. I have had pretty bad reactions!
I of course went for the EXTRA Spiky Pineapple, which is one of my favorite drinks and it did not disappoint!!
For my second drink I had a Tropical Dark & Stormy
As always Trader Sam’s was a good time and we enjoyed our drinks, but it was time to head over to the Magic Kingdom!
My first look at the train station since 2021
I really wish they would re-paint the castle back to it’s original color.
Lines were pretty long, but we were able to jump on Under the Sea.
And Haunted Mansion
I look exhausted in my photo, and I probably was!
Finally we were able to get a pass for Seven Dwarfs Mine Train so we jumped on!
I really wish the seats in this ride were wider. They are so uncomfortable, even for my daughter who is tiny.
By this time it was ALMOST time for Happily Ever After and I could not miss it. We managed to get a pretty good spot to watch and I have absolutely no photos because I made myself put my phone away and be in the moment. I love fireworks at the Magic Kingdom. Wishes will forever be my favorite, but Happily Ever After is right up there. It now holds special meaning because when Daniel and Paul got married the bridal party walked down the aisle to the song Happily Ever After. I absolutely balled my eyes out!
After fireworks my foot was really killing me so I decided to call it a night. The guys and B decided to make a run for one more ride, but I am not sure what ride they headed to. I decided to take the bus back to the Boardwalk and walk over to the Swan, which is what the guys did right behind me. I looked at my foot and could see that I was developing a very large blister on the ball of my foot. I slapped some salonpas on my feet and prayed for a miracle. LOL And that ended our first, VERY BUSY, day at Disney!
Next Up: Brunch at Steakhouse 77 and I find my new favorite Disney hideout!
The next morning we had planned on taking the morning off, but that definitely didn’t mean that we were going to sleep in! We had an ADR at Streakhouse 71. We all got ready and were on the bus by 7:11am and headed to the TTC. We had also all tried for a Tron Virtual Queue this morning and managed to get one, which changed our plans just slightly.
This photo cracks me up, I love it when people photobomb!
After security, we headed to the resort monorail and over to the Contemporary to meet up with B & C. Before we knew it we were sitting with our first round of bottomless mimosas!!
We had done the Wave breakfast in 2021 when it was being held upstairs at the California Grill and we LOVED the platter, especially the cheesy grits. Daniel and Paul had come to Steakhouse 71 in 2022 on their honeymoon and the platter and grits were still on the menu, but this time the platter had been taken off the menu. Luckily the grits were still there.
This is what the platter looked like in 2021:
Since the platter was no longer on the menu I got the Avacado Toast and sides of breakfast potatoes and cheesy bacon grits. I believe that someone gave me their egg as well, lol.
I love avocado toast and this one was amazing! The onion jam really made it fantastic. The grits were as amazing as I remembered, but we definitely had to many of them on the table. Our eyes were bigger than our stomachs, especially with our wonderful waitress being on top of the mimosa refills!! We lost count of how many mimosas we had!
After breakfast B&C headed back to their hotel for a day of relaxation, they had already used all the days of their ticket but had decided that they did want to do another day in the parks. They didn’t want to pay the full price of one day, and regretted not just adding another day on to their ticket. I told them they should call Disney customer service and that’s what they did. In no time they had added an extra day and made park reservations to see us the next day.
Paul, Daniel, Vince and I headed over to the Magic Kingdom for our Tron Virtual Queue. Since Paul and I got through the line faster (Annual Passholder) we stopped to take some photos.
We headed straight over to Tron. I had told the guys that I was very unsure if I would fit on the ride. I am not a small girl, but my calves are especially large. I learned very quickly how to move my feet all the way up on FoP so that I could ride. As we were standing in line the guys were skeptical of my concerns, especially since there were riders who were larger than me bodywise who fit easily. But it is not the side of your upperbody that can be an issue on this ride, but your legs. I have short legs and big calves which is not a good combination for Tron, lol.
Ultimately I was right and my legs did not fit on the ride so I rode in the upright seat in the back, and to be honest I think I liked it better than leaning forward!
Our ultimate opinion was that Tron was cool, but definitely a let-down when you look at how amazing Guardians is. We all felt it was way too short!
We grabbed a few photos before we left:
Daniel and Vince had purchased the waterparks option for their tickets so they decided they would head over to Typhoon Lagoon. Paul and I had considered adding it to our Annual Pass, but ultimately didn’t have much interest in it. We decided we would head over to Animal Kindgom to grab the passholder magnets that were starting that day. Since it was only 11:45am, there were no park to park busses running yet, so we jumped on a bus to Animal Kingdom Lodge.
Let me tell you my left foot was in PAIN!!! When I had woke up the blister on the ball of my foot was the size of a tennis ball. It literally covered my the entire ball of my foot. So getting off my feet was nice. We had a long conversation with a little boy who had just been a breakfast at Cinderella’s Royal Table. It was just his family and ours on the bus, with them in the front and us in the back. He came all the way back to talk to us, which was adorable. He talked all the way to AKL.
Once we got to AKL we jumped off the bus and waited for a AK bus to pull up which wasn’t that long and headed to AK. As soon as we got off the bus at AK my foot was in intense pain I made it about 3 steps and the blister popped. It was insane! I literally cried out from how much it hurt. We walked (limped) over to Rainforest Cafe and I went into the bathroom to clean my wound. Paul got some bandages from somewhere and we hung out on the patio while I attempted to cover my wound and wait for the park to open to park hopping.
Finally at 1:45pm we headed into the park and walked SLOWLY over to the gift shop in Dinoland to grab our magnets.
We had no plans, and the boys were at the waterpark, so we decided to see if there was availability to sit at the bar at Nomad Lounge. Paul had been on his honeymoon, but I hadn’t had a chance to go yet.
We got some photos:
There were 2 chairs at the bar open when we arrived, so we grabbed them!
I ordered a Jenn’s Tattoo (Ketel One Vodka, Watermelon, Hibiscus, and Lime Juice) and Paul got the Boto-Rita (Zignum Reposado Mezcal, Combier Grapefruit Liqueur, Guava Purée, and Lime Juice garnished with Pink Peppercorns) and they were both delicious! The Jenn’s Tattoo is very sweet, so if you don’t like sweet I wouldn’t recommend it, but I loved it.
We also ordered the bread service and the cheese board to split.
They kept the coconut curry sauce separate for me. All I can say is UMMMMMM. Everything was so good.
We hung out with our food and drinks for about an hour and headed back. We opted for a Minnie Van due to my foot and not wanting to walk much.
Meanwhile the boys were splashing around at TL!
Paul and I decided to take a dip in the pool before they guys got back and that really helped the pain in my foot. I was getting concerned that my trip would be ruined because of the pain. After the boys got back we all got cleaned up and headed down to the boat launch.
Epcot had extended hours for resort guests that night so that was our plan. But first…
While we were on the boat we were able to score a late Guardians Virtual Queue for the extended hours. I am not sure what I ordered but it was either bourbon or whiskey based and was very good. I know we also got a Pepper’s Ghost which was my favorite.
We also ordered an order of the Abra Fries (Parmesan Cheese, Gremolata, Truffle Cheese Sauce) and if you have not tried them, RUN don’t walk!
The truffle cheese sauce was amazing and we basically licked the bowl!
I also jumped over to Trattoria al Forno because my favorite waitress of all time was working, Andrea, and I wanted to say hi!
We headed over to Epcot after our yummy drinks and fries and I stopped in the UK to grab Fish & Chips, no photos because I was starving! I also had to introduce Vince to the lovely, the refreshing, the DANGEROUS Orange Slush in France, with an extra shot of course!
Can’t you just FEEL the humidity?
We headed over to China where everyone grabbed some food and sat outside to watch the fireworks. I know I got a sour beer as well, but no photos. We were sad to learn that the new extra hours don’t include the World Showcase staying open. That was our favorite time in the World Showcase was when there were extra hours. Darn COVID!
After eating we headed back to France for my first ride on Ratatouille. While Vince was in the restroom we took some photos.
I LOVED the ride! I am not actually a big Ratatouille fan, but the ride was so much fun! I love that they combined 3D with the new trackless ride system. So much fun!
We started heading back toward Guardians
This time we got “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” and that’s when I realized that every ride on Guardians is slightly different. The ride was much slower and graceful. I love that!
It was quickly approaching 11pm so we RUSHED back to Norway for Daniel’s favorite ride: Frozen Ever After
As soon as we got off we ask if we could ride again. It was 11:02, but they allowed us to. We thanked them a lot!
Unfortunately the World Showcase was closed and they made us walk back out of Mexico and around to get to the back exit and after all the walking we had done on my foot I was in a lot of pain. But thank goodness I had brought my sneakers and that was helping. I had never wore sneakers at Disney because I love flip flops or sandals, but I have actually changed and love my Nikes now. I am thinking about getting a pair of Hokas for my next trip!
I waited for a boat, while the boys walked. We both made it back at the same time. We all drank some water with electrolytes mixed in, the boys did Liquid IV and I did Pedialyte. I really don’t like the taste of Liquid IV and Pedialyte tastes like Kool-Aid. I guess I really am a child at heart, LOL.
Next up: I Finally Meet Sorcerer Mickey and we make new Friends!
Ouch, that blister must have been awful! I hate when something happens like that (blister, chaffing, sunburn) because it really can make a difference in a trip!
Ouch, that blister must have been awful! I hate when something happens like that (blister, chaffing, sunburn) because it really can make a difference in a trip!
Our next morning came up fast, but we were out of the room early and headed to Hollywood Studios for the morning. It is so nice jumping on the boat to get over to Hollywood Studios!! I must have been tired, because no photos at all! We made it to the park right as they started to let resort guests in for early entry and headed straight over to Starbucks for caffine. We had a little magical moment and 1. There was no line! 2. The barista gave us all free cake pops! I got a Trenta Mango Dragonfruit Refresher Lemonade and the boys didn’t think I could drink the whole thing before Tower of Terror, but I NEEDED it. I was easily finished with it by the time to got to the indoor entrance of ToT.
Side Story: I forgot one of my other magical moments of the trip on our first day. We had headed into Magic Kingdom after Trader Sams and I really wanted popcorn so I stopped at the popcorn stand in the hub. A cast member was standing directing traffic, since people were already getting spots for the fireworks, and we were talking. She had a I’m Celebrating button on, so I ask her what she was celebrating and it was her last day as a college program cast member, but she couldn’t wait until she graduated because she was coming right back to Disney World she loved it so much. She was just such a happy and light person, and I just happened to remember the little piece of paper that the family had given me in Animal Kingdom so I decided to pass it along to her. She was so sweet and ran back behind the cart to grab me a free Sprite. Meeting and talking to new people in Disney is one of the reasons I love coming back over and over again!!
Ok, so we made it to Tower of Terror and there was no line. We walked directly into the pre-show room and basically on the ride. I for some reason freaked out, like I do every time I go a while without riding it.
The boys were trying to act bored. LOL We jumped off and rode a second time, again, no wait. This time I wasn't freaking out.
We had an early morning pass for Rise of the Resistance and a reservation at Oga’s so we skipped Rockin’ Rollercoaster that morning. As we were walking by the Commisary I saw that Meet Mickey & Minnie had a 5 minute wait. I was so excited because I LOVE Scorcerer Mickey and the wait is NEVER that short.
First up was Minnie in her Hollywood Glam
Pretty in Pink!
Up next was the main mouse himself!!! And I was so freaking excited!
And I let the guys come in for a photo:
After my out of body experience we headed toward Galaxy’s Edge and ran into another exciting meet and greet!
Max was trying to replicate my buns with his ears, no such luck!
Finally we made it to RotR and no BB8
I noticed that a lot of the features of the ride weren’t working either, which is such a disappointment. This ride is really cool, but the more things just stop working it just isn’t worth the crazy wait. Neither Kylo Ren was working, the shooting cannons weren’t moving or making and sounds and Finn wasn’t moving. Either way we were heading to one of our favorite places in the galaxy. And if you have read this report you know that probably includes drinks!
We checked in for Oga’s and ask to wait for a place at the bar. Like I said, I LOVE talking to people, especially cast members. We were called very quickly and had a great spot!
I got the Jedi Mind Trick, Paul got the Jet Juice (on the rocks), I think Vince had the Fuzzy Tauntaun, and Daniel had wine on tap. Our original bartender was Chris, but he only got our first drinks and then Bruce appeared. Paul and I were so excited because Bruce had a blue nametag, which means he is a Legacy! We immediately started asking him a million questions about his career and how long he had been a legacy, etc. It was so cool to hear about his 30+ year career with Disney. His wife (who he meet at Disney) previously worked for Golden Oak and now works for Club 33. He introduced us back to Chris and another bartender, who I just can’t remember his name right now but he is from the Chicago area as well.
A round of Jet Jucies for all by Bruce. Some on the rocks, some not!
The limit for Oga’s is 45 minutes, but we didn’t see light for about 1.5-2 hours. We had so much fun talking to the cast members, hearing their stories, drinking and just enjoying the environment. We are now all Facebook friends! We talked alot about the future of Disney and who we thought/hoped the new CEO would be.
After our longer than anticipated Oga’s visit we were hungry and Paul really wanted a Ronto Wrap. I had been snacking on popcorn all morning, so I was ok with just a few bites of everyone else’s food. Boy are the Ronto Wraps good, I ended up grabbing one on my last trip for breakfast!!! I did get a Surly Sarlacc tho…
And was questioned by a Stormtrooper
We had grabbed a pass for Slinky Dog Dash so we headed over. It was HOT outside and luckily we ended up in the shade before…
The ride stopped… we waited in line for a little while but they had no idea when it would start up again. We used the time to cool down and reapply sunscreen because it was a killer out there. We waited a good 30 minutes but we really wanted to do other things so we talked to a cast member and got a pass for later.
The moment we made it back over the bridge from Slinky Dog, the sky opened up and it started POURING. We were right by an empty food cart with an umbrella and I had one, so we stayed mostly dry. Except for my run to the bathroom where I had to fight through the crowd outside the bathrooms.
B&C had just made it into the parks so we jumped into Midway Mania and I beat Vince, but Paul beat us all!
We looked at ride times and Star Tours was 20 minutes so we headed over.
I love Star Tours! Out of all the Star Wars rides this one is still my favorite. Me and my family say Buh-Bye all the time like the robot. Both of my kids have been the Rebel Spy at some point and I will some day! LOL
We were all getting kind of hungry and my favorite place to stop in Hollywood Studios is always Backlot Express. It was busy, but we managed to find a table and I got my favorite:
These hit the spot! B&C were going to walk around HS a bit more and meet us later at MK. So we headed over to Slinky Dog to get our ride and Vince finally got to ride Slinky Dog!
At this point we were all ready for a little break, but we decided to not take one of course…
Next up: Vince's first Skyliner ride and a little detour into Epcot.
After our ride on Slinky Dog we decided to head to Magic Kingdom, but because we weren’t in any hurry we took the LONG way.
First we hopped on the Skyliner and took it to Epcot:
We took a leisurely stroll through Epcot toward the front of the park.
Somehow the photographer got us to hug, but it was GROSS, LOL
And of course we had a visit from Figment how had us really thinking about what to do next. And that of course was a ride on one of my favorites Spaceship Earth, and the boys were all asleep by the time we reached the wooly mammoth scene.
After I woke the boys up from their powernap, we headed out of the park and to the monorail to head over to the Magic Kingdom. At this point my foot was throbbing and no matter what I did, it was in so much pain that I was miserable, and I never want to be miserable at Disney!! We had a pass for Pirates for about an hour after we entered the park. I decided that I was going to go sit down for a while and enjoy the AC. I tried to decided between Columbia Harbor House and Pecos Bills, but since we were doing Pirates, I headed to Pecos Bills. I was really craving CHH, and I didn’t make it on my August trip, so I will definitely be stopping there at the end of this month.
I ordered a rice & veggies kid’s meal with extra chips, queso and guacamole. It came with two oranges which hit the spot later that night. I relaxed in the dark AC while the guys did something. I have no idea what they did to be honest. Maybe Big Thunder Mountain? At this point I could tell my feet were not going to get better and I knew that I would be back in a month, why was a pushing myself. It was already 7:30pm, and if I left now I would avoid the crazy crowds.
I waited for the boys to ride Pirates, where you can see from the photo I wasn’t in the best headspace. We also kept getting put in the front row with all 4 of us on this trip and it was a tight squeeze each time!
I said goodbye to Paul (he was flying out that night because he had an important meeting at work the next day), and see you at the airport to Daniel and Vince. Daniel and Vince had decided to do Universal Studios the last day, but I didn’t want to spend the extra money on the one day tickets. I am so glad I decided not to, because with my foot I think I would have needed a wheelchair to get around at the pace they were going.
I took some photos as I left the MK.
It looks like B&C caught up with the boys later that evening and they rode Buzz Lightyear.
With my foot hurting as much as it did, I did not feel like figuring out the Swan bus situation, or walking from the boardwalk. I also didn’t feel like taking a Minnie Van and spending $35. So I jumped on the monorail and headed over to the Contemporary to grab an Lyft back to the Swan. It was worth the $8! I grabbed my luggage from bell services and grabbed a new Lyft to the Wyndham in Disney Springs. The boys were moving to a hotel closer to Universal.
I hadn’t really did much research on the Wyndham, and it was kind of a let down with outdoor room entrances, but it did what I needed it to do, which was provide me a cheap room for the night. I am pretty sure I got it for $60ish! I took a shower and passed out!!!
I had set my alarm for 10am, just in case, but I woke up around 7am, because that’s what I do at Disney. I woke up enough to eat the oranges from the night before and some chips and queso that the boys had packed and I had grabbed. Then I went back to sleep. At 9am, housekeeping tried to come in the door. Then again at 10am. Then again at 10:30am. It was frustrating. I was out of the room around 10:40am and told them to have at it. LOL I understand that they want to get the rooms cleaned, but if there is a DND on the door and it isn’t checkout time, don’t keep opening the door.
I headed down to the lobby and checked my luggage. I sat on the couch and called my husband to check-in and make sure he was still planning to pick me up a the airport that night. I didn’t really have any plans for the day. This was not my first solo day at Disney, I did an entire solo trip back in 2017 to celebrate graduating with my associates degree. I combined it with the DIS 25th Anniversary and got to meet so many people! I don’t mind traveling alone or spending time alone, it actually gives me the opportunity to meet new people more freely.
I was pretty hungry so I decided to walk over to Disney Springs for lunch. As I was walking I tried to decide what sounded good. I really wanted to try something new, so I decided to try The Poliet Pig.
I strolled through the art store and looked at prints. When I go back I am going to pick this one up:
I grabbed a new Pride Christmas ornament and headed to lunch.
I love the fast casual concept they have at Poliet Pig. You order at the counter and then once you sit down it becomes more of a full service restaurant. They have servers walking around checking on you and cleaning tables. I ordered the Polite Pork Shoulder (pulled) and it came with a side of slaw and I chose the mac & cheese as my other side. I also got a glass of the Poliet White which is a Pinot Gris. I grabbed a little bit of all four sauces as well.
This meal HIT THE SPOT!!! It was the best meal of the trip for sure, not counting the side of truffle fries at Abrakdabar. According to my photo timestamps I got there around 12:30ish. I sat and people watched, caught up on social media and text messages and enjoyed my meal. I talked to a few of the servers who checked on me and finally ordered a beer flight. Normally they do a set flight, but I am not a fan of dark ales so the server let me pick my flight.
They all came ice cold and very refreshing! I sat and enjoyed my flight and did more people watching. Finally I decided I had to move or I would spend the whole day sitting there.
I headed toward the Co-op and did some browsing. I ended up purchasing a pair of Tiki Bird ears. I also stopped by the photopass station to have a ride photo that hadn’t shown up yet. Then I checked the MDE app to see what park seemed the slowest. Originally I was going to head to MK, but the wait times were outrageous and I wanted a chill day. Epcot wait times were short, and I really wanted to ride Soarin’ so I headed toward the buses. The bus stop for the Yacht & Beach Club was the closest and had a few people in line, so I bet on it being the fastest for a bus to arrive. I was right! A bus pulled up pretty quickly after I got in line.
I was spent! The heat and the pain in my foot really affected my energy level toward the end of the trip. But I was so happy to visit the Yacht Club again. It is one of my favorite resorts, mostly because of the memories. We had a magical visit there in 2014 where we were the family of the day and was upgraded to club level for our stay.
I don’t think it is the most “Disney” resort, but the kids loved the pool and we loved being so close to Epcot and HS! I headed out to catch a friendship boat, but I JUST missed it. I hung out in the shade inside the light tower to avoid the scorching sun!
I meandered through Epcot and decided to stop by the Pixar Film Festival. It was packed in the preshow room, so you know it was hot outside!!
After my AC’d break, I headed over to The Land for a flight:
And a boat ride!
While I was inside The Land it started pouring rain outside! I decided I wasn’t really doing much, so I would just hang out and grab a cookie!
Getting an M&M Cookie at Sunshine Seasons is a must for my family on every trip since my daughter had one on the very first day of our very first trip to Disney. At the time it was as big as her head, she has grown a little since then!
It was still raining when I left The Land, but it wasn’t bad and I had my umbrella.
I decided a trip under the ocean was in order so I headed to the Sea.
I found Nemo then I walked around the tanks for a while. I tried waiting for a Turtle Talk show but I had just missed one and didn’t want to wait for the next one. I figured I had almost knocked out every Epcot ride on this trip so I may as well make a trip to Mars!
After my orange team made it safely back to earth I figured it was time to head out to grab my bags and head to the airport.
I said goodbye to my favorite park and took some photopass photos.
It doesn’t look like I took any more photos of the day. I took an Lyft back to the Wyhndam (the pickup spot for ride share at Epcot is crazy!). Grabbed my luggage and got another Lyft to the airport. TSA was a mad house as always, but with pre-check I was through is a few minutes. I didn’t even use my Clear membership because the Clear line was longer than TSA Precheck. I made it to our terminal and grabbed a table at the food court with a phone charger and waited on the boys. They arrived about 15 minutes after I did and we grabbed some food before our flight. Our flight home was uneventful. There was only 49 people on the plane (which is crazy that both my flights weren’t full) so we got our own rows. I slept all the way home! Bonus for me since I carried on all my luggage I was on my way home before the boys even got their luggage!!
And that ended my July trip to the Most Magical Place on Earth!
I’m so excited to get into talking about our wonderful girls only trip in August! This trip stemmed from Mother’s Day when my daughter took me to an unlimited mimosa brunch that ended with me singing 90’s pop music in the car at the top of my lungs and promising a girls only trip to Disney World. Somehow she also finagled an invitation for one of her best friends as well. I do love mimosas! The girls both had the 4 Park Magic Tickets so we planned for one day at each park.
First up is our introductions:
First you have my daughter, Lorelai. She has been traveling to Disney World since she was 2 year’s old and was convinced that the castle was “her castle” and at 16 she still thinks that way, lol. She is a very strong and independent girl and I can totally see her applying for the college program in a couple years. She is a theatre kid through and through!! She has even worked with a local company and was a “friend” of Cinderella and Ariel. Her favorite characters are Stitch, Daisy and Tinkerbell. And she is finally enjoying all the “thrill rides” after overcoming her fear on our last trip!
Her first trip:
This past trip:
Next up you have T! Lorelai and T have been friends for many years and they have a great group of friends! T hadn’t been to Disney World in many years, I believe her last trip was when she was 9 years old and she had a day at MK. She was a delight to have on the trip!! Her favorite character is Marie from Aristocats and she was so excited to find the 100 Year Aristocats ears!
Here are the girls doing what they did quite a bit: taking a bathroom selfie! LOL
This trip starts on Thursday evening, August 24. I worked from home that day so I could have the flexibility to run errands if I needed to. T’s mom picked us up to take us to the airport and since the girls are under 18 and on my reservation they both got pre-check with me, making TSA super fast!
We had plenty of time to grab something to eat and a drink for me!
I grabbed a way overpriced glass of Rose and some fries and the girls grabbed pizza’s that they said tasted like cardboard. Lorelai is a super picky eater, so I hoped that this would not be a theme for the trip.
The girls decided they wanted to film a TikTok for our trip, so we started at the airport while waiting on our flight. I am not sure how to link the video here, I don’t think it worked. If you want to see it my TikTok handle is magicallyeveraftermom.
Since I had completely forgotten to check in for our flight, we got really bad boarding numbers. I decided to pay for an upgraded number for myself and hold a row for me and the girls and it worked very well. The girls were in great moods!!
I still had drink coupons so I got a treat on the plane:
Lorelai LOVES the Southwest snack mix (but not Chex mix, lol) and the flight attendant gave her so many! She was pulling them out and snacking on them all weekend. Our flight was uneventful and we were all exhausted when we got in at 1am.
Since we had gotten in so late, I had made a reservation at the Hyatt Place near the airport. I called for shuttle pick-up and the shuttle had arrived by the time we made it to the pickup area. We all passed out, ready for our early wakeup call to try and get a Guardian’s VQ!
We all woke up at least 5 minutes before 7am to try for a virtual queue for Guardians. Daniel and Paul actually woke up at 6am at home to help us try as well. They will pretty much do anything for their niece! If it had just been me I don’t know if they would have got up that early, LOL. Paul ended up being the one who got the VQ and the girls rolled back over and went back to sleep. Since we had gotten in so late and didn’t get to sleep till after 2am, I didn’t want to push them and risk bad moods all day.
I did however get up and start getting ready. I woke the girls up around 8:15 and headed down to get breakfast in the lobby. The girls were not far behind me and took some time to goof off in the elevator.
Breakfast was your basic hotel breakfast, eh.. I do wish Hyatt’s had a waffle maker so you could make your own waffle, but they usually just have a pan of waffles. They are fresh, so that is good, but I like my waffle to have a little crunch on the outside.
After breakfast we all got ready and packed up and by quarter after 9am we were in a Lyft heading to that beautiful place called Walt Disney World!
We headed to our hotel for the weekend first and I have no idea how I didn’t get one photo! We pulled up to a brand new resort for me Art of Animation! The line at bell services was long, so we headed inside to check in first. The cast member who checked us in was incredibly nice. I had booked a Little Mermaid room, which the girls were excited for, but she asked if I would like an upgrade and that extra bathroom sounded NICE with two teenage girls. She said she would try and get us an upgrade, and to watch my texts for the room confirmation. We headed back outside and checked our luggage, then made our way to the Skyliner to head to Epcot! 10:02am, not bad at all!!
As we were on the Skyliner I took my water bottle out of my backpack and laid it next to me. I said out loud, “Don’t let me forget my waterbottle!” Well of course that is exactly what I did! BOOO That water bottle was from this year’s Pride collection so of course it isn’t available anymore. I took it out to carry it, because if leave it in my bag I forget to drink it.
We had to stop at Guest Services to get T’s ticket activated. For some reason Lorelai’s worked without activation. It could be that Lorelai already had a Magic Band and T didn’t. Either way, the guest service line at the World Showcase entrance was very short! Our Guardian’s group was close to being called so we headed toward the front of the park, stopping at Creations to look for a new one. I found a new one that I loved! The girls looked for a Magic Band but didn’t find one they loved.
My new water bottle later that day:
We stopped by Connections to fill up our water bottles, drink them, then fill them up again. It was HOT!!! We had come from Chicago where we were going through a heat wave of upper 90’s but this was bad! Every day it was 94+ with 90% humidity. I was a bit of a crazy person making sure we were all drinking insane amounts of water on this trip.
Side note: Prior to this trip I applied for and received a DAS pass for myself. Not that I need to explain my reasoning, but in case it helps someone else with the same health issues I will share why I use the DAS pass. I have not one, but two autoimmune diseases that affect my joints. I could probably walk all day long and feel fine (except for the blisters) but if I stand still for too long, or actually even sit too long at times, I have a lot of issues with pain and inflammation in my back, legs and ankles, along with other symptoms that can become exacerbated at Disney. After our last trip, I researched it and talked to a cast member about it and it really did help quite a bit on this trip.
While we were hydrating our Guardians boarding group was called so we headed over for our first ride of the trip!
As expected the girls LOVED it! So much so that I decided to purchase a LL pass for later that evening since we would only be at Epcot for one day.
I don’t remember what song we got, but it was one of the faster ones, which the girls loved. Breakfast was wearing off and we were all getting kind of peckish, also the wait for Soarin’ wasn’t long at all so we headed toward the Land!
The girls grabbed a snack, while I munched on popcorn.
Like I said, these cookies are an important part of our trip! Lorelai has been getting one in the Land since our first trip in 2009, when it was as big as her head!
After our quick break we headed to Soarin’ and by chance got front row center! SCORE!!!
This was T’s first time on the ride and she loved it! What’s not to love? Well, the fake Taj Mahal and the bendy Effiel Tower, but nothing is perfect. I am very excited to see the Soarin’ Over California again this coming weekend!! We made our way around the world, then we went and Lived with the Land for a few minutes.
The late night was getting to us and we had gotten the text that our room was ready at AoA. We had been given a phenomenal upgrade and we were now in Finding Nemo, building 3 which is preferred and right in between the main lobby and the Skyliner! Plus 2 bathrooms!! Woohooo!!!
On our way out I stopped and got the mimosa flight from Simmering Sips, and proved to myself once again that I don’t like blood orange. But I LOVE POG juice so I will be getting a large one of those this weekend.
The girls got the Frozen Roseberry F&W special drink from Joffery’s right outside Canada and they LOVED it. Their biggest regret of the trip was not going back and getting another one.
We made it back to AoA quickly. The Skyliner is such a great way to travel from AoA, as long as it isn’t at the very end of the night, which we learned quickly! We went straight to our room and our bags were already there! I called down to Bell Services and they also brought up the groceries I had ordered. There is a fee to have them delivered, plus don’t forget to tip the porter!!
I unpacked while the girls ran down to the Big Blue Pool to swim and cool off. I visited them for a few minutes, but we wanted to get back to Epcot because we had so much to do!
We made it back to the Skyliner at 5pm and this time I didn’t lose my waterbottle on the way to Epcot!
Before we had left, I had got a DAS pass for Ratatouille, hoping to ride it before we left for the resort, but it was down. So our first stop when we came back was Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure of course!
The girls said it was cute, but definitely not in Guardian’s league. I suppose I agree, but I still think it is so freaking cute!
We were of course hungry, so we stopped and grabbed a few crepes and I got a cider at the Crepes a Emporter. We got a Chocolate Ice Cream Crepe and a Nuttela Crepe. The ice cream melted FAST, but both were yummy!!
We then stopped by something I had never done before, the Beauty and the Beast Sing-a-long, and how cute was that!! I didn’t know what to expect, especially from a screen only sing-a-long, but the way they changed the story made it fun. We all agreed, Lefou needs his own movie! It reminded us of Lion King 1.5. As we walked toward our next ride, Frozen Ever After, I stopped and picked up some F&W. I got the the Brazillian Cheese Bread from Brazil and the Delirium Red Fruit Ale from Belgium.
My first impression of the bread was it was amazing, but after the first couple of bites the cheese became too much and I couldn’t finish it. The girls didn’t like it at all, it was definitely the texture. Too dense, and I love Brazillian Cheese Bread.
The beer on the other hand was perfect! I will absolutely seek this on this weekend. So refreshing!
We kept walking and made it to Frozen where the line for LL was insane!!! Even with a pass we waited quite a while.
We stopped in Mexico to ride the 3 Caballeros, but the line was enormous. So we took a quick photo and moved on.
Next up was Test Track and the girls loved designing their car, even tho mine was WAY better. LOL
After our ride on Test Track we hustled over to Guardians for our final ride of the night!
Our hope had been that we would have time after Guardians to run to Spaceship Earth, but we didn’t have enough time. We headed back toward the World Showcase exit.
Our hope was to take the Skyliner back to AoA, but of course with the park just closing it had a line. A long line. A VERY long line, lol. Instead of wait in what the cast member said would be at least an hour and a half, we walked over to Beach Club and grabbed a lift. Well worth the $8!!
I was exhausted, so I headed back to the room. The girls were hungry so they grabbed some mac & cheese and a burger from Landscapes of Flavor.
It must have been really good, because they got the same meal a few times lol. I was grateful for having my own room since the girls were chatty cathy's that night.
So much fun! I also do mom/daughter trips. My daughter is 9 and we have gone the past three years. I'm looking forward to keeping the tradition going like you!!
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We were worried.
We also filled up our water bottles with ice water from the wonderful cast members.
. I tried to keep up in my wet flip-flops and that is where I made a grave mistake, and my epic blister began to form.
We last left with me trying to chase down Vince, and with that changing the course of the trip for myself! 
I cannot wait to grab one this weekend!!
We grabbed a bus to the Poly and within minutes Vince was asleep sitting straight up next to me. The longer he slept the more his head bobbed around. I was keeping a close “mom” eye on him when we took a sharp right turn and he flung forward head first. 
I pulled out my “mom” instincts and caught his head with my hand. Everyone on the bus was laughing because it didn’t even wake him up. 
All I can say is UMMMMMM. Everything was so good. 
