Trip Report WDW Trip #10 - A long awaited return

Hi all

It's been a couple of weeks since my return from my tenth trip to WDW. I've just finished transcribing the notes I made while I was away and now I'm ready to post my trip report for your viewing pleasure. I hope you have as much fun reading it as I had experiencing it.

But first, an introduction to the characters in our little story:

• Me - the author of the story and therefore the hero, who has recently celebrated a significant milestone birthday meaning that EPCOT is not the only one seeing in the big 4-0 this year.
• My brother, known throughout this story as R. Organiser of dining reservations and other experiences.
• My mum and dad, known throughout the story as The Folks. Proving that you're never too old to go to WDW with your kids.

Join me as I relive my adventure once again. Featuring stories of food, drink, queues, spaceships (both fictitious and real) and a certain villain named Ian.

 

[Wicked Sisters]

Thank you for your reply. We are not tech savy so I am sure a CM will be able to assist us if we need it. We were hoping that they would just put it on our Magic Band or gift card. This will be our fourth attempt at getting to WDW since 2020 and it’s so exciting reading trip reports like yours. Thanks again.

 

[The Mighty Tim]

Monday, October 3, 2022 (Day 12)

R and I decided to have a leisurely morning this morning, as I was still not 100%. We went to El Mercado for breakfast and we both had an order of Mickey waffles each before heading over to EPCOT. For some reason, EPCOT seemed unusually busy - even Nemo had a 30 minute posted wait time. We decided to take in the Disney/Pixar short film festival, which was quite nice. Then we walked around World Showcase where we each had one of the giant pretzels from Germany. R had another shaved ice from Japan - this time, it was strawberry and tangerine flavoured. When we got to the Mexico pavilion, we rode the Three Caballeros ride. Afterwards, we did Test Track, Mission: SPACE, Spaceship Earth and Soarin' before heading back to the resort.

Later that afternoon, all four of us decided to go to Disney Springs. However, for some reason, I was feeling really fatigued. Still, we went around some of the shops including the Coca-Cola store. Dinner that evening consisted of a hot dog each from BB Wolf's, which was surprisingly good. After some food, I got a bit of an energy burst and we went round Goofy's Candy Company, then World of Disney for some last day souvenirs. Once we'd finished there, we headed back to the resort and stopped off at El Mercado to get some breakfast items for the following day. We then had some drinks at Rix Bar and Grill as it was our last day. Weirdly enough, having a beer made me feel a bit better! Once we'd finished our drinks, Mum and R headed back to the room while Dad and I sorted out some bits and pieces at the front desk. Upon returning to the room, we started packing in preparation for departure the following day.

Tune in next time to find out how our final day unfolded...

 

[The Mighty Tim]

Thank you for your reply. We are not tech savy so I am sure a CM will be able to assist us if we need it. We were hoping that they would just put it on our Magic Band or gift card. This will be our fourth attempt at getting to WDW since 2020 and it’s so exciting reading trip reports like yours. Thanks again.

No problem. I actually had the same question before I went and I think I posted it on here somewhere, haha!

I was hoping for a physical gift card not unlike the ones you pick up from Disney Springs. But using Google Wallet was actually not so bad. If you're not tech savvy, it's not a problem. Just show them the email when you purchase food and drink and they'll take care of the rest.

Enjoy your trip!

 

[The Mighty Tim]

Tuesday, October 4, 2022 (Day 13)

Today was our day of departure. We had the breakfast items we bought from El Mercado the previous night and then finished packing. Once we were all ready, bell services came and collected our luggage and put it into storage, since our flight home wasn't until the evening. We headed off to Magic Kingdom and our first stop was Buzz Lightyear. This time, R managed to get a maximum score of 999,999, but like my massive score the other day, his was achieved due to the ride stopping. In fact, he had achieved his maximum score before we had even entered the first room, meaning that once the ride got going, all he could do was admire the scenery. After that, we went on the People Mover, then browsed some of the shops, where Mum picked up a Pirates of the Caribbean ornament from the Christmas shop. After that, we rode the Riverboat and then we headed back towards Fantasyland where the Folks stopped for a cat tail at Cheshire Cafe. We all then went into Philharmagic, which the Folks hadn't seen before. Our final ride was intending to be Pirates of the Caribbean as per tradition, but unfortunately it was down all morning, so our final ride was one last go on the People Mover. Once we had finished on there, we departed Magic Kingdom for the last time and headed back to Coronado Springs. There, we had some lunch at El Mercado, retrieved our luggage and waited for the taxi at the Destino Tower.

The taxi was booked for 1500, but arrived at about 1445. Turns out it was the same taxi driver that picked us up when we arrived. We got to the airport in good time, checked in our bags and then in what is turning out to be another tradition, Dad treated us to Dunkin Donuts before we went through the TSA checkpoint and then off to the gate. I still wasn't feeling 100%, so I took some medication before boarding the plane which got me through the flight, although it was one of the more uncomfortable flights I had been on. Fortunately, we arrived at Heathrow an hour earlier than expected due to favourable winds. Immigration back into the UK was less stressful than when we arrived in the US and we finally got home just before lunchtime.

THE END

I'll post an epilogue later (probably tomorrow)

 

[The Mighty Tim]

Epilogue

The four of us decided that while we had a good, fun time, it wasn't our best Disney trip - however that was mainly due to the hurricane and me feeling rough towards the end. Before I went, I had a list in my head of all the rides I wanted to try out (specifically the new ones that weren't there before) as well as various food, drink and restaurants I wanted to try. I managed to achieve nearly all these goals, but there were some dining options I didn't make it to (I really wanted to try some of the BBQ places on offer like the Regal Eagle and Polite Pig for instance).

You might have noticed throughout my report that there was a lack of use of Genie+ and ILL. This is because we never used either of those options and we still managed to have a good time.

I was also very appreciative of the way Disney took care of us during Hurricane Ian. I think we were probably in one of the safest places we could have been in. I also was a big fan of the dining offer we got with our UK package. We managed to use up all of the credit a couple of days before the end. Hopefully this (or something similar) will form part of future deals.

To summarise, it was a fun trip. I must admit, the post-Disney blues hit me harder than usual this time, but again feeling rough upon my return probably didn't help. The only thing to do now is decide when to go next time. The thoughts at the moment are that 2024 would be nice, but is optimistic and 2025 is more realistic.

So, hopefully tune in again in a year or two to witness our next trip!

 

[The Mighty Tim]

Oh, and as final bonus, here are some pictures. Many of which feature the Lego Minifig version of me who accompanies me on all my travels! Enjoy!!

Magic Kingdom on the day of arrival

Lego man at Galaxy's Edge

Lego man in front of the Riverboat

SpaceX launch as seen from Disney Springs

Lego man at Coronado Springs

And again in the Millennium Falcon

Lego man watching 7DMT

Lego man admires the D-Luxe burger...

...then later faces off against Kylo Ren

A nice picture of Spaceship Earth

 

[Wicked Sisters]

Thanks for a great report. It’s good to read a TR from a fellow UK traveller. Sorry you wasn’t well towards the end of your holiday. Hope you are ok now.

 

[The Mighty Tim]

Thanks for a great report. It’s good to read a TR from a fellow UK traveller. Sorry you wasn’t well towards the end of your holiday. Hope you are ok now.

Thanks. I'm glad you enjoyed the trip report!I I'm much better now, thanks.

Oh and in case anyone was wondering, when I did start to feel rough, I masked up for the parks and double masked on the plane. Made some of the photos on the last couple of days look a bit weird, but never mind!

 

[ceecee101]

Great trip report. Just curious did you have Covid or something else? We’re going in 2 weeks, both Covid virgins. Have our newest boosters, also our flu shots. But know there is a lot of different gunk circulating right now. Trying to decide if we should mask all the time, even outdoors. Right now we have been planning to just mask anywhere inside. Thoughts? Anyway great TR!

 

[The Mighty Tim]

Great trip report. Just curious did you have Covid or something else? We’re going in 2 weeks, both Covid virgins. Have our newest boosters, also our flu shots. But know there is a lot of different gunk circulating right now. Trying to decide if we should mask all the time, even outdoors. Right now we have been planning to just mask anywhere inside. Thoughts? Anyway great TR!

To be honest, I don't know what it was. I never tested positive for Covid.

My guess is that a combination of not having been in large crowds for a while, switching between hot outdoors and cool air conditioning, sitting on a plane for nearly 10 hours and even the downtime during the hurricane perhaps.

There were a small number of other people wearing masks too so I didn't stand out too much.