Trip Report Chapter 13: Birthday Celebrations and First WDW July 4

Hello! I started chronicling past trips into one report and got through one trip so far. But rather than write entirely in order I'm going to write more contemporaneous while memories are still most fresh. And that leads us to today where I'll start getting into our July 4 birthday trip extravaganza.

When: June 30 to July 10

Who: The normal cast. Myself, my wife (M), son (H), and daughter (O). H had just turned 5 pre-trip and O would turn 8 on this trip.

Why: Three purposes from least important to most important: (1) attend Flower and Garden, (2) July 4 activites at Legoland and WDW, and (3) celebrate both kids. As you'll see, H's birthday celebration was more loose and not contained to one day like O's birthday.

We'd never celebrated July 4 at WDW so we read up on different activities and found that between the Polynesian resort activities and everything we wanted to do that we'd need to cut some stuff out.

We're also still Legoland AP holders after last year's Brick Friday sale. When I'm caught up with old trip report I'll have more on our Legoland decision there in Chapter 11 (December 2022). Pertinent to this trip we decided to take one day to check out Legoland's July 4 weekend activities.

Where:
Polynesian DVC standard studio, July 1-5
Beach Club Villas studio, July 5-10

My wife and I enjoy the EPCOT festivals and had not been to Flower and Garden this year. For those keenly aware of festival dates you'll notice that the last day of Flower and Garden was July 5, the day we checked into Beach Club. It was unfortunate planning that we had a lot of EPCOT things we wanted to do when at a MK resort and then the festival was over for most of our Beach Club stay. Alas, we did not consider F&G dates when booking in early Fall 2022. Instead we asked our daughter where she wanted to be for her birthday and, she chose Beach Club, and we workes backwards from there. No regrets though! Polynesian for the 4th is fantastic!

 

[Doberge]

Sunday, July 2, 2023

On Sunday morning M woke up first. She had asked the night before if I wanted anything from Captain Cooks for breakfast but I declined. Disney's quick service breakfast options are pretty uninspiring, in my opinion. I've had the flatbread and it's "just okay." I've had CC's tonga today and that's better but more sugar than I'm looking for in the morning. Still though, she picked up a few things for half and the kids. H had a biscuit and his usual half banana. O had scrambled eggs and bacon with a side of extra bacon.

After getting ourselves together we walked to the parking lot near Pago Pago and loaded up for Legoland. With Legoland annual passes we've tried to make the best use from them. We saw that they'd have July 4 festivities starting July 2. We knew We had more WDW plans on the third and fourth so today was the best day to make our way one hour south to Lakeland.

Because we had a late night and took our time in the morning it was already near 11am. Having skipped breakfast it was close enough to lunch so I routed us to the Portillo's conveniently on the way. I love Chicago so I've been to Portillo's a few times but it's been more 10 years. We pulled up around 11:15.

I'd be the only one eating so the family stayed in the car while I ordered to-go. I went for broke and ordered both a traditional Chicago dog and an Italian beef and sausage dog..... and a strawberry and lemon cake shake. All were pretty good and surprisingly I preferred the beef and sausage. The last one, more than 10 years ago, had been dry. This one was perfect. The shake was pretty unique with chunks of lemon cake, and it was favorite part of the meal. The hot dog was solid and better than Casey's.

From Portillo's it was time to drive of the way to Legoland.

 

[Doberge]

Sunday, July 2, 2023 continued

Neither M nor I ever went to Cypress Gardens when it existed before being acquired by Legoland years ago. One of the benefits of being an older park in Florida is that trees and foliage have had plenty of time to grow and provide plenty of shade. Walking around it's easy to see what's older (more shaded) and where expansion has occurred (Toy Story Land-esque openess without shade). Most of the parknis delightful to walk through on a hot summer day, at least compares to walking around open EPCOT, Hollywood Studios, and Magic Kingdom.

The first attraction everyone sees in the carousel. It's a double decker and seems to swallow crowds well, not that crowds are a problem that Legoland. Any waits we had during the day were entirely to slow loading than crowds. And that's not a criticism of the employees, they do great, it's just a function of the types of attractions.

The ride is a little short but the line is also pretty nonexistent so there's no real feeling of "I waited 20 minutes for that?" The kids really enjoyed it.

We have a route that next took us to the Duplo area for toddlers. There's a small splash pad and two short track rides. One is a tractor around a farm and the other is a train.

H did both rides. I did the train with H and O and M did the tractor with him. He's come far just doing these. He was pretty scared of them when we first visited in November 2022. He eventually warmed up to both, first to the tractor and then to the train. This was his second or third ride on each. It's great for him to try new things, something that his autism sometimes makes more difficult for him.

Legoland attractions have sensory ratings that are helpful for parents determine what rides are suitable for their kid. They're each attraction but here's a comprehensive document for viewing:

Legoland Sensory Guide

Off topic for now because we did not visit, but there's also a Peppa Pig part that's a separate admissions. It's super tame and also great for sensory kids.

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

Your order for the Chicago dog and the sausage sandwich is the same as my husbands. I usually get the Italian beef with sausage and cheese added. Overall Portillo's is a good solid choice for food.

 

[Back!Elbow!Shoulders!]

That’s so awesome that Legoland has those sensory ratings.

 

[Doberge]

Your order for the Chicago dog and the sausage sandwich is the same as my husbands. I usually get the Italian beef with sausage and cheese added. Overall Portillo's is a good solid choice for food.

I've been trying to go for a while and stuff kept getting in the way. I considered waiting until the evening but figured we'd be late, and sure enough by the time we'd drive by later that night Portillo's was closed. I thought the hot dog + sandwich was a tremendous amount of food so I finished neither. Difficult to choose one but forced i'd likely get the beef and sausage with cheese but then add peppers.

 

[Doberge]

That’s so awesome that Legoland has those sensory ratings.

Yes! With Peppa Pig part specifically Legoland partnered with the International Board of Credentialing and Continuing Education Standards (IBCCES) for an accreditation as a Certified Autism Center (CAC). I think it's the second park with such accreditation.

News Story Link

 

[Doberge]

Sunday, July 2, 2023 continued

After walking through the Duplo the next closest "land" is to the Lego Movie. O and M had walked ahead to the main attraction, Masters of Flight. I have some motion sickness issues and have skipped it but I hear it's very well done. It's like Soarin but you're on Emmet's triple decker couch going through scenes. I hear it's more immersive than Soarin and that's the part I'm more worried about for myself. H and I hung out outside and he went up and down a tall climbing and multiple slide... thing. It was brutal waiting for him. The land is Toy Story land uncovered and hot.

After O and M finished their ride we all went over to the character meet inside. Different characters rotate through and they met Emmet.

They were pretty excited having watched the movie for the first time on the drive to Orlando two days earlier.

There's a water attraction in the land, Battle of Bricksburg. It's built down into ground a bit so folks on the main pay of the land have cabins lcannons to shoot water at passengers, not unlike Kali River Rapids. No one was riding on out last trip in December but the kids first enjoyed shooting water at other guests.

We then decided to ride together as a family. The premise is that you're defending Bricksburg by shooting invading alien Duplo. Really cute ride and you get soaked. It's a good thing they make you leave your bag at the load/unload area. There were plenty of sprayers and at one point I think I took a hose of water straight to the face. Again, soaked.

We grabbed a quick bite to eat from Taco Tuesday, including tacos and churros. We thought it was better Pecos Bills and WDW churros. The churros specifically were freshly cooked, usually a WDW issue.

We next walked through the medieval section. M and H walked ahead to a ride for H so O and I rode the Dragon. It's an indoor outdoor steel coaster but the indoor part is a slow ride through the story, itself told by characters built from thousands of Lego bricks. I didn't get the story but the outdoor coaster part was fun. Intensity wise it falls between Barnstormer and Big Thunder but much closer to Barnstormer.

We walked ahead to catch H riding Royal Joust. There's no Disney comparison, but it's a great little ride for preschool kids to ride alone. I'll let the pictures do the talking.

After H finished we walked across the pathway to a playground, the Forestman's Hideout. Spots to climb, bridges, slides, multiple levels. I thought it looked fun. M got the kids some ice cream while I tried a July 4 hotdogs from nearby. It had pulled pork, coleslaw, and barbecue sauce and on top. I think it's on the regular menu but rebranded for the holiday. Not bad, but pretty heavy for the weather. Looking back I probably got it just to try a July 4 branded food.

Next up, we'd do a few more rides before fireworks.

 

[Doberge]

Sunday, July 1, 2023 continued

After some down time playing we briefly visited Mini Land. I'll go into it more whenever I get around to December 2022. H loves it but O was less interested so the visit was quick before we moved to the adventure area.

First up was Lost Kingdom Adventure. It's indoors so on past visits H declined because he was unsure about it. But this past Memorial Day we visited the Legoland Discovery Center with our AP and it had a shooting ride game that H eventually did. We were able to use that experience to get him on Lost Kingdom Adventure. The ride is pretty simple. You have a gun similar to Spaceranger Spin but instead of screens and mini games the vehicle moves through and you shoot light up targets to "hit" mummies and skeletons. It's fun and was a walk-on.

After the ride we briefly split up in the area. I brought H over to a small playground structure with two levels and plastic balls that could be vacuumed up yo second level and shot out from kids up there back down. I enjoyed a bench outside while M brought O over to Beetle Bounce. It's a pretty classic ride we've all seen that's a bench for a few kids and it goes up and randomly drops. Baby Tower of Terror?

This ride came with an unexpected twist! Namely, the kids ended up stuck on the ride. How? The ride operator works in that yellow building in the top photo, and the ride operator ended up getting stuck *in* the building. The door became jammed and parents and the operator couldn't open it. The operator had her radio and soon help was over. And by help it was a few people figuring out to prop the door to break it open. O and the kids handled it well, much better than I would have.

After that experience we split up again. I walked with O over to Coastersaurus, the parks wooded coaster. It's pretty straightforward with many small hills. I rode it once with O before letting her ride it alone. Procedurally, I walked up with her and then I walked straight over to the other side, pretty easy as the load and unload are the same. She loves being able to ride alone, something we don't let her do at Disney.

While we did Coastersaurus M brought H to Safari Trek. From the name you might guess that it'd a tracked Safari ride Lego animals, and if so you'd be correct!

They finished and grabbed a pretzel for a snack. Now about that pretzel... M was being friendly and asked the employee how her day was going and was told something along lines of "Not so good. I think I'm going to be fired at the end of the day today. My manager has it out for me. Would you like me to wear gloves to get that pretzel."



The pretzel was okay. Tasted like it had been out a while.

We then made out way over to the park corner of the park to check out the Njango attraction.

This is another ride that H had been afraid of in December. He had walked the whole queue before refusing to board. Its a long queue with plenty of signs like "90 minutes from here." Yikes! Thankfully it's a walk-on. This time brave H made it!

The ride is similar to Toy Story Mania in that both atop in front of screens and you shoot for points. On Njago you move your hands over a sensor. It doesn't work as well as the pull thing on Toy Story Mania. Overall it was fun despite not working great,I thought it was great for all four of us to do another attraction together.

 

[Doberge]

Sunday, July 2, 2023 continued. Again. I promise these days eventually end.

After Njago we started to feel a little time crunch. I believe it was after 5 and there was a new Pirate boat ride we had never done. There was other stuff we wanted to do but I talked the family into heading over to the boat ride. It'd be posting +45 minute waits all day and I didn't want to jump in line too late and mess up fireworks timing.

On the way we found this pirate chest. Ahoy! Alas, there be no treasure. It had been pillaged!

We made it to the Pirate River Quest and Harry was given a life vest because, yes, it's an actual boat on real water and not simply a track.

My goodness was this the most inefficient ride I've ever seen. Boats would come in and sit unused for a while, sometimes up to 10-15 minutes. They're real engines and maybe need to cool at times? I have no idea. We waited close to an hour. They initally split up our family to ride on the same boat but different rows but we worked it with dock to sit in consecutive rows. Apparently the boats are super sensitive because they give very specific instructions how to board, like big adults in the middle with a kid on one side, then next row adult in middle with kid on other side etc.

The ride itself is about 25 minutes and narrated by a recording, despite an actual boat pilot. I don't want to give away too much. It was really fun and we all really enjoyed it.

It ends up on the lake for the final part of the cruise. Pretty neat!

After the cruise we split ups again. I brought H to Lego City and M went with O for her to do the nearby Kid Power Tower. Power Tower you pull yourself up and then eventually drop down. And M and O got stuck. Again. I didn't get the full story, just more bad luck.

H and I got to Lego City for some other rides he likes. He first chose to do the Ford Jr. Driving School. It's a cute little car with one pedal, push down to go and off to stop much like Tomorrowland Speedway. BUT these cars are not on a guided track system and could be better controlled to weave around slow pokes.

Next, we jumped in line for Coast Guard Academy. It's a little boat that can be controlled and turned, etc. H loves it. Unfortunately when we got in line they had folks looking for something dropped in the water. I got the impression it was something like a cell phone or keys because it was a big enough deal to shut the ride down. They kicked everyone out of line.



We then jumped into Rescue Academy with no idea. It's a family ride.

This how the ride is supposed to go:


There is a two person pump and a switch that needs to be held down in direction you want to go. It's a *family* ride as in better with more two people. It was just H and I and he was not just helpful at his age. We made it all the way down, we put out the fire, and halfway back my body started to give out from pumping alone while needing to hold the switch to move back. The guy working jumped on with us and held down the switch for me do I *only* had to pump. It was fun but exhausting. Would love to do with whole family some time.

By this point M and O had been evacuated and had made their way over to Lego City. Unfortunately all the food locations had closed at 7 with an 8pm park closing. Thankfully we had some snacks in our bag because fireworks were not until 9:00. We had some time to kill so O and M did the Great Lego race. It looks nuts to me and it's not one I'm interested in. Super jerky turns remind me of Primeval Whirl, but then this had drops and fast parts.

At this point it was time to find a spot for the fireworks show on the lake.

 

[Doberge]

Sunday, July 2, 2023 continued
Legoland sits on the east side of Lake Eloise. The lake is just east ok Lakeland Florida and there are residential neighborhoods around the lake. I have no idea if July 2 fireworks are an annual thing or not, but there were plenty of people in boats on the lake waiting for the show.

Legoland uses the lake for some shows, like a daily water stunt show. We didn't make it on the day of our trip. They use two theaters with benches with a grass hill I'm between. Where I'm from I call it a levee. The bench spots filled up pretty quickly so we found a spot on the levee. There had been some DJs and dance parties in events leading up to the segments we caught, which ended up being an item hunt. For example, they'd ask if anyone has toothpaste on them and then give a reward. We got a few snacks they were selling. The kids shared a minutemaid lemon ice.

All guests were provided special viewing glasses for the show. Imagine Disney 3D glasses but cardboard single-use. The gimmick was that you'd see lego bricks in the sky during the fireworks show.

Legoland doesn't work on Disney time so the show started a few minutes after 9pm. The glasses shockingly worked and fireworks bursts were square. The best way to describe is to image a single light burst and instead of being round it's rectangular. I don't remember the music because it's now been three weeks and I didn't make notes, and the music was all pop and stuff I wouldn't recognize.

It wasn't particularly long but a good length, about 10 minutes. Overall it went really well and I think there were at most two burning spots on the lake. I called them pyres.

After the show we picked a few things out of the gift shop to wait on traffic exiting. After leaving we started to make our way back to Polynesian. We had made a Walmart pickup order for the way back but learned that pickup hours are shorter than store hours so we were unable to pick up and eventually had to cancel.

M and I had not really eaten dinner and were pretty hungry. We wouldn't make it. Ask before Disney quick and to go spots would close at 11, and we were too tired to schlep the kids to Disney Springs. Old late night spots like Flippers Pizza even close "early" now. The aforementioned Portillos? Closed. We found a place called Bahama Breeze that was open so we placed a to-go order to pickup on the way in. It's basically the Olive Garden of Caribbean food, think super corporate run spot with Pina coladas, coconut shrimp, jerk wings, etc. Unsurprisingly it *is* owned by Olive Garden. I think we ordered some coconut shrimp tacos, conch fritters (RIP Olivia's Cafe conch fritters, they're not shrimp fritters), and yuca fries. Our order was ready when we arrived and we eventually ate after getting back to our room at Polynesian and getting the kids in the shower.

It was a long day, maybe the longest or second longest on the trip. We're happy we did Legoland but we're excited to be at WDW the rest of the trip and checking out as many festivities as we could. We'd recommend the Legoland holiday activities as now both our holiday season and July.4 events had been fun. It's a lot more low key than Disney, and some times that's just what we need.

End Sunday, July 2

Up next: Resort time, MK Juky 4 things, and a very special fireworks viewing experience.

 

[Swissmiss]

Sounds like H has made some great progress with a willingness to sometimes venture outside of his comfort zone.

 

[Doberge]

Sounds like H has made some great progress with a willingness to sometimes venture outside of his comfort zone.

For sure! We've worked to encourage bravery while acknowledging and validating his feelings when scared and *not* forcing him to ride things he doesn't want to. There are still things like Pirates that he won't do (drop in the dark) but he really took some great steps this trip and surprised me with two other rides later on the trip.

Edit: I first said "forcing him to ride* when I meant *not*. We don't force anything, not even the time someone at Spaceship Earth asked if he wanted to see how the ride works. Adapted from Ghostbusters: "When someone asks if someone asks if you want to see how a ride works, you say YES!" I still think about that opportunity we turned down.

 

[Doberge]

Monday, July 3, 2023
We slept in and for a quick beakfast ate some muffins we had brought with us. Our loose plans for the day were pool time, a bit of Magic Kingdom, and then a fireworks cruise. We had a Wednesday O'Hanna breakfast scheduled but looked to move that to today. Around 10:45 the wait showed 10 minutes. I attempted to join the wait list but was told I was too far away. Honestly, that was frustrating because I think anyone at the resort should be considered close enough to join a wait list, so resort guests shouldn't have a problem trying to dine at their own resort.

Still, it didn't seem like a problem, we'd just walk over. However, once at the Great Ceremonial House the wait ballooned to 55 minutes. I spent a few minutes checking the app, saw a sooner time available but then app issues wouldn't let me book. The host stand was no help and said they couldn't do anything. I don't believe that buy I kept the opinion to myself.

We tried Kona but they were in a period between lunch and dinner and said to check back at 11:30 and that we should be able to be seated. Right at 11:30 we walked back and were quickly seated. We love Kona and were hoping enjoy one meal so it seemed all worked out.

M and I each ordered a lapu lapu before noon on a Monday. Vacation!

The meal was overall disappointing and not up to what were used to at Kona. We ordered glazed chicken wings, a rainbow roll, tuna poke, and the turkey bahn mi. The turkey bahn mi is my favorite sandwich at WDW but thus one didn't have enough bacon nor pate and it just come together. The rainbow roll was okay. We ordered that one to give O fish on top. She loves sashimi but doesn't want rice nor anything else in a roll. The poke bowl was very good, andnif choosing between a roll and a poke bowl I'd recommend the bowl. We've had the wings before but these were just sad litte quick service sized wings. Service was also slow. It was not a horrible meal, just disappointing because we usually rave about Kona and recommend it to others.

O was a bit snappy and rude throughout the meal. She seemed tired and we had a longer night ahead of us so I brought her to the room while H and M went to the pool. I quickly got O to take a nap, surpsingly so because she gave up naps years ago. Thankfully she got some rest. While she slept I called a local urgent care, AdventHealth because I was very slightly under the weather with a little ear pain and history of ear infections. With the following day being July 4 I found a center that would be oopen. I felt better knowing I had a plan. As it turned out, I was okay the next day. But for anyone that needs the info, AdventHealthnwas easy to work with and can arrange a ride from a resort to a center. There are also a couple of pharmacies that deliver to resorts if you do something like a telehealth visit.

After O woke up we got ready and joined M and O. M worked some magic and someone had found a table at the Lava Pool.

The pool was great, as usual. Lava Pool is still number one, in my opinion, for Disney kids splash pads. H doesnt do the splash pad tunnel slide but loves everything else.

The Lava Pool a very family friendly pool with great views, a great slide, and the ability to see your kids pretty easily. It does well the things I complain about Stormalong Bay (later in trip).

M had some friends that joined us and we had a great time. O got to do the slide s few more times and I got to enjoy some pool time with both kid together.

At one point out of the pool it looked like H had to potty. We didn't quite make it but the suit absorbed everything. I got him back to the room wrapped in a towel without incident. And I'll spare the rest of the details. M and O stayed behind with her friends a little longer before returning to the room. The kids had some quiet time and some of the treat box and M and I got everything ready for the rest of the day at Magic Kindgom and, later, Contemporary.

 

[Doberge]

Monday, July 3

We had a very short window to squeeze in some Magic Kingdom time. We walked over to TTC and looked over for a ferry. There's usually a ferry and indeed it was tucked away in the secondary spot but it couldn't be seen from near monorail. O quickly determined that it wasn't there and that we should take the monorail. We walked up and it looked packed so I asked to take the ferry. The rest of the family preferred to monorail. Now, it's not that I hate monorail, just that I don't like the Magic Kingdom monorail. I'm cleithrophonic and don't enjoy all the stops for "traffic clearance." In the last few years it was enough to give me a mild panic attack. But I love the EPCOT monorail because it doesn't stop until reaching your destination.

So I wall down to the ferry docks and, of course, watch it push off and leave. Another is coming in but I know it'll park for a bit to load. I found a spot on the left side upper deck, a rarity for me because I'm usually with the stroller on the lower deck. Saw this older sign about life vests:

M sent me this picture of the kids with H holding on to O as she tries to not smile too much enjoying being wanted.

The monorail stopped for a bit, because of course it does, so I didn't end up far behind. We caught Festival of Fantasy while walking in. It had been a while since catching it.

We started to figure out what to get for dinner. I've long loved Casey's but have been burned a few times more recently, but I so decided to get a classic foot long and the newish bbq pork fries. It's a pretty generous portion and could be a meal, so it's probably the best current "deal" at Magic Kingdom, even with the $1 price increase in the last few weeks. I also ordered a mint julep lemonade. That alone may be what keeps me returning to Casey's.

M and the kids walked ahead to Sleepy Hollow, the so often overlooked and called underrated, that maybe it's not now appropriately rated? O got her Nutella and fruit waffle and M got a corn dog. I'm now Team Corndog and think it's better than the classic Casey's hotdogs. There are some pretty neat looking hotdogs at Lunching Pad that I need to investigate before declaring a "best meat parts at MK" award.

We explained to the kids that we didn't have time for any more than one ride, so we made our one attraction Hall of Presidents. M and O had not been but I'd brought H once before and he liked it. Alas, despite being July 3 it didn't feel different than any other day. Although I'm unsure exactly what I hoped or expected.

It was getting closer to the time we needed to be at Contemporary so we made our way to the exit, but I wanted to find the kids something. I looked around quickly for July 4 snacks and read up on the Parks Blog but not much sounded really interesting. I popped into the Confectionary and considered the colored popcorn and then flavoring with chocolate candy bits, but the line was too long so I settled on a Krispie treat.

We next walked to Contemporary to meet up with Maegen's friend that invited us to join a fireworks cruise for "Celebrate America." We noticed that there plenty of rain clouds near so it was unsurprising that we were delayed boarding the boat.

To kill some time we got drinks at Steakhouse 71 Lounge. I ordered a "Last Concourse" that's gin, lemon juice, raspeberry, and sage. Pretty simple, UT absolutely terrible and not to my taste. Bitter and super medicinal tasting. Yuck.

I brought the kids outside to the Contemporary Mickey.

Kids love climbing this thing. I'm half surprised the pretty conservative Disney legal time hasn't personally cut it down, and I'm happy it still stands

We played a few of the games the rec team left out, and we watched CMs prep and load the boats.

 

[MinnieM123]

I brought the kids outside to the Contemporary Mickey.

Enjoying your TR! Always been a fan of the metal Mickey sculpture outside of the Contemporary. Not sure if it's been there since the hotel's opening (1971), but it's one of those WDW nostalgia pieces that always catches my attention.

 

[Tiki Traveler]

Thanks for including Lego Land! I have very vague memories of Cypress Gardens. Lego Land looks like great fun for young children!

 

[Doberge]

Thanks for including Lego Land! I have very vague memories of Cypress Gardens. Lego Land looks like great fun for young children!

Yes, it's amazing for little kids. We'll going to spend a night at the hotel this coming Tuesday so I'll have that and hopefully more photos in the next trip report.

You may remember there's a walking path through the actual gardens. It's still there and while I haven't done it my wife says it's an intense enough walk. And when we were in the boat ride line we waited with a guy who used to drive boats for Cypress Gardens (they're different boats now). But he was able to point out some stuff we wouldn't have otherwise noticed, like a pool at edge of lake that folks would swim to at night and skinny dip. It's still there but unused.

 

[Doberge]

Enjoying your TR! Always been a fan of the metal Mickey sculpture outside of the Contemporary. Not sure if it's been there since the hotel's opening (1971), but it's one of those WDW nostalgia pieces that always catches my attention.

Thanks! The sculpture is pretty awesome. We have photos from another year to compare to and hopefully it's one we can continue to remember to visit in the future. I think I have some older ones somewhere but all I could quickly find was December 2022, so not too long ago.