Trip Report Better Late than Never! An April 2021 Trip Report!

Its a rainy day in Massachusetts so what better way to write up a trip report!

The Basics:
Who: Myself and the boyfriend
When: April 15th-25th
Things to note: This trip was planned for April 2020, then June 2020, then finally April 2021. After surviving living together through a pandemic and not killing each other, we decided to take a longer trip to really relax! This was the boyfriends first visit since he was 6 over 20 years ago!

Day 1: The Arrival

We woke up around 4am for our flight leaving Providence at 7am. The airport was decently empty but our Southwest Flight was completely sold out. We boarded our flight, started a movie, and drifted in and out of sleep until we arrived at MCO around 10am.

The magical express line looked longer than it actually was. We waited maybe 20-30 minutes and we were on our bus to Pop Century! We got lucky and our room was ready! However, we were also unlucky because we were assigned a second floor room in building 8 in the 90s section. After dropping off our bags and changing into some clothes for the Florida weather we were ready to grab some lunch at the Polite Pig! We went to Florida last July before the parks opened and the Polite Pig was one of our favorite places! So we had to get it again!

^Boyfriend liked this set up in the Polite Pig

After lunch, we walked over to Gideons to hopefully join the virtual queue. When we asked they said just to go right into the line! After about 30 minutes we were inside! The shop was much smaller than we thought but the cookies and coffee were great. We sat by the water after and enjoyed our dessert and the Florida sunshine.

We did some window shopping and I ended up with a new pair of ears and the boyfriend got a hat. After exploring Disney Springs merch, we still had more time before our dinner reservation at The Edison. We decided to go to the Coke Shop and try the drinks around the world. Overall this was something fun to do but WAYYYYYY too much sugar for two people. As we were drinking our cokes, the weather started to get very windy and stormy. We went over to the Edison about a half hour early and were able to get seated right away. I'm not sure if the menu was limited due to Covid, but we were not impressed by the lack of variety and the quality for the price. Overall I would give it a 6/10. It was out least favorite sit down meal we had for the trip.

After dinner we were ready to relax at our hotel. However once we got back I somehow convinced the boyfriend to go on a ride on the Skyliner because we would be going to EPCOT tomorrow. Pictures didn't come out well but take my word for it, the skyliner is very pretty at night! By 10pm we were in bed ready to take on Drinking around the World at EPCOT!

If you would like to watch our day in action, you can watch here:

 

[fizzieee]

Following! Thank you for sharing!

 

[MickeyCB]

Following along, and you guys got a lot done for a first/travel day!

 

[WDW_Emily]

Day 2: Drinking around the world

I apologize in advance if I forget a name of a food or drink that we had....

We had heard from the lovely people on this site that a lot of the parks were opening before their scheduled park opening time. So we ate breakfast and got to the skyliner for 10am (park opening stated 11)

After a little bit of a hold up at the transfer station, we arrived at Epcot around 10:40. We were able to get right in and went over to Test Track! We waited about 20 minutes and we're off the ride by 11:10!

We then decided to start our drinking around the world tour. Everyone has different rules so here are ours.
Rule 1: Must at least take a sip of something from every country (boyfriend isn't big on mixed drinks and I hate bear so this worked out)
Rule 2: We have the entire day to drink around the world. Rather go slow and enjoy our time instead of being a sloppy mess.

Stop number 1: Mexico! Since it was early in the day, world showcase wasn't packed yet. We got our food and drinks and headed inside the Mexico pavilion to ride Grand Fiesta. Boyfriends thoughts after riding "They should change this to coco themed".
Food: taco vampiro 9/10
Drink: passion fruit margarita 7/10

Next up was Norway! The frozen line was quoted at 40 minutes so we decided to get our drink first and sip on it during the outdoor portion of the line. The line ended up only being around 20 minutes so we chugged our drink pretty quick. The boyfriend and I love the movie Frozen. Spoiler alert: the boyfriend said it was his favorite ride in Epcot

Drink: some beer? Boyfriend said it was great! I wasn't a fan.

Continuing on, we were in China now! We decided to get some dumplings first before deciding what to drink. We could not believe how empty this pavilion was.
Drink: Kung Fu Punch 8/10

we skipped over the outpost and went to Germany. We got the potato pancakes and the pretzel both get a 10/10! They were delicious!
Drink: bitburger premium pils boyfriend said it wasn't anything special.

 

[Swissmiss]

Following along.

 

[Katiekitten]

I am late but I am following along!

 

[amjt660]

Great start

Following

Max

 

[Darstarr]

Better late than never indeed!

I am here too. Late…

 

[KellBelle]

Joining in!

 

[joshsprincess921]

great start! count me in!
your earrings are cute.

 

[WDW_Emily]

Continuing on with our drink around the world tour, next up was Italy! We split a cannoli and moscato both were a 9/10

Next on our list was America. Nothing here really excited us. Nate got a standard beer nothing to write home about.
Onward to Japan! We spent a decent amount of time here just enjoying the scenery. We first split a cherry ice then went into the shops. After doing some shopping we got some Frushi (9/10), Pork shank (11/10) and some pinapple sake (8/10)!

We then saw our first of two Cavalcades! The first one was Mickey and friends.
Then about 15 minutes later we saw the princess! As a Disney loving adult, I thought these two cavalcades were a fun way to see the characters.

As we watch the cavalcades, we stopped at Morocco for our next food and drink. We went with the pinapple pear cider (5/10) and some pinapple fruit parfait (7/10). They weren't our favorites but after traveling to so many countries one of them had to be a dud right?

Good thing France was next! I don't know where I've been all this time but the Grand Mariners Orange Slush is a 10000/10 it was amazing and my favorite drink of the day!

After that our bodies needed a break from eating and drinking. We went over to the seas, figment, spaceship earth,living with the land, and soarin'. The boyfriend liked them all except Figment. He thought the whole experience was odd lol.

It was around 7pm now and we were ready to finish up our last two countries! First up was Canada where we made an adventurous decision to try a drink with popcorn in it. 0/10 this was the worst thing we had the entire day.

Last stop on our list was the UK. We weren't feeling anything on the menu so we made the executive decision to make our last stop the Cidar house! Everything here was delicious and it was indoors and had tables for everyone! Win win!

And just like that our first day in the parks was done!

Crowds: 3/10
Experience: 7/10 lots of walls at Epcot right now.
Boyfriend's first time thoughts: he enjoyed the adult parts of the park and that it was a relaxing pace.
Vlog link:

 

[BigDis]

Following along. Thanks for sharing your TR!

 

[amjt660]

As a Canuck I have no idea what that drink is with that looks like it has carmel popcorn on top of it

Max

 

[WDW_Emily]

Day 3: Conquiring fears in Animal Kingdom!

Today was animal kingdom day! We tried our best to get to the park for opening at 8am but ended up arriving around 8:30. By the time we arrived both flight of passage and safari had long lines. We decided to hop in line for Navi river journey which had a posted 30 minute wait but it was more like 10 minutes. This is a ride I enjoy but wouldn't wait a long time for. We ended up in the second row and the plexiglass didn't take away from the ride at all!

Next stop was some coffee and breakfast. We stopped at Pongu Pongu and got a breakfast sandwich and French toast. Both were very good!

As we finished our coffee we got in line for safari. The safari line was posted at 60 minutes and started near festival of the lion king. It ended up being about 40 minutes which for 9:30am wasn't bad at all. We got on one of the best safaris ever! The overcast worked in our favor for sure! We also got the front seat in our vehicle so it was a win win!

After safari we went to the gorilla exploration trails. The gorillas were out and about but many of the other animals were not out yet.

We then checked the app and realized Everest was only a 20 minute wait. Now the boyfriend has been debating this ride for MONTHS. He has a fear of heights but likes fast rides. I was fully prepared to ride Everest solo but somehow we got him on! He closed his eyes the way up, might have swore on the drops (sorry kids) but he sure did love it!

The Before

The After

 

[WDW_Emily]

After Everest we saw our first Animal Kingdom Cavalcade. Again I really like these Cavalcades, they remind me of the characters at Disneyland and every time we would hear the music we would get excited to see who was on the float.

Onward to Dinosaur! Posted wait time was 35 minutes but by now it was almost noon and the crowds were starting to pick up. We ended up waiting about 40 minutes making this one of our longest waits the entire trip. This is one of the only rides the boyfriend remembered from when he was younger. Getting off he said it wasn't as scary as he remembered and it felt very "Universally" to him.

We were starting to get hungry for lunch so off to Satuli's for lunch we went! Boyfriend got a bowl I got the cheeseburger pods. Everything was amazing as always. This was the only place the entire trip that we got in trouble for masks. We followed the rules 99.9% of the time with masks only taking them off to eat or drink or for a quick photo but at Satuli I finished my food first and kept my mask off while boyfriend was finishing up. A CM came over to me as soon as I was done asking me to put my mask back on. Not a huge deal I just thought it was interesting how strict they seemed to be at this one location.

Time to brave the line for Flight of Passage. It was posted at a 75 minute wait with the line down the bridge going towards Africa but its a cant miss attraction so we got in line.

Boyfriend loved this ride! He did get a little sick from the motion but said it was totally worth it and he would do it again. However, he needed a breather before going on anything else. One of my favorite things to do at Disney used to be the animation classes at Hollywood Studios. I was so excited when I found out that they were holding classes in Animal Kingdom! This seemed like the perfect time to go over to Rafiki's and take a class! Boyfriend is a graphic designer so he was very excited for this as well!

By now it was mid afternoon and we were ready for a theme park break. We had a late reservation at Yak and Yeti but before that we went back to Pop Century for a quick swim in the pool and to change out of our sweaty clothes. Most trips I plan to be in the park open to close but the low crowds were so nice this time and I felt we could actually relax and go at a slower pace. We were back on the bus refreshed and ready for dinner by 6pm.

I dont know what we ate but everything was amazing! We event got seated 20 minutes early! By the time we got out the park was closing and pretty much empty.

Tomorrow was our resort rest day and we still had some energy left. So at 8pm we made the bold decision to park hop to Magic Kingdom for 1 hour before it closed. We literally got to Magic Kingdom at 8:40pm and were able to get in one ride and see the castle but it was worth it! We chose Pirates as our one ride that night and then went back to our hotel after soaking in Main Street.

Crowds: 5/10
Experience: 9/10! We loved the slower pace and still getting everything done we wanted to.
Boyfriend's first time thoughts: He liked Animal Kingdom especially pandora and Everest but still enjoyed Epcot more
Vlog link:

 

[WDW_Emily]

Day 4: Breakfast with a view!

Today was our rest day! We woke up around 8:30AM and quickly went over to the Skyliner. We were able to board our first Skyliner with no problem however, we did have some issues at the transfer station. Because Epcot wasn't open yet, the line was at a standstill. We had breakfast reservations at 10:15 and as 20 minutes past of us not moving in line we started to get a little concerned. We went over to the cast member and ask them if there was another way to get to Topolinos Terrace. The cast member informed us that someone should've pulled us from the line from the beginning because there is a whole different line to get to Topolinos! Apparently a lot of people missed this memo because as soon as a cast member told us this multiple people behind us were pulling up their breakfast reservations and showing the cast members so they could also get on the Skyliner. We ended up arriving with five minutes to spare. From the outside the Riviera resort looks like a standard hotel I actually thought at first that I wouldn't want to stay there ever because it just look generic to me. We made our way over to Topolinos and we're seated almost immediately. To start we got some pastries and coffee.

As we waited for our food, characters started circling around. Due to Covid protocol the characters weren't getting close to people but did wave, dance, and "speak" with us from a distance. At the end we got a postcard with all the characters signatures.

For food the boyfriend and I both got waffles which were possibly the best waffles I have ever experienced.

After finished our food we both said we would definitely return and would love to come for dinner next trip! After eating you are welcome to go to the Terrance and take in the view. It truly is a beautiful view.

The rest of our day was spent playing disc golf off property, swimming in the pool, and eating some chicken guys for dinner!
Vlog: we had some lost content here I'm in the process of recovering. I'll edit the link in after.

 

[WDW_Emily]

Day 5: A galaxy far far away

Today was the day friends! After months of reading how to get a rise boarding pass today was the day to put all that knowledge to the test. I woke up at 6:30am and quickly showered. Around 6:50 I left my room at the 90s section of pop and stood outside my door off the WiFi. This tip we actually got from a person on the bus the day before. I was greeted outside with many other hopefuls anxiously awaiting 7am. At 6:58 I opened my app and just kept refreshing the rise page until the join icon appeared. The next 10 seconds are a complete blur as families cheered around me. It took a second to click but then I saw this beautiful message.

We were in! And boarding group 5! Better wake the boyfriend up so we get there on time!

The weather today was calling for overcast and rain most of the day. We had two days planned for Hollywood Studios so what we did today was going to really be based around the weather. Also today was hotel switch day! So before we went to the parked we checked out of Pop Century and dropped our bags off to be brought over to Animal Kingdom Lodge Jambo House! The excitement of riding rise put some pep in our step because we were on the skyliner by 8am

We went right into galaxy's edge when we got there. The park was scheduled to open at 9 but at 8:35 we got the notification to head to our boarding group! We were one of the first day groups of the day and all I can say is wow! Being early and experiencing this attraction with only about 8 others around you is amazing! I didn't take any photos because I wanted to enjoy the ride since it was my first time on. Boyfriend and I both loved it! We were off the ride by 8:55 and ready for some breakfast!

These were amazing! Worth the hype for sure. The line for Mobile ordering was a little long but that's to be expected first thing in the morning at a breakfast place.

The sky was gloomy and drizzling every couple minutes. Because of this we decided to go to toy story mania next since if the storms decided to come when we were in line, we could still ride. The line started all the way back near the incredibles area where the old queue used to be but it never stopped moving the entire time.

This ended up being a great decision because not 5 minutes after we got in line the downpours started. We were mostly dry and about to be on our second ride of the day though! I ended up beating the boyfriend but he said it was due to my playing before and knowing secrets.

Although it was raining it was very muggy outside. We took a minute to refill our water bottles and then decided to attempt slinky dog. The line was posted at 75 minutes so this was very risky with the In and out storms. The line ended up only being about 40 minutes though and once we got on it was just a sprinkle.

By now it was around 11:30 and the line for Mickey and minnies was posted at 45 minutes. With a pretzel and popcorn in hand we got into the line. This line was the craziest maze I've ever seen. Kudos to the cast members who directed everyone on where to go and kept both the line and regular park traffic flowing. I somehow avoided all spoilers for this attraction for months so I was going in completely blind. Overall I thought it was cute. I still miss the great movie ride but I think the park in general is switching from a "behind the scenes of movies" to a "immersing you in the movie" which I'm not against.

 

[Courtney6682]

We were at Pop that week too! Did you get to see these guys while there?

 

[accord99cutie]

We were also there the same dates! (Well close, 15-24) so far we were both in MK at closing on the 17th! Going to have to watch the vlogs to look for us