Completed 1/13 - Monoraaaaaaaail! - August 2023 Trip Report

[Araminta18]

Im in!

Well now, this is going to be a fun one! Love all your pics so far, following...

Thank you! There will be (SO MANY) more....

 

[VAtink]

Joining in!

 

[GracieKam]

Joining along

 

[SimplyGoofy]

I’m happy your travel day went so well - it’s a gamble when you take two different flights these days!

so I definitely wasn't being creepy and seeing his airtag on the app.

Look at that gorgeous lobby!

Art of Animation is awesome and has so many fun things to see! I’ve not stayed there (yet) but toured around twice when staying at Pop. It sounds like it may not be as good as it used to be, but I really enjoyed the Landscape of Flavors food court.

We went just a *little* bit crazy:

Oh my goodness, that’s so many cookies! I’d heard they limit how many you can purchase - have you found that to be the case?

Overall, another delicious meal at Wine Bar George. It's definitely our favorite restaurant - we highly recommend it, even for non-drinkers!

Your meal looks great (although I agree the green hush puppies are… different.)

Although I still have the occasional drink, I really appreciate that you highlight fun non-alcoholic options. With the Florida heat sometimes the lack of alcohol is best!

 

[cheryllarsen]

How fun!!

 

[Araminta18]

Disney Springs at Night! - Saturday, August 12, 2023 (part 4)​

Meanwhile, more shopping! I found like the only piece of DuckTales merchandise I've ever seen:

Duck Tales... woo hoo!

I then went over to Goofy's Candy Kitchen to get the custom rice krispie treats that we love - they stay soft for waaaaaaaaay too long, which makes them delicious. I try not to think about it.

Trevor had been looking in the Lego store and then we met up to look in the Star Wars store. I do enjoy that fun little piece of Galaxy's Edge in Disney Springs. And Trevor had a great time looking at the lightsabers.


He's got the reforged Skywalker lightsaber there, which is what he ended up getting. That 30% off sale sucked him right in! Though he did spend a LONG time looking at it...I eventually was like "dude, get it, if you change your mind just return it". Gotta love that ability to return stuff from one shop at Disney to any other shop.

At that point it was about 9 pm, and we were both getting a bit tired, but we still had two more treats we (I ) wanted to try. Luckily they were both near(ish). First off - the rapunzel cone at the dole whip stand there: Swirls on the Water. Sadness though - they were out of the lavender cone so I just got the swirled lemon and raspberry dole whip. It was hot, and dole whip is yummy, especially raspberry!


We took a moment to sit there and enjoy the view while eating - so pretty!


Re-energized by our dole whip, we headed to our last stop: Port Orleans French Quarter! Not gonna lie, I also was excited for the lovely boat ride from Disney Springs to French Quarter.

But first...a line.

Nice view though!

And they were running lots of boats, so that was good. I think we only waited about 10 minutes? And then we got a nice back row seat.

Seriously it is so pretty all lit up at night.


So why were we going to French Quarter? Beignets! But not just any beignets... Haunted Mansion beignets! We were not the only ones with that idea though...this was the line for Scat Cat's:

We waited about 15 minutes, but don't these look neat?

 

[Araminta18]

Room Tour!-
Saturday August 12, 2023 (part 5)​

Worth it!

These were delicious--fluffy and warm and sweet... yum. French Quarter is a gem, honestly. Definitely one of our favorite resorts - the only downside is the location!

Anyways, beignets all eaten, we were sated and tired and ready to head back to the resort. We called an uber and had them take us right to our resort building, rather than the front of the resort, which was pretty nice. It was actually a Tesla that came to pick our uber and that's when we discovered that I have NO IDEA how to open Tesla doors with their weird door handles that you have to push in instead of pulling out. So weird.

ANYWAYS. Back at the hotel, we got our first glimpse of the fun theming!

Hi there Ariel!

I knew we were close to the Skyliner, but it's one thing to know it and one thing to see the pretty Skyliner there!


This was the view from right in front of our room -

Not too bad! Kind of a pool view

And then time for the room reveal! I feel like this is the most themed room we've ever stayed in at DisneyWorld, and I loved it ALL!

I love that picture of Prince Eric and Max.


Trevor says "hi!" along with all our bags.

Aren't these curtains fun?


Other side of the room:


And look at this table with the sheet music!


And one more curtain picture - this of the curtain between the room and the bathroom:

 

[Araminta18]

Time for sleep! -
Saturday August 12, 2023 (part 6)
(I did say it was a lot of pictures!)​

The sink area:


Inside the bathroom -

There's Ariel!

And then inside the tub, it was Ariel's grotto!


Honestly, the theming was just so good. The room itself was a bit small, and a bit humid, but for two nights? Not bad at all.

And it came with a little fridge, which we of course filled with treats!


Best fridge ever! (yes, I say that every time, but I'm correct every time )

We unpacked a little bit, since we'd only be here for two nights - I embraced the packing cube philosophy this trip so only had to pull out the packing cubes for our nights here. But then it was time to fall into bed and rest!

Not a bad start! It was bonkers hot, which definitely did not bode well, but otherwise we'd had a good day, filled with all the yummy food and treats and shopping! Tomorrow? Hollywood Studios!

Fun with Metrics (AP edition):
Steps walked: 11756 (4.4 miles)
Ride count: 0 (unless you count the faux monorail? Sure, let's count it - 1!)
Savings due to AP discount: $96.20

 

[Araminta18]

Joining in!

Joining along

I’m happy your travel day went so well - it’s a gamble when you take two different flights these days!

right? I was definitely a bit nervous but it all went smoothly, thankfully!

Art of Animation is awesome and has so many fun things to see! I’ve not stayed there (yet) but toured around twice when staying at Pop. It sounds like it may not be as good as it used to be, but I really enjoyed the Landscape of Flavors food court.

This was our first time ever and it was so cute! I was determined to explore the resort, which is not something we normally spend a lot of time doing, but it was just so adorable! We did try the food court on our next night...you'll have to wait til then to see what we thought!

Oh my goodness, that’s so many cookies! I’d heard they limit how many you can purchase - have you found that to be the case?

SO MANY. And they are ALL in the freezer, waiting for a rainy day. They do limit purchases per person - I think it's 7 (so you can buy one of each cookie they are selling) but Trevor and I tend to split up and do separate purchases. I don't think there are limits on other things; at least we haven't run into them.

How fun!!

 

[Paulaparm]

Following along!

 

[footballmouse]

Great themeing to that room!

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

These were delicious--fluffy and warm and sweet... yum. French Quarter is a gem, honestly. Definitely one of our favorite resorts - the only downside is the location!

Those look pretty yummy!

y a Tesla that came to pick our uber and that's when we discovered that I have NO IDEA how to open Tesla doors with their weird door handles that you have to push in instead of pulling out. So weird.

It's like they changed it just to be different.

And it came with a little fridge, which we of course filled with treats!

I love how you do this!

 

[Araminta18]

Resort Exploring! - Sunday, August 13, 2023 (part 1)​

Our plan today was to head to Hollywood Studios! It opened at 8 am, but we weren't super concerned with being there for rope drop. I did wake up right at 7 am to buy Genie+ and book a Lightning Lane. I got a 6 pm slinky dog fastpass right off the bat, and then bought an 11:40 am Rise of the Resistance ILL. Then since I was up, I kept refreshing and managed to move it to 1 pm, and then managed to get it to 11:30 am - woot!

We ended up getting up around 7:45 am and getting ready for the day. We walked out the room at 8:35 am exactly.

Look at that gorgeous day!

We were planning to take the skyliner over, and so decided to take advantage of the long walk to also check out the resort a bit!

Hello King Triton!


Hello Prince Eric! I think this was my favorite bit of theming, so cute.

(in case you haven't realized, this post and the next post will be pictures of the resort, cause 1. I have no chill and 2. it's adorable!)


I want a treasure chest like this - it would pay for all the Disney trips!


Larger than life snarfblatt!


To go with the larger than life dinglehopper.

We then hit the Lion King area, with Zazu welcoming us.

Also, that "no climbing" sign - way to kill the vibe.

Hello Scar!


Creepy bones...


Simba, Timon, and Pumbaa!

 

[Araminta18]

More resort pictures! - Sunday August 13, 2023 (part 2)​

Mufasa and Pride Rock!

And a fun little fire pit!

The Lion King section ends with Rafiki (or starts, depending on which way you enter ):


Then it's Nemo! We started with my favorites - the seagulls:

Mine Mine Mine!

Then walking by the pool we got to see that fun theming!

It's a bit hard to see but look - it's the goggles that belong to P Sherman, 42 Wallaby Way, Sydney!


I loved the bubbles and the fish on the side of the building.


And Crush there with Dory!


More fishies, and the anemone!

Seriously - it was super cute theming. I'm kind of sad with all the refurbishments that they seem to be making the hotels a bit less obviously Disney - I can get modern clean theming anywhere, but only at Disney can you get this kind of fun theming with the details and the easter eggs.

Then we were arriving at the Skyliner station!

This was the first time we'd ever been to this skyliner station - it looks good!



Yep, nobody in front of us. Woot! Boded well for our day.

 

[Araminta18]

Following along!

Great themeing to that room!

right? So much fun!

Those look pretty yummy!


It's like they changed it just to be different.


I love how you do this!

French Quarter beignets were delicious - highly recommend!
And yes - I agree! It very much felt like those door handles were changed just to be "cool" and "different". so aggravating!

 

[SimplyGoofy]

All your pictures of AoA make me a bit sad that we’re not staying there in 2024 - the theming is so fun!

I’m SO excited to try the Skyliner! My five-year-old also thinks it looks awesome.

It seems it’s less necessary to be at the parks for rope drop if you pay for Genie+ and ILL - have you found that to be the case?

 

[GracieKam]

Love the pictures! I haven’t been to Disney since they have the Skyliner and am so excited to ride it

 

[DisDreaming4116]

Following along and enjoying the report. Love AoA!

 

[Araminta18]

Hollywood Studios! - Sunday August 13, 2023 (part 3)​

Per the timestamps on my photos, it was 8:48 am nd we walked right on the Skyliner (yay!) and got to have an unwrapped one - we like the unwrapped ones better because you get an unobstructed view. And we got to see some fun things that are easier to see from a bit further away.

Hello Zootopia!


Love this Ariel picture there on the end!

Funhouse mirror reflection!

We weren't excited at all to be going to the parks - not at all.

There was no line at the transfer skyliner station either, so at 9 am (so 12 minutes...not too shabby!) we were seeing this!

Yay!

Also, I may have talked about it last time but the new security is AMAZING. Just walk on through and only a few people get pulled off for searching. 100% A+ 10/10 - brilliant.

There were lines at the tapstiles - I picked a slow line (as per usual ) but still only a few minutes, and then we were in! We were planning to head down to Tower of Terror since it was still posting a low wait time, but we of course had to get photos first!

Not my favorite, but the best of the bunch. And have to commemorate the first photo of the trip.

Then we meandered down Sunset Boulevard, just enjoying being there and the music. The big band music on Sunset Boulevard always makes me dance!

When we got down to Tower of Terror, look what we saw!

Woot! I was hoping this meant it was a walk on, but not quite.


The standby line was backed up to here. Which isn't bad at all, but it's not quite a walk on. It was already *very* hot...Florida summers are no joke! I was grateful for the mini fans I had brought!

Per the picture timestamps, it was about 8 minutes outside, and then we were in the lobby with that amazing airconditioning. We tend to not wait in the standby lines, so we took advantage to enjoy the theming.

Any mail for me? Or do you think the mailbox is functioning?


The gift shop is on the lower level on the sign...and in real life! I wish we could go to the Tip Top Club!

And then I'd seen this on the internet, so decided to try and see it in person...If you go up to the sign and look down at the bottom, the letters that have fallen down spell:

Take the Stairs!

 

[Araminta18]

All your pictures of AoA make me a bit sad that we’re not staying there in 2024 - the theming is so fun!

I’m SO excited to try the Skyliner! My five-year-old also thinks it looks awesome.

It seems it’s less necessary to be at the parks for rope drop if you pay for Genie+ and ILL - have you found that to be the case?

It is *so* fun. Definitely worth a visit even if you're not staying there.

And yes, the skyliner is super fun! One of our favorite ways to travel.

So, yes and no. Depends on how busy it is, and how you tour. If you like doing things in the mornings, rope drop is still better because for a park like Hollywood Studios, the return times for their rides are pushed out so late in the day that if you don't rope drop, you end up waiting in longer lines in the mornings. But Genie+ and ILL can make it so that if you're ok touring later after you're able to stack LL's a bit, or if you don't mind being on your phone it works. Mostly i just don't like the 1 LL per day per ride restriction!

Love the pictures! I haven’t been to Disney since they have the Skyliner and am so excited to ride it

The skyliner is fantastic! I hope you love it

Following along and enjoying the report. Love AoA!

AoA is amazing!