Trip Report Some People are Worth Melting For: Round 2! (PLUS, a little Christmas, right this very minute!)

We’re back!

Timeline: June 2024
Location: Boulder Ridge Villas at Wilderness Lodge
Cast: Me (A), Dad (R), my sister SB, brother-in-law Iz, and niece B!
Why? It is little B’s first trip! I feel so thankful to be here experiencing the magic with her for the first time.

This is all of us pre-B during our last trip all together in 2021. I’m excited for SB and Iz to finally experience WDW since the pandemic. Things were quite different back in Summer 2021! They also of course haven’t ridden Ratatouille, Guardians, or Tron yet, so I’m looking forward to that for them too.

 

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I couldn't linger long. My reason for coming to Epcot lied within The Land pavilion.

On to... Soarin'? LwtL? Sort of! I booked the Behind the Seeds: Glimmering Greenhouses tour! I have never done a behind the scenes tour at WDW before, so I was very excited. I was also thrilled to be seeing the greenhouse lights from the other side of the boat. I was a few minutes early for my tour, so I sat down at a table to wait. I happened to look up from where I was and, just like magic, there stood @coachwnh, @Tuvalu, and @TrolleyFollower91!

This was my first ever meet up with anybody from the boards, so I was thrilled. While it was a short meeting because of my tour, I highly enjoyed meeting you all and catching up! Maybe we can do it again, sometime!

We said our goodbyes and I went to check in. I was given an earpiece, we were instructed to wait a few more minutes, and then we tested our "ears" and were on our way!

We entered the backstage area via a door in the exit of Soarin'. Our tour guide kindly explained that we were welcome to take as many photos as we wished throughout the trip, so brace yourselves.

Our group consisted of 12 people (if memory serves), including myself, another solo traveler who I hung out with a bit, a family with young kids, a family with adult kids, and a couple. There were lots of photo ops along the way, and we learned a ton about the workings behind LwtL.

 

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At the end, we got a recipe card!

Overall, I really enjoyed the tour. It was very interactive and seeing all the lights was SO special. A big part of the tour involves the guests sharing and answering questions, and admittedly, my group was pretty reserved. Sometimes the guide would ask something and there would be crickets. I think it would have been better with a more outgoing group, but I had fun!

I was making today a 4 parks in one day situation, but without AK. I started in MK, went to HS, Epcot, and was making my way back to MK to finish out the night. I took in some Epcot sights on my way to the monorail.

I walked right up and on to a monorail. No wait at all! HEA was going on, and I could see some of it from the beam. Here are some blurry pictures as proof.

 

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We arrived at the TTC and I managed to JUST miss the express monorail. In hindsight, I should have run over to the resort line. Instead, I stayed here and ended up waiting 20 minutes to board monorail Coral. They were pulling a different train off the beam, so it held up everything.

Eventually, I made it here to a large crowd at the entrance. Thankfully, it took way less time to enter than you'd imagine. Everything was extra Christmas-y at night!

If you can't tell, I was headed back to Fantasyland. Why? Pan was listed as a 20 minute wait!

I also had stacked LL's for Buzz, Pooh, and Pirates after my HS rides earlier. Pooh was first!

Before Buzz, I took a nighttime spin on my fav.

Remember WAY back to this morning, when I was fully ashamed of my Buzz score and didn't even have documentation?

I MOST certainly did redeem myself. ALMOST twice!

 

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I was tired and hungry from my accomplishment, so I made my way back to Main Street.

I don't have a picture of my food, but I decided some 10:00 pm corndog nuggets and plastic cheese was necessary. I found a table outside and enjoyed my snack and the view.

On my way out, I took some photos to commemorate the main reason for this trip.

Then, I made my way out of MK and said See Ya Real Soon.

WHAT. A. DAY. Nearly 27,000 steps and just over 12 miles later, it was wonderful.

Tomorrow, the plan is to go to HS for the morning, then catch the Mears bus to MCO for my late afternoon flight home!

 

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Man, that was a LOT of touring for one day!! Nice work!