Trip Report To Infinity... and Disney! Sister Graduation Trip June 2019 *COMPLETED*

Heeeeeeello there! I have never written a TR before, but I wanted to give it a shot! (I just recently published a PTR, for an upcoming trip in November- https://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/hey-howdy-hey-or-hey-gobble-hey-thanksgiving-2019.956473/) I have read MANY of the TR's on this forum, and find it an excellent way to satisfy my need for the Mouse. To introduce myself, let me begin by saying that I, like many of you here on the forums, absolutely *LOVE* all things Disney. My family (Mom, Dad, and Sister (SB)) have made many trips to the World over the years, so I was able to grow up with Disney. As a result, I am now a *slightly* Disney-obsessed young woman. Here are some of my Disney favorites so you can get to know me!:
Park: Honestly, l like them all for different reasons, but my favorite is probably MK
Ride: This is a HARD one. I really can't choose.
QS Restaurant: Be Our Guest Lunch
TS Restaurant: It is hard to pick one! I highly enjoy Le Cellier, The Plaza Restaurant, and 50's Prime Time Cafe.
Character: Mickey Mouse, of course! (But I also love Beauty and the Beast)
Daytime Show: Festival of the Lion King
Nighttime Show: Happily Ever After
Hotel: Boardwalk Inn

Anyway, this past June, my sister (SB) and I made our first trip to Disney World without our parents, and also without her boyfriend and our cousin (S), who have accompanied us also on several trips. I surprised SB with this trip for just the two of us to celebrate her college graduation! Now, the details...

Who: Me and SB
When: June 19-23, 2019
Where: All Star Music Standard Room with 4-day Park Hoppers

Next Up... Travel & Arrival Day!

 

[ToInfinity]

6/19/19: Travel & Arrival Day: Hollywood Studios

Surprise! We FLEW to Disney this time. We live close enough to WDW that in the past we have always driven there. But, I was checking airline rates on a whim about 3 1/2 weeks before our trip I found a pretty good deal with Delta for the two of us, so we splurged and booked it! SB had never flown on a plane before, so it made for an exciting travel day! We left home VERY early for our 7:55 AM flight, fearing long wait times for security. As it turns out, we of course were in the longest security line (they were testing a new ID method, apparently ) and it took us about 35 minutes to clear security. We then made our way to our gate and had a little less than an hour until our departure. SB went and got a snack and water (I think she was beginning to get a little nervous for the flight at this point) and I sat and rested at the gate. I did not sleep well AT ALL the night before due to the excitement of our trip, so I was already feeling a bit tired at this point. Naps would be in order later for sure!

Eventually, we boarded and were on our way to Disney World! It was a very short and smooth flight, only about an hour and 10 minutes, and by 9:15 we were on the ground in FL (much to SB's delight- it turns out she is not a huge fan of flight ).

Next, we hurried on to the ME. This was, of course, our first experience with ME, and we were very pleased! We arrived and saw that there was a pretty long line for our resort bus (which was going to all of the All-Stars and Coronado Springs), so we figured that a bus would arrive shortly. We waited about 10 minutes, and made it on the bus! I was zonked from no sleep so I took a nap on the bus since we were the last stop, but not before we took quick pictures of the SIGN!

Next Up... Arriving at the Hotel, Much-Needed Napping, Lunch, and HS!

 

[heatherhy01]

Following along. Great start so far!

 

[KellBelle]

Count me in!

 

[ToInfinity]

6/19/19: Travel & Arrival Day: Hollywood Studios Continued...

After our ME ride, we finally arrived at All Star Music! We had booked a standard room for the first time to save a little $$, so we had no idea where our room would be, or if it would be ready so early in the morning. To our surprise, I got the text saying it was ready about 5 minutes before we arrived at the resort! We were in the Country Fair Section in Building 6. Let me just say, next time I will just get a preferred room and not worry about the money. This room was FAR from the lobby and buses. It was about as far away as you could get, actually. While we did enjoy the theming and extreme quietness, we dreaded the walk to the lobby each morning and especially at night when we were so tired from walking in the parks all day!

Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures of the room because we were SO tired! It was lunch time and we were hungry, but we decided that we had to have a power nap to continue with our day so we immediately dropped our stuff and went to sleep. About an hour later, we woke up, got refreshed from our travel and were on our way to the lobby! We had debated whether to wait and eat lunch at HS, or to just do the hotel food court, but ultimately decided on the food court because there aren't any QS restaurants in HS that we are crazy about. SB had gone back to the room (which again let me remind you was a LONG way away ) to get something she forgot, so I went ahead and got my lunch. I went with the Bacon Cheddar Burger with french fries. I was starving so I nearly inhaled my meal. It was pretty good for a QS meal! Eventually SB came back and she got a chicken sandwich and fries. While she ate, I went to Guest Services because I had tried to get a drink from a vending machine when we arrived earlier, it charged my card 3 times, and I never got a drink! GS was VERY nice and helpful, and gave me cash to refund what was charged on my card. SO NICE! I also got our "I'm Celebrating" buttons here. The CM didn't write on them for us, so I used a marker once we got back to the resort on this night. Once SB was done eating, we headed to the HS bus!

While we waited for the bus, it was HOT. There wasn't anybody else in line (it was about 1:30) so we waited in the shade. The bus times weren't posted so we waited... and waited... and about 15 minutes later there was our bus! We got off the bus at HS and noticed that we were in the new bus loading area. When we came in December, this area was still under construction. Now it is finished and very nice and close to the park entrance. We noticed some Skyliner testing...

Side note: Super excited to try out the Skyliner on our upcoming November trip!!

On this day, we had FP's for ToT, SW, and SDD. This was going to be our only day at HS, so we really wanted to make the most of it! We arrived and saw that the wait for TSM was only 35 minutes, so we headed straight there. While we were waiting in line, we tried out the Play Disney Parks App. It was actually a great way to pass the time! This would especially be great if you had kids waiting. It made the wait seem very short. Before we knew it we were shooting targets!

As we got off TSM, we noticed a lot of people standing at the exit. It had started raining. Hard. We waited a few minutes and browsed the new gift shop. The rain finally let up a little bit, so we braved it out and headed for Alien Swirling Saucers. The wait was 30 minutes, and while we had hoped it would be shorter, it actually was a bit longer! We were worried about missing our FP for ToT, but we finished with about 15 minutes left in the FP window. We hurried over to ToT and entered the twilight zone. There was a young couple who had never ridden before in front of us in line who were nervous and considering leaving, so we talked to them a bit and convinced them to give it a try! They ended up being in the same elevator as us and we all had a great time!

Afterwards, we were going to try to catch Beauty and the Beast Live, but we were a bit early for the next show so we again trekked across the park to our next FP: Star Wars! As it turned out, the wait was only 20 minutes so we really didn't need the FP, but we used it anyway and were soon flying through the galaxy. I requested to be on a middle row on the end, so that I didn't have any motion sickness. For some reason, if I am at the front or the very back and closer to the middle of the row, I have to close my eyes so I don't get nauseous. On this trip, we got a ride scenario that we had never seen before, so that was cool! It made us very excited for the opening of SWGE soon!

Up Next... a Tornado Warning (!!), Dinner, Browsing and Fantasmic!

 

[ToInfinity]

6/19/19: Travel & Arrival Day: Hollywood Studios Continued Again...

So, after we rode Star Tours (yes, I just realized that previously I referred to it at Star Wars SW ) it was time for Beauty and the Beast Live! We arrived pretty close to showtime, but since there was only two of us we were able to slide in to the end of a row pretty close to the front. This proved to be an *excellent* choice as the show progressed... more on that in a moment.

We absolutely love this show! When we came as children, it was our favorite and honestly the first live show we ever saw as babies so it holds a special place in our hearts. I'm not sure what it is about it, but it just makes me happy . I have watched the show from the second row, all the way to the bleachers in the far back of the theater, and I can definitely say that this is a show that is best from the front. I like being able to watch the performers sing! Anyway, our decision to sit up close suddenly was a life saver! We got a notification near the end of the show on our phones that there was a tornado warning in our area. It started POURING rain and the wind began to pick up. All of the banners in the theater were blowing around... but the show must go on! The performers acted like nothing was happening. The people in the back of the theater were getting soaked and many came and stood in the aisles. We waited it out here even after the show was over, and eventually the weather calmed down and we left the theater to make it in time for our ADR at 50's Primetime Cafe.

We had not ever eaten at Primetime, but I had watched videos about it and read reviews prior to the trip. We were very excited, and we were not disappointed! Our server was wonderful, but I cannot remember what his name was. Since it was just SB and I, our server included the table next to us (a family of 4) in the jokes. We highly enjoyed it! SB got the roast and I got the fried chicken. We also got milkshakes. They seemed to be the same ones served at The Plaza in MK. It was SO much food and we walked away very full.

Now, time for our FP for SDD! We headed that way, hoping it wouldn't start raining again. We made it and were quickly on the ride! We always request the back on roller coasters, for more of a "wild" ride. SDD is super fun in the back! We have also ridden in the front, but it is hard to see anything past Slinky's head. After SDD, the last thing in our plans was to see Fantasmic. It was a bit early to go the show, so we browsed a bit in the shops on the way there on Hollywood Blvd. There was one store on the left side of the street that had some awesome Pixar merch that we hadn't seen before. We were tempted to make a purchase, but decided to wait since it was so early in the trip (this is still our travel day!) Eventually, we headed to Fantasmic. We enjoy sitting down low for this show, so we ended up sitting very near the middle section on about the 9th or 10th row. We didn't want to get any wetter than we already were! Afterwards, we headed back to the front of the park and tried to hurry to the busses before the Star Wars show finished to hopefully get ahead of the crowds. We got lucky and our bus was there waiting so we got on and headed back to ASM. We walked the LONG, yes, LONG, walk back to our room and fell asleep quickly!

Up Next... Day 2: Magic Kingdom!

 

[Katiekitten]

Following along! Your pictures from the 50's prime trip café are making me consider it again for our next trip after not visiting in a while.

 

[Darstarr]

I am here too...and loving your report so far.

 

[ToInfinity]

Following along! Your pictures from the 50's prime trip café are making me consider it again for our next trip after not visiting in a while.

Thanks for following along! We have always eaten at Sci-Fi when we go to HS, but wanted to try something different this time. Now we have a new favorite! It was quite delicious!!!

 

[ToInfinity]

6/20/19: Day 2- Magic Kingdom

I forgot to mention that on the night before this once we got back from HS, we decided to stop by the gift shop to pick up something for breakfast. Since we flew, we didn't bring any food or drink with us and we were planning on doing most of our eating in the parks, but wanted to save a little $$ on breakfast. We decided to get a pack of little water bottles and some little bites muffins. We ended up eating this for breakfast everyday of the trip!

Our goal for this morning was originally to be ready early and make it to rope drop (the park opened at 9), but we were running a little late and actually made it to the park around 9:20. How good it was to be home! We had FP's today for Splash, SDMT, and Space Mountain, but since the first FP didn't start until 11:30 we wanted to get a lot done before then. We took some main street/castle pictures, saw the Dapper Dans, and on to Adventureland we went!

(Our attempt at a shadow picture )

Since we arrived pretty early, most things had a relatively short wait at this point. We started with Jungle Cruise, which was currently at a 30 minute posted wait. It ended up not taking very long at all in line (maybe 10-15 minutes) and we were soon cruising through the jungle with our new favorite skipper (CANOE believe it!?). Seriously I can't remember her name but she was great!

Up next was PoC, with only a 10 minute posted wait! This one was basically a walk on. With just two of us, we got the very back of the boat, which was a new experience. I definitely like the front more, but the downhill part is much wilder in the back. We smiled for a picture in the new picture spot...(clearly there is nothing there that is exciting enough to make anybody react LOL)

After Pirates we had hoped to go to BTMRR, but I *believe* it was down? Or maybe it just had a longer wait than we wanted? I can't remember. We ended up at HM next to visit our Ghost Host and the 999 Happy Haunts. SB and I both were terrified of this ride when we were kids, (and shhhh SB still is a little bit ). It is now a must-do for us on every trip to MK. There is a photo spot now on HM too, but we didn't know where it was and our picture is terrible so I'm not going to embarrass ourselves that way .

BTMRR either was back up or the wait was shorter, can't remember, LOL, but either way we headed there next and had the wildest ride int the wilderness- in the back of the coaster of course!!

At this point, it was getting close to the start of our Splash FP window, but we wanted to visit the Country Bears first. I know some folks have mixed opinions on the bears, but it was a must-do for us when we were kids so to us it is a Disney classic and we visit them once every trip. It was also a great break from the heat, which was becoming a bit suffocating after waiting 25 minutes in it for BTMRR. Before the show though, we ran into one of our favorite hula-hooping bears!

We were still pretty hot after the show so we stopped for a lemonade slushy. This was a new snack for us, but one that I highly recommend. It was cold, delicious and just the right mix of sour and sweet. We sat under the awning outside the gift shop near Country Bears and then looked through the shop. I saw some snack plates that I loved! I decided to purchase them later in the trip.

Time for our Splash FP! The stand-by wait time for this was LONG since it had gotten hot, and the FP line was pretty long too. It took about 25 minutes to make it through the line. We were at the very back of the boat (not by request) which was a new thing for us. We laughed the entire ride because I had a taller dad sitting in front of me, but SB had a little kid. As a result, she kept getting soaked on every drop because there was nothing in front of her to block the spray. On the other hand, I was the driest I have ever been!

We had an ADR at Be Our Guest for Lunch at 12:45, but it wasn't quite time yet so we just had to go get a reminder of how small a world it is... (again this is a classic that we do every trip)

Then it was time for lunch! We were a few minutes early for our reservation but the CM's let us in line. Once we got inside, we were sent to a very short line where we ordered at a normal register instead of a kiosk. We each ordered a meal, a drink, and a Master's Cupcake. The Grey Stuff is delicious! We found a table in the West Wing, our favorite place to sit. It took about 10 minutes to get our food, and we were missing a cupcake. It turns out the CM at the register only put in one, and we said we would go back and order another, but the nice CM brought out another for free! Disney Magic . As usual, we enjoyed our meal. (Sorry for the dark picture. Not much light in the West Wing)

Up Next... more of our full day at MK!

 

[ToInfinity]

6/20/19: Day 2- Magic Kingdom Continued...

After our delicious lunch, it was time for our SDMT FP! Convenient, huh? I tried to plan everything today so that we weren't running all over the park. The FP line was super short and we were riding through the mines in about 10 minutes. We love this ride, especially from the back!

We were hoping to see FoF parade after this, since on our last trip they were doing the holiday parade instead. We made our way to the hub, hoping to slide in somewhere for a spot! We found a decent spot behind some other guests and waited for the parade to begin. More and more people kept coming in behind us, and soon we were boxed in. Now, it was SUPER hot, and starting to feel claustrophobic. I'm not sure why, but apparently people felt like if they kept pushing against us, they would make it closer to the front. One dad behind SB had a kid on his shoulders, and the kid had a drink.... and I do mean HAD a drink. He dropped it and it got all over SB's legs and on our bag. They just acted like it didn't happen! Manners, people! We ended up staying here for about half of the parade, then decided it wasn't worth it because of the heat and our neighbors so we left and headed to cool off at the Laugh Floor.

After our visit to Monstropolis, it was time for our last pre-booked FP, Space Mountain! Thank goodness for the FP, because the stand-by was 90 minutes. I feel like SM has gotten very rough over the years! We are young but our backs were hurting afterwards. In the gift shop of SM, we decided that it was just too hot to continue without a drink. Usually we try and just stick with the free water from QS restaurants, but at this moment we went with Powerades from the store. I also booked a FP for Buzz. After a quick drink and feeling refreshed, we headed over to the PeopleMover. This is seriously one of my favorite rides in all of WDW. I just love cruising around Tomorrowland. The ride did stop a few times while we were riding, but we didn't mind-more time to rest our feet! SB had some major foot problems on this trip, and I also had a difficult time finding shoes that were comfortable. She had some major blisters, some of which are still causing her some trouble a month later. Choose your shoes carefully!

When our ride on the PeopleMover was finished, we asked the CM to go around again and she obliged. We were still feeling a little hot, so we decided to go watch the Carousel of Progress. It was a nice break, and I may or may not have taken a quick power nap

Now, time for a spin on Buzz with our FP! SB and I are both pretty terrible at hitting the targets. Neither of us have ever come close to the Galactic Hero status, but her boyfriend did get it on his very first try a few vacations ago! I just find it difficult to figure out where my laser is pointing in comparison to everybody else's.

 

[ToInfinity]

6/20/19: Day 2- Magic Kingdom Continued...

Right after we scanned our bands for Buzz, I looked for more FP's. There weren't many at this point that we were interested in, but I snagged one for Winnie the Pooh. SB didn't want to do this one unless we had an FP, because it really isn't worth a long wait for us. There was a bit of time left before we could go scan, so we hopped in line for the Teacups, which only had a 15 minute wait.

I get motion sickness pretty easily from spinning around, so we didn't spin the wheel and just enjoyed the view and wind in our hair.

Our FP for Winnie the Pooh was next. We were a bit early, but the CM let us in anyway. This is a super cute ride, but neither of us were huge Pooh fans as kids. I did LOVE the recent Christopher Robin movie though. **highly recommend!!**

When in Fantasyland....

ride the Carousel! (I attempted a reflection picture LOL)

After the Carousel, we walked over to the Little Mermaid ride. SB wanted a picture in front of Prince Eric's castle, because of her LM ears. The wait was 35 minutes but I had gotten another FP after we rode Pooh. (That's 6 FP's today for anybody counting!) I was glad to see a "higher" wait time for this attraction. I feel like it is a bit underrated. We enjoy it every time. The Ursula AA is one of my favorites in all of WDW.

After we went under the sea, I checked for more FP's but didn't find anything we were interested in. We decided to walk over to Gaston's Tavern for a cup of water. This was our first time in the tavern! We enjoyed looking around a little bit in the air conditioner. We also explored the gift shop that is right next door (can't remember the name). There are a ton of coffee mugs in there for each princess. There were a couple though that we couldn't figure out and we had to ask the CM!

I didn't get any photos of the food, but it was past dinner time and we were starving so we stopped at Pinocchio Village Haus. I got the chicken parmesan sandwich with fries and SB got the pasta with a side salad. We got to sit by IASW!

The plan was to head to the front of the park to get a prime spot for HEA, but on the way there we remembered that we hadn't done the Enchanted Tiki Room yet! We just had to go watch the birds sing words (I rather enjoy singing along with them!)

After Tiki Room we went to the hub to search for a HEA spot. (it was about 8) The best locations were already taken, but we found a good spot on a curb and parked it. Some very nice families ended up sitting by us, and we had a great time talking to them while we waited for the show! One of the families even had relatives from our hometown. It really is a small world!

Happily Ever After was WONDERFUL as always. It is my most favorite show. (I may or may not cry every time I watch it) ❤

Since the only must-do we had left for MK was Peter Pan, we went to it after HEA hoping for a short line. We were right! The wait was about 25 minutes, which is super short for PP. The stand-by queue is pleasant to wait in, so despite our exhausted feet, we hopped in line and took a visit to Neverland. This was our last thing in MK for the day, and there was a Villains After Hours event starting, so we were ushered to the front of the park by CM's. We were so thirsty, but all of the QS locations were closed for the party. Luckily, Starbucks was still open so we each got waters and were on our way to the buses.

The Electrical Water Pageant on the way out!

We hiked back to our room at ASM, showered and were asleep super quick after a full and magical day at MK!

Up Next....Day 3: Animal Kingdom... & EPCOT!

 

[ToInfinity]

6/21/19: Day 3- Animal Kingdom...& EPCOT!

We were a bit tired from our MK day yesterday, so we got off to a bit of a slow start and had decided to "sleep in" a little bit. I was excited for the day so I woke up before my alarm and then we both got ready, had our Little Bites muffins in the room, and headed to the bus. There was a long line for the first bus, but SB and I were the last ones to make it on. On to AK we went!

Today, we had FP's for KS, EE, and FoP. Animal Kingdom has historically become more of a half-day park for us, because we have seen RoL and quite frankly weren't that impressed so we see no need to stretch the day out and stay for that. The plan was to either park hop somewhere, (probably MK, we were thinking), or take the evening off and either go mini-golfing or ride surrey bikes at the BW.

Anyway, we arrived at AK and took the necessary pictures...

And then since everybody was headed over to Pandora, we headed over to Dinosaur! Dinosaur had a 15 minute wait, so we basically walked through, did the pre-show, and were off to the past. I love this ride, but I have never been able to make myself keep my eyes open the whole time . Surprise! This time I finally did LOL. Good news- we didn't get eaten by the big dino.

We didn't ride anything else in Dinoland, because we weren't interested in Triceratops Spin and the coaster was closed for a refurb. Instead, we waited at the front of the stand-by line for the first Finding Nemo show of the day! We wanted a break from the already intense heat. We always enjoy this show. It is one of SB's favorites. After some waiting we ended up sitting in the bottom section (which was a first for us). We really enjoyed being able to watch the performers faces as they sang.

After Nemo we were hungry for lunch: Flame Tree BBQ! On our way there we walked into a dance party!

Then we ate lunch! We both got the baked mac & cheese. It had onion rings, cole slaw, and pulled pork on top. Very good! It was so much food that I couldn't finish mine. Also, did I mention it was HOT outside?

 

[jrogue]

Following along! Loving it so far

 

[NeverlandWendy]

Enjoying your report! Looks like you are having a great time!

 

[ToInfinity]

6/21/19: Day 3- Animal Kingdom...& EPCOT!

We had about 40 minutes before our FP for KS and we wanted to do something in the shade since it was so hot, so we decided to walk through Africa. On the way, we saw.....KEVIN!!!

We looked in a couple of stores as we went, and found a bakery that I didn't know existed (I don't remember the name). There were some delicious looking treats in there, including some special Lion King things, but since we had just eaten lunch we restrained ourselves. I also like to look at the smaller carts with the handmade items. We also happened to see one of the families from HEA we sat by! They looked busy so we didn't speak to them again.

We decided to explore the Gorilla Falls Exploration Trail next, hoping to see the new baby gorilla. We went through the trail and saw several animals...

Then we came to the part I dread.....The BIRD Section. I don't know why, but experiences like that where birds, bats, etc. are flying all around me freely just make me so nervous! I walked through pretty quickly and waited for SB in the next area. She has always been just the opposite of me, absolutely LOVING stuff like that. She would have been thrilled if a bird landed on her.

Eventually, we made it to the gorillas! It was very crowded here. We waited and made our way to the front of the enclosure as people walked away. But, the wait was SO worth it. All of the gorillas, except for the large male, were right there at the glass, including the new baby with her mama! I could have stood here and watched all day.

After the gorillas, we hurried out of the trail because it was time for our KS FP. We got to the FP line and it was backed up out of the queue. Apparently, an animal had gotten in the way of the ride vehicles and decided to camp out there for a while . It took about 20 minutes, but we eventually made it to the front and were on our safari! It was mid-day at this point, so many animals were hiding in the shade out of view, but we did see some animals (including a baby elephant!) and enjoyed the wind in our hair. SB's feet were hurting pretty bad by this point, so she was just thankful for a place to sit down.

After KS, it was time for our next FP on EE. On the way there we had to stop for a QS water cup because the heat was just about unbearable. I don't know what it is about AK, but it always seems hotter than the other parks!

We rode EE without any trouble. I was glad to be more in the middle of the coaster, because EE occasionally makes me see stars when we're in the back.

Now it was time for my favorite daytime Disney show: Festival of the Lion King!! This show just makes me feel the Disney joy. I love all of the different elements of the show. We waited outside the theater for about 25 minutes in the heat, which was ROUGH. I had a small fan with me, but it was so hot that it honestly made no difference. We were ready for the show, and once we made it in to the giraffe section, it did not disappoint!

After the show, we had just a little bit of time before our final FP for the day, FoP. We went to the Starbucks and got Vanilla Bean Frappes. It was the perfect refresher that we desperately needed. SB went back in and got us a free water also.

Once we scanned our bands and were in FoP, something rather unusual happened! When we were in the pre-show room, standing on the first numbers, the video sequence kept repeating itself, acting like it couldn't get us scanned in. I assume that the ride was down momentarily and that was the default, but it sure was strange just standing there in that room for so long with it pretending to scan us! It probably took about 10-15 minutes for us to move on to the next room. Finally we rode, and per usual were blown away by the awesomeness of it all. I get so sad when the ride ends every time!

We decided that it was too hot to do anything else in AK, so we left to head to..... EPCOT! This really wasn't the original plan, but it was WAY to hot to go ride a surrey bike or do mini-golf. I checked the wait times for different parks on the app and Epcot by far had the shortest times. I grabbed us an FP for Soarin', and on the bus we went.

Up Next... an evening at Epcot!

 

[riverside]

Also, did I mention it was HOT outside?

I was there at the same time--the heat was absolutely brutal!!

Then we came to the part I dread.....The BIRD Section.

I'm right there with you!!

but it sure was strange just standing there in that room for so long with it pretending to scan us! It probably took about 10-15 minutes for us to move on to the next room.

We were at AK the day before you & we encountered the same issue--it drove me crazy!!

Enjoying your report!!

 

[ToInfinity]

I'm right there with you!!

It is nice to see that at least one person feels the same way about the birds!

 

[ToInfinity]

6/21/19: Day 3- Animal Kingdom...& EPCOT!

We arrived at Epcot and went through security. SB must have looked suspicious because she kept getting picked to go through the metal detector. Immediately, we noticed that half of the Leave a Legacy stones were removed. We liked how wide open it felt! It is little sad though that they are getting rid of these and the stones outside of MK! I have a stone there that my grandparents bought when I was little. Here is a picture with half of the stones missing!

The wait for SSE was a walk on, so we just walked right up and were on our first ride in Epcot! It stopped for a little bit while we were in the space room, but got back going again. This is one ride I would not want to have to evacuate- too many stairs!

Afterwards, we were heading towards The Seas but saw that the wait for the Joy & Sadness MaG was only 20 minutes. SB and I have both been wanting to do this MaG for a while now, so we were excited! They were pretty fun to meet with. Sadness liked SB's glasses, since they were similar to hers, and Joy kept trying to explain to Sadness that our Hakuna Matata shirts meant to not worry. LOL.

The Seas with Nemo was up next. It was also a walk-on. Epcot just wasn't very busy on that evening. I didn't take any pictures in the aquarium, but we got super lucky and the manatees were very active! There was nobody else even in the viewing area with us, so it was really cool. We go visit the manatees every time, and they have never been that active before.

It was time now for our FP for Soarin', which only had a stand-by wait of 20 minutes! We noticed that LwtL also had a super short wait, so we decided to go there after Soarin'. We like this ride the best from row 1, but since we knew we had another FP for tomorrow, we settled with row 2 this time. I must say, after riding FoP earlier in the day, Soarin' is cool but it is not comparable!

We went back to ride LwtL, but they had closed it! Not sure if it normally closes early or if it was because of the lack of people in the park, but it was only 7:00! Instead of riding, we went into WS for dinner at our favorite Epcot QS, Yorkshire County Fish Shop. We got our fish & chips and enjoyed our dinner by the water. The weather was beautiful!

After dinner we saw that the stand-by wait for TT was just 30 minutes so we went to do that. Once we got off of TT, Illuminations was beginning to start. We were going to go watch it, but the CM was blocking the pathway in between TT and Mexico, saying it was closed. We went in MouseGears and shopped instead. SB got herself a new baseball cap. She had been eyeing the pink one with the Mickey bar on the front the whole trip. Next we headed out to the resort bus. It had been another full day of fun!

(Sparkly concrete on the way out of Epcot! )

Up Next... Day 4: Epcot & Magic Kingdom

 

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6/22/19: Day 4- Epcot & Magic Kingdom

We have made it to our last full day! This trip seriously flew by. This was a shorter trip than we usually take, but SB was finishing up some classes so we worked around her schedule. We had breakfast in the room again- Little Bites muffins and water. Then, we were headed to the Epcot bus.

The plan today was to spend some time exploring the WS, and we had FP’s for Soarin’, LwtL, and SSE. Afterwards, we planned to head to MK for our last night. I will warn you ahead of time, we were really just wanting to enjoy the Disney atmosphere on this last day, so we didn’t take a ton of pictures.

(Obligatory picture of the ball)

We had originally planned on rope dropping TT, but since we rode it the night before, we arrived to the park a little later and headed straight for our Soarin' FP. This time, the CM was guiding us to Gate C Row 3, but I asked to wait until the next flight so we could be in row 1. We waited by the wall until the area cleared out, and it was eerily quiet! A different CM saw us waiting and then told is to go to Gate B Row 1, the best location in my opinion! We had a great flight. It makes such a difference being in the middle without any feet in your face.

Right after Soarin' we headed to LwtL for our next FP. We were actually about 15 minutes early, but the line was short so the CM let us in anyway. Unfortunately, the people in the row behind us were talking so loud we had a hard time hearing the narrations

We were getting hungry for lunch, but today we had no plans for where we wanted to eat in Epcot. We walked towards the WS, and I was looking on the app for somewhere new to eat- San Angel Inn Restaurante! We love Mexican food, but had never had any at Disney. On the way there, we stopped at a store (don't remember the name) and I picked up a Tomorrowland pin!

We were seated within 10 minutes at the restaurant. We got to sit by the pyramid!

Our waiter was great and we LOVED the chips and salsa. SB ordered the Plato Vegetariano but added shrimp, and I got the Pollo a Las Rajas. Both were SO good. I am a very picky eater, but it was truly delicious. This may be a new must-do for us!

My chicken dish. It was dark in there so sorry for the shadows!

SB's veggie & shrimp dish! You can also see the salsa near the bottom of the picture.

While in Mexico... ride the Gran Fiesta Tour! We like this ride and feel like it is underrated. The ride did go down when we were near the end, and it took about 5 minutes for it to restart.

When we walked back outside, the mariachi band was out performing songs from Coco! I had seen this in one of TimTracker's vlogs, and was hoping to catch it happening. The music was great. I feel like it's really these sort of experiences that make WDW so special.