Day 2, Part 2: The Best Publicity Ever

Since we were in the areas we stopped to check out One Man’s Dream. This is another one that is going away soon.

It’s such a great exhibit. We had recently watched the documentary about Walt that was on PBS. So we had some more context for the displays.

I was sad that the movie about Walt was gone. But the video ended up being a preview/exclusive for The Good Dinosaur. I had no interest in this movie before, but now I really want to see it. It looks very cute and will probably make me cry.

Then, my decision to skip breakfast backfired. I was starving.

We decided to try Starring Rolls. I’m actually not sure I’ve ever eaten here before. And I wouldn’t be. The line was out the door so we went to the Writer’s Stop instead.

There was a line but it wasn’t as bad. And there was some Castle stuff so waiting in line and looking around was kind of fun.

I bought a cheese Danish and a diet coke. My parents got some kind of iced coffee drink. That Danish was huge and very filling. It was good and definitely hit the spot.

Once our little snack was done our Star Tours Fastpass was ready. We were in the podrace again, but also got to go to the Death Star.

It was still fun, but I didn’t like it quite as much as the first one.

In the gift shop I bought an Ewok key chain. I saw it on my last trip and regretted not buying one, so it was definitely a priority this time. And I love that adorable little key chain.

We didn’t know what to do next and couldn’t squeeze anything in before our Indiana Jones Fastpasses. So we ended up just relaxing by Echo Lake. After hanging out with some friends.

Up Next: Steve!

Day 2, Part 1: Toy Story Craziness!

Today’s plan was to go to Extra Magic hours at Hollywood Studios and try to get in an early ride on Toy Story Mania.

I planned on leaving my room around 7 so naturally I set my alarm for 7. Clearly I was exhausted the previous night and wasn’t thinking clearly.

ave time I decided to skip breakfast.

Will I regret it?

Then, I got some good luck. The bus for the Studios pulled up right when I got to the bus stop. And the line to get in was long but it moved very quickly.

My parents weren’t there yet so I skipped the mad dash to Toy Story and just took some pictures. It was nice and relaxing to just take in the park and get away from all of the craziness.

When my family arrived we headed to Toy Story. The line was already out the door and at 60 minutes so we bypassed it.

Instead we checked out the Streets of America which were basically dead. I figure they will be going away soon so I wanted to check it out.

Plus, I got to see the Osborne lights. Sort of. I may never be able to see them lit up in person which is sad, so this may be as close as it gets.

Then, we walked on Star Tours. I’m a Star Wars fan and really enjoy the ride. We raced in a pod race and hung out with Jar Jar Binks’ family which I feel like happens a lot.

And Denise was having a cow. Going on attractions like this with her is just hilarious.

Then, it was time to ride Toy Story with our Fastpasses. There was no Mr. Potato Head. I’m assuming there’s refurbishment going on or it’s connected to the addition of the third track.

I didn’t do as well as I wanted, but it was only the first ride of the trip. Hopefully, I get better.

Up Next: The Best Publicity Ever

Day 1, Part 4: FP+ for IllumiNations

Since we already experienced the crazy crowds of Food and Wine, after dinner we wanted to get the heck out of dodge. Or you know, World Showcase.

On our way out Denise wanted to stop for a Dole Whip. I don't know how she had room for it.

Also, pineapple...gross.

We decided to try to ride Imagination before our Spaceship Earth fastpasses, but it was closed. Apparently, it closes at 7. I guess I'm a horrible Figment fan for not knowing that.

So, we ended up heading toward SSE and stopped in The Art of Disney to kill some time. It's a cool little shop with a lot of stuff I wish I could afford. Hopefully someday.

Then, it was time for SSE. First ride of the trip. We got right on and our Magicbands worked like a charm.

SSE is always a fun and peaceful ride.

After that it was back to the Festival Center so I could buy my Figment merch. I bought an ornament, mug, and a plush.

Then, it was back to World Showcase. I had to go to the bathroom we got in line for our IllumiNations fastpasses. I stopped at the first bathroom I came to which was near the Refreshment Port.

There was a crazy line for both the men and women's bathrooms. I bring this up because apparently there are only two stalls and I want you to be warned.

This was our first time we got a fastpass for IllumiNations or any kind of night time show. We had to wait about 15 minutes so we sat on the ground.

We actually sat against a railing. It meant we didn't get the best view, but it was worth it for the back support.

IllumiNations was great as usual. I don't have much more to say about it though.

Afterwards we hung around for a little bit to let the crowds filter out. And we got to see somebody propose which was cute.

On our way out we stopped for a photopass picture because my parents got memory maker with their annual passes.

Then, more bus stop waiting.

The Movies bus stop is soooooo far away.

Our bus driver ended up being very funny. She drove fast and make jokes like having fastpasses for All-Star Movies.

When I got to my room I unpacked because I knew I would regret if I didn't do it. And I went to sleep around 12:30.

Steps Walked: 15,422
Miles Walked: 7.96

Up Next: Toy Story Midway Craziness!

Day 1, Part 3: Park Time and Pizza

Check-in was quick and painless. I walked into the online check-in line and was immediately helped by a very nice castmember.

This is also when I found out that my room had a king bed. Yeah! I was far away from the lobby, but it really wasn't that bad.

My room was almost at the end of the building and I was actually closer to the All-Star Music bus stop and lobby. So I decided to try and catch a bus there. I will say, almost every time I did this I had to wait a long time for the bus.

This was one of the times.

I don't know how long I ended up waiting, but I finally caught a bus a little after five. I saw a bus for every park but Epcot including 2 Disney Springs and Animal Kingdom ones.

I was getting a little frustrated because my parents were already there and we had dinner reservations at 6:30. Now, I am by nature an anxious person and I tend to internally blow things like this way out of proportion.

But everything worked out.

I wanted to buy some Food and Wine Figment stuff and I was worried there wouldn't be enough. While I was on the bus my dad texted me that there was more than enough merchandise.So no worries.

I got to Epcot around 6 and booked it to the Festival Center to meet up with my parents. They were checking it out and finding out how to get their free port glasses for annual passholders.

Once we met up we headed to the World Showcase for our reservations at Via Napoli.

Food and Wine certainly made it crazy and crowded on a Friday evening. It was like playing real life Frogger (something I became an expert at on this trip) to get to Italy. We also decided to avoid Epcot in the afternoon/evening on the weekend now.

We got to check in and were seated pretty quickly.

That restaurant is very loud. My dad has kind of bad hearing so combine that with noise and accents and he was struggling. I became his translator at restaurants.

It was pretty busy since it was peak dinner time and the servers were booking it. Our main waitress was Jessyca. She was very nice and attentive.

None of us had anything to eat since the pretzels and peanuts from the plane so we were starving. This was a pizza place so of course we had to get a wood-fire pizza. We decided on the mezzo metro quattro fromaggi.

Hey, I said we were hungry.

The pizza was good and my parents really liked it, but one of the cheeses wasn't quite my thing. But I would definitely eat there again. And you can't beat how fast the pizza comes out of those wood-fire ovens.

Up Next: FP+ for IllumiNations