2021 WDW Thanksgiving 11-Day Trip - Updated 10/8/22!!!

[VanillaThunder]

EPCOT! Little Chef Or Moana? Can We Do Both??, Part 2​

So, Mom is down for the count, but we're ready to go! Back to EPCOT we go!

At some point in the day, we managed to snag reservations for Remy's Ratatouille Adventure and our return window countdown was taking us very close to the Candlelight Processional. We were worried that we'd have to miss one for the other, but the Processional was our priority. We ran to France when our boarding group was next, and it was soo close to the start time of the Processional. We got there, hoping that the line wouldn't be too bad - and the ride was down. The cast member assured us that we'd still be able to get on later, even after the Processional, so we were relieved, and ran back to the Pavilion to get in line for the show! We stopped in Japan at the Shi Wasu booth (Festival of the Holidays) and each had a Chocolate Tokyo Banana, which tasted like a banana flavored chocolate milk with a splash of vodka. Tasty!

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We got some really good seats for the show, and the weather was perfect for it! Chilly but not windy, and although it threatened to rain a few times, we never got more than a light sprinkle. We expected the narrator to be Jodi Benson (Ariel), which would have been awesome, but I must have had the dates mixed up, because it ended up being Auli'i Cravalho (Moana )! I won't say better, but we were more excited to see her! She started us off with a big "Aloha" then got to the story. She put so much heart and feeling into her narration, and the choir and orchestra were absolutely phenomenal.

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After the show, we rushed back to Remy's to see if we could catch our ride, and it was running! We scanned our Magic Bands at about 8pm, and we were in our ride vehicle within 20 minutes. I didn't expect such a short wait! The queue was fun, making it seem like we were going through the rooftops of Paris. At one point, we could see Gusteau's above, and Gusteau himself was giving us the intro to the ride. At one point, he put his two pans over his head in what was clearly a hidden Mickey!

It happened quick!​

We thought the ride was really fun! The no rails ride almost made it feel like we were a puck on an air hockey table! There were a few 4D effects that also came as a surprise. All in all, super fun, and would have been worth a longer wait if we had to do it!

The rest of the evening was just Wifey and I strolling through World Showcase, eating and drinking, basically a perfect night! We stopped at L'Chaim! Holiday Kitchen for some latkes. Wifey had the smoked salmon variety, and mine was plain, as is tradition. I liked mine, she liked hers, and we were off to the next snack, country!

Salmon.... ...and not salmon
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We placed a Mobile Order at the Karamell Kuche for our next goodie. I had a Pumpkin Spice Cupcake, and Wifey had a Caramel Butter Bar. We were still good after the latkes though, so we threw these in the backpack and kept on!

Moving on within the Showcase, we made our way to the Refreshment Outpost (in between countries?) and had a delicious Spicy Apple Cinnamon Hard Cider from 3 Daughters Brewing. Nice thirst quencher and palate cleanser for the next snack!

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Our last snack stop for the night was in Mexico, at the Las Posadas Holiday Kitchen. We shared the Giant Tostada de Chorizo and a Horchata Margarita. Toppings were a little sparse on the tostada, but it had a really good flavor and a bit of spice. The margarita was just OK. I love horchata and I love margaritas, but maybe not together? Or maybe this one just wasn't it.

Just OK, but we'd already had plenty of good stuff anyway
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We hung around Mexico to enjoy our snack, and as we were getting ready to leave, Harmonious started, so we decided to find a decent viewpoint and check out the show! My first time seeing it and I really liked it.

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Now, we headed toward the exit, took a few more pics along the way, and headed back to the hotel for some much-needed rest! We're rope-dropping it again tomorrow!

I think this was the big EPCOT tree



Next up: Wifey Goes To Hollywood. Relax!​

 

[VanillaThunder]

Wifey Goes To Hollywood. Relax!​

Welcome back friends! We're on Day 3 of 11, and there's so much more to do and see. Let's go!

Today was time to visit Hollywood Studios! I haven't talked about it yet, but today was going to hold one of the experiences that I was most excited about for the whole trip, and something I've been wanting to do for a couple of years. I'll explain later...

Now, according to the crowd level tracker I subscribe to, HS was supposed to be something like a 4 or 5 of 10 that day. We got in line about an hour before opening because we wanted to rope drop, but there were already a pretty big crowd ahead of us! As opening time drew near, there was a massive crowd behind us as well!

Today was the only day of the trip that we splurged on Genie+. We booked a Lightning Lane for Millennium Falcon: Smuggler's Run, and our return time was all the way out at 1pm!

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We booked it straight to Mickey's Runway Railway, and there was already a 50-minute posted wait. We lined up, and enjoyed the queue, especially the handprints of all of the celebrities!

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The ride was cute. At my age of course, I'm more partial to the old school Mickey animation style, so this new look is strange to me! The ride had a similar mechanic to Remy's Ratatouille Adventure, and I liked the frenetic whipping around of the vehicle. I never had the pleasure of riding the Great Movie Ride, so I don't hold any disdain for this as a replacement. We only waited 35 minutes anyway, which I was not mad at!

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After the ride, we wanted some breakfast, so we headed into Galaxy's Edge and over to Ronto Roasters for some Ronto Wraps! On the way there, we couldn't help but notice that there were a ton of people queued up for something when we were walking through the tunnel leading to Galaxy's Edge. Like all the way through, with three lines snaking all the way up and down. As we approached the land, we saw it was the line to Rise of the Resistance! Wow! I wasn't sure how we were gonna tackle that one later!

I had the breakfast version, and Wifey had the standard. Both were very tasty, but I liked mine with the eggs in it better!

Delicious!​

Mom wasn't feeling the Star Wars food, so after we ate, we headed to Toy Story Land, where she got a Breakfast Bowl at Woody's Lunch Box. We took the opportunity to indulge a bit, and the Wifey and I shared a Holiday Lunch Box Tart and a Grown-up Lemonade. The tart was OK. Not much filling, which I think was apple, but the pastry was good. Buttery, not dry, flaky and tasty. The lemonade was delicious! It was like a cherry lemonade, which I love. But it was on the weaker side, alcohol-wise.

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After a leisurely breakfast, we headed to Star Tours, which had a 30-minute posted wait, but we were on in 20. I'll take a 20-minute wait for any ride any time and walk away a happy man! Star Tours is Star Tours. I love it. Nothing new.

Go for the legs!​

Next up was Muppet Vision 3D. I miss this one since it closed at DCA, so it's been almost 10 years since I've seen the show! It was as funny and great as I remember it!

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Our MFSR return time was coming up, so we meandered back to Galaxy's Edge. We had a little time to kill, and I wanted an adult beverage, so we stopped at Docking Bay 7 and placed a quick Mobile Order for a Takodana Quencher, which was Bacardí Dragon Berry Rum, Blue Curacao, Simply Orange with Pineapple, and Kiwi. We thought it was pretty good. Nothing earth-shattering but hit the thirst-quenching spot.

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We headed to the queue for MFSR and with the LL, only waited about 10 minutes. I guess that was worth the $15 for Genie+?

Wifey and I had ridden MFSR twice on our last trip to DL/DCA, in which we were pilots and gunners, so I was hoping for the engineer position. We were pilots again, and I don't remember what position Mom got hit with. It was a fun ride, and we crashed a whole lot, as is tradition!

Red means good, right?
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After the ride, it was time for another snack! Were we hungry? Probably not, but I had a list of stuff I wanted to eat, and certain foods were only available in certain parks/areas we may not be returning to later, so we had to do what we had to do! But I'm out of room to post pics of it, and far be it from me to do that so... TO BE CONTINUED!

Next Up: Wifey Goes To Hollywood. Relax!, Part 2​

 

[VanillaThunder]

Wifey Goes To Hollywood. Relax!, Part 2​

One of the 50th Anniversary snacks I really wanted to try was the Glimmer and Shimmer Blondie from Fairfax Faire. This thing was huge, and under or just around $5 if I remember correctly! I was a bit let down. It was good not great. Not super moist until I got to the center, but maybe that was the intended consistency. It was overly sweet to eat a lot of it, and it was so big, I wasn't able to finish it, even with help. I didn't have anything to wrap it up with, and there was plenty more good stuff to be had that I didn't feel bad about tossing half of it.

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Fairfax Faire wasn't too far from Rock 'n' Roller Coaster, so we headed there. Wifey was alone on this one. If I haven't said it before, I don't do certain rides. Anything with a prominent drop, I don't do it. It gets me feeling a weird way and I just don't like it. I'm good with fast, upside down, backwards, etc., but drops aren't it for me. Mom didn't ride it either, so Wifey was on her own. I didn't keep track specifically, but even with her in the Single Rider line, I think it still took her 45 minutes to exit the ride!

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Everyone was in need of a rest, and maybe a bit to eat at that point, so we stopped at ABC Commissary for lunch. Wifey and I shared a turkey sammich off the kid's menu since I wasn't too hungry, and Wifey had the steak fries. Mom had the Shrimp Tacos. We got our food, and Wifey took a look at the fries and then got up and walked them back to the cast member. I didn't know what was going on at the time. Well, there was no steak on her steak fries... She thought that the fries had steak on them, rather than the fries themselves being "steak" fries. I thought it was hilarious, joked about it for a few minutes, and still find a way to bring it up from time to time to this day .

Where's the beef?​

We had a LL return for Toy Story Mania!, so we headed back to Toy Story Land for some hubs/wifey shootin' competition!

Me and Mom about to line up



Yeah... so, I lied. I never beat Wifey at these...​

The ride appears to be identical to DCA, and the theming is on point at both. Maybe DCA gets a slight nod because it's actually on the boardwalk, but that's nitpicking.

Now came my biggest personal dilemma of the trip so far (possibly ever!) It was getting late, and we didn't have any specific plans to come back to HS on this trip, so we needed to ride Slinky Dog Dash now or never! We did have plenty of free time still earmarked where we could fit in another visit here, but I really wanted to ride it now anyway. The issue was, I had a reservation in about an hour and a half (more on that soon), and there was an 80-minute posted wait. Longer than I wanted to wait either way, but I was NOT going to miss my reservation!

I couldn't tell if the line was moving faster or slower than normal, or if we were on track for the 80 minutes or not. I was ready to jump out of line at any second and let Mom and Wifey ride by themselves. Fortune favored us though, because we were on Slinky in 70 minutes! I was distracted by my upcoming appointment, but the ride was really fun! Kind of a mix of a kid coaster and an adult one. Not too "soft" but definitely not extreme. I may not wait 80 minutes to ride it again, but it's one of the top rides in the park in my book!

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Next up was one of the highlights (for me) of the trip! This is something that is over two years in the making, and deservers its own post! Or at least it deserves to be the beginning of a new post!

Next Up: Still Part 3, But We're Calling This One: November The 29th Be With You! (Doesn't Have The Same Ring)​

 

[footballmouse]

 

[VanillaThunder]

I especially like the buffet at Boma.

Ooh, I'll get to that! Boma was one of our favorite breakfasts of the entire trip!

 

[VanillaThunder]

Still Part 3, But We're Calling This One: November The 29th Be With You! (Doesn't Have The Same Ring)​

Okay, here we are friends! The event that is two years in the making! Allow me to explain... *flashback noises*

Our last trip to DL (2019) was our first visit since Galaxy's Edge opened. I'll preface the rest with the fact that I'm not the biggest Star Wars fan. I've seen all the movies, but I've never gone all out for it, collected any memorabilia, or watched any of the spin-off movies or shows (Mandalorian and Obi-Wan Kenobi). I am a big fan of movie props though. Because of this, and from what I had heard about the experience, I wanted sooo badly to build a Lightsaber at Savi's Workshop!

Now, 2019 was already a bigger than ordinary trip, with the Club 33 visit and all. Between the meal and souvenirs, it was a rather expensive lunch! With our budget in mind, and the fact that the wife knows I'm not a big Star Wars fan, I couldn't justify the cost at the time. We still visited Galaxy's Edge, shopped, drank at Oga's Cantina, etc., and had a great time, but I definitely had a chip on my shoulder from not getting that Lightsaber! From then on, it's been a running joke that I was to the point where when discussing money with the wife, $200 wasn't $200 anymore, it was one Lightsaber! $600 vet bill? Ugh, that's three Lightsabers! Wife wants to take a trip to Maui? That's like 20 Lightsabers!

So, back to the here and now!

Of course, we were on our way to Savi's! I tried to take it all in, but the excitement was getting to me! I checked in at the front and chose my Lightsaber style. I decided to go with the Protection and Defense style. It seemed cleaner and I liked the yellow/gold accents. I was given the pin to signify my choice, and we were off to the corral to wait for our turn!

Much excite!​

When we were escorted inside, I couldn't help but feel that the two years of waiting was worth it, and about pay off! The atmosphere was so immersive, and the workers were 100% in character the entire time. The host was incredible at how deep he was in his role.

The experience took about 20 minutes, and at the end of it, I was left with a very memorable experience, but this bad boy right here!

Bad lighting, but I chose the purple Kyber crystal.​

The Mrs. took more video than photos, so I can't post it all here, but it was an amazing experience, and I still whip the Lightsaber out from time to time and swing it around! I ended up buying yellow and red Kyber crystals on the trip, and I've since acquired a green one. It's fun to swap them out for a different look from time to time!

We had one final stop for the evening, and that was dinner! We had originally decided on 50's Prime Time Cafe while we were planning the reservations months ago, thinking Mom would enjoy it more since she was born in the 50's, but she actually wanted Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater. I was happy about that since we had 50's Prime Time on our last trip and had never had Sci-Fi before. And I'm more of a burger guy than a pot roast and veggies guy, so Sci-Fi's menu better suited my preferences.

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We were lucky enough to get seated in a car/table, rather than the benches in back. I loved the atmosphere. I forgot we were even indoors!

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Most of the reviews I had read said it was more about the experience and atmosphere than the food, but I liked it all! I started off right, with an adult beverage. I had the Long Island Lunar Tea. Wifey had a Chocolate Martini, and Mom just had a chocolate shake. I liked the idea, and got an Oreo shake myself . We all had burgers. I had the Drive-In BBQ Burger, and the ladies both had the Classic American Burger.

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Thoughts om the food? I'll let Mr. Jules Winfield, my man in Inglewood, answer that.

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After our delicious meal, we meandered back to the park entrance to turn in for the night! We saw a projection show on some buildings and got a nice shot of the big park tree!

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Tomorrow is a break day. We're headed to Tampa to spend some time with Wifey's family, but we have some Disney dessert plans too, so stay tuned!

Next up: Time For A Break! And Some Pizza And Ice Cream!​

 

[suse66]

Just popped in to read and am enjoying your report so far!

 

[SomeImaginationHuh]

All caught up! Can’t wait to read the rest!

 

[VanillaThunder]

Just popped in to read and am enjoying your report so far!

Excited to have you here!

All caught up! Can’t wait to read the rest!

Thanks! Hopefully I'll have another day up today!

 

[kevtlas]

Thanks for sharing! All the food picks made me hungry