Trip Report: Facing My Fears (Day 5, Part 1 | December 2022)

I had to wake-up early again today. Since I’m the Genie+ person, I was up at 7 AM to get a Lightning Lane for Kilimanjaro Safaris. That’s such a worthwhile LL in my opinion.

We weren’t rope dropping today, but it also wasn’t a late day. My notes for today are also subpar. 

Anyways, I took a bus to Animal Kingdom. Then, I made my way to the Tree of Life to meet up with my parents. I was blessed with a character flotilla on my way. The boat had Chip, Dale, and Goofy. That’s probably my favorite ones.

As I got to the Tree they were finishing up the Macaw show. The birds are beautiful, but they do fly over your head if that freaks you out. 

I met up with my parents and we went to DInoland since the wait for Dinosaur was short. This is still one of my favorite rides, but I can’t ride it back-to-back like I used to. As I get older, I’m more and more prone to motion sickness. 

Then, it was time to be brave. Since I’ve faced my fears on Splash Mountain, I agreed to try Expedition Everest again. My stepmom loves this ride, but my dad and I never ride it with her. I think I last did it when I was in high school and it made me pretty slick.

We rode standby, but the line moved fairly quickly. It does have a very pretty queue with amazing touches. I was kind of a nervous reck. The girl/woman who rode with me was very kind and supportive.

I did NOT have an enjoyable experience. I felt very nervous and uncomfortable. I had to rest a bit afterwards. My dad gave me some dramamine in case that works after the fact. As I rested, a woman almost passed out in the gift shop. The CMs and her family took care of her so hopefully it didn’t ruin her whole day. So, it can be a rough ride.

Trip Report: Dinner & Fireworks (Day 4, Part 3 | December 2022)

 We checked out the gift shop at The Meadows Trading Post. I was getting hungry so I ate a snack from my bag. We also sat there for a while to rest and I looked at restaurant availability. But we didn’t book anything. Instead we took a bus to the Settlement so we could eat there. 

They had food trucks which we checked out, but none of them spoke to me. Instead we mobile-ordered from P&J’s Takeout. I got the chicken nuggets with fries. They had strawberry shortcake so I got that since I was missing Hoop Dee Doo. My fries were a bit under-cooked, but overall it was a good dinner. 

We took a boat back to the Magic Kingdom. My stepmom called it a night and headed back to the hotel. Dad and I walked to the Grand Floridian. We wanted to catch the Electric Water Pageant. The walk wasn’t bad, but there’s almost no shade so be careful in the sun.

Enchantment started soon so we watched outside of Gasparilla Grill. I don’t understand why they don’t pump the music in.

Then, we headed inside to check out the Gingerbread House. It was done in the Colors of the 50th anniversary.

We went back outside for the water parade. Sadly, we had the wrong time. This isn’t the first time this has happened to us. Someday we’ll see the parade again. 

Instead of walking to Magic Kingdom, we took the monorail. We did the whole loop to let the crowds leave the park disperse. That was a good move. Plus, it’s always fun to ride the monorail.

Dad and I took the respective buses back to our hotels. I stopped at the Pop Century gift shop to buy some Powerade. I also bought some pins. I try to get a magnet when I stay at a new hotel, but they didn’t have one.

In the room I updated my vlog and then headed to bed.

Today’s Highlight: Boat to myself

Steps Walked: 22,607

Trip Report: Horseback Riding at the Fort (Day 4, Part 2 | December 2022)

 It was almost time for our horseback riding. We were weighted, signed a waiver, and gave our experience. I said beginner. I’ve ridden before, but am pretty anxious. My parents each own a horse and ride a couple times a week.

There are lockers for your stuff. They said we could keep our phones, but we couldn’t use them and they had to be secured. So, I left mine in the locker. Someone did take a couple pictures of us with my stepmom’s phone. My dad’s horse was Denver, my dad’s was Latte, and mine was Vegas. 

It was a nice ride and eventually I relaxed. It was nice to look at all the natural beauty. We even saw a few deer. There was a fawn, but I never saw it. I think the ride would be even better in the morning so the sun wasn’t in your eyes. Vegas was a great horse and I’d be happy to ride him again. 

With our ride over, we continued looking at some campsites. My stepmom took the bus to the loope they wanted to see while dad and I walked. I wanted to stretch my legs after riding. 

I saw some chalk art at various sites with the same initials. I wonder if they knew each other or just someone being nice. It was cool either way. Even though it was early December, a lot of the sites had Christmas decorations.