[COMPLETE] One, Two, Three, Four, Five... Do we make it out alive? -- Jan 2019 TR FINAL UPDATE 9/10/19

[Elizabeth Smith]

Day 3 Part 2-- Photo Malfunctions in the Future​

We were the second group of people to make it to the entrance of the line for Soarin'. Jacob went to the restroom and when he came back they let us through the line.
Soarin
We had a great ride on the first flight that morning. The theater wasn't even full yet. And we got great seats in the middle section. A very invigorating start to the day for sure.
While we were in the Land Pavilion, we went ahead and took a ride on Livin' with the Land.



As you can probably imagine, there was no wait for this.
Then we made our way to the Living Seas pavilion for Nemo, which I did not take a single photo of. And then we went to go get Figment done.

Obviously, it's not my favorite ride.

I really love the idea of Epcot having it's own, unique character, but Figment is actually a little ugly-looking to me.
We then had our first fast pass open up. It was time for Frozen Ever After. The stand-by at this point was still only 15 minutes, so clearly it was not a very busy day.



The ride was enjoyable as always!
We left the World Showcase now and went back to Future World for a trip on Test-Track. We went single-rider to save some time. I enjoyed the ride more than I remembered.

The photo pass picture never did work though.
Then we went to use our second fast-pass of the day for Mission Space.

We chose orange and enjoyed the warning tickets they give you before the ride!

It made my chest feel a little heavy, in all fairness. I won't lie about that, but I was still recovering from a cold and had some congestion anyway. I think had I not been sick, I would have not felt anything on this ride.
Nevertheless, I was glad to take a gentle cruise through history and my future on Spaceship Earth with our final fast pass for the day.

The ride stopped for a moment at the scene with the Roman guy. Jacob, who has been taking Latin classes was glad to tell me what the guy was talking about. He was going on about sending a messenger with a decree along the roads. Really, kind of disappointing. Another disappointment: it didn't get our picture for the choose-your-future portion of the ride. Boo!

Of course, I had to stop and get a picture at the famous Bubblegum wall before heading out of Future World and into the World Showcase for the afternoon. Oh boy!

 

[Elizabeth Smith]

Day 3 Part 3 -- NAPPING​

We made our way to the World Showcase for a little bit of a tired and grumpy afternoon, on my part anyway.

We snagged a photo along the way to Canada to watch O! Canada.
I do love the Canada Pavilion! It's really pretty!



After we enjoyed the beauty of Canada, we made our way to France for a Macaron.


Let me tell you, this ice cream macaron is soooo delicious! I miss it more than most Disney snacks when I am not there.
Since we were in France, we decided to catch Impressions de France, and since it was earlier in the trip and all, I figured, hey, maybe I won't fall asleep this time? I was wrong. I CANNOT stay awake during Impressions de France to save my life. I guess that lets you all know what I think of it!
Now, we were supposed to go see the American Adventure, but I thought maybe we would have time to zip over to Canada and get some poutine first. I was wrong, but the poutine was good.

We ate it by the DVC booth and they hassled us while we ate, as they always do.

This is about the time I was starting to get a little grumpy. I was, as I mentioned a few time before, recovering from a cold, and as such, not quite able to walk/shuffle/jog as quickly as I normally can. And Jacob was rushing me big time to make it back to the American Adventure. And we missed it anyway. The World Showcase is just too big and tiring to walk around. I laid on the fountain outside the American Adventure for a moment to gather myself, then we decided to just go ahead and see Reflections of China. Then we finally walked back and saw American Adventure. But we had done so much walking and back tracking... I fell asleep during it too. I feel so very unpatriotic admitting this.
After Jacob watched the American Adventure and I took a nap, we went to Mexico for the Gran Fiesta Tour.

I had made a 4th fast pass to meet characters back in Future World so we made our way WALKING again to go see Mickey...

 

[Elizabeth Smith]

Day 3 Part 4 -- Time to Recharge​

Picking up right where we left off, we went to go meet some of our faves. But our fast pass window hadn't opened yet, so we played some Pokemon Go, which really depleted my phone battery. Oops... Anyway.

It was nice to finally meet the Mouse!



We then decided to take Friendship boat over the WS Lagoon so we could get ready for our Dinner reservation at Teppan Edo. We looked around the Morocco pavilion for some usb outlets to no avail.


We went on in to Teppan Edo and were seated pretty quickly.
Our chef was not super funny this time, he was more friendly and chatty though. Honestly, getting chummy with others at the hibachi is a little uncomfortable for me, but it was nice anyway. A great feature of the meal was when I dumped my side of asparagus all over myself. It was delicious anyway.


We didn't get any dessert and decided we would get some elsewhere.
We continued our hunt for a usb outlet at Sunshine Seasons. We didn't have luck with that quest, but we did get a dessert from the bakery case.

We got the rose gold cupcake, which was alright. It had a nice flavor. It had a chocolate hazelnut flare to it. The icing was sub-par.
Finally, we found our USB charging port at guest services. We just sat in there for a while, taking turns going to the restroom while our phones charged. And then it was about time to get a spot for Illuminations. We snagged a spot along the lagoon by Canada, I believe.






Lovely.

By the end of the day, I was ready to head out and get some rest!

 

[TheOneWithTheTriplets]

Wow, what a busy day in Epcot. You got so much done.

It was time for Frozen Ever After. The stand-by at this point was still only 15 minutes, so clearly it was not a very busy day.

Sheesh, those are low waits. How nice.

 

[Araminta18]

Ooosh, busy day. I would probably be a bit grumpy too. At least the waits weren't super long! the Poutine looked delicious too...I really want to try some some time!

 

[Elizabeth Smith]

Wow, what a busy day in Epcot. You got so much done.



Sheesh, those are low waits. How nice.

We had a very successful day in terms of doing and seeing.

Ooosh, busy day. I would probably be a bit grumpy too. At least the waits weren't super long! the Poutine looked delicious too...I really want to try some some time!

Thanks for the empathy!

 

[Elizabeth Smith]

Day 4 Part 1 -- Our First Time in Toy Story Land​

We began the day with Jacob grabbing chocolate croissants at the hotel's food court and then we met up at the bus stop. We made it to Hollywood Studios at about 8 am and we were in the first group to get in the park. The family in front of us struggled immensely with the magic band/biometric scanner situation. The dad seemed to get panicked and was having his sons scan their bands, then putting his own finger print... and all other sorts of obviously wrong combinations. But finally we made it in and back to Toy Story Land to begin the fun! We went on Toy Story Midway Mania first and I'm very upset to say that Jacob wound up with a comeback victory in the end. I had him the whole time....


We had great luck and just as we got off the ride, Woody and Jesse had just come out for a meet and greet so we got some photos with them really quickly! I did some finger guns at them, which they seemed to enjoy.

I was really enjoying the atmosphere of the land!

We made our way to Alien Swirling Saucer now.


It was a lot of fun, but I would never wait for this attraction! It was really cute and I loved the music.
We got a raspberry tarte on the way out of TSL at Woody's Lunch Box We would return later with a fastpass for Slinky Dog Dash.

The raspberry tarte was really good!
We grabbed a strawberry lemonade and walked our way to Tower of Terror for our first fastpass.





We got 2 really good drops and no rednecks shouting like we usually have!

 

[Elizabeth Smith]

Day 4 Part 2 -- Freaky Kylo Ren... and other stuff​

After Tower of Terror we went on a little scavenger hunt for pressed penny machines and perused the shops until our next fastpass for Rock N Roller Coaster.

Would you believe we even got backstage passes?



Now it was about 11 o'clock and we had a dining reservation for 50s Prime Time coming up, so we very slowly made our way to the restaurant and still arrived pretty early.

We ordered fried cheese and ate it very quickly because it is very delicious.

Then we both got pot roast.

And then we ordered the brownie sundae. It wasn't that good.

After lunch we went to catch the Indiana Jones show.

This show is good every time you see it! And we actually got some pretty decent seats!
We had a bit of time before our Slinky Dog fastpass, so we went to Star Wars launch bay. Jacob got lots of pictures of the exhibits, which I don't care about. Then we met Chewbacca. I told him he was fluffy and he liked that.

Then we decided to check out the Disney Visa charcter experience. It was Kylo Ren. I told him that he was taller than I expected, to which he replied "Excellent." The meet was awkward because I don't like Kylo Ren and I don't know how to talk to villains.

It was at last time to check out Slinky Dog Dash!




It was so cute! And fun! It's a great family coaster for sure!
Now we were heading out of Hollywood Studios to go meet my college roommate/best friend and her husband who now live in Orlando!

 

[Elizabeth Smith]

Day 4 Part 3 -- Friends and Fireworks Party​

We made it to the Magic Kingdom on the bus and we stopped at the fire house to get some Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom cards. Then we made our way to meet Lauren, my friend, and her husband Ben who were eating lunch at Cosmic Rays. We just sat and talked for a while. Ben and Lauren had a fastpass for 7DMT so we rode the Carousel while they used their fastpass.


The timing worked out perfectly. They got off of 7DMT just in time to watch us ride the carousel and wave to us as we went around.
After that we went and got pixie dusted at Castle Couture. Lauren told me about this "service." Basically, you just ask a cast member to pixie dust you and they sprinkle glitter all over you. Ben told us that it takes Lauren days to get it out of her hair!
We made a fast pass for Splash Mountain at 4:30, so in the meantime we rode BTMRR and just waited stand-by. It was only 20 ish minutes and we got all caught up and chatted while we waited.
Afterward, we still had time until our Splash fastpass, so we went to play the Pirates of the Caribbean game, the name of which I do not know. The game culminated in us getting fastpasses for the ride. We had a good time playing and goofed around majorly.

You can see us in the back chatting. LOL.
Now it was time for our Splash Mountain fastpass! It wasn't really necessary since it was chilly and the line was short.

My friend Lauren got absolutely soaked and we all had a great laugh at her expense.
We got another fastpass for Buzz Lightyear. But we had some time to kill, so we went around the People Mover and talked about the Tron construction.
Now it was time for our 6:10 fastpass.



Lauren beat me really badly. But I admit, I am horrible at Space Ranger spin.
It was nearly time for our dessert party and nearly time to say goodbye to our friends. So we got some pictures in front of the castle.


We said goodbye and went to check in for our dessert party. They asked us if we wanted to switch to the before fireworks dessert party as opposed to the after dessert party. I was confused as to why, but they said it was just to be nice since it was so cold out.
So we accepted the offer. The desserts/treats were half great, half not-so-great. The toffee cake was not 100% like the stuff at Liberty Tree, but it was still REALLY good, especially with the ice cream. The spinach and artichoke dip was also very good. The cheeseburger egg rolls, however, were not good at all. They tasted just like breakfast sausages in a wonton. There was nothing else to the flavor really. I didn't really photograph any of this, except this cute strawberry.

We settled in out on the grassy bit to watch the fireworks. We likewise did not get any pictures of the fireworks, since Jacob had so extensively photographed them the other night. And, to be honest, the view wasn't much better, in fact, it may have been a little worse.
We got one photo afterward to commemorate the show and party, though.

If you care for a review of the party, I wouldn't really recommend it. The desserts are not that good, and the view is not any better than any other view. I still had fun and like some aspects. Like the beverages were great and all, but you can save your money and just buy a bunch of better treats around the park.
Thus concludes another day at Walt Disney World.

 

[TheOneWithTheTriplets]

How nice that you were able to meet up with your friends for the afternoon. It looks like you had a great day all around.

 

[Elizabeth Smith]

How nice that you were able to meet up with your friends for the afternoon. It looks like you had a great day all around.

It was really nice to see my friends. It had been over a year since we had hung out! It was a great day!

 

[TanzUnited99]

Hi there,

Stumbled across your TR and joining in!

Loved seeing some new things that I’ve not experienced yet such as Seven Dwarfs mine train and Frozen as well as the old classics such as Splash Mountain.

Loved your photos of the parade and fireworks. Also the food pictures which are making me hungry!

Looking forward to hearing about the rest of your trip.

Tanz x

 

[Elizabeth Smith]

Day 5 Part 1 -- Pandoran Morning​

This chilly day began at rope drop in the Animal Kingdom.


Our first stop was Navi River Journey.




After this peaceful and scenic ride, we used our first fast pass for Flight of Passage and got some photos in Mo'ara.


I had forgotten about the water spray on Flight of Passage and felt like I got a refreshing facial.
Speaking of refreshing, while in the valley we went to Pongu Pongu to get a pineapple lumpia for breakfast. We both got one and they were really light and delicious. They are warm, sugary, and cream-cheesy. It's a good breakfast snack for sure.

 

[Elizabeth Smith]

Hi there,

Stumbled across your TR and joining in!

Loved seeing some new things that I’ve not experienced yet such as Seven Dwarfs mine train and Frozen as well as the old classics such as Splash Mountain.

Loved your photos of the parade and fireworks. Also the food pictures which are making me hungry!

Looking forward to hearing about the rest of your trip.

Tanz x

thanks for joining in!

 

[Elizabeth Smith]

Day 5 Part 2 -- Trailing and Trekking​

After a vitamin C enriched, nutritious breakfast, we went on a little journey through the Gorilla Falls exploration trail. I think because the weather was kind of cool, a lot of the animals were not really all the way out and about, but we still saw some good animals.

-a fat frog friend.

I really enjoy the bird watching portion of the trail, however they are hard to photograph.


The meerkats were being really super cute that morning and were almost posing.



Then we finally made it to the true star of the trail: the gorillas. There was a very informative cast member there talking about what things irritate the gorillas and how we should not do those things.


We hung out in Africa for a little while...

I really like this photo, because the message is just so true.
Now we made our way to the Maharajah Jungle Trek to see some tigers. I love the scenery and theming in this trail the best.





We did see the baby tiger cubs, but they were looking more awkward, lanky, and teenagery by then. And we never could catch a good shot of them.

I'm glad we got to spend a quiet morning enjoying the trails. They weren't sure busy and they were very serene.

 

[Elizabeth Smith]

Day 5 Part 3 -- Favorites in the Animal Kingdom​

Now that we completed the Tiger Trek, we made our way to our next fast pass at Expedition Everest.





Now that we had ridden perhaps my favorite WDW roller coaster, we decided to grab an early lunch at Satuli Canteen, our favorite WDW quick service restaurant.

We ordered a chicken bowl with the red and sweet potato hash. It was amazing. And we ordered cheeseburger pods, which we had to get a la carte since they are no longer on the adult menu, but that works out well.
Pandora is thankfully not far from Africa, so we made our way to the Safari. And of course, there was a major dance party just kicking off. I volunteered to jump in.

There was lots of hip and booty shaking going on, which is not really my specialty, but I had a lot of fun. Jacob kept fretting that I was going to make us late for our Safari fast pass, but I don't worry about those sorts of things.
Eventually the party wrapped up, and we did make it in plenty of time.












The animals were a little sneaky that day, but we still got a few decent photos! We got a cute photo at the end of the Safari.

 

[TheOneWithTheTriplets]

What a great day in AK. I love all the shots from both trails. It's funny how much having the right FPs in hand changes the way you can tour. You do a nice, easy RD at Navi, FoP, check out the animals, the coaster, the safari, all without any stress of waiting in long lines. Very nice.

 

[TanzUnited99]

Great AK update...you guys packed a lot in to your day. Love EE...such a great ride

Looking forward to reading more.

Tanz x

 

[Elizabeth Smith]

What a great day in AK. I love all the shots from both trails. It's funny how much having the right FPs in hand changes the way you can tour. You do a nice, easy RD at Navi, FoP, check out the animals, the coaster, the safari, all without any stress of waiting in long lines. Very nice.

Thank you! It was a great morning at a good pace. The only issue was that it really was just a tad too cold that day.

Great AK update...you guys packed a lot in to your day. Love EE...such a great ride

Looking forward to reading more.

Tanz x

Thank you! We had a busy morning, for sure, but the day was just getting started!...

 

[Elizabeth Smith]

Day 5 Part 4 -- Showz​

After our safari, we made our way to Festival of the Lion King for a 1pm show. We were in the Warthog Section and actually had a great view!










I don't know if I have a favorite part of the show, it's just great! And I think Jacob managed to get some pretty good shots! I am impressed by the shows at Disney as they have the same performers performing day after day, multiple times per day, for YEARS! They are in perfect harmony with each other!
We then meandered to Discovery Island for some shopping....


We got some of Mr. Kamal's seasoned fries, and we kind of had a miscommunication about what we really wanted. I wanted the ones with all the sauce on them, but they just gave me plain fries. Oh well. They were still a good snack and they gave me some sauce on the side.
Jacob took some photos while we were in that area, and one really cool panoramic.


We met up with Mickey and Minnie in their explorer outfits while in the neighborhood.

Then we made our way to Finding Nemo the Musical. And honestly, I have a photo of the show but, unlike our FOTLK photos, it's just horrible and blurry. I think the performers and puppetry are great in this show, but honestly, the songs are a little.... cheesy. But, hey, it's Disney.
At this point, we were getting tired and were going to have a pretty late night, so we took a break, went back to the resort, chilled in the hot tub, got refreshed, got dinner at Sassagoula Float Works and prepared for an evening party celebration.

This is what Jacob got, a steak.
And I got a chicken Philly cheese steak sandwich.

This sandwich was pretty good! The food court at POFQ is actually pretty good and I would recommend it for a quick bite.