Trip Report Some People are Worth Melting For: Year 1 AP Adventures!

ToInfinity · Feb 8, 2025

I couldn't linger long. My reason for coming to Epcot lied within The Land pavilion.

On to... Soarin'? LwtL? Sort of! I booked the Behind the Seeds: Glimmering Greenhouses tour! I have never done a behind the scenes tour at WDW before, so I was very excited. I was also thrilled to be seeing the greenhouse lights from the other side of the boat. I was a few minutes early for my tour, so I sat down at a table to wait. I happened to look up from where I was and, just like magic, there stood @coachwnh, @Tuvalu, and @TrolleyFollower91!

This was my first ever meet up with anybody from the boards, so I was thrilled. While it was a short meeting because of my tour, I highly enjoyed meeting you all and catching up! Maybe we can do it again, sometime!

We said our goodbyes and I went to check in. I was given an earpiece, we were instructed to wait a few more minutes, and then we tested our "ears" and were on our way!

We entered the backstage area via a door in the exit of Soarin'. Our tour guide kindly explained that we were welcome to take as many photos as we wished throughout the trip, so brace yourselves.

Our group consisted of 12 people (if memory serves), including myself, another solo traveler who I hung out with a bit, a family with young kids, a family with adult kids, and a couple. There were lots of photo ops along the way, and we learned a ton about the workings behind LwtL.

ToInfinity · Feb 8, 2025

ToInfinity · Feb 8, 2025

ToInfinity · Feb 8, 2025

At the end, we got a recipe card!

Overall, I really enjoyed the tour. It was very interactive and seeing all the lights was SO special. A big part of the tour involves the guests sharing and answering questions, and admittedly, my group was pretty reserved. Sometimes the guide would ask something and there would be crickets. I think it would have been better with a more outgoing group, but I had fun!

I was making today a 4 parks in one day situation, but without AK. I started in MK, went to HS, Epcot, and was making my way back to MK to finish out the night. I took in some Epcot sights on my way to the monorail.

I walked right up and on to a monorail. No wait at all! HEA was going on, and I could see some of it from the beam. Here are some blurry pictures as proof.

ToInfinity · Feb 8, 2025

We arrived at the TTC and I managed to JUST miss the express monorail. In hindsight, I should have run over to the resort line. Instead, I stayed here and ended up waiting 20 minutes to board monorail Coral. They were pulling a different train off the beam, so it held up everything.

Eventually, I made it here to a large crowd at the entrance. Thankfully, it took way less time to enter than you'd imagine. Everything was extra Christmas-y at night!

If you can't tell, I was headed back to Fantasyland. Why? Pan was listed as a 20 minute wait!

I also had stacked LL's for Buzz, Pooh, and Pirates after my HS rides earlier. Pooh was first!

Before Buzz, I took a nighttime spin on my fav.

Remember WAY back to this morning, when I was fully ashamed of my Buzz score and didn't even have documentation?

I MOST certainly did redeem myself. ALMOST twice!

ToInfinity · Feb 8, 2025

I was tired and hungry from my accomplishment, so I made my way back to Main Street.

I don't have a picture of my food, but I decided some 10:00 pm corndog nuggets and plastic cheese was necessary. I found a table outside and enjoyed my snack and the view.

On my way out, I took some photos to commemorate the main reason for this trip.

Then, I made my way out of MK and said See Ya Real Soon.

WHAT. A. DAY. Nearly 27,000 steps and just over 12 miles later, it was wonderful.

Tomorrow, the plan is to go to HS for the morning, then catch the Mears bus to MCO for my late afternoon flight home!

cgersic · Feb 10, 2025

Man, that was a LOT of touring for one day!! Nice work!

Tiki Traveler · Feb 12, 2025

ToInfinity said:
Overall, I really enjoyed the tour. It was very interactive and seeing all the lights was SO special. A big part of the tour involves the guests sharing and answering questions, and admittedly, my group was pretty reserved. Sometimes the guide would ask something and there would be crickets. I think it would have been better with a more outgoing group, but I had fun!

Thanks for giving us a Behind the Scenes on Behind the Seeds!

Looking forward to taking that tour someday!

Duckberg · Feb 20, 2025

ALL those smiling faces are wonderful. A really great time!

ToInfinity · May 13, 2025

WOW. I managed to be absent for like 3 months. My bad.

I am multiple trips behind at this point. Shall I just start fresh? Finish the race? We will find out. At the very least, let's finish this one.

Day 4: Sunday December 1, 2024

Today was the dreaded going-home day of this short trip, but I had some plans before the flight. Even after my late night, I was up, luggage delivered to bell services, and at the bus stop by 8:30. Not bad.

Hello Hollywood! I am a big fan of the old-school Christmas decor here.

I went straight to ToT. I had to end the trip with a drop in.

I was still early enough in the morning that several other attractions were walk-ons. Where did I go?

Not here.

(Let's be honest, this is NEVER a walk-on.)

ToInfinity · May 13, 2025

Instead, TSMM was the decision, with a quick drive-by (walk-by?) by Woody and Jessie.

I also had big plans for breakfast at Woody's Lunchbox. The mobile orders were already pushed out pretty far so I submitted it as I got in line.

Not my best work.

Believe it or not, this was my first time EVER eating at Woody's Lunchbox. (Spoiler: I have since returned multiple times. It is a new fav.)

I got the breakfast bowl and the seasonal lunchbox tart. I LOVED the brisket gravy in the bowl and the tart was also delicious. I wish they had that one year round!

I found a table near Aliens and enjoyed people watching while I ate.

ToInfinity · May 13, 2025

Now completely FULL, my next mission of the morning was located in Batuu.

A relatively empty Batuu, surprisingly.

Single Rider line, here I come. It was still quite new at this point, so I was excited to give it a shot.

For those curious, on this day the stand-by was a 95-minute wait. All in, I was finished with the whole thing in about 35.

I liked that this guy in line had his children's faces on his shirt.

All in all, it definitely saved time and it was fun talking with other people in line. I have done SR on another trip since this one though and waited only 10 minutes with an 80 minute posted wait, so it apparently varies wildly.

On to Muppet Courtyard next. Very sad this will be gone VERY soon!

ToInfinity · May 13, 2025

My time in HS was coming to a close, but I had time for a couple more activities. First, lunch. In the interest of time and location convenience, I went with Backlot Express.

Kid's chicken tenders and Wookie Cookie for the win. This thing is GIANT. I have had it before, but this time I was sad to realize they have definitely changed the cookies they use and I am not a fan.

After lunch, I decided to end my time with Frozen so I could see the holiday ending.

I ran into Santa, Max, and this band on the way there.

I had a decent seat for the show and I was a big fan of our narrators.

The holiday ending was also super cute!

Now, it's time to go. Farewell for now, HS!

ToInfinity · May 13, 2025

This carpet is both the best and the worst sights when flying to and from MCO.

Thanks for following along! (and sorry for the extreme delay.

)

In case anyone is has kept up, I originally when I started this Christmas TR, I was interrupting one from last summer AND I went with my dad in October for our first MNSSHP and want to report on that!

Stay tuned....

ToInfinity · May 13, 2025

OK, let's finish the JULY one now.

Allow me to take you back to July 2024. This trip was me and my cousin, S! I last left you in Epcot as we were finishing our meal at Via Napoli. (It was delicious, duh.) Here is a link to the last post from that trip if you want to acclimate yourself.

Trip Report Post in thread 'Some People are Worth Melting For: Year 1 AP Adventures!'

Nov 26, 2024

Feeling a bit better, we went to Nemo with a LL and spent some time in the aquarium. They have since replaced one of the manatees with a new one that I saw in October, and now the dolphins are gone to Clearwater (I think)!

With the heat, it felt like the perfect time to show S the Moana section. We took our time wandering through the areas because it was delightfully uncrowded.

Our lunch reservation at Via Napoli was quickly approaching, so back we went through the park to Italy. We took the...

Now, back to July 12, Day 3 of the trip…

With full bellies, we stopped in to hear the VoL next. They continue to be one of my favorite Epcot things.

We didn’t stay for the show though. We had more countries to visit and Japan was next!

Since S doesn’t visit as much, we really spent time taking everything in. I found some exhibits I didn’t even know existed.

We slowly moved through Morocco next, searching for a little shade! It was SO hot. I don’t think I will be making another July trip anytime soon.

We had a LL for Remy that was opening up, so we hopped over there. S enjoyed it. I love riding rides with people for their first time!

Hungry again, (somehow), we stopped for the icecream croissant sandwich I had seen all over social media. Did it live up to the hype?

Sort of. It was delicious, but extremely messy to the point where I don’t think I’d get it again because it was so hard to eat.

ToInfinity · May 13, 2025

You know what isn’t messy or hard to eat (drink) though?

Ha.

We made our way through Canada and the UK rather quickly because of the heat.

We also *might* have joined in at the Encanto dance party though for a minute as we passed by. It was a good time.

All the way to Spaceship Earth we went, because I had a LL for us and we wanted some AC. It never sees my face in the photo, but this time it actually did!

I had two more LL’s for Soarin’ and LwtL. Hey, Pat!

With no festival going on, LwtL felt a little plain.

ToInfinity · May 13, 2025

We were in search of more food and a fireworks spot so back to the WS we went. Not very far though! A quick visit with the Three Caballeros was in order.

Then, a quick visit with the QS location was in order. There were no tables nearby so we took our dinner into the Odyssey building. Everything we got was delicious!

We were hot and tired so we found a spot for Luminous close to Canada and camped out.

We quickly left after the show and were back in the room just after 10:00.

It was another wonderful Disney day!

ToInfinity · May 14, 2025

Day 4: July 13, 2024

Today was our HS day! We had LL, but also ambitious RD plans. As such, we were up and out the door a little after 7:30.

I woke up with a bad reaction to a different toothpaste brand than what I use at home, unfortunately, so I was battling that with benadryl all day today. But, the day must go on!

Our original plan was to RD Rise. We made it to Batuu only to learn it was down. That seems to happen everyday.

No worries, though! Off to Andy’s backyard for a TSMM battle.

I won.

It was 9:30 and still quite empty in TSL so we walked on to the saucers next.

With the old Genie+ still a thing on this day, we were destined for some serious criss-crossing. I had a LL for Slinky coming up, but we had some time to kill so we made the trek over to do single rider for RnRc.

Admittedly, this isn’t my favorite but S really loves it.

ToInfinity · May 14, 2025

After we left the area, I checked wait times. Rise had JUST opened for the day (around 10:15) and already boasted a 60 minute wait. That isn’t the shocking thing about the times though…

180 minutes for TSMM?!! No thanks. All I can figure is either it was a computer error, or Rise being down seriously had an impact.

We did head to TSL, but for our Slinky LL.

And, for a pepper jack cheese pretzel.

Frozone was making his rounds while we ate.

I grabbed a LL for MMRR next, but it was literally SO hot that we went and sat in Backlot Express just for some AC while we waited for our time to open. S also nursed some blisters.

Also, barely an hour after it opened for the day, Rise went down again. Now, ToT took the crown. Still only half of what TSMM was though!

We hopped on MMRR with our LL. It was good as always. Nothing can stop us now! (Besides Rise going down, that is.)

We made up for it with a ride on Star Tours. I kept my eyes closed the entire time though because despite bad motion sickness in cars and buses, this is the only ride in WDW that triggers it!

ToInfinity · May 14, 2025

Conveniently, our next activity of the day was lunch at Sci-Fi. This used to be a staple for my family, but after a couple of not-so-great experiences, we stopped going. We decided to give it another go on this trip.

Our server asked us if we wanted a photo, so we obliged. We both got milkshakes, and I got a burger and S got the chicken penne. All of it was delicious but I’m just not a fan of eating in the dark so it isn't on the list for future trips.

Criss-crossing again, with our bellies full we walked over to ToT for our next LL. (Side note, I am SO glad they changed the LL system shortly after this trip. It is SO much better now.) Unfortunately, we never got our ride photo but at least I took these in line.

Seeking out a place to sit in the shade, the only show that was starting soon was Indiana Jones. Even though it was outside, it was nice to be under cover and we snagged a pretty decent seat!