Trip Report: Leaving the Disney Bubble (Day 4, Part 1 | January 2021)

 Wednesday, January 27th

Today I woke up at 6:30. It was also Covid test day. If you want to get out of a two-week quarantine in NYS you have to be tested in Florida and then again a few days after returning to New York.

As has become standard, I ate my oatmeal on the balcony and took in the beautiful view. At 7:30 we went to the front of the hotel for our shuttle to the rental car location on Disney property. We got a Nissan Altima with Maryland plates. Just like the November trip dad and I took, we went to the Maingate testing site just off Disney property. The set up was a little different this time. The National Guard was helping run it this time. In November, we had no complaints and didn’t this time, but it was more structured now.

There was a “single riders” line. In retrospect maybe we should’ve done that one. There was one family that seemed to have a lot of issues which really slowed things down. I called my mom while waiting in line. Ultimately, it took about 90 minutes. And all of our tests were negative.

We went back to return our car. The same shuttle driver took us to Animal Kingdom. He was very nice just like our driver in November. We’ve had two great experiences with the car care center.

We arrived at the park around 11 AM. The Flight of Passage line was short so we headed to Pandora. The drummers were on the cavalcade boat as we walked by the water. I can’t wait for the entertainment in Animal Kingdom to return. It’s probably my favorite-especially in Africa. The wait ended up being about 10 minutes which is definitely great for Flight of Passage. We only stopped walking occasionally to stop at the social distancing markers.

I enjoyed Flight of Passage, but it does scare me. My dad always says you just have to throw yourself into it. I try. I also don’t think I could ride it two times in a row without getting nauseous. 

Up Next: Affection Section

Trip Report: Stormalong Bay (Day 3, Part 4 | January 2021)

 Denise headed back to the hotel for the night, but dad and I stayed in the park. We decided on Test Track because I really like it at night. But the wait was about 40 minutes so we decided to just go back to World Showcase. 

We started in Mexico and continued our Figment scavenger hunt. We did find him. Then, we saw Elsa from afar in Norway. I still haven’t seen Frozen 2. Is that weird? In China, we found the final Figment. We also saw two service dogs-one was older and the other was in training. I love seeing working dogs.

To reward ourselves, we bought a funnel cake. It’s a messy, but delicious treat. Then, we got our scavenger hunt prize and walked back to the Yacht Club. It’s a pretty short walk, especially our room.

Dad and I went to the pool tonight. I didn’t want to bring my phone to be safe, but I do wish I had pictures or videos. We went around the lazy river a few times which I’m a huge fan of. I liked being in the water but not actually having to do anything. We also went in the Sandy bottom pool which was...interesting. It doesn’t feel like normal beach sand, but I’m sure it’s special because of the pool filters.

It was a little chilly so we went in a hot tub for 10-15 minutes before going back to the room. 

We mobile ordered at the Beach Club quick service. I got the Caprese sandwich. It was a pre-made one. It was ok. And it was kind of a long walk to there from our room, but we made it. 

Dad and I ate on the balcony. I relaxed a bit, updated my notes, and headed to bed a little early. I was definitely feeling tired tonight.

Today’s Highlight: Manatees and the lazy river

Steps Walked: 19,500

Up Next: Day 4

Trip Report: Paint by Numbers (Day 3, Part 3 | January 2021)

 Before we continued our search for Figment, we stopped at the food booth in the American Adventure. We got the scallops, beef wellington, and the drinking chocolate. It was a little meh for me, but I’m not a big fish or meat eater.

Then, we hunted for Figment’s art as we went around world showcase toward the UK. I also liked seeing the little bits of chalk art like the Robin Hood one in the UK pavilion. We stopped in the World Showplace Pavilion to look at some merchandise. I was looking for a Festival-themed tumbler, but they were all sold out. We did see some acrobatics though which was fascinating to watch. 

The princess cavalcade came by as we started to leave the World Showcase. We also looked at the chalk art on the ground going from World Showcase to Future World. It’s also very impressive.

We wanted to do the paint by numbers mural. It was harder to find than I expected. That was 100% our fault. There were only a few colors/numbers left and they were closing soon, but we were successful. 

The mural was near The Living Seas and  that was our next stop. The manatees weren’t out because they were cleaning the tank. They did come out after a bit and were fed some lettuce. I saw one fart or pee-it’s hard to tell underwater. I just love manatees so anything with them is good.

I also saw a swimming eel. It was cool because normally they hid in the rocks and only poke their little heads out. 

We went on Spaceship Earth. Just like with Splash Mountain, we don’t know what’s going on with the refurb. You don’t want to miss an opportunity for one last ride.

Up Next: Stromalong Bay