Trip Report *Completed* You'll Always Find Your Way Back Home - September 2020

Hello friends, and welcome to another K and J trip report!

We will be returning to Walt Disney World together after basically a year away…more on that later. This is my fourth trip report so I’m sure many of you know us by this point, so I’ll keep the introductions brief…well, brief for me anyway.

Who: Me, Katie

704ADF40-9145-468D-9312-005337D64EDB.jpeg

3760B5FC-BE09-4830-9273-A8EA8B6B63AA.jpeg


And my husband, Jason

14309CC5-8915-485E-819A-83D1F5002103.jpeg

9BE0FF2C-F24F-436D-8CD1-F7205663605D.jpeg


We both visited Walt Disney World as kids, but our love for the Disney parks truly blossomed when we went to Walt Disney World together for the first time, for our first wedding anniversary back in 2014. We had the best time and made so many cherished memories, and we loved it so much that we ended up booking our next WDW trip before we even checked out!

519F22B5-A919-4116-ACD5-FA2F3DBCC0D9.jpeg


In total, we have been to Walt Disney World together 11 times, and Disneyland twice in the span of 6 years.

165CFED6-DBA0-4A95-9033-F51B88C20FB5.jpeg


In December 2017, we finally took the plunge and became annual passholders at WDW, and that’s when our trips started becoming more frequent – we average 3-4 Disney trips a year…with the exception of this year. As you may remember, I went on a Disney cruise with my mom, sister, and SIL back in February, and we spent one night at WDW, where I flew solo in Epcot for a couple hours. J and I had plans to do a WDW trip in April, and then COVID-19 happened. April became May, May became June, and then when our June trip was cancelled by Disney, we decided to cancel that trip altogether, and go to the beach in Palm Coast, FL instead. While in Palm Coast, we made a quick trip over to Disney Springs for a few hours. Aside from that time in Disney Springs, Jason and I have not been to Walt Disney World together in nearly a year. In fact, it will have been almost exactly a year when we return. I know we are so fortunate to be APs and be able to visit as often as we do, so I hate to feel like I’m complaining about my champagne problems, but I know many of you have felt the same way we have over the last few months. Being unable to be in our happy place, our home away from home, has been so hard for us, emotionally. We are so beyond ready to be back in Walt Disney World. Speaking of being back…

When: September 8th-13th

We had originally booked our trip for September 9th-13th, but then an Annual Passholder room discount came out in July, and we were able to add another night to our trip and still be paying less than what we were originally going to pay! Since we were going to be going down the Wednesday after Labor Day (the 9th), we were already planning to take the 8th off, since we didn’t see the point in being off work the 7th, working the 8th, and then being off the rest of the week. We’re excited to have a nice long weekend to get packed and prepared for the trip, rather than working all day the day prior, coming home and finishing last minute packing and preparation, and going to bed way too late the night before our trip.

A1D84CD0-BC74-43EF-8B90-133747AB4D22.jpeg


Where: Pop Century!

We have not stayed at Pop since March 2017, prior to the room renovations, so we are excited to be back. We have stayed in a renovated room at All Star Movies and loved it. I know a lot of people view the new theming as sterile, but we don’t mind it. I view it as a clean, modern look, and we absolutely love all of the added storage and USB portals/outlets. I know many folks don’t dig the “hardwood” floors and prefer carpet, but our entire house is hardwood and tile, so we’re used to it.

Our last (and only, up to this point) experience at Pop was defined by what felt like hundreds of school groups and sports teams staying at the resort at the same time as us, so we don’t exactly look back on our time at Pop with the fondest of memories. It’s not that there was anything wrong with the resort, it can just get frustrating to be surrounded by tons and tons of teenagers any time you go to ride a bus to the parks or eat in the resort food court. None of them were poorly behaved, as far as I can remember (at least not as poorly behaved as the cheerleaders when we stayed at CBR during a cheer competition, but that’s another story for another day)…there were just so many of them, everywhere, all the time…We are excited to make new, hopefully fonder memories at Pop. Jason is very excited about the Skyliner. I….am anxious. If you read my Disneyland trip report from this past December, you may remember that I have a pretty intense fear of heights. I told J that I would try the Skyliner at least once, since it’s important to him. If I absolutely can’t stand it, we’ll have our car with us, so we can drive to Epcot and Hollywood Studios.

498CC774-CCAB-4AD9-838E-91AE9EDF3CA4.jpeg


Why: We love visiting Walt Disney World in the Fall (and the Spring, and the Holidays, and…). Typically, September/October trips mean Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party and the Epcot Food and Wine Festival. While we are totally bummed that MNSSHP is cancelled, we understand why. There will always be other years. As far as Food and Wine…we are actually looking forward to the new, scaled-down version of the festival. I have always felt the usual 30+ booths to be overwhelming, especially if you’re only at Epcot for one day. We’ve already made a big list of things we want to enjoy at Food and Wine, and I know we won’t be disappointed!

B6C3D13E-7936-422A-BF27-269476913954.jpeg


So there’s my “brief” summary of the trip…look forward to more detailed plans coming soon!

Up next: Daily plans
 
Last edited:

k8einwdw

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Thursday, September 10th - Magic Kingdom Day - Continued

After the rain let up, we decided to leave the Poly and head back to Magic Kingdom. We made it back into the park around 2:30 pm, and grabbed some more castle pics on the way in.

E9271AA5-1F7E-4AA3-A47E-3D369474C9B1.jpeg

A302E7DD-B123-4BBC-9D44-B6A26CEC2227.jpeg


I also grabbed a picture of this dragon (?) topiary. In all my years of visiting WDW, I had never noticed it before, until someone posted a pic of it in their trip report. Has this always been there?

660EB0C8-70DE-4A7D-87C7-9B77A3B2FBED.jpeg


Since we had started out on the Frontierland/Adventureland side of the park that morning, we decided to head to Tomorrowland first, and work our way back toward Fantasyland. I still hate the new sign.

1A6CF3BE-80D5-4819-B978-E5CB9E779D64.jpeg


Our first stop in Tomorrowland?

13CFCFA3-621A-4D83-8DDA-46460ED931E5.jpeg

77535A7C-B3B8-4666-BE63-657546F2EBBF.jpeg


We rode twice, with about a 10-minute wait. Most of that 10 minutes was spent walking through the looooong queue!

After our journey through Space, we hopped over to Buzz Lightyear. Buzz looks a little concerned here...

E38CAD2A-BCB6-4E38-A7C3-59F0AC2F5E96.jpeg


While we were at Captain Cook's, we had looked up tips to get Galactic Hero, since neither of us had gotten close before. I'm convinced that I am just not meant to be a Galactic Hero, but look how close Jason got! We ended up walking onto the ride three times, and I believe this score was on his third try.

FC1E58B5-AD91-4DC9-9CA9-51D81E299CB0.jpeg

3216F973-C99F-4F83-B72B-49283292E9B5.jpeg

FBC3EE01-1DD5-4D02-B988-B20597EF4DDF.jpeg

Up next: rushing to finish up our time in MK
 

k8einwdw

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Thursday, September 10th - Magic Kingdom Day - Continued

After we finished riding Space Mountain and Buzz Lightyear, we were done with Tomorrowland, as Katie does not do the Spinning Rockets of Death Astro Orbiter, and the Peoplemover is STILL closed. We also skip the Tomorrowland Speedway, because HOLY STINK, Batman! If this is supposed to be the future, WHY are the cars not electric already?!? Upon our arrival in Fantasyland, we saw that the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train was advertising a 35-minute wait. That's not too bad, even if we had to wait the entire 35 minutes, so we hopped in line. While we were in line, Jason started complaining of a headache. I told him that I had some Aleve in my bag, but I didn't have any water to take it with. "No problem," he says. I'm wondering how on earth he plans to swallow an Aleve dry when I can barely swallow pills with half a gallon of water. Then, I witness my husband doing something that mortified me. He found a water fountain in line, and he DRANK FROM IT.

disgusted new girl GIF


Y'all, I wanted to die right then in there. Just throw me on the tracks and let the mine train run over me. I've lost my will to live. I refused to drink from the Disney water fountains even before COVID, and I honestly can't believe they hadn't covered them up when the parks reopened. To top it off, I saw a girl behind us in line drink from the same fountain not 30 seconds later. READ THE ROOM, PEOPLE! GLOBAL PANDEMIC HERE!!!

Anyway, after that whole incident, it was soon our time to ride. We ended up waiting about 30 minutes, so not too shabby. Hello, Snow White? Can I come live with you? I can't look at my husband anymore.

1A54D293-8AB5-4E8C-99B8-91594CF7ED34.jpeg


After Seven Dwarfs, we hopped over to Winnie the Pooh. I didn't write down the wait time, but I don't think it was more than 15 minutes. After Pooh, we headed over to Peter Pan's Flight, which was advertising a 20-minute wait. The line was looooong, as in almost all the way to Liberty Square, but we decided to trust the process and wait in line. After all, we had never actually walked through the entire queue before, we had always FastPassed it. I took the opportunity to get some pics of the cute stuff in line.

C98D3775-E7E8-4A75-A426-42133E7E3D4E.jpeg


I guess I forgave him for drinking out of a cesspool.

2FECB7A8-6728-43ED-99A6-69E118805A89.jpeg


I loved the little house/nursery area in line. I definitely wouldn't wait more than half an hour for this ride, but all of the details in the queue made it a little more bearable.

598BC947-A2FA-433B-BF85-79A4FA29964C.jpeg

3D8B1E8C-D882-4FA0-9C88-598F9628B4C0.jpeg


Once everything was said and done, we ended up waiting right at 20 minutes. Not too bad. After Peter Pan, we hopped across the street to It's a Small World, which was basically a walk-on. We wanted to see PhilharMagic, but we were running a little short on time, so we decided to skip it this time, and wrap up our time in Fantasyland.

At this point, we were ready for a treat, and we knew exactly what we wanted - the Constance's Wedding Cake from Liberty Square Market. We had our eye on this last year during MNSSHP, but the line was super long, so we skipped it. I'm glad they brought it back again this year!

12C5B3B2-DB42-4AD4-80EE-9D62335931F2.jpeg

640468DF-78F4-43CA-93F9-192A23A17F35.jpeg


Proof that I still have a nose and mouth. The cake was just as good as everyone had described it to be - light, citrusy, and delicious. The perfect afternoon treat.

Up next: Closing out our time in Magic Kingdom
 

riverside

Well-Known Member
Y'all, I wanted to die right then in there. Just throw me on the tracks and let the mine train run over me. I've lost my will to live. I refused to drink from the Disney water fountains even before COVID, and I honestly can't believe they hadn't covered them up when the parks reopened.
I'm sorry but this is too darn funny. I was laughing so hard when I read this but I totally agree with you!! Water fountains have always creeped me out. I was shocked that they're still in operation. At R's school they had to turn the water off to all the fountains there. I think it only makes sense.
 

k8einwdw

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I'm sorry but this is too darn funny. I was laughing so hard when I read this but I totally agree with you!! Water fountains have always creeped me out. I was shocked that they're still in operation. At R's school they had to turn the water off to all the fountains there. I think it only makes sense.
It makes no sense that the water fountains are still operating, especially when you can get free ice water from a myriad of quick service locations!
 

k8einwdw

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Thursday, September 10th - Magic Kingdom Day - Continued

After we enjoyed our treat, there was only one thing left on our must-do list. Since we had skipped Big Thunder that morning, we had to head back to Frontierland to ride it before we left for the day! The wait time posted was 25 minutes, but we only ended up waiting about 20 minutes. One of the things I love to do to pass time in line at Big Thunder is take pictures of the attraction from various vantage points...

5A357CA3-7C3D-4BE9-B906-111256D463E6.jpeg

6809F876-D677-40E0-A867-1D231FCF3918.jpeg

74BB1B52-DA95-4913-972C-350D8B0A6241.jpeg


After riding, we debated getting back on for a second ride, but we decided that we would be cutting it too close, so we decided to hit up Ye Olde Christmas Shoppe in Liberty Square on the way out instead. And of course, it's not a day in MK without taking a million castle pictures...

4A7BB3C3-DB0E-41EB-B5D7-7BBCE55778DC.jpeg

AECC147B-CA98-452D-9621-1A813A01BD26.jpeg


And that wrapped up our time in Magic Kingdom - we ended up leaving right at 6:00 pm. We both said that the shortened park hours made it difficult to accomplish everything we would've liked to. We skipped The Little Mermaid, PhilharMagic, Country Bear Jamboree, Enchanted Tiki Room, Mad Tea Party and the Carousel of Progress, and we normally would've ridden Big Thunder at least twice. Thankfully, they have extended the park hours for the holidays, and we have two Magic Kingdom days planned for our trip next week, so we should hopefully be able to get everything done.

Up next: Dinner and Disney Springs
 
Last edited:

k8einwdw

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Thursday, September 10th - Magic Kingdom Day - Continued

After we exited Magic Kingdom, we took the ferry back out to the TTC, hopped in our car, and drove back to Pop so we could quickly change out of our sweaty clothes before we headed to Disney Springs for dinner. We knew we would both be drinking and wouldn't have much time to "walk it off" afterward, so we decided to take the bus to Disney Springs. We got to the bus stop in the front of the main building around 7:00, and ended up waiting about 20 minutes to get on the third bus. To my delight, it was a Minnie Mouse bus!

67D68B5E-A965-4124-AB7F-05205A79C0DA.jpeg


Dark bus selfie

C17F075A-7D71-4087-84C1-C5F7D310601D.jpeg


We arrived at Raglan Road just in time for our reservation, and checked in with the hostess and gave them my phone number to text when our table was ready. We decided to pop over to the Joffrey's store around the corner while we waited for our table, and got the text no more than 90 seconds after we walked into the store, so we had to quickly grab our coffee (one bag of Kona blend and one bag of California Grill blend) and check out, before power-walking back to Raglan Road. Once we made it into the restaurant, we were seated alllll the way in the back corner, away from all the action. When we dine here again, I will definitely request a table in the main room, because we weren't able to see any of the live entertainment. We at least had this amusing painting to entertain us - why does everyone look so mad?

2D1D5F96-0650-4E3D-8D3C-E2CB11DD5227.jpeg


Our server quickly brought out the bread service, which was Irish Soda Bread with olive oil and brown sugar - sounds weird, tastes DELISH. We had no issue scarfing down the whole loaf! For our entrees, I ordered the Bangers and Mash, and Jason ordered the Fish and Chips.

0E7C6CF5-FCF5-45B1-A61C-38E48D58C94F.jpeg

08FB444C-FE4D-4F34-9E50-5F171E563494.jpeg


My bangers and mash were SO SO GOOD! The onion gravy absolutely made the dish. Jason had said he wouldn't order the Fish and Chips, since we eat at Cookes of Dublin fairly regularly and he always gets the Fish and Chips, but he just couldn't stay away. He said that they were delicious! For dessert, we split the Ger's Bread and Butter Pudding. It. was. INCREDIBLE. It came with two sauces to pour over the top, and I could have drank them, they were so good. If you are a fan of bread pudding, definitely go check out the bread pudding at Raglan Road.

19DDF08E-80C2-43CA-A49C-51F567ECA60F.jpeg


And now, for a side story - while we were waiting for our entrees to come out, I decided to get up from the table and go to the bathroom. Guess what I left at the table? Guess what I didn't realize I had left at the table until I saw my bare face in the mirror when I was washing my hands? 🤦‍♀️ I quickly slunk back to the table, ashamed at myself for forgetting my mask. Thankfully, it didn't happen again on this trip!

After dessert, we settled our bill (Raglan Road doesn't do the Annual Passholder discount, by the way), and headed over to the Shine Bar at Homecomin' to get refills in our souvenir shine bottles. Refills are only $12, which is not a bad deal at all in Disney, especially when you consider how big the drinks are. This time, J got the Sweet Tea Shine and I got the Electric Lemonade Shine. The straws came in handy, as we were able to stick the straws up under our masks and sip on our drinks while we walked around, rather than having to stop every time we wanted to take a sip.

C05F20FE-BB5F-425A-8256-DF7326C54A98.jpeg


We had a couple hours before Disney Springs would be closing, so we popped into World of Disney to grab a couple things we had skipped on buying a couple days prior, and then went into Basin to get some body butter for me, and some soaps and shower bombs to put in a care package to send to my sister at college. After that, we were both pretty worn out, so we headed back to the buses. There is a sign that says "no drinks past this point" when you approach the bus stops, but we were using souvenir cups, so we weren't sure what we were supposed to do. Our cups were still about halfway full at this point and we didn't want to throw them away, so we stuck them in a shopping bag. Thankfully, no one noticed, or if they did, they didn't care. The line for the bus to Pop was pretty long, and we ended up waiting for about 20 minutes, and making it onto the fifth bus. Once we got back to the room, we quickly changed into PJs and settled in for bed. It had been a long day, so we were glad we didn't need to be up early the next morning!

388C999C-B5B3-4F7E-9730-8F6339AD9C43.png


Up next: Epcot Day!
 

PolynesianPrincess

Well-Known Member
Loving this TR!! And so jealous you're there again!!!

OK, the dragon at MK... it's an inside joke between me and my sister that started a couple years ago. I noticed every time we went to MK, she would always post a picture of the dragon to her instagram! Not on purpose, she just wound up always taking the same pic. So now she does it as a "tradition" it has been there as long as I can remember!
That Dole whip float looks soooooo good! I love coconut, I love pineapple so I am certain I would love that! And the wedding cake! YUM!!!
We're staying at Pop in April and we're so NOT looking forward to the bus situation. I'm HOPING we can score some DVC rental points this time. We ended up changing from Pop to Jambo House villas in September for just a little more than our room at Pop was. Hopefully the same situation will arise in April! Would love to be able to stay at the Boardwalk. Otherwise, Pop it is and we will just make the best of it!
 

lindawdw

Well-Known Member
I finally got all caught up with your TR! It sounds like you had an incredible trip so far! I'm with you on the not liking the new Tomorrowland sign. :rolleyes: Hope you're going to write a TR for your Nov. trip. :)
 

amjt660

Premium Member
Hello
I know I am late - but you haven't finished it yet so I do not feel too bad

Loved all your pictures but especially the Animal Kingdom and the Tree of Life in particular

Hoping you finish this one up AND do one for the December trip.

Max
 

k8einwdw

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
That Dole whip float looks soooooo good! I love coconut, I love pineapple so I am certain I would love that! And the wedding cake! YUM!!!
We're staying at Pop in April and we're so NOT looking forward to the bus situation. I'm HOPING we can score some DVC rental points this time. We ended up changing from Pop to Jambo House villas in September for just a little more than our room at Pop was. Hopefully the same situation will arise in April! Would love to be able to stay at the Boardwalk. Otherwise, Pop it is and we will just make the best of it!
Hopefully since All Star Movies and Art of Animation will be open by then, the Pop bus lines wont' be too bad. Pop was the only Value open in September, so all of the guests that would have been staying at the All Stars and the AoA Little Mermaid rooms were at Pop.
I finally got all caught up with your TR! It sounds like you had an incredible trip so far! I'm with you on the not liking the new Tomorrowland sign. :rolleyes: Hope you're going to write a TR for your Nov. trip. :)
Thank you for following along! I do plan to write a report, if I can ever get this one finished!
Hello
I know I am late - but you haven't finished it yet so I do not feel too bad

Loved all your pictures but especially the Animal Kingdom and the Tree of Life in particular

Hoping you finish this one up AND do one for the December trip.

Max
Thank you! I love taking pictures of the Tree of Life, I feel like it is the most photogenic park icon! I do plan to write a report for our November/December trip!
 

k8einwdw

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Friday, September 11th - Epcot Day

Alright, let's get on with the rest of the trip report! On our Epcot day, the park was opening at 11:00, so we enjoyed sleeping in until around 9:00 and taking our time getting ready. I was feeling my outfit this day.

B067C96C-1674-430B-845F-946D97A2B675.jpeg


We headed out to the Skyliner shortly after 10:00, and the line wasn't too terrible. We had to take a selfie with our matching masks.

EE17BF05-B934-4822-8105-08EA119ECD01.jpeg


We hopped on the Skyliner right around 10:15, and we were on our way to Caribbean Beach.

93C21D97-FBD3-4D0E-B996-D4DAF452FA2B.jpeg


Once we made it to Caribbean Beach, we only had to wait another five minutes or so in the line to transfer to Epcot. We quite enjoyed the ride to Epcot, it was a little longer than the ride to Hollywood Studios, and more scenic. Of course, we had to peek at the Ratatouille construction.

A0154625-FD80-4E0A-9BBE-0A494418C745.jpeg



Soon enough, we were off the Skyliner and headed into the park via the International Gateway. The line to get through temperature check/security definitely backs up at the International Gateway since it's the smaller of the two entries, but it moves pretty quickly. Once we were in the park, we debated on whether we wanted to hit up the UK and Canada pavilions on our way to Future World, but eventually decided to head to Future World first to do everything on that side of the park before hitting up the World Showcase. First things first - Test Track! We ended up waiting about 30 minutes for this one. For once, I actually remembered to bring something to tie my hair back on this ride, so I didn't end up looking like Cousin It.

343A2B2D-324C-449E-B125-9E97EB05D4EA.jpeg


After Test Track, we headed over to Spaceship Earth. While I'm sure the eventual refurb will be great, we were glad that we were able to experience the Dame Judy Dench version of the ride at least one more time.

B995BBD3-887E-406D-BE56-11B41C94D275.jpeg


While we were waiting in line, I pulled up the Weather Channel app to check the hourly forecast for the day. Check out that "Feels Like" temp! It was a hot one for sure.

BE7FA03A-6544-4DFC-A3C9-E32CC13D29DF.png


We ended up waiting about 10 minutes, and soon enough we were on our way. We always like to see which record they have displayed in the front in this scene. Of course, you can't tell from this picture! 😂 Looking a the picture now, the girl on the right reminds me of the girl from "The Polar Express!"

B455C867-E961-4BA0-966C-60B8E8044328.jpeg


Of course, I had to grab a picture of Foxy Brown. I will be so sad if they get rid of her during the refurb.

06DED7C6-B2E7-47BE-8577-1AD71E325B66.jpeg


Apparently in the future, Jason and I will have holes in our faces.

8C958D33-B8C0-4E11-979A-3F6FDC117B76.jpeg


Next up: More Future World!
 

lindawdw

Well-Known Member
The Skyliner is such a great addition to the transportation at WDW and it's so fun to see all the construction going on at Ratatouille! We usually head to Future World first before doing the WS too.
 

k8einwdw

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
The Skyliner is such a great addition to the transportation at WDW and it's so fun to see all the construction going on at Ratatouille! We usually head to Future World first before doing the WS too.
I'm surprised at how much I enjoy the Skyliner! We've always done Future World first, so it would have felt off to start on the World Showcase right off the bat.
 

Register on WDWMAGIC. This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.

Back
Top Bottom