Trip Report We’re Soarin’, Flyin’… Into the Unknown

Hello friends!

Many of you know me, but I’ve been pretty absent for awhile. This school year was wild and left me with very little time for… well, anything. But I’m back and trying to be more present here, because you’re my people and it makes me happy to be in good company!

Some quick reintroductions since it’s been so long…

I’m Brittany! I’m a PA turned Florida girl and I love every second of my life in the sunshine state! I teach 1st grade and that will almost always be the reason for any unexplained absence from me here. This is my husband, Dylan! I drug him along (okay, okay, he came willingly) for my fairytale Florida life, and we’re pretty happy with what we’ve created here. He is also a teacher, but he teaches high school history. His cup of tea, definitely not mine. We are Disney and Universal Passholders, so you can almost always find us at a theme park. Now, on to the exciting stuff!

Where are we soarin’, flyin to?

When are we venturing into the unknown? July 7. Yep…. TOMORROW.

We had been planning this trip for summer 2020 through Adventures by Disney so we could do the Studios and Imagineering tours, but you know, Covid. But now the trip is back on, though not through Adventures by Disney. We’ll eventually live out that dream, but for now, getting to the parks is more than enough! This was a spur of the moment “book the trip!” kind of deal, but everything is set and we are EXCITED!

We have 3 park days planned with a rest day in the middle. We’ll spend some time in Downtown Disney and at our hotel pool, but it’ll mostly be a go with the flow kind of day. We’re not staying on property this trip, but our hotel is right across the road from the parks so I can pretend. Our flight back home is late in the evening, so we’re also planning a visit to Griffith Park for that day. I’m almost as excited for that as the parks! Lol.

So, there it is! I hope that you’ll follow along on our journey to the original happy place… I promise to try and keep the tears to a minimum.

 

[BigDis]

I'm late but I'm all caught up and thoroughly enjoying your TR. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Gurt]

We exited through a shop and I saw this little figurine that I would love to have.

I have this ornament, our last trip to WDW was for my 30th birthday and I used some on the money my family gifted me to buy something I could keep. I love it.

 

[Swissmiss]

I have this ornament, our last trip to WDW was for my 30th birthday and I used some on the money my family gifted me to buy something I could keep. I love it.

I think I gave that to my BIL a few Christmas’s ago - he is an artist and just as suspected, he really loved it.

 

[FlaggNL]

Thanks for sharing! Great report and great pictures and stories. California is still on our bucket list..... but as long as we are not allowed in USA... we have to wait And then such report are great to read watch and follow!

 

[blreinsel]

A great first day full of new attractions for you and opportunities for comparison with WDW attractions.

(and you really have not watched any of the 4 Indiana Jones films? - please just watch Raiders of the Lost Ark at some point)

Max

Yes! It's not often that I get to experience something new at Disney these days, so that was such a fun part of this trip!

My family has never been big on movies... but then I married Dylan who can quote the entirety of just about every movie ever made. I will add it to my ever growing list, but only because it was a Max recommendation.

Ive been following along, I just haven’t been able to comment much. Looks like a great first day at Disneyland!

Thanks for following! It was a fantastic day!

Supposedly the Grilled Cheese at Woody's Lunchbox in TSL is amazing. I never got to try it as we didn't spend much time in HS and we go in the Summer when our appetites are supressed by the heat. Next trip, I totally want to try it though. This one looked good!

I've had the grilled cheese at Woody's Lunchbox... I don't really remember much about it, so I guess that means it didn't blow me away. But it's pretty hard to mess up grilled cheese.

Nice to see some updates, I just got back from the Land on Monday night. Such a bummer to have Haunted, Space, and Indy go down all in the same day. Not surprising that Indy went down, it goes down frequently. I'm actually shocked if I make it through the line without it going down.

Definitely a bummer, but every other part of the trip was perfect so it was a small price to pay! For as popular as Indiana Jones is, I would think Disney would get that worked out.

I'm late but I'm all caught up and thoroughly enjoying your TR. Thanks for sharing.

Thanks for reading!

I have this ornament, our last trip to WDW was for my 30th birthday and I used some on the money my family gifted me to buy something I could keep. I love it.

That's so special! I'll add it to my exceptionally long list of "things I want from Disney."

Thanks for sharing! Great report and great pictures and stories. California is still on our bucket list..... but as long as we are not allowed in USA... we have to wait And then such report are great to read watch and follow!

Happy to have you along! Here's hoping that things can safely get back to "normal" soon... I know that the travel bug is a tough one to fend off!

 

[blreinsel]

Friday, July 9

I was up bright and early to attempt to get a boarding group for Web Slingers. I'm happy to report that I was successful! It was super easy and went through the second I pushed "join." I've managed to get a boarding group for Rise at WDW twice now, but it always seems to come with some issue or moment of panic that I won't get one. I know it's mostly luck, but I was excited either way.

We finished getting ready and then headed downstairs for some Starbucks to drink on the walk to the park. We arrived a little after 8am and were greeted with... no crowds. Meanwhile over at Disneyland, the line was still pretty backed up.

As most people do, we headed directly for Radiator Springs Racers. The wait was low-ish while we were walking over, but it had jumped to 80 minutes by the time we got there. We decided to come back later because I felt pretty confident that the wait would drop at least a little bit as the day went on. I had purchased PhotoPass again for today, so we stopped for a few pictures. We had seen the photographer at Disneyland the day before, and he ended up taking our picture in another location later in the day as well.

I snapped some other pictures as we walked around, taking advantage of the fact that the land wasn't overly crowded this early in the day.

Luigi's was posted at 10 minutes, but we more or less walked on!

It was a cute little ride and we couldn't help but laugh as we danced around.

Dylan was really anxious to get into Avengers Campus, so we headed there next.

I enjoy the Avengers and most Marvel movies, but I'm not into them enough that I understood a whole lot about the land. Dylan, however, is a huge fan and was loving every bit of it!

 

[blreinsel]

Friday, July 9 cont.

Mission Breakout was posted at 30 minutes, but we got on in 20.

I know there are a lot of strong feelings about this theme, but WOW! We absolutely loved everything about it! The music was just so fun and the drop sequences seemed so much better than ToT. We got a few different songs, but I can't remember which ones we got now. I love ToT, truly, and I would be so upset if they re-themed it, but Mission Breakout got 10s across the board from us!

By the time we finished on Mission Breakout, we were close to being called for Web Slingers. We decided to just wander around the area until it was time. We saw a lot of characters and entertainment every time we passed through Avengers Campus. We kept missing the Spiderman show, which I heard was amazing, and never did end up getting to see it, so that was a bummer. Next time.

Our boarding group was called at 9:15am, so we headed into the queue!

A large part of the queue was outside, which seems to be a trend at DL and DCA.

 

[blreinsel]

Friday, July 9 cont.

We waited in line for about 25 minutes but finally we were on! The ride vehicles reminded me of the ones on Kong and Fast and Furious at Universal.

Dylan and I's individual scores

Total car score

Thoughts on Web Slingers... The ride technology was awesome! We had a lot of fun and it was very well done. My arms were legitimately sore the next day, which is a little bit embarrassing. In my defense, that's not an arm motion than I do on a regular basis lol. I don't know that I would feel inclined to get up early for a boarding group again nor would I wait in line for hours, but I would wait maybe 30 minutes standby? Again, I enjoy Marvel, but I'm not a super fan by any means, and I'm sure that makes a difference in the lengths I'm willing to go to ride it.

We exited the ride and stopped for some more pictures. The line was moving super slowly, and we were standing directly in the sunlight. Dylan's patience for picture taking was being tested.

Another ride that we were super excited for was Incredicoaster, so that was our next destination.

I can't imagine this ever having a different theme because the Incredibles theme just fits so well!

 

[blreinsel]

Friday, July 9 cont.

Some fun queue details..

The wait was posted at 20 minutes, but we were on in 15. It was fantastic! We rode it many more times throughout the week and it's definitely one of our favorite west coast rides!

We continued our journey around Pixar Pier, taking in all of the amazing details. I was missing our pups big time, so this little nod to one of them made me smile.

We stopped in this shop to look around and get Dylan a snack like the child that he is.

Dylan's snack of choice, which I will admit was enjoyed by both of us over the next few days.

They had just released the Incredibles Wishables, and it was really hard for me to not buy Jack Jack. He's my favorite.

 

[blreinsel]

Friday, July 9 cont.

I thought that these ears were adorable!

We left the shop and continued on around the pier.

The swings were posted at 10 minutes, so we decided to hop in line. We ended up waiting closer to 15.

We finished the circle around the pier and stopped for some photos with the photographer from Radiator Springs this morning. He was so friendly and we enjoyed chatting with him each time we ran into him!

 

[blreinsel]

Friday, July 9 cont.

We were headed for Radiator Springs again, but had to stop to say hello to a friend on the way!

He was giving the fish CPR.

Mater's Junkyard Jamboree was posted at 25 minutes, so we got in line for that while we were in the area. We only waited about 15 minutes.

This was another fun ride that we couldn't help but laugh the whole time we were on it! Also, Mater speaking Spanish to go over the safety rules for the ride is one of my favorite things ever.

We decided to check on the single rider line for Radiator Springs, which was currently posted at 75 minutes. The line was open, so we decided to just do that to make sure we got to experience it. Our wait was mostly just the amount of time it took to walk through the queue, and we were boarding in less than 10 minutes. I cannot for the life of me figure out why anybody who doesn't have kids would wait in a 75 minute line when there's a single rider line that'll get you on in no time at all.

Here we go!

Oh gosh, I cannot say enough good things about this ride! I had the paint shop scene and Dylan had the tire shop. We both got to experience both scenes later on. This is infinitely better than Test Track, and I'm totally in support of another WDW re-theme!

 

[blreinsel]

Friday, July 9 cont.

The most adorable "bouquet!"

Mater was out greeting guests! The fact that this is basically a giant remote control car is very entertaining to me.

It was time for lunch and Radiator Springs was just the place for it! Dylan wanted food from Flo's and I had my eye one something that I'd been dreaming about for a very long time. Dylan's order was ready first, so he got his food and found a table with some AC at Flo's. I headed next door to wait for mine to be ready.

Some pictures while I waited...

FINALLY! A bacon mac and cheese cone, and oh my goodness it did not disappoint! It was sooo much food, but it was incredible.

We enjoyed our meals and a break from the heat! Flo's was adorable, and it had us reminiscing about the cruise. We got food from Flo's on the ship pretty often.

Heading out of Radiator Springs for now!

 

[blreinsel]

Friday, July 9 cont.

We passed back through Avengers Campus and stumbled across the cutest mouse in all the land!

After saying hello to Mickey, we got in line for Monsters Inc., which was posted at 20 minutes. We waited about 15. I really liked this one! I feel like DL's dark rides are mostly superior to WDW's.

It took me a second to realize that Roz was actually talking to the cars as they went by, but it was a fun touch!

We exited the ride and I saw Chip was onstage... I took off leaving Dylan to figure out why his grown woman wife was running across the park and eventually follow, shaking his head. LOOK HOW CUTE HE IS!

There was a lot of pointing and motioning involved, but I eventually figured out what he was trying to tell me. Apparently he remembered me from DL yesterday! I would love to know which character he/she was that I had met! I felt so special that "Chip" remembered me... it was a definite trip highlight! Dylan kept reminding me that it was a person who remembered me so really wasn't that exciting, but I chose to ignore this dose of reality.

I told him that he made such a good Thor that I barely recognized him!

We had such a fun interaction and I didn't want to leave! Dylan just shakes his head at me when I get like this with characters.

 

[blreinsel]

Friday, July 9 cont.

We wanted to do the Fun Wheel, so we started walking over that way. Our plan was to do the swinging cars, but the wait jumped from 30 minutes to 60 by the time we got over there. We opted for the non-swinging, which only had a 40 minute wait. We waited about 45 and a good portion of that was directly in the sun. Definitely not ideal. But we enjoyed the views once on board!

Incredicoaster was posted at 20 minutes, so we decided to ride that again since we were in the area! We waited about 12 minutes.

We were ready for a break from the heat so decided on Lamplight Lounge for some libations.

The cutest little menus!

And the cutest coasters!

Dylan's beer of some sort

I started with a Scream Canister (Bacardi Reserva Ocho Rum, Cream of Coconut, Pinapple and Orange Juice with a mist of Angostura Bitters). It was really good!

 

[blreinsel]

Friday, July 9 cont.

My second round.. Open Ocean with a Splash (a Frozen Cocktail made with Bacardi Raspberry Rum, Bols Blue Curaçao, Liquid Alchemist Orgeat (Almond), Agave Nectar, and fresh Lime Juice). This was incredible! It was a little bit sour and oh so refreshing! Dylan had couple of beers, but those aren't nearly as exciting as my girly drinks (sorry @lostpro9het & @wdisney9000).

The wait for the swinging Fun Wheel cars had gone down to 20 minutes, so we popped back over there before leaving Pixar Pier. I know the moving cars make some people sick, but we thought they were a blast!

We wanted to ride Mission Breakout again, so off to Avengers Campus we went. It was posted at 40 minutes, but we only waited 20.

It was just as good the second time!

We were starting to get a little weary at this point, and we wanted food but couldn't settle on anything in the park. We decided to go to Downtown Disney for a break from the park and some food. We stopped on our way out for some pictures.

We bumped into Oswald when we got to the front of the park! These little character interactions were great because there was very little waiting involved. A few minutes of chatting, a picture, and then move it along folks!

 

[blreinsel]

Friday, July 9 cont.

Continuing on...

We decided to share a pizza from Napolini, which was basically a slightly less delicious version of Blaze. But it hit the spot!

I had a hankering for something sweet, so I ventured over to Salt and Straw for some ice cream.

I'm just not an adventurous enough eater to get any of the weird flavors. I had the Chocolate Gooey Brownie, and it was divine! I can't wait for this to open at WDW! Although I never go to Springs, so I'll probably have it there just as often as I'll have it from DL lol.

We walked through a few stores before heading back to the park. We passed some friends along the way.

We passed by this place, and we could not stop laughing. Please do not tell him that I posted this... he will kill me.

We rode Mission Breakout again... it was posted at 45 minutes but we were on in 30. Did I mention this was one of our favorite rides?

I wanted to check out Radiator Springs at night, so we made our way back over there next.

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

Friday, July 9 cont.

I thought that these ears were adorable!
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We left the shop and continued on around the pier.
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The swings were posted at 10 minutes, so we decided to hop in line. We ended up waiting closer to 15.
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We finished the circle around the pier and stopped for some photos with the photographer from Radiator Springs this morning. He was so friendly and we enjoyed chatting with him each time we ran into him!
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View attachment 587964

Friday, July 9 cont.

We wanted to do the Fun Wheel, so we started walking over that way. Our plan was to do the swinging cars, but the wait jumped from 30 minutes to 60 by the time we got over there. We opted for the non-swinging, which only had a 40 minute wait. We waited about 45 and a good portion of that was directly in the sun. Definitely not ideal. But we enjoyed the views once on board!
View attachment 588073

View attachment 588072

View attachment 588071

Incredicoaster was posted at 20 minutes, so we decided to ride that again since we were in the area! We waited about 12 minutes.
View attachment 588069

View attachment 588070

We were ready for a break from the heat so decided on Lamplight Lounge for some libations.
View attachment 588068

The cutest little menus!
View attachment 588067

And the cutest coasters!
View attachment 588064

Dylan's beer of some sort
View attachment 588066

I started with a Scream Canister (Bacardi Reserva Ocho Rum, Cream of Coconut, Pinapple and Orange Juice with a mist of Angostura Bitters). It was really good!
View attachment 588065

I am the proud owner of those ears, I couldn't resist them. And you made a wise choice with the Scream Canister drink, I got that too and really enjoyed it.

 

[blreinsel]

Friday, July 9 cont.

It's so pretty! There was such a fun atmosphere here and it felt totally different at night.

Radiator Springs Racers was posted at 45 minutes, but we opted for the single rider line again. We walked onto the ride in 3 minutes, which is how long it took us to walk through the queue. I was in the car right ahead of Dylan, and the ride broke down just as we got to the end. We had been hoping to get one more ride in before closing, but it took them a few minutes to evacuate us off of the ride, and the park was closed before we were off. The CM was very clear in her directions to keep all phones put away, which wasn't a big deal because we weren't at a point in the ride that had any "behind the scenes" views. But I would have been disappointed if we were further back in the ride. This also had us wondering what it's like if you're in the actual race part of the ride when it breaks down. I'm sure there's some sort of safety feature that makes for a gradual stop, but imagine going full speed and Lightning McQueen just hitting the breaks.

Some more pictures as we made our way out.

I also really wanted a nighttime Fun Wheel picture, but we were too tired to walk all the way over there. So this is is the best I could do.

We exited the park and found all of these people sitting on the ground, waiting for DL fireworks to start. Add this to the list of things you can't do/don't see at WDW lol.

And with that, we walked back to the hotel after another fantastic day at DLR! We really enjoyed DCA and were very lucky with the low wait times, allowing us to ride all of our favorites multiple times!

 

[Back!Elbow!Shoulders!]

Sorry for the like blitz. I’m a little late to the party but loving it so far!

You're half way to lostpro9het's four pillars of success:
1: DCL...Check!
2: DLR....Check!
3: Il Mulino over every other eyetalian in WDW...?
4: Stouts with at least 10.5%ABV...

Is it possible to substitute a repeat of pillar 4 for pillar 1? (Although I suspect with enough pillar 4s I might be more agreeable to going on a boat... )

 

[fractal]

Looks like you enjoyed DLR as much as I did. Love the pics!