Trip Report Loco’s sweaty summer adventures(of the seas).

Greetings my friends. Have you missed me for the last year? Wondering where I’ve been? Seen a random sighting of me in a @Tuvalu TR and wondered why I wasn’t doing an awesome TR myself? Have no fear! I am here to report on not one, but two summmer trips!

Trip one June 9-13(plus a cruise June 13-21).

Due to the excessive length of this vacation and the large amount of luggage needed, we decided we’d just make the road trip down to Orlando. We departed at approximately 3 AM on June 8, with plans to just stop wherever I got tired of driving. The wherever ended up being the Fairfield Inn by Marriott at Flamingo Crossings just outside the Western Way entrance to WDW at around 7:45 pm local time. Total travel time was 15 hours and 45 minutes. Total distance was 961 miles. Needless to say the sleep came quickly and easily for me that evening!

The hotel was quiet, clean, and convenient for anyone looking to stay near WDW without breaking the bank. I had enough CC points to cover the room for the night, but rates were as low as $100 the night we stayed. A tremendous value for that room!

June 9, 2025.

After a solid nights sleep we were up early enough to enjoy the complimentary breakfast at our hotel before making our way to WDW proper. We passed under the Western Way entrance around 7:30 AM

Our first park of the trip.

We were early enough to enjoy early entry this day and joined the masses on the way over to Gaurdiams. We were on the ride and off right at 9 AM. Our song was “I Ran”. The Tears for Fears song still eluded us on this day.

Our next stop was the Land pavilion. After a quick ride on Soarin we made our way through the greenhouse.

Back out into the heat to make our way toward Imagination. There were remnants of F&G still visible.

The queue for for imagination was surprisingly long, but we didn’t mind waiting in the AC for a bit.

Figzilla had just began greeting guests as we exited the ride. We stopped for a quick pic. Apparently I’d already been sweating profusely(a common theme in this TR)

What better way to cool down than to grab a drink and cool off in the DVC lounge? We were among the first guests of the day.

 

[Tiggertoo56]

Love this report! A looks lovely with her hair down. So used to seeing her with it up in your TRs, but can understand why due to the heat/humidity (says someone with very short hair who wishes she could put hers up when we visit WDW).

 

[MinnieM123]

Love this report! A looks lovely with her hair down. So used to seeing her with it up in your TRs, but can understand why due to the heat/humidity (says someone with very short hair who wishes she could put hers up when we visit WDW).

I noticed A's hair down as well. She's lucky that she looks good with her hair either up or down!

 

[Loco_driver]

At least your slide didn’t break!!

This is true!

 

[Wicked Sisters]

Thank you for including your cruise trip, we will never do one so it’s lovely seeing everyone else’s photos. The photo with A’s hair down is a lovely one of you both.

 

[Loco_driver]

Trip #2

July 22-27, 2025

Day one.

Believe it or not, we actually flew down to Orlando this time(loco does not always drive). Our flight was scheduled for 9 AM departure from Dallas Love Field. Our inbound plane arrived from Atlanta just a few minutes late and we were instructed to line up for boarding immediately. Two minutes later they announced we could go back to our seats, the flight was delayed 30 minutes due to weather in Olando. As soon as we found a seat they announced that it was back on for 9 AM and to immediately line up for boarding. This process repeated one more time before we finally boarded what was ultimately 20 minutes late.

We were not delayed on the runway and everything looked like we would ultimately arrive as scheduled. Two hours in and we were instructed to buckle our seatbelts for our descent into MCO.

The next announcement was that there was a microburst storm and it was unsafe to land. We then began our circular holding pattern. For an hour. One very long hour. We were warned that if we didn’t land soon we’d be diverted to Tampa to get fuel. Fortunately it did not come to that and we landed and were off the plane nearly two hours later than scheduled(thanks to another long delay waiting for our gate).

Thankfully we had no other travel woes, and we arrived at the boardwalk a short time later.

Thanks to our delays we did not have to wait for our room to be ready. I’d received that text while sitting on the tarmac. Our room was just about as far away from the lobby as you can get. Anyone who’s stayed at BWV knows that those far room are quite a hike!

Breakfast that morning was long gone, and we were both super hungry. We headed over to Epcot to grab a bite. We split an order of fish and chips since it wasn’t long until our dinner reservation.

It felt good to be back.

We had a little time to kill. We caught a show we hadn’t seen in years.

It’s always nice to walk through the gardens here, not matter how hot it may be!

Figment offered another chance for air conditioning.

Maybe one day they’ll give this ride the attention it deserves.

We wanted to see the new manatees at the seas pavilion. Since it’s almost always a walk on we queued up for the Nemo attraction first. We got held up in the shark scene for over 10 minutes.

We would eventually get to see the manatees.

 

[riverside]

The next announcement was that there was a microburst storm and it was unsafe to land. We then began our circular holding pattern. For an hour. One very long hour.

I don’t get super stressed about much but that would have freaked me out!!

 

[jmunzert]

We always try to do the animation experience when we can. I’ll let you figure out which picture belongs to me and which one belongs to A.

it never occurred to me to try this but after seeing you guys do it I thought, why not? I now will make a special trip to AK JUST FOR this experience! thank you for turning me on to such a magical experience

 

[Loco_driver]

I don’t get super stressed about much but that would have freaked me out!!

It was definitely a stressful trip down. I didn’t even mention the turbulence!

it never occurred to me to try this but after seeing you guys do it I thought, why not? I now will make a special trip to AK JUST FOR this experience! thank you for turning me on to such a magical experience

It’s one of our favorite things to do! I just wish it was easier to get to. I’m hoping they include this in the revamped animation experience at DHS that was just announced.

 

[Loco_driver]

July 22 continued.

Dinner was at an old favorite in Italy.

Pro tip : order the giant pizza to have breakfast for several days afterwards.

We were seated in the main room next to the window.

After dinner we were both ready to head back to the room for the night. We did stop at the cake bake shop on the way back to look for some expensive dessert.

The cakes on display were beautiful.

The decor is certainly a far cry from the ESPN zone that previously called this place home.

If you follow many of my reports you could guess what we were going to get.

The verdict?

The pie was good, but certainly not $15 good. I’m in no rush to return for anything else from the bakery. We turned in early for the night in anticipation of an early morning the next day.

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

July 22 continued.

Dinner was at an old favorite in Italy.
View attachment 877410

Pro tip : order the giant pizza to have breakfast for several days afterwards.
View attachment 877411

We were seated in the main room next to the window.
View attachment 877412

After dinner we were both ready to head back to the room for the night. We did stop at the cake bake shop on the way back to look for some expensive dessert.
View attachment 877417

The cakes on display were beautiful.
View attachment 877414

The decor is certainly a far cry from the ESPN zone that previously called this place home.
View attachment 877416
View attachment 877413

If you follow many of my reports you could guess what we were going to get.
View attachment 877415

The verdict?

The pie was good, but certainly not $15 good. I’m in no rush to return for anything else from the bakery. We turned in early for the night in anticipation of an early morning the next day.

I might have to try that peanut butter pie thing. I tried the bakery in the morning with my niece, I knew it was expensive but I figured it would be nice to try it once. We got coffees and two chocolate dipped croissants at $11 a piece!. The croissants were good and on par with some I had in Paris. As we were eating them I mentioned to my niece that it wasn't as expensive as I thought it would be, she agreed and then looked at the receipt. It turns out they charged us for the coffees and only one croissant! I really hadn't been paying attention when the cashier rang me up, I hadn't had my caffeine yet.

My husband really wanted to try the Cake Bake because his old intern loves it so he and I went in June. He wanted a full breakfast. What we had was good although the breakfast potatoes were super peppery. I don't know if I will go there again, it would maybe be like every 4 trips in on a rotation. I'd rather have breakfast at Trattoria al Forno next door instead. Although I hear from my Disney Day Drinkers group that the Black Swan is a good adult drink, so maybe....

 

[Loco_driver]

I might have to try that peanut butter pie thing. I tried the bakery in the morning with my niece, I knew it was expensive but I figured it would be nice to try it once. We got coffees and two chocolate dipped croissants at $11 a piece!. The croissants were good and on par with some I had in Paris. As we were eating them I mentioned to my niece that it wasn't as expensive as I thought it would be, she agreed and then looked at the receipt. It turns out they charged us for the coffees and only one croissant! I really hadn't been paying attention when the cashier rang me up, I hadn't had my caffeine yet.

My husband really wanted to try the Cake Bake because his old intern loves it so he and I went in June. He wanted a full breakfast. What we had was good although the breakfast potatoes were super peppery. I don't know if I will go there again, it would maybe be like every 4 trips in on a rotation. I'd rather have breakfast at Trattoria al Forno next door instead. Although I hear from my Disney Day Drinkers group that the Black Swan is a good adult drink, so maybe....

It’s not my cup of tea, but that doesn’t mean it’s not for everyone. Most of the food they serve is very common where we live, for significantly less money. I’m sure it’s very good, but it doesn’t move the needle for me. Different strokes for different folks!

 

[Loco_driver]

July 23

We were up super early to try to make early entry for Animal Kingdom. We arrived at the bust stop at 6:45(early entry was at 7:30), and a bus arrived quickly. It’s a good thing we boarded the bus early, because our driver took a wrong turn and headed for MK! He said he usually drives the MK bus and did it out of habit. We ended up turning around in the Epcot bus loop. Another amusing travel delay!

Thanks to our rather lengthy trip, we were towards the very back of the line at the entrance.

No worries though, since we weren’t headed the same way as the masses.

The animatronic was working this morning.

See ya later pandora.

Two walk-on rides on Everest before park open.

We joined the line for the safari shortly after 8 AM. The posted 10 minute wait time proved to be accurate.

It was a rather uneventful safari. Many of the animals had yet to arrive on the savanna.

Next up was one last ride on Dinosaur.

I’ll miss dinosaur, but look forward to a new take on the Indiana jones attraction.

The ride was in surprisingly good shape considering the limited time it has left. A nailed the photo. I was….there.

 

[Loco_driver]

July 23 continued.

The park was celebrating a special birthday!

It had been a while since we’d walked the Maharaja Jungle Trek. The newest tiger, Basko, was reason enough for us to return.

He’s grown a lot in 10 months!

The young male was very active in the early morning. Mom was having quite the time keeping him in check.

The trail has some of the best theming on property.

It wasn’t even 9 AM yet, and most of the animals were already seeking out the shade.

We enjoyed our detour down the trail.

 

[Loco_driver]

July 23 continued.

There was a drawing class starting soon. We hopped on the wildlife express in hopes of making in in time. Unfortunately we ended up missing the animation class. The good news is someone from the railroad found my chair .

We still made sure to go see our friends at the petting zoo.

This goat was down for a little photo shoot.

It wasn’t even 11 AM yet and we’d seen pretty much all we planned on seeing. We had late night plans, so it was time to head back to the room for a little break. We found a friend at the wildlife express station.

There were several extra characters out as part of the “cool kid summer” promotion.

Can’t visit DAK without taking some tree of life pictures where you’re pretending you’re not absolutely burning up.

No bus issues on the way back. We headed down to the boardwalk for lunch.

 

[cgersic]

I really like A's Up! Shirt

 

[lindawdw]

I really enjoyed your first TR and all your cruise experiences! So glad to see that you went back to WDW so soon after the last trip since we benefit from another TR!!! We are staying at the BWV in October and can't wait to get back there!