Trip Report My "It's still raining in EPCOT?" July 2014 family vacation

Hello All!

Just got back from Disney World and I would love to report on all that happened while we were there. I am going to do this in 8 posts. This is the first post. We were there for 6 days, so those will be the next six, and finally I will have an 8th post with a reflection and some tips that I think could be helpful.

Our trip was from July 7-12. The vacation party included myself (24 yrs old), my GF (24 y/o), my mom (49), my dad (49), two sisters (19 and 12) and my brother (16). This was the fourth trip for my parents and I, the third for my siblings, and the first for my GF. We went through months of planning and reading articles and forums to hopefully have the best vacation possible!

We stayed at the All Star Music resort, which is where we have stayed previously. It isn’t the nicest, but it does the job and it is still a better experience than an off site resort (in my opinion). We were in the Country Fair section of the resort. The décor and theme of this part of the resort is not great, it lacks a certain flair/Disney Magic. But that’s ok. It was a great place to stay. Each member of our party got the refillable mugs, which we utilized to its fullest. Its really nice to have after a long day in the parks.

My remaining posts will include what we did for the day, including the fastpasses that we chose.

I will say that I am a very positive person, and I know a lot of Disney diehards on this forum can easily point out negative aspects of WDW, but that wont be me. I will have a few things that could be better, but for the most part, I will focus on the positive (which is what our trip was)

I will try to include photos as well.

Please feel free to ask questions/comment!

 

[alhenton]

Our first day, July 7: Animal Kingdom

Fastpasses for the day:

DINOSAUR, Everest, Festival of the Lion King, Fantasmic

We arrived at Animal Kingdom at about 8:30 on our first day, prepared for rope drop. Our plan was to head to Kilimanjaro as soon as the park opens. When we got there we found out they had EMH for that day and so we were able to walk right in! We ordered the Memory Maker, so we took some photopass opps on our way to Africa. After our first family photos, we headed to the queue for the Safari. We walked right onto the ride. This has never happened. We have come straight to Kilimanjaro on previous trips, but still had a bit of a wait. Today was odd, but awesome. The animals were active and moving, including giraffes and zebras right along the path. Very cool.

We took the Pangani trail after our ride and then headed to DINOSAUR. We had a fast pass that wasn’t eligible yet so we decided to stand by for the first ride. When we visited 8 years ago, we had an epic ride photo so we wanted to recreate it. We went into about a 25 min stand by line, which wasn’t too bad. A Brazilian tour group took up half the queue. We rode it, and did a pretty good job of recreating the photo. We still had some time to kill before our FP, so we went ahead and rode Primeval Whirl and Triceratops Spin, both fun, but not “must-dos”. For our FP for DINO, we walked right on, and tried some new ride faces. We were very impressed with DINOSAUR and it was a lot more fun than we remembered.

After riding, we went for some lunch at Flame Tree BBQ. I had the BBQ chicken salad, and it was pretty good. As a whole, we were never too disappointed with our quick service meals. They were all pretty high quality meals.

We found Daisy doing character greetings, and that is where I began my “Disney selfies” project for the trip, where I take a selfie with the characters that we meet. Saw Daisy, and headed to Everest. When we arrived for our FP, the line was much longer than the queue, but the CM promised us that it was a deceptively fast line. She was right, we only waited about five minutes for one heck of a good time.

Post-Everest, we walked maharajah jungle trek and headed back towards Discovery Island. We “discovered” a relatively short line for Minnie and Mickey and got in line for a 15 min wait until our FP for Lion King. After some selfies with the famous mice, we got a frozen snack and got into line for FLK. Let me tell you, that line for FP is a stuffy and warm line. There is no air circulation, and on a relatively cloudy day in the park, this was the hottest we were. They finally opened the doors and we experienced a chillingly awesome show. It is really a magical and fun show.

On our way out of the park, we found Pocahantas along a trail around the Tree of Life and took some pics.

We headed to Animal Kingdom Lodge, for our reservations at Boma. What an unbelievable dinner. Every item is so delicious. I didn’t want to get full because I wanted to continue eating! The Zebra domes, seafood gumbo and sirloin are to die for. This was our one big meal, and it was totally worth it. I highly highly recommend it to anybody looking for a buffet style dinner.

We went from Animal Kingdom Lodge to Hollywood Studios. After our three AK FPs, we booked one for Fantasmic, our favorite Disney Show. While at HS, we were able to do the Great Movie ride and Muppets 3D before heading to our seats. We had about a 45 min wait til Fantasmic started. Luckily they had some pre-show entertainment. It was a bit cheesy, but it was entertaining nonetheless. We watched Fantasmic and then exited the park during the Frozen fireworks. After a long first day, coming back to the hotel was refreshing.

 

[Violiav]

Hey cool, we were there at the same time!

 

[stevehousse]

Welcome to the site and ur first trip report! Can't wait to hear more! I love reading TRs because it makes me even more excited for my own vacation! 116 days left to go!

 

[mrdrift]

Nice start to the trip report and welcome to the forums. Sounds like it was a perfect day at Animal Kingdom. Will be following your report to hear of all the exciting times you had.

 

[alhenton]

Day 2: Tuesday, July 8

Magic Kingdom

FP: Seven Dwarves Mine Train, Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain

Our second day started out as early as the first! We arrived about 20 minutes before rope drop and headed into the park after a cool intro from many of our favorite characters. Our plan was to head straight to Tomorrowland once inside, since we figured most people would be going to Anna and Elsa/ SDMT. Boy, were we right. We were able to walk onto Space Mountain twice in a row, with some great ride photos sprinkled in. After Space Mountain, we took a ride on the Carousel of Progress. As a history teacher, I found new appreciation for this ride and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

After COP, we headed to our FP for Mine Train. Stand by was a 75 minute wait, but we went straight to the line, excited about this brand new ride! I have to be honest, as soon as the ride was over I said, “was that it?” It left a lot to be desired. They had limited space, and wanted to keep it kid friendly, but it was really short. Alice’s Tea cups, It’s a Small World, and Haunted Mansion were next before we headed to lunch at Columbia Harbor House. We were very impressed with this quick service as well.

Our Splash Mountain FP was up next and were incredibly happy that we had it. It was a hot and muggy day and the SB wait was 110 minutes. It was a nice refreshing ride in the heat of the day. Between Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, we went into the Hall of Presidents. It was a lot better than I remembered (another new appreciation for a new history teacher). The animatronics are unbelievable.

We hopped onto BTMR, then headed towards Adventureland where we hoped to find short lines. Jungle Cruise and Pirates both had long waits, so we had to scratch that off of our list for now. Stopped by the Dole Whip stand (which was perfect) and found that Philharmagic had a short wait during the parade. It was another awesome show. Disney just does it right.



Following Philharmagic, we went towards Ariel and Belle’s new homes in Fantasyland. My dad and I each enjoyed a nice Le Fou’s brew while waiting in line for Little Mermaid. The ride was a impressive upgrade from the regular slow, dark rides. The waiting area was nice as well, with plenty of shade. We then visited with Gaston, who does an exceptional job, and we had a blast waiting in line and listening to him interact with guests.

Day 2: Tuesday, July 8

Magic Kingdom

FP: Seven Dwarves Mine Train, Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain

Our second day started out as early as the first! We arrived about 20 minutes before rope drop and headed into the park after a cool intro from many of our favorite characters. Our plan was to head straight to Tomorrowland once inside, since we figured most people would be going to Anna and Elsa/ SDMT. Boy, were we right. We were able to walk onto Space Mountain twice in a row, with some great ride photos sprinkled in. After Space Mountain, we took a ride on the Carousel of Progress. As a history teacher, I found new appreciation for this ride and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

After COP, we headed to our FP for Mine Train. Stand by was a 75 minute wait, but we went straight to the line, excited about this brand new ride! I have to be honest, as soon as the ride was over I said, “was that it?” It left a lot to be desired. They had limited space, and wanted to keep it kid friendly, but it was really short. Alice’s Tea cups, It’s a Small World, and Haunted Mansion were next before we headed to lunch at Columbia Harbor House. We were very impressed with this quick service as well.

Our Splash Mountain FP was up next and were incredibly happy that we had it. It was a hot and muggy day and the SB wait was 110 minutes. It was a nice refreshing ride in the heat of the day. Between Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, we went into the Hall of Presidents. It was a lot better than I remembered (another new appreciation for a new history teacher). The animatronics are unbelievable.

We hopped onto BTMR, then headed towards Adventureland where we hoped to find short lines. Jungle Cruise and Pirates both had long waits, so we had to scratch that off of our list for now. Stopped by the Dole Whip stand (which was perfect) and found that Philharmagic had a short wait during the parade. It was another awesome show. Disney just does it right.

Following Philharmagic, we went towards Ariel and Belle’s new homes in Fantasyland. My dad and I each enjoyed a nice Le Fou’s brew while waiting in line for Little Mermaid. The ride was a impressive upgrade from the regular slow, dark rides. The waiting area was nice as well, with plenty of shade. We then visited with Gaston, who does an exceptional job, and we had a blast waiting in line and listening to him interact with guests.

By this time, we were ready for a break. We had used all of our FPs, and we saw the rain clouds coming, so we made a break for the exit, and headed back to the resort. We refilled our mugs, and took a dip in the piano pool, before ordering some pizza.

After dinner, it was time to head back to Magic Kingdom. The storms had helped alleviate the crowds a bit so we were able to ride Pirates, Jungle Cruise( our guide was hilarious), BTMR (3x), Haunted Mansion, Dumbo, Barnstormer, and met Ariel in a 2 hour time frame. What a great finish to a magical day!


By this time, we were ready for a break. We had used all of our FPs, and we saw the rain clouds coming, so we made a break for the exit, and headed back to the resort. We refilled our mugs, and took a dip in the piano pool, before ordering some pizza.

After dinner, it was time to head back to Magic Kingdom. The storms had helped alleviate the crowds a bit so we were able to ride Pirates, Jungle Cruise( our guide was hilarious), BTMR (3x), Haunted Mansion, Dumbo, Barnstormer, and met Ariel in a 2 hour time frame. What a great finish to a magical day!

 

[Zipadeelady]

That Pocahontas is Beautiful!

 

[Allym146]

Love the selfie idea! I'm not good at character interactions, that seems like a good way to break the ice.

 

[alhenton]

Whoops. I didnt realize my Magic Kingdom report had been mixed up. My Bad! I also forgot to mention riding Buzz Lightyear and participating in the Monsters Inc show. My family and I loved the Comedy show. I feel like it is a must do

 

[alhenton]

Day 3: Wednesday, July 9

Hollywood Studios

FPs: Tower of Terror, Star Tours, Toy Story Midway Mania

Our third day began with an early morning trip to Hollywood Studios! This is my favorite park because I love the old Hollywood theme. I love 1930s-40s Los Angeles so this is perfect for me. We walked through the gates and were welcomed with snow falling from the sky! It was the intro for Frozen Summer Fun and they had foam “snowflakes” falling from the sky. I thought that was a really cool effect.

We headed towards Rockin Roller Coaster where we had a fairly short wait and then hopped on. This is one of our favorite rides. Such a fun thrill!

(i intentionally made this face)

Next was Tower of Terror. We still had time before our first FP for ToT, and the wait was only 20 minutes so the men and my littlest sister decided to hop on. I had ridden this before, but I had forgotten what exactly happens. What a rush! When you don’t know what is going to happen, it adds to the thrill. I was still shaking (in a good way) five minutes after the ride. After the first ride, we gathered up my mom and gf for our FP ride. My 19 y/o sis was not going to do it. Now, the thing about this ride is that my GF was frightened out of her mind about riding this ride. Thinking she would fall out/seatbelt wouldn’t work/get a headache, etc. I told her she would regret it if she didn’t do it so she decided to go for it. I talked to her the whole way to let her know what was happening and long story short…….she LOVED it. It instantly turned into her favorite ride. Everything about ToT is just awesome. If you are hesitant about doing it, I say give it a chance!

After ToT we had lunch at ABC Commissary, where I had the burger. We visited Star Tours after and then headed towards the Backlot Tour. Many people dislike this ride, or think it needs to be gone, which is understandable, but this is the one ride I remember from when I was 3 years old, so I felt like it was a necessity to ride on it. We had a screaming child on our ride the whole time, which took away from what was happening , unfortunately. It was still enjoyable for me.

Midway Mania was our final FP for the day, so we headed in that direction. We found Buzz and Woody and took some pics with them before heading into one of the best rides in Disney. It was such a blast to play, and compete against other family members. This is arguably one of my favorite rides.

After Midway, we visited Art of Animation and One Man’s Dream for some cooling off time. Both of these exhibits are very interesting and I recommend just checking them out. Being from Kansas City, the history of Walt is definitely something that hits home for us.

This was the end of the Disney day for the men in our family, as we were driving to St. Pete for the Royals vs Rays baseball game. Hollywood Studios never lets us down!

 

[mammaminnie]

Love your MK photos!!!! Some of my favorite times at the parks are during and right after rain since the parks clear out so fast.

 

[alhenton]

Day 4: Thursday, July 10

EPCOT

FPs: Mission Space, Soarin, The Seas with Nemo and Friends

Our fourth day started off just like our first three, bright and early for rope drop. Due to the tiered FP attractions, we wanted to head straight to Test Track and hit the stand by line. Unfortunately, TT was down, so we were forced to abandon our original plan. We decided to go visit Living with the Land, which is always a nice, relaxing ride, especially during this heat. Next up was Captain EO. I was excited to see this as it felt like we were entering a time machine. It was a neat little show.

My littlest sister was doing a dance workshop in China so we went ahead and met her there. It was becoming hot and we had planned on Fish and Chips for lunch. Those plans were changed and we marched around the World Showcase without much of a plan. My middle sister met with Aladdin, her favorite character, and the rest of us got a snack in France. On our way to Morocco, we noticed a few characters off in an alley in America. Mickey, Donald, Pluto, Goofy, Pooh, Chip, Dale, and Rafiki were out and about with no lines! What a cool surprise! Afterwards, we headed towards our FP at Mission Space. What a wild day so far and it was only 1!

Mission Space was an exciting ride. It is something that you can’t really experience anywhere else. Lunch was next, and we headed towards the Land again where we ate at one of our favorite quick service places, the Seasons. An awesome selection of fresh food, perfect for the whole family!

Soarin was next. This was a perfect ride to kick off the shoes and relax as we flew through the California air. I have developed a strong interest in all things California, after I visited LA this past winter, so Soarin was an even better ride than the first time we rode it.

Journey into Imagination, Innoventions, Club Cool, and the Seas finished our day in Future World. We decided to return to World Showcase and go through it a bit slower this time (or so we thought). Starting in Canada, we made it to Japan before the rain started. And boy did it rain. We sat through a torrential downpour in the Japan pavilion for about 35 minutes before it began to let up a bit. We had about a 25 minute window where there was a light sprinkle. We were able to get through Italy and into Germany before the rain began again.

Unfortunately, there isn’t much shelter between Germany and China. I found a covered well on the far side of Germany that I was able to sit on and stay dry. We felt that the rain would cease fairly soon. Wrong. It rained steadily for about 3-4 hours that night. Illuminations was cancelled, we ate at La Cantina (not too impressed) and began to head out of the park.

Before leaving, we made sure to ride Spaceship Earth. A fan favorite of ours, we hadn’t ridden it in 8 years. As we were riding, we noticed a ride camera. We had no idea what it was for, but we decided to kinda make faces at the camera. At the end of the ride, we found out what the photo was for. I could not stop laughing (as you will see why below). The effect of the hours in the rain can certainly be seen in the picture.

We headed out of the park and home to sleep in our dry, warm beds. Day 4 was in the books!

 

[smk]

Well, you are in luck because the picture of the aftermath of the rain did not show up, at least I cannot see it!

 

[mrdrift]

What a great vacation you are having. Great report with some really good pictures.

 

[PMC0849]

This was the end of the Disney day for the men in our family, as we were driving to St. Pete for the Royals vs Rays baseball game. Hollywood Studios never lets us down!

Who won? Go Tigers, by the way

 

[alhenton]

Day 5: Friday July, 11

Typhoon Lagoon, Downtown Disney, Hollywood Studios, EPCOT

We slept in a little bit on Friday, about thirty minutes extra before we headed off towards our one water park for the trip, Typhoon Lagoon. We spent a good 3 hours here, enjoyed a nice lunch and took in all that Typhoon had to offer. We like going to this park, as opposed to Blizzard Beach, because it is nice to sit in the wave pool, and hit up the lazy river. It is a perfect place to relax after a full four days in the park.

We returned to the hotel in the early afternoon for a break. My sisters were dancing at downtown Disney, so we went out there for the evening. The Christmas store and the Animation store are very cool shops, along with the World of Disney. Unfortunately, with construction going on, it felt very cramped.

My GF and I had wanted to try drinking around the world at EPCOT, as we had read about it on a few blogs. We didn’t have our IDs the first trip to EPCOT (everything was on our magic bands) so we had to come back. Luckily, EPCOT had EMH for this evening from 9-11. We made a pit stop at HS to get an Olaf plush for myself, and ride Star Tours. We took the boat to EPCOT and made illuminations at 9. What a spectacular show! We headed around the world, had a few drinks, and went back to the hotel. It was a pretty relaxing day!

 

[alhenton]

Who won? Go Tigers, by the way

The Royals!

 

[alhenton]

Day 6: Saturday, July 12

Hollywood Studios, EPCOT, Downtown Disney, Magic Kingdom

Our final day at Disney started with EMH at HS. We wanted to ride Rockin Roller Coaster and Tower of Terror just one last time. Unfortunately, RRC was closed, and in turn, ToT had a very long wait time. So we went to Star Tours for 3 rides instead. We like the fact that there are different stories for every ride.

We hoped on the boat and headed towards EPCOT. We grabbed some fish and chips before getting on the monorail for a ride to Magic Kingdom. We feel that the monorail is something to do every trip, and we hadn’t done it yet.

After the monorail to MK, we went back to the hotel where we met up with some cousins who came to visit us from Ft. Pierce. We always like to hang out with them, so we spent the afternoon at the guitar pool before heading to Downtown Disney for dinner. We looked into some shops and had reservations at House of Blues. It was a pretty good meal.

We grabbed the first bus to the Contemporary so that we could get to MK quickly. We had yet to see the Wishes fireworks show, so we found a nice spot to watch around the Mickey and Walt statue. To our surprise, we had forgotten about the Celebrate the Magic show on Cinderella’s Castle. WOW! What a spectacular show. It epitomizes Disney magic. I could watch it over and over again, it was that good. We watched Wishes, and left MK for good. What an unbelievable trip!

 

[alhenton]

Post Trip Tips and Comments:
- Our FP experience was flawless. Our wait times were never more than ten minutes, and we worked our schedule out to where we never had to wait in an extremely long line.
- The Magic bands worked nearly flawlessly (I say nearly because I had to reset my fingerprint once). They worked instantaneously as a room key and it is extremely easy to buy food and souvenirs, once you have a credit card linked up. It is also easy to link different credit cards with different bands.
- The restrooms all over WDW are in excellent shape. I do not believe we encountered any dirty restroom.
- We had experienced South American tour groups on previous trips, so coming into this one, we prepared ourselves for huge crowds, Most notably on bus rides. For the most part, we were unaware of the presence of these groups. They have their own transportation to the parks, so the interactions were minimal. I dont know if this is something that Disney implemented, but it is great for us regular guests. We never had an overcrowded bus like we have had previously.
-One tip I have is to make sure you are aware. Awareness is the biggest thing. Too many times did we see people unaware of their surroundings and run into us, or stop right in front of us. WDW is a crowded place, but if you are aware, it wont feel that way. If you are going to stop, find a place to the side.

They call Walt Disney World the happiest place on Earth for a reason. The magic within WDW is matched nowhere. The attention to detail is unbelievable. It is hard to find details that have been overlooked or forgotten about. The magic of Disney is something that everyone should experience.

 

[jlsHouston]

Great trip report!