Trip Report Hell Comes to Florida - a WDW Trip Report 4/17

Hey there. While I've been posting trip reports on other sites for years, this is my first one here. By way of introduction, I'm a 60 year old single park stormer. I live in Dallas, but get out to Florida a couple times a year and SoCal (where I also have family) a couple times a year. I've been back for just over a week, but I was sick with my usual post-vacation cold for most of the week (dang them little snot-nosed kids!). Now it's a quiet day at work, so I have time to post all the fun and not-so-fun of my latest vacation. As you could probably tell by the title, it was freakin' HOT this trip - like record breaking heat, temps in the high-90's. At least the humidity wasn't sky-high, so you could usually jump into a shaded area and cool down a bit. And it cooled down during the evenings, which was nice. But from around 11am to around 6pm, it was just unbearable. And to make matters worse, it was totally cool in Dallas while I was gone, with temps in the low to mid 70's. Ah well, they can't all be perfect trips.

I've been having a problem with increasing age and decreasing energy. I think I've finally found a way around it, although I didn't use this method on this trip. I always start out at Epcot, finishing my first day with some fun time at the Rose & Crown Pub followed by a long walk around the World Showcase. My mistake is always to plan a full MK day for my 2nd day, including going into the MK after dinner to watch fireworks. I'm usually too beat to do this, and end up shuffling back to my room right after dinner. So the fix to all of this is to plan an easy day for my 2nd day, and then doing the MK on the 3rd or 4th day when I'm a bit better rested. I galls me to have to take this into consideration, but I'll give it a try on my next visit and see if it works better.

Day 1 - Wednesday, April 26th -

The day started with an early flight out of Dallas on American. I had a window seat, and the guy in the middle seat was just about as big as I was. So it was a bit tight, but liveable. Rental car was a Prius from Advantage. I'd never driven a hybrid before, and didn't really know how to work one. So it took a bit of fumbling just to get it started. Once I got used to it I had a great time with it. It was kinda fun to keep the alarm fob in my pocket and just push the button to start it. I don't closely track mileage on a rental car, but it did seem that my fuel bill at the end of the trip was quite a bit smaller than it usually is.

My flight was delayed a bit, so I headed right to the Pop Century rather than going into the MK for a few rides and maybe lunch. The Pop had my room ready, with a nice view of the bowling pool -



It cracked me up that the pool area had this prop -



Yup - a rack of bowling balls! My room carpet was pretty cool, too -



My first ride of this trip was a FP ride on Spaceship Earth -



Apparently I have a black wife, which is kinda cool -



Things were decked out nicely for the Flower & Garden Festival -



Next I did a ride on the Test Track, stopping off at the kiosk at the exit to do a full design of my own car and then doing the single rider. They had just come back up from a shutdown, and the single rider queue had yet to build up longer than 5 minutes long - very cool! Next was a FP visit to the Frozen sisters - still a very well done attraction. From there it was up to America to catch the last show of the day from the Voices of Liberty -



... always excellent.
 

fractal

Well-Known Member
Thanks for the report!

Thumbs down on the Miss Piggy planter, what a shame.

I have Tiffins on my list so I appreciate your comments.

Everest down all day would have drove me nuts!

Overall, sounds like it was a nice enjoyable trip without a lot of hustle and bustle.
 

MySmallWorldof4

Well-Known Member
I totally agree that the Miss Piggy planter is ridiculous. It was a fountain so I think that technically the water is the same water recycled all the time. I am sure that watering all the plants will use more water in a week than what the fountain held. :confused:If they are worried about electricity, why didn't they make it solar powered instead. :rolleyes:
 

MySmallWorldof4

Well-Known Member
Thanks for the trip report. I loved all the pics. I am just taking my iphone 7 plus for our upcoming trip. I am hoping I get decent pictures. Glad to see that your Samsung did a good job.:)
 

danyoung56

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Your last day was our first day and we were at Epcot. In fact, we rope dropped Soarin as well and I believe we were in the same showing for Voices of Liberty!

That was YOU?!?!?!? Sorry I didn't know who you were. I'm usually standing by the columns watching the show. I'm sure it'd sound better if I did the sitting on the floor thing. But then I'd have to stand up again, and that's tough for an old chubby guy with bad knees!
 

fractal

Well-Known Member
It seems to actually be getting better with subsequent software updates. I'd love to have a real camera again someday, but using the cell phone is just so danged convenient!

Today's smart phones are as good or better than most point & shoots and as you said much more convenient. Primary reason why sales of P&S cameras have plummeted. In good light a top of the line smart phone will perform very close to a DSLR or mirroless with kit lens. When conditions get more challenging that's when they fall behind (I was, however surprised how well your phone captured the Rome scene in Spaceship Earth).
 

danyoung56

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I was, however surprised how well your phone captured the Rome scene in Spaceship Earth.

I've been trying some darker shots, and holding as steady as I can in a moving vehicle. Every once in a while I get a good, in-focus shot. Still not as good as some shots on the web, but then I don't have 3 grand of camera gear, either!
 

PeppermintPatty

New Member
Day 5 - Sunday, May 1st -

Time for my last day in the World for this trip. Flight out is at 5:20pm, so I've got some time to spend in Epcot, my favorite park. They're doing a new (to me) opening procedure, letting everyone in through the main gates and then stopping them right at the base of Spaceship Earth. They had the Jammitors performing - at least, I could hear 'em but I couldn't see 'em. Once the rope dropped I headed for The Land and an early ride on Soarin', scoring the center section - top row. Cool! Now that Seasons is doing breakfast again, I enjoyed an adult breakfast -



... before a ride on Living With the Land -



... and then another FP ride on Soarin', this time scoring the middle section, 2nd row - still pretty cool! I then went over to The Seas and spent a bit of time with Nemo. I had time before lunch to catch Martin Short in Canada and the always beautiful Impressions de France, and then it was time for lunch at the Rose & Crown. It wasn't too awfully hot today, so I sat in the shade out on the patio. Once again, no surprises here, starting with a scotch egg -



... and my new(ish) favorite - the Grilled New York Strip Steak and Fried Fish -



After lunch I still had time to make it up to the American pavilion for one more set from the Voices of Liberty -



... this time featuring one of the greatest soprano voices anywhere, the amazing Kate Lott -



I had scheduled my final FP for the trip at Spaceship Earth. While I still enjoy the ride as a whole, a couple big things were wrong on this visit. First, the green steam engine was out again. They just fixed this after a lengthy down time, and now it's down again. And there's just no excuse for that TV screen in the family watching the moon landing scene to be blank. I realize that the screen they have there is a pretty specialized one. But they could easily put in an old black & white set as a temp fix. Incredibly lame, Disney!

Off to the airport, an easy flight home (well, another weather delay, but no big deal), and that's all for this trip. It will be interesting to see if I can re-sequence things a bit to not so much kill myself next visit, which'll be at the end of September. We'll see.







Day 4 (continued) -

Tonight was my last evening in Epcot -



I started out with a visit to Ellen, followed by a trip to the Mexico pavilion and once around the Gran Fiesta Tour. Time for pre-dinner drinks, but once I made it up to the wine kiosk in France I saw that there were maybe 20 people in line, and I just didn't have the time for it. So I headed on up to the Coral Reef, where I started out with my usual calamari -



They're plating it a bit differently, but still the same tasty squid. I was in a steak mood, so I did the Grilled New York Strip Steak -



Still seems strange to get steak from a seafood place, but they do a good job of it. I had a pretty lame waitress here - took way too long between steps, and I spent way too much time with my head on a swivel looking for her. Still, a nice meal in a unique setting. After dinner it was the usual Rose & Crown (Hayley again - yippee!!!), IllumiNations and cigar walk around the World Showcase. A really fine last evening!
 

DiSnEyF@n

Well-Known Member
Awesome trip report. I don't like the Miss Piggy fountain being changed, but I can deal with it. I have pictures of my daughter on one of our last trips where she is standing by it (last February) and it's a fountain then! The food looks amazing! Thanks for sharing!
 

Gabe1

Ivory Tower Squabble EST 2011. WINDMILL SURVIVOR
The food looked awesome. Thanks for sharing your report and photos.

In warmer months I tour a bit differently now that Ive hit AARP status.
Quickly learned, heat of the day and WS for F&W wasn't for me anylonger in September. It will need to be night time. When I can I try to do more indoor attractions in the afternoon. It seems to work for me and doesn't drain my energy level that way.

But Animal Kingdom? Wow 2 main attractions down when there a few to start with that hurts. I was disappointed to read that the new River Ride in Pandora is an outside queue mostly with out AC with a few fans. That isn't going to be pleasant to be in a switch back queue in the afternoon either.
 

danyoung56

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I've already got my next trip scheduled, and I'm gonna do a few things differently. Maybe I'll actually make it to a few evening events without pooping out!
 

jonabyte

Active Member
Thanks for the report, I enjoyed that very much given we did not go this year in May.
Are you using any special app for the photos or just the stock photo app. I am tempted not to take my camera next time and just use my phone.
 

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