Yes, we did!!!!
Despite crowds, cool temperatures and some rain we are still walking around our house saying, “That was a great vacation!”.
Details soon.
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Trip Report All Together Now - Completed
- Thread starter Tiki Traveler
- Start date
Yes, we did!!!!
Despite crowds, cool temperatures and some rain we are still walking around our house saying, “That was a great vacation!”.
Details soon.
mpaulam
Well-Known Member
- In the Parks
- No
We’re having a great time, thanks! Many nice days spent sitting on our balcony and the beach. Although I confess that knowing I’m only 5 hours away (from WDW) instead of 16 is rough…
Tuvalu
Premium Member
Yup, I’m currently living in The Shining Hallway. Except we are room 34 so even further down the hall.
Yup, I’m currently living in The Shining Hallway. Except we are room 34 so even further down the hall.
Glad you found the external stairway. We used it a lot.
Maybe they think we aren’t getting enough steps in??
Day 1 - Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2024
Shortly before 7am I purchased Genie+ Multiple Parks to keep our options open. Everyone else was on Team Virtual Que - Guardians of the Galaxy. I got Test Track LLs for midmorning. Unfortunately Team Virtual Que (all 3 including 2 very tech savvy young adults) couldn’t snag a boarding group.
I knew we could try again at 1pm but played it safe and purchased ILLs for late morning.
We mobile ordered two ham and cheese breakfast sandwiches on pretzel rolls which came w/potato barrels from The Market at Ale & Compass and ate those along w/the food we had in our room. Chip and Dale said pickup at The Market was a little chaotic.
Early entry at Epcot was 8:30am and our goal was Remy at 8:00am. I knew that was a little late but we wouldn’t mind waiting a little.
Well, we ended up waiting 85 minutes to be exact - because we arrived at Remy at 8:30am.
It was great to walk into Epcot but we should have gotten up earlier. The line reached all the way to Les Chefs du France and it was a little chilly. DH is wearing a Pom hat and three layers on top! The wait was originally 65 minutes but we were hopeful and I didn’t want to backtrack all day so we stayed. The line kept moving which was good but we didn’t realize how it snaked past the pick-up crepe window so. Very sneaky Disney!
We were all so excited to be at Disney (maybe we were still on a sugar high from our late night Kitchen Sink sundae?) that the wait didn’t seem too bad.
Over Christmas Chip and Dale sat still long enough to watch Ratatouille for 20 minutes. The theme, Everyone Can Cook, is very appropriate for this stage of their lives.
We walked past England and Canada and used our second LLs for Soarin’ California. So happy the construction walls are down!
We caught part of the Jammitors before riding Test Track and then Guardians of the Galaxy. The kids loved both the old and new rides. GOG went backwards and swung side to side more than I remembered. And the song?
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We checked out some of the updates to the front of Epcot.
One of my favorite pics, “Walt the Dreamer”.
By now we were hungry and let Chip and Dale pick our lunch spot. Chip was interested in trying places new to us so they both chose Sunshine Seasons in the Land pavilion. I read that the food was on the upswing so we headed there for lunch.
We ordered:
Birria Tacos - Dale and me
Oak-grilled Rotisserie Chicken - Chip
Power Greens Salad/WChicken - DH
The taco were more like mini tacos so Dale and I shared a Pepperoni Pizza Roll which had a delicious, warm crust. Not exactly a relaxing place to eat w/people milling about but it was a good lunch.
Sometime around 1pm Chip mentioned the GOG VQ. DH decided to pass on a second ride so I chose to stay w/him. Chip and Dale were able to get a boarding group!
Since we were in The Land already we caught the rest of its attractions.
New to Us
#EarlyEpcot4Ever
Afterward Dale expressed how much they enjoyed LWL and said they would like to take the Behind the Seeds tour someday. Always happy for a reason to visit Disney World with you sweetie.
One of my favorite pics, “Walt the Dreamer”.
By now we were hungry and let Chip and Dale pick our lunch spot. Chip was interested in trying places new to us so they both chose Sunshine Seasons in the Land pavilion. I read that the food was on the upswing so we headed there for lunch.
We ordered:
Birria Tacos - Dale and me
Oak-grilled Rotisserie Chicken - Chip
Power Greens Salad/WChicken - DH
The taco were more like mini tacos so Dale and I shared a Pepperoni Pizza Roll which had a delicious, warm crust. Not exactly a relaxing place to eat w/people milling about but it was a good lunch.
Sometime around 1pm Chip mentioned the GOG VQ. DH decided to pass on a second ride so I chose to stay w/him. Chip and Dale were able to get a boarding group!
Since we were in The Land already we caught the rest of its attractions.
New to Us
#EarlyEpcot4Ever
Afterward Dale expressed how much they enjoyed LWL and said they would like to take the Behind the Seeds tour someday. Always happy for a reason to visit Disney World with you sweetie.
MinnieM123
Premium Member
That is an excellent tour (I've taken it a few times, down through the years.) Also, it's about an hour, so that still leaves plenty of time to enjoy the rest of the parks that day.
Thank you for the info. I think we’d all enjoy it!
This is a trip report so I will report that the Garden Grill restaurant in The Land was still not rotating. I wouldn’t like to sit at the front of the restaurant now because everyone walking by can watch you eat. Also, when some characters came into view in the restaurant- on the side of the restaurant, not the front - a bunch of families walked into the restaurant and over to the characters, stepping in front of the restaurant patrons waiting to have their pictures taken. The crowd was escorted out by a CM who was then stationed at the entrance of the restaurant. People just can’t resist Farmer Mickey in those overall!
August 2019 photo when we used the dining plan for an enjoyable breakfast at Garden Grill.
We caught a ride on Spaceship Earth and then walked back to our room to pick up clothes for the cooler night temperatures. There was a lot we didn’t cover in Epcot but the day went surprisingly fast. We wanted to see Moana’s Journey of Water but the entrance was crowded when we walked by. Oh well, something for next time.
As mentioned Chip was looking at restaurants new to us and suggested….
…Teppan Edo in Japan. The irony is that there are several hibachi restaurants around us. DH and I used to go before we had kids. We have always meant to go as a family but never got around to it. Dale is our pickiest eater but was agreeable.
We ordered:
NY Cut Steak - Dale (Were they homesick?
)
Asakusa Combination - steak and shrimp - DH
Nihonbashi Combination - steak and chicken - Chip and me
We were impressed by the skills of the hibachi chef and thoroughly enjoyed our meal.
We took a leisurely stroll around part of the world and got dessert from Karemell-Kuche (also new to us) We shared a caramel butter bar and a chocolate caramel cookie. The caramel butter bar may be a new favorite!
The kids left for their GOG VQ. DH and I shared a bench in Germany w/a nice, retired couple from Indiana while waiting for Luminious.
When Luminous started I thought I was back in the 1990s watching Illuminations! So happy they brought back some of the opening aspects. We enjoyed the entire show and I thought the music for Luminous was much better than the music for Harmonious.
Chip and Dale found us right after the show ended. They caught some of the ending fireworks. The lights were still on in the water so I’m glad they could see them. They had another great ride on GOG. Their song?
Tears for Fears - Everybody Wants to Rule the World
We had a great day at Epcot starting around 8:15am but our day wasn’t over yet! It was Extended Evening Hours at MK until 1am! It started raining lightly during Luminious but no matter, we headed to MK on the monorail.
I wouldn’t like to sit at the front of the restaurant now because everyone walking by can watch you eat. Also, when some characters came into view in the restaurant- on the side of the restaurant, not the front - a bunch of families walked into the restaurant and over to the characters, stepping in front of the restaurant patrons waiting to have their pictures taken. The crowd was escorted out by a CM who was then stationed at the entrance of the restaurant. People just can’t resist Farmer Mickey in those overall! August 2019 photo when we used the dining plan for an enjoyable breakfast at Garden Grill.
We caught a ride on Spaceship Earth and then walked back to our room to pick up clothes for the cooler night temperatures. There was a lot we didn’t cover in Epcot but the day went surprisingly fast. We wanted to see Moana’s Journey of Water but the entrance was crowded when we walked by. Oh well, something for next time.
As mentioned Chip was looking at restaurants new to us and suggested….
…Teppan Edo in Japan. The irony is that there are several hibachi restaurants around us. DH and I used to go before we had kids. We have always meant to go as a family but never got around to it. Dale is our pickiest eater but was agreeable.
We ordered:
NY Cut Steak - Dale (Were they homesick?
)Asakusa Combination - steak and shrimp - DH
Nihonbashi Combination - steak and chicken - Chip and me
We were impressed by the skills of the hibachi chef and thoroughly enjoyed our meal.
We took a leisurely stroll around part of the world and got dessert from Karemell-Kuche (also new to us) We shared a caramel butter bar and a chocolate caramel cookie. The caramel butter bar may be a new favorite!
The kids left for their GOG VQ. DH and I shared a bench in Germany w/a nice, retired couple from Indiana while waiting for Luminious.
When Luminous started I thought I was back in the 1990s watching Illuminations! So happy they brought back some of the opening aspects. We enjoyed the entire show and I thought the music for Luminous was much better than the music for Harmonious.
Chip and Dale found us right after the show ended. They caught some of the ending fireworks. The lights were still on in the water so I’m glad they could see them. They had another great ride on GOG. Their song?
Tears for Fears - Everybody Wants to Rule the World
We had a great day at Epcot starting around 8:15am but our day wasn’t over yet! It was Extended Evening Hours at MK until 1am! It started raining lightly during Luminious but no matter, we headed to MK on the monorail.
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It seemed to have rained more at MK than Epcot. As a public service announcement please be careful walking down the brick ramps from the monorail into MK. Chip almost wiped out on the wet, slippery pavement.
The view inside MK was worth the rain and slippery walkways.
The view inside MK was worth the rain and slippery walkways.
The rain came down steadily again. All of us except DH had raincoats; he wore a poncho.
At dinner I missed the phone alarm I set for the third VQ for Tron. We were just a few minutes late but all the boarding groups were gone. Without Tron we decided to start on the left and work our way around MK.
We waited in line for Jingle Cruise and that was the longest wait of the night - 15 minutes. It was a pretty dark ride. Our skipper, River, was hilarious - “Here is the Amazon River named after me….. Here is the Nile River also named after me.” What can I say? I like Dad jokes.
River was the most physical captain we ever had. He literally hung off the boat! I was sitting in the front middle near another woman and we looked at each other in disbelief (remember it’s pretty dark and he’s hanging on by an arm and a leg). I said to her, ”One of us may have to steer“.
We were somewhere around our 15th hour in the parks. We were a little tired, wet, and cold. So what did Dale suggest? Dole Whip of course! And why not? DH and I were going to share one but they accidentally made an extra so we got it free. Beside two groups on the flying carpets we were the only people in the area.
And guess what? We still laugh about the restorative powers of Dole Whip as we immediately felt recharged. Can you say that about Mickey bars or ice cream sandwiches??
The evening kept getting better as we attended an almost exclusive showing of the Enchanted Tiki Room! (Another family did join us - finishing their Dole Whip. Only the hearty eat Dole Whip in the cold!)
Big Thunder Mountain was still running in the light, steady rain so we took a spin.
The evening started to wind down so Chip and Dale booked it over to Tomorrowland to ride Space Mountain and then meet us at 7 Dwarfs.
DH and I took a detour on It’s a Small World. We had almost the whole ride to ourselves!
I’ve always loved the detailed costumes the CMs wear but the winter coats they wore on IASW and in Italy/France in Epcot were darling!
We reunited after our rides. 7 Dwarfs still had a hefty line at 12:45am so we decided to save it for another day.
We shared a bus w/Beach Club and BoardWalk. A truck w/the logo, ”Disney Design Services”, was parked by our stop. Inside the YC about a dozen people wearing navy polo shirts and green safety vests (some had green hard hats) were almost finished taking down the Christmas decorations.
Most of us got to sleep around 1:45am. I wondered how we were going to make early entry at Hollywood Studios…..
Fit Bit ends at 11:59pm so:
Steps - 25,292 plus an additional 3,000 early Thursday
Miles - 10.72 plus an additional 3,000 early Thursday steps
Next Up - Are We at Hollywood Studios Yet?
At dinner I missed the phone alarm I set for the third VQ for Tron. We were just a few minutes late but all the boarding groups were gone. Without Tron we decided to start on the left and work our way around MK.
We waited in line for Jingle Cruise and that was the longest wait of the night - 15 minutes. It was a pretty dark ride. Our skipper, River, was hilarious - “Here is the Amazon River named after me….. Here is the Nile River also named after me.”
What can I say? I like Dad jokes.River was the most physical captain we ever had. He literally hung off the boat! I was sitting in the front middle near another woman and we looked at each other in disbelief (remember it’s pretty dark and he’s hanging on by an arm and a leg). I said to her, ”One of us may have to steer“.
We were somewhere around our 15th hour in the parks. We were a little tired, wet, and cold. So what did Dale suggest? Dole Whip of course! And why not? DH and I were going to share one but they accidentally made an extra so we got it free. Beside two groups on the flying carpets we were the only people in the area.
And guess what? We still laugh about the restorative powers of Dole Whip as we immediately felt recharged. Can you say that about Mickey bars or ice cream sandwiches??
The evening kept getting better as we attended an almost exclusive showing of the Enchanted Tiki Room! (Another family did join us - finishing their Dole Whip. Only the hearty eat Dole Whip in the cold!)
Big Thunder Mountain was still running in the light, steady rain so we took a spin.
The evening started to wind down so Chip and Dale booked it over to Tomorrowland to ride Space Mountain and then meet us at 7 Dwarfs.
DH and I took a detour on It’s a Small World. We had almost the whole ride to ourselves!
I’ve always loved the detailed costumes the CMs wear but the winter coats they wore on IASW and in Italy/France in Epcot were darling!
We reunited after our rides. 7 Dwarfs still had a hefty line at 12:45am so we decided to save it for another day.
We shared a bus w/Beach Club and BoardWalk. A truck w/the logo, ”Disney Design Services”, was parked by our stop. Inside the YC about a dozen people wearing navy polo shirts and green safety vests (some had green hard hats) were almost finished taking down the Christmas decorations.
Most of us got to sleep around 1:45am. I wondered how we were going to make early entry at Hollywood Studios…..
Fit Bit ends at 11:59pm so:
Steps - 25,292 plus an additional 3,000 early Thursday
Miles - 10.72 plus an additional 3,000 early Thursday steps
Next Up - Are We at Hollywood Studios Yet?
Somehow I forgot the best Jungle Cruise lines of all time, by Skipper River of course.
“I know how to get the hippos to leave us alone.” Leans waaaayyyy over the side of the boat, and yells….
“I WANT A COMMITMENT!”
Pauses then adds….
”I THINK I LOVE YOU!”
“I know how to get the hippos to leave us alone.” Leans waaaayyyy over the side of the boat, and yells….
“I WANT A COMMITMENT!”
Pauses then adds….
”I THINK I LOVE YOU!”
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fractal
Well-Known Member
The rain came down steadily again. All of us except DH had raincoats; he wore a poncho.
At dinner I missed the phone alarm I set for the third VQ for Tron. We were just a few minutes late but all the boarding groups were gone. Without Tron we decided to start on the left and work our way around MK.
We waited in line for Jingle Cruise and that was the longest wait of the night - 15 minutes. It was a pretty dark ride. Our skipper, River, was hilarious - “Here is the Amazon River named after me….. Here is the Nile River also named after me.”
River was the most physical captain we ever had. He literally hung off the boat! I was sitting in the front middle near another woman and we looked at each other in disbelief (remember it’s pretty dark and he’s hanging on by an arm and a leg). I said to her, ”One of us may have to steer“.
We were somewhere around our 15th hour in the parks. We were a little tired, wet, and cold. So what did Dale suggest? Dole Whip of course! And why not? DH and I were going to share one but they accidentally made an extra so we got it free. Beside two groups on the flying carpets we were the only people in the area.
And guess what? We still laugh about the restorative powers of Dole Whip as we immediately felt recharged. Can you say that about Mickey bars or ice cream sandwiches??
The evening kept getting better as we attended an almost exclusive showing of the Enchanted Tiki Room! (Another family did join us - finishing their Dole Whip. Only the hearty eat Dole Whip in the cold!)
View attachment 764238
View attachment 764239
Big Thunder Mountain was still running in the light, steady rain so we took a spin.
The evening started to wind down so Chip and Dale booked it over to Tomorrowland to ride Space Mountain and then meet us at 7 Dwarfs.
DH and I took a detour on It’s a Small World. We had almost the whole ride to ourselves!
View attachment 764240
I’ve always loved the detailed costumes the CMs wear but the winter coats they wore on IASW and in Italy/France in Epcot were darling!
View attachment 764241
We reunited after our rides. 7 Dwarfs still had a hefty line at 12:45am so we decided to save it for another day.
View attachment 764245
We shared a bus w/Beach Club and BoardWalk. A truck w/the logo, ”Disney Design Services”, was parked by our stop. Inside the YC about a dozen people wearing navy polo shirts and green safety vests (some had green hard hats) were almost finished taking down the Christmas decorations.
Most of us got to sleep around 1:45am. I wondered how we were going to make early entry at Hollywood Studios…..
Fit Bit ends at 11:59pm so:
Steps - 25,292 plus an additional 3,000 early Thursday
Miles - 10.72 plus an additional 3,000 early Thursday steps
Next Up - Are We at Hollywood Studios Yet?
Nothing like a bunch of frozen sugar and concentrated fruit to wake things up!
Day 2 - Thursday, Jan. 4, 2024
What time did we finally make it to Hollywood Studios after our late night? Read on!
You know it’s going to be a crazy day at Hollywood Studios when the Genie+ slots for Slinky Dog are gone by 7:02am and your ILL for Rise of the Resistance is for 6:15pm.
My 7am showing also produced an early afternoon LL for TOT.
When I announced the news to my sleeping family all I got were a few grunts. Since no one jumped out of bed to try and catch early entry I figured I would just stay on top of booking rides w/Genie+.
We were ready for the parks by midmorning. Genie+ slots were filling up and wait times were increasing. Room breakfast wasn’t cutting it and no one wanted to order from The Market again. Rather than get to HS and immediately look for lunch we started checking places in and near our resort for a late breakfast. We found a reservation at the Ale & Compass Restaurant in the Yacht Club.
We each ordered an entree and added the Breakfast Buffet:
- American Breakfast - Dale
- Country Ham & Cheddar Omelet - DH
- Crab Cake Benedict - me
- Seasonal Autumn Pancakes - Chip
The breakfast was good except for the English muffin on my Eggs Benedict. Most of it was so hard I couldn’t cut it. I liked the sausage gravy with the cheddar cheese biscuits at the buffet too.
We finalized plans for our pool day tomorrow. We decided to play miniature golf in the morning. Hoping to be more organized I left my family to pay the bill and phoned the reservation line from the lobby. I had been on the phone for about five minutes when I was asked for my credit card number to hold the golf reservation. Our credit cards were in the room safe. I asked if they could look it up on My Disney Experience and they said I would have to call back.
We all made the trek back to our room and I called again w/credit card in hand. This time I was connected w/a CM who slowly and carefully read all the instructions to me. I swear she read one paragraph twice. Finally we were booked!
We then took a wonderfully short boat ride to Hollywood Studios. What time did we enter? almost 1pm but we were in!
When the sweetest, young at heart PP gets out of their walker/chair to demonstrate this move to you, you better believe you follow their instructions - emphasis on bending your knees - Chip & Dale too!
First Ride - a walk on Muppet*Vision 3D
Second Ride - Star Tours LL
What time did we finally make it to Hollywood Studios after our late night? Read on!
You know it’s going to be a crazy day at Hollywood Studios when the Genie+ slots for Slinky Dog are gone by 7:02am and your ILL for Rise of the Resistance is for 6:15pm.
My 7am showing also produced an early afternoon LL for TOT.
When I announced the news to my sleeping family all I got were a few grunts. Since no one jumped out of bed to try and catch early entry I figured I would just stay on top of booking rides w/Genie+.
We were ready for the parks by midmorning. Genie+ slots were filling up and wait times were increasing. Room breakfast wasn’t cutting it and no one wanted to order from The Market again. Rather than get to HS and immediately look for lunch we started checking places in and near our resort for a late breakfast. We found a reservation at the Ale & Compass Restaurant in the Yacht Club.
We each ordered an entree and added the Breakfast Buffet:
- American Breakfast - Dale
- Country Ham & Cheddar Omelet - DH
- Crab Cake Benedict - me
- Seasonal Autumn Pancakes - Chip
The breakfast was good except for the English muffin on my Eggs Benedict. Most of it was so hard I couldn’t cut it. I liked the sausage gravy with the cheddar cheese biscuits at the buffet too.
We finalized plans for our pool day tomorrow. We decided to play miniature golf in the morning. Hoping to be more organized I left my family to pay the bill and phoned the reservation line from the lobby. I had been on the phone for about five minutes when I was asked for my credit card number to hold the golf reservation. Our credit cards were in the room safe. I asked if they could look it up on My Disney Experience and they said I would have to call back.
We all made the trek back to our room and I called again w/credit card in hand. This time I was connected w/a CM who slowly and carefully read all the instructions to me. I swear she read one paragraph twice. Finally we were booked!
We then took a wonderfully short boat ride to Hollywood Studios. What time did we enter? almost 1pm but we were in!
When the sweetest, young at heart PP gets out of their walker/chair to demonstrate this move to you, you better believe you follow their instructions - emphasis on bending your knees - Chip & Dale too!
First Ride - a walk on Muppet*Vision 3D
Second Ride - Star Tours LL
Next up was our LL for TOT.
As mentioned in my previous trip report I don’t love heights. This trip I gave myself grace and allowed myself to opt out of one ride - my choice was TOT. I happily took the chicken exit.
The crowd calendars were correct. It was an extremely busy day at the parks. As an example of how crowded it was, the line for each ladies room I saw that afternoon was at least three people long outside the building. You had to be extra alert when walking too.
Finding the next ride/attraction was like a puzzle and we couldn’t make the pieces fit. Genie+ slots for the most popular rides were filled and their stand by waits were 90 minutes plus. The kids passed on seeing the Walt Disney story again. We tried to see the Indiana Jones show but we arrived a few minutes late and the show was full. Yesterday we thought we could skyline to Epcot if nec. but the timing was off because we had a dinner reservation at 4:30pm. ROTR had gone down for the second time that day
it would reopen.
One of the kids suggested a snack break so we returned to the Anaheim Produce area. I stalked tables and everyone else went to get snacks. We had a nice break w/sodas, frozen lemonades and a Mickey pretzel.
Then we walked around and met some friends.
See the carts in the background? That is a very plain, nondescript bar. We nicknamed it the Sad Bar - for when you really need a drink!
When I booked the Fantasmic Dining package at the Hollywood Brown Derby the only available reservation was at 4:30pm. This was our first time at a Signature Dining Restaurant. Wow! What a neat place! Great theming! Great staff! Good/great food! I don’t know if I would eat that fancy every time I was at the park but the Brown Derby is now one of my favorite in park restaurants.
For the Fantasmic Dining package there was a dinner package of one entree and appetizer or dessert per person. We chose:
- Charcuterie Board (We shared it. It looked like the ones at the Baseline Tap House)
- Cobb Salads w/Chicken - Dressing on the side - Dale and me
- Pan Roasted Halibut - DH
- Filet Mignon with Mashed Potatoes and Green Beans instead of Mushroom Risotto - Chip (Our waitress gave us lots of options w/our orders)
- Two Grapefruit Cakes
- Decadent Chocolate Cake
ROTR resumed so after dinner we traveled to Batuu.
Next up was Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway. After that we used our dinner package passes for Fantasmic which was also new to us. We thought we could catch a ride or two after the show but everyone had the same idea and both lines and wait times were very long.
We had an enjoyable skyliner ride back to our room and called it a night. As the Mickey wake-up call used to say, “Big Do’ins Ahead”.
Steps - 17,733 (including 3,000 from early am in MK)
Miles - 7.51 (see Step comments)
Next Up - A Day for DH - Including Pool Time!
As mentioned in my previous trip report I don’t love heights. This trip I gave myself grace and allowed myself to opt out of one ride - my choice was TOT. I happily took the chicken exit.
The crowd calendars were correct. It was an extremely busy day at the parks. As an example of how crowded it was, the line for each ladies room I saw that afternoon was at least three people long outside the building. You had to be extra alert when walking too.
Finding the next ride/attraction was like a puzzle and we couldn’t make the pieces fit. Genie+ slots for the most popular rides were filled and their stand by waits were 90 minutes plus. The kids passed on seeing the Walt Disney story again. We tried to see the Indiana Jones show but we arrived a few minutes late and the show was full. Yesterday we thought we could skyline to Epcot if nec. but the timing was off because we had a dinner reservation at 4:30pm. ROTR had gone down for the second time that day
it would reopen.One of the kids suggested a snack break so we returned to the Anaheim Produce area. I stalked tables and everyone else went to get snacks. We had a nice break w/sodas, frozen lemonades and a Mickey pretzel.
Then we walked around and met some friends.
See the carts in the background? That is a very plain, nondescript bar. We nicknamed it the Sad Bar - for when you really need a drink!
When I booked the Fantasmic Dining package at the Hollywood Brown Derby the only available reservation was at 4:30pm. This was our first time at a Signature Dining Restaurant. Wow! What a neat place! Great theming! Great staff! Good/great food! I don’t know if I would eat that fancy every time I was at the park but the Brown Derby is now one of my favorite in park restaurants.
For the Fantasmic Dining package there was a dinner package of one entree and appetizer or dessert per person. We chose:
- Charcuterie Board (We shared it. It looked like the ones at the Baseline Tap House)
- Cobb Salads w/Chicken - Dressing on the side - Dale and me
- Pan Roasted Halibut - DH
- Filet Mignon with Mashed Potatoes and Green Beans instead of Mushroom Risotto - Chip (Our waitress gave us lots of options w/our orders)
- Two Grapefruit Cakes
- Decadent Chocolate Cake
ROTR resumed so after dinner we traveled to Batuu.
Next up was Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway. After that we used our dinner package passes for Fantasmic which was also new to us. We thought we could catch a ride or two after the show but everyone had the same idea and both lines and wait times were very long.
We had an enjoyable skyliner ride back to our room and called it a night. As the Mickey wake-up call used to say, “Big Do’ins Ahead”.
Steps - 17,733 (including 3,000 from early am in MK)
Miles - 7.51 (see Step comments)
Next Up - A Day for DH - Including Pool Time!
