Impromptu: Summer 2017 WDW and Unique Non-Park Days!

Narnia_girl

He's not a tame lion, but he is good.
Joined
May 11, 2009
Dateline: June 2017

At this point we did not have a vacation planned for the summer. We couldn’t really agree on timing and or places to go. We briefly considered a last minute Carnival cruise, but weren’t really enthusiastic about it.

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One day at work my boss mentioned to me that she was going to lose her time share points for that year because she wasn’t able to use them. She then asked what we were doing for vacation. We quickly determined that our family’s lack of vacation motivation and her time share points were meant to be together!

She was almost as excited as we were and started suggesting places to go, and explaining how much the total cost would be. We were very tempted by the last minute rates for a Hawaiian resort, but the last minute airfare was prohibitive. Then we considered Arizona as the time share company she belongs to has lots of holdings there. But seriously, Arizona in July? No thanks. It was fun looking at all the options, but in the end we sort of all knew Disney was the best bet for us. (Although Orlando in July is not much better than Arizona, it does have Disney.)

So Disney it was, and we would be staying off-site for the first time at a nearby resort. Even though using her points were free to us, she helped us upgrade to a larger unit for extra points. Our condo was a large two bedroom/2 bath unit for six nights.

Those going on this trip include Mom, Dad, Christian (22) and Carrie (16). We set about booking flights, renting a car and making plans. Carrie very much enjoys reading about our past trips so these reports become a virtual scrapbook for our family.







July 9, 2017

We had a 6:30 a.m. flight out of St. Louis. The airport is a two-hour drive from our home and when factoring in the shuttle from the car park and going through security, we determined we should leave by 3 a.m. I’ve had this early flight before and it’s a toss up: Stay half the night at an airport hotel and not sleep well OR not sleep well in our own beds and get up early to drive. We ended up sleeping at home, and surprise! none of us slept well at all. We were awake at zero-dark-thirty and at 2:40 a.m. decided to get going.




The flight was fine, most of us napped a bit on the plane.



:laughing:



Arriving in Orlando mid-morning we got our rental car and drove to Disney Springs. We spent some time wandering around the shops and had an early lunch at Cookes of Dublin. It was very hot and humid and we were glad to get seats inside.





We walked around some more and sat on the rockers outside the Welcome Center. There was a line to get in so we didn’t do that.







Next we moseyed over to the boat dock near Saratoga Springs and stood in the sun while waiting for a launch. This is where my parasol and mini handheld fan really helped out. That Florida sun is brutal on northerners. We are from the Midwest but everything in the U.S. is basically north of Florida, right?

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We enjoyed the boat ride to the West bank.







Then returned to our car for the drive to our resort. It was early afternoon but our condo was not ready yet. Even though we were paid guests of a member (not free guest in exchange for a sales pitch) they still tried to sell me on time-share upgrades. It wasn’t too pushy so I declined and they let it slide. Since the room wasn’t ready we sat in the car for an hour with the A/C running full blast and sort of dozed off.

When we were finally able to get into our condo we marveled at how nice and spacious it was.



At this point the combination of very little sleep, a day full of travel and sun/heat had us all ready to drop. Within half an hour of getting inside we were all fast asleep. Mom and Dad slept about 2.5 hours, but the kids just kept on sleeping.

In the evening we went to Target for some groceries and cooked a simple supper of roast chicken in the condo. We walked to the resort pool to have a look around, took showers and went to bed.
 
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Monday, July 10
We all slept great after the exhausting first day. Breakfast was toast and coffee and we arrived at Hollywood Studios for rope drop.


Rock n Rollercoaster was broke down so we did stand by for Tower of Terror, then standby for Rock n Rollercoaster (50 minute wait). Then back to Tower of Terror for a Fastpass reservation.





Haha, look at those faces!



For lunch we hit up Backlot Express. Dad wasn’t feeling great by then (see photo above) so he just had the Padawan Lemonade. The rest of us got Chicken / Waffles and fries, and it was very good!




Standby for Frozen Sing Along was right in the sun, and like Olaf we were contemplating if it was worth melting for, but inside was wonderfully chilled! We enjoyed the music and atmosphere very much.

Our Star Tours fastpass was next and we always enjoy that tour—even with the rebel spy onboard.
We got some free water at Backlot Express and rested for about 10 minutes before walking over to our Toy Story Mania fastpass.



We visited a FP+ Kiosk and secured a reservation for Pixar Live in Concert that evening.

Back at our condo we showered and took naps. Dad and Carrie went for a swim but a storm closed the pool before they got there.


I cooked dinner and we enjoyed that on our screened patio.


After dinner we drove to the Ticket & Transportation Center, parked our car and went through security. That’s when we found out we couldn’t get to Hollywood Studios from there! :headache:

A cast member advised us to take the monorail to Magic Kingdom or walk to the Polynesian Resort and take a bus to HS. I thought the monorail would be best but a police officer advised we walk to the Poly. We did, but had some trouble finding the bus stop. Then, we had a long wait for the bus which also stopped at Grand Floridian after we got on.

waiting, waiting....


It was a long ride and we pulled up at 7:43 p.m. (our FP+ window ended at 7:50).

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I tried to hurry through security and book it to the Beauty and the Beast Theatre. We just made it at the exact last minute.

We loved Pixar in Concert. Because I work for a symphony orchestra I enjoy any concert where I’m sitting in the audience (rather than working) but this was really good music. It’s also fun to see how different orchestras work and contemplate bringing that same type show to our patrons. It was a wonderful performance!







We had thought about going to Magic Kingdom to end the night but it was 10 p.m. by the time we got there so we didn’t go inside. We took the tram to our car and drove ‘home’.
 
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Tuesday, July 11, 2019
After coffee and quick breakfast we left our condo at 8 a.m. Arriving at Disney's Animal Kingdom at 8:25 a.m. we parked in the lot and rode the tram to the gates. We went straight to Pandora-Flight of Passage and got in line at 8:50 a.m.

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Later I figured out that the line was probably longer then than if we had waiting just a bit for the morning rush to clear. It was a very long line all the way down to the bridge to Africa, and then looping back up towards Pandora again. But it was fast moving and they had entertainers come our way:



We finally boarded our flight at 10:47 a.m. Flight of Passage got big thumbs up from all of us—it was awesome!










I guess we walked by the Tree of Life



Next up was Kali River Rapids. We were all looking forward to cooling off on this ride. It had recently been down for repair but the posted standby was 30 minutes so we hopped in line. It seemed to be moving slowly so I kept checking my Touring Plans wait times. It was still listed at 30 minutes but it kept gradually creeping up. By the time we finally rode we had been waiting 50 minutes and we needed water splashed on us. It was a long, hot line and this boring shot is the only photo evidence.



We had lunch in the shade of Yak & Yeti quick serve. Our crew enjoyed Korean beef tips, Kobe hot dog, Teriyaki beef bowl and fried rice.



Here's Christian taking the shot:


And the result:



Three of us used FP+ for Expedition Everest, one of our favorite rides.
How to react if you see a Yeti on the mountain:



Then we left the park, returning to our resort to swim and rest.

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At this point I realized the one major difference in doing Disney in summer. We actually needed two sets of clothes every day. We were sweating through our outfits before we even hit the entrance gates. Thankfully we had a washer/dryer in our unit, because we needed it!


We had dinner at our friends’ home. They live just a few minutes from Magic Kingdom and are Disney lovers, pouring so much love and kindness to all the friends/family who tromp through their doors while visiting the Mouse. They also are active in a local church which specifically tries to minister to the unique needs of Disney/Universal cast members.
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After dinner we headed to Epcot and straight to Test Track.



TT was closed to for weather, but we opted to wait in stand by and about 15 minutes later it opened up.



Then we used a FP+ for Soarin and sampled international flavors at the World of Coca-Cola.



And walked around the lake, taking in the different countries.



We always seem to spend a lot of time in Japan, especially looking at Miyazaki art.



After browsing a bit we headed outside to watch Illuminations.





The day caught up to us and we limped out to the car, heading back to our resort for bed.






Next up: A very unique non-park day...
 
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Wednesday, July 12, 2017

Everyone slept late, especially the kids. After finally rousing them we did something very different: we visited the Wycliffe Discovery Center.





The Wycliffe Discovery Center is an interactive experience for people of all ages. Whether you’re 5 or 75 years old, you’ll enjoy learning about people, languages and cultures all over the world. You’ll also come face to face with the staggering number of people groups that are still waiting for even one word of the Bible in their own language. “


  • More than 1,500 languages have access to the New Testament and some portions of Scripture in their language.
  • More than 650 languages have the complete translated Bible.
  • At least 7,000 spoken or signed languages* are known to be in use today.
  • More than 2,500 languages across 170 countries have active translation and linguistic development work happening right now.
  • Approximately 2,000 languages* still need a Bible translation project to begin.



This photo is a great demonstration of why it's so hard to translate languages accurately. There are 26 different ways to say "to carry" in the Tzeltal language of Mexico. And since her name is Carrie, that's technically 27 ways!



We found the center interesting and informative.




After leaving we considered going to the Vineland Mall but ended up not doing that. Instead we had lunch at Chick Fil-a and rested at our condo while our son did homework for a summer class.


In late afternoon we drove to The Boardwalk Resort and walked around the lake in the rain.

















We picked up Giordanos (YUM) and ate it on our patio.





Then watched some TV and went to bed.
 
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Thursday, July 13, 2017

Today was our Beach Day! We left the condo about 8:30 a.m. and ate muffins in the car as we drove to Clearwater Beach via Tampa. It was an easy drive there, but in town it was a challenge to find parking.

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We finally found a covered garage near the Sand Pearl Resort.

The beach is beautiful and clean and the sand wasn’t hot.





This is where I learned another important lesson—going to the beach when you haven’t really packed for a beach vacation is challenging. We were the exact opposite of the family loaded down with wagons of stuff. We had swimsuits and towels and that’s about it.

We had originally packed a collapsible cooler bag in our suitcase but it disappeared on our flight. That meant we took our cold drinks to the beach in a plastic WalMart bag! We also had no goggles, floaties or umbrellas. It was just us, some lukewarm drinks and sandwiches.

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It was a very long walk to the bathroom and there were no changing rooms nearby (yep, our fault for choosing that spot). Because of this we went to our car in our wet swimwear, figuring we’d just stop somewhere along the way and change. But once we got going we never did, our driver (ahem, Dad) just kept going and we drove all the way back to Orlando in wet swimsuits.

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We all felt gross and took showers right away. I forgot how messy going to the beach is and how much stuff would have made the day nicer. Next time I would not do this as a day trip, but get an overnight hotel instead. Clearwater is nice and also crowded and touristy.

Our showers and a brief rest refreshed us and we were ready for dinner. I had been to The Chocolate Emporium at Universal Studios a few months earlier on a friend trip and loved it so I wanted to take the family there.

The Universal Studios parking lot was very congested, but the parking was free after 6 p.m. It’s a long walk in when the moving sidewalks and escalators are not operational but security was quick and easy.



We encountered more congestion and crowds when we checked into the Chocolate Emporium (40-50 minute wait). 416778

The food was good but I encouraged Dad to share a meal with me and the portion wasn’t really suited for two people (my fault). It was a long, expensive meal and we all left a little hungry.

This chocolate bread is so good!


Creme brulee


Some dessert



We walked around City Walk. It was a beautiful evening and I marveled at how differently it "feels" to be at Universal. I can't explain the difference, but Disney and Universal just have different vibes.

I need that selfie stick!



Oh my gosh, the traffic trying to leave Universal was insane!

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Drove down International Drive and that traffic was insane as well! It just wasn’t our evening for smooth transportation! A quick stop at Target to get breakfast food and we were glad to be back in our peaceful, uncrowded condo.

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We did laundry and cleaned up a bit before bed. Tomorrow is Magic Kingdom!
 
Friday, July 14, 2017

It’s Magic Kingdom day! We had tons of fun and were able to experience several favorite rides.




We started with The TTA Peoplemover and Carousel of Progress. Our FP+ for Space Mountain was next.
Hahaha...I'm pretending to be asleep. Dad is not pretending! :rotfl2:



Next up were the Tea Cups. Dad doesn’t like spinning rides so the kids had their own cup to hurl around while we took it slow.



And then, the Haunted Mansion on standby.



We enjoyed lunch at Pinnochio’s Haus, sitting near the It’s a Small World Overlook and waving to passengers below.




Thankfully we had a FP+ for Peter Pan and avoided a long wait. Mickey’s Philharmargic (one of my favorites) was next up and we used a FP+ for Splash Mountain.



Hold on to your hat!




Then Peoplemover one more time (it had a surprising line)






We took a break from the park for a while and headed back to our resort for a swim. On our way down the elevator to the pool we encountered a couple getting the timeshare sales pitch. I determined right then that I would never, ever accept a free vacation in exchange for the sales pitch. That is just not my thing and not how I want to spend vacation. Anyway, we got to the pool and enjoyed it for about a half an hour before the afternoon storms closed it again.



Returning to the TTC, we rode the monorail back to Magic Kingdom.



It's so beautiful!





We enjoyed strolling through the shops and admiring the castle.







Then strolled through Adventure Land before riding Pirates of the Caribbean.

We used a fourth FP+ for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, during which a very magical thing happened: the fireworks began shooting into the sky as we were on the ride. It was a very cool moment. After we exited the ride, we stood near the Big Thunder Mountain exit and watched the fireworks.












After that a last minute dash to get in standby line for the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. The wait wasn’t too long, maybe 15-20 minutes, and we all enjoyed it.

We spent a lot of time in front of the castle just admiring it’s nighttime beauty and taking photos.




We walked out through Main Street, enjoying the sights and shops a bit before joining the crowd trying to exit the park.

 

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