Trip Report Celebrate We Will (live-ish)

It's a Brifraz Trip Report! As if you need any other reason to celebrate than travelling to WDW with us, we've got a couple big deals around here. Our daughter just graduated from college!! She survived 4 years at an Ivy League school and has come out graduating with two degrees (engineering and music) and graduated with honors. There can't be more, can there? Yup, indeed there is. Last week was my last day as a full time high school teacher. I just retired from teaching music in public schools after 31 years!! That's got to be enough, right? Well, I hope so because that's all we've got. And we are definitely ready to celebrate (in fact, we may have started celebrating this past weekend as Father's Day and college Graduation coincided).

A college graduation trip to WDW has long been in the plans for us. After our daughter did her summer CP last year, we weren't sure if it was going to survive - 3 months of parking cars at Epcot certainly could've soured her on the idea. But, she was brave and strong and definitely still wanted a graduation trip. Some time over the past few months, talk of adding her boyfriend into the mix started, so he will be joining us for most of the adventure. And then, in March, I finally decided to hang up the old baton (I don't actually use a baton when I conduct, but the premise is accurate) and stop spending 6 hours a day standing in front of 40+ kids at a time trying to get them to make music. So, we've got a lot to celebrate. And, celebrate we will (because life is short and sweet for certain). In fact, there are more 'splurges' in this trip than any other, because these are big things that only happen once. So, we are celebrating them with things we definitely can only afford to do once!

What do the next 10ish days have in store for you, intrepid reader? Well, here's the teaser... Epic Universe, a crazy double Early Entry morning, Amorette's Cake decorating, Atlantic Dance Hall (yes, it really is still open), Trader Sam's (assuming we can get in), a Monorail Crawl, and the biggest adventure of them all... a VIP tour.

We also will be doing quite a bit of our touring with another family that we are friends with from up here at home and the aforementioned boyfriend will be joining for 7 of our 9 days of fun. It's going to be a great time, but first we will of course have to deal with the 15 hour drive coming up this Thursday starting at about 4am. See you later, friends.

 

[brifraz]

Caught a Lyft back from GF to the Boardwalk at about 9:30pm. Time to get some sleep before an early Animal Kingdom morning and then VIP tour!!!

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

Ours was a blast. Hope you had fun as well!! Don’t be afraid to stop me if you see me. Any Disney friend is worth stopping for!!

I wish I would have stopped but it was pretty busy in the hallway and to be honest it recognition factor kicked just as we passed. And we had a lot of fun our lounge tour.

 

[riverside]

This morning, everybody slept in and then grabbed some breakfast followed by relaxing at the Luna Park pool. Not much in the way of pictures except some drinks we had. View attachment 867053

And now, we are preparing ourselves for a fun little monorail crawl with dinner at Kona. I’ll try to be better with live updates!!

The one on the right(Spicy Watermelon Spritz-I think that’s what it’s called) is excellent!! I may have had a few of them there earlier this month!!

 

[brifraz]

There’s a reason we drive to all the parks except MK most days. Up at the bus stop at 7:25 with next Animal Kingdom bus showing at 7:31. MK bus just leaving. AK bus time moves to 7:33, then 7:38. MK bus arrives at 7:35. AK bus now showing 7:46. Grrrr.

 

[k8einwdw]

There’s a reason we drive to all the parks except MK most days. Up at the bus stop at 7:25 with next Animal Kingdom bus showing at 7:31. MK bus just leaving. AK bus time moves to 7:33, then 7:38. MK bus arrives at 7:35. AK bus now showing 7:46. Grrrr.

Same here. It’s so nice to be able to leave when you want to leave, and not be waiting 20+ minutes for a bus.

 

[brifraz]

You know, I’ve stopped by here maybe a hundred times to try to book a safari.

 

[brifraz]

Sorry for the delay in getting the last day and our departure day posted for you! It was a crazy busy day with the VIP tour (which was awesome). Then yesterday, after a nice brunch at Olivia's, we spent 15+ hours in the car and got home at 3am, so no posting was happening. Today was unpacking and getting our house back in order. I promise that I'll try to get the full tale of the day posted for you all tomorrow!!

 

[brifraz]

Okay, didn't manage to get this done yesterday, but here we go! First off, an apology. I don't really have any pictures from Friday. The combination of it being a very go-go-go-go-go day and then the rain that was a part of the action for much of the afternoon, we just didn't do much in terms of photo documentation. In fact, the only times that I really thought about taking pictures was when we were backstage and not allowed to!!

We started with an early morning in Animal Kingdom to hit some favorites before the VIP tour. We didn't quite get in at rope drop, but somewhat soon after and headed directly to Everest. This is a favorite of my wife and daughter - in the past, they did a quest to ride on each row of the train. They weren't going to go that far on this morning, but they did get in a couple of rides. I rode it once with the them, but then let them enjoy the second ride on their own.

Next up, it was over to Africa for a ride on the Safari. The line had already started to grow quickly and we spent about 30 minutes in line for this one, but it was definitely worth it. Our guide was great - very entertaining and willing to go a little off the usual script notes at times. There were multiple giraffes hanging out all over, at times walking in front of our truck and causing a giraffic jam (sorry, not the Jungle Cruise, my mistake). The lions were also out and somewhat active with one of the lionesses jumping off the highest rock as we drove by.

We then walked back to Asia to hang out with our favorite animals, the tigers on the Maharaja Jungle Trek. And, they put on an incredible show. Bakso was out with his mother and trying very hard to get her to play. Eventually, she relented and they play fought, chased each other around, and pawed at each other. While again, I apologize for not having pictures, @MeffysMom did get some video!!



We literally got about 10-15 minutes of that kind of playtime. It was awesome. After that, we headed out of the park to get some breakfast/lunch... something like that. It wasn't a long trip as we were just heading to Animal Kingdom Lodge for the buffet at Boma. And it was awesome. Pretty certain this is the first time we've done the breakfast there and it was definitely worth it. Really an excellent breakfast. We had initially booked Tusker House and were VERY glad that we changed it - cheaper, more food options, and higher quality in our opinion. Very full of delicious food, we headed back in to Animal Kingdom to meet up with our VIP guide at 2pm.

Initially, we were set to meet up at the park entrance, but he messaged us asking if there might be a better spot in terms of our plan of attractions for the day, so we ended up meeting right next to Satu'li canteen at about 1:45pm. Next up... the tour (maybe even later today if I can)!

 

[Zipadeelady]

What!!... You left us hanging at the VIP tour. That was mean.

 

[brifraz]

VIP Tour Time!! Our group of four was sharing the tour with a family of three that lives relatively near us at home and we have been friends with since @MeffysMom and the mother in this family met at a Moms Panel hopefuls event about 10 years ago.

Met our guide, Cameron, at 1:45pm. We pretty quickly headed into Flight of Passage. As with the majority of the attractions we are about to enjoy, we entered through the Lightning Lane line. Not much wait at all and we were flying above Pandora on our Ikran and shouting Sivako! when we exited the ride, Cameron had some of the frozen Night Blossom drinks as well as Smart Waters for all of us. Most welcome to cool off and energize up for the day. We headed out of Pandora via the backstage exit between the River ride and the Pandora entrance area. Hopped into the van and were off to Hollywood Studios.

Of note... our van was pretty much brand new. In fact, Cameron let us know that they had just bought it in the previous week for the Board of Directors meeting that was happening at the Boardwalk resort. Thus confirming my Josh D'Amaro and Jeff Vahle sighting from earlier.

We got to Studios at about 2:40pm and there was a welcome committee of CP cast members with more waters and snacks for us. We then headed into the park and Cameron left us at Rockin' Roller Coaster and took the rest of our crew to Mickey Minnie's Runaway Railroad (they aren't big thrill ride folks). He came back to pick us up and then we all met and did MMRR all together - this time through the exit doors and straight into the pre-show.

Our next stop was pretty much the only disappointment of the day. We headed to the Millenium Falcon with the goal of doing Chewie mode since we had 6 of us riding together. While waiting in the LL queue, we went over the process, but were hopeful that the cast member would assist - supposedly, they always do help. Well, our CM definitely did not help. When we asked about it, he just said 'if you know how to do it, good luck' and then started the ride before we even had a chance to do the sequence of buttons needed to get Chewie. The ride was still fun, but a bit bummed that we not only didn't get Chewie mode, but were actively prevented from getting it by the CM.

We then headed into Toy Story Land to ride Slinky and Toy Story Midway Mania. Sadly, as we approached, the weather in the area evidently hit the needed concern level for Slinky to go 101. So, we just went on Midway Mania and then dodged the first few raindrops to head to Tower of Terror. Once again, it was just the four of us on the attraction while the rest of the crew waited at the exit. It was about 4:50pm when we finished up in Hollywood Studios. Next stop is Epcot!

 

[brifraz]

We got into Epcot right about 5pm. Still a light drizzle, but not enough for us to poncho up. We parked behind Test Track and immediately headed to Guardians. Went in through the Lightning Lane. Nice tidbit from our guide... waiting in the pre-show room and not getting stuck in the corral narrowing only causes you to wait approximately 2-3 additional minutes. Might be worth it just to not have to deal with all that pushing and shoving!! We got Disco Inferno on our ride - first time I've had that one. Then everyone except me went on a second ride (just can't deal with that much spinning around) and got XXXXXXXXXXX while I went to Connections and got a Mango Mai Tai for our trio to share while Cameron went and picked up some pretzels and cheese for everyone. He and I met back up at the Guardians exit and I enjoyed my pretzel while we waited for everyone else. Once they came out, everyone enjoyed pretzels and we shared our Mai Tai and then back to the van to head to the back of Epcot.

We re-entered Epcot by the American Experience bathrooms and headed to France for a ride with Remy. Again, just in through the Lightning Lane and onto the ride pretty quickly. Cameron did mention that Epcot is often a tough one for VIP tours because most of the attractions take longer to get through with pre-shows or just long attractions or lack of reliability. We wrapped up our three rides snacktime at right about 7pm and were off to the Magic Kingdom.

Pulled in to park behind the Tomorrowland Terrace at about 7:15pm. So, we had less than two hours in MK before our carriage (or tour guide) turned back into a pumpkin (or started costing more for going beyond our planned 7 hours). First up was Tron via the Lightning Lane - but, with the perk of having our guide hold onto all our bags and stuff so we didn't have to stop at the lockers. It was one of the other family members first time on it and he was very tentative about it before riding and then ecstatic about it after riding. It's a really great thrill ride, but just a bit short in my opinion. Next up was Seven Dwarfs, again via the Lightning Lane, which we all enjoyed as usual. For perhaps the first time for me, we did not have to wait next to the cottage at the end, just a slow ride back into the load/unload area.

We debated splitting up again and trying to squeeze in three more attractions, but decided to stick together and hit Haunted Mansion next. For this one, you get to enter right at the Doom Buggy loading area - they even hold up line for you to get in. Every visit to the mansion is a good one and we enjoyed ours. Next up was our last attraction of the tour, Tiana's Bayou Adventure. Had a great ride, I finally got to see Tiana in the big party scene in full movement (my only other time since the retheme, she was stationary), and we barely got wet at all - success all around. After that, we headed back toward the hub to get into the VIP seating area for fireworks. Cameron grabbed us Mickey bars and ice cream sandwiches as his farewell to us.

For the fireworks, we got to sit and enjoy having a decent bit of space for the show and enjoyed the fact that the rain had finally all stopped. It was very nice not to have to be standing or to be elbow to elbow with other folks.

So, for us, the VIP tour was a really enjoyable day. We did some math and if you have a larger group (over 6 people) and are considering doing a LOT of attractions, the cost for a 7 hour tour actually ends up less than buying all the Lightning Lanes and snacks/water. It's not quite a bargain, but does save a few bucks. Not sure how often we would be considering hitting all four parks and doing the most major headliners in each park, but if we do, we will certainly think about doing a VIP tour again. The big bonus, of course, is having the guide who gives you insight into all types of things as the day goes on!

 

[cgersic]

The tour sounds like an absolute blast! It's on my bucket list for when I win the lottery.

 

[brifraz]

The tour sounds like an absolute blast! It's on my bucket list for when I win the lottery.

Definitely a splurge for us (almost everything on this trip was a splurge), but you only graduate from college once (well at least Bachelors... although she got two degrees...) and you only retire from 31 years of teaching once (yeah, no way anybody is teaching for 62 years).

Cost for us (cost is dependent on date) was $560 per hour. The actual rate for Friday was $700 per hour, but we booked Friday's date because DVC was doing 20% off. So, with 7 of us and a 7 hour tour, it was $560 per person.

Tough to make actual cost comparisons. We didn't have to schedule anything and could change plans on the fly, so the Lightning Lane Premier Pass is a possible comparison - but those are only for single park and range from $150-$400 per park per day. The regular Lightning Lane Multi Pass is in the $20 range for most parks, but lacks the freedom we had. Then the four Individual LL attractions tend to be about $20 each. So, the equivalent of what we did vs the different LL options combined is somewhere between normal LL and individuals at about $160 total and a premier pass at each park for about $1000 total. Gotta figure a tour guide is going to be somewhere around $50 an hour for 7 hours, but that's obviously going to be shared cost. How do we equate all of that to the $560 per person that we spent?? I'm not entirely sure, but by my figuring, I think we got pretty decent value. Plus we got about $50 worth of snacks/drinks/smart waters.

Normally we would never spend that much in a day for attractions, but for a splurge and stress free fun, it was worth it for us. Now, I just gotta hope that I find some good retirement work to make a few bucks to cover it!

 

[Tiki Traveler]

Thanks for sharing! Congratulations to you and your family!

 

[brifraz]

So, here's some summary thoughts now a week beyond the trip...

Toothsome's - continues to be one of our family's favorite places to eat at any park (or park adjacent area). Drinks and food are consistently done very well in our opinion.

Epic Universe - Really cool attractions. Not enough there to spread out the crowds terribly well and not enough indoor attractions when the inevitable Florida storms hit. A few omnimover type indoor attractions that have high capacity and are good for younger kids would help immensely. Also, better signage. I know that most people are glued to their cell phone screens and finding their way around that way, but as someone who isn't, I'd love a few more arrows pointing the way to attractions.

Epic Universe food - hands down some of the best quick service experiences we've had in central Florida. Both in terms of service and quality of food. Of all the things at Epic, it's the food that I'd like more time with. Maybe for someone like me, there's the possibility (at Universal or Disney parks) of a no-thrills ticket that includes shows, characters, and admission, but no thrill rides - for a reduced rate, of course? Man, I'd love that.

Geo-82 - great space, very interesting high end drinks. Drink menu needs more variety and food menu could use some expansion. It certainly isn't catering to the masses, but I don't think it needs to be - there's more than enough other places in Epcot that do that! But, one or two more drinks and food options and I think it'll be a great spot.

Space 220 - great food, but price tag is just more than it really needs to be. Especially if you get a table like ours was in a less than prime place. The lounge is a much better option, but very tough to get, so...

Atlantic Dance Hall - why aren't more people going here? Disney needs the kids clubs back at the resorts so parents can go have some adult time fun!! Crossing fingers it doesn't close. It was nice to see more entertainment and people out and about on the Boardwalk as a whole, but not a ton of foot traffic down that end with Jellyrolls and Big River both gone.

Little Mermaid Redux - meh. Not terribly worth it IMHO.

Villains Show - much better and fun that it has audience participation and could be different for multiple visits. Although, this guy is hoping it gets replace by a restored MuppetVision.

Wailulu Bar and Grill - great addition in terms of location and drinks. Can't wait to get back and try the food.

Celebration at the Top: Sip, Savor, and Sparkle - needs more availability!! We definitely would've done this instead of the monorail crawl that we created and reviews only increase our desire to try this as a future splurge activity. Speaking of monorail crawling... wish that the Highway in the Sky Dine Around would make a comeback. Our recreation was fine, but the original was really enjoyable.

VIP Tour - if you want to do as many attractions as possible and have a big group to share the cost, this can really be a great thing to do. In general, it's likely best left to those who want a big special one-time splurge or those who have won the lottery.

We had a really excellent trip doing quite a few things we will likely not do again or not again for a while.

On some personal notes... water heater caused far more damage to our basement flooring than we had realized - it is currently all getting replaced (which isn't cheap after a pricey Disney trip). Signed a contract this morning for a part time (one day a week) college teaching job at a local school - looking forward to working with the big kids and on a more limited basis.

 

[rshell68]

Atlantic Dance Hall - why aren't more people going here?

I honestly thought it was closed. We've gone twice and really REALLY enjoyed our visits.

Congrats on your retirement (well looks like semi now) and daughters' graduation!! I know you won't miss them, but I will miss your band trip reports.

 

[Wicked Sisters]

We think your idea of an admission ticket excluding big thrill rides is a great idea since we have realised we just cannot ride them anymore. Thanks for a great trip report. Enjoy your one day a week teaching.

 

[Songbird76]

We got into Epcot right about 5pm. Still a light drizzle, but not enough for us to poncho up. We parked behind Test Track and immediately headed to Guardians. Went in through the Lightning Lane. Nice tidbit from our guide... waiting in the pre-show room and not getting stuck in the corral narrowing only causes you to wait approximately 2-3 additional minutes. Might be worth it just to not have to deal with all that pushing and shoving!! We got Disco Inferno on our ride - first time I've had that one. Then everyone except me went on a second ride (just can't deal with that much spinning around) and got XXXXXXXXXXX while I went to Connections and got a Mango Mai Tai for our trio to share while Cameron went and picked up some pretzels and cheese for everyone. He and I met back up at the Guardians exit and I enjoyed my pretzel while we waited for everyone else. Once they came out, everyone enjoyed pretzels and we shared our Mai Tai and then back to the van to head to the back of Epcot.

We re-entered Epcot by the American Experience bathrooms and headed to France for a ride with Remy. Again, just in through the Lightning Lane and onto the ride pretty quickly. Cameron did mention that Epcot is often a tough one for VIP tours because most of the attractions take longer to get through with pre-shows or just long attractions or lack of reliability. We wrapped up our three rides snacktime at right about 7pm and were off to the Magic Kingdom.

Pulled in to park behind the Tomorrowland Terrace at about 7:15pm. So, we had less than two hours in MK before our carriage (or tour guide) turned back into a pumpkin (or started costing more for going beyond our planned 7 hours). First up was Tron via the Lightning Lane - but, with the perk of having our guide hold onto all our bags and stuff so we didn't have to stop at the lockers. It was one of the other family members first time on it and he was very tentative about it before riding and then ecstatic about it after riding. It's a really great thrill ride, but just a bit short in my opinion. Next up was Seven Dwarfs, again via the Lightning Lane, which we all enjoyed as usual. For perhaps the first time for me, we did not have to wait next to the cottage at the end, just a slow ride back into the load/unload area.

We debated splitting up again and trying to squeeze in three more attractions, but decided to stick together and hit Haunted Mansion next. For this one, you get to enter right at the Doom Buggy loading area - they even hold up line for you to get in. Every visit to the mansion is a good one and we enjoyed ours. Next up was our last attraction of the tour, Tiana's Bayou Adventure. Had a great ride, I finally got to see Tiana in the big party scene in full movement (my only other time since the retheme, she was stationary), and we barely got wet at all - success all around. After that, we headed back toward the hub to get into the VIP seating area for fireworks. Cameron grabbed us Mickey bars and ice cream sandwiches as his farewell to us.

For the fireworks, we got to sit and enjoy having a decent bit of space for the show and enjoyed the fact that the rain had finally all stopped. It was very nice not to have to be standing or to be elbow to elbow with other folks.

So, for us, the VIP tour was a really enjoyable day. We did some math and if you have a larger group (over 6 people) and are considering doing a LOT of attractions, the cost for a 7 hour tour actually ends up less than buying all the Lightning Lanes and snacks/water. It's not quite a bargain, but does save a few bucks. Not sure how often we would be considering hitting all four parks and doing the most major headliners in each park, but if we do, we will certainly think about doing a VIP tour again. The big bonus, of course, is having the guide who gives you insight into all types of things as the day goes on!

Did you get to pick the rides you wanted to go on or is it a set itinerary of the most popular attractions in each park?

 

[brifraz]

Did you get to pick the rides you wanted to go on or is it a set itinerary of the most popular attractions in each park?

You have 100% control over what you do. We had a plan already to go, but the guides will help you make choices if you want. For example, they recommend against Rise of the Resistance because the attraction takes so long to get through even with skipping the main line - during one time through the Rise you could do 3 other attractions in Studios. But many people choose to do it to avoid the line. Same thing with the Safari in Africa. Some people also (and I have no idea why they might) make ADRs during a VIP tour and lose touring time to eat a sit down meal. I can't even begin to fathom that! Although I enjoyed the time sitting and talking with the guide, I wouldn't want them sitting with me while I ate. You can, however (we didn't) do mobile ordering from a counter service and the guide will go pick it up while you are doing an attraction if you want.

While we did quite a few attractions, it would certainly be possible to squeeze even more into a seven hour tour. We chose to do all four parks, but could definitely have cut out a park and used some of the travel time for more attractions.

 

[brifraz]

We think your idea of an admission ticket excluding big thrill rides is a great idea since we have realised we just cannot ride them anymore. Thanks for a great trip report. Enjoy your one day a week teaching.

I think the issue would be that something like that would require that admission media is being checked in every attraction line and odds are that kind of thing will not happen.

But, if it would... a no-thrills AP for 2/3 of the usual cost of an AP I think would get a pretty large number of local older generation folks who currently don't purchase a pass to buy one. Question they would have to figure out is how many people currently buy an AP but then don't do any thrill rides. So, how may people would only be paying a new lower price vs how many new people would buy the pass and would they make money - since that's kinda their gig.