Disney World - 8 Years Later - How Things Have Changed Yet also the Same. Both Awesome!

[Frozen2014]

We love Animal Kingdom. Especially at night. It's such unique park. We will be doing Boma breakfast before our AK day and plan on doing Uber too. We've never been so I'm glad to hear it was delicious!

Boma is such a nice way to start the day before heading over to AK. Uber worked great and the bus is so easy to take when you're done to get to the park.

My one regret with our AK day is that we didn't get it see it in dark. Actually we only left about 1hr before close but in the summer, it was still light out. Heard that it's georgous with everything lit up.

Enjoy your upcoming trip and Boma!

 

[snikki]

Boma is such a nice way to start the day before heading over to AK. Uber worked great and the bus is so easy to take when you're done to get to the park.

My one regret with our AK day is that we didn't get it see it in dark. Actually we only left about 1hr before close but in the summer, it was still light out. Heard that it's georgous with everything lit up.

Enjoy your upcoming trip and Boma!

Oh yes AK at night is amazing. We have two evenings for AK since it closes well after dark in November. It feels like a completely different park. There’s always next trip to try it at night!

 

[Frozen2014]

D4 - Animal Kingdom - River Rapids, Everest, Dinosaur and More

After Navi, we made our way towards River Rapids. The line was short so we didn’t use a Lightning Lane on it yet. This one is fun. It starts out scary as you go up this big hill, expecting to have a big drop (and of course, my seat was the one that turned backwards!), but then ...doh...no drop. Phew! There is another spot though where there is a main drop and we got soaked and then a few other spots where you get wet (or soaked). It was a hot day so we didn’t mind the water.


After this we booked a Lightning Lane for Everest, but realized we would be having lunch soon, and DD didn’t want to go on Everest followed by Flight of Journey (also felt a bit nauseous) so I cancelled the Everest Lightning Lane (rebooked it for later when it reached 3:25pm time).

One nice thing about Animal Kingdom is that there is a river that goes through it and they had often had boats with characters in it going by. Not sure if this was part of a show or they always just have them going by as part of the Disney atmosphere.

We were going to stand in line for Everest stand by for DS to ride it, but this line was in the sun with no shade, it was semi-long and it was hot! So we gave up on that idea. We decided to grab a light “lunch” as we were still full from Boma. DD got a hotdog and chips. DS, DH and I got a pretzel. Nice healthy lunch (not sure whose had more nutrition…lol).

We still had time before our Flight of Passage Lightning Lane, so we headed to Dinoland to go on Dinosaur. I would have loved to have gone on this one as Indiana Jones ride was one of my favorites at Disneyland (same physical ride), but I heard it's very bumpy so didn't want to chance it. The ride was walk on. I went through with them with the pre-show and then waited at the exit. Disney is very good with their chicken exists. After they were done, there wasn't much else to do in the area (seems like a younger area outside of the Dinosaur ride) so we headed back to Avatar as it was nearing our Lightning Lane.

One thing that was unheard of....even though we had the ILL for Flight of Passage, the stand by was only 15 minutes (and I swear I looked a bit earlier and it was 10 minutes)! I was kicking myself for purchasing this LL since it definitely wasn't needed. When we got to the part where the main line and LL merged (just before they put you in your room), we literally passed one other family! Gee.....good spend of $63 CAD...not! Oh well, we were laughing...at the fact that we literally (just) passed 1 family. Really can't complain on having short lines.

FOP was again tons of fun. We were in a different row/spot and the ride felt more intense to me (or maybe I was still a bit nauseous from before) so I felt it even more this time. Was also a bit disappointed though as DS said his 3D glasses were off/didn't work, but of course he didn't realize this until the ride started.

I think after this, we went back on River Rapids and later grabbed a LL for the ride again a bit later. We next headed over to Everest and by the time we were there, DD decided that she didn't want to ride after all (doh...as DS could have gone on it earlier). Oh well....at least he still got on.

 

[Frozen2014]

D4 - Animal Kingdom - Snacks, More Rides, Rain and Dinner

We hadn’t eaten for 2hrs so it we were getting hungry (lol) so snack time. On one of the videos that we had watched prior to coming to Disney, our kids had seen a Mickey Dome they wanted to try to we went to the Starbucks to purchase it. I felt like something simpler and cold so went with a Mickey Bar. If I remember correctly, DH got a frozen lemonade again.

Our kids weren’t thrilled with the dome. It was fine but not OMG. I’d say that the dome looked better than it was. And on the flip side, the Mickey Bar tastes better than it looks. It just looks like a simple ice cream on a stick but the ice cream is really thick and creamy and the chocolate around it is very rich and thicker than store brands.



We had a 4:35pm lightning lane for River Rapids so once done with the snack, we got in line for it. DH decided not to go with us and did the walkthrough. It was a bit annoying though as we had a LL to skip the lines, but for some reason, they stopped us and put us on a different raft on the side. Then we had to wait for a bit (5-10 min?) for them to let our raft go in the main path of the water. And we were sitting in the hot sun! (Kind of defeated the purpose of the LL.) Same thing when the ride ended as they had to return our raft to this specific spot. Didn’t quite understand what they were doing. I think this raft was used for anyone with a disability as it was easier to load and not disrupt the main line. So I would have understood had someone been on our raft that had a handicapped, but we had no one so no idea why they put us on this one.

Anyways, after returning (and soaked) we went on the maharajah jungle trek, which was just a walkthrough and reminded me of a path at the Toronto Zoo. Then our kids went back on River Rapids. This time, I skipped it. As they got off, it started to rain…no pour! The past few days the downpour came around 3pm. At least today, it was close to 5pm. And this one only lasted 5-10 minutes.

Animal Kingdom closes at 7pm. It was nearing 6pm and we noticed that there weren’t many quick service options. We decided that we had seen everything at the park so we were pretty much done. We tried to figure out dinner options. We could just return to Contemporary and to go Contempo Café again. Or…I looked at the Grand Floridian Café menu and it seemed ok and thought it might be fun to also check out the resort since we almost stayed there. So we grabbed a bus to Grand Floridan.

Grand Floridan is a beautiful resort. Very different feel…very elegant. One thing that I prefer with Contemporary though over Grand Floridan is that GF seemed to have many separate buildings. I liked being attached to the main lobby.

Even though the Grand Floridan place was just a cafe, we felt underdressed (and we were cold too as we were wet and the AC was on full blast). It was nice though to sit down. Food was ok, but nothing to write home again (had so many veggie burgers at Disney World, but glad every place had options for non-meat eaters).

After dinner, we headed back to the resort (via monorail). I think it was this night that both our kids went in the pool. Got caught in the rain though so that ended the swimming.

P.S. - I just looked it up and it looks like Grand Floridan was a table service. Oops...thought it was quick service. Guess we got lucky that they had an opening when we came.

 

[Jabroniville]

Nice stuff! I'm envious of staying in AKL- the high price (I'm Canadian, too) and poor bus travel keep me away. I keep wanting to go during an "off day" from the parks (which I might finally start taking). I'm glad you finally got on Frozen! Given your screen name I figured you'd have been a huge fan and insisted on going a bunch like I did XD.

I find that rides are constantly stopping nowadays, especially omni-movers (I can barely remember a Haunted Mansion trip without that happening). Thankfully/unfortunately I haven't had the fun of being walked off one in several years.

 

[Frozen2014]

Nice stuff! I'm envious of staying in AKL- the high price (I'm Canadian, too) and poor bus travel keep me away. I keep wanting to go during an "off day" from the parks (which I might finally start taking). I'm glad you finally got on Frozen! Given your screen name I figured you'd have been a huge fan and insisted on going a bunch like I did XD.

I find that rides are constantly stopping nowadays, especially omni-movers (I can barely remember a Haunted Mansion trip without that happening). Thankfully/unfortunately I haven't had the fun of being walked off one in several years.

Thank you. Just to clarify, we didn't stay at AKL, just went there for Boma breakfast. We stayed at Contemporary, which we loved. So convenient. AKL is goergous though (if that's the right word).

Lol...I created my screen name when I first got on these board and planning our first trip. My DD was 5 years back then and so was obsessed with Frozen. That's since passed (along with the whole disney phase....boo hoo), but I admit I did/do quite enjoy the movie. And the ride in Epcot was a lot of fun!

I hear you...rides constantly broke down on us. I think Haunted Mansion stopped on us every time, but that's one I didn't mind as much since it gives yo a chance to absorb that scene where it stopped. I know...in some cases it would be scary having to walk off a ride. Thankfully Remy was just a simple walk through.

Thanks for reading.

 

[Frozen2014]

D5 - Magic Kingdom - Early Entry and Lets Repeat our Favorite Rides

We had now hit every park once. Today we were returning to Magic Kingdom. Since we were a 10 minute walk away from the park (I love it!), we decided to arrive for early hours again. Our plan last time was to head straight to Space Mountain. This time, we thought we’d try Seven Dwarf’s Mine Train. It’s not a priority for us so we didn’t want to pay for the Individual Lightning Lane, nor did we want to be in the standby line for 1hr+. But great if we could go at early hours and get on before the big line ups.

AT 7am, I booked a Lightning Lane for Peter Pan (10:25am timeslot). Then the rest got ready and we headed out for a quick breakfast at Contempo Café. We left the resort around 7:50am. I love the short walk. It’s really neat seeing how close Space Mountain is to us.


We got in and waited at the spot in (or maybe near) Fantasyland until they let us go. We made the mistake of turning left (towards the attraction) since the line was already winding way to the right. Guess we weren't the only ones wanting to try 7DMT this morning. So we turned the other way and found our way a the end of the line which was already winding around the corner. Wow, crazy! And when we looked 5 minutes later, there was yet a huge line behind us. The good thing though is once the line started moving, we did move and it took maybe 30 minutes to get to the ride. I probably would have been totally fine on this one but still didn't think it was worth the risk, so I didn't ride it and went to the exit. I swear, it was not more than 2 minutes when my family exited the ride. I would have been mad had we waited 1hr+ in stand by for a 30 second ride. We didn't purchase photopass, but the video did show up in our account....and I'll say that the video last time (when we rode this in 2014) was much better. Longer capturing us, plus more of the ride itself.

After 7DMT, we walked through Fantasyland


and went on my favorite...Haunted Mansion.


This time it got stuck at the Hitchhiking Ghosts. It was dark but I tried to grab a photo. Poor DH and DS were in the car behind us so they had literally no view but the back of our Omni mover.


After the ride, we headed over and ran went on the mountain rides....Big Thunder and Splash Mountain.
Then I believe we headed back to Fantasyland and went on Peter Pan (a classic) and It's a Small World.

From screenshots, we were able to grab overlapping Lightning Lanes and ended up with :

• Splash Mountain for 1:45pm - 2:45pm
• Big Thunder Mountain for 2:40pm-3:40pm
• Jungle Cruise for 2:45pm-3:45pm

Luckily these weren't too far from each other so these were possible.

We headed back over to Tomorrowland and decided to try People Mover. Hadn't tired this before and as mentioned earlier, it's quite a fun ride going through the area and like it's in the future. You also get some nice views. Here's one of the castle in the background. It's neat too as it goes through Space Mountain and Buzz Light.

 

[Frozen2014]

D5 - Magic Kingdom - More Rides and More Storms
We were going to go to Mickey’s Philharmagic, but as we got in line it closed down. Starting to think it’s us!

I don’t remember the exact rides we went on next (probably It’s a Small World, Haunted Mansion, Splash Mountain). I took a look at the app and got a laugh out of the Haunted Mansion wait time. They even have the ride themed outside of the ride.



One thing on the agenda for today was to purchase some snacks to bring home with us. We weren’t going to buy them now but wanted to take a look at Main Street Confectionery, so we walked towards the park’s entrance. What a neat store and we definitely saw stuff to bring home.

Next we walked back to Adventureland and noticed that Splash and Big Thunder were closed down. The skies looked blue to us but apparently there was lightning reported within 30 (?) miles, or some magic number that tells Disney to shut all outdoor rides.

Ugh. So, what better to do than to go grab a snack. We decided to get Dole Whips again (even though we already had one this trip, it’s something really yummy and we can‘t get it at home) so we walked to Aloha Isle. We had our snack under the cover to avoid getting caught in the rain, but the skies still looked blue. Unfortunately, our Jungle Cruise and Big Thunder Lightning lanes were also cancelled and changed to Anytime Lightning Lanes.

We decided to try Mickey's Philharmagic again and this time it was running so we were able to watch. I don't remember the exact next attractions that we visited but looking at my screenshots, we had a Lightning Lane for Tomorrowland Speedway at 5:15pm. As we were standing in line, we could see that the skies were really dark and I thought it would be a good idea to pre-emptively put our ponchos on for the ride. The ride it totally outside and we'd be stuck if it started to rain/pour.

Luckily we got on our car, and just as we were returning back, it started to drizzle. Of course, it didn't take long for it to pour! We were back at the start (with cars lining up as they were closing the ride), but what was annoying is the CMs wanted us to sit there until they were ready for us to exit. The people in the car infront of us just got out, so we did the same. Was happy we had our ponchos on and we managed to get our car back to the front just as the rain really came down. It's only water, but still.

We were near Cosmic Rays, so we went in there again (deja vu!). The place was packed as others had the same idea. It was nearing dinner time. I had wanted to go to Columbia Harbour House as we went there last Disney trip and it was really good. But it was dinner time, it was pouring, and we managed to grab a table so we just decided to mobile order and stay there (figuring that Columbia Harbour House would be packed too for the same reason). After 10 minutes after we ordered, the rain stopped. Ugh!

 

[cheryllarsen]

What an amazing trip!

 

[cheryllarsen]

Thanks for posting! Really enjoyed the great read!

 

[Frozen2014]

Thanks for posting! Really enjoyed the great read!

Thanks for reading. Glad you are enjoying following along.

 

[Frozen2014]

D5 - Magic Kingdom - More Rides, Fireworks and Snacks for Home

Did I mention that I love Genie+? We were able to go on so many rides without a wait. It’s awesome! Maybe it’s less effective when it’s busy as the headliners sell out, but for our week, it was great. Looking back at my screen shots, our Lightning Lanes for the rest of the evening were:

• Space Mountain at 6:35pm
• Winnie the Pooh for 7:35pm
• Big Thunder Mountain for 8:10pm
• 2 Anytime Lightning Lanes

We used one of our Anytime Lightning Lanes to rebook Jungle Cruise. This time, the skipper (or whatever you call them) was better than when we rode it on the first Magic Kingdom day. She was much more enthusiastic, but it was still hard to hear her. By coincidence, we were sitting at almost the same spot near the back, so maybe it was a mix of being further away and being near the engine.

I know as well that during this day, we went on Pirates about 3 times in total. I enjoy that one. It’s a slow moving ride but there is always lots to look at and you tend to notice something new each time. I will say though that Disneyland version is a bit better with an additional drop, but Disney World's is still enjoyable.

We headed over to Space Mountain. DH and I walked our kids through and waited at the exit. For most rides, the exit is right there. But for Space Mountain, it’s crazy the long walk we had to do to get to the end. That ride really is deep within and must take up lots of space.

Next up was Winnie the Pooh. This one was for me. As mentioned earlier, it’s cute and the ride moves in a fun way. While in line, my daughter noticed a You Tuber (different part of the line but our spots aligned), so we watched for a minute while in view. The funny thing is that afterwards, she was able to find that blog online. And what is funny is I thought we were behind them, but I guess the camera in fact was pointed at us and we were in their video. Too funny.

We went on Haunted Mansion again. This time, the ride stopped right when we were over the ballroom scene. Perfect place to stop if it’s going to stop! It let us take in the details. It’s hard to see but here is a picture I tried to take.


We (our kids) went on a few more rides, Big Thunder and Splash a couple of times. DH and I were waiting for them and we could hear, and then see the top of some fireworks. It was 9pm. We waited for them to come out and then headed more to the front. I would say that my only regret with this Disney World trip is that we never got to see proper fireworks. i.e. first night we saw these from our resort, first Magic Kingdom day we caught a bit as heading out of the park, Epcot, we watched from the side as our legs were exhausted to go to a proper spot (and missed everything else going on) and tonight, we didn't see them from a good castle view. We did catch a bit of the light show as we walked towards the front, which was beautiful so wishes we had seen it properly.

After fireworks, our kids went on Splash one or two more times. Then it was nearing 10:30pm (park closed at 11pm) and we didn't want to miss buying some snacks to take home so we headed towards the entrance and stopped at Main Street Confectionery. We ended up buying 6 rice crispy squares (the big ones, not tiny ones that were sold elsewhere), caramel corn, coffee, and DS also picked up a bit of his own candy stash from some gift money.

I realized that we were at the park today form about 8:10am - 10:50pm. What a day! At least we made the most of it.

 

[Frozen2014]

D6 - Epcot - Take Two

Epcot was the second park that we picked to repeat. If it wasn’t for the Halloween party, we would have done Epcot yesterday and Magic Kingdom today, as it would have been nice to have ended with Magic Kingdom. But if we picked that order, then our park day would have ended at 6pm due to the Friday evening party. Thus, our last day was at Epcot. After going to each park once this trip, our kids would have probably picked Hollywood Studios to repeat. On our first trip, they loved Epcot but this time around they preferred Hollywood Studios. But we had Space reserved for lunch so didn’t want to miss that (my personal preference was Epcot).

Since we had already covered everything on our first Epcot day, the day felt more chilled. It started out as the usual morning routine…I was up at 6am to shower and get ready and at 7am, DD and I did the bookings. We booked Test Track for the first ride and grabbed the virtual queue for Guardians. What I wasn’t expecting is that we got group 6 for Guardians with an estimated time of time the same as Test Track, both around 8:30am. Oh oh. Also, we weren’t expecting such an early time, so my family quickly got ready, we grabbed a quick breakfast and headed to the monorail for Epcot.

I did a post about what to do, as everyone on here is so helpful. Someone replied to go to Test Track first since you can show up to Guardians anytime after the group is called so that was our plan (but our kids were still nervous of missing Guardians). In the end, as we were getting off the monorail (still in early hours), our group was called so we just went there first, which was before the Test Track time. Phew, it all worked out. DD didn’t want to ride Guardians as it made her a bit sick last time, so we walked through with them and waited for DS and DH. They loved it!

They next went on Test Track and had fun building their cars. Glad the ride was running this time unlike earlier in the week! Once we tapped into Test Track, I booked a lightning lane for Remy for 3:25pm-4:25pm. Happy to have gotten lightning lanes for 2 headliners.

At 11:10am (2 hours after booking Remy), I was able to book a lightning lane for Frozen for 2:50pm-3:50pm. Yah, that’s 3 headliners. I was closely watching the app prior to our trip and back then (when the parks were busier), it seemed hard to book 2 headliners, never mind about 3 of them. Our Frozen lightning land also lined up nicely with Remy and with them both being within the World circle (but different sides).

Aside from our LL bookings, I didn’t take any photos so I don’t remember exactly what we did prior to lunch, but I believe we went on things like Spaceship Earth, and then headed over to the other side where we went on Soarin, Living with the Land, etc. One thing I'll note is that when we went on Soarin, DH left his hat on the ride and realized it after we walked out the doors. He waited at the exit for the next ride and tried to get it, and this was the one and only time a Cast Member was horribly rude to him. Otherwise, everyone was really lovely.

 

[Frozen2014]

D6 - Epcot - Space 220
We had our Space 220 ADR at 12:45pm. I know this restaurant gets mixed reviews, but we were quite looking forward to it. We headed over about 10 minutes early and checked in. They gave us a boarding pass and we stood in line for the rocket launch (i.e., elevator) up to the dining room.


The elevator is fun. They show a video in the middle of the floor that acts as a window so you can see the earth getting smaller and smaller as you go into space. (DS took a video of it on the way back down).


When we arrived, there is a small hallway to go through. They have this moving display that I guess is supposed to show how they keep vegetables fresh.


We were seated at a table next to the window (but in the section next to the center). It’s fun to watch as astronauts and other space things do fly by as you are sitting there.




Our kids got this pop rocks drink which they were very exited for and loved!
As for the meal, DH and I ordered the Blue Moon Cauliflower and our kids ordered the Caesar salad for our appetizers. For the meal, DD ordered the pasta (without the seafood), DS got the bacon cheeseburger, DH got the tuna and I got the I ordered the salmon but substituted fries for the veggies (which I later regretted).

There was a mix up with the appetizers where they brought out the wrong item for DH and I. It wasn't our waiter and this person insisted this was ours even though we didn't order it...and then as he went off, he never returned with the appetizers that we ordered. So DH complained to our waiter when he saw her. Shortly after, the manager came out and even though we were there for lunch, he offered us 2 free desserts. Honestly by the time it came to dessert, we were so stuffed that we didn't really want them but did sample them and we appreciated the gesture. Our waiter and the manager were lovely...it was just this other waiter that gave us the issue.

Some food pictures...

 

[Frozen2014]

D6 - Epcot - Space 220 Continued
(Pictures weren't uploading so not sure if I reached the maximum per post)


And one of the desserts (looks weird but was quite tasty)


As for the food, we really liked it (for the most part). I'll say that DD wasn't a fan of the Caesar salad but that's because it was a chunk of iceberg lettuce which she wouldn't be used to. I gave it a try though and the dressing was quite tasty. DS really liked it. The cauliflower was delicious, but spicy.

DH liked his tuna, burger was good. The cauliflower was greasy so I wish I had stuck with the original veggies with the salmon, but I will say that the shoestring fries were good.

The bonus desserts were good too, but we were full (and we had plans on returning to the Germany shop in World showcase for a sweet snack so wanted to leave room).

When down, we got back on the elevator to take us back to earth. The video goes in reverse with earth getting closer and closer until we are back at Epcot.

So I know Space 220 gets mixed reviews, but I was glad we went!

 

[Frozen2014]

D6 - Epcot - Our last Hurrah at the Parks

After lunch, we went on Spaceship Earth again. Really like this ride. It’s relaxing, educational and fun. Then we stopped in the gift shop. The Epcot one is a good size and has lots of stuff. I really like their purses. They are really cute, but also a bit heavy…and very pricey. Same with their clothing (not heavy but pricey...lol).

It looked like rain was coming so we started to head towards Frozen as we had a Lightning Lane. We first went to Gran Fiesta. It’s s simple boat type ride but enjoyable. Never seemed busy when we went (maybe since it’s hidden in the building). Then the rain started so we put on our ponchos and went towards Frozen. Line moved quick with Lightning Lanes. Again, a fun ride. When we tapped in, I looked at booking another Lightning Lane but there was nothing worthwhile at the moment so I waited.

Next we had our Remy Lightning Lane so we walked towards it. As we got to the bridge near China, we noticed that it was up and we had to wait. There was a boat crossing carrying fireworks or something. Took maybe 5 minutes so it wasn’t too bad and then we headed to Remy. This time, our kids sat in the front and DH and I sat in the second row. Not sure if it was my state or the seat location (i.e. I was in the front the first time), but the nausea was less this time (not too bad in front row but I definitely felt it more when sitting there). Even with the slight stomach-feeling, I love Remy. Such a fun ride!

After Remy, it was time to head back to Germany store Karamell-Küche. There are lots of snacks to try but that caramel bar was soooo good that DH and I got it again (and DS got it this time too). DD ended up with the caramel Werther’s popcorn again. We could see that the skies were getting really dark so we didn’t venture too far away and it started to pour! So we ducked into the candy store, which also had a couple shops connected inside. Many others had the same idea. We hung out for awhile as the rain wasn’t letting up, but then eventually decided to put on our ponches on go for it.

We stopped at the Figment ride, totally soaked. They ask that you remove your ponchos for the attraction (only place I recall having to do that, but it makes sense so you don’t wet the seat). After Figment we headed back to Soarin. I do love that ride!

We went on some more attractions and then thought we’d try again for dinner at Sunshine Seasons but it was closed. Don’t get this as the app shows it was still open. So we headed back to the front area of Epcot to Connections Café for pizza again. After dinner we were going to stand in line for Test Track but the line came almost out the door and they announced they were having technical issues so the wait would be slower than usual. So instead we just went to the end part where we could build the cars (they have the same computers at the exit) and looked at the various items there.

It was coming close to fireworks time (although it was raining so not sure if they were on that night) and we had had enough. So we went on Spaceship Earth one more time and then headed back to the monorail to return to Contemporary. So sad to be done all our park time.

P.S. – Sorry for the lack of photos on Day 6, but aside from our lunch, I didn’t’ take many this day as we saw most things on our first Epcot day.

 

[Frozen2014]

D7 - Chef Mickeys, Exploring and Return Home (Booh)
Everything good must come to an end, and today was our flight home. Luckily, our flight wasn’t until 6:30pm so we still had a few hours. I booked us an 8:30am ADR at Chef Mickey’s. This is the restaurant that we ended with on our last trip as well, and with it being right at our resort, it seemed like the perfect end to our trip.

For the rest of the day, I pondered with adding another park ticket and going to Magic Kingdom for a few hours. Breakfast would be done say 9:30am, and then we could check our bags and walk over to the park. We would stay for a few hours and make sure we were back at our hotel at around 3pm. The ticket cost itself didn’t cost much to add another day. It would have been only $64 USD (but more for us converted to CAD). But the problem was we purchased Genie+ for our trip so we would need to add Genie+ as well for the four of us to it would have come closer to $145 USD. I was still ok doing this as Magic Kingdom would be a nice way to end our trip, but our family decided not to and just have a more chilled day until our flight. So instead, we thought we would jump on the monorail and resort hop to Polynesian and Grand Floridian and check out the hotels.

We had pretty much packed the previous night and so it wasn't hectic to head down for our early morning ADR.

After checking in, it didn't take long for them to bring us to our table at the back corner.

Last time we went to Chef Mickey's it was buffet. Since the pandemic, they changed it to family style. I didn't realize this when I did the booking (but did learn it about a month before our trip). Was a bit disappointed as I remember how large their buffet was and we all have different tastes, but figured it would still be ok.

They started with bringing us a basket of mini donuts and pastries, fruit an yogurt.


It didn't take long for the characters to come around. DD was into it. DS, who is 17 was not, but we did get him to jump in one of the photos.

Our waiter then brought out Mickey pancake, Mickey waffles, eggs, bacon, hash browns, and I thought he called the last item French toast but it tasted like banana bread.





All the characters made the rounds within the short time, and they even did a little dance.

The food was good, but I definitely preferred the buffet. With family style though, you can ask for as much as you want so DS got another pancake (for the table) and DD ordered another basket of the donuts (she just asked for one but our waiter brought the whole basket)

DH asked our waited if they will be bringing back the buffet. Our waiter kind of grunted and said I sure hope so. He then went on to complain a bit about his job. DH felt bad for him (which gave him a good tip), but I found it annoying like we were a big inconvenience.

 

[Frozen2014]

D7 – Pack up and Resort Hopping Before Heading Home

After breakfast, we returned to our room and packed up the last items. Bye Bye room. ☹
We stopped at Bell Services to have them store our luggage, but they sent us outside for storage. Was surprised as thought Bell Services did the storing.

Next we headed for the monorail to check out the other resorts. First stop (after TTC) is Polynesian. This is a nice hotel with a very different theme. The pool area is really nice! It is blocked off to non-resort guess so we could only see it partially but there is a waterslide and it’s pretty. They also have a bar around the pool which is a nice feature for vacation. Although Polynesian's pool is nicer than Contemporary, I prefer the feel of Contemporary more. It's a personal preference though.

We then stopped in the gift shops. DS was looking for a souvenir and all of us looking overall in case we saw something we liked. I wasn’t planning on getting anything but did see these really cute comfortable looking Minnie Mouse shorts. Yeah, I’m in my 40s but why not? Never too old, right?

After roaming around for a bit, we got back on the monorail and stopped at Grand Floridian. We had already been here a few nights ago when we ended up grabbing dinner here, but it gave us a chance to browse without being rushed. It's a pretty nice resort. Very formal though.

Once done, we went back to Contemporary. We then looked in it’s gift shops. DS bought a Walt Disney snow globe (as he had one from Disneyland so good to complete his collection). We were also keeping our eyes open for a snack option as this would be the last Disney treat.




As it got closer to our departure time, we all ended up grabbing a Mickey bar. Seems appropriate way to end. Then we grabbed an uber to the airport. Sigh….it’s really hard leaving… That's the downside to having such an amazing trip!

 

[Frozen2014]

Final Thoughts...

Contemporary Resort

This was the big splurge of the trip, as for a standard trip, we wouldn’t have stayed in a Deluxe resort. But this trip was a special occasion for our DD. Am really glad we were able to stay here as it was so great being in walking distance to Magic Kingdom and right on the monorail for easy access to other parks. This resort too just felt really special.

I personally loved the room. It was spacious, kids got their own bed, and thought the theming was cute without being over the top. The theming made it something special over just a regular hotel. The view too was so pretty and Electrical Water Pageant was fun (although got a big annoying/comical after a few nights).

Another thing that I thought was nice was the open hallways where you could look over Chef Mickey’s or shops (we were at the shop side). It just made it more fun.

For anyone with Contemporary in their budget, I highly recommend it.


Genie+ (i.e., Lightning Lane)

This is a big controversial topic with different opinions, but we’ve experienced all three: FastPass+, MaxPass at Disneyland (plus paper FastPass) and now Lightning Lane.

FastPass+
Ok…so FastPass+ was nice in the sense that you knew your fast pass rides and times before you even got on your plane. It made it easier to come up with a touring plan, (and one that didn’t have you zig zagging across the park). Obviously, another big plus is that these bookings were free. I would say that for negatives:

• After booking your 3 headliners, it was hard to book a 4th Fast Pass. You were allowed to do so when you used your 3 Fast Passes, but nothing good was left by then. Plus, we often booked a hard to get FastPass such as Frozen Meet and Greet, which was in the evening, so the day was done.
• Aside from Magic Kingdom, the Fast Passes were tiered. So as an example, you couldn’t book one of both Test Track and Soarin. Not both.

MaxPass
We went to Disneyland when they first introduced MaxPass. On our first day, we went without it and used the paper FastPass. But then we tried it on our second day and purchased it everyday from then on. MaxPass was great as it let us get many fast passes per day. Plus, it let us ride things like Radiator Springs multiple times using the MaxPass. It also came with Photo Pass which was a bonus. It was also much better than using the paper Fast Pass as we would pull a ticket, where you would pull a time and then have to return an hour or so later (so not logistically efficient). With MaxPass, we could even be at DCA park and book one for Disneyland park (i.e. we had park hoppers)

For negatives:

• It cost money (I think it was $15/day/person)
• We were tied to our phones with booking the next one as soon as we used one

Lightning Lane
So now for Lightning Lane. I’ll first mention that we went during “low” peak times so our experience may not be the same as normal experience. But I will say that Lightning Lane worked really well for us. It let us ride every headliner once without a long wait. Some rides we even got twice since rides shut down a lot due to the weather or other issue and so our current Lightning Lane would convert to an anytime (i.e. could book a Lightning Lane again for that ride and then use the Anytime one for that same ride)

The negatives:

• It cost money ($15/day/person - this was before dynamic pricing)
• We were tied to our phones with booking the next one as soon as we used one, or the 2 hour mark. Plus, I would often need to check to remind myself when our next one was coming up (and what was booked)
• Lots of zig zagging since our bookings were all over the place.
• Very hard to come up with a touring plan beforehand.
• Can only book it once per ride (ignoring the Anytime ride)

We also used Individual Lightning Lane for Flight of Passage and Rise of the Resistance. Both really added up (added $196 CAD for the four of us two rides!). It was worth it to do once, especially with the long line for Rise of the Resistance (happened to be no line for us for FOP), but wouldn’t pay that again.

What’s my favorite? I’d probably say MaxPass. They are really the same thing but you can re-book the same attraction. But Lightning Lane is a close second. We were lucky too as we had it added to our package and current time, they announced dynamic pricing of $15 up to $22/day/person. Yikes.


Weather
Weather isn’t something controlled by Disney, but yet it’s a factor when planning a trip this time of year. Our Disneyland trip was also end of August, but California summer is different from Florida summer (very hot but not humid and no rain).

I mentioned earlier that we brought many things to help us with the heat and rain…UV umbrellas, cooling towels, compact water bottles, mini fans and sandals.

For our Disneyland trip, we used the cooling towels. These did wonders.

For Disney World, I found that the mini fans worked the best….and the really mini one was more powerful than the handheld one that sprayed mist. It had 3 speeds but the lowest was good. It also was so small that it fit in my fanny pack. (Yeah, I wore one. I know these aren’t overly stylish, but it was incredibly useful and held everything with 4 sections + 2 other inner pockets).

In case interested, this is the link on Amazon. (I think we paid more for it but current price is a good deal!)
https://www.amazon.ca/ALACRIS-Handheld-Adjustable-Lightweight-Rechargeable/dp/B09W8HRXFD/ref=sr_1_10?crid=3J8AWFWVQ3A6X&keywords=mini+cooling+fans&qid=1665927706&qu=eyJxc2MiOiIxLjk5IiwicXNhIjoiMC4wMCIsInFzcCI6IjAuMDAifQ==&sprefix=mini+cooling+fans,aps,83&sr=8-10

We also had a “pouch” for a water bottle that we also used at Disneyland. You can fill these at the water fountain and then they have a clip to wear. They roll up when not being used. I often used mine. Biggest issue with these wasn’t the bottle itself but water from the fountain tasted pretty bad (same issue if getting water from quick service in a cup). I also had hydration packs that we used a few times from QS water. Didn’t really need it but handy and flavored the water compared with plain water. I purchased 20 of them and I think I came home with 15 of them.

We also brought UV umbrellas. When we ventured out during storms/rain, we wore our ponchos + I found the umbrellas were handy. They were small too so didn’t take up much room in the backpack. DS also used it at Animal Kingdom when walking from one side to another to block out the hot sun.

Another recommendation For Disney World during rain season is sandals. Not the flip flop type but good walking shoe. I love Tevas and these were all that I wore, but everyone is different. Our kids switched between running shoes and sandals each day. When sandals get wet, no problem. When running shoes get wet, they stay soaked.

And last to mention…if you bring nothing else for rain season, bring ponchos. We had two versions from the Dollar store. The slightly better quality one worked best and we could re-use them during the trip, and tossed in the garbage before coming home.


Does Disney Still have Magic?

Absolutely! Things have changed since covid but just so glad we were able to go. Despite working around the weather (and the high cost), this trip was amazing! We got to all four parks once, with Magic Kingdom and Epcot twice and went on every ride that we wanted. Aside from a couple occasions, customer service was amazing and I don't envy them as it must be exhausting for them with covid and all. There were differences and similarities between our trip back in 2014 but both incredible trips. Not everyone can say they get this once in a lifetime trip, and yet we got it twice with our kids (plus Disneyland). Magic is definitely still there!