Disneyland Pro's first trip to Disney World - August 2015 TR (Updated 9/17)

[jglor]

OK, here's the deal. I wrote a pre-trip report back in August (link here) for our August through September first time trip to Disney World. I fully intended to bang out a trip report as soon as we got back. Obviously that didn't happen. We got extremely busy instead. And then we started planning a January trip back to WDW (also awesome, but sadly shorter than the summer trip).
Things have slowed down a little bit. Our Premier Annual Passports expired last week (we went to Disneyland a lot in the last month), and we won't be getting new passports for a few years so now I'm suffering from Disney withdrawal. So I said to myself, "Why not dust off the old trip report and relive the experience?"

Here's a quick intro (copied and pasted from the old PTR, with a few updates)

This is me, Jason

Here I am at Disneyland on my 40th birthday, way back in 2012. (Got to spend my 43rd at Epcot on this very trip!)

My favorite ride is Radiator Springs Racers. My favorite Disney character is Donald (as you can see from my avatar)

This is my wife, Jennie

Here she is on her birthday, way back in July of this year. Did I forget to mention her age? No, I didn't forget.

Jennie's favorite ride is Indiana Jones. Her favorite character is Thumper.

Here's our son, Ryan.

Ryan's favorite ride is Star Tours, followed closely by Hyperspace Mountain. He's 8 years old now (was 7 when we took the trip).
His favorite character changes a lot. I think it's Lightning McQueen right now (if you don't count Star Wars or Marvel characters).

As I posted in the PTR, we are all long-time Disneyland vets and this was our very first trip to Walt Disney World, so we were all super excited. I kind of pushed Jennie into the trip (she wanted to wait a few more years), but she now admits that it was totally worth it and was an awesome trip.

Table of Contents:
Pre-Trip Report
Day 1: Planes, Trains (monorail?), Automobiles and Tie Dye Cheesecake.
Day 2: Magic Kingdom - So familiar, yet so new
Day 3: Epcot - A very merry unbirthday to me!
Day 4: Hollywood Studios - Keep moving! We're on a tight schedule here
Day 5: Break Day - So what happened to the pool anyway?
Day 6: Epcot Part 2 - I think this is my favorite park.

 

[aidansmommy]

Looking forward to reading about your adventures!

 

[jglor]

Day 1: Planes, Trains (monorail?), Automobiles and Tie Dye Cheesecake.

Saturday, August 29, 2015
We all got up pretty early and Jennie took the dog (Frodo) to the dog-sitter while Ryan and I finished getting everything ready. Headed down to the airport and dropped the car off at long term parking. Our flight was scheduled for 10:10AM, and we got to the parking lot around 9:00. I tend to panic when I think I'm going to be late for a flight, but I wasn't worried yet.

Checked our single giant suitcase. We had to make an emergency run to Target the night before because everything wouldn't fit in our normal suitcases, so we ran out and bought a giant purple one. I don't like paying extra for checked bags, so I only wanted to check one bag. We each had a carryon suitcase as well as our personal items (backpacks for Jennie and Ryan and a laptop bag for me). We are pretty heavy packers.

Security lines weren't too long, so we made it to the gate with time to spare. It turns out we had even more time than we thought, because the flight was delayed until 10:50. Oh well, not too bad.

The flight itself was uneventful, but our late departure turned into a slightly later arrival. Landing was at 6:40 instead of the original 5:55. Took the Faux-norail to the terminal.

Headed to the Magical Express. We tried out our Magic Bands, but they didn't work. The CM said they hadn't been working lately, so fortunately I still had the Magical Express letter, so I showed it to him instead of using the Magic Bands. There weren't many people there, so we got to hop on the bus right away. It was about 7:20 then, and the bus left about 10 minutes later.

It was pouring rain all the way there. I tried to get a picture of the gate as we drove in, but it didn't come out at all.

The bus stopped at Art of Animation first, then drove us to Pop Century where we would be staying for our first four nights. We arrived around 8:00. I had gotten the text that our room was ready, but we stopped by the lobby first anyway to get First Visit buttons and a Happy Birthday button for me. We checked out the lobby too, as long as we were there.

I have to say, there was an energy at Pop Century that was really exciting for me. So many people and families, and even though everybody there wasn't happy (saw a lot of grumpy and tired people there too), there really was a "We're on vacation at Disney World" vibe that I really liked.

It was still raining, but not too bad while we walked to our room. We were in the 70’s with a lake view. I had requested a 60's, but I didn't mind. It was on the 4th floor in the back and it was nice and quiet.

We had a great view of Art of Animation across the lake, and there was lots of lightning. I put my camera on burst mode and tried to get a picture of it, but all I got was a lot of pictures of rain.

We hung out in the room for a bit, then headed back for dinner at Everything Pop. It was probably about 9:00 by then and the food court was still busy. Service was slow, and I got stuck behind two very grumpy women. They ordered sandwiches that had to be made to order, and they totally gave me the evil eye when I asked for a pot pie and it was handed to me right away.

Jennie and Ryan split a veggie sandwich and we all shared a tie dye cheesecake.

We checked out the gift shop, Ryan and I both got Pop Century smashed pennies, Then headed back to the room. I called the lobby about our grocery order from Garden Grocer and they said it was on the way up. There was a knock on the door right after I hung up, but it was our suitcase. The groceries came shortly after.

Our original plan was to hit the Magic Kingdom for a bit, but it was already pretty late, so we decided to call it a night and start fresh in the morning. We weren't quite on Eastern time yet though, so it was tough getting Ryan to go to sleep because he was so excited. I have a hard time sleeping in strange places too, and of course, I was excited as well, so it took a while for all of us to sleep.

 

[heaven2dc]

So glad you got the chance to visit WDW! We visit Disneyland often living here in So Cal and have only visited WDW four times (definitely time for a return trip tho!). We are considering the Pop Century for a few nights but got so spoiled staying at the Boardwalk Villas. You mentioned you requested the 60's section. Is that area closer to the bus stops and/or restaurant? I am wondering which section to request (of course, knowing it's subject to availability). Your room view was so pretty esp at night!

 

[CatNipRules]

Signing on. Can't wait to read more about your trip!

 

[jglor]

Looking forward to reading about your adventures!

Thanks!

So glad you got the chance to visit WDW! We visit Disneyland often living here in So Cal and have only visited WDW four times (definitely time for a return trip tho!). We are considering the Pop Century for a few nights but got so spoiled staying at the Boardwalk Villas. You mentioned you requested the 60's section. Is that area closer to the bus stops and/or restaurant? I am wondering which section to request (of course, knowing it's subject to availability). Your room view was so pretty esp at night!

Thank you. I've been to Disneyland more times than I can count (actually, this year I did count and it was 30 times with our annual passes!), but this was my first trip ever to Disney World. Disneyland will always be #1 in my heart, but if I could move to within driving distance of Disney World, I probably would. It's just amazing there.
I originally requested the 60's because it is the closest to the main building where the lobby, food court and bus stops are. The 50's are on one side of the 60's and the 70's are on the other. The 80's and 90's are a little further away. It really wasn't far to walk anywhere though. Our room was on the back side of the building, facing Hourglass Lake and Art of Animation, so it was pretty quiet back there too. They charge more for the rooms overlooking the pools, so our room was actually cheaper too. And top floor is great because the view is good and you don't have anybody above you.

Signing on. Can't wait to read more about your trip!

Thanks! Glad people are interested in reading my ramblings

 

[jglor]

Day 2: Magic Kingdom - So familiar, yet so new

Sunday, August 30, 2015
We got up at about 6:30am. Now this is really 3:30 pacific, so we were still pretty groggy, but we wanted to be at the Magic Kingdom rope drop and the morning show. I went down to Everything Pop to get Diet Coke for me and hot chocolate for Jennie while Jennie and Ryan got ready.

Took the bus to Magic Kingdom. We barely had to wait at the stop. Did have to stand on the bus, but it wasn’t that crowded. On the bus we talked to a girl who was just ending her vacation.

Got to the park early enough to watch the morning show. I was nervous about our Magic Bands not working, but they were fine. I had read that Premier Passports that were bought at Disneyland would not always work at Disney World (and vice versa) unless you went to guest services, but we had no issues with Magic Bands at all.

Entering the park was amazing. Because I've been to Disneyland so many times, it was both familiar and brand new, at the same time. To me, entering the Magic Kingdom is like one of those movies where somebody wakes up in a parallel universe. Everything is almost the same, but there are subtle differences. Like JFK was never assassinated, or the People Mover was never replaced with a crappier ride that always broke down and was eventually closed forever (I’m looking at you, Rocket Rods). It also wasn't very crowded. Gotta love end of August. I've never in my life seen Disneyland as empty as the Magic Kingdom was.

We paid for the Memory Maker, so we knew we were going to do a lot of character meet and greets. We went straight to Town Square Mickey. Even though the park had just opened and the line was pretty short, we still had to wait about 20 minutes or so. Talking Mickey was pretty cool. He asked Ryan to roar like a lion.

Snow White was right outside, so we got pictures with her too.

Went to the fire station to get Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom cards. This became Ryan's new obsession. Free collectable Disney trading cards? And a game on screens throughout the park? Ryan could have spent the entire day just playing that and he would have been happy. We played a couple of the tutorial portals on Main Street right then.

We headed over to Seven Dwarfs Mine Train because we were in our FastPass+ window, but it was closed. I checked my phone an I had gotten an email that we could ride any other FastPass ride for the rest of the day, including the Mine Train, so we decided to hold onto it.

Went to Mickey's Philharmagic next. I really enjoyed it, but I really think it should be called Donald's Philharmagic since he is the star.

We had to put Ryan in time-out for a little while:

For some reason, he loved those things.

We had a little time before our Splash Mountain FPP time, so we headed over in that direction. Noticed that the standby line for Big Thunder was about 10 minutes, so we hopped in line. We really liked the queuing area. Much more themed and cooler than Disneyland. The ride itself was great. Different than Disneyland. (I really like the new dynamite room at Disneyland though).

FPP time for Splash Mountain had arrived, so we hopped on. I really like the interiors. It's way longer than Disneyland. The inside parts are way longer, and we didn’t get as soaked. Jennie and Ryan rode in the back, and I was in front of them. Ryan was upset because his face was covered in the ride photo.

We went to Adventureland to do A Pirate Adventure. A free map and quests? Yet another thing that Ryan could have done all day. We had fun looking for the different locations on the map, especially since we weren't really familiar with the area. We completed the quest in one go, but the ending seemed anti-climactic. I think we missed a step or something.

Country Bears next. I have to say, it was weird. I barely remember seeing it at Disneyland when I was little. The songs were very strange. It left us all with a weird feeling. I know there are people that still love it, and I wanted to see it for nostalgia sake, but it wasn't my favorite.

Went to the Tiki Room next. This is another attraction that is also at Disneyland. The exterior is completely different, and the attraction itself is a little bit shorter, with some of the songs cut out. We enjoyed it though.

When we came out of the Tiki room, a disaster almost occurred! I discovered that I was getting a blister on my left heel! On the first day! We stopped and I put some moleskin on it, which saved the day, and the trip.

We headed back to Fantasyland. The Mine Train was open again, but the FastPass line was super long (it must have just opened). We had a FP for Enchanted Tales with Belle and a lunch reservation coming up, and didn’t have time to do it all, so we went straight to Belle instead.

Because it was the end of August, and crowds were light, this was one of the cases where having a FastPass either didn't help, or actually hurt. In this case it hurt. The FastPass line is on one side and the standby line is on the other. We just missed the previous show for our line, so we had to wait for the whole length of the show. Meanwhile, people who got into the standby line after us were escorted in about 10 minutes before we were. Grr.

Ryan really wanted to be in the show. He didn’t get picked for a main part, but since they they let every kid who wants to be in it, he got to be the footstool. Basically he just stood around though. He did get pictures with Belle and a bookmark for being in the show.

After Belle, it was time for our lunch reservation at Be Our Guest. Since we had pre-ordered our food, we didn’t have to wait in the super long line to order, which was awesome. Pro-tip: Pre-order your food!

We ate in the Gallery because Ryan thought the West Wing was kind of scary and the Ballroom was really busy. The Gallery was half empty. I think people just go into the Ballroom and don't realize there are other rooms. When the food arrived, they didn't bring us cups for our soda. I didn’t realize that the drinks were self-serve and I could have gotten one right when we sat down. You mean I could have been drinking my precious Diet Coke this whole time? I had a carved turkey sandwich and Jennie and Ryan split the veggie quiche. We also had a Master’s Cupcake with the “Gray Stuff”. It was delicious.

After lunch we headed to Liberty Square to see the Festival of Fantasy Parade. It was supposed to start at 3, but a cast member said it usually starts early. We got there just at 3:00 and we already missed the first couple of floats.

That is not my watch in the photo above. I guess by 3:05, the guy in front of me was getting bored.

After the parade, we were finally able to go on the Seven Dwarf’s Mine Train. I sat with Ryan and Jennie sat behind us with a single rider. We were in the front row. It was pretty cool but it's also a pretty short ride. We could definitely feel the swinging. For some reason, Ryan was apprehensive about it, even though he loves Big Thunder, but after he rode he said he loved it. Funny story: We have now ridden this ride a total of 4 times. The 2 times I sat with Ryan, Jennie had to sit with a single rider. The 2 times she's sat with Ryan, I've gotten to sit by myself.

Went on the People Mover next. This was another nostalgia ride for me since it's been gone at Disneyland for so long, but I remember riding it back in the 80's and early 90's. It was cool. I really liked the inside stuff, like the model of the future city.

Since we had now used all of our Fastpasses, I went to a kiosk and we got a new FP for Buzz, which started in about 10 minutes. We looked around Star Traders for a bit just to kill time, then rode Buzz. I got a pretty good score, but I didn’t know where the high scoring targets were.

Ryan got put in time-out again.

Went on the Carousel of Progress next. There were a total of about 20 people in the entire ride. A woman behind us who went down the same row as us was grumpy that we didn't go all the way down to the end of the row, and stopped near the middle. Excuse me, but when there are enough empty rows that each group can have their own, you don't actually have to scoot all the way down to the end of the row!

It's funny how it jumps right from 40’s to current day. Also, current day is now more like the future of the 90's. It has a real Back To The Future II vibe. At the end of the modern scene, somebody must have stood up in another room, because they made an announcement to remain seated, the room didn’t turn and we had to see last scene a second time.

We went in front of the castle to watch the Dream Along With Mickey show. We were a little early, and it was delayed by rain (the previous show had been rained out). While waiting, we got some Photopass pictures on Main Street.

Now, I have to say something about these shirts. This was totally Jennie's idea. She really wanted to get custom Disney shirts, and I really didn't want to get shirts with our names on them, or "Mom", "Dad", "Son" shirts, or "Family Vacation 2015" or anything. I am also firmly in the camp of “Don’t wear the shirt of the band to the concert” and “Don’t wear the shirt for the race that you are currently running.” So I wasn’t really big on wearing Disney shirts to Disney. I have softened on that opinion though, as you will see in later pictures. I finally acquiesced to the custom shirts and said I would wear the finger shirts once if she really wanted to get them. Here's the problem with the finger shirts: If you don't stand in the right place, they point the wrong way. Now I didn't realize it before we got these shirts, but when Jennie and I are walking, I'm usually on her left and she's on my right. But that's the wrong way with these shirts. If we had known better, we would have got ones with the fingers pointing in the opposite direction.

We enjoyed the Dream Along with Mickey show. It was cute.

Went to the Monsters Inc laugh floor next. I texted two jokes, but they didn’t use them. Ryan was chosen to talk to the kid monster (Mike's nephew - I don't remember his name). They made fun of us because we were sitting on the wrong sides for our shirts, so they were pointing in the wrong direction (see above). The show was very funny. I wanted to do it again on Magic Kingdom day 2, but we didn't make it a second time.

We had dinner at Pecos Bill's. I had a chicken sandwich and Ryan and Jennie split a veggie burger. We were starving at this point. It was all pretty good except for the corn. It seemed like it had been in a pot of water all day. It was all mushy. We had a visitor at dinner too.

We decided to call it a fairly early evening, so we headed back to Main Street. We did the last couple of portals for Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom and finished the Main Street quest and headed out. Left the park at 8:15. Got right on the bus just before it left for our hotel.
While we were in our room getting ready for bed, I heard a popping noise and realized that it was fireworks. I stepped outside and saw them from the balcony. I'm pretty sure that they were probably from Hollywood Studios based on the location. Not a bad way to end our first park day.

 

[heaven2dc]

Loved the update! The Photo Pass pics are so cute! I didn't know that you could sit in the middle of the seat on Splash Mountain like you did - I always take a couple seconds to figure out which side to sit when I ride in an attraction alone hoping to get the better side. Looks like you all are really enjoying your visit

 

[Terra Nova guy]

Hello there, just dropping by your TR via the DIS Dads board!

I'm looking forward to reading about your trip. I see you went to Wilderness Lodge. That's one I've been wanting to try (but haven't been able to convince DW because she thinks it's too "outdoorsy"). A split stay at value/WL is exactly what I would like to do.

So I wasn’t really big on wearing Disney shirts to Disney.

I do the same thing. Many people don't, but for some reason I like to have plain shirts, mostly for the pictures I think. But I do like the idea of your shirts with the fingers. I have a family of four so I'm not sure how that would work for me

Went to the Monsters Inc laugh floor next.

This is the one attraction I have never done at WDW, despite hearing good things about it. I really need to make a point of doing it on my next trip.

 

[lchicago]

Very excited to read your report! We are going the exact same time this year, also for 8 days, and also staying at WL. I'm hoping the lack of lines will offset the heat. Was the heat unbearable?

 

[jglor]

I'm looking forward to reading about your trip. I see you went to Wilderness Lodge. That's one I've been wanting to try (but haven't been able to convince DW because she thinks it's too "outdoorsy"). A split stay at value/WL is exactly what I would like to do.

A split stay was perfect for us for our first trip. It was definitely cheaper than going deluxe for the full trip and we got to see two different types of accommodations. There's an appeal to each type too, but I would say if you're going to split stay, definitely do the value first. Pop was the loud, high energy, lots of people hotel, and WL was the relaxing, quiet (for the most part), vacation resort.
Another bonus of split stays is that you get one set of Magic Bands for each hotel. If you're into that. We were. With the two hotels, plus the annual passes, we each had 3 different Magic Bands.

This is the one attraction I have never done at WDW, despite hearing good things about it. I really need to make a point of doing it on my next trip.

You should do it. We didn't make it a second time on this trip, but we did go back in January. It's the audience interaction that makes it fun, and it's different each time. If I could have any job at Disney, I'd want to be one of the monsters at this attraction.

Very excited to read your report! We are going the exact same time this year, also for 8 days, and also staying at WL. I'm hoping the lack of lines will offset the heat. Was the heat unbearable?

It was pretty hot, and humid, which were are not as used to, being from Southern California (the humidity, that is). We did not take the advice of everyone ever and did not take hotel breaks in the afternoon. We stayed in the parks all day. With the afternoon rain each day, it would cool off a little, and the AC is cranked everywhere. In fact, Jennie was constantly cold whenever we went indoors. Animal Kingdom was the hottest day - it was also the only day we were ever really cranky (we'll get to that).
Of course, last week it was 109° at Disneyland, so it's not just Florida that's hot.

 

[ALEXandFAB]

Even if the August Florida heat is brutal no matter what, I'm glad the crowds were low for you.

Love the I'm His, I'm Hers, They're Mine shirts!

 

[jglor]

Day 3: Epcot - A very merry unbirthday to me!

Monday, August 31 2015
I went to the food court to get soda and hot chocolate again. While I was gone, Jennie and Ryan surprised me with balloons and streamers for my birthday.

Now let me explain, this trip was not originally supposed to be on my birthday. We originally planned for a trip later in September, possibly over our anniversary. But a whole bunch of factors combined to make it better all around to go earlier. My work schedule worked out better for the earlier trip, plus plane tickets ended up being cheaper too. Plus, according to TouringPlans the parks would be less crowded. My birthday falling in the middle of the trip was just an added bonus (for me). I think Jennie and Ryan were a little jealous that we'd be there on my birthday though. We made up for it by taking Jennie to Disneyland on her birthday (as seen from the intro post) and Ryan a few days after his. We couldn't go on his actual birthday, but he got breakfast at Goofy's Kitchen and he was happy.

Anyway, let's get back to the trip report.

Got out and tried to get to Epcot by 9:00 (opening time). On the bus, there was a guy messing with a selfie stick. I knew it wouldn't be allowed in the park, but I guess he didn't. We got to the park shortly after 9:00. Spent about 5 minutes or so in the bag check line. I kept my eye on the guy with the selfie stick. I lost sight of him as headed for the no-bag entrance.
As my bag was being searched, I saw selfie guy getting his selfie stick confiscated by security. Oops.

So empty!

We had an early FP+ for Spaceship Earth, but it wasn't time yet, and there was no standby line at all, so we skipped the FP+ and just walked on.
Now I've seen ride videos of Spaceship Earth, but obviously have never ridden it, since this was my first time ever at Disney World. I knew that Spaceship Earth is the big ball at Epcot, but guess I didn't realize that the ride is actually inside the big ball. You just keep going up and up. It was pretty cool. I think I thought the ride was under and that the ball was just a giant decoration. I let Ryan make all the choices for the "Welcome to your Future" video.

We played some of the games inside too. Ryan loved the driving game, and we tried to play the Power City game but the sweeping sticks didn't work very well.

Got some pictures at the fountain, then headed to Figment.

We had a FP+ for this too, but again, it was useless (I must have converted the Spaceship Earth FP+ to Figment). We actually used it though, because I wanted to burn all 3 FP+s so we could get one for Illuminations later. We actually entered the ride behind the people to entered standby at the same time as us because we were walking more slowly and taking in the sights in the queue. Of course, nobody like the skunk smell, but we were all singing the song afterwards (and making up our own words because we couldn’t remember the real ones).
I know that this ride is apparently a travesty compared to the old Figment attractions, but since I've never been on them, I don't know what I'm missing. I'm lucky that way.
The games after the ride were a hit. Ryan really loved making Figment dance.

Headed over the The Seas for the Nemo ride next. It's interesting because most of the video segments of Nemo and company are the same as on the Submarine Voyage at Disneyland, but the ride itself is completely different, and there are real fish since it's in a real aquarium.
We spent a while checking out the aquarium after the ride. We really liked the manatees.

Next up was Ellen's Energy Adventure. Ryan was excited because he is a big fan of Bill Nye. I was amazed at the sheer size of the ride. The rooms are huge. There just aren't any rides that big at Disneyland.

FP+ for Test Track next. This was the one ride I was most excited for. I don't think the car we designed did very well, but it looked cool.

It was just about time for lunch. My goal had been to do Future World stuff before lunch and World Showcase after. It helped that the park was not busy at all. On our way to the World Showcase, Jennie bought me a set of Magic Bandits and we decided that we each should get one.

It was this set (Don't have a good picture of our actual set).
I liked the one that said Walt Disney World, but Ryan really wanted it, so I let him have it and picked the Mickey Ears globe instead. Jennie took the castle. By the way, I know people lose them all the time, but we still have all of them. They lasted through 2 trips. I even switched mine to whatever Magic Band I was wearing that day.

We kind of burned past Mexico, Norway and China on our way to Germany for lunch (with a quick stop to play the drums at the African Outpost)

Checked in to the Biergarten for my birthday lunch. They gave us a pager, so we checked out the Christmas shop (if there's anything I love more than Disney, it's Christmas!) Didn't have a lot of time though because we were paged within a couple of minutes.

We were seated with a couple from Indiana (or was it Illinois?). They didn't seem too pleased to have a kid at their table. They weren't very talkative, but that was OK, because the music was very loud.

I chose Biergarten for my birthday lunch because it seemed like a fun restaurant with enough good food for everyone. Jennie is a vegetarian. She's more of a "I don't like meat because it's gross" than a "I don't like meat because killing animals is wrong" vegetarian though. And Ryan doesn't eat a lot of meat because he just doesn't get a lot of opportunities to, because of Jennie. I like meat just fine. She actually approved of the menu because of all the veggies, potatoes and pretzel rolls. Another bonus was that you can get a passholder discount for weekday lunches.

I have a severe migraine problem, and I often get them while traveling, being out in the sun, not eating enough, not drinking enough, not sleeping enough, days that end with "y" and many other reasons. They can get so bad that I have to lie down in a dark cool room for the rest of the day. We did not want that to happen on this trip.
For that reason, I hadn't planned on drinking during the trip (even though I really wanted to), but since it was my birthday, and I hadn't had a migraine yet this trip, I decided to indulge and get the beer flight. This was the only alcohol I had during the entire trip.

As for the food, unfortunately, I didn't like it as much as I thought I would. I found enough things to eat (gotta love buffets), but there were a lot of items I didn't really love. Until dessert. Dessert made up for everything else.

Yes, I ate it all.
The band sang Happy Birthday to all the birthday people in the room.

After lunch we checked out the toy shop in Germany and found the Kidcot station. Ryan got a paper Duffy. If you don't know about this, basically kids can get a paper Duffy on a stick and someone in each country will draw their country's flag on it, and usually write something in their native language as well. Yet another "collectable" for Ryan, so of course, we had to hit each country.

After Germany we headed back to the World Showcase entrance for another one of Ryan's Must-Do's. Secret Agent Perry. This was another thing that Ryan could have done all day (like Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom at MK). He really wanted to do the UK mission, so they gave us our Fone and we headed over to the UK. When the mission started, it wasn't UK at all, it was Mexico. So, we headed back and got the Fone switched to UK.
Then it started to rain. We did the Agent P mission in UK, and also made a stop at the Kidcot station. Ran into Mary Poppins too.

Popped into France next. Got a couple more pictures.

Watched Impressions de France. I liked it, but I almost fell asleep. I would guess that happens to a lot of people. It was pouring rain outside right before the movie started, but when we came out it had all cleared up. Ah, Florida!

Morocco next for more pictures and Kidcot.

(Notice that I'm wearing a non-Disney T-Shirt)

Japan next. Checked out the gift shop and did Kidcot. Ryan is currently obsessed with Pokemon (among other things), so he loved all the stuff in the gift shop.

It started raining again as we went to the American Pavilion next. We wanted to see the American Adventure (Are both the attraction and the pavilion called that? Confusing), but the next show wasn't starting for a while and we were getting hungry. Did the Kidcot station.
Stopped by Italy for Kidcot. It was still raining, so there wasn't much going on there.

We hadn't really made any dinner plans, so we decided to eat at La Cantina in Mexico. I had the beef tacos and Jennie and Ryan split the chicken tacos. The food was pretty good. Sorry, no pictures. Sadly, I don't think there are many more food pictures for this trip. I don't usually take pictures of my food, so I started to forget.

We also rode Grand Fiesta Tour. It was a total walk-on. Donald is my favorite character, so I enjoyed it.

Headed over to Canada next to get some Beaver Butt soap for my Mom because she was taking care of our cats. She actually called while we were in the gift shop to wish me a happy birthday. She must have known we were thinking about her.

At some point during the day (probably after Test Track) I added an extra FastPass for Illuminations, so we gathered in the viewing area. It was still wet out. We put our backpacks on the ground and waited for the show right by the fence. I really enjoyed it.

After Illuminations we went into Mouse Gears just to kill some time and wait out the crowd. Got some nice pictures in front of Spaceship Earth at night.

Didn't have to wait too long for a bus and we were back at Pop by about 10:00. When we unpacked our backpacks we discovered that they had all soaked up water while sitting on the ground. Ryan's paper Duffy had gotten wet and all the ink at the top had run. He was pretty upset, but we had another Epcot day coming, so we said we could either get it re-done or get a new one.

All in all, it was a great birthday for me. I really like Epcot. The Magic Kingdom is so much like Disneyland that even though it was new, it was still familiar. Epcot was totally different and like nothing I'd ever seen before. It was just a really cool place. We hadn't done everything there yet (we walked past China and Norway several times, but never stopped), but we still had another full Epcot day ahead of us.

 

[heaven2dc]

Loved your pics of Illuminations! Epcot is our family's favorite park to visit - we love exploring all of the countries and always find something new to discover. I hope your son gets to either get a new paper Duffy or get it fixed up. Florida weather is so unpredictable! Really enjoying your TR and glad you got to celebrate your birthday while there

 

[CatNipRules]

I love the picture of you guys in front of Spaceship Earth. We have a picture of my son when he was 5. However, it was during the day. It sits on my desk at home and I love it!!

Really enjoying reading your trip report!

 

[jglor]

Loved your pics of Illuminations! Epcot is our family's favorite park to visit - we love exploring all of the countries and always find something new to discover. I hope your son gets to either get a new paper Duffy or get it fixed up. Florida weather is so unpredictable! Really enjoying your TR and glad you got to celebrate your birthday while there

Spoiler alert for day 6: We went back to the countries where it was smudged and had them redo it. When we went back in January he got a new one - which got water damaged by the rain soaking our bags on departure day.

I love the picture of you guys in front of Spaceship Earth. We have a picture of my son when he was 5. However, it was during the day. It sits on my desk at home and I love it!!

Really enjoying reading your trip report!

Thanks! I think that's our favorite Epcot picture spot.
I'm glad you are enjoying it. I was worried nobody would read it, but I'm enjoying reliving the experience anyway.

 

[adudeinblue]

Love your comparisons to DL! I grew up in California and my GF is taking me to WDW for my first time next January. It sounds like you had a blast in August and you also went in January?? How did you enjoy the crowd.

 

[jglor]

Love your comparisons to DL! I grew up in California and my GF is taking me to WDW for my first time next January. It sounds like you had a blast in August and you also went in January?? How did you enjoy the crowd.

Our August trip was amazing. You know how they say you start planning your next trip before you get home? That's kind of what happened. We were only planning on going once, but because our Premier passes were good for a whole year, we started thinking about going back. We were going to go back in May, but it wasn't going to work out, so we did January instead. The crowds were pretty light then too. It was a lot colder though. Looking at the pictures from January, we always have jackets or hoodies on. The January trip was shorter (5 nights instead of 8), but it was also a ton of fun.

 

[jglor]

Day 4: Hollywood Studios - Keep moving! We're on a tight schedule here

Tuesday, September 1, 2015

I have to say right off the bat that Hollywood Studios was the most stressful day for me. Because of show schedules, FastPass times, and our dinner reservation, there was so much stuff that had to be done at a certain time. At the Magic Kingdom, if you show up for a ride 5 minutes late, no big deal. But at Hollywood Studios, if you show up for a show 5 minutes late, it's a much bigger deal. I really didn't want to be a clock watcher this trip (I tend to get very stressed if I think I'm going to be late for something), but I just couldn't help it at Hollywood Studios. Don't get me wrong, I still had a great time (we all did), but next time I wouldn't try to pack so much in.

We got out of the hotel early and got to Hollywood Studios shortly before 9:00. The gates were open, but they hadn’t dropped the ropes everywhere. We cut left to go to Jedi Academy registration while everybody else headed for Toy Story Midway Mania. We had to wait about 15 minutes or so, but we got the 2:20 show, which was what we wanted.

We had a little time to kill before our first FastPasses, so we went on the Great Movie Ride. I have to say, I didn’t love it. Ryan did not like the gangster shootout and didn’t like it when the gangster took over our car. I thought it was pretty cheesy as well. Sorry if there are any great lovers of the ride reading right now.

After The Great Movie Ride we split up for our next rides. I really wanted to ride the Tower of Terror, but Ryan didn’t. He went on it once at California Adventure and we spent so long in the boiler room waiting for the elevator that he made himself sick. Jennie was ambivalent. Our compromise had been to get separate FastPasses at the same time. I would go on Tower of Terror and Ryan and Jennie would go on Star Tours. I was fine with that because we go on Star Tours almost every time we go to Disneyland and the ride itself is exactly the same.

Tower of Terror was another case where FastPass hurt instead of helped. I got stuck behind a large family of about 8 people. The dad passed out all the admission cards and each person scanned at the FastPass gate. Then dad collected them all. Then we got to the second gate. So dad had to pass out all the cards again. There was nobody in the standby line, so I would have been better off skipping the FastPass and just going standby.

The ride was great. It’s different than California Adventure. Some of the video sequences were different (they didn’t do the cool mirror effect though). I had read that the car moves forward to the drop, so I was ready for it. I thought that part was really cool. At California Adventure you stay in the same shaft the whole time and only go up and down.

I always look really bored in ride pictures, but I assure you, I was having a good time! I also didn't get the memo that I was in the "Hands Up" side of the car.

Met up with Jennie and Ryan near the Frozen stage and waited for the Frozen parade. They reported that Star Tours was exactly the same as Disneyland.

Ryan got to pose on a speeder bike. They don't have these at Disneyland

We got some PhotoPass pictures while waiting for the Frozen Parade

The parade was fun. They blew bubble snow.

My favorite part was the skiers on rollerblades.

For some reason it bugs Jennie that Elsa always has dark eyebrows, even though she does in the movie

We had FastPasses for the Rockin Roller Coaster next. Ryan didn’t want to ride it, but he wanted to go through the queue to see Aerosmith. I’m not sure why. He doesn’t even know who they are. I think he just wanted to see a rock and roll band. So instead of doing the kid swap at the entrance, asked if we could swap at the station and all go through the line. The cast members were accommodating and said that Jennie and Ryan could just go straight to the exit after I got in a car and wait for me there. Then she would ride next.
I really liked it.

I swear I wasn’t as bored as I looked! Love the way the single rider they paired me with and the girl behind her both look like they are asleep. Not sure what’s going on there. Maybe they passed out!
Jennie doesn’t like looping roller coasters. After I got off, I told her how many loops it had and she decided not to ride at all. I don’t think she would have liked it.

We watched the Beauty and the Beast show next. It was a fun show and we all liked it.

The Indiana Jones stunt show was next. We had to hurry there because the next show was starting just a couple minutes after Beauty and the Beast ended. We ended up on the far right side, but still had a pretty good view. We ate PB&J sandwiches that we brought for lunch while waiting for the show to start. Like I said at the beginning - time was tight and we didn’t have time for a real lunch break.

The show was good and the special effects were great. Ryan loved it. I do have some problems with the show though. Mini rant ahead. Spoiler warning if you haven’t seen the show.

For one, I’m not a fan of the fiction that they are really shooting scenes for a new movie and the audience gets to watch. We all know that’s not true, so why not call it what it is and admit that it’s a stunt show that recreates iconic scenes from the movie? The Lights Motors Action show has the same premise, and I just think it’s dumb.

Years ago, Jennie and I went to Universal Studios Hollywood. There’s a part of the tour where they let audience members try to do foley (sound effects) and they act like there’s a live episode of Harry and the Hendersons that you are really doing the sound effects for. It was so dumb, that show hadn’t even been on the air for decades and it was never live anyway.

The other thing that bugs me is that every stunt show where they get audience volunteers has a plant who is really part of the show. They other volunteers mostly stand around, one gets really beat up and end the end they admit that “Surprise! He was a stuntman all along!”
Again, it’s just dumb. I’ve seen that trick in so many stunt shows that it just gets old. I like to play “spot the plant” and try to figure out who it is right when they are getting the volunteers. For me, that’s the best part of the gag.

Other than those two issues (which do detract from the show, but not a ton), the show was great. Like I said, I loved the effects and the stunts were good.

Ryan even got to pose for a pic with Indy at the end of the show.

After the show we wandered around and ran into Phineas and Ferb. Ryan was super excited. They danced with him a little before posing for pictures.

Next it was time for Jedi Academy. The kids had to show up a half hour before showtime. They were given their robes and lightsabers and they spent a lot of time practicing “activating” and “deactivating” them.

A few years ago, Ryan did the Jedi Academy show at Disneyland. Back then there was no pre-registration. At the beginning of the show, the Jedi Master would just pick kids from the audience to be in the show, so this was a bit different.

Ryan got to be in the lower group and fight Darth Maul. They put the smaller kids on the stage to battle Darth Vader.

In between battles, Darth Maul would walk around and give parents the evil eye.

The makeup is excellent. Even from that close he looks exactly like he does in the movie.

Somehow we had a little bit of time before the Frozen Singalong and there was practically no line for Star Tours, which we were right next to, so we all rode it together. Yep, exactly the same as Disneyland. I did get to be the spy though! I made sure to keep looking up after being seated to better my chance of being picked.

The first time we ever rode the new Star Tours at Disneyland, Jennie was the spy. We didn’t even know it was a thing, so it was pretty cool. Ryan has never been the spy.

We rushed to the Frozen singalong. We had FastPasses, but they wouldn’t let us in the FastPass entrance because the show was starting in less than 5 minutes, so we had to go in the standby entrance. It wasn’t too crowded though, so we got good seats. Except for the kid next to me. I don’t know what it is, but in crowded theaters, I usually end up sitting next to a small child who will invariably start climbing on me. I don’t think I look like a jungle gym, or a giant teddy bear, but kids next to me just won’t stay in their seats. His mom was just messing with her phone the entire show and didn’t even notice. I don’t really know what to do in that situation, because everything I can think of would probably traumatize them for life.

This happened again last month at California Adventure while watching the Frozen stage show (maybe it’s a Frozen thing?). The little girl behind me was climbing over the back of my seat. She was just over my left shoulder.

The singalong was OK. We didn’t really know what exactly it was. For those who haven’t seen it, it’s mostly clips of the songs from Frozen with the words on the screen. There were live narrators between each scene and I believe Anna, Elsa and Kristoff made brief appearances. The narrators were the best part. Their interactions were very funny.

We needed to burn our 3rd FastPass so we could get one for Fantasmic, so I changed the missed Frozen FastPass to Lights, Motors, Action and we headed there. We were going to go to that show anyway.
We entered the FastPass entrance, which just dumped us into the regular crowd. So much for using a FastPass!

I liked the show a lot. The stunts were pretty amazing. Ryan loved seeing Lightning McQueen.

Like I said in the Indy show, I have a problem with them pretending like they are really filming a movie. Especially the ending where they show the “completed movie” that was supposedly filmed while you were watching. Except it wasn’t. You can tell from the clips that the props and backgrounds are different.

Ryan and I both got smashed pennies at one of the gift shops, then we headed over to the Frozen stage for Olaf’s Summer Cooldown. Jennie and Ryan saved our spot and I went to the FastPass kiosk to get FastPasses for Fantasmic, since we had used our 3 original FastPasses.

The Olaf Cooldown was basically a short dance party, and they shoot super cold air at everyone at the end. The funniest thing was that right before they did the cold air, a bunch of Cast Members all congregated at one spot in front of the stage. It turns out they all knew where the sweet spot was where multiple cold sprayers intersect. It was a hot day.

We wanted to see the Little Mermaid show, but we had just missed it, so we had a little time to kill. We went to Tatooine Traders where Ryan used some of his trip money to buy a mini lightsaber kit with interchangeable parts. We did not want him to get a full sized lightsaber because he’s the kind of kid who would be swinging it around and accidentally hitting everyone and everything.

We had some postcards we wanted to send out, and had to hunt for a mailbox. We finally found one at the front of the park at Guest Services. There are post boxes on the main street that have plaques on them that indicate that they are real, but they were welded shut.

We barely made it to the next Little Mermaid show. It was pretty good, but it had a lot of video straight out of the movie, which I wasn’t really expecting.

From Little Mermaid, we rushed to the 50’s Prime Time Diner for our dinner reservation. Even with an ADR, we still had to wait about 20 minutes for a table. It was really crowded in the waiting area and people (including CMs) were all pretty grumpy.

After we were seated, our waiter (I don’t remember his name) was really friendly and the food came very quickly. I had the meatloaf and Jennie and Ryan split the veggie lasagna. The waiter came to check if we had finished our vegetables. We were so hungry (and everything was delicious), so we had all cleaned our plates.

We had a little time before Fantasmic, so we walked through One Man’s Dream

Creepy skinless Lincoln

Hey! I recognize that place!

Headed for Fantasmic next. Yet another case where FastPass was worse than standby. The FastPass area was full and we ended up in the far left of the stands. The open standby seats were on the right, but they weren’t as full, so there were seats closer to the middle.

I have to agree with the reviews that say Disneyland’s Fantasmic is better. It was good, but not as cohesive as Disneyland’s (not that Fantasmic has much of a story anyway). The long Pocahontas segment was weird too, since it’s not a very popular movie. Seating was much better though, since it’s a grandstand instead of standing room only crowded around the river at Disneyland.

Leaving Fantasmic was worse for FastPass people too, since the standby people were closer to the exit, and we were as far as possible from it. As we were all piling out, the fireworks show started which also slowed everything down. We made our way to the park exit through the crowds.

Got some great pictures with the fireworks in the background.
Notice that we all wore Star Wars shirts this day. Technically Disney, but not really. I'll get there though. Wait until the end of the trip.

The bus to the hotel was packed like sardine cans. They jammed as many people as they could in the bus. We were stuck standing near the front and crammed shoulder to shoulder.
All in all, it was a fun day, but a little more hectic than the other parks due to more fixed times. I think we tried to do a little too much, since we only had one day and wanted to do everything. FastPasses were a waste though, except for Rockin Rollercoaster.

 

[MiniMom22]

I hate that they got rid of Lights Motor Action! As you know from seeing Fantasmic at Disneyland, it's more comfortable at Disney World! Looks like you had a great time, thanks for sharing! I didn't know you had to pre-register for the Jedi academy so I will make sure to add that to the list for our 2017 trip.