Trip Report Short trip with limited Disney but very enjoyable

I was very happy to see that so many people followed our adventures one month ago with our full family trip to Saratoga Springs Tree House Villas. It was a great trip. During that trip I was in the process of looking for another job which happened to successfully land upon our return back to PA. I was extremely happy. I had some airline miles that were going to expire over the summer, and with my daughter coming home for the summer since she works for a FL school district, I felt that it was the perfect time for a follow up trip. However, given the short window of time and the park visits increasing by the day, I wasn't sure if I'd be able to parlay this trip into a Disney trip. Forget about Universal, NOT DOING THAT ! There were no available reservations at ANY Disney parks three weeks before the weekend I was scheduling my trip. I would be going by myself since my wife's vacation time was very limited given some time off she had to take in January. Prices were definitely much higher for airfare from 7 months ago, but I figured since I wouldn't be renting a car or a room since my daughter had both taken care of, I'd pay a little more. Who knows when the next time would be when I'd be back since I am starting a new job. I figure our next trip to FL would be in September for Horror Nights and Mickey's Halloween. Although I do not like traveling alone I felt a long weekend with my daughter and her dog Bean would be beneficial for all of us. Besides, my daughter could save some money on food since the old man would be covering the tab for all meals. With that being said, I had my exit interview in Allentown, PA at 11:30 AM on a Friday morning, and I was on my way to the Philly airport by noon. It was a short trip, but here we go.

 

[macefamily]

So our Disney day would be on Sunday. The forecast didn't look too good. We went to Starbucks to fuel up for the 2.5 hour drive. We would be dropping Bean off at a kennel in Kissimmee. I wasn't looking forward to driving down I95 in a pouring rain. My plan was to stay in the right lane and keep it at 60-65 mph. On the ride down, we saw three hydroplaning accidents where cars were in the woods facing the wrong way.
The only park we could get access to was Epcot. We were going to hit the booths that we liked last month, but we were only going to get four or five samplers because my daughter wanted to try this sushi place she found on Tik Tok. She said it was the top-rated place in the area. It was located outside of a cheap gift shop. I was skeptical.
Upon our arrival at Epcot, it was still pouring rain. The weather app said it was going to slow down by noon. It didn't. Then the app pushed the rain out until 1:00 PM. It still didn't stop. It rained the entire day. We bought ponchos, but our shoes were soaked through.
Most booths were closed when we decided to venture out.

 

[Songbird76]

That should have read I originally come from Colorado. I've lived in Florida for 25 years now, but Colorado is always home. Born and raised in Windsor/Fort Collins. I miss it so much in the summer, but not the winter!

I love Fort Collins!! My favorite restaurant is there! Bisettis. We used to drive down there from the University of Wyoming every once in a while just to eat there.

 

[cgersic]

I love Fort Collins!! My favorite restaurant is there! Bisettis. We used to drive down there from the University of Wyoming every once in a while just to eat there.

I haven't heard that name in a looong time! A favorite for sure! Love their bread!

 

[Songbird76]

I haven't heard that name in a looong time! A favorite for sure! Love their bread!

I get their sampler platter that has the lasagna, eggplant parmesean, and I want to say fettucini alfredo? The lasagna is to die for, but I can't eat it all anyway, so it's nice to have a few different things. And I always loved their fried ravioli appetizer, too. So good! And we go visit Kilwins chocolate store before we eat at Bisettis and we load up on fudge to take with us for the next few days. It's worth driving....I think it's like 72 miles? for the fudge and the lasagna alone.

 

[macefamily]

We decided to hit the World Showcase to get some cover. I figured it was going to be packed, however there were quite a few tables available. We ordered the brisket slider and the fried green tomatoes with blue crab. I had a porter and my daughter ordered frozen lemonade with moonshine. When I finished my porter, check out the cup rings I left on the table. Totally unintentional. It kind of looks like a hidden Mickey ? We were so hungry that the only picture I got was the remains of the food. There's still a little crab and green tomato, but the slider is completely and totally gone.

 

[macefamily]

After we relaxed for awhile and even managed to dry out somewhat, we ventured back out into the driving rain. My daughter wanted to finish the day at France for the vanilla cream beignet. I was fine with that. I figured that we'd backtrack from Canada to Mexico and stop along the way for something to snack on that caught our attention. However, after China, there were no outdoor kitchens open on the other side of the lake. ??? France to China were all open on that side, but every place on the other side was closed; no Italy, Germany, or America. The regular Disney food booths were open, but all of the outdoor kitchens were shut down. ??? We sloshed through the soaked ground and finally got to France with sopping wet shoes. Kelsey got her beignet, and I got the goat cheese tart with a Chardonnay. We huddled under an awning in France and had our last Food and Wine treat before we attempted to ride a few attractions. A few hours later we'd be picking up Bean and trying our sushi adventure. Probably not a good idea to "adventure" when it comes to sushi, but we're relying on the reviews.

 

[macefamily]

It's been awhile, but it was a walk-up socially distanced ride for Living w/ the Land. It's probably been at least 4 years since we rode it.

 

[macefamily]

I'm a bit of a geek when it comes to facts and figures so I love listening to the numbers from the narrator during the ride. The thousands of pounds of fish and veggies that Disney cultivates on their own is amazing. Between listening to the narration and trying to locate hidden Mickeys, I was extremely occupied.

 

[ShookieJones]

I'm a bit of a geek when it comes to facts and figures so I love listening to the numbers from the narrator during the ride. The thousands of pounds of fish and veggies that Disney cultivates on their own is amazing. Between listening to the narration and trying to locate hidden Mickeys, I was extremely occupied.


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I can't tell you how VERY much I love this attraction. Thanks for sharing!

 

[macefamily]

Next stop would be the logical stop....Soarin'. We debated whether to do it because the posted wait time was 55 minutes. We agreed that it would be our last attraction so we proceeded to the queue. Well, we walked, and walked, and walked, and ran into no one until we got to the last split where the CM directs you to your ride vehicle. It was about a 10 minute wait. If I have any complaints over the pandemic period it would be the inaccuracy of the wait times. Flight of Passage posted a 60 minute wait time during our last visit, and we were on in 20 minutes. Tower of Terror consistently posts 50-60 minute wait times, and we waited in line for 90 minutes last visit. I guess you just hop into line and see what hand you're dealt. I snapped a pic of a seating diagram that the CM's use. It's dated so I guess they change it up every day based on crowd levels. Interesting.

 

[macefamily]

On our way out of Soarin we walked by the butterfly tent. We decided to see if the butterflies were crazy enough to be out in this miserable weather. We spotted one in a bush and a few others taking refuge in the pupa box which was the only dry spot available.

 

[macefamily]

We then walked back to the car with our sneakers squishing with every step. I knew I would have 'prune feet' for the long trek back to J-ville. That was our one Disney day which was all we could get since we were late with reservations. It was rainy, cold, and blustery, but I wouldn't wish it away for anything because I got to spend an entire day with my daughter. The plan was to pick up Bean from the kennel, and we were stopping by the sushi place for something to eat before our 2.5 hour drive. The sushi place is located next to a shady looking gift shop on route 535. We're very familiar with the area because my daughter stayed close by for her Disney College Program. The place was outside with some interesting decor. The person taking orders was personable. The menu was limited versus other sushi places we've been to. The fish was fresh, and the rolls were big. They had no wasabi ??? I would suggest to the management that they put up some type of wall or barrier blocking the rear of the gift shop because there was an overflowing dumpster and junk lying around. While we were waiting for our order I told my daughter to take the dog back to the car because we had a visitor who was rooting through the dumpster. Not a common sight in the daylight.....

 

[macefamily]

The trip home was uneventful. The weather cleared up as we got further north so that was nice. There were no emergency bathroom stops so that proved to me that the sushi was fresh. My daughter had work on Monday so she went to bed early. Bean slept with me on the air mattress for the third night in a row. My flight out was at 9:00 PM on Monday night so I had the whole day with Bean.

 

[macefamily]

The plan was to hit the road around 5 and stop for a quick dinner at a dog-friendly place. All of the places that were listed had their patios closed, so we couldn't go anywhere to eat with Bean. So I just told my daughter to drop me off at the Jax airport and I'll grab something there. What I discovered was that no restaurants were open at that hour so my dinner was some pizza Combos and a large water.
The airport was dead at that hour except for my gate. The flight was full. They asked for volunteers to make additional space and I quickly obliged. I could use a $600 voucher. However, in the end, they didn't need anyone to sacrifice seats.
Well that's it. The sun sets on another FL trip. We're thinking about another trip in May to visit my daughter. That is, if we can score some cheap airfare and get park reservations.

 

[cgersic]

Thanks for the quick fix! Hoping to see another one next month!

 

[MickeyCB]

Thanks for sharing, glad you had a fun quick trip!

 

[littleroo]

That was certainly a rough day in Epcot but I am glad you made the most of it! I really believe the rain helps with crowd levels. I almost welcome it at this point! Bye bye people who melt

That racoon in a dumpster would have scared me, during the day, too! I can't wait to see what happens in May!

 

[Darstarr]

That is, if we can score some cheap airfare and get park reservations.

Good luck with May!