Trip Report: Lunch with My Ohana

If you missed the last update you can read it here.

I got off the train in Fantasyland. It lets out at Storybook Circus. I walked strategically to avoid anything shooting water because I was still wet enough from Pirates.

I got to Be Our Guest a little early, but my cousin, Courtney, was already waiting with her husband and kids. We checked in early and they let us in. That was great because the kids were crashing hard. They weren't having temper tantrums or anything, but the heat was getting to them. It was hard enough for me to deal with.

All of us had preordered so we just had to pay and sit down. This was great especially for the little ones.

I had my usual turkey sandwich with French fries. I also chugged two big cups of lemonade.

We sat in the ballroom so now I've done all three rooms. Hannah, my cousin's daughter, loves Belle so this whole thing was great for her. It is loud, but is spectacularly done. And we were kind of close to the windows so we had a good view of the snow falling.

My other cousin, Amy was in the West Wing with her family. We stopped in to visit and sing her happy birthday. Hannah especially was scared by the room. It is a lot with the thunder and flashing lights.

Then, we parted ways and I was off to the Tomorrowland to meet up with my parents. We met at the TTA which had an unusually long line. It was still only like 10 minutes. #omnimoversforthewin

While waiting in line, we saw some of my cousins waiting in line for the Astro Orbiter. Hayden (he's 4 or 5) was yelling "Hey, Mr. Grumpy Pants" to my dad and dad was yelling it back. He calls my dad that because he's always wearing Grumpy shirts. Hayden does that back home, too. The people around them thought he was hilarious. I wish I had gotten that interaction on film.

Then, we rode the TTA. It's always a fun, relaxing ride. And it's always a must do for us.

Up next: Monorail and I Make a Friend

Trip Report: We Wants the Redhead

If you haven't read my last post you can check it out here.

On my way to the restaurant I had walked by a Boardwalk villa that was open for viewing. So, we stopped in for a look.

I really liked it and would live in that studio as an apartment. It felt light and airy. And I've always wanted to stay on the Boardwalk. They had wildflower seedlings in a paper tree. I took one and will try to grow them-I'm not the best with plants.

Then, we were off to the Magic Kingdom. It took us forever to find the bus stop. But we were one our way to the MK.

Security went smoothly. The lady who checked my bag commented that I had a change of "ears" in my bag. #thatearlife

We had FastPasses for Pirates which we barely made. And then we got stuck on in the Barbosa scene. It feels like we get stuck on this attraction every vacation. We were stuck for like 5-10 minutes. The worst part was since the boats backed up, when the one behind us came down the drop I got drenched. Like it poured over the back of the boat and my back and butt were soaked.

Eventually, we got moving. For some reason, I thought the redhead scene was already removed/changed, but it wasn't. I ended up buying a "We Wants the Redhead" shirt to remember this iconic scene and line by.

Our FastPasses for Big Thunder were ready then so we hopped on the Wildest Ride in the Wilderness next.

When we got off it was around 1 and I had lunch reservations at Be Our Guest at 1:30. So, we got on the train in Frontierland. I was getting off at Fantasyland. My parents were going to do the complete loop and then eat lunch at Columbia Harbor House.

Up next: Lunch with My Ohana 

Trip Report: Flynn Rider Sits Next to Me 😍

If you missed the previous update you can check it out here.

After the pastries, you get fruit cups. The fruit was delicious and fresh. There was pineapple a.k.a. the worst fruit ever. Then, we got our entrees. I got the tangled eggs and so did dad. Denise got the tower of pancakes.

 

The eggs came with a marinara-style sauce which was very flavorful. The eggs on their own were a little bland, but a bit of salt and some sauce helped. I actually would've liked more sauce. It was a lot of food and I wasn't able to finish everything.

They introduced Eric and then Ariel a few minutes later. Eric must have been with a guest because when Ariel came out Flynn met her by our table. He said her husband was busy.

Then, there was a parade with the kids while they played under the sea.

At this time, Flynn sat next to me in the booth and I almost lost it. It was like I was in high school and my long time crush finally noticed me.

 

He told me he wasn't allowed to participate in the parade. Apparently he had flapped napkins around and acted like Scuttle which isn't "appropriate behavior". But at least he didn't bring ruffians. After chatting we took some pictures.

Next, Rapunzel visited and she was perfect. She was excited about my ears and kept talking about them. She told me she's been trying to use her frying pan as a paint palette because it's convenient and less violent. But sometimes it can help get your point across.

She was so sweet and energetic. I saw her interactions with other guests and they were great. She was playing with the little kids.

I even saw her run up behind Flynn, tap him on the shoulder, and quickly jump on his back. He totally just went with it like she does that all the time-Rapunzel would. That's a real couple.

Eric was good but a little bland. Ariel was cute. She said she liked my ears and the sea flowers on them. She told me it was good to pick sea flowers with Sebastian because he can just clip them with his claws. 

This was a great meal with fantastic interactions. The experience was a good deal and I would absolutely do this again.

Up next: We Wants the Redhead

Trip Report: Bon Voyage!

If you missed the last post you can read it here.

It's day 2! I woke up just before 7 and got around kind of slowly. I also had to blow dry my shoes because they were still a little wet.

I left the room for the bus at 8.

We had reservations for breakfast at Trattoria al Forno at 9. My parents were taking the Minnie Van from the Contemporary. My plan was to take a bus to Hollywood Studios which had Extra Magic Hours. Then, I would walk to the Boardwalk. I've always wanted to do that walk.

The sign at the bus stop first said the next Studios bus would be there at 8:35. Then it said 8:09. It was hoping the second one was more right. It got there at 8:10.

I got to the Studios around 8:30. It was a little hard to find the start of the walkway. It would probably be easier without the construction walls.

The walk took me about 15 minutes to get all the way to the restaurant. 

It was a pretty nice walk, but I did get a little sweaty. Probably not something I'd want to do in the summer. There were a decent amount of people on it-including some rumors. And a lady complimented my Rapunzel ears.

After checking in, we were seated quickly. The restaurant connects to the Abracadabar so we were able to take a peak in there. Our table was in an extra dark part of an already dark restaurant. This made picture and video taking a little hard.

We got a little card with the characters' autographs on it. But it looked like they were still signing autograph books when asked. Their interactions were great.

They'll regularly announce each of the four characters-maybe every 15-20 minutes. While we waited for our waitress, Flynn was announced. he was quite dashing.

We ordered our entrees and drinks. You get orange juice (with refills) with your meal if you want.

Then, we got our pastries in the frying pan. And it's a real cast iron frying pan-I checked. It was actually a lot of pastries. There were three of us and we weren't able to finish them.

 

They announced my home-girl Rapunzel. It was adorable because Flynn came over to meet her and dip her. Then they danced together and were gazing into each others' eyes. It was very sweet and I'm glad to see them. Even now, looking back on it, it makes me smile.

Up next: Flynn Rider Sits Next to Me

Trip Report: Will We See Rivers of Light?

If you missed the last update you can read it here.

It was hard to see where we were going, but we made our way to a building with an overhang to try and make plans. 

Being a glasses wearer, rain is extra sucky. It makes it even harder to read. Like I might as well not even wear my glasses. 

I think the building may normally be used for meet and greets because there was nothing going on and it was mostly lines. Shortly, after we got there, the doors were opened as a rain shelter.

The Animal Kingdom CMs were incredible during all of this. Kudos to all of them.

After waiting inside for a little bit we were off again.

Seriously, the puddles were crazy. At one point, we were walking on the landscaping to avoid them. Other people were doing the same thing. Only one person could go at a time so it was interesting. The other guests were being nice and respectful. 

When we got to the Rivers of Light entrance, the CMs said a decision hadn't been made about the show going on or not. They said we could wait in the Finding Nemo theater. It was open as another rain shelter and the CMs there would keep us updated.

We went there. It was nice to sit down in some A/C. It was actually a little chilly. And again, the CMs were great. They were friendly, offered towels, answered questions, and were checking on us.

 

A little after 8 they made the call-no Rivers of Light. But the 9:15 show might still happen. So we had to decide if we would keep waiting it out or not.

While we decided we checked out Dinosaur. We walked right in and the pre-show had already started.

Then, it was ride time.

It is such a good ride. I forgot when the picture was so the look on my face in the picture is half fake terror and half shock.

When we got off, it was still raining and we were finished. I wanted to get the Animal Kingdom You Are Here mugs so we headed to Creature Comforts/Starbucks.

On our way, we noticed a Tree of Life show so we stopped to watch. It started with a Pocahontas theme and then moved onto other songs and animals from various animated movies. It was a cool show. While the rain had lightened up a little, I wasn't risking my phone or camera.

I bought my mug and we were out of there. A bus came pretty quickly and I think I was in my room by like 9:30. I unpacked, took a body shower, and went to bed.

Steps Walked: 15,605

Up next: Bon Voyage!

Trip Report: The Sky Unleashes Horrors

If you missed the last post you can check it out here.

While we were finishing dinner, it started to rain. We figured it would go over in 10-15 minutes like a normal Florida storm so we sat around for a little bit.

But it wasn't getting better. We did decide to leave because more people were coming in and needed places to sit. We also stopped in Windtraders for ponchos. We don't typically have to deal with rain on our vacations-especially a torrential downpour. My socks and shoes were drenched. It was like my feet were swimming.

We had FastPasses for Rivers of Light. But we weren't sure if it would still happen because of all the rain.

After walking for a bit we got to the Tree of Life. I suggested checking out It's Tough to Be a Bug. I was hoping the storm would blow over while we were inside. Plus, it's a fun show.

The rain didn't stop.

It actually got worse.

It was around 7:30 so we decided to make our way over toward the Rivers of Light entrance to see if we could get a status on the show. We didn't want to wait around all night if it would be canceled.

Let me tell you, that was an adventure. It was raining so much my fingers were pruning. And there were huge puddles that were almost impossible not to step in. 

Animal Kingdom was actually very pretty in the rain, but I was afraid to take my phone or camera out for pictures. Looking back, I kind of wish I had risked it.

Up next: Will we see Rivers of Light?

Trip Report: Pandora!

Missed the last update. You can read it here.

We entered Pandora from Africa. I had recorded the experience.

The noise really does change as you walk on the bridge. It makes it feel like you are really stepping into another world. It's beautiful and felt immersive. I've never seen the movie but I can still appreciate it's beauty.

We decided to walk around slowly to take everything in. Plus, we had some time to kill before our Na'vi River journey FastPasses. I enjoyed exploring something new. And we got some PhotoPass pictures.

We also stopped into Windtraders (the gift shop) to look around. Originally, my dad was just going to look at the banshees and buy one later, but then he got in line. I recorded him picking one because I thought it would be a whole process-it took less than a minute.

It can definitely be a longer experience if you want it to be. And the castmembers were doing a great job with the kids.

Dad sent his banshee back to the hotel and we were off to Na'vi River Journey.

Initially, I was a little underwhelmed. I thought it was pretty, but people said it felt like a spiritual experience for them which I wasn't getting.

But as I kept going I felt more invested and found it more than just a pretty boat ride. There's no real story so it's crazy how it can make you feel emotional.

We have another FastPass for it later in the week so we'll see if I still feel that way on a second ride through.

Then, I was hungry so we went to Satu'li Canteen. Again we did mobile ordering and this one went much smoother. 

Dad and I both ordered the cheeseburger pods and the blueberry mousse. Denise got a bowl. It was a chicken and hash with the creamy herb sauce.

The pods do really taste like McDonald's hamburgers which are kind of weird. The chips were different and, I assume, homemade. I did really like the purple ones. I do wish I had gotten the kids meal of only 1 pod. Denise really liked her bowl.

The mousse was good, but I wasn't a huge fan of the passionfruit curd. And it does look a little weird.

It wasn't my favorite Disney meal, but it was nice and I would eat here again.

Up Next: The Sky Unleashes Horrors

Trip Report: Pulled Pork & a Baby Giraffe

Missed the last post. You can read it here.

I didn't have to wait very long for a bus. And the resort is close to Animal Kingdom so it was a short ride.

Leading up to the trip, I was a little worried about security. I thought it was going to be an ordeal. But it was a breeze. I thought everyone was going through the metal detectors, but my parents didn't have to.

I arrived before my parents so I went to the bathroom and grabbed a map. I always get confused in this park when it comes to directions. I tried to hang out in the Oasis. Unfortunately, there were no animals.

About five minutes later my parents showed up. We were all hungry so we did mobile ordering at Flame Tree Barbecue. My parents order went fine, but mine was a little bit of a mess. They lost my order and ended up duplicating their order for me.

Denise and I both got the pulled pork mac-n-cheese. Dad got the pulled pork sandwich. The pork was a little dry, but overall it was good. But that could've been impacted by hungry I was. Also, there definitely could've been more food for the price.

Then, we were off to use our first FastPass of the day on Kilimanjaro Safaris.

This is one of my favorite attractions, but this particular ride was a little boring. Our driver didn't have a lot of flair and the animals weren't very active. I'm guessing it was because of the time of day. 

We did get stopped for a few minutes on the savannah because a baby giraffe thought it would be fun to hang out in the middle of the road.

A couple of rhinos walked crazy close to the truck. It was equal parts cool and terrifying. I mean, a rhino can do serious damage if it wans to. 

Next week: Pandora!!!

Thanks for reading!

Holly