Trip Report And we're off, Finally!!

It's here! Our Disney mini family reunion. After 8 months of coordinating and sometimes logistical hiccups, it's finally play time in our favorite place.

List of characters Me, my sons, my sister in law, niece and nephew.
Home for the next 8 days: Old Key West.
Arrived home Tuesday 9/5.

This trip report maybe a little "scatter brained", I'm posting quasi "live" and in living color so please forgive me if sentences seem like I've been drinking
It's also a bit of a fact finding mission, there has been a lot of chatter about dirty bathrooms, ride breakdowns and nasty cm's. I wanted to know if that is our experience.
So on with the show.....

 

[littleroo]

I love all your pics but that one of the Epcot ball is my favorite! I am glad everything is working out so far! Gotta love Goofy!!

 

[LeighM]

During our last trip in 2021, I do remember seeing more dirty bathrooms. But they were mostly in Magic Kingdom with the worst offenders being the bathrooms in the front of the park next to City Hall and the smaller ones next to Cheshire Cafe. The one I remember being bad in Epcot was the one in Morocco. With all the water I was drinking during that trip, I think I legit visited each one LOL. And speaking of heat - the temp last weekend in VA where I live was hotter and more humid than Orlando, according to all the weather apps I looked at. I think only the mosquitoes were happy that week. Looking forward to reading more about your trip!

 

[12in12]

Great start to your trip report. I'm glad to hear of all your positive experiences. I love the family picture with Goofy.

 

[eliza61nyc]

During our last trip in 2021, I do remember seeing more dirty bathrooms. But they were mostly in Magic Kingdom with the worst offenders being the bathrooms in the front of the park next to City Hall and the smaller ones next to Cheshire Cafe. The one I remember being bad in Epcot was the one in Morocco. With all the water I was drinking during that trip, I think I legit visited each one LOL. And speaking of heat - the temp last weekend in VA where I live was hotter and more humid than Orlando, according to all the weather apps I looked at. I think only the mosquitoes were happy that week. Looking forward to reading more about your trip!

So I've taken pictures in every bathroom I've visited. Sorry guys, lol have to leave you out

I did get some weird looks, all of them were taken betwixt 2-3 pm

 

[LeighM]

So I've taken pictures in every bathroom I've visited. Sorry guys, lol have to leave you out
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I did get some weird looks, all of them were taken betwixt 2-3 pm

That's a vast improvement I've never judged WDW CMs for the conditions of the bathrooms - I put the entire blame for that on the guests. They could clean the bathroom and then a bad group can come through and trash it within minutes. I try to go out of my way to my favorite Disney bathrooms to try and avoid crowds. It sounds crazy but I do love the Tomorrowland bathrooms next to Space Mountain, the bathrooms next to Pirates, and the Storybook Circus location. But now you got me thinking about this topic. My fav locations in Epcot are the large ones to the right as you enter the park, the one behind Imagination Pavilion, and the one in the American Pavilion. In HS, I prefer the tucked away one on Sunset Blvd, the always empty bathroom at Animation Courtyard, and the cool factor in Galaxy Edge bathroom. But I actually don't have a favorite in Animal Kingdom. I can't actually think of any bathrooms there besides the always crowded African location and the cramped one in Pandora. I'm going to have to pay more attention to this park the next time I go to WDW LOL.

 

[Tiggerish]

OKW is my home resort. Love it.

 

[Tiggerish]

I've never judged WDW CMs for the conditions of the bathrooms - I put the entire blame for that on the guests.

We just got new tenants across the floor from.my office. Water allover the sinks, toilets not flushed...gross. But can't blame building management for them.

 

[LeighM]

We just got new tenants across the floor from.my office. Water allover the sinks, toilets not flushed...gross. But can't blame building management for them.

And that's one of the many reasons I don't really like people LOL. I've never gotten over my MIL telling the story of once working in retail and having to clean a changing room because someone went #2 in there. I don't know why people have gotten so disgusting.

 

[kimberlymautz]

And that's one of the many reasons I don't really like people LOL. I've never gotten over my MIL telling the story of once working in retail and having to clean a changing room because someone went #2 in there. I don't know why people have gotten so disgusting.

Your poor MIL.

 

[joshsprincess921]

Day 1
We had a few snafus on check in day that led to pixie dust. When we decided to take this trip last year we decided to get 3 separate rooms, the youngins, behind my back grew up and that required more space. When I booked the rooms I put my name on each room, evidently breaking a Disney rule. Who knew? It took them quite a bit of time to fix and after being up for 14 hours straight I was not the happy camper. Hotel manager comp us free genie plus for our first day, which was Epcot.
I'll give my thoughts on Genie plus later but I will say that the reports of horrible cm's is grossly exaggerated. The staff at OKW and every where have been exemplary. Introducing themselves, smiling asking general questions about over lives and just plain sweet and kind. View attachment 742167View attachment 742168
Characters were visiting resorts, which I didn't know they did.
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Lol so this is my kids favorite animatronic because their grandmother in retribution for something I must have done in my youth, showed them a picture if me in the early 70s. yes folks complete with an afro, mini skirt and go-go boots. We take one every trip.

Crowds are definitely on the light side, we had no issues getting a virtual cue for guardians, although by nature I'm an early bird so being up at 7 is no issue for me and frozen ride was they only ride that had a wait over 45 minutesView attachment 742178
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The only other "issue" I have not seen are these "dirty" bathrooms. Everywhere we "went" was clean and functioning.

Gotta agree with you on the bathrooms. We just returned home from a trip and every bathroom I went in was clean and most even had cleaning staff in there actively cleaning.

 

[eliza61nyc]

Day 3 Hollywood Studios. Thursday
One thing that is essential when traveling with 7 people is preparation, the other thing is independence. my neice, her boyfriend and my nephew all feel that the words "7 am" is slander. They are all under 25 and a year or two out of college. Since they essentially entered the work force during covid, they've worked from home pretty much their short adult lives. I'm waiting for the time when they have to actually show up at 8 am for work. Luckily they're not offended when you leave them, "no Ce-ce we're not waiting 50 minutes for you to put on make up"

We elected to not buy genie plus and just get a LL for rise of the resistance.

HS is probably number two for me, I simply love the nostalgia and "streetmosphere". The only ride with a horrible wait time was slinky dog dash. Even ToT was less than an hour. Tons of characters out also

 

[eliza61nyc]

We easily did almost everything twice and got in Beauty and The Beast live. Well they did, lol I'm going to the grave without ever getting on RnR.

 

[eliza61nyc]

This was also my first time seeing the fireworks show at HS. We usually do Fantasmic. Really enjoyed it, my youngest actually liked it more than fantasmic, lol he's still salty that they cut out the Pocahontas "dig " medly.

the last picture is a bit bittersweet, my sons lost their wonderful father to cancer a few years back, every year they would take a picture with their dad in front of Kermit. They have chosen to continue the tradition. I was a hot mess

 

[eliza61nyc]

Last but not least, it is hell-hot this week. Jeesh. 80% humidity

 

[erstwo]

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the last picture is a bit bittersweet, my sons lost their wonderful father to cancer a few years back, every year they would take a picture with their dad in front of Kermit. They have chosen to continue the tradition. I was a hot mess

 

[12in12]

This was also my first time seeing the fireworks show at HS. We usually do Fantasmic. Really enjoyed it, my youngest actually liked it more than fantasmic, lol he's still salty that they cut out the Pocahontas "dig " medly.
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the last picture is a bit bittersweet, my sons lost their wonderful father to cancer a few years back, every year they would take a picture with their dad in front of Kermit. They have chosen to continue the tradition. I was a hot mess

I'm sorry for you loss.
How wonderful though that your sons have such good memories of their dad and are continuing a tradition that their father started.

 

[coachwnh]

All caught up! Go Birds!

 

[LeighM]

the last picture is a bit bittersweet, my sons lost their wonderful father to cancer a few years back, every year they would take a picture with their dad in front of Kermit. They have chosen to continue the tradition. I was a hot mess

I'm so sorry for your loss! But how great that they are continuing the tradition and keeping those memories alive.

 

[kimberlymautz]

I love that they're keeping the tradition alive! How sweet!
Go Birds!

 

[eliza61nyc]

to my fellow Birds fans.

A few nuggets on food. First, in the interest of full disclosure lol I live in high as h-e- double hockey sticks Philadelphia and worked in NYC. 5 bucks for a 20 oz soda is not unheard of and 4 bucks is the norm. if my sons and I go out to Cheesecake factory in Philly it's definitely a $130.00 bill. I say this simply because WDW food prices do not shock me, so I rarely complain about them.
.
arrival day: We tried City works in Disney Springs. The entire crew flew in from various cities on the East Coast, all our flights were super early so by the time we sat down for early dinner/late lunch we really weren't concerned about gourmet, LOL City works is standard chain American bar food. The food was tasty and our server was really nice. it's a great place if you want a nice lunch but think burgers, tacos and chicken sandwiches.

Epcot: lunch- Via Napoli. this is one of our favorites. consistently great pizza and great salads. The youngins had a beer flight and a red wine flight. the wine flight was really tasty, 3 nice size wines for 23.00. we ordered a Mezzo Piccante and Caricofi white pizza. Did not disappoint.

Dinner: Le Cellier. Again this is sort of a tradition with us but this year the "minions" decided to kick us to the curb in favor of the wine and food festival. we took advantage of the quiet. Le Cellier did not disappoint. Consistently great steaks and great service. I tried the corn bisque this time and it was delicious.

Hollywood Studios: This is probably the week link in our theme park dining chain as far as sit down dining.
Lunch: Sci fi dining. lol it's all about the theme and milkshakes. the food for us is "meh" at best. my nephew and his girlfriend are new to the parks so we thought it would be cool.