Trip Report I Will Survive.....Spring Break (with a hint of May) *COMPLETED*

At first I was afraid, I was petrified
Kept thinking I could never live among the Spring Break crowds
But then I spent so many nights thinking how I could be wrong
And I grew strong
And I knew I could get along....

Well that’s what I’m hoping for anyway. I’m not a newbie when it comes to navigating Spring Break at WDW. I’ve got a couple decades of experience under my belt. “Spring Break” isn’t a single week of cray cray crowds (like the week between Christmas and New Years) but is spread over March and April. Unfortunately one (or more) of those weeks can end up being cray cray....and these days, there is no way to predict which one.

Please don’t let it be this week.

But we are prepared. ADRs at 180 days. FPs at 60 days. Clothing for rain or shine. (Praying for shine ~ we’ve had enough rain over the last 4 months to set an ark afloat.) And attitudes willing to “go with the flow.”

My goal is to keep the updates live. Should I fail? There’s always Part “Tu”.

Who: Tuvalu, Woody and Em (the teacher whose schedule dictates when we go)
When: Sunday, March 31 - Sunday, April 7, 2019
Where: Port Orleans French Quarter
Why: Let’s hope we don’t ask ourselves this!
How: We’ve done the plane, can’t take the train....so it must be the automobile!

Will we be smiling at the end of the week? Stay tuned.

And if you don’t hang around for the smiles, you may want to peek in and see if there are any WDWMagic meet ups. I know of at least three forum friends I hope to encounter.

Now it’s off to bed! The alarm is set for zero-dark-thirty.

 

[Songbird76]

His part was to simply sing the word "You" whenever the Dapper Dans paused. He was given specific instructions before the song began. It was harmless!


We got there between 6-6:30 pm and left around 8:45 pm. We've been during the afternoon and have found crowds to be about the same.....packed and noisy and blech. Can't speak for mornings because we would never give up a morning at the parks (or at the pool) to go there. Unless we have a hankering for a certain restaurant, DS is usually a skip for us.

Wow....even my husband couldn't mess that up much....that's some good planning!

Good to know. We do have a couple of ADRs in DS, and we'll have gift cards to pick up again, so we will have to go there, but it may be a short venture. Thanks for the advice!

 

[Songbird76]

Day Three

If you picture the perfect Spring Break day in Florida ~ sunny, warm, slight tropical breeze ~ today was NOT that day. Cloudy, cool, windy ~ followed by rain ~ is never pictured in tourism brochures! Thankfully we’d packed proper attire to keep us comfortable in less-than-ideal conditions.

After breakfast in a very busy food court, we set out for Disney’s Hollywood Studios. We intentionally chose to take a bus (rather than drive) in order to check out the new bus depot. The area is a huge improvement. All the bus stops are now covered for protection from the elements and a restroom is conveniently nearby. There were extra security screeners at the entrance, making park entry a breeze.

Visited Andy’s backyard first.

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I just love all the bold primary colors used throughout the Land.

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Em tried to take a candid shot of me but I was quick to pose!
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We used our FP for Saucers but had no interest in waiting 90 minutes for Slinky Dog....especially with a threat of rain. I imagine there were a lot of unhappy line dwellers later when the rain started and the ride shut down.

I waited while Woody and Em fastpassed Rock ‘n Rollercoaster. As soon as they exited, the rain began. We popped open our umbrellas and went to check out Lightning McQueen’s Racing Academy.

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This short show packs a lot in ~ trivia questions for the audience, a song from Mater, Lightning’s backstory and simulator training for a big race. The animatronic Lightning is quite impressive.

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We treated ourselves to a deep dish chocolate chip cookie before lunching at ABC Commissary (not our first choice, but the only option with indoor seating to get out of the rain.) Did Muppets next and as we left the theater we overhead a conversation between a little boy and his father.

Boy: “Where are we going to eat, Daddy?”
Father: “The Brown Derby. It’s a nice place where you can get some vegetables.”

Yup, I’m sure the lad could hardly contain his excitement knowing he was about to eat some vegetables in a nice restaurant!

We walked over to Sunset Blvd. Had we been able to ride Tower of Terror during our original FP time....before lunch.....I would have joined Woody and Em on that elevator. But I was starting to feel a bit “off” and passed. We returned to POFQ for rest (and Em’s interviews) but instead of “resting” I was busily trip reporting and tending to other things. Had I napped, I may have felt well enough to join Woody and Em for dinner at Yachtsman Steakhouse. So instead I napped after they’d gone and had to settle for food from the food court.

This was my least favorite day of our trip. Thankfully tomorrow would be much better!

I was one of those weird kids who would have been very happy about getting some vegetables in a nice restaurant. I've always loved veggies.

I'm sorry you missed your Yachtsman dinner! Thanks for taking one for the team, but you don't have to make yourself ill to report for us!! I think most of us would much rather wait a bit longer for an update if it meant you get to enjoy more!

 

[MinnieM123]

Em tried to take a candid shot of me but I was quick to pose!

Oh yes, that's quite the exquisite pose.

By the way, I love the top you had on -- is that a shirt or a sweatshirt? Color is nice and the logo is subtle. Most of the Disney clothing tends to be overkill with large images. I wish they made more items with smaller design details.

 

[Tuvalu]

By the way, I love the top you had on -- is that a shirt or a sweatshirt? Color is nice and the logo is subtle. Most of the Disney clothing tends to be overkill with large images.I wish they made more items with smaller design details.

It’s a 100% cotton Spirit jersey.

Business in the front

Party in the back!

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

It’s a 100% cotton Spirit jersey.

Business in the front
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Party in the back!
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You two are too cute!

 

[93boomer]

You two are too cute!

I agree!!

 

[Sillysidewalker]

A Disney mullet

 

[Tuvalu]

Day Four

Today’s weather was the opposite of yesterday’s. It was the type of day you see pictured in the tourism brochures ~ bright sunshine and clear blue sky. With the added cool breeze, the best word to describe it was gorgeous!

The three of us were very excited to experience the Flower and Garden Festival under pristine conditions. We arrived at the bus stop as the bus was pulling into POFQ and made it into the park the moment the rope dropped.

There was a small group of middle aged adults discussing their game plan. One of the women said, “And let’s not forget to find all the topiaries!”

“What’s a topiary?” asked one of the clueless.

This post is dedicated to him. Photo credit to Em.

 

[Tuvalu]

Spaceship Earth was our first attraction of the day.

This was second.

As we approached the entrance I noticed an aroma. Garlic.

The pungent smell grew stronger when we entered the queue.

Suddenly Em began singing.

“A bottle of red
A bottle of white
It all depends upon your appetite.....”

Her unexpected burst into song caused me to stop in my tracks and burst into laughter.

I knew the source of the aroma was not from The Coral Reef. I learned from a forum member that Disney uses garlic for pest control. Once we arrived at the “underwater” part of the queue the odor was gone.

But the song* continued to resonate in my head.


* Scenes from an Italian Restaurant ~ Billy Joel

 

[Tuvalu]

We completed our indoor stint with Soarin’, LWTL and Figment before venturing back into the great outdoors and the beauty that is Flower and Garden Festival.

Sadly (for us, anyway) “Flower and Garden Festival” has become a misnomer.

A more accurate description would be “Flower and Food Festival.”

In recent years, the “gardening” aspect of F&G (demonstrations, product displays, videos, how-to classes) has been stripped away and replaced by food booths.

“Now it’s just a spring version of the Food and Wine Festival,” laments Woody.

In prior years we would come home from F&G with lots of projects for our yard. Woody implemented many ideas we learned. He looked forward to discovering new things on our spring visits.

This year he only discovered honey chicken flatbread. < sigh >

 

[Tuvalu]

any chance of some video of this happening?

Oh wait.....Did you mean Em?

 

[Spash007]

Our town had a Flower and Garden festival this past weekend, and I went in not really knowing what to expect. I'll admit I went partially because it reminded me of Disney, but it was also a gorgeous weekend and was a great chance for everyone to get out of the house (granted one woman felt the need to question us bringing a 5 week old out of the house ). I ended up enjoying it a lot more than I expected - essentially some tents set up selling flowers, and then a lot of creative gardening techniques, some really cool items for outside, and some entertainment. But no food besides some cotton candy, and apparently a beer garden which was off the beaten path. Seems like this actually wasn't much like the Disney version!

 

[Tuvalu]

Only one thing could entice us out of the park and away from the flowers.

Yacht Club?

Stormalong Bay?

Favorite Disney diner?

BINGO!

After our yummy lunch we ventured back into Epcot for a VIP meet with @sheriffwoody and her sweet baby daughter. Took a mid-afternoon break at POFQ before spending the evening at MK, where Em and I got our HEA on.

Next up, Day Five!

 

[93boomer]

Day Four

Today’s weather was the opposite of yesterday’s. It was the type of day you see pictured in the tourism brochures ~ bright sunshine and clear blue sky. With the added cool breeze, the best word to describe it was gorgeous!

The three of us were very excited to experience the Flower and Garden Festival under pristine conditions. We arrived at the bus stop as the bus was pulling into POFQ and made it into the park the moment the rope dropped.

There was a small group of middle aged adults discussing their game plan. One of the women said, “And let’s not forget to find all the topiaries!”

“What’s a topiary?” asked one of the clueless.

This post is dedicated to him. Photo credit to Em.

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Minnie was my fav this year. Loved her sitting.

 

[93boomer]

We completed our indoor stint with Soarin’, LWTL and Figment before venturing back into the great outdoors and the beauty that is Flower and Garden Festival.

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Sadly (for us, anyway) “Flower and Garden Festival” has become a misnomer.

A more accurate description would be “Flower and Food Festival.”

In recent years, the “gardening” aspect of F&G (demonstrations, product displays, videos, how-to classes) has been stripped away and replaced by food booths.

“Now it’s just a spring version of the Food and Wine Festival,” laments Woody.

In prior years we would come home from F&G with lots of projects for our yard. Woody implemented many ideas we learned. He looked forward to discovering new things on our spring visits.

This year he only discovered honey chicken flatbread. < sigh >

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We noticed that too. We were very disappointed. We kept looking around to see if we had missed something but nope not like it has been.

 

[Tuvalu]

Our town had a Flower and Garden festival this past weekend, and I went in not really knowing what to expect. I'll admit I went partially because it reminded me of Disney, but it was also a gorgeous weekend and was a great chance for everyone to get out of the house (granted one woman felt the need to question us bringing a 5 week old out of the house ). I ended up enjoying it a lot more than I expected - essentially some tents set up selling flowers, and then a lot of creative gardening techniques, some really cool items for outside, and some entertainment. But no food besides some cotton candy, and apparently a beer garden which was off the beaten path. Seems like this actually wasn't much like the Disney version!

Oooh, a retro version of Epcot F&G!

Sounds like a great way to spend a day with your family (including the newest member!)

 

[Tuvalu]

Day Five

We want to love Animal Kingdom.

We really do.

However it has taken us nearly 20 years to learn to “like” AK, so I don’t have much hope we will ever “love” it. In fact Woody has stated that if he never got to visit AK again he wouldn’t miss it.

We avoid the park like the plague in summer. Too hot. Even the animals look miserable in July.

But winter and spring provide opportunities to give AK another shot. And so we went today.

Wake up, cattle! It’s April, not July!!

Giraffe pic for @amjt660.

(It’s got a baby in it!)

Glad animal poo “sweets” are no longer offered in Zuri’s.

Have you seen the Haribo gummies commercial with the boardroom of executives praising the candy in little kid voices? I imagine a similar situation when some imagineer pitched the idea of treats shaped like animal dung.

Giggle. “See? It’s elephant doo doo!” Giggle.
“Mine’s a zebra!” Giggle.
Giggle. “You can EAT it!”




Potential AirBnB?

AK wrap up: Rides on Everest and Flight of Passage. Encounter with Kevin from Up. Shopping. Lunch at the always fab Satu’li Canteen.

Overall a decent experience.

But won’t be back until the leaves fall.

However the “AK theme” continued into the evening when we dined at Jiko. You read my review earlier. I forgot to include this snippet between Em and our pretentious server.

While pouring Em’s wine she announced: “This wine presents as fruit forward. Is that okay?”

“Yes,” Em replied.

After the server left I leaned over and asked Em what “presents as fruit forward” means.

“I have no idea!” Em laughed.

Day Six....more Flower and Food Garden ....coming up.

 

[MinnieM123]

Sadly (for us, anyway) “Flower and Garden Festival” has become a misnomer.

A more accurate description would be “Flower and Food Festival.”

In recent years, the “gardening” aspect of F&G (demonstrations, product displays, videos, how-to classes) has been stripped away and replaced by food booths.

“Now it’s just a spring version of the Food and Wine Festival,” laments Woody.

In prior years we would come home from F&G with lots of projects for our yard. Woody implemented many ideas we learned. He looked forward to discovering new things on our spring visits.

This year he only discovered honey chicken flatbread. < sigh >

That's how I felt the past few years. My yearly trip (although I'm not going this year) is during F&G. There's a reason for that--the gorgeous flowers, topiaries, etc. But they haven't had nearly as many guest presenters, seminars, etc. as in years past. You're right--some of it has been replaced with food kiosks. I'd much rather have the original program back.

 

[Tuvalu]

That's how I felt the past few years. My yearly trip (although I'm not going this year) is during F&G. There's a reason for that--the gorgeous flowers, topiaries, etc. But they haven't had nearly as many guest presenters, seminars, etc. as in years past. You're right--some of it has been replaced with food kiosks. I'd much rather have the original program back.

Taking one for the team in protest, I see.
Maybe the festival organizers will heed your absence and return the “garden” to F&G next year.
We can always hope!

 

[Songbird76]

Day Five

We want to love Animal Kingdom.

We really do.

However it has taken us nearly 20 years to learn to “like” AK, so I don’t have much hope we will ever “love” it. In fact Woody has stated that if he never got to visit AK again he wouldn’t miss it.

We avoid the park like the plague in summer. Too hot. Even the animals look miserable in July.

But winter and spring provide opportunities to give AK another shot. And so we went today.

View attachment 368166


Wake up, cattle! It’s April, not July!!
View attachment 368164

Giraffe pic for @amjt660.

View attachment 368165
(It’s got a baby in it!)

Glad animal poo “sweets” are no longer offered in Zuri’s.
View attachment 368163

Have you seen the Haribo gummies commercial with the boardroom of executives praising the candy in little kid voices? I imagine a similar situation when some imagineer pitched the idea of treats shaped like animal dung.

Giggle. “See? It’s elephant doo doo!” Giggle.
“Mine’s a zebra!” Giggle.
Giggle. “You can EAT it!”




Potential AirBnB?
View attachment 368162

AK wrap up: Rides on Everest and Flight of Passage. Encounter with Kevin from Up. Shopping. Lunch at the always fab Satu’li Canteen.

Overall a decent experience.

But won’t be back until the leaves fall.

However the “AK theme” continued into the evening when we dined at Jiko. You read my review earlier. I forgot to include this snippet between Em and our pretentious server.

While pouring Em’s wine she announced: “This wine presents as fruit forward. Is that okay?”

“Yes,” Em replied.

After the server left I leaned over and asked Em what “presents as fruit forward” means.

“I have no idea!” Em laughed.

Day Six....more Flower and Food Garden ....coming up.

Yes!! This is exactly how I feel about AK...I WANT to love it. But we have only been there on one trip, so we haven't even learned to LIKE it yet. Hoping Pandora will change that?

Kids and grownups love it so....happy world of Haribo!

Is that the server that gave Woody a wine he didn't order and then charged way more for it?