Trip Report WDW Trip #11 - Unfinished Business

Hi all

It's been a few days since I returned from my latest WDW trip. I'm not 100% settled back into the UK timezone or weather, but I'm getting there! I've just finished transcribing my handwritten notes from my trip and now I'm ready to post my trip report for you all to enjoy. The cast of characters in my story are the same as before, but as a reminder:

• Me - the author, embarking on my 11th visit to WDW
• R - my brother, embarking on his 9th visit to WDW (but he's been to DLP one more time than I have)
• Mum and Dad - known as the Folks, embarking on their 12th visit to WDW (though Dad has visited Disneyland in California at least once)

The posts will include a stats section at the end of each day, listing the number of attractions ridden, the number of new experiences (rides, attractions, restaurants that I've never been to before) and the total distance walked (according to Google Fit on my phone).

Like my previous trip report, I'll make a new post every day, thus reliving the trip in near real-time. But I'll start off with the prologue and first day.

So, sit back and enjoy!

 

[The Mighty Tim]

Prologue

Though the previous trip was highly anticipated, there were a lot of things that didn't go to plan. From Hurricane Ian to getting ill right at the end of the trip, there were a number of things that we wanted to do, but were unable for whatever reason. Thus, following the tenth trip to WDW, there was a lot of unfinished business at WDW to take care of. Thus, when the special UK offers became available for 2024, we pounced on them immediately. And so it came to pass, that trip #11 was prepared and ready to go - albeit some 500 days in advance.

The offer we got this time was similar to what we had before - specifically:

• 14 days ticket for the price of 7
• 200 USD gift card (plus an additional 200 USD gift card for booking the flights before a certain date)
• Free photopass/Memory Maker
• 100 USD dining and merchandise credit (which, over 12 nights, amounted to 1200 USD)

This trip was booked at the end of April 2023 for September 2024. A long time to wait, but hopefully it will go according to plan this time.

 

[The Mighty Tim]

Thursday, September 19, 2024 (Day 1)

The long-awaited day of departure had finally arrived. Due to the early flight, we had to get up at 0330 in order to arrive at the Folks' house for the taxi pick up scheduled at 0430, though the Folks wanted us there by 0415 to be on the safe side. As it happened, the taxi arrived early and we were on our way a couple of minutes earlier than the scheduled time.

The run down to LHR was quick and we were able to complete bag drop, security and be airside by 0700, which was fortunate as I had booked us a spot at the airport lounge for entry at that time. After a quick browse of the shops, we went to the lounge and had ourselves some breakfast. Our time in the lounge was brief as the gate was announced an hour or so later. Unfortunately, the gate was about as far as you could get from the lounge, but we had plenty of time anyway. Boarding was swift and departure was on time. As it turned out, our flight arrived just over an hour early, which suits me fine as I find airline seats to be uncomfortable.

After passing through immigration (where we encountered possibly the most miserable/surly border control officer ever...) and baggage, we headed to the Mears pick up point. I showed them the boarding pass and we were directed to our waiting area, where we waited for our bus. And waited, and waited, and waited. The odd thing was that the other waiting areas were reasonably full of people but no buses were showing up. Finally after about 40 minutes, the buses started showing up, picking people up from the other waiting areas. Eventually after a further few minutes, a bus headed to our resort arrived. Once we boarded, we did not have to wait long for the bus to depart.

Our resort, Coronado Springs was the first drop off, which was useful. We completed the check in process and then headed to our rooms. Like last time, our room was next door to the Folks with an adjoining door between them. Also, like last time, we were in Cabanas 8B. We had asked if they could put us in the same rooms as last time, but these were just as good (in fact, they were slightly closer to the bus stop, so I'd argue they were even better).

After myself and R had freshened up, we headed to the bus stop and decided to get on the first bus going to either Magic Kingdom or EPCOT. The first bus that showed up was EPCOT so we boarded it and headed to the park. Upon disembarking, we made a beeling straight towards Spaceship Earth - one of my favourites. When we got on the ride, I made a note of the time; it had taken us 3 hours and 35 minutes from the seatbelt lights switching off on the plane to getting on our first attraction. This was 2 minutes slower than the official record (though we're sure we did it in 2.5 hours before, but couldn't verify it!)

Being quite tired, we didn't spend too much time in EPCOT, though we did have time to hit the new Journey of Water Moana attraction, The Seas with Nemo and Friends and then took in the Awesome Planet show as it was about to start when we walked past it.

After finishing in the Land pavilion, we headed back to Coronado Springs and grabbed dinner from El Mercado. We both had the chicken tenders basket. We also took the opportunity to collect our refillable mugs. Then, on the way back to the room for the night, R picked up a new Magicband+ plus some donuts to munch on. Upon returning to the room, we watched some baseball and then went to sleep.

Stats:

• Attractions ridden: 4 (4 total)
• New experiences: 2 (Journey of Water and Awesome Planet) (2 total)
• Distance covered: 8.63 km / 5.36 mi (8.63 km / 5.36 mi total)

 

[The Mighty Tim]

Friday, September 20, 2024 (Day 2)

We decided to grab breakfast at El Mercado. We both had pancakes, but I had mine with bacon whereas R had his with sausage. The first stop this morning was Magic Kingdom, due to the fact that there was a Halloween party that night and we had heard that the park can be fairly quiet during the day on party nights. We didn't realise just how quiet the park would be! We went round the park going to Adventureland first as is our custom and that area of the park seemed almost deserted. As a result, Pirates of the Caribbean was a walk on and we didn't have to wait too long for Haunted Mansion afterwards. We then headed to Tomorrowland and hit the People Mover, Buzz Lightyear, Monsters Inc Laugh Floor and the Carousel of Progress with a break at Auntie Gravity's for an ice cream float in the midst of all this. We also rode Winnie the Pooh and investigated Tron Lightcycle Run, but the queue for that was too long at that time. However, R did stop for a blie coconut slushie drink at the nearby kiosk.

After taking the WDW railroad for a complete lap of the park, starting and ending at Main Street, I bought a popcorn bucket from the Main Street popcorn vendor and snacked on that on the walk back to the bus stop. We took the bus back to Coronado, collected our drink mugs and headed to El Mercado for a drink. Afterwards, I nipped into Rix's Sports Bar to see if they were showing the Formula 1 race on Sunday morning. They told me they were, so I made a breakfast ADR for Sunday morning so I could enjoy one of my favourite sports whilst chowing down on breakfast.

We relaxed in the room for a bit, still trying to adjust to the local timezone and weather. When we were ready, we headed out to Hollywood Studios. First stop was Star Tours, as it had a short wait time. We then went to Galaxy's Edge and rode Millennium Falcon as single riders. As luck would have it, we ended up on the same ride vehicle and we ended up being gunners (I was right, R was left). We grabbed some food at Backlot Express, where I had the pulled pork burger and R had the teriyak chicken bowl. We then decided to take the Skyliner to EPCOT. I hadn't ridden this before, but R had on the last trip. It was pleasant enough, but I would not have liked to have been stuck in the gondola if it had stopped.

Being a Friday night during Food and Wine, EPCOT was quite busy. As a result, we only rode Gran Fiesta tour before heading back to Coronado. At Coronado, we had a drink each at the Laguna Bar and then bumped into the Folks at Panchito's when we were buying snacks. We got back to the room and watched The Shawshank Redemption, however I missed the end as I was too tired.

Stats:

• Attractions ridden: 11 (15 total)
• New experiences: 1 (Skyliner) (3 total)
• Distance covered: 15.68 km / 9.75 mi (24.31 km / 15.11 mi total)

 

[Zipadeelady]

Following along. I like how you're listing your new experiences each day. After 11 visits, it's nice to be able to experience new things. I also like pictures. You should add some to your report

 

[meggo819]

Following along. I like how you're listing your new experiences each day. After 11 visits, it's nice to be able to experience new things. I also like pictures. You should add some to your report

I agree, but I didn’t even notice the lack of pictures lol

 

[The Mighty Tim]

Saturday, September 21, 2024 (Day 3)

We had the remaining donuts from the other night for breakfast and then decided on another round of Bus Roulette for our first stop. This resulted in us heading to Hollywood Studios again. Here, we rode Rise of the Resistance followed by Millennium Falcon. This time, on the Falcon, we ended up being pilots. I was right pilot and R was left pilot. I think we did OK. After stopping at Dok Ondar's to purchase a kyber crystal each for the lightsabers we built last time, we then headed to Toy Story Land and rode Toy Story Mania, where R scored a convincing win. Next, we rode Star Tours again and visited the same planets as before (Hoth and Coruscant), but this time, Admiral Ackbar contacted us instead of Leia.

Afterwards, we decided to walk to EPCOT along the Boardwalk. We stopped at the Pizza Window for a slice of pepperoni pizza each. It was good pizza. Once we arrived at EPCOT, we noticed that the park was heaving, so we ended up walking around World Showcase and aside from R picking up a banana creampie latte from one of the Joffrey's stands, we didn't do much and instead headed back to the bus where we just missed a bus heading back to Coronado.

Later that afternoon and after some well-earned rest, we headed to Disney Springs for the first time. We managed to get into D-Luxe Burger before the rain came down. We both had a bacon cheeseburger and a half-portion of fries. Once the rain slowed, we headed back outside to look around Disney Springs for a bit, including the Star Wars shops, World of Disney, the M&M store, the Marvel shop and the shop that sells football shirts. We then took a look at Everglazed Donuts and decided to get one each and then headed back to Coronado for a beer in the Barcelona Lounge before returning to the room and falling asleep in front of John Wick 3.

Stats:

• Attractions ridden: 4 (19 total)
• New experiences: 2 (Boardwalk Pizza Window and Everglazed Donuts) (5 total)
• Distance covered: 13.70 km / 8.51 mi (38.01 km / 23.62 mi total)

And since they were requested, here are some pictures from Days 1-3:

Te Fiti in the Journey of Water (Day 1)

A quiet Adventureland first thing on a Magic Kingdom party night (Day 2)

My travelling Lego minifigure in front of the Tron sign (Day 2)

Boardwalk pizza slice with minifig for scale (Day 3)

Everglazed cookies and creme donut with minifig for scale (Day 3)

 

[Zipadeelady]

That is a great picture of Te Fiti! I haven't seen that perspective before.

 

[The Mighty Tim]

Sunday, September 22, 2024 (Day 4)

We got up so we could make our Formula 1 breakfast reservation at Rix's Sports Bar in Coronado. We got there and our order was taken just before the race started. Our breakfast order came quickly. I had the chicken stuffed waffles and R had a pancake stack. We finished breakfast before the race was completed and I felt conscious that I was taking up space, so after paying the bill, we headed back to the room to watch the rest of the race.

After the race, we headed out to Magic Kingdom, as it was another party night. We took in Pirates of the Caribbean again as well as Mickey's Philharmagic as a respite from the heat. We then noticed that the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train only had a 35 minute posted wait, so we joined the queue. Immediately after joining the queue, it jumped to 50 minutes. When we finally made it to the front of the line, the ride broke down and temporarily closed. Fortunately, this closure was short and after this brief delay, we were able to get on the ride. We then noticed that Tron had only a 50 minute wait, so we went for it. It was definitely worth the wait. Yes, I know the ride is a bit short, but it was still exhilarating. Once we got off the ride, we heard that the Folks were at Casey's so we went over to catch up with them. They were enjoing a portion of corn dog nuggets between them. Once they'd finished, they were going back to the resort, while we stayed in the park a bit longer. Next stop was the Laugh Floor again. However, once we got into the theatre and were seated, technical difficulties meant that the show could not start, so we all had to leave. I'm not sure if that counts as an official attraction evac, but if it did - it's only the second one I've experienced across all eleven trips (the first being an evac from Ellen's Energy Adventure many years ago). The next stop was Buzz Lightyear, which went down just after we joined the queue, so we left the queue. Feeling that luck was against us, we decided to head back to Coronado for our afternoon rest.

That evening, we headed to EPCOT to sample some of the Food and Wine delights. There were a few things I wanted to try, but before that, we had to ride Mission: SPACE Orange Team, as that's one of my favourites and it is always best to ride that before food instead of after! Armed with my trusty spork, we set off for Food and Wine. First stop was Mac and Eats where we shared the cheesesteak mac and cheese which wasn't too bad. Then we went to the Mexico booth and split the flauta. I really enjoyed it! The final stop on this session was the Brazilian cheese bread and that did not disappoint either. After our mini feast, we rode Journey into Imagination and then headed to Soarin'. Our luck from earlier in the day seemed to follow us as the theatre we were originally assigned went down. Fortunately, they redirected us to another theatre with minimal fuss and wait time.

After Soarin' we headed back to Coronado and grabbed another meal at El Mercado before returning to the room. When I got back to the room, I checked my phone and noticed that the storm system known as Invest 97L could make things interesting later in the week...

Stats:

• Attractions ridden: 8 (27 total)
• New experiences: 1 (Tron Lightcycle Run) (6 total)
• Distance covered: 14.88 km / 9.25 mi (52.89 km / 32.87 mi total)

Morning view of Coronado Springs

Boarding area for Tron: Lightcycle Run

Minifig is interested in mac and cheese!

EPCOT at nighttime (my favourite time at my favourite park!)

 

[Zipadeelady]

I'm not sure if I should call the lego man.... Lego Man, Tiny Tim, Eskimo Guy but what ever his name is he looks ready for some Mac n Cheese.

 

[The Mighty Tim]

Monday, September 23, 2024 (Day 5)

I woke up this morning to see that Invest 97L had turned into Tropical Cyclone 9. This seemed very familiar, as last time I was here, Tropical Cyclone 9 eventually became Hurricane Ian. Anyway...

Our first stop was Animal Kingdom and we headed straight to Pandora. Our first stop was the Na'vi River Journey, where we got chatting to a friendly family from Indiana who wanted to visit the UK sometime. After that, we checked out Flight of Passage, but the wait time was too long, so we moved on to DINOSAUR. As we got to the boarding station, we saw the same Indiana family boarding the vehicle ahead of us! I'm usually unimpressed by DINOSAUR and even though this was probably going to be my last ever ride on it due to it's impending revamp, I was still unimpressed. We then moved on to the Gorilla Falls Walk and then took the Wildlife Express Train to the Conservation Station. We had a quick look around there, but were starting to get hungry, so headed back to the main park. I grabbed my lunch from Flame Tree BBQ (pulled pork mac and cheese). R, not being a fan of BBQ food, elected to visit Restaurantasaurus and enjoyed a chilli dog for his lunch. After our meals, we did the Maharajah Jungle Trek before heading back to Coronado for a cool rest.

Later that afternoon, we headed for Hollywood Studios as R had a reservation at Savi's Workshop to build a second lightsaber later that evening. Our first stop was Rise of the Resistance which had a 45 minute wait. There must have been some temporary issue with the ride as when we were in the interrogation cell after Hux and Kylo Ren leave, we were in there for what seemed like a very long time (it was probably only about 5 minutes in the end). I was getting a bit uncomfortable as I don't like being in spaces when I don't know when I'll be out of them (for example, being stuck in stationary traffic isn't good for me). Eventually the breakout door opened, albeit not all the way straightaway, but soon we were on the ride. Next, we rode Smuggler's Run as single riders again, ending up as engineers. We then headed to Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway which had a 45 minute posted wait, but a 40 minute actual wait. By the time we had finished there, it was approaching the time of R's lightsaber reservation, so we headed back to Galaxy's Edge and checked in. We were led into the workshop and R took his place while I stood behind, recording various parts on my camera. The experience was a lot smoother for him than last time (in the previous experience, he went through several base units before they found one that worked. By that time, most of the others had pretty much completed their sabers and as a result, R felt rushed through the experience). After the experience, we went in search of food as R proudly wielded his new saber in the darkness. He ended up going for a Ronto Wrap at Docking Bay 7, whilst I grabbed the Bouncin' Mini Churros at Ice Cold Hydraulics, which were quite nice. We then rode Star Tours on the way out and had the same two planets again before returing to Coronado. As I was still a bit hungry, I grabbed some garlic knots from El Mercado which I thought were quite good before picking up some more snacks for the room in case the tropical storm ruined our plans later in the week. Back in the room, we settled down to watch Avengers: Endgame, but yet again, I missed the end as I was too tired and fell asleep.

Stats:

• Attractions ridden: 9 (36 total)
• New experiences: 1 (Ice Cold Hydraulics) (7 total)
• Distance covered: 14.91 km / 9.27 mi (67.80 km / 42.14 mi total)

Pictures from Day 5

Pandora

Minifig now has his eye on my mini-churros!

R showing off his new saber

 

[Zipadeelady]

Those mini churros do look tasty.

 

[The Mighty Tim]

Those mini churros do look tasty.

They were! I recommend them to anyone who fancies trying something a bit different.

 

[The Mighty Tim]

Tuesday, September 24, 2024 (Day 6)

When I woke up this morning, I learned that Tropical Cyclone 9 was now Hurricane Helene and was heading for Florida.

As I was up early, I tried to get a virtual queue for Tiana's Bayou Adventure. I was successful and obtained boarding group 58. By my reckoning, that was going to be an early afternoon call, so there was no rush to get up and about. WHen we were ready to head out, we went to Magic Kingdom and headed towards Tron. However, the standby line was at 110 minutes, so we didn't join the line. I then checked the Disney app on my phone and discovered that Tiana hadn't yet opened, despite it being after 9am. Unsure of when or if Tiana's would open, we continued our day. We stopped to pick up some beignets from Friar's Nook. I have to say I was a little disappointed as I thought there would be more to them. Perhaps if I had gone to the location in Port Orleans that sells them (I can't remember the name right now!), my opinion might have been different. Anyway, after beignets, we headed towards Haunted Mansion, but that was temporarily down too, so we rode Pirates instead. When we finished on Pirates, we headed back to Haunted Mansion which had now opened, so we rode that as well.

We then walked back to Tomorrowland and took in the Laugh Floor again, then had a drink at Cosmic Ray's, which incidentally, I had never actually been to before in all my visits! We rode the People Mover afterwards and then had an early lunch at Columbia Harbor House where we enjyed a chicken platter each. After lunch, and with plenty of boarding groups still to be called for Tiana's, we had time to take in some more attractions. We did Carousel of Progress and the Tiki Room, and the air conditioning in both attractions was quite welcome! We also rode the Riverboat, which was quite nice. By this time, our boarding group was getting closer to being called, so we went towards Tiana's, stopping for a Mickey ice cream sandwich on the way. Finally, around 1425, the boarding group was called and we entered the line. After about a 30 minute wait, we finally got on the ride. I thought it was quite good and I didn't get as wet as I thought I would. Once we finished on that ride, we headed back to Coronado.

After a break, we headed to EPCOT for another bout of Food and Wine. Again, the first stop was Mission: SPACE Orange Team, where I was the engineer and R was the commander. Then we hit the Food and Wine booths. As I enjoyed it so much earlier, I got another flauta from the Mexico booth, plus a duck bao from China and a teriyaki chicken bun from Japan. R took in the autumn chilli from Forest and Field and the frozen apple pie from Swirled Showcase. We also got another order of cheese bread each to collect more stamps for the Fromage Montage. I was also able to refill my popcorn bucket with Canada's maple popcorn. Everything we tried, we really enjoyed. On the way out, we rode Spaceship Earth and then headed back to the resort. We had a beer each in the Barcelona Lounge where we met the Folks who had just returned from Disney Springs. Then returned to the room.

Stats:

• Attractions ridden: 9 (45 total)
• New experiences: 2 (Cosmic Ray's Starlight Cafe and Tiana's Bayou Adventure) (9 total)
• Distance covered: 16.56 km / 10.29 mi (84.36 km / 52.43 mi total)

Pictures from Day 6:

Minifig is now eyeing up the beignets

Looking towards Tomorrowland from the Hub

Crispy duck bao from Food and Wine

The entrance to one of my favourite rides

 

[Zipadeelady]

I hate to disappoint MiniFig, but the beignets at French Quarter are not that great either. I do believe that I'm in the minority in my opinion, though.

 

[erstwo]

For me, beignets are like biscuits - once you’ve had a good one, very few will measure up. There’s a special touch to making both - and I don’t trust them outside certain regions! (Florida might be in the south, but it’s really its own entity! ) I also heard the ones at Port Orleans are good - I look forward to trying them one day!
You got lucky with your Tiana ride. We got soaked last week! Literally like a dumped a cup or two of water on my head.

 

[The Mighty Tim]

I hate to disappoint MiniFig, but the beignets at French Quarter are not that great either. I do believe that I'm in the minority in my opinion, though.

Both myself and minifig found the beginets disappointing. Guess I'll have to go to New Orleans sometime to try them there; the Folks went last year and spoke highly of the beginets there!

For me, beignets are like biscuits - once you’ve had a good one, very few will measure up. There’s a special touch to making both - and I don’t trust them outside certain regions! (Florida might be in the south, but it’s really its own entity! ) I also heard the ones at Port Orleans are good - I look forward to trying them one day!
You got lucky with your Tiana ride. We got soaked last week! Literally like a dumped a cup or two of water on my head.

I too have heard the POFQ beginets are good, but the cafe that sells them was under refurb during my trip. Maybe next time.

And as for getting wet on Tiana's, I may have avoided a soaking this time, but (minor spoilers for a future episode) I did ride it again later in the week with a vastly different outcome. Tune in later to find out how different...

 

[The Mighty Tim]

Wednesday, September 25, 2024 (Day 7)

This morning, we elected for another round of Bus Roulette. We ended up at Animal Kingdom. We headed straight for Flight of Passage as the posted wait time was 60 minutes. It ended up being slightly longer, but that didn't matter. We then had breakfast at one of the Joffrey's outlets. Breakfast consisted of a cookie each and R had a coffee too. We then decided on a change of plan and hopped on a bus to EPCOT from Animal Kingdom. Again, we headed for Mission: Space Orange Team where we ended up with the same two roles as the day before. I then made us a mobile order for Connections Eatery for later on. We did a lap of World Showcase where R got his photo taken with Donald Duck outside the Mexico pavilion. We also bumped into the Folks near the Greece Food and Wine booth who were catching up with some friends of theirs they had intended to meet while on this trip. The time for our Connections mobile order came, so we headed over there and were soon enjoying a slice of pepperoni pizza each before riding Spaceship Earth and then heading back to Coronado.

We had an ADR at the Maya Grill at Coronado that evening, so we spent the afternoon relaxing and chilling in the air conditioned room. Later, we met the Folks at Maya Grill and went in. For starters, we shared chips and salsa, queso fundido and flautas (as thanks to Food and Wine, I had developed a taste for them!). For the main course, I had steak fajitas, R had chicken quesadillas, Mum had the chicken enchiladas and Dad had chicken fajitas. This was washed down by beers for myself and R and mocktails for the Folks. Dinner was very good and I'd recommend the Maya Grill to anyone looking for Mexican food in a quieter environment than the Mexico pavilion at EPCOT.

After dinner, we walked around the resort and ended up at the Dig Site. R and I played air hockey where he narrowly beat me 7:6. I also had a go on the pinball machine there as well. All four of us had a go at table tennis, but were completely hopeless (age, inexperience and beer probably did not help!). We then went back to the room and I noticed that the weather was going to be really bad tomorrow, due to Helene. We switched on the TV and this time, I dozed off in front of Guardians of the Galaxy 2.

Stats:

• Attractions ridden: 4 (49 total)
• New experiences: 1 (Maya Grill) (10 total)
• Distance covered: 9.83 km / 6.11 mi (94.19 km / 58.54 mi total)

Pictures from Day 7

Minifig in front of the Avatar in the Flight of Passage queue

Inside the FOP queue

Waiting for Mission: SPACE to start

Inside the Mexico pavilion

Destino Tower at night

 

[The Mighty Tim]

Thursday, September 26, 2024 (Day 8)

This morning, we headed to El Mercado in Coronado for breakfast, where I had a cronut and orange juice while R had a bagel and cream cheese and a coffee. I also picked up some Chex Mix for later, since I can't get that at home and I love the stuff. We then decided to play Bus Roulette from the Destino Tower bus stop and the first bus that showed up was one bound for Magic Kingdom. However, that one was full, so we couldn't get on it. So, we waited for the next bus to show up and that also went to Magic Kingdom. This bus we could get on, so we did. Upon arriving at Magic Kingdom, we headed straight for Tron which only had a 35 minute wait. As we reached the attraction, the heavens opened and torrential rain began. We didn't have to go far to get to the canopy, so we didn't get too wet. By the time we finished on Tron, the rain had calmed down a little bit and we headed towards Buzz Lightyear. R won this time, but for the first time, I was able to spot the People Mover from the Buzz ride - something I've tried to do for a while. We then rode the People Mover and then headed over to Pirates. By this point, the rain was easing and I could pack my poncho away. After this, we decided to ride the monorail to EPCOT. First was Monorail Coral to the Transportation and Ticket Center, then Monorail Teal to EPCOT itself.

Upon arriving at EPCOT, we went to Soarin' and then the Connections Eatery again for lunch. I had the Korean BBQ chicken sandwich, which was nice and R had General Tso's chicken salad. We rode Spaceship Earth on the way out and I thought we were going to complete the attraction without it stopping. I even said as much, just as were were rotating back to the correct orientation before disembarking. However, at that moment, the ride did stop for a couple of minutes, so I seemed to jinx it! We then headed back to Coronado as the rain clouds began to form again. We got drinks at El Mercado and returned to the room to rest for a bit.

Later that afternoon, I heard the wind and rain pick up, so I went outside to take a look and film a bit of it, under cover. As it happened, the Folks were just returning from Hollywood Studios and I had unintentionally got them on my video - something I did not realise until I played back the video in my room! The rain stopped shortly afterwards, so I went with Mum to El Mercado to get more drinks. With the weather looking ominous for the rest of the day, we decided to remain at the resort for the rest of the day. While the Folks were meeting their friends in Toledo's at the top of Destino Tower, we decided to join the walk up line for 3 Bridges at about 1800. Ten minutes later, our table was ready and we were seated on the edge of the restaurant, meaning we were getting a lot of the wind that was rapidly picking up. But this wasn't going to deter us or the other diners in the restaurant. We both ordered a beer, steak frites and then churros for dessert. The waiter told us that they were closing early due to the weather, so if we wanted more drinks orders, we had to make them before 1900. The steaks were pretty good, though due to the wind, some of my salad blew either into the lake or across the restaurant! After dinner, we went to the main building to see what was going on. As the Halloween Party at Magic Kingdom had been cancelled that night, there were some Halloween activities going on in the resort. Cast members were handing out sweets to people and in the main lobby, people were dressed in their Halloween costumes and we also encountered some of the characters including Donald, Goofy and Mickey himself, who gave me a fist bump.

After this excitement, we returned to the room and caught the end of Hercules, followed by Up, which once again, I missed the end of as I fell asleep!

Stats:

• Attractions ridden: 5 (54 total)
• New experiences: 1 (3 Bridges) (11 total)
• Distance covered: 12.05 km / 7.49 mi (106.24 km / 66.03 mi total)

Pictures from Day 8:

Korean BBQ chicken burger

Three Bridges churros

Characters and guests in the Coronado Springs lobby in lieu of the cancelled Halloween party night

 

[The Mighty Tim]

Friday, September 27, 2024 (Day 9)

First thing this morning, we went to El Mercado and split an order of pancakes and sausage for breakfast. We then did a lap of the resort and then headed off to Disney Springs with the Folks for some shopping and lunch. Mum and I went to The Polite Pig and shared the butcher board for 2. It was OK, but not as good as I was expecting. Dad and R headed to the Earl of Sandwich instead. After lunch, we went our separate ways. Dad returned to the resort, Mum did some shopping by herself and R and I went to the M&M store, bought some M&Ms and went back to the resort to chill and relax.

Later that afternoon, we went to Hollywood Studios and rode Rise of the Resistance as single riders, followed by Star Tours (where we got to go to Kashyyyk this time, but still finished on Coruscant) and then Millennium Falcon as single riders where I was the right engineer making up the numbers. This was followed by MuppetVision 3D. After Hollywood Studios, we walked to EPCOT again along the Boardwalk where I filled up my popcorn bucket with Canadian maple popcorn again. R tried the Impossible mac and cheese and Mac and Eats and was pleasantly surprised. It was also sufficient to claim the Fromage Montage prize which he duly did and enjoyed that too. We then met the Folks at the Odyssey building and then headed to Club Cool where I bought an ice cream float and Mum bought a T-shirt that she couldn't get at the Coca-Cola store in Disney Springs. We then headed back to the resort and stopped at El Mercado where Mum had the chicken basket and R and I split a bag of pretzels. We took a quick look in Panchito's and then headed back to the room.

Stats:

• Attractions ridden: 4 (58 total)
• New experiences: 1 (The Polite Pig) (12 total)
• Distance covered: 16.54 km / 10.28 mi (122.78 km / 76.31 mi total)

Pictures from Day 9:

Minifig sizing up the BBQ food

The mascot near the entrance of Hollywood Studios

EPCOT all lit up at night