Trip Report COMPLETE -- Elephants Have the Best Memory in the Jungle -- An October F&W Trip with a 50th Anniversary Chaser

BwlrBry212 · Dec 17, 2021

I have been terrible at updating this TR but hopefully I will be able to finish it over the holidays where I have some extra time off. My goal is to finish it before my next trip which my mom and I spontaneously booked on Wednesday. We are going to be back in the World in just over a month. We are going for a short Festival of the Arts trip 1/19-1/22 staying at All Stars Music. But until then...

DAY 3 -- OCTOBER 17TH

Since I have waited so long, a lot of the details of the day like which rides we went on and when are very foggy so I will do my best to fill in the details but this is likely to be picture heavy. It doesn't help that virtually none of my ride photos showed up (thanks Bob Paycheck!

) either.

I know that we took the ferry over to MK from the TTC because the monorail line was quite long. We made it over to the island and soon we were through the gates into MK in it's fall glory.

Of course I was obligated to take a pictures of Main Street and the castle.

I have to say that the new paint job on the castle is starting to grow on me, especially with all of the 50th Anniversary adornments completed.

Traditionally, we start our MK day in Tomorrowland so I am assuming that is the direction we headed once we got to the hub. Buzz is a favorite of ours so I know we went on that. My mom suffered from a case of "broken gun" on this ride but still managed to outscore the tweens in front of us that were really trying so she still considered that a victory.

We all majorly missed the Peoplemover during its extended closure so that was a priority of ours. Usually, while on the Peoplemover, we scope out the line for Space Mountain and try to decide if we want to wait. The line was outside of the building and snaking around out front so we knew we were going to pass on it for now. After our tour of Tomorrowland, we took in a showing of the longest running stage show in history...Carousel of Progress.

I do know that we mobile ordered breakfast sandwiches from Friar's Nook. I ordered for my mom and I and everything went through but then nothing showed on MDE under my orders. I placed the order again and got a message to see a CM. Ugh. The CM was very friendly and explained that they were having problems with mobile order that morning (thanks again, Paycheck) and she was able to mark that I was there and after a short wait our food was ready. The sandwich was nothing special but it filled a need.

We continued around the park. I am pretty sure we took a ride Under the Sea as we passed by. And, yes @Tuvalu I did wave at the happy couple.

Judging by the timestamps on my photos, we ran into a cavalcade on our way through Liberty Square.

Love seeing Max represented in the parks because A Goofy Movie is one of my all time faves!

Wait times were high all over the park today so I know that we skipped both mountains. We also passed on Pirates because the queue was outside of the building. We decided on Jungle Cruise which had a pretty high wait time posted but looked shorter than the posted time. It was definitely shorter than advertised but still a healthy wait.

Our skipper was a lot of fun and had some new jokes that I hadn't heard before. Every time we would pass an elephant she would tell us that elephants have the best memory in the jungle which inspired the title of this TR. For the rest of the trip, whenever someone would forget something, one of us would say "did you know elephants have the best memory in the jungle?"

By this point in the day we were over the high wait times (40 minutes for Pooh...really?!?). I know that we did some browsing in the Emporium checking out the 50th swag before making the journey back to the car and over to Epcot. We had an ADR at Ale and Compass for dinner in the evening so it made sense to end our day in Epcot.

BwlrBry212 · Dec 27, 2021

DAY 3 -- OCTOBER 17TH CONTINUED

We arrived at Epcot and had some time to kill before our ADR so we hit up some Future World rides. I know we did Soarin' and Figment. Possibly also Nemo and Spaceship Earth.

With some more time left to kill, we decided to grab an appetizer at one of the F&W booths on that side of the park. We settled on Lobster Landing.

I had the Baked Lobster Dip with Old Bay Chips and a Coronado Brewing Co. Salty Crew Blonde Ale.

Guys, this dip was sooooo darn tasty! I ended up grabbing a spoon to eat the rest after I ran out of chips. The beer paired nicely with the dip as well. Highly recommended!

We slowly walked towards World Showcase and leisurely strolled around towards the IG to make our way over to Ale and Compass for dinner.

A had really been wanting to try Ale and Compass for a while and we finally fit it into our plans. We checked in and were seated right away before our ADR time. I had a nice view of the open kitchen which I always enjoy.

A and I both went with the Maple Old Fashioned (Jim Beam Black Extra-aged Bourbon, Maple Syrup, Orange Juice, and Angostura Bitters).

This was a really tasty drink. The bourbon had a nice smokiness to it which really went well with the sweetness from the maple syrup. I would definitely order this drink again.

We debated getting the Parker House Rolls and Spreads as an appetizer but we couldn't justify paying $13 for bread service.

I ordered the Short Rib "French Dip" Flatbread -- Braised Short Rib, Marinara, Sweet Peppers, Cheddar, Herb Ranch, Arugula, Grilled Lemon Juice, Chili Flake, Au Jus for my meal.

This was good but didn't totally blow me away. The short rib was very tender but some of the flavors competed with each other. I am not a ranch on pizza fanatic so the marinara with the ranch wasn't my favorite combo and then adding the au jus to that mix was just plain weird. I ended up reserving the au jus to dip my crust into.

A got the New England Seafood Pot Pie -- Shrimp, Scallops, Jumbo Lump Crab, and Sustainable Catch of the Day with Baby Carrots, Pearl Onions, Peas, Potatoes, and Crustacean Cream with a Flaky Crust. This also looked pretty darn good and I had a bit of FOMO.

My mom ended up getting the 'Brick' Lemon-Herb Half Chicken -- Duck Fat-roasted Fingerling Potatoes, Broccolini, Sautéed Wild Mushroom, and Pan Jus. This looked good too but it was chicken which I eat all the time at home so I lacked the FOMO here.

We were too full for dessert so we settled up the bill and returned to Epcot. Overall, Ale and Compass was nice but it didn't become a must-do like Homecomin'.

We knew we would be seeing Bargemonious the next night with our dining package so we didn't plan on sticking around for it. We wandered around WS for a bit taking in the nighttime atmosphere. I said earlier that we did not have room for dessert at Ale and Compass but that didn't mean that sweets weren't in the cards.

We stopped in Germany and grabbed a beer flight from the F&W booth.

It included Gaffel Kölsch, Weihenstephaner Lager, and Schöfferhofer Wild Cherry Hefeweizen. The kolsch and the lager were pretty basic and good for what they were. The wild cherry was the stand out here and one that would be revisited later.

It isn't possible to linger that long in Germany and not be tempted by the sweet smells of caramel. I placed a mobile order for some treats to enjoy back in the room. I was torn between two options so there was only one logical conclusion...

Caramel-ly goodness in hand, we decided to call it a night since we would be back in the morning to try to ride the rat.

Enjoy a couple more nighttime pics from the way out.

Blurry but beautiful...

At least something remained from the BTB (Before the Barges) Era.

I did enjoy one of my treats when we got back to our room.

This was the Salted Pretzel Chocolate Chip Cookie. It looks better than it tasted sadly. The pretzel bits were not crunchy and sorta tasted like they were stale. Also, my one of my biggest food pet peeves is when something is advertised as "salted" I want to be able to taste the salt. /end rant

After a disappointing snack, it was time for bed. We had a breakfast ADR to get to and an early alarm to try to get a boarding group for the rat.

BwlrBry212 · Dec 31, 2021

DAY 4 -- OCTOBER 18TH

Since we did not have luck with timing on our arrival day, we switched our park reservation for today to Epcot so we could try to get a boarding group for Ratatouille. Then, because Epcot opens so late compared to the other parks we decided to make a breakfast ADR at Trattoria al Forno which was a new to us restaurant.

We parked at Boardwalk and walked over to the restaurant. We only waited about 5 minutes to be seated. I was torn between a few options on the menu but decided to go with something a little outside of the box for me. I am typically a scrambled eggs and bacon type guy for breakfast but I went with the Poached Eggs -- Fennel Sausage, Creamy Polenta, Pomodoro Sauce, Parmesan and Toasted Crostini.

This was really delicious. The eggs were perfectly cooked and had nice runny centers which made the polenta even more creamy. You can't really see them but there were huge chunks of sausage all throughout the dish that you could tell were more than just your basic breakfast sausage links. The crostini added a nice crunch to the meal and made it easy to soak up all the yolky goodness. I would definitely get this again.

A got the Tiramisu French Toast which he liked but said it could have used a little more of the cream. My mom got the Florentine Frittata which she liked but they did not mention that it came with a red pepper sauce which she had to scrape off before eating.

After eating, we sat outside for a little bit and soaked in the morning vibe of the Boardwalk before going back to the car. We moved the car into the Epcot lot and it was still before opening time so we stumbled into a rope drop. Side note, this was one of the days that we had our other hotel reservation that we booked but never stayed in to get our park reservations. We did not know that the Good Neighbor hotels near DS also qualified for early park entry so we wasted a few mornings where we could have taken advantage of this, including today.

My memories from this day are fuzzy at best. I think we did some Future World rides before we went back to France to wait for our boarding group to be called. We found a spot along the water to wait while we were entertained by a kid having a meltdown next to us because the entire family wasn't doing everything he wanted exactly when he wanted. I am pretty sure there was even a threat to drive said kid back home.

The estimated wait on our boarding group just stayed at 10 minutes for close to 20 minutes before we finally got called. We were all relieved to discover that the line that stretched down the path from New France to Old France was actually for the creperie and not the ride. We found the correct queue and probably had about another 20-30 minute wait until we got on the ride.

I wasn't blown away by the ride like I was for RoTR but it was entertaining. Not worth paying for Lightning Lane and I wouldn't wait more than 30 or so minutes for it if it ever gets a standby line. My mom had some trouble with her motion sickness on the ride and experienced half of it with her eyes closed. I did see someone suggest that if you are prone to motion sickness to take off the 3D glasses. She might give it another try doing that.

BwlrBry212 · Jan 8, 2022

I am trying to force myself to finish this TR before my next trip in less than two weeks. Wish me luck!

DAY 4 CONTINUED -- OCTOBER 18TH

After our ride on the Rat, we wanted to park hop but we still had some time to kill so when in Epcot what do you? Eat!

Our first stop was The Alps booth where I couldn't resist a dish that is essentially just melted cheese.

Warm Raclette Swiss Cheese with Alpine Ham, Baby Potatoes, Cornichons, and Baguette.

All week long, people would complain about the smell near this booth but I really though this was very tasty. I do like stinky cheeses so I guess I am a bit biased. I remember A had this last year and didn't really enjoy it because his cheese wasn't very melty but this one was perfectly hot and melty. This was practically a health food...lol. It was actually so greasy that you could almost see through the cardboard boat it was served in.

This was the closest gif I could find to what I always think of when food is so greasy it has that effect on paper. "Rub it against a piece of paper and if it turns clear it is your window to weight loss"

I know somewhere along the way I also grabbed a beer, looking at Untappd it appears that I got a Lord Hobo Boom Sauce from America. I have had this in the past and it is a solid IPA.

I think that we tried for a second time on this trip to catch the movie in China but both times that we went inside there was never anyone waiting in the lobby, anyone at the podium, or any time shown on the sign to the next showing. The app never showed that it wasn't running so I am not sure what the problem was. It became a running joke for the rest of the trip every time we walked past.

A forgot his sunglasses in the car and it was getting pretty bright out so my mom and I grabbed a table in The Epcot Experience and I had an order of wings and a beer while A ran back to the car to get his sunglasses.

This time I just got the regular Buffalo sauce. It had a nice heat but wasn't overpowering. It paired well with the Hazy State Session IPA from Collective Arts Brewing.

A met back up with us and it was time for us to park hop over to HS. We made our way out of the IG and got in line for a Friendship Boat. While we were waiting, one of the crew members was doing magic tricks for the family in the front of the line with a piece of rope. It was only a short wait and we were on our way to HS.

BwlrBry212 · Jan 8, 2022

DAY 4 CONTINUED -- OCTOBER 18TH

I honestly don't really remember what attractions we did while we were there. I do know from looking at my pictures that shortly after we got there that we did run into the Pixar Cavalcade.

I also know that A was hungry and I can always eat so we mobile ordered from Backlot Express. My mom and I split the Cuban sandwich and the Wookie Cookie. The Wookie Cookie was waaay bigger than I thought it was going to be from seeing pictures of it. The thing was enormous. It took up the whole plate! It was very good though and the cream filling wasn't as heavy as I was expecting.

I believe we also caught a Frozen Sing Along. I still love this show even without the legendary Ben. Our historians were very funny and threw in some topical pandemic jokes as well.

Eventually, we hopped on another Friendship Boat and went back to Epcot because tonight was the night we had our Harmonious Dinner Package at Rose and Crown. We went over about 15 minutes before our reservation hoping to be seated early like we had for most of our other ADRs so far. This would be no different and we were taking to a table right along the lagoon and knew we would have a pretty good view of the show. However, we were one of the last tables to be seated so we really dropped the ball and missed out on precious unlimited beer time!

We ordered our drinks, Guinness for me, Boddington's for A, and my mom got the Shandy which was Harp and Sprite (I believe) and we perused the menu. It's a prix fixe menu so you get a choice of appetizer, entrée, and then everyone got a dessert sampler.

A and I both got the Scotch Egg to start and my mom got the cheese plate. The Scotch Egg was really good but I wish there was more of the yummy mustard sauce it came with because it was a little dry without it. For the main course, my mom and I both got Fish and Chips. A got something different, maybe Shepherd's Pie? The portion for the Fish and Chips was massive. I had one piece of fish left and I think my mom only finished on piece of hers. Between the two of us, we probably had enough left for a whole portion. We got a box for it but it never got eaten. The dessert platter had small bites of Sticky Toffee Pudding, Strawberry Trifle, and Malted Milk Chocolate Mousse. The strawberry was the surprise favorite of the three. During the course of the meal I also enjoyed a Smithwick's and one of the blends that was half Guinness and half Boddington's. I am sorry that I don't have any pictures of the meal because it was so dark and I didn't want to use my flash and be "that person".

Our view of the show was much better than through the windows at La Hacienda the other night but we still couldn't see the middle ring. Being that close to the water for the show was a first and we were seated right next to one of the firework launch points which was fun. I don't loathe the show like most of the population. My favorite nighttime show will always be Fantasmic and I can't wait for its return. I would much rather hit some rides while everyone else is watching a show or leave the park to beat the mad rush to the bus or out of the parking lot.

The next day we would be headed to MK on the first day of Genie+. Would we be ILL?

BwlrBry212 · Jan 12, 2022

DAY 5 -- OCTOBER 19TH

Today was the day that Genie+ debuted and we would be heading to MK to see how it affected wait times first hand. We took the ferry again from the TTC to MK because the monorail line was crazy. We learned that there was a large group of people from Amway International in the park today which would complicate things later.

We got to the tapstiles just after park opening and as usual we went to Tomorrowland first. The line for Buzz was on the short side so we hopped in the queue behind a family with the Amway group. Shortly after that, they were joined by the other 5-6 people in their family that seemingly appeared out of nowhere. Whatever. Still a pet peeve of mine but not a huge deal in the long run. We got to the room where you get loaded onto your vehicles and the youngest in the group started freaking out and refusing to get on the ride. At this point, the rest of the family with the exception of mom were loaded on their vehicles and the little boy was still at the end of the walkway next to the moving sidewalk having a complete meltdown. So, instead of taking the boy out the exit, mom decides to get into the ride vehicle hoping the boy would chase after her. Didn't work. The CM handling the loading said in complete deadpan worthy of the Haunted Mansion, "Someone forgot something." It took all of my will power not to burst into laughter. They then had to stop the ride so one of the siblings (not mom) could get off the ride and take the boy out through the exit.

After this we moved on to our other Tomorrowland staples, Peoplemover and Carousel of Progress.

We did not get to ride HM the other day when we were in MK so we made a point of going there next. We entered the queue under the Standby sign and followed the path in front of us. CMs started scrambling around moving ropes behind us but we just continued on our path and somehow walked past the whole queue right up to the stretching room. Not sure how, but we accidently ended up in the Lightning Lane and skipped the whole wait. The CM at the tap point up front must have known that there was a problem with the ropes because he just waved us through. Not going to complain about free LL!

Next up, was The Happiest Cruise to Ever Set Sail.

I do have to say that the colorful façade is much better than the all white.

We had a lunch ADR at The Plaza coming up but my mom and I needed a little something in our stomachs before then so we made a pit stop to enjoy one of these tasty treats.

I don't remember what we did after this so I am just going to skip ahead to lunch.

We were seated shortly after checking in at The Plaza at a table near the windows. We made this ADR after the announcement of the Monte Cristo sandwich for the 50th. A and I both ordered this and my mom went with the classic club sandwich.

The sandwich tasted great but it was super greasy. Like, there was a puddle of grease left on my plate when I was done. This would be a problem later in the day.

After lunch, I know that we went on Big Thunder and Splash Mountain. We were going to complete the mountain trifecta and go to Space Mountain next but that grease in my belly was making me feel sick to my stomach so I thought that skipping Space would be in my best interest. The wait times were getting pretty high so we made our way to one last attraction that never has a wait, the steamboat.

This is such an underrated attraction and I hope it stays that way because it is so relaxing to just cruise around without being crammed onto a boat like trying to leave MK after fireworks.

We disembarked the boat and decided to head out of the park to one of our favorite places to chill out and relax for a while. We jumped on the resort monorail to the Poly to have some cocktails out on the terrace.

We stayed here for a while and had some cocktails and listened to the live music.

For the life of me I can't remember what we did after this and I have no more pictures from this day to help. I am pretty sure that we went back to Epcot and grazed through some F&W booths for dinner. I know that my stomach still didn't feel great so I didn't eat very much that night and nothing stands out from that night that blew me away so I am just going to skip to the next day.

BwlrBry212 · Jan 17, 2022

DAY 6 -- OCTOBER 20TH

Today was an AK day in the morning. We arrived a little after opening and went over to Dinosaur first because we missed it on our first day. We literally walked right on the ride. The only people in the entire loading room were A and I and another group of two. For some reason, the CM loaded us all into the same row and sent out our vehicle with no one else on it. I would show you the ride photo but it never showed up. Thanks Bob!

After this, we were going to do single rider line for Everest. But when we got there the wait was only posted at 5 minutes so we just went through the regular queue and walked right on. The wait time hadn't changed when we got off so we went right back on again. Of course, we took the opportunity to mock people who would be dumb enough to waste money and buy ILL for the ride when all you need to do is get there early and literally walk on.

Next up was the safari. This had a bit of a wait but nothing terrible. I only ended up taking one picture on the whole ride of one of the young giraffes.

My mom wanted to go to Rafiki's Planet Watch again in hopes of catching one of the vet procedures that typically happen earlier in the day. We boarded the Wildlife Express and made our way back there. Unfortunately, they were not doing any procedures that day. My mom can't pass up the petting zoo and I decided to join her this time. I am glad I did because it was very amusing.

They had some new baby goats that were just recently added to the Affection Section. One in particular was ridiculously cute and incredibly mischievous. We followed him around watching all the trouble he was getting into. He was so bad that he needed a constant CM escort with him. He had a habit of trying to eat the bottom of people's shorts. The CMs told everyone that if he starts to go for your shorts to just back away because they are trying to break him of this habit. There were a few times when he snuck up on unexpecting guests and nearly pants-ed a little girl and another woman. He also thought it was a great idea to chew on the ear of one of the pigs that was just laying there minding its own business.

After the goat hijinks, I snapped a pic of the komodo dragon that is outside of the petting zoo that is relatively hidden if you don't go looking for it.

Once we arrived back in AK proper, A and I took advantage of a relatively short wait time for FoP. My mom has retired this due to motion sickness so I suggested that instead of just waiting for us and doing nothing that she go and see the showing of Festival of the Lion King that was just about to start.

The line moved pretty steadily for FoP until we got into the last room past the lab before getting split up into different groups. We came to a stand still for a while and then when we got up to the CM, the family in front of us held things up even more because one of the kids was bailing and they couldn't decide who was going to take the kid out. Then, instead of having them move to the side and letting other people (mainly us) keep going, they waited for someone to take the kids outside to someone and then come all the back in. All in all, it still wasn't a terrible wait for one of the best rides ever.

The timing worked out well and we only waited about 5 minutes for the show to let out and meet back up with my mom. We had a little bit of time left so we walked some of the trails around the Tree of Life. One of the highlights was seeing some sleepy lemurs laying on the ground in the shade snoozing.

We made our way back to the car and over to Epcot next because we had our coveted Space 220 lunch ADR coming up and it was not one that we wanted to miss.

BwlrBry212 · Apr 21, 2022

So, I finally decided to revisit this TR and finish it. Since this trip, I have another trip under my belt and one more planned in a couple weeks so I should get my rear in gear...

DAY 6 -- OCTOBER 20TH CONTINUED
We left AK and headed over to Epcot for our lunch at Space 220. We checked in and shortly after we had our boarding pass for the space elevator. The "journey" to the restaurant was pretty cool. Be sure to look up and down on the way. Walking into the restaurant had a wow factor. Not quite RoTR wow factor, but a wow factor nonetheless.

We were seated at our table and here was our view...

When in space, one must order a space cocktail, right?

This is The Big Tang -- Avion Silver, Grand Marnier, Tang-Infused Agave Nectar, Grapefruit, Strawberry, Served with Astronaut Ice Cream. The astronaut ice cream worked surprisingly well with the rest of the drink. It was quite tasty.

The lunch menu is a two course prix fixe menu so you get to choose an appetizer and entrée. For my appetizer, I went with the Starry Calamari -- Fried Calamari, Italian Cherry Peppers, Spicy Marinara, Roasted Pepper Citrus Aioli.

The calamari was lightly fried and not chewy at all which can be a problem with calamari. Both dipping sauces were good compliments to the calamari. I did miss the tentacle parts of the calamari but I guess that is too adventurous for Disney diners.

For my main course, I got the Flat Iron Steak which is pretty self explanatory.

The steak was cooked well and the sauce was tasty but I felt like the dish was pretty basic for such a highly themed restaurant. I would have liked some exotic spices or something unique. Overall, the meal was good, not great and overpriced (shocker!). For $55, they could have sprung for some dessert at least.

I couldn't resist the urge to go to the bathroom in space and for the first time in my life, I took a picture in a public restroom.

That is the kind of thing that sets Disney apart from other places.

After paying our bill, our server offered to take our picture which was a nice touch.

We came back down to Earth and headed over to the new Club Cool to try out some of the new sodas from around the world.

Obviously, I skipped the Beverly and I also skipped the Russian Sprite Cucumber because I hate cucumber. I tried the rest of them. Most of them were pretty good except for one the literally tasted like carbonated BBQ sauce. I nearly spit it out and had to immediately drink another soda to get the taste out of my mouth. I won't spoil the fun and tell you which one it was though ::evil laugh::

A's aunt and uncle live pretty close to WDW and were in Epcot so we met up with them for a little bit to chat and then we moved on to our 3rd park of the day.

BwlrBry212 · Apr 22, 2022

DAY 6 -- OCTOBER 20TH

We arrived at MK and it is so nice to see the train station in all of it's un-skrimed glory!

Hopefully, it will be an operational train station soon!

Since, I am so far behind on completing this report I have no idea what we did at MK from the time we got there until we found spot in the crowds to watch Enchantment.

The castle looks beautiful but like most people I felt pretty meh about the show. We were never big fireworks people to begin with. Typically, we used that time to knock out rides with little to no wait. I didn't hate it either though. MK was open late that night so we stuck around to let the crowds file out. The only thing I remember doing after the show was getting ice cream. That might have been the only thing I had for dinner since we had such a big lunch.

This was the Showtime with Jose from Aloha Isle. It's mango and vanilla soft serve in a pineapple juice float. It was very tasty and refreshing. I do remember there being a super entitled person trying to create their own item by demanding parts of one thing with parts of another thing but without this. They were being pretty rude about it but I am sure in the end they probably got their way because unfortunately it is easier to give them what they want than to deal with the scene they wanted to create.

On the topic of entitled people, I do know that at some point in the evening we rode Pirates (not because our ride photo showed up, because why would that happen?) because there was a person arguing with the CM at the LL entrance about their LL not showing up or being for a different time or something. The wait time was posted at 15 minutes but the line was completely inside the building and you couldn't see anyone inside that first hallway either. We basically walked right on to a boat where I was tempted to wave to the person who was complaining who was still standing on the dock waiting after wasting all that time fighting with the CM instead of just getting in the non-existent line like we did...

BwlrBry212 · Apr 22, 2022

DAY 7 -- OCTOBER 21ST

I am relying on my pictures to be my memory here at this point. I know that we started our day in HS and that at some point we made it to Batuu and saw our buddy Chewbacca out and about.

I do remember that we decided to stop in at DS to do some shopping before park hopping. I stopped in at the pin store to pick up a pin for my coworker who is a big Disney fan. I also know that we went to World of Disney. I searched all over to find the 50th Anniversary polo shirt in my size but had no luck. I have been stalking it on the app ever since then and they still don't have it available in my size. They also did not have it when I went back in January. I'm not hopeful that they will have it when I go again in two weeks but I will check. I do know that I loved the mobile checkout option on the app to avoid the lines. I was even able to use my AP discount on there!

After shopping, we went to Epcot. As far as I can tell from my pictures, all we did in Epcot was eat because I only have food pics with the exception of one pic I took of the entrance.

Obligatory French slushie photo.

Warm Chocolate Pudding Cake with Irish Cream Liqueur Custard...yum!

Lobster Chowder with Bacon, Corn, Potatoes, and Oyster Crackers...also yum!

The S’mores Whoopie Pie-lon: Smoked Chocolate Cake, Graham Cracker, Marshmallow, Chocolate Ganache, and Candied Bacon...yum, but not as good as last year.

Moonshine Sour -- Ole Smoky blackberry moonshine, blood orange, blackberry, lemon

Next up, our last day...

erstwo · Apr 22, 2022

Enjoying the report! I love all your photos from Space 220 - I am really looking forward to eating there. I can't even remember all the details from my trip once I'm home less than a week, so I think you're doing a great job remembering all the way back to October!

BwlrBry212 · Apr 22, 2022

DAY 8 -- OCTOBER 22ND

The last day of a trip is always bittersweet. I'm sad because vacation is over but I'm also hot and exhausted.

We started our day off in MK. I don't remember exactly what rides we did but I do remember being shocked at how high some of the wait times were. I know that Pooh stuck out for me as having way too high of a wait time. I blame Genie+ for this. Since you can only get a LL once for a ride, it forces people to make reservations for rides that they wouldn't usually need a LL for which then drives up the standby times.

A and I had been making it a game to find all of the 50th Anniversary statues without looking up where they all were. We were down to one last statue and knew that it was in MK. Eventually, we looked up that it was Tinkerbell that we were missing but refused to look where it was located. We thought it might be over near Peter Pan's Flight, but it wasn't. We also looked by the castle near where Tink flies out during the fireworks. Also, no. We stopped at a stand next to the hub to get a Mickey pretzel for breakfast when I finally saw that darn pixie.

Wasn't expecting it to be actual size...

We had a lunch reservation at Steakhouse 71 so we made our way out of the park. Before we left some friends wanted to say goodbye to us.

We hopped on the monorail and made the short trip over to the Contemporary and then down to Steakhouse 71. I felt obligated to get steak while we were there so I got the Steak Frites.

The steak was cooked well and the chimichurri on top was very tasty. The fries were also very good. Nice and crispy.

After we ate we had some time to kill before we could park hop so we explored the Contemporary for a little bit.

We took the monorail again back to the TTC to get the car to hop over to Epcot one last time.

Our typical last day at Epcot is usually focused on getting all of the food from the festival that we didn't get yet.

I was in the mood for something sweet so I got the Candy Bar Donut.

This was definitely a sugar bomb and a knife and fork donut. It was good but it didn't blow me away.

I was still full from lunch but I found room for one last savory dish.

Chilaquiles con Chorizo: Crispy Corn Tortillas tossed in Salsa Verde and Monterey Jack Cheese topped with Crema Mexicana, Queso Cotija, Pickled Onions, and Ground Chorizo

This was not the most photogenic dish and it didn't help that I already took a bite out of it but this was very delicious. The Mexico booth is always a hit in my book.

We strolled around WS a little more before it was time for us to head to the airport and back to the real world. Unfortunately, my parting sight was the eyesores on the lagoon.

Spoiler Alert: They don't look any better in "fountain mode"

This (finally) concludes this trip report. I will try to write one for my mother/son trip to Festival of the Arts in January before heading back down to see the mouse 5/5-5/8.

MickeyCB · Apr 22, 2022

Thanks for sharing!

Loco_driver · Apr 23, 2022

BwlrBry212 said:
Spoiler Alert: They don't look any better in "fountain mode"

There’s just no way to hide that much ugly.

BwlrBry212 said:
This (finally) concludes this trip report.

Trip Report COMPLETE -- Elephants Have the Best Memory in the Jungle -- An October F&W Trip with a 50th Anniversary Chaser

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